We have our return dates

It looks as if we shall be returning to Kenya at the end of September. We'll leave Vancouver on September 21 and spend about three days in the UK. We should roll up to our door in Kakamega on Sunday 27.

News from Kenya is not good with respect to the economy. The unrest last year and subsequent drought has led to severe food shortages and increases in prices. Donor money for many NGOs has slowed to a trickle. We have applied for a grant from Rotary International to expand the "Adopt a Village" project we started last year in Emmaloba. We are hopeful that the funds will allow us to do adult literacy, business traininga nd start some income generating projects.

This may be our last message

This may be the last message
I plan to leave my modem with the Virtues Society on Friday afternoon, so this may be the last blog I post. We’ll be off line for the following week unless I can find a connection in Nairobi.
I think we are leaving things in good shape after all the stress and difficulties. I have had to consult a lawyer and leave a sworn affidavit as well as sending a registered lawyer’s letter to the person who has caused such havoc. Hopefully those good friends we leave here will deal with any fallout.
The use of cow dung fuel is spreading as people find less ready money to buy charcoal and fewer trees to cut. We have found an added advantage to those of saving trees and time–it appears to keep mosquitos away! Because there is no smoke and fumes as from wood and charcoal it is also better for eyes and lungs. A few groups are planning to band together to sell the dried blocks as they do in India. Rod has been very busy this past week making four wooden molds so that cakes can be produced in a uniform size for resale. He could make at least ten more if he had the time to meet the requests coming in.
We have also taught how to make liquid soap. This is a little more complex and needs marketing to hotels, clinics etc. However, if the groups can organize themselves, the return on a small investment is very high.
W are also leaving with requests for wells and protected springs. Julius the jeweler took advantage of the spring we protected in his village and dug a fish pond alongside. He immediately recruited six others and they are now waiting for approval to receive the fry from Susan Thompson’s group. Susan is a Canadian fisheries expert who has set up many ponds in the area. Apart from providing extra protein, some cash from sales, the prospects are good that local producers will be able to sell to the big new supermarket to open in Kakamega later this year. The supermarket will provide many jobs for processing and work behind the scenes, as well as front staff. We were discussing this the other evening over a drink with the District Commissioner. He is very interested in mobilizing people such as Julius to produce ‘value added’ items and to increase employment.
On a sad note, we heard yesterday of the death of a child. Another Julius was the watchman when we lived at ACCES. He was a typical example of a clever young man who never finished secondary school because of lack of fees. He was always cheerful and willing to help in many ways. We heard last year that for some reason he had lost his job. Before Christmas he asked to speak to us. We knew the reason would be money but we talked to him anyway.
After he lost his job, his pregnant wife was killed in a matatu (public vehicle) accident leaving him with two young children. This was bad enough, but his boy of about six had a severe problem with his eye. Could we help for treatment? We gave him about thirty dollars and the child went to the hospital. The diagnosis wasn’t very clear, but Julius said he had hopes for recovery, although the boy could not return to school.
His next request was for help to set up a small business so he could stay home with his kids. We decided to trust him and set him up with a business plan and about $80.
Yesterday we learned the little boy died a few days ago from cancer which spread from his eye. We have credited Julius with about $15 from his loan to help with funeral expenses. He says he is still determined to make his business work, but the stress on this young man must be enormous.
Stress and anxiety are everywhere. Schools are sending children home because of lack of fees. The government has not sent the funding for education, which was supposed to cover tuition in secondary. This would have made a regular secondary day school virtually free. Some stories say the money has been ‘eaten’; some claim it was diverted to famine relief; some say it is still available but disbursement has been slow. The bottom line is that free education is in serious trouble.
It also sounds as if the coalition that Kofi Annan helped set up in 2008 may be falling apart. Everyone is very afraid of more strife and violence. We pray the people will remain strong and determiend to improve the country. They all know what should be done, but are desperately seeking new leaders with integrity. Corruption has such a strong hold on all levels of government that it seems impossible for an "Obama" to emerge.
Next week we will be two days in Nairobi doing Virtues training. The we will spend 2 days in the UK visiting friends and family. We are scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on 27 and should be in our own bed at last on 28. We look forward to seeing everyone.
We want to thank you all for your support and prayers over the last six months. That is what keeps us strong. We have a number of talks already scheduled and are willing to do more. Please stay in touch.

This what it's all about...

Emmaloba primary organized the distribution of uniforms last Thursday to 60 needy children. The school was at pains to demonstrate that the selection had been done openly and fairly, so we had to read out names and give the new clothing publicly. The age groups and ability levels were well represented. The children sang songs of thanks while the tailors from the village were still ironing the shirts and dresses.
The grant to Emmaloba is now complete. The micro finance group is paying back at a prodigious rate, and four have already tapped their second loan, spurred on by the idea of gaining more capital. Some of them are braiding sisal ropes for sale in the market, some are making mandazis (donuts). On Thursday we talked again of the cow dung fuel and they were shown how to make liquid soap.
A Rotarian in Kakamega donated a number of pens and pencils and sold me the rest at cost, so we had 10,000/- shillings remaining (about $150) even after giving a donation to ensure that all the senior class was able to pay registration fees for their final exams. The head teacher called me from the senior classroom to say that he wanted to build good desks for them since the ones they are using are small and broken. I could hear the children clap in the background. This will also give some work to the community.
The water is still somewhat of a problem in that the dry season has been prolonged well into March in that area. The well serves the school and a couple of local families, but it has already been deepened three times and we have now hit solid rock, so it will have to stay as it is. When the rains come (they have been threatening for some time) the water will flow again.

