Hello all, this will probably be my last blog. For all of those who have followed this, thanks for paying attention during the last six months. When I get home I will add pictures to this blog to make up for the lack of them over the last month.
My work is over. The last activity we did was a leadership summit involving 300 youth (unfortunately not the expected 500) with 2 guest speakers talking about the issues of Kenya's new draft constitution, post-election violence, and hunger/malnutrition. It was a success, and many people came out saying they had learned much. I went immediately home afterwards and crashed for 5 hours, exhausted and relieved that I had no more work to be done.
I'm home on the 21st. It's weird how in such a short time I'll be hugging my family and Amy in the airport. All in all, I'm excited to be coming home. I've been away for too long; I burned out about 2 weeks ago just before my last blog. Since then, all of the energy I've been putting towards the project and just getting through my day has been pure adrenaline, which has now almost run out as well. Still, I'm sorry to be leaving my friends and colleagues who have become like family to me over the last two months.
Taking a year off school and coming to Africa was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. I've learned more about myself, how the world works, why there is poverty and the effects that it has on the society, the economy, and politics of every nation worldwide. I also learned to appreciate the things that I have in my life, and just how privileged my life has been compared to the lives of people living in developing countries. I know that if everyone reading this blog stopped what they were doing right now, took a step back and looked at their own lives and all of the opportunities they have, it would amaze them beyond belief.
When I came back from Zanzibar 4 months ago I thought I would go home and tell people about the things I saw, I learned, and how everyone has a part to play in making the world a better place. I now realize that most people don't really want to know, and would much rather live ignorantly and continue to ignore the neglected needs of others. Despite this, when I return I have decided to fund-raise towards a water project in Mwakirunge.
For all those reading this who are still in school, don't be afraid to do what I did and explore the world, to experience things you never thought you would. When you return to your home, you will discover within yourself a different person than before, even though others may not notice the change.
I don't really know what else to say. If, at the end of all this reading, people were expecting a kind of summary to my trip here, I am at a loss to provide one. Too much has happened, and not all of the experiences can be shared, especially not on something as trivial as a blog that takes a few minutes to read. Those who are close to me will probably hear about everything as it slowly comes out over the years, but for now, I'll stick to small 5 minute explanations to the usual "How was Africa?" question.
I will say this though. For all the negativity surrounding the continent, Africa is a beautiful, vibrant continent full of energy and love for its fellow man. I feel privileged to have come here, if only for a short while, and feel welcomed into the African community. I have been accepted into 2 families while I have been here, as well as unofficially been invited into a tribe. I will always feel compassion and love towards the people of this continent, and know I will return one day to walk in the land of Africa once more.
Evan
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
2 weeks left!
Hello to all in Canada!
Today I have turned 19 years old, so now the only thing I get to look forward to as far as age goes is getting a senior citizen's discount. Great, 41 years to go. The members of YCI and Kwacha Afrika threw me and Mike Kalu (whose birthday is tomorrow) a surprise birthday party on Saturday where we ate cake and watched ManUnited win its way to the top of the Premier League before going out clubbing. Couldn't have asked for much more on a birthday than that.
Last week was our most successful week to date, we conducted a 3 day workshop centering on leadership, good governance, and hunger alleviation/malnutrition. It was great to hold discussions between the 25 youth on the post-election violence of 2007 and how we can avoid it in the 2012 elections. For myself and Angela, we facilitated the hunger alleviation/malnurtrition section, so to teach people on how to find long-term solutions to this major problem was particularly satisfying for me since I find it's one of the biggest issues worldwide.
Today is International Women's Day so for this YCI and Kwacha is holding an event at the Cinemax, showing 400 men and women a short film about sexual harrasment, as well as bringing in speakers on the topic and gender equity. Rebecca has taken on the responsibility of organizing the event, and she's done an absolutely fantastic job of coordinating everything and taking initiative by herself.
I was in a bit of a depressed state for a few days (though I'm feeling much better now) after returning to Mwakirunge to deliver the supplies, and on my way back I got off the truck and walked around the dump site for 10 minutes only taking pictures. The reason I stayed for such a short time was due to safety reasons, as well as the locals asking me for money as a price for taking the pictures. As it was, I was practically jogging between locations around the site since I didn't want to be in one spot for too long. I've already spoken with a few people on what assistance Mwakirunge needs first, so when I get home I can fundraise to provide help for the area.
Other than that, not much is happening. I only have 2 more weeks until I'm home, looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
Evan
Today I have turned 19 years old, so now the only thing I get to look forward to as far as age goes is getting a senior citizen's discount. Great, 41 years to go. The members of YCI and Kwacha Afrika threw me and Mike Kalu (whose birthday is tomorrow) a surprise birthday party on Saturday where we ate cake and watched ManUnited win its way to the top of the Premier League before going out clubbing. Couldn't have asked for much more on a birthday than that.
Last week was our most successful week to date, we conducted a 3 day workshop centering on leadership, good governance, and hunger alleviation/malnutrition. It was great to hold discussions between the 25 youth on the post-election violence of 2007 and how we can avoid it in the 2012 elections. For myself and Angela, we facilitated the hunger alleviation/malnurtrition section, so to teach people on how to find long-term solutions to this major problem was particularly satisfying for me since I find it's one of the biggest issues worldwide.
Today is International Women's Day so for this YCI and Kwacha is holding an event at the Cinemax, showing 400 men and women a short film about sexual harrasment, as well as bringing in speakers on the topic and gender equity. Rebecca has taken on the responsibility of organizing the event, and she's done an absolutely fantastic job of coordinating everything and taking initiative by herself.
