Kenya: some final thoughts

It is my second day back in D.C. and I still don't know quite where I am.  This "reverse culture shock" is quite interesting.  I see things a bit differently now.  I look at how absolutely extravagant everything feels now.  How even a $5 latte at Starbucks seems ridiculous when you think about what that money could do in Kenya and how most families in Kibera live on less than half that per day.  Crazy.

There are some things I wanted to write about before I forget:

Obsessive cleanliness at malls and public places

I still don't quite understand this.  When I walked down Ngong road from Shalom House to Junction Mall, there would be litter everywhere on the side of the road.  In Nairobi it's not uncommon to see piles of trash (including plastic) on fire on the side of the road.  This is very common in Kibera (also in Kibera there are HUGE trash heaps as the city considers it an "unrecognized settlement" so they don't do any trash pickup.... a reason Carolina for Kibera's Trash is Cash program is all the more ingenious. 

Then you get to the mall and there are people obsessively sweeping and mopping the floors.  At Shalom house they mopped the floors twice a day (despite the fact that the tile is from the 50's and will never really be clean again).  The dichotomy between dirty and clean was so strange and hard to understand.

Being mistaken for a missionary 3 times in an hour

Last Saturday I walked from the National Museum to the city center where I visited the Masai Market in the parking lot of the court house building.  As I didn't spend much time in the central business district, I wasn't quite prepared for the hustling that went on.  I was wearing my Children of Kibera Foundation t-shirt, which in retrospect wasn't a good idea.  At the market a lot of people were asking questions about why I'd want to spend time in Kibera.  One gentlemen was quite angry, saying that Kibera isn't a "real" slum because of all the white people pumping in money and resources.  He said where he lived was the real slum and why wasn't I helping there?  You just don't have answers to questions like that.  And it's not a good feeling.

Three different people stopped me and asked me if I was a missionary.  I said no. (Little do they know...)!

Christianity everywhere

Christianity is everywhere in Kenya.  Most of the matatus have Christian slogans all over them and some are even "Christian themed."  I took one matatu to Prestige Plaza mall that had bible verses all over the inside and was playing a sermon from an American church on the radio very loudly.  Even on the "regular" (non-Christian) radio stations, there are overt Christian messages.  There are many churches.  Many BIG churches... which begs the question:

Why are there massive churches but not enough houses for everyone?

I really struggle with this.  The Lutherans are building a HUGE national church on Ngong road not far from where I stayed.  The largest non-mall or government building I saw in Nairobi was the Baptist Church.  There is one church on the outskirts of Kibera awaiting a building which has erected four HUGE tents in the meantime.  I really don't understand why these churches would rather have sanctuaries than provide housing. 

Next steps

What I'm really struggling with now is how I will use this information to inform choices about next steps in my life.  How can I incorporate my love of travel, African music, African culture, music education and choral conducting?  How does it all fit together?  Any insights are welcome. 

Kenya: farewell for now

I am soon off to the airport to fly home. 

I have met so many amazing people here.... seen so many things.  Challenging things.  Inspiring things.  Perplexing things.  Life-changing things.  I feel so connected do Mother Africa.  I feel so connected to African music.  How this will play into my life's path in the upcoming months and years may be difficult to understand.  But I know that being here has been good for me on so many levels.

This is only the first of many trips to Kenya.  So for now, goodbye, but not for long.

Kenya: last day

 

Moi Girls High School Nairobi Choir

I can't believe this is my last morning in Kenya!! Time has gone by WAY too quickly.  I will keep this brief as I need to practice for my drum lesson and get out the door, but:

I have had the opportunity to meet with the Kenyan Boys Choir twice.  I got a private concert at their rehearsal (outside under some trees at the National Arboretum) Thursday evening and last night during their exchange concert with Moi Girls High School.  The Choir from Moi has won the national music competition in Kenya the past two years.  They are fantastic.  What a cool evening this was.

I have had two music lessons with my amazing (and incredibly patient) teacher Festus from Bomas of Kenya.  Today I have my final lesson after my morning farewell at Red Rose School.  I will go to meet the wife and baby of one of the gentlemen from the Children of Kibera office this afternoon and then do some final packing and head off to the airport.  

There are many more memories to share here which I'll have to do either this evening or when I get home.  In the meantime, THANK YOU to everyone who made this trip financially possible.  It has been nothing less than life-changing and I feel so lucky to be here. 
 

