Update on work, food and play

August 24, 2014

First of all I want to congratulate my amazing mom who just completed her chaplaincy internship at Brigham & Womens! So proud of you! Finally after 12 weeks you can relax! Enjoy for vacation in Scotland!

Updates from the village: This week was filled with fun activities! On Monday I started a new sustainability project involving water meters, which measure how much water is being used at each borehole. Each cluster has a shared tap that they use to watch their clothes, water their gardens, etc. These taps are hooked up to deep wells and boreholes. Each cluster should have a water meter that is locked beneath the ground. I don’t think anyone had checked on them in a very long time though. I was given all the keys to the supposed meters and set off to visit each cluster. I quickly realized that my task was not as simple as it appeared. First I had to find the small metal door in the ground somewhere near the tap, but many were not very obvious or had been buried by dirt. Then, I found that many were unlocked but had been closed for so long that they were permanently sealed. The ones with locks were also a problem, because the locks were so corroded that the keys would not even go in. My favorite was when I arrived at one cluster and could not find the door. I asked a child and they just pointed to an area of dirt. I looked closely and saw the tiny bit of door hinge showing through, but nothing else. The door was buried at least 5 inches down… Ultimately that day I only could open and read approx 9 meters. It was definitely not the simple data collection I thought it would be. The next day proved more successful as I procured a crowbar and was able to roughly excavate many doors by pure force. It was very satisfying haha. I also tried oiling all the corroded locks, but to my dismay only one could be opened this way. I guess I will have to cut off the rest of the locks and then get new ones. I did see my fair share of cockroaches inside the meters I could open. Anyway, ultimately the goal is to be able to monitor how much water each cluster is using per 24 hrs, week etc. First I have to make sure they are all workable or readable though.

On Wednesdays we made animal masks with the kids in the afternoon as part of the summer camp. We first drew different animals on paper, and then just photocopied many copies. We cut them out and then all the kids had to do was color them and find a stick to attach as the holder. It was so simple but they kids loved it and looked so cute with their masks running around. We also made kites one day, with kits that a previous volunteer had donated. It got tiresome taping together kite after kite but the kids loved coloring them and then running around in the field trying to fly them.

On Wednesday night we also had a big pasta dinner. I had some gluten free pasta left so I was able to partake! Yay! We made a big pot of meat sauce with ground beef, sausage, tomato pasta, diced tomatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, oil and lots of random spices. For what we had to work with, it turned out very good! It was definitely a treat and we had chocolate and pineapple for desert.

On Thursday, Sister Mary was here for her weekly visit and with her was a film crew from Nairobi who are filming a documentary on Father D’Agostino, the late founder of Nyumbani, and his legacy. They wanted a volunteer perspective and I got interviewed! I was nervous and I definitely think I babbled in my answers, but who knows maybe I will make it into the movie! I just hope I represented Nyumbani well.

Friday night was a going away party for a volunteer who is leaving early this week. We made a big bonfire and prepared a huge batch of guacamole and “salsa”(really just a red tomato sauce) that everyone ate with chapatti. Some staff joined us as well to celebrate. We also put together a large patch of sangria, which was rather tasty considering the bad wine and minimum fruit we had to work with. I have attached a picture.

Saturday, we walked to Kwa Vonza and climbed the mountain there, as I did a couple weeks ago. We got to see the sun go down and then enjoyed chips and drinks in town before catching a ride back to the village.

Today, Sunday, we also started our weekly basketball pickup games. We announced in church that at 4pm myself and another volunteer would be at the court to play. We want it to be a weekly thing. When we went to the court, not enough kids had come to play a game, but we just let them shoot around and then eventually threw together a little 4 on 4 and with more kids coming, we were able to sub and just scrimmage. It was a little unorganized but hopefully next week more kids will come.

Anyway, that was it for the week. I am traveling this week to meet up with some Princeton in Africa Fellows, so hopefully I will have some stories to tell next time. XX Maggie

Nairobi, Talent Show, and Nyumbani Olympics!

August 18, 2014

Hello!

