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!!

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

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