BURNING PEOPLE – So my last blog entry was just before bonfire night. Well over here us expats still celebrate the event, but with a big international community around here I had to explain what it was all about. Dre who is a volunteer here from California was quite shocked that we re-enact the burning of Guy Fawks and felt the burning of people on a large bonfire was unnecessary. On the 6th the choir from the home was invited to sing at a retirement village which is managed by my friend David. The kids were so excited. As we crammed them on the old little bus we have and packed my car full of kids we headed across the city. It made me realise how sheltered their lives are, they don’t travel much around the city... well they are still kids, so it’s not like we can let them just wander around the streets! They were chatting about all the things they could see. At the concert we arrived in the grounds of the retirement village. The grass was lush green, with well kept flower patches. The kids sang for about 25 “Oldies” as David calls them. I wasn’t sure what reception they would get from some of these old colonials, but i needn’t have worried. There was plenty of applause after each song, especially Bare Necessesities. After the singing there was time for mingling, sodas for the kids and PIMS for the oldies. It was great to see the oldies (some chatting in fluent Swahili) with the kids, and showing a real interest. We also had sparklers which was awesome! The kids had never seen anything like it. It was still light outside as it was only 6pm so the sparklers didn;t look the best. David had kindly organised chips and sausages for the kids, which was a real treat! Oh and I think we went through about 14 gallons of ketchup on the chips! After we finished I felt bad, there were so many kids left back at Cheryls who had missed the treat, so we made a plan. On the way home we picked up a few crates of Sodas, more sparklers, lollipops and let some of the kids help buy (they were amazed by the posh shopping centre we went to). As we returned back to Cheryls at about 8pm, music blasting out of my car stereo (Alicia Keyes, “No One” for the 20th time and singing from the kids on the bus), all the other kids came running out to greet us. They all stood in the car park area and I proceeded to show them a sparkler!!!! They were amazed, and as I saw it sparkle I realised how much like a magic wand it must have looked. They were all desperate for one. SO in an orderly fashion and with great care each kid had one, and a soda and a lollipop. It was a great atmosphere and the party kept going before it was eventually time for bed. A fabulous night and a great way to celebrate bonfire night and the burning of Guy.
THE 18,000 – Work at Cheryls never stops... it has been particularly hectic in the last few weeks and as I find myself settling in more I am becoming used more for speaking to visitors, and general people wanting to chat with Samuel and myself. In many ways this is great, but when you have a day of work planned it can be frustrating when you get home and realise you pretty much did nothing you originally planned. The great thing is the work is good and I feel a real sense of purpose in what I am doing. The hard thing though is still the pressure. The other day we ran out of money, nothing left in the bank, and as I speek the bank is still empty, we have money coming from the UK and the USA soon, but it won’t last long... the pressure can be great and sometimes I leave the office wondering how we will move forward. One of the biggest pressures coming up is fundraising £18,000 to put down as a deposit on the land we need to purchase to build the secondary school and income generating projects. This is a massive step for us, and actually we need to raise £180,000 which is huge, but right now we need at least 10% to put down as a deposit. We will then have 6 months to raise the rest. Its hard, because the plans are so right, they are needed and everything is waiting on us purchasing the land. The hard thing is knowing we need to raise this ASAP as well as money for the general running costs. So although we have 2 key aims at the moment: 1. Get at least 90% of the kids sponsored, to help with day to day running costs and number 2. Raise £180,000 to purchase land.... doing these both at once is hard and sometimes I leave to go home, feeling a great burden on my shoulders. Where will this money come from? Who will sponsor these kids? Who can do both? Can we do it in time? What about Christmas and the massive costs in January to send the kids to back to high school, buy uniforms, pay the new term fees? Its hard and sometimes I feel like crying, sometimes I get angry, sometimes i just need to sit quietly. But when I sit and wonder where will this £18,000 come from, I remember the kids, I know their stories, I see their happy faces and know we have been able to take them from a very dark place and bring them into the light and we need to keep doing this.
RUGBY – I was so pleased to hear from my neighbour, Mo, that she had a special kit for Tag rugby, from England Rugby and it needed a home. So without any hesitation I gladly accepted and on Sunday evening I attempted to teach the boys rugby. Now remember that these are young kids, and after asking how many had ever seen a rugby match, only 1 put their hand up, it was a tough evening! Just getting the concept of running and passing the ball back was tough, but after doing some drills they were slowly getting it. It was sooooo much harder than i though it would be, but we got some of the basics. Thankfully at the end the boys were still keen and want to do it again. If i can I’ll get them to watch a rugby match on TV which should help. The kit is awesome, it comes with some TAG rugby balls, Velcro belts which you attached coloured ribbons too. Its fantastic. By next year I think we will be ready to take on the All Blacks.... well maybe! The most beautiful part was the end, the sun was setting on a glorious Sunday evening and we headed back home, walking very happy that a real man’s game had been played!
SPEILBURG CONTINUES – so the filming has continued over the last few weeks. I have just finished editing 2 films for the launch of the UK charity on the 27th Nov. They seemed to have come over well, I still need to do one more and will need to send them by DHL on Saturday to get to the launch in time, so for those of you going, they will be fresh off the DVD burner! LOL Not sure I really qualify for the status of Speilburg, but the movies should really help get a glimpse of life in Cheryls, especially the one of the day in the life of a Foster kids. Michael and Geoffrey, who we filmed, were fantastic, they are the ones that make the film what it is. Premiering on 27th Nov at St Paul’s & St George’s.
ROAD TRIPS – Once again it was time to hit the Kenyan roads and head to pick up some of the teenagers who have finished school, just doing the form four exams. On Tuesday we headed to Lukenya to pick up Lillian, as I got out the car she came running over and gave a big hug. She was pleased to see me and Mary and it was great to be there for her. The teachers checked all her luggage, as they do with all the kids, to make sure they are not stealing anything (thats sad). We also picked up one of her friends and dad, who is a pastor. We headed home and I could see Lillian was glad to be back amongst her big family here at Cheryls. Wednesday we made a long trip up North. We went past Nakuru to the place where Mary is from, Njoro. Mary is our social worker. Her kids live up north with her mum and sisters so we went to see them, in a tiny remote settlement. Mud huts with a few chickens, dogs, rabbits (rabbit pie, yummy) and some land for growing vegetables. It was so peaceful. The sun was out that day and there was a glorious blue sky, with just the sound of the farm animals and birds in the sky. Her family was so welcoming and we were served with Chipati and beans, which was yum. After a few hours there we headed to Nakuru and bought some supplies for the kids. We also stopped at a high school to see if they can take some of our kids going into secondary school next year and also because we want to move some from bad schools. Unfortunately this one doesn;t take new people after class 1. We headed to Shiners girls school to pick up Maria, she had been waiting at the gate all day for us. The other girls from Cheryls came to say hi, and we chatted and laughed for a while. They cried when we left, that was the hard bit, and although we are not their parents, you could see that, yes, we are their family and it was hard to say goodbye. We hit the road again and headed to Shiners boys, this is a bad school and we want to get the boys out of there to other schools (and one day our own school), but today was all about picking up James. He was one of the first kids I remember from our first trip here in 2004, he has had a tough upbringing, but today was his last day in school. So excited to be going home he sat by the side of the road all day waiting for us (we didn;t reach him until about 3:30pm). We caught up with the rest of the boys, chatted and then again said goodbyes, once more tears welling up in one of their eyes (they will be home for school holidays though tomorrow). Back on the road again, we listened to music, stopped for chicken and chips and eventually made it home to big welcomes from the rest of the kids.
HANGING WITH BIG K – so one night, it had been a long day, i had a late meeting with Samuel, it finished around 6pm, and I had been feeling the pressures of the place. I decided to hang around a bit. I went to sit by the fire, those cooking dinner, we chatted, talked politics, African history and how to cook, they said stay for food, so what the heck I did. Ugali and spinach then we chatted and played some more. I sat with James, Lillian and Christine who is the house mother, we talked for ages, eventually I went home, at 9pm. Sometimes after a long day the nicest thing (although still exhausting) is just spending time with the kids, chatting and hanging out, this is family. It is at these times you feel most part of a family, these are the times others don’t see, the volunteers or any visitors, this is the ordinary, the everyday, family dinner time, chatting over the fire and the dining table. This was a good night.
THE BABY IS BACK – so the other week we had what I thought could be a baby tarantula walk on my veranda floor. I knew in fact it was not a baby, they are baboon spiders, a relative of tarantulas and thankfully not quite as big as the really big ones. Well yesterday I invited all the form 4’s who have finished school and the class 8’s who have finished primary school to hang out at my house. They seemed bored at Cheryls all day while the others were still in class. So i took them to my home, stocked them with crips, biscuits, food for lunch and sodas and a whole set of DVD’s. I went back to work, but came home later to find they had now moved on to watching Die Hard 4.0 having already watched the other 3!!! We decided to make sausages and chips, but the power wasn;t working properly so we cooked on gas in the candle light. Just as I was getting things locked up around the house, ready to take the kids back to the home, I was locking the veranda door and I noticed something down near my leg on the wall..... WOOOOOOHHHHHHAAAAA there the spider was, just hanging there, on the wall, the baboon spider. It had rained heavily that day and so its home was probably washed out. We got torches, and all stared... what to do??? Ok Im the man of the house, I need to sort it out.... or maybe I can get Charles, the guard. So I wussed out a little and went to get Charles and a broom. I figured I would brush it outside as it was right by the door... or if Charles was brave he would pick it up, its only a little bit poisonous (I think???). We took photos, the spider didn;t move... what to do... in the end Charles got a shoe and placing it very close to the spider, he began to apply pressure and gently swivled the shoe... that was the end of the spider and he brushed it outside. There was a mixture of feelings, relief, guilt for murdering the poor thing and questions about where his mates might be?? In my bedroom??? Hopefully not!
FINALLY GETTING HIT – there is always so much more I could write in these blogs, and really i should plan more before I write, often I pour out what I just happen to remember or be thinking. Life has been busy though and the pressure has been mounting. There have been long days and not much rest, busy times and proposals to write, money to find and kids to pick up from school, dvds to edit and kids to play with. Eventually at the weekend I was hit with a small bug, not an insect, but some thing that was going round and I needed to stop. I slept, I watched lots of rugby and forced myself not to go to the kids home. I’m finding I am there every day, and on my days off, I still find myself there, not always working, but it can be draining. Even when I find it tough I find myself curiously lured to Cheryls, there is such a positive feeling sometimes being there with the kids, they show so much love and there are so many laughs, it can be hard to stay away. But I know I can’t spend all my free time playing with kids and I know it can then affect my office work, I am weary, I am tired, but at the end of the day, when the big pressures come and the money is needed, the food needs to be bought and an £18,000 deposit needs to be found plus all the rest, spending time with the kids is the reminder and the driving force to keep going and never give up, because at the end of the day they deserve it.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
SCHOOL DAYS
A BROKEN PROMISE – Ok so leaving the UK I promised to update my blog once a week, but unfortunately I have failed... oops! Sorry about that. Life has been very busy, but it has been good. Last week I had some visitors from the UK. Mark and Alice came out for 10 days to visit Kenya, work at Cheryls and visit their sponsored child in Kisumu and at the same time a volunteer called Clare moved into the hosue to rent a room. I spent most of the time hosting them, so that is my very poor excuse for the delay in writing the blog.
