I’ve arrived safely in Kakamega, Kenya! I thought that starting a blog would be the easiest way to keep all of you updated on what I’m doing here in Kenya, so here it is. Bear with me, as I know next to nothing about blogging and writing is far from a favorite activity. I’ll try to share some of my thoughts as well as what I’ve been doing every few days. Feel free to comment and ask questions if you’d like.
We arrived Friday morning in Kisumu, Kenya and drove the hour into Kakamega where the other six DukeEngagers, fellow FSD interns, and I will be staying for the next two months. We will each be living with separate host families and organizations, but first, we have a week of orientation all together. As a part of orientation, we have started learning Kiswahili, exploring the town, and experiencing Kenyan culture. Peter is our program director and Alex and Carolyne serve as coordinators. I know that they will be a huge resource during my time here.
In the past week, I have been able to see much of Kakamega. The markets are bustling:
The streets are full of boda-boda’s (bicycle taxis), pikipiki’s (motorcycle taxis), trucks, and pedestrians. You can hear music and laughing and motors in the streets, and when it’s more quiet, birds. In a lot of ways it reminds me of what I saw in Nicaragua. There’s a lot of seeming chaos, but somehow it all works, and works well. I think I will come to love the way of life here. I have also learned so much Kiswahili, but since I associate it with Spanish in my head, that occasionally comes out in class or when I don’t know a word. I have also had a great time getting to know the other 10 FSD interns (7 are from Duke). Our room has been designated the hang out spot, so we always have people around and seem to laugh constantly. Being here at Sheywe Guest House (our hotel) has become so natural, and it’s odd to think about how much will be changing in the next week. I can’t wait to see all that the summer will entail!
My Internship: Divine Providence Children’s Home
I will be working at Divine Providence Children’s Home. It is run by the Benedictine Sisters of Divine Providence. What are the chances I’d end up working with sisters? But I can’t wait. Divine Providence is home to about 50 children, many of whom were abandoned because they were the result of incest. The children range in age from a few days old to late teens. The compound has a school as well as a nursery, and an additional 50 students attend classes for a fee, which helps offset the operating costs. The home also pays for children to go to secondary school or vocational school as appropriate, both of which are typically boarding schools. The government brings children into the home but gives absolutely no support. Divine Providence provides shelter, food, clothing, education, and medical care completely by outside donations. I met with Sr. Caroline who runs the home yesterday. We got along great and I cannot wait to work with her and the 9 other sisters who live and work at the home. I do not know exactly what I will be doing there yet (it is up to me once I have seen how the home/school operate), but I cannot wait to get to know all of the kids and the staff.
My Host Family: Obare
I move in with my host family this Saturday. I will be living very close to Divine Providence. My house has running water, electricity, and according to Alex, even a computer! I will have a host mother who works in the education office and a host sister who is my age and a student. I cannot wait to move in!
Food
Food is definitely very different here, but most of it I have really liked. Ugali (a cornmeal mash) is the staple food here and as the saying goes, “you have not eaten, until you have eaten ugali”. A meal does not count as a meal if it doesn’t contain ugali. The diet here is very carb-heavy. We ate at Carolyne’s house today, and we had many of the typical foods. Clockwise from the tortilla looking chapatti (a fried dough tortilla), pilaw (a spiced rice with meat), kuku (chicken), sukumawiki (kael vegetable), matoke (cooked banana), and of course, ugali. I even tried fried termites today! Also, food is typically eaten with your hands.
Culture
Life in Kenya is very relationship oriented. People are what matter most. Greeting everyone is normal and Kenyans really value handshakes. Eye contact is not very typical though. Public signs of affection, especially between opposite genders, is rare. Society is still very much patriarchal, and women typically do almost all of the cooking and housework. Time is far from the essence and showing up an hour late is not seen as rude. A relaxed world where relationships are emphasized is about my ideal, but we’ll see what I think after being more immersed in the culture.
I will do my best to keep you all updated! Have a great couple days!
Kelly
P.S. Another highlight of being here was meeting with Elisabeth from Lifestraw. They are doing a campaign to give each family in Kenya’s western province (1 million) access to clean water through their technology and hopefully funding this through carbon credits. Check it this genius initiative: http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/carbon-for-water/blog/
yayayay this sounds amazing Kel! can't wait to read about more of your adventures! love you and thinking of you!
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