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Published: September 17th 2009
A Hard Day Shopping
We were up ready to go to Kisumu today. We were all feeling a little bit of the fatigue from yesterday’s arduous journey to visit the grandmothers. Breakfast is served and we get through it quickly (don’t ask me how!). We arrive at the school by about 7:00am and even beat some of the students this morning. Charles arrives at about 7:20 am and we find out that he had slept in due to exhaustion from the previous day’s trek as well. Our 7:00 am taxi ride to Kisumu arrives at 7:30 am and we set out on our trip to Kisumu at 7:45 am. Not bad...
The road is rough in spots and we find out that the broken pot-holey segments of the highway are due to the pre-election violence from December of 2007 when rioters lit tires on fire on the highway. The heat broke down the pavement and, as a result, broke up the tarmac and degraded the quality of travel here. We arrive at Kisumu after almost 2 hours.
Our first order of business is to get to a Forex and cash more traveller’s cheques, Surprisingly, that goes quite well (it is usually hit and miss). We then go to the DHL to ships some important papers back to Canada that need to be signed, and then visit the local wholesale pharmacy to buy medical supplies for our new medical clinic. We spoke with the attendants there for a long time and worked out some very good prices for our project. They took the lists and promised to assemble them later in the day.
We then went to a book store to acquire some educational supplies for the school. We negotiated a good discount (10%!)(MISSING) on everything first. It was tough to make them budge at first. Once I started to purchase the supplies in large amounts, they could see that we were a good account and when we went to pay the bill I asked for an additional %! (MISSING)off, which we got. They were really helpful and aided us immensely in getting the right supplies for our kids. This is a HUGE boost for the school.
Next, we head to the Nakumatt (a sort of Kenyan Canadian Tire) and search out beds and supplies for the new volunteers centre. Once we were there looking around, we realized that it is cheaper to simply buy the mattresses here in bulk, and then have the wooden bed frames built by the local carpenter for one seventh of the price. Another great saving! We arrange delivery of the mattresses for Wednesday and move on our way after hours of negotiating and shopping.
We head back to the downtown area of Kisumu to finish some more shopping. At the local fabric shop we purchase some white material for our art project (children drawing on large white sheets) as well as a 72” X 300’ roll of bulk mosquito netting. Rather than purchasing individual mosquito nets at high prices, we can now make our own at the school with the new sewing machines Cristelle purchased last February.
Then back tot he pharmacy to find out the prices and quantities that we wish to purchase, which they promise to assemble before we return in an hour or so. Then we visit the local Mega Plaza and purchase Internet wireless keys for the school at the local Safaricom store. This takes much more time than we had anticipated so, while Charles finishes the deal, I later run up the street to the pharmacy again where we plan to meet as soon as they finish up at the plaza. The pharmacy visit goes well and we finish up quickly. It is a good purchase and we essentially get wholesale prices for the school. I pack up my boxes of medical supplies and step outside, expecting to see Charles and the girls drive up in the car,....but no one comes. Ten minutes goes by, then 20, 30, 40...and I start to get concerned. I am solicited several times, have an encounter with a pair of glue sniffing boys, gave some money to a passing child that begged for some food, and then chatted with a Kenyan man who asks whether I am an American. He is surprised to hear that I am Canadian. “You see”, he says, “I heard you respond to those boys - when they asked ‘how are you’ - that you are ‘good’. Americans usually say ‘good’, while Canadians often say ‘fine’.” That strikes me as an interesting difference, and we chat a little longer. The time passes and I decide to pack up the boxes I am carrying and head back to the Mega Plaza by foot. The streets are crowded and the day is getting late. It is almost 5pm and the sun goes down at about 6:40pm, which means the 2 hour drive will take us into the night time......not the best time to be on Kenyan highways (so many people walk on the road and it is easy to hit someone). As I near the Mega Plaza I spot everyone just getting into the car to come and get me. So we load up the car and hit the road!
Our driver, Henry, is quite skilled at manouvering around the potholes, although he is driving much faster tonight and can’t avoid hitting some of them head on. The impacts are kidney jarring, to say the least. But we actually pulled into Bumala by about 6:45 pm and the last of the rapidly receding twilight diminishes as we drop the girls off at the hotel safe. Charles and I go on to the school to unload the supplies. I meet the head of security again and he salutes me. I am not sure what I did to earn that, but I feel an instant like for him and appreciate his natural modesty and respect that he shows others. He feels to me like a man of great honour. I also meet his tow assistants who both carry bows with poison-tipped arrows. It is a strange feeling for me, but a very common practice in Africa. The night time can be unforgiving in Africa, and these men are familiar with its challenges.
I make my way back to the hotel, have a great supper, and collapse into bed. The next day will arrive too soon....
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Susan De Carlo
non-member comment
Need Shopping Ideas
Your article was interesting and entertaining to one who has just returned from a visit to Kenya. I am trying to locate on line a source from which to purchase a blackboard, chalk and erasers to be shipped to a school in Amboseli National Park. Can you help by identifying a source of school supplies in Nairobi or Mombassa that might have internet access? Any help would be much appreciated.