July 15th - July 23st, 2009
Work has been incredible this week. This past week has been full of activities and was probably the one that put a lot of momentum into the project.
The four of us have been visiting the hospital and Ober (our farthest distribution site) since Wednesday to collect missing data from the study participants for the research. Roy and I visited Ober while Jen and Amanda covered the hospital catchment area. After compiling the data of over 600 study participants we realized that we were missing crucial data for the study participants that are important for the research. We also needed to distribute the client ID cards to them, which the 1st 300 study subjects will need to carry with them every day in order to receive their packet of yogurt.
Visiting Ober was great. It is such a quiet and peaceful village surrounded by a gorgeous view. Today was the first time I met the study clients. All the clients from Ober were HIV positive and some were so much healthier than the other. I had a pretty chilly experience with one of the clinic's patients who was interested in joining the study but we could not accept her as we had reached our quotas for the number of men, women and children required. To appease her, Roy said that she can be part of the 2nd group, the control group, for the study which begins in 6 months. Before leaving she looks at me, dead in the eye, and says "I will be back in 6 months if I am not dead." Not to sound like a weakling but I had to sit down as it hit me once again that most people, especially in hard hit regions such as Oyugis, don't have the luxury to plan for the future. They have to concentrate on surviving today, and maybe perhaps planning for the immediate tomorrow if they are able to, but even planning ahead for the month is far too down the road for many. Suffice it to say that patient was not pleased with Roy and I at all.
Aside from that, I had a great time getting to know the other client subjects who came in that day. Since I have started learning Swahili, and gotten really well at it if I must say so myself (my teachers agree too!), I was able to converse with them since many are unable to speak English. It was a awesome talking to the clients in Swahili, although I still needed Roy's help occasionally. The clients were also patient with me as they could clearly tell I was a newbie.
At the end of our second day in Ober, one of the study clients dropped by to sell us some dinner buns and told us they were made using solar energy. These buns were baked using the Sun's heat! How cool is that. The oven, very creatively so, is called a Sun Oven. It was donated to the citizens of the Ober community by a US NGO. I think it is a great addition to the community as the people here work collectively to bake the buns then distribute it to orphanages and sell the surplus. Also there is no electricity in Ober (not even in the clinic), so this is a very creative way for them to bake goods.
After finishing work in Ober and passing the message along to the clinic staff that the pro-biotic yogurt distribution will commence on Monday July 20th, 2009 we left the hospital. Since we had time, Roy took me to visit his home in Wire, a village located next to Oyugis. Such a picturesque area. We walked up the hill to where his house was and the view was breathtaking, especially with ominous rain clouds in the horizon. It was a great day: we listened to the radio, had mangoes from his tree, and then went over to meet with his cousin and her son whom I had met when we went to Lake Victoria. The four of us together had a mini photo shoot, which was fun. We ended the day with my daily Swahili lessons.
The next couple of days was a similar a roller coaster ride as it was full of meetings, smoothing out conflict issues, meeting with the women's group Chair Lady, working with the milk supplier to make sure we receive the milk on time on Sunday and so much more. Despite all of this I am very, very happy to let you all know that production for the study began on 20th July of 2009, and distribution took place on 21st July of 2009. These have been some of the most exciting days for all the partners involved especially for the Mamas, the Oyugis project team and the study participants as the start of the production has been looked forward to for a very long time.
91 study subjects showed up on the first day at the three different distribution centres (Kitchen, District Hospital and Ober Health Centre). Although this may seem like a low turnout, I know this will increase in the upcoming days as word of mouth will spread the message to the other study participants since many do not have access to a telephone. We had distributed to almost 150 participants by Thursday. We also placed posters around the area to notify the study participants.
The on site team is also eagerly looking forward to the site’s certification by the Kenya Dairy Board which should happen before us interns leave Kenya. I can't believe I have less than a month remaining!! That thought itself is daunting.
Kwaheri.
Memorable and Amusing Occurrences
• I have so far been bit by mosquitoes and insects a whopping 31 times!
• Jen, Amanda and I have started a "Sick Day" count to record how many days each of us have been sick. Jen is in the lead, Amanda was 2nd in the running until this past Sunday when I took over. Jen should watch out since at the rate I have been ill these days I might just be in the lead soon. =/
• Ironically enough, one of us is always sick. We seem to be taking turns being ill, which is a good thing cause because it is always imperative that two of us are always at the kitchen, although all of us are needed.
• The adults in the study LOVE the yogurt! Kids, not so much since it is not sweet. So the feedback for the yogurt has been mostly good. We have been taking videos of the clients telling us how they like the yogurt which is excellent.
• Our friends Christopher, Boston, Claudia, Austin, and Bruce who live behind our hotel surprised us with such nice and thoughtful gifts yesterday. Their grandmother has weaved baskets for us and the work on them was so intricate. I have already started using mine as a fabric basket. Almost makes me want to take up knitting so I can use it as a knitting basket. Nevertheless, with my luck I will probably accidentally end up hurting myself with the needles.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Living, Loving and Laughing in the Motherland
July 4th - July 16th, 2009
Today marks my 1st month in Kenya. As cliché as it sounds time has flown by. Even though I miss home I do not want to leave my work and new home here. I have explored so much of Western Kenya in these past two weeks that the list of my adventures is exhaustive. Not complaining at all though.
On July 4th, Jen, Amanda and I had made plans to visit Lake Victoria that day to celebrate Jen's birthday. We went to work that day as it was the 2nd last day of training. Amanda and I had planned to sneak off to arrange some surprises for Jen. I had found us someone in the town who could bake us a cake. May not sound like a big deal, but in a town like Oyugis it is HUGE! I think the guy who baked Jen's cake is one of the few who owns an oven here. Probably 97% of Oyugians use Jikos (charcoal stoves) for cooking purposes. So we were really excited. Rightfully so, as it was the best cake I have ever tasted!
So after arranging to pick up the cake in the evening, Amanda and I rushed to the hotel to prepare for the day trip. We were very excited as we were taking some of our good friends with us to spend the day with. Not only did we explore the lands but we also went on a boat ride. It was the first time on a boat for a few of our friends. Regardless of warnings that there might be hippos and crocodiles in the water we still went ahead. Like Jen put it, you can't live life in fear of being eaten by animals. The day was beyond amazing. I don't remember ever laughing so much so often. It also felt different yet so right to be walking on the same grounds as our ancestors thousands of years ago had walked on. The same grounds on which they had lived, hunted, fought and prospered on. Africa is truly the Motherland in all sense.
The next day was the last day of the training. It was a bittersweet day. Mamas from both the groups and us interns were sad that we would be bidding farewell to the Mwanza Mamas the next day. Despite of that sentiment we still celebrated all that the Mamas had accomplished so far in both, Kenya and Tanzania. We sang and danced to some traditional African songs sung by the Mamas and exchanged a few words with each other that conveyed our appreciation for the efforts put in by all those involved with the project. The speeches got many of us very emotional and tears flowed freely. That much was a given as there were at least 20 women in the room. Roy was the only representative of the other gender. Great addition to the group too as he was translating between Luo, Kiswahili and English the whole day. He is a translating machine.
The rest of the week was more or less the same. The girls and I said goodbye to the Mwanza Mamas and caught up on personal related things. Work had kept me incredibly busy. I had also been really sick for a good chunk of the week so that had continued to drain me of energy. Thankfully I got better by the time the weekend rolled around since I ended up going to Kisumu, Kenya for the weekend (so last minute!).
Saturday was Imamat Day (Shia Ismaili religious celebration) so I visited our family friends to take part in the celebrations with the Aga Khan community in Kisumu. It was so different to be visiting a city after living in a rural town for almost a month. Roy, who had traveled with me, took me to Nakumat (Kenya's "Walmart") where I was reacquainted with the modern way of living. Saw freezers, insane amount of shopping options, a bakery (my fav part of the store!) and so many other items I use to take for granted back home. It was a bit overwhelming but introspective at the same time.
After the shopping excursion, I went to my Uncle's house where I had a home-cooked meal! I also realized that being a vegetarian is not a permanent change for me as I could not resist my Aunt's food. It was a major change from my daily diet of rice, beans, chapatti or fries. I even had a salad! Jen was really jealous. The weekend continued to be loads of fun: went to Khane (Mosque) for the first time since I had left Toronto, met an eclectic mix of people and partook in the religious celebrations. Also saw lambs being roasted on an open spit for the first time! Def took a picture of that.
What was interesting to note while I was in Kisumu were the dynamics that existed between the different racial ethnic groups. Even though I was not there long enough to deduce anything concrete, I noticed that the different racial groups hung out within themselves. Indians were usually with Indians, Caucasians were with Caucasians and so forth. Also even if you were, say a 4th generation Kenya, if you were anything but local you would still be considered a foreigner. For example, my uncle whose family has been established in Kenya for many generations is still considered to be a foreigner. I think for countries to prosper they need to unite to grow. Obama summed it up pretty well in his speech to the citizens of Accra, Ghana on July 11th, 2009:
"Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division."
