I’ve not really known what to write since the day by day thing will actually get pretty boring now that I’m in some kind of routine. But I’ll try and tell you some of the highlights and lowlights over the last week or so.
I’d not told you about buying Memo’s uniform for her to start school. She started last Monday and so the Saturday before I took her into town so that she could get her uniform. That obviously meant that I was the one paying the transport there and back because the family only just had 2000 Kenyan Shillings (about £20), here a lot of money, to spend on the full set of uniform. We waited for Weldon to come and show us where the shop was and I treated her to a soda as a celebration of going to school at last. When we got to the shop we discovered that it was run by Seventh Day Adventist Christians and so they were in church for the day and the shop was closed! We didn’t know where to look next but eventually found another shop that sold her school’s uniform. She had to get 2 skirts, 2 blouses, 1 jumper, 2 pairs of socks and a tie. We were then told that the total was 2165 kshs, eventually we negotiated down to 2030 kshs and finally got away with just the 2000. This left Memo with no money left to buy school shoes. She thought that she would go without them but I was thinking that it would be a nice present to say thank you for teaching me everything at home and good luck for school. So I decided that I would buy her some shoes. We looked at a couple of the outside market stalls but didn’t find the right thing so went into Ukwalla (a cheap supermarket) to look for them. Memo told me later that she’d never been upstairs in a shop before and so she was a little excited. We found some shoes that were about £5 and we thought we’d go to see if we could find some others in a place we could barter since Memo was worrying that they were too expensive. Ok, for Kenya they were a bit expensive and we probably could have got them cheaper if we worked for it. These ones from the supermarket were at least good quality and should last a long time. So we bought them and the smile on her face was worth the whole thing! When we got home she was so excited that she had to run to try on all the uniform, shoes too. She looked really smart; I wish I’d remembered to take a photo. When mum saw that the shoes had come from Ukwalla she started asking for the plastic bag so that when she goes to the market she can take it to put things in, then she’ll look like she shops there and will seem posh in the village! They were all very grateful that I’d got the shoes. I don’t want to make a habit of being the one to buy things but this once I think it was the right thing to do. Especially since we had to work so hard to get her into a school with the results she got in her primary certificate and with the costs of sending two children to school, I’ve done a little to help and maybe it will be a reminder of me when she’s at school.
That was a long story!
In other news ….. Lucy has arrived!
She’s another volunteer from England who’s going to be here for 3 months. She’s also come to live in the same host family as me and so it’s really nice to have company there too. Her birthday is 12th March so it looks like we’ll be celebrating together, her 19th and my 22nd.
On Monday we started our Peer Youth Education training, where around 25 young people who have finished school will be trained to teach HIV awareness in primary/secondary schools over the next 4 months. On Monday mornings they will be at the youth centre being taught and on one afternoon in the week will be going into a school to practice what they’ve been taught. We hope to work in 10 schools in the local area and send 2 or 3 peer educators to each school. It looks like a good programme and I’ll be really pleased if it works because it will mean something has been achieved here.
On Thursday I also started teaching recorder in St Clares Primary School. I started with the first two notes, crotchets and minims and clapping. There were about 35 students and only 20 recorders so they had to swap and share but it worked out ok. We eventually learnt ‘rain rain go away, come again another day’ and the students did very well, even 3 of the teachers are learning too! This week it’s been half term so I’m not going today but will be back there next week to teach G and F. Those of you who remember me learning recorder in primary school will laugh that I’m now teaching others. Maybe if any of you still have contact with Mr Buckley you could remind him of me and let him know that I’m trying to pass on my very basic recorder skills to Kenyan children! It was actually the best part of my week, I left the school feeling as though I’d done something really good and actually wished I could call someone at home to tell them all about it! Small achievements are great ones here!
We’re also looking to take our football team to play in the national league. This means that we need to look for funding to register the team and players, get uniforms and secure a home ground. It’s a crazy ambitious project but Weldon seems to have got the dream in his head. I just hope that we can get the work done on time and find the sponsors to fund us. I’ve been writing funding proposals for the mobile phone operator (Safaricom) and other companies to see if they’ll fund us but we will have to wait and see.
From March 15th for 2weeks we will be having a work camp where some international volunteers and local people will be working to dig up the eucalyptus trees at the river and replace them with indigenous trees. This is because the eucalyptus takes up so much water leaving the river more of a stream for the many people who rely on it for their water. So that’s another part of my planning at the moment. We need to visit the river with the authorities, local chief’s and elders to make sure that the people understand what we are doing and don’t just decide on the first day of work to come and chase us away!