I was in a bit of a depressed state for a few days (though I'm feeling much better now) after returning to Mwakirunge to deliver the supplies, and on my way back I got off the truck and walked around the dump site for 10 minutes only taking pictures. The reason I stayed for such a short time was due to safety reasons, as well as the locals asking me for money as a price for taking the pictures. As it was, I was practically jogging between locations around the site since I didn't want to be in one spot for too long. I've already spoken with a few people on what assistance Mwakirunge needs first, so when I get home I can fundraise to provide help for the area.
Other than that, not much is happening. I only have 2 more weeks until I'm home, looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
Evan
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
An independant project
Hi all,
Hope everyone is enjoying their March Break. Yesterday changed me....
If you read the post-script at the bottom of the last blog, you'll see me mention to my mother's Grade 6 class that I would travel to Mwakirunge to talk to the principal there. For everyone who is not part of that class, here is the background on why I traveled so far out of Mombasa.
A few months ago, my mother expressed the desire to send assistance to Africa by having her Grade 6 class fund-raise money for a specific area. She got into contact with Emmy, my project director, who mentioned a secondary school outside of Mombasa in a place called Mwakirunge which was in desperate need of aid. Over the following month or so, this class raised $400 CAN, which is the equivalent of 30000 Ksh, to give to this school. I suggested that she not simply hand over the money to the school, since this is Kenya and who knows what would happen to it, but hand the responsibility of delivering the support myself once I was in country. My plan was to go to the school, talk to the principal about what supplies he needed most, then I would take the money and deliver it to the school personally.
Mwakirunge itself, for your information, is the location of Mombasa's garbage dump, and though the Kenyan government promised a trash-processing plant that would provide the small community with 300 jobs, they didn't come through (surprise surprise) and the garbage is unceremoniously collected, transported, and dumped in a giant pit in the middle of the village. As a result the area has many health issues, experiences high poverty, as well as a growing crime rate.
Yesterday I called Mike Kalu (who I've been calling African Mike on this blog) and asked him to guide me in getting to Mwakirunge. We hopped on some local transportation and away we went through backroads heading outside of the city. It felt great to leave the city once we were past civilization, and the red earth, rolling hills, and palm trees made for a tranquil setting. For 20 minutes we carried on, going up and down the hills on the dirt roads. I was content to sit and watch the scenery past. This, I thought, was true Africa.
Then I smelled it. Not just the typical garbage smell, but a sick acid smell caused by burning chemicals that filled my nostrils and seemed to fill up my insides until I was sick to my stomach. Although I knew what it was, I looked around for the source. There was nothing that had changed, the perfect countryside was still perfect. Then we crested a hill. Let me tell you, I have seen poverty over the last 4 months, but this was on a completely different level.
The first thing I saw was a hut. I don't know if I would even call it that, it was simply 4 thin wooden poles, attached to it them were pieces of cardboard, plastic, and remnants of potato sacks. The roof was a sagging, sopping wet blanket that was heavy and dark from earlier rainfall. Then I looked up the road. There was another hut, and another, and one after that. We turned a corner, and suddenly below me was a pit 100m deep full of garbage. I saw people walking on top of it all, occasionally bending down to pick up an object which they put in a bag, then kept moving. Smoke was pouring out of the pit and filling the air with black clouds from the small fires spread out within. On the slopes were hundreds more huts made of whatever people could scrap from the bottom. I wanted to look away, but could not force myself. Then, in the middle of it all, was a small child, not more than 3 years old, staring at me with large, innocent eyes. He was fascinated with me, probably having never seen a white person before. He has to witness every day the results of bad governace and corruption that results from greedy politicians who change election votes to maintain power.
We did not stop there. Instead Mike and I continued down the dusty African road away from the dump site, where the scenery changed again to one of beauty and rolling hills. Five minutes later we turned off this and we dismounted at the Mwakirunge Secondary School. It consisted of 2 one-story buildings facing each other, In one building was the administrative offices, and the other held the classrooms. Both of us walked in to the office building, and Mike introduced me to the principal of this small school (Kwacha Afrika had worked with this school in the past, so they knew each other). I shook his hand, introduced himself as Mr. Yaa, and we sat down to talk. I told him that I had $400CAN, or 30000Ksh donated by the Grade 6 class of Vincent Massey Elementary School to supply his students with supplies of any type, whether it be desks, chairs, paper, notebooks, lockers, anything. He replied that desks and chairs would be best, since a few students had to stand in certain classes or carry their chairs between subjects (which I later witnessed when the bell rang). I agreed that this would be done, and that I already had transportation arranged. I think he was in shock, since for a while he did not say anything, then got up and enthusiastically shook my hand, said I was a blessing from God, and began to take me on a tour of the school. As soon as we stepped outside it began to rain, which reinforced his belief that I was a blessing (in Africa, when a gesture of goodwill occurs and is immediately followed by rainfall, it means that it was God's will). I said I was just the messenger, thank the people back home.
The school itself was established in 2007, and had been receiving assistance from a Kenyan NGO called Actionaid. It is the only Secondary School in the area, and many kids have to walk for an hour to reach there. It has 200 students from the ages of 14-18 (most of whom were male), around 5 or 6 teachers, and a secretary. The principal himself looked deeply committed to his school and providing opportunities for his fledgling school, and I thought Mwakirunge is lucky to have him in charge. As I was visiting, they were installing the electric wiring and digging a pit for new latrines.
Mr. Yaa explained to me that most youth from Mwakirunge do not attend school past the primary level, and instead join others to scavenge in the garbage pit of Mwakirunge. He described the clouds of black smoke that sometimes cover the entire countryside for miles around, today was a good day because of the rain, he said. I then realized it was imperative that this school continue being funded or assisted by any means possible if there was going to be any future for the youth of this small community. I then went around and met each of the Grades, or Forms as they are called here, introduced myself, took their picture, and continued to the next room.
