There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there's only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness. If you make up your mind not to be happy there's no reason why you shouldn't have a fairly good time.
- Edith Wharton
Interestingly, this month I have had the opportunity to have some philosophical conversation with other PCs in Kenya. About 15 of us had to show up in Nairobi for mid-term physicals. Happiness, loneliness, isolation were frequent topics. It seems my adventure in Kenya has been a long lesson in practicing reliance on God, grabbing joy from within myself and combating loneliness through constant outreach efforts. I feel fortunate to have developed some friendships here. I was in Nairobi for 7 days and each day one of my friends in Mariakani sent me an SMS to say they missed me, wanted to know I was okay and to check when I was coming back. Sweet.
Even the Village Chief, who has a very busy schedule, took time to contact me. Each day she (yes a woman chief!) sees between 80 – 120 people and works at resolving disputes in the community before they end up in litigation or violence. She has a couple of assistant chiefs in the sub-district who also handle many complaints each day. I have helped her with the little orphanage that she runs. She has about 10 young children and 6 older teenage girls who live on her compound. She is building more housing and trying to start an early childhood development school (daycare or more akin to a HeadStart program). Together we have gotten some beds made for the girls to sleep on and some uniforms for them to wear to school. The vegetables she planted with seeds sent by one of my friends are still yielding crops. The turnips are ready!
I am blessed with good friends in America as well. Several people have sent me things to ward off the mosquitoes. One friend sent this nifty little plug in thing that warms up and sends out something into the air. It pretty well keeps the mosquitoes at bay in the evening. Someone else sent me a pump action bottle of Cutter with lemon and eucalyptus in it. And, even my sister sent me some Off Wipes I can carry in my back pack for the unexpected need that frequently occurs. Beware mosquitoes; I am armed and dangerous!
We had our dedication at the factory last month and it went beautifully. The Ambassador came and we had lots of media people there. Unfortunately, with the elections so close, the Ambassador chose to focus most of his interviews on that process rather than promoting LifeWorks. We trained about 6 of our employees to be tour guides and hostesses. They had such a good time dressing up and interacting with the 50 dignitaries who showed up and the other 100 people who came to help us celebrate. KTN TV is coming back later this month to video us for a news segment they do each week on the fight against AIDS.
We have just received a second Peace Corps volunteer at my site and she is a young woman with good marketing experience. Heather is going to focus on implementation of our marketing strategy and East African sales. Our goal is to have $150,000 in revenue next year and 120 plus employees. We are currently at 45. Additionally, I am hoping to help the Youth Cluster start a business. I will be networking with my NGO to see if we can get some funding to start a silk screening business. Then, they can supply the LifeWorks factory with our own khanga designs. The big manufacturers of khangas want us to order in quantities of 10,000 meters, which is way too much for us. So, if we can help the Youth, we help ourselves. We also hired a full-time account with good experience so I no longer wear that hat. I am very grateful.
I have begun teaching a monthly computer classes. I am teaching students at the Poly Tech to understand the value of the internet in their lives and how to actually use the internet. We are getting a cyber café in Mariakani, so they will have opportunity to use the internet soon. What a giant leap forward for Mariakani. Even better, the cyber café that is opening is going to be carrying ice cream – fudgesicles and other ice cream on a sick. Yummy!
I get many questions about how I spend my days. Mostly, it is on work. I get up between 4 and 5 AM and show up to work by 7 AM. I get home around 6 or 6:30 PM. In the intervening hours, I work in the production area monitoring quality, manage employee and production issues, and review financials. Yes, it is a real job with real hours and responsibilities. I also spend a lot of time on further development and monitoring of our marketing and sales strategy (of course, our new PCV will take that over soon). I am also the chief procurement officer at this time. So at lot of energy is used finding vendors who can serve us long term, finding the right fabrics and supplies and generally running around Biashara Street in Mombasa for last minute things we cannot order in bulk. I also have meetings in the community on my secondary projects which necessitate me taking the 3 kilometer walk back into town…. Bummer. On the Saturday, I clean my house (laundry is washed by hand daily in the evening), cook an American dish to share with a couple of families who have adopted me and generally visit others in the community. Sundays involves church and sometimes meeting up with other PCVs in Mombasa. I read for two or three hours each night since I retreat to the mosquito net every early. When I get bored, I crank up the music on my laptop and have my own private dance marathon in my kitchen. I sing along (which I am sure my neighbors do not appreciate) and wind down or up depending on how you look at it. I am also keeping notes and a journal for a couple of books I hope to complete either here or when I get back home.
Life will change for me soon. The new volunteer will live with me temporarily while we look for appropriate housing for her. So, I will develop some new routines and have someone handy to share a meal with and a laugh. I shall never get over missing home and family and daily life is hard and yet I am okay. I love you all.
