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!