The boys warming up

 

 

Kenya: one thing I forgot

I love this Coke ad.  You see it quite a bit around Nairobi.

Kenya: Ramblings and Anatomy of a Field Trip

I've now been in Kenya three weeks and with my time here growing extremely short, I want to try to remember the little things.  For example:

*Small businesses and painting.  There are TONS of small business ventures everywhere.  Everyone's trying to make a buck.  If I go out to the main road (Ngong Rd.) from my guest house, there are men making gorgeous wooden and wicker furniture, women selling fruits and vegetables, car repair places, pubs, a lumber yard, etc.  Many of these small business are just primitive shacks on the side of the road.  Some of them are painted red and have Coke advertising (Coke has a monopoly here-- no Pepsi allowed in Kenya!).  Some fences are painted light blue and bear the slogan "If you like it, Crown it!".

*The traffic here is horrible.  I will never complain about DC traffic ever again.  The driving is worse.  It's something that needs to be seen to be believed, truly.

*I have seen very few people begging since I've been here-- maybe 4 or 5.  This shocks me.  With the astronomical level of unemployment here and the many people who are struggling financially, my American bias made me expect more of this.  People in Kenya want to earn their living (hence all the small business ventures as described above).  There's something really noble about that.

*The radio stations we listened to on the way back from 14 Falls yesterday (more on that below) are all playing the hits from summer 2010 in the USA.  Strange.

*Tusker is one of the beers brewed by East African Breweries Keyna.  It's pretty good.

*M-Pesa is a service provided through Safaricom, the major cell phone provider in Kenya.  It basically turns your phone into a mobile bank account.  You can pay all your utilities with it and even pay for cabs and other daily expenses.  In talking with some Kenyan friends about this, a major reason for its existence is the need to send money to relatives outside Nairobi.  Many Kenyans, even those who have their career in Nairobi, return to their ancestral/tribal country to retire.  People used to have to have someone carry money (which would often mysteriously disappear) or wire money which involved paying high fees.  M-Pesa makes transfer of funds easy and instantaneous.  Cell phone technology is very efficient here-- like Europe there is a "pay as you go" system.  You put Ksh 500 (500 Shillings) on your phone and when your credit is gone, you buy more.  A call within Kenya costs very little (1-20 Shillings) and calls to the US cost Ksh 10-50 (less than $1).

*Taxis here have no meter.  You need to negotiate the price of your trip before you leave.  For non-Kenyans this can be tricky.  I know I'm being over-charged.  What can you do?!

Yesterday I chaperoned the Red Rose Schoool field trip.  There were separate trips for the little kids (baby class through Class 3) and the bigger kids (Classes 4-8).  The little ones went to the Wilson Airport to watch planes take off and then to a few kid-friendly museums in Nairobi (I think they went to the snake park).  The bigger kids went to 14 Falls outside the town of Thika.  A "superhighway" connects Nairobi and Thika-- this is one of the many infrastructure projects being financed and built by the Chinese.  Since the discovery of coal reserves in Kenya, China is investing huge amounts of money in roads to get the coal to Mombassa (the port city on the Indian Ocean) to be carried back to China by boat.  They're also building a massive beltway (which crosses the hill bordering Kibera) to alleviate traffic on some of Nairobi's major streets.

So the chronology of yesterday went something like this:

The principal told me the trip would leave at 7:00 a.m.

6:36 a.m. -- Picked up by Daddyz, the friend of my driver (George) who was unavaialble
6:46 a.m. -- Dropped off at the bank in Kibera because the driver doesn't know where the school is
6:49 a.m. -- Picked up at the bank by the Red Rose principal who takes me to the lower (little kids) campus
7:00 and on -- I am greeting the little ones as they come to school
7:30 a.m. -- Two women have started a fire and are boiling water in a MASSIVE pot.  They're making pilau (a Kenyan dish of rice with chunks of beef and some Indian spices) to take on the trip to 14 falls.:
8:00 -- Still hanging out with the kids.  Some teachers begin to arrive at school.
8:45 -- Still hanging out.  The kids start talking about the bus being lost.
9:00 -- The lower school teachers gather for chai (tea) and chapati.  I join.
9:15 -- Still waiting.
9:45 -- I go to the upper campus with Teach Lilian.  They are loading the bus.  A huge, pink 35 (or maybe 40) seat bus arrives for 70 kids, a guide and 2-3 teachers.  They start piling in (2-3 kids per seat).  Kids are sitting on each others laps.
9:55 -- Teacher Lilian, Teacher Obed and I walk to the lower campus where the principal is loading flats of soda, utensils/plates and the pilau into the trunk of his car.  A few teachers load into the car and we're off at about 10:05.

