on the home stretch

I realized last night that I had not blogged since our trip to Rwanda. After our time at the memorial centre in Kigali when I experienced a complete loss of words. I haven't been able to put the experience of, meeting and interacting with many of the genocide orphans and both victims and perpetrators of the genocide at the reconciliation village, into words. I've found myself sitting down at the computer, starting to form sentences and then closing the lid with frustration, about four times now. It's been two weeks since our mini East African tour through Tanzania and Rwanda and the past week we have focused our travels in Kenya. The Masaai Mara safari was exquisite. I can't decide whether the landscape or the abundance of animals was my favorite part. 

The internet is tediously slow so I'm going to keep this blog short. After a pretty large bout with a bacterial infection in my stomach I've decided to forgo my last home stay in Ndathi with the Nyanya Project sheep grandmothers. I'm disappointed that I can't experience the village culture at the foothills of Mt. Kenya but at this point I have to give my body a break after the external and now internal reactions. 

I will spend the next five nights camping at the Wildebeest, reading and visiting various NGO's around town... On Sunday my friend Julia is coming up once again from Arusha and we're traveling to Kisumu to meet Obama's grandmother and then off the next day to Lamu for 5 nights on the beach! http://travel.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/travel/tmagazine/20TLAMU.html?_r=2. 

"Founded around 1350 by Arabic traders, the Indian Ocean port of Lamu (population: 25,000) is a long-stirred mix of Arab and African, with muffled accents of Portuguese, Indian and Chinese. Tourists first began arriving in the 1960's, when hippies were besotted by the island's Marrakech-on-the-beach potential, thanks to its narrow passageways, Arabic architecture and a remoteness that allowed one to truly drop." There are no cars on the island of Lamu -- only donkeys. The main mode of transportation is the dhow, the traditional Swahili sailboat. I've met many people traveling through the Wildebeest Camp who have raved about Lamu and its history and as an anthropology minor I cannot wait to see the Swahili coast, the birthplace of such a fascinating blend of cultures and civilization.

out of africa

Happy Fourth of July to everyone! I think this might be my first 4th outside of the country where the holiday isn't even mentioned. Missed the fireworks but our sunset on Lake Victoria was pretty spectacular last night.

I have officially been in Africa for over a month now and have finally gotten my hands on Karen Blixen's famous Out of Africa... I must admit, it's my third time in East Africa and I have never read the book. I have just started her fantastically descriptive story and I feel deeply connected to her words.

After my time in the Kaputiei village, at the foot of the Ngong hills set in the Great Rift Valley, on the valley opposite Blixen's home, I feel strong nostalgia for my stay in the Sho Sho's home...

"The geographical position and height of the land combined to create a landscape that had not its like in the world. There was no fat on it and no luxuriance anywhere; it was Africa distilled up through six thousand feet, like the strong and refined essence of the continent. The colours were dry and burnt, like the colours in pottery. The trees had a light delicate foliage, the structure of which was different from that of the trees in Europe; it did not grow in bows or cupolas, but in horizontal layers, and the formation gave to the tall solitary trees a likeness to the palms, or heroic and romantic air like full-rigged ships with their sails furled, and to the edge of a wood a strange appearance as if the whole wood were faintly vibrating." (14)

And after seeing the giraffes running across the plain on Crescent Island during my visit to Lake Naivasha, Kenya....

"I had time after time watched the progression across the plain of the giraffe, in their queer, imitable vegetative gracefulness, as if it were not a herd of animals but a family of rare, long-stemmed, speckled gigantic flowers slowly advancing." (Page 23) 

During the past month I have met many East African natives from the Masaai in Tanzania, the Kikuyu and Luo tribes in the village in Kaputiei, outside of Nairobi, Kenya, the children and grandmothers at the Nyanya Project Preschool center in the Kibera slums, Sho Sho's family in Mathare slums, outside of Nairobi,  the grandmothers and grandchildren from our projects in Mwanza, Tanzania and after today, all of the people who we encounter  in Kigali, Rwanda... the list goes on... I was especially struck by the following passage which I can strongly identify with. I often wonder, how are we born into the environments that we are born into? Who decided that I was supposed to be a Caucasian from Greenwich, CT and not a Masaai woman living a life of suppression in a Manyatta (cow dung hut) in Tanzania?

"It was not easy to get to know the Natives. They were quick of hearing and evanescent; if you frightened them they could withdraw into a world of their own, in a second, like the wild animals which at an abrupt movement from you are gone- simply are not there. Until you knew a native well, it was almost impossible to get a straight answer from him. To a direct question as to how many cows he had, he had an eluding reply "As many as I told you yesterday." It goes against the feelings of Europeans to be answered in such a manner, it very likely goes againist the feelings of the Natives to be questioned in this way. It we pressed or pursued them, to get an explanation of their behaviour out of them, they receded as long as they possibly could, and then they used a grotesque humurous fantasy to lead us on the wrong track." (25)

I have mentioned some of the thoughts, of the many, that are swirling around my over crowded head.
We are on the way to Kigali, Rwanda right now and can only imagine how this feeling will grow as we enter a society affected by one of the world's greatest genocides of our time.

mwanza, the city of rocks

We arrived in Mwanza, Tanzania today truly having no idea what to expect. We came to visit our projects here which MM hasn't even seen so we came with no expectations nor any idea of what it would look like. Mwanza is Tanzania's second largest city, a major port and economic center of the Lake Victoria Region... Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake and the second largest freshwater lake in the world! Turns out Mwanza is gorgeous... it has the feel of a Caribbean island. The people, landscapes and warm breeze are much appreciated especially after the stifled environment of Nairobi.

Mwanza has a low key ambience which has a strong village feel. I must say, I love it here. The Nyanya Project began projects here last year in conjuction with the Tanzanian Home Economics Association (TAHEA), the organization which we are working in conjuction with TNP to train the grandmothers in small business skills training. Today we had a couple meetings with Magdalena, the trainer and an employee of TAHEA and then we met with the grandmothers and heard about their grandchildren and small businesses.

TAHEA is an extremely impressive organization and the grandmothers have shown immense improvement in just a few months. For example, Rosa is a grandmother who runs a tea cafe and bakes cakes, she is 59 with 4 grandchilren. Before the training Rosa was buying 4 kg of white flour and was making no profit because she did not know how to do simple math and bookkeeping... after the training began Rosa began purchasing 25 kg of white flour a month and has noticed a much larger profit coming. We discussed the hardships of businesses with the grandmothers and similar to Kenya they all talk about the difficulties of mastering mathematics and dealing with sicknesses which are extremely prevalent in this AIDS infected region. Mwanza, being a community around Lake Victoria, has an extremely high HIV/AIDS rate because of the freight, via trucks and boats moving through the area and the concept known as "Fish for sex" which is way too common. It is unbelievable how many lives this epidemic has reached.