After the uniform ceremony I left our two young women to meet the micro finance group while I paid a quick visit to Ebumbayi. It is only about 5 kilometres away but buried in the hills down a narrow, rocky lane. The new head teacher, whose email I posted a few days ago, says he is already seeing progress with children and parents. I met the chairman of the school management committee who is pleased with the changes. Two of the young teachers attended part of the Virtues workshop three weeks ago and are using Virtues strategies to good effect.
I also met a widow with two children at the school. Both children are losing vision with the elder almost totally blind. The mother had taken the girls to the local eye hospital where they had tests, but the doctor who could diagnose was not there. They will have to return in ten days. The school had raised the fare for the first visit. I was able at least to give the bus fare for their return (about $15) The head master has email and has promised to let me know what the hospital says.
The terrain is steep and rocky and there is a serious problem of water. I will add a picture of where the children go to fetch water. It is likely to be impossible to dig, and so we might look for a harvesting and storage solution. One of the problems is that people have planted right up tot he stream although regulations say there should be 20 metres left. Thus the water is severely contaminated with run off and chemicals from the fields and it would be no use to put a well close to the water source.
It was good to meet so many people who are so grateful for the little help we can offer. I always tell them we are just the messengers and their friends are away in Canada.

Marich Pass and Emmaloba

This past weekend we took some time off to visit one of our favourite places–Marich Pass in the semi arid West Pokot. We try to go once every year to a Field Research Station hacked out of the bush by a British geography professor, David Roden, and his Eritrean wife. Last year, of course we were not able to make our usual pilgrimage. When we started to make arrangements to fit in around the university students who come in groups, we learned to our dismay that David was killed in a road accident with a matatu (public minibus) last March. His wife, Hidat dissolved in tears in my arms when we arrived but is bravely carrying on David’s amazing work. Students are coming this week from Norway and her son is going to help her run things. She has built a beautiful memorial to him in a lovely peaceful garden with a 360 view of the surrounding mountains which he loved so much. There is a web site if you want to know more and google Marich Pass.
Two young German medical students were staying for a few days and another young German couple arrived shorlty after us. On Saturday morning we all crammed into our vehicle and went to the Pokot market which was as colourful and interesting as ever. The women in their big beaded collars selling gourds of fomented milk would not allow any pictures, but I have one shot from a former visit.





Emmaloba’s books arrived last week. This is one part of the Rotary grant from Victoria Rotary Club. I shall go out again on Wednesday when the uniforms will have arrived for the 60 children chosen. The school did well and portioned out the work to ten tailors, thus spreading some employment in the community. They will receive a lump sum for the feeding and planting programme and have decided to try to spread it to all children, asking a small contribution from those who can pay. I am happy they will take this initiative.

Rain at last

The long rains are coming at last, announcing their approach gradually. On Tuesday evening I was driving back from town when the rain started. The entry to our side road is difficult at the best of times and hard to negotiate when slippery and wet when following our usual route. I decided to come in the longer way with an easier turn and climb. Mistake! Just before I reached the turning a matatu came barreling down the crown of the road towards me (the grader leaves steep sides). I had to move over a little and my off side wheels slid into the ditch. We managed to put the vehicle into four wheel drive even though one wheel was hard up against the bank and pulled out. But it was only the next morning we realized the wing mirror had been knocked off. Of course, there was no trace of it. On Saturday there were a dozen large drops. Yesterday afternoon the clouds rolled in and thunder rumbled all evening, but with no rain. Amazingly, the power stayed on! The rains cool things down, but make the dirt roads into a nightmare.

I completed the Virtues training for teachers on Saturday in the Maseno area. The new facilitators did an excellent job for us. It was very powerful to have them speak of their experience of using the Virtues in their schools. Much more meaningful that just hearing from me.
When we arrived the boys and girls from the orphan feeding programme held every Saturday were sweeping leaves from the compound. Bibiana, the town councillor I mentioned before, was with me and sprang into action. Fifteen minutes later she was up to her elbows in a container of cow dung, mixing in dry leaves. She showed everyone how to make the cow dung fuel and made them promise not to cut down more trees for firewood.

The Virtues training requested in Nairobi has been confirmed for the two days before we leave. So we will leave Kakamega on March 20, stay two days in Nairobi and leave for the UK on 25.
Later today we will go to Kisumu to change our tickets from Kisumu to Nairobi. Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be the opportunity to say goodbye to the clergy as they come into town for their monthly meeting. On Wednesday I will present my report to the Board of Education. On Friday we leave for an anticipated visit to Marich Pass in the West Pokot. We love any time we spend there and are happy to be able to fit it in. We plan to take the two girls who work in the computer school. They have never traveled more than a few kilometres from Kakamega and are wildly excited. The road north from Kakamega to Webuye is beyond description, so we may decide to take a longer route with better surface through Mumias, Bungoma.

The following week I will try to visit Emmaloba (receiving the Rotary grant) and Ebumbayi (whose head teacher wrote to me last week). We have one full bag packed with gifts and items for resale. The others will be packed soon. Our cleaning lady Virginia will come for an extra visit to attend to the nooks and crannies. It really seems we are going home!