I have been very busy in the last two weeks, hence the lack of blog entries. Last weekend I was in Nairobi visiting the Nyumbani orphanage there in Karen. Karen is an area of the city where many ex-pats live and many NGOs are based. It is a very affluent area, very different from the slums of Kibera or city center. It was nice however, to be able to go to a mall and get some groceries I am unable to get in the village, and even get a milkshake at the Italian cafes. One night we even went to a nice Italian place near the home, where you can get pizza, pasta and risotto. It was very nice to have something different and eat at a nice restairant. It was definitely a treat but also very expensive, compared to life in a rural village. It was also nice to see the Nyumbani home in Karen and meet some of the kids there. It was much colder and rainy but the kids were home for school vacation so we were able to play a bit with them. I was also ecstatic to find a natural food store, which sold tons of gluten free products and I was able to stock up on GF groceries for the village. The only downside was having to go to the hospital to get checked for various ailments, but fortunately everything came back clean and I am rid of any worms or parasites. YAY! I definitely enjoyed my mini vacation in Nairobi (first real shower and toilet in over a month!) but I was very eager to get back to the village.

We got back on Wednesday evening, where were happily surprised to see that it was pasta night! Every couple of weeks the volunteers buy pasta in town and fresh tomatoes/onions/sauce to make a big spaghetti dinner. Usually I cannot eat it, but luckily I had found GF pasta in Nairobi so we all enjoyed a huge pasta supper, to celebrate us all being back together. We also had a large bonfire to eat around. Thursday was busy getting ready for the annual village talent show to be held on Friday. The volunteers and myself had to come up with a dance to start off the show, so we chose the song Mama Mia by ABBA and throughout the day came up with a funny routine aimed to entertain the kids. We spent hours decorating the social hall for the show (pictures at bottom). And on Friday the show was a great success. Kids participated in cluster groups or friend groups. Even the grandmothers got up to dance. The grandmothers would also go up to the front of the audience to dance and support their kids who were dancing. The volunteers scored each act and then awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and special prizes. Mama Mia was a hit and it was super fun to watch all the talented kids dance and sing. First prize was a goat, second prize was 3 chickens and 3rd prize was 2 dozen eggs. The kids were so excited to get their prizes and afterword we had a huge dance party to celebrate. That night all the volunteers went into town to get chips (fries) and some drinks (a weekend tradition and change from the monotony of the guesthouse food).

This weekend was very busy as well because it was the annual Olympics. Children of all ages sign up to play soccer, volleyball, basketball, ping pong and track/field. The winners of each sport won some sort of prize (candy, nail polish, teeshirts etc). There was even a susu (grandmother) walking race where they could win khangas (cloth wraps). One of my favorite susus, Janet, dominated the competition (photo in bottom). I took charge of organizing the girls basketball competition and myself and some of the other girl volunteers even got to play. It was fun to get back on the court, but halfway through the game I subbed myself out because I was scoring all the points and I wanted it to be fair haha. We did not finish all the sports however, so we will continue this week in the afternoons with the Olympics. Last night we had another bonfire to say farewell to a volunteer who left this morning. It was a fun time, but sad to see her go. Last night I was hoping to wash my hair for the first time since Tuesday (gross I know), but unfortunately the whole village was out of water… so hopefully today I will be able to get water haha. This week the volunteer summer camp continues, today they are making musical instruments out of toilet paper rolls and corn. Should be fun!

Lastly, I just finished a great book, The Boys in the Boat. I highly suggest it for anyone interested in history or rowing. It was really cool to learn about the 1936 Olympics in parallel to the rise of Nazi Germany. Great read and accurate account of rowing!

Anyway, hope this gives a good idea of my last two weeks! In conclusion, I am safe and sound, healthy and back in the village!  xx Maggie

The lines of the soccer pitch we made. I was covered in ash by the end, but it looked pretty good.

the 3rd place sign I made for the talent show.

First place.

The crowd for the show

The stage with all our decorations!

Susu Janet, the winner of the grandmother race. She is wearing her new khanga around her shoulders! Janet speaks excellent English because she used to teach ESL in Nairobi.

Hello August!

August 3, 2014

This week started off slow because although Monday was a work day, Tuesday was not. I did not realize until Monday that Tuesday was Eid aka the end of Ramadan. Although the village is completely Catholic, the holiday is recognized as a national holiday. The primary school kids did not attend classes and the secondary school kids did not sit for their end of semester exams. The volunteers and I did not exactly realize the extent of the holiday though, so we went to work as usually, however it did not take me long to realize that the majority of the staff has not come in to work. Most of the day I therefore took off. Most of the day, some volunteers and I wandered around the village, visiting clusters and houses. It was fun to visit the kids and grandmothers in their homes and in the afternoon we even helped milk the cows. We were more of entertaining than help to the livestock staff, but I think they appreciated us attempting to help. Tuesday, therefore was a relaxed day and a nice break from the work week. Wednesday marked the departure of one of our long term volunteers, who we were all sad to see leave. However, that same day, another volunteer arrived. Pepe comes every year during August to help with summer activities for the kids and grandmothers. Each year he holds a spa for the shushus and an Olympics for the kids. He also does therapy work with some of the disabled children. He is a great addition to the group of volunteers. There are 9 volunteers now, plus me.

