20/10
The first couple of days it has been raining on and off leaving little time to work on the field. Instead I have been spending the time reading or listening to the radio, although receiving a good signal is always a hard task in this hilly area. So far I have finished "The Uncommon Reader" by Alan Bennet, which was a good and fun read. The house in which I live with my host father is more of a hut. Roughly 10m2 split into three rooms one of which is the living room. The living room includes a table and seven chairs most of which are never in use. Here we get brought food from the kitchen, which is attached to the house of the hosts mother some 8m away. My room lacks the promised door for privacy since the day I arrived but that is probably because my host father has been away every day attending to something in Machakos or the surrounding. There is only space for one bed, which lacks a mattress however making it not the most comfortable sleeping experience. I will go to town on Tuesday to buy one.
There is still no sign that Anne can come to my project and I have the feeling KVDA will decide on the day she returns from Uganda. Those that do the work and keep the association going do not have the power to make decisions like Chofe, KK and Jessy and those that do have that power do not want to share it because they feel threatened. Another big problem I see with the KVDA is that the money that the BMZ gives out every month (200Euros) is simply given to the organizations leaving them with the task of coordinating finances. This results in 50Euros going to support the volunteer and the respective project and 150Euros staying with the KVDA, which really does not give the impression that the KVDA is an association that simply coordinates volunteers. This is justified by saying that the host should not see the volunteer as a means to get extra money, which is fair enough but that could be solved by splitting the 200 into 50 for the volunteer, 130 for administration and 20 diverted into something like a fund from which the projects can then apply for money and the KVDA can still decide whether the project deserves that money or not and there would be an alternative for the volunteer to always asking his "muzungu friends" for money or fund raising in an environment that lives off 1$ a day.
The people here are so disconnected from the world that children who love football ask me whether I know Manchester United and if so where it is. They have heard or random players or clubs as all the cheap merchandising ends up in Africa and it is not uncommon to see a little boy with a Barcelona belt buckle but when questioned not knowing what that is or at best having heard of it but then saying "It's in England!" The best example of this however happened on the first day. I was showing my host father and two others the pictures I had brought from Berlin and Geneva and while explaining what a subway is to a perplexed audience, handed out Haribo gummi bears to be faced with having to explain that they are sweets and that you have to chew them until they are small enough to swallow.
When you are in a surrounding that is so completely different to yours you really realize what influenced you and what your "culture" is our has become. In one of the evenings at the house in Nairobi we were all sitting outside eating dinner with every volunteer. Konstantin, Max and I then said to each other in amazement that the Scotsmen was really Scottish, the Japanese girl was really Japanese and the French girls seemed really French. Having said this in German I now switched to English and asked the closest French girl whether she in return thought we were very German and now others joined in and after a few seconds the verdict was yes but the most German seeming was I. The one who lived less than half his life in German, who spoke English best and generally had an international upbringing seemed most German. Of course we were all just stereotyping and one response to why I was most German was because "my hair is really blond" but it was an interesting moment nevertheless and strengthened my observation at LGB that paradoxically in a school with about 90 nationalities and every skin color possible racism was no problem but the students identified much stronger with nationalities. Although the LGB readers might want to disagree with that.
One major cultural difference which I have already mentioned is the perception of time. In Europe everything is arranged according to time. After all this is where the 24 hour day and the Gregorian calender was invented, which close to everybody uses today. The idea that you have to use the day as efficiently as possible because the day only has 24 hours and time is running away might be Europe's biggest yet less obvious export through imperialism etc. Ryszard Kapuscinski a Polish journalist who traveled Africa since 1957 describes the perhaps most vivid difference beautifully in his book "Afrikanisches Fieber". I apologize to those who do not speak German but me translating this would ruin the passage.
"Fuer sie (Afrikaner) ist die Zeit eine ziemlich lockere, elastische, subjektive Kategorie. Der Mensch hat Einfluss auf die Gestaltung der Zeit, auf ihren Ablauf und Rhythmus. Die Zeit ist sogar etwas, was der Mensch selbst schaffen kann, weil die Existenz der Zeit zum Beispiel in Eireignissen zum Ausdruck kommt, ob es aber zu diesem Ereignis kommt oder nicht, haengt schliesslich vom Menschen ab. Wenn zwei Armeen auf eine SChlacht verzichten, dann hat diese Schlacht nicht stattgefunden (das heisst, die Zeit hat ihre Existenz nicht unter Beweis gestellt, existiert nicht)."
