Masaai Mara & Lake Nakuru

It's been 9 days since my last confession ... I mean blog!! Sorry it's taken me so long for any updates but Dom and I have spent the last weekend roughing it in Masaai Mara & Lake Nakuru on a four day adventure safari!!! I would put pictures up ... but this computer doesn't seem to want to accept my camera so you can check out Dom's blog, or be patient and wait until I get home to put some up, you choose :)

Masaai Mara & Lake Nakuru are almost too beautiful to put into words, or even to capture on film, but I will do my best to share the experience with you. Just picture everything you've ever seen on television and movies about the "African Landscape", but then add the smells and sounds of nature at its finest, and elephants within ten feet of your safari van, and you're almost there. Then to top it off ... play the soundtrack to "The Lion King" in your mind for four straight days and you'll have an idea of what it was like for me.

Our safari (KiSwahili for "journey") began Friday morning bright and early for a four hour drive to Lake Nakuru with out good ole pal and guide Barry taking the wheel. Once we arrived and settled into our "budget lodge" it was off for a late afternoon game drive through Lake Nakuru. As soon as we got there it was animals left, right and centre. We saw White Rhinos with new little babies, warthogs (to which I consitently sang in my head "when I was a young warthog..."), giraffes, wildabeast and even a hyena which are said to be rare to ever see. We also parked up on this overlook called "baboon point" where sure enough baboons run the place. As soon as we got out of the van a baboon walked right up to it and jumped in before we had time to close the door!!! They are little scavengars ... but we got them out before they stole anything!!!!

The next day it was off to Masaai Mara for the big game drives!! When we arrived we set up shop at our permanent camp site ... tents with real beds, indoor plumbing and everything!! We had a little siesta as it had been a long, and bumpy, ride and then it was off to explore one of the most beautiful parks in the world. Within an hour and a half of being there we came accross a herd of elephants and we even found two lions that were in the midst of their mating ritual. The way it works, a nature lesson for all of you, is that the lion and his missus seperate from the pride for 7 days where they go without food and just "do it" every 15-20 minutes or so until the seven days are up, then its time to feast. Imagine ... all that time without eating, haha a nightmare if you ask me ... haha! We drove right over to them and the lion actually got right up and mounted his lady friend with us no more than 3 meters away from them!! So James ... unfortunately I will not be able to bring you back a lion cub this time round, but in some odd months (whatever the gestation period for a lion is) I know where to go back and get you one!!!

We spent all of Sunday doing a game drive finding our way down to the border of Tanzania and Kenya ... so I've officially been in two African countries and seen the Serengetti, but I don't know if it really counts :) We also happened upon a family of hippos, Africa's deadliest animal, and boy are they a sight!! They just lie there and do absolutely nothing and make intermitten groans and sounds that remind me a lot like the starting of a motor boat ... needless to say Dom and I kept our distance!!!

At the end of the day we were fortunate enough to go and visit a real Masaai Tribe Village. The Masaai Tribe is one of the oldest tribes in Africa, and the world, that still live life according to the traditions of yesteryear. They brought us into their village, showed us their houses ... which are made of sticks and cow poop mixed with mud that the women of the village build. The way it works is that each village has a polygamist chief (which they are quite proud of) and each of his wives builds a house for that relationship. So the more houses, the more wives!! The Masaai also survive on a diet solely provided to them by the cows, goats, and sheep that they keep within the walls of their village, as the village is protected by a high fence to keep the lions and leopards at bay!! They use the milk from the goats and the cows, which they mix with cows blood, and heat before they drink. Aside from that they eat the meat from the three types of animals ... that's it. Imagine... warm bloody milk ... mmmmm!!! They also showed us how to create fire using just two sticks and some hay ... I probably will never be able to recreate it myself, but it was cool to watch!! They ended the tour with a dance and song by the males and then the females which are traditions to them, it was quite neat!!! Finally ... we were allowed to purchase or trade them for some of their homemade crafts should we want and then it was time to go!!

When we got back to camp for the night I had an interesting run in with a dung beetle. I got smoked in the head with, what I thought, was a rock or a ball ... which happened only after I got up to make a new cup of tea since a moth decided to dive bomb right into my first cup and drown itself. Whatever had hit me in the head, which hurt if you cared to know, fell to the ground and when I looked closely it turned out to be a huge dung beetle. This thing was bigger than a golf ball ... it was crazy!!! And ... everyone laughed at my expense on both accounts ... felt just like I was back at home :)

On Monday we headed for an early morning game drive before it was back to Nairobi for our last bit of time with both of our projects, which is where we will spend the next few days. I will be unlikely to make any more posts before I get home so bear with me!! And for those of you reading this wondering if I've been emailing as well, I haven't been doing the mass email thing, so don't think I've forgotten about you all!!! Look forward to sharing it all with you sooner than later and I have more than enough pictures that we can arrange a slideshow anytime!!

To all of my readers ... thank you for taking the time and interest in this adventure of mine. It is one I'm unlikely to forget anytime soon and without all of your help this whole thing probably wouldn't have been possible. If you ever have time in your lives to visit this wonderful place please do so ... Kenya, and all of Africa for that matter, is not what people want you to think it is and it's a truly magnificent and wonderful place that is entirely misunderstood.

Kenyan Hospitality

I'm starting to realize that a lot of the stories and posts I've shared with you have been heart wrenching and sad. My intentions are not to paint the wrong picture of this truly wonderful country ... so hopefully this post will prove to you just how great (aside from the crazy drivers...) this place truly is.

