My passion is for the people

Reflection on Be Hope To Her

2010-04-14T05:17:00.002+03:00

Here's an inspirational piece (written in collaboration by Nuru Media) on what it means to “Be Hope to Her”:

Water.
Life.
The daily need.
Shared by all,
Humanity.

Earth.
Skin.
Cracked dry as dust.
Inescapable thirst.

Here the dividing line is drawn.
The hemispheric separation
Of faucet and family:
The many muddy miles to fill your child’s cup
A never-ending necessity.

With salted brow and weary step
As duty leads the way,
Her journey--no stranger,
The miles--no friend,
She traverses day by day

Toiling without a passing nod.
In torrid heat, dark-red-earth-sod.
Though urban streets and crowded quads:
With her, we walk.

We will walk.
Boldly, step upon rugged step,
To advocate for the millions bearing the load,
Gallon after gallon along that road.

With yellow buckets
Our makeshift crowns,
Today we walk for her.

Enduring weight
For justice’s sake,
Bringing change to her

Together in stride.
Her future our pride.
We will walk,
And be hope
To her

Be Hope To Her (B H2o+) Video

2010-04-10T17:59:00.000+03:00

This video is only 1 min, 27 secs long. Check it out.

We Will Walk from BH2O+ on Vimeo.

long time no post

2010-01-23T07:17:00.002+03:00

Yes, I know I haven't posted in awhile... a long while.

Here's the 411 on me: This past Fall, I was continuing to work for Nuru and also go to school half-time. Right before Christmas, I was siting in completely stopped traffic-- I mean car turned off and everything-- and read through my work emails on my Blackberry. As I read through our regular operational emails from our beloved CEO, Jake, I read that my team's rotation schedule is to change from June-December, to June 2010-April 2011. Although I LOVE living in Kenya, and I'd be so happy to live there for 9 months, it left me with the decision to either leave Nuru or FOREVER forsake my Master's degree in Counseling.

You see, the Accreditation for the Counseling Program has a rule that one must finish their degree within 5 years. I applied and was accepted in the Summer of 2007, before leaving for Sudan for a year. Then, when I returned and began my degree in the Fall 0f 2008, and then deferred it again to work for Nuru, I still planned to eventually finish my degree. The issue with the 5 year thing is that I'd have to re-take the GRE and re-apply to the Program, and re-take all of my previously taken classes once the 5 year mark was up.

So... I officially ended employment with Nuru at the end of the year. Jake understood, and so did the rest of the Nuru Staff. This Spring, I'm taking 16 credit hours, and volunteering for Nuru still. I'm planning to stay in contact with most of the colleges involved with Nuru, continue updating the @bh2o on Twitter, and do other tasks so that Nuru will still have an awesome Be Hope To Her (BH2O+) event. (http://www.nuruinternational.org/takeaction/bh2o.html).

The good side to all of this is that I now have time to make new friends, get rooted in my community here in Morgantown, and join the leadership of the 17three college ministry. Its so weird to think that I don't know the next time I'm going back to Kenya, or Africa in general. I've been spending this month thinking about what that means, and how that re-defines who I am. It probably sounds weird to some of you, but I've been "the girl who goes to Africa" for almost 3 yrs. Now I'm what? The girl who acts awkwardly around large crowds of people, and knows people, but at the same time, knows nobody at all.

Now that I have more time in life, I'm going to continually blog about my experiences in Morgantown and the Counseling Program. As of late, I have an average of 3 books a day coming to my doorstep, if that gives you a hint as to my reading load. Most of it pertains to Addictions Counseling. Not much is more awkward than reading about Alcoholism in Starbucks-- besides if maybe I read it in a bar, which, would defeat the purpose of trying to stay awake while reading.

Well, here's to a happy new year to all of you! Keep reading, I'll try to make it interesting with the awkward anecdotes that is my life!

Tumaini Counseling Centre

2009-12-17T08:17:00.002+03:00

Here is a link to Tumaini's video on what they do in Kenya. I really think you should watch it. If you would like to know more information on how you can support these counselors, comment on my blog or send me an email. My friends, Roger and Shirley Brown need financial support before they can return to Kenya. They have been working at Tumaini for their career, but with the economic issues of the US, they have been struggling to maintain support. The work that the counselors do in Africa keeps everyone else who is working there, there.

Video:

http://tumainicounseling.net/images/stories/Tumaini.mov

I, Too

2009-10-12T04:47:00.002+03:00

So far, while in Paraguay I have learned about humanity. While at the all girl's school up-country from Asuncion I was able to see how a poor girl from an ethnic group that was once hunted by others for being native to the land, and then hid in the forest for hundreds of years, can now stand with pride amongst her peers-- all her peers, of all colors-- as she presents her prize that she's won over all in the country. All she needed to obtain this was someone to fill her with the idea of worth and provide her with the skills needed to succeed.

This poem by Langston Hughes reminds me of these girls. The poem is about an African-American in the US, but I'd venture to say that it pertains to these Native Indian girls.

I, Too

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes, but I laugh,
Eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table when company comes.
Nobody'll dare say to me
"Eat in the kitchen."
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

-Langston Hughes

Naval Academy Article about Nuru International

2009-10-02T17:15:00.002+03:00

Click this link to read about how Nuru's founder and ex-Marine, Jake Harriman, fights terrorism with seed and fertilizer!

http://www.usna.com/Document.Doc?id=1254

Great article about Nuru written in Shipmate, the NA's magazine. Its exciting to see the different places we get press.

Jake was in Morgantown,WV this week for the first time in awhile (he mostly splits his time between Kenya and California), so it was nice to get to see him for a bit.

On Tuesday, I leave for Paraguay in South America with Nicole Scott, our partnerships Director, to check out a project called Teach A Man To Fish. We'll be there for 9 days (gone total for 11) to see if their most successful project, a self-sustainable high school, is something we can do in Kenya and possibly on other projects. I'll keep you all posted on how that goes and give more info. then.

Organic Farm in Kiberia

2009-09-16T18:12:00.002+03:00

I know I know! I haven't blogged in almost a month and now I've done 3 in one day!!! Don't get overwhelmed, you have a month to read through them! Haha!

This link is to a BBC slideshow that also has commentary by the founder of the self-help group for the organic garden. Pretty pictures and interesting thoughts on organic farming in Africa's largest slum, which is located inside of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7865387.stm

Kiberia being cleared for low-income housing

2009-09-16T17:59:00.003+03:00

I was reading the BBC, Africa and found the front page news to be that Odinga is clearing everyone (1 MILLION people) out of the largest slum in sub-saharan Africa, Kiberia, Kenya to make room for low-income housing. I'm still processing my thoughts on this one. Part of me feels like this is a good thing, to reduce crime and improve the lives of the people who live in Kiberia; however, on the personal side, generations of families have raised their children in those shacks. Although they may be shacks, they were called home to over a million people. Food for thought. Read the article by clicking the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8258417.stm

Campus Reps, Birthdays, and America

2009-09-16T17:25:00.004+03:00

Now that I'm back in the US of A, I am working with Derek and Billy on the Grassroots Movement Team, along with some excellent volunteers. My main job right now is connecting with students on university campuses to join in the fight against extreme poverty by volunteering their time on campus. We are getting geared up for some very important dates this fall: Oct 1st and Nov 1st. On Oct 1st we are launching the new website and also celebrating Nuru's 1yr anniversary and all the achievements that go along with it. Nov. 1st is the launch of the I AM NURU Campaign, which allows people to lift a family in Kenya out of extreme poverty over the course of 5 yrs. by paying $28/mo. If you are interesting throwing a party with a purpose for either of those dates--or both--email me to find out details. Last year's party with a purpose here in Morgantown was an amazing success. If you are interested in the I AM NURU Campaign, click on the Nuru website link to the right on Nov 1st for details.

Secondly, tomorrow is my birthday. Last year my friends in the counseling department threw me a surprise party in our Human Development class, with cupcakes and soda-- very sweet. That night a bunch of friends celebrated Mine and my friend Tara's birthday (today) at a Mediterranean restaurant.

This year, I would like everyone to donate to Nuru via the Facebook cause page: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/152681?m=e0bc6388

I'm asking everyone to donate $10 to collectively get $200. So far we have raised $120 since last week when I set it up. $80 more bucks and we're there!

America is an interesting place to get used to the land of individualism and relational sterilization. But I'm slowly getting used to it, so that's good. This Friday I'm headed to the Paraguay consulate to get a visa for a business trip at the beginning of October. Fun rides on the metro in my future.

Nuru's 6th Episode: Harvest

2009-08-30T07:28:00.002+03:00

Hey Everyone,

Sorry that I have been delinquent in writing. I am back in the USA safe and sound and have moved back to Morgantown,WV where I'll be working with Billy Williams and Derek Roberts and out volunteer staff on the Grassroots Movement Team, who tirelessly work to awaken individuals to action with NURU and to action within their own communities. More on that to come. But for now, watch Episode 6 here... its not long. I'm in it again, along with my handsome colleagues. Thank you.

Back on the ground in Kuria

2009-07-10T20:48:00.002+03:00

On the 19th of June, as stated, I caught the bus from Nairobi to Isibania with Jake and Janine at 6 a.m.. Since then I have been crazy busy with catching up with Francis and getting all the future initiatives for the Education Program running. While I was away, Francis visited a project in Kisumu, all the teacher training colleges in the surrounding area, and sat in on many of the classes in each of the schools in our working area to evaluate the teacher and head teacher. What he found in the schools is that the head teachers were coming to school late, if at all, and consequently so were the teachers and students. In the classroom, the teachers didn't have the scheme of work posted on the black board or even written anywhere at all-- not even a lesson plan in a book somewhere. Basically, they'd stroll into the classroom with a textbook, read a little bit, and then leave the students to ponder on that 10 minute lesson. So Francis came up with an idea to put some coals under the administration and the teachers.

Education Advisory Committee:
Our first initiative is the institution of the Education Advisory Committee. The EAC is made up of 1 parent per school, the chairman of each school, a head teacher that represents all of the schools, the assistant chiefs of each of the 2 sub-locations, the District Education Officer's representative, Francis, and the Program Manager (me or Chelsea, my replacement). The role of the EAC is to monitor the quality of the education provided in each of the schools and to discuss and solve problems sited, along with any problems known in the community within the realm of education (i.e.- dropout). This past Thursday we all met for the first time to discuss the rules and roles of the committee and we nominated a chairlady, whose name is Veronica and is a parent at Nyametaburo Secondary School. They will meet the first week of every month to discuss any problems and/or solutions.

Pre-School Training:
During the months of July, September, and October there will be trainings for the Preschool teachers. Nope, I didn't forget August, its just that the schools are on break for the month of August and therefore the lecturers are doing work elsewhere. The total of 5-weeks of trainings will be broken into two 2-week sessions, and then one 1-week session. At the end of the 5 weeks, the teachers will be certified by the ministry, which makes them official Early Childhood Educators, which means that they will be MORE than babysitters!! The first session started today (Monday, 12 July) and so I went out to Kehancha (the district seat), where the training is held, to see the "students" and they were SO excited and happy. Surprisingly, there were more MEN then I thought there'd be! We had just sent out invitations to each of the school inviting their pre-school teachers and I just didn't think about men being here-- whoops, guess who's NOT gender-sensitive. Anyway, I'll report back at the end of the week on how things are going and get some pictures of them up here.

Along with the idea of pre-school training, the teachers also need a classroom to decorate and make the place more inviting for young minds to grow. As of now, they meet in a nearby church or in one of the condemned classrooms that no other class will touch. Therefore, its in our near future plan to have some classrooms built for them. Early childhood education is SO important because it sets the tone for the rest of their scholastic career!

Attendance Club:
Because attendance and drop-out is SO high, we are implementing an Attendance Club, which will offer incentives for the students to come (yes, bribery, ok, they need it!). The targeted audience, obviously, is the truant population, so they will be the members of the club-- specifically, the top 10 truant kids from each class--for starters. Because truancy is not always the fault of the child, but the parent, this club will allow the student to talk with the teacher about any problems at home. This is where the EAC comes in: if a parent is holding their kid home from school, the EAC will make it VERY clear that this is BAD. Here, community is so important, and if your community publicly "shames" you by everyone knowing what you're doing is wrong, then you want to change your behavior.

Achievers' Club:
It has the same premise as the Attendance Club, except that it targets the lower 10 rung of each class. This too, will give those students a chance to talk about life. For example, the inspiration for this was when Francis and I attended a ceremony for the secondary school. All of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place students got to come for a prize-- there was a prize for each subject and for each class. Just the same, the 1st-3rd poorest ranking students had to stand up in front of their peers. I found this to be appalling for one; and for two, made me think of something better to be done. There was one girl who had to stand for almost everything! I later found out that she is the oldest of her family and her dad has 3 wives and her mom ran out on the family a little while ago! NO WONDER she is failing!!! She looked miserable and probably wished she was never born-- you know-- can you imagine being that girl? So, that's what the Achiever's club is all about.

Campaign against dropout:
Francis and I want to launch a campaign against dropout for both girls and boys. Boys tend to dropout and become truck loaders in town, which leads to alcoholism and drug use-- amongst the obvious of ignorance. The girls tend to get distracted by boys by 8th grade (post-female circumcision) and decide that they are too womanly now to be a student and then dropout to marry. We'd like to bring in lecturers to the school to talk on these subjects. I know, Ronald McDonald telling me to stay off drugs didn't help all those out there in the US, but, if you don't try, you lose all around.

So, that is a sneak peak into my world here for now. The next team of people comes from the US this Wednesday and so we will be heavily involved in turnover with our replacement. I'll post pics soon!

At Long Last...

2009-07-10T09:24:00.009+03:00

Ok, So it has been a month since my last posting and let's be honest, the last 2 were lame because I didn't write anything. So, I'll give a brief summary of my vacation and then move on to what's going on here in Kuria, Kenya.

VACATION

(Rachel and I's attempt at a good pic together)

The first week I went to Mozambique with my friend Rachel, who has been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho for the past year and still going strong in the SNOW. I had flown into Johannesburg, South Africa's airport from Nairobi, on the way to Maputo, the capital of Moz. While waiting in the airport, wishing I had more USD or some Rand to buy a sandwich (realizing that with $2, as in the US, I could only buy a .5L bottle of water), Rachel sent me a text asking where I am. I replied "in the airport, of course." She replies, "tell me exactly where you are in the airport." See, you have to know that Rachel was planning to take the bus from Jo-burg to Maputo and meet me at the airport in Moz, not in SA. However, Rach had a different, more secret plan: when I sent her my itinerary months ago, she secretly booked the same flight from SA to Moz and arranged for the seat right next to me. Rachel is one of my best-friends and I hadn't seen her since before I left for Sudan in 2007, and maybe this is just a girl thing, but it was super exciting to see each other again! So, after our meeting outside of the SA 2010 World Cup shop, we caught up over the usual food of ours (Rach eating a pizza, and me, a tuna sandwich-- it was so typical and normal). We flew to Maputo, spent the first night there, and then at 4am we set out on a bus for the beach in Tofo (pronounce Tofu). The beach was AMAZING! This was the first time I'd been on a beach since 2007 and soaked it all in. We went running on the beach, ate lots of seafood (fabulous seafood), and took in the culture-- meanwhile catching up on 2 yrs of each other's life. In all, we stayed in Tofo for 8 days and then returned to Maputo for 1 1/2 days. It was such a great reunion and I can't wait for the next one, wherever that may be.

I was only in Nairobi for the weekend before I was back on an airplane, this time headed to Kampala, Uganda (my poor friend Carolyn, I stayed at her house in a whirlwind in the beginning). My friend Sarah, whim I met at Africa Inland Mission's orientation school in Machakos, Kenya (ABO) while I was helping Carolyn with the children's ministry, lives in Kampala as the director of the early childhood program at Reformed Theological College (don't think I didn't pick her brain for ideas). Sarah picked me up from the airport, and tape-to-ipod adapter in-hand (thanks Dad and Erica), I plugged in my i-pod and we sang and danced in the car the whole way to her house while catching up on each other's news. The first 2 days were spent getting insight into Sarah's world-- work, friends, house. Sarah has the best apartment in all the land, from the interior decor, to the breathtaking view from her front balcony. I think we had the best time just listening to Christmas (sigh, yes, christmas) music while lounging in chairs on her balcony watching the sunset. While in Uganda, Sarah also arranged for us to go to Banda Island, one of the Sesse Islands on Lake Victoria. To get there, we had to take a matatu (public bus/van) to Entebbe, a boda (motorbike) to the lake shore, and then a fishing boat 3 hours into the lake. Banda Island is a culture of its own for sure. Its owned by an older British guy named Dominic, who's grown-up in Kenya (his dad was a British Colonial Officer before and after independence); and now owns that island, as well as 2 others around it. Aside from the EVIL killer ants that inhabit every millimeter of that place, Banda island was relaxing and fun. There were a total of 12 of us plus staff in the whole area and so we could do whatever we wanted-- take a row-boat out and get rescued by a Frenchman, lay in hammocks watching the waves roll in, take a night dip in the lake, or eat fantastically fresh Nile Perch-- or all of the above. When we returned from Banda Island, Sarah made sure I got some of the city-life in me by taking me to Garden City Mall where we got pedicures and then ate a South-African, American-themed restaurant with American-Indian pictures and designs all around. The place is called "Spur" and has all the frills of American dining, right down to the salad bar (no free refills though). After dinner, we took in a movie, "Demons and Angels," which was pretty interesting. Oh, and Sarah also managed to sneak into the agenda the painting of her office! The whole week in Uganda was fabulous and I hope to treat Sarah with the same hospitality when she comes to visit in the US for the first time ever (She's South African).

I was in Nairobi for about 4 days before heading off to Kijabe to visit with Erica, my other good friend whom I met at ABO last year. Erica is a 4th grade teacher at the Rift Valley Academy (RVA) who is crazily preparing her wedding in September. You can read her sweet engagement story on her blog by clicking on her name. Erica's house has this great little upper-room that she so lovingly decorates with flowers the 2 times I've been to visit. It was great getting to catch up with her because we haven't been able to talk much since she went home over Easter to take care of wedding arrangements/ see her fiance/ prepare for a new life in Long Island. One night, we went down to the home of one of her Bible study friends where we had a BBQ and played Cornhole (those pics are also on her latest entry). Most of the people in her Bible study are Kenyan Doctors and are simply hilarious.

While at Kijabe, another good friend from ABO, Barbara, who lives in the desert in northern Kenya was also visiting at RVA; and so while our hostesses worked, we played. Barbara and I went running around the soccer/rugby field in the mornings and laughed it up. Too bad she, and her roommate Charmyn, live on the complete opposite side of Kenya from me (their blogs are also on the right-hand side of my blog page). Also, while at Kijabe, my friends Sybilla and Vic, who are from Bowie, MD (sort of), my home-town, drove out from Nairobi, where they live, and we, along with their son, hiked Mt. Longonot. Mt. Longonot is a dormant volcano and super beautiful from the top. That was such a fun morning; and good to see them again!

To get home from Kijabe is always interesting because its not all that easy or fun to just catch a matatu back to Nairobi; and it is much cheaper and better to catch a ride with a RVAer who's planning to go into town. This time, oddly enough, my AIM reps, David and Darlene Noden, who originally assisted me in my preparation for going to Sudan last year, were in-country with a short-term team!! I haven't seen them since 2005 and haven't heard from them since 2007,and so it was a great surprise to ride to town with them! Once in town, I went out to eat at Java House with them and their team. It was the Noden's wedding anniversary too, and so we celebrated that. Later, I said good-bye to them and the team and headed back to Carolyn's house. Oh, and while still in Kijabe, the night before leaving, I received a text that Aerie and Chris were back in-country, a day before I has expected them, and they were leaving for Isibania the next morning! So, I left a day after them, along with Jake and Janine-- just enough time to eat some fantastic fish with Carolyn and take her to Java House for a birthday dessert before she goes back down to Machakos for yet another ABO.
(The Nodens and I)

Banda Island, Uganda en pictoire

2009-06-10T16:50:00.003+03:00

Mozambique in Pictures

2009-06-10T16:00:00.002+03:00

Quasi Sudan Reunion

2009-05-11T09:00:00.006+03:00

Job Odero and his wife

For those of you who have been following my blog since I left for Sudan in 2007, you might remember Job Odero, the Kenya missionary teacher who came to Ikotos at the same time as me. Job and I were the only foreigners at the school and faced many hardships together as we tried to improve the school. The existing teachers, who were mainly untrained, were resistant to change in "their" school, so it was a slow process. When I left Sudan (almost a year ago now-- May 22nd), I prayed for Job, and was worried about him being the only foreigner at the school continuely trying to make improvements.

Two Sundays ago I went to an Africa Inland Church service in Migori, the neighboring big town. After the service I spoke with the pastor, mentioning that I used to work in a school in Sudan with someone named Job Odero. The pastor's response was "Oh yeah, I know him." My response was "Are you sure? I doubt its the same one." So I made motions like an extremely skinny person and said "does he look like this? And is he a bit brown (which means that he's lighter)?" The pastor insisted he was the one, but he wasn't sure if he was in Sudan or not, so I gave the pastor my cell number to relay to Job or his wife.

On Thursday night, I received a random phone call from a number I didn't recognize-- I almost didn't answer it. Of course, it was Job! So we talked for a bit and decided to meet up on Sunday for church and then go to his house for lunch. Francis came along too, a.) because I'm not supposed to travel alone (Nuru Rules) and b.) Francis wanted to meet Job. Francis heard a lot about Job last Sunday upon my finding out that Migori was Job's home area. So he wanted to meet the man in the flesh.

So yesterday we did just as planned. We took the matatu (taxi van) into Migori, met Job on the outskirts of downtown, and proceeded to church. His oldest daughter and youngest son met us at the church. It was so cool to be at church with Job again, but this time seeing him with his family that I'd heard so much about while we were in Sudan. After church, we walked to his house, which wasn't far, and as I walked in the door, his wife gave me the biggest hug in the world. She's a thin lady, but it was quite the bone crushing variety of hug. During lunch, Job and I caught up on all the happenings of the school in Ikotos, from the time I left to February when he returned. Truly, he has suffered a lot of hardships at that school. There were some disgruntled (alcoholic) teachers who wanted to see Job in jail or beaten. I'd like to add right here that Job was by far the most moral and upright person at that school, and so any charges against him were positively devious. The former deputy head master, Otim-- who I had fired because of drunkenness and sexual harassment towards the female students, and I didn't pay him his salary in the end because he never showed up to work--had bribed a police officer to have Job thrown in jail. Within the same day, as Pastor Tobiolo, who's now like the mayor of the town, realized what happened, Otim quickly ran to the jail and forced Job to leave, fearing that he'd be found out for his devious act.

Through all of this hardship, the main reason for Job's return home was because of the lack of payment for working at the Ikotos school. His wife has been trying to support the children as Job attempts to receive payment for doing God's work; but now his oldest daughter is entering high school, which is a big expense. Job shared with me that when he came back home, he managed to scrounge up enough money to pay for 1st term, which was 20,000 Kenyan Shillings (roughly $260) , but as 2nd term has started, he's unable to send her. The cost for 2nd and 3rd terms are 10,000 Kenyan shillings each. Job found a job (ok, I know how funny that sentence is) at a local private primary school. He's been working there for a month now, and is paid approximately 10,000 Kenyan Shillings a month. The main thing is for him to be able to get off his feet after 2 years of not being paid a salary. At the moment I'm trying to think of ideas on how to help him do that. He's not like the people I'm working with in Nyametaburo and Nyang'iti, he was a successful teacher in Nairobi for many years; and his wife was a successful business lady until her kiosk was burnt to the ground during the election riots. It was only from meeting the AIC bishop of Sudan, and feeling God's leading to assist them at the school, did Job encounter such a financial situation.