We get to Thika and it's clear no adult in the car knows where 14 falls is.  We ask 4-5 people on the roadside for directions and finally make it.  We pass a police checkpoint not far from the pull off to the falls.  I'm still not clear what they're checking for.

The bus arrives and we pull in.  Immediately the teachers are approached by some men who are trying to sell them guide/boat services.  The principal negotiates.  The kids take a quick bathroom break and then we are off on our adventure.  We piled into boats to cross the river to an island where we've got a great view of the falls.  At the parking lot and throughout the day there are people selling food, snacks, soda/water, and photos.  The photo business is quite ingenious-- they've got photo printers powered by car batteries under trees.  They take your photo at the falls, print the photo, and sell it to you (of course you can negotiate the price-- this is Kenya).  One of the Class 8 girls got hers for Ksh 20.  On the island, we had a photo opportunity, saw some guys diving off the falls and learned from our guide about the site and its origins.  Then we crossed back over on the boats and found a nice shady spot with some trees to have our lunch.

After lunch we walked up stream a short ways to find a place for kids to swim.  This was, without a doubt, the highlight of the day.  Most of these kids had never been swimming before in their lives.  The absolute, pure, sheer delight of this experience is something I will never forget.

 Then it was back to Nairobi.  We departed just after 4:00 pm (the time we were supposed to arrive home).  It took about 90 minutes to get to Nairobi, and about an hour and 45 minutes to navigate through Friday evening rush hour traffic.  We were at some stop lights for over 10 minutes.

The thing about rush hour traffic in Nairobi is that it becomes really difficult for me to breathe.  Between the dust and the exhaust, it's very difficult to find fresh air.  Rough.  Very rough.

Oh, one more word about taxis.  They're constantly driving around on E.  Petrol here costs Ksh 108 per liter.  If my calculations are right, it would cost ~$100 US to fill up their tank.  No wonder people are always stopping in at the gas station for small fill-ups!

We got to Kibera just as the sun was setting, so I hopped on a matatu to Prestige Plaza mall to pick up a few small things from Nakumatt and visit the ATM.  George picked me up from there and it was a quiet evening at Shalom House (dinner at L'Arena in the compound and early to bed).

Today I'm supposed to have a class at Bomas of Kenya, but they have been unresponsive.  I think I will visit the National Museum in the meantime.  

It was really cool to be a part of this experience.  Many of these kids have VERY few opportunities to leave Nairobi.  For them yesterday was the one field trip opportunity they get all school year.

Photos from yesterday:

One word on the last photo.  There is trash everywhere here.  I expected Kibera to have a trash problem (there is no regular trash collection there).  But in Nairobi and at 14 Falls (which could be a gorgeous, pristine area), there is trash-- mostly plastic bags.  When I put some litter in my pocket yesterday one of the Red Rose kids told me it was OK to throw it on the ground.  I said I'd rather not...

Many more thoughts are swimming around in my head.  More tomorrow perhaps. 

Kenya: living like a local

Today I had every intention of sleeping in but was up at 6:30 (the time I've gotten up every day since I arrived).  For the first time since arriving in Kenya, I went on a morning run outside the gates of the compound of the guest house I'm staying in.  It's hard to find places to run in Nairobi.  It was certainly a unique run (and I was certainly the only muzungu out running!!). 