After a fun weekend in Kisumu, I returned to a jam packed week at work where things were functioning at a great pace. We will be beginning production on Sunday and distribution begins on Monday for the 1st 300 participants. So excited!! More about the project in my next blog =)
Today marks my 1st month in Kenya. As cliché as it sounds time has flown by. Even though I miss home I do not want to leave my work and new home here. I have explored so much of Western Kenya in these past two weeks that the list of my adventures is exhaustive. Not complaining at all though.
On July 4th, Jen, Amanda and I had made plans to visit Lake Victoria that day to celebrate Jen's birthday. We went to work that day as it was the 2nd last day of training. Amanda and I had planned to sneak off to arrange some surprises for Jen. I had found us someone in the town who could bake us a cake. May not sound like a big deal, but in a town like Oyugis it is HUGE! I think the guy who baked Jen's cake is one of the few who owns an oven here. Probably 97% of Oyugians use Jikos (charcoal stoves) for cooking purposes. So we were really excited. Rightfully so, as it was the best cake I have ever tasted!
So after arranging to pick up the cake in the evening, Amanda and I rushed to the hotel to prepare for the day trip. We were very excited as we were taking some of our good friends with us to spend the day with. Not only did we explore the lands but we also went on a boat ride. It was the first time on a boat for a few of our friends. Regardless of warnings that there might be hippos and crocodiles in the water we still went ahead. Like Jen put it, you can't live life in fear of being eaten by animals. The day was beyond amazing. I don't remember ever laughing so much so often. It also felt different yet so right to be walking on the same grounds as our ancestors thousands of years ago had walked on. The same grounds on which they had lived, hunted, fought and prospered on. Africa is truly the Motherland in all sense.
The next day was the last day of the training. It was a bittersweet day. Mamas from both the groups and us interns were sad that we would be bidding farewell to the Mwanza Mamas the next day. Despite of that sentiment we still celebrated all that the Mamas had accomplished so far in both, Kenya and Tanzania. We sang and danced to some traditional African songs sung by the Mamas and exchanged a few words with each other that conveyed our appreciation for the efforts put in by all those involved with the project. The speeches got many of us very emotional and tears flowed freely. That much was a given as there were at least 20 women in the room. Roy was the only representative of the other gender. Great addition to the group too as he was translating between Luo, Kiswahili and English the whole day. He is a translating machine.
The rest of the week was more or less the same. The girls and I said goodbye to the Mwanza Mamas and caught up on personal related things. Work had kept me incredibly busy. I had also been really sick for a good chunk of the week so that had continued to drain me of energy. Thankfully I got better by the time the weekend rolled around since I ended up going to Kisumu, Kenya for the weekend (so last minute!).
Saturday was Imamat Day (Shia Ismaili religious celebration) so I visited our family friends to take part in the celebrations with the Aga Khan community in Kisumu. It was so different to be visiting a city after living in a rural town for almost a month. Roy, who had traveled with me, took me to Nakumat (Kenya's "Walmart") where I was reacquainted with the modern way of living. Saw freezers, insane amount of shopping options, a bakery (my fav part of the store!) and so many other items I use to take for granted back home. It was a bit overwhelming but introspective at the same time.
After the shopping excursion, I went to my Uncle's house where I had a home-cooked meal! I also realized that being a vegetarian is not a permanent change for me as I could not resist my Aunt's food. It was a major change from my daily diet of rice, beans, chapatti or fries. I even had a salad! Jen was really jealous. The weekend continued to be loads of fun: went to Khane (Mosque) for the first time since I had left Toronto, met an eclectic mix of people and partook in the religious celebrations. Also saw lambs being roasted on an open spit for the first time! Def took a picture of that.
What was interesting to note while I was in Kisumu were the dynamics that existed between the different racial ethnic groups. Even though I was not there long enough to deduce anything concrete, I noticed that the different racial groups hung out within themselves. Indians were usually with Indians, Caucasians were with Caucasians and so forth. Also even if you were, say a 4th generation Kenya, if you were anything but local you would still be considered a foreigner. For example, my uncle whose family has been established in Kenya for many generations is still considered to be a foreigner. I think for countries to prosper they need to unite to grow. Obama summed it up pretty well in his speech to the citizens of Accra, Ghana on July 11th, 2009:
"Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division."
After a fun weekend in Kisumu, I returned to a jam packed week at work where things were functioning at a great pace. We will be beginning production on Sunday and distribution begins on Monday for the 1st 300 participants. So excited!! More about the project in my next blog =)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Ndoto Zinakuja Ukweli! (Dreams Do Come True!)
June 30th – July 6th, 2009
Work has been full of action and progress this week!
A far cry from the previous weeks when every time we would take a step to get anything done, we would meet a barrier. More often than not it would be gov't institutions.
Monday was a very productive day. After meeting with Roy on what needs to be purchased the three of us left to go purchase and place orders for the necessary lab, production and hardware supplies. We spent the whole day running around Oyugis and the kitchen collecting the items required. Branding of the kitchen also began that day which created a lot of excitement in the neighbourhood! In the afternoon, we headed over to the Matatus station (Matatu’s are one of the modes of transportation in Kenya) to pick up Ashley (Mwanza Intern) and the Mamas.
Tuesday was the first day of the training. Our guests were very impressed with our Kitchen and the expertise Roy, who is a dairy technician, brought to the table. Our Mamas slowly began trickling in around 9 am. I was impressed with how many showed up that day, and how active they were. The Mwanza and the Oyugis Mamas took over the training. They took it upon themselves to split the Oyugis Mamas in Groups A and B so the training held was smaller. Originally the Training was supposed to last for 3 days, but that was extended to 6 days so the Oyugis Mamas were given the training to fully prepare themselves for production. I thought it was great how the women took control over the training sessions. Ashley, Jen, Amanda and I observed from the sidelines once training began as it was conducted in Swahili. We worked on production reports, supplier’s lists, more KEMRI hassles, and the list continues. Unfortunately I was ill for most of this past week so I was not at the kitchen as much as I would have liked.
Till Saturday the Mwanza Mamas trained Groups A and B on hygiene standards, quality controls, production process, equipment sterilization, packaging. The Mamas were trained on each step of the production process from when the milk arrives in the morning to when the Yogurt is distributed. Wednesday and Thursday were spent on the Mwanza Mamas demonstrating every step to the Oyugis Mamas. Friday and Saturday is when the Oyugis Mama were asked to step in while the Mwanza Mamas observed their performance.
Sunday was the last day of training as the Mamas and Ashley were leaving on Monday. It was a bittersweet day. During the morning the Mamas went about following the production process. After that the Mwanza Mamas quizzed the other Mamas on what they had learned and held a Q&A session. What followed soon after that was a very joyous session of singing and dancing. We joined the Mamas in the singing and dancing. The air was charged with the energy and joy of the Mamas on how this past week has been so successful and the journey that awaits each one of them as we move ahead with the project.
Before lunch the Mamas and us each said a few words of gratitude for everyone who came this past week. I was impressed with all the Mamas and Roy’s dedication to this project. Many tears of happiness were shed and there was an outpouring of appreciation for all those who are committed to the success of this project.
After that lunch was served. I had my 1st home cooked meal since I have left home! It was delicious. It was a traditional Kenyan meal which consisted of kale (spinach), Ugali (a ball of cooked dough made from maize), Spiced potatoes, Beef stew (stayed away from it!), and of course the yogurt produced at the kitchen (although that is not traditional).The Mamas left on Monday after an exciting and intense week with huge smiles.
I will never forget this week as this week reinforced for me on my purpose for being here. It has been a dream of mine to travel to Africa and work with an NGO as I am interested international social and economic development if of interest to me. I can’t get over how this opportunity has made that dream come true in not only allowing me to be part of this initiative, but for allowing me to use the skills and knowledge I acquired in school for the benefit of the kitchen. I realized that the bumps encountered so far in this journey are all part of reaching the destination of making this kitchen successful.
Work has been full of action and progress this week!
A far cry from the previous weeks when every time we would take a step to get anything done, we would meet a barrier. More often than not it would be gov't institutions.
Monday was a very productive day. After meeting with Roy on what needs to be purchased the three of us left to go purchase and place orders for the necessary lab, production and hardware supplies. We spent the whole day running around Oyugis and the kitchen collecting the items required. Branding of the kitchen also began that day which created a lot of excitement in the neighbourhood! In the afternoon, we headed over to the Matatus station (Matatu’s are one of the modes of transportation in Kenya) to pick up Ashley (Mwanza Intern) and the Mamas.
