Kilimanjaro

So since I have no internet on the mountain (though surprisingly there is cell phone signal), I have decided to blog each day and post one giantly-massive post when I get down. Here goes.

Day 1

I woke up this morning as though it were Christmas. My alarm was set for 8 but for some reason, my unique talent of the ability to loll in bed dozing for many hours late into the morning had evaded me. I popped up at 7 and had a long shower (until the hot water ran out) before scrambling to pack my bag and have breakfast. My lift to the office was late however, so I ended up waiting a while. When I eventually arrived I met my guide, Ezekiel, who in an instant surveyed my bag and indicated to me that I was not bringing enough. I was shocked, as I had thought that 'packing light' was going to be a challenge for me. Apparently I was TOO good. The funny thing was that after going through my entire giant backpack, I was only able to add one long-sleeve and an extra pair of PJs to the pile... It became quite evident that I had given too many of my clothes away in the village. Ezekiel was satisfied only after I ticked off all of the essential items on the list as he went through them. I met my cook and a few of the porters who would be coming with us – Barak (I call him Obama), and Anthony were the friendliest -  and we drove up to the starting gate. I had chosen to tackle the Machame route, which is apparently the 'Whiskey Route' because of its many challenges along the way. I wouldn't have wanted my Kili climb to be too easy. It is also known as the most scenic route so I was looking forward to some great shots of the landscape. The departure point was at 1800m ASL and while I waited for the porters to sort the gear into 20kg piles, I had my lunch. I nearly fell off my stool when I saw what it was: a veggie burger, fries, and bananas. Not really your typical hiking food. I devoured it just the same.

What a Whirlwind

Somehow a month has slipped by me and my time in Kenya is nearly finished. I am very sad.

My project has really picked up in the last three weeks and I have been busy transferring Class 4 students from Fairview to other schools nearby. Although many tears were shed at their graduation ceremony, I hope that they see in the end, it is best for their education. We are sponsoring 8 students in total for the remainder of this year, and then an additional 6 when a second transition happens in January. We will be looking for sponsors of these children for the next few years so if you are interested, please let me know. $50 pays for a school uniform, books, a lunch nutrition program, a PTA fee, examination fees and extra remedial classes on Saturdays FOR ONE YEAR! It is impossible for families here to even afford that, so I wonder how the government can continue to claim 'free education' for all primary school students. Secondary school is even more expensive and the most tragic thing is that many of these students will not have the means to attend without the help of a sponsor.

A New Birthday

It is early morning of the 26th of June. A young mother of two feels the labour pains of her third child pressing against her abdomen at the early hour of 1 a.m. So as to not disturb her husband and her sleeping children, she quietly bears the pain until the first rays of sun begin to appear in the sky at 5 a.m. Finally it is time to rise to attend the nearby clinic for delivery. She wakes her husband to tell him that she is in labour and will be heading to the clinic. He will handle the responsibility of getting the other two young ones off to school this morning and then will join her there. She dresses quietly and calls for a piki-piki. She feels every bump of the muddy road underneath the weight of her swollen belly as the motorcycle speeds along. It is a short journey of five minutes and she is grateful to make it before the next contraction hits.

Just keep pedaling...

To celebrate one of our teammate’s birthdays, 8 of us transported ourselves past the acres upon acres of green tea fields in Kericho, along a bumpy road (and when I say bumpy, I mean bumpy... we were airborne for the majority of the journey and I was two bumps away from losing my breakfast) to the deep cut, spectacular Rift Valley. A brief stop in Nakuru (near Lake Nakuru where thousands of flamingos apparently wade in the water and rhinos crash through the surrounding forest... I’ll save it for another journey), and we moved on to the final destination, Lake Naivasha. It was significantly more arid on this side of the Rift Valley. After some exciting sightings of baboons and zebras, the bus dropped us in what seemed to be a petrol station in the middle of nowhere. Upon further investigation, we determined that our hunches were right. We stocked up on some water and bread for breakfast, and then inquired after the nearest matatu station that could take us to Lake Naivasha. We were directed down the road, but after many unsuccessful attempts to wave down matatus that were already obviously bursting at the seams with overcrowding, I casually suggested hitchhiking (sorry Mom and Dad). I will not fume too much about the number of wazungus that ignored us in their comfortable rented SUVs and Jeeps, but instead will attend focus to the kind Kenyan driver and passenger, Joseph, in a safari-jeep who picked us up and drove us on to Naivasha town for no charge. Joseph was in tourism for Lake Nakuru so he did his best to convince us to visit at a later date. They dropped us at a matatu station, where they helped us bargain for our safe transport to our accommodations on the lake, and when the price was still stuck too high, Joseph paid the difference of 250/=KSH, despite our many protests.

Just Beat it

Today I went to the school early in the morning to help with the nightmare of sending children who hadn’t paid their school fees home. Two things broke my heart today. First, obviously, was dealing with teary eyed students as I passed them notes to take home to their parents/guardians, explaining why they were not allowed at school. Although it was very difficult, and even I had a few tears, in the end it worked and all students who were sent home returned later in the day with their fees.

The Negotiator

Well I reckon it is about time for a traditional blog post. I got a bit carried away with my creativeness, and figure I should revert for the sake of my future publisher who I can only assume is just biding his/her time until they discover the next big blogger (a.k.a. me).

For the past week, to be quite honest, my work in Western Kenya has been a struggle. About a week ago now, four of the teachers at the school I am working with decided to strike... somewhat illegally. Their issues stemmed from long-festering managerial issues, to lack of compensation for their efforts. Whist communicating with them and collecting the terms of their strike, I attempted to derive some compromises to their issues. Unbeknownst to me, while I was dealing with the teachers, the director of the school decide that instead of listening to their problems, she would go ahead and hire four new teachers.

The Little Princesses

This is the story of three little girls living in a little room in a little house in a little town in Western Kenya. Every night, as they tuck themselves in to the shadows of their blue mosquito net canopies, they reminisce about the days of cheese, chocolate and wine. In the mornings they hear the shuffle of the other children getting fed delicious eggs and mandazi doughnuts for breakfast. Once the evil headmistress has left for work, they hop out of bed, hopeful of what may be left over to eat. The house keeper with kind smiling eyes serves them tea, as she has found a soft spot in her heart for the three innocent girls, but all to eat is cold chapaties leftover from the night before. They argue about who deserves the extra one and in the end agree to split it into three equal pieces. The eldest one closes her eyes and describes the wonderful smorgasbord of food she imagines before them. She declares that the strawberry covered crêpes she is devouring are absolutely delicious. The other two follow suit and soon there is a wonderful game underway providing relief and excitement to their palates.