MATCH OF THE DAY – Over the last couple of weeks I have been watching the Cheryls Childrens Home football team. We have 2 teams, one Under 14s and the other Under12s. There name is “Young Tigers”, which I am not sure why, as there are no tigers in Africa, I think it’s down to a volunteer from long ago, oh well never mind, it makes them seem tough so thats good. They played a big tournament on Saturday. The refereeing has to be considered especially dubious, most refs seem to like standing on one spot on the field, judging crucial decisions from afar! Occasionally with some slightly controversial decision or if the game is heating up they decide to plod down the pitch a little to get a little closer to the action, but lets be honest, that was rare. We had our fair share of biased refs against us, but our older team made it to the final. It was just 5 a side, but it was riveting. The young tigers played against their arch rivals in the final, the rivals all dressed in a kit which basically represented the American flag... again volunteers am sure on their patch were responsible. Anyways our team took on the fake Americans but alas the game ended 0 – 0, it all went down to penalty kicks. In the game for the younger ones we lost out in the semi final to penalties, and I started to get suspicious that my Englishness was rubbing off on our team and I am sad to say it did again. We lost in penalties and came runner up to our arch rivals. It was a real shame, but the boys handled it well, hugging Albert the goalie and those that missed. Still the runner up trophy was big and shiny so there were plenty of smiles later!
JUST A BABY – so the other day I had some friends round. While we waited for dinner to finish cooking we sat on the veranda having some tea. The light was fading as the sun began to set. As we chatted away, sharing stories, updating each other on how things have been, David suddenly lifted up his feet and pointed and made a kind of “oooooh” sound. It was a baby, crawling along the floor, just under all our feet. Now for those who won’t come and visit me in Kenya, or are worried about coming because of creepy crawlies, just stop reading now and move on to the next story. For those with more inner strength and who can face their fears just read on. The baby moved up to the pole of the veranda and against the wall and into a small crack. It was a baboon spider, we think just a baby, because it wasn’t so big, just about 6cm in diameter (legs that is, not just body). The Baboon spider is a cousin to the tarantula family. We shone our torch on it and all lifted our feet, and wondered where he was heading? My worry was he was going down to my bedroom end of the house. The good news based on the reaction of people who have lived in Kenya for a while, is that they mustn’t be seen too often and well lets face it, there is more food outside than in, so I am sure he won;t bother coming into the house.... hmmmm.... at least I hope. Seems a good theory! Basically the rains seem to bring them out more, I guess they may live in holes in the ground. So if you are worried, just visit in the dry season. Anyways i haven’t seen him since (touch wood) so all is good, he was just a baby anyways.... where is his mum though???
THE FIRST OF MANY – What I expected to happen while working here at Cheryls, did happen last week. We get a number of volunteers coming to work at the home. I had anticipated I would end up making friends with the volunteers and then end up with a lot of short term friendships as they move on. Well it has already started. We were very lucky to have a girl called Jacks, who was from Canada and with us for a month. She was great fun to hang out with, brilliant with the kids and great around Cheryls. She has been such a star this last month, but sadly she was jumping on an Overlander trip down to South Africa. I helped her move on Saturday and get to the departure point. I was sad to say goodbye and had a taste for what is bound to happen more often. The strange thing working in another country is that you bond much quicker with people from a similar culture than perhaps you would at home. You are reliant on each other for many things, including just general chat with someone who probably understands where you are coming from. We talked about it, a group of us the other day, saying actually you can get close as friends quickly here, but then people are gone and in reality you may never hear from them again. Its great on the one hand and sad on the other. After dropping Jacks off on Saturday, I was sad to say goodbye to a new friend, but braced myself for more of that in the future. A small downside from life here in Nairobi.
WHATEVER YOU DO....DON’T RUN – This is the title of the current book I am reading, well in fact I just finished it last night. Its very funny and very easy to read. Its all the crazy and funny stories from a Safari Guide based in Botswana. It has been very amusing and a nice light read. Well during Mark and Alice’s visit to Kenya we did a little safari up to Lake Navaisha and Lake Nakuru. We spent some time in a couple or parks and I showed them the sights of up country. The most fun part was going into Lake Nakuru National Park in Ron (my 4 x 4). At last it was my chance to play at being Safari guide. The great thing about Nakuru is that it’s big enough to spend a few days exploring but not too big to get lost in and also very easy to see lots of animals (great for pretending to be a Safari guide). We saw all the usual , G-rafs, Zebbies, Wartys, impala etc etc. I knew we would see Rhino, but I didn’t expect to see so many, but thats always one of the biggies to show the tourist. We saw a lot on the first day, but none of the cats. I knew in reality we were highly unlikely to see any big cats in Nakuru, they have very few and unfortunately no Ellies either (but its a great park and not far from Nairobi). I didn’t want to disappoint Mark, Alice and Clare, so I kept our hopes up, but they wanted to see a Lion kill, i said that would never happen and I would eat my hat if we saw a lion killing something, knowing with 99% certainty we would not see that. In all my time in Africa I have never seen something killed. In the evening at the hotel we chilled out and in the shop I was speaking to some other visitors, trying to see what animals we had missed... “What have you seen today?” I asked a couple from England... “Oh we have seen everything, you know, lions, leopard etc”, “WHAAAAAAT” I exclaimed (aloud in my head), “Where did you see them?” I then asked, hoping to get an insight so I could scout the spot in the morning and try and find them for Mark and Alice etc, the answer was “Oh here in Lake Nakuru park”.... “DUH!!!” I had figured that out for myself, but realised actually they were just tourists being taken by a guide, they would have no clue where they saw them in the park anyways, they had no map etc. SO the next day we trekked out and based on an old painted picture I saw in the bar showing lions in the plains below the hill where our hotel was I headed in that direction. Ok so the painting was like 20 years old and I was sure the lions would have moved from the tree they were painted sitting under, it was still worth a look. That morning after 10 mins, we found them, we were the first out the hotel, the first driving in the park, the first to find them. The thrill of this is awesome!!!! It was soooo special, and I was so pleased Mark, Alice and Clare got to see them. I felt we were lucky, I have been in Nakuru a few times and the only time I have seen lions is a couple of furry golden yellow ears poking above some grass. Here they were laying under a tree in good view. As other tourists arrived we moved on, in the vain hope of finding a leopard (which we didn’t manage to find). And as our car pulled away from the lions, Alice piped up.... “right time to see a lion kill so you have to eat your hat”.... we left the park later that day, my hat fully intact with no bite marks!
THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS – on our way back from Nakuru, I managed to organise a visit for us to 2 of the high schools that some of our Cheryls kids go to. First Shiners Girls and then Shiners Boys. The girls school was big, with 1000 girls, in a nice area, looked reasonably ok, but the dormitories looked massive, I reckon at least 100 girls in each, broken down into sections, but still reasonably open plan. The girls didn’t really leave school at any time, they weren’t allowed off premises, but I saw some guys loitering outside the grounds (this one is close to town) and I am sure there is a little mischief going on now and then. We met 5 of the girls from Cheryls and brought them biscuits and crisps. They gave us a little tour, but I think they were shy, especially as everyone stared at the Muzungus looking around the school. It was great to see where they were though. We then headed down the road to the boys school and I met a very old friend. James, who I first met in 2004, he is now in class 4 and doing the equivalent of his A levels. He is also deputy head boy and basically turning into a great young man! James’ father killed his mother. They have been in the home for a number of years, traumatised by such a tragedy. But James is doing well, deputy head boy!!! He has such a big heart and is studying hard to get into university. He wants to be a politician, but not for the big bucks, power and the usual nonsense that Kenyan people go into politics for. He has a heart to serve those around him, he wants to make Kenya a better place. He is humble and a guy of integrity. If he makes it, it will be people like James who will change Kenya and get rid of corruption and greed in the higher powers. So James took us round and we caught up with some of the other boys from Cheryls, like John who wants to be a journalist. The school looked poor, not as good as the girls. The boys were busy doing their washing and as we came round to the boys dorm areas we saw glass from broken windows all over the floor. James explained that one of the boys had been beaten severely by a high up person on the staff, they refused to take him to hospital because they knew what would happen, so the boys rioted, smashing windows. The principal gave in and took the boy to hospital. He was still there while we visited. I was shocked. The dorms were horrible, cramped, noisy and it felt more like a prison. James explained that a lot of things get stolen, kids get bullied and the staff only care about the Sudanese boys who pay higher school fees. I left the place disappointed, for James especially. Here he was sitting the most important exams of his life, and surrounded by chaos he was able to keep his head, keep his morals and keep the respect of those around him and also focus on his exams. Part of my work here is to help find some land to buy so we can build our own high school. As we drove out the gates I felt determined to build a school soooooo much better than Shiners boys, a school we could be proud of, a school that these orphans and vulnerable children deserve, a school where no-one is bullied, where everyone is treated equally, where nothing is stolen, no child is ever beaten, a place that is beautiful, where children experience love, care and are driven to achieve all they can and a school where you can always hear kids laughing, that’s the kind of school James should be in and that’s the kind of school we will build.
JAVA JAVA JAVA – for those who have been to Nairobi, one of its greatest assets is the Java House, a coffee shop with a whole bunch dotted around the city. For western folk such as myself, its a little haven, a taste of home. Many of us, myself, friends and volunteers spend a lot of time there, chance to refresh and fill up our caffeine tanks. While some of the high school students were back on half term the other week I decided to take them to Java as a treat. They had never been, and when the ice cream sundaes came to our table I think some of their eyes nearly popped out! It was fantastic! They loved it. We sat and chatted and talked about school, life in Kenya, the politics and what they wanted to do when they grow up. Most want to do jobs like nursing, journalism, politics and law. All of them want to help their country. They are amazing children and every day I see what we are doing and feel so blessed to be part of an organisation that is making such a massive difference in these kids lives.