For those of you who have only been reading to see if I’ve solved the flea problem, the time is now. We treated the room about a week or so ago and everything was good. Even the bites from before were almost clearing up, well I was scratching less a least! Alas, the problem has returned. So we have cleared the room again, this time even removing the floor and putting down powder. So we will see if we’ve got them all this time. Though while the dogs are not treated I’m not sure we’ll succeed but it seems that pet care is not a key part of Kenyan life!
Maybe that’s enough storytelling for today. I’ll just finish by giving you my postal address should any of you wish to send me a letter. Just news about what you’re getting up to would be much appreciated; I think post out here is even more exciting than getting post at university!
Laura Griffin
PO Box 1081-20200
Kericho
Kenya
I’ll put up some more photos another day, should really get on with the long to-do list I’ve posted up on the office wall. No one else is paying any attention to it!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Hello again, before I tell you about what’s been going on I want to share a poem that was performed for me by a guy called William who is living with HIV. I met him on Wednesday at a project called ‘Live with Hope’ in Kericho that works with people who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. He is part of a support group that we went to visit because Piia and Sister Lucy are thinking of setting up their own here in Kiptere. He is also a poet himself and wants to become a performer and also get his poems published. He’s doing a distance learning journalism degree with Manchester University and is also a single father to 3 children. Anyway, we can only hope that his enthusiasm for poetry translates into real performances or publishing, must wait and see! Here is the poem.
ONCE UPON A TIME
by Gabriel Okara
Once upon a time, son,
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes:
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.
There was a time indeed
they used to shake hands with their hearts:
but that's gone, son.
Now they shake hands without hearts:
while their left hands search
my empty pockets.
`Feel at home´! `Come again´:
they say, and when I come
again and feel
at home, once, twice,
there will be no thricefor
then I find doors shut on me.
So I have learned many things, son.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses - homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface,
cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.
And I have learned too
to laugh with only me teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say,`Goodbye´,
when I mean `Good-riddance`:
to say `Glad to meet you´,
without being glad; and to say `It's been
nice talking to you, after being bored.
But believe me, son.
I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you. I want
to unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake's bare fangs!
So show me, son,
how to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
once upon a time when I was like you.
Friday 5/2/10: Today was the day for my first lessons in Eland school. I arrived there at around 11am to finish preparing and to also psych myself up for the unknown challenge ahead! I decided to teach the lower primary ‘I’m gonna jump up and down, I’m gonna spin round and round.’ (Google it if you don’t know it.) and also go through some of the songs they already know. I had from 2pm-3pm with them and when they arrived, all enthusiastic and shaking hands, I discovered that there were over 30 of them, aged from 3-8! Luckily I had 3 teachers with me too who were willing to join in my silly songs. It went very well and by the end I think even the smallest ones could follow the actions at least.
Then came the upper primary. I had planned to do some basic drama improvisation games and then get their expectations for the Easter play I’d been asked to do. They arrived and there were over 60 of them! I was stuck, my games could work for maybe up to 30 but there was no way I could really work with that many kids on my own. This time I didn’t even have a teacher along with me to help. We tried to do a couple of games but then (fortunately or unfortunately) it started to rain very heavily and we had to shelter in the shed. I tried to continue but it has an iron roof so it was really noisy and the kids couldn’t hear what I wanted them to do. So in the end I ended up just sitting and talking with some of them and answering their many questions about ‘my place’ (home, England). Really I was quite grateful for the rain, does that make me a bad volunteer? :-p
Spent the night in town and prepared to leave early for Kiptere in the morning for mobilisation and a board meeting.
Saturday 6/2/10: We arrived to then be told that we could not repeat any of the ideas from last week and had to come up with totally new things to replace the eating competition and 2 of the sketches. So I spent the morning with the boys frantically trying to get something organised and then we had a board meeting to discuss some of the funding we’ve received and how it’s being spent. Then Weldon left and I was to be responsible for the whole afternoon’s programme for mobilisation. Actually it went really well and I even took part in 1 of the dramas and also won the smiling competition (I am now titled ‘Miss Kiptere Smile’). The locals loved to see the Mzungu joining in and though I’m not sure if that was only because they were laughing at me, I don’t really care. If it gets them involved in the project I’ll be laughed at for a while if necessary (especially since I had to die and play dead for one of the dramas)
Sunday 7/2/10: I spent the day with the Sisters at St Frances. It was a really nice relaxing day and I was very glad of it. It’s really nice to be down at home and being part of the family but it’s also nice to get away for a while. I was able to teach them how to do some things on the laptops and also transfer files between old and new ones so that the old can be used in the school. Eventually I hope to be able to go down to St Clares school (run by Sister Imelda) to teach recorder to the choir master and some kids.