Tomorrow we are going to visit all the grandmothers in their homes, conduct additional interviews and, my favorite part, meet the grandchildren. It should be a fabolous day. We ended today by watching the sunset on the shores of Lake Victoria- it was spectacular.

Lala salama! (Goodnight in Kiswahili)

the boy who cried hyena...

Today was terrific. Professor Niepold and Linda, a Nyanya Project volunteer from NC, and former nurse/pastor, have been here for two days now. We've had two full and wonderful days. It's wonderful to finally meet the grandmothers that I have seen in so many pictures and heard so much about. On Wednesday morning we woke up early and headed to Amani Aju, an organization which trains grandmothers in craft skills, and where four of our grandmothers are currently being trained.


 The crafts produced by the organization are extremely sophiscated and high quality-- really beautiful. One of our 4 grandmothers, Josephina, passed away so we met with her sister and paid our respects. Josephina was HIV positive, but it was a bad case of cholera which killed her. It was a very emotional meeting- especially discussing the fate of the four grandchildren whom she left behind.

Our next stop was to a secondary school, which is the equivalent to our high school to meet with a headmistress there to get her advice about some issues at our preschool center. She was wonderful and very informative... she invited me to come stay with her family in Western Kenya- if only I had more time! I have had three moments where I have honestly considered extending my stay, but I know that if I do I'll just keep pushing it back and I should leave on a great note. I am honestly in love with Kenya- the lifestyle, the people I have met, and the EXTREMELY relaxed vibe- everything runs in "Africa time". 

Our day yesterday ended early, we kept MM and Linda's jetlag into account. After dinner last night MM and I ended up chatting during which the power went out for 30 minutes. It is wonderful to have her hear. I told her last night that she is like an onion... her stories and past seem to slowly unravel and it's wonderful because she constantly seizes to blow me away with her life experiences. Most of all her practice of Buddhism is quite amazing.

Today we woke up and went to the Nyanya Project Preschool Center where we were met by many eager and welcoming children. I can't explain the feeling of watching MM reconnect with all the grandmothers and adorable children. They sang and danced for us and Elizabeth, the teacher taught a short lesson. 


The kids loved the toys I brought and were so excited the whole time. The center is wonderful- it is painted in bright colors, has running water and a working bathroom. The children are fed extremely well. There are 40 excited and happy children in the preschool center. 

We had a few meetings with the grandmothers and we introduced the four original grandmothers who we trained to the four "new" grandmothers that we are going to start training this month. It was beautiful to see the  bond that they were forming with each other. They all went around and talked about how their lives have been changed and how wonderful it was to see their grandchildren healthy and getting a great education. 15 percent of the children in the center are HIV positive. Not as much as I had assumed but clearly many of the parents were infected after they were born. 

MM decided that she wanted to meet Sho Sho (my grandma from Kaputiei) so to Kaputiei we went! It was wonderful to watch Sho Sho and MM talk. As we drove into the village I had a sensation of returning home, it was really wonderful to be back there. Sho Sho's strength and wisdom are extremely in line with the Nyanya Project's objectives... she's a grandma taking care of 12 grandchildren, owns four businesses and 12 years ago she was begging on the street. Truly remarkable woman. We discussed a possible partnership in the future- very exciting stuff. It's wonderful to see these two worlds collide.

MM asked Sho Sho to tell us a story that she tells to her grandchildren and she told us about the boy who cries hyena! Just a minor African twist to our story... I am practically falling asleep as I write this and we have an early morning flight to Mwanza, Tanzania so I will say goodnight but will write tomorrow when we get to our "Treehouse" bed and breakfast on Lake Victoria. 

kaputiei village

Going back to last week... my week in Kaputiei with Beatrice, my "sho sho" (meaning grandmother in Kikuyu- one of the tribal languages) Living in the eco village was incredible. The experience of going from the completely uncivilized people, the Masaai to the wonderful development project of Kaputiei. Sho sho and her family, mainly consisting of her grandchildren, immediately treated me like family from day one. I arrived on Wednesday and as I walked around the village it was clear that people were not yet comfortable with the Mzungu being around. The people were quite timid and curious about me. Each day that I was there the people warmed up exponentially and by the end of the week I could not walk anywhere without stopping and conversing in English or very broken Swahili.

Sho Sho is a remarkable woman. She is extremely loved throughout the village. Everyone from the school teachers to the workers at the factor refer to her as Sho Sho, although they have no blood relation to her. Ten years ago she was one of the fifty original woman who lived on the streets of Nairobi and begged people for money and now she is living in a two bedroom house outside of the slums, owns 4 small businesses, employs over twenty people, while providing for TWELVE grandchildren.

She is a giver-- no matter who walks in her home she insists on giving them chai (tea), food, or whatever is around. I am so lucky to have met her in April.. I can't imagine this trip without my stay at her home.

Sho sho insisted not only that I become an African chef, but that I look like one. Sho Sho took alot of pride in telling me that she was very excited for my Dad to see how big I was going to grow  after a week with her-- it was horrible how much they served me and in the African culture you MUST finish everything. We made a different African dish every night, from chapattis to ugali with schmoliki, which helped with as much as I could. Their wonderful African hospitality was amazing, even too amazing some of the time. The house had two bedrooms and they gave me one of them for the whole time. I had a very impressive bed which I'm assuming was normally Sho Sho's bedroom. The other six family members shared two beds in the other room. I insisted on not needing my own space etc. but they quickly ignored my requests.

Throughout the week there was at least one van full of visitors in the village checking out the project. Everyone from bank managers, to development organizations from other countries, to pseudo celebrities wanting to invest. The project is truly remarkable. The houses are extremely nice, for African standards, especially those who have grown up in the Kibera slums. The Kaputiei project began as a solution to the many problems that arise in slum living. The Kibera slums are the largest slums in Sub Saharan Africa- TWO square miles and TWO million people. An unbelievable sight.

When the Jamii Bora borrowers take out their loan for their new house they have twenty years to complete the loan repayment. Once the loan is repaid the house is theirs. Forever and they do not have to pay a single electricity or water bill because of the solar panels on each house and the bore hole which produces water for the community, on a rationed basis of course. We had water pretty much every night from about 7pm to midnight... the people wash with the traditional basins. I used the garden hose to wash my hair twice during the week. After Sho Sho pleated my hair, aka corn rows, I needed to wash it... they all could not stop talking about how soft and silky my hair was which meant they were all touching it as well. Njoki, the girl pictured on the right, is one of Sho Sho's many children whom she "looks after".

