27^th of May:

We visited the slum of Jamanoor again today but this time we went to have a meeting which we organised with the people living there. We met with the village elders and they outlined the main obstacles that they are facing and the problems that arise from these. They split these problems into four main categories which I will explain below.

 Education:

Almost nobody in Jamanoor has formal education. There is one woman who is a secretary and has graduated secondary school but apart from here nobody has graduated. One man made it to second class, another to fourth class and a third to eighth class but none of these men made it further. Therefore the chances of any of the people living here getting satisfactory jobs are near to impossible. Because of this lack of education they also lack a lot of basic knowledge such as simple hygiene and ways to improve their living situation.

Health:

On the 26^th of May a necessary pump in the well for the village broke. Therefore the people have had no water since then. They had been going into the forest which is beside their village to get water from a reservoir there. Elderly people cannot make the journey to this water source so they were left without water. Even the water that is here is not clean or healthy because mud seeps into it and animals such as cows use it as well.

                                                                                                                                        There are no toilets in the village so people must relieve themselves on the ground. Many of them go into the forest to do this and then when there are heavy rains and it floods with excrement is added to the water source that they drink from. Some have described this water to be a brown/red colour. Drinking this water has caused for many people to suffer from stomach ages, cholera and diarrhoea. Not having any toilets has also attracted many insects to the village.

Housing:

The people are living in the houses which are made by digging a hole in a circle and then placing sticks in this hole which then bend towards themselves which makes a dome shape. This is then covered with rubbish bags and plastic sheets. These houses cannot keep insect out therefore one of the biggest problems in Jamanoor are jiggers, which I have preiously talked about.

                         These houses do not have proper protection against the rain so when the rain is very heavy the water gathers on the floor and this flows into their house and gathers there on the floor where people sleep. This is a huge factor to the spread of malaria. Some people then try to sleep outside but because of the excrement in the area it attracts termites and these bite the people when they try to sleep outside. Bed bugs and flees also live in the houses because of the dirt and mosquitoes are a problem and people don’t have protective nets.

                                     Because of the water that flows into people’s houses pneumonia has become a problem because they are very cold. Their clothes are wet almost all of the time. People have tried to put up newspaper to keep out the rain but this hasn’t worked.

Land Rights:

Even though the people living here have lived here for over 50 years they don’t actually own the land. It is government land so it is owned by them and they are renting it out to another man. He grows maize on it but he allows the people to live there. Therefore we cannot actually start doing development work on it until we have been given the go ahead by the government.

                         We have been to the government about this but they have proved to be very uncooperative. They said that they cannot do any work here until they have a profile on the people who live here. They asked us asked us to first get many statistics for them before we can move any further such as the population of the village. This information they should already have because it is a community of people in the area that they are governing. We have gotten these and given it to them but since then they haven’t contacted us about making further progress.

                                             There is a strip of land running down Jamanoor which is no man’s land, nobody owns it. Therefore we can start building things on this land whenever we want because since nobody owns it then nobody will mind if we do what we want with it.

Income Source:

The people living here have no source of income. This is largely due to the fact that it is very for them to get a job since they have no education. Many of them get their income from begging in Kitale town but the little money they get from that must all go into food so they have no money surplus. They want to start small businesses which is similar to what we did in Kipsongo.

29^th of May:

We went to Jamanoor again today to have another meeting but this time the meeting was with the women of the village rather than the elders. We gave them a briefing on what we discussed during the last meeting. We then asked them what methods any of them have for earning an income apart from begging. Some of them collect firewood in the forest and sell it in the town. Two of them saved up some money from doing this. One of them travelled to Ludwa to sell fish but she had to come back to Kitale because she became sick. The other used the money to open up her own kiosk from where she sells brooms. Another woman helps farmers by digging for them and another went door to door cleaning clothes for people.

              We then split the women into three groups and asked them if they could come up with any businesses they could start. We explained that if they work together as a community they have a higher chance of being a successful business. None of them had thought of doing this before because they would get money on their own to spend on their family. They came up with businesses by selling soap, charcoal, fish, beads, plastic shoes, tomatoes and jelly. It is important that we get them to come up with the ideas themselves otherwise they would grow become empowered. We said we would think about the ideas they gave us and get back to them soon.

                                                                          We then went around the slum to cure the people there of jiggers. Some of these people we attended to last week and some were new people. It usually takes two sessions to fully sure a person so some of these people are now cleared of it. The man who I talked about last week who was very badly affected is now doing much better. He can walk fine now which he couldn’t do last week and most of the affected areas have cleared up very well. For him it will still take another session before he is fully cleared but he has made a huge improvement which is great to see

Trip to Naivasha: 15th of May

On the 15^th of May I left Kitale to go down to Naivasha for a weekend trip with a few of my friends from college who I would meet down there. The journey here was very long taking about 10 hours to get to Naivasha and from there I got a mini bus to the resort we were staying in. The name of this resort is Camp Carnelleys and it was really good. It was here that I met my friends. The resort is situated right next to the huge lake which is called Lake Naivasha. We got a small house to stay in which had a great view of the lake. All the houses are surrounded by trees and there are monkeys who jump from tree to tree and who can be seen running around the resort from time to time. The first night we just had dinner and caught up before going to bed.

