Last Day in Nairobi

Cory, Gitahi, Colin & Sween

I'm trying to get this done quickly as I'm sitting in Nairobi airport with about an hour to go before boarding.  Trouble is, there's no power point to connect to and the battery on the laptop is a little suspect.

Had a good day in Nairobi with Cory:

• Went to the Kenya National Library to ask about possible courses for Lucas so he can upgrade his skills, and met a very helpful lady who was happy to give me the information I needed.
• Bought a wedding present for Cory;
• Met Cory's fiance for the first time - a lovely young man;
• Bought lunch for them and Sween and Colin - children of other friends in Nairobi - who bought me a lovely traditional bag;
• Bought more souvenirs!

At the cafeteria here, bought what looked to be a lovely almond croissant.  It turned out to be like a rock cake and gave the taste buds no pleasure at all! 

Another day of two halves!

It's farewell at Kitale

I thought there would be little to write about as Thursday was to be the day for packing up and leaving Kitale.  Not much news there then.

In fact, the first part of the day, once again, turned out to be the good part - relatively speaking.   It involved packing my case, leaving a few things for Rachel, discussing a few outstanding school/charity matters with Josphat and generally not doing a great deal.

The latter part of the day again gave us a few problems.  We have been caught out by the vagaries of the FLY540 service to Nairobi in the past so I had rung in the morning to make sure there weren’t any changes in the flight time.  I had also asked Josphat to get me to the airstrip in good time.

The twenty-one seater

We arrived just in time to see the plane come in on it’s way to Lodwar and I was satisfied that we had ample time before the return journey to Nairobi via Kitale, an hour later.  During the next two and a half there were various announcements about the late arrival of the plane, the non arrival of the plane, due to lightning and eventually the fact that the plane had gone directly to Eldoret, where it was waiting for us.  After another hour or so, shuttle buses arrived to pick us up for the a two hour plus drive to Eldoret, where we boarded a twenty-one seater five hours later than scheduled.

Good job my flight to the UK  isn’t until tomorrow!

Cory (Josphat’s daughter) met me at the airport and we are now at her flat where I’m staying the night.


I wrote this late last night but couldn't get an Internet connection.

Day of two halves!

Cindy learns about grafting mangoes

Good part . . .

We left early for Cheptebo, Rural Development Centre, located in Kerio Valley, more than three hours away from Kitale, to the south and east.   This is but a small part of the Great East African Rift Valley system.

The project was founded in 1986 by Bill Rettie and the Africa Inland Mission (AIM).  Joseph, the project manager, and his wife Sarah visited various regions of the UK last year as part of their twenty fifth anniversary celebrations, including Crieff, where they met Tina and exchanged information about Cheptebo and the Aquinoe Learning Centre.

As we are hoping to acquire more land and start  up a small “garden” project, we thought it would be useful to gain information from as many farming schemes as possible.

Super sized mangoes

Although farming forms a large part of the project, it has a Christian ethos and the compound  includes a church, two conference halls, accommodation for guests, a dining hall, a dispensary and a farm shop.  The farming side employs over thirty people now and there are several facets to it:

• Growing crops - mangoes, paw paws, avocadoes, watermelons, tomatoes;
•  Encouraging the best use of the land in the most sustainable way - e.g. grafting higher yielding plants onto local root stock;
• Keeping animals - cattle, goats, chickens;
• Using animals which can survive the sometimes semi arid condtions but still give higher yields;
• Keeping bees;
• Doing outreach work with local farmers and schools;
• Running courses for farmers and school children;

Joseph, Sarah, Cindy & Josphat

We were given an interesting and comprehensive tour by Joseph and the pastor and then treated to lunch.

Just before returning we drove the short distance to the bottom of the valley to see the impressive gorge and spotted a crocodile lazing at the edge of the water. 

Bad part . . .

While making the long climb back up out f the valley, the car started to overheat.  We made two stops to add water to the steaming radiator and eventually limped in to a garage in the town of Iten, where we waited for about an hour while a temporary solution was found for the water leak. 

Iten, incidentally, is the self styled “Home of Champions” as a large number of the elite Kenya athletes come from this area.

Crocodile at bottom of Kerio Gorge

 
 We had just set off again after our delay, when we were stopped at a police road check.  We have seen loads of them in the past couple of weeks but never been stopped.  Ann inspection quickly produced a rap o the windscreen and we were told that the insurance certificate was invalid.  No, it wasn’t out of date.  No, it wasn’t for a different vehicle.  We were informed that the insurance company had been wound up and therefore the certificate was worthless.  After a wait of over an hour, payment of a bail bond of KES5,000 and a demand for Josphat to attend court in Eldoret on Friday, we were allowed to go.

We had planned to get home before six o’clock get washed and changed and be out for eight o’clock as I was treating my hosts to a meal.  In the event, we arrived in town at the restaurant at eight thirty, tired and unwashed.

Phew!

Waggy wagtail?

Salama!

I’ve been using the little Kiswahili I have in my memory bank, revising what I ought to know and trying to learn a few new words too.  It really is words too, not sentences!  Still, I think my hosts appreciate the effort, although they still sometimes laugh at my pronunciation.

I spent the morning talking to a few of the school staff and helping Rachel in the office.  A frequent visitor to the water in a gulley nearby was what I took to be some sort of East African wagtail.  He certainly wagged his tail in an appropriate fashion and exhibited similarities to “our” pied wagtail.

