st paddys day, kenyan style

This past weekend was fantastic. A bunch of us traveled to Watamu, on the coast of Kenya, for a little R&R and st paddys day beach celebration. We booked this amazing beach house just south of Watamu. Everyone flew to Malindi from Nairobi and then took a taxi to the house, except for me. In true Kenyan fashion I suffer the affliction known as hakuna pesa (no money). My $8/per day allowance is not so conducive to beach holidays. I took the overnight bus from Nairobi to Mombassa arriving at 4 in the morning. I waited around in some sketchy goat meat restaurant until the sun came up in the morning and found my way to the Watamu matatu. (say that 10 times fast)

The house we rented was insane. Beyond being a super nice house and very comfortable, we also had our own cook, a servant and an official Massai warrior as an askari (security guard). This is truly the way vacations were meant to be had. We hung out on the beach and tanned, played crazy beach games, tossed around a coconut, caught crabs and raced them and had moonlight swims and bonfires with our Massai askari singing Massai songs for us. Nzuri kabisa.

Here is a picture of all of us who went, quite an international group (L-R) Katharyn(Canadian), Alla (Russian/American), Anna (Finnish), Ally (British), Peder (Norwegian), Me(Canadian of course), Alex (Kiwi) Thanks for the pic Kat http://katinkenya.blogspot.com

Bozzaya is Kenya, Kenya is Bozzaya

I have been planning to write another little story about my friend Bozzaya and about how I thought he was a perfect metaphor of Kenya. Sure, it’s a little cheesy but it definitely gained some real relevance last week. I wrote about him earlier, he is a reggae artist I met in the Kangemi slums. He is an ‘Ambassador of Change’ trained by my organization NOPE. He is young, passionate, eager for change and willing to spend the time to make a difference. He truly relishes his role as an Ambassador and really believes that he can make a difference in the lives of those he speaks to. Speak with him for five minutes and you wonder how all of this talent and passion have gone to waste in the slums. He tells me that God has blessed him with a voice and that he plans to use it. His potential is truly endless. After his performance at the graduation last week, the chief was so moved by his words that he proclaimed Bozzaya to be the youth delegate of the community. He actually jumped up and down in happiness. The other side of Bozzaya is that he’s poor, rough looking and has had a really sketchy past full of death and drugs. He is ready for a change, to become something of himself in this world; he just needs a little help to get going and it’s slowly starting to happen. For him, like Kenya, a little foreign aid will do for now, but the power to change lies in his own actions. No amount of foreign help or money can make his life that much more different, but it’s a good start if done correctly. (picture: bozzaya performing for the community. Very good..... for a poser)

(bozzaya with a couple of kids... hey kids watch your pockets) I told Bozzaya that I would make copies of his CD for him so that he could sell them at performances and deliver them to radio stations or whatever he liked. He could whip them at cats for all I care, I am just not going to give him any money. He popped in at the office the other day rather un-expected, CD in hand. I told him that I could copy his CD once and then make more copies later that night and deliver them later on in the week. He went on and on about how grateful he was and how he needed my help to be taken seriously at radio stations and yada yada, typical Bozzaya conversation. He told me that he had won a music competition the night before and that the next time I was in Kangemi he would show me his rather large trophy. I returned his CD to him after making a copy and he told me what a good man he thought I was for helping him. From his neck he removed his bead necklace, made of the colours of Kenya, and told me that he wanted me to have it; a very thoughtful and somewhat appropriate gift. I said my goodbyes and wished him well promising him the rest of his CDs by that Friday. I went back to my office and learned 5 minutes later that the little shit took off with someone’s cell phone. That deceitful bastard! What a damn hypocrite and a petty thief.

That’s the end of his career as an Ambassador of Change, and the police are now after him. If caught he will go to jail and stay there until the chief decides he can leave. As I hear it he will be lucky to get out alive, lynching seems to be a popular mob tactic for instilling public deterrents around here. He will maybe get 800 shillings for the phone but will loose out on his meager 200 shilling per week salary for being an Ambassador. He won’t get his CDs, nor will he perform at any more of our events. It’s all up to him now; he won’t get any more help from us: the people willing to help him. The funny thing is that I still think, in some ways, my comparison of him to Kenya is still relevant, maybe even more so; ironic even. (picture is of Bozzaya and the chief..... watch your pockets chief. A little forshadowing i think)

back in Kangemi

First off, check out the picture of this monkey. These things hang out around our office and pop (pun intended) in for a visit every once and a while, which is kinda cool. I don't recall the same entertainment at the office at Enbridge back in Canada, but only the occasional monkying around...(bad joke). Definately a little more exciting with the real monkeys. Anyway, last week I noticed something and could not resist taking a picture. No, that is not a squash ball between his legs.

Ok, enough with the potty humor. Last weekend I was back in Kangemi, the slums, to participate in the graduation of our youth ambassadors(notice the white guy in the back, yup thats me). They are now trained to facilitate community outreaches and events regarding HIV&AIDS issues. CONGRATS to all! After 4 months I know how long these events can take, so I almost purposly showed up a bit late (3hrs, but who is counting). It was very cool, many of the ambassadors performed dances, sang thier songs or played out their skits. It was definately an experience for my other mzungu friends who have not seen such fantastic Kenyan culture. It was Peder's first weekend in Kenya, he is a new volunteer from Norway and was pretty moved by the passion of everyone in attendance. Its great when an auditorium full of people get up to dance and cheer each other on. Their happiness is always motivating.