A few years ago one of our colleagues introduced the idea of cow dung fuel. Some people tried it and liked it but the use did not spread widely. It’s very simple: you take fresh cow dung, mix it with dry leaves or other combustible material, shape it into a thick pancake and leave it to dry in the sun. You then break it up into small pieces and use it like charcoal. It burns relatively smoke free, lasts long and saves the few precious trees. Not only do women no longer have to hunt for wood or buy expensive charcoal, they avoid the dangerous practice of wandering in the woods early in the morning or late in the day when many are attacked. This fuel is commonly used in India where the cakes are sold in the market.
A couple of days ago we were chatting with an energetic woman named Bibiana who is a town councillor. She was asking us to look at some water sources that need protection. As she spoke of the women’s groups she has organized, we mentioned the cow dung fuel. She immediately enthused about the idea and said she would arrange to spread the information.
We underestimated her.
I was doing Virtues Facilitator training on Saturday, so Rod agreed to go with Bibiana to look at water sources. To his amazement she had organized five seminars on cow dung fuel. Hastily he went to fetch Magdalene who has been teaching the women in our micro finance groups. Bibiana had a container of dung and another of dry leaves. The women wrapped a kanga (cloth) around Magdalene to protect her clothes and away they went.
Today we heard from Richard, Bibiana’s husband, that he had met a woman who was present yesterday. She had dried her patties and used them to cook. They don’t smoke! They last long! It’s free! Rod is mightily relieved. Although we know people who have used it successfully, there’s always the little nagging doubt that it will go wrong and be a disappointment.
Here are some pictures of the water sources Rod saw. One is very needy in that houses on a hill above send all their effluent down into the small river where people draw their water. As I said, it takes about $500 to protect a spring for a community

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I want to add the email I just received from the head teacher of one of my schools.
"I have been the headteacher of Ekwanda Primary School for the last 8 years and I have recently moved to Ebumbayi Primary School which is about three kilometers from Ekwanda. Ebumbayi Primary School is one of the schools in the Maseno North Diocese of Anglican Church.I am interested to share with you the situation at Ebumbayi Primary School and invite you for a visit any time that you may have the chance to do so.The school is right on the boundary of Western Province and Nyanza Province. We have an enrolment of 237 pupils from STD 1-8. Unfortunately this is a school that is facing very many crises that it is in deed crying for support. The drop out rate is very high in this school. Maybe because most people who were students in this school through the time have not been going to secondary school. Most children do not see the need to complete even their primary school education alone.Girls becoming pregnant seems to be a norm. the STD 8 class of last year had 24 pupils in total. By the time of KCPE exam in November 4 girls had already given birth and two others were very pregnant. I am told that the joke was that they were bringing forth several "Obamas." The STD 8 of this year has two girls who carried out abortions last year. One small girl in STD 7 dropped out last week because she was pregnant.In last year's KCPE examination virtually all the pupils failed the exam. In ranking of the schools in Emuhaya District we are among the last six schools in the same exam. Out of the 24 pupils only three have gone to secondary school. The community seem to be contented with the fate of the rest.As for the boys the trend is that once they are registered for the KCPE exam they mostly drop out or start coming to school when they want and keep off when they do not want to be in school.The facilities in the school are so dillapidated and my findings indicate that the poverty index in this community is extremely high. Mostly because not investing their future in education. We have only 9 classrooms. Fortunately the CDF gave us a grant of KSH 200,000 which we are using to renovate 4 classrooms. The rest have cracking walls or are falling apart. We have 3 pit latrines for all the girls and another 3 for all the boys. The latrines are equally in deplorable state.We are all new teachers in this school and our main target at the moment is to restore hope in everyone. The response seems to be very good as there is a very strong goodwill from the community.It is at this point that I wish to invite you to help us in the process of restoring the hope and the future of the community. My feeling would be that even by you meeting the pupils or the parents or by mounting workshops in this school can open it up and make the people here know that they belong to the larger community where people are responsible of each other.Thank you so much for your patience in reading this mail and we hope to read from you soon.

I have responded to say I will visit the school to encourage them and present the Virtues programme that will help them. If they wish I’ll arrange to offer a ful training session with our newly accredited facilitators. This will help with relationships and school performance. I can also help them implement the HIV/AIDS awareness programme we made that has a section on assertiveness for girls and staying in school. Pretty well all my funding is finished as we move into the last month here, but I will try to set some priorities with them for when I come back. Anyone feel like coming to dig latrines and repair classrooms?

Naming names, protected springs, uniforms and books

John Githongo, now ‘exiled’ in the UK, is bringing out a book later this month entitled “Our time to eat.” At one time he was head of Transparency International in Kenya and then appointed to lead Kenya’s Anti Corruption department under Kibaki’s new government. Parts of the book have been serialised in the Daily Nation. Attempts were made to involve him in the schemes and in 2005 he fled to Europe while attending a conference because he eventually feared for his life at home. He had all the details of the massive corruption scandals (Goldenberg, Anglo Leasing) where the ‘Mount Kenya Mafia’ were siphoning off billions of shillings. I believe he has returned once to Nairobi under heavy guard, but I doubt if he will be able to come home again very soon. He has named names just in the newspaper excerpts and explained how many of the current ministers were complicit, one of them being Ringera the present anti-corruption head. Todays’ edition promises to tell us about the tape recordings he made of ministers talking of their involvement and their plans to defraud the state.

We are still receiving requests for wells, and these are good installations for schools and health units. But since we protected the spring in Julius’s village (see my last post) many are asking for assistance to protect the natural sources from run off and contamination. It costs about 1/5 of the price to protect a spring as it does to put in a well ($500 compared to $2,500) so where it is feasible it is a very cost effective solution. In one area close by we are told there are 35 springs of which only one was protected at independence (1963) Since then nothing has been done.