This weekend was rather quiet because the majority of the volunteers took off the weekend to go on safari in the Maasai Mara. It was rather weird to have no one around but I definitely caught up on my sleep and reading. Many hours were spent in my travelers hammock, which I am so grateful I decided to bring right at the last minute before I left home. There is a lack of comfortable seating here, so the hammock is perfect for lounging. I included a picture of it below, as well as some pictures of the volunteer office, which all volunteers can use, but which I find myself using mainly. I recently cleaned it out which was a nightmare. There were documents from 2009 and much trash. It was necessary to purge and now everything seems much more organized.

Sorry this post is shorter, but there was just not much going on this week! Enjoy the pictures! Xx Maggie

  

Lazy outside with my portable hammock

  

The volunteer office

Week 3!

Hello! Another week has passed here in the village! On Tuesday, we said farewell to our guests from Boston. They successfully completed their eye screenings Tuesday morning and then headed back into Nairobi. The eye clinic was an amazing success and I am so glad I got to be a part of it. Now the doctors and nurses are going to put together a report to send back here entailing the children in most critical need of glasses etc. It was amazing to see some of the children and many of the shushus receive reading glasses and be able to read clearly for the first time. Many of them wanted to wear the glasses all day but we had to explain that they are only for reading or close craftwork. It was nice to have the clinic counselors there to help translate.

The family photo project is almost complete as well, with myself needing to finish the last couple families. This week also brought the departure of one Emory student but also the arrival of 4 new volunteers, 2 from Spain, 1 from Ireland, and 1 from Nairobi. Some have started helping the other volunteers with their stove building project in the mornings and are still trying to figure out  what they will do in the afternoons. One funny fact is that the Irish girl is the 4th volunteer who has come through that rows. What a small world! Who would have thought I would come halfway around the world and find rowers from all over.

Friday was an exciting day for the primary school. They have just finished their exams for the semester so Friday was a celebration/prize day. Sister Mary came from Nairobi and we had special educational guests from the government. The entire primary school, many shushus and guests gathered in the social hall for the ceremony. Of course it started late, typical Africa time, and went way over time. Following the event was a nice lunch for all the staff, guests and children, so when it hit 3:30pm and we had still not finished, you could tell everyone was about to pass out from hunger. It was nice to see the children do various musical and dance performances. Some of the routines are going to the national competition in Mombasa next month. In addition, the top students in each grade get various prizes like shirts, watches, candy. And there are even superlative prizes like most disciplined and cleanest. So now the primary school is just wrapping up this week and the secondary school and polytechnic will finish their exams this coming week. Then they will have a prize day and vacation will start for about a month. The Spanish volunteers are working on arranging a summer camp for the younger kids during their vacation so they are still doing something.

Yesterday (Saturday) was a busy but fun day. We started the weekend on Friday night with a going away party for Alex, the remaining Emory student. We made homemade guacamole and chapatti and even mixed homemade sangria. All the volunteers and some staff came for the party and we made a huge bonfire. Then Saturday morning 9 of us headed into Kitui to do some grocery shopping and get lunch. For the new volunteers it was their first visit and first chance to get some needed supplies. I was happy because I finally found a fitted sheet for my bed (until now I had a flat sheet that fell off every night). It sounds like not a big deal but it was a luxurious find, especially because it was only $2. It was also nice to get a good lunch and get some food that we don’t find in the village. When we got back around 3pm, we had a quick turnaround and 8 of us began the 1.5-2hr walk into the nearest village, Kwa Vonza. For some time we had wanted to hike the small mountain/hill in the village, which houses the cellular towers and satellites. We had heard from previous volunteers that it was a fun activity and a great view. We reached the hill in after 1.5 hours and waited for our village friends who were going to lead us up the hike. The actually hike only took 20 mins, much less than we had anticipated, but the view at the top was amazing. You could see all around for miles and miles and we could make out the road to the village. It was a fun weekend activity and I will definitely do it again many times. After we hiked down we finished the day with chips (fries) and drinks at the local bar. By the time we got home I was exhausted, but it was a great day! Today is my lazy Sunday. I plan on just reading, relaxing, maybe doing some laundry and catching up on my email. Hopefully this coming week I will have more time to plan some sustainability projects and do more background research.