I headed to Red Rose for a day of observing and teaching.  I taught the civil rights anthem "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" to Classes 4 & 8.  I had a spot of chapati and chai in the (incredibly tiny) teacher's lounge.  I had lunch with the students (rice and lentils) and spent some more time with them.  Around 3, one of the CoKF staffers, Seje, brought me to Bomas of Kenya, where I'll be taking some classes before I depart.  We from the school in Kibera to Bomas via matatu, a popular mode of transportation here.  It was nice to finally travel like the locals rather than rolling in and out of Kibera in a 30 passenger bus, which you can imagine is quite conspicuous.  There were three legs on three separate vehicles:

*From Kibera to Prestige Plaza Mall on the #8
*From Prestige Plaza to Galleria Mall in Karen on the #111
*From Karen to Bomas

A matatu ride costs 10-30 Kenyan shillings (10-50 cents US), depending on how far you're going.  Matatu drivers are constantly pulling off the pavement onto very bumpy and unpredictable shoulders of the road.  Different matatus have very different kinds of music, through reggae is the music du jour here from what I can guess.  The most popular radio station in Nairobi seems to be Ghetto Radio.  All these little pieces of Kenyan culture are fascinating to observe.

Between two legs of the matatu ride to Bomas, Seje bought me a bag of sliced up sugar cane bits from a street vendor.  Delicious.

I will return to Bomas Saturday, Sunday and Monday to take courses in Kenyan traditional music.  I hope to come back with several folks songs to re-teach and possibly arrange.  I will also chaperone the Red Rose School field trip to Thika on Friday. 

Tomorrow I have a session with the Kenyan Boy's Choir before a dinner with good friends of my cousin Wendy.  Things are coming together quite swimmingly.  Tonight I'm off for dinner with an acquaintance from DC. 

Kenya: one more video

Here is class four serenading Courtney and I last Friday at Red Rose.  Such amazing energy.  Indescribable.  I can't wait to see these kids tomorrow.

Kenya: HS group farewell, next steps

The 15 DC-area high school students and their two other U.S. chaperones are leaving Kenya tonight to return home.  We just had our final reflections on what this trip has meant to us and what we will do with our new found insights going forward. For me these questions are much more complicated.  How do I combine my passion for choral music, international travel & development, Africa, and the Children of Kibera Foundation and Red Rose School.  I know that this will be a large part of my life moving forward.  Know that I plan to chat with each of you personally about this experience and how we can help these kids who are so incredibly deserving.

This morning we visited Kibera Paper, another fantastic small business giving employment opportunities to Kibera citizens.  They receive large trash bags full of shredded paper from Nairobi area banks.  From there they break it down into a slurry/pulp and then create new artisan paper with which they make greeting cards.  I got to help cut some paper and met one of the artists who is hired to do some paintings for the greeting cards.  They are beautiful.  From Kibera Paper we visited the elephant orphanage inside Nairobi National Park.  We got to pet some baby elephants and learn about their work.  They rescue abandoned elephants from all around Africa. 

In the meantime, a silly video of me "getting down" at Buru Buru Girls Boarding School.  The adage about white folks not being able to dance really is true! ;)

Kenya: Teary Friday at Red Rose, Maasai Mara National Park/Game Reserve

Friday was an emotion-packed day as our American high school students bid farewell to their Red Rose students.  It was very powerful and very touching.  After the normal Friday morning rally (for the baby class through class 8), it was back to classrooms for presentations, songs and goodbye speeches.  When Courtney and I got back to Class 4, they'd prepared a solid twenty minutes of singing and dancing for us.  Phenomenal.  The energy and spirit of these kids is transfixing... intoxicating.  I've never seen or heard anything like it.  After that, they presented gifts to us!  The kids took a collection to get Courtney and I some locally made bead jewelry and a homemade wooden spoon.  This floored me.  Students whose families live on as little as $2 a day buying us gifts.  Craziness.  Then it was on to a farewell assembly where each class performed 2-5 songs.  I led my kids through "Yonder Come Day" and "America the Beautiful," which I'd taught them.  I'm looking forward to teaching more songs this week!!  Next on the docket is "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round," an Civil Rights Era song.

Receiving a beaded "Africa" bracelet at the farewell performance on Friday.

With most of Class 4.  Amazing kids.

Friday we also visited Mama Ngina Orphanage in Nairobi, which houses abandoned children ages 0-18.  We got to tour their facilities and play with the toddlers and adolescents and even hold some adorable babies.  Here's our group there upon arrival:

Saturday morning we were up early and off on to the Maasai Mara National Park & Game Reserve in Western Kenya.  Once you get to a town called Narok, the paved road ends.  From there to our lodge it was about two hours of what we were calling the "safari massage."  Let me tell you it leave something to be desired. ;)

After a short game drive and a lovely dinner (preceded by a song and dance presentation by some local Maasai warriors), it was to bed early.  Sunday we were out all day from 8 am until 4 pm and saw some great animals.  I saw my first Cheetah, Leopard, and Lion on this trip!  So exciting.  We saw ostrich, hippos, crocodile, giraffe, vultures (devouring some kind of antelope or wildebeest remains), zebra, elephants and lots of cool birds.  