SPIELBERG – I wander around the slums, dressed in my classic muzungu dress, the big white man in shirt, khaki trousers and khaki boots with a big fat video camera. Today I am filming some of the foster kids for a short movie to be shown at the launch of our charity in the UK at the end of November. I have a lot to do, but i think we will make it. We walked through the slums filming the boys, generating stares from all the locals wondering who this white guy is filming. I felt intrusive and invading peoples lives, but I knew we were here to tell Michael and Jeffreys story. Their mums (both single parent families) welcomed us in to their one roomed shacks. I was humbled by their greeting and willingness to display their life to so many people. But I could see a pride in both their mothers eyes, in each house, for their boys, who are getting good primary school education and knowing that they were well cared for through Cheryls. As I continue to pretend to be Steven Spielburg what I hope is that this movie will show the difference Cheryls can make and what fantastic boys these 2 are. If you want to see the film then just go to the launch night, which I think is on the 27th nov, at St Paul’s & St George’s Church in Edinburgh.
MATCH OF THE DAY – Over the last couple of weeks I have been watching the Cheryls Childrens Home football team. We have 2 teams, one Under 14s and the other Under12s. There name is “Young Tigers”, which I am not sure why, as there are no tigers in Africa, I think it’s down to a volunteer from long ago, oh well never mind, it makes them seem tough so thats good. They played a big tournament on Saturday. The refereeing has to be considered especially dubious, most refs seem to like standing on one spot on the field, judging crucial decisions from afar! Occasionally with some slightly controversial decision or if the game is heating up they decide to plod down the pitch a little to get a little closer to the action, but lets be honest, that was rare. We had our fair share of biased refs against us, but our older team made it to the final. It was just 5 a side, but it was riveting. The young tigers played against their arch rivals in the final, the rivals all dressed in a kit which basically represented the American flag... again volunteers am sure on their patch were responsible. Anyways our team took on the fake Americans but alas the game ended 0 – 0, it all went down to penalty kicks. In the game for the younger ones we lost out in the semi final to penalties, and I started to get suspicious that my Englishness was rubbing off on our team and I am sad to say it did again. We lost in penalties and came runner up to our arch rivals. It was a real shame, but the boys handled it well, hugging Albert the goalie and those that missed. Still the runner up trophy was big and shiny so there were plenty of smiles later!
JUST A BABY – so the other day I had some friends round. While we waited for dinner to finish cooking we sat on the veranda having some tea. The light was fading as the sun began to set. As we chatted away, sharing stories, updating each other on how things have been, David suddenly lifted up his feet and pointed and made a kind of “oooooh” sound. It was a baby, crawling along the floor, just under all our feet. Now for those who won’t come and visit me in Kenya, or are worried about coming because of creepy crawlies, just stop reading now and move on to the next story. For those with more inner strength and who can face their fears just read on. The baby moved up to the pole of the veranda and against the wall and into a small crack. It was a baboon spider, we think just a baby, because it wasn’t so big, just about 6cm in diameter (legs that is, not just body). The Baboon spider is a cousin to the tarantula family. We shone our torch on it and all lifted our feet, and wondered where he was heading? My worry was he was going down to my bedroom end of the house. The good news based on the reaction of people who have lived in Kenya for a while, is that they mustn’t be seen too often and well lets face it, there is more food outside than in, so I am sure he won;t bother coming into the house.... hmmmm.... at least I hope. Seems a good theory! Basically the rains seem to bring them out more, I guess they may live in holes in the ground. So if you are worried, just visit in the dry season. Anyways i haven’t seen him since (touch wood) so all is good, he was just a baby anyways.... where is his mum though???
THE FIRST OF MANY – What I expected to happen while working here at Cheryls, did happen last week. We get a number of volunteers coming to work at the home. I had anticipated I would end up making friends with the volunteers and then end up with a lot of short term friendships as they move on. Well it has already started. We were very lucky to have a girl called Jacks, who was from Canada and with us for a month. She was great fun to hang out with, brilliant with the kids and great around Cheryls. She has been such a star this last month, but sadly she was jumping on an Overlander trip down to South Africa. I helped her move on Saturday and get to the departure point. I was sad to say goodbye and had a taste for what is bound to happen more often. The strange thing working in another country is that you bond much quicker with people from a similar culture than perhaps you would at home. You are reliant on each other for many things, including just general chat with someone who probably understands where you are coming from. We talked about it, a group of us the other day, saying actually you can get close as friends quickly here, but then people are gone and in reality you may never hear from them again. Its great on the one hand and sad on the other. After dropping Jacks off on Saturday, I was sad to say goodbye to a new friend, but braced myself for more of that in the future. A small downside from life here in Nairobi.
WHATEVER YOU DO....DON’T RUN – This is the title of the current book I am reading, well in fact I just finished it last night. Its very funny and very easy to read. Its all the crazy and funny stories from a Safari Guide based in Botswana. It has been very amusing and a nice light read. Well during Mark and Alice’s visit to Kenya we did a little safari up to Lake Navaisha and Lake Nakuru. We spent some time in a couple or parks and I showed them the sights of up country. The most fun part was going into Lake Nakuru National Park in Ron (my 4 x 4). At last it was my chance to play at being Safari guide. The great thing about Nakuru is that it’s big enough to spend a few days exploring but not too big to get lost in and also very easy to see lots of animals (great for pretending to be a Safari guide). We saw all the usual , G-rafs, Zebbies, Wartys, impala etc etc. I knew we would see Rhino, but I didn’t expect to see so many, but thats always one of the biggies to show the tourist. We saw a lot on the first day, but none of the cats. I knew in reality we were highly unlikely to see any big cats in Nakuru, they have very few and unfortunately no Ellies either (but its a great park and not far from Nairobi). I didn’t want to disappoint Mark, Alice and Clare, so I kept our hopes up, but they wanted to see a Lion kill, i said that would never happen and I would eat my hat if we saw a lion killing something, knowing with 99% certainty we would not see that. In all my time in Africa I have never seen something killed. In the evening at the hotel we chilled out and in the shop I was speaking to some other visitors, trying to see what animals we had missed... “What have you seen today?” I asked a couple from England... “Oh we have seen everything, you know, lions, leopard etc”, “WHAAAAAAT” I exclaimed (aloud in my head), “Where did you see them?” I then asked, hoping to get an insight so I could scout the spot in the morning and try and find them for Mark and Alice etc, the answer was “Oh here in Lake Nakuru park”.... “DUH!!!” I had figured that out for myself, but realised actually they were just tourists being taken by a guide, they would have no clue where they saw them in the park anyways, they had no map etc. SO the next day we trekked out and based on an old painted picture I saw in the bar showing lions in the plains below the hill where our hotel was I headed in that direction. Ok so the painting was like 20 years old and I was sure the lions would have moved from the tree they were painted sitting under, it was still worth a look. That morning after 10 mins, we found them, we were the first out the hotel, the first driving in the park, the first to find them. The thrill of this is awesome!!!! It was soooo special, and I was so pleased Mark, Alice and Clare got to see them. I felt we were lucky, I have been in Nakuru a few times and the only time I have seen lions is a couple of furry golden yellow ears poking above some grass. Here they were laying under a tree in good view. As other tourists arrived we moved on, in the vain hope of finding a leopard (which we didn’t manage to find). And as our car pulled away from the lions, Alice piped up.... “right time to see a lion kill so you have to eat your hat”.... we left the park later that day, my hat fully intact with no bite marks!
THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS – on our way back from Nakuru, I managed to organise a visit for us to 2 of the high schools that some of our Cheryls kids go to. First Shiners Girls and then Shiners Boys. The girls school was big, with 1000 girls, in a nice area, looked reasonably ok, but the dormitories looked massive, I reckon at least 100 girls in each, broken down into sections, but still reasonably open plan. The girls didn’t really leave school at any time, they weren’t allowed off premises, but I saw some guys loitering outside the grounds (this one is close to town) and I am sure there is a little mischief going on now and then. We met 5 of the girls from Cheryls and brought them biscuits and crisps. They gave us a little tour, but I think they were shy, especially as everyone stared at the Muzungus looking around the school. It was great to see where they were though. We then headed down the road to the boys school and I met a very old friend. James, who I first met in 2004, he is now in class 4 and doing the equivalent of his A levels. He is also deputy head boy and basically turning into a great young man! James’ father killed his mother. They have been in the home for a number of years, traumatised by such a tragedy. But James is doing well, deputy head boy!!! He has such a big heart and is studying hard to get into university. He wants to be a politician, but not for the big bucks, power and the usual nonsense that Kenyan people go into politics for. He has a heart to serve those around him, he wants to make Kenya a better place. He is humble and a guy of integrity. If he makes it, it will be people like James who will change Kenya and get rid of corruption and greed in the higher powers. So James took us round and we caught up with some of the other boys from Cheryls, like John who wants to be a journalist. The school looked poor, not as good as the girls. The boys were busy doing their washing and as we came round to the boys dorm areas we saw glass from broken windows all over the floor. James explained that one of the boys had been beaten severely by a high up person on the staff, they refused to take him to hospital because they knew what would happen, so the boys rioted, smashing windows. The principal gave in and took the boy to hospital. He was still there while we visited. I was shocked. The dorms were horrible, cramped, noisy and it felt more like a prison. James explained that a lot of things get stolen, kids get bullied and the staff only care about the Sudanese boys who pay higher school fees. I left the place disappointed, for James especially. Here he was sitting the most important exams of his life, and surrounded by chaos he was able to keep his head, keep his morals and keep the respect of those around him and also focus on his exams. Part of my work here is to help find some land to buy so we can build our own high school. As we drove out the gates I felt determined to build a school soooooo much better than Shiners boys, a school we could be proud of, a school that these orphans and vulnerable children deserve, a school where no-one is bullied, where everyone is treated equally, where nothing is stolen, no child is ever beaten, a place that is beautiful, where children experience love, care and are driven to achieve all they can and a school where you can always hear kids laughing, that’s the kind of school James should be in and that’s the kind of school we will build.
JAVA JAVA JAVA – for those who have been to Nairobi, one of its greatest assets is the Java House, a coffee shop with a whole bunch dotted around the city. For western folk such as myself, its a little haven, a taste of home. Many of us, myself, friends and volunteers spend a lot of time there, chance to refresh and fill up our caffeine tanks. While some of the high school students were back on half term the other week I decided to take them to Java as a treat. They had never been, and when the ice cream sundaes came to our table I think some of their eyes nearly popped out! It was fantastic! They loved it. We sat and chatted and talked about school, life in Kenya, the politics and what they wanted to do when they grow up. Most want to do jobs like nursing, journalism, politics and law. All of them want to help their country. They are amazing children and every day I see what we are doing and feel so blessed to be part of an organisation that is making such a massive difference in these kids lives.