It is always extremely impressive with what patience Africans can wait. They sit in complete silence on a 1 hour bus ride or stand immobile at the side of the road waiting for a matatu to arrive that is not already crammed. The silence is not seen as antisocial and the long delays not seen as the result of somebody else' wrongdoing.
Yesterday I played football with some boys from the village for the first time. On a pitch that was muddy, slanted, covered in rocks and in no ways straight they all played bear footed. Motuko a 15 year old who had to drop out of high school because his father cannot afford it anymore and now helps out occasionally is exceptionally good. He along with three others try very hard to communicate with me in English, while everybody else sticks to kikamba the local language. Sometimes they like to go to the next village on Saturdays to watch a Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris movie translated into Swahili when they can afford to spend the 5 shillings (5 cents).
Finally, just to warn you, my host father and I are thinking about trying to raise money for either more water tanks in the area (as then the water shortages would be less detremental) or for seeds (as even if there is water some might not be able to afford seeds so go hungry anyway). However I want to gather ideas and set priorities first before laying it out to you. As this is Africa and time is not definite that might take two weeks.
Swahili of the day!
Jumatatu = Monday, Jumanne = Tue, Jumatano = WEd, Alhamsi = Thu, Ijumaa = Fri, Jumamosi = Sat, Jumapili = Sun
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
14/10
First day in the project but on a stop in the nearest city of to Kathuni, called Machakos. I am the only white person in the entire city and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. The perception that the majority of the rural people have of white people are that they equal lots of money, which in comparison to what they have is surely true but is not the reason I am here. So it is understandable when they try in every way possible to get some money from you but it is annoying and not welcoming much to the contrary what everybody will tell you about the hospitality.
The bus ride took roughly one hour on the "highway" from Mombasa to Nairobi with only two lanes most of the time and gaps lacking asphalt. The roof of the bus looked like it would collapse at any moment but I saw zebras, giraffes and gazelles already. We are about to carry on the Kathuni. I hope the food at the host family will be sufficient and edible because I really feel undernourished especially as the work coming up includes hard labor on the fields.
The host father, Peter, sounds enthusiastic and seems very nice. He lives with his mother, sister and an orphan all of whom I have not yet met. The conditions in Machakos, which is one of the biggest cities in Kenya, are terrible. It is constantly dusty, which has the advantage that I might loose my habit of biting my nails as I might otherwise get sick from the dirty hands. Although already shocked by Nairobi I now see the advantages of it over Machakos, which means I will gladly spend more time in my project.
Another volunteer from Germany called Anne who came in September but left her project because it was dreadful might join me until December after a two week holiday in Uganda. By now I really hope she will come as having somebody else even it is only for the first few months would be tremendous.
First day in the project but on a stop in the nearest city of to Kathuni, called Machakos. I am the only white person in the entire city and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. The perception that the majority of the rural people have of white people are that they equal lots of money, which in comparison to what they have is surely true but is not the reason I am here. So it is understandable when they try in every way possible to get some money from you but it is annoying and not welcoming much to the contrary what everybody will tell you about the hospitality.
The bus ride took roughly one hour on the "highway" from Mombasa to Nairobi with only two lanes most of the time and gaps lacking asphalt. The roof of the bus looked like it would collapse at any moment but I saw zebras, giraffes and gazelles already. We are about to carry on the Kathuni. I hope the food at the host family will be sufficient and edible because I really feel undernourished especially as the work coming up includes hard labor on the fields.
The host father, Peter, sounds enthusiastic and seems very nice. He lives with his mother, sister and an orphan all of whom I have not yet met. The conditions in Machakos, which is one of the biggest cities in Kenya, are terrible. It is constantly dusty, which has the advantage that I might loose my habit of biting my nails as I might otherwise get sick from the dirty hands. Although already shocked by Nairobi I now see the advantages of it over Machakos, which means I will gladly spend more time in my project.