...And so that was my Sunday.

Job with his family:

Job with his entire family, including his mom, aunt, nieces and nephews (that he helps support because some of his siblings have died from disease):

Staff Development Day

2009-05-10T21:44:00.006+03:00

Yesterday (May 9th) we held a staff development day at our house. The Community Development Chairmen (CDC) came over and we discussed everything from banking, to female empowerment, to maps. Philip Mahochi (our head chairman and community business guy) taught the rest of the CDC how to keep a budget and do their own books. The CDC came to Aerie saying that they wanted to be the first to know how to budget and save, as to set a good example for the rest of the community.

Afterwards, somehow a huge and long discussion on women's rights came up. It was really interesting because their were only 3 of us females in the group, and 7 males. The ones who did the most talking were Philip and Francis. The cool thing was that Francis, being the same age as Philip, comes from a more modern camp, while Philip is more traditional. I say traditional in that Philip romanticizes the good ol' days of Kurian culture, back when men walked first on a journey to protect the women; and women got water while the men would accompany her, bow and arrow in-hand, to protect her from lions and rival clans. However, as Francis pointed out, that is no longer the case; and instead, the women do basically everything from washing, cooking, farming, watching the children, etc. while the men sit idle (not all the men, but especially the newer generations). Nellie, who is one of the younger women (younger than Eunice, but older than me) spoke up a few times which was great. Philip even brought up scriptures and then Francis and him were battling out the scriptures interpretation and so that's when I busted out 2 Tim and also Ephesians 5. I really enjoyed having this discussion with them, and that Philip and Francis could offer up the two different views.

At the end of the discussion we walked to Philip's house for lunch; and then walked back to our house for more banking and budgeting talk which Aerie led. Following that, I updated them on what Francis and I have learned about the schools; and then we all had a brainstorm as a group about what needs to be done. Very helpful. When that was through Chris showed everyone the map that he's been working on of our whole area-- including where we live and some places around our house, as well as all the places we work.

Concluding the day, we all went to Border Point Hotel and restaurant for dinner to have some laughs as a team. The whole of Saturday was fun and informative!

Aerie showing off his business and budgeting stylings:

Chris discussing water and showing off his cool map of the area that was created with lots of walking:

At Border point:

The Baseline

2009-05-06T09:43:00.002+03:00

In case you all have been wondering about Eunice, I went to her house the next day, brought her lunch, and we talked about her daughter's future. Then, the next day we talked again, after she visited her daughter, and both of them are doing better. They're thinking that once the baby is born and weened, the daughter will go to a vocational college, such as a teacher college, and the baby will stay with Eunice for 2 years. Thanks for your prayers.

So, what have I been doing work related for the past few weeks? Well, as I briefly mentioned in the last posting, I've been working from home/my office imputing data from the field into spread sheets. One of the big parts of Nuru is creating a baseline for each new project, in all 5 area of development. Once the baseline data is computed, then, for education, I'm projecting what our exit will look like. For example, as of now there is only 1 secondary school for the whole area; and it is inadequate at best. So, for the exit projection, there should be 2 fully-functioning and self-sustaining secondary schools-- one in each sub-location: Nyametaburo (existing) and Nyang'iti (TBA).

To decide on what the baseline is for our area, I had to collect the data in several different ways: going to each school, random sampling of household surveys, and surveying the students. Two of the hardest things to identify right now are a.) population and b.) literacy levels. The last census was done in 1999 and the next one won't be done until 2009; and so I'm using their projections for 2009, from 10 years ago, along with the findings from the surveys. I need to know how many children go to school out of the total amount of children in each area. Another snag in the process is that many of the children from bordering towns come from Tanzania. The Tanzanian curriculum doesn't teach in English, but rather Kiswahili, and most parents want their children to learn English. That's great that the TZ children are able to go to public school here, however its horrible from a research standpoint.

As for literacy, the last National literacy test was held in 2006, which isn't so out of date. The only problem with it is that they only tested from age 15 and up; and lumped the scores by District (i.e. Kuria as a whole, not by sub-locations such as Nyametaburo). Because of this, I'm debating holding a literacy test for the primary level, but still not sure which is the best format to use. If any of you teachers have some ideas, let me know. I know many of you who read this are all too familiar with IEPs and SpEd testing.

Currently, my counterpart, Francis, is tirelessly hiking around our 5 areas doing the household survey. He's doing to 10 houses in each of the 5 locations. I'm hoping to compile a guesstimation of the total amount of children versus the total amount enrolled. I'm also hoping to identify the total amount of disabled children are in the area. Mentally disabled children here don't go to school at all; and physically disabled children may or may not, depending on the severity of the handicap.

While Francis hikes around, I'm here typing the information that he brings me, along with creating a nice little package of research for our research team in Ohio, who are amazing and will do a lot of number crunching that I can't do. I sent a rough draft in to Gaby, the lead researcher, last Friday, and yesterday received feedback. So today I'm working on refining the baseline packet so that it will look nice to our reviewers. One of the things that sets Nuru apart is that we are having outside NGOs review our research for accountability and efficiency. We'll then take the review, evaluate it, and trim the "fat" from our data for a streamline NGO 2.0 development machine.

I took a break from the baseline this morning to update you all. The last entries have been sad, and not much about the work itself. Hopefully this entry helps all of you to understand more about what I'm doing on the Education side of things.

In 2 weeks our team will be taking a month-long break from the project. When living out here, it is important to leave the area, look away from the work, relax, and once refreshed, come back to the project with fresh eyes. Kind of like writing a paper for school-- when you're in the thick of things, with your head down and nose to the grind too long, things get muddy. An NGO 2.0 wants to be fresh, not muddy. As for me, I'm meeting up with one of my best-friends, Rachel, who's been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho since last June. We're meeting in Mozambique to catch up on the beach. After that, I'm visiting friends in Nairobi; Kampala, Uganda; and in Ikotos, S.Sudan (where I used to live). I cannot wait to see all my friends out here! But, until the end of next week, head down, and nose to the grind stone-- there's work still to be done.

Friends and Funerals

2009-04-27T22:38:00.002+03:00

When I plan my next work week the Friday before, I never really know what's going to happen in that week, but I do figure it's going to stay according to schedule for the most part. However, by Friday afternoon, I had learned from my colleague, Francis, that our fellow co-worker, Eunice was out of the office because her son-in-law died unexpectantly. I was especially sad to hear this because I hadn't seen Eunice since before Easter because of my new office lifestyle these past few weeks (which has me pasty white); and was looking forward to seeing her.

In this morning's staff meeting, we heard that the funeral was going to be today, and so, as a staff, we all went to show solidarity as Nuru. Also, today, I read a newsletter from my friend Cath about her last days with her husband and her feelings after his death. It was bizarre-- two deaths in one week-- both newly married husbands, both relatively young, both from disease. In Cath's email she shared 3 Bible verses: Isaiah 43:18,19; 1 Corinthians 15:35-36, & 42-44; and Ephesians 2:4,5, &8. Those were the opening words of her email after mentioning Martin's death; and throughout the entire email, although through tears, as she told us, she was praising God for the moments she did have with him and that he's in heaven right now with no more cancer and no more pain. Although I was in tears through reading her email, I was encouraged that Cath, through her sadness can find joy. How many times have I had much smaller problems than these and cannot find the joy through the tears?

So, before going to Eunice's son-in-law's funeral, I made her and her daughter a card. On the front read the last 2 verses of Psalm 121, and inside I wrote about Cath's story and her strength in God, along with a folded a print out of the 3 passages that Cath wrote out in today's email, decorated with colorful magic markers so that they can hang it on their wall to remind themselves daily of the one who restores lives and brings hope.

When we got to the funeral, we hugged Eunice and then sat down in some chairs in the back (it was outside under a tarp, which spilled out beyond the tarp). As I sat, I noticed Eunice sitting in the grass against a tree facing away from the rest of the service; and so I wondered if I should go over to sit with her. At first, I stayed in my chair because of pride, but then I realized that my friend and sister needed someone to comfort her. Eunice has spent since last Friday comforting her daughter, who wouldn't allow her mom to leave her side for a moment because she was so beside-herself. Because of this, neither of them had ate or slept since Friday. During the funeral, Eunice told me that she has spent the whole weekend trying to comfort her daughter and get her to eat (the daughter is 8 months pregnant), but she couldn't comfort her as much as she'd like, and as a mother, that was devastating. It was then that I realized that this friend of mine really did need to be comforted after an exhausting weekend of being the comforter. So I just sat with her-- my arm around her, as we talked and prayed.

At the close of the speeches, everyone walked up to the casket (actually pushed their way through like it was the metro station in rush hour) to pay their last respects. Eunice asked me to come with her and so she led me up there hand-in-hand. Afterwards, she led me into the courtyard and into the room where her daughter sat on the floor against the wall crying. At the sight of her daughter crying, Eunice began to sob and buried her head into my shoulder. Soon after that, she started falling to the ground, so I lowered her to the floor. She laid there sobbing and all I could do was hold her and pray out loud for both her and her daughter, and for the unborn child who was possibly undergoing a lot of stress. Eunice was shaking, but responded as I prayed. Some other women were there poking at her and talking to her in Kikuria in a way that sounded like "buck up!" or "you're freakin' out your daughter so stop!" As those ladies did that, all I wanted to do was grab them and say "What's the matter with you?! Let her cry! Is it not natural?!" But instead, I just continued to pray for her.

Finally, some people decided that she needs to go home, and Eunice eventually accepted and asked me to call a boda (motorbike taxi) for her. Instead, I called our chairman, Philip to see if we can take her by taxi because she might have fallen off a boda in the state she was in. Along with another woman (who was obviously a friend and age-mate to Eunice) who helped me pick her from off the floor, we walked her outside to the awaiting taxi. All of us (Aerie, Chris, the Chairman, etc) rode together with Eunice and her friend in the front seat together. Because she hadn't eaten in 4 days, we stopped along the way to pick up some food for her to take home. Eunice also has younger kids at home and who knows what they've been doing for food this past weekend. Eventually, we reached her house and I gave her a hug good-bye as her friend walked her down the path to her house. Tomorrow I plan on going to check on her and make sure she's alright.

This entry is sad, and doesn't necessarily have to do with my work, but I felt like I needed to post it. I hope that there's something beneficial from it for all who read it. Personally, I'm still processing. But as the Shel Silverstein poem of the Zebra says "Are you black with white stripes or white with black stripes?" We are all human here and this is just the story of a mom who loves her hurting child and wants desperately to take away all of her pain; and it's the story of how another can find joy in her sorrows as she loses her newlywed husband to cancer.

"Do not remember the former things, do not consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth, shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." ~ Isaiah 43:18,19

Thanks for your prayers for Cath and her family; and now Eunice and her family.

2009-04-26T17:59:00.002+03:00

"ZEBRA QUESTION"
by Shel Silverstein

I asked the Zebra,
Are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy day?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.
I'll never ask a zebra
About stripes
Again.

My Friend Barbara recently posted this poem on her blog. When I read the poem it made me think of how, as people, we're always trying to find the differences in people. Mainly, it made me think of how, as Westerners, we are always trying to "figure out" the people of Africa. But in fact, we are all the same really, just on different levels and in different ways-- Are you good with bad habits, or bad with good habits?" That could be a question we can ask ourselves as we point a finger at one another or decide how much different or better we are from others (me included). That was one of the first things I realized in Mali back in 2003-- we're the same, and as women, we can relate across language barriers.

That's all. Just a short entry today with that thought. Ol' Shel Silverstein goes way back in my history and I'm glad Barbara pointed him out to me again in a way that's relevant to my life here in Kenya.

Prayer request

2009-04-21T22:29:00.005+03:00

Some of you faithful readers may remember a story from a few months ago about my friend Cath and her fiance, Martin, who had cancer. Well, first, they did finally get married, according to the German government, but were planning to still do a church wedding. However, although he seemed to be getting better, Martin passed away this afternoon from an infection in his lungs. Please pray for Cath, who was still a newlywed, and also for both of their families and close friends. Thanks for your prayers. As I stated previously, Cath was my hut-mate in Ikotos, Sudan last year for a month while she was observing the Scotlands, a missionary couple who also lived in Ikotos. Cath has such a joyful personality and is the most prayerful person I have ever met. For me, I know I want to pray for her as much as she would and has prayed for me in difficult situations. She needs prayer, not only for her loss, but also for wisdom, because her original plan was to return to Southern Sudan with her husband, in time, and I'm sure her plans are unsure as of late. Again, thanks.

"I lift my eyes up to the hills. From Where does my hope come from? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keep Isreal [and us] will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, not the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and coming in from this time forth and forevermore." ~ Psalm 121. This chapter from the Bible was read to Martin in his last minutes of life. The Lord still is the keeper of Martin and I'm sure he is in a comfortable place right now.

This THURSDAY

2009-04-21T16:35:00.003+03:00

Hey all, Remember how I wrote about that Be Hope To Her (BH2o+) campaign and event? Well it is this THURSDAY (23rd), so go to the website www.bhope2her.org and register with a campus if you're in college. If you're not in college, buy some paraphernalia from the website or download the free logos and such to promote the event. If you are on FACEBOOK, click and copy this yellow bucket logo and put it as your profile pic just until Thursday, and by Friday, you can put back that silly picture of you sticking your tongue out towards the camera again (humor).

ASANTE SANA,

Africa Thanks you!

Civil Rights and the White Tax

2009-04-20T09:09:00.002+03:00

Refugee In America
There are words like Freedom
Sweet and wonderful to say.
On my heart-strings freedom sings
All day everyday.
There are words like Liberty
That almost make me cry.
If you had known what I knew
You would know why.
~Langston Hughes

My cousin, Colleen, was working on this poem in the early hours of the morning as I had already started my day today. It reminded me of some of the events of yesterday, Orthodox Easter, if you didn't know. Yesterday morning I listened to Francis Chan's Easter sermon on i-tunes (podcasts are downloadable for free). He talked about the largeness of Jesus Christ. Chan began the sermon asking the crowd to raise their hand if they thought they could beat him up if given the opportunity. Some people were hesitant, while others, even young ladies in the front row, raised their hands. Then Chan went into how powerful Jesus Christ truly is. I am not going to go into all the details of the sermon, but you can listen to it if you have i-tunes on your computer and look up Cornerstone Sili Valley Church. Two things I'll mention about it are: one, the said beating up of the Pastor; and two, a quote that was referenced from J. Vernon McGee, "This is God's universe and he does things his way. You may have a way, but you don't have a universe."

I greatly enjoyed that quote as it is so bold, yet clear, and possibly offensive to some of you. One thing Francis Chan covered in the sermon was that Jesus did not come to cart around sheep and baby bunnies. He came to show us how to live and to save our rotten, stinkin lives. And that, sometimes, was/is offensive to people.

All that said, the second quote was worth mentioning, but had nothing to do with today's post. After listening to the sermon yesterday morning and spending some prayer time on the back porch, the boys and I went to Kisii to get supplies at the beloved Nakumat. To get there we walk up a monstrous dirt path to the road, where we then catch a matatu (van or station wagon form of public transport). We waited at the road for some time before anyone stopped. Within minutes of a matatu stopping, a man emerged from the vehicle shouting at the driver in kiswahili, and in English said "I can pay anything you want! Just because you see the color of their skin and the color of mine!" He continued yelling and we realized that what was happening is that the driver was kicking the man out so that he could try to get more money from us by charging us the "white tax" (hyperinflated price given to mzungus). So the man, who was well-dressed and probably has a middle class job, was offended (and from my counseling stance, probably hurt) that he was kicked out by probably someone of his own tribe, and definitely by someone of his own race and nationality.
Upon realizing the situation, unanimously, we refused to get in the car with that driver. Then, of course, the driver asked the man to get back in, and good enough, the man refused. When the driver pulled away, the man pulled himself together, but was still angry (understandably-- I think that would rock my entire day). We offered our apologies and told the man that we also felt the driver's act was unjust. The next matatu that pulled up had only room for 1, so off he went.

We quietly waited for another matatu to come-- I think all of us might have been digesting that event (at least I was). Several minutes later, we piled into a matatu and headed towards Kisii. Along the way, we saw a large crowd stopped on the side of the road, watching something from over the guard rail, down in the valley. So, of course, the driver pulled over and asked what was going on; and it was a thief being beaten to death for his crime. Here, and it seems, all over East Africa, thieves are beaten on-the-spot by an angry mob (is possible); and if the thief was sneaky enough to get away undetected, then he is tracked down by the angry mob and then beaten. So, on this Orthodox Easter Sunday, on the way to Kisii, a thief was being beaten for his crimes while EVERYONE watched, including everyone in the matatu, who quickly filed out to watch. I stayed behind in the car because, even if just, I don't enjoy watching people being beaten. I'll keep my thoughts on that to myself.

When people had had their fill and/or the beating was over (I'm not sure which), people piled back into the car and off we went. I'm not really sure what to say about those two events, but rather I'll let those stories tell themselves. Something didn't sit right with me about either story in light of the big picture of the universe that was painted for me in the Francis Chan sermon earlier.

What are your comments on the stories? You can leave a comment without signing in or leaving your name if you choose not to. For me, From the first story of the man being thrown out of the matatu for being black, was enough to remind me that we still have a ways to go in civil rights; and that as whites, we have the power to reject those injustices by not giving in to the certain "comforts" given to us by our color.

Easter in Kijabe (Pasaka toka Kijabe)

2009-04-15T14:39:00.008+03:00

This Easter I stayed at the Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. Erica was off in the US getting her wedding plans finalized and so my friend Sarah and I (whom you might remember from my ABO blogs last July) kept the house warm for the weekend. Two other friends came in from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Juli and Kate, who teach at HOPAC, an international school. We had a great weekend laughing and telling stories as we celebrated the resurrection of our savior. Here is a pictoral narrative of the weekend:

This is the view from the airstrip and walking to the cliff that overlooks the Great Rift Valley:

Easter morning we went to the neighbor, Lori's house for breakfast after the sunrise service held at the football field:

The view from the football field at sunset:

Hanging out with Sarah, Juli, and Kate at the Jander's House at the lower station:

Ok, so the layout is really off in this posting. I was experimenting with having pics on the left and text on the right. I'm not changing it, so bare with me. Thanks and Happy Easter!

Potatoes, Reading Competitions, and Headdresses.

2009-04-05T09:35:00.004+03:00

For the past couple of weeks I've been fighting against the schools closing for their tri-annual break. My proposed deadline for the baseline data for education is May 16th, so together with my Kenyan colleague Francis, we've been data collecting machines. We have been to all 9 schools in the Nyametaburo/Nyangiti area, which include: Nyametaburo primary and secondary, Nyangiti Primary, Siore Simba primary, Taragwiti primary, Gukipimi community primary, St.Joseph's private primary, St.Paul's private primary, and Imani (Faith) private pre-school. The data collection includes meeting with the whole staff of teachers from each school, meeting with the headmasters individually to collect enrollment and exam records, and meeting with the students to ask them about their home-life, school-life and various obstacles involved in going to school.

I really enjoyed sitting with the students to ask them about their experiences. As the children, Francis, and I sat in a circle, it reminded me of being a guidance counselor again. In those days, as prescribed by my Guru of Guidance, Jan, I would have a group of students over in the office for "lunch bunch" in which they would spend the opening part of lunch sharing on who lives at their home, what's their favorite sport, etc. I also felt like that popular female journalist from the 80's, who every now and then, would have a show on Nickelodeon in which she would sit in a circle with some kids and talk about current world issues.
Anyway, all that said, not only did it allow me to know what factors are involved in their learning (or lack there of), but it gave each student a chance to be heard-- possibly for the first time. Let me take a minute to set the stage for you folks: I didn't choose all the students in the school, but instead selected the top and bottom 3 students from each class. I also kicked out all the teachers and staff so that the students would feel as free as possible to share everything.

Here are some answers from the students:
In response to "Do you enjoy learning," almost all the students in each school said yes. Here is why: because education is the key to success, to make my future life better, to have knowledge on how to lead my future life, learning enhances good adult behavior, and education allows us to later help our community (one little 1st grader raised her baby hand and said "so we can learn to read!").
"What is life like at home?" Not enough time to study because of fetching water, cooking, washing, taking care of the younger siblings, working in the farms,etc. One girl, by the time she finishes all of her household chores, begins studying at 9pm and continues until 12am (but that's only if the kerosene in her lamp lasts long enough). She also shared that she wished she had her own room so that she could concentrate on her studies. Almost all of the children raised their hands in saying that they'd come to school in the evening hours if the school had electricity so that they could study their notes at night.
One thing that surprised the high schoolers when I told them was that when I tell American kids that there are African students who would love to go to school in America, and the American student's response is "give em my seat." The students here just cannot imagine, with all that the American students are provided with at school (i.e.- electricity, breakfast and lunch, textbooks, notebooks, pens, etc) that they would turn down the opportunity.
Out of 32 total students surveyed at Nyametaburo Primary school, 19 students eat dinner every night and 10 eat breakfast because there isn't enough food to go around. And when I say "ate" it's a relative term because some of the little ones said that they eat a small potato for dinner-- not a stuffed baked potato from Outback Steakhouse, but a plain potato, possibly uncooked. Some of the children just have a cup of chai (boiled milk mixed with water and some tea and sugar).
Another notable moment from the survey is that all of the students push themselves to go to school. Most of them, their parents sort of care if they go or not, but for the children of farmers, their parents would prefer if they'd stay home and help with the farming, which is an enormous pressure on the students-- if your parents says to stay home and weed today, you stay home and weed-- no refuting.
From all the schools surveyed, every student loves reading and if given a library and enough kerosene for their lamp, would read all the time. (that one's for you Celeste, if you're reading this).

On Thursday, I went to a reading competition held at St. Paul's Primary, which consists of grades nursery to 5. I loved witnessing even the babiest of students reading letters in English. The first up to bat was the nursery kids, who read their vowels in front of the whole school + 2 visitors. One of my fav little ones, Mary Robi, who is the tiniest thing with the biggest smile, and always carries around a little black purse across her chest, steps up to the front, and with her loudest voice unashamedly reads her vowels and and then the entire alphabet, and comes back to sit down next to me. The whole school claps for each student as they walk back to their seats. From grades 1-5, students would come up and read an excerpt from an early reader book in English, and then another book in Kiswahili. When the competition was finished the teams (Red House and Blue House) were tallied to see the winner (points are deducted for each word not read from each student on a team).
Afterwards, Brahmwell, the headmaster, asked if any of the students wanted to recite any poems for us; and so some of them did so. It was cute because they would get up in front of the school and while reciting, they had full body motions to go with it!
One had to do with a squiggly worm in the earth under a tree. My little Mary Robi got up with 4 other classmates to recite her poem with motions. Some of the students also recited Bible verses, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles Creed (Pastor Gann would LOVE that one). When they were through, I couldn't help but teach them the hippopotamus song that I learned (of all places) when I used to volunteer at H.S. church retreats in college. We sang, danced, and sang and danced again to the lyrics and motions of the hippo song that was loved by all.

I'm sorry that I didn't get any pictures of these events. I don't bring my camera along very often-- for one, because I carry the smallest backpack ever for convenience; and for two, because my charger for the camera's battery is gone and so I need to possibly find a new one in Nairobi or worse- buy a new camera with my non-monies. HOWEVER, I did manage to get some snaps of yesterday's lunch at our Chairman, Philip Mahochi's house. I picked up my outfits that I had made at the tailors in TZ for a total of <$30; and wore one of them to lunch-- headdress and all. The ladies were all over it, ha!

