Condom Corner

I got a rare chance to talk with Shaela on the phone last night and after catching up on all sister issues, she subtly pointed out that I never write about work in my blog. Touche! Even though I love my job here, I spend a lot of time on it so I guess I'm ready to switch gears when I'm writing blogs. But I do it all for The People so you get what you want.

We have 3 grants right now but for this post I'll focus on PSI or Population Services International. Our PSI program has two components: condom distribution & education, and public outreach education. We received 2,000 condoms from PSI in December and distributed them all by the end of the year. We are currently waiting for more. We give them out to the hotels and bars in town, the local government offices, and any place we can think of that people will have easy access. The prostitutes and truck drivers are a big focus for us as they are disproportionately affected with HIV/AIDS and are most likely to spread the disease.

Most of our condoms are male condoms but we do have a small supply of female condoms as well. These generate a lot of interest and usually don't last long. I've heard of women using them when they go on long journeys because car jackings are slightly common here and this preventative measure can protect them from contracting HIV/AIDS in the event of rape.

The comment I have most often from men is that having sex with a condom is like eating candy with the wrapper still on. I always remind them that candy can't give you AIDS, only cavities :)

We have a penis model in the office and are happy to demonstrate proper use and disposal to anyone who asks. We have a lot of fun with this in the office and I've been pleasantly surprised with how open most people are in talking about condoms. The conversation usually turns quite entertaining when we try to explain how to use the female condom to a man who has never heard of one. The concept pretty much blows their minds :)

The other component of the PSI project is public outreach education. The volunteers in our organization go out to schools, churches, tea factories, women's groups, clinics, etc. and give talks on self efficacy and mpango wa kando (basically cheating on your spouse which is a big issue in a society that has a very recent history of polygamy). We give 20 talks in the community each month and each one focuses on facilitating healthy behavior change. These talks vary from informal small groups as people wait to see the nurse at the clinic to presentations with video for several hundred students at a school.

And what exactly is my role in all this? Well, my main focus is to develop easy to follow systems that ensure volunteers are creating an outreach schedule in advance, actually doing the talks that are scheduled, and then reporting on them to the donors so they can be funded for the following month. This may sound unimportant compared to the actual outreaches but planning and follow through are actually huge challenges for this organization and real obstacles to sustainability and future funding.

I'm really excited about the work we are doing in this project and am very pleased with the support we have received from PSI. I would love to see a focus on birth control added as a third component but that is a tough topic in a very Christian society that values large families. We have had a request to talk about abortion when we do a follow-up visit to one of our secondary schools. Apparently home abortions are relatively common in the secondary schools so that could be a very interesting outreach...

Anyway, that's a little update on what we are doing with PSI. I'll try to write later in the week about one of our other projects. Thanks for your interest!

The Coast

After Safari I felt like I'd already had the best vacation ever but my office wasn't set to re-open until Jan 6 so we decided to explore another part of Kenya. I'd like to see as much of the country as I can while I'm here so this was a great opportunity to travel to the east coast.

We took the very old overnight train from Nairobi to Mombasa. We boarded around 6pm and the train started moving shortly after dark. We booked a second class compartment so it was just big enough for 4 shelves for us each to sleep in. Cozy but fine with friends...awkward with strangers :) Since the train is old it is very lurchy and we were about 8 cars away from the dining car so traveling to and from dinner and breakfast was an adventure in balance and agility. I got up early with the sun and enjoyed watching the more tropical scenery we had entered during the night. We arrived in Mombasa around 10am and headed straight to the coast.

Well, straight including an hour wait for the most ridiculous ferry I've ever encountered. It was absolutely jam packed with all kinds of vehicles (trucks, cars, bikes, push carts, etc) as well as a could thousand human bodies that all piled on and off in one gigantic mass. All this wouldn't be entirely unexpected except that the distance of water we were crossing was less than 100 meters. I'm no engineer but I would think a bridge would be much more economical and efficient. Our taxi driver said this is a big controversy in town because studies have been done showing that a bridge would be simple to build here but some big money in town must have a hand in the ferry business because it isn't happening.