Another volunteer from Germany called Anne who came in September but left her project because it was dreadful might join me until December after a two week holiday in Uganda. By now I really hope she will come as having somebody else even it is only for the first few months would be tremendous.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The promised pictures
The fortified anglican church.
Traffic in down-town Nairobi.
The track towards Kampala.
The new building in the spot where the U.S. embassy used to be (bombed in 1998 with a death toll of about 340 people)
Konstantin getting his hair braided.
The view from inside Kibera over the wall seperating it from the luxury apartments in the back
Child in Kibera
Rail road that goes from Mombassa through Nairobi to Kampala.
A market stand in the slum of Kibera
Thu 09/10
Today has been the most uplifting day so far because not only do we have a shedule of how things are supposed to proceed but the shedule is also being followed. The second swahili lesson was followed by a talk with Chofi the project manager who makes a very good first impression and knows both our projects very well. The downside however is that we now have crammed days and only leave on Wednesday.
The nights have become noticably cooler and I think I even cought a small cold. This weakend I am also supposed to meet my host father Peter, which will hopefully be good as due to the nature of my project, I will be working very close to him. I was also told that Kathuni is not known for suffering from malaria, which means simple measures such as sleeping under a mosqito net etc. should be sufficient combined with Lariam.
As I am writing our house mama is preparing dinner, which is chicken bought alive on the market today. It is a special occasion because two of the KVDA members leave for Barcelona tomorrow for the international meeting of voluntary associations. I do not look forward to telling her on Sunday that I will not be attending church mass with her and the other volunteers...
Fri 09/10
After a couple of days of keeping to the shedule we left an hour late to the German embassy to chat with Mr. Kraemer and receive our "security passports", which in theory will keep us safe because on it it says:"Mqenye hati hii ni raia wa nchi Ubalozi wa Jamhuri ya Ujerumani" (put simply we are under special protection of the embassy). Hopefullt we will never get into a situation in which we have to rely on those written words. All three of us were surprised by the suspicion that the guards but also some employees had towards us, however friendly all in all.
When we got back the swahili lesson started delayed which meant that by the time I met with Silvia Moeller, a family friend whos children also went to Kabira (my school in Kampala/Uganda). She now works for the american peace corp volunteers in the medical department. Meeting Sylvia was great as she made me feel like I have a close contact in Nairobi and just in passing showed me a delicious restaurant. I hope to see her work place soon.
Telling people I have lived in Kampala for three years is generally of great advantage as both countries share a close relationship and many Kenyans have been in Uganda. Since leaving it in 2000 a lot has changed, which I was told not only by our dear Ugandan friend Olivia but also from people in Nairobi, as one Business School student put it "Makerere university in Kampala is the Harvard of Africa".
On my return to the house we had our common diseases in Kenya lesson, which really was like a lecture in medicine with a hint of "never forget though that all that air was created by god" rather than giving us concrete advice. Interesting nevertheless though because his approach to medicine was much like an article I read in the Spiegel on evolutionary medicine, which basically builds on the statistic that 75% of world wide medical cases could be prevented/cured at home with a change in lifestlye to more exercise etc... (Der Spiegel Nr. 40/26.09.09 "Geheimnis der Gesundheit")
Two hours later and in a time frame of roughly 5 minutes the clouds opened and caused the most hecktick city I have ever whitnessed to calm down as the rain soaked roads slowly transformed to mud and emptied.
I received further information about Kathuni today. I now know my P.O. Box is 36-Machakos and the full name of my host father is Peter Kioko.
Swahili sentences of the day! (yes I progressed to whole sentences!)
mimi ninaandika - I am writing
mimi nimeandika - I will be writing
mimi niliandika - I was writing
Today has been the most uplifting day so far because not only do we have a shedule of how things are supposed to proceed but the shedule is also being followed. The second swahili lesson was followed by a talk with Chofi the project manager who makes a very good first impression and knows both our projects very well. The downside however is that we now have crammed days and only leave on Wednesday.
The nights have become noticably cooler and I think I even cought a small cold. This weakend I am also supposed to meet my host father Peter, which will hopefully be good as due to the nature of my project, I will be working very close to him. I was also told that Kathuni is not known for suffering from malaria, which means simple measures such as sleeping under a mosqito net etc. should be sufficient combined with Lariam.
