January 2007

Greetings from Mariakani, Kenya!

January, 2007

I have finally started work in Mariakani. I arrived right before Christmas and have been diligently working on modifications to the business plan. I have managed to get in some shopping in Mombasa for a few things for my new home. Unfortunately, I am still not in my home. I was hoping to be in it by New Year’s ay and now I am hoping for this weekend………I have seen the apartment a couple of times and have a short list of things I need to do once I get into it. I want to paint the concrete floors and fix the screens on the windows to keep out bugs and stuff! My neighbors all seem friendly and there is a convenient area to buy food. I ordered a table to be built to put my two burner gas stove and water purifier on. It cost about 20 USDs and if it turns out okay I will ask the woodworker to make me another one. Two of the new families have offered to loan me a bed frame and a kitchen table. One is insisting on buying me a small set of dishes. People are very kind here.

Wildlife in Mariakani is somewhat different from Kitui and the area has many more bugs and flying insects. The mosquitoes come in all sizes, from as big as small flies to almost microscopic. Thank God for repellent and mosquito nets. Even with these luxuries, I am still managing to get a couple of new bites a day. The cockroaches also come in the small and giant size and with continual diligence; I am able to keep them at bay. We do have bats, but most of the night songs here are by the toads and frogs and crickets. Of course, the local dance hall/saloon, not far from my hotel, adds to the musical overtures of the night and into the morning hours.

I have introduced the home cooking of popcorn on jikos and everyone has been amazed at how inexpensive it is to cook your own. Unfortunately, Mariakani has no market other than the small dukas or outdoor stands selling fresh vegetables. Popcorn kernels must be bought at the Nakumatt in Mombasa, the Kenya version of Wal-Mart or Kmart.

I have begun searching for my tutor for Kiswahili so can pass the language proficiency exam in April. The PC will pay for a tutor 4 hours per week, whether you pass or not. I plan to take full advantage of this opportunity since Kiswahili is a requirement for being effective in my job.

The really good news is that my NGO is willing to pay half the cost to have me hooked up to the internet. Since they are in Nairobi and I am in Mariakani, email is the most efficient way for us to pass documents and information back and forth. I will be hooked up to wireless through one of the phone companies here. My half will stretch my budget a little, but it will be so worth it to sit in my home and be able to stay in touch with family and friends and to surf the web for news of home.

I have visited 3 churches so far and will try the Catholic Church this Sunday. I am praying I find a church home where I can be comfortable in worship and get involved in the work of the church. I met an elder at the Miracle Church this last Sunday and he is working with a group of people in the area by the weigh station to start a daycare so that when the sewing factory is hiring, the women will have a safe place for their small children. He stopped by today to ask for 2.5 KSH, which is about 36K in USDs. I think he thought I had it in my pocket to give him………

I helped him understand the group needs to establish some costs to erect the building and develop a budget for its on-going maintenance. These figures are needed before they submit their proposal for funding. He had not thought about how they would pay other expenses like teachers, utilities or what the real cost of construction would be. The group had not even considered how many children are in the weigh station area that could benefit from the daycare. He was very open and excited about planning and promised to come e me next week to review what his group has put together. I think I will have to help them research where they can get funding as well. I am sure there is no room in my budget, but if the women do not have child care, it is not likely they will be able to show up to work consistently.

The generosity of local families towards the needy is inspiring. At the hotel where I am staying, the owner has given shelter to a woman and her 3 children while she convalesced from an illness. She is a single Mom that was stranded in Mariakani by a husband who ran off with a European. She got very ill, almost died, and had no means of paying for health care or feeding her children. She has been on the mend and has started working at the hotel. For Christmas, the owner’s daughter, who runs a successful hair salon, bought each of the children a new outfit to wear. They were squealing with excitement.

I will close by telling you how much I enjoy your emails, letters and packages. The snail mail and packages take forever to get here, but that does not limit my excitement (yes, practically squeal like the children) when I receive them. Your kind words and support motivates me to keep hanging in there despite my homesickness and the “expansion of my personal comfort zone.”

At the Posta in Mombasa, I learned I can be fined 5,000KSH if the customs label is not accurate. So much for the advice from the PC about labeling everything books! The good news is that you can just put books and miscellaneous items. As long as the contents do not have re-sale value, I do not have to pay custom fees. All I have been sent so far has been determined to have no monetary value!

My love and prayers go out to each of you in this New Year.


Patty