Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Another cool day to start; no matter, I had hot water this morning!  The manager, Duncan, had them install a new heater.  The added bonus in that is that the water comes through with great pressure.  It was fabulous… the little things.

Breakfast was outside today, and it was so “chilly” that Job may have preferred us to be inside.  He new we were more comfortable, so he poured himself a large hot tea and drank it quickly.  John joined us this morning, and ate any unfinished smokies – chicken sausages.  The ones this morning were actually quite good – they can sometimes be very dry.  John got to eat Job’s and Kevin’s.  He has very large dimples, and they were quite pronounced as he chewed, smiling wide between bites.

We arrived at Mbaka Oromo early, and Kevin didn’t waste any time before playing with the children.  They surround him almost immediately.  He likes to stand still until they get with an arms length… they’ve learned to be apprehensive, because whoever gets that close first has a tendancy to get hoisted high in the air while everyone else either shouts in delight or runs away in terror.  It’s fun to watch.  

Each one of the kids have different “thing” with the children here.  Katie loves to sit and talk with them and show them her long red hair – she’s definitely a local celebrity with the girls.  Karen, as expected, loves to mimic what they do.  There’s always one that tries to push her to the limit, but with Karen, there isn’t one.  I finally had to have Kevin put them down so we could get to work.

Our first job today is to check in on the pad project.  We teamed up with St. John Fisher College to help provide young girls with reusable/washable sanitary napkins.  A misspelled facebook posting gave us cause to call this, “The Sanity Pad Project.”  The rest is 

history.  The nursing students from the St. John Fisher School of Nursing have held sewing parties, and my wife has organized a group of women with 5 sewing machines that took over two rooms in our home to make the pads.  It was a thing of beauty.  Over the span of 3 weeks, there was a constant influx of women who would sit down at a machine and sew as long as they could.  No sooner did one leave, another would arrive.  Our doors were open and we took all visitors.  It was a huge success and would have been duplicated prior to this trip if we had more time to plan.

Through donations, we were able to purchase 4 sewing machines that were placed inside a classroom at the secondary school.  There are 3 women that supervise the program, and high school students enter in groups of 4 to lean how to sew by sewing pads.  It’s a great program that has been very successful.  We make improvements as time passes, and this visit would bring about some more.  Another friend of ours joined us this time.  Because Andrea and Karen were not able to make this trip, I called Noelle Shinali for help.  A man talking about such things is a bit awkward and might make the girls uncomfortable.  That would be counterproductive, so that’s where Noelle comes in.  She is familiar with the project and has helped us with it before.

We talked about the design of the pads and ended up making some pretty big changes to the design.  Despite my gender, the women were fine talking with me.  I was concerned that I would be blamed for the need of the napkins, but nobody got the connection.  When Andrea and I were in Israel last September, we spoke with a restaurant owner in Bethlehem and eventually, he asked me my name.  When I told him, “Adam,” he didn’t even hesitate with his answer.  “Oh.  You are the cause of all our misery.”  When I looked and Andrea and said, “What about her?”  He merely replied, “She is just an instigator.”   Nothing like a little Old Testament humor… but I digress.

We (they) began sewing different parts of the kit.  We had to modify some of the pieces that were already made, but everyone was in agreement that it was a big improvement and will resolve some of the issues that have risen since the project started.  Noel started sewing, and Job helped with cutting out patterns.  At one point he 

even sat down at a machine and started to sew!  I’ve never seen anyone concentrate so hard.  Truth be told, he did a good job.  When he stopped sewing, he continued to try and "best" Kevin.  He's 0:a lot.

We wanted to check on some other things, so we made our way toward the memorial.  We passed by the other secondary school building where a water tank was being installed.  The secondary school students have to walk across the revine to the primary school for water… this will same them quite a bit of time.  We’re guttering the 3 

classroom block so that the rainwater will fill the tank.

When we entered the courtyard of the primary school, our friend Wendy walked right up to us smiling and shook all of our hands.  She’s just a sweetheart.  I know we’ll see her again tomorrow. 