I have also included some pictures of my house, our stray dog Ticksie, my favorite street food (grilled corn/maize) and views from our Saturday hike in town. Enjoy! Xx Maggie

         

               

Week 2

July 20, 2014

Exciting News! We have a guest house dog, and by that I mean a dog that hangs around our house. Dogs here are strays that wander and have no owner or caretaker. Same goes for the cats. My house is home to two cats, 4 kittens, numerous chickens, and Ticksy the dog. Previous volunteers named her this because of her obvious affliction of ticks. She is cute though and although not like any sort of America pet, she will do for the year. She is beginning to learn her name and according to other volunteers is doing better than she was when they got here. She is incredibly skinny but appears to be getting healthier. I feed her my scraps and want to teach her some tricks eventually.  The cats however are extremely annoying and never stop meowing. They beg and crawl all over the table. They have also eaten some volunteer’s food that they left out by accident. No one is a fan of the cats or the roosters.

I hadn’t stayed up late to watch any of the quarter or semi finals of the World Cup, but I figured I should suck it up and stay up on Sunday to watch the final, as it only happens every 4 years. At 10pm we headed to the computer lab located in the high school, where the one tv in the village is located. We arrived to find over 50 boys also arriving to watch the game. All of us squeezed around the TV on benches for the next two hours. Some boys near us had on a radio to listen to the game in Swahili, but the radio was a couple seconds ahead of the live tv, so we heard the announcer yell “GOALLLLL” a couple seconds before anyone had even shot the ball. It was very confusing and spoiling, luckily they turned it down after the first half. I was so tired after the second half that I left to go to bed, not having the energy to stay up for overtime. All the students were rooting for Argentina but apparently when Germany scored in overtime, they all jumped up and cheered anyway, just happy that someone had scored. I’m glad I got to watch though, even if Monday morning came way to quickly.

I have gotten to go running a couple times this week. I made the mistake of once going mid afternoon and it was so hot that I thought I might pass out. So now, I make sure I go early morning or late afternoon, when its coolest. In the mornings on the road leading to the village there are usually many children walking to school. Some had begun to run with me so by the end of my run I have a group of 6 or so by my side. Its pretty entertaining but usually they are very fast so I have to work to keep up!

On Monday, the nursing student from JMU departed after 6 weeks, but Tuesday brought the arrival of 11 students from Regis College who are visiting for a week, so now meal times get very busy. It was very cool to learn upon their arrival that they are all from Boston and many of them had strong accents to prove it. Half of them are nurses and doctors while the other are student volunteers. Starting Wednesday they have eye-screened all the children in the village and tomorrow they will do the grandmothers and staff. On Tuesday, before they depart for Nairobi, they will bring back and re-check all the people with medical eye problems or very poor vision. It was very sad to see that some children are practically blind and have never received glasses or attention for it. Some children have untreated abrasions or ulcers or infections, that now detected, will be treated. I have gotten to sit in on the majority of the sessions and it is nice to get to see all the children come through. The baby class was definitely my favorite. “Baby class” is what they call pre-K here and they are just adorable and so happy.

Three of the boys in the Boston group are also doing soccer clinics in the afternoons with the high school boys. In addition, some of the women are doing a photo project where they are taking family photos of each house, having each family member sign the frame, which they get to keep in their house. It has been a nightmare though trying to get every member from every family together in one place at one time.

On Friday, the volunteers and I had a bonfire in our yard where we roasted hotdogs and even did whistling apples (a throwback to my girlscout days). The stars were amazing so it was the perfect night to sit out around the fire.

Yesterday, after doing eye screenings and family photos in the morning, the Boston group headed into Kitui (the nearest large town), so I had a free afternoon. Myself and two other volunteers from Emory walked into Kwa Vonza. It was a two hour walk and very dusty, but it was nice to see the surrounding landscape and we arrived in town just as the sun was setting. A couple more volunteers took motar bikes into town to meet us and we all got chips (fries) and a few drinks at the local bar. It was not exactly a crazy Saturday night but it was better than nothing ha ha.

Today, I am hoping to relax more as this week was very busy. I brought the Boston group to church this morning and helped with more family photos after the service. Now I have to do laundry and catch up on some reading!

Sorry no pictures this week! I will try and have more next time! Xx Maggie

First Post From Village!

July 13, 2014

I have arrived safely in the village and settled in well! I have seen so much and met so many people in the last couple of days. I arrived in Nairobi on Sunday after a night stay in Dubai in the Emirates hotel airport where my friend Sally and I were put up for free! We arrived in the late evening at our hotel and were able to enjoy a free dinner buffet and explore a bit before passing out early in our room. Our flight was mid morning on Sunday so after a quick breakfast we caught a shuttle back to the airport. It was so nice to get in a hot shower and full nights sleep before the last leg of our journey.

