Well, it has been more than a month since I last updated everyone on my adventure. In late January, we had a series of town meetings to look at the issues we would like to address in the coming year. Gender based violence was one of the topics. I was shocked to hear women identify this as an area of cultural concern. A local tribe thinks it demonstrates love to beat your wife. As I was sitting there contemplating the absurdity of that belief, a local male leader got up and said his wife needs to be slapped occasionally and if he did not do it, she would lose respect for him. Unfortunately, I lost my sanity (not unusual for me) and got up and spoke rather passionately through an interpreter. Not all beliefs are truth and when armed with facts these beliefs change. It was only a couple of years ago my community thought sleeping with a young virgin (10-14) would cure you of HIV/AIDs. After my small speech, I did receive a good round of applause from the women in the group…….Next year there will be money available from the government to promote Women’s Rights.
On the encouraging side, I met with the prostitutes from one of the poorest areas around the weigh station for the trucks. They wanted to start a charcoal business. After some discussion, they figured out for themselves that no one in their larger community can afford charcoal. Lakini (But), they did figure out everyone has to walk all the way into Mariakani for their fresh vegetables and Unga (maize flour). So, we are working towards starting a grocery store out there. We have two ready made customers in the hotels that spend 1,000 shillings a day for fresh vegetables. Most families in the area spend 50 shillings about two times a week. They buy a 2 kilo bag of Unga everyday if they can afford it. So, now we are looking at how to raise the $500 dollars American to start the business. It seems a small amount for us, but for them (a group of 25 women have saved $3,000 shillings or $43 American in 2 months) it is a significant amount of money. We are hoping to get some donated space to start with and that will save us rent. Most of the homes are mud and stick in this area and are not secure.
Valentines is celebrated in Kenya, but gift giving of any kind is not normal. I received a proposal, a rose and many well wishes. One friend from the US sent Valentines from her children’s church group she teaches and I passed them out to my small friends here. They were a big hit.
I have been visiting many churches in the area still trying to find one I can live and grow in over the next couple of years. I sat behind a family in the Catholic Church a couple of weeks ago and the little girl could have been in an American Church. She had on her Mary Janes, a bright frilly dress and squirmed around appropriately throughout the service! In Africa, parents are not so quick to quiet children or keep them still. They have embraced the idea that after all, they are just children and should not be required to behave like adults.
My daily life is as much of a stable routine as is expected in Kenya. Some days you have water and some days you have not. I am on day number 4 without water and have been in the same spot several times. Steam, or electricity, comes and goes as well, but is not the same inconvenience. I wake up every morning wondering if I have water or electricity, while you are waking up wondering about the weather and traffic. I have gotten very adept at recycling water….bucket bath for me, wash my clothes in it , use the the same water to flush out the toilet and then use the clean rinse water for me and my clothes for the next day’s flush. Ants and dust are also daily staples of my life in Kenya. If I was a good Kenyan woman, I would be sweeping and mopping and dusting everyday. I am not, so it all waits until Saturday morning. You cannot imagine the depth of sand that accumulates in my house (nyumbani) or on my furniture. When wiped off with a wet rag, it creates mud……
The ants come in all colors and sizes, but the small red ants or small white ants are very vicious. They come from no where and seem to be able to withstand any pesticide sold in Kenya. They are biters and sting. I am having a difficult time making peace with them.
I am still a daily oddity. The children love calling me mzungu and pointing at me or following me through the town. I have been giving lessons to them on not calling me by that name. I am Shangzi (auntie) to some, Madam to others and for those who can remember my name, Patty. Of course, they still ask for money for “sweets”. Today as I was walking home from church, I bought 3 bananas and they wanted those as well. As a side note, the bananas in Kenya are so much sweeter than you could ever find anywhere in the U.S. They are almost (but not quite) as good as a chocolate fix.
Alcohol consummation is a major problem in Kenya, particularly in the transit corridor towns such as Mariakani. So, of course it would not be right for me to drink in public. Only women who are prostitutes drink in my town. However, there is opportunity to tip back a cold one if I am off site. I spent last week in Tiwi Beach at a Peace Corps meeting with about 25 other volunteers and we had a wonderful vacation of sorts. The meetings only went to about 3PM each day so we made use of the pool, the Bahari Hindi (Indian Ocean) and had a wonderful time. Most of the volunteers bought in a bottle of some sort and one volunteer arranged with the hotel to bring in Manazi (a local brew made from Palm flowers). It tastes really bad, but they drank it anyway. It is safer than other local brews found across Kenya. Manazi is totally organic so no going blind if it is a bad batch. It is not uncommon to read in the papers of people dying or getting very sick from local beers (pombe) made in other provinces.