SPIELBERG – I wander around the slums, dressed in my classic muzungu dress, the big white man in shirt, khaki trousers and khaki boots with a big fat video camera. Today I am filming some of the foster kids for a short movie to be shown at the launch of our charity in the UK at the end of November. I have a lot to do, but i think we will make it. We walked through the slums filming the boys, generating stares from all the locals wondering who this white guy is filming. I felt intrusive and invading peoples lives, but I knew we were here to tell Michael and Jeffreys story. Their mums (both single parent families) welcomed us in to their one roomed shacks. I was humbled by their greeting and willingness to display their life to so many people. But I could see a pride in both their mothers eyes, in each house, for their boys, who are getting good primary school education and knowing that they were well cared for through Cheryls. As I continue to pretend to be Steven Spielburg what I hope is that this movie will show the difference Cheryls can make and what fantastic boys these 2 are. If you want to see the film then just go to the launch night, which I think is on the 27th nov, at St Paul’s & St George’s Church in Edinburgh.
Monday, 19 October 2009
DRIP DRIP DROP LITTLE APRIL SHOWERS
I’M LAUGHING AT CLOUDS, SO DARK UP ABOVE – When you think of Africa what kind of image pops into your head? Beautiful sunsets, clear blue skies, scorching heat, dry land and a nice cold coke in your hand to cool you down. That’s the image that often pops into my head, or at least while I was back in the UK. Well this week the weather changed, quite dramatically, one day it was all blue skys above, now its grey, very grey and the rain has kept pouring, which is fantastic! The problem of dust which we have all been dealing with has now ended, I think I must have swallowed many kilos of the rich red dust, in and around the kids home, now instead of dust whirling its way into every nook and cranny, all over and in the car, through the windows of the office into the tiny gaps on the laptop, we now have thick sloppy mud EVERYWHERE!!! The last few days as I have been driving down the road I have noticed something different and that is mainly the number of people walking ON the road. Its hard enough dodging other cars as it is, let alone people as well. And then all of sudden the penny dropped and the obvious answer finally entered my brain; the pavements are all dirt, no tarmac so people were avoiding the mud. If it was me making my way through the muddy and wet streets of Nairobi on foot I think I would prefer mud up to my ankle rather than a bull bar of some massive 4x4 wrapped around my head!
MAMBO.....POA – So I have always admitted my poor skills in learning other languages, but it seems I am slowly managing to learn a little bit of Swahili, but not your text book Swahili, the every day Swahili that gives you a little kudos when conversing with your average Kenya Joe. Mary in the office is always trying to teach me new things but probably the best phrase so far has been MAMBO... which is responded with POA. I have used this a number of times on people I just happened to meet and they look at me with shock and disbelief and then they smile and we both laugh. Works a charm every time and my hope is that maybe, just maybe this little phrase will separate me from all the rich embassy and big NGO Muzungus.
LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL – I moved into my new house a week ago, and it was a very strange experience, suddenly being all alone. Monday night was odd, but I coped, I cooked myself some food (didn’t taste that great, bit out of the habit) but I’m still here so thats good. Tuesday night as i had not seen them for about a whole 36 hours, David and Juliet came over for dinner, along with Mo, who lives across the road. We had drinks on the veranda (the sun was still shining at this point), and then Chris and Maia (my next door neighbours, they live in the guest house on the same plot) to say hi, so I invited them to stay. Ok it was me cooking again so I had to step up the game a little, so I brought out the big guns, Pesto, Bacon, Mushrooms and pasta, always a winner (and very easy!). We all had a great time and spent all night pretty much out on the veranda chatting. So David and Juliet stayed over as they live so far across town. The next day we all headed off to work. And that night I wanted to collect one of my birthday presents from across their side of town so I was invited to dinner back at David and Juliets. Hey it had been at least 10 hours since we had seen each other!! So whats this story really all about, and all the bat stuff.... well here is a parental advisory warning, if you are easily scared, or you are related to me or you are thinking of visiting don’t read the next paragraph, just jump down to the next wee story..... anyways back to Wednesday night, in the area where David and Juliet live there are many UN workers, Embassys, NGOs etc and there are some times car jacking, where they steal your car, or worse, kidnap you and hold you for ransom, so basically not a good area to drive around at night on your own. I could have stayed at their house, but with visitors arriving the next day I wanted to get home and get the house ready. I decided to leave at 8:30pm, so not too late, but lets be honest I was pretty nervous. I had a plan though, and this will be called ‘Kierens plan to foil all car jackers and generally nasty people while driving home, whilst probably being a useless plan’ plan. So the plan involves driving as fast as you can, with full car beam headlights on to dazzle everyone and anyone and wearing a hoody to hide my white skin whilst playing the fugees really loud through the speakers so perhaps by some small chance I myself might seem like a car jacker or a gangster and then everyone would leave me alone. I don’t know how great this plan is, but what i can tell you is I made it home safe and sound. Most people probably thought what is this crazy muzungu doing trying to drive his 4x4 like a rally car through the streets wearing a hoody and sweating hugely due to the heat listening to rap music??? I have now decided in future, just stay over, much better option. And for those of you naughty people warned not to read this bit... don’t worry, it all sounds worse than it really is, you have more chance getting knocked over on the roads back home than getting car jacked here! (maybe?)
BARCLAYS – Just a quick shout out to Barclays bank. I plugged Robs book the other week (Cycling home from Siberia.... look there is another plug for Rob, great book, I’m almost finished!), so here is a plug for Barclays: I am not a customer, don’t work for them, don’t know anyone who does. On Friday I walked into Samuels office to find 3 well dressed young men in Barclays ties and jumpers, all smartly dressed and certainly looking like bankers. I was told they were coming the next day to do some work at the home. Samuel was going to be away on Saturday, but I said I would be around, and would be bringing my own visitors (Mark and Alice) anyways. I expected it to be another, ‘lets worship the corporate day’. In fact it was AWESOME. About 30 – 40 people came from branches all over Nairobi. They brought sweets, an amazing lunch, tools, paint, trees for planting, sports equipment, schools supplies and very very big smiles and plenty of laughter. They cleaned the class rooms, planted trees, ran career mentorship meetings with the older ones (many of these guys had come from poor backgrounds before becoming bankers). We worshipped, we danced, we played loud music on the PA, we laughed, we prayed, we presented, we ate an we all had a fabulous time. They all wore bright blue T shirts with Barclays on, but apart from that, there was no plugging, no official photos, the whole focus was on the kids. I do believe many of the Barclays staff were moved by the whole experience. They were so relaxed and so much fun. So all praise to the corporate, Barclays, on Saturday at Cheryls Childrens Home you rocked! Thank you! (for your info, apparently Barclays do this kind of thing, on this day all over the world... I wonder how many other groups enjoyed their day as much as we did?).
GUTTED – So its raining, a lot! Currently we are paying for water each week for the kids home, we have to buy it in and its expensive. What we need is some guttering where we can channel the rain water into our tanks. We have the tanks, just not the guttering. There are so many financial priorities at the moment, many of the kids are getting ill, because of the rain, and when money is short who can afford something as simple as guttering. Well we were so chuffed when one of the current volunteers offered to cover the costs! AWESOME! They started today and the guttering will be going up in the next day of so. We can collect rain water, save some money and maybe help the old environment a little bit too, so not really gutted about all that!
THE PLAN – Why do I always leave the most important stories until the end... do people even read this far down the blog? Probably not. Anyways if you have, consider yourself privileged to read the most important bit. The pressures on the home are immense, cash flow is always an issue and once we pay one bill, i feel great, only to discover we now need to find money to pay the next thing. That I have to say is slightly depressing! But we have a plan... the home already does a little bit of child sponsorship, but do to moving money globally etc the cash flow is not always great and we only have 28% of the children sponsored. We have worked out a new plan for sponsorship and are currently working on the finer details so we can get it going ready for the Cherish Watoto Kenya official UK charity launch later in November. If we can get 100% of the kids sponsored that would mean the running costs of the whole project would be covered, including future staff that need to be employed in the next 12 months. That would be awesome. Its a mighty task, its a lot of children, but if we can achieve this in the next 10 months or so it means we can focus on developing the bigger picture. This is the plan, its exciting and if we get their it will revolutionise Cheryls. It will mean staff will get paid every month, as opposed to when money is available, bills would get paid on time, and we wouldn’t have the same money pressures everyone week. For Sam who has run this place for the last 10 years I think he needs a break from these money worries, it would be great to give him that next year.
AND THE WINNER IS – Thank you for all the entries to the competition for naming my car. If you look at the pics way below you can get a wee glimpse of it. Now there were many good suggestions as well as some rubbish ones... and although you are meant to give cars a girls name I have to announce that Claire Oxenham (and Amy too I think) have won the competition and will receive a free guided tour of Nairobi in my car, at any time of their choosing (flights not included, but accommodation is). My car shall now be named, hence forth: RON.... and for those wondering why, well my car is a burgundy colour, a little bit big and clumsy in driving and well is basically a legend... just like Ron Burgundy from the film ANCHOR MAN, one of my fav films of all time. So well done Claire (and amy), congratulations.... and well for me thats it, again too much to say in this blog, there have been many more adventures, so for now all I can say is “Thats all from me, I’m Kieren Barnes, you stay classy San Diego”.
MAMBO.....POA – So I have always admitted my poor skills in learning other languages, but it seems I am slowly managing to learn a little bit of Swahili, but not your text book Swahili, the every day Swahili that gives you a little kudos when conversing with your average Kenya Joe. Mary in the office is always trying to teach me new things but probably the best phrase so far has been MAMBO... which is responded with POA. I have used this a number of times on people I just happened to meet and they look at me with shock and disbelief and then they smile and we both laugh. Works a charm every time and my hope is that maybe, just maybe this little phrase will separate me from all the rich embassy and big NGO Muzungus.
LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL – I moved into my new house a week ago, and it was a very strange experience, suddenly being all alone. Monday night was odd, but I coped, I cooked myself some food (didn’t taste that great, bit out of the habit) but I’m still here so thats good. Tuesday night as i had not seen them for about a whole 36 hours, David and Juliet came over for dinner, along with Mo, who lives across the road. We had drinks on the veranda (the sun was still shining at this point), and then Chris and Maia (my next door neighbours, they live in the guest house on the same plot) to say hi, so I invited them to stay. Ok it was me cooking again so I had to step up the game a little, so I brought out the big guns, Pesto, Bacon, Mushrooms and pasta, always a winner (and very easy!). We all had a great time and spent all night pretty much out on the veranda chatting. So David and Juliet stayed over as they live so far across town. The next day we all headed off to work. And that night I wanted to collect one of my birthday presents from across their side of town so I was invited to dinner back at David and Juliets. Hey it had been at least 10 hours since we had seen each other!! So whats this story really all about, and all the bat stuff.... well here is a parental advisory warning, if you are easily scared, or you are related to me or you are thinking of visiting don’t read the next paragraph, just jump down to the next wee story..... anyways back to Wednesday night, in the area where David and Juliet live there are many UN workers, Embassys, NGOs etc and there are some times car jacking, where they steal your car, or worse, kidnap you and hold you for ransom, so basically not a good area to drive around at night on your own. I could have stayed at their house, but with visitors arriving the next day I wanted to get home and get the house ready. I decided to leave at 8:30pm, so not too late, but lets be honest I was pretty nervous. I had a plan though, and this will be called ‘Kierens plan to foil all car jackers and generally nasty people while driving home, whilst probably being a useless plan’ plan. So the plan involves driving as fast as you can, with full car beam headlights on to dazzle everyone and anyone and wearing a hoody to hide my white skin whilst playing the fugees really loud through the speakers so perhaps by some small chance I myself might seem like a car jacker or a gangster and then everyone would leave me alone. I don’t know how great this plan is, but what i can tell you is I made it home safe and sound. Most people probably thought what is this crazy muzungu doing trying to drive his 4x4 like a rally car through the streets wearing a hoody and sweating hugely due to the heat listening to rap music??? I have now decided in future, just stay over, much better option. And for those of you naughty people warned not to read this bit... don’t worry, it all sounds worse than it really is, you have more chance getting knocked over on the roads back home than getting car jacked here! (maybe?)
