Thoughts/Reactions to Life in Kenya - Week 2

--- I Have 40 Brothers and Sisters in Kenya
A few days ago a couple of the kids began asking me the names of my family members, “What is your mother’s name?” “What is your father’s name?” “What is your mother’s father’s name?” On and on and on. Most of these kids are orphans. Some of their parents are dead. For others no one knows where their parents are. One boy was found living in the woods all alone. And yet they have such interest in family. It thrills them to look at pictures of mine and CJ/Keela’s families. I would like to think that faced with their situation at such a young age I would feel the same joy toward learning about another’s family. However, I’m not sure I wouldn’t instead be cynical of the concept of family and cynical towards those with families. I am so thankful that the leaders of Jambo Jipya created an environment where each boarder is surrounded by 40 brothers and sisters everyday and that they view me as their sister.

















--- Time, Trash, & Trying to Figure Out the Right Reaction
Though the heat is exhausting, the food is very different, and I only understand a handful of Kiswahili words, the only two things that really get to me here are the way in which people treat each other’s time and the trash. From my perspective the culture is very disrespectful toward another’s time. To quote Keela, “No one is where they are supposed to be when they say they will be there.” Being of the mindset that early is on time and on time is late I am finding it difficult to keep from getting annoyed with this aspect of their culture. What is more frustrating is that, as a guest, I do not know whether it is better/more respectful to go along with it or voice my opinion...Thoughts? Suggestions?

I have the same reaction toward what they do with trash (throw it anywhere on the ground and when a heap gets big enough, set fire to it). Although the trash issue is a little different as it pertains more to their Government and lack of public services, it is still a matter of respect for others and the earth, as well as a sanitary issue.

During our matatu ride to Mombasa last week I witnessed people, cows, and goats rummaging together through a heap of trash. I hope the people were not searching for food like the cows and goats, but I would be surprised if that was not one of the reasons. Riding in the 14 passenger matatu with 19 other people I began wondering if in America we are that much better putting trash in bags in our homes and public places only to have it totted off to a landfill. While I do believe it is a health risk to have trash scattered everywhere, we Americans are very ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ What is the effect of that?

The best answer I have come up with so far is to consume less, thus creating less trash. If we lived simple sustainable lifestyles, growing and catching much of our food and using our food waste for fertilizer, rather than buying food packaged in excess amounts of plastic, styrofoam, and cardboard, we would have much less trash. Less trash means less negative impact on our global climate, and yes less of an eye sore…Thoughts? Suggestions?

--- To Do My Own Laundry Or Not? (sure never thought I would struggle over this question haha)
Two days a week a woman ("Auntie") comes to do all the wash and clean the bathrooms and kitchen. The first time Keela, CJ, and I prepared to do our laundry Mama (Christine) told us to save it for the woman to do. However, we felt it was our responsibility to do our own wash. So we went against Mama and did it. When Auntie came later in the week, on the day CJ and I were planning to do laundry, we again met resistance from our host family who could not understand why we were going to wash our clothes, instead of giving them to the woman to do. This prompted a long conversation between CJ and I.

Standing in the yard holding our buckets of dirty clothes we discussed the pros, cons, and reasons for doing our laundry and for the woman doing our laundry. I am well aware how silly this entire situation probably sounds to you. If it does, think about being a guest at a friend or family member’s home for Thanksgiving or Christmas and how you change to respect the environment you are in, or maybe the crap you get for not? CJ and I are guests in a completely different culture trying to respect our host family, the local community, and Kenya.

If we do our own wash we convince ourselves and attempt to convince those around us that we are not lazy. We also think it is the responsible thing to do, to be willing do what our parents hounded us about growing up. However, by allowing Auntie to do our wash we are providing her with an income to feed her family and not contributing to her being aid dependant. The result of our conversation is that I am sitting on the roof writing this and CJ is sitting next to me reading. Auntie is standing behind me hanging up one of my skirts. Hopefully I’ve got it right that creating a sustainable existence is not always doing for yourself what you are capable of, but sometimes contributing to the sustainability of another human, while you take a break. No man is an island unto himself…we are all connected.














--- Church
Our first Sunday here we attended church. Out of respect for Mama, Keela, CJ, and I decided after that service that we would go with her every other week, instead of every week. It was a lot to handle. At the Miracle Center Church there are three columns of plastic patio chairs. Women sit on the right and in the back of the middle column, while the men sit on the left and in the front of the middle column. I was very thankful when Mama let CJ, Keela, and I sit in the back with the Jambo Jipya kids, instead of with her in the front row! The first half an hour was loud, energetic singing. The only instruments were people’s hands, which they clapped more enthusiastically than a Yankee fan could after watching their team defeat the Red Sox in game seven of a World Series. I recognized one song as the kids would sing the chorus in English while looking at CJ, Keela, and I… “nothing but the blood of Jesus.” The next two hours consisted of the Pastor screaming in Kiswahili into a microphone that resembled a huge strawberry ice cream cone (the heat may have gotten to me a little too much when I made this connection J). As the Pastor screamed into the “ice cream cone” he rushed back and forth across the stage. Every few words he would pause so the man following close behind him could translate into “English” for CJ, Keela, and I. In two and a half hours I only understood a handful of phrases. I know there was a lot about God’s providence and sexual immorality. The middle of the sermon felt like an infomercial as the Pastor elaborated on every spread of a 2010 calendar the Church had for sale. A few times he directly talked to CJ, Keela, and I, which was awkward as we were three of a couple hundred people. I love experiencing new things, especially when it pertains to a different culture, and I often say you have to try something new twice as the first time could have been a fluke. However, when CJ asked my reaction as we were walking out I told him I was glad I experienced it, but I never needed to again. Soon after returning home CJ, Keela, and I had church on the roof.