What I have been struck by since the moment I stepped off the plane is the hospitality these people have shown to a complete stranger. Dom and I are continuously greeted with a smile and a "Jambo" as well as a handshake and a willingness to help us find our way. These people are quite proud of where they come from, and it shows in the way they are willing to share everything they have from you be it a story, a meal, a drink or a helping hand. Though there are sometimes those looking for something in return, you can hardly hold it against them as they have been taught that white skin is a sign of wealth and we all possess it. However, when we tell them that we are volunteers and we don't have a lot of money they always seem to back off and let us be. The Kenyans are a very gentle people and I find it quite sad that the media has painted them in the light that they have painted many African Nations. Though I would be lying if I said everyone was perfect as there is a lot of corruption, starvation, poverty and disease that plagues this country, and this continent, it's not as bad as the media would like to have us believe it is.

More than once we have met people that are only looking out for our safety and nothing more. The night we were waiting for our bus in the sketchy part of town, one of the bus company employees found us a bench to sit on and made sure to shoe away anyone that came close to us that might have dishonorable intentions. In Mombasa on the way back to Nairobi, after we paid our cab driver he gave us his phone number and told us to call him no matter what if anything happened to us with the bus company. He didn't have to do that, we had already given him our money, but he wanted to make sure we were safe. On more than one occasion total strangers have called and arranged taxis for us, waited for them to pick us up, and negotiated prices with the driver to ensure that we would not be overcharged. None of these people had to do any of these things for us and they just offered it out of the kindness of there heart. I think we could all take something from this, don't you?

Dom and I spent Saturday night in Kibera at a beer garden with one of the locals where we drank cold beer (when you order you can have warm beer, or pay more for cold) and listened to live music. When we first walked in it became immediately apparent that we were the only white people, but we weren't met with stares and sneeres, but instead with smiles and the effort to find us each a seat. The patrons were quite friendly and even bought us each a beer when clearly we should have been the people buying for them, but they are just that generous and more than happy to share their traditions with us!!! When the evening was over our friend Peter made sure we arrived home safe and sound to our front door even though it meant going completely out of his way to do so, and spending money on matatus to accompany us that he most likely didn't have to just throw away.

I know that six or so weeks will not be enough time here to change the world, or really change the lives of very many people here, but if I can change the attitudes and the views of the people back home who, more often than not, think this is a scary and bad place I have accomplished something. I hope you believe me when I say this is an incredible place full of some of the most generous people I've ever met and if you ever have the time to come here and visit you should consider yourselves quite fortunate.

Night of horror as 28 killed in bus crash

The wreckage of the bus which collided with a lorry on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, killing 28 people on Sunday night. Photo/MOHAMED DAHIR

By MUCHEMI WACHIRA and JOHN KISUPosted Monday, January 19 2009 at 21:32

Police were on Monday seeking witnesses to a horrific road accident on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway in which 28 people died.
Another 24 people were injured in the 1am accident, which occurred on a bridge at Machinery market.
Police blamed speeding for the head-on collision between a bus travelling from Mombasa to Nairobi and a lorry heading in the opposite direction.
The bus, which belongs to Smash Company, and the lorry were reduced to wrecks. It was a miracle that one of the 24 survivors escaped unhurt even though he was taken to hospital for check-up.
Traffic Commandant James Adoli described the accident as the worst road tragedy this year.
He said the cause of the accident could not be immediately established because of the time it occurred. However, police officers had been dispatched to Mombasa to question motorists who may have witnessed the accident to provide details.
President Kibaki and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi sent condolences to the families of those who died in the accident and the survivors and urged traffic police to take immediate action to avoid recurrence of the accidents.
A 15-year-old survivor of the of the accident was on Monday looking for his mother and five siblings who were on the bus.
Kelvin Ngala, who said he was travelling to Nairobi to secure a transfer to a school in Nanyuki, could not immediately tell where his mother, four brothers and a sister were several hours after the accident.
“I don’t know where they are. Since I was brought here at the hospital, I have not seen them,” he said from his bed at the Makindu District Hospital where he was recovering from a hand injury.
In a statement sent to newsrooms by the Presidential Press Services, President Kibaki said: “We have lost not only our loved ones but also valuable contribution to nation building.”
Of the 51 passengers, 26 died on the spot while three people who were in the lorry, including its driver, were killed in the incident. The driver of the bus was also among those who died.
Survivors of the accident were admitted at the Makindu District Hospital while bodies of those who perished were taken to a mortuary at the same hospital.
Five survivors who were critically injured were referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital for specialized treatment while another was moved to Machakos District Hospital.
People at the scene of the accident said the lorry was overtaking another vehicle when it collided with the bus. Some of the survivors who were receiving treatment at the Makindu Hospital said the bus was speeding when the accident occurred.
Said Mr Benson Karani: “We tried to tell the driver to stop speeding but eventually we fell asleep”.
He said he was awakened by a loud bang as the bus was rolling after colliding with the lorry.
Wishing the survivors quick recovery, President Kibaki regretted that in spite of the traffic rules in place, the country continues to witness loss of lives through road accidents.
He directed the traffic police to be extra vigilant in their work of ensuring strict adherence to traffic regulations. He also urged commuters to be involved in ensuring road safety by obeying traffic regulations and by reporting drivers who disobey traffic rules.
And Mr Mudavadi urged drivers to exercise caution while on the roads. “We would not be losing so many lives on the road if our drivers exercised caution.”
Four students were among the 26 survivors.
Hussein Mwahui 20 and Abdallah Mwameri 18, are both students at Evalyn High School in Naivasha. The two said they were travelling to school from Kwale when the accident occurred. They received minor injuries.
The fourth students Elizabeth Mwero 15, said she was travelling from Kinango to St Claire Secondary School in Naivasha. The Form One student suffered head injuries, but the doctors said her condition was not serious.
Students
It was the same case with the three other students whom the doctors said are expected to recover any time. Since they did not sustain serious injuries.
Mr Alfred Magumbua 50 and Hussein Karan 45, are both traders in Mombasa, but they were going to Nairobi to buys goods for their businesses when the accident occurred.
The two where among those who were critically injured. “I have been operating along this route for several years, but I have never encountered such a bad accident. Magumbua who is recovering from a broken rib and head fracture said.
His friends Karan who suffered a big cut on the face could hardly speak as he was in pain.
Another trader Mr Simon Muicho 52, who said he has been operating between Mombasa and Nyahururu, suffered back and neck injuries.
Mr Karani 30, was among the lucky few who did not suffer serious injuries during the accident that left 28 people dead. He was going back home to Meru after visiting a friend in Mombasa.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/517052/-/u1bo5t/-/index.html

