"How are you? How are you? How are you?"
This is all I hear.
"How are you?"
The phrase follows myself and my American colleagues down streets, on buses, in corners of Kibera.
"How are you?"
Sometimes, we'll hear something different.
"How is you?" or "How are yous?"
"Huh," I thought to myself. The children here are so friendly and extraverted. Instinctively, I reply with a big smile and sometimes a handshake, "I'm fine, how are you?"
Their response to this? Laughter. Followed by running.
It wasn't until my fourth day or so that Jenn (our guiding light throughout this journey!) informed us that this phrase was delivered to ALL mzungu (white people). "Oh," I said, slightly discouraged. Now, everything made sense - because if these children (and occasional adults - even parents!) weren't saying "how are you", it was "hey mzungu!" I just never really knew what it meant. And if my reply wasn't followed by broken giggles and high fives, it was followed with "give for me sweet" or "take for me picture."
So, maybe their intentions weren't quite the innocent salutations I had initially given them credit for, but hey - at least they're not holding back. For that, I give them props - and often times, a photo shoot.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Last Thursday, Jenn, Heather, Clare, Lyndsay, Lauren and I made our first trip to the IDP(internally displaced persons) camps. These camps came about when the political violence broke in 2007, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without homes. The government provided each family with a very small amount to 're-start' their lives, an unfathomable request. Therefore, most of them joined together and purchased land in several areas hours away from Nairobi. The families were given tents to live in that were supposed to suffice for only six months; However, two years later these are the same roofs over their heads.
Jenn, who arrived in Kenya before any of us, tried to warn us of the current situation in the camps, stating their extreme levels of need. No matter what she said, there was no true way to prepare us for what we saw.
We first visited Baruku IDP camp, which is home to about 1300 people. When we pulled up to the site, I cannot even begin to describe the number of children who ran up to the van with beaming, but dirty, faces. Jenn and Irene (VICDA's founder) first coined the term "dust babies" to describe Baruku's young inhabitants, and I now know why. Each child was equally covered from head to toe in dirt, but every one of them seemed unfazed. So, each of us volunteers tried to join them in their carelessness and jump into their pool of exuberant playtime. We pulled out all the three big "B's": Bubbles, books and biscuits - and my gosh, what a hit! It seemd to have kept them satiated for hours (And who know? Maybe even days) to follow. We also gave each child we saw a new item of clothing, whether it was a shirt, pair of pants or a onesie. They loved their new digs, and it was awesome (not to mention humbling) to see some of them sporting the "Cookie Monster" and "Snoopy: Rockstar Dog" shirts my brothers and I wore when we were their age.
We're heading back for our third visit to Baruku tomorrow, and I am anxiously awaiting being pounced on and tickled by all of the "dust babies" once again. They may not know it, but they light up my day just as much as I hope to light up theirs.
Safari!
On Friday the girls and I went on safari at the Masai Mara, a large park reserve in Kenya. We saw it all - lions, zebras (or 'zeh-bras' as Kenyans pronouce it), cheetahs, buffalo, giraffes, elephants, warthogs (and mini-Pumbas!) and even a leopard and a pair of black rhinos (very rare to see!).
We went on two game drives, as they call them, the first on Friday evening and the second all day Saturday. We were exhausted after these photo outings and were able to unwind at the end of each evening at the campsite with a few Tusker beers (quite tasty, I must admit) and a deck of cards. All in all, it made for a great first weekend in Kenya and served as a little break away from the chaos of Nairobi. Well done, ladies!
We went on two game drives, as they call them, the first on Friday evening and the second all day Saturday. We were exhausted after these photo outings and were able to unwind at the end of each evening at the campsite with a few Tusker beers (quite tasty, I must admit) and a deck of cards. All in all, it made for a great first weekend in Kenya and served as a little break away from the chaos of Nairobi. Well done, ladies!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Jambo!
Hi Everyone!