Tuesday was the first day of the training. Our guests were very impressed with our Kitchen and the expertise Roy, who is a dairy technician, brought to the table. Our Mamas slowly began trickling in around 9 am. I was impressed with how many showed up that day, and how active they were. The Mwanza and the Oyugis Mamas took over the training. They took it upon themselves to split the Oyugis Mamas in Groups A and B so the training held was smaller. Originally the Training was supposed to last for 3 days, but that was extended to 6 days so the Oyugis Mamas were given the training to fully prepare themselves for production. I thought it was great how the women took control over the training sessions. Ashley, Jen, Amanda and I observed from the sidelines once training began as it was conducted in Swahili. We worked on production reports, supplier’s lists, more KEMRI hassles, and the list continues. Unfortunately I was ill for most of this past week so I was not at the kitchen as much as I would have liked.
Till Saturday the Mwanza Mamas trained Groups A and B on hygiene standards, quality controls, production process, equipment sterilization, packaging. The Mamas were trained on each step of the production process from when the milk arrives in the morning to when the Yogurt is distributed. Wednesday and Thursday were spent on the Mwanza Mamas demonstrating every step to the Oyugis Mamas. Friday and Saturday is when the Oyugis Mama were asked to step in while the Mwanza Mamas observed their performance.
Sunday was the last day of training as the Mamas and Ashley were leaving on Monday. It was a bittersweet day. During the morning the Mamas went about following the production process. After that the Mwanza Mamas quizzed the other Mamas on what they had learned and held a Q&A session. What followed soon after that was a very joyous session of singing and dancing. We joined the Mamas in the singing and dancing. The air was charged with the energy and joy of the Mamas on how this past week has been so successful and the journey that awaits each one of them as we move ahead with the project.
Before lunch the Mamas and us each said a few words of gratitude for everyone who came this past week. I was impressed with all the Mamas and Roy’s dedication to this project. Many tears of happiness were shed and there was an outpouring of appreciation for all those who are committed to the success of this project.
After that lunch was served. I had my 1st home cooked meal since I have left home! It was delicious. It was a traditional Kenyan meal which consisted of kale (spinach), Ugali (a ball of cooked dough made from maize), Spiced potatoes, Beef stew (stayed away from it!), and of course the yogurt produced at the kitchen (although that is not traditional).The Mamas left on Monday after an exciting and intense week with huge smiles.
I will never forget this week as this week reinforced for me on my purpose for being here. It has been a dream of mine to travel to Africa and work with an NGO as I am interested international social and economic development if of interest to me. I can’t get over how this opportunity has made that dream come true in not only allowing me to be part of this initiative, but for allowing me to use the skills and knowledge I acquired in school for the benefit of the kitchen. I realized that the bumps encountered so far in this journey are all part of reaching the destination of making this kitchen successful.
God, Obama-Mania, and Footbal
June 27th – July 6th, 2009
This summer is definitely one that I am going to journal and blog my way through! There is always so much happening that it is impossible to go a day without noting down the occurrences of the day.
I have already been here for three weeks. Three things which strongly influence Kenyans are God, Obama, and Football (Soccer). Most of the Oyugians, even kids, I have met so far have spoken about all three topics within the first 5- 10 minutes of our conversation.
God
Kenyans are very religious. Folks here go to church on either Saturday or Sunday, some even go both days. Church sermons are usually couple of hours long and involve long sermons by the priest and loads of Gospel Choir. A few of the churches near my hotel have outdoors speakers attached, which always end up jolting me to consciousness during the weekends. What I have noticed here is that the sermons sound very, very angry. The priest is usually screaming for hours at end.
Life here seems to be defined here by the Bible (I have only met Christians here). When visiting schools many of the songs the kids sing are about biblical stories such as the 5 foolish and wise men etc. Even when playing with the kids in our neighbourhood, after asking them to sing songs were us they sung us songs related to the Church.
Even the “hoodlums” here seem to be very religious. On Jen’s birthday one of the guys we had met at the internet cafe signed “T-H-U-G” on her birthday card. It stood for “True Homies Under God.”Jen, Amanda, and I doubled over in laughter after reading that since we never thought of it that way.
Obama
Obama is considered to be a level just under the Divine Being here. He is from this province in Kenya, the Nyanza Province so he is a HUGE deal here. Not even kidding. I have been to so many shops and establishments where his picture is hung. Many people ask us if we are from America. They get disappointed when we tell them we are from Canada, but cheer up as soon as we tell them we border U.S.A. Many folks have also asked us if we have met him. I wish.
Roy, our Project Coordinator, is a good example of how Obama is viewed. When we asked him if Obama is his role model, he said no because Barack Obama is too great of a person to be emulated. He doesn’t even think it is possible to be him. Kenya as a whole would go wild with joy should Obama ever choose to visit the land of his ancestors.
There is even a hairstyle called Obama. Although it looks nothing like his. It basically consists of cornrows. Very popular here, rightfully so as well. Come on, it is named after Obama!
Football
The Kenyans cannot live without this popular sport. Young kids to adults have come and joined us in our afternoon games. Many kids have shared their dreams with us. Many of them wish to be Christiano Ronaldo when they grow up.
The three of us have been visiting Roy’s high school football team and watching them train. Amanda even joins them in their games. All of them are so talented. Their training is very gruelling and rigorous. Nothing will deter the students from playing football, not even Mother Nature. It has been raining a lot for the past two days, yet the boys continue playing soccer regardless of how muddy the conditions get.
Many of the students we have met have also asked us to get them football scholarships. It is so difficult to explain to them that scholarships are not easy to come and involve a very competitive process. Many of the kids here are so talented that it is saddening to see that their dreams will fade away at some point, especially when the struggles of life greet them.
Football has introduced us to many people here. Many of them are now some of our friends whom we hand out with daily. It is a game that has created many friendships that I hope will last a lifetime as it has allowed us to meet some truly incredible people.
Lesson of the Week:
Citizens of industrialized nations have so many options available to them in pretty much every aspect of their lives. For example, in the beverages industry here the big two players here are Tusker and Coca Cola. Tusker is a beer company, and a very famous one at that. Water seems to be more expensive than Tusker and Coca Cola here. Here in Oyugis at least, I only see Coca Cola brands such as Sprite, Fanta and Coke. I have yet to see any evidence that Pepsi is sold here. Soda prices here range from 20 to 40 KES while water for a similar size would be sold for 30 – 50 KES.
This summer is definitely one that I am going to journal and blog my way through! There is always so much happening that it is impossible to go a day without noting down the occurrences of the day.
I have already been here for three weeks. Three things which strongly influence Kenyans are God, Obama, and Football (Soccer). Most of the Oyugians, even kids, I have met so far have spoken about all three topics within the first 5- 10 minutes of our conversation.
God
Kenyans are very religious. Folks here go to church on either Saturday or Sunday, some even go both days. Church sermons are usually couple of hours long and involve long sermons by the priest and loads of Gospel Choir. A few of the churches near my hotel have outdoors speakers attached, which always end up jolting me to consciousness during the weekends. What I have noticed here is that the sermons sound very, very angry. The priest is usually screaming for hours at end.
Life here seems to be defined here by the Bible (I have only met Christians here). When visiting schools many of the songs the kids sing are about biblical stories such as the 5 foolish and wise men etc. Even when playing with the kids in our neighbourhood, after asking them to sing songs were us they sung us songs related to the Church.
Even the “hoodlums” here seem to be very religious. On Jen’s birthday one of the guys we had met at the internet cafe signed “T-H-U-G” on her birthday card. It stood for “True Homies Under God.”Jen, Amanda, and I doubled over in laughter after reading that since we never thought of it that way.
Obama
Obama is considered to be a level just under the Divine Being here. He is from this province in Kenya, the Nyanza Province so he is a HUGE deal here. Not even kidding. I have been to so many shops and establishments where his picture is hung. Many people ask us if we are from America. They get disappointed when we tell them we are from Canada, but cheer up as soon as we tell them we border U.S.A. Many folks have also asked us if we have met him. I wish.
Roy, our Project Coordinator, is a good example of how Obama is viewed. When we asked him if Obama is his role model, he said no because Barack Obama is too great of a person to be emulated. He doesn’t even think it is possible to be him. Kenya as a whole would go wild with joy should Obama ever choose to visit the land of his ancestors.
There is even a hairstyle called Obama. Although it looks nothing like his. It basically consists of cornrows. Very popular here, rightfully so as well. Come on, it is named after Obama!
Football
The Kenyans cannot live without this popular sport. Young kids to adults have come and joined us in our afternoon games. Many kids have shared their dreams with us. Many of them wish to be Christiano Ronaldo when they grow up.
The three of us have been visiting Roy’s high school football team and watching them train. Amanda even joins them in their games. All of them are so talented. Their training is very gruelling and rigorous. Nothing will deter the students from playing football, not even Mother Nature. It has been raining a lot for the past two days, yet the boys continue playing soccer regardless of how muddy the conditions get.