The Maasai are an interesting group to learn about.  I can't quite find an exact North American analogy, but the Native Americans would be close I believe.  They are just one of the 47 tribes in Kenya.  They are a nomadic people-- herders.  Their wealth is measured in the number of livestock they have (they are also polygamists... 10 cows buys you a new wife!).  The Maasai wear red frocks and gorgeous beads.  Some have the large hanging earlobes from years of stretching.  From my perspective they seem to be the most publicized of all the tribes, though they are small in number.  For example, when you buy Kenya postcards at the Nakumatt, they are all animals with the exception of a few postcards showing Maasai men and women dressed in traditional garb.  The lodge we stayed at in the Mara was a bit kitschy, with a Maasai warrior greeting you upon arrival.  This morning we visited a "traditional" Maasai village on our way back.  It was interesting to see the mud huts and to hear about some of the traditions... but one wonders how authentic it all is. A great, quick read about Maasai life is in Facing the Lion.

So now it's back in Nairobi.  The group of high school students leaves tomorrow and I am on my own for about a week.  I will spend some more time at Red Rose, take some drumming and singing classes at Bomas of Kenya, observe rehearsals of the Kenyan Boys Choir and see some friends of friends.  Next weekend I also plan to see some more Nairobi tourist sites. 

Maasai Mara.  Beautiful country.

Participating in a traditional Maasai jumping ritual.

With Ken Okoth, CoKF Founder & Executive director (and my roommate on safari)

Kenya: Such love for these kids...

Today I went to the lower campus (baby class [age 3] through class 3) today during break time.  There were endless games, songs and dances.  The energy in that alley was exhilarating!

It's been another busy few days in Nairobi.  We've once again been at Red Rose School each morning for teaching and volunteering.  I've been letting the high school student also assigned to my class (Std. 4) do some teaching... but I've also taught some songs, including "Yonder Come Day" and "We Shall Overcome."  We also did a bit of solfege (some of the kids knew the "Do Re Mi" song from The Sound of Music!).

I am absolutely in love with these kids.  I can't describe to you how incredibly kind and humble they are.  Sarah, our American trip leader, is a math resource teacher and brought a huge bag of plastic compasses and used plastic rulers.  When we brought a class set of compasses in the other day, you'd have thought it was the best thing they'd ever seen.  They stared at the packages for a minute or two in utter disbelief.  Amazing.  It really puts things in perspective.  I will never look at money the same way ever again.  I am a bit worried that my life will feel utterly exorbitant when I get home.  I can tell you one thing, once I pay off my credit cards, every cent of my extra cash is going to this school and these kids.  If you can afford it, it costs $360 to sponsor a Red Rose student for one year.  I will help facilitate this sponsorship if you're interested.

Tuesday afternoon we were toured around Kibera by the staff of Carolina for Kibera, an NGO started by a UNC alumni and ex-marine.  I read the story if the founding of this group in the book It Happened on the Way to War, which I highly recommend.  Yesterday afternoon we visited Bura Bura Girls Boarding High School in East Nairobi.  It was interesting to meet these girls and learn about their lives and their educational experiences.  We had an opportunity to meet Vane, one of the ten high school scholars sponsored by Children of Kibera Foundation.  Ten scholars received an all-expenses paid scholarship out of a pool of 600 applicants.  We attended the academic assembly for the end of term at Bura Bura where the administrators and teachers announce the academic standings-- the top student in each subject and then the top ten students in each class.  Vane was the #1 student in Form 4 (equivalent to to American 12th grade). See photo below.

Tomorrow the high school students I'm with bid farewell to the Red Rose students.  I'm not even leaving and it's tomorrow and I'm already getting sad.  I can't imagine how hard it's going to be to leave these kids.

Photos, in no particular order:

 Chaperone Margaret Halpin did some art with Class 6

 

At Buru Buru Girls Boarding School.  In the front from left to right: Jeff Okoth, Vane (CoKF High School Scholar), Buru Buru administrator.