I taught at the primary school some of the days in Kaputiei with the pre unit class, so essentially pre kindergarten. The kids were absolutely adorable! They were just beginning to learn English so it was a perfect age to teach! It was very interesting to observe the differences between the Masaai children, who were taught in a hut sitting on stones, with the children of Kaputiei, who had beautiful classrooms with desks and uniforms. The children followed the same pattern as most everyone else in the village, they were extremely shy at first but quickly warmed up and could not stop holding my hand and sitting on my lap. The Kenyan education system is very impressive. I spent alot of time looking over exams of the secondary school and comparing it with the high school education that I recieved. The concepts and principles are extremely parallel but the main difference that I observed was the amount of practical information incorporated in the Kenyan system. For instance, in their science class they learn a lot about farming and HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. Things that will serve them in everyday life.

During my time in Kaputiei I read an amazing book called 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in not only the impact of HIV/AIDS but African culture. The author Stephanie Nolen beautifully portrays the lives of 28 victims of HIV/AIDS in Africa while providing a deep understanding of the countries and cultures of many Sub Saharan African countries. It was fascinating to read the book while living in the village because many of the people I met provided very similar stories.


I was talking to Charlie one day and mentioned Agnes story, one of the featured woman in the book who lived in a Kenyan slum, and Charlie informed me that he knew her and if I wanted to meet her he'd bring me by! Just incredible. Charlie's brother works as a mentor and counselor for youths at an HIV youth centre so he knows Agnes quite well. I think I am going to meet him early this week and hopefully Agnes as well. Just incredible. The book was also extremely relevant to the work and reserach that I will be doing with Professor Niepold starting Tuesday! Grandmothers raising more than ten grandchildren is a very common sight, including Sho Sho who is currently caring for her 12 grandchildren. She is currently paying for 8 of their primary and secondary education and has already sent 4 grandchidlren all the way through secondary school, including Charlie.


Tomorrow or the next day I am going to meet her in the Mathere slums becuase she wants to give me a tour of where she grew up and show me the life "that was before". She told me that she never would have been able to invite me to stay in her home overnight had she still been living in the slums becuase it would be way too unsafe.

Kaputiei residents were about 1/5 at capacity while I was there. They expect all the houses to be complete and moved into within 2 years. The foundation for the shopping centre has been laid and the tree seedlings are just started to appear, I cannot wait to see the village in five years when I expect it will be a bustling village! The surrounding wildlife and environment is slowly adjusting to the village. When the first people began moving into the village they had a problem with lions entering the village at night but now that more people have come it is no longer a problem. Although the second night that I was there I awoke at 3am to screaming hens... Sho Sho ran outside to find one of the hens missing, which is a problem that most people face weekly. (For your information, a hen costs about 4-6 dollars depending on how fat they are, which is a lot of money!) Most days we would walk through the bush and see a herd of zebras and ostrichs grazing. The landscape is absolutely therapeutic, a perfect setting for these people who have grown up in the slums, where daily survival is uncertain.

Leaving the village a week after I arrived was very sad. I said goodbye to many teary eyed people and promised that I would be back soon. In the upcoming week I am going to meet with Jamii Bora founder and  Ingrid Munro to discuss my experience and learn more about her. I cannot wait, it's an experience that I've been dreaming about ever since I watched her give the opening address at the conference in April.  I feel that I could easily continue writing about my experience for hours but I am going find the Masaai market with an Irish friend that I just met. I will be at the Wildebeest until Friday morning when we fly to Mwanza, Tanzania, which is set right on Lake Victoria. Can't wait...

a weekend with julia

I have been here for a complete whirlwind of a month now-- I cannot believe it! Julia Starr, my friend who I met through Ben Thomas and hung out with in Arusha just left after we had three awesome days together in Nairobi. We did the weekend perfectly-- visited a National park for safari and mountain biking, went to Julius's home and had a true Kenyan meal, visited the slums, and a lot of the bustling Nairobi. (Nairobi is the most developed capital city in all of Africa, I was told?)

On Thursday night we found a really delicious Ethiopian place and we went with my Danish friend Katreen who is friending through East Africa this summer. We each paid $4.50 for way too much food and Ethiopian honey wine, not bad. The next day we headed out for a day excursion to Lake Nirvasha and Hell's Gate. It was an incredible day... we started early, waking up at 6am when Julius and his friend Charles who is a safari "freelancer" came to pick us up. In true Julius nature, he insisted that he come to the Wildebeest to introduce us to Charles before he went downtown for work.

We drove only an hour outside of the hectic city atmosphere of Nairobi and quickly came upon  the Great Rift Valley. Nairobi is an incredible city because you can drive as little as ten minutes from the city centre and stumble upon a national park- so lush and beautiful. Our first stop was to Lake Nirvasha where we took an hour and a half boat ride around the gorgeous lake- saw a ton of birds, a bunch of eagles hunting fish, and lots of hippos-- I had forgotten how ginormous they are! We got very close to them which is pretty eary considering they weigh between 2 and 3 tons each and we were in a fairly small boat. The guide kept insisting that he was going to get us the best picture possible... (sometimes it feels like some twisted competition between the guides)

The boat dropped us off at Crescent island, where Karen Blixen's famous Out of Africa was filmed. We saw so many giraffes, zebras, water bucks and wildebeests. The animals were clearly very used to seeing humans around and let us get very close... by 9am we had alraedy seen half the animals from the lion king.


Charles drove us about 10 km down the road to Hell's Gate. It was beautiful. We biked through the gorgeous valley walls surrounded by baboons, zebras, giraffes, gazelle, etc. It felt amazing to get some good excercise (finally!) We met Charles at the entrance to the gorge and began an hour trek into the heart of the gorge which was produced by a powerful stream and excessive rainfall. The gorge is hard to explain without pictures-- essentially the heavy water pressure had continually carved out the Earth into a massively deep structure over the years. Hell's Kitchen, is the giant "room" and stopping point at the end of the gorge which according to Charles had no sunlight as of April but currently the "room" has grown and is now flooded with light. We ended the day with a picnic overlooking the Great Rift Valley. There was absolutely no one around except for Charles, Julia and I.

On our way out we drove past a huge baboon family at least 100 baboons. We sat and watched them for about an hour- there were so many little baby baboons and the mother baby interactions were eerily similar to human beings. Even there hands look identical to ours, with fur of course.


Yesterday Julia and I spent the day at Julius's home where I finally got to meet his adorable chidlren, including a three month old named Dale. Dale was born on April 5th, the land that I landed in Nairobi for the conference. Julius did not mention that he had a son arrive and I now fully understand why he was a little scatter brained when I last saw him! I am not sure why he didn't tell me but I think it might have something to do with the fact that he didn't want me to feel bad about driving me anywhere, perhaps? We saw his Beatrice's (his wife) salon which they bought last year and is an impressive salon which is equipped with salon tools such as blow driers- the first ones I've seen in Kenya.

When we walked into Julius's home we were met with a huge Obama poster displayed on the wall, a very common sight to see especially in the home of Kenyan born in Western Kenya where Obama's grandmother lives. Julius mentioned that he knows Obama's grandmother and would love to take me to meet her. So on my last weekend here I am going to make the five hour trip to Kisumu with Julius to meet Sarah Obama and I think Julia might come back up to go with me!