 

We went back outside to check on the progress at Jim’s memorial.  Just to recap, we’re having the area fenced in, planting a special tree and flowers, installing a bench, and having an engraved plate mounted on a marble stone to be inset on the base.  We can’t plant anything in the area until it’s fenced in.  It can’t be fenced in until the cement at the base of the poles is dry… so we wait.  The post holes were dug, and the poles were in them waiting for concrete to be thrown in to support them.    Things are moving along nicely.

We continued up to the clinic and went to the doctor’s/nurse’s house which we’ve called, Hannah’s Home.  It’s named for the daughter of a dear friend whose life tragically ended in a car accident along with three of her friends.  She has been very supportive of the work we do, and Hannah’s “motto” was a perfect fit.  We want to plant orange (Hannah’s favorite color - Andrea's idea) flowers along the base of the home.  We marked off 13 spots and left a fundi behind digging holes as we pulled away.  Here we go, back to Kisumu.

While I’ve seen nurseries before, I’ve never walked through one.  They have hundreds of plants in varying sizes of recycled bags.  Most of them were empty sugar bags, but some were from larger bags of rice, and some were even larger.  Everything is very well organized.  Just don’t plan on buying a tree that’s taller than 2 or 3 feet.  It would appear that they don’t make bags that large.  I’ve already picked the tree that I want to put in Jim’s memorial, but we haven’t found it yet.  We’ll keep on looking.  Here’s a fun fact:  Orange flowers are hard to come by in Kenya.  In fact, they’re impossible to find.   It didn’t help that nothing was blooming.  Everything had a yellow flower or a red flower… until we told them we were looking for an orange one.  Miraculously, the yellow and red ones turned orange.  We found another vendor who sold us 7 plants that will either be yellow, red or orange… we won’t know until they bloom.  I bought the only flowering plant that I did see – it’s more red than orange, but it looked like a variation of a Bird of Paradise.  I’ll wait a moment while you Google, “Bird of Paradise.”  You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see the picture, though.  We had to drive to several different shops before we found all the flowers we needed, and just when we were about to give up on the tree, Job spotted it in 

the open air market.  We pulled the car over and he jumped out.  It took some haggling, but we left with what can only be described as a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  They have a couple larger ones here at the Peacock – pictured on the left, and they’re pretty neat.  It’s as close to a pine tree as I’ve seen over here, and it reminded me of Christmas.  The needles are a deep green and much softer than what we’re used to in the US.  It will provide some wonderful shade for people visiting Jim. Unbeknownst to me when I picked this particular tree, it's a very rare tree for this part of Kenya.  Fitting for the site.

That completed our shopping list for flowers, so we headed back to do some planting.  We “hid” the tree and flowers for Jim’s memorial behind the doctor’s house, and planted the flowers for Hannah.  John Oguso came to help, as did the doctors.   We then went down to the memorial where we saw that the posts were set in cement.  It’s really going to be beautiful when it’s finished.  We walked over to the secondary school where the foundation for the tank was almost complete, and then we headed back.  The children had already gone home, as did the teachers, and the only person we say was Samuel who came over to greet us before we went back 

to the hotel for dinner.

We got back at 6:30pm and sat out front having a drink.  John and I had a Tusker, Job and Kevin had a Fanta (which is orange soda) and immediately ordered dinner.  At 7:45 they told us, “Just another 30 minutes.”  We keep forgetting to order ahead.  I won’t make the same mistake tomorrow.  The wait was interrupted when the owner of the hotel stopped in to meet us.  His name is Nelson and like most Luo, he’s a very friendly man.  He also happens to own a steel shop and it’s the same one we’re using to make a bench for Jim’s memorial.  We talked for quite some time… but even when we finished, we still had to wait.  It’s difficult when you wait over an hour for just chicken, and although the first time we had it here it was delicious, it hasn’t been the same since.  Tonight it was like the chicken had no intentions of ever being separated from the bone.  Normally, that IS chicken in Kenya, so we’re not surprised.  We fooled ourselves into thinking that the extraordinary is the norm.  Not with Kenyan kuku.  After all that, it still only took us 10 minutes to clean our plates.