Monday 8/2/10 – Friday 12/2/10:
This week we’ve had some entrepreneurship training every morning. Well at least we’ve tried, most days the trainers have been late or not even shown up at all! Today is the final session and it’s almost 10am (we should start at 9am) but only 2 students have arrived and no sign of the trainer yet! Still an hour is not really late in Kenya, give it about 2 or 3 and people start to ask questions, so there’s plenty of time yet.
On Monday afternoon I was in St Frances girls secondary school again, this time we started around on time and Ken, one of our VCT Counsellors took the session on stigma and discrimination. It went really well and the girls were even properly interacting by the end instead of their usual blank faces. So it was a good day!
Wednesday, I’ve already said that Piia, Sister Lucy and I visited ‘Live with Hope’. We dropped Piia home because she had been very ill for a few days after drinking some infected milk. Weldon didn’t get sick at all, not surprisingly he’s probably very used to it. She’s a lot better now thankfully. We then had lunch at the ‘Tea Hotel’ in Kericho which was a real treat for me especially since I had meat to eat (and Lamb not Goat!). After lunch we went to the market to pick up a few fruits and vegetables and headed home. On the way Lucy suggested that I come home with her and have a cup of tea and a shower. It was hard to contain the excitement! I’d been staying in the village for over a week and it’s pretty much impossible to stay properly clean when showering from a bucket, especially washing your hair. So I would just like to announce that, Nuns Are Amazing! I know people told me this before but now I know it’s true. It looks like at least maybe on Sundays I’ll perhaps be able to have a shower after church. They even have hot water! Ok, a little too much excitement for one day…
On Thursday afternoon Weldon and I met with the youth centre in Kericho to discuss some Peer Youth Education training we’ll be holding from the 22nd. One thing I’ve noticed is that Kenyans like to dream. We’re sitting there in the meeting and the guys are thinking ahead to maybe 400 kids in school being trained as peer educators and even publishing our own curriculum etc, when we haven’t even planned a programme or chosen topics yet! So eventually I was able to pull them back to today and we now have a half decent programme for 4 months training and field visits to schools. Just hope that it actually happens and they don’t get some other crazy dream of some kind and start running with that instead of doing the training. Otherwise I know it’ll be down to me to organise the whole thing! So the plan is to try and keep their feet firmly on the ground and to do what is planned before jumping to something else. Fingers crossed!
So today I’m just waiting for the trainers/students to turn up and taking the chance to write the blog while I can. I can give an update on the biting insects for those interested. They are most definitely fleas from the 10 dogs we have at home and it is possibly starting to get a bit annoying now. At least I have last year’s experience to have prepared me for this but here I’m not sure there’s much of a solution. Weldon is supposed to be working on it, will update again soon. I have a bit of a cold but nothing to be concerned about. I think I will go to Kericho tomorrow to do some shopping for myself, fruit and some nice exciting things like that to keep in my room.
Hope you are all well and I hear there is snow again? Hope it’s not too cold, here on Wednesday it was 32°C….
ONCE UPON A TIME
by Gabriel Okara
Once upon a time, son,
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes:
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.
There was a time indeed
they used to shake hands with their hearts:
but that's gone, son.
Now they shake hands without hearts:
while their left hands search
my empty pockets.
`Feel at home´! `Come again´:
they say, and when I come
again and feel
at home, once, twice,
there will be no thricefor
then I find doors shut on me.
So I have learned many things, son.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses - homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface,
cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.
And I have learned too
to laugh with only me teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say,`Goodbye´,
when I mean `Good-riddance`:
to say `Glad to meet you´,
without being glad; and to say `It's been
nice talking to you, after being bored.
But believe me, son.
I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you. I want
to unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake's bare fangs!
So show me, son,
how to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
once upon a time when I was like you.