I am posting a picture of some of the children at Emmaloba Primary who will be receiving uniforms from the grant from the Rotary Club of Victoria. The school has selected 60 ‘vulnerable children’ for uniforms and supplementary feeding. The head teacher is putting the supply out to tender since most primary school uniforms are made locally. This will also give some employment to tailors in the area, most of whom use old treadle machines under an overhang.

This week I left a deposit at a bookstore in Kisumu for the school to purchase text books from the same grant. I hope they will arrive soon so I can get some pictures of the distribution.

The good, the bad and the ugly

It is very easy to grow depressed and impatient with what is going on around us... Let me tell you a couple of the latest scandals. (One thing is true: there is never a dull moment) Lucy Kibaki (president’s wife) was declared innocent last week of involvement in the maize cartel that contributed to the food shortage. People on the street believe she was implicated but that the MP who accused her was bought off or threatened. We remember Tom Mboya, Robert Ouko and others who tried to walk a straight path and were assassinated.
Kenya’s education system is based entirely on ‘merit’ that is: examination results. It has just been revealed that for the past ten years a gang has been buying HS leaving exam papers ahead of time with the help and connivance of a police station, which would be entrusted to keep the papers safe. The investigation revealed late night ‘coaching’ going on using a stolen exam paper just before the test. So now many of the elite schools who topped the lists of exam results for many years, must now explain themselves. But the issue goes further. The system rewards the high achievers with reduced fees at the university (about 25% of normal) so it’s much cheaper to buy an exam that to pay regular rate fees. The fact that you are shutting out a deserving child with no financial support never seems to occur. If a student scores a B+ or A- (overall in exams) then the world of university courses is open. We must remember that the government selects a course of study for a student according to marks, regardless of preference. So the students we support with scholarships have an extra count against them: the children of wealthy parents winning government places.
The agreement with Kofi Annan was that if there was no internal tribunal by March 1 to try the people in the secret envelope for crimes against humanity stemming from last year’s mayhem, then the envelope would be sent on to the ICC in the Hague. At a vote last Wednesday in the House(I think I have the day right) there was no consensus on what to do. Many MPs refused to attend the house to form a quorum and the bill was defeated. This is largely because they don’t trust a local tribunal even with foreign members. Unless the President prorogues Parliament, the bill cannot be reintroduced. So now we expect any trial to be held in the Netherlands.
On Thursday a newspaper article reported on the finding of a group in the UK. It seems the UK banks a re full of the cash looted from Nigeria and Kenya. Millions of dollars are stashed away while Kenya, at least, appeals to donor countries to help feed the millions of starving citizens. One article this weekend pointed out that there is no interest in promoting foodstuffs other than maize, of which a huge amount is consumed. Other crops such as cassava and sweet potatoes are more nutritious and more suited to the climatic conditions, but while the government is offering subsidies and imports of white maize (the only kind people are conditioned to eat) there is money to be made.
So, having dealt with the ugly, I come to the good. The following stories are the ones that give us hope and encouragement that all is not lost.
This afternoon we went out to Shisalachi, the home of Julius the jeweler. The well we put in is working but needs a few adjustments to keep it sturdy. We also looked at the spring that was protected with the last of the Rotary Clean water organization funds. Julius tells us 200 families use the well and about 300 now go tot he spring. We protected the spring for about $500, so will look at requests from other villages when we come back in the fall.
I was touched by a group of women who wanted to speak to me personally about providing the spring. They said they were grateful that someone had done something for the women because they were always overlooked and neglected. Men have no interest in the source of water, so have no reason to improve things. During our conversation it became clear they want adult literacy and some micro finance assistance. My funds have run out for now, but I hope I will be able to help them later.
We have helped Julius over the years by buying his jewelry and with advice and support. He is now an important man in the community because we brought water to his village and two others in the area. Plus he has been able to buy some land for his children’s future. The tiny mud hut where he used to live is still on his compound, dwarfed now by a fine new concrete house. He has four children of his own (one is now a teacher) and three orphans he is taking care of and sending to schools. We bought jewelry on Sunday and those shillings will go immediately to the older boy in Form 4 to pay his fees and examination registration.
He has often talked of making fishponds and this year connected with Susan Thompson, a Canadian who has been helping farmers set up Tilapia ponds. One fish pond has been dug close to the protected spring and seven more are in the area. When they are ready and approved, they will receive the fry. The fish will be both a source of protein as well as a cash crop. Julius is only renting the land where he has made the pond, which is not a good situation and he would like to buy it.
On Saturday I went with four other Virtues practitioners to run a workshop in Maseno, at Ekwanda Primary school. Not all the participants we had been promised did turn up, but we had a group of over 30. They were great to work with and I’m looking forward to conducting the second session at the end of the month. This workshop is part of the training for facilitators who will take two days specialised training with me later this week. The trainee facilitators all have practical experience of implementing the Virtues Positive Discipline in their schools. It is very powerful for participants to hear strong testimonial from their colleagues, rather than a ‘foreign’ person. We have good hopes of eliminating the cane and other physical punishments in these schools.