We finally made it across and drove a very bumpy road through a mass of forest well out of town. We pulled into our lodge driveway and the ocean suddenly appeared before us. Our lodge was very rustic but picturesque and right on the end of the beach so it was very secluded and quiet. The bungalows had thatched roofs and windows with no screens so the monkeys were free to move in and out as they pleased. We couldn't have any food in the room and no shiny things could be left out or they would disappear. A little inconvenient but they were so fun to watch!

The Indian ocean was clear and warm. In fact, in the afternoon when the tide was out the water was actually to warm to be pleasant. A fun change from the Pacific in Vancouver! Also very different from Vancouver was the sun...it was so strong I had to stay in the shade of the palm trees most of the time. A fact I learned a little too late unfortunately. The second morning two of us walked down the beach to meet some friends at another beach. We thought it would be an hour walk but it ended up being two. I wasn't worried though as I had been over-protective and wore a long-sleeved shirt for the walk. I was sweating like an idiot but I knew Andrea and my mother would be so proud of my responsible choice. Sadly, I neglected to put sunblock on under the shirt and got a fairly decent burn on most of my back as the sun was behind us. I felt so cheated!

But of course I could not stay angry at the equatorial sun for long and made my peace with it by the evening. We had a lovely and relaxing time on the beach for 4 days. I did a little swimming but mostly just frolicked in the water. Fortunately I was in good company because most of the Kenyans from inland aren't very good swimmers either as they don't get much opportunity to practice.

We were there for New Year's and got to see a great fireworks display incredibly close. So close in fact, that pieces of firework fell on me during the display. Oh well, it's all sand and water, right? What could catch fire?

Notice the very sexy strapless shirt I'm wearing in this photo? It's actually another volunteer's headscarf tied around my chest. It was the only thing that didn't irritate my sunburn...sad!

The only part of the trip that wasn't enjoyable was the place we stayed at. Unfortunately we were stuck there for the duration as the entire beach sells out over the holidays. We were 11 in our group so we had 3 cottages. One cottage had no water so they had to shower and use the restroom in the other cottages. Another cottage had too much water with a leaky water tank that dripped into the hallway and bathroom. And a vacation classic: two of the beds had bedbugs.

There were a myriad of other issues but none so unbearable as the uncooperative hostility of the owner. When the people from the no water cottage suggested they shouldn't have to pay full price because they couldn't shower or use the toilet she turned it around on them and accused them of using more electricity than anyone else so they were costing her more than full price. Not exactly a customer service attitude. When the people from the too much water cottage told her their place was flooding she told them they needed to flush the toilet and use the shower more...not easy to do when you are at the beach all day and sleeping all night. When she reconsidered the deal she had struck with the no water cottage for a reduced rate she chose to come collect when only one girl who was incredibly sick was home alone sleeping and brought a heavy with her for intimidation. Finally, the very last morning I was awakened at 6am by a small flood surrounding my bed. Several items were ruined, including my book of Sunday NYT crosswords. For me this was the final straw. For someone who doesn't have any of the normal entertainment outlets: movies, tv, book selection, music or even a radio my crosswords had achieved a level of importance in my life that most wouldn't understand. When she was informed of the issue there was no apology for her lack of action the previous night when we told her it was getting worse, just a demand that we come and pay her for the final night.

So by that last day the tension was palpable and we all just wanted to get away from her. One small problem was that several people had given her their passports and credit cards for safe keeping since one of the cottages didn't have a secure lock. All of this had been returned but she wrote down all the numbers in her little book. Now that we had determined she was a little crazy and very possibly vindictive we didn't want to leave with that info in her hands. So I kicked into negotiator mode and got her to bring us the book, scratched out all our information and then got us out of there without paying her any more money. She was quite a piece of work and one of the girls wrote a parody of the experience to the tune of Hotel California...very appropriate :)

Fortunately we were able to end the vacation on a good note by staying in Mombasa for a day before heading back to Nairobi. Our hotel there had running water, security, and friendly staff so we were more than happy. We spent a day shopping on market street, sightseeing at Fort Jesus (an old castle), and eating Swahili food (which is much better than Kikuyu food as they actually use spices).