Unfortunately, Mike had a meeting in town in the afternoon, so we had to leave. After taking the school's email and phone, I shook hands with Mr. Yaa and left. On our way back we passed a garbage truck struggling up a hill loaded to the brim with more trash destined for Mwakirunge.
When I next visit Mwakirunge I am getting out with Mike and taking pictures of the scene so that everyone can see the damage that the Kenyan government has done to this peaceful village on the outskirts of Mombasa. The trip left me outraged, but also with a strong desire to help these people living in desperate poverty.
Today before writing this I received an email from Mr. Yaa. It reads:
"On behalf of all the teachers, students and the entire school community thanks so much for your vising our school and offering to donate some lockers and chairs to our school. You are surely God sent. May my God bless you so much mupaka ushangae. We are praying for you to be successful in all that you put your hand on to do. Regards to all. WELCOME."
Hope everyone is enjoying their March Break. Yesterday changed me....
If you read the post-script at the bottom of the last blog, you'll see me mention to my mother's Grade 6 class that I would travel to Mwakirunge to talk to the principal there. For everyone who is not part of that class, here is the background on why I traveled so far out of Mombasa.
A few months ago, my mother expressed the desire to send assistance to Africa by having her Grade 6 class fund-raise money for a specific area. She got into contact with Emmy, my project director, who mentioned a secondary school outside of Mombasa in a place called Mwakirunge which was in desperate need of aid. Over the following month or so, this class raised $400 CAN, which is the equivalent of 30000 Ksh, to give to this school. I suggested that she not simply hand over the money to the school, since this is Kenya and who knows what would happen to it, but hand the responsibility of delivering the support myself once I was in country. My plan was to go to the school, talk to the principal about what supplies he needed most, then I would take the money and deliver it to the school personally.
Mwakirunge itself, for your information, is the location of Mombasa's garbage dump, and though the Kenyan government promised a trash-processing plant that would provide the small community with 300 jobs, they didn't come through (surprise surprise) and the garbage is unceremoniously collected, transported, and dumped in a giant pit in the middle of the village. As a result the area has many health issues, experiences high poverty, as well as a growing crime rate.
Yesterday I called Mike Kalu (who I've been calling African Mike on this blog) and asked him to guide me in getting to Mwakirunge. We hopped on some local transportation and away we went through backroads heading outside of the city. It felt great to leave the city once we were past civilization, and the red earth, rolling hills, and palm trees made for a tranquil setting. For 20 minutes we carried on, going up and down the hills on the dirt roads. I was content to sit and watch the scenery past. This, I thought, was true Africa.
Then I smelled it. Not just the typical garbage smell, but a sick acid smell caused by burning chemicals that filled my nostrils and seemed to fill up my insides until I was sick to my stomach. Although I knew what it was, I looked around for the source. There was nothing that had changed, the perfect countryside was still perfect. Then we crested a hill. Let me tell you, I have seen poverty over the last 4 months, but this was on a completely different level.
The first thing I saw was a hut. I don't know if I would even call it that, it was simply 4 thin wooden poles, attached to it them were pieces of cardboard, plastic, and remnants of potato sacks. The roof was a sagging, sopping wet blanket that was heavy and dark from earlier rainfall. Then I looked up the road. There was another hut, and another, and one after that. We turned a corner, and suddenly below me was a pit 100m deep full of garbage. I saw people walking on top of it all, occasionally bending down to pick up an object which they put in a bag, then kept moving. Smoke was pouring out of the pit and filling the air with black clouds from the small fires spread out within. On the slopes were hundreds more huts made of whatever people could scrap from the bottom. I wanted to look away, but could not force myself. Then, in the middle of it all, was a small child, not more than 3 years old, staring at me with large, innocent eyes. He was fascinated with me, probably having never seen a white person before. He has to witness every day the results of bad governace and corruption that results from greedy politicians who change election votes to maintain power.
We did not stop there. Instead Mike and I continued down the dusty African road away from the dump site, where the scenery changed again to one of beauty and rolling hills. Five minutes later we turned off this and we dismounted at the Mwakirunge Secondary School. It consisted of 2 one-story buildings facing each other, In one building was the administrative offices, and the other held the classrooms. Both of us walked in to the office building, and Mike introduced me to the principal of this small school (Kwacha Afrika had worked with this school in the past, so they knew each other). I shook his hand, introduced himself as Mr. Yaa, and we sat down to talk. I told him that I had $400CAN, or 30000Ksh donated by the Grade 6 class of Vincent Massey Elementary School to supply his students with supplies of any type, whether it be desks, chairs, paper, notebooks, lockers, anything. He replied that desks and chairs would be best, since a few students had to stand in certain classes or carry their chairs between subjects (which I later witnessed when the bell rang). I agreed that this would be done, and that I already had transportation arranged. I think he was in shock, since for a while he did not say anything, then got up and enthusiastically shook my hand, said I was a blessing from God, and began to take me on a tour of the school. As soon as we stepped outside it began to rain, which reinforced his belief that I was a blessing (in Africa, when a gesture of goodwill occurs and is immediately followed by rainfall, it means that it was God's will). I said I was just the messenger, thank the people back home.
The school itself was established in 2007, and had been receiving assistance from a Kenyan NGO called Actionaid. It is the only Secondary School in the area, and many kids have to walk for an hour to reach there. It has 200 students from the ages of 14-18 (most of whom were male), around 5 or 6 teachers, and a secretary. The principal himself looked deeply committed to his school and providing opportunities for his fledgling school, and I thought Mwakirunge is lucky to have him in charge. As I was visiting, they were installing the electric wiring and digging a pit for new latrines.