                                                        The next day we organised a safari trip with the people who ran the resort. We went on a safari trip to a place called Hells Gate. This safari was a lot different than the last because we were dropped off in the national park and were then shown around on foot by another man. We walked for about two hours before the driver came to collect us. This was a lot better because we could get to see the harmless animals up close such as giraffes, dung beetles and zebras. We also saw some other animals from afar such as warthogs, baboons and buffalos. We then went to a small volcanic lake with a view from a high cliff. We got a lift most of the way up but had a short walk to reach the summit. We were then taken back to the resort.

                                                                                       The day after that we went on a tour of the lake in a boat. This was great because we got to see loads of hippos. There are around 4000 hippos in this lake because they stay in pack of around 20. We saw about 3 packs in total. They were either half or fully submerged in the water because they stay there to keep cool during the day then they bask at night. We also saw a few storks and eagles as well as some other birds. We then went to the resort right next to ours because they have a swimming pool you can use for a small fee. It was good because in this resort they have an electrified fence right next to the lake which they put grass on the other side of. Therefore hippos come up to eat this and you can get close to them on the land so we got to see this also.

                                                                                                                                                               
18th of May:
The following day on the 18^th of May we left the resort and after saying goodbye to my friends I travelled back to Kitale. I would advise anybody going to Naivasha to go to this resort called Camp Carnelleys. The employ people to do a wide range of activities with you, which you pay for separately. The activities we did are just a few out of the total amount. The food there is also really good. They have a menu filled with western food so it was great to have some Western food for a change from the Kenyan food which is what I had being having for the past 2 months. 

                                                           

21^st of May: 
We went to a slum in the area of Bidii called Jamanoor. We went here because there is a lot of people here who are suffering from Jiggers. These are insects that live under the skin. It happens if the area or house you are living in is very dirty and you are not wearing proper shoes. The insects infest in your skin and then it is very hard to remove them without the proper methods because to pull them out is very painful. When they have gotten under the skin they lay eggs which cause the infestation to increase. They start off on the feet but if they are left for a long time untreated they will move further up the body. The suck the person’s blood and if left untreated can be fatal. It is a lot more serious for those who are impoverished because they lack proper food and water so their blood being taken is very dangerous. 

                                               When we went today there were four of us. We met with the community and interacted with them before getting to work. A few members of the community helped us as well. We wore face masks and plastic gloves while working. What we did was put the liquid medicine into a bucket of water; this bucket was replaced after each person. We would get a person who is infected and get them to place their feet into the bucket. We would then use cotton wool to rub the medicine onto the infected areas. The areas which are infected can be very crusty and the skin may be cracked and blistered. This must be done twice for the infection to be completely gone so we will be retuning in one week.

                    One of the men we attended to was very badly infected. It had spread from his feet to his knees, buttocks, elbows, hands, chest, to the top of his back and even to his neck. This man requires attention from a doctor at a hospital however that isn’t an option. Therefore we will return and attend to him more than twice. The areas on his feet, knees and elbows were badly affected. They were very crusty and hard. Somebody attending to him had to rub very hard and even scrape away the hard areas. This was still the man’s skin so it involved his skin and the top layer of his flesh being removed. This left the area underneath extremely sensitive and raw and some areas bled. However there was little blood left after what the Jiggers had done.                      

Work since then:

The 6th of April:
The good Sheppard Sisters live and work on a farm which I help them with. On the 6^th of April we were planting maize on the farm. This is the staple crop in Kenya and is a huge cash crop. To help us do all this planting we hired 30 women from the slum in Kipsongo. The work involved were digging trenches for the maize seeds, planting the seeds there and then placing the soil on top of the seeds. These women do a lot of work for us when it comes to things which must be done on the farm and they are given payment for their work.

On April 14^th the workers and I dug many holes which bananas would be planted in. These hole have to be very deep and requite a lot of work to dig them, therefore this was very tiring work and in total about 70 banana trees will grow here.

Table Banking: April 15th

 I went to the school because there was a meeting held here for the women of Kipsongo. The sisters have set up business groups with these women in order to help them establish their own businesses so they can become empowered and generate an income of their own. There are 3 different groups that meet up and each of these groups has about 10 people in them. They are largely comprised of women but in each group there is one man. The sisters are hoping that these men who are part of it will encourage other men to join also. Each member of the groups has now established a small business of their own with the help of the sisters and the aid workers. These businesses are widely different from clothes cleaning business to selling things such as fruit. The meeting today was called table banking and the sisters were teaching the women about the different methods of banking and how they can benefit from banking. These meetings which discuss many different easy the women can develop their businesses are held every month.

