Friday, October 16, 2009
Oriwo Education Centre
I have been on my OSP for over a month now and time seems to be going very quickly. My two projects are coming along well and are keeping me busy. I spend most of my time at Oriwo the nursery school. The children and teachers have really opened up and are very welcoming. Craig and I have bought them small tables and chairs so that the children don't have to sit on the ground anymore. Giving these tables and chairs to them was one of my favorite days I have had in Kenya. We didn't tell the teachers or students that we were doing this and one day we just showed up with all of it. The looks on their faces was something that I will remember forever. The land owner who is also the head of the school came out of her house dancing. The children sang us songs with the biggest grins. We have also given the school stationary, books and charts which has already been put to good use. I know that my time spent at Oriwo is always worthwhile. The children have so little but I have never seen happier kids in my life. I have also started teaching at Oriwo which is both exciting and challenging. The children are so eager to learn and have so many questions. At times it is frustrating because their English is not very good and my Luo and Swahili is very very limited. There are a few children that live near Oriwo that I have a very soft spot for. Gloria is in the baby class and has the biggest smile I have ever seen and Brina is going to start in the baby class next year. The two of them run up to me as soon as they see me yelling 'MZUNGU MZUNGU!' That is my favorite part of the day seeing their bright little faces. There is another little girl in the ready class who is very quite and has a lot of potential but after her mother died her father abandonded her and her grandmother can not afford to pay for her books so her chances of going to primary school are limited. It's quite sad beacuse she is probably the brightest kid in the whole class. I hope to sponsor her. Well that's everything that has been happening at Oriwo and next time I will write about my womens group.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Mutumbu OSP
The OAP program has finsihed. We successfully completed 12 houses in three villages, installled a rain water tank for an ECD in Odede, fixed a kitchen for the same ECD, painted a maternity ward and held four mobile healthcare clincs in which we saw over 700 patients. With the rest of our fundrasied money we were able to install electricity to the completed maternity ward, assist a feeding program for 8 families who will be effected by the drought, set up a feeding program at the ECD in Odede, buy 5 beehives for a womens group in which the income will support orphans in the area and assist one of the mama's we built a house. It was a busy 10 weeks! Most of the girls have gone home now so I am setting up my new project and adjusting to life in 'the white house'.
I have three for projetcs however, becuse I am left with only 10 weeks I wont be able to complete all of them. For the past two weeks I have been visiting schools, community groups, womens groups and an ECD. I have decided to focus my attention on the ECD with one of the other volunteers here, Craig. The ECD opened in January of this year and already has over 80 students. It is run by a family. They have one small room which is the only classroom where 31 of the students attened. The remaining students sit on the ground outside under a tree. The school has very little. They have desks for the classroom and a black board for both classes. The childreb each have one writting book and share pencils. They don't have uniforms yet but they should have them by the end of next month. Most of the children don't have shoes which means that many of them have Jigas (small parasites in their feet). Craig and I are hoping to provide these children with some basics. Writting books, pencils, charts, story books, chalk, balls, a sign and desks if time and funds are available.
My other projecr is working with a young mums womens group. These are young girls mostly under the age of 18 with children. I will assist Dr Martin (who set the group up) in trying to empower these women through education and if I can provide them with a sewing machine so that they have their own means of income.
Well that's all for now.
Peace.
I have three for projetcs however, becuse I am left with only 10 weeks I wont be able to complete all of them. For the past two weeks I have been visiting schools, community groups, womens groups and an ECD. I have decided to focus my attention on the ECD with one of the other volunteers here, Craig. The ECD opened in January of this year and already has over 80 students. It is run by a family. They have one small room which is the only classroom where 31 of the students attened. The remaining students sit on the ground outside under a tree. The school has very little. They have desks for the classroom and a black board for both classes. The childreb each have one writting book and share pencils. They don't have uniforms yet but they should have them by the end of next month. Most of the children don't have shoes which means that many of them have Jigas (small parasites in their feet). Craig and I are hoping to provide these children with some basics. Writting books, pencils, charts, story books, chalk, balls, a sign and desks if time and funds are available.
My other projecr is working with a young mums womens group. These are young girls mostly under the age of 18 with children. I will assist Dr Martin (who set the group up) in trying to empower these women through education and if I can provide them with a sewing machine so that they have their own means of income.
Well that's all for now.
Peace.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Hono
Moving from Odede to Hono was difficult as we had all made beautiful friends there. It really felt like home. We then mobed to Hono not far from Mutumbu where we lived in a boarding school dorm (a completely different experience). AT first it was school holidays so we had the dorm to ourselves (with the exception of the bats that fly around inside all night)but then school went back so the girls moved in(another completely different experience). It was nice to spend time with just our group for the first week in Hono.
So we have finished all our projects now which I just can't believe. We have built 13 houses, a rainwater tank, held 4 mobile health care clinics and towards the end of our program we still had left over fund raised money so we painted a medical clinic (a new ward that couldn't be used until it was painted) we also paid for electricity to be put in the building and set up a feeding program.