BARCLAYS – Just a quick shout out to Barclays bank. I plugged Robs book the other week (Cycling home from Siberia.... look there is another plug for Rob, great book, I’m almost finished!), so here is a plug for Barclays: I am not a customer, don’t work for them, don’t know anyone who does. On Friday I walked into Samuels office to find 3 well dressed young men in Barclays ties and jumpers, all smartly dressed and certainly looking like bankers. I was told they were coming the next day to do some work at the home. Samuel was going to be away on Saturday, but I said I would be around, and would be bringing my own visitors (Mark and Alice) anyways. I expected it to be another, ‘lets worship the corporate day’. In fact it was AWESOME. About 30 – 40 people came from branches all over Nairobi. They brought sweets, an amazing lunch, tools, paint, trees for planting, sports equipment, schools supplies and very very big smiles and plenty of laughter. They cleaned the class rooms, planted trees, ran career mentorship meetings with the older ones (many of these guys had come from poor backgrounds before becoming bankers). We worshipped, we danced, we played loud music on the PA, we laughed, we prayed, we presented, we ate an we all had a fabulous time. They all wore bright blue T shirts with Barclays on, but apart from that, there was no plugging, no official photos, the whole focus was on the kids. I do believe many of the Barclays staff were moved by the whole experience. They were so relaxed and so much fun. So all praise to the corporate, Barclays, on Saturday at Cheryls Childrens Home you rocked! Thank you! (for your info, apparently Barclays do this kind of thing, on this day all over the world... I wonder how many other groups enjoyed their day as much as we did?).
GUTTED – So its raining, a lot! Currently we are paying for water each week for the kids home, we have to buy it in and its expensive. What we need is some guttering where we can channel the rain water into our tanks. We have the tanks, just not the guttering. There are so many financial priorities at the moment, many of the kids are getting ill, because of the rain, and when money is short who can afford something as simple as guttering. Well we were so chuffed when one of the current volunteers offered to cover the costs! AWESOME! They started today and the guttering will be going up in the next day of so. We can collect rain water, save some money and maybe help the old environment a little bit too, so not really gutted about all that!
THE PLAN – Why do I always leave the most important stories until the end... do people even read this far down the blog? Probably not. Anyways if you have, consider yourself privileged to read the most important bit. The pressures on the home are immense, cash flow is always an issue and once we pay one bill, i feel great, only to discover we now need to find money to pay the next thing. That I have to say is slightly depressing! But we have a plan... the home already does a little bit of child sponsorship, but do to moving money globally etc the cash flow is not always great and we only have 28% of the children sponsored. We have worked out a new plan for sponsorship and are currently working on the finer details so we can get it going ready for the Cherish Watoto Kenya official UK charity launch later in November. If we can get 100% of the kids sponsored that would mean the running costs of the whole project would be covered, including future staff that need to be employed in the next 12 months. That would be awesome. Its a mighty task, its a lot of children, but if we can achieve this in the next 10 months or so it means we can focus on developing the bigger picture. This is the plan, its exciting and if we get their it will revolutionise Cheryls. It will mean staff will get paid every month, as opposed to when money is available, bills would get paid on time, and we wouldn’t have the same money pressures everyone week. For Sam who has run this place for the last 10 years I think he needs a break from these money worries, it would be great to give him that next year.
AND THE WINNER IS – Thank you for all the entries to the competition for naming my car. If you look at the pics way below you can get a wee glimpse of it. Now there were many good suggestions as well as some rubbish ones... and although you are meant to give cars a girls name I have to announce that Claire Oxenham (and Amy too I think) have won the competition and will receive a free guided tour of Nairobi in my car, at any time of their choosing (flights not included, but accommodation is). My car shall now be named, hence forth: RON.... and for those wondering why, well my car is a burgundy colour, a little bit big and clumsy in driving and well is basically a legend... just like Ron Burgundy from the film ANCHOR MAN, one of my fav films of all time. So well done Claire (and amy), congratulations.... and well for me thats it, again too much to say in this blog, there have been many more adventures, so for now all I can say is “Thats all from me, I’m Kieren Barnes, you stay classy San Diego”.
Monday, 12 October 2009
THE CITY THAT JUST KEEPS GROWING
STORIES – For the last week I have been chatting with Mary and Samuel about the children staying here at Cheryls. In my office I have some photos on the wall of some of the kids. Each time Mary popped in the office last week we would chat about some of the kids I know. Each one had a story. Each story was in many ways hard to believe. When you see the child today it is hard to imagine that they went through such trauma and yet are so happy now. That is Cheryls Childrens Home story. Broken lives being cared for and healed. The stories of the children who actually live here are often about physical, sexual abuse from the home, parents who have died from AIDS, violence or just extreme poverty. There are some children who have seen their parents killed in political violence, some who have had one parent kill the other, some who have lost both parents and ended up with a grandmother who would beat the children badly. These are not happy stories, but they are real. It disappoints me when some organisations are against children’s homes. Most of these kids have been abused and suffered traumatic experiences, their homes are unsafe places. Here they are protected, cared for and given a future. The majority of children here are in foster care and many of these have also experienced horrific stories, but for them fortunately they have a guardian who can take care of them and through Cheryls they can be supported. The aim is always for a child, where possible, to be in a regular household, but for some that can’t be the case. For those kids that have been rejected, those kids are welcomed here with open arms and are part of this large family. This last week what struck me were the stories, so many...
DIRT – The quest for land seems to be the hot priority for many people in Nairobi. The city is bursting at the seems, flats popping up everywhere and as each new development goes up the question ‘where does the water come from to service the flats?’ seems to be ignored... just keep building building building. At one time people probably thought the streets of London were paved with gold, it seems that many feel Nairobi is paved with some precious jewel also. The truth is the streets are paved with dirt, the lack of rain is crippling the city and its just getting worse. The football pitch the kids play on for some of their matches just up the road is now pretty much sand. The Masaai bring in their cattle to the city centre to find anywhere for their skinny, dying cows. The other day on the way to work I had just passed Death Junction and moved to the next busy crossing, it was rush hour, and there a herder was driving is cattle across the dirt covered walk ways. A cow stumbles into the middle of the cross roads and for just a brief moment the cow becomes the priority for getting through the traffic, hey it even stopped a Matatu driver! As the city grows water will just become a bigger and bigger issue. In the UK we talk about the weather all the time, how it will be this day, it rains too much, we are cold. Here all the talk is about rain, when will it come. The word is that this year there will be an El Nino (spelling???), which means seriously heavy rains. Sounds good, but the truth is if it does come many people will drown in flash floods. It will be both a blessing and a curse. The dirt is so dry the water will just run over the top, clearing everything in its path. The trees have gone, no-one is planning for the future. But for now at least my clothes, my car, my computer, my bag, my skin... all covered in dirt (and I think there must be about 50 kgs of dirt in my lungs).
RALLY FOR ANY LADIES? – Ok so I have mentioned I keep meeting interesting people, this week I met a lady at David’s retirement village. She was hilarious and absolutely brilliant. A muzungu (white) lady, had broken hips and struggling to walk, but a wicked send of humour. We had sundowners (well basically drinks when the sun goes down, which is always between 6 – 7pm every day). Afterwards David pushed her back to her chalet in the wheelchair and she asked me to accompany them. She invited us in and their on the wall were 2 massive collages of pictures of this lady through the years driving rally cars around Africa. It was incredible, each picture obviously had a long story behind it, but clearly she was very brave and courageous. Thankfully her mind is still sharp, she seems to be quite cheeky and we had a very fun evening, but the last thing I would have guessed her to have been was a rally driver.
ROAD TRIPS – My biggest task here in Kenya is to help buy some land to build a secondary school, technical college, guest house, farming facilities, income generating projects and much more! So land is expensive.... too expensive. Last week we did a couple of road trips to see some areas. The first was on the other side of the Ngong hills, about 20kms from Cheryls. The last 8kms though are dirt track and take a while (was fun to do a bit of off roading in the 4x4). Its basically on the other side of the hills and well what can I say... there is nothing there. It was just masses and masses of land as far as the eye can see. A few little huts were dotted around here and there, but this was virgin land... and there was plenty of it. Interesting, too isolated maybe, good water supply, when will the road be tarmac’d??? Lots of questions. We met a masaai/kikuyu who was selling the land. He stood ther, must have been in his 50’s at least, worn trousers, walking stick, old jacket and this was his land to sell. He will make a fortune from it when he does sell and I just wondered what he would do with the money, will he actually even use it? A comparison would be for me to become a billionaire overnight. Interesting. But land is of extreme value and everyone wants it. The other road trip was out to Athi river, Kitengela and Kiserian. We were gone for about 6 hours.... it was a long road trip, but we did some research saw the areas. The crazy thing for a lot of the time we were driving past empty land... most of it bought though in small packets such as an acre, half an acre, quater of an acre. But what amazed me was there was nothing there!!!!! And the land is worth £10,000 an acre. The roads are being improved and everyone expects the land to be used, so they are buying it all up, but not doing anything with it, but thats just pushing the price up. Will the bubble burst? I don’t know, and in many ways I doubt it. But it means for us buying land is going to be a huge challenge. People think Africa is cheap... have they ever come to Nairobi?
WHAT NAME – So quite a few people have put in names for my car, some very good ones, some totally obscure???? But basically I’ll give you 1 more week and then I will announce the winner. So keep sending in your entries... sounds like I am going to give a prize out, but that might be tricky....hmmmm if you win I’ll give you a free tour of Nairobi in the big 4x4. So send them in, and winner announced next week.
