by Heather Plett | Feb 15, 2005 | Uncategorized
Today was another full day. We started early. Because it was hard to sleep, with the goat noises and the cold (we had no blankets – all I had to cover me for most of the night was a thin sarong), I was out of bed around 6:00. I had a bit of a sponge bath at the garden tap. The sunrise was quite beautiful this morning. I went for a short walk down a path behind the garden, through the acacia trees. A group of children came running down the path. It looked like they were on their way to school.
The people are SO friendly here. The children always run to greet us and every time we stop somewhere, everyone comes to talk to us and shake our hands.
We had breakfast at a table set up under an acacia tree. The women prepared tea over an open fire. They served us bought bread and jam, bananas and ginger cookies.
After breakfast, we drove to the farm of Isaiah and Paulina. Isaiah has 2 wives. His other wife Esther was one of the women serving us breakfast. Paulina welcomed us into her house made of sticks and cow dung. She welcomed us with a graciousness and warmth that was quite remarkable and admirable. I’m sure I would hesitate to welcome a group of strangers into my home, and I have so much more than her. We sat on her bed in the tiny bedroom that held 2 beds for her and her husband. There was a small table beside the bed with a crude lantern on it. Some tin boxes served as storage space on the one shelf.
Next to the bedroom was another tiny room with beds for her three children. She opened a flap over a three inch hole in the wall to let in some light so we could see.
In the kitchen was an open fire pit on the floor and a few pots hanging on the wall. There was another small bed in the kitchen.
The entire house was possibly the size of my living room. Though it was hot and sunny while we were there and they can do most of their living outside, I can’t imagine how they spend their time during the rainy season.
Next to the house was a fenced-in enclosure where the hay bales were stored. In the enclosure was another small house for Esther, the second wife, and her children.
Isaiah owns 20 cows. On the opposite side of the house is an enclosure where the cows are kept when they’re not in the fields grazing. Isaiah has prepared 370 bales of hay – all by hand.
Isaiah hitched up the cattle and he and Paulina demonstrated how they plowed the field. I had my picture taken with Paulina in front of her house.
After visiting the farm, we went on a long ride down very rough roads to an area between two hills where they hope to build a dam. The dam will hold water that normally flows between the hills in the rainy season. They are applying for funding to the Foodgrains Bank through MCC. For 25,000, and about 3 months labour, they hope to provide water for 700 families.
It was clear this project is important to them. The leaders of the area gathered with us to honour our visit and to stress how valuable it would be for them to build their dam.
After the visit to the proposed dam site, we visited a nearby village. They served us tea and fruit and goat meat. I tried to drink the tea, but it was a little hard to swallow after two flies drowned in it. Trying not to offend them, I went for a little walk and dumped it out behind a cactus bush.
On the way back from the dam, we had a great conversation about local purchase, advocacy, and lobbying the government. The visit to the dam helped people understand the limitations of the local purchase regulations. They’re all quite passionate about carrying what they’ve seen back to Canada and writing to their MP’s and Ministers.
We stopped at another farm owned by Sarona Siampala. This is one of the contact farmers who has received irrigation assistance through the CFGB project. He showed us what a cassava plant looks like.
The third farm we visited was that of Joseph and Maria Nkuito. They have 11 children. Some of their children were away at school, but when we arrived on the farm, many children from the neighbourhood came running to see us. A few of them reached for my hands, and before long I had about 8 of them trying to hold my hands.
Maria took us to the garden. It was quite impressive. They were the first contact farmers because they were among the most vulnerable in the area. They benefited from the fencing and irrigation project (and seeds and tools, I think) of the Maasai Food Security Project, funded by CFGB.
The water for the irrigation comes from a spring in the hills about 20 miles away. It flows by the force of gravity through a 6 inch pipe.
This was one of the most successful farms in the project. By selling produce from the garden, as well as cattle, they were able to buy a vehicle. Joseph transports other neighbours to the market in his vehicle. He was at the market when we visited the farm.