CARNIVORE

CARNIVORE is a restaurant that is exactly what it sounds like it should be. Voted one of the 50 best restaurants in the world on more than one occaision, this restaurant is a meat eaters heaven!!!!

When you first walk into Carnivore the first thing you see is the giant grilling pit where sword upon sword of meat (as you can see in the picture) sit coaxing you into what is going to come!! What I also noticed as soon as walking in was just how big the place was. It could have easily sat a few hundred people, and left me pondering just how much meat this place must go through each week!!! The way it works is that each table is given a white flag and the waiters will continue coming by with different choices of meat until you "surrender" by letting your flag down!!

Once you are sat down and drink orders are taken the fun begins!! They start you off with a bowl of squash soup and bread, a clever ploy to try and fill you up before the meat comes. They ovbiously didn't know a Giacomantonio had entered the building because obviously this wouldn't detract me from the main event!!! Once we finished our soup and the plates cleared, our waitress came over with hot plates that were so hot they could have cooked the meat right infront of us!! They also provided the table with a turntable of various sauces and side dishes to choose from. Then came the meat!! Basically ... every two minutes or so a new waiter comes by with a sword of meat for you to choose. Each sword had things like stacks of sausages, chicken wings and pork ribs that they slid right onto your plate!! After all the "usual" stuff came by it got interesting!! They then came by with whole legs of lamb, giant roasts of beef and even an entire turkey!! They simply shaved off as much as you'd like for you and continue on!!!!

Finally it was time for the "exotic meats", and the guys came by with crocodile meat and ostritch meatballs (Dad, I couldn't help but think about our search for pulpette di carne everytime he came around, haha). Crocodile is a little salty but good, and the meatballs were amazing!!! Well ... as you can imagine by this point they are hoping you are full so they don't come around as frequently, but as you all know me I wasn't ready to surrender just yet!!! After a couple more rounds of turkey, crocodile, lamb and ostrich we finally gave in ... leaving just enough room for some dessert!!!

We had a great evening there, and after four hours of great food and conversation (we went with two other volunteers from Canada who were celebrating a birthday) we headed home slightly uncomfortable but so satisfied it didn't matter!!!!! James ... you would have been in heaven here and everytime they came around with a sword of spare ribs all I could think of was you!!!

The Overnight to Mombasa ... A Story of Fate

This past weekend Dom and I decided to head to the coast to enjoy a relaxing weekend of sun and sand in a place called Diani, which is a small seaside town south of Mombasa. This place came highly recommended by many people we have met that have been to Kenya, and since traveling is so inexpensive here we figured why not ... how many times do you get to enjoy white sand and clear blue water in Africa? So we rounded up a few other volunteers, all from New Zealand and Australia, and booked our tickets for the overnight bus to Mombasa.

When we booked our tickets to leave Friday night our travel agent informed us that there would be a waiting area off the street that we could use while we were waiting for our bus to arrive, as all of the buses in Kenya seem to depart from the sketchiest parts of town. Since this side of town is quite dangerous to wander once its dark if you are of fair skin color we felt quite relieved that we would have a safe haven to sit in while we waited for the bus, especially since nothing ever runs on time here and we weren't sure how long we would actually be there waiting. So, after supper we all hailed a cab and headed over to the "waiting area" we were told about to wait the hour and a half we had to wait for our bus. Well, this so called waiting area happened to be a seedy bar no bigger than my tv room where a bunch of greasy guys were drinking and carrying on. Since we had no choice (as standing on the street and waiting wasn't an option), the six of us took a seat in the bar and ordered Coca Cola's while we waited. As you can imagine, six mzungus attract a lot of attention, and the patrons did not leave us alone the entire time we were there. Luckily there was a guy with us so they backed off a bit, but near the end we were starting to get frustrated and couldn't have been happier when the bus showed up.