 Chatting with students at Bura Bura

 

Having dinner with Bura Bura's music teacher and Ken Okoth.  I had my first serving of ugali, a Kenyan staple food. 

 This is Sandra from my class.  She's pretty awesome... and she wears her Obama hat every day!

 Walking through Kibera.

 

We had the students do an art project where they could draw a magical invention.  I thought this was very sweet.

I love these kids so much.  

Kenya: Back to Red Rose, Home Visit, Masai Market

Today we were back to Red Rose.  Here is a short of the morning meeting.  Several songs were sung and announcements given.  It's amazing how uninhibited these students are about singing.  It's so natural for them.  That's perhaps my favorite thing about being here.  There's none of this self conscious nonsense most Americans have about singing. 

After a couple morning lessons, I went with four of our high school students and some CoKF staff to visit the home of three red rose girls-- in classes 6, 3 and 1.  The two older girls walked with us.  Being in Kibera has been fascinating but once you get off the main roads and into the windy spaces where people live... it's a completely different story.  The odors are bad and intense... the spaces are narrow.... sewage runs through trenches in the street...

Visiting this home was so powerful.  Again, it's beyond any words or images I can put here.  Mercy (class 6) is being raised by her single aunt as both her parents are deceased.  In total there are eighth people living in their one-room house (about 8' x 11' I'd imagine).  Cooking in done on a small electric stove next to the bed.  One girl sleeps on the floor and several of them in small armchairs.  The rest share the bed.  The aunt sells vegetables so must rise and be out of the house between 4 and 5 a.m. to get to the central market before the quality vegetables are picked over.  She returns to Kibera and sets the vegetables out on a sack and sells them.  She earns about $60 USD a month and pays $30 in rent.  Mercy is up and out before 6 a.m.  She is a very promising student.  Her aunt spoke of how proud she was of Mercy.  It was very difficult for our high school students to be in this situation but I hope it will give them some perspective about how incredibly lucky we all are to have so many resources. 

We also experienced our first bit of Nairobi corruption today.  On the way to the Masai Market (where you bargain for your wares) we were stopped by the police and told we didn't have the proper permit to play music on the radio in the bus!!  Unbelievable.  It cost KES 7,000 ($85 USD).  Our driver, Joe, who is AMAZING, was mortified.  I felt really bad.

 

One of the other chaperones taught me how to bargain at the market today.  I didn't let my guilt get the best of me.  I did pretty well! :)

Kenya: Lake Nakuru National Park and Back

 Giraffes are amazing.  We saw many of them at Lake Nakuru.

I am back in Nairobi after one night at Lake Nakuru National Park where we did two game drives -- one yesterday afternoon and one this morning.  I saw many amazing animals-- impalas, gazelles, giraffes, white rhinos, pink flamingos (!!), warthogs, baboons, monkeys, and many kids of birds.  I am still hoping to see a leopard, cheetah and lion at Maasai Mara next weekend.  I've still never seen any of them!

After we returned we ate a quick lunch then headed to Red Rose for the afternoon meeting of the boys and girls clubs.  Children of Kibera Foundation and LitWorld (an NGO based in NYC) partner to provide this safe place for kids from Kibera (not only Red Rose students) to come Sunday afternoons.  The program is reading/literacy based, but there are other activities as well.  I helped a group of students in a very energetic and suspenseful spelling bee.

Tomorrow we're back at Red Rose.  I will be doing a fair amount of teaching this week which I'm very excited about!!  I am planning to do a small unit on songs of the Civil Rights Movement and Emancipation. 

Tonight in the reflection time for the students they were asked three things that they are thinking about that they will continue to think about long after they leave.  I don't have time to expound upon these ideas now, but in bullet point form for now:

• Who do Americans fail to think about Africa?  Why do we fail to learn enough about Africa (and other continents for that matter) in school?
• How can I bring some of this amazing Red Rose School Kenyan spirit back to my students in Washington?  They are SO, so incredibly driven.  Most kids arrive at school at 7 and are there until 5 or 7 p.m.  They love being there because they love to learn.  Inspiring.
• What I can do to help Children of Kibera Foundation run and fund their programs.  It is truly an amazing organization. 

 Ok, that's all for tonight.  I need to sleep.  More tomorrow hopefully.