                                                                                                          
13th of March:
I went to another of these meetings on the 13^th of March. This time I found out that the women take a short term loan from the people who run it, this loan is for one month. Since these meetings are on every month they return for the next meeting and they pay back the loan. They also give the money they have gotten as a profit and the people running it will put it in a bank account for them. They can then take out another loan if they want depending on how much of a profit they make.

                         In this room there are many other meetings held such as on April 16^th they held a parents meeting there which took place to educate the parents about the different ways they can discipline their children to ensure that they attend school and that they work hard. Here the sisters and aid workers all gave their own ideas and opinions and then after there was a time allowed for the parents to speak up and give their own opinions on the matter. These meetings are also held every month unless an urgent matter occurs and they need to be held earlier. If a person is late attending the meeting if they want to join in they must pay a 50 shilling penalty which is the equivalent of around 50 cent. I think this is a very good and fair policy because many people turn up late, some of them turn up as late as one and a half hours some times.

                                                                                                                                                 The sisters have also employed women from Kipsongo in the workshop they have in the compound. In this workshop they have many sewing machines and they make many things such as clothes, bracelets, bags, necklaces as well as many other things. These are then sold at a local shop in town or sometimes they receive orders from places such as a church or a school and they must complete the order. On April 7^th I visited this workshop and they had to complete an order of 200 dresses for a local school.

                                                                      
21^st of April 
I went to a funeral for a local priest whose mother had passed away. This was a very interesting experience for me because I had never been to a funeral outside of Ireland. In this funerals in Kenya there is a lot more singing and clapping. The entire crowd joins in which is different because in Ireland when people are asked to sing they usually shy away even if it is in a crowd. However if they are signing doesn’t mean they are happy and ok with the person having passed it is just the way they carry out their funerals. It was a huge event with around 300 people. They had it outdoors in the house that the person lived in. There were also 25 priests and the local bishop who is also Irish called Bishop Crowley.   

                                                                                  

Trip to Killgoia: 25th April

On the 25^th of April we left the house to go down to the area of Killgoia. This is because one of the sisters was having a church ceremony and a celebration for her having being a sister for 25 years and they were holding this celebration in her home. Half of us travelled in our jeep and we also rented a mini bus to bring more people who wanted to come. All the sisters came as well as staff members who work for us such as the people who do work on the farm, in the workshop making clothes and the women who runs the shop in which they sell these clothes.

                                                                                                                                       It was about a 12 hour drive so we left the house at around 8 p.m and travelled throughout the night. We arrived at their house at about 9 o clock on Sunday morning. We were given breakfast and talked with people there and the ceremony started at 12.

It went on for 3 hours and we were then given lunch before leaving to head back to Kitale. What struck me was the amount of people who went. From my experiences if someone was asked to go to a celebration which was very far away, as far as 12 hours, to not stay the night but have to come back again many people wouldn’t go. However for this loads of people arrived, most of them having to travel very far. One of the sisters said this wasn’t uncommon in Kenya and that for a celebration people will travel very far to spend it with you. I thought this was a really good thing that this wasn’t out of the ordinary and that people were willing to do this, different from what I had experienced. However after all the travelled I was very tired at the end of it and had to take it easy for the next two days.

April 30^th:
We went to Hekima Day Care today because one of the sisters had a meeting because there is a boy from the local slum and they want to send him to boarding school so he can be educated. His family wants this as well but he has been very reluctant to go before this. He spend a lot of his time scavenging at the dumping site and he is happy to stay there because it is now the situation and the way of life that he is used to and it is hard for him to break from this. Even though his family want him to be educated they don’t make a huge effort to encourage him to go to school or to stop going to the dumping site so it has been hard to encourage him to go. Now he has agreed to go so we were meeting to sort out when he will start and things like this.

                                                                      However a few days later when all the students were getting on the bus to go to the boarding school the boy was nowhere to be found. This was after he had agreed to go and the sisters had bought him everything he needed such as his uniform, books, pencils and pens. This is an example of how frustrating it can be for some of the sisters when they are trying to help someone but they are reluctant to be helped. We have met with his mother and have contacted a few of his other family members but none of them have seen him. We are thinking he is staying with one of his friends or many one of his more distant relatives.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Adventures and Experiences from Kenya

By Mark Howard

Introduction:

My name is Mark Howard. I am twenty one years old and I am living in Ireland. I am a student of University College Cork (UCC) and I am studying International Development and Food Policy. In its simplest form it’s a course which looks at developing countries and developed countries and finds ways how the two can interact with and help or benefit each other. I am currently in the third year out of four years in total.

                                                                                                                  As part of third year we get to go on work placement for five months. It is advised that you go to a developing country because it is in these areas that you will benefit the most from when it comes to a learning experience related to our course. This is because it means being in the centre of development and seeing what a developing country is like from a ground level. However there is the option of going to a developed country such as staying in Ireland and seeing how development work is done from here. But I love to travel and see areas which are the polar opposite of what Ireland is like and to experience the different people, cultures and customs. Therefore from the start I knew I was going to a developing country far from my home.