Women of distinction

The President’s wife is called the First Lady. It always make me smile because she is fact also the first wife. There is a second wife who stays very much in the background.
"Lucy" as she is known likes the limelight and has a very volatile temper. She has been known to publicly slap aides who displease her.
This past week she was in the news twice. Once for publicly berating the Internal Minister (Saitoti) because of the Nakumatt fire and the tanker explosion when response was totally inadequate. The President had to belatedly announce that he was very happy with the Minister’s work.
The second time was when she was accused by an MP of having a business interest in the cartel that bought maize cheaply and sold it high when the shortage struck (or exported it to Sudan) It turned out the documentation was false and she was cleared, but the Agriculture Minister didn’t fare so well. Documents linking him to the plot were judged genuine.
Homa Bay where we took drugs to the Rotary Club recently, was in the news because of a group of women who refuse to be ‘inherited.’ According to custom a widow has to sleep with a professional ‘cleanser’ (ie a man authorised to do this. I have no idea how someone qualifies for the job.) Once ‘cleansed’ she can be inherited by her brother in law.
The group of six or seven women standing up for their right not to do this are being seriously harassed. Because of their ‘unclean’ status they are not allowed to use their deceased husband’s land or repair his house Some of the husbands died of AIDS and their widows are HIV positive. This inheritance tradition is one way the virus is spread throughout families. We hope they stay strong and united.

Only six weeks left

We are suddenly realizing how close we are to shutting everything down and finishing all the projects. We leave Kenya Mar 25 and should be home in Victoria on Mar. 28.
Every year I vow that I will keep the last couple of weeks free of commitments, but inevitably something crops us to push us closer to the wire. This year it is the possibility of my conducting Virtues training for a company in Nairobi. I hope we can fit it in around the other things since it would be a huge step forward for the Virtues Project in Kenya.
I want to thank all those who have held us in their thoughts and prayers. Since last December I have been through a very difficult time with disappointment and stress caused by someone we thought to be a trustworthy friend proving to be untruthful and devious, almost scuttling a big undertaking. It seems that we are at last coming to the end and a good resolution.
At the moment Rod is helping me make materials for a Virtues training session that will start this Saturday. We are hoping for about 50 teachers from four of my schools plus another six or so who want to become facilitators and run workshops. This means they will teach part of the basic presentation and then will do two days intensive training just with me.
Later this month we will go to Shisilachi the village of Julius the jeweler. We put in a well a couple of years ago and this year protected a spring down in the valley. So the community has more access to water. The protected spring will not be as clean as the water from the well but is good for household needs and animals. The slope is quite steep and treacherous in the rains and the women and girls carry 20 litres on their heads. We hope we can advise them on making some kind of steps that will make it easier and safer to negotiate. Julius wants us to hold a small ceremony to thank Rotary for the donation.
That is the last of the donations we received for water this year. We still have a list of places that want water in the community so will gratefully receive anything that can be donated. To see more about the water projects go to www.patriciacrossley.com/water.htm.
The last of the computers are now going to the schools. We were of course delayed by the teachers’ strike. I learned one lesson: I told schools they had to have a secure place and power. I neglected to point out that the power should run into the secure place. So we are waiting for one school to provide a proper room to accommodate their machines.
Kenya is a very religious country, 80% Christian and about 15% Muslim. The rest are Hindu, Sikh etc with some animism. It is disturbing to read accounts of elderly people who have been killed because of accusations of witchcraft. This is happening quite frequently on the coast. The murders seem to be carried out by gangs of young men. In a society where the old have always been revered and cared for this is a worrying trend.

Vulture culture

Reporters were visibly shaken and one said it was the worst thing he has ever covered. On Sunday a tanker exploded near Nakuru. Many are dead and dreadfully injured but the reason for so many victims is horrifying. The Nakuru-Eldoret highway is the main road from Mombasa & Nairobi through to Uganda and points beyond. All goods traffic including petroleum must travel this road which has a number of ‘black spots’ for accidents.
Young men from the poorest areas sit by the roadside waiting for an accident to happen, when they immediately loot both the goods and the victims.
On Sunday morning a tanker parked on the road side. Sometimes they pull off for a rest or for a mechanical check. Other times they park to siphon fuel from their tanks to sell to roadside brokers. Such illicit fuel is sold openly in the area. After the sale they free wheel down the hills, often contributing to more accidents.
For some reason (maybe the brakes failed or weren’t properly set) the vehicle slid into a ditch and burst open. If you’ve ever seen the condition of some of the tankers you would see how that could happen.
Hundreds of people swarmed the site armed with all kinds of containers and jerrycans.
To quote the article: ‘According to the official version of events, the (police) officers tried to keep the crowd away from the dangerous cargo. Some survivors, however, claim the officers were charging the villagers a fee of between 50 and 100 shillings to be allowed to fill their containers from the tanker.
Motorcyclists were called and summoned to the scene to take advantage of the ‘free fuel.’
Then disaster struck. As people waded or parked their vehicles in the spilled fuel there was suddenly an explosion. Over 110 people were burned alive and nearly 200 injured. A massive evacuation of victims to all available hospitals went on for hours.
Oh the humanity!

