Kenyan Delights and Thanksgiving!

Before we left, several people asked us what we will eat while we are abroad, especially in Africa. I never had a good answer so the food was a surprise to us (not really good or bad, just different) when we got to Uganda and then Kenya. It’s usually not too hard to find substitutions for some things we have in the U.S. (peanut butter and nuts have gone with us everywhere), but they are much more expensive than the traditional foods.

Going away feast for Villa, a volunteer from Finland.

As we begin our last week in Kenya, we have become somewhat accustomed to their traditional dishes. The cost and availability are the largest factors in deciding what to eat here. Overall, our diet here has been high in carbohydrates and low in protein which has taken some time to get used to since we eat so much more meat in the U.S. compared to here.

Their “go to” dish here is called “ugali.” It is made from corn flour and water and ends up looking much like a big cake with a spongy texture. It is always served with another dish (beef, vegetables, chicken, soup) to eat it with since ugali doesn’t have much flavor, if any. We eat it with our hands along with the rest of the meal. Rice or spaghetti and cabbage are other staples in our diet here. They are cooked and combined with tomatoes, onions, and salt. Being that I have never enjoyed cabbage, this again took some time to adapt, but by the end, I actually enjoy the meal if we don’t have it too much.

Chapatti is one of the foods that we liked right from the beginning and has become a favorite. We had our first taste of it in Uganda on our way to Kenya from someone selling them at a rest stop. It is made from flour, water, and salt and pan fried with oil. They resemble tortillas quite a bit but are thicker and more filling. They are awesome to dip in soups or use just like a tortilla and wrap other foods inside them.

Homemade Mandazi

Mandazi from Mandazi Magic Mix

Just like chapatti, mandazi has somewhat of an American counterpart. Mandazi is usually made with a special pre-bought mix (Mandazi Magic) and deep fried. The two things making them different from doughnuts are there is no sugar on them and they are square instead of round with a hole. These are very popular for breakfast and as you can imagine, these are also one of our favorites.

From left, clockwise - Rice, Ugali, Chicken Stew with Tomatoes and Onions, Pineapple

Off with his head.

Mr. McChicken roasting on the jiko (African grill).

On special occasions, such as Thanksgiving, a chicken is slaughtered and cooked. It can be fried or cooked in a stew. Since no chickens can be bought in our local town of Kima, we had to go to Luanda in the morning and buy one. Erin would have nothing to do with even touching the chicken so the task of carrying it and slaughtering it was left to me (with the help of Julius). Later that day, we walked back to the banana grove behind the house and killed it on banana leaves as they usually do. It wasn't as hard as I thought, but I had seen it done earlier in the week when a Villa, a volunteer from Finland, did the same thing for his "going away" meal. After plucking the feathers, Julius cleaned it and cut it up for the stew. Two hours later and we were enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving feast with the other volunteers from Japan, Moriko and Yumi, with chicken, ugali, rice, pineapple, bread, and tea. It all worked out well since Kipepeo had scheduled everyone to come for a visit to where we stay at Julius's place on Thanksgiving. They were totally unaware that it is the second biggest holiday in the U.S., but we explained it's importance to us, and it was definitely a Thanksgiving no one will forget.

Back - Sam, Jesse, Julius, Clinton
Front - Moriko, Erin, Yumi, Guddy

(Written November 24th)

This is HIV/AIDs Awareness in Kenya

When we arrived in Kenya, I was hoping to be able to volunteer at the hospital offering HIV/AIDS awareness and counseling at the nearby hospital. While I have been able to volunteer inside the small pharmacy at the hospital clinic, the opportunity to counsel hasn’t been available as I expected (the Kipepeo volunteer, Jesse, who usually does counseling is now taking classes in Kisumu which is an hour away).

Still, we have met one amazing person who is making a difference in the community, and we were able to spend a day with him.  His name is Dan, and his is HIV positive himself.  He’s been positive for many years and was very sick at one time.  Many people in Kenya refuse the treatment for HIV/AIDS because they are in denial they are sick.  There is still a strong stigma in the community when you let others know your status, and some would rather waste away in their homes than seek help.  This is mindboggling to us, especially since U.S.AID provides all the antiretrovirals at no cost.

This is Dan! He's 51 years old now

Dan was in denial many years ago, and he was prepared to die and take his family with him.  He dug a grave in his backyard and bought a coffin.  But something changed within him and he decided he should face the disease and start taking medications himself.  Now his work is to go throughout the community to convince others that are not taking medications to start taking them and live their lives. We were able to follow Dan for a day, and we got to visit 3 people whose lives he’s touched.  We brought them a few gifts and were able to learn their stories about gaining their health and strength back over the past months since they started taking medications.

Giving gifts!

She was so happy to have us visit her home

Dan also goes throughout the community and paints messages about HIV/AIDS on big rocks that can be seen from the road if someone drives by.  So the four of us (Sam and myself, and also the Japanese volunteers, Yumi and Mariko) hiked down the road one morning to find our rocks.  You can see our message below!