Of course, I was expected to give a speech. This time I could not weezel out of it. The MC asked everyone if they wanted me to speak and they all began cheering. Completely unprepared, I went up babled on for a while. I should have expected it by now. After the graduation a few of my collegues and I took Peder and Ugo out for some Nyemachoma (roasted goat meat), ugali and tuskers. It really completed the Kenyan cultural experience. Here is a picture of Ugo diggin in. MMMM, goat.

the bargaining process starts and ends with harrassment

I had a pretty fun day on Saturday at one of the markets in town. It is one of these places that sell touristy things, art pieces and whatnot. I met up with some American friends at the food court in the mall and we had Indian food and fruit juice smoothies, mmmmm a great combo. After lunch we went over to the market and began an ever so enjoyable afternoon of harassment and bargaining for stuff we don’t need. When you are white, they see you coming and jack the price to whatever they can get away with so you have to be careful or you will get ripped off. Carrie bought a Kikuyu mask, Kirsten bought a Lua stool and I was off learning dirty kiswahili words with a few of the vendors. These guys were hilarious, but were obviously just trying to con me into buying something. When I told them that I had ‘hakuna pesa’ (no money) they said they would trade for whatever I had. This is one of their little tricks, they don’t want my shit, they just don’t want me to leave. I showed him my hacky sack I had in my pocket and he would not give it back. They knew that I would not leave until I got it back and he just kept ignoring my requests for him to return it and kept trying to sell me some stupid box. I guess its my Canadian nature not to be overly pushy so when I finally caught on to what he was doing I had to get Carrie to come to snatch it back for me, it was hilarious. Those Americans sure are good arbitrators over international disputes, they take no shit from no one and don’t worry about manners. It was pretty funny but also very culturally revealing.

The market is really fun, I enjoy negotiating with them but you get harassed really bad when you are white, you are supposed to have lots of money. I don’t think they understand when I tell them I have less than they do (dammit OSAP). They use every trick in the book to get you to buy stuff, and its easy to get conned by their sob stories. There is a fine line that you need to be careful of in such situations though. On one hand you don’t want to get ripped off which is usually the case. Everyone tries to get the most they can out of you, especially when you are white. But on the other hand, this is their livelihood and their art, so you don’t want to insult them or take advantage of their desperation. I usually end up buying stuff based on whether or not I like the person selling it. I can even negotiate in Kiswahili now, which really helps to get a better price but doesn’t cause them to ignore the fact that I am white. The funniest part of the day was running into some Kenyan vendor wearing a Tie Domi #28, Toronto Maple Leafs touque. I wanted to grab his shirt and pull it over his head and start feeding him with upper-cuts but I don’t think he would have gotten the joke. I did stop him for a big high-five and maple leafs quiz. I always love doing that.

At the very end of the day, after I spent all the money I wanted to spend, the girls were still shopping for jewelry so I started a game of hacky sack with a bunch of the vendors who were harassing me to buy stuff. For the short 15minutes we were playing they finally stopped harassing me and we just hung out like normal people and had fun. It is weird to be a minority, to stand out amongst everyone else and to be treated unfairly based on the colour of you skin. It’s not exactly oppression, but I am still treated very differently which is a weird feeling.

I-HAK round II

I went to hockey night in kenya II last night and had an awsome time. I still can't believe I am playing hockey in Kenya, it is surreal. There were some Kenyan guys playing with us. I think they work at the rink and are pretty keen to the introduction of hockey in Kenya. I think they started as rollerbladers or somthing and transferred their skills to the ice. They were pretty good just missing a few of the finer points to the game.
They started getting a little cockey during the game so I thought I would introduce them to Canadian hockey and I started throwning the body around a little. Nothing serious, just some pinning along the boards and the odd little love tap. They thought it was hilarious. Vincent told me that next time it is his mission to pin me against the boards. I told him what to say is that "you have my number" and he started laughing hysterically. If they are going to have a shot at a Kenyan national hockey team(yeah right), they need to get a little rougher.
What we (aid workers) in Kenya do best is coming up with accronyms for the projects, organizations and whatever else needs a clever name to add to an application to apply for foreign donor funds(sarcasm). Well, those skills have transfered into the hockey league as we have come up with the official name for our league. I-HAK, stands for Ice Hockey Association of Kenya. Brilliant!
In other news, culture shock is setting in and I need a vacation. Its funny how things can start to annoy you. At first everything just seems different and exotic, but once you get used to it nd take it for what it is, it becomes frustrating. Not too worry, I am expecting my personal curve to start bending upwards anyday now if it hasn't already. If you can count on anything it is graphs and charts to predict your behavior and emotions.
Our water is being rationed, it is now turned off for 2 days a week and could go up to 6 days a week without water by the end of the summer. It reminds me of that precious year in the DSR, only not as much drinking and far less snow. Ok, enough complaining for me. Cheers.