Nakumatt fire

On Wednesday afternoon a generator blew up in the Nakumatt store in downtown Nairobi causing an inferno. Nakumatt is roughly the equivalent of WalMart for the range of items it sells. By the accounts of eye witnesses and those who escaped, the doors were locked to the outside. Guards are always most interested in preventing theft and at the first sign of trouble the shutters come down and egress is controlled. This is what happened when we were caught in the riot in Kisumu last year. They have now announced the recovery of 25 bodies and there may be more. The fire hydrants were inoperative and the response of any fire fighters extremely slow. We have learned that a Fire Safety Management Policy was presented to Parliament three years ago but has sat gathering dust. At that time only 12 of 175 existing councils had established fire brigades. Of these only 3 have the basic capacity to carry out rescue operations but depend on the Armed Forces, the Airport Authority and the Kenya Ports Authority.One must also it seems have a licence to install fire extinguishers in a business and it is not easy to obtain one.Another scandal to be investigated.On the good news side, the teachers’ strike is over, although some protests continue. It is hard not to sympathize with teachers who were to receive 3,000/- (about $45) per month raise - and there was dispute about paying it all at once-, when MPs earn nearly 1 million per month (about $15,000) and only pay tax on one fifth of that. In the hunger crisis which the government claims will be helped by importing maize, a report today says that 8,000 tonnes of the cereal are sitting in Mombasa because of delays in ‘paperwork.’ The longer a consignment sits in the port, the higher the demurrage charges to shippers and handlers.Meanwhile we find small joys and things to gladden our hearts. The computer school, after its move, is doing ok. We have students, although not full classes, and Vincent is marketing furiously. Pineapples are large, juicy and plentiful at this time of year. I stopped to buy one from a street vendor a couple of days ago. "How much for this one?" I ask. "120 bob." (That’s just about exactly $2) "Hmm. Do you have anything for 100?" "Yes, this one," patting the exact same pineapple. This is bar- GAIN-ing Kenyan style
I told you about mpesa which now has 5 million subscribers. (By the way I ws wrong about the upper limit. It is much closer to 30,000/-($500) and more by arrangement) Safaricom also has a small modem which we have been using for internet and email. It is a small attachment (a bit larger than a flash drive) which contains a SIM card just like a mobile phone. So it is basically a dial up connection with a number of MG attached to each top up. We top up through our cell phone just as we do for regular phone service. Although it can sometimes be slow, it is a wonderful improvement on carrying the laptop to a cyber cafe.

Mpesa

Mpesa
As I settle down to write this Rod is sending money through his mobile phone. Safaricom (linked to Vodafone elsewhere in the world and local E African networks ) is a leader in this technology. You simple register for mpesa (which means ‘money’ in Swahili) with your phone number and you are given a PIN code. At the Safaricom outlet (there are dozens everywhere) you ‘top up’ your account and then can send cash to anyone with a cell phone. I think the minimum you can send is 300/- (about $3) and the most about 6,000/-. This has caused a revolution amongst the ‘unbanked’ of whom there are millions in a country where a banker’s cheque would cost you at least $10. People are sending cash home to relatives, some top up their phone before going to a restaurant and pay by mpesa. Travelers do the same and withdraw the money at the destination with no risk of being robbed en route. To withdraw the cash you have to show ID, so even if your phone is stolen your cash would be safe.
Safaricom is negotiating with the UK to extend the service overseas to catch the custom of the ‘diaspora’ - all the Kenyans working abroad and who send floods of money back home.
It’s nice to have a good news story where Kenya is in the lead.
Elsewhere things are not so good. The Deputy PM, leaving for a conference in Spain with a delegation including the Minister of Agriculture, announced that the Kenyan government has the famine situation well in hand and ‘no one will die of hunger’. Over the last few days the newspapers reported that people are eating grass in some places and that three children have already died of malnutrition. Other children are too weak to go to school. One of the government’s main strategies (of which he seemed proud) is to ask for donations from the international community. He wants to revive the child feeding programme which, if I remember correctly, was stopped by donors because of corruption.
The Agriculture Minister was censured by the President last week for mishandling his ministry, but it has made no difference.
In the cabinet reshuffle, a man who was Minister of Finance (and reportedly a good one) was reinstated and caused a furor. He was implicated some months ago in a very shady scheme to sell a 5 star hotel in Nairobi to a Libyan consortium in secret and with no tender process. In a rare show of integrity the MPs gave a vote of no confidence in him and he stepped down. So now the Pres has seen fit to bring him back to a different portfolio.
It’s similar to what happened in the Electoral Commission. The highly paid and incompetent members were at last dismissed after a long fight. (They were blamed for much of the mayhem at the beginning of 2008) Then a temporary body was needed and the one in charge of that quite simply recalled 20 of the dismissed members to serve anew.

But in our small corner we are doing the little bit that we can. as I mentioned before scholarships have been awarded to six or seven needy boys. There were 300 applications and 50 interviews.
Here is the account written by one of our colleagues after the interviews:
One boy comes in and sits down. He is wearing a torn sweater and black boots with fur that are held together with tape. He sits down and tells me he doesn’t need a scholarship as he has one, but he needs the money to shop and get to the school he has been called to. Harrison Nyongosa is an amazing young boy and instantly I know this is one young man that needs help. He wrote his Kenya Primary School Exams in 2006 and scored 413 marks out of 500. He was called to Starehe Boys School. a prestigious school in Nairobi. He had a fully paid scholarship but needed to pay for his trip to Nairobi and an additional fee of 5000 Kenya shillings for uniform and other items. He did not have the money so could not go. He was then called to Kakamega high school and could not afford the fee s so he went to a local school near his home where school fees were less. So he started form 1 in 2007 and went through term 1 and term 2 with straight A’s. He then started term 3 and was chased from school because his family could not pay the school fees. So in 2008 he had no money and could not continue in secondary school so he returned to primary school and redid standard 8 and scored 433 marks out of 500. One of the highest in western province. Again he was called to Starehe boys school and could not pay the shopping and transport fees. So he came to the interviews with his father to ask if we could help him. It was a very easy choice for me to make as I saw how smart this boy was and how determined he was to get to school. His father had tears in his eyes when I asked him why he could not find the money. He said he had tried everyone and no one would help. So I did not hesitate and told him Iwould pay those costs. He came back to see me the following Tuesday and I took him shopping and got his bus ticket and sent them on their way to Nairobi. I will go visit the home on Monday before I leave Kenya. This young man has a future now, and it will be exciting to see how well he does. I can’t wait until September when I see how well he did.If you are interested in the scholarship organization run by Canadians who have spent several years in this area, check out http://www.kenyaeducation.org/

Lastly here is a picture of the meeting with the head teacher of Emmaloba when we looked at the book requests for the Rotary grant to the school. I hope I will have pictures of the children when the strike is over.

