October 13

Still no internet connection! Even by Kenyan standards, this is very poor service. We have decided to cancel the contract with our internet service provider & try Safaricom, the mobile phone company. Fingers crossed!
Politics here continues to be interesting with tribal squabbles still rampant. There seems to be a growing impatience with the performance of MPs (still not making the quota in the House to pass important bills) and even calls for the President to be subject to a performance contract.
There are still thousands of people in camps, displaced by the violence early this year. The genuine refugees have been joined by a host of pretenders who hope to receive the food allowances and monetary compensation yet to be finalized by the government.
Insecurity in the camps and in certain regions is very high. Both neighbours on our small lane were broken into and vandalized. Our landlord keeps dogs, so that might be a deterrent. One of the Rotarians was invaded twice in Mukumu where he occupies a house on the grounds of the Secondary School in which his wife is a teacher. Fortunately the thieves were looking only for money and electronics they can easily sell. So the couple are looking to move into Kakamega, in a more secure area.
Rod is trying to revitalize the computer school, suffering from lack of money in the town. The Virtues Project for all schools in the Province is continuing. Pat taught a full day last week to a group of guidance counselors.
We are still checking the goods and computers left from the container and hope to deliver everything by the end of the month. With extensive power failures and poor communications it is a slow job.
Reports from the micro credit groups are good and the poultry project run by a group of women now seems to be flourishing after a rocky start. The young woman looking after the groups has left for University in Nairobi at last and Pat will be setting up another girl waiting for college to take her place. It is essential to have someone who speaks the local language to talk to the women.
On Saturday we will be meeting with our well contractor and setting up visits to sites asking for water. We put in three wells in villages in Julius the jeweler’s area and they are working well. Because there is plenty of rain right now, there is ample water, but a couple may need to be deepened after Christmas in the dry season.