CMS, 24, Roachs and Random pictures

(as I mentioned earlier, a traffic jam caused by massai shepards with their herds in town, not exactly the dvp in rush hour but still a nuisance) Well, things are getting busy at work lately. I have been working like a madman to get my new website up and running soon. Despite being an amatur in web development I have managed to create a basic content management system. For you non-nerds out there this means that web content is managed via the web browser by logging in and submitting your text. That’s how I update this very page you are currently looking at. This will take on many forms, one of which is a blog for the various users at all levels of the organization, the other is a web discussion forum and just general website management including updating company info. The pilot version probably won’t be up for another week or two, but check www.nope.or.ke soon. I could use some feedback, especially from you Brock comp sci people.

The only real hurdle as of late has been my addiction to the tv show ‘24’. I bought the pirated dvd on the street from some dude and have not been able to stop watching the damn thing. Nothing like American television to remind you of home, I can practically feel the snow and taste the maple syrup. (this is a picture of me with 2 other volunteers, Mark and Jackson just chillin in Nairobi before Mark headed home to the UK)

(check out the look on this kids face, "What is this white guy doing here?") I was watching 24, up way past my bedtime the other night, damn you Kiefer, when I noticed something scurry up the wall. My first reaction was, damn that’s a big lizard that just got in my house. There are lizards everywhere around here, no big deal, I just prefer when they are not in my house. Upon further investigation I noticed that it had antennae. The only place I have ever seen bugs that big are at the zoo. It looked like a cricket on steroids but others have suggested that it may have been a roach. The thing was flippin huge, easily the size of a mouse. So I quickly turned the light on, moved the furniture and grabbed the broom. I swatted the thing off the wall and smashed it. The thing exploded like a twinky and oozed white cream all over the floor. In retrospect, this would have made a really good picture for the blog, I’m sure all you fine people love looking at roach guts. But that was the last thing on my mind at the time. I was too busy searching the house for any of his buddies.

This is a great example of why I am very fortunate to be located in Nairobi. Most other volunteers deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis, but being a city boy I am quite spoiled in that I have only seen this one. I just hope there are not some that I am unaware of.

Police corruption in Kenya and Bollywood

The first Thursday of every month is when the Canadian High Commission for East Africa holds a party. I met my friend Ugo after work, he’s an Italian guy working at the UN and wanted to join me for Canadafest. We went to the party and had a good time mingling with all sorts of Canadians who work here in Kenya. Its a pretty cool experience. The building is really nice, it totally feels like I am back in Canada whenever I am there.

After the party we were supposed to meet up with a bunch of other Italians at the movie theatre to watch the newest bollywood hit, Rang di Basanti. It is an Indian movie about corruption and how regular people need to stand up against it. We left the party with my driver (yup, I have a driver) and not 30 seconds down the street we were pulled over at a police check. We hardly had a chance to put our seatbelts on, fortunately I had mine on but Ugo did not. The police immediately started hassling us with dirty smirks plastered all over their faces. They told us that they would have to take us to jail for the night and that we would be able to pay the fine in the morning. A bogus threat, but in Kenya you can’t assume that the police won’t do what they can just to inconvenience you. Plus I was not really sure what the real process was and had to assume they were telling the truth. They also threatened to call Ugo’s office and tell them that he was breaking the law. Again, another phony threat, especially since no one would be there at night time. They were just trying to scare us, it was all over their faces and it wasn’t working. I asked for their id numbers and they did not like that all. They actually refused, saying that if I wanted to see their ID they would show me once I went to jail.

They clearly did not want to take us to jail, they were obviously bluffing and just wanted money. To call them on their bluff would probably take a long session of negotiation and our movie was about to start. We finally just paid them off and were on our way. 1000 Ksh is the price for freedom in this country. It really is disappointing to see just how corrupt this system really is and I am kind of pissed that we contributed to it. We were in a hurry so what could we do? I suppose it’s too common of an excuse.

The movie was really good, but given its message, it left me feeling a little guilty having paid off a cop to get there. I think thats irony, but I'm not sure.

Random things that amuse me in Kenya

• Nothing can top the thrill of walking down a street in Kenya and running into someone wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, or any sort of leafs apparel. Its hilarious, they usually have no idea what ‘the leafs’ are. I know this because I always have to stop them and ask, then I throw them a high five and leave them awkwardly puzzled.
• Traffic lights are merely a suggestion. No one stops. The roads are insane. I will never complain about drivers in Canada again. You get through an intersection by poking out further and further until you completely block traffic the other direction. Then you go.
• It is quite socially acceptable for men to walk down the street and hold hands. In fact, it’s more common than men and women holding hands.
• I’m rich here.
• There are chickens and goats everywhere. A rooster wakes me up every morning. I wish he would shut the hell up, especially when I am hung over.
• There was a traffic jam the other day caused by a herd of cattle walking down the street….in the city. The Shepard’s brought them in from the country to eat some city lawns.
• 
  