Things are quiet

The long rains have arrived early by at least a month. It rained all night for the last two nights with lightning, thunder and power outages. The temperature has cooled considerably. We sometimes have to wear a long sleeved shirt in the evening!
Things are fairly quiet for us since the elementary schools are closed with the teachers’ strike. Despite the government threat of firings 200,000 teachers have not reported to school.
Today I met (off site) the Head Teacher of Emmaloba, the recipient of our Rotary ‘Adopt a Village’ grant and received his first list of books they want to buy. I am pleased they have chosen books for teachers (revisionary series) in this first ‘tranche’ that will help the school assess specifics of learning and thus improve their performance.
We have also set dates in February for Virtues training for three schools in the area. Improving relationships, eliminating the free use of the cane and setting clear rules will go a long way to improving school atmosphere and performance. Another head teacher in the area who is a strong proponent of Virtues will assist me.
The head teacher is hopeful the children will be back next Wednesday when we will be able to embark on the uniforms and feeding program for vulnerable children.
The well we put in two years ago has gone dry so we have arranged for the workers to come to dig deeper while the children are out of school. This will start tomorrow.
Obamamania peaked this week and now we have many articles telling us why we should not expect too much even if he is black and his father was Kenyan.
What the presidential inauguration has sparked is a serious look at governance in this country. Everyone knows that a man like Obama could not have been elected in Kenya. He is of mixed race, bears no allegiance to a specific tribe, has values that would not allow him to indulge in the rampant corruption around him. His father was fired from his government job for speaking his mind too freely. Who will come forward to lead and put things right?
Today the President shuffled the cabinet (there are 42 of them) in a token gesture of reform after having told them to work harder and stop public backbiting.

Strikes, hunger and more corruption

The teachers are threatening to strike tomorrow (Monday) One group (secondary) signed an agreement with the government but the other group says they are not a legitimate union and cannot take part in negotiations. There are threats of firings, pay stoppages and a long term disruption of the school system. I don’t know where this will leave my computer distribution, the Rotary project in one school community and the Virtues training I had planned.
On Saturday we interviewed about 50 boys for six or seven KEEF scholarships. All had very high marks in the recent exams and had maintained high positions in their class throughout elementary school. It is very hard to do the selection. I thought a couple of them I spoke to would burst into tears. One young boy had repeated a grade in elementary because he had nursed his ailing mother who later died. He teared up and tried hard to be brave. I’m glad to say he is one of our selections. Others told stories of having no family whatsoever and working in fields and for the school to stay in class. If you are interested in the scholarship organization check out www.kenyaeducation.org
School fees have gone up because of the costs of fuel and food. The maize fiasco continues. The government has abandoned the cheap maize scheme and the missing 100,000 bags are being investigated. We have small hope of an answer. One company that ceased business in August received 80,000 bags in December. It is believed they are now sold to Sudan.
Newspaper articles continue their scathing tone. Ten million people face starvation and the President has declared a national emergency (at last) and appealed for donor aid. At the same time a high level group of politicians are traveling to Washington for the inauguration of Obama although they will not be invited to any functions except at the Kenyan embassy and will watch the proceedings on TV. We are reassured that they will promote tourism while in the US.
The good news is that they are repairing the road in front of Fomat, obviously shamed into it. (I posted pictures of the signs erected a few days ago) The bad news is there is absolutley no parking left and the gas station where the long distance buses pick up and where we moved the computer school is a mad house.

Our son, Matthew has a birthday today. Lots of love, big M. Miss you!

The town of Homa bay and the road

Homa Bay

The Rotary Club of Homa Bay participated with the RC of Victoria to receive a matching grant from Rotary International to send two containers to Kenya. One of school supplies to the Kakamega area and one to Homa Bay with medical equipment. Unfortunately the second container for Homa Bay never arrived because of the turmoil at the beginning of 08. The delays and price increases ate up most available funds. The remaining funds were used to purchase medical kits for Homa Bay. They were carried to Kenya by NGO agents and early this week I delivered them to the Rotary Club.
We have travelled some pretty awful roads, but the one to Homa Bay has to be amongst the very worst. We bumped and swerved around the potholes on the road from Kakamega to Kisumu, then sailed along a wonderful road built by Israelis for just an hour. Then we hit the dirt road. It must have been tarmacked at one stage, but the cover has completely gone leaving a roadbed of rocks and stones. This was for about an hour and a half. So it took a total of more than 4 hours to cover about 160 km.
Very hot and very dusty we arrived at the hotel owned by a Rotarian to discover our front tire was deflating. The askari (watchman) helped change the wheel (there was also a rip in the sidewall) and we had the puncture fixed on our way out. In addition, the shaking had broken the clips holding the front grill and lights in place. The askari wired it togetehr for us and it held until we reached our mechanic in Kisumu.
However, we were of course warmly received by the Rotarians who were delighted with the drugs and supplies and we had a very pleasant evening with them. The public hospitals have no drugs and few pharmacists (none in Homa Bay) can afford to stock them. The doctor who received them kept saying: We never see this... this is impossible to find..no one can afford this...I have sent them the group picture with all the drugs displayed hoping they will be able to use it for publicity. The doctor calculated the supply will last about 3 weeks since they treat about 35,000 patients a year.
I have posted pictures of the Rotarians receiving the drugs and a couple of the town of Homa Bay and the road. There is also a picture of the past president of the club sitting in a chair that

was in the container. I saved it for them so they can use it as a fund raiser for their club.

scroll down!

to make sense of these recent posts, scroll down to 'Varanasi' and then back up.