As I am writing our house mama is preparing dinner, which is chicken bought alive on the market today. It is a special occasion because two of the KVDA members leave for Barcelona tomorrow for the international meeting of voluntary associations. I do not look forward to telling her on Sunday that I will not be attending church mass with her and the other volunteers...
Fri 09/10
After a couple of days of keeping to the shedule we left an hour late to the German embassy to chat with Mr. Kraemer and receive our "security passports", which in theory will keep us safe because on it it says:"Mqenye hati hii ni raia wa nchi Ubalozi wa Jamhuri ya Ujerumani" (put simply we are under special protection of the embassy). Hopefullt we will never get into a situation in which we have to rely on those written words. All three of us were surprised by the suspicion that the guards but also some employees had towards us, however friendly all in all.
When we got back the swahili lesson started delayed which meant that by the time I met with Silvia Moeller, a family friend whos children also went to Kabira (my school in Kampala/Uganda). She now works for the american peace corp volunteers in the medical department. Meeting Sylvia was great as she made me feel like I have a close contact in Nairobi and just in passing showed me a delicious restaurant. I hope to see her work place soon.
Telling people I have lived in Kampala for three years is generally of great advantage as both countries share a close relationship and many Kenyans have been in Uganda. Since leaving it in 2000 a lot has changed, which I was told not only by our dear Ugandan friend Olivia but also from people in Nairobi, as one Business School student put it "Makerere university in Kampala is the Harvard of Africa".
On my return to the house we had our common diseases in Kenya lesson, which really was like a lecture in medicine with a hint of "never forget though that all that air was created by god" rather than giving us concrete advice. Interesting nevertheless though because his approach to medicine was much like an article I read in the Spiegel on evolutionary medicine, which basically builds on the statistic that 75% of world wide medical cases could be prevented/cured at home with a change in lifestlye to more exercise etc... (Der Spiegel Nr. 40/26.09.09 "Geheimnis der Gesundheit")
Two hours later and in a time frame of roughly 5 minutes the clouds opened and caused the most hecktick city I have ever whitnessed to calm down as the rain soaked roads slowly transformed to mud and emptied.
I received further information about Kathuni today. I now know my P.O. Box is 36-Machakos and the full name of my host father is Peter Kioko.
Swahili sentences of the day! (yes I progressed to whole sentences!)
mimi ninaandika - I am writing
mimi nimeandika - I will be writing
mimi niliandika - I was writing
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Wed 07.10
After being told that we should not leave the house early in the morning of Tuesday for the embassy because our preparation would continue with Swahili lessons we scraped our plans. When the morning came instead of 8 we started at 10:30...
The lesson itself then only lasted about an hour but it was a good first start to Swahili the language spoken by most of East-Africans. It's origins are from the Arabic and Bantu (spoken originally in the area before foreign influence) but contains English, French and even some German, which becomes most visible when trying to pronounce the words as it is exactly like German. We spent the first session learning the week days, numbers, common phrases and singing a song.
Afterward we spent the rest of the day catching up on sleep as it is extremely hard to fall asleep at night as well as catching up on food in a shopping center as it is hard to get used to the food cooked here and you never are too sure about where and how the food was cleaned and cooked.
Today we woke up to Keke a Kenyan volunteer who is responsible for cultural exchange asking us whether we wanted to tour Nairobi with him and look at the must sees such as the Parliament, state house, ministry of finance, prison for political prisoners under former president Moi (the torture house for Kibaki is currently unknown) etc... Of course we agreed and went on a 3 hour walk through Nairobi. I was most impressed however by the Goethe Institut and the Alliance Francaise in the city... you walk through the doors and you literally feel like you were in Germany or France. Additionally the fight of religious groups to missionate as many Kenyans as possible is simply mind boggling. The anglican church has a huge castle looking cmplex, the opus dei have a house a little outside the city center and the list goes on and on.
When we went back at 2 to meet with our Sahili teacher for further lessons she was not there and so we were faced with yet another afternoon that we have to fill.
Max and I are now in the internet cafe and afterwards will buy something in the next door super market while the remaining french girl (I should probably know her name by now...) is buying cards in a larger shopping center a bit further away so we are not doomed for boredom.