Seriously though, if you want to make a donation to the Education program or hold a fundraiser for it, I wouldn't mind. If you want to do it for anything specific, just let me know, otherwise it'll go into the general Education Program account, which keeps this program going-- not to sound like a PBS special or anything.

Prayer Requests:
~to collect all the information for the baseline evaluation
~to not be overwhelmed while doing it.
~to be given wisdom in how to go about analyzing the info, as it is not my strong-suit
~for health of the team, including the CDC staff. (I've been feeling really tired and nauseous lately)
~for funding for all the programs
~for a successful Bh2o+ event coming up in a week across American campuses.

Pictures are mostly from the lunch at the Mahochi's. Mama ChaCha (Philip's wife) and their son Gilbert came into town from Nairobi for a long weekend and so Mama Chacha's mom and sister came in from the surrounding area too. Mama Chacha's mom is the one with the long ear lobes, which is a dying practice. Philip's mom is the other grandma-type. Mama Chacha is the extremely light one. The woman to the right of me in the top picture is Clara, whom I befriended last Thursday. Her and her husband own a successful hotel in town. She invited me to her house on Thursday, which is a HUGE western-style house across the valley from ours, chock-full of banana trees, pumpkins, a large chicken coup, an exercise bike in her sunroom, and a victorian-like red velvet lounger couch in the living room. <== This random grandpa was at a wedding we went to a couple weeks ago. I've never seen a man carry a baby like this before. The men here seem to generally be very loving with their children, which is something that didn't happen in Sudan-- or most of Africa, from what I know. *oh and you can click on the pictures to view them at full size. Also, to view more pics, go to www.nuruinternational.org

Be Hope To Her (B H2o+)

2009-03-21T09:10:00.002+03:00

Be Hope to Her is a Nuru sponsored event that will cover several campuses across the country. College girls who sign up for the event will carry buckets on their head to a water source and then fill their bucket and carry it back, on their head, to where they started. For example, at WVU the girls will carry their buckets from the Mountainlair (student center) all the way down to the Mon River and back up a steep incline. The college boys, who will not be carrying water, will be alongside the route to give information to the onlookers of the event.

The purpose of the event is to raise awareness on the subject of water. Water, for everyone is necessary to sustain life, whether you live in the United States or Kenya. However, for Kenyans (and most of the developing world) using that necessity is quite laborious. Girls can spend up to 10 hours a day just getting water-- this doesn't include getting firewood or cooking, or--not to mention--going to SCHOOL! These girls and women, ages ranging from 4-64, walk for miles to get this life-sustaining necessity.

Ok, well I'm not going to talk much more on the subject because you have all heard it before..and the more I talk about it, the more these girls that I know become a general "that's too bad for them." So, instead, I challenge you to spend 5 minutes watching the BH2o+ video and maybe even check out the website further. This problem of water directly affects the problem of girls going to school, so it's intertwined with my work.

Here's the link. You won't regret watching it-- it's an amazingly crafted video, from an art perspective.

www.bhope2her.org

If you feel like you want to get to know these people more, go to www.nuruinternational.org and watch the video, Portraits of Kuria, which is another amazing,short film.

just a small note...

2009-03-20T16:51:00.005+03:00

The kitchen

The living room

My room (Janine's old room)

Hey everyone!

The other day I added some new pics of the old house and, as of today, we moved into the new house next door Pictures above). The reason for the move was that Foundation Team One left for the States today (4 a.m.). Early this morning, FT2 awoke to send off FT1 and in the same token, they officially passed the hat to us. Nicole and Doug are off to fight Extreme Poverty in Africa from the States until Nuru heads to Malawi next year (which is the normal rotation); and Janine and Jake are home until June and then return to the field with FT2.

We made the move because the house that FT2 was staying in is not yet finished and so the Fundis (workmen) can finally finish the house. Then, when Janine and Jake return, they will stay in our old house. As you can see from the pictures from earlier in the week, the old house wasn't that bad off (although some referred to it as a jail cell)-- mainly just some painting and final touches.

The nice thing about both houses is that the shower head is hooked to the electricity so that we get hot water straight from the shower head. Our only current challenge is with the pump, so as of late, we have no running water, but that should be fixed again by tomorrow. When we don't have running water, there is a spring very close to the house for fetching "clean" water. Actually, the spring water is probably clean, it's the jerry cans we use that are questionable. So we filter our drinking water and boil it for coffee and tea, but its clean enough for bathing and washing without assistance.

On to the schools:
Thanks to everyone who prayed for me in finding a CDC Chairman for Education. In the last blog I posted a picture of Francis Magige. He's a retired teacher of 30 yrs and offers much wise counsel. I think he's going to make a great chairperson for Nuru.
We've been going around to the 8 different schools the past 2 weeks and already he has added so much to the meetings. Such as his ability to speak in-and-out of English, Kiswahili, and Kikuria, to name one attribute. He also offered advice to one of the headmasters to start keeping records of those who drop out of school and those who stay-- yes, they really didn't have those.
Another thing to mention is that Francis is ALWAYS on time, if not early!! That is a rarity here in Africa. As they say in Swahili "haraka, haraka, hiena, baraka" (hurry, hurry brings no blessing). My Kiswahili teacher had a rebuttal to that statement when I repeated it to him: "pole pole huumiza matumbo" (slowly slowly brings pain to the belly).

Well, I'd love to update more, but it's getting about that time for dinner prep, as I can smell from my room...

I'd like to let you all know that I changed my settings for the COMMENTS section of my blog so that ANYONE can enter a comment without having to register an account. Just click "anonymous." Also, I added a "wish list" to the right-hand column; and the links to my fellows teammates' blogs. Lastly, Please check out the Be Hope To Her website and watch the video. It's great!! The link is: www.bhope2her.org

kwaheri!!

Isibania...

2009-03-18T17:11:00.005+03:00

Introducing Francis Magige, my newly hired CDC Chairman for Education:

Here is the other team's house, soon to be our house. The one we are staying in now is just to the left.

The Kitchen:

The living room:

My African and American Kanga that serves as a curtain in my room:

The Retired Teachers Council

2009-03-10T11:05:00.006+03:00

Yesterday I met with the 5 retired teachers in the area to discuss the history of the schools and what can come of the future of education for Nyametaburo and Nyangiti. The meeting went awesome and I learned a lot about the school system here and about the history of schooling in this area. For example, in 1938 an Italian priest established a primary school in Isibania. Isibania (where I live) is an hour and a half's walk from Nyametaburo; and so any student from the surrounding area would have to walk that distance to school everyday in addition to their chores at home (farming,etc). It wasn't until 1960 that a primary school was opened in Nyametaburo, and 1993 was when the first school in Nyangiti was established. There are 6 prominant schools in total: 1 secondary and 5 primary. The remaining schools are as follows: Taragwiti, 1985; Siori Simba, 1990s; Isibania secondary school, 1968 (so children all over had to walk there for secondary ed); and Nyametaburo Secondary was opened in the past 5 years.

One of the retired teachers told me that they walked that 1 1/2 hours to and from school everyday in order to finish high school. He said that at one point he became discouraged and wanted to quit, but then Philip Mahochi's dad (Nuru's CDC Chairaman's dad) convinced him that he should keep pressing on so that he can be a role model for the other kids in his area and go onto University. So that is what he did. As we listened to his story, the other retired teachers echoed it with their own. From these experiences you can see the importance of having quality school in each area.

The RTC (retired teachers council) discussed with me the reason that many of the boys are dropping out of school. Around here dried maize and other grains are popular for growing and selling. The young boys see that they can earn some cash loading sacks of grain onto the trucks; and they also see that the boys who have graduated high school are doing the same, so they drop out of school and sit around until there is a truck to be loaded.

In stating this, the RTC stressed the need for a model school that can be seen by the community and surrounding communities as a school of prestige. Additionally, I had mentioned to them that I am thinking about a vocational center, and they too agreed that a vocational center would be key for those boys who graduated and doing basically nothing. One key point that they made was to offer classes in the morning and the evening so that the vocational students can go to work during the day and not be tempted to drop out. As far as the students who are at a normal high school, they will see how that there is additional training offered after high school, which will give them incentive to finish school.

** I would just like to add that all these are just ideas for now and nothing is set in place just yet. For the next 2 months I will be doing research and collecting data from the area to see what the basic needs are and establish a baseline of what a zero is equivalent to here (eg: zero= 1 secondary school with no desks or school supplies; and 10= 2 fully functional Secondary schools). So for now, I'm discussing these ideas with the RTC, but keeping my eyes and ears open to everything, and from there will decide my first move. **

The other thing we discussed was teacher training. One of my goals within the next 2 months is to visit the surrounding teacher colleges and get to know their curricula. Secondly, I'd like to convince them that they want to send a professor, at a reduced cost, once a month to the Nyametaburo area to teach a course and/or seminar so that slowly, slowly the teachers can receive certification.

Yesterday I also met with the entire staff of the secondary school and they echoed that they'd like to have training whilst maintaining their jobs at the school.

Today, I am in hot pursuit of finding a CDC officer for education (Community Development Committee). My deadline is next week. Please pray that I find a person of character who also knows a lot about the education system here. After lunch I am meeting with one of the retired teachers, Bramwell, to walk around to some of the mud and stick primary schools. He doesn't know that he's a candidate for CDC Officer. By walking around with him today, I will see if he is good for the position. Throughout rest of this week, I'm meeting with the different members of the RTC to pick the very best one. Just so you know, the reason I'm going for a retired teacher is because if there is actually a good teacher in a school, I surely do NOT want to pull them away from their duties. A good teacher, who is a person of noble character is a gold mine!

BTW, I took pictures of the house, but I still need to download them. But for now, here some pics I took using the photo booth application on my Mac. Here's a picture of my house, of the compound gate and our beautiful view, and of the day guard, Peter and I.

Oh, and also, the name: RTC, I just made it up yesterday. There is no official Retired Teacher's Council, but I would love for them to meet with me semi-regularly for wise council.

Starbucks has made it to Kenya

2009-02-27T08:40:00.003+03:00

I just had to take a picture of my new Barista Mwita! I don't know where he got this apron, but it excites me a great deal to know that my chai/lunch place has it's own Starbucks Barista. For those of you who know of my love for Starbucks, you will find this almost ridiculous. :)

In the classrooms

2009-02-25T20:38:00.003+03:00

Today Nicole took Chris and I around to all the schools in out district. Chris is taking over Nicole's position here as the Water Sanitation Project Manager, and that program is inter-related with the Education program in that having clean and close water at the school makes for a better learning environment. So I saw 6 schools: 5 Primary and 1 Secondary. The "niceness" range of the appearance of these schools went from mud and stick structures that look like the manger scene of a church at Christmas (actually worse), to painted concrete buildings that look nice, but are skeletal.

It is a bit overwhelming, to me, because I have no idea where to start at this point. You look at the mud and stick school started by a young man who is passionate about the children of his community having an education, so he built the most basic structure ever; and then there is the well-built skeletal structure that is also headed by a degreed and passionate man who wants to see secondary education rise. He repeatedly mentioned that these teenagers could be just sitting around at home right now, but through free education they have a place to become empowered.

Then, there are all those schools in between that have valid needs as well and are needs in which I might need to do some exploring to identify them (or the root of them).

So that is just a brief description of my day today and the work ahead of me. I appreciate any prayers for guidance.

Note: I'll try to get some pictures of the schools in the coming weeks. I didn't bring my camera this time because I felt it necessary to be focused during my introductions. Although you can refer to the Nuru Website for pictures of some of the schools. www.nuruinternational.org

Also, please continue to pray for Martin and Cath. I just got an update that Cath, who is South African, could not get an extension on her visa in Germany to be with Martin and is trying to get a 3 month visa ASAP. Martin has cancer all over his body and is given a year at the longest. They were supposed to be married in April in South Africa, but will possibly be pushing the wedding up and in Germany because Martin can no longer travel.

Just a reminder of who they are, they were on the Sudan TIMO team in Lohutok working with the Lopit people. Cath lived in my hut during her month out of Lohutok to observe the Scotlands. She is the most amazing person ever and the biggest pray-er that I've ever met. Martin is so kind and gentle and just loves the people he works with and has such a strong devotion to Africa.

Thanks for your prayers everyone!

My postal address in Kenya

2009-02-23T17:01:00.003+03:00

For any of you who want to send me a letter or package, here is the address:

Meghan Baird
c/o Nuru International
Po box 176
Isibania, code: 40414
Kenya

Things I'd like?

For now the best things I can think of are:

-letters or cards from y'all
-Tuna packets
-Nature Valley Granola bars
-Cliff Bars
-oatmeal packets
-Starbucks coffee

Those are the things that are expensive/can't get here. The mail might take anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months or more. It just depends. Flat envelopes mail faster than boxes. For example, if you mailed Tuna packets, they'd get here faster in a flat rate envelope, rather than putting them in a box.

so, cool. Thanks for asking (those of you who asked) for my address.

FYI, I'm safe in Isibania and getting settled into my new house, which is nicer than my mud hut last year. Later in the week, or at least by Sunday, I'll write a post about the house and maybe try to get pics on here too.

Just on more thing: Please pray for my friends Cath and Martin. They were scheduled to get married in April, but they just found out that Martin has terminal cancer and has a short life expectancy. I'm sure they'd appreciate all your prayers. thank you.

Made it one piece

2009-02-15T15:10:00.002+03:00

Hey all,

Just to let you knowthatI made it safely into Nairobi on Tuesday night. I haven't been using my laptop because of the internet source options, so I haven't posted yet. Because I'm paying per minute at an internet cafe, this is just a short note to let you know I'm here. For the past week I've been staying with my friend Carolyn again and today or tomorrow I'll be heading to Kijabe to stay with my friend Erica (from thosewho remember her from ABO last July). Then next weekend I'll head back to Nairobi before hitting that LONG and DUSTY trail to Isibania (Kuria).

Maybe next posting will have some pics from the two weeks, or at least some pics of my new house when I get there!

All my luggage made it safely to Nairobi and i've been doing some required reading furiously. Although, yesterday Carolyn and I, along with a 7th grader from RVA, went to the Nairobi Museum and saw many artifacts from all over Kenya. Not your typical Valentine's day, but hey when you're single, what is?

I hope all is well back home. Take care and I'm praying for you all!

Making a list and checking it twice

2009-02-06T02:19:00.007+03:00

Bags from Last Time

As I'm preparing to leave I have been to Target, been to Wal-mart, and been back to Target again. I've packed all my stuff, unpacked it, and re-packed it again. I'm not sure, because it is only Thursday, but I may be finished packing. As of now I have one Rubber maid Action Packer (plastic crate), one big hawaiian duffel (from last time), a backpack, and a medium size duffel. I totally thought that I could mange my junk down to a small duffel and the Action Packer plus backpack this time, however I guess I must love junk because obviously that didn't happen. Well, there is the random other stuff I'm taking too, that will be dispersed to various people throughout this tour. One bulky item being about 10 little photo albums that I'm bringing to give out to my friends in Ikotos, in hopes of seeing them during my month break in mid-May/early-June. I printed photos of different sets of friends (i.e.- Amuna, Madeline, the pre-school kids, Agnes, etc.). As I was putting them together, I couldn't help but to tear up just a little bit at the thought of them having something of their own and to own a picture of themselves-- several pictures of themselves. My little pre-school friends such as Ingerim and Amama probably have very few things in this world that they can call their own. Namely, a dress or two, and their cup for school lunch. I just cannot wait until I can give them their photo albums and watch them look through it.

Some people have asked me if I am bringing less stuff than last time, or at least know what I didn't need last time that I won't bring this time. I'd say that I brought a lot of the right things last time, yet not enough town clothes. This time I'm bringing a few "nicer" shirts and a pair of jeans to wear in Nairobi and for when I go visit Rachel in Mozambique during break. Last time I packed as if I was going back out in the woods like when I worked for the Alldredge Academy as a Wilderness Instructor. That wasn't horrible, with the exception of cooking with one tiny camping cook pot and using sporks when I have guests over for dinner. Last time I also did not bring a set of sheets, but this time I am because the happy camper get-up that I was going for only lasted for so long before I was definitely wanting to free my tootsies from my silk sleeping bag liner! Also, only having a travel pillow was less than comfortable night-after-night, however, I'll see about buying one in Nairobi instead of bringing one all the way from here.

One major thing (things) that I am not bringing this time is a bag full of school supplies. This time, with Nuru, there are no hand-outs. Plus, if I deem that a school would need something, almost everything is available in Nairobi, which is a 6-8 hour bus ride. Last time I brought 50 lbs of schools supplies and 35 lbs of toiletries. I also realized that most of the toiletries can be bought in Nairobi (although some are more expensive).

What are the things that I wish I could bring but don't have room?
Well, first of all, my own Starbucks Barista, but other than that, enough Quaker's instant oatmeal and tuna to last the entire 6 months and my bicycle. In Sudan I REALLY missed riding my bike. Some days I'd daydream about riding my bike to Lobwaya and back. The main reason I'm not bringing it is that it seems to annoying to deal with getting it to Isebania (my town). Maybe at some point I'll buy a cheap one there.

What have I been up to since training?
Well, since training I've moved completely out of my house in Morgantown (thanks to my stuff babysitters the Wassifs, Hardestys. and Tiffany) while battling the evil snows of which that town throws forth; then driving down to Wytheville,VA for a Rotary meeting; then to Kelly's house in Harrisonburg for the night; then up to Martinsburg, WV for some minor toe surgery, having dinner with my gurus of guidance, Les and Jan Smith; catching up with Karen at Shepherd University; and then driving home to Bowie, but not before stopping by Starbucks for a Skype teleconference with my teammates in Frederick,MD. I rested, read and packed this weekend before shlepping back to WV's Eastern Panhandle for another round of visits. This time on the roster was The Outfitter AT Harper's Ferry (thanks for my sleeping bag and the pizza), Potomack Intermediate School (from my guidance days), the Franklin's house, and then (impromptu) sleeping on Karen's floor last night before heading home this morning. Now it's home-bound until Monday when I take off to Kenya. WHEW!

Have a great weekend and feel free to mark this blog up with comments throughout these six months!

Something to think about...

2009-01-22T02:58:00.001+03:00

Nuru Training in California

2009-01-21T03:46:00.006+03:00

My teammates Karina (HR), Aerie (SME), Chris (Water Sanitation), and me (Education)

Hamjambo!! Habari gani? (Kiswahili for Hey y'all! Any News?

I'm back from training at Stanford and already miss the nice weather. The locals say it was unusually warm for this time of year, but I didn't mind. :) At Stanford we had a classroom at the d.school (design school) where we were taught a creative process to design solutions. The main thing those at the d.school taught us was to not jump to conclusions when getting to know your user. In this case, our users are those in extreme poverty. We had an activity that involved interviewing people, then role playing as if we were them, brainstorming what exactly it is that they need/want, and then brainstorming avenues to get to the solution. The d.school encouraged us to think way out there and then hone in on the plausible ideas. Although my teammates and I weren't too keen on thinking up unrealistic solutions to get to the realistic ones, I feel like we learned some useful skills to efficiently help those in Kuria, Kenya.

Also while at Stanford, we had Kiswahili lessons every morning with Sanguai Mihochi, the brother of our colleague Philip in Kenya. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that that was the most comprehensive 8 days of language ever! For sure I will be looking over my notes for the next month, in preparation for getting to the site. Very few people in Kuria speak English, and even Swahili is hit or miss in the villages where I will be visiting. Swahili is not that hard of language as far as intricacy, like that of the French language or English (I still don't know all that is involved in the English language). However, the main thing is memorizing all new words and remembering the verbs that goes with each noun. I'm sure that with having foundation team 1 with us for a month will help turbo charge our Swahili.

While in California, although we had a ton of mind-saturating lessons, we managed to have some fun too. I left on Tuesday the 7th, and by the following Saturday we had moved from our hotel into the house of Billy's friend Amy. She owns a house adjacent to her father, but lives further north in the state. So she offered her 2 bedroom home to us for free. In addition to that financial save for Nuru, Chris, my teammate, asked his sister for her car for the 10 days, in which she cheerfully agreed. Thanks Jen and Amy! Besides all that, Amy's dad, Paul, was an amazing host, having us over his house several times. Paul even invited his friends over to hear all about Nuru. In the end, we had some new supporters.

Other fun tidbits: We had dinner with one of our board members, Don Fall, who is the director of Operations at Facebook; we went to lunch at the Google campus with Billy's friend Jared, which was amazing (if I only had the skill-set to work there!); we walked along Ocean Beach in San francisco; we went to a meet and greet in the city with alumni from Carnegie Mellon; and we went for an amazing hike friday, in which I even got slightly sunburned on my face.

Here are some pictures from the time there:

Nuru likes long walks on the beach

The night life

Flags to assist you walk across the street: something that would NEVER work in P.G. County

Off to California

2009-01-06T05:45:00.002+03:00

Happy new year! I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Well, I'm not finished with support raising, but I'm headed for Palo Alto, California for training. I'll be getting some training at Stanford for the next 2 weeks and will end the trip by hanging out with my old friend John, whose a worship leader in San Francisco. I'm looking forward to getting to know my teammates Aerie and Chris and also meeting more of my state-side colleagues who'll be working in San Francisco.

When I return from California on the 19th, I will go back to Morgantown to speak at a Rotary meeting in West Virginia, and to speak at a mission's night at Trinity Episcopal. During my time back in Morgantown, I will also be moving everything out of my house-- last August I didn't know I'd be moving again so soon.

I leave for Kenya on February 9th and will be there until August 8th. Please pray for safe travels. Thanks. I'll be keeping you all updating during training, along with pictures. I apologize for the delay in blogging and lack of exciting entries. :(

Current Fundraising Status

2008-12-14T01:55:00.003+03:00

Hey all, it's been a bit since my last posting. Here is the status on fundraising:

The Sunday after Thanksgiving I spoke at Greensburg United Methodist Church in Martinsburg, WV and received $589 in personal offerings. Combined with Greensburg's congregation was one of my supporting churches from last time, Mt. Wesley UMC, who generously gave $1,000. Thank you Greensburg and Mt. Wesley!!

Later that day i drove back to Bowie, MD for a Wine and Cheese party held at the Weizel's house (my HS sunday school teacher and her husband) as a fundraiser with matching funds up to $1600. We met our match by the end of the week with a grand total of $3200! Thank you everyone at Trinity Lutheran for your support!!

As of late, I have been giving Christmas cards with any donation of $10 or more as a side fundraiser for the holiday season. So far I have made $280 from the cards alone. Not bad,eh? Thanks to all who have participated. If you would like to have a card, the pictures of the cards are on Facebook and are on display at Zen Clay Cafe in Morgantown,WV. If you are unable to go to Zen Clay, but you want a card sent to someone for the holidays, send a check made out to Nuru International to the address in the last blog (not the address on the right because it won't be highlighted as a holiday card donation). Along with the check you should include the address of the person you want the card to get to and I will personally send it out to them.

In individual donations I have made over $700. Thank you!

Awesome Christmas Prep video

2008-11-26T02:54:00.002+03:00

Here is an awesome video to get you into the holiday spirit this season:

Now that you've watched the video, I'd like to add to that notion.

