Monday, August 31, 2009
Kathungu Day 2
Jambo!
What a day! After our day of travel this was our day of extreme excercise and sun. After breakfast we started our journey to visit Kathungu and Kwamalelu schools. We decided to walk to burn off our energy stored from an all day car ride the day before. Kwamalelu was our first destination. It was "not so far" away. Right. Every destination is uphill or better said, up-mountain. The country-side is beautiful and the walk is well worth it. We all are feeling energized and great.
The project at Kwamalelu was completed by Centennial Middle school and the project was led by teachers Mark and Katy Domschot. Mark is traveling with us and it was quite a sight to see the school greet Mark and thank him for all of the work done by Centennial students. There was a wonderful sign painted on the water tank thanking "Contennial School." Oh well, we don't spell their school correctly most of the time. Mark made a great speech recognizing the work that Centennial Middle School students contributed and emphasized the rewards that they received by helping Kwamalelu school.
Even though it was a Saturday and students are on break, nearly two hundred students and parents showed up to thank Mark and the H2O team. Students sang and danced and leaders gave Mark a gourd that is meant to hold water as a symbol of the water now held in the tank. He cut the ribbon symolizing the opening of the tank and also a ribbon in front of the new VIP (ventilated, improved, pit) latrines.
The same type of event was held at the next school-Kathungu Primary. This school was sponsored by Irondale High School in New Brighton, Minnesota. Val's sons and niece attend Irondale and she is an Irondale grad so it was a real honor for her to cut the ribbon dedicating the tank to the great work that Irondale did to raise the funds to complete this project.
Centennial Middle School sent several packets of pen-pal letters to be shared with both schools. As students were handed a letter starting with "Dear Friend," you should have seen their eyes light up. We know they will treasure the letters and will hopefully deliver return letters for us to bring back to the schools.
Congratulations to both Irondale High and Centennial Middle School!
We should also point out that every school we go to in Uganda and Kenya, the kids know the name of our president. The kids shout "Obama-Obama!" I wonder how many of our students know the name of the Uganda or Kenya president. Now you have some homework!
Our next destination was "not so far" away.
We walked back to the home of Christopher Mutuku-Muteti. He is the one that suggested our first project- the sand-dam at the Kwa Kasolo river. Many of the community members joined us at his home for a wonderful lunch. They served pumpkin, ugali and sukumawiki (greens) potatoes, rice, a chicken gravy-soup and a variety of fruit. Great food enjoyed by all. After a short rest, we began our "walk around" of the community. Our first stop was to re-visit the Sand dam project as most of our H2O team had not seen it. Again, we did a ceremonial ribbon cutting, and were given testimonials by several community members about the effectiveness of the dam. They told us that they did not know where they would be getting their water during this drought without the sand dam. We are thrilled that the project has made a huge difference for the community. Our next stop was to visit the home of a water project member, Francis. He had an interesting mix of rain water tanks, a fish pond holding Talapia, and is experimenting with the apple mango in hopes of developing a cash crop for the area. He is a very intelligent man and we dubbed him "the scientist". Patty was able to meet his mother who is 93. HIs mother remembered her from the last visit to the village and was overjoyed to meet once again. She makes beautiful baskets which we are bringing home with us.
We then continued our walk to the home of the local wood carver- Maurice. Maurice had many beautiful spoons, walking sticks and other objects for sale. We all chose a variety of wood projects to take home. A walking stick made by Maurice is on display at Highview Middle School in New Brighton, MN as a thank-you from the community.
By this time, we had probably walked 7-8 miles up and down hills over sand that was beginning to make our feet feel like we had been treated to a sand paper pedicure. My friends in White Bear Lake know how much I like a pedicure! (not so much) We were happy when we reached Christopher's home!