Now I’m sitting in bed typing as I wait for text messages from the girls so I can call when everyone’s together at home.

For those fans of the “Critter of the day”… I’m not sorry to say there aren’t any “critters” here.  This is a big step up from the Maseno University Guest House.

One last comment in case you didn’t notice.  You may have noticed that I’m wearing a Green Lantern shirt.  Kevin emerged from his room wearing Green Lantern socks.  Didn’t even know he had them.

I decided to add some pictures that I took during the day that couldn't fit in the body of this blog.  Hope you like 'em.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Job knocked on my door this morning at 7:30, thinking he was waking me up.  Not a chance.  I was sitting on my bed with my laptop looking at pictures from the day before and reviewing yesterday’s events as well as the plans for today.  I was also stalling because they weren’t able to fix the water heater and I am losing interest in cold showers.  I told him I’d meet him in 15 minutes for tea.  It’s amazing how fast you can wash yourself when the water’s cold.

We sat outside for tea today.  We seem to be bouncing back and forth… one day they are serving breakfast inside, the next they’re serving outside.  It’s of little consequence because the temperature at the time is very comfortable.  They keep the windows wide open so the temperature inside and out are identical.  Today’s breakfast consisted of the usual fired egg and a smokey (chicken sausage), but then they through a curve ball.  Mandazi.  It’s a Kenyan fried donut.  I immediately remembered how every time I get these things, I say to myself, “I’ve got to bring some powdered sugar next time.”  I have yet to bring powdered sugar.

Job and I planned out the day while we waited for Kevin.  It’s a lose agenda because we’re trying to cover as much as possible while maximizing our efficiency.  We need supplies for  Jim’s memorial, as well as the gutters.  We’re hoping to only have to make one trip to Kisumu.  We first had to go to Maseno to make sure that my ATM card was working.  Thankfully it was, and we got to see Job's sister Ruth on the way out.  We dropped her at the matatu station at Chuolembo.

We arrived at the Mbaka Oromo early, and were immediately greeted by one of the doctors.  He was out walking door to door on a government 

sponsored polio campaign.  We talked briefly and scheduled tomorrow afternoon to spend time talking.  We then walked down to the primary school to talk to Charles about the memorial. 

We walked up to the site first, as we have to pass it to get to the primary school courtyard.  I’m very disappointed to tell you that it looks abandoned.  The paint was very faded, the stone insert was broken so we bought some white paint and had them start painting it immediately. The weather here can be very harsh, and coupled with children playing and animals eating around it, I shouldn’t be surprised.  The flowers that we planted were gone, presumable eaten by goats… 

the tree we planted during his ceremony met the 

same fate.  Those will be some of things we remedy.  We went and got Charles and came back to the site.  The walk back was filled with me inquiring why the site was in such a state of disrepair.  That seems to be a going concern regarding the primary school.  He was quick to blame someone else for the state of things, and blame another organization for the lack of a fence around the compound.  In Kenya, all schools are supposed to have a perimeter fence with a gate.  This one doesn’t, and they need one.  “They promised me a fence but never said anything again.”  While I have little interest in correcting that situation, we will protect the area with a fence.  If the other organization decides to uphold their commitment, we’re designing it so that one side of the fence will serve as a piece of the perimeter.  I then decided on have a metal plaque made for Jim.  It will better withstand the elements.  It will be mounted on a piece of marble, then laid in the center of the slab.  We’re (and when I say “we” I mean Building Futures) going to plant a new tree and flowers once the fence is in.  If we can get the materials fast enough, we should be able to complete it before Friday.

I was happy when we were finished talking.  The memorial sits on the grounds of the primary school, and protocol dictates that Charles needs to be informed about all work performed there, as well as approving it.  I don’t like playing the politics, but it is a means to an end, and in the case the end is much more important to us.  We pass through two classrooms where the kids like to gather.  our in the courtyard, the children followed Kevin like he was the pied piper.

