Well, Magz and I are officially Nyeri pros now... we know our way around town, and how to avoid being followed by a pack of schoolchildren - speak French, it confuses them. We've also purchased some condiments so now I'm really at home :) whenever our host mom makes something strange, I just slap on some jam and I'm all set. They have rhubarb jam here, and it's amazing...the peanut butter, however, leaves much to be desired.
At this point in our stay at St Mary's school, it's become pretty apparent that the tutoring we're doing, while being effective and rewarding, is really not the most important thing we're here for. A lot of the kids just really like knowing that you're there for them and that you care. One of them approached me the other day because he had no one else to go to and told me all about how his dead father's spirit tries to kill him at night. When I tried to convince him that it was just a nightmare, he told me that his priest had told him that it was real and was a punishment from God... some priest. And when he wakes up afraid he can't talk to anyone because all the other boys in his dorm go to a school that is even more poorly funded, and so they are all jealous and consistently unkind to him. Anyways, we had a good chat, and today he wrote me a letter saying that all his nightmares were gone and that he was happy to finally have a friend. So that's pretty much the most intense thing that's happened thus far here.
One of the trickiest things we've encountered is that it is hard to help a kid out by giving him shoes or anything, because all the other kids will be jealous and either steal it, or ostracize him.. so you pretty much have to have enough for everyone. Speaking of which, the toothbrushes we gave out last week were a huge hit.. they've been carrying them around everywhere with them ever since!
Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand at bargaining in Swahili - should be fun!
Take care, everyone!
=:0)
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Things get mucky!
So yesterday we had our first encounter with the trials and tribulations of living in Kenya during a rainy season. The dirt road from our house to the main road took us 30 minutes to muddle through in our crocs, instead of the usual 5! And then once we reached the town, we had to avoid a huge throng of people gathered in response to the recent shooting down of a police officer in a nearby region. Once we got to the school we were surprised to see a soldier in army gear with a semi automatic standing about - we soon learned that it was the standard protocal for the duration of secondary exams - the soldier frisks each student as they enter to be sure that they don't carry in any illicit cheating materials! As if our day wasn't exciting enough, on the walk home a man chased us about shoving his crippled arm in our face and asking for money...
The night, however, was quite posh and relaxed! Our friend James was leaving today and so everyone decided to go out to eat at a Tavern in Outspan, which is the swankiest resort in town. First we visited the house James has been stayinbg in for free, which is a palace... it had all hardwood floors, three bathrooms, a refridgerator, and a puppy... and we thought we had it good! The meal was delishious - it's the first time we've had western food since we've been here. It is the only place in town that you can find real Heinz ketchup (I'll never take it for granted again!), and magz and I had delishious pizzqa, and tried our first African beer, which is called Tusker and is actually quite good, even to a non-beer drinker. After noticing that we barely ever see people smoking here, we inquired about it and found out that smoking is only permitted in designated areas outdoors - and only for men. Women only smoke at night in the clubs, and are immediately assumed to be prostitutes - luckily me and magz don't have any problems there!
Today, on the way to the Jubilee schoolhouse, a crazy downpuour started, and we had to take refuge in a bar along the street.... we've been trudging through muck and have had mud caked onto our legs ever since! We've been assigned to tutor certain kids in the primary preperatory class who are behind due to having lived on the street until recently, or sickness. One student, Jeff, is the oldest because of having lived on the streets but he's really bright and keen to learn, and he can speak 4 different languages. You would never know which ones are HIV positive, as they are often the most hopeful and entertaining ones with the biggest smiles!
The biggest obstacle Magz and I have encountered thus far in Kenya is that people try to feed you way too much food, which is better than the alternative I suppose. But seriously, they pile bucketfuls in front of you and often seem hurt if you can't finish it! Luckily, we've found a way to beat the system - we save what we can't finish and give it to street kids, which are numerous and can be distinguished from other children by the bottles of glue they sniff continuously, apparently to numb the hunger pangs. They're always very appreciative of the doggy-bagged meals.
There are a couple of tiny little two or three-year old boys that we pass on our way to school everyday who run out of nowhere and attack us with hugs - which is an awesome way to start the day! I've tried a couple times to upload some pictures, but this computer is not having it... hopefully I'll have more success after I burn them onto a CD.