Many of the community members stayed for dinner. The women spend all day cooking over wood stoves and a charcoal Jiko to make the many dishes that are served. The kitchen however, is my favorite place to hang out. The women were singing, and we entertained them with songs like "Old McDonald", and "Coming around the mountain"- all with actions of course. Steve also taught the children how to play "Simon Says". They are so eager to interact with all of us, and we have had a wonderful time! After dinner, we brought out a box of light up necklaces that were a big hit with not only the children, but the adults as well. In the dark, dark, yard, the lights are spectacular.
Speaking of the dark- the African sky is a sight to behold. We think we have found the "Southern Cross" and the star patterns are very different from the stars we see in the US.
After a late dinner, we were all ready to head to our beds. We pulled down the mosquito nets, and crawled in for a well deserved rest.
The adventure continues......
Val and Patty
What a day! After our day of travel this was our day of extreme excercise and sun. After breakfast we started our journey to visit Kathungu and Kwamalelu schools. We decided to walk to burn off our energy stored from an all day car ride the day before. Kwamalelu was our first destination. It was "not so far" away. Right. Every destination is uphill or better said, up-mountain. The country-side is beautiful and the walk is well worth it. We all are feeling energized and great.
The project at Kwamalelu was completed by Centennial Middle school and the project was led by teachers Mark and Katy Domschot. Mark is traveling with us and it was quite a sight to see the school greet Mark and thank him for all of the work done by Centennial students. There was a wonderful sign painted on the water tank thanking "Contennial School." Oh well, we don't spell their school correctly most of the time. Mark made a great speech recognizing the work that Centennial Middle School students contributed and emphasized the rewards that they received by helping Kwamalelu school.
Even though it was a Saturday and students are on break, nearly two hundred students and parents showed up to thank Mark and the H2O team. Students sang and danced and leaders gave Mark a gourd that is meant to hold water as a symbol of the water now held in the tank. He cut the ribbon symolizing the opening of the tank and also a ribbon in front of the new VIP (ventilated, improved, pit) latrines.
The same type of event was held at the next school-Kathungu Primary. This school was sponsored by Irondale High School in New Brighton, Minnesota. Val's sons and niece attend Irondale and she is an Irondale grad so it was a real honor for her to cut the ribbon dedicating the tank to the great work that Irondale did to raise the funds to complete this project.
Centennial Middle School sent several packets of pen-pal letters to be shared with both schools. As students were handed a letter starting with "Dear Friend," you should have seen their eyes light up. We know they will treasure the letters and will hopefully deliver return letters for us to bring back to the schools.
Congratulations to both Irondale High and Centennial Middle School!
We should also point out that every school we go to in Uganda and Kenya, the kids know the name of our president. The kids shout "Obama-Obama!" I wonder how many of our students know the name of the Uganda or Kenya president. Now you have some homework!
Our next destination was "not so far" away.
We walked back to the home of Christopher Mutuku-Muteti. He is the one that suggested our first project- the sand-dam at the Kwa Kasolo river. Many of the community members joined us at his home for a wonderful lunch. They served pumpkin, ugali and sukumawiki (greens) potatoes, rice, a chicken gravy-soup and a variety of fruit. Great food enjoyed by all. After a short rest, we began our "walk around" of the community. Our first stop was to re-visit the Sand dam project as most of our H2O team had not seen it. Again, we did a ceremonial ribbon cutting, and were given testimonials by several community members about the effectiveness of the dam. They told us that they did not know where they would be getting their water during this drought without the sand dam. We are thrilled that the project has made a huge difference for the community. Our next stop was to visit the home of a water project member, Francis. He had an interesting mix of rain water tanks, a fish pond holding Talapia, and is experimenting with the apple mango in hopes of developing a cash crop for the area. He is a very intelligent man and we dubbed him "the scientist". Patty was able to meet his mother who is 93. HIs mother remembered her from the last visit to the village and was overjoyed to meet once again. She makes beautiful baskets which we are bringing home with us.
We then continued our walk to the home of the local wood carver- Maurice. Maurice had many beautiful spoons, walking sticks and other objects for sale. We all chose a variety of wood projects to take home. A walking stick made by Maurice is on display at Highview Middle School in New Brighton, MN as a thank-you from the community.
