Video From Luke's Bday Party

This is what a traditional Kenyan birthday Party is like!

Update

It does not seem quite possible, but 13 days from today I will be headed back to the United States. Until then, I still have things to do this week and then next week is the annual weeklong Summer Camp with all the children in our program.

Many new things have happened since I last wrote and yet not much is new at all. Here are some experiences I have had…both enjoyable and difficult:

1) Played many games with the kids at the Saturday Program…did a lot of running and now have grass stains from trying to tackle the children during a game of tag.
2) Assisted two caseworkers in telling/counseling a child that their mother had passed away the day before…the girl was 12.
3) Attended a party at one of the caseworker’s home to celebrate her graduating from an educational program in a month.
4) Went to a restaurant called ‘Carnivore’ and was treated to a burger, beer, and ostrich meatballs.
5) Wrote a song poking fun at the staff with Luke, to be performed in the upcoming week.
6) I ate cooked minnows for lunch last Friday. It was actually my second time eating them and enjoyed it so much I had 3 helpings.
7) Was taught how to make chapatti with the staff (it’s a delicious bread type thing).
8) I’ve worked on clearing viruses and updating two PC’s here and was reminded of why I own an apple.

9) I continued my search for statistical information without success.
10) Experienced some cultural differences:
a. ‘Right around the corner’ or ‘a few things’ means 1-2 miles away and 2-3 bags worth of stuff.
b. Many Kenyans believe that witches still exist.
c. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Kenyans share everything…and those with the least often share the most.
d. When Kenyan’s refer to something as ‘sweet’ it means it tastes good…not that it actually is sweet as what Americans are accustomed too.
e. Religion is life here…it is required curriculum in every class (it is weighted of the same importance as math, science, English, etc.).
f. Weight is not as sensitive here as it is in the states. For example, we were all sitting around a table and Peter made a staff member stand up in front of all the other staff and talked about how she is getting fatter since starting to work here. No one took it as an insult, and people just smiled and laughed about it…including the staff member (of course, Luke and I sat their with our mouths wide open staring in disbelief). So weight is viewed very different here. I have actually heard that people who weigh more are thought of as more affluent, so it’s a good thing to weigh more in Kenya.
11) Continued to enjoy the sights, sounds, and culture of Kenya.


Also, enjoy the random photos of staff and kids!

Video From Saturday Program

This is my first attempt to post a video clip I took a few weeks back at the Saturday Program. It might not work for you, so I'd appreciate some feedback on whether you were able to get it to work or not. I encourage you to watch it until the end as it becomes more entertaining as you watch it. Jackson Katunzi is leading the kids in a song and movements that go along with the song. He is an assistant volunteer case worker and the facilitator of the Saturday Program. He does an amazing job with the kids and truly truly truly loves the children. I hope this works...enjoy!

Children and Education

I have been informed that my blog has been shared in the Immanuel United Church of Christ’s newsletter in Clarksville, IA (where my Dad used to be the pastor); in the Friends of Ngong Road newsletter; and the Humphrey Institute’s Global Public Policy website. So those of you new to my blog, welcome and I hope you enjoy!


Life in Kenya continues to be an exciting, frustrating, and wonderful experience. Luke and I moved, again, to another host family yesterday, and are beginning to settle in. The cons of moving every few weeks is that when I begin to really feel comfortable with my location and the family, I move to a new place. The benefits, however, are that I get to experience different Kenyan families and the variety of traditions each family has. Staying with this many families also affords me a place to stay when I return to Kenya…I will always have a home here.

I’ve been spending a lot of time gathering data on height/weight of children, HIV/AIDS stats, average number of years in school for Kenyans, and average grades of students in Kenya. The task has been more difficult than I had anticipated and a few phone calls to the Kenya Bureau of Statistics for more information has been in vain. I plan on traveling to their office on Thursday to see if a face-to-face conversation will allow me to gather more of the information I need. I have been able to find some data online from credited research organizations and the United Nations, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and more. I will continue the search!