             The college gives you a list of development organisations and foundations for you to choose from. This list includes a description of the work they do and where they are stationed so you can get an idea of what type of work you would be doing with them and which country you would be travelling to. Some of these organisations, students from our course have previously done their placement with and some of the organisations are new. If there isn’t any organisation that fits your preference you can try and find a different organisation yourself.

                                         One organisation that really appealed to me was called Africa Direct. Its description seemed to be everything I was looking for. They are a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) and they are Cork based, which is where I live. They work with the vulnerable and deprived people who are in most need of their help. Most of their overseas work is centred in Kenya. They have projects in the capital city of Nairobi and in the rural area of Kiltale in North West Kenya. A lot of this work is done to benefit the street people and slum dwellers in a number of different ways. For example feeding those who are hungry, educating children and empowering women are just to name a few. I was very satisfied with their vision so I signed myself up to do my placement with them, but first I had to be accepted by Africa Direct to be the person they wanted to represent them in Kenya. This involved having to meet with two of the members and do an interview with them. The interview went very well and they told me a lot more about the organisation such as the work they do in Ireland to benefit those overseas and also the different projects they have in Kenya which I would be working with. I got a call later that day and luckily they had accepted me. From then it became a reality that I was going to Kenya.

Before Departure:  

The college wanted people to be leaving Ireland around the 17^th of March which is St. Patricks Day, but Africa Direct had organised that I would have a pre departure course for one week before I left to get me prepared for what I would be doing in Kenya and what to expect there. Therefore I booked my flights for the 24^th of March. Even though that was still a few months away the time seemed to be slipping by quicker and quicker every day as it drew closer to leaving, so I had to move quickly to get prepared.

                                                                                                                    Firstly I looked up what vaccinations I would need before going to Kenya. I needed a vaccination for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, typhoid, yellow fever and malaria. So I contacted my local G.P and we sorted out dates for when I would get the vaccines. All of them were done by injection apart from malaria which I needed to take tablets for. I had to start taking these 48 hours before I left, taking one a day, and this would continue for the duration f my stay and for about 10 days after I came home. To take them before and after I came home are just as important as taking them when I was there so it is very important not to miss them. It is advised to take them after a meal so I made a time after breakfast to take them and I found this a lot easier because generally I had breakfast at the same time every day so I would take them straight after. My doctor gave me a yellow book which has all the vaccination recorded in it and it is very important that I take care of this and mind it because I need it when entering the country and when leaving it. I also visited the dentist for a check up to make sure there was nothing I needed to get done before leaving because the last thing I wanted was to get a tooth problem in Kenya and have to go to a dentist there, luckily everything was fine.                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                          But these were just the first step of preparation before leaving. The college and Africa Direct gave me a pre departure check list of things to do and bring before leaving so I used these. The initial things were sorting out insurance, this meant travel insurance, health insurance and getting insurance for anything of value I would be bringing such as my laptop and mobile phone. Next was contacting my bank and phone company to tell them that I would be leaving the country. This involved telling them what dates I would be gone for and to which country I was travelling to so there can be no confusion for when I landed. When I was at the bank I took out Kenyan money so I would have a little bit when I landed and I wouldn’t be stranded with nothing, I also took out some English money so I could get some food during the stopover in London.

                                                                 Next were all the physical things I would need to bring with me. One of the first things I got was lotions. I looked up the temperature forecasts for the months I would be in Kenya and from them decide what sun tan lotion I should bring with me. Kenya is almost on the equator so I knew these would be a high factor ranging from factor 50 down. I then got all the things such as deodorant, shampoo, and shower jell, toothpaste and a new toothbrush. If you have preferences when it comes to these things you should get them before you leave because they mightn’t have them where you are going. I also got a lot of pocket sized hand sanitizers because if you are travelling and stop to go to the bathroom there mightn’t be any water in the sink or any soap.

                                                                                                                                   I bought a lot of light and bright clothes to wear. It is very important to make them light because the last thing you want is to be weighed down by heavy clothes when it is really hot and also they should be bright because they reflect the heat from the sun but dark clothes absorb the heat. I mainly bought cheap clothes because I would be working a lot outside so I knew they would get dirty and there was no point in spending a lot of money on clothes when I had many other expenses. I also got a lot of  socks because in Kenya it would be rainy season and socks can get ruined very easily so I brought many of these, also because I knew I would be walking around a lot so spare socks is a great idea.

                                                                                                   For the electrical things I brought a torch because if you find yourself on a country road with no street lights a torch is needed and also if your area is prone to blackouts a torch is very useful during the night. I looked up what sort of plugs they have in Kenya and this is very important for if you need to charge your things from home, the sockets may be different. Luckily in Kenya they are the same so I didn’t need to buy any convertors. I brought a lot of batteries as well so none of my non rechargeable things would run out.