While we were leaving the farm, the children once again crowded around us. They sang a song for us and then Brenda started “Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes” which they also knew and sang along.
We were supposed to visit 2 other farms today, but it was getting late, so we returned to the demo farm. The women were preparing supper for us, and in the meantime, we had time for showers and a little rest.
Not far from the demo site was the new church that was being built. Stephen, the pastor and our host, was quite proud of it. We went to see it and watched the men spreading red clay on the floor.
Stephen also took us on a brief tour of the demo farm just before it got dark. The farm is cared for by Isaiah, the first farmer we visited today. It is used to demonstrate farming techniques, drip irrigation, etc. to the farmers in the project. They also use it to test new crops and techniques. One of the most recent projects is a set of bee hives. They hope to harvest their first honey this spring.
Supper was served inside the house on the demo farm. Though the house is quite primitive, it is the nicest house for miles around. It was built for the pastor for this region. Pastor Stephen, who pastors 25 churches in the region, lives 45 kilometres away. Stephen has 5 daughters – one of whom is studying in the U.S.
After supper, we had some devotional time lead by Pastor Stephen. We also had some sharing and singing. Joseph, one of the agriculture extension workers, led the music. One of the songs we sang was the Amen song in round. In Maasai, Amen is “Assai”.
Some of the women traded sleeping arrangements for the second night at the farm, and this time I slept in the house. I shared a room with Brenda. Though it was quite peaceful, it took me a long time to fall asleep.
As “luck” would have it, I had my period today. It’s not a lot of fun dealing with blood and cramps out in remote villages with no indoor plumbing, nothing but drop holes in the outhouses, not enough water to clean yourself, etc. The worst was the place where we stopped for lunch – I had to go hide behind a tree to change my pad. Blech! Some unsuspecting snake or gopher will be a little surprised to find a bloody pad jambed into the entrance of its home!
by Heather Plett | Feb 14, 2005 | Uncategorized
We went to church this morning in the slums. It was a great experience. I snuck out of church for awhile to visit the children. There were about 6 children there. The woman leading them was Carolyme. She introduced herself and all of the children to me. She says she prays to be a teacher some day. The children sang for me – the words of the song were something like “I went to Uganda, I asked people if they knew Jesus.” It was funny hearing their version of a missionary chorus – not unlike what we might have sung years ago.
The only teaching tool I could see in the classroom was a small ball of dark play dough that looked like it had been handled by too many dirty little hands. The children all had to share that one ball of play dough. There was nothing else in the room, except for a few chairs and tables.
Carolyme introduced her 2 daughters to me. She said she also lost a son eight years ago. He was 6 months old.
During the church service (back in the adult session), we all had to introduce ourselves. They seemed quite honoured to have a group of Canadians in their midst.
After church, we went for lunch to a Somali restaurant on top of a building – we had to climb at least 5 flights of stairs. The food was wonderful. We ate camel and rice with raisins, and cabbage and some wonderful fruit for dessert.
I spoke with the man who preached in church (a lay minister – I can’t remember his name, but he gave me his card). He’s a consultant in development work – says he “sells ideas”. He talked a bit about his philosophy on the problems in Africa. He says the missionaries are to blame for many of the problems. He said that western missionaries came to Africa with money and no evidence of accountability. They educated the youth, and those who’d been educated by them eventually ended up in the government. Because they’d witnessed the missionaries operate without accountability, they in turn became corrupt and not accountable to anyone. It was an interesting idea, and I’m sure it has merit.
We also sat with the Bishop. At another table, Dan married off his son to a young girl who was at their table. She saw his picture, and found him attractive, so Dan negotiated with her Mom for a dowry.
After lunch, we headed out of Nairobi into the countryside – into the Rift Valley. We had our first animal sightings – giraffes, zebras, gazelles, and antelopes. We drove into the Maasai region. Maasai are beautiful people with lots of beadwork and colourful clothes. I got my picture taken with a Maasai woman.