Kenya: Lake Nakuru and more photos

Greetings from Lake Nakuru National Park.  We are on a short safari weekend here before heading back to Nairobi tomorrow.  Here are some photos I didn't have time to upload before we left...

July 4th Field Day at Red Rose School

Feeding a giraffe at the Giraffe Center (Nairobi)

 

Myself, Anna, and Ken leading patriotic songs on July 4

 

Face paint!

On July 4 we walked from the upper campus to the lower campus for a school-wide lunch.  It was my first time there and the kids were SO excited to show me their computer lab!

One of the performers at our lodge in Lake Nakuru National Park.  Before dinner there was a performances of traditional songs and dances from the many Kenyan tribes.

Kenya: July 4, Mind Boggling Experiences and Giraffes!

It is nearly impossible to put into to words what this experience is like and what it means to me.  I am so absolutely blown away by these kids, by this place, by these people.  How is it possible for such joy to come from people who live in such deplorable conditions?  

July fourth was a fun day at Red Rose School... we had an extended break in the morning followed by a school-wide lunch provided by the parents and school, then a field day on a patch of dirt adjacent the railroad tracks where we had face painting, sack races, relays, Kenyan tug of war (no rope!!) and a couple epic games of soccer (during the first game of Americans vs. Red Rose School faculty, I played goalie and blocked two shots!).  At the end of the afternoon we sang "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful," and the "Star Spangled Banner," all of which the Red Rose students learned.  The experience of staring into the beautiful faces of 250 Kenyan students with red white and blue face paint singing American patriotic songs was surreal to say the least.  I must say that the Red Rose kids sang the American national anthem way better than 75% of Americans ever will! 

These kids are SO eager to learn new things.  Even simple games I play with my American kids (who I'm sure think they're pretty lame) bring such joy to these kids.  During the extended break on July 4, I taught a group of students "Yonder Come Day," the song I always teach my choir kids on the first day of school.  Today all morning I heard it echoing through the walls of Red Rose.  They love singing.  They love dancing.  They are free and uninhibited.  They are wondrous.

We have also spent time at Kibra Academy (public, third tier) high school and Olympic High School (provincial, second tier).  We also visited Olympic Primary School, the largest public primary school in Kenya.  It has 3,300 students and 28 teachers.  Class sizes are as large as 110 students. 

Today we spent some time at the Giraffe Center and Kazuri bead factory after our morning at Red Rose.  Tomorrow we are off to Lake Nakuru to go on safari! 

Class 4- My class!

Meeting and greeting students from Kibra Academy

Leading an impromptu singing session on July 4

For me this picture sort of sums up what this trip is all about...

Kenya: first day at Red Rose School

I'll keep it brief here tonight.   I need to spend some time developing my thoughts in my written journal.  My head is spinning with questions and ideas.

Today was our first day at Red Rose School, a small school run by the Children of Kibera Foundation.  I have been assigned to Class 4 (ages 9-12, mostly 11 year olds... similar to American fifth grade).  Today we observed three classes (for us Kiswahili, English and Religion).  We'll do some more shadowing this week and then I hope to jump in and do some teaching starting later this week or early next week.

This is my new favorite picture.  All the kids in my class wanted to try taking pictures.  Clearly some of didn't know this was being taken.

Courtney is the high school student also assigned to Class 4. 

Teacher George -- English.  Today's lesson was on changing past tense sentences to present tense.

The school is amazing.  The KIDS are amazing.  Some students rise as early at 4:30 a.m. to get to school (on foot-- one boy in Class 4 walks 15 km one way).  They arrive at school by 6 a.m. and are in classes until 5 p.m.  There are two short breaks and a lunch period during the day.

The schools in Kenya are very much built on the traditional English system.  Students wear uniforms (for Red Rose students, red socks, khaki pants or shorts, a white and red striped undershirt and a red sweater).  Students in Class 4 sit in rows and are basically impeccably behaved.  I have never seen 10 and 11 year olds so focused in my life.  Tremendous.  They are very funny.  During the break they asked me a lot of questions, including:

• "What did you want to be when you were a little boy?" (explaining what an archaeologist is can be very tricky I found out today). 
• "What is your favourite football (Premiere League Soccer) team?"
• "How old are you?"

I was amazed by their knowledge of current events.  They wanted to know if I'd heard the story about the death of Kenyan minister George Saitoti a few weeks back.