Mr. Yaa explained to me that most youth from Mwakirunge do not attend school past the primary level, and instead join others to scavenge in the garbage pit of Mwakirunge. He described the clouds of black smoke that sometimes cover the entire countryside for miles around, today was a good day because of the rain, he said. I then realized it was imperative that this school continue being funded or assisted by any means possible if there was going to be any future for the youth of this small community. I then went around and met each of the Grades, or Forms as they are called here, introduced myself, took their picture, and continued to the next room.
Unfortunately, Mike had a meeting in town in the afternoon, so we had to leave. After taking the school's email and phone, I shook hands with Mr. Yaa and left. On our way back we passed a garbage truck struggling up a hill loaded to the brim with more trash destined for Mwakirunge.
When I next visit Mwakirunge I am getting out with Mike and taking pictures of the scene so that everyone can see the damage that the Kenyan government has done to this peaceful village on the outskirts of Mombasa. The trip left me outraged, but also with a strong desire to help these people living in desperate poverty.
Today before writing this I received an email from Mr. Yaa. It reads:
"On behalf of all the teachers, students and the entire school community thanks so much for your vising our school and offering to donate some lockers and chairs to our school. You are surely God sent. May my God bless you so much mupaka ushangae. We are praying for you to be successful in all that you put your hand on to do. Regards to all. WELCOME."
Saturday, February 27, 2010
With love, from me, to you
Congrats to Women's Hockey for Gold!
Happy March Break for everyone at home. I am still working, as usual. Some more casual things about my life right now before I jump into what I've been doing with work. Currently Mzungu Mike and I have a verbal contract to not shave until we return home (or the day before). Since my facial hair is blond, Charles has begun to call me Jesus. Also I went overload on a meal last night and combined pizza with a burger to make a pizza-burger, it was one of the most delicious things I've had to date. My friend at this Internet Cafe has pink eye, and we're placing bets on who he is going to spread it to next. I was told about how one can go and buy a genie here in Mombasa, and although they are invisible, they will bring you wealth if you feed them and pay them tribute. I'm considering buying one so I can actually have an invisible friend for real. I hope he comes with either a bottle or an Aladdin lamp included.
Yesterday was the Career Fair, or Youth Education Forum. It consisted of over 450 youth, 8 speakers, and 5 or 6 businesses. Overall it was a success, though there were many faults, challenges we had to overcome, and lessons learned for everyone. Here is how the day went. I'll start with the challenges.
Kwacha Afrika and YCI arrived at 8 AM to set up chairs for the Forum which would start at 9. However, people did not actually show up until 8:50, with the majority walking in at 9:30-9:45. This meant we started an hour late, which screwed up our entire agenda, of which there were 2; one that was handed out to everyone that I was told to print by Emmy my boss, and a lone agenda that only the MC used that was completely different from the one that everyone else had. A few times, no one knew what was going on or what was next, so some things were thrown in like dances performed by youth and cutting out skits that had been scheduled.
The big failure came when lunchtime arrived. Mike and I had set up the tables for lunch in a very spacious area so that people could move around while lunch was served. However, others took the tables and placed them outside where there was a narrow catwalk where people could lin-up. Imagine a crowded, grumpy, and complaining 450 people demanding food. It took 2 hours to distribute, not to mention the food itself was late. As well, there was no water provided, so when eating spiced rice, or pilau, everyone was extremely parched. I had to deny so many people water, I felt terrible. Eventually it arrived, thank God. I also had a shouting match with a big man who was making a fuss over having to wait in line with everyone else. I told him to get in line with everyone else or go buy his own food. I wasn't about to let him go ahead of two mothers who had children (who they had brought to the forum) to feed.
The successes, on the other hand, were many. YCI and Kwacha Afrika achieved something they had never done before: a convention bringing together 8 speakers (including a fantastic official and orator from the Ministry of Labour) and 6 businesses from completely different sectors, half a thousand youth scattered throughout Mombasa with different backgrounds, levels of education, and areas of interest in one place to discuss the issues of youth unemployment. Through this, topics brought up were what employers wanted, what youth wanted, the concept of trade work over office jobs, and what youth could do to stay positive and build a better resume. As Emmy put it, "we achieved the impossible."
I know that many of you already know this, but for some it may be news. I am returning home early and cutting my trip by 5 weeks. I will not be going to Uganda, but returning to Canada once the Kenya project is over. There are a number of reasons for this, I will outline them to you here.
5)Amy and I are celebrated our one-year anniversary on February 22nd. In the space of that one year, I have only been with her for a total of 4 months. Amy and I have an incredible relationship, and I know I want nothing more than to spend the remaining months before university with her instead of another month in Africa now that I've sorted out the priorities in my life.
So you can all look forward to seeing me earlier than you thought you would. I know that even though I've enjoyed my time here in Kenya far more than I did in Zanzibar, it is time for me to go home to the land of ice and snow (which I'm not looking forward to after acclimatizing to 33 degrees). I'm counting the days to when I can see you all again.
Best wishes,
Evan
PS- To Mom's Grade 6 Class on Monday March 1st I'm going to Mwakirunge with the funds and asking the headmaster what materials he wants for the school there, I'll include the details of the visit in the next blog. Thank you so much for fund-raising for that school, all of YCI and Kwacha Afrika are very proud of and extremely happy that you would do that for others!