I'm going to be making holiday cards this year with pictures from my time in Kenya and in Sudan. The point is that you know that you have people on your Christmas list that you don't have the slightest idea what to get them; and so to alleviate that problem, I will send your receivee a Christmas card in the place of a donation of $10 or more. The card will have a note inside telling your receiveee that a donation has been made in their honor to Nuru International's Education program and the website so that they can follow up on what their gift has done for the people of Kuria, Kenya.

To do so, send a check written to NURU INTERNATIONAL with EDUCATION PROGRAM in the memo line to:

1357 Bitonti St.
Morgantown,WV 26505

Upon receiving the check, I will promptly send the card to the address you give me.

This way you get to give two-fold and the person you give to receives two-fold. It's win-win really.

THANKS!!

Wine & Cheese Fundraiser

2008-11-20T23:28:00.002+03:00

The Trinity folks have done it again (thanks Mrs. Weizel) and THRIVENT has approved a matching funds fundraiser for up to $1600! So if you want to make your dollar go further, Write a check to THRIVENT and send it THIS WEEK ONLY to:

Trinity Lutheran Church,
6600 Laurel Bowie Road,
Bowie, MD 20715

**write in the Memo line Meghan kenya project
Thanks everyone, for your support!

If you choose to send a check any other time, make sure to write the check to NURU INTERNATIONAL, is stated on the right-hand side of the page.

Helping Hands in Global Partnership

2008-11-13T06:39:00.004+03:00

Ok, so the title sounds a bit cheesy, but it sounds motivating right? Some people have mentioned to me that they want to help, but they don't have any money, so what can they do? One of my friends and classmates even offered up to buy candy bars and sell them to help me.

So, for those of you who fit into that category-- whether you are a bum college student like me or just don't have the budget to give (totally understandable with our economy and especially in WV)-- one of the best things you can do is to tell all of your friends to donate a $1, $5, or $20+ to the Nuru Education Program and it will add up seriously. Some of my friends have 500 Facebook friends and if they all gave a $1, well that's $500 right there! Some of your friends actually might have jobs, and they can even give more than a $1 or $20, which is cool.

Also, you can tell your church or civic organization about Nuru and what I'm trying to do and see if they're interested in having me speak. As long as you are within a drivable range for me to go there, I'm completely open to talking at any event. If you live way too far away from WV (like California or something) then you can totally show the videos from the website to tell the group about Nuru and see if they want to collectively donate to the education program.

I definitely could use all the help I can get and so if you want to help, networking adds up and REALLY helps me. Thank you guys for wanting to be part of the fight to end extreme poverty.

Remember, and tell your friends, family, and civic/faith organization that I will be keeping a blog of my time there, as will the website be keeping updates of what the whole team is doing, which means that this is NOT just ONE person fighting to END extreme poverty, but it is EVERYONE who is a part of this fight!!! We are in this world together and can fight together: you, me, and the people of Kuria!!

BTW, That's Nicole, the Water Sanitation Manager, in the above photo, on the ground in Kuria. To check out more photos, click on the link below or go to the NURU website.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nuruinternational/show/

Nuru videos for your viewing pleasure

2008-11-11T20:06:00.002+03:00

So I really want you guys to go to the Nuru website, but just in case you don't make it there for some reason, here are some videos to watch to give you an idea of Nuru and my future life.

The Big Idea:

Hunger:

Episode 1: Training at Stanford:

Episode 2: First 24 hrs on the ground:

Ok. Press Play. Enjoy. Go.

PS- The NURU WEBSITE is magnificently and beautifully done so I encourage you to check it out and read it because it's uber informative!

Information on Nuru donations

2008-11-06T21:38:00.002+03:00

So some of you may be wondering how to donate in the effort to get me back to Kenya. I'm going to find out more information about monthly pledges because some have asked about that. For now, I'd say that if you want to donate monthly starting January, you can donate that way, but maybe email me your plans.

How do you donate?

Well if you want to donate via Google checkout, you can click on the link to the right and it will take you to the donation page.

Another way to Donate electronically is to use Facebook's cause page, click [HERE] (it's an easy process, for those of you who don't know Facebook).

OR, you can donate the old fashion way via check. The address to send checks to is:
Nuru International
189 Highland Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26505

***Be sure that if you write a check to make it out to NURU INTERNATIONAL and write in the memo line EDUCATION PROGRAM.
If you donate electronically, please send me an email, because I don't think there's a way to specify for the Education program right now. So this way I can keep track of the fundraising.

PS- All of the links, plus the address is on the website and you can view it by clicking on the donation link to the right, OR by clicking on the Nuru link.

I strongly encourage everyone to check out the Nuru website and watch the videos presented there. There are TWO new videos on the site that show the staff on the ground in Kenya and their life there.

Thanks for helping in the fight to end extreme poverty!!

Hangin' with the Homeless

2008-10-28T23:45:00.001+03:00

For the past month my friends and I, who are in a group that we call “ Sunday night community group,” have been meeting down by Ruby McQuain ampitheatre on the Rail Trail to talk with the homeless who live there, as well as give them food and clothes. We started this tradition from the inspiration of the book: Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claiborne. In his book, Claiborne writes about being an everyday radical in your community. These radicals do not do anything extraordinary, however they live out there faith in Christ by taking care of His people. So two of my friends, Tiffany and Tara, decided that they would start going to the Rail Trail with boxes of “5 for $5” pizzas from Little Ceasars. From there, they invited the rest of the group to come along.

Rewinding a bit, back to September, our community group held a party in which everyone came with any clothes they wanted to give away. We put on as many of the articles of clothing that we could possibly wear and then made a contest out of who could wear the most clothing at once. After the contest, we separated all of the clothes into categories for the Rail Trail, Christian Help, and t-shirts for Uganda. The clothes for the Rail Trail, we hand delivered.
I have known about the homeless on the Rail Trail for the past six years, however, I have not ever desired to talk to them, nor even look in their direction. I saw them as drunks and bums, who could not handle keeping a job and were drain on the society. As horrible as this may sound, their very existence bothered me. When I went running or walking on the Rail Trail, I was afraid of them. In my mind, when I would pass them, I would think, “why don’t those people just get a job?!”
Since the first Sunday I have started hanging out with them, I have come to know them by name. I know their story and, for some of them, I know why they are “stuck” on the Rail Trail. By merely talking with them, I have gained a love for them and can see why Christ also loves them. Most of them have drug and/or alcohol problems, yes, but they are people nonetheless and Christ said that we are to care for the least of these: the poor and the hungry.

However, I cannot lie about my first interaction with them, the first night, I was discretionary about what I had in my pockets and what I wore down there. I was not sure what to expect—would these people steal from me, or would they hurt me? What would they say? What would I say? The truth is that it was rough to start up a conversation because I let my prejudices get in the way. The first night we went, I am not sure if I even talked to them, beyond telling them my name. I just did not know what to say. However, by the second Sunday, I set my prejudices aside so that I can get to know them as I would any other person I had just met. This past Sunday, especially, I got to know one of them better and even found out that he is from Jeruselem and is half Ethiopian. He has lived all over the world and finally settled in Morgantown. So far, I have not yet discovered his reason for being homeless, but I do know that we had an interesting conversation about religion and about Jesus, and that is a start. I also know that these men and women love having us bring by food, clothes, hand-warmers, and sleeping bags; but most of all, I think that they love having the interaction with us the most—I do not know this as fact, but it is possible that we are the only non-homeless people who regard them as people and not the bain of society that we are to blind our eyes, and shield our children from.

It is hard to process, it is messy, and emotionally, I struggle with the overwhelming truth that these are my brothers and they are out in cold right now as I sit in Starbucks. I have access to a warm house and warm clothes and I am still freezing; and yet my friends who are homeless have even less. I do not know what that means to me yet, but I am processing it. Last Sunday I went into the public restrooms and thought, “I don’t know if I want to go back over there—it’s just so real.” It is so real—they are real.

GOT THE JOB! ..and the WEBSITE is up!

2008-10-24T06:05:00.003+03:00

view in Kuria, Kenya

HEY EVERYONE!!!

I just found out today that I got the job as the Project Manager for Education! So that means that I'm leaving for Kuria, Kenya in late February. So that means that I need help from the Global Community again. My goal for fundraising is going to be $30,000.
I'm not sure exactly how we're going to handle the money donations, so stay tuned. I think how it will work is that you can click on the link to the RIGHT under the category "If you want to support me financially," and then fill out the amount you want to donate on Google checkout and then email me what you donated so that I can report it to Nuru. If you want to donate by check, on the link there is also an address to send the check to, and you would write my name on a note or post-it, NOT ON THE CHECK.
If you put my name on the check, it won't be tax-deductible. However you choose to donate, ALL donations are TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.

Also the website for Nuru is up and running so invite your friends to check out the promotional video and the other video links. They're totally awesome and informative! Click [here} for Nuru's website or click the link to the right under "Organizations I know and love."

Thanks for reading my blog and for your prayers and support. ENCOURAGEMENT is just as needed as financial support, so feel free to be a BIG giver in that area!!

DELAY in NURU new website launch

2008-10-23T00:28:00.004+03:00

Hey all,

So there has been a delay in getting the new website launched tomorrow. Apparently some issues with the design company. So hold off on promoting if you had planned too; and if you've never checked out the website I ENCOURAGE you to do so.
The way the website is set up now, is that you can watch "The Bid Idea" video, which is a 3 minute promotional video, and then there is another video that's working right now called "hunger." Those are the only ones I've checked out as of late, but I'll let you know more as it comes.

Thanks for you help in promotion and support.

Be part of revolution. Be Change. Be Light. Be Nuru.

Nuru's NEW Website Launches Thursday

2008-10-21T05:32:00.002+03:00

Hey all,
On Thursday Nuru launches their new website and Big Idea video. They would love for everyone to spread the word about it by telling, emailing, or calling your friends; putting the info out on your blog; and/or putting the info on your Facebook and/or Myspace about the site and video. Below is a basic text block that you can copy and paste onto your blog, email, etc.
I hope that you too will help the global community in the fight against world poverty. Thanks for your support!
-Megh

Friends-
Forgive the mass email, but I have something important to tell you.

TODAY IS THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW NURU WEBSITE!!!!

When you click on over you'll find a completely redesigned site, brand new pictures from Kenya (not more than 2 weeks old), in-depth information about how Nuru works, updates on our Kuria Pilot Project, and new ways to get involved in the fight against extreme poverty.

Also, on the homepage check out the video: The Big Idea. Today is its world premier, and it's starring some folks who are friends of yours.

Lastly, we're trying to make a big splash with our new site, so not only do we need you to check it out TODAY, but we need you to tell your friends and family to check it out too! So, here's what I ask:

1. Check out the new website yourself, watch the videos and view the images from our Kuria Project.
2. Email your friends a link to our new Homepage and encourage them to check out the site TODAY.
3. Include our site in your blogs, spread the word on your Facebook profile, and forward the Big Idea video on to your friends.

Now is also a great time to donate to Nuru. We too have been hit by the financial crisis, and our future work in Kuria, Kenya is in jeopardy without further funding.

Thank you for being a supporter of Nuru.

Now, on your marks, get ready, go on over to the new site by clicking here:

http://nuruinternational.org

Be hope, be light, be Nuru.

Wordle

2008-10-20T07:08:00.003+03:00

My friend Erica at RVA posted this "word art" onto her blog using Wordle, a program that can take a bunch of words or your blog and turn it into "word art." My curiosity got the best of me. Click the link below to see what it did to my blog:

title="Wordle: Life"> src="http://wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/257747/Life"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

Red, Orange, Yellow: The Leaves and the Stock Market Are Falling

2008-10-20T03:32:00.010+03:00

Okay, so I stole this title from my sister's Facebook photo album, but it was so clever that I had to steal it.

It's been almost a month since my last posting, so sorry for having to look at the same old pictures for so long, if you've been checking. Since the last post I ran a 5k race, the Baltimore Half-Marathon, Lydia got married, I found out more information on going to Kenya with Nuru, celebrated my Grammy's 85th birthday, hung out at the Rail Trail with my community Group and the homeless, and still keeping up with grad school.

JERRY DOVE 5K RACE
A few of my friends and I ran the 5k race together. It was at the FBI facility close to Morgantown. I went out for the fun of it and didn't really even try to race it competitively, however, I ended up winning third place in my age group! If I thought I'd win something, I might've tried harder to get first or second, but ah well, I took home the bronze unexpectedly and a couple bagels too. After the race, my co-worker, Emily, had made the best chocolate cake ever to sell at the cafe, which we also partook of. It was labeled "the September Birthdays" cake because 3 of us at work had September birthdays.

LYDIA'S WEDDING & VERN'S BIRTHDAY
The following weekend, I drove home for Lydia's wedding and my sister's birthday. It was great to see Lydia again-- we hadn't seen each other since May 22nd, the day we left Sudan for our respective countries (Lydia: Uganda, me: Kenya). She looks different all washed up in a dress, wearing make-up, her hair done-up, and not a glisten of sweat. Hopefully I looked the same, except minus the fancy hair or make-up, but I did lack a pit-stained Under Amour shirt and neon foam flip-flops, which was a change for her to see. Lydia looked great and it was a beautiful wedding. Her Dad did the charge to the bride and groom, which was cool to witness. Because both of them are big-time runners, everything to do with the message and the reception speeches had an analogy to running. At the reception, all those running legs took to the dance floor and we partied like it was 1999! ...or like from the years 1995-2006 because that was the mix of music, which was great because I actually knew it! By the end of the night, I felt like I'd had my workout for the day and then drove to Martinsburg, WV (about 3 hours from Delaware where the wedding took place) to stay at my friend Karen's place. The next morning I woke at 5 a.m. to drive another 3 hours to get to class on time. Rewind to Sunday, my sister and I celebrated our birthdays with the family tradition of a Baskin & Robins ice cream cake and pizza. Hurray to multiple birthday cakes throughout the month! So to clarify, I drove home Sunday morning, celebrated birthdays, and Monday was Lydia's wedding (yes Monday, she's a self-proclaimed stinge and Mondays are cheaper).

BALTIMORE HALF MARATHON
Last weekend (Oct 11th), Veronica (my sis) and I ran the Baltimore half-marathon that I've been training for since Sudan and Veronica has been training for along with all of her triathlons. The night before the race, Vern and I went to the expo to pick up our race packet and UNDER ARMOUR RACE SHIRTS!! These are possibly the best race shirts I've ever received. Usually, a long-sleeve shirt is something to covet, but a technical shirt is the sweetest deal ever. At the expo, there are lots of vendors with different types of running gear and apparel. Funny enough, I found a vendor at One More Mile, who sell shirts, hats, and stickers that state "In my dreams I am a Kenyan." How great is that?! So of course I bought a shirt and some stickers. Along with that, they had magnets and such that state "Running is cheaper than Therapy." and I got one of those too because of my major. The next day I donned my Kenya jersey and Rwanda biking hat (identity crisis? possible.). Veronica and I stayed together for the first mile and then I darted off because I had a desired goal. It was 80 degrees Fahrenheit which made for a hot race and a sweet tan. Along the course, here and there, I could hear a few laughs after one would notice the jersey + my middle of the pack pace. One girl towards the end yelled "Go Kenya!" which was awesome. 13.1 miles and several strange spectators in tiger costumes later (tigers dancing to "Eye of the Tiger") and I crossed the finish line @ 2hrs:10min. My sis was about 20 min or so behind me, which is rock star pace for her! I had wanted to finish in under 2 hrs, but the course was hilly and I had been training flat, and so I felt pretty good about the time. Now I'm wondering what's the next race I can run (preferably flat) to achieve my desired time. Next weekend Erica is running the Nairobi half, which is not flat AND at altitude... I'm definitely jealous and definitely would die if I tried right now. GOOD LUCK ERICA!!!

NURU
This past Tuesday I received an email from Jake, one of the founders of Nuru and the CEO, who let me know that he's looking to hire the Project Manager for Education for January. There are 2 other candidates for the job, AND because of the financial crisis of our country, if I am hired, I will have to raise my own support. This morning I had a Skype conversation with Jake to talk more about the position and to help him get an idea where I'm at with all of this and if I'm still down with the position. I definitely AM (not as happy about raising my own support, but I've done it before and the community responded). By THURSDAY @ 5pm EST, Jake said he'd make his decision. So, PLEASE PRAY for GOD's will to be done, whatever the outcome. If I am supposed to stay here to finish my degree, no problem, I've already signed up for classes and I'm praying to be okay with staying. If I get hired, I'm for sure excited to be going back to Kenya, although I'll miss my family and friends (including all my new friends), I know that they'll still be here when I get back in 6 months. The group that's in Kenya now are in an area called Kuria which is in Southwestern Kenyan, 1 km from Tanzania. They are learning Kiswahili down there because English isn't spoken as much as it is in Nairobi. So I'm totally stoked about learning Kiswahili before my future time in Nairobi, where it would be a more concentrated effort to learn the language. I'll update y'all on Thursday if you need to bust out your wallets-- haha just kidding, sorta. ;) In the meantime, and for the next 6 months, check out 2 of the current Nuru people's blogs on the links to the right: Jake, and also Janine, who's an awesome chica.

HOMELESS ON THE RAIL TRAIL
Some of my community group friends have been hanging out down on the Rail Trail by the Mon river with the homeless by sharing stories, sharing pizza, etc. Last weekend our group brought the clothes we had collected the day of the Commando Party with a Purpose. I was a bit late because I had been driving back from Baltimore, but it seemed like a hit. Today we met down there again to share some love, sandwiches, and pizza. I do love this crazy group of everyday RADICALS! A bunch of hippie Christians is what they are-- just kidding. ;p

Well, I hope you all are doing MARVELOUS. For those of you on the East Coast of the U.S., enjoy the beautiful Fall Leaves; and for those of you on the East Coast of Africa, enjoy the weather before the hot season comes!

Sarah Palin Rap on SNL

2008-10-20T03:30:00.003+03:00

This was on Saturday Night Live last night. It was so freakin' funny I thought I'd share it with you in case you missed it!

Morgantown Birthday

2008-09-21T23:42:00.003+03:00

Well another year has come and gone for me. I'm 27, in grad school, and one year ago I was living in a mud hut eating chocolate cake and chapatis with the Scotlands and my Sudanese host family, Agnes, Malish, Wanni, and baby Solomon. 26 was a good year and I can only hope that 27 will bring as much adventure and learning possibilities (being in grad school, you'd think at least I'd get the learning part in).

So last Wednesday on my bday, I had to go to class, of course, but 2 of my classmates made my afternoon class a little more exciting than I'd planned. My friend Maggie baked mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and my friend Joe biked in 2 2litre bottles of soda, a bag of ice, and some cups. When I walked into class, the cupcakes were sitting on the table in front of the desk in which I always sit. I walked passed them and thought "are those for me?" I didn't want to say anything just in case it was some strange coincidence. but then Maggie looks over, and with a huge smile on her face says "I baked those cupcakes for YOU!" I laughed and was super excited all at the same time-- I wasn't sure if I was even going to get a birthday cake this year...its hard moving around all the time because you're always changing friend networks. Not that I don't have any friends here, because obviously from the previous blogs, I have spectacular friends here, however, one never really know if anyone knows its your birthday/wants to do anything for it (thanks goodness for Facebook reminders)-- Then Joe came in with an overstuffed messenger bag and one-by-one emptied the soda bottles, bagged ice, and cups. I gave him serious props for biking all the way to class with all that stuff! Later, during our mid-class break, we partook of the birthday goodies. I've never had so much fun in a college class (ok, well the ropes course was pretty fun too). BUT don't be fooled, grad school is NO fun and games...its kicking this 27 year-old's rear in a big kinda way!

That evening, with my Sunday night community group, we held a joint birthday party with my friend Tara, who's a day older than me (that's Alexis Blidel's, from Gilmore Girl's, birthday, for those who are a fan) at Kassar's Mediterranean Restaurant. I had a lot of fun with my new group, plus Joe and his wife Ellen. I enjoyed some veggies Gyros and falafels with hummus, washed down with a cookie cake. Although it was a school night and everyone, including me, was busy with school and work, we were still able to have some quality birthday fun! Here are some pictures from the night:

Maybe if I wasn't going commando: another party with a purpose

2008-09-11T19:52:00.005+03:00

I don't know how many of you have ever seen the Friends episode in which Joey and Chandler get into an arguement over clothing and then Joey walks onto the scene wearing all of Chandler's clothes at once; but that was the inspiration for our recent Party with a Purpose. On Sunday all of us who meet regularly on Sunday nights for a community group came wearing, or brought with, them all of the clothes they wanted to give away. The winner was the person who had the most articles of clothing on their body at one time. In 80 degree weather people were rolling into the Rickard's house wearing downe jackets and sweatshirts. For me, I changed into my give-away clothes once I got to the house, and then proceeded to die of heat stroke wearing about 3 sweatshirts! Crazy people such as Tara, who one first place, not only had on 5 times her body wieght's worth of clothes, but taped a toaster to herself as well. Kent, pictured below, is wearing about three hats, a downe parka, and some sweat shirts.
One-by-one we watched as each person pulled off an article of clothing until we got to the last layer (yes, we stopped at the last layer-- it wasn't that kind of party!). The funniest part was watching everyone go from being morbidly obese, to a regular size or even down right skinny. It was like watching a before and after infomercial of Weight Watchers clients. What was grossest, was everyone's bottom layer-- like I said, it was 80 degrees!
After everyone had their turn at the contest, the talli came in, Tara was first and Brittani in second (pictured below in her award of pink hat and pink tie). Then everyone changed into non-give-away clothes and we proceeded to sort through ALL of the clothes-- including the clothes that people brought but didn't wear. We gave away all the t-shirts to be brought to Uganda by a group that's leaving for there soon; all the business clothes and most of the girls' clothing will be going to Christian Help here in Morgantown, and all of the warm-weather clothing will be going to the homeless who live on the Rail Trail, also here in Morgantown.
I know I've said this in a previous entry, but I am so thankful to have this group of friends who takes their faith into action by serving the global community!!

We all need a little help from our friends

2008-09-07T07:14:00.009+03:00

Last week Thursday, my Community Counseling class went out to the WVU ropes course just outside of Morgantown. For those of you who know the area, its near Cooper's Rock. Our prof, T.Anne, wanted to incorporate it into our studies as a way to get closer to one another, learn different forms of group counseling, personal growth, and of course, to have a lot of fun! The School counseling students were for sure jealous of our alternative classroom. But, shhh, we were instructed not to rub it in their faces. Here are some pictures from the morning's events:

Our group had to transport the "platonium" from one side of the course to the other, while staying off the ground. We couldn't touch the bucket, only the strings, and had to have 4 people holding it at a time.

Maggie being lowered onto the zip wire to attempt to shimmy across to the other side. Way to take it for the team!!

Adrian volunteered to sprint across the wire with his amazing lightning speed...he almost made it.

This is my lame attempt to jump over the hurdle. we could only go over it, not under it. It was one of those moments where I realized my dreams of being in the olympics are over.

When we got the the middle of the coarse, meeting up with the other half of our group, we passed off the platonium and they handed us "Bobby," our stretcher board victim whom we had to take back over to our side.

"We have to do what?" When we got our victim to "safety" we were told that Bobby needed to get across a steel wire, over to another platform in which the meds can reach him. Here, we cast lots to walk the plank.

reinforcements: the other half of our group got the platonium to safety and rejoined us on our side in order to find a solution to the crossing of the gap. As pictured above, my classmates are pretty creative...and brave!

After the course, we separated back into our small groups and discussed the good, the bad, and the ugly of the days' events. ...then we sang Kum Baya-- just kidding.