By this time, we had probably walked 7-8 miles up and down hills over sand that was beginning to make our feet feel like we had been treated to a sand paper pedicure. My friends in White Bear Lake know how much I like a pedicure! (not so much) We were happy when we reached Christopher's home!
Many of the community members stayed for dinner. The women spend all day cooking over wood stoves and a charcoal Jiko to make the many dishes that are served. The kitchen however, is my favorite place to hang out. The women were singing, and we entertained them with songs like "Old McDonald", and "Coming around the mountain"- all with actions of course. Steve also taught the children how to play "Simon Says". They are so eager to interact with all of us, and we have had a wonderful time! After dinner, we brought out a box of light up necklaces that were a big hit with not only the children, but the adults as well. In the dark, dark, yard, the lights are spectacular.
Speaking of the dark- the African sky is a sight to behold. We think we have found the "Southern Cross" and the star patterns are very different from the stars we see in the US.
After a late dinner, we were all ready to head to our beds. We pulled down the mosquito nets, and crawled in for a well deserved rest.
The adventure continues......
Val and Patty
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Kathungu!
I will never complain about a Minnesota pothole again.
Friday was a travel day for us. We traveled from the Masai Mara to Nairobi and then off to Kathungu. There is a standard answer when you ask how far it is to a town or destination. "Not so far." How are the roads? "Not so bad." Well, let me tell you that eleven hours-most of it over bumpy, dusty, dirt roads is a long way! We all feel a little tossed around. We passed quite a bit of time by playing another of Mark's games. This time it was a version of Jeopardy. Patty was the winner but her prize of a bag of candy purchased from the hotel was filled with ants. Too bad we didn't discover this until after she had taken a few bites. I've never seen Patty toss chocolate away!
Kathungu is where our friend and driver, Christopher lives. We were all invited to be guests at his home in Kathungu. What an honor! This is an opportunity to really get to see and experience how most of the people in Kenya live. We arrived at his modest farm and were welcomed by his wife Joyce and their three children and many neighbors, friends and other relatives. For you experienced H2Oers, you might remember that Kathungu is the site of our first project. Patty has been here on several occasions and the people are thrilled to see her again.
We settled into our rooms--yes, the family gave up their rooms and found places to sleep at nearby relatives. The action really started as the men started to talk in the house and the women went to work in the kitchen. The kitchen is a very active, seperate room from the house. It is not a very big room yet there had to be 10-15 kids and women all sitting in there and actively cooking the meal while chatting and laughing. Everyone knows their task and they go about it with great efficiency. Ugali (corn flour and water) is cooking on the fire and it has to be stirred often with a big spoon and a lot of muscle. Chapati (thick tortilla like bread) is fried on a small flat grill heated by charcoal (a jiko) and potatoes are peeled and boiled over the open flames. Before long we are treated to a dinner of all of these wonderful flavors along with fresh fruits, chicken, soup and rice. And I thought I was going to lose weight in Kenya. No way!
We also took in a short walk down to the river bed where the sand dam was created two years ago. It is really an amazing site. The area looks like a dry river bed filled with the finest beach sand. Through this sand the river flows down stream. While the river flows down stream it is filtered through the sand. Although there is a faucet on the dam itself, it has been removed because of the drought. The water committee found that people were being wasteful of water during this very dry period when it was so easy to get. The leaders of the community removed the faucet so people have to dig into the river bed of sand to get to water. It sounds harsh but when you see the extent of the drought and listen to the knowledge that the people have about this precious natural resource, you know that they are doing the right thing. I was especially pleased to hear one of the men say to me that without the contribution that Highview Middle School made two years ago to add the sand dam, he could not even imagine where or how far they might have to go to get any water. Highview---be proud! Your work is still helping people today-even more than you can imagine!
Since Patty's last visit to Kathungu, Christopher has added solar powered lights and a shower. The shower is cold water from a tank and hose run into the house but it is a wonderful luxury after the dusty ride. The lights are something that we did not expect so that was also another welcome luxury. We still have to go outside to use the choo. (latrine) Patty, Steve and Mark all got up during the night to use the choo. There were a few tales of being attacked by the huge white goose during the middle of the night. Steve and Mark went out together. Chickens!
