Blogs from Kakamega, Western Province, Kenya, Africa

Today was a good day to be in Kenya; we went out to Anton’s forest sanctuary. This paradise is located about a 15-minute drive away, just right on the edge of Kakamega rainforest. The Kakamega rainforest is a Protected rainforest forest; so admittance into the forest is prohibited unless you pay for an entry card. Anton’s land borders the forest boundary line. This plot has been transformed from an industrial sugar cane field, into a thriving ecosystem full of life that was originally removed for cash crop farming. In Kenya the farmers cash in on Sugar cane, because it grows well and pays even better. This is not a sustainable process for the locals because they dedicate most of their usable farmland to grow sugar, but you cant feed your Children sugar cane all year. I ... read more

We've had an evenful trip and are on our return now. We spent three days in Kitale/Liavo teaching at the school and spending time with the orphans at the Children's Home. Florence took good care of us. Gary and Timothy have spent endless hours on the phone trying to resolve the shipping issues of the containers. The broker is attempting every delaying tactic most likely for a bribe. Gary fired him and now is working with a woman who is at least attempting to resolve issues. Besides the school building we had so many books and supplies to distribute to various places in the ministry. So we are disappointed with that setback. We enjoyed the drive to Kisumu. The city is in a lush valley on the shore of Lake Victoria. From there it is only ... read more

Easter weekend we decided to visit the Guppies up at Eldama Ravine. Having family close by is not something we are used to, so having family in the same country is very special for us. They live 3-4hrs away, north west of Nairobi. It was our nieces 11th birthday, and she had a safari party, which was lots of fun. It was nice to walk around the farm they are living on, and breathe fresh air, and for the kids to see farm animals again. After a false start on a safari to Baringo, we towed one car back and half of the group went on. On their boat trip they saw crocs and fish eagles going for the same fish, apparently very cool. They had a good day. Meanwhile Max was hanging about waiting for ... read more

Nach dem Zwischenstopp in Webuye geht es Richtung Kakamega landschaftlich im gleichen Stil weiter: Grünflächen bis zum Horizont und überall Zuckerrohrplantagen. Nach langer Zeit hab ich wieder mal die Gelegenheit, den süssen Geschmack von Zuckerrohr zu geniessen. Der Stiel des Zuckerrohrs wird "geschält" und danach beisst man sich Stücke davon ab, um diese im Mund zu zerkauen. Dadurch wird der Saft des Zuckerrohrs freigegeben. Sweet!!! Bevor wir Kakamega erreichen, fahren wir eine kurze Strecke durch den Kakamega Forest. Man hat das Gefühl, plötzlich in einem Urwald zu sein.... read more

Jenn flew to Kenya for a week to help Manna Energy Limited with a consulting project to distribute 1 million water filters to families without access to clean drinking water. Inside the Nairobi airport, there was a man waiting at the bottom of the escalator, and Jenn asked, “First time?” He nodded, they linked arms, and on the count of three stepped on. At the top, he burst out laughing with relief. Next, Jenn climbed aboard a small plane to Kisumu, in western Kenya. The runway in Kisumu was pretty rough and the baggage claim consisted of standing next to the plane until the suitcases were unloaded. From there, Jenn rode in a pickup truck for an hour until reaching Kakamega, seeing a beautiful orange sunset along the way. Manna designed a program for use on ... read more