Happy March Break for everyone at home. I am still working, as usual. Some more casual things about my life right now before I jump into what I've been doing with work. Currently Mzungu Mike and I have a verbal contract to not shave until we return home (or the day before). Since my facial hair is blond, Charles has begun to call me Jesus. Also I went overload on a meal last night and combined pizza with a burger to make a pizza-burger, it was one of the most delicious things I've had to date. My friend at this Internet Cafe has pink eye, and we're placing bets on who he is going to spread it to next. I was told about how one can go and buy a genie here in Mombasa, and although they are invisible, they will bring you wealth if you feed them and pay them tribute. I'm considering buying one so I can actually have an invisible friend for real. I hope he comes with either a bottle or an Aladdin lamp included.
Yesterday was the Career Fair, or Youth Education Forum. It consisted of over 450 youth, 8 speakers, and 5 or 6 businesses. Overall it was a success, though there were many faults, challenges we had to overcome, and lessons learned for everyone. Here is how the day went. I'll start with the challenges.
Kwacha Afrika and YCI arrived at 8 AM to set up chairs for the Forum which would start at 9. However, people did not actually show up until 8:50, with the majority walking in at 9:30-9:45. This meant we started an hour late, which screwed up our entire agenda, of which there were 2; one that was handed out to everyone that I was told to print by Emmy my boss, and a lone agenda that only the MC used that was completely different from the one that everyone else had. A few times, no one knew what was going on or what was next, so some things were thrown in like dances performed by youth and cutting out skits that had been scheduled.
The big failure came when lunchtime arrived. Mike and I had set up the tables for lunch in a very spacious area so that people could move around while lunch was served. However, others took the tables and placed them outside where there was a narrow catwalk where people could lin-up. Imagine a crowded, grumpy, and complaining 450 people demanding food. It took 2 hours to distribute, not to mention the food itself was late. As well, there was no water provided, so when eating spiced rice, or pilau, everyone was extremely parched. I had to deny so many people water, I felt terrible. Eventually it arrived, thank God. I also had a shouting match with a big man who was making a fuss over having to wait in line with everyone else. I told him to get in line with everyone else or go buy his own food. I wasn't about to let him go ahead of two mothers who had children (who they had brought to the forum) to feed.
The successes, on the other hand, were many. YCI and Kwacha Afrika achieved something they had never done before: a convention bringing together 8 speakers (including a fantastic official and orator from the Ministry of Labour) and 6 businesses from completely different sectors, half a thousand youth scattered throughout Mombasa with different backgrounds, levels of education, and areas of interest in one place to discuss the issues of youth unemployment. Through this, topics brought up were what employers wanted, what youth wanted, the concept of trade work over office jobs, and what youth could do to stay positive and build a better resume. As Emmy put it, "we achieved the impossible."
I know that many of you already know this, but for some it may be news. I am returning home early and cutting my trip by 5 weeks. I will not be going to Uganda, but returning to Canada once the Kenya project is over. There are a number of reasons for this, I will outline them to you here.
1) I feel that I've been ignoring my family over the last few years. After realizing from my time here that family is the most important thing to anyone, I believe I should come home early to spend more time with them and reconnect before I go away to university.
2)The people in Uganda do not need an unexperienced teenager trying to help when he has no idea how to teach English (I feel that I did not do an effiecient job of it in Zanzibar). Also, I will be making a hassle by having them put me up for a month.
3)By experiencing Uganda I would not be seeing anything unfamiliar to me. Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi have an extremely similar culture, language, and the same African mindset.
4)It's becoming very hard for me to operate normally here. The stress of living in a new and completely different culture from the one I am used to, as well as living with people who I have just met makes things harder on me. I get tired and frustrated faster, and less energetic with each passing day. Right now I strongly wish to return home, I can only imagine how much that feeling will be 8 weeks from now.5)Amy and I are celebrated our one-year anniversary on February 22nd. In the space of that one year, I have only been with her for a total of 4 months. Amy and I have an incredible relationship, and I know I want nothing more than to spend the remaining months before university with her instead of another month in Africa now that I've sorted out the priorities in my life.
So you can all look forward to seeing me earlier than you thought you would. I know that even though I've enjoyed my time here in Kenya far more than I did in Zanzibar, it is time for me to go home to the land of ice and snow (which I'm not looking forward to after acclimatizing to 33 degrees). I'm counting the days to when I can see you all again.
Best wishes,
Evan
PS- To Mom's Grade 6 Class on Monday March 1st I'm going to Mwakirunge with the funds and asking the headmaster what materials he wants for the school there, I'll include the details of the visit in the next blog. Thank you so much for fund-raising for that school, all of YCI and Kwacha Afrika are very proud of and extremely happy that you would do that for others!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Late February
BLOGTIME!
The gender workshops went well. We kept men and women separate for the first 2 days of gender, and on the third day brought them together for a leadership session where the facilitators made them do teamwork games. All of the men were acquainted, and so were the women, so when talking about the sensitive issues surrounding gender people were very outspoken and were willing to contribute ideas. However, when the classes were joined, it was hard to break the ice between the men and women, since the latter did not feel comfortable participating with members of the opposite sex. As time went on and the games were played, the tension relaxed and everyone had a good time. One thing I did not foresee on Friday was the extended break-time for Call to Prayer. At 11:45 most people got up and left for the nearest mosque and did not return until 1 or1:15 after they were finished and had eaten lunch. I'll have to keep this in mind for future workshops in predominantly Muslim areas.
Friday I left the gender workshop early in order to attend an inter-school gender debate in the city. One school was for boys and the other was for girls, and both teams were pretty passionate about the motion being debated, "What men can do girls can do even better." There were many funny things being said by both sides. My favourites were "Behind every successful man in history there has been a woman," to which one boy retorted "why behind the success and not in front?" Also another boy said, "Men are allowed to have 4500 wives in some places. Why are women not allowed? Because a man is responsible to handle them all." The girls, on the other hand, said "That's because men are weak and can be easily seduced." My thought was "why would anyone want 4500 women, dealing with one is hard enough..." Then, the cherry on top was a girl saying "men leave the environment in a dirty condition and never clean it up." "If women can do things better than men, then what you're saying is that women are more dirty than men."