Friday 5/2/10: Today was the day for my first lessons in Eland school. I arrived there at around 11am to finish preparing and to also psych myself up for the unknown challenge ahead! I decided to teach the lower primary ‘I’m gonna jump up and down, I’m gonna spin round and round.’ (Google it if you don’t know it.) and also go through some of the songs they already know. I had from 2pm-3pm with them and when they arrived, all enthusiastic and shaking hands, I discovered that there were over 30 of them, aged from 3-8! Luckily I had 3 teachers with me too who were willing to join in my silly songs. It went very well and by the end I think even the smallest ones could follow the actions at least.
Then came the upper primary. I had planned to do some basic drama improvisation games and then get their expectations for the Easter play I’d been asked to do. They arrived and there were over 60 of them! I was stuck, my games could work for maybe up to 30 but there was no way I could really work with that many kids on my own. This time I didn’t even have a teacher along with me to help. We tried to do a couple of games but then (fortunately or unfortunately) it started to rain very heavily and we had to shelter in the shed. I tried to continue but it has an iron roof so it was really noisy and the kids couldn’t hear what I wanted them to do. So in the end I ended up just sitting and talking with some of them and answering their many questions about ‘my place’ (home, England). Really I was quite grateful for the rain, does that make me a bad volunteer? :-p
Spent the night in town and prepared to leave early for Kiptere in the morning for mobilisation and a board meeting.
Saturday 6/2/10: We arrived to then be told that we could not repeat any of the ideas from last week and had to come up with totally new things to replace the eating competition and 2 of the sketches. So I spent the morning with the boys frantically trying to get something organised and then we had a board meeting to discuss some of the funding we’ve received and how it’s being spent. Then Weldon left and I was to be responsible for the whole afternoon’s programme for mobilisation. Actually it went really well and I even took part in 1 of the dramas and also won the smiling competition (I am now titled ‘Miss Kiptere Smile’). The locals loved to see the Mzungu joining in and though I’m not sure if that was only because they were laughing at me, I don’t really care. If it gets them involved in the project I’ll be laughed at for a while if necessary (especially since I had to die and play dead for one of the dramas)
Sunday 7/2/10: I spent the day with the Sisters at St Frances. It was a really nice relaxing day and I was very glad of it. It’s really nice to be down at home and being part of the family but it’s also nice to get away for a while. I was able to teach them how to do some things on the laptops and also transfer files between old and new ones so that the old can be used in the school. Eventually I hope to be able to go down to St Clares school (run by Sister Imelda) to teach recorder to the choir master and some kids.
Monday 8/2/10 – Friday 12/2/10:
This week we’ve had some entrepreneurship training every morning. Well at least we’ve tried, most days the trainers have been late or not even shown up at all! Today is the final session and it’s almost 10am (we should start at 9am) but only 2 students have arrived and no sign of the trainer yet! Still an hour is not really late in Kenya, give it about 2 or 3 and people start to ask questions, so there’s plenty of time yet.
On Monday afternoon I was in St Frances girls secondary school again, this time we started around on time and Ken, one of our VCT Counsellors took the session on stigma and discrimination. It went really well and the girls were even properly interacting by the end instead of their usual blank faces. So it was a good day!
Wednesday, I’ve already said that Piia, Sister Lucy and I visited ‘Live with Hope’. We dropped Piia home because she had been very ill for a few days after drinking some infected milk. Weldon didn’t get sick at all, not surprisingly he’s probably very used to it. She’s a lot better now thankfully. We then had lunch at the ‘Tea Hotel’ in Kericho which was a real treat for me especially since I had meat to eat (and Lamb not Goat!). After lunch we went to the market to pick up a few fruits and vegetables and headed home. On the way Lucy suggested that I come home with her and have a cup of tea and a shower. It was hard to contain the excitement! I’d been staying in the village for over a week and it’s pretty much impossible to stay properly clean when showering from a bucket, especially washing your hair. So I would just like to announce that, Nuns Are Amazing! I know people told me this before but now I know it’s true. It looks like at least maybe on Sundays I’ll perhaps be able to have a shower after church. They even have hot water! Ok, a little too much excitement for one day…
On Thursday afternoon Weldon and I met with the youth centre in Kericho to discuss some Peer Youth Education training we’ll be holding from the 22nd. One thing I’ve noticed is that Kenyans like to dream. We’re sitting there in the meeting and the guys are thinking ahead to maybe 400 kids in school being trained as peer educators and even publishing our own curriculum etc, when we haven’t even planned a programme or chosen topics yet! So eventually I was able to pull them back to today and we now have a half decent programme for 4 months training and field visits to schools. Just hope that it actually happens and they don’t get some other crazy dream of some kind and start running with that instead of doing the training. Otherwise I know it’ll be down to me to organise the whole thing! So the plan is to try and keep their feet firmly on the ground and to do what is planned before jumping to something else. Fingers crossed!