I hope everything is good in Canada, Kenya is great!
Kwaheri!!
=:0)
P.S.: The other day I won a race agains five of the Kenyan schoolboys... definitely a highlight of the trip hehe
The night, however, was quite posh and relaxed! Our friend James was leaving today and so everyone decided to go out to eat at a Tavern in Outspan, which is the swankiest resort in town. First we visited the house James has been stayinbg in for free, which is a palace... it had all hardwood floors, three bathrooms, a refridgerator, and a puppy... and we thought we had it good! The meal was delishious - it's the first time we've had western food since we've been here. It is the only place in town that you can find real Heinz ketchup (I'll never take it for granted again!), and magz and I had delishious pizzqa, and tried our first African beer, which is called Tusker and is actually quite good, even to a non-beer drinker. After noticing that we barely ever see people smoking here, we inquired about it and found out that smoking is only permitted in designated areas outdoors - and only for men. Women only smoke at night in the clubs, and are immediately assumed to be prostitutes - luckily me and magz don't have any problems there!
Today, on the way to the Jubilee schoolhouse, a crazy downpuour started, and we had to take refuge in a bar along the street.... we've been trudging through muck and have had mud caked onto our legs ever since! We've been assigned to tutor certain kids in the primary preperatory class who are behind due to having lived on the street until recently, or sickness. One student, Jeff, is the oldest because of having lived on the streets but he's really bright and keen to learn, and he can speak 4 different languages. You would never know which ones are HIV positive, as they are often the most hopeful and entertaining ones with the biggest smiles!
The biggest obstacle Magz and I have encountered thus far in Kenya is that people try to feed you way too much food, which is better than the alternative I suppose. But seriously, they pile bucketfuls in front of you and often seem hurt if you can't finish it! Luckily, we've found a way to beat the system - we save what we can't finish and give it to street kids, which are numerous and can be distinguished from other children by the bottles of glue they sniff continuously, apparently to numb the hunger pangs. They're always very appreciative of the doggy-bagged meals.
There are a couple of tiny little two or three-year old boys that we pass on our way to school everyday who run out of nowhere and attack us with hugs - which is an awesome way to start the day! I've tried a couple times to upload some pictures, but this computer is not having it... hopefully I'll have more success after I burn them onto a CD.
I hope everything is good in Canada, Kenya is great!
Kwaheri!!
=:0)
P.S.: The other day I won a race agains five of the Kenyan schoolboys... definitely a highlight of the trip hehe
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Greetings from Nyeri!!!
Soooo... we're in Nyeri now!
It's a smallish town about 3 hours outside of Nairobi. Our host family is so kind - the parents are Eustase and Margaret - who is an great cook, and they have three amazing kids. We have an amazing view of Mount Kenya from our balcony.. but crummily enough, we can't afford to climb it like we had planned since we spent 24,000 KSh on the safari we're going on on the ninth and we need to save some in case we go rafting or something in Uganda. I'm learning a tonne of Swahili, which is a really fun language that unfortunately is not spoken in Uganda, so when we go there I'll have to learn Luganda.
The weather is soooooooo warm... it's supposed to be the short rain season, but so far it has only rained at night. Uganda is supposed to be even hotter, so that should be interesting!
Yesterday was our first day at the school, and we met a felow Canadian volunteer named James, which was awesome because he was really cool and showed us all the ropes and good spots to eat. We've started teaching at St. Mary's Junior Rescue Center, and the kids are so cool. There are 210 boys in all, aged 5 to 18, but we also visit a smaller class for smaller children called Jubilee. Lots of the kids have been orphaned by or are suffering from HIV but it's amazing how thankful they are for everything... just saying Jambo to them makes them break out in huge smiles :)
And they like to poke us because apparently white skin changes colour when poked.It's a very touchy culture (melissa, you'd hate it!) . People here are even friendlier than in Canada I think...possibly on par with Newfies.
Our room mate Ahad fell in a 7 foot ditch yesterday while walking home at night, while on the phone with me... possibly may have broken a rib.
Other than that everything is pretty normal!
I'll blog again soon, with pictures hopefully!
Kwaherini!!
