Jack's Blog from Kenya - 2

Masai Mara National Game Reserve

Habari Gana,

A few exciting, busy weeks have elapsed since my initial blog report. From the beautiful east African coast beaches of Mombasa and Diani to the picturesque Lake Victorian views of Western Kenyan I have overindulged in some of the finest scenery Kenya has to offer. Mombasa is Kenya’s second largest city and is located on the coast. Mombasa is steeped with culture and history dating back hundreds of years, including the city being colonised by the Portuguese. They built Fort Jesus, now a national heritage structure that remains there today. Subsequently, after its construction, the Portuguese were overthrown by Oman. Many of the coastal towns still have traces of architecture and culture from the Oman rule. One of these coastal towns visited was Diani Beach, a truly breath-taking spot with stunning white sand beaches, littered with coconut trees overlooking the transparent crystal clear Indian ocean. A must visit for anyone ever considering a trip to Kenya. Our accommodation, owned by an Irish couple, opened directly onto the beach. A relaxing couple of days were spent on the beach running in the mornings, swimming, drinking fresh coconuts, sampling the fresh seafood in some of the resident restaurants located on the beach and frequenting the local bars.

Next stop Kisumu, home of the Luhya and Luo ethnic groups. Due to the election period being early August, I was recommended not to be in Kisumu during this time. Kenya has many different ethnic groups. Kenyan politics have been characterised by ethnic tensions and rivalry between the larger groups. Such was clear in the 2007-2008 Kenyan crisis where opposition supporters targeted ethnic violence against the Kikuya people due to the alleged electoral manipulation. Over a thousand people were reported to have been killed. For fear of a repeat crisis after these elections it was safer for me to be back in Nairobi. Hopefully there won’t be any trouble but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Kisumu is a lovely place, it is in western Kenya, situated adjacent to Lake Victoria and is the third largest city in Kenya. It is less developed than Nairobi and isn’t as influenced by Western cultures. Many of the natives are surprised when encountered with a “white person”, whilst many of the kids are truly flabbergasted. The Bantu Swahili language of the region has a term “Mzungu” which loosely translates to “white person”, which I was titled more times than I can possibly remember while in Kisumu. Exposed to this racial derogatory leaves one with a taste of dissatisfaction. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time in Kisumu and it was a real eye opening experience into the lives and poverty within the fishing communities on the shores of Lake Victoria.

 Fishing provides the communities along the lake with their main source of income. Figures from our baseline studies show that 91% of households gain an income from this activity. There is a major lack of income diversification, resulting in fishermen remaining trapped in a deteriorating situation. Studies have shown that their modal income is just €1.40 per day, and reports show that fishing communities have both the highest rates of malnutrition and HIV/AIDS in the region. Expensive kerosene lamps re used by households, microenterprises and for fishing during the night time, thus leading to pollution of the atmosphere and causing high levels of respiratory illness and further health implications.

Mirunda and Kiwa are two projects that commenced while I was in Kisumu. Solargen Technologies is a leading distributor and installer of renewable energy systems in Kenya. Solargen was the chosen technology provider to supply the solar micro-grid (energy-hub), water pump and pipework for both sites. I worked directly with one of Renewable World’s local partners; Family Support Community Based Initiatives. FASCOBI work in rural areas of Kenya to help improve the standard of living for women and children. This is done through business training activities, child protection and microfinance. They’re responsible for engaging with communities, taking baseline studies, and monitoring and evaluation of the projects being undertaken. Working with FASCOBI allowed be to grasp a better understanding of how each project is structured and gave me the opportunity to visit some of the sites that Renewable World are working on at Lake Victoria. Visits to Tabla, Kiwa, and Mirunda with Pastor Gilbert and Whinny Ogembo from FASCOBI presented me with contrasting observations of a project during its construction phase and one which is completed and operational. There was an aura of excitement among the residents at both Kiwa and Mirunda. The installation of these small renewable Energy Hubs will provide off the grid solar energy with a capacity of 3 and 5kWp. As part of this program, we are also installing renewable energy powered water pumps so that the local women’s cooperatives can practice irrigation, improving the quality and quantity of their crop production, thus helping to improve income and nutrition.

Living in a hostel just off Ring Road gave me the opportunity to meet some interesting people. Firstly, upon my arrival I met a German woman, Evelyn Denke, who has a son living in Kakamega forest. Ben has spent six months living with a local host family that speak very little English, which has forced him to learn to speak Swahili. Working as a football coach for a German charity, the project he is working on aims to get kids from an early age interested in sports and raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.

I travelled with Evelyn and Ben to the Masai Mara National Game Reserve where we stayed in a local campsite for the weekend. We saw an array of wild animals in their natural habitat, from thousands of wilder beasts migrating to the Serengeti in Tanzania to majestic prides of powerful lions basking in the afternoon sun. Beautiful local cuisine kept the hunger at bay and the evenings were spent playing card games and conversing with other guests. Before we knew it, it was Sunday morning, time to head back to Kisumu.

The excitement didn’t end there, dirt roads plagued with pot holes ensured a less then pleasant journey to Nakuru where our next form of transport awaited us. We boarded the public bus to Kisii bursting like sardines. Twenty minutes later we were skidding across the road after the back wheel experienced a blowout, not surprising after seeing how bald the tyres threads were. Left stranded in the middle of the countryside trying to fight off local salesmen (where they came from I have no idea), we were forced to look for another means of transport. We pulled over a Matatu; minivans used as local public transportation that are usually overcrowded with people, baggage, chickens and goats. Spirits were high again, back on the road again and heading for Kisii. It was not the heavy down pour, thunder or lightning that broke our stride, rather the Hilux pick-up truck that rear ended us. More commotion, again motionless, and still cramped. Another Matatu was required; forty-five minutes later we’re loaded up and making headway yet again. Our next unplanned stoppage happened just outside Kisii, where a Piki Piki driver, motorbike taxi, decided to overtake us whilst on the phone carrying a passenger and break just ahead of us. Subsequently, we crashed right into the back of him. More commotion, again motionless, and still cramped. A few swift minutes of arguing and the motorbike sped off accepting his mistake. Finally, we reach the stage. Fed up and taking no chances this time, we used a more trusted service in Transline that took us directly back to Kisumu without any issues. After twelve long hours of traveling I got back to the hostel and was ready for bed.

The following weekend I travelled to Kakamega Forest with Komal, an American girl from the Hostel, to stay with Ben’s host family. This was an amazing experience which allowed me to witness first-hand how a typical family within the area exists. Agricultural crops are grown together with forest tree species, known as the Shamba system. This system allows sustained, optimum production of food crops along with forest species from the same land and thus meets most of the social and economic needs of the shamba farmer. We stayed in a small hut without any electricity, showered using buckets of water, ate using our hands, and used an open pit latrine when needing to relieve ourselves. Our time was spent on the farm and venturing through the vast forest. Awoken Sunday 4am, we rose to freshly made hot porridge to prepare us for our guided tour through the eerie pitch black forest, into a cave which was used for mining purposes, now home to several hundred bats and up Lirhanda Hill in hopes of seeing the sunrise and cast light over the entire forest landscape. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy for us to see the sunrise but thankfully the views were still breathtakingly beautiful to withhold. We travelled back to the farm, listening to our own private orchestra of over four-hundred species of birds each trying to out sing each other. After a light lunch, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to Kisumu. I enjoyed my time in Kisumu and am looking forward to returning to see the completed projects in both Kiwa and Mirunda.

 Mpaka wakati ujao!