Just when we thought that we knew exactly how to build a house it changed...again... in Hono houses are built by tying pieces of cumba (like large grass/reeds) together and then tying the wood to the basic structure. It was a lot quicker building houses this way and was a nice change from hammering. I
Fred organised for two girls Elizabeth and Sarah to look after us... cook us lunch and wash our clothes. I got along really well with them and was really sad to say goodbye. Although, I am planning on visiting them soon. Elizabeth is at university studying pharmacy (she was on holidays) and Sarah is hoping to go to polytechnic school to learn how to be a tailor although her clothes are already amazing. She is going to make me a few things :) I spent alot of my free time with the girls helping them make hot chips on the corner of the road. It was heaps of fun helping out as the whole community would walk past and I got to meet a lot of people. Plus i got to eat hot chips (really a win-win).
Well I am now on holidays for two weeks. We have completion this afternoon (hopefully it involves a pool) and then we are off to Nairobi tomorrow morning for two nights. Where we will say goodbye to Deanna, Jo and Sarah (something I am not looking forward to). Then katy and I are going to Zanzibar for 9 days WOOT! I am really excited! It will be a long bus ride but well worth it.
Well that's all for now.
Peace
Georgia
So we have finished all our projects now which I just can't believe. We have built 13 houses, a rainwater tank, held 4 mobile health care clinics and towards the end of our program we still had left over fund raised money so we painted a medical clinic (a new ward that couldn't be used until it was painted) we also paid for electricity to be put in the building and set up a feeding program.
Just when we thought that we knew exactly how to build a house it changed...again... in Hono houses are built by tying pieces of cumba (like large grass/reeds) together and then tying the wood to the basic structure. It was a lot quicker building houses this way and was a nice change from hammering. I
Fred organised for two girls Elizabeth and Sarah to look after us... cook us lunch and wash our clothes. I got along really well with them and was really sad to say goodbye. Although, I am planning on visiting them soon. Elizabeth is at university studying pharmacy (she was on holidays) and Sarah is hoping to go to polytechnic school to learn how to be a tailor although her clothes are already amazing. She is going to make me a few things :) I spent alot of my free time with the girls helping them make hot chips on the corner of the road. It was heaps of fun helping out as the whole community would walk past and I got to meet a lot of people. Plus i got to eat hot chips (really a win-win).
Well I am now on holidays for two weeks. We have completion this afternoon (hopefully it involves a pool) and then we are off to Nairobi tomorrow morning for two nights. Where we will say goodbye to Deanna, Jo and Sarah (something I am not looking forward to). Then katy and I are going to Zanzibar for 9 days WOOT! I am really excited! It will be a long bus ride but well worth it.
Well that's all for now.
Peace
Georgia
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Odede
We left Odede a few days ago where we built our sixth house which will be used as a kitchen for the Early Childhood Development Centre that the previous team built. It was different to the other houses we have built because we didn't have to start from scratch but in some ways that made it more difficult. This house also involved cow poo so that was fun. Because the basic structure was already there it meant that we were able to save some money so we can buy the children some maize which will mean that those that don't get fed will be able to have at least one meal a day. We have also started to build the ecd a rainwater tank so that the children have access to clean drinking water. All the kids are so gorgeous at the ecd and we play with them when they have breaks. They are about 3-5 years old and all just want to have their photos taken. Working there is amazing because we can hear them singing and playing. They are also learning English and are constantly singing 'head, shoulders, knees and toes'. The thing that is most inspiring about this site is that the school was built by WYI so we can see the direct impact on the community that lasts long after the volunteers leave.
As well as building we have held another medical camp on the weekend at the ecd where we saw 225 people. It is pretty intense but well worth it. Katy is awesome at the camps... she's a nurse and does all the injections and cleaning of wounds. The rest of us do regos, temp taking and handing out medicine.
We are staying in Fred's house which is very comfortable with the exception of the bat that lives in the toilet. No toilet trips after dusk. There are three bedrooms so we are a bit more spread out. the light in our room doesn't work but that just makes things all the more interesting.
well that's all for now folks.
peace and love.
Xx
As well as building we have held another medical camp on the weekend at the ecd where we saw 225 people. It is pretty intense but well worth it. Katy is awesome at the camps... she's a nurse and does all the injections and cleaning of wounds. The rest of us do regos, temp taking and handing out medicine.
We are staying in Fred's house which is very comfortable with the exception of the bat that lives in the toilet. No toilet trips after dusk. There are three bedrooms so we are a bit more spread out. the light in our room doesn't work but that just makes things all the more interesting.
well that's all for now folks.
peace and love.
Xx
Monday, July 6, 2009
Mutumbu
Trying to explain the things that I have seen and done since being in Mutumbu seems almost impossible but I give it a shot.