First Impressions of Kenya - Week 1

Goals/Expectations of the trip: To be aware, to learn, to love

My daily routine/the kids: Everyday, except Sunday, I spent half of the day at the school with the kids and the other half of each day doing yoga, washing clothes, reading, journaling, talking with Keela and CJ, and/or running errands.

From just before we arrived until January 4 the students are on Christmas holiday so while at the school I am with the 40 students who live there, known as the boarders (once school resumes there will be a couple hundred students there).

The students are very bright, very joyful, very polite, and very tough. In spending time with the kids one of my main goals is to get home exhausted. I feel if I am not tired after spending half the day with them then I did not give them enough of myself. I am happy to report that so far they have succeeded at exhausting me everyday.

We spend most of our time teaching each other. They teach me Swahili, I teach them dance. They teach me games, I teach them games. They unknowingly teach me about life, I teach them about the Bible. Many of them are bright by American standards. Honestly, this somewhat surprised me, as they do not have access to simple resources such as paper, pencils, and books, outside of the school day. What they do have is a hunger and thirst to learn like I have never seen before. Constantly, they come up to me and say, “Michel Obama, quiz me in math,” “Teacher, quiz me in science,” or simply, “Teach me something.” Yes, some of them call me “Michelle Obama” haha. They also have a habit of calling me “cha” for teacher.

Their politeness has a joyful quality to it just as their readiness to learn has. Everyday when we arrive they greet us at the door and shake our hands. When we leave we shake hands again. There are about 5 plastic chairs for the 50 people there each day and the students joyfully offer the chair they are sitting in for CJ, Keela, or I if we are standing.

The physical toughness of these kids, girls as well as boys, is incredible. I would bet they play just as rough as tackles in the NFL and do not complain or get injured nearly as often! They have slid across the concrete, gotten hit in the face with a soccerball, fallen on their head doing a handstand, run into each other, stepped on everything you can imagine with no shoes on, and not only have I yet to hear one of them cry or complain, they do not even stop for a few seconds to recover.

Lodging: I live in a beautiful 5 bedroom/3 bathroom home with Christine, the woman who runs Jambo Jipya, Destiny & Fisher, two of her children, Keela, and CJ. We have no AC, no hot water, and no washer or dryer, but we have a full kitchen, including a refrigerator, which is not common. My favorite part of the house is the roof which is where CJ, Keela, and I spend a few hours every morning doing yoga, eating breakfast, reading, talking, writing, etc. The yard is beautifully decorated with tropical trees and plants, many of which I grew up admiring in SW FL. Also in the yard is a pin currently housing chickens, roosters, and turkeys. Unfortunately, the rooster gets going long before the sun rises. Lining the perimeter of the lot is a tall wall and a gate.

Jambo Jipya: The school consists of 11 classrooms, a kitchen, a girls dorm, a boys dorm, a hang out room (which I call the sauna), Christine’s office, a play area, bathrooms, shower rooms, and a storage room. Sounds like a big operation, right? Not exactly. Though I have not yet measured it, I would estimate it to fit inside a high school gymnasium in America. Most of the ground is dirt though in some areas there is concrete. Some of the walls are a combination of mud, trees, and concrete and some are plywood on the bottom half and something resembling chicken wire on the top half. The classrooms are about 10x10 and their walls are filled with handmade educational posters written in English. The students who live there receive breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and tea between lunch and dinner.

Food: IT IS SO TASTY! The first night we had white rice, cooked cabbage with oil, tomatoes, & onions in it, and goat. The second night we ate the children’s favorite meal with them at the school of chapatis and beans. A chapatis is similar to a fajita shell, you eat it with your fingers by dunking it in the side dish, and it takes all day to make so the kids only get them on Saturdays. Since then we have had chapatis with other sides, such as the cabbage dish mentioned above, greens mixed tomatoes, onions, & oil, and even peanut butter and jelly. Most everything is oiled heavily. There is also a wonderful variety of delicious fruit, the mangos and pineapple being my favorite. We often buy fruit from vendors on our way home from school in the evenings.

Mwtapa: Like Christine’s yard, Mwtapa is full of lush tropical vegetation. Everywhere you look you see a variety of palm trees, mango trees, sugar cane, banana trees, eucalyptus, elephant ears, vines and bushes with flowers in full bloom on the walls around people’s homes, and much more.
There are people EVERYWHERE (or maybe it is just that people are outside moving around and not huddled in their office like in America)! Every street and alley in Mwtapa is lined with individuals and shops selling mostly clothing, food, or hair supplies. A fewer number sell furniture or are pharmacies. People get around by walking, riding a motorcycle, taking a taxi, or for longer distances taking a matatu (public van)…individuals do not own cars. Goats, chickens, and cows are also roaming around everywhere.

There is also trash EVERYWHERE! Trash pickup/disposal is one of the many public services they are without in Kenya. As a result, if outside they throw trash on the ground (coke bottles, wrappers, paper, anything and everything). If inside, they put trash in small plastic bags and later throw them in a heap in an open field, or on the side of the road, and then others go around setting fire to the bags of trash.

Wow…I haven’t even begun to write about my thoughts/struggles from this week! However, as I have written quite a bit already I will close for now and in the next few days organize my reactions and include them in the next post.

Thank you for the prayers! Now that we have arrived and settled in safely please pray for Jambo Jipya, for their fundraising efforts, and for their leaders to make the best decisions for the future of the school.

It’s a wonderful world…hope you are enjoying it,
Michel