On our way back to the Wildebeest Julius took us to the Mathere slums and some other viewpoints in Nairobi, as he wanted to make sure that Julia saw it all. Last night we ordered pizza, by delivery! who would have thoguht in Africa? I'm sad she's gone, it is really incredible how quickly we became such close friends and how well we travel together...

viva con acgua

Feeling all better, waiting for Julius to come get me to drive me out to Kaputei. I'm a little bummed considering that I had planned on leaving nearly five days ago but my allergic is completely gone. I've had a few really fun days at the Wildebeest "decompressing" from the village. I met a group of German guys, two of whom play professional football for the German St. Pauli team. One of the guys, Benny Adrion, started an organization called Viva Con Acqua, http://www.vivaconagua.com/, in conjunction with his team. The organization works to bring clean water to remote communities all over sub-Saharan Africa. The group is traveling around, visiting projects while also documenting the East African response to the first African world cup. Two of them are professional photographers and have taken some amazing pictures. (http://www.geo.de/blog/geo/fotoblog-wm-2010/aethiopien/addis-abeba-meskal-square-street-football?LTblog=963e50e201c02c742060b0a7c7225dea) That's a link to their blog... At each place they travel through they try to find a youth team to place against- I went with them yesterday and watched them get crushed by a youth team which plays right outside of Kibera. I've met some amazing people just in these four days of downtime and it's unbelievably cool to hear everyone's personal ties to Kenya, while watching three games of the World Cup at the same time. I'll be back here after a week in Kaputei! 

Naiti Village

night of luxury

I spent yesterday at a children's emergency health clinic after waking up at Upperhill to find my rash had gotten much worse and much itchier. The doctors immediately knew that the rash was not, in fact, scabies but just a horrible allergic reaction to something in my environment.

Five hours and 4 cortisone shots later, I was released and told to go to the cleanest, most controlled environment I could find so I got a room at the Stanley hotel. It was very startling being in such a nice environment last night- everything from a glass of wine with dinner to a heated hand towel before I ate. I am feeling much better and am going to buy my own sleeping bag this afternoon so that I can avoid sleeping on some surfaces from now on! Tonight I'm sleeping at another hotel which will take less of a hit on my budget and hopefully I will be off to Kaputei tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon.... 

Naiti Village

Naiti Village

Naiti Village

Naiti Village

plans have changed

So turns out I'm still in Nairobi... with scabies. About twenty minutes before I was supposed to meet Beatrice in town today I stopped by the pharmacy to get some Benadryl-like medicine for a strange rash that I have on my legs. The pharmacist informed me that I have scabies- essentially microscopic bugs that bite you all over. My neck, back and legs are COVERED. I slept in Charlie's very old, worn sleeping bag in Naiti and I think that's the source, although many things about the Masaai lifestyle could cause this. My friend at the pharmacy told me that I shouldn't travel for at least 3 days until this is gone so I won't be at Kaputei until at least Wednesday. I am extremely itchy and trying to not scratch :( A bunch of us are going to watch the USA v. England game at 9:30- this is probably the only game that I will be rooting for the US. I now have three unexpected "free" days to watch the games!

off to kaputei

I'm off in two hours for about two weeks living in Kaputei, Jamii Bora's eco village. After my first "homestay" with the Masaai, I couldn't be more excited for the next one. I am living with Beatrice, Charles' grandmother and will be teaching in the village school with five to seven year old children. When I get back to Nairobi on the 21st or 22nd I am going straight to meet up with Connie Blunden, who is leading a trip of a group of GA girls. I'm so excited and cannot wait to see a familiar face!
Kwaheri!

asante sana naiti village

Naiti Village and the surrounding environment epitomize a true East African experience. From the sunsets, bountiful stars at night, acaia aka Lion King trees (sp?) trees, bright colors of the Masaai clothing, there is beauty everywhere. I just got back from five days and four nights in Naiti Village. I had the experience of a lifetime. The extremely awesome/challgening/eyeopening experience has laid a strong foundation for the upcoming weeks. I am so glad that I started my nine weeks of in the village because I now feel ready for anything that comes my way.

The village is about an hour and half ride from Arusha on a dala-dala, a very crammed, taxi shuttle, and then a 30 minute walk into the bush from the road. On our way we walked through many villages of Lalahe's neighbors. It was a truly an adventure to be completely an outsider, in terms of appearance and language. Of all the people that i met all of them spoke Masaai, some spoke Swahili and three out of them spoke English.

The whole week I felt as if I was under a microscope, my every move was watched wherever I went. By the second day it was notable how much more comfortable the village felt about my visit. The girls began touching my hair, holding my hands and they ALWAYS wanted their pictures taken (hence the 900 pictures I took in 5 days of being there!) I felt the language barrier alot when I first arrived but as the days went on I learned some Swahili and started communicating through body language.

We did not end up getting a tent which turned out to be a blessing in the end. I told Lalahe that I was comfortable sleeping in the women's hut, each Masaai woman has their own hut for her and her children, the man rotates huts depending on how many wives he has. Mama (the head of the hut I slept in) offered me her bed to share. In the Masaai culture, you share everything. I told Lalahe I was happy to sleep on the ground in my sleeping bag and after he relayed the message to her, she responded that she would then sleep with me on the ground. This was the first moment that I realized that anything and everything that was offered to me during the week I had to accept, no exceptions. So Mama, her baby and I slept together every night. Falling asleep looking at the intricate designs on the ceiling was spectacular. So much detail in every part of hut design.

The roosters began crowing promptly at 3 am every morning and continued until about 6:30 when I would get out of bed and wander into the bush to find a bathroom. Every morning I had tea with Lalahe, his brothers and some elders. I always had meals outside with the men while the women stayed in their hut for meal time.

One of the biggest challenges was overcoming the urge to swat the swarming flies away. It is Masaai tradition to let them be, their relationship with nature is extremely important. They swarm everywhere especially while we were drinking tea or eating.
Lalahe's school project is amazing. So far, he has established three schools in three different areas- I taught at that school very close Lalahe's village. The classroom is extremely basic, a hut made of wood without walls so the children became cold very easily. All the kids sat on rocks and many did not have excercise books. There is one chalkboard that is starting to fall apart with the sun beating down on it all day long. The chidlren are between 5 and 7 and they are absolutely adorable! Whenever Sarah, the teacher, or myself spoke they listenly tentatively and tried really hard to copy down the letters from the board or answer our questions. The school needs a lot of help to buy more supplies and establish better school buildings. Lalahe hopes to bring in many more volunteers so please let me know if you'd be interested in this incredible opportunity.

