We got home safely this week from Nairobi, but not exactly in the way that I had envisioned. Like normal we grabbed a matatu from the City Centre stage and suffered through the dust, noise and danger that is modern Kenya's finest mode of transportation. We arrived with our lives and person intact in Kajidao, and set up a meeting with one of our counterparts. Julius was also worried about the looming water crisis and set about solving the problem. This was music to our ears as we have been saving bath water to wash our clothes in before dumping it on the few remaining green plants we have in the backyard. Its been pretty tight here water wise, which made our experience in Nairobi slightly more bizarre.
We met with our APCD on Thursday, and discussed, among other things, our emergency action plans. This roughly translates to discussing all of the worst case scenarios, and then laughing at the possibility of ever having to implement them. For example, on this particular trip, we discussed the riverbed we cross to leave our village. Its a dry beach for 11 months of the year, and a seething torrent in heavy rains. Under normal circumstances, if the river is raging, you just don't cross. This is a widely accepted method of coming away with your life, even if you don't get to town to buy peanut butter or luke warm soda. But like I said, we weren't there to discuss what normally happens.
A month ago, we had discussed the very same river crossing issue at site visit. I had laughingly suggested that, should we need to leave when the rains come, we could use a rope and some flotation devices to help each other across. Tie one end to a tree as the other person wades across, and then repeat on the opposite bank. So you can imagine my shock when we were handed a "life vest sign out sheet." I quipped that they must have made this form specifically for us, and got a rather annoyed glance in reply. Anyhow, we found ourselves the next day holding life vests in Kajiado, walking to a meeting with Julius.
Julius shares our concern over lack of water. In fact he took it so seriously that he arranged water and a ride for us back to the village. But like I have continually said about this experience, the aspect which I assumed was the strangest, took a close second to the massive tanker truck that appeared to chauffeur us to Orinie. We spent the final hours of our day, bouncing along the dusty track that leads to our home, squished between two truck drivers, a huge bag of vegetables, and two life vests, all headed, strangely enough, for one of the driest places I have ever been.
We arrived at dusk and helped the guys load our dispensary tank with water. At the request of Julius, I was to put a lock on the tank, which put me in an awkward position standing amongst a crowd of thirsty locals. I didn't get a hard time from anyone really, though I could tell they weren't happy. I was saved however by a scream from our house. I ran in to find Jennie in a pile of our dirty laundry, cursing like a sailor. In our absence, a mouse had set up his home in our clothing, and had found a way to nibble all the important aspects of our undergarments. We had made it safely, and with water, and had to laugh at life vests and risque underwear, because it was just another day in Orinie.
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4 comments:
Hi you guys, Glad to read your latest comments. I admit I never had to worry about water during my PC time. It wasn't clean but it was there. We boiled and filtered the surprisingly plentiful water supply. The matuta stuff I know about. I forget what they were called in the Ivory Coast but in Liberia they were "money buses". Not often buses but always money. It was a fascinating way to go but really dangerous. Good grief what drivers!! Not to mention the laterite roads. I don't think I could do it today. Well, stay safe and take care. All is well in Paris. Love to you both, Hazel
Greetings,
I'm a Rotarian from the Denver area and my wife and I go to Kenya twice a year to work on water, school, library and other projects. We have been working in the Kisumu, Kisii, and magadi areas for the past three years. We'd love to hear about your work and possibly explore ways we might work together. our next trip is planned for the April-May time period, though it might come sooner if a water project in the Garissa area develops.
Don
Hi don, thanks for stopping by the site. We would love to explore possible collaboration, so send us an email at nick.demille@gmail.com and tell us a bit more about your work. Thanks, Nicholas and Jennie Demille
Hi,
In the Kisii area we have a water project with the Kisii Hospital that will, if successful, insure a continuous source of clean water 24/7. The project is being constructed now.
In the Tombe area north of Kisii we have worked with two schools to provide libraries, school supplies, wheelchairs, mosquito nets, sanitary towels and hand washing stations. We are scheduled to work with four more schools next spring.
We also are working on a poverty alleviation project for the desperately poor in the same area. We identified 100+ families and started with ten. The idea was to provide them with food, bedding and other essential items. The next step was to help them get started in a money making project. It was a case of good intentions but the plan was basically flawed. What we were creating was a dependency situation. Other members of the community were jealous and wondered why they weren't selected. In Rotary we live by the 4 Way Test and one of the criteria is "Will it build goodwill and better friendships?" This project was creating ill-will and tearing friendships apart. We changed the project completely. The first step was the group of ten had to build a 4'x10' high- yield garden that would provide enough vegetables to feed a family of four for the entire year. Then they had to build another high-yield garden that would be used to grow crops that would sell in the market. Once all the gardens were growing, the group could then apply for micro-credit loans so that they could increase their income and start saving. We brought a group of Kenyans from the Central Province to show the community how to build the gardens. They also Did a cooking dimonstration and provided recipes for the crops that were grown. The Community was invited to form additional groups and follow the plan which would then allow them to apply for micro-credit loans. We are working with a Kenyan friend, Haron Wichira, to establish our own micro-credit bank which will be owned and controlled by the community ()51% share)and outside shareholders and investors. This is a work in progress. The goal is to change our dependency model to an empowerment model. So far it has been enthusiastically accepted by the community.
Tell me about your work.
Don
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