After lunch, we spent some time with the Power Women of Kibera group.  This group of ~20 women started as a group of HIV/AIDS infected mothers who started to save a small amount of money to help each other buy medicine for themselves and their children (between the 20 of them, they are raising 72 children-- their biological children and others).  They have expanded their business and sell beautiful homemade beaded jewelry and handbags.  They taught us how they make their wares and we were able to make something.  I made a great necklace.  They are expanding and adding a salon onto their existing shop in Kibera.  What an amazing group of women!  I grew quite attached two my two "Kibera moms," Doreena & Caro. SUPPORT THESE WOMEN!  Click here!

 

Upon arrival back at Shalom House the students had a journal prompt and we had some very interesting discussions about their impressions of Kenya/Kibera/Red Rose School/etc. so far.  It so cool getting to experience this trip but also to see it through their eyes.

Kenya: days 1 & 2

Saturday

In the afternoon I was picked up by Ken Okoth, founder and executive director of Children of Kibera Foundation, who was touring with one of the young ladies joining the trip I'm a chaperone on, and her father.  Ken took us into Kibera.  In many ways it was what I was expecting and in many ways it wasn't.  First of all, driving in Nairobi (Kibera or otherwise) is insane.  People in the street, cars/matatus/busses/mopeds/bikes/wild animals coming into your lane, pot holes and an alarmingly small number of traffic signs/signals (after two days I've yet to see a stop sign). 

There are a lot of shocking things to see in Kibera-- and we were in one of the nicer sections.  We visited two homes-- that of Ken's brother Jeff (who picked me up from the airport) and the house Ken grew up in.  The small nursery school is the place in Kibera President Obama visited in 2006 when he was still a Senator (they showed us the guest book where he signed).  The director of the school, Hamza, is a woman I'll never forget.  I'm going to make a point to go back and get my picture taken with her later this week.

Ken told us that there was a wedding going on down the street and took the three mzungu's ("English speaking" in Swahili).  Kibera started as a settlement for Nubians from Sudan after the first world war and most Nubians in Kenya are Muslim.  Ken explained that the Muslim wedding is a three day affair.  On the first day, the women in the wedding party decorate their bodies with elaborate designs in henna.  On the second day, the groom and a male representing the bride (her father, uncle or brother) meet to officially seal the union and sign the marriage certificate (the bride signs it later).  On the third day, there is a party!  There must have been 300+ people at the wedding, with the women decked out in the most amazing traditional dresses.  Dress for the men ranged from very casual to some very fancy suits.  There was A LOT of traditional food (men were served first, then the women).  Below is a picture of the procession of the bridal party.  The bride veiled in red-- can you find her?  Ken and his brother explained this was a very progressive party-- usually the bride is kept in a secluded location.  To have her walk in hand-in-hand with her new husband is apparently very "modern."

After the wedding, Ken drove us around downtown Nairobi.  We saw the President's home, Parliament (which he's currently running for a seat in), the Nairobi convention center and other major downtown landmarks.  Here's a slightly blurry view of the skyline.

After a lovely dinner downtown with the family of another young lady joining the trip Ken, the two girls and I headed to the airport to meet the bulk of the group coming from Washington via Amsterdam.  We hit major traffic on the way and were a bit late.  The group arrived a bit bleary eyed but mostly happy and in good spirits.  We stopped for some Kenyan fast food chicken and then headed to Shalom House (pictured below) for lights out.

Sunday

This morning we got up, had breakfast and headed an hour outside Nairobi for a tour of the Kiambethu Tea Farm, a small operation. We were early so stopped in for the end of the service at All Souls Church near the tea farm.  From the farm's brochure: "Situated at 2,200 metres (7,000 feet).... Kiambethu has been the family home of one of the earliest tea growers in Kenya.  The farm dates back to 1910 and the present house, set amidst colourful gardens, has been home to four generations."  We heard an explanation of how tea is planted, grown, harvested, and processed.  Fascinating!  We took a walk through the grounds with a Kikuyu guide (pictured below) who pointed out the interesting wildlife and plants.  We had a lovely lunch there then headed to the Ngong hills for a lovely photo op.

This evening it was a trip the Junction mall and a trip to the Nakumatt and dinner at the Nairobi Java House.  The students are about to settle in for bed.  Our first day at Red Rose School is tomorrow.... can't wait!  G'night.