Every afternoon after lunch we would wander around the surrounding area and visit Lalahe's friends and family in other villages. We visited his parent's village, he is currently staying at his aunt and uncle's village, for lunch on Tuesday after school. HIs mother, Mama Baba, is one of three wives and has nine chidlren. She was wonderful! She probably made the biggest effort to reach out to me out of any woman that I met in the village. She made us a wonderful lunch of tea, and maize and beans. After lunch we sat in the huts and then wandered a little. Mama welcomed me into her hut "Karibu sana!" and she offered me some porridge (very thick, tasted like sour milk :( and being a visitor I had to drink the extra large mugful. She recognized that I was trying to learn Swahili so she would point to things and teach me. She put up newspaper articles about sports icons on the wall of her hut as decoration- I really want to print some of the pictures I took of her family and get them to her.

While we were in Lalahe's parents' village I learned that his father offered a sheep to slaughter in Charlie and I's honor. All the men were talking about the prospect of having meat that night. The next morning I was welcomed into the "slaughter hut" where they introduced me to the grown up Godi and then asked if I wanted to watch. They wanted pictures of me and the sheep to document the slaughter (oh god). All the elders sat in a circle watching my reaction to the whole event. I left the hut and came back to watch them completely dissect and cook every single part of the animal. They poured the blood out of the head and boiled it. I had no idea what they were going to use it for until they took out that same extra large mug and I knew that I had to drink it. Honestly, it tasted like soup but was so hard to get down. I stopped drinking for a little and Lalahe told me to keep on going because they were watching so I drank it quickly. After that they took out machetes and began handing me what seemed like endless meat. After the meat was eaten they took some of the fat, extra blood and mixed it with their "local medicine" (according to Lalahe it can cure antying from a headache to a sour stomach) and made this "soup" which they considered one of the greatest delicacies. I was offered a mugful of the soup and drank it very quickly. Later that night I started feeling very weird- lightheaded, dizzy, little loopy and drowsy. Lalahe asked me if I was takign malaria tablets and when I told him I was he said that the soup mixed with Western medicine is not a good combination so that explained my halluecinagenic state!

Respect for elders and respect for nature are two of the guiding principles of the Masaai cultulre. The Masaai use their environment for every problem that arises. They use all local trees and plants for medicine, rely on livestock for subsistence and respect every living being. To become a man in Masaai culture the young boys, aroudn the age of 12, must hunt a lion. Loleku, one of Lalahe's best friends, walked me through the process. They go out into the bush and form a semi circle where they sing and dance and entice the lion. Once of the lion enters the semi circle one of the boys throws his spear which draws the lion towards him, then a second one throws it, and so on. The boy who first throws his spear is regarded with great prestige. When bad fortune strikes the village, such as an unexpected drought in rainy season or a bad maize crop, they sacrifice a goat in bring good luck.

The women and men essentially live in two different spheres. The women do all the housework and cookign and the men all the work outside and it appeared that the elder men do not do much at all. I spotted many of them with vodka shots, which come in little ketchup like packets, stumbling aruond the village- pretty hilarious. The children look out for each other amazignly well- the young children carry their infant siblings around and always help their mother's with all the work. It was pretty adorable watching their little community amongst the parents and grandparents.

We got back to Arusha yesterday and I took the longest shower of my life. Through the five days I was there I did not bathe at all and was caked in dirt. I decided after about thirty minutes to stay in Arusha for two nights at the Arusha Backpackers instead of one. I've been moving around alot and the idea of staying somewhere for two nights was too good to pass up. My friend Ben has a friend living here this summer, Julia, and she met me last night and decided to stay with me at the hostel for two nights. It was wonderful to be able to have dinner and talk with an American girl after the week. We had alot of fun catching up and sharing our different African experiences. She is going to be in Tanzania for the summer working at an NGO in town, called Shonga. Lalahe is coming to meet me soon and we're going to visit her at work.
I'm still figuring out this whole blog process and I apoligize if this entry is extremely scatter brained. It is hard to recount 6 days worth of excitement! I'll write when I'm back in Nairobi tomorrow night...

arusha backpackers hotel

I'm sitting in the rooftop restaurant at the hotel- the sun has just risen and it's a cold and rainy morning. There are a million sounds coming up from the street level, voices in at least 4 recognizable languages, loud honking, shouts of street vendors and the rain splashing under the car tires as they pass by. I purposely took an extra long shower this morning in anticipation of not showering until we get back to Nairobi, next Thursday. We haven't made concrete plans for when we will head back to Nairobi- Charles and I have decided to see how things play out and decide based on how comfortable everyone is.

I woke up early this morning with many things on my mind. Lahale's family speaks 3 languages- Masaai, Kswahili and (very seldom) English. I spent a lot of time brainstorming last night different lesson ideas for the children.

The past two mornings I have woken up at five o'clock on the dot to loud chants from the local mosque- the first morning in Nairobi, Kenya and the second in Arusha, Tanzania. Pretty neat experience...although alarming the songs are beautiful. There is a much larger Muslim population in Arusha than in Nairobi perhaps becuase Arusha is closer to the Indian Ocean, where Arab traders settled on the coast in the 19th century. Arusha is clearly a tourist town with Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Nrugurga (sp?) crater very close by. I love this African grunge, hostel lifestyle I've already had two hippy looking people approach me to ask if I wanted to join a group of people to check out the crater.

I had my second Kswahili lesson yesterday from Charles- I can officially count to ten, say hello and how are you, ask what your name is and some others... more to come!

Next time I write I will have come and gone from the village with much more to say

June 4th, 2010

Two days in Africa, already been in two countries... it's been a long trip down to Arusha to say the least. It's 7:50 PM here now and I'm absolutely exhausted. I remember feeling a similar way as if I had literally hit a wall in my first days in Uganda. I must admit this upcoming week is going to be much more of a challenge than I had anticipated.

When we arrived at the hotel- Arusha Backpackers Hotel yesterday we threw down our stuff and went up to the rooftop restaurant for some food while Lahale (a Masaai friend of Ben Thomas's friend who has invited us to stay in his village) filled us in on some details about what we should expect. "Maddie I've got to tell you now so you aren't surprised when you see it with your eyes tomorrow" In the states I had a hard time picturing what the Masaai life is truly like but I feel like I'm starting to get a better idea. Lahale's tribe is a polygamous tribe with the women and children living separately in their own mud hut. At this point I think I am going to set up a tent and sleep in a sleeping bag, as to not intrude on the women who do not speak a word of English but I'm very open to changing my mind.

After spending the day with Charles and some with Lahale I've noticed some big differences between our lifestyles. In the states many of our days are shaped around meal times whereas here it is not that way. But 4pm I felt very hungry and lightheaded- I felt a similar sensation last time I took Malarone. I'm hoping that I can quickly adjust to the local eating and sleeping schedules. I'm drinking water excessively to rehydrate my body before we take off for the plains. I've been told it's been it's going to be very hot on the plains during the day with temperatures dropping severely at night.