On Sunday white Mike and I went to Charles's mom's house, which is pretty rural and is half an hour outside the city. Charles is a local Kwacha Afrika volunteer, and is also the person who told me about "Thailand." It was a perfect day. We went for a 3 hour hike to a forested mountain, and I was expecting to climb it until Charles told us that we could go no further sincethere was quicksand and wild dogs that attacked you. We met his older brother, brother-in-law, mother, and his sister (who we already knew through Kwacha) Shiko turned up as well. At night we found a flat-topped 5 string guitar so we tuned that and wrote a song for Charles. Also Mike and I each got to chop off a chicken's head which we later ate for dinner. To get water for the morning bath we had to fill up buckets from a nearby puddle that accumulated water from a broken fresh water tap that is higher on the hill where the house is located. It was a great day, and we stayed overnigt and returned to town early the next morning.
This week is supposed to be very busy, since the career fair we have been planning for the last month is happening this Friday, so we have to finalize everything before then. I'll continue to keep everyone updated.
Also I was wondering how many people actually read this blog, I know the number is somewhere around 35 or 40 with my mom's elementary school class. After reading this could you just notify me that you're following it by making a quick comment below this. Thanks.
This week is supposed to be very busy, since the career fair we have been planning for the last month is happening this Friday, so we have to finalize everything before then. I'll continue to keep everyone updated.
Also I was wondering how many people actually read this blog, I know the number is somewhere around 35 or 40 with my mom's elementary school class. After reading this could you just notify me that you're following it by making a quick comment below this. Thanks.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Happy Valentines Day!
Happy belated Valentines Day! I hope that everyone did something cool for someone else!
Lately things have been pretty slack here in Mombasa. The matatu training was conducted by the Kwacha Afrika peer educators, who have been facilitating workshops about these subjects for years, and have much experience to draw from. Their teaching method was so effective, in fact, that we had hardly anything to do during Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Saturday I encountered something that I never thought I would see in East Africa. Melissa, Angela, and Rebecca had gone off for the day to see some ruins outside of Mombasa, while Joelle was spending the day with African Mike (the one who comes over for dinner each night). Mzungu Mike and I instead decided to check out a store we had kept hearing about called Nackomatt. Not knowing what to expect, we decided to walk the three kilometres in the midafternoon sun. Bad idea, we were pretty dehydrated by the time we arrived.
On the outside, Nackomatt looks like a well-to-do collection of various stores, nothing jumped out at us as being out of the ordinairy. Upon entering the building, however, we immediately saw the contrast from the typical Africa shop. Nackomatt was essentially a mini-North American mall, with tiled marble floors, high celing, air conditioning, and a coffee shop. The main attraction was just around the corner. If anyone knows what a Co-op is in Quebec, this is the perfect description. It was a grocery store selling every food product you could want, a frozen drinks section, a large pharmacy section, as well as a furniture section upstairs. It was huge! Mike and I stumbled through the corriders in awe of the shiny products that lay stacked on the shelves. We looked at each other with stunned looks, "can this really be happening? Are we in paradise?"
As it was, the prices were expensive (regular prices you'd find in Canada) so we did not buy much, only a Fanta, a milk packet, and I treated myself to peanut butter to make our breakfasts a little more interesting.
On Sunday 8 of us got into a car we had rented for the day and drove 2 hours south to a snorkeling area. We got on a rather large boat with a few other people, rented some gear, and drove out an hour into the ocean to a small sandbar where we jumped out. The water was great, and the coral was healthy on the outskirts, but the only way to get onto the sandbar once you were done snorkeling was to walk on top of the coral, whcih was beginning to die from previous tourists who had done so. I did not think this was good idea for a few reasons, one is that it damages an already threatened fragile environment, and two coral is sharp and occasionaly poisonous. As it was there was no other option so we carefully walked with our flippers (or for those of us who had them) over the coral towards the sand. Melissa cut herself twice, but she seems to be ok. On the way back we spotted a sea turtle, which was the best part of the day.
Before heading in to port we went to a small island that was inhabited by only 1200 people. Immediately I noticed the ratio of adults to children, it seemed that there were 6 or 7 kids for every one adult. The captain explained to us "there is no electricity on the island, so night comes early and there is nothing to do for 12 hours at a time. As a result, there are many children living here compared to the few adults." It would be interesing to see the population growth in 20 years from now....
So far we have had 3 meetings covering the gender training starting tomorrow, the career fair next week, as well as the Women's Guest Speakers Panel which is sometime soon....The career fair planning seems to be coming along extremely well, the youth are being mobilized across Mombasa (as a result of meeting with the youth leaders last Friday, where a monkey decided to poo on Kasena's head) and everyone is eager to be a part of the training. More on that when it happens.
Missing Canada and everyone over there!
Evan
Lately things have been pretty slack here in Mombasa. The matatu training was conducted by the Kwacha Afrika peer educators, who have been facilitating workshops about these subjects for years, and have much experience to draw from. Their teaching method was so effective, in fact, that we had hardly anything to do during Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Saturday I encountered something that I never thought I would see in East Africa. Melissa, Angela, and Rebecca had gone off for the day to see some ruins outside of Mombasa, while Joelle was spending the day with African Mike (the one who comes over for dinner each night). Mzungu Mike and I instead decided to check out a store we had kept hearing about called Nackomatt. Not knowing what to expect, we decided to walk the three kilometres in the midafternoon sun. Bad idea, we were pretty dehydrated by the time we arrived.