Party with a Purpose

2008-08-30T22:28:00.007+03:00

Last night some of my friends in Morgantown celebrated the many August birthdays with a "party with a purpose." Instead of asking for presents, these guys asked everyone to make a donation to Nuru International. The WVU chapter of Nuru has a purpose to serve as a campus advocate of Nuru International, a 501 (c) 3 dedicated to working together to end the problem of extreme poverty one community at a time. We will carry out this purpose by opening the eyes of the campus to the issue of extreme poverty and mobilizing people to make a difference.
The goal for this month was to raise $5,000 by September 2nd, and at the party we raised almost $2,000, which topped off the goal! Everyone at the party felt pretty pumped by the end of the night for reaching a goal that, to the average person, seems unattainable. I just have to say that I am so proud to have this group of friends in Morgantown, who care about helping others in developing countries. Its definitely a blessing to come home from Africa to not only great Christian friends, but Christians friends who put their faith into action by living it out in a radical way. Even those who will never go to a developing country, but speak out on issues of poverty in their hometown, are living their life in a radical way. Thanks guys, for letting me be a part of that.
If you are interested in giving to Nuru, click on the link to the right of this page. Your money is tax-deductible and will be going towards eradicating extreme poverty. As of now, a team is leaving for Kenya at the end of September. In that group is someone from: Agriculture, Community Health, Water Sanitation, and Video Production and PR. The Community Health individual is my friend Janine, with whom I worked with back in 2006, doing campaigning, fundraising, and on-campus awareness for Rx For Child Survival. Janine is described by others as "intense," and "she makes me tired," because she is passionate about helping the community health sector in Africa and works hard to do it.

This outgoing group will be the initial, ground-breaking group for the project in South-western Kenya. They will spend the next six months evaluating what needs to be done in the area, by listening to those in the community, getting to know the community, and using their expertise in their respective fields. God-willing, I will be joining them out there at the beginning of next year, where I will spend six months doing an evaluation from the Education stand-point.

So how is grad school? Well to be honest, it has been really hard this past week to get a grip on a proper sleep and study schedule. As of Monday, I got a job at Zen Clay Cafe, where I spend about 20 hours a week slinging cappucinos and making healthy wraps, soups, and muffins. The working environment is great and I get all the free coffee I can drink (good when on 2 hours of sleep) and a free meal per shift.
This past week I had to catch up on my class readings the night before each class because I did NOT do them over the weekend. Well, I learned my lesson after 3 nights in-a-row on 2 hours of sleep, that that is NOT my desired lifestyle and so I will need to be diligent in reading this weekend. Although it is Labor Day weekend, I think I will be taking it for its name-sake in laboring over my books! As of time of publication, I have not yet read for class, but I did enjoy some quality God time at Starbucks, reading the Word, and having an impromptu Bible time with Janine, and my new friend Mary, who were also there reading the Word.
My "study" chair

Today I read about about Joshua and the Israelites being defeated at Ai. It says that "the hearts of the people melted and became as water" (7:5). How often do we run away when we feel scared and/or defeated? Even though God had prepared us and called us to a task, one glitch, and we are fleeing and our hearts are melted like water. This makes me think of almost every big task I set out to do-- Sudan: I thought I couldn't raise the money; Grad school: I thought I couldn't do well-enough on the GRE and I feel defeated by my schedule; Nuru: raising $5,000 by Sept.2nd; and keeping my prayer time my main focus. These are all battles in which I want to melt and run away, but God has (or is) worked(ing) through those fears to conquer His goal. Proverbs 13:12 states "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." This verse spoke to me this morning. I need to work to fulfill the goals I have set in front of me and know that God will be the reigning force behind it, so it will be done.

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone and GO MOUNTAINEERS! The first game of the season and the town is littered with Blue and Gold.
Here are more pictures from last night's events:

(Laptops were set up to make online donating quick and easy)

Videos from ABO

2008-08-22T18:49:00.004+03:00

Here is one of the many funny skits from "fun night" while at ABO in Machakos, Kenya:

Super Miss

Biking to school and wearing sweaters

2008-08-21T19:11:00.002+03:00

So I have completed my first week of graduate school in Counseling! Yay! Now just 17 more to go! Not that I'm counting, seriously, I am really excited to learn about counseling techniques, Human Devt., etc. One thing that I'm less excited about, however, is the buying of textbooks. I knew that it would be more expensive than last time just because psychologists and science people love really expensive books, or at least all the books are always really expensive-- and there are a lot of them.
So far I could have paid 2 months rent with the amount I've spent on books. Although, most of them I will probably keep and cart off to Africa when I start practicing, and that will be the REAL expense-- haha.
The biggest thing in adjusting to America are the social patterns of college students. For example, the other day someone went to give me a "high five" and I went from the "high five" into a handshake, because that's what we do in Sudan. The louder the slap before the handshake, the better a friend you are. So, that was awkward, but then I explained the cultural miscommunication, and we laughed about it.
I even practiced it a couple times with them. The other thing is remembering that its not "cool" to show up to school all sweaty. Now you might be thinking, Meghan, TMI (too much info.), but really, I'm being truthful with you guys here, about re-learning your own culture. So, after the prompting of a classmate, I decided to ride my bike to campus everyday. That had been my plan all along, but for the first 2 days I was apprehensive because of the sweat factor. For the first 2 days I also wore outfits that had been previously approved by my sister, (but I have to tell you, when I start to branch out from there, the colors get a little wild) and then would drive part of the way to school and walk the rest of the way. This reduced the sweat factor. However, yesterday was my first day to ride the bike to campus and I don't know if it was the helmet, or my Kiswahili shirt, or the sweat, but there was a noticeable difference in conversations coming my way. I'm sure that I could do a sociology experiment on it, but its true. So I tried to make a joke about monkeys getting into the kitchen and eating all your bananas, and people laughed...sort of, but, yes I have become socially awkward.
Social awkwardness is probably not that new for me to be honest...pretty much ever since I became passionate about Africa, I have had some awkwardness, like bringing up genocides in a conversation about anything possibly, kind of related; and talking about people dying of diarrhea-- all stuff that the average person doesn't want to talk about. And to be honest, even when I became a Christian I became socially awkward. Its just not socially acceptable to be a Christian, and in college: to hold morals, views, or opinions is also not acceptable. So that part is not new, but I think getting used to being awkward within my own culture is the hard part. I come home from another culture and believe that I know this culture, but I don't really. And its because I'm seeing it with a different scope. I'm blended.
I find myself trying to live in both worlds-- I still haven't changed the clock on my laptop or my cell phone, and I think about what people are doing 7 hours ahead of me in a far away continent. When hanging out with people here, I try not to bring up being in Africa for the past year, especially when meeting new people, for fear of sounding pretentious. I don't want to bore people with my stories and so I let them bring up the questions, but then, something they say reminds me of a story from either Sudan or Kenya, so I begin to tell it, and then trail off, because I think that they don't really want to hear it, or that I have mentioned living in Africa way too many times. And so, living in both worlds is a rough adjustment but I'm sure
that once I make new friends and have new experiences here, the Africa experiences will come out here and there, but I will have things to talk about from here. Disclaimer: I don't want to sound like I'm discrediting my experiences and that they are totally compartmentalized off from this life, because I know that all my experiences mesh together to make me who I am. Its more about finding a balance of all my experiences as to not be off-kilter within whichever culture.
Well, so that is more or less my first week of school. The other things I need to get used to again are: reading (a lot of reading), writing papers (in APA format), deadlines, time schedules, sitting in a room full of people, standing in a line in a room full of people, Air-conditioning, wearing sweaters in class, and eating lunch that hasn't beem pre-made for you by someone else. All these things, plus more that I'm just not thinking of right now, are all new/old adjustments that I'm relearning in American, University, society.

New Life, New House, New school

2008-08-12T18:20:00.005+03:00

After a late night of putting together a powerpoint presentaion for both services at church, and the outline for speaking to the Sunday School classes, last Sunday I shared with Trinity about my time in Sudan. It was harder than I thought it would be, to cram about 7GB of pictures and a year's worth of life (a VERY different life) into one 5 minute power point presentation and a 45 minute talk. One of the church members commented that they could have had me speak at several of the sunday school classes, for as much information as they wanted to hear about Sudan. So, for those who attended, thank you for coming, and sorry that it was so short.

Currently, I'm enroute to Morgantown, WV for graduate school in Counseling, in which I begin on Monday. This has been an extremely quick turn around time from leaving Africa, to coming home, and then leaving again. I hope that my parents are coping. ;) Morgantown is about 5 hours away from Bowie, and I have fridays off from classes, so we will see about return visits now and then.

Just so you all are in the loop, last week when I went to Morgantown to meet my roomate and see my new house, I also had an interview with Nuru International (Nuru= light of God in Kiswahili), which is a new development organization for developing countries, such as Kenya, Sudan, etc. At first I was definitely going to decline an invitation to work there because I am set to attend grad school and then onto working at Tumaini Counseling center in Nairobi, Kenya; however, at the interview I was told that the contracts are only year-to-year. The CEO of Nuru was impressed by my interview and asked if I change my mind about grad school, to contact him. After the interview, I contemplated this.
A year is not very long in the span of life and grad school will always be there, and God-willing, so will Tumaini. I took this before God in prayer, and also to all my friends and family (even the Starbucks barista). Upon giving it great thought, made a pro/con list, and prayed, I decided that working for Nuru for a year is a great plan for the next year. HOWEVER, I don't officially have the job yet. If the funding is available for the second team to go out (the first team leaves Sept 22), then most likely I will be on that second team. The plan is for the second team to leave around February and would be in SW'n Kenya for 6 months. After the six months is completed, I would work for Nuru state-side for another 4-6 months.

So what would I be doing for Nuru? Well, based on my experience in Ikotos, I would be the Project Manager for the Education sector. My job would be to check out the existing school on the project site (if there is an existing school), and talk to the town elders/officials about what their needs and concerns are in regards to education. At the end of the six months, I would be doing a lot of processing from the data I gathered, and then training volunteers for the project. **Note: The information here is what I gathered from the interview, and from the website, www.nuruinternational.org So it is possible that my job description and description of Nuru is not completely accurate and some aspects may be missing.

What about grad school? Well, I will definitely be attending this fall, and we will see what happens in the next 6 months as to whether or not I continue in the spring. If I go to Kenya with Nuru, then I will be dropping out of grad school for a year and will attempt it again after Nuru. I am also looking into attending Liberty University instead of returning to WVU. That plan is still extremely undefined and undetermined. The most I have done is order an information packet from Liberty. The reason for the switch is so that A: I will need Bible school credit for AIM, and B: Liberty offers an online program in which I can work and go to school. The program is 48 credit hours and they offer 8-week long sessions. I still haven't decided if I want to do the online program or not-- I very much enjoy the interaction and debate that happens in the classroom. However, as I realized in the past, when I had an internship at the Dept. of State, I work better through distance learning, while working full-time. Apparently it keeps me focused.

So, we will see what the future brings. Thank you all for following along.

BTW- Here are some pictures of my new house in Morgantown and of my friends Greta and Melissa who came to visit while I was there. Greta is leaving for Nicaragua this week, through Mennonite Christian Council (MCC), within the SALT program. She will be teaching music at a cultural center. For more info on her, check out her blog that's linked to the right of my page. Also, my new roomate, Lori, whom I've just met, is very nice and I think we will get along well. However, she is leaving in February for 3 months with Mercy Ships, serving in Benin, W.Africa as a nurse. Wow, that connection is amazing, eh?

Fridge picture with some of my Africa friends, mixed with my old American buds

All the prayer cards I've received from other missionaries in Africa (if you don't see yours, contact me, so I can get one!)

In my bedroom, the giant tin trunk from Kenya that I brought my stuff in. It will now serve as a dresser because I currently don't own anything better.

My living room with gas-burning fire place!

Greta and I at our old favorite studying place-- We've waited 2 years to hang out here again, first she was in Amsterdam, then I was in Sudan, and now she's going away again. :(

Trinity talk next Sunday

2008-08-02T22:02:00.003+03:00

So its confirmed that I will be speaking at Trinity Lutheran Church on Sunday, August10th for all of Sunday school and little snipits during both services. So, if you're in Bowie that day, Sunday school is at 9:45am-10:45. Feel free to come by and hear about my time in Sudan and see some pictures! If you don't know where Trinity is, its off of rt.197, you can't miss the big church on a hill next to Cresthill Baptist.

Short Rant:comments on America

2008-07-28T19:42:00.003+03:00

Just a short comment on America. Today I went to Subway to get my Dad a Turkey sub. The sign outside says "footlong subs for $5." Well, I got the sub and paid and it was $5.95. So, the footlong subs are more like $6, not $5. Everywhere else in the world, when it says $5, its $5. But in America, $5 means $6. Confusing, eh? And Africa supposed to be corrupt?

Email address change

2008-07-28T07:52:00.004+03:00

I decided to grow up and get an email address that has my name in it. Its listed on the right for future reference, but here it is: meghanmsbaird@gmail.com. Hopefully the wierdos don't clog it up b/c I posted it. The old sendmeghantoafrica@hotmail.com account will be closed down soon. So email me using my gmail from now on. However, the other hotmail account that many of you use for me will still be my main account for now. We'll see if I can handle these 2 plus my school account.

Also, I plan to keep my blog through grad school since I plan to go back to Africa. So, hopefully I can keep you all interested even if some of the entries will involve the words, "term paper" and "finals week." WAIT! Don't get bored yet! I still plan to put more never-seen-before pics from Sudan and Kenya, as well as videos, now that my internet is faster. I hope to post a concluding power point video on here too, with pics and lots of thank you's.

Please View Tara Callander's very humorous top 10 list about coming back to America
http://tarainafrica.blogspot.com/

Back from the Mothaland: My first few days

2008-07-27T05:59:00.008+03:00

I have been back in the U.S. for 3 days now and I am adjusting well. The whole last month in Kenya I have been worried about the transition, but the truth is that everything is more or less the same as it was when I left a year ago. Sure the Freestate Starbucks has changed its looks, but everything else is the same as how I left it. The first thing I did when I got in the house, was grab my bike and take to the streets. I have been waiting for this moment all year. Sure my parents thought I was crazy for riding my bike up and down the street in the dark, but see, my bike is my symbol of freedom and it has been gone all this time. In Ikotos, I rode Jordan's bike to get water from the borehole, but its just not the same as the open (paved)road. The other symbol of my freedom is my Honda. This morning I kidnapped my sister and drove to Starbucks, and then the Bowie Town Center while listening to some tunes on the radio. My parents were worried that I would have trouble driving again, and that I would drive on the wrong side of the road (Kenyans drive on the left), but driving is like riding a bike-- you never forget. ;) Later, Veronica and I went to the pool in Annapolis, which was a lot of fun after a year of no swimming.

The Sunset over Africa from the planeRewind a bit. The plane ride over here was interesting. Carolyn and I were sweating bullets to see if my bags would be overweight, but the guy at the counter in Jomo Kenyatta didn't say a word. So, I looked back at Carolyn, who was waiting and looking through the glass outside and gave her two big thumbs up. After a 4 hour flight, I was in Dubai(The UAE).
It was hot, as in the temperature. I was wearing a jacket and a scarf, which was quickly removed. The first thing I noticed upon walking into the airport was a Dunkin Donuts-- weird, eh?
Later, after I had passed through my first set of x-ray machines and walked through the airport checking out the stores and food court, I realized that I had forgotten my little, fleece, travel pillow back at the x-ray machine! So I quickly made my way back to the escalator I had come down and fortunately there were stairs to go backwards into the exit area of the x-ray zone. I must admit that I felt kind of silly asking a bunch of security guys about my pillow, but I just couldn't see leaving it behind after carrying it all the way from Sudan. Although I went back, I was sure that it had been thrown away; however, they found it within minutes. Embarrassed, I thanked them and moved quickly back down the escalator and over to the Dair Queen (yes, DQ) to get a milkshake. Having a cold with a sore throat, it felt great to suck down something cold and yummy. In the airport, I was pretty proud of myself because I could understand the flight numbers said in Arabic, and could say "thank you" (shukuran)in Arabic. That is the extent of it though, because Juba Arabic is such a shortened "Mexican" version of the language that I was too embarrased to say any more than that, and couldn't understand what they were saying either. Fortunately, everyone spoke English, including the loud speaker. Paris could learn something from them...when I was there in 2003, they didn't even translate to English.
At the airport, I had a 5 hour layover so I checked out all the cool stores. You have to understand that this airport is like being in a shopping mall. There are even cars in the middle of the floor on raffle. (Erica, I know you're laughing at me right now). In the last remaining hour, I walked past a girl checking her facebook on her laptop and asked if there was wi-fi. Apparently the entire airport is wired! Sweet! So, I sat down at a table and emailed and Skype-chatted to my little heart's content...until my battery died, and then I sat on the floor by an outlet until they called for boarding.

The flight was 14 hours long! I watched 3 movies, 6 episodes of "The Office," 6 episodes of "Flight of the Conchords," listened to my i-pod, dozed off to sleep a few times, walked to the bathroom about a 100 times, and ate several meals. At one point I stood in the back by the kitchen and had a conversation with 2 older gentlemen from the Middle East. The cabin crew got to know me and by the middle of the flight I was pouring my own water in the kitchen. The girl sitting next to me never got up the entire time, but I couldn't stand sitting that long! By the end of the flight I was counting down the minutes. In NY, it was raining and we had to wait to pull into our terminal. Once through customs and in baggage claim, I quickly paid for a cart (in Africa the carts are FREE)and waited for my turquoise hibiscus flowered duffel and huge, blue tin trunk from Kenya. That was also kind of embarrassing. People were looking at me funny and one guy commented on the trunk. The trunk has little outlines of Kenya spray-painted all over it with silver paint.

At Pearl River, the debriefing went super and so did seeing my Mom and sister. The debriefing was 3 hours long-- so long that Veronica was convinced that they had sent me back to Africa. However, I didn't think it seemed that long and actually enjoyed it. After the debrief, we spent a few more hours in Pearl River before driving home.Most of the wait was because of me. I just couldn't think of getting back into a vehicle for another long duration of sitting. However, the trip went well and finally I was back in Bowie, which brings us up to the above mentioned first events in Bowie. Today, I also went to the hair dresser and cut "swoop bangs." I added this picture especially to show my friends in Africa. Once I train these bangs to stay, I'm hoping they will look better, and lose the bobby pin. Grad school here I come!

So, those are my first few days back in America. I think I'm blending back in well, although Veronica says that I slip into my African accent now and then. I'll keep you posted with other events to come. Especially my schedule once I find out when I'm speaking at Trinity Lutheran and in Shepherdstown. A few people have written to ask when I'll be through the Eastern Panhandle and finally in Morgantown. I will post that here once I figure it out. For certain though, I am looking forward to seeing all of you state-side folks!

Wild,Wonderful American Internet Connection

2008-07-24T21:13:00.010+03:00

So here are the pictures that I've been wanting to post for the past month at ABO in Machakos, but the internet was too slow. Now that I have made it safe and sound into New York, I am a picture uploading fiend. Although I have a little cold from sharing drinks and breathing spaces one too many times, I am doing well here at HQ while I wait for my Mom and Sis to come fetch me. I will spend the night here tonight, do a debrief with my coordinator, and then head off to Maryland. I plan to make a slow pilgrimage to Morgantown, stopping through the Eastern Panhandle for about a week.
For now enjoy the super fun pictures and keep in mind that vidoes are on there way!

The Elegible Bachelorettes and a Bachelor

Lord of the Dance...in the kitchen!

Me, playing the role of the "soft target," known as being in the "white zone," and my attacker, during our Super Miss skit (video to be added).

Sarah as "Super Miss" fully ready for a day in the life of an AIMer.

Roll that Beautiful Bean Footage!

Beans in the Machakos vegetable Market. Aren't they beautiful?

The Vegetable Market in Machakos

This, my friends, is a Tuk Tuk-- a three-wheeled taxi.

Donna had me draw this fireplace to help the ABOers stay warm during the sessions in our frigid 67 degree weather. *Pictured are Sarah (my favorite South African)and Juli.
Four of us girls giving ourselves a foot scrub while sharing the same basin at the same time (from the left: Sarah, Erica, me, and Sheri--not pictured)

Erica and I after our first run conquering the big hill (and when I got my stride back). **Thanks Erica for being such a trooper on my strict regimen-- couldn't have done it without ya!

The Great Wall of Converse at the Toi Market in Nairobi

On Our Scavenger Hunt in Machakos: First Stop, the BUTCHER!Yukk!

Erica and I with the Mama from our Kenyan Music video starring Mama, Bebe, Erica, Sarah, and I (video to be added soon!). The baskets in the background are woven from sisel fibre and plastic bags by the Komba people group.

Too Legit 2 Quit: Me, Erica, Lil Dude, and Ryan

The Mzungus on Parade: the day of our hike up the mountain.

Last Sunday at Massii Boys' School, the place where I rapped and preached the previous Sunday. *Shown: Kate, Robert, Chaplin, Me, and Erica

Promised ABO Pictures

2008-07-23T11:10:00.002+03:00

I am flying out today at 5:15pm from Nairobi. Please pray for a safe trip. I will put pictures on my blog in NY. Thanks.

Eminate Culture Shock

2008-07-19T16:09:00.004+03:00

FYI: I added info to my last entry and I forget to mention last time that I added Erica's blog link to my list of Friends in the field on the right-hand side of this page.

As of now I'm still at ABO and mentally blocking out the fact that I will be home in 4 days. I know that in saying this some of you might be bummed, but its the truth. Erica has been working with me to name the good things about going back to the U.S.--Starbucks, Sheetz subs,cycling etc.. The truth is that, well part of me is just going through what every person goes through when they get ready to return to their home country, and also, if God wants me to serve in Kenya after grad school, then its a good thing I feel at home here. Fortunately, I know that I have great support at home from my family and friends so that when I go through the stages of culture shock, I won't be alone.

Recently, I have received word from my soon-to-be roomate, Lori, that I may have a house by August. She has been looking around Morgantown for a place since the beginning of the year. Today I read that my choices are a house in Star City, close to the Stadium, or an apartment close to the Evansdale campus, the Colleseum, and STARBCUKS. Although the latter has a convenient location, I'm pushing for the 2 bedroom house because it has bigger rooms, bigger closets, a basement, and a yard. I know, I know, you all are thinking "you've been living in a mud hut! What kind of space do you need?!" Ahh, but its because of the mud hut that I would love to have a room with a nice closet, and you know, I could build a mud hut in the yard if I feel so inclined. ;) So, pray for Lori and I as we figure out our new living arrangements and getting to know one another, since we don't actually know each other, but have a great mutual friend,Janine.

As for pictures from ABO, the scavenger hunt in town, a tuk tuk (pronounced took took), and my new BFFs, they will all be added soon. Erica was able to add some earlier today, so you can look on her blog for a few to tide you over.

ABO, Avacados, and Running Shoes

2008-07-15T22:51:00.005+03:00

I am sorry that it has been so long since my last blog. The internet here in Machakos is really slow and as I type, its 10:40pm. That is the best time to do internet because all of the sane people are sleeping. However, I am not here alone, there are a few others that have bit the bullet with me and drudged over here to be faithful in emails and blogs.