I have a new mailing address. The trip to Mombasa is long and dusty and costs a lot of shillingi! So, I rented a box here in Mariakani. My new address is:
Patricia Gillette
P.O. Box 201
Mariakani, Kenya
My Kiswahili lessons have been paying off. I understand much more than I can say, but I can carry on short conversations now about more than just the weather and common courtesies. Kiswahili is a very rich language, predominately from the Arabs and Bantu tribe. They are able to make complete sentences into just one word by use of prefixes, suffixes and infixes. Very difficult to grasp……
It is good to have things to keep me busy since I am beside myself with homesickness. I have received permission to visit my new grandbaby, sons and daughter-in-laws in April from both the Peace Corps and the organization I work with. I was hoping it could be June when it would be easier for everyone stateside to get time off, but I must go for a week prior to the start of training and production at the textile factory I am working on getting up and running. I will only have 7 days so I cannot take time to visit all of you who have been so supportive to me with cards, letters, emails and wonderful surprise packages. Know that I appreciate your support and would not have survived even this long in Kenya without it. Kwa heri for now. Tutatutana tena (Until we meet again, I think I got that right……).
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
January 20, 2007
Date
January has been a busy month with some sad news as well. Of the 53 volunteers in my group, we have lost 5 to date, and one more is thinking seriously about going home. Most of them left because their housing situation was not what the organizations committed to the Peace Corps. PCs call it the bait and switch. They show you something during site visit and when you show up it is a totally different housing arrangement. The volunteer closest to me, about a 30 minute walk if I dilly dally around, has been battling rats and bats since she came on site. They have been so invasive; she had to take up residence at my hotel for a few days. The fundi (handyman) for the school and the school where she is working, has been very slow to respond and take the necessary steps to get the place cleaned of the vermin permanently. She finally had to threaten them if they did not get it done this week, she will not be teaching. It is sad to lose good volunteers over housing issues. It makes my not having a house for a while seem like a much easier burden, particularly when my new house is wonderful!.
It is back to school time in Kenya! The children here in all grades get a very long break. It starts in the middle of November and goes until the first full week in January. At my hotel, where I have been staying, there are a total of 13 children between the owners, the hired help and a couple of grandchildren. Two of the children have left for a Christian boarding school, two go to a private Muslim day school and the rest are in public schools. The first day of school, the children were up early after having spent a restless night in anticipation of the first day of school; another evidence that life is very much the same here as in the U.S. There was lots of scurrying around getting the girls’ hair braided (it is either that or they have to shave it off – it keeps the head lice population down in our town!). The owner of the hotel pays their tuition and shopped for the school supplies. I chipped in the pencils, erasers, and some pencil sharpeners and got uniforms for two of the smallest girls whose parents cannot afford it. Interestingly, the kids like the point on the pencil they get from using a razor blade rather than a sharpener…….. it is all in what you get used to! Everyone wears uniforms. Each school has its own colors and the children usually have only one, two if they are lucky. So, they get washed multiple times a week and get a little raggedy, but they wear them proudly! With all the dust and dirt around here, the walk to and from school means they need washed everyday and that does not account for any dilly dallying they might do on the way home!
When I arrived in Kenya, I came with a bad knee and an ankle that hurt if I walked on rough terrain or in unsupported shoes. I walked like a very fragile, old lady on the paths and in the mud as I roamed the villages. My steps were tentative and guarded. The ever present fear was that I would fall and break something or my knee would go out. The more ditches I have jumped and the more mud I have slid my way through, has actually improved my balance, my strength and my agility. Be proud Mel, all the good advice you gave me at the HCR Manor Care gym was right on target! More bad news, I have stopped losing weight. The really bad news, people tell me I am getting “stronger” and “am well fed.” That is Kenyan talk for getting fatter! That may change when I am consistently responsible for my own cooking or I might have to pick up my pace when I travel around town! The sun is jua kali (fiercely hot) so fast walking is almost counterproductive because you dehydrate and tire out so much faster.
I introduced my extended host family at the hotel to wonders of cooking with olive oil. It is cheap here by U.S standards, about $2.50 for a bottle, but still too expensive for them since they use cooking fat in everything. I made pasta primavera using local vegetables, lots of garlic and basil and, of course, the olive oil. It took the 20 of us about 30 minutes to eat 5 lbs of spaghetti topped with the veggies and the pesto sauce. I added some avocado which really made a lovely presentation. But, as fast as it disappeared, I do not think they had any interest in the presentation……
I have finally moved into my apartment this last week. God has totally blessed me. I have electricity and running water in a town where water is a scarce commodity. Almost everyone has to buy it for 6 shillings a 20 liter container and then lug it home. Some carry it for great distances, easily a 30 or 30 minute walk. I live near the only well in the community. My house has pipe water from the government. Maybe 15% of the homes on this side of the road have piped water, but not any on the other side of the road. My apartment is three rooms plus a bath, very big by Kenyan standards. I spent my entire move in allowance from PC on living room furniture. The local vocational education school built me two futons, a coffee table and two end tables. My community of new friends donated a bed, a gas container for my two burner table top gas stove, a kitchen table and three plastic chairs. When you come to visit me in Kenya, you can sleep on my futons! Someone even donated a small washer and dryer they got from somewhere. I cannot figure out how to hook up the washer since I do not have electricity and water in a single location……the dryer is very small and they tell me it works, although I have just been hanging my clothes on the line after hand washing them. I bought a water purifier so I do not have to boil all my drinking water. It is a great time saver.