P.S.: Today in one class, we listened in as the teacher defined igloo to her class as "a small house that very small people called Eskimos live in"
It's a smallish town about 3 hours outside of Nairobi. Our host family is so kind - the parents are Eustase and Margaret - who is an great cook, and they have three amazing kids. We have an amazing view of Mount Kenya from our balcony.. but crummily enough, we can't afford to climb it like we had planned since we spent 24,000 KSh on the safari we're going on on the ninth and we need to save some in case we go rafting or something in Uganda. I'm learning a tonne of Swahili, which is a really fun language that unfortunately is not spoken in Uganda, so when we go there I'll have to learn Luganda.
The weather is soooooooo warm... it's supposed to be the short rain season, but so far it has only rained at night. Uganda is supposed to be even hotter, so that should be interesting!
Yesterday was our first day at the school, and we met a felow Canadian volunteer named James, which was awesome because he was really cool and showed us all the ropes and good spots to eat. We've started teaching at St. Mary's Junior Rescue Center, and the kids are so cool. There are 210 boys in all, aged 5 to 18, but we also visit a smaller class for smaller children called Jubilee. Lots of the kids have been orphaned by or are suffering from HIV but it's amazing how thankful they are for everything... just saying Jambo to them makes them break out in huge smiles :)
And they like to poke us because apparently white skin changes colour when poked.It's a very touchy culture (melissa, you'd hate it!) . People here are even friendlier than in Canada I think...possibly on par with Newfies.
Our room mate Ahad fell in a 7 foot ditch yesterday while walking home at night, while on the phone with me... possibly may have broken a rib.
Other than that everything is pretty normal!
I'll blog again soon, with pictures hopefully!
Kwaherini!!
P.S.: Today in one class, we listened in as the teacher defined igloo to her class as "a small house that very small people called Eskimos live in"
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Countdown to Take Off Time!!!
Hello All!
In less than a week, I will be heading off for an adventure with my best friend, and hopefully still best friend by the end of the two months, Meghan in Kenya and Uganda, and then a week in Paris. We've got all the major things taken care of, namely health insurance, innoculations against various diseases, and most of our flights, but due to our adventurous nature (/med schools keeping me busy jumping through hoops) there is still much to be decided. In fact, a lot of what we'll be doing is decided after our arrival. Global Volunteer Network is the program we're going through, and they like to get to know you and your strengths before they pick who does what..however, I copied and pasted a portion of the email they sent me to give a rough idea of what we'll be up to:
(and also copied these pictures that other people have taken while volunteering there)
Chronic underdevelopment in Uganda is a problem not easily solved. Remote rural living, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a subsistence economy, loss of hope, and lack of services helps to keep many orphaned children, and their extended families, dependent upon hand-outs, malnourished, and uneducated. Currently, there is no real way to generate funds at the village level to support anything other than subsistence living. Therefore, YOFAFO has developed relationships with local communities to help provide start-up funds, knowledge, and motivation all necessary to solve their respective problems in a sustainable way.
For example, at the village of Bugiri, YOFAFO has a primary school for local children. An orphanage will provide a home to 30 of the most destitute children (which may or may not be complete by November!). A school farm provides train
ing in modern commercial agriculture. After completion of school, graduates receive vocational training in farming and animal husbandry, thereby imparting knowledge and providing a food supply for the school. In order to support orphans’ extended family network YOFAFO offers training in handicrafts marketing, tailoring, carpentry and mechanics. Through these and various other community projects, local adults are able to generate income on their own, resulting in a diminishing need for outside help.
GVN volunteers complement local staff, and provide cultural exchange and life skills to the children, youth and adults. Their presence and care not only build self-worth and confidence, but give the kids a chance to have a bit of fun and express their creativity through sports and art programs. I’m sure your experience as a child mentor and elementary school tutor will really benefit local communities (expect to speak at many engagements during your stay). It may seem daunting, but even the simplest messages are very effective here. Imagine a society where children are never encouraged, never told they can achieve good things. Basic information on hygiene, nutrition, etc. is just not passed on from mother to child as in our culture.
In stark contrast, our time in Paris will be mostly spent indulging in trips to museums, taking a peek at all the paintings we didn't get to see in Italy.... and probably seriously enjoying eating something other than mashed plantain and matooke (mashed unripened bananas) .
