lucky life

This morning has been slow which is nice. Yesterday was kind of long with the meetings and everything running on Africa Time. It’s amazing that these people actually come to meetings-nobody has a clock and everyone seems to just show up. In the midst of the farm work, house cleaning and caring for the family; people show up to engage in supporting others. It’s so inspiring. And they WALK! From far distances in shoes that are not supportive for their feet. Some people don’t even have shoes! We are so spoiled as Westerners.

I woke to what sounded like someone yelling “hello” over and over again in my window. Actually it was a goat. They sound remarkably like children. Everything I hear is an animal really. There are so many different bird sounds, then cows, roosters, goats, cats and dogs.

I found 4 dying cockroaches around my bedframe today. I thought they were actually dead but when I went to sweep them away, the legs started moving and I started screaming. I don’t know why I started screaming, as I am much bigger but cockroaches are just kind of gross in general.

I noticed that garbage doesn’t really exist here, a) there is nowhere to put it (it is all burned) and b) they are all very resourceful here. There isn’t a lot of packaging as all the food is grown or purchased fresh from the market. And people don’t have a lot of extraneous things: cosmetics, toys, magazines, items that come in big boxes. It just doesn’t exist here.

This village is idylic: no garbage, no bad food, no loud noises. Everything is so simple, yet life is so hard.

Today I worked with the Support group. These are clients living with HIV/AIDS in the village. They come together to discuss issues, provide support to each other and make plans to check in on those not there. The Support group and most of the groups involved with Mama Na Dada have what they call “merry-go-round”. Each person puts in 20 shillings or so every week or every time they meet to purchase items for the group. The group used this money to purchase hens for eggs and meat for each person.

Then I met with the Guardian group, made up of those individuals who provide care for orphans have started a farm specifically for producing food for the orphans and the guardians. Last week they planted maize and cow peas (greens). They will tend this land together and share the harvest among themselves.

 Both groups were incredibly welcoming-they sing songs and shake hands. Each meeting is started with a prayer and ended with a prayer. Most villagers (if not all) are strong Christians. They will walk for miles to attend church for two hours. It is again, very inspiring.

It’s now 7:30pm and I’m finally here in Kunya. I am staying in my own hut here on the Mama Na Dada property. It’s quite nice actually, very spacious with four beds to choose from. However only one bed has a mosquito net over it, so that is the one I will sleep under. We took a 7 hour bus ride from Nairobi to Kisimu and then a 2 hour Mutatu (small van/bus that stops everywhere and stuffs itself to capacity) ride to Kunya.The mutatu ride was so visually delightful. We would pass through small village markets and sellers would come up to the window of the mutatu to sell mangoes, bananas, roasted maize and other fresh produce. All of the people I’ve met so far in Kenya have been incredibly friendly and welcoming. Everyone wants to shake your hand and say hello. The smiles are wide and beautiful and I find myself smiling just as wide so that my face hurts.I have not felt unsafe for one moment as the coordination of transport and escort has been seamless.

i'm in Kisimu en route to Kunya where I will be staying for 5 weeks. I'm so excited as I was having lunch with the coordinator Rosemary (who is so sweet and amazing) and she was telling me that they ... [Continue reading this entry]

It's 5:16am and the roosters have been roosting since 430am. Apparently a rooster's work is never done. I can't really fall back to sleep now as I am leaving in a short hour or so. I'm so glad that I ... [Continue reading this entry]