This time at ABO, I've been having an awesome time with the kids and with fellow AIMers. I haven't been sick once-- praise God-- and I have been running almost everyday and I finally got my stride back (runners know what I'm taking about). For the past year, I have felt like my stride disappeared and the one of an old man took its place, but here in Machakos (with high elevation), I have regained my running stride! Yay! Also, it helps that my new found friend Erica is running with me faithfuly everyday and hasn't quit on me yet when I sneak in a few extra steps to our routine. ;)

Here, I have made new friends and hate to leave them. I know that my friends and family at home are anxiously awaiting my arrival, but its hard to think that in a week, I will be back in the U.S. and starting my new life in grad school. The thought of starting a new/old life does not sound appealing now that I have just got in my groove here. I can possibly see Nairobi as a valid plan for after grad school, counseling at Tumaini. My thoughts on training nationals with counseling skills to counsel their own people within their cultural context is also a future plan that would coincide with counseling missionaries. I have seen how both are vital.

Also at this ABO, I have been able to participate in some things that I didn't do last time. For example, I was invited to give the sermon at an all boys school last sunday and I rapped at the beginning of the sermon-- completely impromptu-- because all the boys had just finished rapping. So I thought the best way to get them to listen would be to start off rapping (to the tune of "ice,ice, baby" by Vanilla Ice), and then I gave a talk about being salt and light and not losing your saltiness. The boys loved it and all cheered at the end (of the rap). I have it on video and will upload it to this posting in a week or so when the internet is better. I also hope to put some great pics on here too, but the internet will not allow for that right now. Maybe when I get back to Nairobi.

Today, I went on a scavenger hunt with fellow AIMers. We had to get to Machakos town by boda (bicycle taxi), tuk tuk (3-wheeled golf cart-like taxi), or by foot, and then answer questions on a list by building relational skills with the local people. My group members and I, Erica and Sarah (my other new-found friend)went around town and had a lot of fun getting to know people. We even filmed a video of us dancing with an old Bebe(grandma) and a mama whom I bought baskets from. Erica saw this random wasboard-like instrument at their stand and asked how to use it, and the next thing you know 2 of us have tamorines, Sarah has maracas, and Erica is going to town playing the wooden washboard/shaker combo. Hopefully, that video will also be uploaded soon. One of the prizes for the contest was most relational-- I'm pretty sure we will win that one!

Well, that is all for now and I hope to add lots of fun pictures from all the adventures I've had here in Machakos this ABO. I will leave you with one fun story though:

Today Sarah, Erica, and I were laying in the grass outside the kitchen window when suddenly something flew from the sky, denting Erica's head. At first we looked up and saw a German woman peering out the window and blamed her, but then our DIRECTOR, Loren Fast, looking sheepishly out the window,admitted to the attack. Erica looked around for the blunt object. It was an overly ripe AVACADO! Qucikly, Erica picked it up and hurled it towards the kitchen window. Loren grabbed its remains and through it towards the unsuspecting ME still laying on the blanket in the grass. I was GUACAMOLED!! My entire jacket was covered in green avacodo-e slime and so was my kanga (blanket/wrap). Sarah got a bit on her but was no worse for the wear. We laughed like crazy as I layed there trying not to spread the mess any further as my friends came to my side. Loren came out of the bulding laughing and offered to pay for my laundry, but I refused. Anyway, fun was had by all and now I have a great story for my blog and a picture to boot.

This ABO time has been a great ending to my year in Africa.
Take care until next time.

Nairobi safari and Giraffe park

2008-06-27T16:38:00.004+03:00

Last Saturday my bowie-friend, Sybilla, her husband Vic, and I went to the Nairobi National Park for a game drive. They picked me up in a SUV stocked with American potato chips and grahm crackers-- yum. Nothing says safari-drive like munchin' on some salt n' vinegar chips and looking at a herd of zebra. heh
At the park, we saw zebra, wildebeest, eland, t.Gazelle, giraffe, baboons, and vervit monkeys. One of the best events of the park was when we stopped for a toilet break and two baboons and their baby (hooked to the mamma)were right outside the vehicle. Sybilla had already gone outside the vehicle when Vic spotted the primate couple. .

Vic tried to keep the baboons on one side of the vehicle using carrots so that they would not attack Sybilla. At one point the male baboon charged us and jumped up into the window sill. He was hanging on by his hands and Vic started yelling random noises at it until it backed down. It was pretty scary-- and funny. Then I gave Vic his asp from the front seat so he could show the baboons who's king of the jungle. However, at one point the male jumped onto the hood of the car and then onto the roof. We could see his feet and bum walking over the sun roof. Fortunately I caught that moment on camera. When the baboon jumped off the vehicle, we kept it at bay until Sybilla could make a sprint for the vehicle and get in safely. (For those who don't realize this, but baboons have very sharp teeth and are agressive).
We laughed about that for a bit as we drove on to see the alleged hippos in the hippo pool. There, at the entrance to the hippo pool, there were the cutest vervit monkeys and some of them had little babies attached to their bellies.
We took an armed guide along the trail to the hippo pool, but none were to be seen that day. It was a nice walk though and we were able to see some hippo dung as evidence of their existence.

After driving around a bit more and seeing the above mentioned animals, we left the park and went out to Karen for lunch. We ate at a place called Talisman, which I totally recommend if you are in Nairobi because the place is beautiful and the food is excellent. They even served me my coffee in a french press with steamed milk on the side. Now, that is a good place when they know how to make good coffee!

After lunch we went to the Giraffe Park to feed them. There, they give you food and the giraffe roll out their long slimy tongues and take their food from you. Its really fun and cute, but also pretty gross. Your hand is left all slimy and sticky at the end of it all. My coordinator told me that some people put the food pellet in their lips and make the giraffe kiss them. EWW GROSS! I did not see anyone do that and I am better for it! All in all, the giraffe park was nice to enjoy. For those who are visiting Nairobi, one can stay in the Giraffe Manor where the giraffe peek their long neck and head into your bedroom window as a morning wake-up call. I have only seen the brochures, but it looks like fun.

So last weekend was fun and all week I have been helping Carolyn with the preparation for ABO (orientation). Except for Monday, when I had to go to the doctors because I had the worst night ever and woke up sick as a dog. I had been sorta sick since Friday (probably picked up the bacteria in Nakuru), but the worst of it all was Monday. I had to drop off a little **cough** sample and get it tested.
So, in the end, I found out that I had some bad strain for a bacterial infection and they gave me an injection in my rear for the horrible, skull-bashing pain I had in my head, and another injection for the bacteria. Then, on top of the doctor's bill and lab fee, I had to pay $50 in meds to fight this sucker off.

Now I feel great and hope not to have a repeat during ABO for the next 3 weeks. I promised Carolyn that I would not get sick this time. We have 9 kids to entertain with Africa trivia and 1 man down could be disasterous. Please pray that none of us gets sick while in Machakos. I will be posting from there.

HIV and Children's Conference in Nakuru

2008-06-20T14:51:00.004+03:00

Well I am back from Nakuru safe and sound. The conference was interesting and I was able to network with people who work in children's ministries and AIDS ministries.
While I was there, I also continued helping Carolyn as her personal assistant. Anything that needed to be done, I was there. Right down to using my running hat as the staff tip jar at the end of the conference.

At the conference we visited Hope For Life , which is a center for people who are affected by HIV, that was started by a Kenyan woman named Josephine, and is assisted by 2 AIM missionaries-- Josephine is one of the most dedicated and hard-working women I have met. Most of the people there are moms, and grandmas who are the caretakers of children who have lost their parents to HIV. Some of the women are also infected with HIV. At the center, the women are taught practical skills such as sewing, painting, and beading (jewelry, key chains, etc.).

The children who come to the center, come for lunch in between the school day.
They also have Bible teaching while they are there and learn fun songs and dances.
While we were there, we saw the different crafts and also watched the women sing and
dance, while we ate the lunch they prepared; and then the children sang and danced for us-- first the older kids, and then the younger ones. They were, of course, so cute!

Now that I am back in Nairobi, Carolyn and I will get cracking on preparing for the July orientation school. We have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us! However, I am taking a little break tomorrow, as my fellow Bowieite, her husband, and I will be driving through the National Park to see some animals, and then on to the Giraffe Park, where you get to feed the giraffes while standing on a high platform.

By the way, the Scotlands, who I was with in Ikotos, gave birth to their second son, Aiden Lawrence, on Father's Day (last Sunday)! Mom and baby are doing well, and Calum is said to be helping as much as he can.

Nairobi

2008-06-11T16:26:00.002+03:00

It has been about two weeks since my last blog, so I thought I'd update you on the goings-on of me in Nairobi. As of Monday morning, before the crack of dawn, Veronica, my sister left Kenyatta airport after spending a week with me.
We went to the elephant orphanage where she was so in love with the baby elephants that she adopted one--some people adopt Kenyan children, and others-- elephants. geesh. The elephants were orphaned due to ivory poachers who have killed the mother. A team goes out into the bush looking for these abandoned baby elephants and brings them to Nairobi to restore their health and eventually ease them back into the wild.
We also went on a Safari walk (others call it a zoo) where we saw pygmy hippos, leopards, and got to pet a cheetah!

Today I received word that Veronica is safe back in Bowie after her long European/Nairobi tour. It was great having her here-- in the Motherland. :)

Yesterday I met with a fellow Bowie-ite who works in Nairobi. We have a mutual friend from Trinity Lutheran and weird enough, my mattress is currently residing in her house with the church members who are renting the place. We also have a marathon connection, and got to talk about the craziness of running on Ngong road. By the way, after the first day of running on Ngong road (one of the busiest roads) I felt as if I had emphazyma from the pollution. Although, today I only ran on Ngong road for the first 15 minutes and transferred myself to the less busy parallel road which has a wonderfully humongous hill. Anyway, it was a nice lunch at Java House yesterday!

Speaking of Bowie, while my sister was here I laughed with her about how much great training I had for coming here by living in Bowie. Anything that happens slowly here or goes wrong, I just think, "what's so weird about that?" I mean, in Bowie I have had to leave the movies because the projector caught on fire. The traffic, pollution, loud rap music playing in a place of business...just as much P.G. County as it is Africa. Heh, those from Bowie are laughing right now and those who aren't your really missing out.

On Monday I will go down to Nukuru for the AIDS and Children's conference. It's theme: Knowing God's Heart for the Least, Last, and the Lost. I made a wild and crazy banner out of African print fabric for the main hall. Carolyn has got me manning all things crafty. Rhonda and Sonya, sorry, I have become Martha Stewart instead of Andy Warhol. The funny thing is that I'm not really crafty at all. I stink at crafty-- that's why I had to quit graphic design and go into painting. Its okay though, I think the banner and the name tags look great. Next stop power points and paper animal chains. ha ha...oh brother.

I'm interested in the workshops for the confrence. There will be a counselor speaking on child resiliency for traumatic events like family members having AIDS. The participants and speakers are those who either work with AIDS patients and/or work with children. The overlap is so great here.

So that is all for now. You know now that I'm NOT taking an extended vacation until July. I think I have adjusted to Nairobi life, but I still miss my girls back in Ikotos a lot. Via Skype, I can communicate with one of my friends from an NGO there and she relays messages to Madeline at the borehole in the morning. The first thing I will do when I get home is figure out a way for her and Amuna to get school fees for secondary school. Madeline still has one more year, but both of them will need money to get to Uganda to sit for their primary 7 exit exams before going into secondary school. One snag, even if I do have donors, is how to get the money to them. I think I have an idea though, so if you're interested, I'll keep you posted about that.

Have a great week and pray for me because I have a wee cold. Thanks.

Saying Good-bye

2008-05-27T11:53:00.005+03:00

“Be wala, be wala, be wala nuru ta Yesu, be wala”
“Shine, shine, shine the light of Jesus, shine”

That is what we sang as the four of us walked down the sandy road towards the airstrip. Arm-in-arm, Madeline, me, Amuna, and Lydia—-Black, white, black, white was the pattern on the outside, but on the inside was a uniform feeling of love for one another and sadness in departure. We were walking Lydia to the airstrip, as she was the first to leave last Thursday. We had our friend C.W., from one of the NGOs, drive Lydia’s luggage to the airstrip as we walked there for the last time. Us girls sang choruses from the youth choir as we walked to ease the tension and to bring joy in our hearts.

Lydia’s plane was late, so we told C.W. to just drop us so that he could resume his work. We sat under a tree waiting for the plane for an hour and a half. It wasn’t so bad though, because it gave us more time to laugh and talk and sing once more. My plane was to come at 1:00 and Lydia’s 10:30, but as Lydia’s plane delayed in coming, the tension rose a bit because I still had some last minute things to do at the house. At 12, I decided that I’d better go, and to leave Amuna and Madeline to say good-bye to Lydia. Just as we were saying our good-byes, we could hear the sound of the plane. After getting Lydia on the plane, Amuna, Madeline, and I waited awhile to see her off the ground, but the plane took long in taking off, so we had to go. Madeline, Amuna, and my little pre-school friend Ingerim ran to the house to do some sweeping and to dry the dishes to be put away, while I ran to the market to collect a balance I had with the bread lady and give it to a shopkeeper of whom I owed money. The bread lady had no change as usual so she gave me a bun instead. Then, I ran back home to help in the preparation to leave—it was 12:40. C.W. was expected to come at this time, but I was not ready. I had no time to think about feeling sad as I handed C.W. my bags and locked all the doors. I gave Amuna and Madeline most of my dishes and other things like spices that they threw into boxes to take home. They gave the boxes to Ingerim, and another pre-school orphan named Latébus to take them to the house. It was then that I realized that I may never see Ingerim again, so I said good-bye to her and told her that I won’t forget her.
It was just that morning that the two of us walked hand-in-hand as we moved towards the river to take pictures. She had seen me walking back from the airstrip after sunrise and ran towards me so that I would not overlook her. She is so cute and small, and as we walked I wondered who would watch over her to make sure that she eats everyday, and that she goes through school, and that she grows to be a leader like I see her now.

Instead of singing and walking, this time we hopped in the car and drove off to the airstrip. Madeline, Amuna, and I could not sing this time, for we couldn’t even talk. All of us were too sad at the thought of leaving each other. Madeline put her head in my lap and Amuna turned her head towards the window to hide her face. We got to the airstrip and unloaded my luggage although the plane had not yet arrived. C.W. had to check on someone at the clinic so he left us for a bit and then returned. The plane was two hours late, which was okay with us because it gave us more time to talk. Although we didn’t talk much, we sat together quietly with intermitted speech. C.W. helped ease the tension by talking to Amuna and Madeline about the importance of staying in school. I was appreciative of C.W. because I could barely speak—-my time here in Ikotos had really come to an end already and I was about to leave my new friends behind.

The plane finally came and we put my luggage into the holds. I hugged C.W. and said good-bye and then walked over to Madeline and Amuna. Madeline lunged at me and then did Amuna. We held a tight, group hug for some minutes before pulling myself away towards the waiting pilot and passengers. With tears in my eyes I walked up the stairs to the plane and out of my Ikotos life. Leaving those girls was so hard. They have been my closest friends in Ikotos and, like Ingerim, who was going to watch out for them. Those two are older yes, and have a strong head on their shoulders, but I want to make sure they finish primary school and complete secondary. I don’t want anything to stand in the way of their dreams.

The plane started up as I looked out the window onto my waiving friends. They had their arms around each other. I waived back profusely with both hands, and then the plane took off down the dirt runway and I watched Ikotos disappear.

As I write, I am in Nairobi safe and sound. I had a great time in Loki with the Carpenter and Hildebrandt families as we celebrated Memorial Day on Sunday. We had a picnic, including “Jell-o,” water balloons, and baseball. I left Loki at 6:30a.m. yesterday and arrived to the frigid 70 degree Nairobi at 9a.m.. Even though I’m freezing here, I do enjoy doing things like grocery shopping.

I will keep you updated on my schedule in Kenya. The nearest thing on the calendar is my sister coming on the second of June and staying until the ninth. I'm greatly looking forward to her coming and want to hear all about her trip around Europe. Then, on the 16th, I head to Nukuru for a week-long conference on AIDS and Children. Thank you all for your love in support. (pre-school children in Ikotos)

Bricks, Hot Dogs, and RPGs

2008-05-19T17:55:00.000+03:00

This week I am preparing to leave Ikotos and fly to Kenya. Last weekend Lydia and I held a good-bye fellowship at our house for the church and had a chance to let everyone know how much we love them even though we're leaving. Before I fly off to Kenya though, I want to give you a few stories from the week.

Last week Saturday the church youth group spent all day making bricks out of mud to build an office for themselves on the compound. They used our rain-water tank to make the mud and a wooden form to make the shape of the bricks.
They started early in the morning, up until the late afternoon. Now, I don't know how long you have been reading this blog, but back when I was still raising funds to come to Sudan, I wrote an entry called "bricks in the wall" talking about how in the book of Nehemiah all of God's people worked in unison to build the wall. I was reminded of that on Monday, when it began to rain and all of their hard work was about to be ruined. Everyone on the compound-- including myself and Lydia-- in unison ran to save the bricks. Though it was pouring down rain and we were soaked to the bone, we continued on, running back and forth to the empty hut so the bricks would dry. It was dark, and slippery, and one could only take one brick at a time because otherwise the bricks would break. However, we laughed and knew that we were doing this together. When I wrote that blog a year ago, who would have known that I would really be assisting with brick production, eh? Both Saturday and Monday were beautiful examples of oneness in spiritThe following friday, was the 16th May, the commemoration day of the SPLA. Here in Ikotos, beginning at 6:00 a.m. the SPLA fired off RPGs to kick off the celebration. Fortunately I remembered Jordan telling me a story about it from last year, so I wasn't scared. After my special alarm for the day, I got up and went running. While on my run I could swear I smelled hot dogs on the grill, but what it probably was, was lovely goat meat with the hair still attached. I don't eat meat anyway, yet it was still fun to think of hot dogs on Independence day!

Later in the morning, someone on a loud speaker announced through town to come to the celebration and listen to the speakers. Lydia and I went around noon to check things out. When we arrived, the AIC choir was singing for some people under a tent and then the SPLA had a small marching display. The sun was way too hot to stand out in the middle of town for long, so along with some of our friends, we sat under the awning of a shop and watched from afar. The celebration wasn't ultra eventful, however I enjoyed celebrating with my fellow townsmen.

That evening was mine and Lydia's farewell fellowship for the church. Every weeks someone from church volunteers to hold fellowship at their house and so this was ours. Before fellowship, Lydia and I popped a ton of popcorn and wrapped each portion in a curled piece of paper like at a county fair. After singing and a brief message we handed it out and everyone was excited to try this new, fun food. Some people, who have been in Kampala or even Torit, know about popcorn, but for those who never leave home, this was new.

Not as many people showed up as I had hoped though. It seems that the celebration took the spotlight, as well as other domestic obligations. Some visitors from afar had come, therefore requiring the attention of the women for cooking.
At least we all had fun and there was enough people to take a group photo for the Bowie Blade, my local newspaper, with me holding the front cover of the Valentine's Day edition(our newspaper then will put the picture in the travel section).

At church the following Sunday, I was able to see those who did not attend Friday's fellowship. It was nice to have a chance to say good-bye properly.

For the past 3 weeks Lydia and I have been singing in the youth choir. We sing in the youth choir because the choices are: Children's Sunday School Choir, Youth Choir, and the Women of Good News; and since I do not yet have a child, I am not considered a woman, therefore placing me in the category of youth. Its ok though, because all the women my age are married with children and so I have connected more with the 16 and 17 year olds.

This past Sunday was extra fun because while the Children's choir sang, I did the traditional applause of a Sudanese woman and ran up to the children with flowers howeling and yelling "hallelujah, hallelujah, Sunday School!" as I threw flowers on their heads. I had been planning to do this for forever, but was always too timid to do it. With nothing to lose, I let loose. Then, after singing with the youth, the Women of Good News were only 2 this Sunday, so after throwing flowers on them as well, I joined them up front singing. Everyone laughed and we had a good time.
I will really miss singing and dancing with my church friends.

I'd like to note that I'm adding a photo from Saturday's choir practice, of a .
beautiful double rainbow, which was a symbol of peace and comfort during this time of leaving

Church in Ikotos is lively and long. We officially start at 9:30, but actually begin at 10:00, when people arrive. The men and some women sit in chairs on the left side of the building, while the children and some of the youth and mothers sit on a tarp on the right.
We sing several lively choruses while clapping and dancing. Then, each one of the choirs has a chance to present a few songs. After the choir is a time for visitors to introduce themselves and for those leaving or coming back from a trip to speak. At around 11:00 the sermon begins, and after offering and some more singing, we end the service at around 12:00 or 12:30. One thing I really enjoy about the end of the service is that, as we exit the church, we are singing and forming a circle outside. As we pass each person in the circle, you greet each other. Once the song is finished, we all disperse for the day.

Lately, during the week I have been spending the morning with my pre-school friends and then doing some typing for the church and for that workshop I had previously mentioned in an entry. Of course, there are also the everyday tasks to be done here, that never need to be done in the U.S. For Example, going to the borehole to retrieve water.I've incorporated this into my workout routine. I have found that if I get down low and spread my arms out, the exercise resembles a push-up or a bench-press. The women all love to laugh at me as I pump at rapid speed in my work-out stance.

The other tasks are doing laundry, heating water on the kerosene stove, and refilling the kerosene stove (which is not clean or easy), along with constantly sweeping out the tuukel, the kitchen, the bath house, and the bakana (latrine).
Oh, but how I will miss doing all these things once I'm in Kenya...possibly.

So, to everyone in Ikotos (although you may never read this), I will miss you all and have enjoyed being part of your life and part of your family. I will never forget you. Thank you.

Next time you hear from me I will be in Kenya. Pray that Lydia and I have a safe flight.

Calling all school administrators and teachers...

2008-05-14T15:17:00.004+03:00

The following is a memo that I'm sending to whom it may concern at A.I.M., and I want you guys to consider it and let me know if you know anyone or you, yourself want to be a part of this:

An Intervention Workshop for the Teachers of A.I.C. S.S.S.

Needed: A team of school administrators from the A.I.M. sending countries for a two week short-term mission

Purpose: The team would facilitate the teachers in a two week workshop to organize the school for proper functioning.
The Facilitators would cover the following topics:

-vision for the school
-school rules
-rules for teachers
-board of governors
-roles of the HM, DHM, DOS, Bursar, Store Keeper, CMs, etc.
-punishment policy for students
-structure of the school day
-school schedule
-character building
-work ethics

Structure of the workshop: Each day the facilitators will lead the teachers in a discussion on one of the topics mentioned above. Each teacher will be expected to first write out their own idea for the topic (ex: School Vision—what is your vision for the school?). Then the facilitators and the faculty will discuss each person’s idea and then collectively come to a final decision. Because of each topic being done collectively, it will take an entire day to discuss each topic.
When the workshop is completed, at least two of the facilitators should plan to return in six months for an evaluation of the workshop’s results.

Thank you for your time in contemplating this idea for the workshop. Personally, I believe that this is the only way to establish structure for the school. It is also my recommendation that only certified, veteran teachers and administrators from the sending countries be sent.

** By the way, I forgot to mention in yesterday's entry that I added the link of my friend Rachel's blog to the list of "People in the Field." She will be with Peace Corps in Lesotho for 2 years beginning in June.
*** Also, an addition to the top ten list that I did not mention is when you start going to other people's houses for dinner because you don't like your own cooking! That is a trait of the Sudanese men here, but I have started doing the same thing.

Top Ten reasons you've been in Sudan a long time...

2008-05-13T16:08:00.003+03:00

1. You say "sorry, sorry" when someone trips or you hear of a mutual friend being ill.

2. You get excited over canned fruit or canned cheese, and popcorn becomes a vegetable or even a replacement for a meal.

3. When shooing the flies away after you flip up the toilet seat becomes normal.

4. Everyday conversation is about food back home and you begin to salivate over the thought of lettuce, broccoli, or anything green.