On the outside, Nackomatt looks like a well-to-do collection of various stores, nothing jumped out at us as being out of the ordinairy. Upon entering the building, however, we immediately saw the contrast from the typical Africa shop. Nackomatt was essentially a mini-North American mall, with tiled marble floors, high celing, air conditioning, and a coffee shop. The main attraction was just around the corner. If anyone knows what a Co-op is in Quebec, this is the perfect description. It was a grocery store selling every food product you could want, a frozen drinks section, a large pharmacy section, as well as a furniture section upstairs. It was huge! Mike and I stumbled through the corriders in awe of the shiny products that lay stacked on the shelves. We looked at each other with stunned looks, "can this really be happening? Are we in paradise?"
As it was, the prices were expensive (regular prices you'd find in Canada) so we did not buy much, only a Fanta, a milk packet, and I treated myself to peanut butter to make our breakfasts a little more interesting.
On Sunday 8 of us got into a car we had rented for the day and drove 2 hours south to a snorkeling area. We got on a rather large boat with a few other people, rented some gear, and drove out an hour into the ocean to a small sandbar where we jumped out. The water was great, and the coral was healthy on the outskirts, but the only way to get onto the sandbar once you were done snorkeling was to walk on top of the coral, whcih was beginning to die from previous tourists who had done so. I did not think this was good idea for a few reasons, one is that it damages an already threatened fragile environment, and two coral is sharp and occasionaly poisonous. As it was there was no other option so we carefully walked with our flippers (or for those of us who had them) over the coral towards the sand. Melissa cut herself twice, but she seems to be ok. On the way back we spotted a sea turtle, which was the best part of the day.
Before heading in to port we went to a small island that was inhabited by only 1200 people. Immediately I noticed the ratio of adults to children, it seemed that there were 6 or 7 kids for every one adult. The captain explained to us "there is no electricity on the island, so night comes early and there is nothing to do for 12 hours at a time. As a result, there are many children living here compared to the few adults." It would be interesing to see the population growth in 20 years from now....
So far we have had 3 meetings covering the gender training starting tomorrow, the career fair next week, as well as the Women's Guest Speakers Panel which is sometime soon....The career fair planning seems to be coming along extremely well, the youth are being mobilized across Mombasa (as a result of meeting with the youth leaders last Friday, where a monkey decided to poo on Kasena's head) and everyone is eager to be a part of the training. More on that when it happens.
Missing Canada and everyone over there!
Evan
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Getting into February
Rebecca and I with the morning computer class
Kwacha Afrika's drama on HIV/AIDS stima
The Chief's Office
Mike getting a lift from Melissa to Kwacha Afrika
We finished the computer classes on Saturday with great improvement on everyone's part. It was interesting to teach the Internet session, since the computer we had for our theory class did not have access. In order to educate our students on what web pages and search bars were, we had to take them to the nearest Internet Cafe and crowd 18 people around 1 computer in a small and stuffy room while Melissa explained how to make an email account.
We only had one day off, so we went to the beach and relaxed with Charles, a member of Kwacha Afrika. He explained to me that beautiful women's thighs are called Thailand, which I found hysterical. The best part was he was dead serious. Also we attended a Swahili drama put on by Kwacha Afrika about HIV/AIDS stigma. Although we could not understand what was being said, the acting was terrific, much better than most performances (even professional performances) I've seen in recent years. Good job Kwacha!
This week we have been holding many meetings in preparation for the Career Fair, gender equity and leadership workshop next week, as well as the matatu workshop we began conducting today. The topics covered, as mentioned in the previous blog, are gender issues, HIV/AIDS stigma, and drug use. Matatu drivers are a marginalized group in society and are at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and using drugs, which is why we are conducting this 3 day workshop with them. Also yesterday Melissa, Rebecca, and I met the tribal chief of the area in a meeting aimed to mobilize 300 youth for the career fair, one could tell he had a lot of power and responsibilty by the large amount of paperwork and the confidence he carried himself with. All he did was make 2 phone calls and afterwards said it would be done. Wow.
Some people have been asking me to describe my living conditions. I live in a medium standard neighbourhood known as Mtopanga along with Rebecca, Melissa, and Mike (who had to join us since his last house had bedbugs). The Somalian family living next to mine has a goat that gets very annoying, but is also very cute so we deal with it. The family we live with, the Kalu's, are extremely nice and accomodating, Mr. Kalu and I have already had many deep conversations comparing Canada and Kenya. Mrs. Kalu is obsessed with a CD of a Swahili artist that she listens to 1 or 2 times each night. The tempo in all the songs is the same, so it sounds like 40 minutes of the same song. Josephat (their nephew) joins us after his electrician college each evening, he is quiet but very funny whenever speaks. Michael, the son of the family and also a peer educator at Kwacha, joins us each evening for dinner; he invites us over to his house every so often to watch movies like Superbad, Pineapple Express, and the Hangover, he has a great sense of humour. I look forward each night to being in their company.