Lahale went on to explain their tradition of becoming a Masaai warrior. The boys "coming of age" ceremony consists of a lion hunt and only after a lion is succesfully killed are the boys considered men. Lahale told us that his lion hunt consisted of 8 other village boys and they succesfully hunted 3 lions- the village was very proud. All the boys and men carry sticks that resemble walking sticks which serve to herd the cattle and goats- without livestock the Masaai couldn't subside, Lahale told us. It is apparent that Lahale and the villagers place low imporatance on age in numerical values- as we spoke he did not seem to recall any ages or years- instead he frequently referred to things by year... back in 2002, etc. Lahale told me that we will wake up and watch the sunrise over the plains and if we're lucky see some giraffes and elephants migrating between the two parks that border his village...

Lahale has started a school project in his village which will provide a school for children that is much closer than the government provided school. Charles, who is a web designer, created the website for Lahale and is currently working on getting it up and running. Ben, my friend from Nairobi conference and member of MFI Connect team, and his friends donated a lot of supplies including a large chalkboard used in the classroom. The children are sit on rocks in a mud hut and there are about 40 children "enrolled." Lahale's vision includes creating a volunteer component where people such as myself come and volunteer while experiencing the Masaai way of life. I was told yesterday that I am offically the first volunteer to stay in the village!

It's amazing to me how much time and thought I have put into formulating my itinerary for this trip in the past few months; however every experience I have had thus far has been so different than I could have imagined.

tomorrow

I'm off tomorrow for nine weeks of African adventure-- I could not be more excited, although some nerves are setting in. I've officially finished packing and I am feeling really good about what I'm bringing along- basically just the bare necessities. I'm also bringing along a duffel full of toys, school supplies, clothes and tons of shoes for the kids. It's amazing how much more simple this process is the third time going through it. Finally I know exactly what I will and won't need for my trip.

My flight takes off for London at 8am tomorrow and then on to Nairobi an hour later. Hopefully I'll get some sleep on the flight because Charles and I are leaving early on Thursday morning for the Serengeti. It's hard to imagine myself in 72 hours, living with the Masaai people... Let the adventures begin! My next post will most likely be when I touch down in Nairobi on Thursday morning (8 hour time difference).

I leave in six days... I've been looking through my pictures from Uganda in summer 2008 and decided to post some here.        

 

trinity children's centre, kampala

east africa travels

GF blog

http://grameenfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/reflections-from-the-microcredit-summit-in-nairobi-kenya/

ingrid munro

This has been the most inspiring week of my life. There are so many aspects of this week which contribute to that inspiration but I must say the most inspiring could very well be the amazingly talented delegation of students brought together by MFI Connect. As a student in the US, I can personally say that many times it is easy to become discouraged or isolated as a student of microfinance. This week we have all found it liberating to be surrounded by other students who share the same interests.
I must admit I am writing these entries on day three because days one and two were unbelievably packed. By the time we all ventured back to the Wildebeest after the all day sessions we could barely keep our eyes open. The first day was one of the most surreal experiences ever. The opening ceremony of the conference had an incredible panel including Yunus, Queen Sofia of Spain, Princess Maxima of Netherlands, Sam Daley-Harris, the director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign, King Kibaki, the president of Kenya, and the list goes on! Sitting in the large conference hall, you could literally feel the energy and passion of the over 1,200 attendees of the conference.

I ran into many Grameen Foundation staff members throughout the day. It was surreal running into the familiar faces that I saw everyday last summer, all the way across the world in Kenya. The last three days we have literally been rushing around from session to session, drinking excessive amounts of coffee, while meeting brilliant leaders in the field, having multiple conversations with Muhammad Yunus. A whirlwind to the say the least.

I delivered the letter from President Hatch to Muhammad Yunus which invited him to speak on the Wake Forest campus. So, fingers crossed for spring 2011.

We all heard about the amazing work that the Kenyan MFI Jamii Bora does throughout the conference. During the opening ceremony Ingrid Munro gave an amazing presentation explaining the creation of an MFI which has affected the lives of 1.5 million Kenyans so far. Ingrid told her story by having many of the borrowers come up and tell their story. One of the men who came up was formerly one of Kenya's most wanted criminals during the post election violence and Jamii Bora transformed him into a good, hardworking man.

We're sitting around the table at Wildebeest right now... a million thoughts are flying around- we've all come out of this incredible week full of ideas, and extremely hopeful.

We've all been fortunate enough to spend a large majority of this week with Charles (Charlo or Charlie) Kigotho- he is the grandchild of Beatrice Ngendo, one of the original 50 borrowers of Jamii Bora. Beatrice and the other 49 beggars formed a relationship with Ingrid Munro and when she decided to provide tiny loans for that group, Jamii Bora began. We have all made great friendships with Charles and we've been fortunate enough to see Nairobi through his eyes.Charles he has exposed us to Nairobi through his stories, friendships, local foods, some of the slums, and of course, the Nairobi nightlife- Pictures to come.  We have all been extremely touched by Charles's amazing hospitality and constant kindness.

Through the three days of the conference, thanks to the MFI Connect team, we had three private sessions with the "faces of the summit" Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit, Ingrid Munro, founder and director of Jamii Bora, and Dr. Fazel Abed, founder and chairman of BRAC, a microfinance institution reaching over 110 million people in Asia and Africa.

Today we met with Ingrid Munro- in my opinion she's one of the most inspirational people of this generation. One of the audience members asked her "How do you make the Kaputei housing costs low enough to meet the mission of the village?" She responded, "Well who said housing had to be expensive? You must think and think and think until you come up with a better system." Identify a problem and out a solution until you've accomplished your mission, "if I can do it, you can do it." She made it very clear that she has a huge belief in the potential of our generation to enact serious change.

Through Charles and other borrowers we've learned a lot about Jamii Bora's innovative new housing project, Kaputei, a village which will provide a sustainable solution to the housing crisis that millions face in the Nairobi slums with a capacity of 2000 houses. Currently the pioneering new eco-town is expected to house some 10,000 people in the future. I decided today that I am going come back this summer, earlier than expected, and live in the Kaputei town with my new friends in June.... tomorrow we will go and see the Kaputei village and spend time with all the borrowers. I feel so fortunate to be able to come back in such short time to this amazing place.

Just got back from an amazing day on a field visit with the Kenyan microfinance institution, Jamii Bora. We had an early start, had a great breakfast at the Wildebeest and then we headed off to the Kenyatta Conference Center to register for the conference. Standing in line at at the registration tables, buzz started about Yunus arriving. We didn't get the chance to say hello today but did get a glance from afar! I can't believe that this is all really happening. Spending the day with a group of students who have all made an impact on the microfinance industry and have had at least one incredible life experience in the developing world, not to mention in the setting of Nairobi Kenya, at a microcredit conference, is undescribable.

After we registered for the conference we headed for the vans to drive to the Jami Bora head office (http://www.jamiibora.org/)- the motto on their site, "It doesn't matter where you came from, it matters where you are going!" That message was extremely evident today after spending the day with the clients and employees.