THE MAMA’s – Just before coming to Kenya, me and some chums went to see Coldplay at Hampden park. Coldplay are my favourite band and it was a special night to say goodbye to some good friends who were with me. As we left we commented on how that will be the last time for a long time before I see such acts and go to a gig like that. Well in fact it was a really long time... a whole 4 weeks! This year Nairobi was the proud host of the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA’s). I had seen bill boards around the place advertising it and a friend of mine suggested we tried to get tickets. They were quite cheap for what it was, only about £18 (which for a gig is extremely cheap). I doubted there would be any left, but eventually we found one of the outlets were they were selling and we went. So we went to the MAMA’s on Saturday night. I tried my best to dress up and look cool.... I failed... but Clare who I was with looked glamorous as did many of the other people their. The night was full of the who’s who of Nairobi, but mainly Kenyans, which was great to see. It was an awesome night and I just couldn’t believe we were there. It was in a sports indoor arena, probably the only one of its kind in East Africa. We saw Wyclef Jean present and perform, Akon and a whole load of fantastic African artists. So if you have MTV, have look for it on MTV Bass channel I think and see if you can spot us. I think now I can safely say though, it will be long time before I go to another major gig....
LILIAN – On Saturday morning, praise the lord it was a public holiday. The roads were quiet. Mary and I headed down the Mombasa road, past Athi river to a place called Lukenya. We were going to Lukenya Girls High school for their annual prayer service for the Form 4’s who are about to take their finals. Lilian is about to take hers. She is 18, one of 4 children taken in to Cheryls after her father died and just before her mum sadly passed away. They were living in extremely bad conditions, in a room without any beds. Lilian has recently finished being head girl and is hoping to do nursing next year. She wants to serve and help others in Kenya. She is confident, funny and intelligent. She was so pleased to see us, she had no clue I was coming. The service last 4 hours.... i did struggle at times in the heat but made it through. As we sat there I saw all the different parents coming in with their familes to support the girls and in a way it only dawned on me then, we were their for Lilian, we were her support, we were her parents. Although I had not seen Lillian since our 2004 trip with church she remembered me and i felt honoured to be their to support her. I was the only Muzungu and well a lot of heads turned when we arrived, but for Mary, Lillian and me that didn’t matter. It was a great day, she showed us round the school, had some lunch and then we left. I will go and pick her up from school in November when she is finished. It was a very small gesture on my part, but a very special moment and a real privilege to be there.
LEARNING THE NOISES – So yesterday was a very sad day. I moved into my new house. I am thrilled to be able to use David’s dads house as my new home, it has some spare rooms which is great for guests and volunteers, it has some furniture which has made things much easier, David and Juliet have already got bills sorted etc for me to pay, its been amazing....BUT... I think all 3 of us have been enjoying spending time with each other these last few weeks, and I think we all felt a little sad when they left yesterday afternoon and I was then alone in the house. We were so sad about it that they are coming round for dinner tomorrow night and I’m going there on Wednesday night!!! LOL. But the house is good. Last night I locked up the house and went to my new bed. To be honest i hadn’t really unpacked so it was all a little strange, especially suddenly feeling alone. As the night went on I heard all the sounds of living back in the middle of a city, dogs barking, kids yelling, dogs screaming, cars, people talking, dogs really yelling and the strange noises of this beautiful old house. In many ways this house displays where the city is heading. Its on about 1 acre of land. At the back at the bottom of the garden there are some large apartment blocks, over looking the house, all around buildings are starting to come down, new apartments rising, WATER???? ANYONE???? ANSWERS???? One day this house which has been here for at least half a century will be gone. In a way the new apartments are a sign of economic growth, the creation of a larger middle class, which is great.... but the resources of the city are limited, at some point there will be no more water, no more electricity, and there is still a great deal of poverty, resulting in crime. I lock so many doors in the house, infact this will soon become a nightly routine. The house over the road, belonging to Mo was robbed the other week while she was in South Africa. Crime is on the up. But for now, I will have the fortunate opportunity of spending time in the last days of this house, before it too will be knocked down and flats, or offices built. This is now home.
PHOTOS – Lillian and THE MAMA’s posted below, check them out:
DIRT – The quest for land seems to be the hot priority for many people in Nairobi. The city is bursting at the seems, flats popping up everywhere and as each new development goes up the question ‘where does the water come from to service the flats?’ seems to be ignored... just keep building building building. At one time people probably thought the streets of London were paved with gold, it seems that many feel Nairobi is paved with some precious jewel also. The truth is the streets are paved with dirt, the lack of rain is crippling the city and its just getting worse. The football pitch the kids play on for some of their matches just up the road is now pretty much sand. The Masaai bring in their cattle to the city centre to find anywhere for their skinny, dying cows. The other day on the way to work I had just passed Death Junction and moved to the next busy crossing, it was rush hour, and there a herder was driving is cattle across the dirt covered walk ways. A cow stumbles into the middle of the cross roads and for just a brief moment the cow becomes the priority for getting through the traffic, hey it even stopped a Matatu driver! As the city grows water will just become a bigger and bigger issue. In the UK we talk about the weather all the time, how it will be this day, it rains too much, we are cold. Here all the talk is about rain, when will it come. The word is that this year there will be an El Nino (spelling???), which means seriously heavy rains. Sounds good, but the truth is if it does come many people will drown in flash floods. It will be both a blessing and a curse. The dirt is so dry the water will just run over the top, clearing everything in its path. The trees have gone, no-one is planning for the future. But for now at least my clothes, my car, my computer, my bag, my skin... all covered in dirt (and I think there must be about 50 kgs of dirt in my lungs).
RALLY FOR ANY LADIES? – Ok so I have mentioned I keep meeting interesting people, this week I met a lady at David’s retirement village. She was hilarious and absolutely brilliant. A muzungu (white) lady, had broken hips and struggling to walk, but a wicked send of humour. We had sundowners (well basically drinks when the sun goes down, which is always between 6 – 7pm every day). Afterwards David pushed her back to her chalet in the wheelchair and she asked me to accompany them. She invited us in and their on the wall were 2 massive collages of pictures of this lady through the years driving rally cars around Africa. It was incredible, each picture obviously had a long story behind it, but clearly she was very brave and courageous. Thankfully her mind is still sharp, she seems to be quite cheeky and we had a very fun evening, but the last thing I would have guessed her to have been was a rally driver.
ROAD TRIPS – My biggest task here in Kenya is to help buy some land to build a secondary school, technical college, guest house, farming facilities, income generating projects and much more! So land is expensive.... too expensive. Last week we did a couple of road trips to see some areas. The first was on the other side of the Ngong hills, about 20kms from Cheryls. The last 8kms though are dirt track and take a while (was fun to do a bit of off roading in the 4x4). Its basically on the other side of the hills and well what can I say... there is nothing there. It was just masses and masses of land as far as the eye can see. A few little huts were dotted around here and there, but this was virgin land... and there was plenty of it. Interesting, too isolated maybe, good water supply, when will the road be tarmac’d??? Lots of questions. We met a masaai/kikuyu who was selling the land. He stood ther, must have been in his 50’s at least, worn trousers, walking stick, old jacket and this was his land to sell. He will make a fortune from it when he does sell and I just wondered what he would do with the money, will he actually even use it? A comparison would be for me to become a billionaire overnight. Interesting. But land is of extreme value and everyone wants it. The other road trip was out to Athi river, Kitengela and Kiserian. We were gone for about 6 hours.... it was a long road trip, but we did some research saw the areas. The crazy thing for a lot of the time we were driving past empty land... most of it bought though in small packets such as an acre, half an acre, quater of an acre. But what amazed me was there was nothing there!!!!! And the land is worth £10,000 an acre. The roads are being improved and everyone expects the land to be used, so they are buying it all up, but not doing anything with it, but thats just pushing the price up. Will the bubble burst? I don’t know, and in many ways I doubt it. But it means for us buying land is going to be a huge challenge. People think Africa is cheap... have they ever come to Nairobi?
WHAT NAME – So quite a few people have put in names for my car, some very good ones, some totally obscure???? But basically I’ll give you 1 more week and then I will announce the winner. So keep sending in your entries... sounds like I am going to give a prize out, but that might be tricky....hmmmm if you win I’ll give you a free tour of Nairobi in the big 4x4. So send them in, and winner announced next week.
THE MAMA’s – Just before coming to Kenya, me and some chums went to see Coldplay at Hampden park. Coldplay are my favourite band and it was a special night to say goodbye to some good friends who were with me. As we left we commented on how that will be the last time for a long time before I see such acts and go to a gig like that. Well in fact it was a really long time... a whole 4 weeks! This year Nairobi was the proud host of the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA’s). I had seen bill boards around the place advertising it and a friend of mine suggested we tried to get tickets. They were quite cheap for what it was, only about £18 (which for a gig is extremely cheap). I doubted there would be any left, but eventually we found one of the outlets were they were selling and we went. So we went to the MAMA’s on Saturday night. I tried my best to dress up and look cool.... I failed... but Clare who I was with looked glamorous as did many of the other people their. The night was full of the who’s who of Nairobi, but mainly Kenyans, which was great to see. It was an awesome night and I just couldn’t believe we were there. It was in a sports indoor arena, probably the only one of its kind in East Africa. We saw Wyclef Jean present and perform, Akon and a whole load of fantastic African artists. So if you have MTV, have look for it on MTV Bass channel I think and see if you can spot us. I think now I can safely say though, it will be long time before I go to another major gig....
LILIAN – On Saturday morning, praise the lord it was a public holiday. The roads were quiet. Mary and I headed down the Mombasa road, past Athi river to a place called Lukenya. We were going to Lukenya Girls High school for their annual prayer service for the Form 4’s who are about to take their finals. Lilian is about to take hers. She is 18, one of 4 children taken in to Cheryls after her father died and just before her mum sadly passed away. They were living in extremely bad conditions, in a room without any beds. Lilian has recently finished being head girl and is hoping to do nursing next year. She wants to serve and help others in Kenya. She is confident, funny and intelligent. She was so pleased to see us, she had no clue I was coming. The service last 4 hours.... i did struggle at times in the heat but made it through. As we sat there I saw all the different parents coming in with their familes to support the girls and in a way it only dawned on me then, we were their for Lilian, we were her support, we were her parents. Although I had not seen Lillian since our 2004 trip with church she remembered me and i felt honoured to be their to support her. I was the only Muzungu and well a lot of heads turned when we arrived, but for Mary, Lillian and me that didn’t matter. It was a great day, she showed us round the school, had some lunch and then we left. I will go and pick her up from school in November when she is finished. It was a very small gesture on my part, but a very special moment and a real privilege to be there.