(Written November 22^nd)

Is it a celebrity? No, just a muzungu

Life in Kenya is very different than in the U.S., starting with the fact that people (especially school children) love to greet us and welcome us every day. There are always so many people just walking or selling things on the street.  We walk down the street to the Kipepeo office where we are volunteering, and we hear many times “muzugu” (“white person,” but it’s not a negative or derogatory), and also “How are you?” and then immediately “I’m fine!” because I think this is the first thing that the school children learn in English.  We’ve had some of the older people in the community just wanting to shake our hands, or take pictures with us. The school girls want to feel my hair, and they sometimes call out to us in unison when we walk by or they will hover right around us when we go to town in Luanda.   

The main junction in Kima, where the piki-piki drivers wait, the Kipepeo office is just past this

Another view of the junction

Life is also much simpler here.  We have been hosted by Julius, one of the heads of Kipepeo. Clinton, who often cooks for us, also lives there in just a small 2 bedroom apartment-like building.  All of our laundrey is done by hand.  Almost all our meals are cooked (unlike the U.S. where Sam and I often eat cereal for dinner).  There is no running water or even really a kitchen in the apartment, and a small charcoal grill-like device is how all of the meals are cooked---called a “jiko.” (gee-koh). They don't have any refrigerators, so we eat mostly non-perishable food.  We always sit around the small coffee table in the gathering room to eat our meals together.

Our bedroom in the apartment

After eating breakfast, we usually head out on the 10 minute walk to the Kipepeo office to get ready for the first computer class.  Like Sam said before, the power goes out almost every day (we learned this happens even when it doesn’t rain).  So you just do your best to work around it.  Our motto here is “Be flexible!” because your activities can change from day to day and nothing ever starts on time (even the primary school graduation we were invited to started 2 hours late). 

Clinton (left), Julius (middle), and Sam in our main room (you see the candles because the power is out)

Usually the day is over somewhere around 5pm, but sometimes we end up hanging out at the office until almost dark, then head home to eat dinner.  Overall, we’ve already met some great people and made some great friends. Although most of our time is spent on computer class, Kipepeo has so many projects and goals for the future.  I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next two weeks!

(Written November 14th)

First week of volunteering

Yesterday, we finished our first week in Kenya. The majority of our time was spent learning the everyday life of the Kipepeo (“butterfly” in Kiswahili) staff and the people of Kima or volunteering at the various Kipepeo projects. Our largest responsibility was teachig two computer classes per day to disadvantaged members of the community.

This is Clinton and Julius, our roommates. Julius is one of the main members of Kipepeo.

Many people in Kenya, and even more so in the small town of Kima, have never used a computer so we had to start with the absolute basics (monitor, tower, keyboard, mouse, etc.). We will work our way through the Microsoft Office packages and include Internet with email. At first, this seemed like a daunting task to us since we only have 3.5 weeks to do it, but the first week went well, with everyone (who came to class) completing their typed CVs in MS Word. We start MS Publisher and the Internet tomorrow.

The students are great and it shows that many of them are motivated to better themselves. We have some who just graduated primary school and others who have been working for 20+ years and never used a computer, including the head of the local health clinic.

There are two major challenges (among many others) for the classes to overcome. The first, which some people here call “African time,” is the mindset and culture that time is not nearly as important as in the US where we have the common phrase “time is money.” This may stem from the poor reliability of their infrastructure. This is related to the second major challenge which is the loss of electricity on a daily basis, especially when it rains. Obviously, it is difficult to teach a computer class when the power goes out and can remain out for as little as 5 minutes or as long as the entire day.

The street boys of Luanda.

On Friday, we spent the afternoon in Luanda (larger than Kima) where there are around 30 boys living on the street, appropriately nicknamed “street boys.” They are orphaned with no guardians and spend most of their lives struggling on the street. They range in age from 5 to 27. Kipepeo reaches out to them each Friday by setting up a soccer game for them then feeding them a meal at a nearby hotel. The thought of being completely responsible for yourself at that age is so foreign to us. We will be going back next Friday and hopefully can partake in the game once my leg is healed a bit.

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon with some of the orphans of Kima. They have guardians to take care of them but little else. Many have lost their parents to AIDS. We read books, introduced them to computers, took their pictures, gave them stickers (big hit), and did English flash cards. Kipepeo also fed them and then picked some vegetables they grow out back for them to take home for a meal or two. They loved playing with the muzungus (one word for Americans) and we are excited to see them all back next Saturday.

Patricia, one of our neighbors, sporting some cool shades with Erin.

Our first week here in Kima, Kenya has been amazing and the people have been extremely welcoming. We can only hope this week of computer classes goes as well as last week. Erin will be spending some time at the local health clinic where she will dispense prescriptions and hopefully counsel HIV and AIDS patients. We have a growing list of things we would like to do here and it seems we may not be able to get to them all, but two other volunteers from Japan arrived late last week so hopefully they can help in these endeavors.

(Written November 11th)