So today I’m just waiting for the trainers/students to turn up and taking the chance to write the blog while I can. I can give an update on the biting insects for those interested. They are most definitely fleas from the 10 dogs we have at home and it is possibly starting to get a bit annoying now. At least I have last year’s experience to have prepared me for this but here I’m not sure there’s much of a solution. Weldon is supposed to be working on it, will update again soon. I have a bit of a cold but nothing to be concerned about. I think I will go to Kericho tomorrow to do some shopping for myself, fruit and some nice exciting things like that to keep in my room.
Hope you are all well and I hear there is snow again? Hope it’s not too cold, here on Wednesday it was 32°C….
Monday, February 08, 2010
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Hello everyone, greetings from Kenya.
I really appreciate your comments both on here and on Facebook, it’s nice to hear what you’re getting up to as well! (Small plug for an excellent blog here by a very wonderful lady - www.justkissmyfrog.wordpress.com)
I am currently typing from the COWART office in Kiptere, where they have power, for the moment anyway! Around the corner of the office door 3 small children keep peering at me and grinning. Once again the Mzungu celebrity status returns!
So I will give another little run through of what I’ve been getting up to, it’s unlikely that I’ll keep this up over the weeks but maybe I’ll try! It’d be nice to leave Kenya with a written reminder of my ICYE year but I’m perhaps not that dedicated. I’d also like to get back to doing some creative writing (Kathy you make me feel guilty for not writing anything, especially when your blog is so great!)
Wednesday 27/1/10: The mobilisation meeting did not go so well. Unfortunately the guys don’t really understand my English and so it had to be translated. I tried to play some improvisation drama games to get them motivated but even Fortunately/Unfortunately (Fortunately there were 12 guys working digging drainage/unfortunately only 6 of them were actually doing anything etc etc…) didn’t work. But I live and learn, next week it will be better!
Thursday 28/1/10: Today I arrived at the Kiptere office to find no one here, at 10am I left to go to the town office to wait for Weldon to come and get some work done. I did some research on street theatre techniques but there is very little online, so if anyone has any good ideas they are very much welcome! I also made a start on writing an Easter play for Eland school but without meeting the kids I don’t know what they are capable of doing in English so I will have to wait and see. Weldon had gone back to Kiptere to pay our ‘cash for work’ guys and said he would return to show me the way back to the town house. In Kenyan fashion, the plan fell through and I had to take a Boda-Boda (A motorbike taxi), the guy’s name is Minister and he drives like a crazy thing! I would feel a little more comfortable if he watched the road a bit more but he is definitely a skilful driver since he can negotiate the ‘interesting’ road surfaces around here. We arrived home and he had decided that the price was 100ks, I knew for a fact it was double what it should be but for this once I couldn’t be bothered bargaining and I let him off. Next time I will only pay 50ks! Staying in the town house means that I can get a real shower (even if it is cold) and maybe watch a DVD, so it’s actually quite a luxury!
Friday 29/1/10: Today was my day for stupid things!
First we were walking into town to go back to the village and we have to go down a valley, cross a river and up the other side to get to town. It involves jumping some very muddy gaps in the track… the final one of which I managed to slip and fall into! The mud covered basically my whole left side splattered up to the shoulder! Well, I say mud, use your imagination here, it’s not quite just mud. So you can guess that I was not too impressed, the Kenyans however found it hilarious!
One positive thing of the trip in town is that I have managed to get a new mosquito net (minus huge holes!) so hopefully I will get bitten less now. Mostly I think it’s bites from whatever interesting creatures our 10 dogs are carrying and not mosquitoes so I guess that’s a bonus on the avoiding malaria side of things but not so pleasant either. Probably no one wants to know about my bites but there you go, I can’t help it if every biting insect thinks I taste good!
Then we were walking up the other side and I discovered that an opportune thief must have spied the matatu fare that I was keeping in my back pocket. It must have appeared after the slip. So it rapidly disappeared! It was my own stupid mistake and luckily it was only 100ks which is around £1 so other than being annoyed at my second stupidity it was no real tragedy. I was due to start teaching the music and drama today but because we had some visitors from USAID and Mercy Corps (the sponsors of out Cash for Work project) I will have to start in the school next Friday.
