Sugar King Region

Sugar cane tractors waiting at the gate

We left Kisumu behind this morning and set out for Kitale again. 

Much of the region through which we drove is given over to sugar cane and there was much in evidence, both in the plantations and n the fields of small-scale farmers. 

I have noticed “Mumias Sugar” advertisements beside the road and on the sides/frontages of shops over the years I’ve been coming to Kenya but hadn’t realised that Mumias is actually a town in Western Province, and even the name of a wider area. 

Tractors with trailers loaded with the cane trundled along the road and, at one point, a whole series of them was waiting at the factory gate to be admitted.

Cutting cane in the fields

We saw a factory in the middle distance, and there looked to be significant pollution, although the company claims to be environmentally conscious.  Apart from sugar, and molasses, Mumias also apparently produces electric power, from burning some of the waste products.  In any case, it must be a huge employer in the region, obviously growing the cane itself, but also in the factory and in the transportation of the finished products. 

Another common  sight on the journey worth commenting on was the movement of lucerne or alfalfa from the fields and the verges to livestock for fodder.  Some of the small-scale farmers carry it on their backs, while the majority take large bundles on the backs of their bicycles to take to market.

Carrying the load

Word had it that the rains had started properly in Kitale but there was no real sign of wet verges or puddles when we got back. 


Whoops! Just heard on the news that the Kenyan airport staff went on strike today.   Sheena just managed to leave in time yesterday evening.  I hope the two sides can come to an agreement in the next day or so or there’ll be a huge backlog by next Friday - my departure date. 

Hip Hip Hooray

Zebra at the Impala Park, Kisumu

This is genuinely for the 5th April!  At least I hope so - you never know what’s going to happen before you actually “publish”.

Cindy and I spent the morning at the house, catching up with some cleaning and washing - and yesterday’s blog!

This afternoon we went to Kisumu, where I bought some souvenirs, and then down past Kiboko (Hippo) Bay, to  where the Dunga Wetland area is now recognised as being valuable for the number of plant, animal and particularly bird species.  A centre has been built which welcomes both locals and tourists  and does outreach conservation work.  The people who work there are locals and many of them are also  fishermen, one of whom took Cindy and I in his boat to seek out hippopotami. The guide who came with us was well-versed in the bird species we saw.  Fishing has declined in the area overall partly because of over-fishing and partly because of the invasion of water hyacinths.  

Hippo in Lake Victoria

We arrived at the bay just in time to hire the boat but were, unfortunately (for me), too late to see round the conservation centre - a “must” for next time. 

We were lucky enough to see at least four hippos (two male and two female) while out in the boat and, although the boat was rocking quite a lot in the waves, I managed one half decent photo.  It’s a little blurred, but probably worth showing just to prove my story! Hip Hip ...

Chris, "our" fisherman

The hippo photo adds to impala and zebra seen yesterday at the Impala Park.  Other animals were also in evidence (leopard, cheetahs, lions, ostriches, monkeys, baboons) but the great majority were in captivity so I wasn’t too keen to photograph them in such circumstances.  It was said that they were all endangered species or injured in some way and therefore the “wild” was not the best place for them but it is still sad to see them there. 

Farewell to Sheena

Josphat, Meshak's wife & Cindy

It was an early start - up just before 04:00 and out of the house by 04:45 in order to arrive at Eldoret in time for Sheena to check in for her 08:10 flight to Nairobi.  For various reasons we’d all got to bed quite late the night before so it wasn’t easy to rise and shine but we put on a good show. 

Eldoret is a much larger than Kitale and has an airport as opposed to an airstrip so I didn’t attempt to take any photos of her departure as I didn’t want to be arrested!  It was a very sad moment when we waved our final goodbyes as Sheena and I have become pretty close over the last few days.

After breakfast in Eldoret we drove at a more leisurely speed up to Kisumu, stopping off at a couple of schools where Josphat had family or friends and then at Meshak’s house to see his wife.  Meshak is one of the security guards at Aquinoe - a senior citizen of the old brigade. 

Tea!

We also passed by the primary schools Josphat attended and some tea fields.  These are owned by smallish farmers who often work as art of a cooperative, and not the big plantations further south, owned by famous firms such as Brooke Bond. 

Brick "oven" with logs flaming

We also stopped at the side of the road adjacent to a place where bricks are made in a brick “oven” on a cottage industry basis.  This kind of manufacture iss extremely relevant to the school and the charity.  On several applications for funding, we have been able to state that bricks will be bought from parents of pupils, thereby showing a community link and they also have the benefit of being cheaper than ones produced in a factory.  I thought it would be interesting to see such an enterprise in action and also take photographs for future applications.  

When we arrived at Kisumu we went straight to a restaurant beside Lake Victoria for the local delicacy - tilapia, a really tasty fish caught in the lake. It was good to see that the ater hyacinths were less in evidence than on  my previous trip, but unfortunately they are being blown back onshore by the wind. 

Pile of finished bricks

* This was all written last night and almost ready to go - was just uploading the last photograph when I was thrown offline by Safaricom and simply couldn't return!  This SHOULD be for the 4th April.

Library Update

Library exterior

I spent much of the morning in the library with Lucas, the librarian.  We met him two years ago when he first came to the school and the library was in the process of being set up, with many books from a variety of sources, including several charities and publishers in the UK. 


The books are now housed in a bigger building than that of two years ago, which has much more room for new shelves and the storage of books.  It doesn't have the same potential as the the one we have plans for, but is certainly an improvement on the shack-like original building. 