I'm happy I was able to get to the coast and see this part of Kenya. It is very different from where I live as it is much hotter (between 40-50 Celcius much of the time), Swahili is spoken more (as opposed to local dialects), and a good portion of the population is Muslim. This is a noticeable difference because where I live it seems to be 99.9% Christian. In addition to the amazement of seeing people wandering around in the long black cloaks with headscarves and veils in the summer heat I was shocked at how safe the city is after dark. All in all Mombasa has a very different feel from any other place I've been in Kenya.

Great holidays for 2010 and now it's back to work!

Masai Mara

After years of playing Wildlife Adventure with my siblings, watching Planet Earth with Stephen, and going on wildlife drives with my parents I've gotten to experience a safari first hand! This was an absolutely incredible experience that I will never forget. My only wish is that I could have shared this experience with my animal loving family. I guess this blog entry will have to suffice.

The day after Christmas six other volunteers and I headed out bright and early for the Masai Mara, a national reserve on the southern border of Kenya and Tanzania. Well, not terribly bright and early as our vehicle had a flat on the way to pick us up. But after a slight delay we were off on a scenic 5-hour journey. We stopped at a lookout point over the Rift Valley and then headed down into the valley where we saw giraffes and zebras just kickin it by the side of the road. As we got closer to our destination the road took a rough turn and the last hour was some pretty bumpy off-roading.

We arrived at the camp in the early afternoon and had a quick lunch so we could get to the park. We rolled in around 4 and left about 6:30pm but I think we saw several hundred animals in that time. We saw so many different animals but the theme of that evening was lions. I truly thought I'd be lucky to catch one lion the entire trip but we must have seen 20 that first night. And they weren't just lying around. We saw lions mating (coitus was brief, but perfunctory), 4 male lions eating a very fresh water buffalo, and a female lion so close I thought we might not make it home that evening.

This leads me to our vehicle and driver. When I first saw our vehicle I was very exciting because it was like an oversized jeep. No windows and the top opens like a convertible so I thought it would be excellent for viewing animals. My suspicion was confirmed when we drove into the park and saw that almost all the other safari vehicles were weak little mini-vans with windows that don't open and a roof that only raises up so you have about a foot of viewing space for your head.

But then we spotted a female lion laying in the grass. Our guide decided we needed a closer look so we drove right up to her and were within 10 meters. As the lion was staring straight into my eyes through the non-window of the car I started to wonder if our vehicle truly was the best design. Fortunately we didn't linger and as we pulled away the driver told us we couldn't stay long because the lioness is the hunter and very dangerous... I considered having an impromptu heart attack but I quickly decided Nick had been doing this a long time and must know what he is doing. Fortunately that worked out for me and I was able to comfort myself with this thought many times during the trip: when he drove through such high standing water I was sure we would drown, when he droved through such sloppy mud I was sure we'd be stuck, and when he drove so fast over the rocks I thought someone would be thrown from the vehicle. He was a very skilled driver and probably missed his calling as a rally driver.

We started heading back to the camp just at dusk and got to watch an absolutely amazing sunset. There is really no way my photos can do justice to the skyscape in the valley. A sunset there is worth the trip in itself.



Camp was also a fun adventure. It's nestled in the forest right next to the park and since there is no fence animals wander in and out at will. We had monkeys in the trees and one afternoon 2 baboons just sauntered through like we weren't even around. We had a night guard (a Masai warrior who carried a spear and a club) and he monitored the animal situation all night. One morning he told us there had been a lion stalking some water buffalo right outside the camp. None of us heard it but we were glad he was around. The camp mostly consisted of big tents. The tents were the type you can walk into and housed 2-3 single beds. Nice but there was one other option for sleeping arrangements and I was all in. About a 3 minute walk from the rest of camp was a tree house! I have wanted to stay/live in a tree house ever since I saw Swiss Family Robinson years ago. It was fabulous! The birds seemed to come alive at night and it was a riot-like noise for awhile. Fortunately there was a little Victorian toilet in the tree house because we were too far from the camp for the night guard to see us flashing for a bathroom escort.