Saturday 30/1/10: Mobilisation Day! I arrived at 12pm to discover that the boys had been dancing since 10am and they were doing a very good job of attracting attention. The only problem was that we had gained some members; we can only pay 10 people for the day but had ended up with 16! In the afternoon we did some short skits and competitions. Our VCT counsellors tested over 40 people and then ran out of test kits! So I would say that it was a very good day! I didn’t get home until after 7pm so was very tired.
Sunday 31/1/10: Today I had to be up at 6am to get ready to be picked up by the main road, Sister Lucy came by in her car to take me down to mass. Which starts at 7am! We got to the church just in time for a cup of tea. It was a really nice mass, the words were in English but the singing in Kiswahili. It is attended by the 2 local schools and there was a lot of dancing whilst they were singing. I got to meet Sister Imelda who is one of the other nuns here and also the head teacher of a primary school she has set up here. After mass Sister Lucy introduced me to some of the congregation and to the priest. She proudly stated ‘This is Laura, she’s a Catholic from England who’s here for a year.’ I think she’s just a little pleased that I have come. So much for a break from church things hey! We then had breakfast and she drove me back to the track where I walk home. Then at about 11am Memo said that it was time to go to her church, it is very close to the house in Kesainet primary school. I arrived to be stared at as usual, (you get used to it) and then near to the end of the service (which was all in Kalenjin) I was asked to come to the front and introduce myself. Really this means preach but I had been warned and so only just went to tell them who I was and what I’m doing here in Kenya. The rest of the day was a restful one thankfully but sadly I have now finished ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’, if you get the chance to read it I thoroughly recommend it! I think that I will even read it again fairly soon. I’ve moved onto ‘Into the Wild’ (also very good with a film of the book for those who don’t like reading!).
Monday 1/2/10: Today I lead the COWART club in St Frances Girls School on myths and facts of HIV. However the session could only last 15mins because the school were prepared late and I had to head into Kericho town as soon after 5 as possible. I think it went pretty well for the time we had. Memo and my brother Kimutai came to stay in Kericho as a treat before they go off to boarding school this week. The four of us (Piia, Me, Memo and Kimutai) played a game of scrabble in the evening. We played in English and I lost spectacularly only achieving about 65 points while the others all scored over 100! Losing to a Finn and two Kenyans who’ve not even started secondary school is a little embarrassing but I can cope, especially since I seem to lose every game we play here!
Tuesday 2/2/10: Today we were supposed to be working on proposals and plans for our work in Kiptere but Weldon had to go into town to get paint for the ‘Cash for Work’ boys who had randomly decided to work today instead of Wednesday. So when he arrived back at the house we took Memo and Kimutai to the matatu to go back to the village and we then went to visit Kericho Youth Centre. They have a new manager and outreach coordinator so we went to discuss what work we will be doing together. The meeting went well and I think we have managed to organise some Peer Educator training for later this month. Back at home after making some tea Weldon and I worked on the documents we should have done in the morning and mostly we have now finished them which is good. It’s really nice to achieve something concrete, makes me feel like I’m actually doing something useful!
Wednesday 3/2/10: I managed to get a lift back to the village with Sister Lucy and arrived at around 2:30pm. I had organised to assemble my 10 mobilisers for Saturday and to plan some kind of programme for the afternoon. This week we are only doing skits and dancing from 3-5pm since we have a board meeting in the morning. The meeting actually went really well this week, (well compared to last week anyway!) We now have some kind of plan of what is going to happen and will meet again tomorrow to rehearse some of the skits. (Again any ideas always welcome!) When I got home at 6pm my other sister (Chelangat) was just starting to wash up the lunch things so I joined in to help. Everyone seemed very surprised that I had not even rested after walking from Kiptere but I just wanted to join in on family activities and be useful so it seemed only natural to help! Later Memo and I were to peel the potatoes for dinner and there was equal surprise that I knew how to peel. I do quite enjoy creating these surprises, that I know how to wash clothes, wash dishes, peel potatoes etc. It makes up for the many things that I don’t know how to do! Still not had another chance at milking the cow but on the plus side I have been taught how to pluck tea, even if I am incredibly slow at it!
Thursday 4/2/10: It’s now the day after I started writing this very long blog, I hope you don’t mind reading about my days. If you’re getting bored then tell me!
This morning it rained!!!
Excitement everywhere in the village because it has been dry for almost a month. Later I will work with the mobilisers and tomorrow I will go to Eland School to start the lessons (if everything goes to plan this week!)
