My First Field Visit!

So I had my first visit to the field today. One of the region managers took me to a village on the outskirts of Kakamega to see a group having training in advance of receiving their first grant. It was quite an adventure!

We started out by walking from the office to the place where you get a matatu (or local bus; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matatu). Once we got there, my companion was immediately surrounded by several men shouting at him and physically moving him in different directions toward different matatus—I think trying to convince him which one we should get in. When we came to the matatu, it looked full to me.  There was one open seat.  Or so I thought… I was directed to the 3rd of 4 rows to a 2x4 board extended between the seats in that row.  So that was my seat.  My colleague then occupied the space between the seat ahead of me, and then 2 more people were wedged into the bus while 3 guys hung onto the outside of the open door.  I counted 23 people inside the 15 passenger van, plus the 3 hanging outside. I learned that the owner of the vehicle receives payment for every seat filled.  Any extra people in the non-seats become pocket money for the matatu’s operators. I found out afterward that my seat (and any others like it) are called “air time” which is a Kenyan play on words.  Here ‘air time’ typically means loading up your cell phone with extra minutes. In the case of the matatu, I think it refers to either the fact that you’re sitting suspended in the air, or if you hit a bump you might get air, or because the seat means extra pocket money for the operators (maybe so they can buy air time?).

When we got to our stop, we hopped out and headed toward the piki pikis (Swahili for motorbikes).  The drivers said that where we wanted to go was impossible due to the rains, which made the roads impassable.  So my colleague arranged with the driver to take us as far as he was willing to go. My coworker then asked if I wanted to ride on the back or in the middle?  After watching an episode of Tosho.0 this weekend where a girl bounces off the back of a motorcycle in a video clip, I opted for the middle seat.  Thus making, what I was told could jokingly be called a “mzungu sandwich.” (Mzungu is a Swahili term that technically means ‘foreigner,’ but is used to refer to white people here.)  We then went on down the dirt roads are far as we could go.

 

Afterwards, we walked the muddy roads (part of the time in the rain) for several kilometers to get to the church where the training was taking place.  Along the way I had many children (and some adults) shouting “Mzungu!” at me as I passed. Children also came running up to see me, shouting “Mzungu, How are you?”  The below photo was taken after we passed one group of kids and were pretty far down the road and then they started shouting “Take my photo!” So I did.

We then sat in on the training of business savings group members who were learning how to write a constitution for their savings groups. The training took place in a mud walled church, and was conducted in Swahili. I was asked to say a few words at the beginning, and fortunately, my colleague had provided some suggestions in advance so I wasn’t caught off guard. My comments were then translated into Swahili.  Everyone was really nice, and it was a great experience. The man whose family owned the land where the church was situated also invited me into his home to meet his mother and father.

Church where training took place

Training session

Fortunately, later in the day the sun came out and partially dried the roads making the walk back a little easier to negotiate. Along the way, we stopped by a stand that was owned by a business owner from another group that had benefited from one of our organization’s grants. 

Walking back with my coworkers

We then hopped on another motorbike, which took us to a place where we caught a much smaller, but equally crowded matatu, and made our way back home.  It was really neat to get out and to meet some of the people who are benefiting from our program. I look forward to future opportunities for field visits and getting more familiar with the area and the local transportation. 

Rough day for the shoes

Making do without Power

So during my first week or so here in Kenya, I’ve been learning to get accustomed to frequent power outages. In just the past week, my roommates and I have cooked our evening meal by headlamp twice and eaten dinner by candlelight (very romantic).  And we have had to run the generator during the day to power the office computers and wifi for at least a portion of the day for 4 out of the past 5 work days.  In addition, I’ve started to keep my headlamp somewhere on my person in the evenings (usually hanging around my neck, quite the fashion statement) so as not to be caught in the middle of something somewhere in the house with no light.

Frequently the outages occur during the daily rainstorms, but sometimes there is no obvious explanation. For example, last night, the power went off about 3 times between 6 and 9 p.m. Each time it came back on, it ranged from being on less than 1 minute to no more than 10-15 minutes before shutting off again. It certainly makes life interesting!  I hear the power is even less reliable in Uganda, so I will have to report on that when I get there later this year.

Generator used to power the office during work hours

Something else I’ve noticed is how good my Kenyan colleagues are at conserving energy.  The one fluorescent tube light in the office is basically never on during the day, because we have light that comes in through the windows.  One day last week, when we were working on data entry, I turned on the light to try to see the source document I was working with a little better.  One of the staff members came up to kindly ask me if I really needed the light on?  I felt a little guilty, but yes, I did given I could barely make out what I was reading. Meanwhile, at the same time, we have another group of Kenyan staff members that works in the dining room, further from the windows, and usually they seem to be working in semi-darkness. It is certainly a contrast from American office buildings that have lots of overhead lights, plus individual desk lights, that are often on even in the evenings when nobody is there.  I think the conservation here is a combination of trying to mitigate the cost of energy, cultural differences with what comforts you’re used to having, and working for a nonprofit.  Either way, it definitely causes one to think about what conveniences we take for granted as part of daily life in the US.

My morning workout

(Post from Saturday 9/1/12)

So at first I was concerned about not having opportunities to exercise while here in Africa.  But not to fear!  After hand washing 10 days' worth of laundry, I got quite the work out.  Not only do you get exercise wringing the water out of the clothes, but since rain can come so quickly here, I may also be doing sprints to pull my clothes off the line before they are soaked in a torrential downpour.