The secondary school headmaster, Tom Owur, had to got to Mombasa for the national meeting, so I met with the deputy teacher, Gabriel.  He’s a very agreeable fellow, much like his superior.  We talked briefly about the pad project – we’re spending most, if not all of tomorrow morning on the project.  We then began looking at the quotation for the classroom guttering.  The quotation was waaay off.  We then modified the original plan and limited the guttering to the front of the building.

As we were finishing, a member of the clinic committee came up to greet us.  Ezekiah is an older man, with a constant smile on his face.  We talked for a bit about what we’ve been doing for the past year.  He asked about Andrea and the girls, and I asked him about his family.  As we finished, Samuel finally emerged from behind a row of tall, leafy trees and began to walk up the hill that I was standing on.  I began to walk down and met him half way.  Like every greeting from Sam, it was met with a tight grip and slaps to the back as if he’s trying to dislodge a chicken bone from my throat.  Job said he thought the deep pounding sound could be heard throughout the valley.  Kevin was next, and the pounding continued.  He took one step toward Job who said, “Oh no, I don’t do that,” as he backpedalled away.  Sam is still as strong as an ox, but he’s put on some wait.  His face is much more round and the potbelly cannot be missed.  Sam turned back toward Kevin and said, You have been doing something, you are bigger.”  That was the reader’s digest version.  Sam repeats himself a lot and can often not find the right English word he wants to use.  In those instances, he uses sound effects. This is what he really said, “You, Kevin, you are ooooh ooooh….” (he held is arms to his side with his elbows bent pretending to be more muscular than he was).  Then he said, “Kevin, you, you, you look like you have been aaaah, ahhhh, sssssst, ssssst (then he bagan to pretend he was bench pressing), lifting!  Lifting things.”  Kevin responded with, “Yes, Sam, I’m trying to.”  Job than interjected, “I still think they should lock you and me in a cage, Kevin.  I would beat you in a cage match.”  Oh, Job.  I don’t’ think he’s 100lbs, so Kevin’s got him by 60.  Job is always leaning on Kevin like he’s trying to move him or intimidate him.  He fails miserably, and it usually ends with the two of them laughing.

We waited for the fundi (worker) to finish revising the quote, and when he did, we started driving to Kisumu.  On the way out we saw Emmah who gave me a tiny wave so as not to draw attention to it.  I walked over and talked to her and her friends.  She was already wearing the gifts we brought her.  Before I left, Wendy came buy but stayed just long enough to be seen.  She is very shy.  Absolutely adorable, but shy.

We gave the fundi the money necessary to buy the supplies, and we headed to see the fundi that makes the engraved plates.  We found him, but I insisted on waiting in the car.  If I went in there, they would have charged us double.  They assume that all white people are rich, and by their standards, we are.  That means that there’s a Kenyan price, and a mzungo (white person) price.  We never want the mzungo price.  I’ve taken matatu rides and had to argue with the conductor over 20 shillings in change – it’s only about a quarter, but it was the principal.  Anywho, Job returned with pictures of the plate styles so that I could choose.  He then informed me that there was no way to have it completed before we leave Kenya.  That was very disappointing.  Job has assured me that I’ll have picture in my email before I land in Rochester on Saturday.  We gave them a deposit on the work and placed the 

order.  We then went looking for a bench.  I thought it would be nice to have a bench inside the gated are so that people can sit and reflect.  We had no luck finding one at Nakumat, so we headed to Tusky’s.  If Nakumat is the Kenyan Walmart, Tusky’s is Kmart.  It’s a little smaller, and, well, Kmarty.  No luck at Tusky’s either, and decided to take a break and grab lunch. It was already 1:30pm, and Tusky’s has a restaurant attached to it, so we went in and sat down.  I ordered some waters, and looked at the menu.  I’ve eaten there before, and the food was ok.  The menu this time, however, didn’t look appealing at all.  Then I remembered.  I looked and Job and said, “We should have gone to Kiboku Bay!”  He eyes opened wide and he said, “Yes.”  I asked for the bill for the 3 bottles of water, paid, and exited.  I almost forgot to tell you… John Oguso was with us.  He and the other John had no idea why we were leaving, but they later thanked me.  Kiboku Bay is a beautiful resort on Lake Victoria with wonderful food.  John Oguso still insisted on a traditional Luo meal of fish and ugali, although this one was smothered in masala sauce.  Job had fried chicken and Kevin had honey barbecue chicken wings. I had pepper steak, and John our driver had beef stew.  Kevin and Job can’t come here without getting a milkshake – Job is strawberry and Kevin is chocolate.  As always, everything was delicious.