Many of the students we have met have also asked us to get them football scholarships. It is so difficult to explain to them that scholarships are not easy to come and involve a very competitive process. Many of the kids here are so talented that it is saddening to see that their dreams will fade away at some point, especially when the struggles of life greet them.
Football has introduced us to many people here. Many of them are now some of our friends whom we hand out with daily. It is a game that has created many friendships that I hope will last a lifetime as it has allowed us to meet some truly incredible people.
Lesson of the Week:
Citizens of industrialized nations have so many options available to them in pretty much every aspect of their lives. For example, in the beverages industry here the big two players here are Tusker and Coca Cola. Tusker is a beer company, and a very famous one at that. Water seems to be more expensive than Tusker and Coca Cola here. Here in Oyugis at least, I only see Coca Cola brands such as Sprite, Fanta and Coke. I have yet to see any evidence that Pepsi is sold here. Soda prices here range from 20 to 40 KES while water for a similar size would be sold for 30 – 50 KES.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Tick Tock Goes the Clock...
This week I went to the kitchen to meet the Yogurt Mamas. It was definitely one of the highlights of the week. All of them were so nice and had so much to say about the project. Of course, all of what they said was translated back to me in English. Jen and Amanda were unable to come as they were ill. So I was with Roy and the Mamas. It was fun, a lot of the morning was spent talking to the Mamas about the project, their roles in the community and the impact they will be making, the perceptions associated with the yogurt they will be making, their own goals and responsibilities etc. After that I went around and asked each Mama to introduce and share something interesting about themselves with the group including their occupation, why they joined the kitchen, and why they feel this project is important. After I got home I organized all the answers given so I could make a short profile on each Mama that will be posted on our NGO’s website and the kitchen walls.
An observation I noticed is that time is of not a huge essence here. People here really do operate on their own schedules. For example, we had told the Mamas to arrive by 9am, the first one arrived by 10 and the last one had trickled in by 1pm. I guess that may have to do with folks around here waking up between 4-5am and calling it quits late in the evening. When you have so many hours to carry out your tasks, I guess it doesn’t make a difference what you do during the day as long as work gets done. Also, getting anything here done will make you wish that you were going through a root canal procedure instead. I kid, just exaggerating! Jokes aside, getting the kitchen up and running has been a huge ordeal. We still don’t have electricity as we don’t want to cave in and go the corrupt route. The painter keeps canceling on us without informing us, and he is the 2nd one whose help we have solicited. The list can continue to go on forever.
Remember how I have told you all about the three girls who are our neighbours: Evaleen, Sachbea and Tracey. Well Tracey (the youngest) has finally opened up to us and has started saying our names! We have been so delighted that we keep taking videos of her saying our names. She has also started to smile at us a lot which is so great as she really does have a beautiful smile!
Want to hear about Murphy’s Law striking again? So a couple of days ago Jen, Amanda and I ventured out to the school to play with the kids. Pretty normal for us right? Well, as it turns out not so much as today I was going to join the game. Before I get to the game though, the three of us decided to climb a tree. Jen and Amanda climbed farther than I did and I jumped off the tree sooner than them too because of the bugs. Whatever, I don’t like crawling critters. Well, when the two of them started climbing down they both realized they were stuck so I climbed back up to help them down only to fall from the tree on my descent thus ripping my pants at the knees and taking home a pretty large scrape on both of my knees. That was strike one for good ol’ Murphy. I then decided that a couple of scrapes were not going to keep me from playing soccer, the game had already started. So for the first time! I was going to brave playing a game of soccer, a game that involves flying objects. Think I am being melodramatic, I don’t think so. Within 10 seconds of standing on the field, as I was asking Amanda and Christopher (goalie) whose team I was going to be on, Christopher who hadn’t seen me come on to the field kicked me in the stomach with all the power he could put in a kick (he usually kicks the ball couple of stories high). Knocked the wind out of me. Suffice it to say I am going to stay clear of soccer for a bit.
I almost forgot, for those of you who know me really well will be surprised to know I have gone the vegetarian route. Now being a carnivore before I embarked on this journey, I am not sure if this is a permanent change but I have not had meat for about a week now. An accomplishment? I think so.
As Jen has continued being very sick, we have been spending more and more time at the hotel. After lunch, we all decided to sit on the balcony and wind down from the week’s activities. My plan was to write in my journal, but I ended up people watching as there was always something interesting to see. I took so many pictures and videos. Since I can’t upload them yet I will tell you a bit about them below.
Interesting and Memorable Sightings/ Quotes!
• “be Christ-like on the field,” a soccer coach mentoring his students before a big game. I thought it was pretty silly. I mean being nice to the opponent’s team is not going to win you the game. There will be shoving, pushing and blocking involved. I don’t think Jesus would approve that kind of behaviour....
• Fred (hotel staff) killing a HUGE bug with bug spray and then air-freshening the room as if there was nothing wrong. Meanwhile we bolted out of the room as the combination of two had created a pretty putrid smell.
• Kids no older than the age of 8 caring for their infant sibling(s).
• Five guys riding on the back of a truck that is piled with long pieces of wood. So not safe!
• Women carrying their day’s worth of groceries on their heads. I feel like bags here are so “last season.” It is now all about the head balancing act. Saw a woman carrying a brand new mattress on her head, and a double one at that!
• A sheep struggling away from its owner. I think that is because he/ she knew it was their last day. I took a video of it =/
• Wearing coats here are so popular. I saw a man wearing a winter parka in middle of the day. It was blistering hot!
• Families of four ride together on one motorbike. That is definitely a balancing act, and one I hope always stays balanced...
An observation I noticed is that time is of not a huge essence here. People here really do operate on their own schedules. For example, we had told the Mamas to arrive by 9am, the first one arrived by 10 and the last one had trickled in by 1pm. I guess that may have to do with folks around here waking up between 4-5am and calling it quits late in the evening. When you have so many hours to carry out your tasks, I guess it doesn’t make a difference what you do during the day as long as work gets done. Also, getting anything here done will make you wish that you were going through a root canal procedure instead. I kid, just exaggerating! Jokes aside, getting the kitchen up and running has been a huge ordeal. We still don’t have electricity as we don’t want to cave in and go the corrupt route. The painter keeps canceling on us without informing us, and he is the 2nd one whose help we have solicited. The list can continue to go on forever.
Remember how I have told you all about the three girls who are our neighbours: Evaleen, Sachbea and Tracey. Well Tracey (the youngest) has finally opened up to us and has started saying our names! We have been so delighted that we keep taking videos of her saying our names. She has also started to smile at us a lot which is so great as she really does have a beautiful smile!
Want to hear about Murphy’s Law striking again? So a couple of days ago Jen, Amanda and I ventured out to the school to play with the kids. Pretty normal for us right? Well, as it turns out not so much as today I was going to join the game. Before I get to the game though, the three of us decided to climb a tree. Jen and Amanda climbed farther than I did and I jumped off the tree sooner than them too because of the bugs. Whatever, I don’t like crawling critters. Well, when the two of them started climbing down they both realized they were stuck so I climbed back up to help them down only to fall from the tree on my descent thus ripping my pants at the knees and taking home a pretty large scrape on both of my knees. That was strike one for good ol’ Murphy. I then decided that a couple of scrapes were not going to keep me from playing soccer, the game had already started. So for the first time! I was going to brave playing a game of soccer, a game that involves flying objects. Think I am being melodramatic, I don’t think so. Within 10 seconds of standing on the field, as I was asking Amanda and Christopher (goalie) whose team I was going to be on, Christopher who hadn’t seen me come on to the field kicked me in the stomach with all the power he could put in a kick (he usually kicks the ball couple of stories high). Knocked the wind out of me. Suffice it to say I am going to stay clear of soccer for a bit.
I almost forgot, for those of you who know me really well will be surprised to know I have gone the vegetarian route. Now being a carnivore before I embarked on this journey, I am not sure if this is a permanent change but I have not had meat for about a week now. An accomplishment? I think so.
As Jen has continued being very sick, we have been spending more and more time at the hotel. After lunch, we all decided to sit on the balcony and wind down from the week’s activities. My plan was to write in my journal, but I ended up people watching as there was always something interesting to see. I took so many pictures and videos. Since I can’t upload them yet I will tell you a bit about them below.
Interesting and Memorable Sightings/ Quotes!
• “be Christ-like on the field,” a soccer coach mentoring his students before a big game. I thought it was pretty silly. I mean being nice to the opponent’s team is not going to win you the game. There will be shoving, pushing and blocking involved. I don’t think Jesus would approve that kind of behaviour....
• Fred (hotel staff) killing a HUGE bug with bug spray and then air-freshening the room as if there was nothing wrong. Meanwhile we bolted out of the room as the combination of two had created a pretty putrid smell.
• Kids no older than the age of 8 caring for their infant sibling(s).
• Five guys riding on the back of a truck that is piled with long pieces of wood. So not safe!