I must say though, I think this was the one lack of convenience that I feared the most about coming here, but it was not so bad. But ask me again 6 months from now and I may be singing a different tune. I will definitely have to figure out a more ergonomically appropriate set up for future washing, since this one was not so kind on my back...

At this rate, I'll at least have strong hand, arm and back muscles when I return! 

Home Sweet Office

I have almost completed my first full week of work! Or should I say, volunteering as a fellow, though it does feel like going to work at an office. Except that the office is in the home.  Now, I know a lot of people may have a home office, but usually it does not involve having anywhere from 8 to 18 people working from there at a time.  But it’s lovely having a commute that consists of walking only 11 steps from one’s bedroom after commuting an hour each way in Southern California! 

My room

The office has almost a schoolhouse feel with wooden desks and chairs.  The dining room also doubles as overflow office space. We have wifi (when there is power), and many meetings are conducted over skype. However, due to slower internet speeds and frequent power outages, it can be challenging conducting virtual meetings between Kenya and Uganda. So far, it seems like everyone has a more sensitive ear than I to decipher the staccato conversations, but I’m sure I’ll eventually catch on.  Fortunately, as it turns out, most of the power outages are supposed to be brief here in Kenya, and we have a back up generator when needed which allows the office to continue to run.

Office

And if you need to have a meeting, there is a board room, which was converted from a garage. I love it because it opens to a garden and you get to listen to exotic Kenyan birds chirping during your meeting.  There’s also another area that serves as a meeting room during the day and a living room at night.  

Board Room

The kitchen is where those of us who live in the house cook our meals (yes, I’m actually cooking) and is also where office lunches are prepared. (When there are big meetings with staff members coming from the field to the office, lunch is provided since people are having to travel to get there.) I do miss having a microwave, but am really enjoying trying the local food.  I also had the opportunity to cook by headlamp last night when we were in the middle of a longer power outage.

Kitchen

I’d better wrap up for now before the power goes out again (as it’s been doing at regular intervals for the past hour).  Hope this note finds everyone doing well!  And be sure to think twice before complaining about a brief power outage on the rare occasion that you experience one in the U.S.  I know I will when I get back! 

A Kenyan back massage!

Yesterday I took the 8 -- or should have been 8 -- but ended up being an 11 hour ride from Nairobi to Kakamega.  When I was buying my bus ticket, the guys behind the counter enthusiastically told me that I would enjoy my Kenyan back massage on the way to Kakamega!  Translation, very bumpy road.  Though not nearly as bad as I was expecting.  And, as you can see from the pics below, the drive was beautiful, as the road goes through the Great Rift Valley, a UNESCO world heritage site. Along the way I also saw lots of donkeys and sheep, as well as cows, goats, antelope and zebras (I think the last two were in a wildlife preserve that we drove by).

I had heard travel times in Kenya and Uganda can vary greatly due to the frequency of breakdowns and whatnot, and yesterday was no exception, and a good introduction to life on the African roadways.  It was smooth sailing for the first 5 hours or so.  Then we came upon traffic that would put LA freeways to shame.  Apparently a truck had overturned and blocked the highway, and then traffic began to build up. This resulted in a 3 hour delay while we waited for people to come to move the truck, and then much longer after that for the traffic congestion to clear.

View of traffic & people trying alternate routes

On the plus side, everyone on the bus was incredibly nice.  A woman across the aisle from me kindly invited me to her home the next time I’m in Nairobi, and several people helped to make sure I got off at the right stop when we finally reached it. They also enthusiastically pointed out the road to Obama’s ancestral home, which is apparently not far from Kakamega. 

I arrived in time to meet my new roommates/co-workers, who had kindly cooked a delicious dinner. Then attempted unpacking and went to bed. 

Kariboo! (Arrival in Kenya)

Not too much to report yet, but just wanted to let everyone know that I made it safely to Kenya this morning.  It was quite a journey, starting with a few days of training in San Francisco, then a 10 hour flight that left Thursday afternoon for London, followed by 10+ hours in Heathrow airport, and a 9 hour flight to Nairobi.  The driver who picked me up enthusiastically welcomed me to Kenya (Kariboo is Swahili for Welcome).   

I'm staying overnight here at the Wildebeest Lodge (http://www.wildebeestcamp.com/).  I then head to the bus station early tomorrow morning for an 8 hour bus ride to Kakamega, where I will be staying for about a month or so.

Here is the view as I type and wait for my room (or tent) or whatever my accommodation will be. Not too shabby!

More to come!  I'll try to send another update soon once I get to Kakamega.  Thanks again for all of the well-wishes and support!

Preparations & Parting

After lots of encouragement, I decided to start this blog to chronicle the next year of my life while in Uganda and Kenya for a volunteer fellowship.

This first post will be short and sweet to get the blog going and get the address link out to everyone.

I thought it best to start with a very big THANK YOU to all of my friends and family for their support, love and encouragement as I prepare to depart. I know some of the support is a bit reluctant because you care and worry about me, but I so appreciate it, and everything you have done, and continue to do for me. 

I also want to express my sincerest thanks to all of my friends and colleagues at SCE for wishing me well in this adventure and providing a warm and generous send off!  Loved this beautiful cake with farewell, good luck and well wishes in many languages!

I look forward to staying in touch with everyone and please also feel free to reach out to me via skype or email too!

Love,
Kim