LEARNING THE NOISES – So yesterday was a very sad day. I moved into my new house. I am thrilled to be able to use David’s dads house as my new home, it has some spare rooms which is great for guests and volunteers, it has some furniture which has made things much easier, David and Juliet have already got bills sorted etc for me to pay, its been amazing....BUT... I think all 3 of us have been enjoying spending time with each other these last few weeks, and I think we all felt a little sad when they left yesterday afternoon and I was then alone in the house. We were so sad about it that they are coming round for dinner tomorrow night and I’m going there on Wednesday night!!! LOL. But the house is good. Last night I locked up the house and went to my new bed. To be honest i hadn’t really unpacked so it was all a little strange, especially suddenly feeling alone. As the night went on I heard all the sounds of living back in the middle of a city, dogs barking, kids yelling, dogs screaming, cars, people talking, dogs really yelling and the strange noises of this beautiful old house. In many ways this house displays where the city is heading. Its on about 1 acre of land. At the back at the bottom of the garden there are some large apartment blocks, over looking the house, all around buildings are starting to come down, new apartments rising, WATER???? ANYONE???? ANSWERS???? One day this house which has been here for at least half a century will be gone. In a way the new apartments are a sign of economic growth, the creation of a larger middle class, which is great.... but the resources of the city are limited, at some point there will be no more water, no more electricity, and there is still a great deal of poverty, resulting in crime. I lock so many doors in the house, infact this will soon become a nightly routine. The house over the road, belonging to Mo was robbed the other week while she was in South Africa. Crime is on the up. But for now, I will have the fortunate opportunity of spending time in the last days of this house, before it too will be knocked down and flats, or offices built. This is now home.
PHOTOS – Lillian and THE MAMA’s posted below, check them out:
Monday, 5 October 2009
THE WORK STARTS HERE
HEIGH HO, HEIGH HO, HEIGH HO – so I’ve started work, one week done, chalk it off. I finally made my way to Cheryls on Monday morning, through the busy traffic to start my new job and new career really! Everyone has been so welcoming and arms were open wide ready to receive me. As with any new job, I think you always spend your first few days not really sure what to do, aware that all those around you have busy agenda’s for the day and you’re not wanting to become an extra burden. I spent most of the week chatting with Samuel, starting to meet some of the staff and start to add more pieces to my already part built jigsaw understanding of Cheryls. I am also getting used to a totally different working environment. I now have an office of my own, as opposed to working in an open plan office with at least 2 others. It takes a bit of getting used to, but at times the space is nice, but at times I leave the door open just to hear the other sounds from the home. Its weird in many ways we don’t see the kids much at the top end, they are all busy doing school, so during lunch breaks I have wondered down to see some of them and the rest of the staff. Earlier in the week they were shy, would always say hi, but there was always an element of curiosity in each of their eyes. Today though I headed down and they were busy helping move the teachers into their new staff room and many of them were chatting with me and little Pauline was being nice an cheeky which was FAB! Its taken a week, but I have realised I need to just jump straight in, don’t wait for work to come, everyone is so busy already, just go out there and get it, help out, roll up the sleeves and start singing, HEIGH HO, HEIGH HO....
BULL – This week, much of my time has been getting my wheels sorted for cruising on the city streets of Nairobi.... hmmmm... I say cruising I actually mean, crawling along the city streets of Nairobi as I make my long journey to work each day now in my new car. Ok for the girls the all important answer to the question you will ask: ITS RED, and for the boys the all important answer to your question: ITS A NISSAN TERRANO. Its a big thing with a massive BULL BAR on the front. I think I have managed somehow to pick up a bargain (although it has come with a few beaurocratic headaches, but more on that later). It has had low mileage and for the price I was figuring it must have something wrong with it, but its just had service and its all running smooth, so great! So on the one hand I’m sad I have join the masses of big fat muzungu 4x4 drivers..... sorry thats not right, I mean big fat 4x4 muzungu drivers (muzungu meaning white man). We move round the city streets, locked up in our big machines, windows up, doors lock, valuables hidden, driving from one place to the next, to the next, never getting out to walk oh yeah and checking we have locked our doors every 5 minutes. It makes me sad and often I find myself laughing at them until I suddenly remember I’ve become a fully fledged, signed up, bought the Tshirt member of the club. As much as I mock them and realise I’m one of them, I know actually in many ways its necessary. The BULL has taught me this week who ever has the big car with the big BULL rules the road. Since driving the TERRANO (oh yeah I need a name for her, my new car, she is burgundy red and is big and has a shiny bull bar, and well yes needs a name, any suggestions???? Facebook, or text etc....) anyways where was I? Hmmmm... oh yes, since driving her I have managed to get my way through traffic much easier. So although I have joined a club of which I am ashamed, I know it’s the right thing and I’m just that bit safer.
WINDOWS – So a quick word on driving. As the week had progressed I have become more comfortable driving in Nairobi (touch wood). As the traffic wizzes past at a junction I’m getting better at spotting the windows of opportunity to pull out. In the UK at a junction when you pull out you must make sure that there is a MASSIVE window of opportunity, you must never make someone else have to slow down etc. Ok so in Nairobi the windows pretty much don’t exist, if you wait as if you were in the UK in rush hour you would not move for about 1 hour (no exaggeration). Here you make your window.... or at least find the smallest, slightest, tiniest gap and then you go, if the other person has to slow down, so be it, if they have to stop (because you have forced them to) so be it, its the rule of the road, well actually there don’t seem to be many rules on the roads here. So at crossroads, there is no right of way, no first person there goes etc etc you just go when the window comes or when you make it come. The problem now is I’m spotting the windows and getting frustrated at other drivers infront of me who don’t take them.... road rage, the universal road language of the world!
CECIL – Once again I’ve had an interesting week of meeting new folks. One of the most interesting evenings was after watching a presentation of a trip to Mongolia at David’s work we went to the club they are members of, for dinner with a lady called Robyn. Her father is Eric Cecil, an incredible gentleman who is living in the retirement village where David works. He has had such an amazing history and really you have to read the book about him, yes that’s right he has biography written about him, not sure what its called, I’ll get a copy, but google his name and you will find it. We sat and had dinner with Robyn and her stories were fantastic and then we quizzed her about her own life which was also intriguing. Such a nice lady, such a fantastic family, I felt once again blessed by such an unusual night out. I know this is pretty rubbish blog entry as I have really told you nothing about it.... but seriously get the book and you will see!
SIBERIA – ok as I’ve just been talking about books its time I told you about what I am currently reading.... yes thats right for those of you who know me really well you will remember I don’t tend to read much... well I’m reading loads here, mainly because this book is awesome. “Cycling Home from Siberia” by ROB LILWALL. I went to uni with Rob, we were in a ceilidh band and he is just an awesome guy I have had the privilege of knowing. Sadly in post uni life I didn’t stay in touch much, but before I left the UK I had an email about his new book. You think I’m brave, well Rob went to Siberia with his bike and cycled home taking a number of years to do so. His book has just been published, you can get it from Amazon, Waterstones etc etc and it is FAB! I can’t put it down as the old cliché goes. I recommend this book to all, one of the best, fun and most interesting books I’ve read in ages. David and Juliet often find me chuckling to myself as I read another story of his incredible adventure!
SEEING RED – at some point in moving to Kenya I knew I would hit some red tape and Kenyan beaurocracy and on Friday it happened. I have to get a PIN number to buy things like cars, its all to do with tax registration etc, dull dull dull, so just let me skip some details that will bore you. So we went to get the PIN from a government building, he then said we had to finish getting it online... rats....off to find a internet cafe, wend to the building next door which had tiny little offices that help you get the PIN online, takes too long so we say we will come back. Back to the gov building to sort drivers licence (after 3 months my UK one won;t be valid). Filled in the paperwork, queued, find out need my residency permit first. Back to the other building to get the PIN, Got the PIN and head back to the gov building and queue to get my car registered over to me (still need a name for the car!!!). Guy behind the counter looks at the copy of the documents and with a big red pen puts a line through the copy of the ID card of the previous owner. “ITS A FAKE” he says boldly and sits back in his chair. WHAT!!!!!! I ask, I don’t understand, why do you think its a fake (we can barely hear each other through the glass). “This typing is wrong” he says pointing to her name. “Why do you think its fake?” i ask feeling totally confused and a little bit worried! He just points to the card and says its a fake. I question some more, I just don’t understand and eventually he says he will now keep the documents and not give them back. WWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTT!!!!! We push a bit more until he says we should talk to a supervisor. We head to another desk with a seriously confused look on my face and carrying 2 buckets of sweat in my hands.... I’m getting angry, upset and hot!!! RED RED RED RED! I see them talking in the back and eventually another guy comes through. “Hi, how are you today?” he says in a calm and welcoming voice. “I’m very well (am i????). How are you?”. “Good” he says. “Now here is the problem” he starts, as he points to the photocopy of the ID. “The name on the ID doesn’t match the name on the logbook. AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH cher ching (thats the sound of the penny that proceeded to drop). The car belongs to Johns wife and of course the log book is in her maiden name and the ID card is newer in her married name. Now I get it!!!! Why didn’t the first guy just say that???? Hmmmmm problem, they now live in Canada? The nice gentlemen says “Look its no problem, just get them to see a lawyer, sign an avadavat and then send it over, that will do. Still a little tricky but at least we have a solution. Red tape...I think there will be more to come, just the tip of the iceberg.
PLUGGING THE DAM – I’ve discovered that living here will, in some ways, present more a of challenge than I first thought. On Thursday last week, when we were at The Club having dinner, I sat with my fillet steak on the table (courtesy of Robyn who was taking us out for dinner!!) with tears welling up in my eyes. That day I had started to learn more about the current needs at Cheryls. I felt like I had been hit by a train, emotions brewing all day. A girl called Deborah came to the office. She has finished secondary school and is trying to sort her next step. The oldest of 3, her father left when she was 7 years old, her mother can’t cope and provide so Cheryls has been supporting her. She is now 19 years old, the whole family live in a 1 room type thing in Kibera. She has done well at school and wants to do nursing at uni and hopefully transfer to do medicine and be a doctor. We talked about it all, perhaps she could get a scholarship to the UK or USA but the chances are slim? We talked about fee costs for a local uni, it may cost about £1,000 a year and that would pay for uni costs. As I sat eating my steak and really enjoying the time with Robyn and hearing about her father, in the back of my mind I felt incredibly guilty and upset. £1,000 per year, that’s nothing in the grand scheme of things, that money could help Deborah fulfil her dream, it would transform her life, her family’s life and would provide Kenya with another fully qualified female nurse or doctor serving the community. I am living in this Muzungu world, with a good car, good house, nice clothes, a rich lifestyle compared to most of the people I am surrounded by and working with. Yes I know I need the security (its part of the curse of the colour of my skin) and I need space and some comfort in order to do my job, but the guilt started to set in that day. How can I get this money for her and get her to uni? But it doesn’t stop there, we are short of money for food, because of the drought there is no spare food and very few donations of food. The electricity bills have risen by 45% even though its rationed 2 or 3 times a week, some of the school fees have not been paid, some overseas donors have not been able to fulfil commitments because of the world economy, the exchange rates have made it harder, some kids may get sent home from school, teachers and staff salaries have not been paid at Cheryls and the list goes on. For the first time I felt just part of the burden that Samuel has been carrying for many many years. I came home from work that day with a heavy heart and just wondering what to do. I could picture myself standing infront of a dam wall which has leaks, almost like a cartoon drawing. I put a finger in one hole to block it up, another appears so I put a finger in that one. Its not long before I have a finger in 10 ten holes and at the same time there is a pile of bricks laying at the side just waiting to build a fresh new dam wall that is permanent and strong and won’t have any holes. Where do I start? There are ways we can make sure our funding is continual and regular and we starting to put in plans on how to do that, I believe its possible, but getting there? With all those holes needing filling up? That’s the task I face, its the challenge I will meet each day and my conscience will indeed take a regular battering, and rightly so, I must be challenged, but i must too be sensible. I ate my fillet steak, it tasted perfect but I remembered my basic lunch at Cheryls. I live in 2 worlds. I will always live in 2 worlds. But when I can, I must bring them together, that is MY role, that’s my purpose here. Its a privilege, its a challenge and for all you blog readers out there: I can’t do it on my own, I only have 10 fingers! I need help plugging the holes and I need some people to come and build the new dam wall. Who’s with me?