                                                                Lastly were other things such as electrolytes. This is a powder you put in your water if you are feeling dehydrated. In hot countries you don’t realise how much quickly your water levels can deteriorate so these are very useful if you start to feel a bit weak and dehydrated. I brought sun glasses and weighing scales for weighing my bag before I left to make sure it wasn’t over the weight limit. I got many books and downloaded a lot of television shows and movies onto my laptop for travelling and if I had free time to spare when I got there. A money belt is very important for thieves when you are walking around. I got one that goes around my neck so it cannot be pulled off me. Luckily I have never had a problem with thieve or muggers.

                                                                                                             The week before I left I had my pre departure course. This was very good because it was done by a former UCC student who did the exact same placement as me a few years ago and she is now working for Africa Direct. Therefore she knew what type of situation I was in and so was very helpful. She gave me a lot of information such as the different partners and projects Africa Direct work with in Kenya and the type of work I would be doing with them once I got over there. She introduced me to the different customs and culture that they have in Kenya so I knew what was ok and what wasn’t ok to do. This was very important to know before leaving because some of the things we do in Ireland might be frowned upon in Kenya. She also helped me with many of the things I should bring with me that I mightn’t have thought of myself. This was very beneficial and I had a much better idea of what I would be doing in Kenya and what it would be like to live there. I now felt a lot more relaxed about going there and I was a lot more excited.

                                    Lastly I get into the mindset of the country I would be going to I went onto the internet and looked up many things about Kenya. I looked up the history of the country and found some very interesting things such as that it was previously colonised by the British Empire which is similar to Ireland and that the oldest remains of a human were found in Kenya so it is believed that humans first originated from there. I then watched a few documentaries on Kenya to see what it is famous for and what type of things are of a high interest to people in Kenya. I also looked up videos on YouTube that people uploaded showing them walking or driving around different areas of Kenya just to get an idea of what the country and the people there look like. I only looked up videos in Nairobi and Kitale because they are the areas I will be doing most of my work.  

                                                                                                             When packing I emptied my whole room of all the shelves just to make sure there was nothing I hadn’t thought of that I would forget. It turned out there was a few things I would have never thought of that I would need so I am very glad I did this and would advise anyone else to do the same. So now I had done my pre departure course and my bags were packed. The next stop was Kenya.

                                           

Travelling: the 24th of March

On the 24th of March I travelled from Ireland to Heathrow Airport in London with Air Lingus. From there I took a plane to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and from there in Nairobi. From London I travelled with Ethiopian Airlines. Over all I would say that they are a very good airline to travel with. The service was good and the entertainment onboard was great with many different new movies and shows ranging from the Hollywood movies I was accustomed with to the African version called Nollywood which has many African made movies. We also got food aboard both the flights and it was very tasty. Overall the journey from Ireland to Kenya took about 24 hours including stopovers and travel.

                                                                          For travelling long distances I would say to bring a change of socks and mints or chewing gum to help keep yourself feeling fresh. A money belt which I talked about earlier is also very useful to keep your passport and boarding card at the ready. When you are through customs I always buy a bottle of water as well to keep hydrated. Apart from that it is good to have a laptop or book so you won’t become bored. Mostly it’s about trying to relax and enjoy yourself as you are brought to the country you are visiting. 

Arriving in Kenya: the 25th of March

When I landed in Nairobi on the 25th of March before reaching the baggage area in the airport we first had to go through a health check area. In this area we had to fill out a health sheet which asked many questions such as “have you been to any of these countries in the past six months” and there was a list of countries such as Sierra Leone and Liberia. This was because of the recent Ebola crises. All the questions were easily answerable but you would need your passport at the ready for a few of them. Also you need to show you yellow booklet with all your vaccinations so have this at the ready. In case there is a chance of something similar to this I would advise you also have a pen because it is a struggle finding a pen when many other people are also waiting to get one. After filling this out we were made walk through a scanner which showed your body temperature and it checked to see if you were carrying any diseases. 

                         After I collected my bags I went outside and a man who worked for Africa Direct was waiting outside for me. He was holding a sign with my name on it so I could identify him. He then took me to his car and drove me to the B&B I would be staying in for the meantime. I then rested there for awhile because I was exhausted from the travel and also I was a little bit jet lagged.

                                            

First Impressions of Kenya:

My first impression of Kenya when I made it out of the airport and on the drive to where I was staying was the heat. It hits you the minute you step out of the plane. I would imagine that it is very warm compared to most countries but compared to Ireland it was roasting. In some areas when there is a breeze you mightn’t notice how hot it actually is and this can be very dangerous. Therefore I cannot stress enough how important it is to make sure to put sun cream on all areas where your skin is exposed before leaving the house. You should also bring the sun cream with you because you might be out for a long time without thinking you would be outside for this long and you find yourself trying to make it from shaded spot to shaded spot to avoid the sun. An umbrella is also useful in this situation so you can stay protected from the sun. It is good to open a window in the car you are travelling in a few minutes before departure to cool the car down before you get into it and also to watch out for exposed metal objects such as the metal area of the buckle of the seat belt because these can heat up a lot.