Things are still going well and I even have acquired a slight tan, well really I’m just ever so slightly less white than I was when I arrived. Not been sun burnt yet so that’s a bonus too!
Now I want to know some news from those of you with enough time on your hands to read my ramblings! Some sarcastic comments are also very welcome, there is none of that here and I’m starting to miss it! Also there are no hugs here, only shake hands at every opportunity. I think when I get home I will not remember that hugs are part of daily life with you guys but I will go around just shaking everyone’s hands!
I really appreciate your comments both on here and on Facebook, it’s nice to hear what you’re getting up to as well! (Small plug for an excellent blog here by a very wonderful lady - www.justkissmyfrog.wordpress.com)
I am currently typing from the COWART office in Kiptere, where they have power, for the moment anyway! Around the corner of the office door 3 small children keep peering at me and grinning. Once again the Mzungu celebrity status returns!
So I will give another little run through of what I’ve been getting up to, it’s unlikely that I’ll keep this up over the weeks but maybe I’ll try! It’d be nice to leave Kenya with a written reminder of my ICYE year but I’m perhaps not that dedicated. I’d also like to get back to doing some creative writing (Kathy you make me feel guilty for not writing anything, especially when your blog is so great!)
Wednesday 27/1/10: The mobilisation meeting did not go so well. Unfortunately the guys don’t really understand my English and so it had to be translated. I tried to play some improvisation drama games to get them motivated but even Fortunately/Unfortunately (Fortunately there were 12 guys working digging drainage/unfortunately only 6 of them were actually doing anything etc etc…) didn’t work. But I live and learn, next week it will be better!
Thursday 28/1/10: Today I arrived at the Kiptere office to find no one here, at 10am I left to go to the town office to wait for Weldon to come and get some work done. I did some research on street theatre techniques but there is very little online, so if anyone has any good ideas they are very much welcome! I also made a start on writing an Easter play for Eland school but without meeting the kids I don’t know what they are capable of doing in English so I will have to wait and see. Weldon had gone back to Kiptere to pay our ‘cash for work’ guys and said he would return to show me the way back to the town house. In Kenyan fashion, the plan fell through and I had to take a Boda-Boda (A motorbike taxi), the guy’s name is Minister and he drives like a crazy thing! I would feel a little more comfortable if he watched the road a bit more but he is definitely a skilful driver since he can negotiate the ‘interesting’ road surfaces around here. We arrived home and he had decided that the price was 100ks, I knew for a fact it was double what it should be but for this once I couldn’t be bothered bargaining and I let him off. Next time I will only pay 50ks! Staying in the town house means that I can get a real shower (even if it is cold) and maybe watch a DVD, so it’s actually quite a luxury!
Friday 29/1/10: Today was my day for stupid things!
First we were walking into town to go back to the village and we have to go down a valley, cross a river and up the other side to get to town. It involves jumping some very muddy gaps in the track… the final one of which I managed to slip and fall into! The mud covered basically my whole left side splattered up to the shoulder! Well, I say mud, use your imagination here, it’s not quite just mud. So you can guess that I was not too impressed, the Kenyans however found it hilarious!
One positive thing of the trip in town is that I have managed to get a new mosquito net (minus huge holes!) so hopefully I will get bitten less now. Mostly I think it’s bites from whatever interesting creatures our 10 dogs are carrying and not mosquitoes so I guess that’s a bonus on the avoiding malaria side of things but not so pleasant either. Probably no one wants to know about my bites but there you go, I can’t help it if every biting insect thinks I taste good!
Then we were walking up the other side and I discovered that an opportune thief must have spied the matatu fare that I was keeping in my back pocket. It must have appeared after the slip. So it rapidly disappeared! It was my own stupid mistake and luckily it was only 100ks which is around £1 so other than being annoyed at my second stupidity it was no real tragedy. I was due to start teaching the music and drama today but because we had some visitors from USAID and Mercy Corps (the sponsors of out Cash for Work project) I will have to start in the school next Friday.
Saturday 30/1/10: Mobilisation Day! I arrived at 12pm to discover that the boys had been dancing since 10am and they were doing a very good job of attracting attention. The only problem was that we had gained some members; we can only pay 10 people for the day but had ended up with 16! In the afternoon we did some short skits and competitions. Our VCT counsellors tested over 40 people and then ran out of test kits! So I would say that it was a very good day! I didn’t get home until after 7pm so was very tired.