I will try and follow up this update with pictures that I have taken so far this friday.
Swahili word of the day!
(well phrase) unaitwa nani? = what is your name?
After being told that we should not leave the house early in the morning of Tuesday for the embassy because our preparation would continue with Swahili lessons we scraped our plans. When the morning came instead of 8 we started at 10:30...
The lesson itself then only lasted about an hour but it was a good first start to Swahili the language spoken by most of East-Africans. It's origins are from the Arabic and Bantu (spoken originally in the area before foreign influence) but contains English, French and even some German, which becomes most visible when trying to pronounce the words as it is exactly like German. We spent the first session learning the week days, numbers, common phrases and singing a song.
Afterward we spent the rest of the day catching up on sleep as it is extremely hard to fall asleep at night as well as catching up on food in a shopping center as it is hard to get used to the food cooked here and you never are too sure about where and how the food was cleaned and cooked.
Today we woke up to Keke a Kenyan volunteer who is responsible for cultural exchange asking us whether we wanted to tour Nairobi with him and look at the must sees such as the Parliament, state house, ministry of finance, prison for political prisoners under former president Moi (the torture house for Kibaki is currently unknown) etc... Of course we agreed and went on a 3 hour walk through Nairobi. I was most impressed however by the Goethe Institut and the Alliance Francaise in the city... you walk through the doors and you literally feel like you were in Germany or France. Additionally the fight of religious groups to missionate as many Kenyans as possible is simply mind boggling. The anglican church has a huge castle looking cmplex, the opus dei have a house a little outside the city center and the list goes on and on.
When we went back at 2 to meet with our Sahili teacher for further lessons she was not there and so we were faced with yet another afternoon that we have to fill.
Max and I are now in the internet cafe and afterwards will buy something in the next door super market while the remaining french girl (I should probably know her name by now...) is buying cards in a larger shopping center a bit further away so we are not doomed for boredom.
I will try and follow up this update with pictures that I have taken so far this friday.
Swahili word of the day!
(well phrase) unaitwa nani? = what is your name?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Kenyan whistle blower
Mon 05/10
By now it has rained once and because of that the water truck also came by today to supply us with long overdue water. Last night I got my first bite but as were still in Nairobi I doubt it will result in malaria. To everybodies surprise here Lariam, a malaria medication I take as prophylaxis known to have serious side effects, still shows none.
I have started reading "It's our turn to eat" a book written by the Financial Times correspondent for Africa about a former minister responsible for reducing curroption under Kibeki the president of Kenya and resigning after realising that the same game of curropt officials was being continued just under a new administration. I have only reached chapter 6 so I do not know whether the minister will release the documents but undoubtedly given the nature of the book he has. This story also explained the recent headlines on the front pages of Nairobi's newspapers such as "Kenya vs. World". At least 8 government officials face proscecution by an international court for involvement in the slaughter of 1600 Kenyans last year and corruption.
The book gave me a very good chance to catch up on my admittedly spongy history on Kenya. In 1963 their year of independence Kenyans earned on average as much as Malaysians today the latter earn 10 times more, which leads to the question what went wrong in such a promising country that unlike its neighbours remained more or less peaceful.
Today I found out the only volunteer in my project before me was a 47 year old who sold his house and car and came to Africa with all his money to find a wife. He was kicked out of the project after demanding the money he had handed out at first back with legal backing forcing some of the villagers to sell their land and taking a 17 year old with him to Italy. Awesome for me!
Swahili word of the day!
Ahsante sana = thank you very much
By now it has rained once and because of that the water truck also came by today to supply us with long overdue water. Last night I got my first bite but as were still in Nairobi I doubt it will result in malaria. To everybodies surprise here Lariam, a malaria medication I take as prophylaxis known to have serious side effects, still shows none.
I have started reading "It's our turn to eat" a book written by the Financial Times correspondent for Africa about a former minister responsible for reducing curroption under Kibeki the president of Kenya and resigning after realising that the same game of curropt officials was being continued just under a new administration. I have only reached chapter 6 so I do not know whether the minister will release the documents but undoubtedly given the nature of the book he has. This story also explained the recent headlines on the front pages of Nairobi's newspapers such as "Kenya vs. World". At least 8 government officials face proscecution by an international court for involvement in the slaughter of 1600 Kenyans last year and corruption.