We arrived at the head office and proceeded to go up four stories of the building to the top roof deck where we had great views of Nairobi and the slums below. We heard from the branch manager first and then two of the borrowers, Andrew and Michael. They both had unbelievable stories to tell. Andrew spoke for a while about his plight during the post election violence in 2007. He served as a "gangster or hooligan" in his words- and essentially was a thug who was hired to destroy businesses, homes and lives during the violence. Andrew told the group that there was a point when Bernard approached him to tell him about the work of Jamii Bora and he took out his machete with thoughts of killing Bernard. Now, 3 years later Andrew is a very changed man. He has an unbelievable story to tell and he told it with much pride. He talked about his appreciation of Jamii Bora- he started a business of a boy's soccer team called the Kibera Celtics (after the Celtics in Scotland) and a girl's team called the Kibera Celtics Queens. He talked about his beautiful wife and two children and expressed great pride in his accomplishments. Standing on the rooftop of the building, I experienced a flood of memories of reading the New York Times coverage of the post-election violence, stories which were extremely reminscent of Andrew's story. It is remarkable that a man in Andrew's position could be standing in front of all of us, a completely changed and healthy person. He contributes his success to microfinance, microsavings and the health insurance support from Jamii Bora. What an incredible story.

We went on to explore a few of the slums in the area. We went to the market in the Kibera slum, which Jamii Bora worked hard to fix up after the post-election violence. The marketplace was bustling, full of color, and smelled of a mix of terrible and wonderful fragrances. There were many merchants selling everything from second hand clothing, bananas, husked corn, sugar cane, to backpacks and old dolls. Seeing all the thousands of stands selling very similar goods it makes me wonder who actually buys all these products? I think the key to success for many of the business people is owning multiple businesses in diverse areas to maximize profit.

We went to a second slum where we met a group of women who lead the business skills training group. It was fascinating hearing their personal stories and their transition from trainees to trainers. One woman in particular talked about the three main benefits of recieving the training: 1. record keeping 2. marketing 3. identifying time of best market... I got some pretty interesting insight for the Nyanya Project business training for the grandmothers. A British woman was there who represented the Microfinance without Borders- I think she'll be great contact for when I come back to Nairobi this summer.
After meeting the extremely bright women who have gone through the training and now train other Jamii Bora borrowers. All the women approached me after the meeting and eagerly shook my hand, looked me in the eye and made it very clear that I was welcome in Kenya. The people and culture in Nairobi are beautiful. I have felt extremely safe, comfortable and happy throughout my time here so far.

After visting the training we ventured further into the slums and actually stood in the area where the Constant Gardener was filmed. I got chills thinking back to the bone chilling scenes from the incredible, yet very dark movie. The slums were unbeliveable- the Kibera slums are two square miles in area and have two million people living within the bounds of the slums. Can you imagine?

We ended the day by going to Carnivore for dinner- it's a great restaurant in Nairobi that lives up to it's name by serving every sort of meat you could imagine- including game meat, I tried ostrich, crocodile, lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, pork.... we had about 40 people at the dinner table which was awesome to have everyone together as a group. The day was absolutely amazing. I can't believe that tonight is only my second night... I feel like I've already seen so much, met so many incredible people and learned a ton. After spending a mere 24 hours with this group, the potential of this student delegation is very apparent.

finally arrived

After 16 hours of flight time- 8 to Amsterdam followed by a 5 hour layover and another 5 to Nairobi- I am finally here. Wildebeest is an amazing place. The main house is an old manor and there are many tents on the perimeter. The place is completely full- lots of travelers and tons of students going to the conference. It was great to finally meet all the MFI Connect members who I’ve been in touch with all these months. I could not be more excited to finally be here. It’s all actually happening! Sitting around talking about all of our experiences is pretty awesome- MFI Connect has done an amazing job of bringing us all together...
We have an early morning tomorrow followed by a long day of field visits. We’re going to the Kibera slums to see a Jami Bora project. This will be my first true field microfinance experience where we'll get to meet some of the clients and see the projects first hand. Can barely sleep with excitement.

what is microfinance?

I wanted to give you all some of the fundamentals of microfinance, which will hopefully suffice as an explanation for why I felt compelled to travel across the world to attend this conference after my experience as a Grameen Foundation intern. Microfinance began when Nobel peace prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus established the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Grameen Bank makes tiny loans for self-employment to some of the poorest people in Bangladesh. Thirty three years since its conception, nearly 8 million members of the Grameen Bank (when you include family members, 40 million) have escaped poverty. Grameen Bank has lent more than $8 million to the poor in Bangladesh.

When I first heard about Yunus and the revolution he began, I immediately began questioning how a person starts an enterprise such as microfinance, that reaches nearly 40 million people in one’s own country and touches the lives of tens of millions around the world? In 1974, while Professor Yunus was teaching as an economics professor at Chittagong University he found it difficult to teach his students how to make money while millions suffered from famine plaguing Bangladesh.

He went to the neighboring town of Jobra, where he met a stoolmaker who explained that she earned about two cents for each of her beautifully crafted stools. She was forced to borrow from a moneylender who demanded that she sell her stool back to him at a price so low that she only made a profit of two cents. Yunus could not believe the inescapable situation that the villagers faced.

Yunus asked one of his students to help him identify other villagers who were losing profit as the moneylender gained. He found 42 people who required a total of $27 (an average of 68 cents each) in order to pay off the moneylender; buy their raw materials and sell their wares to highest bidder. Yunus paid $27 out of his pocket and with her loan of less than $1, the stool maker’s profits went from two cents a day to $1.25 per day. And there you have it, with Yunu’s initial $27 loan, Grameen Bank had begun.

The answer to my question was simple- I observed that Yunus began doing the opposite of what every commercial bank‘s actions. For example, If the banks were lending large loans, he was providing small loans. He describes his search for new bank clients as process of “looking for the most timid.” If the bank required a credit check, Yunus did not. He and Grameen Bank believe that credit should be a human right. And the result, a 98% average repayment rate by Grameen Bank clients. Certainly better than the repayment rates of any student loan and credit card debts in the US!

Unlike commercial loans, no collateral is required for a micro-loan and is usually repaid within six months to a year. These funds are then recycled as other loans, keeping money working and in hands of borrowers. For example, a woman could borrow $50 to buy chickens so that she could sell their eggs. As the chickens reproduce, she can sell more eggs and eventually sell the chickens. As a borrower she receives support and advice from the microfinance institution (MFI) that issued her loan, and support from borrowers just like her.

Microfinance is client-focused and focuses mainly on women borrowers. Why women? Studies have illustrated that women use the profits from their businesses to send their children to school, improve family’s living conditions and expand their businesses. Their profits women make a greater impact on themselves, their families and their communities.