• Matatus. They are awesome. Rickety 15 passenger vans drive around and pick up passengers, blasting reggae music out of crappy speakers. The industry is so competitive, they will do whatever it takes to get to the next passenger. They often race down the street to the next person. No one gets to their destination until the van has been filled, so that often means backtracking to find more people. One would think that should be quite frustrating, especially when you are in a hurry. But no one in Kenya really stresses out about stuff like that though. People are just expected to be late. You just say, “I’m on Kenyan time”
• Farts smell strangely different here. Maybe there is something in the food?.... Or more likely there is something that is not in the food.
• 

Hockey Night in Kenya

Never before has a game of ice hockey been played in Kenya, or East Africa for that matter. Not until last Thursday night. Some big hotel here in Nairobi just completed building the first ice rink in East Africa, the third in all of Africa. There was a group of Canadians coming to town for some company event and a member of the Mountain Club of Kenya wanted to organize for them a hockey game. When he mentioned last week at the meeting that we would be playing a game of hockey I just about crapped my pants. Hockey in Kenya? Yup.

Try to find an ice hockey stick in Nairobi, its not gonna happen. Try to explain to a Kenyan what an ice hockey stick is, ditto. The common reply I heard from sports store guys was, “no we only carry the normal kind.” But ice hockey sticks are the normal kind! What the hell is field hockey anyway? So I went to a carpenter that has a shop around the corner from my house and gave him the measurements for a hockey stick. I ended up with a custom made stick, very nice except for a little misunderstanding about how I wanted the curve bent. I explained that I wanted the blade bent, but for some reason he thought I meant the shaft. It looked kinda funny, but it did the trick.

The game was amazing. It was supposed to be Team Canada vs. The World, but it was a little uneven in favor of Canada. It ended up being Winnepeg vs. The World and even that was pretty unfair. I pretty much carried team world and needless to say we got smoked. I had 3 out of our 4 goals and an assist, but it was no match for the 10 or so team Winnepeg scored.

The ice was a little small and they use a snow blower as a zamboni so the ice was pretty rough too. The corners were actually corners, no curves. Fighting for the puck in there was pretty interesting you can pin someone real easy. What an experience! Playing hockey with a bunch of Canadians, for a while I forgot I was even in Kenya.

We are going to organize to have a monthly hockey game from now on. This means that we have the first hockey league in Kenya, therefore it is the Kenyan National Hockey League of which I am one of the founding members. I am finally fulfilling my childhood dream of playing in the NHL. K-NHL, but still, its pretty cool.

Bozzaya

Last week I attended a meeting in Kangemi, one of the slums outside of Nairobi, where I met some of the Youth Ambassadors we have trained in that community. I am starting a new project that involves setting up a system for NOPE employees and trainees to have their own blog and obtain access to important HIV/AIDS resources and training material. It is the beginning of a new web site for NOPE designed around easily updateable content. Currently it is a nightmare to update the website so I thought I would let everyone be responsible for their own. Anyway, I went to meet some of the youth and get some of their feedback, the experience was one I will never forget. First off, they do not see too many mzungus in the slums, so my presence was a big event. The realization that these people would not have any IT skills had previously occurred to me. That was what I was there to figure out. They loved my idea, but confirmed my fear. I told them that I could show them how to use this system, its designed to be easy. Their eyes completely lit up and they all cheered for me. So that was the beginning of my ICT training program, to be initiated later this year with the launch of the new website. I believe it will make them better Ambassadors for Change (NOPE initiative) and ultimately improve our impact.

While I was in Kangemi, I met Bozzaya (on the right). He is one of our Ambassadors for Change and uses his talents to send the NOPE message of abstinence (talk to George W.) and HIV/AIDS to his community. He is a reggae artist, a pretty good one too. Living in the slums is a difficult place to start from, especially the slums in Kenya. Somehow, Bozzaya has managed to record some songs on a CD, which he gave to me on the day of my visit. He now wants me to be his manager and help him to make it big. Essentially, he wants some money, something I don’t just hand out. I would rather give him something a little more tangible, I was thinking about making some copies of his CD or something like that. Production quality aside, the songs on his CD are really good.

Bozzaya is a rough looking kid; dirty, skinny and scarred. The day I met him he was all scraped and bruised. Some kids had tried to steal his phone and beat him up real bad in the process. He still had his phone though. He used to have a problem with heavy drugs, until his best friend died right in front of him. This was the turning point for him in his life, he has since found NOPE and became an Ambassador for Change.

He invited me to one of the clubs in town last Sunday that has an open mic/talent show type night. Mostly younger people show up to this thing and Ugo and I were definitely the only white guys there. I was constantly reminded by security to watch my phone. It was funny, our presence seemed to help Bozzaya ensure his registration in the event and get an early spot. Some dancing groups were up first, they received a mild applause from the audience. Then it was Bozzaya’s turn. Several hundred people surrounded this skinny street punk with his green Ambassadors for Change t-shirt on and I wondered how he would cope. He was more worried about whether or not I could see. He was amazing! The crowd went nuts. He sang, in Kiswahili, a song about how HIV/AIDS effects everyone. “Your grandma will cry, your mother will cry, the children will cry” and he asked the audience what they would do, “will you cry?” He got down on the floor and soulfully screamed “I will cry!” It was a powerful message, exactly the type of event NOPE wants their Ambassadors to perform.