The book gave me a very good chance to catch up on my admittedly spongy history on Kenya. In 1963 their year of independence Kenyans earned on average as much as Malaysians today the latter earn 10 times more, which leads to the question what went wrong in such a promising country that unlike its neighbours remained more or less peaceful.
Today I found out the only volunteer in my project before me was a 47 year old who sold his house and car and came to Africa with all his money to find a wife. He was kicked out of the project after demanding the money he had handed out at first back with legal backing forcing some of the villagers to sell their land and taking a 17 year old with him to Italy. Awesome for me!
Swahili word of the day!
Ahsante sana = thank you very much
What a difference a day makes
Sat 03/10
On wednesday from two of the biggest and modern airports in the world, Frankfurt and Heathrow with a smaller version of Harrods inside and a caviar and champagne bistro plus the chance to win a Masserati to Nairobi without water to shower after 10h of sitting in planes. The lack of water continued leaving onlz enough for cooking. I am staying at a house of the Kenya Voluntary Development Association (KVDA) the partner organisation of the SCI with the two other long term volunteers, two other German girls that are spending their last days of a 4 week work camp here and are very helpful as they know the city, three french girls who came to Kenya for 3 months of voluntary work and one for eight. Today a Spaniard joined making space for the expected arrival of further volunteers very limited.
On our first of Nairobi we visited the biggest slum of Africa (Kibera). Half the population of Nairobi lives here also meaning half the work force and due to the higher birth rates and rural-urban migration also the major potential work force of the 4 million city. The slum is kept from expanding by a tall concrete wall that goes around it nearly entirely. The smells inside are at times nearly unbearable and we could not take many pictures because most of the people living there were suspicious or offended of the sight of white people and cameras. We even went inside one of the houses in which a friend of a KVDA helper lived with two wives and eight children. The children were all delighted to see us and chanted with delight "how are you muzungu" when we passed.
Later that day Constantin, Max (the other two long term volunteers) and I found out that we will have to stay another 10 days for preparation because of volunteers that arrive later. This came as a big disappointment because I already dislike Nairobi and would rather get going with my project. Today is Saturday and we spent the day in the city with the two German girls as it is their last day we combined swimming in a hotel pool with taking the first shower since wednesday all for 200 Kenyan shilling roughly 2 Euros. Additionally we can escape the smog of the city and have a good view from the top floor.
Swahili word of the day!
Coconut = nazi
On wednesday from two of the biggest and modern airports in the world, Frankfurt and Heathrow with a smaller version of Harrods inside and a caviar and champagne bistro plus the chance to win a Masserati to Nairobi without water to shower after 10h of sitting in planes. The lack of water continued leaving onlz enough for cooking. I am staying at a house of the Kenya Voluntary Development Association (KVDA) the partner organisation of the SCI with the two other long term volunteers, two other German girls that are spending their last days of a 4 week work camp here and are very helpful as they know the city, three french girls who came to Kenya for 3 months of voluntary work and one for eight. Today a Spaniard joined making space for the expected arrival of further volunteers very limited.
On our first of Nairobi we visited the biggest slum of Africa (Kibera). Half the population of Nairobi lives here also meaning half the work force and due to the higher birth rates and rural-urban migration also the major potential work force of the 4 million city. The slum is kept from expanding by a tall concrete wall that goes around it nearly entirely. The smells inside are at times nearly unbearable and we could not take many pictures because most of the people living there were suspicious or offended of the sight of white people and cameras. We even went inside one of the houses in which a friend of a KVDA helper lived with two wives and eight children. The children were all delighted to see us and chanted with delight "how are you muzungu" when we passed.
Later that day Constantin, Max (the other two long term volunteers) and I found out that we will have to stay another 10 days for preparation because of volunteers that arrive later. This came as a big disappointment because I already dislike Nairobi and would rather get going with my project. Today is Saturday and we spent the day in the city with the two German girls as it is their last day we combined swimming in a hotel pool with taking the first shower since wednesday all for 200 Kenyan shilling roughly 2 Euros. Additionally we can escape the smog of the city and have a good view from the top floor.
Swahili word of the day!
Coconut = nazi
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