Overall, microfinance- the provision of small loans savings and insurance and other financial services to the unbanked globally- has proven to be a significant tool in alleviating poverty. The conference that I am attending is bringing together all the big players and political leaders from throughout the Middle East and Africa. The student delegation that I’m going with was put together by MFI Connect. (www.mficonnect.org). The MFI Connect experience at the conference includes field visits, panel sessions, workshops, meeting microfinance professionals, and the opportunity for students to meet and work together to support microfinance. On the second day of the conference, we have three 1 hour sessions with Muhammad Yunus, Fazel Abad, founder of BRAC and Ingrid Monro, founder of Jami Bora.

I’d like to spend the next few paragraphs filling you in on Ingrid Munro, one of the many leaders I will meet at the conference. Munro is a Swedish trained architect and urban planner, who started Jami Bora (which means good people), a Kenyan microfinance institution that has grown from lending money to 50 women beggars 10 years ago to over 200,000 members to date. Munro didn’t stop at providing micro credit to the poorest slum dwellers instead she decided to create a town to provide decent housing and business space for her entrepreneurs. “Every person’s dream is to move out of the slums, not patch up the slums.” Roughly 2,000 houses and 3,000 business premises are located in the town center. It has an access road from the main road, water and sewage treatment plant, and a landfill for garbage treatment. The creation of the Kaputei town was an extremely successful urban development project. Housing is a huge step in escaping poverty and at the same time it is a great tool to create more jobs.

Munro recognizes that not all members of Jami Bora are entrepreneurial. Some are very entrepreneurial and they create jobs so that that other people can employ those members. “The ones we call ‘slow climbers’ get employed by the ‘fast climbers’ because it’s logical for them to employ the people that they know.” Once again, the thought was provoked of where the capacity to innovate and surpass conventional wisdom in the microfinance industry stem from? Munro contributes her passion back to the moment that her and her husband adopted three street children. Her insights grew from the relationships that she formed with the mothers of her son’s friends in the streets. For her, that meant the beggar women had to begin the discipline of saving.

I believe many people living in the developed world easily lose track of the perspective that although impoverished, those attempting to escape poverty have the potential to be extremely capable with the correct environment. Imagine growing up in a slum environment, living in an hut made of mud in a country with severe rainy seasonal fluctuations, completely surrounded by sickly and impoverished people living on less than a dollar. If all the generations before you grew up in poverty, why would you feel you deserved more? Or more importantly, how would you possibly identify methods to escape your plight?

off to amsterdam

I’m sitting in the airport right now- hour left until we board!
I can’t believe that this day is finally here. None of this felt real until yesterday when I woke up and thought to myself that I would be off to Africa, tomorrow. I am so excited. Not nervous at the moment although I can imagine I’ll feel some nerves as I get closer. I cannot wait to meet Julius tomorrow night, he’s picking me up at the airport. Julius Okach is the coordinator of Nyanya Project programs in Kenya. I have been communicating with him via email for months now and have imagined the day we would meet.
So I'll be staying this week at Wildebeest Camps... (http://www.wildebeesttravels.com/) Not really sure what to expect- looks like an awesome place- all the students from the MFI Connect delegation are staying there.

the very first post

I knew I would blog one day but didn't think it would happen this fast, definitely not tonight,  as I sit on my couch wiped out with strep throat. But hey- gotta start somewhere. My trip to Nairobi in four days has finally inspired me to start blogging. I'm going to use this for the week, see how it feels and might use it for this summer...

A little bit on me... I'm a junior at Wake Forest University. Last semester, I spent four fabulous months abroad in Rome, Italy, eating the world's most delicious food, ever and traveling all throughout Europe. By the time I got back in December, I had been to nine new European countries. Coming back to Winston Salem, NC, has been a somewhat of a culture shock, to say the very least.

When I got back to campus my plans for the summer were to intern with Fonkoze (www.fonkoze.org), a micro finance institution in Haiti with over forty branches covering the island. I heard about Fonkoze during my internship last summer at the Grameen Foundation (http://www.grameenfoundation.org/) in Washington DC. Fonkoze and Grameen Foundation (GF) have a strong partnership, my supervisor at GF encouraged me to meet the Fonkoze USA staff while I was working with them. 

The opportunity to work in Haiti alongside with Fonkoze founder and CEO, Anne Hastings, was so unique. The internship would have been an incredible opporunity to spend three months in a country where many claim micro finance is in it's "purest form" and learning firsthand every step of the micro loan process. January 12th came as a shock to the world as a catastrophic earthquake with 7.0 magnitude struck the island. The aftermath was mindblowing. An estimated three million plus people have been affected, thousands of residences and commercial buildings have been destroyed. I realized shortly after the that my summer plans had changed, although I hope to make a trip down to Haiti in early May to help out with the relief effort.

I've heard about the Nyanya Project (http://nyanyaproject.org/) throughout my three years at Wake Forest, mainly because of Ali Carroll, a ChiO in class the 2008, who sold  jewelry of the Nyanya Project grandmothers. Earlier this semester I was in a meeting with a professor in the Anthropology department at Wake Forest and she told me that I should contact Professor Niepold. That next day I sent an email to Professor Niepold asking her if she had some time to meet. We met a few days later and after an hour conversation I had agreed to be a Nyanya Project intern for the semester.

Professor Niepold, established the Nyanya (meaning grandmothers in Swahili) Project after a visit to Kenya in 2006, where she learned that there are more than 2.5 million orphans, almost 1 million orphaned by AIDS; that more than 50 percent of orphans are being cared for by their grandmothers; and that there is no help from the government or other agencies specifically for these women. Niepold, a grandmother herself, returned to Africa in May 2007 and, with personal funds and donations from family and friends, established four Nyanya Project grandmother cooperatives in Kenya, two in Tanzania, and a preliminary center in Rwanda.

The Nyanya Project creates sustainable, grandmother cooperatives in villages and cities throughout Africa. Grandmothers of orphaned grandchildren come together to learn skills; earn, manage and reinvest income; serve as moral leaders to their families and communities; and keep their loved ones safe, healthy, and educated. This summer I will travel with Professor Niepold to Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda with funding provided by Wake Forest's Richter scholarship. I cannot express how excited I am.

Backing up a little, while all this planning and involvement in the Nyanya Project was happening, I had a phone conversation with Cathy Yi, my incredible supervisor from the Grameen Foundation. When I told her that I might be traveling to Kenya with the Nyanya Project in summer 2010, she suggested that I use the upcoming 'Africa-MiddleEast Regional Microcredit Summit Conference' website, as a resource for research and possible contacts in the region. I logged on to the site and saw a post that was calling for applicants for US University students to attend the conference as part of a student delegation. I called my brother that night and as we talked I remember saying "Ha! What if I went?" I went to bed that night, laughing to myself about the possibility of skipping a week of school to jet off to this conference in the middle of April -- right before final exams.