Saturday is another day of visiting schools. We are all anxious to see the work that has been completed!
Friday was a travel day for us. We traveled from the Masai Mara to Nairobi and then off to Kathungu. There is a standard answer when you ask how far it is to a town or destination. "Not so far." How are the roads? "Not so bad." Well, let me tell you that eleven hours-most of it over bumpy, dusty, dirt roads is a long way! We all feel a little tossed around. We passed quite a bit of time by playing another of Mark's games. This time it was a version of Jeopardy. Patty was the winner but her prize of a bag of candy purchased from the hotel was filled with ants. Too bad we didn't discover this until after she had taken a few bites. I've never seen Patty toss chocolate away!
Kathungu is where our friend and driver, Christopher lives. We were all invited to be guests at his home in Kathungu. What an honor! This is an opportunity to really get to see and experience how most of the people in Kenya live. We arrived at his modest farm and were welcomed by his wife Joyce and their three children and many neighbors, friends and other relatives. For you experienced H2Oers, you might remember that Kathungu is the site of our first project. Patty has been here on several occasions and the people are thrilled to see her again.
We settled into our rooms--yes, the family gave up their rooms and found places to sleep at nearby relatives. The action really started as the men started to talk in the house and the women went to work in the kitchen. The kitchen is a very active, seperate room from the house. It is not a very big room yet there had to be 10-15 kids and women all sitting in there and actively cooking the meal while chatting and laughing. Everyone knows their task and they go about it with great efficiency. Ugali (corn flour and water) is cooking on the fire and it has to be stirred often with a big spoon and a lot of muscle. Chapati (thick tortilla like bread) is fried on a small flat grill heated by charcoal (a jiko) and potatoes are peeled and boiled over the open flames. Before long we are treated to a dinner of all of these wonderful flavors along with fresh fruits, chicken, soup and rice. And I thought I was going to lose weight in Kenya. No way!
We also took in a short walk down to the river bed where the sand dam was created two years ago. It is really an amazing site. The area looks like a dry river bed filled with the finest beach sand. Through this sand the river flows down stream. While the river flows down stream it is filtered through the sand. Although there is a faucet on the dam itself, it has been removed because of the drought. The water committee found that people were being wasteful of water during this very dry period when it was so easy to get. The leaders of the community removed the faucet so people have to dig into the river bed of sand to get to water. It sounds harsh but when you see the extent of the drought and listen to the knowledge that the people have about this precious natural resource, you know that they are doing the right thing. I was especially pleased to hear one of the men say to me that without the contribution that Highview Middle School made two years ago to add the sand dam, he could not even imagine where or how far they might have to go to get any water. Highview---be proud! Your work is still helping people today-even more than you can imagine!
Since Patty's last visit to Kathungu, Christopher has added solar powered lights and a shower. The shower is cold water from a tank and hose run into the house but it is a wonderful luxury after the dusty ride. The lights are something that we did not expect so that was also another welcome luxury. We still have to go outside to use the choo. (latrine) Patty, Steve and Mark all got up during the night to use the choo. There were a few tales of being attacked by the huge white goose during the middle of the night. Steve and Mark went out together. Chickens!
Saturday is another day of visiting schools. We are all anxious to see the work that has been completed!
Masaii Village Visit
Hello H2o fans!
We have not been with you for the past few days. We had an chance to see what life is like in a rural village and we were completely out of Internet range. Before I tell you about that I want to bring you up to date as to what we have been doing in the days gone by.
Following our game drive in the early morning we took the afternoon to learn a little about the Masaii people by visisting a a Massaii village. I am certain that most of you are familiar with the Masaii people. They are the people who wear the very colorful red clothes and are know for the piercings in their ears that allow their ear lobes to grow very long with big holes for jewelery. They are nomadic people and raise goats and cows. As a result, their homes are not permanent and they move to where the best grazing land is for their herds. They have lots of rights with the Kenyan government and can graze their herds after dark in the Masai Mara and we have even seen them grazing cows on the grassy medians in Nairobi.