On Monday, I visited a school where we have about 26 of our children, called GSU (General Service Unit)…I know, quite an attractive name for a school, huh? It is a boarding school within a military compound. Boarding schools are considered some of the best education for children in Kenya, and also the most secure form of education. The children are provided 3 meals a day, classes and activities all day, and 24 hour a day armed protection. The problem with boarding schools is that they are tough to get into and are more expensive…well worth it though!

When we were at GSU, we were escorted around by the Deputy administrator, and kids would stare at us, but not approach us. However, when I began to walk around the compound by myself, the kids would rush me, and want to shake my hand and touch me…it makes you feel as though you are the most important person there. It was even crazier when classes let out and all the children began to gather around asking questions, trying to shake my hand and touch me, and just be near the muzungu (white person). As you can see from the photo, the children are very interested in white people AND having their picture taken.

The education system here is very different from that of the United States. In Kenya, you spend 1st grade until 8th grade preparing for an exam that will determine what kind of high school you will get into. The test is a one-shot deal, and if you don’t do well on the test, then you may not get into a high school at all; instead you may have to go to a trade’s school, where you learn some type of specialized hand work, such as shoe repair. If a person does make it into high school (and most kids do), you spend those 4 years preparing to take another exam that will determine your placement in college, or if you are even able to go to college. When speaking to the Deputy about this, he agreed it’s a terrible system. A child could be doing great for 8 years and then come to take the test and not do well, and then their talent would be wasted. The test takes into consideration 5 different aspects of education; Swahili, English, Religion, Science, and Math. The overall score is taken into consideration; which is too bad. If for example, a child excels in Math and Science, but does poorly in the other 3 categories, then they might not get into high school or college. And if this happens, then you’ve wasted the talent of someone who might make a great mathematician or scientist. Not to mention the great pressure put on these children to do well on these tests because their futures absolutely depend on it!

The deputy said that there is a push for educational reform as people are realizing that this system is really shortchanging their country. However, he informed us that everything becomes politicized and there will be many who will fight to maintain the current system for their own interests. And because corruption is rampant in this country, I do not see great hope in the system changing anytime soon.

The pictures are some of the staff, along with kids playing at the Saturday program.

Past weekend fun!

This past weekend was a fun one. On Saturday, we had the usual ‘Saturday Program’ with all the kids, which was a blast. Then Peter, Luke, and I went to 3 different places for somosas and a beer on Saturday night. I had a friend from Kenya expose me to somosas before coming here and I absolutely love them…and they go great with a cold beer. I specify ‘cold’ because most Kenyans drink their beer warm…in fact they take everything warm to hot. This includes beer, food, pop, milk, almost anything you can think of! But back to Sat. night…
We arrived at the second bar (more of an outside bar) and Peter said, ‘I’ll be back, I’m going to get a haircut.’ Apparently, it was a bar/barber??? So he did, and then Luke left to get a haircut. As Peter and I were sitting there, enjoying our somosas and beer on a cool evening, listening to some Kenyan music, a bird flew into the bar (which again was sort of outdoors, so it was like a giant tent you would see at a fair), and it flew up to the top of the ceiling of the tent near the light. As I looked more closely at it, I realized it was not a bird, but a giant insect! I kid you not when I said it was the biggest insect I’ve ever seen in person…I really thought it was a bird. And this giant bug was now flying around my head/body. You should have seen me ducking and dodging all over the place while Peter sat there quietly with a smile on his face. The bird-bug then flew over to the dance floor and starting flying around the dancing Kenyans, who would just glance over at the bug and continue dancing as if there was not a bug the size of a dog’s head flying around them.
On Sunday, we went to a reserve for some wild animals…we got to see some young elephants and rhinos that were rescued from the wild. We also went to a giraffe reserve and got to feed giraffes!! Lastly, we went to a traditional Kenyan tribal dancing show. It was loads of fun and a great way to spend a Sunday.
We also moved from Peter’s house to our new host family on Sunday night. It has been an adjustment, but good so far. People who know me, know that it takes me some time to feel comfortable in a new space, but I’m getting there. The family is also very generous and is taking good care of us.
You will find some pictures attached to this blog…it’s my first time trying to add pictures, so if this looks funny, it’s a trial run. They are pics of kids from the Sat. program, the slums, the reserves, and dance show. Enjoy!