5. When 77 degrees Fahrenheit is unbearably cold.

6. You pray for rain so that you can bathe and do laundry without having to take several trips to the borehole.

7. You pray that it doesn't rain so that your clothes will dry, and so that your home-made yogurt doesn't get spoiled while your in town.

8. Walking 200 yards in the middle of the night to the latrine (sometimes several times), while winding a flashlight, is normal and part of your workout routine.

9. You can remember how to say a word in Juba Arabic and even French (from College), but not English.

10. When you see an airplane and you stop mid-sentence to see what kind it is, and if it lands you run to the airstrip with all the rest of your Sudanese friends just to see modern technology at its best.

In Town

2008-05-07T16:07:00.003+03:00

This is a child I saw in town today while walking back from the market. I quickly grabbed my camera from the house and gave him/her candy in return for the great costume/snow suit in 85 degree weather. Hopefully I didn't make the child feel self-conscious. I thought I'd share it with you.

Mong, Mong

2008-05-05T15:12:00.004+03:00

Well the Scotlands and the Lobwaya Canadians have gone, along with Chris "black bull" Machar, who has been visiting us for a few months. Now it is Lydia and I as the reprentative kewajas in town. In 3 weeks we too will be leaving-- Lydia to the U.S., and me to Kenya.
I have started running again, although I am nursing that stress-fracture. It seems that it is hard to shake it with all the walking that I have to do around here. At home, I'd be dong a lot more driving and would probably wear some kind of boot, but here you walk or die (that sounds dramatic, but in the end, that’s true). I am only running 6k every other day so that my foot can still heal, but I can start my training for the half marathon I will be doing in October. I used to only run to the air strip and run the air strip and run home, but Lydia has introduced me to the idea of trying new things. So, lately I have been running down to a seasonal river and then running to the Catholic compound, and then back home. I hope that the fact that I am running in sand will mean that I'm way faster when I return to asphalt and sub-80 degree weather.
On my runs, I have learned the secret to greeting people along the way. Before I was gasping out the very breathy "Salem!", but recently have discovered the use of the local language greeting "Mong, mong!"
"Mong" is a lotuho (lotookoh) or lokwah greeting that is usually followed by 5 more "mongs" and then "Nguy" or "Ngola" or "detally". Nguy means "how are you?" in which you respond, "Ngiita" or "ngiita be be," which means "good" or "very good." So a typical conversation would involve an old lady or old man (because the younger generation speaks more in Arabic or English) holding your hand with 2 hands and saying "Mong, mong, mong,mong mong, nguy?"-- me: "ngiita."-- them: "aywah!" (meaning oh, that's good-- pronounced "eye-wha." When I'm running I usually forget the whole handshaking part and just throw both hands in the air like "don't shoot!" as a sign of respect as I gasp out "mong, mong!"

(road I run on towards the river)
The older people that are out walking in the morning seem to enjoy that I can speak the local greeting and I am also happy because it is easier to say. Even Callum, who is just about 2, can say the local greeting when someone enters the compound.
Since I have returned from Kenya, it has been hard to find anyone to help me with getting water from the borehole, so for the past two months I braved putting a jerry can on the back of Jordan's bicycle and ride to get water. Last Christmas when I tried it with a different, more large, bicylce, a six year old had to come to my aid! On Friday I attempted 2 jerry cans on the bicycle, which resulted in the reinactment of the Wright Bros. first take off. However, I didn't fall despite the rocky (literally) beginning and made it all the way to the church compound where I slowed down to get into to the gates and the jerry cans fell off right outside my compound. I was pretty proud of myself for making it that far. So, these days there are no 6 year olds in need to save me.
At the borehole there is usually a congregation of women and children no matter what time of day. This is usually a good time to practice juba Arabic and socialize with the other ladies. Sometimes they call me "Uma Lumuuno" who is Andrea, in which I have to clarify that I have no children and then that brings on more conversation. Why don't I have any children? Am I married? Why not? Those are very important questions that have to be asked every time (and you thought it was bad in the U.S.).
Usually when I arrive at the borehole the women tell me to bring my jerry can and cut in line, so to be fair (and to sleep at night)I offer to pump, or as they say, "doogoo", one of theirs-- sometimes 2. This is also an alternative form of exercise. If you put your arms out like to do a push up, and then bring one leg back and pump as fast as you can until each 20L jerry can is full, then you have done the equivalent to a bench press for the day. I feel like I'm at a church picinic some days, playing that game where you place your head on the handle of a baseball bat and then spin around until your dizzy and then run around the baseball diamond. That's what it feels like to pump 3 jerry cans quickly and then jump on the bike and ride off. :)

(Callum eating lunch with his friend Ingeriim and me leading some dance moves with children at the Scotland's going-away fellowship)

The Census is Back and So am I

2008-04-23T16:14:00.004+03:00

After torturing my coordinator last week, whose name is also Megan (hers is missing the "h"), we all flew to Torit and had a nice, refreshing weekend. I was able to see some people from the last retreat and new ones as well. At the retreat we broke down our vision statement for South Sudan and discussed how we can be living it and acting it out in our daily life. Might I add that the food, cooked by Ginny Hildebrandt from Loki, was excellent! My body went into shock by eating vegetables and fruit.
Once again, many of us slept out in tents. This time I set up a small mosquito mesh tent and staked a tarp over it to protect it from the rain. This set up was in hopes of getting lots of fresh air instead of the stifling air of a tent in the heat. I enjoy sleeping out under the stars in Torit and this was my last time to do so. Everyone is leaving one-by-one from Torit and then Ikotos-- not everybody, but many.
Kelly left for Kampala yesterday and flew of to the U.S. of A. this morning. I hope that she enjoys sharing all of her stories with family and friends. We will miss her here though. The Bylers are flying back to the U.S. for the marriage of their oldest daughter and for home assignment. The Scotlands leave April 30th, the day after the Canadian Culture Shock Team. So, who we have left are Matt and the Nobles in Torit, and Lydia and I in Ikotos, and 2 others in various parts of upper Southern Sudan. My main crew though is about to be gone. Lydia and I don't leave until May 22nd. She will fly to Entebbe and I, to Loki.
For the next month I will not sit on my thumbs, but rather try to organize that rape workshop I spoke of in the last entry. Last night was census night and therefore today I will be counted as a member of Ikotos. Weird. Well, West Virginia Univ. is giving me trouble with convincing them that I'm a resident, so why not be a member here right? heh.
Not much else to report here. I think that the next couple of weeks or so of blog entries will be devoted to explaining the culture and the layout of Ikotos. I realize that I have not yet explained much of that and you readers need to have the full flavor of my experience. I will talk about the people, the landscape, alcoholism and religion.
Here are some pictures from the Torit Retreat: My tarp tent; Kathrine & I; Kelly, Megan, Lydia, me, & Tara; me with the Bylers; the Congolese ladies in the market; and some South Sudaners relaxing after lunch.
Until then...

Census, School, and Life

2008-04-14T17:41:00.002+03:00

Well, for the past 2 months all of Ikotos and the surrounding areas have been a bustle preparing for the national census. Some of the teachers at the school have not been teaching for the last 4 weeks because of census numerator training. School was abruptly cancelled last week without the students taking their final exams and they were sent home to their home villages and towns. The census was supposed to take place in the whole nation from 13 April, through the 30th, however, yesterday after church we got word that the census was cancelled and that the 40+ Land Cruisers that were bought for the mobilization were held up in Juba. So, even though the numerators, including the teachers, are happy because they were not only paid for the training, but paid in advance for their census services, we are left with nothing to count on. I asked a friend what he thought about the census being canceled and we feels that it was a good decision b/c many are still in exile and others in the villages do not know it was supposed to take place, and so it should wait, he says. However, much donor money has gone into repatriation from the refugee camps in Uganda and Kenya, even money that has brought in building supplies for repatriates to build houses.
In my western mindset, I cannot imagine putting all this time and money, and confusion into a project as big as this and then canceling it. It’s frustrating, but I guess the country is still building and we'll see what happens next--never a dull moment. Although my every day life can be just as mundane as in North America.
There has been talk of re-opening the school, however I am not in favor of that b/c the students have already left town for their own homes and personally I intend to get started on preparation for a rape workshop for men. Part of me thinks that this won't help anything, but then I also believe that "if you don't know it broke, you can't fix it." So, I will work with my friend, who is the HIV/AIDS coordinator for an NGO on getting this workshop off the ground for May.
Speaking of workshops, the final STAR workshop took place last week and I was able to attend it. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those new peace counselors all over South Sudan. Here are some pictures from week.

Tomorrow I look forward to my coordinator coming in from Uganda to spend a couple of days with us. I hope that I'm not too tough on her, but I do plan to show her how to light the charcoal oven, make coffee from a Nalgene, boil water from a horribly cheap kerosene stove, and walk to the school while shaking hands with all the children as you pass them. ;)
On Thursday, the entire kewaja crew flies out to Torit for our annual South Sudan Unit retreat. The last one was in September, when I first arrived. Now, I'm an old veteran and am excited to swap stories with my fellow unit members. Also last time, I was sleeping in a tent and it rained--hard; and my tent was soaked-- including my sleeping bag. But after getting over that just-wet-the-bed feeling, I slept fine thanks to my Lafuma sleeping bag from the Outfitters! Have a great week and weekend everyone!

Here are some pics that I took while walking up here this evening. The red building is the part of the Catholic church. The mountain with the fence is just up from my house. You can see that a thunderstorm was on its way. ;)

Gulu

2008-03-29T15:19:00.006+03:00

Kopango? Kope! (how are you? fine! in Acholi). I am now back from Gulu and feeling refreshed. My friends Kennedy and Andrew, who are from Gulu, had told me that it was a big town, but I had never guessed that it was so big! It was like being in the big city-- not as big as Nairobi, but lets just say that they have air-conditioned banks!

We arrived there on Good Friday and stayed at a guest house that belonged to Kennedy's neighbor. The place doesn't seem to be used much and is definitely a family opperation. The bathroom is set up for running water, but just like out of an Ali Mzuri film (you know what I'm talking about IS grads), the water didn't work! So, we had to pour water into the toilet for it to "flush" and had to take a splash bath in the bath tub. Here in Ikotos I have to take a splash bath everyday, but we have the bath house set up for slash bathing, however when you splash bathe in a bath tub it is much more difficult. Although, we can't really complain because it roughly cost us about $2.50 a night--each and they provided us with an electric kettle for tea/coffee and with clean sheets.

We stayed there for 2 nights only before moving over to a more equipped guest house. At the new place, the Franklin Guest House, I had a single-- non-self-contained-- room and Kelly and Lydia shared a double-- non-SC-- room (non-SC means that the toilets and showers are shared by other guests). This place did have running water and the rooms were very nice and I had a great full-size bed. We stayed here for 2 nights at about $10 a night. whew, breaking the bank!

While there, we visited Kennedy's and Andrew's families. The first night we had tea with Kennedy and his wife Rose and met one of his daughters and his baby son. Later that night we had dinner with Andrew and his wife Dorene and their little daughter, Gifty (pictured above). Dorene is the best cook ever and we wished that they didn't have to go to Kampala to see their son, just so we could have dinner their every night. Dorene prepared for us: greens with peanut sauce, spicy lentils, Ungali, millet bread (like ungali), spiced rice, chicken (for those who eat meat), and fresh passion fruit juice. Later in the weekend, she showed us how to prepare greens (Bor) with egg,onions and tomato. Both nights at Andrew's house were warm and full of laughter.

Our Second favorite place to go while in Gulu was the Kope Cafe. It is a Mzuungu (white person) friendly place that serves great coffee and cafe-style food. 100% of the profits go towards the HEALS organization that supports healthy childhoods for the children of Gulu. One of their projects is implementing art into their life.

We went to Kope everyday for breakfast because they had the most amazing muesli (yogurt, mango, banana, honey, and corn flakes) and great coffee. Sometimes we went there for lunch or dinner too because we couldn't pass up the chance to try out there afternoon menu as well-- which was equally as good as breakfast.

The people who work at the cafe are just as great as the food we serve. Pictured at the top are two of our waitresses in their uniforms, who served us everyday, and the picture above is of Agnes and I. On the back of her shirt it reads: "as a child, I have the right to play."

One of my main goals of going to Gulu was to see the Invisible Children office. After watching the docuementary, "Invisible Children: the Rough Cut," I have volunteered a lot of time to publicizing the issue of war, night commuting, child soldiers, health conditions in IDP camps, and other issues in Northern Uganda; and lobbying congress and promoting letter writing to our congressmen. So, I wanted to see the field office and talk to someone about what they are doing in Gulu. We went there on Tuesday, the same day we left Gulu, and met with the PR officer. She showed us around the office and introduced us to some of the staff. I found out that they have Ugandan mentors who help former child soldiers with anything from pschyological issues to homework. The mentors go to the child's school, and the children will also come to the office when needed. They do many other things that are listed on their website, but this is one of the things I didn't know about.
At the end of the tour, we received a free copy of the film, which is great because just the night before, Andrew was saying that he had wanted to see the film. Sometime when school lets out, we will have a movie night at the LWF compound, where their is power and a projector.
To find out more about Invisible Children, click on their link in the list to the right of this page.

On Easter Sunday we went to prayers at a place called "Christ Church." Its an Anglican church that Andrew had recommended. We didn't know any other place to go, and we definitely wanted to go to a church that celebrated Easter (some African churches don't celebrate Easter-- we discovered when we returned to Ikotos that our home church didn't). The service was the MOST different Easter service sermon that I have ever heard. The Bishop of the area, who was on his way to Juba for a peace and reconciliation meeting, gave the sermon. He used the regular old verses from the gospels about Jesus' death, but when he spoke of Judas, he went off on an hour and a half tangent on how we betray the ones we love, just as Judas betrayed Jesus. He went on about Wives betraying their sons, children betraying parents, friends betraying friends, etc. It was looong. Lets just say that. Then, at the end of the sermon, he told all the IDPs to go home-- "the war is over! Go HOME!"-- that was his closing. ha, I was inspired-- to go home.

.
One other aspect of Gulu that I would like to mention is the market. I have to say that the open, produce market is so organized. Ikotos could take a lesson in their organization. It was nice to walk to one area and see all the bananas, and another area: the rest of the fruit, and another area: all the beans and legumes, etc. Because outside of Sudan is where we have to buy all of our fresh produce and almost everything else besides onions and flip flops, the market was at the top of the list last weekend.

We returned to Ikotos on Wednesday, spending one night in Kitgum (the closest big town to Ikotos). The trip from Gulu to Ikotos is only a 6 hour drive, but unfortumately we got a late start from Gulu, so we had an extra night in Uganda. The roads in Sudan are so bad that a trip that would take about 3 hours in the US takes us 6. Plus, all the rocking and rolling down the road makes one tired at the end of the trip. I think all of us were ready to crash on the bed to and from Gulu. Otherwise, it was a great trip and I recommend Gulu to anyone!

Coconut Offerings, Sins of the Father, and Easter

2008-03-17T14:32:00.004+03:00

HAPPY ST.PATRICK’S DAY!! I hope you all are wearing GREEN! Me, I’m sitting in my GREEN hammock as I type.

Since the last entry, Lydia, the new short-termer, has arrived and is learning the culture of the school, as well as that of the town. She has a blog that I will add to the list on the right so that you can read her perception of Ikotos. The second day she was here, we drove off to Torit to get her traveling pass and spent some time at Mahaal Saalem (the AIM Torit house) with the Bylers, the Nobles, and Kelly and Matt. As always it was fun and relaxing to spend time with them. Lydia is a cross-country runner, so she has been whipping me back into shape. Veronica (my sister) has registered me for a ½ marathon in Baltimore that will take place in October. So, I really need to start training. On Saturday and Sunday, I ran about 6 miles, on Monday, about 4 or 5, and then on Tuesday about 2 or 3 miles! Unfortunately, I have been having some pain in my foot after I run since August, before I left for Sudan, and on Sunday the pain returned. The pain is around my arch, which is swollen and it hurts when I walk, run or bike. Today I had Dr. Phil (Byler) look at it, since he came into town today to lead a workshop in Lobwaya (the village close-by). He says that I have a stress-fracture and that I should lay off running for at least a month. I thought that could be the case, but I was surprised that it hadn’t healed while I was in Kenya and only ran twice there in the span of 2 months. Dr. Phil says that it just hasn’t had time to heal properly with all my moving around. So, fat camp is off and I’m going to stick to leg lifts and a core work-out for the next month so that I will be healed in enough time to train for the race. I plan to still ride Jordan’s bike a bit though—Phil says that as long as I ride with my heels (a biker’s faux pas) than, it should be ok.

Life here is pretty much the same, except that the town is growing because the refugees from Kenya and Uganda are moving home in preparation for the national census. In order to have the big vote for/against separation, the country needs an account of its residents. Because of all this, the school term is being shortened to April 11th, instead of the 19th. The South Sudan Unit retreat in Torit is the 19th and 20th, so I will be going out there a little bit early to help with anything they need. Afterwards, Lydia and I will figure out something else to do around Ikotos for the month of May. Some ideas about tutoring or literacy have been bounced around. I might even take this opportunity to build my Juba Arabic vocabulary.

I should mention that, after a lot of thought and talking with the Central Region coordinators, the Scotlands are returning to Canada again, the first week of May to have their second baby and to encourage some interested couples to come back out here with them permanently. It is true that living here without interaction with other westerners is difficult and lonely. I used to be judgmental of people who felt that way until I lived here alone for only a month last year. So, for me, when Lydia leaves at the end of May for Kampala, I will fly out with her to do my exit interview with the Central Region and then fly to Nairobi. Veronica will meet me in Nairobi on 2 June and we will spend a week there together. After she leaves, I will explore some ministry opportunities for 3 weeks in Nairobi and then help with the Africa-Based Orientation (ABO) again, for the month of July. ABO is from 1 July to the 22nd and I hope to fly out sometime around the 24th. In all, I will not be coming home early however; my ministry in Ikotos will be cut short. My friends here have already told me how sad they are that I am leaving so soon. I told them that we shouldn’t think about it now because we still have 2 more months to enjoy each others’ presence.

That is all for now, except I want to tell you a brief story about the fellowship the Church held at the home of my neighbors. Usually our Friday night fellowship is lively, with lots of singing and the neighbors tend to show up to join along. Last Friday an older woman came out from her compound to sing with us and then went back home (just on the other side of the bamboo fence) for the sermon. When it was time to take up a collection for the people who hosted us with their food, the woman came back out with a coconut and kneeled before the table with the offering plate to give her thanks to God. I felt touched that, although she probably has little to no money, she brought her offering with such love for the Lord. I think about us on Sundays, giving our tithes, and the grumblings about giving “too much” to the church. Her display of admiration and generosity was beautiful and I hope to always remember it.

One more story that I want to tell you is that of a fellow teacher at the school. He was recently thrown into jail because of something his father did when he was alive. His father is now deceased, and so the son has to pay for his father’s crimes. That is the customary (traditional) law here. I don’t know about you, but I would hate to have to pay for my father’s sins. Which reminds me (with Good Friday approaching) of how Christ had to pay for the sins of his brothers, and it brings that concept to life, of that system of law in which a family member must stand in where the perpetrator cannot.

Have a Happy Easter and enjoy the holiday weekend! I will be traveling to Gulu for an extended weekend so that I can finally see the IDP camps there. Kelly, possibly Lydia, and I will be accommodated by a Ugandan friend, Kennedy, who works here in Ikotos. He is looking forward to introducing us to his wife and kids and showing us around his home town. Gulu is now the home of 210 NGOs, as the hub of humanitarian aid for northern Uganda. It was the site for the film “Invisible Children,” which was filmed in 2003 about the “night commuters,” children who have to travel from their village, into town to escape being conscripted into the LRA. Currently Northern Uganda is safe for travel and is working on reconstruction, rehabilitation, and reconciliation.

**note: the pictures are as follows, but not in order: the “six legged elephant” at ABO (Me, Kelly, and Rachel) “relieving” himself over the lead instructor; Calum having a bunch of fun with his favorite treat; my friend Amuna and I in my tuukel; a close-up snapshot of my tan/sunburn; and the group and I at the STAR Peace and Reconciliation workshop back in November.

**Also, right now I am reading "Emma's War" by Deborrah Scroggins. I recommend it for a background history of South Sudan and an interesting true story of an aid worker. Just don't think of me when you read it-- Emma was quite the loose woman.

My Tuukel Remodeled

2008-02-28T16:58:00.006+03:00

Just so everyone knows, it was 48 degrees Celsius the other day, which is 120 degrees Fahrenheit! I was wondering why I felt like I was going to pass out while walking to school, but then I found out the temperature.
No worries, there has been other ways that I try to keep cool. For example, two days agon, I set up my hammock finally and that allows for a nice cross-breeze. And Phil installed my car fan onto the head board of my bed. It sounds like an airplane taking off, but it keeps me cool at night so that I can sleep.
Everything else is still the same. The numbers at school are going up and we have mostly girls this term. We still don't have proper books, but in time maybe.
The school and our compound are awaiting Lydia's arrival. I have cleaned up her side of the tuukel and prepared a proper "kitchen" complete with hand washing station.
She will be coming on Tuesday.
The pictures above are of my new and improved tuukel since the last time you saw it. Days before Christmas, Kelly and I painted the walls a nice, creamy yellow. Then, I fixed up the rest when I returned from Kenya. Its pretty swank now except for the termites and rats that like to make their residence inside, and the occasional cat who tries to steal my bread and power bars!

Back in Ikotos again

2008-02-23T14:53:00.005+03:00

I came back from Torit yesterday with Phil and Linda Byler, who helped me to bring back some mattresses for my tuukel to share with Lydia, who will be here for 3 months, and they helped me to bring a lot of fresh food. Torit gets shipments of fresh produce and other supplies from Kenya and Uganda that we don't get in Ikotos, although we are right over the Ugandan border. So, it was great to have a means to bring all that stuff, plus, to be able to talk to my unit leaders for a few hours undivided.
On Monday, I will begin teaching and have heard that more students have been coming for class. Tomorrow I need to be diligent in completing my scheme for History for this term. I was putting that one off in case the Sudan curriculum changed anything, because once the South Sudan curriculum really begins, then the students will be learning more specifically about the history of South Sudan and less of East African history. However, that is not an option at the moment, so I will be looking through my half torn book to figure out some lesson plans for the Senior 1 and 2 classes. The book belongs to another teacher who had bought it from Uganda and now it is completely falling apart and missing some pages. Last week, I was borrowing a bicycle from someone and had the book tied to the back, as I rode to the air strip to meet a plane. As I rode, I hit a bump, coming out of a ditch and the book went flying off with all of the unglued pages flying up into the air and scattering themselves along the dirt road. I felt like an adjunct, absent-minded professor as I quickly jumped off the bike and collected the pages. A few children watched me and one small girl said "mylesh (sorry)." Hoping not to miss the plane before it took off again, I gathered the pages under my arm and rode on to the air strip to collect a parcel for the Scotlands. When I reached the airstrip (which was in view of the incident), there happened to be some kewajas there from an NGO, so I explained that my book had fallen apart and one of the ladies looked at my ragamuffin-self and replied, "clearly." My face might have turned red had it not already been red from the late morning jaunt in getting there. So, the pages were already disjointed, but now they are even crazier than before.
*Added in this entry is a picture of the AIM house in Torit and most of my students from last term.