                                            Another thing I noticed first was the amount of people there is. There is way more people walking around than you would see in Ireland. I said this to the man and he reminded me that it was a Tuesday and that during the weekend these numbers increase. You have to let go of your personal space a little bit because there will be people passing you or pushing past you, depending on where you are, almost constantly. This makes it easy for someone to pickpocket from you so you have to be careful. If you try to avoid making physical contact with everyone you come across however it is going to be impossible for you to get where you are going. You have to get used to the idea that there is a huge amount of people cramped into a tight space so you have to get through crowds of people and sometimes this can be a little bit hard to get used to.

                                                                                                                    The levels of poverty are very clear. When driving from the airport there were many people lying on grassy embankments or even just on the side of the road. There were children wearing dirty and torn clothes that were begging or scavenging for food or things to sell. Some people wore little clothes at all. Like I said previously the amount of people is huge, therefore the amount of poor people you will see is also very high. If you are coming to a developing countries such as Kenya this is to be expected. For me the reason I came here was to help people such as these but for those who are simply travelling to the country you will have to expect to see this as well, even if you aren’t going to be visiting any of the slums because you can see impoverished people in almost all outdoor areas of the city. This takes possibly the most getting used to. It isn’t easy to see people who are so vulnerable and who have so little. It can be quite upsetting for some so I would highly advise you to try and mentally prepare youself for this before you arrive. Watching documentaries on poverty and getting used to see what it looks like can be helpful.

                                                                   Another thing which can be very hard to getting used to is the fact that if you are like me then you are a white person in a country where you are now the minority. Many people in Kenya have either never seen a white person or it is very rare for them to see one, especially if you go to the rural areas. Therefore people are very interested in you and most of them will stare at you while you walk past. This can be very off putting and it might seem like they are giving you a dangerous look because most of them are not phased if you look back at them but they continue to lock eyes with you. Some people will come up and say hello to you and ask you where you are from or start a conversation with you. This can be good and it is a way to make friends, but you must be careful because many people see a white person as somebody who has money. Therefore they might be trying to ask you for something or trying to rob you. Again I have never been robbed so this has never happened to me but I have of it happening to other people so you just have to be careful.

                                           There is a local word which means “White man” called “Mosungu” and many people will refer to you as this. Even if you are just walking down the street you might hear people shouting mosungu at you or saying it to your face as you walk past. This can be annoying but try not to let it get to you because it isn’t meant as an insult it is just a way people can try to get your attention because they are interested in you. Sometimes you can feel like a celebrity of sorts because a lot of people look at you and are interested in you but just try to get used to it as soon as possible because it’s probably not going to stop for the duration of your stay depending where you are. 

                                                                                          

Introduction to Nairobi:

The man who collected me from the airport came to show me around Nairobi. We started off by going to a local supermarket and getting a Kenyan mobile phone and SIM card, so I could contact other people in Kenya. I went in and literally bought the cheapest one there because I only needed it for texts and phone calls and nothing else. Also I knew I wouldn’t be keeping it after I leave Kenya so there was no point in spending a lot of money on one. I will give it to someone as a present before I leave.

                                                                                            He showed to the different projects around Nairobi. All of these seemed very good and the people who ran them were really nice. Everybody would greet you and shake your hand and after giving you a place to sit down they would send for someone to get some tea and possibly something to eat. All of them had a clear focus of wanting to help people and to do anything they could in order to achieve this. Some of these projects were for disabled children, whether mentally or physically, some projects were for children who had ran away from home and some were there to educate children. For example we visited a primary school which was set up next to a slum in Nairobi in the area called South B. This school was set up to educate those who were disadvantaged and possibly couldn’t afford any of the local schools. All the children here gave me a warm welcome and were very happy to see me.

                                                                                                                  We then went for something to eat. He offered to take me to the supermarket because in the food court they have Western food but I wanted to try traditional Kenyan food so he took me to a place which does this. He ordered for us and we got Indian style bread called chapatti, there was also cabbage and beef in a sauce. You would dip the chapatti into the sauce. The meal was really nice and chapatti has remained one of my favourite food to get in Kenya ever since. The meal was very cheap compared to Irish food and it cost around the equivalent of 2 euro which was very good for the amount of food we got.

                                                                                                Some of the time I spent just walking around the area I was staying in and taking in the atmosphere. Most of the people I came across seemed very nice. Many of them would great you on the street which is very different to Ireland. It does take some getting used to that a lot of these people will look at you as you walk past but most of them seemed friendly and that they didn’t mean any harm. I noticed that you have to watch your step when walking the streets because there can be many cracks in the footpath or pot holes as well as rubbish and if it has been raining then the roads can get very muddy.