• Women carrying their day’s worth of groceries on their heads. I feel like bags here are so “last season.” It is now all about the head balancing act. Saw a woman carrying a brand new mattress on her head, and a double one at that!
• A sheep struggling away from its owner. I think that is because he/ she knew it was their last day. I took a video of it =/
• Wearing coats here are so popular. I saw a man wearing a winter parka in middle of the day. It was blistering hot!
• Families of four ride together on one motorbike. That is definitely a balancing act, and one I hope always stays balanced...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
President!
Hi everyone! Miss you all! Not so much though, life here is so fun and adventurous =P. Like I said before, Oyugis already feels like home and I can’t help but marvel at how quickly that transition occurred. Everyone stopping you to say hello, animals roaming everywhere, and kids yelling “Mzungu” is now an everyday occurrence.
I met our Project Coordinator, Roy, today with Jen and Amanda. As he had been out of town for the past we all we had a bunch of issues to go over. Unfortunately the water tank at the kitchen had toppled over and replacing that will be another expensive investment. None of us are sure how it happened, a possibility is that someone may have been trying to steal it, for which if that was the case then it was a dumb idea on the instigators part. The water tank is massive and can hold up to 3 000 litres of water, not an easy job to pull off...
I was also able to experience first-hand how bureaucracies are slowing the start-up process so much. To just get funds released there are so many signatories involved including travelling to Kisumu which is at least a 1 ½ hour drive. Also for us to purchase a lot of things, out suppliers need to be approved by KEMRI which is so annoying as the process then gets dragged on for weeks! I also learned that there is a straight and corrupt way when it comes to getting access for electricity. Straight way gets you electricity in about 3 weeks if not more, while corrupt way will get you electricity in 2 weeks. Weird eh...
Yesterday was just frustrating for all as the goal was to have the kitchen’s production started on June 1st, 2009 which was then pushed back to July 1st, 2009. It is almost the end of the month and the Mamas have yet to be trained as we need the Mwanza Mamas to come down for the training but they were unable to come this week as they also have their own kitchen commitments to keep. It is just difficult getting things to move forward because of the interdependencies that exist between the tasks. To put it in perspective, what needs to be done now should have been done more than 1 ½ years ago. Getting projects started and keeping them sustainable is of huge concern to the parties involved.
So for the past couple of days we have been introducing Oyugians the card game President. For those of you who have played this game, you know at the end of every game there is a President, Vice President, Vice A-hole and A-hole. It is just how the game works. Well the first time we played it here we played it with Nick, a guy who we befriended from the Internet Cafe. This was a hilarious game as Jen and I in each round played were either the pres or VP and Nick and Amanda switched around the roles of a-hole and vice a-hole. What makes this game even more fun is that the a-hole has to give their 2 best cards to the pres, while the pres returns the favour by giving them their 2 worst cards. VP and VA also participate in this exchange, only that a single card is exchanged. We all had a great time, and it was such a novelty to not be in the a-hole group as I was always a fixture in that group in the past. Haha
We have also been spending a lot of time with the hotel staff today who are so much fun to be around. We mostly hand out with the staff that we are able to communicate in English with. I know our friend circle is limited, but we converse in Luo with the other staff. You can bet these conversations are not long as our Luo is very limited. Anyhow, we also introduced the game President to a few of the staff at Hotel Vesture Villa. Many of the employees here are similar to us in age. They are: Fred (the receptionist), Angela (so sweet and caring, I have dubbed her our Kenyan Mom!), Beatrice (another receptionist who is hilarious), Lencer (pronounce Lenza) and Anok (also works in the reception area). We played President with Beatrice, Anok and Fred last night which was loads of fun as Beatrice and Anok kept winning. What was hilarious is that Amanda again was always the a-hole or the vice a-hole. I had a great time teasing her, especially when she would try to give advice to the other players in the game!
Interesting and Memorable Sightings/ Quotes!
• There is a church called “Oyugis Happy Church!”
• Sunday sermons here are LOUD with the priest practically screaming the sermon. The gospel music played is so loud that the boom of the music echoes throughout the crowd. Also, there are so many churches in the neighbourhood, so you can imagine how noisy it gets on Sunday.
• A drunk man “honouring” us as being his sisters. He asked us to transfer money into his account two minutes later =/
• Having a photo shoot with the hotel staff after a game of President!
• “Buy me a present,” is frequently yelled at us by the kids
• The next door girls being introduced to coloring books and crayons. That was fun.
• Seeing Tracey (next door girl, 2 ½ yrs old) smiling more often! It is so hard to make this girl smile that we have taken it upon ourselves to make her smile more often! She is incredibly photogenic, just like many of the children here.
I met our Project Coordinator, Roy, today with Jen and Amanda. As he had been out of town for the past we all we had a bunch of issues to go over. Unfortunately the water tank at the kitchen had toppled over and replacing that will be another expensive investment. None of us are sure how it happened, a possibility is that someone may have been trying to steal it, for which if that was the case then it was a dumb idea on the instigators part. The water tank is massive and can hold up to 3 000 litres of water, not an easy job to pull off...
I was also able to experience first-hand how bureaucracies are slowing the start-up process so much. To just get funds released there are so many signatories involved including travelling to Kisumu which is at least a 1 ½ hour drive. Also for us to purchase a lot of things, out suppliers need to be approved by KEMRI which is so annoying as the process then gets dragged on for weeks! I also learned that there is a straight and corrupt way when it comes to getting access for electricity. Straight way gets you electricity in about 3 weeks if not more, while corrupt way will get you electricity in 2 weeks. Weird eh...
Yesterday was just frustrating for all as the goal was to have the kitchen’s production started on June 1st, 2009 which was then pushed back to July 1st, 2009. It is almost the end of the month and the Mamas have yet to be trained as we need the Mwanza Mamas to come down for the training but they were unable to come this week as they also have their own kitchen commitments to keep. It is just difficult getting things to move forward because of the interdependencies that exist between the tasks. To put it in perspective, what needs to be done now should have been done more than 1 ½ years ago. Getting projects started and keeping them sustainable is of huge concern to the parties involved.
So for the past couple of days we have been introducing Oyugians the card game President. For those of you who have played this game, you know at the end of every game there is a President, Vice President, Vice A-hole and A-hole. It is just how the game works. Well the first time we played it here we played it with Nick, a guy who we befriended from the Internet Cafe. This was a hilarious game as Jen and I in each round played were either the pres or VP and Nick and Amanda switched around the roles of a-hole and vice a-hole. What makes this game even more fun is that the a-hole has to give their 2 best cards to the pres, while the pres returns the favour by giving them their 2 worst cards. VP and VA also participate in this exchange, only that a single card is exchanged. We all had a great time, and it was such a novelty to not be in the a-hole group as I was always a fixture in that group in the past. Haha
We have also been spending a lot of time with the hotel staff today who are so much fun to be around. We mostly hand out with the staff that we are able to communicate in English with. I know our friend circle is limited, but we converse in Luo with the other staff. You can bet these conversations are not long as our Luo is very limited. Anyhow, we also introduced the game President to a few of the staff at Hotel Vesture Villa. Many of the employees here are similar to us in age. They are: Fred (the receptionist), Angela (so sweet and caring, I have dubbed her our Kenyan Mom!), Beatrice (another receptionist who is hilarious), Lencer (pronounce Lenza) and Anok (also works in the reception area). We played President with Beatrice, Anok and Fred last night which was loads of fun as Beatrice and Anok kept winning. What was hilarious is that Amanda again was always the a-hole or the vice a-hole. I had a great time teasing her, especially when she would try to give advice to the other players in the game!
Interesting and Memorable Sightings/ Quotes!
• There is a church called “Oyugis Happy Church!”
• Sunday sermons here are LOUD with the priest practically screaming the sermon. The gospel music played is so loud that the boom of the music echoes throughout the crowd. Also, there are so many churches in the neighbourhood, so you can imagine how noisy it gets on Sunday.
• A drunk man “honouring” us as being his sisters. He asked us to transfer money into his account two minutes later =/
• Having a photo shoot with the hotel staff after a game of President!
• “Buy me a present,” is frequently yelled at us by the kids
• The next door girls being introduced to coloring books and crayons. That was fun.
• Seeing Tracey (next door girl, 2 ½ yrs old) smiling more often! It is so hard to make this girl smile that we have taken it upon ourselves to make her smile more often! She is incredibly photogenic, just like many of the children here.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
On Top of the World
Nan’go!
Today bought a new set of adventures. Since my sleeping schedule has not quiet adjusted, I almost refused to head out today but thanks to Jen and Amanda we left to go watch sports at the local school with a few of our friends.
After breakfast we arrived at the school where different schools were competing in football (of course), badminton, volleyball, basketball and field hockey. Girls and boys were both competing in football to reach the provincial level. There are three levels of schools here: district, provincial and national (very competitive). The schools have better curriculum as you go higher up in the levels with the national schools selecting the brightest kids in the country.