In Torit

2008-02-15T16:26:00.003+03:00

On Monday I went to school to begin classes, however, the students have not yet come. A few faithful students trickled in throughout the week to register and pay their school fees—most of them girls. So, we decided to declare this week opening and registration week and next will we will resume teaching. For the term, we will only have 7 actual weeks of teaching (out of 11) because of this delay, along with midterms, and finals, and closing (which takes a whole week). Job, the Kenyan headmaster, has asked all of the teachers to make a scheme of teaching for the term. I am hoping that this makes the teachers feel a sense of importance to teach at their scheduled time. For me, I typed out my scheme for English, which makes me feel more prepared to teach this term. I am still waiting to plan out the history lesson because we are in the process of phasing out the Ugandan curriculum and moving on to the one of South Sudan.

Currently, I am in Torit because someone from the school had to pick up the South Sudan curriculum from the Ministry of Education (don’t worry about me and the traveling. I volunteered to be the one to go. In Torit, I’m able to buy fresh fruit and vegetables to bring back to Ikotos, and hang out with friends. To get here, I just jump on board-- for free-- with a NGO vehicle that is already going this way). The South Sudan school calendar officially starts today as a new school year, but for some reason they made it impossible to retrieve the curriculum until the first day. All of you teachers out there, I’m sure would feel unprepared and anxious if you were unable to know what you had to teach until the first day of school. It is a bit annoying here, but at the same time, in this African context, I’ve learned to go with the flow. The main thing that bothers me is that the students are the ones who suffer when the teachers don’t know what they are doing themselves.

Today, I went into the ministry of education to talk to the head guy for the curriculum and he handed me what looked more like a book of rules than a curriculum (I know that some of you public school teachers are laughing right now b/c you feel the same way sometimes). Seriously though, neither mentions what we are supposed to actually teach nor a list of the textbooks. I asked the guy if I can obtain a list of the textbooks from somewhere, but he said that the list is in Juba and that I would have to wait until NEXT month to receive the list and possibly some textbooks. Hmmm….my thought is that if the list of textbooks is not there, then maybe, just maybe, we should hold off on requiring the new curriculum.

So, because the textbooks will not be ready until next month, we will continue with the Ugandan curriculum at least until next month, but hopefully we will not start it until next term for the student’s sake. However, knowing how things work around here, teachers may decide that it’s best to switch even as late as midterms. In late March I will come back to Torit to get the list of textbooks, and hopefully the actual textbooks so that we can sort through them and try to decipher what the curriculum for a South Sudan school year will look like.

My plan for now is that I will be leaving Torit (possibly) tomorrow with a NGO vehicle going back to Ikotos from Juba, and will begin instruction on Monday. Tomorrow is Andrea’s birthday, so I hope to celebrate that with her there. In Ikotos right now we have, and are expecting, a lot of guests for the next 3 months. There is a South African TIMO missionary staying with us for 1 month, along with a veteran AIM couple from Canada and their whole team of college students here for 3 months, and an individual American short-termer staying with us for 3 months (beginning late Feb). My understanding is that when I return from Torit, the Canadian team will be there beginning their home-stays and language lessons. The South African is spending her time observing the Scotland’s mission, the Canadian team will be learning the culture out at Lobwaya (in the village), and the American will be living with me and working with me at the secondary school. The school term ends 20 April, just in time for the South Sudan Team retreat in Torit. Then, in June, which will be the beginning of 2nd term, possibly a team out of Liberty College will be coming to assist with the various programs in Ikotos for 5 or 6 weeks.

That is the scoop and the outline for Ikotos as of late. I will try to keep everyone informed with the goings on of our little super centre. **note: the pictures are of my trip to Lobwaya last fall. Make sure to take note of the use of the USA cooking oil cans on the door of the tuukel (written on the cans, “A gift from the people of the USA. Not for resale” Do you know what the can of oil that I buy in the market says?).

Home Sweet Ikotos

2008-02-10T14:14:00.000+03:00

Yesterday, I returned safely to Ikotos from my two-month, tri-country excursion. After being in Kenya for so long with modern conveniences like running water and flush toilets, along with fresh vegetables and fruit, it will be some getting used to the rustic living once again.
The last time I blogged, I told you all that I was sick. Well, I am much better now and I thank you all for praying and thinking about me. I’m not sure what all I had, but the symptoms seemed like malaria at first and then after going through a round of malaria treatment and not getting better, I was tested for an infection or an ameba. It turned out that I did have a bacterial infection for sure, but we don’t know if I also had malaria. Anyway, that is in the past and I’m moving forward with a clean bill of health. It was just in time too, that I got better, for I was only well for about 5 days before I re-entered Sudan.
The Africa-Based Orientation (ABO) that I was attending for the children’s ministry went well. There were 14 children, not including the babies which made Kelly, Carolyn, and I have our hands full. The children were great, but rambunctious. Most of them had never been to Africa before and were leaving their friends and family behind, and were definitely not used to having to walk everywhere. We took them on walks to the shops, the pre-school, around the campus, and to swim in a pool at a near-by boarding school. Inside, we taught them about Africa: the people, the cultures, religions, animals, and Kiswahili.
On our day off, a few of us went to a game ranch to see some wildlife. I was still sick when we went but I managed to stick out the ride on the first evening. Overnight I became violently ill and slept the entire next day. Fortunately, the rest of the group took some amazing pictures, which I hope to upload here for you.
So, the 3 weeks in Machakos went by very quickly. We lived in a dorm with 2 sets of bunk-beds, 2 closets, 2 desks, and horrible cafeteria food. Not to discredit the hardworking cooks at Scott Theological College, but I think most people were tired of cabbage, rice, Ungali (corn-maze mush), and beans by the first week. Those were our options for lunch and dinner everyday. Because I was sick, eventually I went into town and bought pasta, cheese, crackers, bread, tuna, mayo, and yogurt. Kelly and I started making tuna sandwiches everyday for lunch and pasta or grilled cheese for dinner (well, actually I made tuna and Kelly ate PB&J).
On the 5th of February, we left Machakos and drove to Nairobi, staying with Carolyn, for 3 days. The first thing we did there was get pizza! Fortunately for us the Pizza Inn has a 2-for-1 deal on Tuesday, which helped me to devour most of a veggie pizza—I had to make up for lost time of eating ;). Then, we drove to a mall and looked around a real book store for a couple hours and then went to a coffee house called Java House, which we had wanted to go to since we first arrived in Nairobi. At Java House, there is wireless internet and American-style food. Because we were still so full from lunch, we just ate salads, which was actually pretty great since we don’t get salads in Sudan. The next day, we went to Java House again for breakfast, and then to the movies to see Atonement. The movie was great cinematography-wise, and intense.
After doing some mega grocery shopping for the next leg of Sudanese living, we prepared to organize everything for the plane ride to Loki. We are only allowed 20 kilos of luggage and I had a total of 47ks! Fortunately, I was able to pay a little extra and get on the plane. Any one of you would have laughed to see my duffle bag, along with 4 gigantic grocery bags—tied off at the top— a huge pillow, and my extremely full backpack. I don’t think that any regular airline would have ever allowed such an arrangement. So, we made it safely to loki, spent the night at the Carpenter’s house, who then flew us out to Sudan the next morning (If you follow along in the last couple emails, you might see that we stayed with the Carpenters in Uganda, but recently they moved to Loki last week). Now, I am back and will start teaching again on Monday. Apparently, last week the teachers went on strike for money, but this week they will be back. We will see.
A verse that I enjoyed last night was 2 Corinthians 8:13-15: “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, and so that in their turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: ‘He who gathered much did not have too much and he who gathered little did not have too little.’” I think that we could all apply that to our lives in some way. For me, it is all about being generous with my Sudanese friends—not just with money, but with my time.
**p.s.- the pictures of the town, the landscape, and the children are from my hike in Machakos the first week. The animal pictures are from the safari. Doesn't the landscape picture look like Napa Valley CA? Click on the images to enlarge them.

Flying to Loki and then Sudan

2008-02-06T16:17:00.000+03:00

Just to let everyone know, I am flying to Loki tomorrow morning and will be there until I figure out a flight into Sudan. Everything is still going well with me here in Nairobi. Things seem back to normal except they are out of raisins-- guess I'll have raisonless granola! I'll update you when I get to Loki and have longer time to internet. Peace.

Nairobi, Entebbe, Nairobi, Machakos

2008-01-27T23:04:00.000+03:00

To all my faithful readers, I know that it has been way too long since the last post. You were left hanging with Kelly and I in Nairobi during the election riots. Well, since that posting, we moved over to the home of an AIM missionary couple, Dick and Linda Stiansen. There, we were WELL taken care of—-watching Anne of Green Gables, eating salads, brownies, and three bean salad, and saw 2 movies at the theatre—- I am Legend and The Bee Movie. Yeah, although the news was portraying some pretty horrific stuff, things were actually quieter than the media made it seem. Don’t get me wrong, this election incident has definitely hurt Kenya’s reputation and too many bad things happened to too many innocent Kenyans; but what actually went on around here and what the news was showing you all back home were different. However, thank you for your thoughts and prayers for us as we were there.
On the 8th January, we flew to Entebbe and stayed with the family of an AIM Air pilot, who was originally to pick us up by vehicle, but were advised not to drive up through Kenya, so we flew and they picked us up from the airport. We only stayed there a night before we all drove 27kms into Kampala for our Central Region’s conference, were we stayed for 5 days. There, we as a Sudan team was able to share with the rest of the region what we do and the same with the people from Rwanda, Uganda, Chad, CAR, and the DRC. It was interesting to hear everyone’s stories and their struggles with cross-culturalism. We also had a keynote speaker lead us through the book of John, chapters 14-18. Two things that hit me the most were:
a) 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone [his disciples]. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Jesus himself did not come as an evil dictator forcing this new religion on people, but instead he gave teachings, offered liberation, and then prayed for people to understand. Missionaries definitely get a bad wrap because of some of those during the time of colonialism who aimed to proselytize and westernize. But the truth is, Jesus himself did not wish for any forced conversions and as Christians we know that, and as a newer class of missionaries we have learned to identify what is our western world view and what is our Christian view. They are completely different from each other. In some cultures men wear short mini skirts and paint their nails—as westerners, that seems a bit strange, but its not necessarily strange in the “kingdom culture.” The kingdom culture is what I talk about with my friends in Ikotos when they get started on cultural differences and right from wrong. I just tell them that I’m not after being an American nor a Sudanese, but a member of the nation of God. Its hard sometimes to separate what we view as right and wrong as westerners and what God actually states, and not being judgmental of others’ world views. So, that is what I am constantly thinking about here, what about you all?
b) The other thought I had in reflection to the lectures was that we all were put on this earth to accomplish a goal and how many of us do nothing to work towards that goal (John 15). Many of us are dead, useless branches, going about our own business and not our assigned business. (I don’t want to get too much further into this thought because I have a lot to say on this matter and how that reflects world-wide poverty, but if you would like to discuss more, please email me. Although, feel free to read that chapter and tell me what you think.)
So, the conference was refreshing and on the 14th we flew back to Nairobi and Carolyn, another AIM missionary, picked us up from the airport to drive us to Scott Theological College in Machakos. Currently, that is where we still are and will be until the 5th of February. We are helping with the children’s ministry while the adults are undergoing Africa-Based Orientation. All is going well for the most part, except for some kind of illness I have picked up. At first we believed it to be malaria and was treated for it with a round of pills, but the symptoms persisted so I went to a lab to get evaluated. We know for sure that I have a bacterial infection and have been on antibiotics, but I am still having a lot of stomach trouble. For over a week now I have been border-line anorexic/bulimic because of the illness. So that’s not all that fun, but on the bright side I did go to a wildlife ranch for a night and saw many giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, etc. (sorry no lions or cheetahs).
Sometime around the 8th or so of February I will be back in Ikotos with my students and friends, along with the Scotlands again.

Update on Kenya's violene and USAID officer killed in Khartoum

2008-01-02T09:06:00.000+03:00

In order to keep friends, family, and all readers updated on the current news of the places I am, I have provided links to 2 different articles from the BBC. The first one is what happened yesterday in Kenya, whereby a church in Eldoret was set on fire, containing 30 people taking refuge within its walls; and the second article is about the USAID officer killed yesterday in Khartoum, Sudan. This might mean a pull out of Sudan, from the US, but I don't know. Either way, this does not concern our safety in South Sudan. Thanks for all your prayers for Sudan and Kenya.

Current news on Kenyan Violence **Note: just to remind everyone, we are away from any of this crime and are taking precautions to maintain our personal safety.

USAID Officer Killed in Khartoum **Note: I would like to point out that this statement: "Anti-Western and anti-US feelings are running high in Sudan, because of Western criticism of Khartoum's policies in Darfur, correspondents say." actually refers to Northern Sudan only and NOT South Sudan where I live. The people in South Sudan are VERY different from the Northerners and have extemely different sentiments.

Kenyan Elections and Riots

2007-12-30T22:47:00.000+03:00

So I am in Nairobi now and what a good time to be here...not!
Kelly and I were in Loki, Kenya just yesterday, which is on the border of Sudan. We spent Christmas there, and a total of 9 days. It was very nice in Loki because we had our own house with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and a kitchen. We were able to cook and even bake! It was extra nice there because Loki has a restaurant called 748 that has wireless Internet, coffee, and ice cream! So, we went there a lot. On Christmas we were able to go there and skype home which was great. On Christmas Eve we went to another missionary's house and had dinner, and then came home and watched the ole classic "An Affair to Remember," and afterwards sung Christmas carols, ending with "Silent Night" in the candle light. We even made a make-shift tree out of some baskets and put our few presents around it. The presents we had were from two of the missionaries: a Turkish coin purse, and Chinese Green Tea. In the morning we made pancakes while listening to more Christmas carols. Then, that night we went out to 748.
So, yesterday, when we thought it was safe because elections were over and Loki was perfectly safe, we flew to Nairobi, just to find out that no stores were open because its too dangerous for the workers to leave their houses. Most of the workers live in the Kebira district, where all the looting and rioting is going on. For more information, please click on the link to the right for BBC NEWS.
So, yesterday nobody knew who was president yet, but it became evident that some fishy business was going on, because the votes just didn't add up correctly. Today, Kibaki was announced president by his appointed election commissioner (hmmm..sound fishy anyone?). And again, there is nothing open. Today we spent 600 Kenyan Shillings in Taxi service to go to the mall. There, we were able to go to the supermarket just before they closed and it was a MOB! It was like going to Wal-Mart on a Sunday or the night before a snow storm!
Then we went to a coffee shop that stayed open for about 2 hours before closing, and people there were getting all hyper about buying Baguettes b/c there was a scarcity of Baguettes. After waiting an hour for our plain coffee, we wandered up to the hair salon and got our hair cut and pedicures. Yes, pedicures-- but if you saw my feet in a before picture you would understand why it is a necessity, not a luxury! The lady who worked on me said "you brought sand from Sudan." I laughed really loudly in agreeance.
So, just so everyone knows, we are perfectly safe at the guest house in which we are staying. The pictures are compliments of BBC and not from my camera. Kelly and I have been staying FAR from downtown where all the uproar is going on. Today (which is now the 31st), we stayed on the guest house grounds, with the exception of a short walk. Fortunately for us, the guest house is quite large, including a courtyard and playground area. As grocery stores are being looted and people being killed from violent riots, Kelly and I spent our evening playing on a see-saw (teeter-totter). We are happy, but a little bored...but at least boredom never killed anyone. AIM has issued an email that all of us in Nairobi are to stay in our houses and lie low for awhile. So, our plans are changed and we are not leaving Nairobi until the 7th (my Mom's Birthday and Orthodox Christmas). Our free ride to Entebbe was canceled because they were advised not to travel. On the 7th, instead, we will fly out to Entebbe for our regional conference.
Please pray for a PEACEFUL resolution in Kenya. Thanks.

Christmas Thoughts

2007-12-21T17:46:00.001+03:00

“In the Beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. ….The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. …Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” ~John 1:1-13
That passage has stuck with me this Christmas season. It has made me think about a couple different things since I’ve been in Sudan. First, the beauty of the poetic writings of John about Jesus’ coming—he doesn’t explain it dry, like a history textbook nor lofty like an analyst, but illustrative and beautiful. It is written clearly, and yet I am interested to read more. Each sentence builds on the other. Word--> Him--> life--> light--> darkness misunderstands light --> those who receive light, receive adoption.
John could have just as easily typed out a flow chart to be presented at the members’ meeting using Excel and Power Point to illustrate the processes of Jesus’ birth and the reason for Jesus’ birth and the whole Christmas story, but instead he used the power of language…a love note to the world, from God. When one wants to express something beautiful they don’t write it in a memo and spreadsheets and flow charts are not used. They instead write out poetry, so that the reader can understand the emotions in the words written. John was trying to make an appeal to the world—God was trying to make an appeal to the world—to make it clear that something great has been overlooked and this is the invitation to look again.
Christmas time, as we have come to know it, is the example of the greatest thing overlooked. We spend so much time in a buying frenzy, family frenzy, party frenzy, that we overlook what happened—the light came into the world and we, the darkness, have misunderstood it. We have completely misunderstood it. We dropped the ball, fumbled, did not collect the money after passing GO, missed the beat—misunderstood it.
The main event that hit me this year was not Black Friday, or crowded malls, but it was a girl named Lilly. Lilly is about 12 years old and comes from a poor family here in Ikotos (that is saying something because everyone is poor, but she is poorer). One morning I woke up, walked outside, and there was Lilly sitting on my porch. I said “Good Morning” and asked her if she was getting ready for Christmas. People here in Ikotos also have their way of getting ready for Christmas: re-mudding their huts, making alcohol, buying a goat, and buying new dresses, shirts, trousers, and shoes. So, I was really just making small talk with her, and not really expecting much of a response; but she replied “no, I don’t have any dress for Christmas.” Then, I asked her why that meant she could not celebrate Christmas. See, in Ikotos everyone goes to their church for an all-night celebration of singing and dancing and eating, wearing their new Christmas clothes. Those who cannot afford new Christmas clothes are too embarrassed to attend the church celebration so they just sit at home and maybe drink a soda or homebrew.
I felt prompted to talk to Lilly about the meaning of Christmas and how it really doesn’t matter what you’re wearing on Christmas, but it’s about what you are understanding at Christmas. After we spoke for a bit, Lilly left the compound, and I was left in my thoughts. I don’t actually know why she had come in the first place, but I do know that her response to Christmas sunk me. Later, I was listening to music and the song of “The Little Drummer Boy” caused me to tear. I know its just a song, but I really listened to the lyrics and thought about what the drummer boy might have been thinking on that day to see the baby Jesus. He sings of having no gift to give the baby Jesus, his new savior, the light of the world, but all he does have is his drum and his ability to play something beautiful for the new king. He probably was wearing rags like the children wear here in Sudan and he probably made his drum out of found materials (if it was in Sudan, it would have been made out of a Nescafé tin). The drummer boy probably heard of the new Messiah’s coming and probably was extremely excited from the news; but then he probably looked down at his clothes and remembered he was poor. I’m sure that he ran the scenario through his head several times before going to the manger, imagining what people would say and if the new king would even accept him. He had nothing to bring to the occasion, he smelled like the outdoors, and he looked poor. But finally it clicked and he understood. He realized that he did not need a thing… not one thing but the belief and understanding that the light had just come into the darkness. That thought overpowered him and he started running towards the manger—running and smiling, and deciding which song to play on his drum. He got there, and with adrenaline pumping, he didn’t care what other people thought, he just played for the one who mattered and played his heart out—he played a love song with passion.
That is what I want this Christmas. That is also what I want others to realize this Christmas. Whether you are in the United States, or Sudan, or any other place in the world, it is so simple: Light came -->darkness misunderstood -->those who understood are children of God—no matter what you are wearing or how many presents you have bought for others.

March Against Gender-Based Violence in Ikotos

2007-12-09T17:46:00.000+03:00

This is a press release I wrote for CRS after marching through Ikotos against gender-based violence:

Ikotos Advocates Against Gender-based Violence March, 8 December, 2007

"To whom does it belong?! To whom does it belong?!" Shouts the Ikotos Advocates Against Gender-based Violence, on the marking day of "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence", in solidarity with others around the world marching to create a voice for human rights. The Ikotos-based group has been facilitated by the Catholic Relief Service-- Ikotos, Peacebuilding Intervention, in partnership with the Catholic Diosis of Torit, Lutheran World Federation, Norwegian Peoples Aid, Norwegian Church Aid, Sudanese Women's Voice for Peace, and the local authorities. The Ikotos-based group's mission statement is to celebrate and protect the integrity of all creation, and are committed to promote and practice peace, justice, and reconciliation.

Today, the group began the march at Commisioner's office, and after a speech by the commissioner, they marched through the market, into the compounds of NGOs such as LWF, NCA, and CRS, ending at the compound of CDOT. They carried signs that stated root problems of gender-based violence. Statements such as "Women Can Do It! Leadership, Empowerment, and Decision Making."

After the today's rally the group had a round table discussion on ways and means to generate economic empowerment, as one way of preventing violence in the community. One income generating activity the group decided on was uniform production. Currently, the uniforms for the local area schools are made in nearby Uganda. Traditionaly, tailoring is a man's job because it is not becomming of a woman to straddle the sewing machine. Today, that is not so much a problem, but rather only the lacking of the skills to do it. The group is currently looking for financial backing to begin this project.

Harmful Traditional Practices:
~Compensation: compensating death by killing, with young girls. For example, yesterday in the office of the courts, a 10 year old girl was to be given to the family of the victims of a killing, by the family of the murderer to avoid legal punishment. In this community, it is customary law to give a young girl in replacement of the murderer going to jail.

~"A baby girl to become a wife." Early and forced marriages are highly practiced in this community. Girls are given to marriage at puberty in the exchange of cattle and goats. Most of time, the girls are not mature enough for marriage. The girl can be as young as twelve years old and be given to a man in his late forties. These girls are then expected to bare children within the first six months, before their body is capable of delivery.

~Inheritance. When a man dies, his wife is given to his brother or male-relative in marriage, without the woman's permission or without her or the relative being tested for HIV.

Women Can Do it! Empowerment, Leadership, and Decision Making:
The Ikotos advocate group is encouraging women to be educated, leaders, and to make their own decisions on issues related their own welfare. Currently, women are still property in South Sudan.

Say 'No' to Domestic Violence:
In Ikotos, the traditional practice of husbands is to discipline their wives with abuse in the name of love. The men believe that this is the only way to teach a woman right from wrong. It is customary law in South Sudan that a woman who is beaten by her husband is not allowed to flee the home. As a result of fleeing, the woman can be arrested by the police.

The Use of Guns in Public Places:
Because of armed conflict, small weapons are readily available and mis-used in public places such as bars, schools, marketplaces, and church. In this community there is no gun control or legal action in place for gun violence.

Support Equal Opportunity of All Children:
Education for all children is important to stop violence in the community and in the home. When the men are educated, they do not raid cattle and they are less likely to abuse their wives; and when women are educated they are more likely get a job and support their families on their own and are less likely to have a husband who abuses them.

Say 'No' to School Drop-outs:
In Ikotos this year, one school alone reported 59 girls and 37 boys dropped out in the first term for various reasons. Some of the girls (even in primary) drop out due to pregnancy. In one instance, a girl as young as primary three dropped out of school this year because she was pregnant. Many of the students are forced to drop out of school because of lack of money for school fees. Several of the students are orphaned by the 21-year conflict in Southern Sudan. As of print, there are no official statistics in South Sudan for the reasons of drop-out.