April 9th, 2015
Hello!
Happy April!
It
was exciting to see that April Fools Day is universal. On the 1st,
our office was buzzing with “Fool’s Day” pranks, just as it would have been at
home. Employees were told they were wanted at the police station or in trouble
with our manager, only to realize the prank after arriving to where they were
supposedly “summoned”. This provided much entertainment for the rest of the
staff.
Last
Monday, I attended my first “fundraiser”, meaning an event where our community
comes together to raise money for one person who has been faced with hardship.
Most of the time this means that himself or herself or a family member are
faced with a large hospital bill because of an accident or illness. This
fundraiser was for our head of sustainability (one of my bosses) whose mother
has been diagnosed with cancer and needs chemotherapy. All the staff met in our
social hall after work for this event. A group of “special guests” sat in the
front and there was an emcee who was a teacher from our primary school. I had
brought my intended donation thinking that I just give my one donation and that
is the end of it. However, this was not the case. The emcee goes through
categories of people (casual workers, clinic staff, admin staff, sustainability
staff, friends, wellwishers, special guests etc.). If you fit into one of the
categories, you must stand up, go to the front of the room and they announce
your name and how much you donated. This was shocking to me because in America,
we are so used to privacy concerning announcing one’s wealth etc. that this
public announcement of contributions was very different for me. However, no one
else seemed uncomfortable and it worked to pressure people to give (even if it
was a very small amount). It was very uplifting and inspiring to see that
literally everyone from the Nyumbani community attended and contributed. They
know that if something were to befall them, the favor would be returned. It’s a
great community help model. Anyway, I gave my “one” donation when they called
sustainability staff, but then I started noticing that other staff, who were
special guests were only giving very little amounts in their department
category. Little did I know that you are supposed to give in all categories
that apply to you… So then I was stuck having to give more money than I
intended to in the categories of volunteers, friends, wellwishers, etc. because
I applied to all of those. It is an effective system because then you must give
multiple times. The highlight of the event was when a grandmother brought up a
live chicken to contribute. I was very confused because I didn’t understand how
a chicken was going to help pay for chemotherapy, but then I was informed that
there was going to be a raffle for the chicken but you had to buy in in order
to participate. This was another way to collect donations. It was approximately
50 cents per ticket, and I bought two. However, I did not get the ticket with
the chicken marked on it. Ironically, our head of sustainability, who we were
holding this event for, won the chicken. He then insisted on giving it to our
chief guest, who then insisted on “selling” it to the highest bidder. Then the
person who won the auction gave it to the emcee who then wanted to sell it
again. I then bought it from him… so now I own a chicken. This whole chicken
debacle raised probably around $30. So now you can see how there are different
tactics in these events to raise more money. This poor chicken was so worked up
after having been thrown around so much that when he got to my lap, he all but
fell asleep. I gave my chicken to my coworker to keep in his chicken coop until
it is big enough to eat. Finally the event was concluded. In total we raised
70,000shillings, which is around $800 for the chemo bills. This was amazing
considering how small many of the donations were, but added up they became
much. The total bill for the chemo is approx. $2,500, so we made a considerable
dent in the cost. There will be other fundraisers at the mother’s place of
origin. If anyone is interested in contributing let me know and we can figure
out how to get the money to my boss.
The
weekend before Easter, Ellie, a PiAf fellow based in Nairobi, became the first
fellow to visit me in the Village. I had a lot of fun showing her my life here
and now she understands exactly what I had been describing to her previously.
She got the full tour, milked cows, met some kids, saw a goat slaughtered for a
goodbye party for one of our volunteers, and attended the goodbye feast with
the rest of the staff and volunteers. I am so glad she came to visit and got a
taste for the rural life, so different from Nairobi.
The goat party feast!
Ellie and I doing the puzzle my mom gave me for Christmas!
Last
week we said goodbye to two of our volunteers. Therese had been with us for 3
months and no one wanted to see her go. Her project of recording the oral
history of our grandparents was amazing and really empowered the elders, as
they were left with full ownership and control of the material. Each
grandparent will receive a copy of the final product along with access to all
recordings, photos and videos.
There was a goodbye celebration last Wednesday for Therese and the
susus. There was much dancing, hugging and singing. It was amazing to be apart
of her work. Now, there are just two volunteers left in the Village, so it is
much quieter.
For
Easter, we had a four-day weekend as all staff had Good Friday and the Monday
after Easter off. I took advantage of this and headed to Nairobi to visit PiAf
friends. On Friday we relaxed and went shopping at one of the largest
second-hand markets. It is funny to see clothing from Target and other American
brands being sold all the way across the globe. We had fun trying on dresses
after dresses and even getting altered in 5 minutes at a local tailor. Saturday
was the real adventure though. Myself and two PiAf friends, Ellie and Sophia,
rented a car and drove out to Tsavo West National Park. There we were able to
explore the park, do our own game drives and then camp for the night inside the
park at one of the camping grounds. We saw elephants, lions, gazelles,
antelope, buffalo, monkeys, hippos, dikdiks, giraffes and more! It was awesome
to be able to drive on our own, and I got to drive inside the park (the first
time I have driven in Kenya!). We could not believe our luck in seeing all the
animals! We also explored some lava flows and fresh water springs. Much of the
scenery directly influenced the Lion King! It was such a fun getaway and well
worth the drive! We arrived back to Nairobi Sunday night and the rest of the
weekend was spent relaxing, watching bad TV and eating good food. I returned to
the Village relaxed and exhausted.
Before
I end this post, I do want to touch on the attacks last week in Garissa. Many
friends and family have reached out to me in order to make sure I am safe. So I
want to take this time to let everyone know I am safe and out of harm’s way. By
looking at a map of Kenya, you may think I am close to Garissa, but a map does
not tell the full context. The roads to Garissa are so bad that you would have
to go to Nairobi first and then up to Garissa, and all this would probably take
10hrs. The region of Kenya that I am in is very safe and relatively unknown. In
addition, Garissa was already a targeted area and I would not have traveled
anywhere near there before this had happened. It is a tragic event and one that
is deeply affecting the country. However, I am safe. Please keep the families
of those killed in your prayers.
On
a happier note, I cannot believe it is April already and I have less than 3
months left in my fellowship. How time flies! I will try and post again in a
couple weeks!
Love,
Maggie