Their huts are built of twigs and cow dung. Doesn't sound pleasant but when you stand inside, they really don't smell so bad. The homes are very small. Half of the house is set aside as a room for new calves and the other half has two bedrooms and a very meager kitchen between the bedrooms. Blankets for the beds consist of cow hides and the kitchen is a fire pit were the women cook with the couple pots that they own.
The people are very hard workers. Boys and men spend the day in the countryside watching over the animals. Yes, even small boys, 7-8 years old are seen herding the cows. There is no such thing as Ninetendo, movies, or even a day off. The kids are on their summer break right now but when school is in session, they go to school during the day and do chores from sun-up until bedtime. Girls haul water. Surprised? Kenya is going through a severe drought and the distances that they must walk is much further and the quality of the water is much worse.
After dancing with the men- Chris jumped the highest- and singing and dancing with the women, we had the chance to shop in their market. They had a variety of gorgeous jewelry, bowls, tools- anything that they normally use. We, of course, purchased more than we planned. It was our hottest day yet of the trip, and the dusty manyatta (what they call their homes) seemed stifling! We were ready to head back to Fig Tree for a dip in the pool.
We did one last game run in the afternoon. Again, the leopard was not seen! I guess we'll have to come back.
On Friday we are heading to Nairobi to pick up a few supplies and then onward to Kathungu school and village, and Kwamalelu school. This community is the birthplace of H2O for Life! We are looking forward to re-visiting our first completed project (June,2007)- a sand dam on the Kwa Kasolo river.
KWAHERI!
We have not been with you for the past few days. We had an chance to see what life is like in a rural village and we were completely out of Internet range. Before I tell you about that I want to bring you up to date as to what we have been doing in the days gone by.
Following our game drive in the early morning we took the afternoon to learn a little about the Masaii people by visisting a a Massaii village. I am certain that most of you are familiar with the Masaii people. They are the people who wear the very colorful red clothes and are know for the piercings in their ears that allow their ear lobes to grow very long with big holes for jewelery. They are nomadic people and raise goats and cows. As a result, their homes are not permanent and they move to where the best grazing land is for their herds. They have lots of rights with the Kenyan government and can graze their herds after dark in the Masai Mara and we have even seen them grazing cows on the grassy medians in Nairobi.
Their huts are built of twigs and cow dung. Doesn't sound pleasant but when you stand inside, they really don't smell so bad. The homes are very small. Half of the house is set aside as a room for new calves and the other half has two bedrooms and a very meager kitchen between the bedrooms. Blankets for the beds consist of cow hides and the kitchen is a fire pit were the women cook with the couple pots that they own.
The people are very hard workers. Boys and men spend the day in the countryside watching over the animals. Yes, even small boys, 7-8 years old are seen herding the cows. There is no such thing as Ninetendo, movies, or even a day off. The kids are on their summer break right now but when school is in session, they go to school during the day and do chores from sun-up until bedtime. Girls haul water. Surprised? Kenya is going through a severe drought and the distances that they must walk is much further and the quality of the water is much worse.
After dancing with the men- Chris jumped the highest- and singing and dancing with the women, we had the chance to shop in their market. They had a variety of gorgeous jewelry, bowls, tools- anything that they normally use. We, of course, purchased more than we planned. It was our hottest day yet of the trip, and the dusty manyatta (what they call their homes) seemed stifling! We were ready to head back to Fig Tree for a dip in the pool.
We did one last game run in the afternoon. Again, the leopard was not seen! I guess we'll have to come back.
On Friday we are heading to Nairobi to pick up a few supplies and then onward to Kathungu school and village, and Kwamalelu school. This community is the birthplace of H2O for Life! We are looking forward to re-visiting our first completed project (June,2007)- a sand dam on the Kwa Kasolo river.
KWAHERI!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
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