I have to say, I am beside myself right now. I came into this journey with no expectations, and according to Irene, founder of VICDA, I did everything correctly - so far.
I arrived on Monday night (with Heather on the same Zurich-Nairobi flight, though we only were able to meet up when getting baggage!) to be greeted by Jenn at the Nairobi airport. We got to our host family, and within seconds I met some of the most incredible people in my life: George, his daughter Bridget and her six-week old baby named after her own father. Immediately they took us in and have treated Jenn, Heather and myself as their own. It's a nice feeling to receive halfway across the world.
The past few days have been a bit of a whirlwind. The morning to follow our arrival, I was woken by roosters at 5:00 a.m. I was able to fall back asleep (after all, my family did have a farm in Wisconsin for nearly 20 years), only to be stirred a half hour later by polka-inspired music being played by the barber shop next door. I decided it was a sign to get myself out of bed!
That morning we started day 1 of our orientation. Jenn, Heather and I went to the orientation site and were thrilled to see the other Chicago ladies, Lyndsay, Lauren and Clare. We also met other volunteers from the U.S., Brazil and Canada.
When we got back to George's yesterday evening, we dropped some stuff and began our trek to find internet. We didn't get too far, though, before we were all charmed by about eight children who live next door. While we all had trouble communicating, some things are just universal, like soccer, clapping, dancing and old-school hand games like "down by the banks" or "miss mary mack". It was hard to keep on our e-mail mission, but after about 45 minutes of recess, we carried on our way. After the short walk to the cyber cafe, we found that the internet was down. "Welcome to Kenyan life!" Jenn stated with a smile, and we headed back to our starting point.
"Whatever expectations you have now, you can leave them behind." These words, more or less, were what Irene spoke of during the first day of orientation. Whatever you try to plan will not happen. The last thing you think will occur in your daily routine somehow will. But it's the people of this country - the wealthy, the poor, the old, the newborn and everyone in between - who will stir the emotions that are truly difficult to communicate. I promise, though, I intend to do my best to try.
I have to say, I am beside myself right now. I came into this journey with no expectations, and according to Irene, founder of VICDA, I did everything correctly - so far.
I arrived on Monday night (with Heather on the same Zurich-Nairobi flight, though we only were able to meet up when getting baggage!) to be greeted by Jenn at the Nairobi airport. We got to our host family, and within seconds I met some of the most incredible people in my life: George, his daughter Bridget and her six-week old baby named after her own father. Immediately they took us in and have treated Jenn, Heather and myself as their own. It's a nice feeling to receive halfway across the world.
The past few days have been a bit of a whirlwind. The morning to follow our arrival, I was woken by roosters at 5:00 a.m. I was able to fall back asleep (after all, my family did have a farm in Wisconsin for nearly 20 years), only to be stirred a half hour later by polka-inspired music being played by the barber shop next door. I decided it was a sign to get myself out of bed!
That morning we started day 1 of our orientation. Jenn, Heather and I went to the orientation site and were thrilled to see the other Chicago ladies, Lyndsay, Lauren and Clare. We also met other volunteers from the U.S., Brazil and Canada.
When we got back to George's yesterday evening, we dropped some stuff and began our trek to find internet. We didn't get too far, though, before we were all charmed by about eight children who live next door. While we all had trouble communicating, some things are just universal, like soccer, clapping, dancing and old-school hand games like "down by the banks" or "miss mary mack". It was hard to keep on our e-mail mission, but after about 45 minutes of recess, we carried on our way. After the short walk to the cyber cafe, we found that the internet was down. "Welcome to Kenyan life!" Jenn stated with a smile, and we headed back to our starting point.
"Whatever expectations you have now, you can leave them behind." These words, more or less, were what Irene spoke of during the first day of orientation. Whatever you try to plan will not happen. The last thing you think will occur in your daily routine somehow will. But it's the people of this country - the wealthy, the poor, the old, the newborn and everyone in between - who will stir the emotions that are truly difficult to communicate. I promise, though, I intend to do my best to try.