Life in Kenya and with ACCES...

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Habari!

It’s now Day 13 for us here and the days just keep getting more interesting each day I spend here in Kakamega, Kenya.

We have been VERY lucky and have had non-stop electricity since we arrived, however, Tuesday last week our luck finally ran out! We ran out of power in the morning while I was working with David, the accountant, on his computer. It’s so crazy that this happens as I’m not used to it yet. I can’t even imagine this happening in Vancouver. If we don’t have electricity, then this means no computers. If our servers or internet go down for just 15 minutes back at home in Vancouver, the office goes crazy. I can’t imagine how my work or the rest of Vancouver could handle it for an ENTIRE day?! Here it’s a normal occurrence as electricity is being rationed due to rain levels being so low thus not enough water in the rivers leading to low hydroelectricity production; a genuine sign that global warming is affecting all parts of the world.

So you are probably wondering what everyone does here when there is no power. I can’t speak for the rest of Kakamega, but for the ACCES staff they will take the opportunity on these days to go out on the field to visit schools, programs, parents and run errands that don’t require power. So this is exactly what we have been doing on days with no power. It still makes it quite challenging as you don’t know what days you have electricity or not. I was told that sometimes they publish it in the local news paper, but many times they don’t. So you may plan to work at the office to work on a report or budget that is required to be sent to Canada on a deadline, but you come into work and find there is no electricity and you have to re-schedule your day all around. This is a daily challenge that the staff have to face and the rest of the communities.

The ACCES staff…
The office staff have been a true pleasure to work with. They are so happy for us to be here and are so open to making the way they do things better and more efficient. Not to say that what they are doing is inefficient, however, it’s always good to have fresh eyes look at a process and try to improve it so that they can continue to do even more of the amazing work they are already doing. I almost feel like they are more open to change than we are back home. I know that change is hard and I am like everyone else that can get comfortable in my routine and not like change. Here the staff is just excited to see what we can help change. They also have so much energy and have the children top of mind in everything that they do. You can really tell that their hearts are with the children and their communities and they truly want to make a difference. They have many ideas of what they can do in the schools with the children and parents that not only help the children but also the surrounding communities so that they can also thrive. It’s more about communities here than the individual.
They also try to be efficient in the routines they do and try to save costs in everything that they do i.e. transportation to the schools. Instead of making 2 trips they will take the chance to make their routine visits to the schools and also deliver supplies at the same time.

School Visits…
So far we have visited 4 of the 9 Non-Formal Education schools (Primary schools that are not government run) within one week. When we were first devising our schedules for the school visits I thought that we could do a few in one day with no problem. However, on one day that we visited two schools I learnt that this wouldn’t be very easy as I didn’t account for the transportation difficulties of visiting villages. We don’t just jump in a car and simply arrive; we sometimes have to take 2 or 3 different modes of transportation to get to one village that is maybe 20 km away. So first we may jump on a Boda-Boda (a bike with a seat on the back that the passenger sits on and the biker peddles you) and then you may also have use a motorcycle where you jump on the back with the driver with no helmet (Mom, you didn’t read that!). They don’t drive fast so I didn’t feel that scared, although the dirt roads are so bumpy with potholes everywhere that you just cross your fingers you have a good driver! If the roads weren’t so bumpy then they would probably be going a lot faster so maybe it’s a good thing that the roads are bumpy! Then if you have to go somewhere further then you have to get on a Matatu which I explained in my last blog entry is a van that they pack in people to other towns and villages, but when I say pack I mean PACK. The van can probably fit 8 people still pretty tight, but they manage to squeeze in like 20 people in these vehicles and sometimes people even hang off the sides and back! It was quite the experience the first time getting on one of these things and you get nice and cozy with your neighbors. This would be so illegal in Canada and very unsafe, but this is their main way of transportation in and out of towns and villages as they don’t have public transit services like we do back home. As much as you may hate the loser cruiser and Translink at home, think of yourself as blessed to have them at home. I know I sure am now!

The school visits have been incredible for me. The children are so amazing with their smiles and excitement for life. They are so excited to see us and touch us. These children have really made my experience well worth it. The reason I am here volunteering for ACCES is ultimately to help these children that normally would not have opportunities, but because of ACCES they do. They can go to school to learn and get nourishment and have a future because of ACCES. Many children’s families cannot afford to feed them, so they only food they get all day is at school where ACCES gives them a cup of Uji (a maize/hot water mixture). Without this meal they may not eat at all for the entire day. This meal is why some of them even just come to school. Some of the children are lucky to even have a family as many of them are orphans that their parents have died from AIDS and they now have to fend for themselves and even take care of their younger siblings. Each one has their own story that is unimaginable to us and it brings tears to eyes knowing that their stories are real and that at such a young and innocent age they have to deal with extreme realities. They should be playing and learning at school and not thinking that they are hungry and have to worry how they are going to feed their brothers and sisters when they are only 8 years old. When I was 8, I was only concerned with my friends at school, my cool clothes, and hoping that I wouldn’t be picked last for our class soccer team. I got picked up from school and had dinner made and ready for me every single night without a doubt in my mind or thought that it was a privilege. The things that these kids have to deal with here are so sad and this is why I’m so happy that NGO’s like ACCES exist to help these kids be kids and can be given opportunities that to survive and go to school and get out of poverty.

