Blogs from Kisumu, Nyanza Province, Kenya, Africa - page 8

I did some great riding this weekend. We headed north and west along the shored of Windam Gulf. One might say that we got lost, but since I had no idea where we were going in the first place and no designs on getting anywhere in particular, it didn't much matter. Luckily biking through other people's shambas isn't frowned upon here. Sunday we headed northwest out of town and hit a long straight stretch of highway. Off to the right through the morning mist was Kisumu and the lake. On the left, through the burning cane fields were some sugar farms and seriously craggy cliffs. We found a great path through the fields and climbed to the base of the hills. To our surprise there were some amazing gullies created by the floods off the mountains ... read more

Last weekend was a weekend like no other. It was a hot and sticky weekend filled with laughter and learning, a weekend of discovery. Five friends and I set out on a journey to Kisumu, Kenya on the Western side of the country. It holds the second largest freshwater lake in the world. We didn’t go to see the lake, but to see my friends’ families and to be available to minister in whatever ways arose. I was filled with anticipation as I had desired to see more of this country. As we began our journey bumping down dusty, rocky roads, laden with potholes, semi-trucks, donkey carts, people, bicycles, matatus (public transportation in the form of a van) and buses, I knew it was going to be an adventure. We passed shantytowns, vendors selling their produce ... read more

Now let me tell you about a couple of organizations who stand out for me that embody the local community based approaches that are resonating with me: C-MEDA and St. Rita’s Community Based Orphanage. One has led me to the other. I first came across C-MEDA (Community Mobilization and Economic Development Agency) when I attended a good governance seminar in Nakuru my second week here. Unfortunately it has taken me a month or two to reconnect with their CEO Anne-Marie. But a conversation that Anne-Marie and I had in those early days has stayed with me. We talked about supporting orphans to stay in their home communities with a relative or friend of the family acting as guardian has stuck. This in stark contrast to institutionalizing children - pulling them out and away from their roots. ... read more

The kids at St. Theresa’s Orphanage are back from their village visits. Fatima, Hanif and I made a visit last Friday. I was finally able to deliver the cards my nephew David and my niece Emily made for Josephat. Josephat and all the kids for that matter were thrilled to receive the cards. Thank you Emily and David! I had arrived with sweets and thus was very popular. Now we had to figure out the best way to distribute to ensure everyone got a candy. Quite the feat with 40 pairs of small hands swarming me and reaching up! But ah the art of the queue…smallest to tallest …and we had order in no time. We played and I took pictures of the kids. I introduced them to a favourite game I play back home with ... read more

Early in the morning Mrs. Agesa lets the chickens out of the circular cement chicken house which is also the cook house. Then she gets a few pieces of wood and arranges them inside a circle of stones onto which she places her large sufuria filled from the rainwater collection tank. When that comes to a boil, she pours some off to a teakettle to make chai boiled with milk straight from her cows. The rest of the water goes into buckets, mixed with cold rainwater, and this is what you carry to the bathhouse to wash in. Each person gets about 1/2 bucket of water if she wants to wash, but not all Kenyans wash like this daily. The chai and some hot water goes into 4 thermoses that sit on the kitchen table all ... read more