When we got on the bus we found out that people had sat in our seats and were unwilling to move so we all got shoved to the back of the bus to cramp ourselves in for the 8 hour bus ride ahead of us ... which is especially fun when two of the girls with us have motion sickness!! Once the bus started to go it went from bad to worse. This bus, which was as filthy was ever, had a bus driver that decided to take off-road "shortcuts" to try and save the bus some time since it left an hour later than it was supposed to. These little excursions consisted of flying through dirt roads and trying to overtake tractor trailers on small, two lane maximum, roads while trying not to run into the people coming the other way. It was absolutely terrifying at times and all I could do was close my eyes and hope I could sleep through most of it, which for some amazing reason I was ... but the poor girls with motion sickness I thought were going to lose it with the mix of bumpy roads, back of the bus, and the fact that the windows didn't open so it was a glorified sauna on wheels. We also managed to hit a traffic jam on one of our shortcuts which is when the bus decided to stall for an hour ... super, just super!!!! I would also like to add a side note that we are pretty sure, as it is quite common here, that our driver was intoxicated for the trip... comforting isn't it.

Well we finally made it to Mombasa in the early hours of Saturday morning ... safe and sound and happy to get off the bus as soon as possible!! When we arrived we were informed it would be best to book our return tickets before we headed down the coast, mainly to ensure we had a spot coming back as these buses all tend to fill. We had intended on taking the bus back on Sunday night to be back in time to volunteer Monday morning which was what we were planning to do, but after talking with everyone about our experience getting here we decided that we had earned an extra day on the coast and instead we would book our overnight tickets for Monday Night instead ... for which we'd make up the volunteer day at the end of the trip. We also decided to book seats in the front this time so some of the girls would have an easier time on the way home with all of the motion sickness.

Well ... let me tell you this might have been the best "selfish" decision we have ever made. When we got back to Mombasa on Monday night to catch our bus we were informed that we would be travelling with a different company as the bus intended for us had been in an accident. We figured the bus had broken down, so we got on our new bus, but because of the change of plans we were forced again to sit in the back against our will. As all of us felt quite put out this time, we were complaining to eachother that we were mad we weren't sitting in the front seat since we booked so far in advance and this wasn't fair. Well as soon as the man sitting next to me heard this he politely interrupted and said that things could be worse, we could have been on last nights bus. It turns out that the Sunday Night bus (the one we were originally planning on taking) had been in a head on collision with a tractor trailer and 29 people were killed. This was the worst accident the bussing system has seen in over 10 years... and everyone was either seriously hurt or dead on impact. Such a tragedy it was, but it could have been us ... and we thank our lucky stars that we decided to stay longer. Chilling isn't it.

The man who informed us of this changed my perspective on life in mere seconds and made me realize that complaining about something you can't control is a waste of time, especially when you don't know the true reasons for why you are being put off in that moment. I felt like such a jerk after for even opening my mouth after finding out that my reality could be so much worse off and I thank that stranger for teaching me an incredible lesson in humbleness. The world works in mysterious ways ... and for some reason this time fate was on our side and someone was watching out for us.

Day 2 At Ushirika

So you probably thought that our first day at the clinic in Kibera was pretty cool and that we got to see so much more than we thought we would ever get to witness, which was exactly what we were thinking ... but boy were we wrong!!! This story is not for everyone, but I was so blown away by it that I feel that I have to share this with all of you so you understand how different the mentality in this country is compared to home.

Dom and I arrived in the morning to Ushirika to spend the day helping out with more HIV counseling as well as shadowing some more doctor visits, much like the day before. Well, as soon as we arrived we were rushed into one of the examination rooms to wait while the majority of the staff was dealing with an urgent issue. As we sat in the room we could hear someone screaming in agony next door and were both quite curious as to what was going on ... so of course we asked one of the counsellors to fill us in on the details.

WELL, the screaming we were hearing was coming from an 18 year old female who had overdosed on a mix of pain killers and amoxycillin (an antibiotic) in an attempt to abort her pregnancy. As abortion is very frowned upon in this country, girls young and old are forced to take the matters into their own hand when these accidents happen. Because this young girl didn't know how far along she was she had assumed that by overdosing on these meds, which she purchased illegally in the slum I might add, that she could go off to school for the day and the "pregnancy" would just leave her body in pieces in the toilet. What she didn't realize was that she was 5 months pregnant and as a result of the toxic shock she had introduced to her body she ended up inducing labour and giving birth to a 5 month old baby boy at the clinic (which would explain all of the screaming). The baby sadly did not survive, and once the girl was taken to the maternity wing to rest, the workers brought us into the room to show us everything. Words cannot describe what was going through my mind as this tiny, fully formed, human lay dead in a kidney shaped surgical dish. A sight I will most likely never forget, and a lesson for all of you explaining what it is truly like to live in places like the slums in Africa ... wow.

Ushirika Clinic - Medical Clinic to Kibera Slum

Dom and my wish finally came true on Thursday when we got to spend the day helping out at Ushirika Medical Clinic, which is the community clinic that serves the Kibera slum. This was the original place that Dom and I had intended on spending all of our time, but instead we will be splitting our time between Ushirika and the project in Lenana as we are hoping for more of a medical experience while we are here. Well boy did we get it!!!