The next day he phoned me up and asked for $2000 shillings ($30cdn) so that he could record a new CD. I was not surprised, I immediately said no, but it gave me a new idea for NOPE, one that will help him and us…..

I’m a Mountaineer!!

I made it to the top of Mount Kenya…. What a trip! From the front gate we hiked 26 km horizontal, 2km vertical to an altitude of 4985 meters above sea level. Then we turned around and went back to the front gate for a total hike of 52km. The air is quite thin at the top and several members of our group experienced altitude sickness including myself. Fortunately for me I did not feel the effects until the descent so I was able to make it to the top ok. When I made it back to base camp my lungs felt like I had just smoked 40 packs of cigarettes and it really hurt to breathe.

The first two days were spent hiking to McKinders camp, which is 22km from the front gate and close to the bottom of the mountain. Through jungle, bamboo forest, plains, hills, valleys and finally jagged rocks, a hiking we went. We left Mckinders camp at 2am of the third day so that we could reach the summit for sunrise. We hiked for 4 hours in complete darkness, lead by a guide of course, under the most amazing night sky I have ever seen. When you are that high up its like you are in space. We reached point Lenana at 6am just in time for sunrise. It was incredible. From the peak you can see right across Kenya all the way to Mount Kilemandjaro, virtually the entire country.

The funny thing about the whole trip was that I was completely ill equipped to climb a mountain. I left all my winter gear at home in Canada where I thought I was leaving the cold. I hiked the mountain in sneakers made of mesh a windbreaker a few t-shirts and a sweater. Everyone thought I was nuts, but I kept saying, “its ok, I’m Canadian, I’ve waited in lines to get into bars in worse conditions than this”; Big Bucks, you bastards!

On the way up several people were getting tired and wanted to stop or go back. I felt it appropriate to share a childhood memory that might help to add motivation. As a young lad, our hockey coach, Mr. Witrick, would run us through hard drills, especially after a bad loss. If you showed any signs of fatigue he would come over and grab you by the facemask and say, “do you know why they put plastic coating on this face guard? So the puke doesn’t stick to it! Keep going.” I don’t know why I thought of that while climbing a mountain, but it helped get me to the top.

That concludes my three and a half week Christmas holiday. Wow, I’m pooped. I am actually glad to be back at work because I don’t think I can take any more. What a trip.

Birthday Beach Party

I met up with some mountain club members in Tiwi Beach on the South Coast after coming back from Lamu. The beaches there are absolutely amazing. White sand, turquoise water and palm trees for as far as the eye can see. I setup shop on the beach and started mixing drinks using coconuts as cups for a very exotic beach bevy. I got a few funny looks “that crazy drunken Canadian, there he goes again”.

Well yup, I’m 25. What a birthday party/new years party. For New Year’s Eve, the 20 (or so) of us staying at the lodge all jumped into 2 pimped out matatus that took us further down the coast to Diani Beach. That is where all of the expensive and posh beach resorts are. One of the resorts was hosting a massive beach party for the celebration. I was a little disappointed to see so many muzungus because Kenyans really know how to party, but it was fun nonetheless. We danced all night long on the beach and ended up watching the sunrise over the Indian Ocean eating fried chicken and chips. A very different but memorable birthday.

Lamu: man-skirts and donkeys everywhere

Lamu was a very cool place to visit, probably the most interesting I have seen so far in Kenya. It is the oldest city in East Africa and located on an island on the coast of Kenya. There is only one car on the entire island and only one road for which it can drive on. The rest of the transport is handled by dow, an old wooden single sail boat, or donkey (punda). We took a dow ride accross to manda island for a christmas eve beach party which was unreal. Everyone was singing and beating drums with kenyans all hopped up on merah (a local drug) dancing like mad around a bonfire on the beach. A different but very cool christmas. It is an ancient city with very narrow streets, more like alleys, and thatch roofed houses. I embraced the local culture by wearing a kikoy (man skirt) for the entire trip. It is actualy quite comfortable and very breezy if you are ever in an abnormally warm climate.

Everyone in lamu is very relaxed. Completely laid back and very outgoing. It is not uncommon that someone will just stop and start chatting with you. While there i decided i needed the true lamu experience, so I paid to ride a punda(donkey) to Shela beach, about a 30 min walk down the islands coast. Aparantly there is a proper way to mount an ass, a way in which I am unaware. I carefully stratled the beast and sat down on its back, it seemed pretty straitforward. But the ass was not pleased. Like a frikin rodeo bull, the thing started bucking up and down and shot me off onto the ground. Ouch. I recieved quite a loud response from the many locals who were attentively watching this crazy muzungu. I think my dad always told me that "when you fall off an ass(maybe it was bike) you have to get right back on" so that is what i did. I jumped back on and rode the thing all the way to the beach. The owner of the donkey walks behind us beating the thing with a stick for the entire journey, which made my fried feel bad about taking the ride, but not so much me. At one point we asked if we could go faster and the dude dropped his little stick and picked up a big one. That ass kicked it up a notch.