We left full and I think everyone fell asleep as we passed through Kisumu heading back to Maseno.  We were visiting Agulu Primary School next.  They are waaaaay off the beaten path.  A small school with a little over 100 students, their classrooms are absolutely deplorable, and yet the students are constantly improving their national scores.  When we were there last, the CDF (Kenyan Constituency Development Fund) was helping them with a couple new classrooms.

As we came up the hill where they are located, we had to dodge mounds of marrum waiting to be spread out on the road.  When the school first comes into view, you see the old classrooms.  It’s not until you’re almost in the compound that you see beautifully adorned rooms that look completely out of place alongside the dilapidated dung and mud classrooms.

As is customary, we went directly to the administration building (that not much better than the old classrooms) to meet the headmistress and her head teacher (the head teacher is the biggest Kenyan I’ve ever seen – he makes me look small).  Fatigue has already set 

in, and I’m trying to fight off the nods as I type, and right now I can’t recall the names of these two, but if I remember before I publish this update, I’ll let you know.  They are a very effective duo who have been instrumental in the consistent improvements in national test scores.  She told me that when she started here in 2005, there were 100 students and seven teachers.  This year, they have 200 students, 8 teachers, and their test scores are over 50% higher than they were when they arrived to assume the role of principal/assistant principal.  The children are incredibly well behaved, and they explained that one of the first things they did upon arriving was begin teaching personal responsibility and accountability from ECD through Form 6 (early childhood development (kindergarten) to 6^th grade.  It’s really working well. 

We were expected there at 4, and we didn’t get there until almost 5:15pm.  Karibu Kenya (Welcome to Kenya).  When you set an appointment here, there’s a two hour window around that time, whether you see it or not.  They’re never early - they are always late.  It’s just the way it is.  I’ve been told numerous times, “You people from US are very punctual, much more than we are.”  The headmistress wanted us to hear their new choir, so we went outside and 

sat in wooden chairs in the courtyard in front of a group of about 25 children.  The music began, and they were wonderful.  They were going to perform in front of education officials tomorrow morning.  We wished them good luck… I’m sure they’ll do well.  We then inspected the new buildings and the old ones.  Madame provided us with the quotations from the new building.  I’d love for us to build the remaining classrooms for them.  We need to get caught up on the commitments we’ve already made.  The clinic pushed everything back, and we don’t want them 

to have to wait any longer.  As we walked out, I asked John about the comment he made to the vice principal.  He has known him for a very long time, and as we talked about the food the children eat.  He looked at the size of the vice principal and said, “is there any food left for the children?”  It made everyone laugh out loud.  Kevin then said, “I wondered if he ate the children.”  That made us laugh harder.

We headed back to the car and returned to the Peacock.  We put our things away in our rooms and headed to a table outside to have something to drink.  Job and I reviewed the quotations and paperwork regarding the purchased supplies.  Everything was in order.  Job finished his Fanta and left for home.  Kevin and I remained behind drinking a cold Tusker.  While I was sitting there, I got a text from Karen asking which was better, Jeremiah’s boneless wings or regular wings.  It made me laugh in amazement to think that we’re able to communicate in that manner when we’re on opposite sides of the earth.  I told her just that, and she respondent with, “This is a serious matter!”  That made me laugh again.  I told them I’d call after I posted this blog, so I want to get the pictures uploaded.  I’m already in bed typing this, and yes, I’m ready for sleep.

Tutaoanana kecho.  (talk to you tomorrow)

BTW here are some pictures of the Peacock Resort where Kevin and i are staying