Peter, our tour guide from Kibera last time we were there, met us at Junction and walked us over the Ushirika in the morning to make sure we found our way safely. When we first arrived we were introduced to all of the staff one by one, then we presented them with all of the medical supplies that we had brought with us including stethoscopes, surgical blankets and lots and lots of latex gloves!!! They sincerely thanked us for our gifts and assured us they would all go to good use, which by the look of the place we knew we weren't being lied to!! We then met Dr. Bob who is a retired Retina Surgeon from New Jersey who is helping out in the clinic for the next while. Upon retirement, Bob decided that he wanted to give back, so he spent 2 months reading every book on tropical diseases that he could get his hands on as well as scouring the internet for anything he could find on the subject. Once he felt like he knew enough he headed over to Kenya which is where we met him. (See DAD ... you can do this kind of thing too)!
Bob took us into his office and allowed us to spend the morning shadowing him with all of his patients, while spending time in between patients talking to us about what we knew and educating us on the types of diseases that he most commonly sees while he was there. He was very happy to share everything he knew with us, and seemed to be impressed with the knowledge base that the two of us already possessed. We have a feeling he also really liked us because he has a daughter back home that is the same age as me, but either way we appreciated how welcoming he was with us!!!!

After our time with Bob, it was off to spend some time with Patricia and Lucy who are counsellors in the clinic. When someone comes in to get tested for HIV, the ladies spend a half an hour with each client talking about what HIV is, the ways in which it can be transmitted, as well as ways to protect themselves from contracting the virus. Once the patient consents to the test itself through a signature, the test is taken. While waiting for the results, the counselors then talk to them about the possibilities of each outcome and how the patient intends on dealing with their results. What I found the most fascinating about the whole thing was that while the patient waits for the test to finish they are given a diagram that shows all of the possible outcomes of the test including positive, negative and inconclusive. It is up to the patient to read their test and interpret their results. The psychology behind this being that this way the patient sees it for themselves instead of being told, and this way they not only are forced to take ownership of their result and decide on a course of action. Once this is done, their statistics and demographics are recorded. All of this information is sent off to the government and the end of each month so that every year they can have accurate stats on the prevalence of HIV in their country, look for trends, as well as determine appropriate courses of action based on the information.
Dom and I got to sit through a couple of counselling sessions and unfortunately had one man test positive. He didn't seem as upset as we thought he would, but it turned out he had tested positive a few years ago, and because he was healthy he thought he might have gotten rid of the virus. Though what I remember most about this session was the fact that they ask "how many wives" this man had ... since apparently it's common to have many in this place!!!

After our HIV counselling session, Dom and I spent some time in the pharmacy with Jen who is in charge of filling and passing out prescriptions!! Dom and I even got to take our turns reading, filling and handing out prescriptions to the patients that came to the window!! What was neat was how simple they made the instructions on the prescriptions compared to lengthy pages that they give you at home. All it tells you is how to take it, for example to take 1 pill twice daily you simply write 1 X 2 on the package, simple as that!!! And just think, at home people have to go to school for four years to do what Dom and I did... haha doesn't seem right does it?!?

We spent the remainder of the day talking to Patricia about the relevance of HIV, why it is so high, and why people are still so ignorant about the virus as a huge reality. The biggest problem is that this society is quite promiscuous and marriage doesn't carry the same connotations as it does at home. I would have to drone on for a long time to explain it all ... but I will share one of the most interesting tidbits with you that I found shocking, especially since HIV is not a new virus, but has been around for decades. A lot of people believe that HIV is actually a curse and that it can be cured by either sleeping with a virgin, or sleeping with a young child no older than five years of age. You can see the problem in this kind of thinking ... because then the victims also contract the illness and we are back to square one, but people to this day still believe this to be truth!!! Unbelievable right?

Well this was only our first day, and we have many more to come so I'm sure I will have some more amazing stories. I learned more in a day at this place than the two weeks I spent at the project ... and I can't wait to learn/see more!! I will put pictures up soon, however I'm off to the coast for the weekend, so please be patient with me!!

A Little Lesson in Selflessness

Dom and I spent Wednesday creating a little project for the ladies. The women of the project share a very drab little room, so Dom and I thought it would be nice to add a little color to the room while educating them about HIV and how to live very long lives with the virus!!! We purchased bristol board and markers and spent the day creating posters with all of the information they needed about the transmission and care of HIV, the proper nutrition necessary to remain healthy, as well as clearing up some of the myths that people of this area generally hold. We spent the entire day making these posters and once we were finished we presented them to them, talked a little bit about the information that we provided, then hung them proudly on the wall!!! Our hope is that if new ladies join the group, or if other people ask these women about HIV, they will have all of the information they need to teach them all about the virus. These posters will also be helpful for future seminars that new volunteers will hold, as we plan on doing one at the end of the month before we leave for the school!!

We had a great time doing it, but the big lesson of the day came once we were done our own little project. Rose, one of the older ladies of the group, came to Sophia, Dom and I with an issue that she wanted help with. Having recently seen the doctor regarding a problem with her knee, Rose was given the news that she needed an operation to fix this. The problem, however, is that this operation will cost her 10,000 Ksh of which she obviously does not have and is unlikely to come into in the near future.
Recently, the ladies came into a bit of cash as a result of Dom and I purchasing some of their jewelery. Their rent comes due mid month, so we thought we would try and help them out by purchasing some of their work so they could pay their rent. Normally, this money would be split evenly between all of the ladies, but Rose and Sophia suggested that maybe a third of the money go to Rose and the rest be split between the rest. As Dom and I were not prepared to pay for the surgery ourselves, we thought that this was a great idea because it got Rose closer to her surgery, but allowed everyone to leave with a little bit of money in their pocket.
Rose and Sophia then brought the issue up with the group and requested everyones input before a decision was to be made so nobody would leave angry. The women agreed this was an alright idea because they were all hoping to get some of the money, but instead one of the ladies suggested that why don't they give all of the money to Rose this time and next time money comes to them the remaining women will just split it amongst themselves!! What an idea!! The ladies unanimously agreed that this was a great option and decided to give all of the money to Rose.
Though they all needed the money and had been patiently waiting a couple of days to receive it so they can pay their rent and buy food for themselves they preferred to give all of the money to their friend in need, without knowing the next time that they would receive money. I think we could all learn a little bit of a lesson from these women about the true meaning of giving. It was beautiful, and the look on Roses face when this was decided was one I will have trouble forgetting.