Take care and thanks to all who keep sending me reading material, Crystal Light and other items that make me smile!
Patty G.
Postscript: I spoke to soon about being agile and peppy! During the move-in to my new apartment, I sprained my ankle and had to visit a great doctor in Mombasa. I am now on the mend and should be totally back to normal (whatever that is) in about six weeks!
January has been a busy month with some sad news as well. Of the 53 volunteers in my group, we have lost 5 to date, and one more is thinking seriously about going home. Most of them left because their housing situation was not what the organizations committed to the Peace Corps. PCs call it the bait and switch. They show you something during site visit and when you show up it is a totally different housing arrangement. The volunteer closest to me, about a 30 minute walk if I dilly dally around, has been battling rats and bats since she came on site. They have been so invasive; she had to take up residence at my hotel for a few days. The fundi (handyman) for the school and the school where she is working, has been very slow to respond and take the necessary steps to get the place cleaned of the vermin permanently. She finally had to threaten them if they did not get it done this week, she will not be teaching. It is sad to lose good volunteers over housing issues. It makes my not having a house for a while seem like a much easier burden, particularly when my new house is wonderful!.
It is back to school time in Kenya! The children here in all grades get a very long break. It starts in the middle of November and goes until the first full week in January. At my hotel, where I have been staying, there are a total of 13 children between the owners, the hired help and a couple of grandchildren. Two of the children have left for a Christian boarding school, two go to a private Muslim day school and the rest are in public schools. The first day of school, the children were up early after having spent a restless night in anticipation of the first day of school; another evidence that life is very much the same here as in the U.S. There was lots of scurrying around getting the girls’ hair braided (it is either that or they have to shave it off – it keeps the head lice population down in our town!). The owner of the hotel pays their tuition and shopped for the school supplies. I chipped in the pencils, erasers, and some pencil sharpeners and got uniforms for two of the smallest girls whose parents cannot afford it. Interestingly, the kids like the point on the pencil they get from using a razor blade rather than a sharpener…….. it is all in what you get used to! Everyone wears uniforms. Each school has its own colors and the children usually have only one, two if they are lucky. So, they get washed multiple times a week and get a little raggedy, but they wear them proudly! With all the dust and dirt around here, the walk to and from school means they need washed everyday and that does not account for any dilly dallying they might do on the way home!
When I arrived in Kenya, I came with a bad knee and an ankle that hurt if I walked on rough terrain or in unsupported shoes. I walked like a very fragile, old lady on the paths and in the mud as I roamed the villages. My steps were tentative and guarded. The ever present fear was that I would fall and break something or my knee would go out. The more ditches I have jumped and the more mud I have slid my way through, has actually improved my balance, my strength and my agility. Be proud Mel, all the good advice you gave me at the HCR Manor Care gym was right on target! More bad news, I have stopped losing weight. The really bad news, people tell me I am getting “stronger” and “am well fed.” That is Kenyan talk for getting fatter! That may change when I am consistently responsible for my own cooking or I might have to pick up my pace when I travel around town! The sun is jua kali (fiercely hot) so fast walking is almost counterproductive because you dehydrate and tire out so much faster.
I introduced my extended host family at the hotel to wonders of cooking with olive oil. It is cheap here by U.S standards, about $2.50 for a bottle, but still too expensive for them since they use cooking fat in everything. I made pasta primavera using local vegetables, lots of garlic and basil and, of course, the olive oil. It took the 20 of us about 30 minutes to eat 5 lbs of spaghetti topped with the veggies and the pesto sauce. I added some avocado which really made a lovely presentation. But, as fast as it disappeared, I do not think they had any interest in the presentation……
I have finally moved into my apartment this last week. God has totally blessed me. I have electricity and running water in a town where water is a scarce commodity. Almost everyone has to buy it for 6 shillings a 20 liter container and then lug it home. Some carry it for great distances, easily a 30 or 30 minute walk. I live near the only well in the community. My house has pipe water from the government. Maybe 15% of the homes on this side of the road have piped water, but not any on the other side of the road. My apartment is three rooms plus a bath, very big by Kenyan standards. I spent my entire move in allowance from PC on living room furniture. The local vocational education school built me two futons, a coffee table and two end tables. My community of new friends donated a bed, a gas container for my two burner table top gas stove, a kitchen table and three plastic chairs. When you come to visit me in Kenya, you can sleep on my futons! Someone even donated a small washer and dryer they got from somewhere. I cannot figure out how to hook up the washer since I do not have electricity and water in a single location……the dryer is very small and they tell me it works, although I have just been hanging my clothes on the line after hand washing them. I bought a water purifier so I do not have to boil all my drinking water. It is a great time saver.
Take care and thanks to all who keep sending me reading material, Crystal Light and other items that make me smile!
Patty G.
Postscript: I spoke to soon about being agile and peppy! During the move-in to my new apartment, I sprained my ankle and had to visit a great doctor in Mombasa. I am now on the mend and should be totally back to normal (whatever that is) in about six weeks!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
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
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
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