work

my blogs have not been reflecting it, but i do more than go on bike rides and play with kids at IDP camps. i "go to work" everyday, although my definition of work is changing. sometimes "work" is drinking tea with people or walking on the side of a highway for an hour looking for a home of someone living with HIV.

one of the projects i have been working on is teaching a few ladies some crafts/skills so that they might hopefully earn money to feed their children and buy tea leaves and sugar. we chose 4 women, all of whom are clients of the Community Based Health Clinic. They are at very high risk of needing to engage in risky activities (i.e. brewing local beer or trading sex for food), yet they have difficulty finding employment. they all have young children in the home which restricts them from finding casual labour jobs. two of them are illiterate (although Maria proudly showed me that she can write her name and add numbers).

i have been teaching them how to cut and fold chip bags and transform them into purses and wallets. so far, they have been perfecting the folding technique; i constantly need to enforce and encourage high quality work instead of high quantity work. i have just introduced them to the cutting part. remember, what is easy for someone with years of education, is a major challenge for someone who can't read or write and has never used a ruler. i devised a pattern piece so that they can trace it onto the paper and then cut. even cutting a straight line can be a challenge some days. but i am very proud to say the women caught on extremely quickly and are proud of their accomplishments, however slowly they are coming.

three of the women concentrating very hard on the task at hand

i also invited a local businessman, who owns a souvenir shop, to come and teach them how to make beads out of magazine paper. i sent them home with a magazine, scissors, and glue. maria returned yesterday with hundreds of beads! i dipped them in varnish for a finishing touch while she cut and folded foil wrapping paper for a wallet.

Robert teaches them how to carefully cut magazines to transform into beads

the wallet on the left is one i bought in the US.
on the right is the one that Maria folded the pieces for,
and i just figured out how to sew together.
i will next teach the women how to sew the pieces together.

i have to admit, sometimes i have an inferiority complex about what i do here in kenya. while waiting for my luggage at the airport in nairobi, i once heard two ex-pat women sharing with eachother what they do for a living. the british woman, in her london accent, remarked "oh, i consult here and there for the UN, the Embassy, and other NGO's when i'm not busy with the 3 kids! you know how busy that can be! hahaha!" I was standing behind her, thinking, "Oh yeah, well I have 2 university degrees and I fold chip bags for a living! So there!"

but it struck me a few weeks ago while i was sitting around the table with the women as they diligently folded their rectangles, listening to them talk (in swahili) about their medications, which clinic they went to, how many kids they had, which pastors were doing what in which villages (not good things, by the way), that this "craft" time was also an opportunity for the women to just be women, to be mothers sharing a cup of tea while fellowshiping. they rarely get that chance "just be." maria shared with me yesterday that making the beads and folding the paper at home helps her to stay busy and keep her mind occupied and she is grateful for even that small change.

will i start the next "red" campaign here? i doubt it. i just hope to find a local market for the items that will sustain the women while they continue to develop new skills, grow in confidence and provide for their families without risking their lives or dignity. (however, we are also not opposed to an international market:-) )

the other activities i have been involved with are joining the environmental club at the local girls high school, demonstrating a simple solar oven and fireless basket (both of which I hope to develop as income generating projects for other support groups), arranging and helping with volunteer trainings, and i hope to start a community health group in june (that is if people show up, and hopefully not 3 hours late). i will act as a facilitator of the group to help them identify health problems in the area, and "steer" them towards identifying hygiene and sanitation issues (a doctor at the teaching hospital told me that 70% of pediatric admissions have to do with ameobas). a michigan group is coming to introduce water filters, so i hope to liaise with them regarding that project.

through all these things, from folding chip bags to cooking with the sun, to teaching handwashing, i hope i can contribute to the overall health of the community. not quite neurosurgery or consulting for the UN, but i know there is a bigger purpose that i haven't realized yet.

picture this postcard

having no vehicle, i take self-propelled adventures. i grabbed my bike today and headed out to a road i had never been before.

the purple grey clouds banked the horizon, threatening to release their moisture at any time. but with the sun at my back, i risked a shower. i passed crowds of kids just out of school, all waving and shouting "mzungu" even though they know my name.

the red road rose before me. i could not see the end of it over the horizon, and i wondered if i might fall off the edge in a few moments time. to my right, green stalks of maize were struggling out of the hard red soil. to my left, nothing planted yet. the farmer is waiting to plant his wheat. who ever it is has a huge farm and i passed nothing but soil for several kilometers.

the sound of a match striking draws my attention to the ditch. however, it is not a match but the simultaneous snap of wings of tiny black birds startled by my intrusion. they burst out of the ditch, and in formation cross my path. all at once, together, they bank to the left, flashing their orange underbellies. i am in awe at this simple gesture and the surprise of a bright hue. maybe their way of saying "hey mzungu"

i wish i had my camera as my mind's eye takes in the view. an acacia tree stands alone on the horizon in between vast fields waiting for the rains. i reach the rise in the road and drink in the normalcy of village life. modern houses stand next to mud huts, 3 children stop their digging to wave and smile. a woman carries a heavy load on her head. a child of 7 is herding over 10 cows.

delicate cranes tiptoe through the untilled field. their careful gait resembles socialite ladies walking in high heels in the thick carpet of an opera hall. their blue backs, white bellies, and black faces are a fancy costume for the simple farm they visit. their mohawk of yellow straw is halo like, or perhaps a crown of gold to match their stunning outfits and proud walk. when i stop to quietly watch them walk, they glance back at me, and as if snubbing my trousers and dirty sandals, ever so slowly take off in flight to join better company.

i turn back as the purple of the clouds is giving way to a more ominous black. i smile at the shocked faces of men as i ride my yellow, multi speed bike past their one speed "black mambas." school children who were dawdling home, are now jumping over the maize mounds to get home and disappear into the tall green grass. i love how their pink shirt collars poke out of their burgandy sweaters and their white knee socks will not stay up to their knees no matter how much coaxing they get.

i descend down the last small hill before the hospital and navigate my way over the jagged rock. it reminds me of downhill riding in whistler. my arms begin to itch with the vibrations of the rocky road. i pass the round yellow church before the hospital gate and 6 of my little friends scream "bye! bye! bye!" from the door of their mothers hair saloon. a motorcycle driver gives me a friendly nod from "one biker to another" as he parks his bike.

no camera today, but picture this postcard of plateau.

wish you were here.

things i love about kenya

I love red dirt roads, green fields, and blue skies.

I love that I am totally comfortable walking, running, or biking through a herd of cows and they don't even blink an eye.

I love that I can buy really good gouda cheese here.

I love iridescent blue birds that flit in my path when I am feeling sad.

I love full rainbows arching from valleys to fields.

I love that when I start speaking swahili in the market, the price drops dramatically.

I love that I am "baptized" with a name from every tribe.

I love the vast differences in geography and landscape - from volcanoes to salty lakes to blue oceans to huge valleys.

I love that when I go for a run, a 6 year old girl in a satin dress and no shoes kicks my butt.

I love playing football (soccer) in the school field and the girls team beat the boys team:-)

I love hot showers when I get to have them once a week. I will never take them for granted again.

I love that Kenya has really good coffee and that I can satisfy my caffeine addiction every morning with my Java and my bodum.

I love that I am the only woman I have ever seen ride a bike around my village and now young girls want to learn too.

I love that my Kenya mama watches WWF wrestling and loves Hulk Hogan are (well, I at least think it is funny!)

There are many things I love about living in Kenya and I have been reminding myself of these when I get irritated or frustrated.
What do you love about where you live?