Asante Sana (Thank you very)

Jambo and Happy Monday!!!

This is just a quick update to let you know that Dom and I are truly having the greatest of times. We have learned how to bead like experts thanks to the lovely ladies of the project, they even told us that we were going "too fast", as if that's possible when this is one of their greatest sources of income!!! For those of you that know me, crafts have never been my forte ... so I'm pretty damn proud of myself!!

We also have gotten to spend some time with the little kids, they even sang us "Baa baa black sheep", it might have been the cutest things I've ever seen as the kids don't so much sing as they yell ... made me think of what James must have been like in pre-school!! The leader of the project, Sophia, also has us helping with the administrative side of the school. As you can see in the picture, Dom and I spent a good part of our day "bookkeeping" for them. Though neither of us have any formal training in this, and the methods they follow make absolutely no sense whatsoever, we are happy to help them out if it means relieving some of their burden. We just do as we are told (mom, you'd be proud)!

We also spent Friday afternoon at the Giraffe Center in Karen (a town here) which is a place that breeds giraffes to be sent back out into the wild once they have reached the age of 2 years. They even let you feed the giraffes and get "giraffe kisses" from them, which involves them essentially licking your face ... haha yucky eh, but apparently word on the street has it that giraffe saliva is a natural antiseptic, so I guess I have to look at it as them cleaning my face?!

Dom and I had a generally relaxing weekend. We spent Saturday at, what I hope was, our last time attempting Masaai Market in town. Though it's a really fun place to look around, and its amazing what these people can create with simple tools and their bare hands ... you start to get tired of people constantly bugging you to buy their stuff instead of letting you look at your own pace. That ... and if I keep going I will have no money by the time I come home ... but don't worry people, it's not all for me :) Annnd we are supporting the local economy, so it's justifiable right?

So apparently I've rambled on long enough, so much for my quick post, but the true point of this post was/is just to thank everyone for the donations and the well wishes they have so kindly bestowed upon me. The money I have been given from everyone has allowed us to provide the school with much needed toys and school supplies so the kids can learn and develop through sharing and playing together. The money has also allowed us to purchase the supplies necessary for our women to make their jewelry so that they can continue to feed themselves, as ARV's only work on a full stomach, and we want them to live long healthy lives. Finally ... the money has allowed me to experience all of this and hopefully help out in any way I can. Without it, I couldn't be here sharing all this with you guys, and for that I sincerely thank you :)

The Tumaini HIV/AIDS Project

On Monday Dom and I began what we are really here to do, helping out with the Tumaini AIDS/HIV Project which is located in Lenana, an urban slum that is just outside of Nairobi. The first day we headed there we really had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into ... but as soon as we arrived we realized that we were there to try and make a difference, even if it was only for one person!!!

The project we are working on is run through an elementary school in Lenana, it is their Head Teacher Sophia that created and oversees it, so it was into the school to find her. This school is nothing like the schools we know back home. It is a bunch of small rooms, no larger than our t.v. room at home, that surround a courtyard full of rocks and dirt. Each classroom has between 15 and 40 children from primary through Standard 8 (grade 8) so you can imagine how squished in they all are. When we first walked into the courtyard the entire school was gathered together and gave us one of the most warm welcomes I think I've ever had. The whole school was clapping for us as we introduced ourselves and had them repeat our names back to us. After the second round of clapping Sophia led us to her office to dicuss the project and the group of ladies that were part of the project. As we walked away from the kids they all held out their hands to slap five with us, I felt like a celebrity, it was almost surreal!!! After discussing what was expected of us with Sophia (which is nothing and everything at the same time) one of the teachers took us around to each classroom individually to meet the kids. Each group stood up and sang us a song in english or swahili ... it was so sweet. By the end of it my cheeks started to hurt because I couldn't stop smiling ... though the best part was when the littlest kids sang us "we wish you a merry Christmas" haha, perfect!!!

When it was time to meet the ladies Dom and I were led off to the little room that was donated to the project so we could meet the ladies. The room is a small, tin-walled, room no larger than a childs bedroom that has only small plastic chairs for the ladies to sit on. There is nothing on the walls, and the room happens to be situated beside the "outhouses" so it constantly smells like urine and feces ... but that is all that there is for these ladies so they do not complain. Once all of the ladies arrived we were given an introduction to them ... then it was off for 5 hours worth of walking through the slums to visit each of their houses. It's hard to believe the living conditions of some of these ladies. I swear some of their houses are no bigger than my closet ... and they have to pay rent for these things!! Most of them don't even have running water or power ... but they make due, and they don't complain because they are not out on the street.

