A Part of the Family

I have now been living with Sarah and Immaculate Obari for 8 days, just enough time to grow a fro. As the picture proves, I am now a part of the family. I was really struck when on one of my first days Immaculate said “I had 7 daughters, but now I have 8.” They have been nothing but welcoming and I am very comfortable in my new home. I have had a lot of fun getting to know them. Sarah being my age has made adjusting much easier. It’s nice having an automatic friend!

                 I even met another one of my sisters Elizabeth when we visited her at her boarding school today. Elizabeth and I both love chemistry and want to be doctors. I was surprised to hear that their daily schedule at school goes starts at 4am and extends to 10pm. Wow! The visit also allowed me the opportunity to see the countryside north of Kakamega. I am always blown away by Kenya’s beauty, both in breath-taking views and the basic interactions between people. At one point, I could see miles into the distance filled of various shades of green and of course Kenya’s big, fluffy clouds. Seeing a group of kids dancing outside a church was just as beautiful.

                Divine Providence has provided another family for me. I feel quite well-adjusted in my internship and am starting to solidify my schedule. I plan on helping with bathing and feeing the babies in the morning, working on my ideas with infant nutrition and a sponsorship program in the middle of the day, and teaching in the afternoons. I was able to meet with nutritionists at the district hospital on Friday, who think the idea seems promising and are going to discuss my ideas after examining my research early this week. My home of Divine Providence extends outside its gates as well, as I saw when I sat near the sisters at mass this morning and ran into a fellow teacher Geoffery on my way home tonight.

                Last but not least, my fellow interns have been a huge support system for me. We had a FSD meeting Saturday, and then spent the rest of the afternoon running errands together and relaxing at the Golf Hotel where we can get free internet. I always have a great time swapping stories with them. We’ll be getting some new members next week!

                Have to go eat my second chicken! Have a great Sunday! Enjoy some family time.

Kelly

Divine Providence

My internship at Divine Providence Children’s Home began Monday. The sisters have been extremely welcoming, although it is completely up to me what I want to do each day. I have spent the time dressing and feeding babies, researching infant nutrition, teaching math classes, and most of all, asking countless questions to figure out how everything works. I have really enjoyed being able to do a little bit of everything. I am currently working on trying to find a way to supplement the cow’s milk they feed the babies (they can’t afford formula, and lack consistent donations) with vitamins and minerals from foods they always have around the home. That and trying to make a schedule for helping with classes, since it seems like every teacher wants some help/extra prep time.

The name of Divine Providence seems more fitting the longer I’m here. I went with some of the sisters to visit the bishop yesterday (I get a big kick out of the fact I haven’t even been here two weeks, but have met the bishop). I learned a lot about how the home was started and gained more insight into the way that operates. The thing that struck me the most was that at times, the sisters have come to him begging for any sort of food to feed the children, and he has allowed them to empty the pantries. Sacred Heart Academy that’s next door has also given everything in their store rooms, leaving its 1,000 girls skipping a meal in the service of others. The high of my day, however, came when the bishop casually mentioned to take the lambs home with us for the kids. I thought he was joking, but by the time we left, there were three lambs loaded in the van with us. Divine Providence

Today was Madaraka Day, basically Kenyan Independence Day. School was closed, and as it was Chris’s birthday all of the interns met up for lunch. It was great being able to catch up and swap stories. So much has happened in such a short time! Speaking of divine providence, it was just the break I needed before going in to help some of the students with some math questions later in the afternoon. I am settling in and doing well, but my bed is beckoning!

Kelly

It's the Simple Things

                The last couple days have been very hectic. I have moved in with my host family and start work tomorrow! I will write more about both of those tomorrow, but thought I’d share some of my favorite moments first. Kenya has very much been about the simple things for me. A few of those things/moments include:

                -The kids: Seeing smiling laughing faces of the kids here has been a huge high. One of the first things that really struck me here was seeing a little girl giving her brother (who wasn’t much smaller than her) a piggy-back ride down the road. It was simple, but yet her love for him was so obvious. Similarly, seeing a mother feeding her child and pulling away the bottle to kiss the baby also struck me. Finally, when we were on a tuk tuk ride in Kisumu (we went into the city for a day), kids ran after us screaming “muzungu, muzungu (the Kiswahili word for white people)”, waving crazily, grinning ear to ear, trying to get our attention. It was awesome to just see how happy our mere presence and basic attention was making them. I can’t wait to meet all of the kids at Divine Providence and add more of these stories that have made my day.

                -Going on a boat ride in Kisumu: We went on a boat ride on Lake Victoria to go see hippos. It was incredible to see how vast the lake is. I was struck by the sheer joy and excitement everyone feels the moment the hippos head comes up from the water. Something so simple made us all so happy. I think that I can learn much from Kenyans with regards to that, and I started by closing my eyes and simply loving feeling the wind and spray on my face on the ride back.

                -Dancing with the locals: On Friday, we all went out to one of the more traditional local discos. We muzungus had a great time making fools of ourselves on the dance floor, but by the end of the night we had plenty of other people joining us. An older woman danced with some of us and then stopped and said “you’re my daughter and you’re my son” to each of us there. I felt accepted and a part of the community.

                -Human sardines: Matatu’s (the buses which are really vans) are never full. It was hilarious to me to see how many people they would jam into one van… more than I thought was even possible. We’d stop and somehow someone else would get on, leaving the staff man leaning against the door and bent over the seats.

                -Satisfaction and kiswahili: Dylan and I went to Safaricom to purchase a modem. We started using our Swahili to talk to an old man in line. He had just eaten a large meal of ugali and kuku (chicken) and was just so content. I was thrilled, by his utter happiness, and my basic ability to communicate.

                -Handing out of awards: I went with my host sister Sarah over to an education festival where my host mom Immaculate was working after moving in on Saturday. I sat in the VIP section, as Immaculate works for the education office. In the middle of the presentation of awards I was asked to come up and hand out some awards to schools for their achievements in test scores. I was shocked and found it amusing since they clearly thought I was someone important like all of the big names in the district around me. I did it again in the second part of the awards ceremony. Immaculate later told me that it is considered a sign of respect and that was their way of welcoming me as a guest. I couldn’t help but laugh though at the fact that I had given out awards for things I knew nothing about.

                Preparing a chicken: I can now say I have plucked and prepared a chicken. My host mom brought in the beheaded chicken and said I could help pluck it when I asked what I could help with. The chicken was still moving for awhile, but we got the feather off. Also, being the pre-med nerd that I am, I was fascinated with the organs when we were removing the guts. We cooked it up, and I can honestly say it was some of the best chicken I’ve ever had!

                I’m loving Kenya so far! I will give you some more details about my new life with my host family and host organization soon!

                Kelly

Karibu Kakamega (Welcome to Kakamega)

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/