We ended up in a Maasai village, in the Ngong Hills, at the foot of Mount Suswa. We were welcomed at Najile Boys High School – a boarding school for boys. There are about 200 students there. The welcoming party included some amazing Maasai dancers and a choir. There was a warm welcome and lots of speeches. We had to introduce ourselves to the students and community representatives gathered. The boys showed a particular fondness for Rachel, the 19 year old member of our group.
Supper was served to us at the school. We ate goat meat and rice and cabbage and veggies.
We’re now in tents we set up in the farmyard we’re staying at. Rachel and Joyce and Joy and I are in one, the guys are in another, and the rest of the girls are inside the house. The house was built by the local community for the pastor of the local Presbyterian church.
There are goats about 15 feet from our tent. One of them – the billygoat – was particularly noisy. It’s bleating sounded like the cries of a wounded child. The guys just got up and duct-taped its mouth shut. It was quite a comical moment – watching the guys parade across the yard in their underwear, heading to the goat pen. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the goat with duct tape over its mouth. Thankfully, the goat is quiet now.
Here’s hoping I sleep and don’t have to get up to pee.
While we were setting up the tents, a young boy dressed in Maasai clothing came to see my watch. When I showed him that it glowed, he laughed out loud. After that, he kept coming to press the buttons.
We’re having to get used to using “squatty potties” – drop holes where toilets should be. It takes some practice getting your aim right.
by Heather Plett | Feb 13, 2005 | Uncategorized
It’s been a full day. My head is full. My stomach is full. My heart is full. My eyes are full. There’s so much to see and hear and smell here.
We started the day with breakfast at 7:30. In the dining room, I sat with a couple who do peace and justice work with MCC in Burundi. They’re staying in Nairobi while they await the birth of their first baby. They were beautiful, peaceful looking people. I took a picture of the husband playing guitar outside after breakfast. Their names are Doug and Deanna.
I also sat with a woman who’s a medical doctor in Tanzania – near Lake Victoria. She’s in Nairobi because she was spending the week here with her three sons who attend boarding school at Rift Valley Academy. It’s hard to imagine seeing your children only a few times a year. I don’t know if I could do it. I’m having a hard enough time being away from mine for 3 weeks. Some of her kids started boarding school in grade two – that’s Julie’s age!
After breakfast, we met Jim and Cathy, the MCC Country Directors for Kenya. They were accompanied by Wambui, who works in their office. Wambui had made arrangements for our day – she served as hour host.
Our first stop was at the Nairobi Museum. There was a display of paintings by Joy Adamson which were quite amazing. Another thing that caught my attention was a huge map of Africa – probably 10 feet tall – made out of butterflies.
I was struck by the amount of symbolism there is attached to sexual development – things like circumcision, menstruation, etc. For example, there were these beautifully beaded aprons that women wore under their clothes. There were different ones for uncircumcised girls, circumcised girls who aren’t married, and circumcised women who are married. No one was allowed to see the aprons, except (in the case of the married woman) the husband. If a man suspected his wife of being unfaithful, he asked the man whom he suspected what colour his wife’s apron was. There was also a picture of a woman whose shaved head demonstrated that all of her children were circumcised.
I have mixed feelings about this stuff. On the one hand, I am terribly saddened by female circumcision and the powerlessness of women in cultures like these. On the other hand, there is some beauty to the celebration of sexual transitions like menstruation. I wish we could find a healthy medium – where sexuality and all that comes with it is celebrated in a healthy, open way, but women are not made to feel objectified and powerless.
After the museum, we went to the animal orphanage. It is essentially a zoo where they care for animals which, for one reason or another, cannot exist in the wild. There were lions, hyenas, ostriches, monkeys, baboons, etc.
We then went to a place called The Embassy where we ate lunch outside under a tent. They prepared a variety of food, including some local and some western food. We had Ugali for the first time – that’s a staple around here. It’s made from ground maize and doesn’t have a lot of flavour. During lunch, there was a monkey scampering across the grounds. One of the kitchen staff came out with a broom and a frying pan to try to scare it away. I guess they’re a nuisance around here.