BULL – This week, much of my time has been getting my wheels sorted for cruising on the city streets of Nairobi.... hmmmm... I say cruising I actually mean, crawling along the city streets of Nairobi as I make my long journey to work each day now in my new car. Ok for the girls the all important answer to the question you will ask: ITS RED, and for the boys the all important answer to your question: ITS A NISSAN TERRANO. Its a big thing with a massive BULL BAR on the front. I think I have managed somehow to pick up a bargain (although it has come with a few beaurocratic headaches, but more on that later). It has had low mileage and for the price I was figuring it must have something wrong with it, but its just had service and its all running smooth, so great! So on the one hand I’m sad I have join the masses of big fat muzungu 4x4 drivers..... sorry thats not right, I mean big fat 4x4 muzungu drivers (muzungu meaning white man). We move round the city streets, locked up in our big machines, windows up, doors lock, valuables hidden, driving from one place to the next, to the next, never getting out to walk oh yeah and checking we have locked our doors every 5 minutes. It makes me sad and often I find myself laughing at them until I suddenly remember I’ve become a fully fledged, signed up, bought the Tshirt member of the club. As much as I mock them and realise I’m one of them, I know actually in many ways its necessary. The BULL has taught me this week who ever has the big car with the big BULL rules the road. Since driving the TERRANO (oh yeah I need a name for her, my new car, she is burgundy red and is big and has a shiny bull bar, and well yes needs a name, any suggestions???? Facebook, or text etc....) anyways where was I? Hmmmm... oh yes, since driving her I have managed to get my way through traffic much easier. So although I have joined a club of which I am ashamed, I know it’s the right thing and I’m just that bit safer.
WINDOWS – So a quick word on driving. As the week had progressed I have become more comfortable driving in Nairobi (touch wood). As the traffic wizzes past at a junction I’m getting better at spotting the windows of opportunity to pull out. In the UK at a junction when you pull out you must make sure that there is a MASSIVE window of opportunity, you must never make someone else have to slow down etc. Ok so in Nairobi the windows pretty much don’t exist, if you wait as if you were in the UK in rush hour you would not move for about 1 hour (no exaggeration). Here you make your window.... or at least find the smallest, slightest, tiniest gap and then you go, if the other person has to slow down, so be it, if they have to stop (because you have forced them to) so be it, its the rule of the road, well actually there don’t seem to be many rules on the roads here. So at crossroads, there is no right of way, no first person there goes etc etc you just go when the window comes or when you make it come. The problem now is I’m spotting the windows and getting frustrated at other drivers infront of me who don’t take them.... road rage, the universal road language of the world!
CECIL – Once again I’ve had an interesting week of meeting new folks. One of the most interesting evenings was after watching a presentation of a trip to Mongolia at David’s work we went to the club they are members of, for dinner with a lady called Robyn. Her father is Eric Cecil, an incredible gentleman who is living in the retirement village where David works. He has had such an amazing history and really you have to read the book about him, yes that’s right he has biography written about him, not sure what its called, I’ll get a copy, but google his name and you will find it. We sat and had dinner with Robyn and her stories were fantastic and then we quizzed her about her own life which was also intriguing. Such a nice lady, such a fantastic family, I felt once again blessed by such an unusual night out. I know this is pretty rubbish blog entry as I have really told you nothing about it.... but seriously get the book and you will see!
SIBERIA – ok as I’ve just been talking about books its time I told you about what I am currently reading.... yes thats right for those of you who know me really well you will remember I don’t tend to read much... well I’m reading loads here, mainly because this book is awesome. “Cycling Home from Siberia” by ROB LILWALL. I went to uni with Rob, we were in a ceilidh band and he is just an awesome guy I have had the privilege of knowing. Sadly in post uni life I didn’t stay in touch much, but before I left the UK I had an email about his new book. You think I’m brave, well Rob went to Siberia with his bike and cycled home taking a number of years to do so. His book has just been published, you can get it from Amazon, Waterstones etc etc and it is FAB! I can’t put it down as the old cliché goes. I recommend this book to all, one of the best, fun and most interesting books I’ve read in ages. David and Juliet often find me chuckling to myself as I read another story of his incredible adventure!
SEEING RED – at some point in moving to Kenya I knew I would hit some red tape and Kenyan beaurocracy and on Friday it happened. I have to get a PIN number to buy things like cars, its all to do with tax registration etc, dull dull dull, so just let me skip some details that will bore you. So we went to get the PIN from a government building, he then said we had to finish getting it online... rats....off to find a internet cafe, wend to the building next door which had tiny little offices that help you get the PIN online, takes too long so we say we will come back. Back to the gov building to sort drivers licence (after 3 months my UK one won;t be valid). Filled in the paperwork, queued, find out need my residency permit first. Back to the other building to get the PIN, Got the PIN and head back to the gov building and queue to get my car registered over to me (still need a name for the car!!!). Guy behind the counter looks at the copy of the documents and with a big red pen puts a line through the copy of the ID card of the previous owner. “ITS A FAKE” he says boldly and sits back in his chair. WHAT!!!!!! I ask, I don’t understand, why do you think its a fake (we can barely hear each other through the glass). “This typing is wrong” he says pointing to her name. “Why do you think its fake?” i ask feeling totally confused and a little bit worried! He just points to the card and says its a fake. I question some more, I just don’t understand and eventually he says he will now keep the documents and not give them back. WWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTT!!!!! We push a bit more until he says we should talk to a supervisor. We head to another desk with a seriously confused look on my face and carrying 2 buckets of sweat in my hands.... I’m getting angry, upset and hot!!! RED RED RED RED! I see them talking in the back and eventually another guy comes through. “Hi, how are you today?” he says in a calm and welcoming voice. “I’m very well (am i????). How are you?”. “Good” he says. “Now here is the problem” he starts, as he points to the photocopy of the ID. “The name on the ID doesn’t match the name on the logbook. AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH cher ching (thats the sound of the penny that proceeded to drop). The car belongs to Johns wife and of course the log book is in her maiden name and the ID card is newer in her married name. Now I get it!!!! Why didn’t the first guy just say that???? Hmmmmm problem, they now live in Canada? The nice gentlemen says “Look its no problem, just get them to see a lawyer, sign an avadavat and then send it over, that will do. Still a little tricky but at least we have a solution. Red tape...I think there will be more to come, just the tip of the iceberg.
PLUGGING THE DAM – I’ve discovered that living here will, in some ways, present more a of challenge than I first thought. On Thursday last week, when we were at The Club having dinner, I sat with my fillet steak on the table (courtesy of Robyn who was taking us out for dinner!!) with tears welling up in my eyes. That day I had started to learn more about the current needs at Cheryls. I felt like I had been hit by a train, emotions brewing all day. A girl called Deborah came to the office. She has finished secondary school and is trying to sort her next step. The oldest of 3, her father left when she was 7 years old, her mother can’t cope and provide so Cheryls has been supporting her. She is now 19 years old, the whole family live in a 1 room type thing in Kibera. She has done well at school and wants to do nursing at uni and hopefully transfer to do medicine and be a doctor. We talked about it all, perhaps she could get a scholarship to the UK or USA but the chances are slim? We talked about fee costs for a local uni, it may cost about £1,000 a year and that would pay for uni costs. As I sat eating my steak and really enjoying the time with Robyn and hearing about her father, in the back of my mind I felt incredibly guilty and upset. £1,000 per year, that’s nothing in the grand scheme of things, that money could help Deborah fulfil her dream, it would transform her life, her family’s life and would provide Kenya with another fully qualified female nurse or doctor serving the community. I am living in this Muzungu world, with a good car, good house, nice clothes, a rich lifestyle compared to most of the people I am surrounded by and working with. Yes I know I need the security (its part of the curse of the colour of my skin) and I need space and some comfort in order to do my job, but the guilt started to set in that day. How can I get this money for her and get her to uni? But it doesn’t stop there, we are short of money for food, because of the drought there is no spare food and very few donations of food. The electricity bills have risen by 45% even though its rationed 2 or 3 times a week, some of the school fees have not been paid, some overseas donors have not been able to fulfil commitments because of the world economy, the exchange rates have made it harder, some kids may get sent home from school, teachers and staff salaries have not been paid at Cheryls and the list goes on. For the first time I felt just part of the burden that Samuel has been carrying for many many years. I came home from work that day with a heavy heart and just wondering what to do. I could picture myself standing infront of a dam wall which has leaks, almost like a cartoon drawing. I put a finger in one hole to block it up, another appears so I put a finger in that one. Its not long before I have a finger in 10 ten holes and at the same time there is a pile of bricks laying at the side just waiting to build a fresh new dam wall that is permanent and strong and won’t have any holes. Where do I start? There are ways we can make sure our funding is continual and regular and we starting to put in plans on how to do that, I believe its possible, but getting there? With all those holes needing filling up? That’s the task I face, its the challenge I will meet each day and my conscience will indeed take a regular battering, and rightly so, I must be challenged, but i must too be sensible. I ate my fillet steak, it tasted perfect but I remembered my basic lunch at Cheryls. I live in 2 worlds. I will always live in 2 worlds. But when I can, I must bring them together, that is MY role, that’s my purpose here. Its a privilege, its a challenge and for all you blog readers out there: I can’t do it on my own, I only have 10 fingers! I need help plugging the holes and I need some people to come and build the new dam wall. Who’s with me?
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