Sunday 31/1/10: Today I had to be up at 6am to get ready to be picked up by the main road, Sister Lucy came by in her car to take me down to mass. Which starts at 7am! We got to the church just in time for a cup of tea. It was a really nice mass, the words were in English but the singing in Kiswahili. It is attended by the 2 local schools and there was a lot of dancing whilst they were singing. I got to meet Sister Imelda who is one of the other nuns here and also the head teacher of a primary school she has set up here. After mass Sister Lucy introduced me to some of the congregation and to the priest. She proudly stated ‘This is Laura, she’s a Catholic from England who’s here for a year.’ I think she’s just a little pleased that I have come. So much for a break from church things hey! We then had breakfast and she drove me back to the track where I walk home. Then at about 11am Memo said that it was time to go to her church, it is very close to the house in Kesainet primary school. I arrived to be stared at as usual, (you get used to it) and then near to the end of the service (which was all in Kalenjin) I was asked to come to the front and introduce myself. Really this means preach but I had been warned and so only just went to tell them who I was and what I’m doing here in Kenya. The rest of the day was a restful one thankfully but sadly I have now finished ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’, if you get the chance to read it I thoroughly recommend it! I think that I will even read it again fairly soon. I’ve moved onto ‘Into the Wild’ (also very good with a film of the book for those who don’t like reading!).
Monday 1/2/10: Today I lead the COWART club in St Frances Girls School on myths and facts of HIV. However the session could only last 15mins because the school were prepared late and I had to head into Kericho town as soon after 5 as possible. I think it went pretty well for the time we had. Memo and my brother Kimutai came to stay in Kericho as a treat before they go off to boarding school this week. The four of us (Piia, Me, Memo and Kimutai) played a game of scrabble in the evening. We played in English and I lost spectacularly only achieving about 65 points while the others all scored over 100! Losing to a Finn and two Kenyans who’ve not even started secondary school is a little embarrassing but I can cope, especially since I seem to lose every game we play here!
Tuesday 2/2/10: Today we were supposed to be working on proposals and plans for our work in Kiptere but Weldon had to go into town to get paint for the ‘Cash for Work’ boys who had randomly decided to work today instead of Wednesday. So when he arrived back at the house we took Memo and Kimutai to the matatu to go back to the village and we then went to visit Kericho Youth Centre. They have a new manager and outreach coordinator so we went to discuss what work we will be doing together. The meeting went well and I think we have managed to organise some Peer Educator training for later this month. Back at home after making some tea Weldon and I worked on the documents we should have done in the morning and mostly we have now finished them which is good. It’s really nice to achieve something concrete, makes me feel like I’m actually doing something useful!
Wednesday 3/2/10: I managed to get a lift back to the village with Sister Lucy and arrived at around 2:30pm. I had organised to assemble my 10 mobilisers for Saturday and to plan some kind of programme for the afternoon. This week we are only doing skits and dancing from 3-5pm since we have a board meeting in the morning. The meeting actually went really well this week, (well compared to last week anyway!) We now have some kind of plan of what is going to happen and will meet again tomorrow to rehearse some of the skits. (Again any ideas always welcome!) When I got home at 6pm my other sister (Chelangat) was just starting to wash up the lunch things so I joined in to help. Everyone seemed very surprised that I had not even rested after walking from Kiptere but I just wanted to join in on family activities and be useful so it seemed only natural to help! Later Memo and I were to peel the potatoes for dinner and there was equal surprise that I knew how to peel. I do quite enjoy creating these surprises, that I know how to wash clothes, wash dishes, peel potatoes etc. It makes up for the many things that I don’t know how to do! Still not had another chance at milking the cow but on the plus side I have been taught how to pluck tea, even if I am incredibly slow at it!
Thursday 4/2/10: It’s now the day after I started writing this very long blog, I hope you don’t mind reading about my days. If you’re getting bored then tell me!
This morning it rained!!!
Excitement everywhere in the village because it has been dry for almost a month. Later I will work with the mobilisers and tomorrow I will go to Eland School to start the lessons (if everything goes to plan this week!)
Things are still going well and I even have acquired a slight tan, well really I’m just ever so slightly less white than I was when I arrived. Not been sun burnt yet so that’s a bonus too!
Now I want to know some news from those of you with enough time on your hands to read my ramblings! Some sarcastic comments are also very welcome, there is none of that here and I’m starting to miss it! Also there are no hugs here, only shake hands at every opportunity. I think when I get home I will not remember that hugs are part of daily life with you guys but I will go around just shaking everyone’s hands!
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