My way back to Mombassa from Lamu was not a nice way to end the trip. On the bus ride from hell I was seated at the back with a family on either side. Children are more like luggage here rather than people so they are not given seats and have to sit on the floor or their parents, or the white guy sitting in the back of the bus. Let me first set the scene. A 7 hour bus ride on a crammed, brutally hot, stinky and blasting Indian music right over my head bus. The route is not a safe one and armed guards must accompany the bus, so there is a fear of death looming over my conscience the entire ride. A wonderful (sarcasm) familiy was sitting beside me, on both sides of me. The wife was sleeping on my shoulder and the baby on my lap. Their other kid was puking for the entire 7 hour trip. Throughout the course of the trip they spilt water on me and then squirted me with a bottle, the wife was breast feeding while resting the child on me, the kids kept stepping on my feet (in sandles), i had no room for my legs, transport in Kenya is not designed for 6'4" white guys. To top it all off, the family got off the bus, before my stop, and took my bag. Maybe I was bottoming out on my culture shock curve, it was most likely larium side effects but I was ready to kill everyone. What a trip! I did manage to retrieve my bag so all was not lost, only my patience.

Lamu was really great, amazing beaches, fun people, lobster, fish and great scenery. Just a great trip. I highly recommend traveling to Lamu, in fact it is one of those places that you absolutly have to see. But for gods sake, TAKE A PLANE!!

I will be at diani beach for new years, then back to Nairobi for a brief layover then trekking up mount kenya until the 9th. What a christmas holiday!!

Mombassa!!

It is pretty hot and humid in Mombassa, I wonder what its like in Canada? I just arrived here this morning by taking the overnight train from Nairobi. What a fantastic experience. It was like going back in time 50 years. There are these small villages along the tracks with little mud huts and straw roofs. All the kids chase after the train and wave at the muzungus. I met some other travelers in my sleeper cabin and we had a blast, drinking tusker and bribing the train worker for a dinner. The food wasn't the best, but it was a pretty fun trip.

With some of the money left over from the bash in Nyeri, I was able to buy 20 mattresses for children living in an orphanage just outside Nairobi. You should see what they were sleeping on before. About 5 kids would share a single bed that was pretty much a torn, paper thin piece of foam you would not see fit to wrap package for delivery. I really made their christmas, as you can tell from this pic, they were excited. Once again, thanks.

I am in Mombassa for 2 days, then off to Lamu for 5. Work does not start until the 5th of Jan. That makes a 2 week christmas holiday for me. What kills me is that it does not count as my holiday time. The office just closes down for that long. They really no how to relax in Kenya. I am not having any problems getting used to this.

My Day As Santa

This entire experience was a bit overwhelming. First off, the response from back home was absolutely amazing. I am so proud to have such great support. We raised $2000 to give these kids a special Christmas. Never did I image such a response. Thank-you!

Secondly, I was informed that there were more children than I had originally thought. There are 282 kids. So the response definitely matched the unanticipated demand but became a logistical nightmare (in Kenya you have no idea). Originally I was going to buy a few toys, some sweets and be done with it. But given the magnitude of the task at hand I was faced with a different situation. To divide the money between the kids could have bought them great toys and a wonderful Christmas diner. There is a buzzword amongst us volunteers doing work in developing countries; sustainability. To fill their bellies and send them with a gift is great, but we had an opportunity to do something a little more. I wanted to leave them with something useful. Sawa (ok).

KENWA Nyeri is a drop in center for orphans and HIV/AIDS patients located in the Nyeri slums (strategically placed to attract the people in need). The kids stay in the slums and visit the drop in center to receive meals, school books/uniforms and just general support. It is crucial to encourage them to make use of the center and feel a part of the community. My colleagues and I agreed that a TV and DVD player would be invaluable to the resource center of the drop-in. KENWA agreed. Not only to attract the children in for care, but to use as a learning resource. American movies are probably the best english teacher a Kenyan child can have. They had already purchased a stand but could not afford the TV. So, a spending I went. Never have I had such satisfaction while Christmas shopping. It was great!

Things I purchased: Entertainment center: 21"TV, DVD Player, DVD's (pirated DVDs are widely available in stores and very cheap, so I bought about 40 movies and many cartoon tv shows)

Treats for my visit: lots of candy, chocolate, a juice bottle, cookies, chips, popcorn and sweets. I also bought a small toy for each child to take home.

Stationary for school: Each kid received 2 note books (graph paper for math, and lined for writing), a ball point pen and a pencil.
Lunch: I bought them lunch on the day of my visit, Dec 18thA

Christmas feast: I have paid for 2 goats to be slaughtered Christmas eve (sorry goats), plus veggies, chapatti (African bread, mmmmmmm) and some cookies and cake for desert as well as Cadbury "drinking chocolate" (i think it hot chocolate) and some decorations for the event.

Food for the drop-in: I bought a van load of groceries. We filled about 5 carts at the grocery store. I had 5 of the employees running all over getting us cases upon cases of flour, sugar, powered milk and cooking fat; all the basics that are so essential. Francis (KENWA coordinator) would say "we could use one of these" and I would grab the nearest employee and say "go get us 10!"

Toys for the drop in center: All the kids can share the various toys I bought. Soccer balls, volley balls, a volley ball net, four square balls, educational board games, chess boards, books, art supplies and baby toys.