We landed in Nairobi after an uneventful flight and slowly made our way through customs and visa application. Luckily we had no problems and were relieved to find that all our bags had made it safely from Boston. I was met at the airport by Sister Julie, who works at Nyumbani’s Nairobi orphanage. She graciously welcomed me and drove me to the Karen home, which is what the organization refers to the city orphanage as because it resides in a residential part of the city named Karen. I was able to meet Sister Mary, the leader of Nyumbani and learn more about the organization and my job. After doing some shopping with Sister Julie and eating some dinner, it was off to bed for me as I was scheduled to leave in the morning for the village. I relished my last hot shower however, before heading out the next morning.

After a two and a half hour drive, I arrived in Nyumbani Village and was driven to the guesthouse where I will be living. Currently, there are 7 volunteers here living in the house, 4 from a university in Spain, 2 grad students from Emory University, 1 grad student from Washington D.C. and 1 nursing student from James Madison. They are all doing various projects during the summer like building mud walled stoves, running a summer camp for the kids, or working in the clinic. We also had 8 guests this week from the Scotland Rotary club. They were recent high school grads that are part of the junior rotary program. They enjoyed a week ofvolunteering here and have now gone back to Nairobi to work for a week in the Karen home.

               

This first week was all about orienting myself. After a massive tour of the village, by foot and car, I think I have a grasp on where most things are. It helps that I have a map as well. The center of the village is made of up the administrative office (where I work), the social hall (where meetings and Sunday Mass is held), the guesthouse where I live, the police station, primary school, secondary school, polytechnic school and mini general store. Then there are 26 “clusters”, which each hold 4 houses. Each household has a shushu (grandmother) and around 10 children all ranging in age. To have been taken in at the village, a shushu must have lost her children/breadwinners to HIV and must have a biological grandchild that has lost their parents. Children in the village have all lost their parents to HIV. Right now in the village there are approx. 1000 and approx. 100 shushus. Also there are approx 125 staff members, who mostly all speak English, as well as Kikamba and Kiswahili.

Along the perimeter of the village is the livestock center, agroprocessing center, tree farms, vegetable and fruit farms, dammed river, solar panels fields, new guest house, staff housing, green houses and plant nursery. I was glad the Scottish were here this week because I got to go to their activities and try them myself. I got to work in the plant nursery, planting and watering and also process sunflowers to extract the seeds to make oil. I even attempted and failed at milking the cows. Everything in the village is used and almost everything is made here from all the furniture to all the produce, cleaning products, organic pesticides etc. It is almost 100% sustainable and it is striving to be completely plastic and waste free. I also got to observe the stove project that the Spanish volunteers are working on. Presently, the each household has an outdoor stove that is surrounding by plastic tarping to keep the wind out, but this is also very unhealthy to be cooked inside because of plastic fumes and unsustainability. So now, the volunteers are beginning to construct walls around the stoves/kitchens of mud/hay, with sticks as support. It is a long-term project but has seen good progress and the children of each cluster must participate and attempt to create their own. Hopefully we will see progress over the next month or so.

This weekend I got to go shopping for the first time in the nearest town to us. To get there you must take a 20 minute motarbike ride into the nearest village, Kwa Vonza, then take a 30 min matatu (taxi van) to Kitui, the nearest big town, where you can buy anything you need. I got an internet modem and stocked up on some groceries to have in the house. It was nice to see outside the village. That night we made a bonfire and roasted the hotdogs and apples we had bought in town.

I have also been settling into my room, trying to add some personal touches. Its going to take some adjustment to get used to the cold bucket showers and squat toilets, but I’m sure I will get used to it. Hopefully I will also learn to drown out the loud roosters that start crowing at 6am and the begging meowing cats all through the night. Other than those few disturbances it is actually very peaceful and I’m sure I will fall into a routine soon. Hopefully this gives you some insight into my new job and home here in Nyumbani Village! I’ve attached some pictures of my room! Look for another post next week! Xx Maggie

Bon Voyage America!

My first blog post! Woohoo! Testing to make sure this will work. I leave tonight for my year long adventure in Kenya. I’m working for Nyumbani Village,  east of Nairobi. Check out the website:http://www.nyumbani.org. I will be the volunteer coordinator and part sustainability coordinator. I am flying through Dubai where I have a night layover but Emirates has so generously provided us with a free hotel room. Not so shabby!

I will update you all when I get set up in my new home! For everyone on the East coast, stay dry and pray my flight doesn’t get delayed!

Bon Voyage!