April 2007

April 2007

I can hardly believe it is April. Time is moving very fast in general, although some days and weeks drag on forever. We are now more than several weeks without water in Mariakani. All the rumors about it being turned off to build a good supply in Mombasa for the marathon were not correct. The marathon was a week ago and we still have no water. So, we are back to telling ourselves the road workers have broken another main line and the District hasn’t gotten around to fixing it yet. Although, this does not seem logical to me since 2 times during the past weeks, the water came on for one half hour. Whatever the reason, we are still hauling water great distances and the price of a 20 litre geri-can has escalated to 100 shillings.

One of the savings mechanisms in Kenya is called a Merry Go Round. They do not have traditional savings and loans. Normal bank fees are around 300 shillings a month just to have the account so are prohibitive for most people. They also charge extra for every transaction. It costs me 200 shillings just to cash a check. The micro-finance institutions here serve a valuable purpose to guarantee loans to individuals based on a group co-signing for a loan. Unfortunately, you must buy shares in the institution, pay monthly service fees and you cannot withdraw the savings without huge penalties since they are part of the group’s collateral. A merry go round is a social group with a purpose of saving money a no cost. The groups meet weekly or on a regular schedule, are usually single gender, and each member contributes the same set amount every time they meet. The amount of money they contribute is as low as 10 or 20 shillings a week, like the group of prostitutes at the weighbridge I am working with, or it can be as high as 5,000 shillings for successful business people. In a traditional Merry Go Round, the meeting is held at the home of that meeting’s recipient for the money. At the start of the each merry go round period, members draw numbers to find out what order they will receive that meeting’s collections. Some merry go rounds are just to help women save to buy household furnishings or pay school fees. My host stay mother in Kitui belonged to such a group. The business women use their cash to re-invest in their businesses. The beauty is that there are no fees and although your money is not earning any interest, it is a fast way to save without being tempted to spend what you can stash away yourself. The merry go round name is taken, of course, from the visiting around to each person’s home and socializing over chai and biscuits (really just vanilla wafer like cookies). In some groups, the refreshments are a little more extravagant, but then the members usually take up a small collection to help defray the cost. In women's groups, socializing goes on for a couple of hours or more. I have joined a merry go round myself and am looking forward to next week’s meeting when we will draw numbers. Most members always know in advance what they are going to spend their money on. I am still thinking about it. But, it will be important to have it figured out since there is testimony time at the meeting and speeches about how the money will be used. It is a good time to bond with other women, laugh and share our lives.

My other good news is that my main project is really picking up motion. The renovation is complete on the work space, the machines and equipment are being installed this week and we have hired our production manager and 25 women and older youth to start work in late April! My weighbridge side project is moving along as well. We have identified a space to rent, are looking at having the start of equipment and costs covered by a donor and the group has saved in their merry go round 8,000 shillings to buy inventory. They still need about 8,000 more to stock the store and pay the workers for the first month, but we should be up and operational by the end of May. A local successful grocery store owner has offered to train our workers and teach them how to purchase, display, keep the books, etc. She is even going to help us transport our veggies from Mombasa until we can afford transport on our own.

By the end of June I will have been helpful in creating jobs for about 30 people. A small dent in a community with a 65% unemployment rate, but a good start! I have also worked on creating a business plan and set of pro formas for a textile factory in Mlolongo. It is right outside of Nairobi and would be an expansion of an existing small business. If it takes off, Kinanda will increase its workforce over the next year from 15 to 150. Our target labor market is a very large group of prostitutes working in the Mlolongo weighbridge area. Be praying our grant proposal to the Bill Gates Foundation is approved!

A quick thanks to David Roth and Bill Chenevert, budget gurus at my old job. Over the years they have taught me enough to survive in creating good budget worksheets, pro formas and proposals! I would be way behind the curve here in Mariaknai without their good tutelage during my work time with them.