Today's work and a sobering experience

Today, Luke and I spent most of the day training the staff on Microsoft Word and computer typing skills. Tom (a board member from the US) said to me before I left, ‘You have no idea how much you know about computers until you work with the staff here.’ He was correct. We covered just some of the basic skills needed to navigate successfully through Word in order to create a complete document (i.e. copy, paste, print, spell check, margins, spacing, etc.). To cover what many Americans would deem ‘basic’ material, took us about an hour and half. But keep in mind; many of them have just used a computer for the first time in the last few months or since starting to work here.

We then moved on to typing practice…we found a test online to gauge how many words per minute a person can type, which was helpful (the worst was 1 wpm and best around 20). I think they also had fun working with the program. And the results were as we had suspected, that their typing skills are pretty dismal, but again, when you don’t grow up with computers, how can you expect anything better. I did not find this discouraging at all; I am hoping that by the time we leave, they are able to show us some good improvement. We spent the next 3 hours working on just typing, learning the home-row (jkl;asdf). I had developed some lessons to get them slowly into using their right and left hands, just with those 8 keys. As the day went on, they improved, but perhaps the most encouraging aspect of all of this is that they are very eager to learn. The staff here understands the importance of having computer and typing skills and work really hard at trying to improve. Again, by the end of the day, we could see signs of good improvement.

One more thing worth noting before ending this entry is that I went to visit a home is the slums for the first time the other day. I was prepared as I had seen pictures before, and have seen the rooms from a distance, but nothing can really allow a person to understand that lifestyle unless you spend some time in a slum-home. Essentially, it’s just a small room (which is the entire home) made of tin with all a person’s belongings crammed into it. The number of people living in these tiny rooms vary, but the smallest number I witnessed was 4 and the greatest 12…that’s a lot of people to be living/sleeping in one spot. Again, my experiences here continue to shed light on the great needs that exist in this place.

An accident and reaction

I have traveled in two developing countries: Guatemala and now Kenya. I am not sure if my following statement holds true in all developing nations, but it certainly is the case in these two countries: Driving is fast, crazy, and dangerous. The driving was crazier in Guatemala, but the roads are worse in Kenya. Massive potholes that could fit a Prius in them line the streets.

In Kenya, People drive exceedingly fast, and the roads are very narrow. Most everyone drives in an SUV or a van, because it would be difficult for a car to traverse these roads. Drivers will pass each other despite another car barreling down the road towards them, not 40 yards away. It’s dangerous and very frustrating. Many car accidents occur in Kenya, and the speed and reckless driving is a big reason for it. For being a laid back and slow moving culture, they drive as if they are racing to put out a fire.

With that said, Peter, Luke, and I were driving home from work last night at about 8pm, which is dark in Kenya. They get about a solid 12 hours of light, from 6am-6pm, so it’s pitch black by 8pm. As we are driving, we see traffic slow down in front of us and, apparently, right before we got there a pick up truck had attempted to pass and realized it couldn’t, cut back hard, and come back too far to the left (because they drive on the left), and it’s two left tires went off the road, which because of erosion and lack of care, has giant holes and the truck tipped on it’s side. We probably missed the accident by 30 seconds, and as we slowly passed the truck we saw a flock of people running towards the truck, trying to rock it back upright. Peter said, ‘Oh, it looks like they need our help,’ and pulled over. As we parked the car and started heading towards the scene, I was astounded to see the number of Kenyans pulling over and running over to the accident.

Getting to the accident itself was a difficult task, because, as I said before, erosion and other factors create large holes and deep tire tracks that are knee to waist deep, and are in random places. So heading to the accident with only headlights to guide you, did not prevent Luke and myself from falling a number of times in an attempt to get to the truck. When we arrived a huge crowd of 30-40 people were desperately trying to upright the vehicle. We would have helped, but there was literally no room to position ourselves to help push/pull the truck. We soon found out why people were rushing to lift the truck as we learned there was a man pinned to the ground, under the truck.

