Only in Kenya

So I thought I would write about some of the small things I notice that just make me think "only in Kenia"
Last week with the other volunteers that have left since we passed a little 1x1m hut made out of aluminum on our way to Wamunio (the woodcarving place). Looking closer we found out it was the "police station" and the construction of it was sponsored by some company that had plastered this for the world to see on nearly every bit of the little space that was available. The mix of the pathetic size of the police station and the fact that a company was so proud of sponsoring this little hut made all of us laugh.
Two days later when they had left I was sitting in Machakos having lunch when I noticed a few older men sitting at a table next to me. Suddenly I saw that one of them had a Hitler mustache. I do not know whether he thought Hitler was a great guy and needed praising or whether that particular mustache was fashionable either reasons made me think "only in Kenya".

Judy


Ken


Mwendwa with a Swiss t-shirt!


Sammy (the child that is always happy to see me), the grandma and the child who always cries when he sees me.


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It's raining! And how it's raining.. After days of heat and in February (the hottest month) it's hailing and drumming on the alluminium roofs like steel drums. It's funny how after only 4-5 months mood now lifts when it's raining.


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Finally we have made some progress (and set-backs) on the issue of how to raise money, why to raise money and what to raise money for. The initial plan as I said on the blog was to raise funds for 20 water tanks with the help of the small project fund of the embassy in Nairobi. Unfortunately that will not work and so I had to slim down the plans to 5 tanks for 5 active community members that will contribute in cash, ballast and sand (to mix with the cement). With the "hakuna matata" attitude this has taken some time but now I have the updated prices, visited the families and solved problems such as where the tanks should be built and how large etc. I want to try and raise 2,000 Euros with your kind contributions in order to start construction of the tanks as soon as possible. Anne the other volunteer who was with me for 3 weeks is trying to raise funds in her community in Germany as well so I think this goal is reachable. I will send further details on Saturday.
And for those interested I got an unconditional offer from the University of Leicester for International Relations, which is a huge relief!
I hope everybody is well. I'm slowly succumbing the constant plus 30 degrees.
Max