Each day is something different at the project, the schedule goes as follows:
Monday - Home visits with the ladies where we follow them around to each of their homes and see how everyone is doing
Tuesday - Counselling with the ladies. They shared with us their stories and we provided them as much comfort as we could.
Wednesday - Craft making (which is how they make their money)
Thursday - More crafts!!!
Friday - Home visits again to check up on everything!!

The ladies are absolutely amazing. There is Rose, Sharon, Anne, Linet, Doris, Elizabeth, Florence and Saramon. Saramon actually has a 3 week old baby, Michelle (as in Obama), that Dom and I actually got to hold!!! One of the things that is customary when someone has a baby is to bring her gifts of food and clothes to thank her for bringing a life into this world. Even if you have nothing you are expected to provide something, so today everyone brought something and Dom and I bought her a bunch of food and baby clothes to last her a while. All of the women brought something and all clapped as each gift was given ... it was beautiful. She doesn't even speak english and managed to say thank you to Dom and I, it was hard not to cry I must say.

I would love to share the stories of all of these women to you guys, but out of respect for them I don't think it would be the right thing to do. They have gone through so much, more than most of us will endure over our entire lives ... and I don't think we understand how lucky we really are to live the lives that we do. These women really have taught me that the beauty in life is life itself.

Kibera - The Second Largest Slum in the World

Dom and I spent Sunday taking a tour of Kibera with a few of the other volunteers with our group. Though it will be hard to explain truly how moving this walk was for me ... I will do my best, and show you some pictures so you get a true sense of what the people in this slum live like.

Peter was our guide and it turns out he is the "go to" guy when the film industry, and alike, come to town. Peter serves as a guide, an assistant, and worker when the film industry is in town and was even showcased in the September 2005 volume of National Geographic (which he proudly showed us when he took us to his house).

Kibera really was everything you imagine a slum to be like, but more. All of the houses were a mixture of mud, wood, and tin roofing. They are all very small, probably the size of my bedroom at most. However within that house they have a sitting room, a kitchen and a bedroom for the family to sleep. What Dom and I noticed most about all of this was that though they had almost nothing, what they had was clean, pressed and presentable. They crocheted doilies covering the chairs were a crisp white, the curtains were all clean (and all matched), and the piece of linoleum that covered the sitting area of the floor was spotless. They are very proud of what they have and it is quite obvious! Though I think the best part of it all was the Obama poster on the wall, which is seeming to be quite common in these parts!!!

After we left Peters house, we continued through Kibera towards the orphanage. As we walked through ... we often heard "Muzungu (white person), how are you?" All of the kids there knew to say this to us, but I think this might be the only english they knew, because when we asked back there was no response. After a short walk through burning garbage heaps, sleeping dogs, and many hellos we reached the orphanage. This orphanage houses over 90 children from the age of 1 to 17, but is smaller than Jocelyn and my apartment in total. The children sleep 2 to a bed atleast in beds that are full of bed bugs and other such ailments. Though all of this seems unimaginable ... what was most surprising to see was that they were all happy. I think this is a lesson that we can all take from them. Material things are not necessary for happiness ... it is the love of others that keep us going, and these kids were obviously loved.

The 45 minute tour we were promised turned into a 3 hour tour of a place I am unlikely to forget any time soon. These people are entirely self sufficient in their home, and they work together as a community to make things better every day. You can find anything you need in Kibera from churches, to hair salons, to electricians, to pubs, to dry cleaners and even a jail (they do not tolerate bad behavior). It is an amazing thing to witness and I feel fortunate to have gotten the inside scoop into such a place!!

Bumble Bee Tuna

Dom and I have been fortunate enough to be living in the "best" accommodation according to everyone that works in the office at GVN. We are living in a condo that has power, running water and a tv with cable!! This might not seem like a lot to all of you, but some of our volunteers are living in tin shacks that have only power and a squat toilet (ie a hole out in the backyard!). So we feel that we have been very lucky in all of this ... though this isn't necessarily the experience we had prepared ourselves for. We were ready to rough it ... but I don't think either of us would be stupid enough to complain!!!

The family we are living with consists of Josephine (the mother), her daughter Suzanne, and their house girl Doreen. They are a wonderful family and have been nothing but generous to us since we arrived. Josephine runs her own business, and contracts out to General Motors ... which sounds great, but unfortunately they don't deal well with her always, and make last minute demands that she has to fulfill or they will find someone else. Suzanne is an amazing 13 year old that has big dreams of becoming a doctor like her late father. He had her promise him before he died that she would follow in this path, and she is more than determined to do so. Josephine and Suzanne told us how they count on eachother to get through each day, and they are inspired by eachother to succeed in their late husband/fathers honor. They are inspiring people and I can't help but wish the best for them!!

Josephine is also quite intelligent, and we have had many chats with her about the misconceptions held in the Western World about Africa as well as the reality of Obama being elected. Though there are parts of this place where people go without food and water, it is quite prosperous and many of the people here are doing very will for themselves. They wish more people would come and visit this place so they could see for themselves the truth about Africa and how wonderful its people are. And they really are!!! They are also realistic about Obama being elected. They understand that he has his own country to fix, and that everything comes at a cost ... and he won't just give out donations to this place for nothing. But they have hope that once he fixes his own country that he will reach out to the African countries, especially Kenya because it is his roots.