Thanks to info and donations from people I've met while serving this summer at the Gables, as well as a bunch of handy books and tips from my aunt Mary, I feel like I'm going into this at least a little prepared, but I am sure that there will be a few shocks along the way.
I'm hoping I'll be able to post regularly - ideally I'll be able to upload some photographs as well but I hear that the connections can be painfully slow so we'll see!
I'm so excited to get this journey started, but am getting a bit misty-eyed at the thought of leaving St. Andrews and all of the people in it... as well as my family and friends in Moncton and Sackville. I think I may also miss the 10 inches of hair I'm cutting off on Tuesday, but it will likely make things easier for me.
Well, I better get back to stocking up on nutrients (/eating my gram's delicious thanksgiving food)...
I will try to post a blog as soon as I land in Kenya, so there should be a new one around the 15th of October or so.
Thanks for taking an interest in my adventure!
~Julia
In less than a week, I will be heading off for an adventure with my best friend, and hopefully still best friend by the end of the two months, Meghan in Kenya and Uganda, and then a week in Paris. We've got all the major things taken care of, namely health insurance, innoculations against various diseases, and most of our flights, but due to our adventurous nature (/med schools keeping me busy jumping through hoops) there is still much to be decided. In fact, a lot of what we'll be doing is decided after our arrival. Global Volunteer Network is the program we're going through, and they like to get to know you and your strengths before they pick who does what..however, I copied and pasted a portion of the email they sent me to give a rough idea of what we'll be up to:
(and also copied these pictures that other people have taken while volunteering there)
Chronic underdevelopment in Uganda is a problem not easily solved. Remote rural living, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a subsistence economy, loss of hope, and lack of services helps to keep many orphaned children, and their extended families, dependent upon hand-outs, malnourished, and uneducated. Currently, there is no real way to generate funds at the village level to support anything other than subsistence living. Therefore, YOFAFO has developed relationships with local communities to help provide start-up funds, knowledge, and motivation all necessary to solve their respective problems in a sustainable way.
For example, at the village of Bugiri, YOFAFO has a primary school for local children. An orphanage will provide a home to 30 of the most destitute children (which may or may not be complete by November!). A school farm provides train
ing in modern commercial agriculture. After completion of school, graduates receive vocational training in farming and animal husbandry, thereby imparting knowledge and providing a food supply for the school. In order to support orphans’ extended family network YOFAFO offers training in handicrafts marketing, tailoring, carpentry and mechanics. Through these and various other community projects, local adults are able to generate income on their own, resulting in a diminishing need for outside help.
GVN volunteers complement local staff, and provide cultural exchange and life skills to the children, youth and adults. Their presence and care not only build self-worth and confidence, but give the kids a chance to have a bit of fun and express their creativity through sports and art programs. I’m sure your experience as a child mentor and elementary school tutor will really benefit local communities (expect to speak at many engagements during your stay). It may seem daunting, but even the simplest messages are very effective here. Imagine a society where children are never encouraged, never told they can achieve good things. Basic information on hygiene, nutrition, etc. is just not passed on from mother to child as in our culture.In stark contrast, our time in Paris will be mostly spent indulging in trips to museums, taking a peek at all the paintings we didn't get to see in Italy.... and probably seriously enjoying eating something other than mashed plantain and matooke (mashed unripened bananas) .
Thanks to info and donations from people I've met while serving this summer at the Gables, as well as a bunch of handy books and tips from my aunt Mary, I feel like I'm going into this at least a little prepared, but I am sure that there will be a few shocks along the way.
I'm hoping I'll be able to post regularly - ideally I'll be able to upload some photographs as well but I hear that the connections can be painfully slow so we'll see!
I'm so excited to get this journey started, but am getting a bit misty-eyed at the thought of leaving St. Andrews and all of the people in it... as well as my family and friends in Moncton and Sackville. I think I may also miss the 10 inches of hair I'm cutting off on Tuesday, but it will likely make things easier for me.
Well, I better get back to stocking up on nutrients (/eating my gram's delicious thanksgiving food)...
I will try to post a blog as soon as I land in Kenya, so there should be a new one around the 15th of October or so.
Thanks for taking an interest in my adventure!
~Julia
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