The games were fun to watch, I watched my first football game for the 1st time! Amanda was shocked, but then the girl was practically handed a soccer ball before holding a bottle of milk. The day was really nice, but as usual the sun was blistering hot. It was funny because our friends wanted us to sit in the shade while we were adamant to sit in the sun. We later found out Oyugians around us were worried we could not handle the sun. We found that very amusing. I even got a slight tan from our day out in the sun, although I am not too enthusiastic about my “flip flop” tan.
After having lunch (egg wrapped in chapatti!) we headed back to the hotel where we hung out for a bit while entertaining the children who were outside our hotel. We keep telling them we all have names since they keep calling us “Mzungus” (white person) A lot of people think Jen, Amanda and I are sisters. A bunch of folks also thought Jen and I are twins because of our tanned tones, even though Jen is darker than me! Even setting that aside, we look nothing alike! Oh another thing I almost forgot to mention, people are only classified into “blacks” and “white” here. Indians, Asians and Caucasians are referred to as whites/ mzungus here.
We discovered our favorite place in the town yesterday. We are honestly a trio of explorers. After realizing that Jen had been missing for a while from the room Amanda and I set out to look for her in the conference room which is on the 3rd floor of the building. After getting there and finding her we realized there was another level to the hotel. We of course proceeded upstairs where we found a ladder that took us to where the water tanks were located. Clearly, we could not resist seeing what was up there and much to the staff and construction workers amusement we climbed the very sketchy ladder. The climb was so worth it! It was really stunning up there. The children on the ground must have gotten worried for us when we set on the ledge, which also was sketchy as it is easy to fall over as there are no railings, because they kept yelling things to us in a worried/ frantic tone. I am sure phrases like “are you dumb” was exchanged since I am sure it is not a normal practice for people to climb to the highest spot in the building where the tanks are located. It was loads of fun though. Our new reading and journal-ing spot is now on top of the world.
Another thing I discovered is that people think my name is “Ronnie” or, this is even better, “Rainis;” Amanda is always confused with “Emelda,” and people just add another “f” to Jens name. I suggested that we should start wearing name tags around the town as we always get called a different variation of our name!
Well I am now! Also wanted to add that I love reading the emails being sent to me, and keep them coming!
Oriti!
....Con’t
Interesting Things Learned and Seen!
• Folks here always ask “how are you?” as we walk back because the literal translation for their hello is “how are you?” Interesting to notice is that you can tell a person’s fluency in English through how they reply to our greeting as many just say “I am fine” regardless of how they feel.
• When writing letters to our friends and family in Canada, I found out that we have to write the name of the continent where the country we are mailing to is located.
• “Oyugians” (name made up by me, I don’t think they are formally known as this) are always surprised with our eagerness to learn Luo as to them their language is not that great.
• Oyugians also tend to constantly apologize as I stumble or trip as I walk along; as if my clumsiness is their fault. I know it’s sweet, but I bet you they must be exhausted from saying it so much by now, and its only Day 3! For those of you who know me well, know that I continue to be clumsy on paved paths so imagine me walking on dirt paths cluttered with rocks of all sizes.
• People have to pretty much clean their residences on a daily basis because of the dirt that collects as the day goes on.
• An amusing thing I noticed is that Amanda, Jen and I never tan although we think we do, but that is just how dusty we get every day. We return to our original skin tones at the end of each day much to Jen’s and Amanda’s dismay.
• A peace sign here “V” means “Say no to Sex.” We found that out later after we told a bunch of kids to pose with the peace sign. Haha, well at least we were preaching something good!
• Thumbs up sign here means “love.” We also found that out after we were going around giving the thumbs-up to kids after they did a good job at something
• The Luo people do not practice circumcision for either sex.
• Favorite music genres here are Blues and R&B. Blues for them includes every other genre.....including music by John Mayer.
• Kenyans consider black a “cool” color, whereas red and white are bad, “hot” colors.
• Bob(s) are also known as shillings like “bucks” in US/CAD when referring to money.
• Saw a woman today holding a chicken by the wings under her arms. What was interesting to note was that the chicken alive and quiet. I think that was because he/she realized that it was near the end of their demise =/
• Saw a woman carrying a huge pot made out of iron on her head casually walking down the street as if it was no heavier than a pillow! I want to try carrying something on my head before I leave. I am thinking perhaps a bundle of clothes, but I will probably drop that within a minute as I have no sense of balance. Haha
• I also saw a woman carrying a couple of egg trays on her head! I think I am going to try that...
• Women and men here give no importance to one’s body image as citizens of industrialized countries are known to have.
Today bought a new set of adventures. Since my sleeping schedule has not quiet adjusted, I almost refused to head out today but thanks to Jen and Amanda we left to go watch sports at the local school with a few of our friends.
After breakfast we arrived at the school where different schools were competing in football (of course), badminton, volleyball, basketball and field hockey. Girls and boys were both competing in football to reach the provincial level. There are three levels of schools here: district, provincial and national (very competitive). The schools have better curriculum as you go higher up in the levels with the national schools selecting the brightest kids in the country.
The games were fun to watch, I watched my first football game for the 1st time! Amanda was shocked, but then the girl was practically handed a soccer ball before holding a bottle of milk. The day was really nice, but as usual the sun was blistering hot. It was funny because our friends wanted us to sit in the shade while we were adamant to sit in the sun. We later found out Oyugians around us were worried we could not handle the sun. We found that very amusing. I even got a slight tan from our day out in the sun, although I am not too enthusiastic about my “flip flop” tan.
After having lunch (egg wrapped in chapatti!) we headed back to the hotel where we hung out for a bit while entertaining the children who were outside our hotel. We keep telling them we all have names since they keep calling us “Mzungus” (white person) A lot of people think Jen, Amanda and I are sisters. A bunch of folks also thought Jen and I are twins because of our tanned tones, even though Jen is darker than me! Even setting that aside, we look nothing alike! Oh another thing I almost forgot to mention, people are only classified into “blacks” and “white” here. Indians, Asians and Caucasians are referred to as whites/ mzungus here.
We discovered our favorite place in the town yesterday. We are honestly a trio of explorers. After realizing that Jen had been missing for a while from the room Amanda and I set out to look for her in the conference room which is on the 3rd floor of the building. After getting there and finding her we realized there was another level to the hotel. We of course proceeded upstairs where we found a ladder that took us to where the water tanks were located. Clearly, we could not resist seeing what was up there and much to the staff and construction workers amusement we climbed the very sketchy ladder. The climb was so worth it! It was really stunning up there. The children on the ground must have gotten worried for us when we set on the ledge, which also was sketchy as it is easy to fall over as there are no railings, because they kept yelling things to us in a worried/ frantic tone. I am sure phrases like “are you dumb” was exchanged since I am sure it is not a normal practice for people to climb to the highest spot in the building where the tanks are located. It was loads of fun though. Our new reading and journal-ing spot is now on top of the world.
Another thing I discovered is that people think my name is “Ronnie” or, this is even better, “Rainis;” Amanda is always confused with “Emelda,” and people just add another “f” to Jens name. I suggested that we should start wearing name tags around the town as we always get called a different variation of our name!
Well I am now! Also wanted to add that I love reading the emails being sent to me, and keep them coming!
Oriti!
....Con’t
Interesting Things Learned and Seen!
• Folks here always ask “how are you?” as we walk back because the literal translation for their hello is “how are you?” Interesting to notice is that you can tell a person’s fluency in English through how they reply to our greeting as many just say “I am fine” regardless of how they feel.
• When writing letters to our friends and family in Canada, I found out that we have to write the name of the continent where the country we are mailing to is located.
• “Oyugians” (name made up by me, I don’t think they are formally known as this) are always surprised with our eagerness to learn Luo as to them their language is not that great.
• Oyugians also tend to constantly apologize as I stumble or trip as I walk along; as if my clumsiness is their fault. I know it’s sweet, but I bet you they must be exhausted from saying it so much by now, and its only Day 3! For those of you who know me well, know that I continue to be clumsy on paved paths so imagine me walking on dirt paths cluttered with rocks of all sizes.
• People have to pretty much clean their residences on a daily basis because of the dirt that collects as the day goes on.
• An amusing thing I noticed is that Amanda, Jen and I never tan although we think we do, but that is just how dusty we get every day. We return to our original skin tones at the end of each day much to Jen’s and Amanda’s dismay.
• A peace sign here “V” means “Say no to Sex.” We found that out later after we told a bunch of kids to pose with the peace sign. Haha, well at least we were preaching something good!
• Thumbs up sign here means “love.” We also found that out after we were going around giving the thumbs-up to kids after they did a good job at something
• The Luo people do not practice circumcision for either sex.
• Favorite music genres here are Blues and R&B. Blues for them includes every other genre.....including music by John Mayer.