Due to budget cuts because the number of donations had decreased this year, ACCES could not provide exercise books and pens/pencils to all the children, so they had asked for the parents to help purchase these. But as you can imagine many kids’ parents can barely feed their families let alone buy books. When it comes to making the choice to feed their families so they don’t starve or buy the kids school supplies, the food always wins understandably without a question. This is why many children cannot go to school here. So after hearing this feedback from all the teachers at the schools we had visited I felt that I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit and hear this over and over again. So the next morning, I bought an exercise book and a pen or pencil for each of the 1200 children in the ACCES non-formal education (primary school) program. I hope that this can help them continue to learn and give them encouragement to keep going and focus on their schooling and not have to worry this term about their supplies. I felt like it was the least I could do. We will start to deliver them tomorrow so I am excited to see their faces light up when they each get their new books and pencils and pens.

Getting to and from the villages is also an eye opener as you get to see the smaller villages, their farms, small mud huts, and nothing but pure poverty. Along the roads people are everywhere walking usually with no shoes on the red dirt roads and the children smile at you as you ride along on the motorcycle and wave at you and yell out Mazungo! (White person!) They also yell “Hello, how are you?!” They are so excited to see white people and when we are stopped on the side waiting for a bike, they will come up to you and smile and say “Hello, how are you?” in their adorable little accents and shake your hand. Then they run ahead to their friends and say “Mazungo!” to their friends and laugh. It’s incredible how happy it makes them to see us and touch us. What’s even more incredible is that they are smiling and laughing even though they are so poor and hungry and live in the most unbearable living conditions.

I truly wish that everyone in the world could have the opportunity to experience what we are experiencing here because is they got to witness what is happening in our same world with their own eyes then they wouldn’t let this happen. We would never let our own children live like this, so why let other peoples’ children live like this? I say “let” because we are letting this happen. Although Africa, its governments and people, are also letting this happen, we back home are also letting this happen and it’s so hard to witness this. We need to also take responsibility and be accountable for making Africa to what it is today. We need to do more which includes helping NGO’s like ACCES that do so much amazing work in these communities, but we also need to speak up to our governments and make them change, because they are the ones along with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others like the WTO that can make a huge difference with Africa. If we don’t pressure our government to increase aid like they promised in 2005 along with other countries at the G8 summit, then they won’t live up to their commitments. Governments do care what we think so we need to make it clear to them that we do care about poverty in Africa and ensure they live up to their commitments to help African countries. A huge reason why they even made these commitments in the first place was because of the rallying that led to the G8 summit that was pioneered but no one other than Bono from U2. Do you remember when those Live “Make Poverty History” concerts that were in numerous places all over the world in different areas at the same time? Do you remember those white plastic wristbands that wrote “Make Poverty History” which we were all buying to support the cause? I remember, but now it just feels like a memory not a reality. But because of this campaigning by people all around the world, it was taken more seriously and thus a commitment to increase foreign aid was signed by all these world leaders. So change can happen, but we need to make it happen.

On that note, I will say goodbye till next time!

I miss you all and hope that things are going well back home with one of you. Please send me updates when you can :-)

I also want to thank everyone who supported me to get here! You have helped change my life and I am so grateful for this experience.

Asante!

Karen

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Comments

[Jo-Ann Trainor]

Thank you
Hi Karen, Thank you for adding me to your blog. I've been home for a few weeks now and still not adjusted to reality. I'm soooo not ready to be back. I absolutely fell in LOVE with Africa and would do anything to be back there now. I'm at least thankful though that I can live vicariously through you. Just reading your blog brings me back to my experiences and emotions and so much of what I loved about Africa. The people are incredible...aren't they! I have never experienced love, happiness and resilience like that. I can't wait to hear more of your adventures and stories. Keep them coming! Take care. Be careful and cautious. Africa is beautiful and amazing, but still dangerous. Lots of love, Jo-Ann

[lisa]

courage!
karen, u are undoubetbly describing the most courageous acts of love thru ur words and call for change and compassion for the children of the world: a message uv peace i thank u for here... i send u luv and hugs and energy on ur beautiful contribution. we each do what we can!!! xoxoxoo! thanks for writing!