The next day we got to spend the entire day in the park complete with a picnic lunch. I couldn't get over how easy it was to spot most of the animals and how many of them there were. I was also surprised how unfazed they seemed by people. I guess they see people all the time in the park and no one tries to harm them so they don't see us as a threat. This is a bit of a problem but it is illegal in Kenya to kill any wild animals. Unfortunately there are still poachers but not in this park.

We had a hard time getting our driver to stop for zebras, elephants and giraffes because he doesn't consider them worthy of a look since they are so common. We saw baby elephants, baby hyenas, baby lions, and a baby water buffalo that could barely stand up because he had just been born. I saw an elephant drinking so close I could hear it slurping. I saw a hyena running around with a buffalo face and several other things that might gross people out. We also saw a ton of crazy looking birds. They were my surprise favorite because they were so giant and so colorful. And I saw a lizard that was so brightly colored I thought he was a plastic toy! I'll list out all the animals we saw so Conor is happy. Our guide was a naturalist so he new the names of all the animals...I may or may not be spelling them correctly.

Animals: zebra, lion, buffalo, giraffe, waterbuck, bushbuck, hartebeest, vervet monkey, olive baboon, spotted hyena, golden jackal, silver-backed jackal, mongoose, Kirk's dikdik, impala, Thompson's gazelle, cheetah, warthog, hippo, agama lizard, topi, wildebeest, giant millipede.

Birds: secretary bird, crown crane, guineau fowl, hamerkop, black bellied bustard, Butler's eagle, lilac-breasted roller, weaver bird, vulture, hornbill, wattled pluver, red-billed ox pecker, ostrich, crazy looking stork I can't remember the name of.

It goes without saying that we had a fabulous time and were very sad to leave. The last morning we got up early and David took us on a nature walk around the camp. We watched an army of carpenter ants on their way to attack a termite colony, saw the biggest, grossest millipede you'd ever want to see, and learned about the different leaves the Masai use for deodorant, medicine, and cooking.

The drive home was as beautiful as the drive there but with a little more adventure. On the off-road portion we got a puncture. No problem, Nick drove the flat tire up onto a rock and put the spare on. The next town we got to we stopped and he bought a new tire. When we stopped for a picnic lunch Bart noticed another tire was losing air so fast we could here it. So we piled back in the car and drove it to the nearest town. We were here for about an hour while they replaced the tube and it didn't take long before every kid in the town got wind that there were 7 mzungus standing by the side of the road. So we had a lot of questions, some singing, some dancing, some jumping, and a lot of feeling my hair.

Finally we got back on the road and rolled into Nairobi just in time to catch our train to the coast....but that story I'll save for another day. Hope you enjoyed the photos and I'll post more on Facebook soon!

Sunset Safari

These three days of extra vacation aren't turning out to be as full of free time as I had anticipated. With doing my absolutely filthy laundry, walking for hours all over town since there is a matatu strike, and using Trixie's real kitchen (sink with running water, actual stove, refrigerator) to cook incredibly delicious meals, I seem to run out of time at the end of the day to write in the blog. Tomorrow for sure there will be safari photos. Here's a taste of things to come....

Comments, Concerns, Matatus?

I have heard from several people that they had trouble posting comments on the blog. I've changed the settings so please try again and let me know if it worked. I am sad when a post gets no comments...then I think no one is reading it or if they did read it, they absolutely hated it.

I'm back from my trip to the coast but have been waylaid in Nairobi for 3 days because of a nation-wide matatu strike. The only way to get from Nairobi to my town is on a matatu so I'm here until Thursday when everyone else will be trying to use the matatus as well so it might be a challenging trip home. Fortunately, I'm at a friend's house here in Nairobi and there are 5 of us stranded here so it's been quite nice. I'm thinking it will give me time to catch up on my blog so check back soon for safari photos!