The water at the house has not been running for the last 2 years due to the 2-year drought the northern part of Kenya has been experiencing (Africa, although it contributes the least to pollution on a global scale (2%), feels the worst effects of climate change). Although it has been inconvenient here, I can't imagine how bad it must be where the drought is actually occuring. Daily, I believe I use approximately 30-40L of water for bathing, drinking, brushing my teeth, and flushing the toilet. In contrast, the average Canadian uses approximately 540-560L of water every day for the same tasks. In order to get water in the bathroom one has to carry water from the trickling tap in the front of the house to buckets kept inside. To flush the toilet we have to lift the top of the toilet where the water is usually held, and pour water in there until it is the certain height required to flush it. I'll take a picture and put it on the next blog to show everyone more accurately what the washroom looks like, it's hard to describe. My house is surrounded by a wall/fence, I'm using this description because the fence has pieces of tin attached to it to create some sort of privacy barrier between us and the neighbours. My living room and dining room is the same room, most of the chairs have cushions but one couch does not. The TV has 3 or 4 channels, but only one is in English. My bedroom, which I share with Michael, only has one place to hang clothes and no shelves, so any belongings we have are stored at the bottom of the "wardrobe," tucked underneath the bed or scattered/piled on the floor or in corners. Much like my room at home really. We have one fan for the night but it makes a cracking noise when it revolves so Mike and I take turns having the fan for the night. The girls room is next to ours and I believe they have a bit more storage space than us. There actually is no glass in the windows, to have limited access to air would be suicidal in this heat (literally, I mean you would die from the heat).
My meals at home are fairly simple and routine. For breakfast it is always 2 pieces of white bread with margarine and plum jam, one egg (which was a recent installment), tea, multivitamin pills and malaria pills. For dinner we have either rice or noodles with beef stew (stay away from the beef), or beans and chapati. Always there is fresh mango and bananas. For lunch I buy spiced rice and passionfruit juice. Simple simple simple.
Take care everyone!
Kwacha Afrika's drama on HIV/AIDS stima
The Chief's Office
Mike getting a lift from Melissa to Kwacha Afrika
We finished the computer classes on Saturday with great improvement on everyone's part. It was interesting to teach the Internet session, since the computer we had for our theory class did not have access. In order to educate our students on what web pages and search bars were, we had to take them to the nearest Internet Cafe and crowd 18 people around 1 computer in a small and stuffy room while Melissa explained how to make an email account.
We only had one day off, so we went to the beach and relaxed with Charles, a member of Kwacha Afrika. He explained to me that beautiful women's thighs are called Thailand, which I found hysterical. The best part was he was dead serious. Also we attended a Swahili drama put on by Kwacha Afrika about HIV/AIDS stigma. Although we could not understand what was being said, the acting was terrific, much better than most performances (even professional performances) I've seen in recent years. Good job Kwacha!
This week we have been holding many meetings in preparation for the Career Fair, gender equity and leadership workshop next week, as well as the matatu workshop we began conducting today. The topics covered, as mentioned in the previous blog, are gender issues, HIV/AIDS stigma, and drug use. Matatu drivers are a marginalized group in society and are at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and using drugs, which is why we are conducting this 3 day workshop with them. Also yesterday Melissa, Rebecca, and I met the tribal chief of the area in a meeting aimed to mobilize 300 youth for the career fair, one could tell he had a lot of power and responsibilty by the large amount of paperwork and the confidence he carried himself with. All he did was make 2 phone calls and afterwards said it would be done. Wow.
Some people have been asking me to describe my living conditions. I live in a medium standard neighbourhood known as Mtopanga along with Rebecca, Melissa, and Mike (who had to join us since his last house had bedbugs). The Somalian family living next to mine has a goat that gets very annoying, but is also very cute so we deal with it. The family we live with, the Kalu's, are extremely nice and accomodating, Mr. Kalu and I have already had many deep conversations comparing Canada and Kenya. Mrs. Kalu is obsessed with a CD of a Swahili artist that she listens to 1 or 2 times each night. The tempo in all the songs is the same, so it sounds like 40 minutes of the same song. Josephat (their nephew) joins us after his electrician college each evening, he is quiet but very funny whenever speaks. Michael, the son of the family and also a peer educator at Kwacha, joins us each evening for dinner; he invites us over to his house every so often to watch movies like Superbad, Pineapple Express, and the Hangover, he has a great sense of humour. I look forward each night to being in their company.
The water at the house has not been running for the last 2 years due to the 2-year drought the northern part of Kenya has been experiencing (Africa, although it contributes the least to pollution on a global scale (2%), feels the worst effects of climate change). Although it has been inconvenient here, I can't imagine how bad it must be where the drought is actually occuring. Daily, I believe I use approximately 30-40L of water for bathing, drinking, brushing my teeth, and flushing the toilet. In contrast, the average Canadian uses approximately 540-560L of water every day for the same tasks. In order to get water in the bathroom one has to carry water from the trickling tap in the front of the house to buckets kept inside. To flush the toilet we have to lift the top of the toilet where the water is usually held, and pour water in there until it is the certain height required to flush it. I'll take a picture and put it on the next blog to show everyone more accurately what the washroom looks like, it's hard to describe. My house is surrounded by a wall/fence, I'm using this description because the fence has pieces of tin attached to it to create some sort of privacy barrier between us and the neighbours. My living room and dining room is the same room, most of the chairs have cushions but one couch does not. The TV has 3 or 4 channels, but only one is in English. My bedroom, which I share with Michael, only has one place to hang clothes and no shelves, so any belongings we have are stored at the bottom of the "wardrobe," tucked underneath the bed or scattered/piled on the floor or in corners. Much like my room at home really. We have one fan for the night but it makes a cracking noise when it revolves so Mike and I take turns having the fan for the night. The girls room is next to ours and I believe they have a bit more storage space than us. There actually is no glass in the windows, to have limited access to air would be suicidal in this heat (literally, I mean you would die from the heat).
My meals at home are fairly simple and routine. For breakfast it is always 2 pieces of white bread with margarine and plum jam, one egg (which was a recent installment), tea, multivitamin pills and malaria pills. For dinner we have either rice or noodles with beef stew (stay away from the beef), or beans and chapati. Always there is fresh mango and bananas. For lunch I buy spiced rice and passionfruit juice. Simple simple simple.
Take care everyone!
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