                                                                 I only stayed in Nairobi for 3 days because I had to be on my way to the rural village of Kitale. But I will be returning for the month of June so I will get to see a lot more of Nairobi then.

Travel to Kitale: the 28th of March

I got a bus from Nairobi to Kitale on the 28th of March. I bought my ticket a few days in advance to be sure that I had a seat. The bus was very big and I put my large suitcase in the undercarriage compartment. I kept my camera, laptop and book on my person so I wouldn’t get bored. The journey was long and it took about 8 hours of travel to reach Kitale. However I enjoyed it a lot. I got to see a lot of the Kenyan countryside. Most of this went through the Rift Valley which is known for its good scenery, which it does have. There are huge fields and sprawling landscapes with large hills and mountains in the background. There was also some wildlife on the side of the road such as warthogs and zebras. It was good because I made friends with two American people who were sitting behind me and they were staying in Kitale as well, they had just visited Nairobi. I got one of their numbers and we arranged to meet up some time. 

My First Day in Kitale:

I got off to a rough start when we reached Kitale because when I looked for my suitcase in the undercarriage compartment I realised it wasn’t there. When I said this to the driver it dawned on me that we changed buses at one point and I forget to get it, I only brought the bag I brought on the bus with me when we changed buses. I said this to the driver and he informed the people in the bus station of what happened. They found out which bus I left it on and they contacted the driver of that bus giving them a description of my suitcase. I was really worried because most of my stuff was in that suitcase including all my clothes. They said it would be delivered to the bus station in Kitale the next day and I could retrieve it then so I was very relieved. I wasn’t fully relaxed until I got it the next day but luckily everything was there so it was great.

                                                                     I would be staying with a convent of Sisters in Kitale called the Good Sheppard Sisters. A few of them met me at the bus station in Kitale and they took me to where I would be staying. It was only about a ten or fifteen minute drive from the town. When we got there I was introduced to everyone and then I rested for awhile. They called me for dinner so we ate and got to know each other a bit. For food we had chicken, Sorghum Wiki which is a Kenyan green vegetable and a cereal called Ugali which is made from maize, or corn as it’s called in Ireland. They had what is a traditional Kenyan table which is a perfect circle so everyone faces each other and there is a wooden circular platform in the middle which all the food sits on. You can rotate this so nothing is ever out of reach. I thought this was a much better table than in Ireland which is you traditional rectangle and you have to ask people to pass you things if they are out of reach.

                                                                                                                                                             After dinner they brought out a cake they had baked and we did a Kenyan tradition for celebration which involves everyone dancing around the table as the sisters sing and then you stand around the table in a circle and one person feeds a piece of the cake to the person on their right and this continues around the circle until everyone has had a bite. When then each got a slice and ate them before going to bed. When I got into my room I realised there was a welcome card on the table I hadn’t noticed before. This as well as the cake really made me feel welcome and at home. They really put in an effort to do this and I was truly grateful.           

                                                          

                                                                                             

Kitale so far:

I have now been in Kitale for one month and I love it so far. At the start I was thinking that this mightn’t be the case and I might become bored after a few weeks. It is true that there is a lot less going on than in Nairobi but I actually really like that. It is much quieter at night so it is much easier to get to sleep. This is partly due to the fact that not only are we in a rural area but we are also off the main road so it is good. Because of this there is less people walking or driving past our house. However if you go into town during the middle of the day there are loads of people. I wasn’t expecting there to be so many since it’s a rural area but it is still overpopulated so the crowds are large, especially during the weekend. This is because hundreds of people fled their hometown which is North of Kitale due to conflicts and they settled here. So now the area is vastly overpopulated and many of the people are impoverished.

                                            The countryside is beautiful. It is great to just be able to look out across the garden at a wonderful sight and it is like this whenever you go in Kitale. The land stretches so far filled with fields and then there is Mount Elgon in the background. Also almost every day so far has been sunny with little clouds in the sky so it makes for great scenery with no pollution in the air so you can see for miles. It really is a much better chance to simple looking out at another building, a street or traffic like it is in cities such as Nairobi.

                

                                                                                                                                             One thing which I really noticed when coming here is the amount of people take notice of you like I have talked about previously. It isn’t half as bad in Nairobi. I sometimes walk to town which is about an hour walk and literally on average every minute or two someone will come up and ask how I am, say Mosungu to me or stop what they are doing and stare at me as I walk past. For me either this or seeing the levels of poverty are the hardest things to get used to but there is no escaping it so you can’t let it get to you. Most people are happy to see you because they are so interested so I try to respond to most people and not let it annoy me.

Work I’ve done:

For the first two weeks or so I was mostly been shown around the area and to the places I will be working, being introduced to people I will be working with and getting to know the people I am living with so I haven’t been doing proper work for long. However it is very important not to rush into getting started with work straight away because it is very important to get yourself acclimatised to the new area and the atmosphere. For example Kitale is much higher above sea level than Ireland so the air is a lot thinner and for the first few weeks I could get tired or weak very easily and getting up to quickly would cause me to get a head rush. Also it is a lot hotter so this mixed with the thinner air can make you tired very quickly. So it is very important to get used to these changes.