They then had a small car pull up next to the truck and attached a rope from the top side of the truck to the back of the car, and pulled. They lifted it just enough to pull the man out from under the truck. The man appeared dazed and sore, but not fatally wounded (at least I think). He was then surround by other men trying to make sure he was okay, and to just sit with him.

I was blown away at the number of people who stopped to help, as I have never experienced anything like this in the United States. Peter told us that whenever there is an accident, this is how Kenyan’s respond (one small part is because it may take up to 4 hours for an ambulance to arrive, but it’s mostly because it’s in their nature to help). It’s discouraging to see that accidents such as this one do not detour Kenyan’s from driving so recklessly, but it is amazing and encouraging to see their responses to accidents.

Arrival and such

I’ve meant to write sooner, but my apple computer was having trouble connecting to the internet (plus the internet was down for some time) and I’ve been pretty busy since arriving.

I arrived in Kenya on Thursday, June 18th around 7:15pm. After landing, I spent two frustrating hours waiting in line to receive a visa. I swear they were only getting 1 person through every 10 minutes, and when you have a plane with over 250 passengers, that takes a long time. I also knew that the people picking me up from the airport were going to be there by 7:15, so I was anxious to get through the line, pick up my baggage, and get out to them. This was a good lesson learned as next time I come to Kenya; I will make sure I get my visa prior to arriving. The two flights were fine…very long, but fine. I flew from Minneapolis to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Nairobi.

Peter (the Executive Director here) and Luke (the other intern) picked me up from the airport, and we went out for a beer at a local club. I was exhausted after being up for about 30 hours, but it was good to experience a little bit of the culture upon immediately arriving.

I will be living at Peter’s house, with his wife and children, until this coming Sunday then moving to another house. They have been extremely generous, making sure we have everything we need. The house is very simple with 3 small bedrooms (1 for Peter and his wife, 1 for his 4 children and livin worker, and 1 where Luke and I are staying), a small kitchen, bathroom, and living room. If one were to walk into a home like this in the United States, it's likely you would think that they lived below the poverty line. But in Kenya, this is middle class.

To talk more about the bathroom :), the toilet only flushes once in a while, so we dump a bucket of water in it to make things go down. And the shower doesn't have much pressure so we actually don't take showers, instead water is boiled, poured into a basin, and then I just splash myself down to get clean. It's a unique experience!

The first thing that hits you when you start traveling around Nairobi is the smells. The pollution and litter is out of control. As you move from one place to another you are engulfed by the smell of trash, sewage, exhaust, and sweat. All of which are overwhelming.

I have more to write, but I don't want these blogs to get out of control.

Peace!

On the verge

A friend once said to me that he believed blogs existed as the most strident form of narcissism...welcome to my blog!

I have created this blog for my trip to Kenya to fulfill some requirements of the internship, to allow me to look back at my entries later on to see my own progress, and lastly, to allow the handful of people interested in my journey to gain a deeper insight into my experiences.

For those that don't know, I am traveling to Nairobi, Kenya on June 17th, 2009 and will be flying back on August 10th, 2009. I will be interning with a nonprofit organization called the Friends of Ngong Road (http://ngongroad.org/default.aspx). The mission of Friends of Ngong Raod is to provide education and support for Nairobi children living in poverty whose families are affected by HIV/AIDS so they can transform their lives. Friends of Ngong Road pairs each sponsor with a specific child allowing for a mutually beneficial relationship to develop.

I will be completing (at least attempting to complete) a number of tasks for this organization, such as research, a library project, helping to organize a camp at the end of the summer, some office duties, and more. I am excited to be working for an organization that continues to make a difference in the lives of the children living in Nairobi.

There ends my first official blog post. I assume they will become more interesting once I actually arrive in Kenya. Please feel free to comment on any posts, it'd be great to hear from people.