WOW! And...There is money left over and still rolling in. So.... January is a tough month for them. School is starting, the kids need books, uniforms and in some cases tuition. The hygiene of the kids is also important but usually overlooked. So I will help out where I can with school stuff, and I will buy some sanitary supplies; tampons, pads, soap, toothpaste, etc. We will see what the needs are in the New Year and I will make another trip to Nyeri.

As I was writing this, Francis from KENWA phoned me to thank me and I extend his thanks to you; "god bless you, thank you for doing this special thing for us". I could tell even he was a bit choked up.
As of late I have been a bit cynical about Christmas. Just ask my sister. Malls, shopping, spending too much on gifts that people don't even need, consumerism, commercialism, capitalism yada yada yada. This year Christmas has changed for me. For one day I was Santa Clause, only I had no hat or beard. I was able to bring joy to the faces of a bunch of kids. Making a child feel special can change their life, especially one who is alone and with nothing. Even if just one kid feels different, it is worth it. So, for the first time in a long time I can say it and truly mean it; "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" for you have made someone’s Christmas a happy one including mine.

From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

Massai Mara Game Park

As a year end treat, NOPE took all of its employees to Massai Mara for a team building retreat and Christmas vacation. I was told that Massai Mara is the best game reserve in the world. After visiting it, I would have to agree with that statement. There were animals everywhere!We all piled into 3 safari vans on Thursday morning and of course in true Kenyan style we left late. My co-workers surprised me as they came with tuskers in hand ready for the long 6-hour drive to the Mara. What a drive! I have never had so much fun road trip, my colleagues are a blast. We drank tusker and whiskey and laughed the entire ride there. The road to Massai Mara is without a doubt, the worst road I have ever been on. In most cases it was better to just get off the "road" and drive down the side or through the dirt. After a bumpy journey, we pulled up to Kekorock Lodge to find a spectacular hotel. It has attracted guests such as Prince Charles, Pope John Paul II and several other celebrities and politicians. My favorite part about the hotel was the boardwalk in the back, it is suspended about 20' above the ground so that you can safely look down at the hippos in the pond underneath. At the end of the boardwalk is a bar that looks down into the hippo pond.
During our stay we went on 3 game drives on all of which we were able to see lions, a treat not shared amongst all Mara visitors. We pulled right up to them while they were chomping down some zebra butt. It was incredible!We also saw countless other animals such as elephants, wildebeest, buffalo, impalas, waterbuck, and a rhino. The list goes on and on.The lodge was a bit strict when it came to noise. As a posh place they want to cater to their rich guests. My colleagues are not usually ones to keep silent either so they were itching for a place to let loose and party. our guides were staying in the staff quarters, just outside the lodge and told us they could take us to the bar there where we could have some real fun at a reasonable expense. For some reason it reminded me of that scene from dirty dancing, only without the scandalousness. We had a ball, my colleagues are absolutely nuts! I now know why Canadians are considered to be quite reserved. Because Kenyans definitely are not, they know how to have a real good time.This trip was an unbelievable experience that I will never forget.

a special christmas for some orphans in Kenya

The response I have recieved from my previous posting has been amazing! I appreciate all the support from back home and would like to ask for some more. The children in Nyeri are wonderful but they are in need of some love, especially at christmas time. I am going to put some things together for them and go for a visit on dec 18th.

I have around $200 that I will be able to spend on some presents, food and treats for the orphans in Nyeri. There are about 60(correction..... 282) children so that is a little under $1 each. They range in age from 6months to 17yrs. I am hoping to raise enough so that I have around $5 for each child. For that I would like to ask your help.

If you can spare $10 to sponsor 2 children for christmas I would be extremely grateful and so would they. $10 goes a very long way for a child in Kenya. For that, I will email or write to you with a special thanks, with a photo of the child and a list of the things that $10 was able to buy them. It would make a nice christmas gift if you are running short of ideas.

To donate depending upon the connection, please contact either:
Sarah Butson: sjbutson@hotmail.com
Dave Walton: dave.walton@rogers.com
Sandy Crawford: sandy.crawford@enbridge.com
or Julie Walton: darling66@msn.com

Thanks very much, check back later I will update on how things go.
Merry Christmas.

Santa only visits countries like Canada?