The food was slow to come, so we had a lot of time to talk. We asked Wambui about her culture, her church, her family, etc. She has one little girl who’s 2 years old. Her church sounds a little like an African version of traditional Mennonites. It seems fairly legalistic. They can’t wear jewellery. Women who are married wear a lace tank top over their clothes. They don’t go to the hospital, though it seems the younger generation is breaking from some of the tradition. Wambui had her baby in a hospital. They don’t eat certain types of meat, and they can’t cook with certain oils. It all seemed rather complicated, but I don’t know what the justification is behind the rules. It’s pretty easy to judge someone else’s legalism and overlook your own.
Despite her complicated religion, there was a peacefulness and obvious faith in her. She seemed so gentle and genuine. I wish I could have seen her with her daughter. Her daughter seems a little like Maddie – a little too brave for her own good.
After lunch, we walked over to a large amphitheatre where we watched some local dances and an acrobatic troupe. It was delightful. There was a joyful spirit about the dancers. They looked like they were having so much fun, grinning all the time. There were a few dances where they pulled members of the audience onto the dance floor. Rachel was quite delighted to dance with them. Corrie Lynn had one of the dancers proposition her – he wanted to meet her after the dance. The acrobatic troupe was absolutely amazing. At one point, there were five men balancing on the shoulders, hips, and arms of one man. They also did some incredible tumbling through hoops, and some limbo under a rod of fire.
At the show, I saw the two women I’d met on the plane. They’d met up with another Canadian woman at their hotel.
After the show, we came back to the guest house for supper. The salad and vegetables were quite delicious, as was the beef that had been marinated or seasoned with some interesting spices.
We did a little laundry tonight, and discovered a tiny gecko in the laundry room. Because of the warm weather, and lack of bugs, buildings are quite open here, without a lot of barriers to the natural world.
Tonight we gathered at the gazebo for a time of debriefing. It was an interesting experience, particularly from a community-building point of view. People were a little reluctant to share openly and when some tentative offerings of vulnerability were shared, they were betrayed a little by some who were too willing to give answers rather than reciprocal sharing. For that reason, it didn’t go very deep. It didn’t feel very genuine. Some were judgemental, some were too reluctant to be honest, some were too formal.
Time will tell if we can become a community. I suspect we will. I hope we can find depth without being afraid of the risk.
Part of me wishes the average age of people were a little older. But perhaps there are blessings to be found in having some more youthful people here. There are already a few personalities that grate a little, but so far, it’s only minor and I think I can overlook it.
I’ve started reading “The Different Drummer”, the book about community building that Jo and Michele recommended. It’s interesting to read about it while I watch it happen.
by Heather Plett | Feb 12, 2005 | Uncategorized
I wish I could record the sounds and smells of this place. It’s incredible. I was woken this morning by a cacophony of birds. During the night there were dogs howling their happy tune.
I slept reasonably well. I woke up a few times, but was always able to fall back to sleep fairly easily.
The Mennonite Guest House is amazing. The grounds are like a park. Just outside my window is a hibiscus tree with big pink flowers. I don’t know the names of most of the plants. Somebody mentioned bougainvillea and about 10 feet from me, there’s something that looks like “mother-in-law’s tongue”. I’m sitting at a patio table about 20 feet from our door. There’s a “monkey puzzle tree” just behind me. (Dan, of course, knows its official name, but I know it as a monkey puzzle tree.)
by Heather Plett | Feb 11, 2005 | Uncategorized
We’re at the guest house now. The Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi, Kenya. It’s quite beautiful. The rooms are rather like hostels in Europe (simple furnishings, nothing too extravagant), but the grounds seem quite amazing (at least what we can see at night).
I’m sharing a room with Kim and Rachel. Well, actually, I have my own room, but theirs is adjoining mine and I have to go through theirs to get to the bathroom.