• Kenyans consider black a “cool” color, whereas red and white are bad, “hot” colors.
• Bob(s) are also known as shillings like “bucks” in US/CAD when referring to money.
• Saw a woman today holding a chicken by the wings under her arms. What was interesting to note was that the chicken alive and quiet. I think that was because he/she realized that it was near the end of their demise =/
• Saw a woman carrying a huge pot made out of iron on her head casually walking down the street as if it was no heavier than a pillow! I want to try carrying something on my head before I leave. I am thinking perhaps a bundle of clothes, but I will probably drop that within a minute as I have no sense of balance. Haha
• I also saw a woman carrying a couple of egg trays on her head! I think I am going to try that...
• Women and men here give no importance to one’s body image as citizens of industrialized countries are known to have.
Atieno
June 18-19th
Ahh Oyugis is such a great town! I cannot believe I have been here for only a couple of days, it seems like it has been forever since I left home. Oyugis is already home. Although it is a small town there is always so much to do. Had the best chapattis ever at a restaurant down the street from our hotel. We were told that the restaurant makes 600- 900 chapattis a day. Crazy, I know. I also went to the marketplace yesterday and had such a time. The market place is enormous! There was everything being sold from tools to food to clothes to shoes made on the spot! When shopping around for clothes, every stall was pretty much selling the same stuff: same skits, kangas, shirts etc. This theme continued in most of the stalls we saw like the health product stalls, daily essentials, food and many more. We had planned on spending about half an hour at the stall but it ended up being a good hour and half cause the marketplace was so huge and tricky to manoeuvre through. We kept running into dead ends when trying to leave.
Later on in the day I met tons of more kids when we went to go play soccer with the kids in the neighbourhood. It was loads of fun. Also earlier in the day we went to the local school, Oyugis Primary School (grades 1-8) where we took group pictures of all the students and teachers present. That was amusing to watch as there were children EVERYWHERE with the teachers running after them to create some sort of an order. There were so many children that not all of them could fit into one picture. We had actually gone there hoping we could tutor the children in English or answer questions about Canada but the Headmaster and Head teacher just kept talking to us. I kept thinking that perhaps this is what schools are like in rural areas of Pakistan/ India. At one point it was interesting, and also kind of appalling, when the Headmaster pretty much snapped his fingers at the children to come get us chairs. I guess it is a common practice here, just like how younger children always have to listen to elders, even children older than them regardless of anything. Age seems to trump everything else. I also noticed that children who speak English, not all but most of them acted in almost an arrogant manner. It was really interesting to watch the dynamics of those relationships unfold. Don’t get me wrong though, many of the children I have met are so nice and know how to good time, at least at my expense. I found out last night that a lot of the Luo the children have been teaching has been wrong =/. I am going to get back at them!
While at the Internet cafe yesterday I found out that my African name is, Atieno! Atieno is a name given to those born at night. Met a lot more people at the cafe, all with interesting backgrounds that they shared with us. I am impressed that so many people here speak English. Also the guys at the Internet love western music. The song by Ciara ft Kanye, Knock You Down, is a favourite at the cafe. I am pretty sure it was set on repeat the last time we were there. I am pretty sure the Cafe owners are going to be crushed when we leave. Not because they love us, but because of the steady stream of income we give. Each of us use the computers for at least a good hour every time we go there.
Overall its great here, the air is always heavily scented with the smells of coals and what is being cooked. The streets are always busy with the different animals, people and vehicles frequenting the roads. Have not ridden a Boda Boda again, but maybe I will do that tomorrow with the girls. Serious work for the project starts tomorrow (Sunday). Have to get work done from no onwards! My project coordinator returns from Nairobi tomorrow, don’t worry though I will keep the stories coming. I will also post pictures when I have better internet connection. Trying to do at that the internet cafe will take days!
Oriti!
Interesting Things Learned and Seen!....This is going to be long =D
• Restaurants are called Hotels here, and hotels are also called hotels.
• There are signs of Coke everywhere! From store banners to flyers to everything!
• We know of only two places that have flushable toilets in their washrooms. 1) Our hotel and a restaurant called La Mulo (apparently they have awesome Spanish Omelettes but they were closed today =( )
• Children who are young kids themselves parent their younger siblings. I have seen so many kids as young as 5 who have already started tending to their younger siblings while their parents are out.
• When at the soccer game only a few girls who we play soccer have shoes and socks, all the other girls play barefoot; whereas, when we were watching the boys play, all of them had proper shoes and socks...
• All the food is cooked on coals, which is great cause I love the flavor it adds to our meals
• The irons here are heated by hot coals which are placed in an iron’s cavity
• The ball used for football is made out plastic bags stuffed inside each other then tied together with rope. I must say, it is fun to play with!
• The guys here are very affectionate, I saw tons of guys holding hands and/ or hugging each other while walking down a street in groups as large as 5!
• The school down the street has 1500 children who are taught by 28 teachers!
• English and math are taught to the students everyday while other subjects such as social geography are rotated throughout the week.
• Tuesdays and Fridays are the main market days! On these two days, Oyugis must at least double in population, or that is what it seems like as there is barely any room to move!
• Average income for people here is around 10 000 KSH. I CAD is equivalent to about 70 KSH...
.....TO BE CONTINUED!!
Ahh Oyugis is such a great town! I cannot believe I have been here for only a couple of days, it seems like it has been forever since I left home. Oyugis is already home. Although it is a small town there is always so much to do. Had the best chapattis ever at a restaurant down the street from our hotel. We were told that the restaurant makes 600- 900 chapattis a day. Crazy, I know. I also went to the marketplace yesterday and had such a time. The market place is enormous! There was everything being sold from tools to food to clothes to shoes made on the spot! When shopping around for clothes, every stall was pretty much selling the same stuff: same skits, kangas, shirts etc. This theme continued in most of the stalls we saw like the health product stalls, daily essentials, food and many more. We had planned on spending about half an hour at the stall but it ended up being a good hour and half cause the marketplace was so huge and tricky to manoeuvre through. We kept running into dead ends when trying to leave.
Later on in the day I met tons of more kids when we went to go play soccer with the kids in the neighbourhood. It was loads of fun. Also earlier in the day we went to the local school, Oyugis Primary School (grades 1-8) where we took group pictures of all the students and teachers present. That was amusing to watch as there were children EVERYWHERE with the teachers running after them to create some sort of an order. There were so many children that not all of them could fit into one picture. We had actually gone there hoping we could tutor the children in English or answer questions about Canada but the Headmaster and Head teacher just kept talking to us. I kept thinking that perhaps this is what schools are like in rural areas of Pakistan/ India. At one point it was interesting, and also kind of appalling, when the Headmaster pretty much snapped his fingers at the children to come get us chairs. I guess it is a common practice here, just like how younger children always have to listen to elders, even children older than them regardless of anything. Age seems to trump everything else. I also noticed that children who speak English, not all but most of them acted in almost an arrogant manner. It was really interesting to watch the dynamics of those relationships unfold. Don’t get me wrong though, many of the children I have met are so nice and know how to good time, at least at my expense. I found out last night that a lot of the Luo the children have been teaching has been wrong =/. I am going to get back at them!
While at the Internet cafe yesterday I found out that my African name is, Atieno! Atieno is a name given to those born at night. Met a lot more people at the cafe, all with interesting backgrounds that they shared with us. I am impressed that so many people here speak English. Also the guys at the Internet love western music. The song by Ciara ft Kanye, Knock You Down, is a favourite at the cafe. I am pretty sure it was set on repeat the last time we were there. I am pretty sure the Cafe owners are going to be crushed when we leave. Not because they love us, but because of the steady stream of income we give. Each of us use the computers for at least a good hour every time we go there.
Overall its great here, the air is always heavily scented with the smells of coals and what is being cooked. The streets are always busy with the different animals, people and vehicles frequenting the roads. Have not ridden a Boda Boda again, but maybe I will do that tomorrow with the girls. Serious work for the project starts tomorrow (Sunday). Have to get work done from no onwards! My project coordinator returns from Nairobi tomorrow, don’t worry though I will keep the stories coming. I will also post pictures when I have better internet connection. Trying to do at that the internet cafe will take days!
Oriti!
Interesting Things Learned and Seen!....This is going to be long =D
• Restaurants are called Hotels here, and hotels are also called hotels.
• There are signs of Coke everywhere! From store banners to flyers to everything!
• We know of only two places that have flushable toilets in their washrooms. 1) Our hotel and a restaurant called La Mulo (apparently they have awesome Spanish Omelettes but they were closed today =( )
• Children who are young kids themselves parent their younger siblings. I have seen so many kids as young as 5 who have already started tending to their younger siblings while their parents are out.
• When at the soccer game only a few girls who we play soccer have shoes and socks, all the other girls play barefoot; whereas, when we were watching the boys play, all of them had proper shoes and socks...