This weekend, NOPE held a community outreach program in Nyeri. Up to this point, my exposure to NOPE has been strictly from an administrative standpoint; I have not seen what actually goes on in the field. It was absolutely amazing. The majority of the participants were peer educators, trained by NOPE throughout various programs they have conducted in the past several years, an indication of the sustainability in their work. A few of us from NOPE, as well as about 50 peer educators from six different organizations went up to spread awareness and do some community work in Nyeri (about 3 hours north of Nairobi). The day started about an hour late with a group of about 60 AIDS orphaned children dancing and singing and then telling stories about AIDS. Many of these children are living with AIDS and will not see double digits, yet they were so thrilled to be participating in an event like this. I had to choke back some tears a few times. We then divided up food that was donated to distribute to AIDS patients living in the area who are too unwell to leave their homes. We split into groups to deliver the goods to their homes and see first hand the implications of the disease. Kind of an AIDS refresher, to keep people motivated about preventing the disease in their peer education seminars. I think it worked.
After the fieldwork, people were treated to lunch, prepared by KENWA, Kenyan Women living with AIDS alliance (or something like that, too many acronyms to remember) who also run the orphanage that the children came from. After lunch all the groups in attendance performed some sort of AIDS skit, or song or something. A group of street kids who were sitting out front the entire time, which I thought were coming to steal my iPod, came in to do their bit. It was a massive song and dance with 2 drums and about 40 filthy street kids singing and dancing with amazing passion. People in the audience began joining in and the whole auditorium turned into a dance party. It was incredible.
I missed most of the skits in the afternoon because I was being completely mauled by orphans. They were absolutely fascinated by my skin, hair and especially my camera. I would take a picture of them and they would fight over the opportunity to look at the screen. I had to put it away because they were getting a little rough. About 20 of them at a time would completely surround me and hold my hands, put their arms around me and ask me question after question. I was overwhelmed as this went on for several hours. A little boy, who couldn’t have been older than 3, came up to me, sat between my legs and pulled my arms around him. He just held on and would not let go. I don’t think he gets held very often. I couldn’t help but get a little choked up.
The kids were absolutely inspiring. For those of you who gave me some money to come over with, I have found out where it is going. I plan to put some things together for them for Christmas. They think that Santa Clause only visits children in other countries like Canada; this year maybe he will have to make a detour.

What?!?! I'm in Kibera?

The craziness continues in Kenya. Last weekend was the first I spent in Nairobi. It was crazy. I went to a couple parties and to clubs afterwards. The clubs here are absolutly nuts. Much nicer than I suspected, but absolutly crazy. After a few tuskers, of course, I busted out the finch-dance but was no match for those groovy Kenyans. I must have looked like a crazy mzungu and emphasized the stereotype that mzungus can't dance. They did however like the patented chinstrap point.

During the day on Saturday I decided to go to this used clothing market that everyone has been suggesting I go to. I think that typically when clothing that is donated as aid, it somehow ends up here. It was pretty cool and you can get stuff for super cheap if you are able to bargain with the vendors. It is turing into a bit of a sport for me, I buy just to bargain cause it is so fun. I walked and walked and walked until the market seemed to end. I was not sure where I ended up but decided to check it out anyway. So I wandered around the muddy streets ignoring the constant harrassment and above-normal poverty. After about ten minutes I came to the end of the street (mud ditch more like it) and was able to look off of a hill into the distance where I saw nothing but rusted tin roofs. I realized I was in Kibera, the largest slum in sub-saharan Africa. For those who saw the picture in the National Geographic, that was where I was. This is not a place that white people should be visiting alone. Everyone was in shock when I told them where I ended up and that I did not get mugged. Lucky I guess. I would like to go back, but next time I will go with a Kenyan.

It is a good thing I went to the clothing market on Saturday, because on Saturday night some bulldozers went in and completely tore the whole thing down. That has been quite common in Nairobi in the last little while. The government is apparantly trying to protect industry by eliminating the informal markets that undercut local businesses. Some sort of internal protectionism I guess.

I hear that there has been some snow back home already. I tell the Kenyans about it and they quiver. They don't understand how or why we live in such a place. It is hilarious.

Work??? no way!

Up until now it probably seems like I am just on one excellent vacation. That is true, but not exclusively. I have actually been working too. My employer is NOPE, national organization of peer educators. They are one of the only organizations in the world specializing in peer education for HIV/AIDS. NOPE typically enters a workplace to implement a strategy to combat HIV/AIDS and facilitate a cultural change. One of the biggest problems with HIV/AIDS in Kenya is that no one really wants to talk about the disease or sexual matters so there are no available resources for people with questions or concerns to go to. The peers trained by NOPE are employees in the organization who are approachable to other employees. Once they are trained in HIV/AIDS issues, such as symptoms, testing, good sexual practices etc, fellow employees will have a resource that they can access to talk comfortably about these issues. The peers also will initiate discussions and workshops within the organization for sustaining the cultural change and condom use.Since 1 in 10 employees are potentially infected, investment in such programs is not only ethical, it is also economical. As such, NOPE's services are in high demand in Kenya, or at least there is a huge market for their services. The problem, i think, is being able to tap this market and handle the growth efficiently. So far they have been relatively successful in that they are always busy.
In come Matt. I am here to help them with their IT needs and overall efficiency. As of now, they don't have internet, or email, they print by saving documents to a disk and walking over to the printer, the design of their website is the actual textbook definition of what not to do (http://www.nope.or.ke/), and they are constantly loosing or forgeting their data as it is not backed up or accessible externally. Every computer is littered with viruses and everything they painfully send out or save to disk infects clients and partners machines. Hopefully I can change some of this. I am very hopefull that I will be able to make a difference at NOPE, I have definately bought into their program, I just need them to buy into mine. The problem is justifying an expense to them that could alternatively afford them another 2 employees (labour is super cheap here)On the non-technical side of work, this place is amazing. I never thought that working in an office could be so enjoyable. Their are monkeys playing in the trees outside of my window and everyone here is great to work with, always having a good time and very welcoming. They do really serious work at NOPE as they are potentially saving lives, but you wouldn't know it by hanging out in their office. It hardly feels like work because I love it. I am just on one cool vacation.