                                                                                                                     The Good Sheppard Sisters do a lot of work in a primary school and day care centre called Hekima Day Care Centre which is in the area of Kipsongo. Here I spent some time playing games with the children and getting to know them, but shortly after I arrived they went on their holidays and they haven’t returned to school yet. But we have still been going there because the Sisters have meeting with some of the children to encourage them to stay occupied during the holidays. Some children spend their holiday time going to a local dumping site to scavenge for food and things to sell. We went here one day to get all the children from there that attend our day care and bring them back to the school to then encourage them not to return there again because this is very bad and can cause them to lose interest in education. We brought back about 12 children and there was another 30 or so people there who didn’t go to our school, some of them were adults, some were other children. It is very sad to see this type of thing going on so it is important to try and help them.

                                                                                                        Another place I visited was a slum in Kipsongo. Here Africa Direct had done a lot of work with and it has been improved greatly. Their houses have been improved from domes made of rubbish or shacks made of plastic sheets to mud houses with one or two rooms. These mud houses are sustainable and waterproof. Africa Direct has installed public toilets, drinking water and even electricity as well but only a few people can afford electricity. It is good because Africa Direct only came and thought the people how to make these improvements and they gave them the resources to do it but it was up to the people living there to actually do the work. This allowed them to do something for themselves and make a huge improvement in their life. Now they can maintain the houses and keep them in good condition because it was them who made them. Also it brought the whole community together because they were working with each other which is great.

                                                        We visited another slum in an area called Bidii. This slum Africa Direct is thinking of applying the same formula they used in Kipsongo to improve it because this slum hasn’t had any work done to it. There is a huge difference between the two slums and Bidii makes Kipsongo look like a paradise. In Bidii slum the houses are still made of rubbish and plastic and they are not waterproof. These means that in the rainy seasons the water flows into people’s houses and they are lying in ankle high water. This is a huge contributing factor to the spread of disease, mostly malaria. There are not toilets here so people are forced to relieve themselves in a bush or out in the open. There is not clean drinking water so the chance of people becoming sick is extremely high. There is not electricity so many people cook over an open fire in their house which fills it with smoke and causes lung problems, also this can cause the house to set on fire.

                                                                                                                        It can be very hard to see how these people live because they have so little. It can be painful to see adults and children who are malnourished and do not have adequate clothing. Things to get used to are that if you are a white or even a foreigner many people might ask you for money. It is important not to give it to them because if you give it to one they are all going to want the same thing, I have been warned to not even give anything it to anyone even if it is just the two of you and nobody else can see, because they will go back and tell the others who will then ask for the same when you next visit them. Many of the people are drunk and are stumbling around the place, this includes women and children.

                                                                                                                  I have also been asked by many people do I have a wife and if I don’t would I like to marry them. This can happen whether you are a man or a woman and it has happened to me in the town as well, but it is more common in the slum areas. I tell these people that I am married but some of them then ask can you have more than one wife to which I reply yes, so if you are to try this be prepared that they might ask you the same thing. For women I have heard this is a lot more common and that it is a good idea to get a rake wedding band which might deter these people. The hardest thing I have had to deal with in the slum areas is people coming up to you with a baby in their hands asking you to take the baby home with you. Some of them will really try to get you to take the children by pushing it into your hands or saying that it will have a much better life with you and if you don’t take the baby it will die in a few days. Be careful not to hold the baby though because there is a chance that even if you are saying you can’t take it home with you the parent will walk away leaving you with it.     

Trip to Nakuru: 4th of April

Two of my friends from college are also doing their placement in Kenya and we arranged to meet up for a trip to a town nearby called Nakuru. It was about a 6 hour bus journey which I took by mini bus or by a matatu as they are called here. We stayed here for two nights and it was a great trip because it was nice to have a change of atmosphere and to be with my friends. One thing I noticed was this was one of the only times since I left Nairobi that I talked with white people because there isn’t a lot of them in Kitale so that was very strange. It was a great break from what I had been doing so I am very glad that I went on it.

                                                                                                                                                       It was good to see a different part of Kenya. The main reason we went down was to go on a safari trip in the Nakuru national park. This was really good and we saw loads of wildlife such as water buffaloes, monkeys, astringes, flamingos, tortoises, zebras, giraffes, antelopes and even a lion which are meant to be very rare here. There was also great scenery because it was land which had been left preserved and untouched by humans so it was so natural. The only thing I will say for anyone thinking of going is that you have to pay a fee for the driver who will take you around and you also have to pay a separate fee just to get into the national park which goes to the government of Kenya which was about 80 euro. But I would advise anyone to do it. It was a great experience and was very memorable.