• All the food is cooked on coals, which is great cause I love the flavor it adds to our meals
• The irons here are heated by hot coals which are placed in an iron’s cavity
• The ball used for football is made out plastic bags stuffed inside each other then tied together with rope. I must say, it is fun to play with!
• The guys here are very affectionate, I saw tons of guys holding hands and/ or hugging each other while walking down a street in groups as large as 5!
• The school down the street has 1500 children who are taught by 28 teachers!
• English and math are taught to the students everyday while other subjects such as social geography are rotated throughout the week.
• Tuesdays and Fridays are the main market days! On these two days, Oyugis must at least double in population, or that is what it seems like as there is barely any room to move!
• Average income for people here is around 10 000 KSH. I CAD is equivalent to about 70 KSH...
.....TO BE CONTINUED!!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Nango!...Hello in Luo =D
Ahh, spent my first day here discovering the town of Oyugis! Started the day off with a HUGE breakfast! Jen and Amanda were not kidding when they told me the portions here are massive! After chilling in their rooms for a bit we headed out on a bit of the town’s sightseeing. Well sightseeing for me really as they have already been here for two weeks. First stop was to see Francis at the Rachuonyo District Hospital where we will be working to fulfill some of our tasks for the internship. After that took the coolest mode of transportation ever to the kitchen! I took a Boda Boda, which are the bicycle taxis here. I was terrified for the first bit while because the roads were so bumpy but soon relaxed after I was able to confirm that the ride was not going to end with me lying in a ditch somewhere along the path=D. Suffice it to say, I can’t wait to take it again! After the Bodas Bodas dropped off at the kitchen Jen and Amanda showed me where the Kitchen is, could not go inside as our Coordinator who has the site’s key was out of town.
Next stop was the marketplace. This place is definitely the heart of the city. There are so many vendors selling all sorts of goods! A shopaholic like me can spend days here and not get bored! I will be able to spend more time here today as Jen and Amanda want to get some dresses made. Also need to pick up some daily essentials like water and of course, hot sauce =D(can’t eat meals without adding a flavourful & spicy kick to it!). The grocery store I purchased the things from yesterday was so high-tech! The register had a computer, a scanner and a receipt printing machine. Def not what I was expecting but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
After that we stopped at the internet cafe where I got a taste of the speed of the internet here. But it was access to internet nonetheless! Will be going back today. Later on in the day, the three of us headed to the field to play football with the kids here. They are absolutely crazy about this sport. I of course watched from the sidelines cheering the teams on. I did the teams a favour by not playing since my clumsiness is a factor that needs to be considered especially when playing sports. I did get hit with the ball though, but I just attributed that to the “Murphy’s Law” striking. We are going to go back and play with the kids again; I might even join this time. Can’t wait! I have made so many friends here already! The kids here are so respectful, intelligent and fun to be around. I shall take more pics and post them up soon.
The weather here is gorgeous! The skies are so clear and the sunsets are absolutely breathtaking. Also the streets here are so vibrant with the different species that are frequent residents such as cows, chickens, roosters (I swear I am going to eat them soon as they keep waking me up in the morning, I wish they had a Snooze button to them!), goats and the usual array of bugs. I feel like I am going to go the route that of a vegetarian as it is just weird thinking that some random and innocent animal I see on the streets might just end up on my plate. Their unfortunate demise just becomes way too real for me when put into perspective like that =/.The food here however has been really delicious so far! My favourite are the freshly made chapattis, I can’t wait to try it with peanut butter and jelly, thus making my own Kenyan version of PBJ!
I am also learning the Luo, the language spoken here. So much for learning the few Swahili words before getting here. The locals here find us really amusing when we speak Luo. Even saying a simple thank you will cause them to erupt into a fit of giggles! My Luo has improved a lot even though the kids find my accent hilarious and don’t hesitate to correct me. Although it has gotten confusing cause I now have like 10 kids teaching me what sounds like a different pronunciation of the same word =/.
The goal is to considerably improve my Luo by the time of my next post, I shall even post some words and phrases that I will have learned by then!
Well, I am out now to experience a new day that brings with it a new set of adventures!
Oriti! (Thats in Luo for goodbye =) )
:o) Rani
Next stop was the marketplace. This place is definitely the heart of the city. There are so many vendors selling all sorts of goods! A shopaholic like me can spend days here and not get bored! I will be able to spend more time here today as Jen and Amanda want to get some dresses made. Also need to pick up some daily essentials like water and of course, hot sauce =D(can’t eat meals without adding a flavourful & spicy kick to it!). The grocery store I purchased the things from yesterday was so high-tech! The register had a computer, a scanner and a receipt printing machine. Def not what I was expecting but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
After that we stopped at the internet cafe where I got a taste of the speed of the internet here. But it was access to internet nonetheless! Will be going back today. Later on in the day, the three of us headed to the field to play football with the kids here. They are absolutely crazy about this sport. I of course watched from the sidelines cheering the teams on. I did the teams a favour by not playing since my clumsiness is a factor that needs to be considered especially when playing sports. I did get hit with the ball though, but I just attributed that to the “Murphy’s Law” striking. We are going to go back and play with the kids again; I might even join this time. Can’t wait! I have made so many friends here already! The kids here are so respectful, intelligent and fun to be around. I shall take more pics and post them up soon.
The weather here is gorgeous! The skies are so clear and the sunsets are absolutely breathtaking. Also the streets here are so vibrant with the different species that are frequent residents such as cows, chickens, roosters (I swear I am going to eat them soon as they keep waking me up in the morning, I wish they had a Snooze button to them!), goats and the usual array of bugs. I feel like I am going to go the route that of a vegetarian as it is just weird thinking that some random and innocent animal I see on the streets might just end up on my plate. Their unfortunate demise just becomes way too real for me when put into perspective like that =/.The food here however has been really delicious so far! My favourite are the freshly made chapattis, I can’t wait to try it with peanut butter and jelly, thus making my own Kenyan version of PBJ!
I am also learning the Luo, the language spoken here. So much for learning the few Swahili words before getting here. The locals here find us really amusing when we speak Luo. Even saying a simple thank you will cause them to erupt into a fit of giggles! My Luo has improved a lot even though the kids find my accent hilarious and don’t hesitate to correct me. Although it has gotten confusing cause I now have like 10 kids teaching me what sounds like a different pronunciation of the same word =/.
The goal is to considerably improve my Luo by the time of my next post, I shall even post some words and phrases that I will have learned by then!
Well, I am out now to experience a new day that brings with it a new set of adventures!
Oriti! (Thats in Luo for goodbye =) )
:o) Rani
African Time!
I am finally here! After traveling almost 10 000 miles via planes and cars I am finally here! It was an exhausting journey but it has been great so far. Oyugis already feels like home. I had planned on writing earlier because I wanted to talk about what it is I will be doing here in Oyugis, a rural town in Western Kenya, but due to the short life of my laptop and lack of internet access while I was travelling, that plan did not succeed.
I am going to be living here in Oyugis, Kenya for about 2 ½ months as an intern through my university’s NGO, Western Heads East and my program at the Richard Ivey School of Business. I am going to be working, alongside my two peers Jennifer and Amanda (also from my program), with two local women’s group in helping them establish a sustainable business operation. We are going to help the women set up a yogurt production facility that is currently being funded by grants from the World Bank for researching the health benefits of the yogurt produced at this facility. This pro-biotic cultured yogurt when consumed, increases ones immunity against infectious diseases and improves overall quality of life. It is similar to Activia in Canada for those of you who are familiar with the brand. The strain for this particular yogurt was developed by a few professors at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) and is now going to be used at the kitchen (yogurt production facility) here in Oyugis. It is already being used at the original site in Mwanza, Tanzania (started about 4 years ago).
This internship will be based and supervised by the Ministry of Health at Oyugis, which is working with the women’s groups in the area of health, nutrition and social entrepreneurship, in collaboration with Kenyan Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)and the World Bank. In addition, key players from organizations such as African Medical Research Foundation, Mildmay International, and other government departments will be involved. Continued support from such partners has enabled women’s groups to establish viable and sustainable income generating activities.
My responsibilities for the purpose of this internship are going to revolve around benefiting the various women’s group as they start their operations. Specifically, I am going to be researching the possibility of replicating the business model across other communities once the Oyugis site is successful so other local groups can get involved in this venture. Next, I have to study the intercultural differences and issues when researching on reaching a larger market base of consumers for the pro-biotic yogurt. Research will also focus on increasing collaboration with NGOs and government levels to help with increasing the product reach to more rural and urban areas through funding provided which will subsidize the cost of the yogurt for consumers. Finally and also more importantly, I have to focus my efforts on developing social marketing tools to increase the acceptance and usage of the pro-biotic yogurt. In Lehman’s term I will have to find out what it is that is going to make the locals here spend money on purchasing the yogurt, and are willing to spend, as opposed to putting it towards another household expense which may be important for survival.
:o) Rani
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