One of the things that has struck me since my arrival is Josphat’s campaign to save the donkey from cruelty.  When driving along, he makes it his business to slow down and speak to anyone he sees “encouraging” their  donkeys along with too much urgency or too many cracks of the whip or stick.  This afternoon we stopped as we came upon a man with two donkeys pulling a laden cart and as Josphat and the driver chatted, I was surprised to see the donkeys continue on their way without any kind of guide.

Donkeys and cart

Just before I arrived in Kenya there was an announcement from an Anglo-Irish exploration company that there had been an oil strike in the northern part of the country.  It's not clear how viable the find will be - and there are mixed feelings as to what difference it will make to Kenya as a whole.  On the one hand it has been welcomed as  great new for this less developed, arid region that traditionally has supported a sparse population of nomads.  On the other hand, some commentators have pointed to the problems that oil has brought to countries like Nigeria. 

Qua heri!

Manor House

Bikes look ok but slums behind are sad

Manor House is an agricultural centre for sustainable farming located just outside Kitale, about twenty minutes away by car. 

We had heard of the centre last year, through a charity in the UK, when we were investigating sustainable farming methods for possible use at Aquinoe if we can acquire extra land.   The idea would be that the produce could help feed the children at the school and at the same time the farming sessions could be used as part of a vocational course to teach some of the pupils skills that they could take back into their communities. 

We had to pass through quite an extensive slum area on the outskirts of Kitale, which was packed with small flimsy houses, market stalls, goats, chickens and lots of rubbish.  Josphat told me that a landslip had occurred during a previous rainy season which had caused much destruction and some deaths.

Sow and ten piglets at Manor House

The road climbed up hills and dropped down to the valleys between, which small streams occupied.  It was easy to see how the water could overflow the mini plains beside the streams in the rainy season but the bridges over the streams had been constructed for the dry season and the capacity for water beneath was correspondingly small.  Josphat explained that the road was rendered impassable in the rainy season and it was easy to imagine the flooding that can occur obliterating the roads.

Sarah with some of the equipment

Nicodemus, at Manor House, gave us a very informative  tour round the property and explained all of the methods used, while showing us the plots used by the students participating in the variety of courses run by the centre. 

The most important principals are:
To nourish the land as well as the crop
To use the space as intensively as possible while using manure and compost
To prepare the land using deep tillage methods.

I hope, in time, these methods will be put into practice at Aquinoe. 

On our return to school I met Sarah, who works in the Special Needs department, and we discussed her work, the pupils and the equipment she uses and needs.  I handed over a few of the items I had brought out for her department. 

This afternoon a mother brought her daughter, Mercy, in to school and Josphat invited me over to observe the assessment.  She has a definite weakness with her lower limbs, although she can move around while holding on to the walls or furniture.  She appears to be very bright and has been attending a special school, although she has been receiving no treatment for her physical difficulties.  She was keen that Mercy should have the opportunity of being treated by the physiotherapist at Aquinoe.  

Easter Sunday

Josphat's father & uncle, Meshak

Rachel went to church early this morning but otherwise, you would be forgiven for not knowing it was Easter today.




I spent the morning proof reading Josphat’s thesis, at least, part of it. 

The other major event of the morning was hearing a pitter patter on the roof and the ladies (Rachel, Cindy and me) rushing out to save the massive load of washing on the line from a drowning fate.  We were fortunate that we were able to retreat indoors before the storm really set in and soaked everything. 

As often happens when it rains, the electricity went off but this wasn’t too much of a problem at lunchtime as the fridge was the only appliance affected. 

Our afternoon activity was a trip to Matunda to see Josphat’s father, accompanied by Josphat’s uncle, Meshak, and his brother, Peter. 

Trucks & pigs share the roadside

He was delighted to see everyone, especially as we brought presents with us.  Josphat's father has a very distinctive hat, which indicates that he is an elder of his church, 

Matunda is a much smaller town than Kitale, built either side of the main road, with dirt tracks leading off to some of the residential sections.  The main road is lined with shops and stalls and the whole environment is a mixture of new and traditional.  Computer repair shops sit adjacent to fruit and vegetable frontages and new pick up trucks alongside pigs rooting amongst the rubbish. 
 

Matunda shop frontage

On our way back, we stopped off at a pub in Kitale town to watch the Arsenal v Manchester City football match live on television.  Premier League is as big here as in many other parts of the world!  The place was packed and we were fortunate to find a tiny space.  I was not impressed with the result though!

Saturday Market

Typical market scene

Begged a lift with Josphat into town this morning and did a little shopping - small presents for home and some mini chocolate bars as treat for the ladies of this house, who don't usually have the pleasure of such things.  When I first came there was no fridge so chocolate wasn’t worth buying - just peanut butter, biscuits or jam.  Now there’s more of a variety of welcome items!  I also bought a few items to donate to the library and office at school.

We stopped off at the market for fresh vegetables - there really is a huge choice of stalls so you could look round for the best quality and competitive prices for ages!  It’s lovely to be able to go out as often as you like to buy fresh food and, of course, the prices are brilliant compared with the UK.

Josphat takes a rest!

The same is true of every town you pass through but Kitale is the largest settlement in the region, serving as a traditional market town, and it has the shops and facilities to go with its reputation. 



On previous visits I had noticed the shilling sign that we used to use pre-decimalisation of currency, but I don’t think I had realised how commonly it’s found on shop frontages and other signs.  It really takes me back to my childhood and youth.

Cheap Safaricom calls!