I have taken a special interest in helping our OVC cluster leadership (Orphans and Vulnerable Youth) find a new path to becoming more self sustaining in keeping their nutrition programs going. For some of our orphans, ages 2 to 9, their only real meal of the day is a cup of porridge made from maize flour (unga) which the pre-schools try and supply through grant money or local donations. The schools are all run by local churches and have no regular funding for the teachers or the nutrition programs. I met a couple of the teachers at two of the schools and they rely on handouts as their paycheck. Last month, one teacher only received 300 shillings. That is less than 5 dollars. He is supporting himself and a family of three. Now that is volunteerism in action. My side project with them will be initiating a commercial farm for the sale of veggies and use the profits to underwrite the nutrition programs. If successful, we could also employ about 5 older youth to run the farm. It is just an idea at this time in discussion with the leadership team. We need to identify donated land, training money for the youth and more structure to the plan before proceeding.....

At one school, they service 400 students a day and the children have to eat their porridge in shifts because they have only 200 cups. Some children bring a plastic wash bowl from home and several children will scoop the porridge out together. I have tried very hard not to become a donor since everyone asks for money and stuff all the time, but I had to go out and purchase more cups for them. It broke my heart to see them. A cup costs as little as 8 shillings a piece. The schools are pre-dominantly mud and stick structures with benches if they are fortunate, no floors and having a blackboard board is a bonus. The children are taught their numbers, alphabet, some English, and reading skills before they go to primary school. Primary school is free but the poorer children do not have the social advantages of the small middle class, so these early childhood development centers help prepare the students to succeed in primary school. The government here is proposing to offer free secondary schools sometime in 2008. Right now, after 8th grade, if you can’t pay, you can’t go.

I have found one aspect of primary schools here very disturbing. Corporeal punishment is a way of life. I live very close to two schools and almost daily I witness children being hit with sticks in the yard or at classroom doors for being late to class, laughing or doing something childish. It breaks my heart to see these small children abused, but it is one thing the Peace Corps has been clear about. You can educate teachers in private when opportunity presents, but never open confrontation. …bad results for everyone if you push too hard.

I had the privilege to participate in an HIV/AIDS Awareness Day last Saturday. Our Youth Cluster Leadership and Magnet Theater Group educated, entertained and fed over 4,000 youth ages 7 – 24 a meal of pilau (a rice dish). It was wonderful. We had 119 people tested for HIV, had a blood drive that collected 70 pints and many games and sports events for the youth to participate in. Of course, we had many tables set up with educational materials and had trained youth counselors from our group doing peer education throughout the day on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. The event started with a big parade (big in terms of Mariakani) to the open field by the Mariakani Secondary School at 10AM and lasted until after dark that night. One impressive group that performed was 8 area youth who have formed an acrobat team. They were wonderful considering they are self trained. I will post some pictures on the web and send out the link.

I have had two giant lizard engagements since I have been walking around town. The first one frightened about two years off my life since I stumbled across it on a very narrow path bordered by two deep ditches and tall grass. I had no where to jump. The rule with the giant lizards is to not act like you are chasing them, since then they will chase you. Apparently I startled him as much as he startled me, and he took off for the ditch after a few seconds of eye contact. My next engagement was in a different part of town and this one just stared me down and I backed off and took another path. I walked for quite a ways with my head shifting around repeatedly to make sure it was not following me. They can move faster than me and it would not be a very fair foot race.

Everyone always asks for a weather update – it is hot and hotter. We reach the high 90’s and low 100’s most days with a very high humidity rate. I have learned to sleep without air conditioning, but need to sleep under a wet leso to keep cool. The rains should come in another 4 weeks and cool us off for a while. It signals the start of our fall, temps should drop into the low 90’s and high 80’s and then we hit winter in June or July. Temps stay the same as the fall, but the humidity lowers considerably. Not very clear, and neither is anyone else, if we are entering the long or the short rains. The rain here is not as much as they get up country so it may be there is no discernable difference here in the short or long rains.

I have had some fine friends send me major supplies of single serve Kool Aid and Crystal Light packets. They have been a life saver to me as I try and force as many liquids as possible everyday. Dehydration is my enemy and I have gotten a little weak and puny a few days when I forget to drink, drink, drink. The flavored drinks really help me to push one more bottle down.

I send my love and best wishes to all of you. I leave for the States for a quick 5 days on the ground to hug my sons, daughters-in-law and my new grandbaby. I am so psyched!

Kwaheri!

Patty G.