The flight was rather long and I was stuck in the middle because I gave up my aisle seat for someone who wanted to sit with his partner. It was kinda cute. He leaned over to thank me and whispered “I’m a little scared, so I appreciate it.”
I was sitting beside one of 29 people on our flight who all wore matching red sweat shirts that said “Mt. Kilimanjaro”. They were part of a tour group from Norway on their way to attempt to climb Kilimanjaro. It’s a six day hike (there and back) and there’s no guarantee they’ll make it to the top.
The guy beside me introduced himself to me after drinking A LOT of alcohol – probably half a dozen red wine and then another half a dozen drambuie. His name is Eric. He’s been married 35 or 36 years (I can’t remember exactly) and says he’s still really in love with his wife. He says he’ll start missing her in a couple of days. He used to farm mink and salmon. He was taught by his dad who spent time in America where he learned about the industry. About a year and a half ago, Eric sold the business and is now wealthy enough to travel the world.
After that many drinks, he didn’t mind sharing his philosophies with me. He likes to travel, but mostly he likes English-speaking countries. He doesn’t like Arabs and thinks it’s a problem that so many are immigrating to Norway. He believes that children should be raised by their parents and not childcare. He thinks it’s unfortunate that so many in Norway are prejudiced against the U.S. because of Iraq.
On the other side were 2 women from the Okanagan. I think their names are Kathleen and Toni. They’re on their way to a safari in the Serengetti, and then a few days on the beach. I got the distinct feeling that they were life partners – perhaps they were even on their honeymoon. I tried to analyze why I thought that, and, besides the fact that one was rather butch looking, there was a subtlety to their communication that spoke more of lover than friend. Not that I wanted to ask them, but I wish they could have felt comfortable telling me if they WERE on a honeymoon.
Well, I’d better try to sleep now – though it’s only 3:00 in the afternoon at home. This bed is delightfully comfy, and the air is nice – not hot, but not cool either.
by Heather Plett | Feb 11, 2005 | Uncategorized
We started the morning off with the rest of our orientation session. This morning, Randy talked about the impact of culture shock and how the change continuum can impact us on a trip like this. He says people hit the low point just before the halfway point of the journey. It was worth considering, because I know there will be moments on this trip when everyone will get on my nerves. Hopefully, we’ll all get past those moments.
After Randy spoke, we had Joki from Kenya. She was fascinating. Her name means “from 2 places” and she says because of that she has never been able to settle in either home – Kenya or Canada.
She told us a lot about the culture and the people. One of the things that I remember is that you’re not supposed to step across someone’s legs, or you will curse them. If you cross them in this way, you have to uncross them.
We had lunch at Kelsey’s and then wrapped up our session and headed to the airport.
On the flight to Amsterdam, there was much less leg room than I expected on an international flight. It was hard to get comfortable. Plus, the woman beside me was fairly large and her elbow kept bumping me. I didn’t sleep much – only an hour or so. I watched the movie “The Notebook”. It was pleasant, but nothing too memorable. The entertainment units were quite impressive. You could choose between a fairly large selection of movies, television shows, documentaries, music, and even games. Each seat was equipped with its own remote which also served as a phone, and a game control set.
There was a nice moment during the movie. James Garner and Gena Rowlands were dancing near the end of the movie – two old people near the end of their lives swaying to life’s music. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a father holding his child in the aisle of the plane, swaying at much the same pace, trying to calm his child. It was a nice little vignette of the stages of love and life.
Now we’re in Amsterdam airport. We have a few hours to kill before our flight. I’m tired but happy. It’s nice to have something to look forward to. It’s nice to sit and watch people walking by – all on their way to somewhere else.
I had a little sad moment today. As I was going through the little photo album I’d brought, I realized I hadn’t included any pictures of Dad. I’d grabbed mostly recent pictures, taken after Dad died. It doesn’t feel like a complete picture of who I am if it doesn’t include Dad. So much of who I am is because of who he was. I feel like I’ve cheated him a little by leaving him out. Sorry Dad. I didn’t mean to. I don’t want time to separate me from the reality of him.