Lucas at work

Tina, Linda and I had managed to acquire many pieces of equipment from a couple of library services - items that had become redundant with the computerisation of services.  Chris had received much information on systems from his cousin and we had arrived with everything we needed to classify and catalogue the books already at Aquinoe and the piles that we brought with us.  The idea at that time was that the pupils would all be encouraged to borrow books from the library and would develop a love of reading. 

Some "little ones" enjoying books

Lucas explained that the lending system had not really worked for the pupils, although it was still in place for the staff.  Although the pupils loved having the books, they were almost too much of a prized possession and some of the books were not returned to the library.  Too many were being “lost” despite the threat of fines being imposed. 

The system at the moment is that teachers will bring the pupils in their class to the library once a week and the children will read a chosen book.  This will then be bookmarked and the pupil will read more the following week.  Some of the pupils are also allowed to come in small groups and will read informally

Older pupils choosing books & newspapers

There are newspapers for the older pupils to read at a table in the library at lunchtimes or after school. 

Four library monitors help to put books back on the shelves and generally tidy up. 

There is a possibility that an assistant may be employed so that the library can open in the evenings and  at the weekend. 

Even further into the future there are dreams that the library may become a community resource for local people. 

Parties and Presentations

This started with three pupils in photo!

Josphat took me out to St John’s Girls High School this morning to visit a former pupil of Aquinoe Learning Centre.  There was a calm, ordered atmosphere, but the regimented style of Kabuyefwe Friends School from yesterday was missing - thank goodness.  I’ve known Teresa for eight years (although she is very shy, so I haven’t known her well) and it was good to see her looking healthy and hear that she was doing well in her studies.

Sheena gives out stationery items

 

I spent time this afternoon talking to Esther, one of the teachers, who is about to take on the role of facilitating communication between sponsors in the UK and individual pupils at Aquinoe.  She will collect pupils’ letters and ensure they are sent to me in the UK for distribution.  She will also update photos and the thumbnail information about each of the pupils. 

The next two activities were all down to Sheena.  Firstly she had bought stationery items for each pupil in the school and we toured the classrooms this afternoon distributing some to the younger pupils.

Senior girls dance for Sheena

Sheena displays her carved figure

Secondly she had organised and bought food and soft drinks for a little party after classes for members of staff.  It was a lovely get-together and the staff certainly enjoyed the treat.  I knew about this part of the proceedings and helped Sheena to lay everything out and pass round the food.  I didn’t know that there was going to be some entertainment from several groups of children, organised by John, the Standard Eight teacher and boarding master - poems songs and dances.  Nor did I know that there would be presentations.  Sheena has done such a lot in so many ways for the school that I wasn’t surprised when she received a carved figure - a representation of a future African husband!  I was not, however, prepared to be presented with a painting myself.  I hope all “friends” of the charity will consider it as a communal gift. 

Not So Sunny Sunday

Local transport

April Fools’ Day!  Well, not sure how much significance over here, but apparently there was a spoof item on the six o’clock news this morning. 

As I went to bed last night I heard a pitter patter on the windows and was pleased for the local farmers, but this morning it transpired that the rain was short-lived.  It’s been cooler today though and there was about an hour’s worth of rain this afternoon - not enough to help the crops but hopefully it‘s the prelude to some “proper“ rains.  The sun has only been glimpsed a handful of times today and the skies have been cloudy, sometimes almost black. 

Rachel & Jean waiting to meet Lucy

We took a trip to Kabuyefwe Friends secondary school today to see Rachel’s daughter, Lucy, who began studying there a couple of months ago.  On the way, it was clear that the fields (loads of them) have been prepared and the maize & bean seeds planted, ready for the rains to begin in earnest. 

The school itself was an eye opener.  Despite having been told that it was a “visiting” day, we were at first told that nobody could see the pupils, then only for a few minutes.  Force of numbers of other parents prevailed and the authorities relented so we stayed for over an hour.  The regime does seem to rule with an iron rod and the pupils are issued with numbers printed on their clothing, rather like prison issue.

Threatening skies over the roadworks

There are (at least) two kinds of road repair.  Sometimes large potholes are mended, in which case the area is roped off for days while the road is improved and vehicles are simply driven off on to the “verge” as well as the drivers can manage.  For smaller (but sometimes deep) potholes the locals sometimes take it on themselves to fill the holes with dirt and try to flag down motorists to give them a few coins. 

Sunny Saturday ...

Meshak, security guard, & Sheena

Picking out the bad grains from the corn

... Yes, sunny again and even warmer than yesterday. It should be rining though and, apart from a few clouds

bubbling up in the evening, there is no sign of any precipitation yet. 

 I felt pretty groggy yesterday through lack of sleep but had a good eight hours sleep last night and felt refreshed this morning.

Since I arrived, the electricity has faltered occasionally and has gone off four times, but three of those were only for a few minutes sodidn’t cause any real concern.  I did ask Josphat to buy me a torch this morning

though, just to be on the safe side.  

Rachel doing the washing outside

Since I wrote that para, the electricity has been on & off on several occasions  so I didn't have the laptop connected to the power, for fear of a surge, and the battery ran out of power so I have come back much later on.

Josphat & the ladies

There have been various discussions today about possible projects for the future and priorities too - there are so many obvious areas which would benefit from extra funds!  Some of these relate to buildings, others are projects like growing food crops for the boarders at the school and also to provide another vocational course for some of the older pupils.