Pretty Nice Little Saturday

Dom and I were interested in checking out the Masaai Market, which is an open air market in Nairobi where many different people sell handmade crafts such as pictures, carvings, bowls, jewelery, etc. The trick to the market is knowing that they will try and charge you the muzungu (white person) price, which involves them atleast quadrupling the value of the item!!! Well Dom and I went ready and willing to bargain ... but what we weren't prepared for was the entourage of men, led by Alex, that were going to "help" us with our shopping and bargain with us at the end of our shopping as to what we should buy and for how much!!!

Well ... we had a lot of fun shopping around, and Alex and his posse carried our "maybes" for us until it was time to leave. At the end they sat us down and tried to bargain with us how much we should pay. Though we understood that they were getting a cut of whatever was sold, we weren't going to pay more than we thought we should!! For the things I ended up purchasing that day Alex initially offered 38,000 Ksh (about $500 USD) ... but I bargained him down to 2500 Ksh (about $40)... so I thought I did pretty well!!!

After our bargaining, Alex and his friends then inquired into our relationship status' and offered to be our Kenyan boyfriends while we are here. After we politely refused their kind offer, we gathered our purchases and headed back home for the day!!! What an experience it was ... I think I now know what it's like to be a celebrity with a posse of people following you, and everyone wanting your attention!! I don't think that life was ever meant for me!!!!

Traditional African ... Chinese Food?

Ever since we have arrived in Africa Dom and I have been spoiled with traditional African dishes such as Mokimo and Chipatti (very much like tortillas). So when we got to our orientation we figured that when they said they would provide us lunch they would want to treat us to a meal of African dishes as a way of welcoming us to this country. Well ... we guessed that one wrong!! When we all piled into the van to drive to our lunch destination we pulled into this beautiful compound with all of these outdoor tables, we were pretty excited for what was to come!! Instead of the African meal that we had been anticipating, we were handed a menu of Chinese dishes and told to pick whatever we wanted, I couldn't help but laugh!! All the way to Africa and the first dinner they treat us to is Chinese ... hahaha, amazing!! And if you were wondering if it was any different ... I'm going to have to disappoint you, it was exactly the same!! Maybe a little less msg, but all of the same belly aches and feeling hungry 30 minutes later!!

So today is the first day that Dom and I have really ventured out on our own, and we plan on spending the day bargaining with the locals at the Masaai Markets to see if we can get any great deals on some local crafts and wares. The locals will always try to quadruple the price to us Muzungus (white people) ... so we'll have to try and bargain our way through it, which should be kind of fun!!! After that we plan on checking out the National Museum which has an exhibit on the Prehistoric Man. Considering humans are said to have began here in Kenya, it should be pretty interesting!!!

Well ... that's it for now. Asante sana (thank you very much) for reading up on my adventure!! More to come!!!

P.S. Right now "Regulators" by Warren G is blasting on the radio ... which followed up Nickelback's "Photograph". Just saying.

Hakuna Matata

It means "no problems" ... or no worries, depending on if you listen to the Kenyan people or a warthog and a meerkat, but either way it describes how well our trip has been thus far!!!

When we left Halifax it was a bittersweet goodbye as I had been given the sad news that my Nunny had passed away, but after a few tears Dom and I said goodbye and went through the security gates. While sitting upstairs waiting to board our plane we were called over by the same man who checked us in and he handed us two new boarding passes as he had bumped us up to executive first class as a thankyou for the work we were doing. Karma is a funny thing, and in light of the news I had just received it was enough to set my mind at ease for the flight to London.

Once we arrived in London, where rumors that Beckham and Posh were somewhere in Heathrow , we settled in at O'Learys for a pint to get us in gear for our 10 hour wait for the flight to Nairobi. After many uncomfortable snoozes in the most awful wooden chairs ... it was off to gate 25 to board the Virgin Atlantic flight to Nairobi. Well ... I must say that flight was a different experience!!! Our flight attendants had no issues letting us overhear them talking about how greedy we were "double dipping" (read asking for two glasses of water) for our 8 hour flight ... but if you know me it didn't stop me from asking again, haha!!! But the flight was viewing Pineapple Express ... so that was enough to get me through to Nairobi so I shouldn't really complain!!!

After an early morning arrival in Nairobi, and an hour long wait in a line to pay cash for our visas (corruption at its finest) ... we were picked up by our driver Joseph and taken to our host families condo to settle in. The drive wasn't too scary, except for the moment when Joseph decided to drive between two 18 wheelers where I wouldn't have even driven a motorcycle ... but hey, we survived!!! So this condo is actually nicer than the apartment Joce and I share back at home. Hard wood floors, giant hardwood dinner table, and a giant shower ... luxury in Kenyan terms. Dom and I both thought that this was only a temporary placement as we were supposed to be moving out to Lenana where we are volunteering, but something happened with one of the volunteers and we are staying in our condo for the majority of our stay (tough life eh... no squat toilets for me Julie, I hate to break your heart!). However, as a result of these new accommodations we have have to take a "matatu" everyday to and from our location ... which involves cramming about 14 people into a family sized van and driving on roads that don't have actual lines, you just go where theres space!!! Wish us luck!!!!

Well we are just finishing day 2 of our orientation including a lesson in Swahili, a run through of the code of conduct, and time to check the internet before we head back to our accommodations!!! We start our project in a couple of days ... so we are very excited/nervous for the things we are going to see, but this is why we are here, and we are prepared for anything that may come our way!!!

More to come soon ... Kwaheri!