Buddha

We were surprised by the number of Japanese tour groups in our hotel, only to learn that Varanasi is also a site of pilgrimage for Buddhists. We went to the site where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon. Buddhism also sprang from Hindhuism but has been changed and adapted to different cultures.

The Bristish excavated the site of a vast monastery. Pilgrims mainly from Asia & Tibet circle the huge edifices still remaining, often on their knees prostrating themselves, and place gold leaf on the stones.

The last picture is of a weaver making hand woven cloth. We did buy some of the scarves to bring home. You will notice he has a series of punch cards for his design, although the most intricate and expensive cloth is still woven from memory.

We flew back to Delhi after a 5 hour delay because of fog and spent the last day visisting the Red Fort, which was the British occupation barracks for many years and is still largely occupied by the military. We also went to an incredible temple complex but were not allowed cameras. It is called the Swiminarayan temple and there has been a TV documentary, here is the link: http://www.my-india.net/tour/delhi/akshardham.shtml It is an Indian Disneyland with movie theatres, food concessions, but all based on the Hindhu faith.

Town

In the town pilgrims can find all they need for their devotions. Wood for funeral pyres is stacked in bundles. Small packages of sandalwood add a perfume and mask the smell of cremation. Special ornate shrouds as well as plain white funeral shrouds are on offer. Out of respect we were not allowed to take pictures close to the funeral pyres, but we do have a shot of the wood stacked ready.

Temples

When the Muslims conquered India and set up the Moghul dynasties, many Hindhu temples were destroyed and mosques built on the site. People began to make their own temples in their houses to worship in private. The patron god of Varanasi is Shiva and he is symbolised by a bull. One picture shows the entrance to a rather grand private temple with the form of a bull outside. The large tree is a peepul tree which is sacred and can never be cut.

Bathers

The shore is lined with bathers and professional Dhobi or laundry washers. These are mostly men because the beating of the wet clothes on the rocks requires stamina. Like most other traditional occupations this work is passed down in families. For bathers there is no longer segregation by sex, but some women prefer to bathe together. The lady sitting alone in one of the pictures is a resident of a hospice and has come to make the best possible death for a Hindhu.

Ghat steps

The steep stairs down to the water lead to ghats or quays. The shore is lined with hostels and temples. Alittle girl sold us a lighted floating candle to let drift in the water symbolisong prayers.

Varanasi

Our last stop somewhere new was in Varanasi (Benares) on the Ganges. We were down by the river before dawn and taken in a rowboat to watch the rituals of those acknowledging the sunrise and bathing in the river. A devout Hindhu will want to make a pilgrimage to Varanasi at least once and if possible die there ensuring passage to eternity. I don’t pretend to understand completely the paths of the believers although our guide did a good job of trying to simplify things. The town is built upon the pilgrims who come to die or to bury their dead.
I think the best things for me to do is to post a few pictures with a brief word about each set.

The first ones here were taken when it was barely light. The umbrealls shelter the Brahmins, a herditary caste, who offer special prayers for the dead. Men's heads were being shaved as a sign of mourning. To the left of the steps is a Sudi, a self proclaimed holy man, celebrating the sunrise with fire.

Away for a couple of days

We will travel to Homa Bay tomorrow for a meeting of the local Rotary Club who were our partners with the container. This area is even poorer that where we are and HIV/AIDS is rampant. The schools lack the most basic supplies and there are virtually no health clinics. They were to have received a medical container but the turmoil last year ate up all the funds. We will be finalising the report to Rotary International and I will be carrying three boxes of medical supplies for them. I also saved them a nice office chair from the container that did arrive, so they can use it as a fund raiser for their club.
We are working on the possibility of sending a container of medical supplies to them if we can find corporate sponsorship. If you have any ideas of who might help this very needy area, let me know!
When we return I will send out a few more computers to schools (I'll save the story of how I got them) and this coming weekend we will be interviewing for scholarships for KEEF. Go to www.kenyaeducation.org for details.

Taj Mahal

Everyone has seen pictures of the Taj Mahal and it’s beauty is recognized all over the world. (Remember that picture of Princess Diana looking so miserable in front of the monument?) It is a breathtaking sight. The white marble contains tiny sparkles and shines in the sun and in the moonlight. You can make a booking to see it by moonlight. I don’t think there was a full moon while we were there, so we wouldn’t have had the opportunity. What I didn’t know was that both the outside and the inside are decorated with inset precious and semi precious stones in patterns of leaves and flowers as well as verses from the Koran. The descendants of the artisans still do this work on marble and again we let ourselves be tempted by a small sample. We watched them grinding and setting in the tiny chips of coral, lapis, jade and so on. The king had three wives, one Hindu, one Muslim and one Christian. The Muslim wife is the one for whom he built the tomb. She traveled everywhere with him and bore many children (I think it was 14, but several did not survive) He intended to built himself a similar monument in black marble on the opposite side of the river and laid the foundations. What a sight that would have been! Before he could begin the construction his son, by the favourite Muslim wife, captured him and imprisoned him for several years until his death. I am going to post some pictures rather than write any more. There will be the obligatory full view, but I have added some of the stunning internal and exterior decoration. A couple of the shots are of the mosque standing alongside.