Mutumbu is a small rural town about 2 hours out of Kisumu on a Matatu (kind of like a mini bus but th ekenyas manage to fit over 25 people on one). We are staying in a compound behind the 'white house' where I will be living after the action project. The house is like a kenyan palace. There are three bedrooms although we only use two and the third one is the sick bay but thankfully hasnt been used to often. There is a small kitchen with a gas top stove which we cook all of our meals on. The food has been pretty awesome. When we cook it's usually pasta, stirfry and burgers. We get lunch cooked for us which is more local food like chapati and potato, a spinach like dish, beans, rice and we have even given ugali a try. On Pips birthday we made pancakes as a substitute for a birthday cake it was pretty awesome. So back to what the house is like... there is a dining room and lounge room where we hang out after work. The bathroom is well basic... we have an inside toilet which we use at night otherwise there are four drop toilets outside with no lights and lots of flies so that's always an adventure. The 'shower' is inside we each have our own bucket in which we fill it up with water from a big drum and then that's our shower. We are helping each other wash to wash hair. Sometimes we might boils some water and have hot showers but that takes a while. The water drums are refilled everyday by a guy that comes with smaller drums and then fills our big drums.
So our day to day life...
Monday: we usually spend monday building it takes us two days to finish a house. We get up at 6-6.30 walk to the community centre by 7 and either walk or boda boda to the worksite and start working by 7.30 have lunch at 12 and finish at 3. We start by caring wood its pretty heavy and can take alot out of you but we are pretty good at working together. Once all the wood is on site the fundi (local laborers)help us to construct the frame. They build the roof while we finish of the walls. The next step is to make mud sometimes this is easy sometimes this is a challenge. If we have to get the water ourselves it takes alot longer as it means that we have to walk to the water source and carry buckets of water something that white people are just not very good at. I dont think our necks can take the weight but we get there in the end. Sometimes the water is already on site so its just a matter of the locals mixing it together and then we make mud 'bricks' really just balls of mud and put them in the frame.
Tuesday: We usually just finish muding on tuesday which usually only takes us until lunch time and then we either go home and hang out or go and do some other volunteer work depending on how we are feeling.
Wednesday: is similar to mondays as we start building a new house
Thursday: is pretty much like tuesday we mainly mud and get home early.
Friday: we usually have off to complete our individual projects and visit different places.
Saturday and Sunday are always different we sometimes go into Kisumu we have been to a national forest and this weekend we have been packing because we are off to odede the next village.
I havent decided what I want to do for my individual project yet but I have had a look around and some schools, a baby home called Rangala which really needs help but visiting there was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. Gemma a girl that has been volunteering since feb runs a HIV and AIDS and drug abuse classes that I went along to which was really interesting because the people attending don't have much knowledge on the topics and really want to learn. There is so much I could do in Mutumbu when I get back and I am excited that I will be able to work on my own project when I get back.
Kakamenga Naational forest was amazing. We spent two nights there in this awesome huts with no electricty. We had hot showers and western toilets so we were all very happy. We walked in the forest as a group and the next morning went on a sunrise walk. The sunrise walk was just so beautiful and the photos just dont do it justice. We walked up a rather large hill and got a 360 degree view of the forest as the sun was rising.
Since coming back from kakamenga we finished our last two houses in Mutumbu. There are a total of five now which is pretty cool. We held a sports day at one of the schools where we played lots of games and the kids were all very excited about us being there and about learning these new games. We had three legged races, potato sack races, potato on the spoon (we couldnt encourage egg on the spoon because that would be a waste of food) and some other games.
We are off to odede today which is an hour out of kisumu in the other direction away from mutumbu. I really love mutumbu the people are so beautiful and inspiring and I am really looking forward to getting back there. I have a washing mama who well washes my clothes and although she doesnt speak english I spend a bit of time with her and her family. She is going to cook me chapatis when I get back to the white house which I am very happy about.
Well I must be off now as I have a lot of things to do in Kisumu before we head of to odede. Keep me posted on whats going on back home.
Peace and love
Xx
Mutumbu is a small rural town about 2 hours out of Kisumu on a Matatu (kind of like a mini bus but th ekenyas manage to fit over 25 people on one). We are staying in a compound behind the 'white house' where I will be living after the action project. The house is like a kenyan palace. There are three bedrooms although we only use two and the third one is the sick bay but thankfully hasnt been used to often. There is a small kitchen with a gas top stove which we cook all of our meals on. The food has been pretty awesome. When we cook it's usually pasta, stirfry and burgers. We get lunch cooked for us which is more local food like chapati and potato, a spinach like dish, beans, rice and we have even given ugali a try. On Pips birthday we made pancakes as a substitute for a birthday cake it was pretty awesome. So back to what the house is like... there is a dining room and lounge room where we hang out after work. The bathroom is well basic... we have an inside toilet which we use at night otherwise there are four drop toilets outside with no lights and lots of flies so that's always an adventure. The 'shower' is inside we each have our own bucket in which we fill it up with water from a big drum and then that's our shower. We are helping each other wash to wash hair. Sometimes we might boils some water and have hot showers but that takes a while. The water drums are refilled everyday by a guy that comes with smaller drums and then fills our big drums.
So our day to day life...
Monday: we usually spend monday building it takes us two days to finish a house. We get up at 6-6.30 walk to the community centre by 7 and either walk or boda boda to the worksite and start working by 7.30 have lunch at 12 and finish at 3. We start by caring wood its pretty heavy and can take alot out of you but we are pretty good at working together. Once all the wood is on site the fundi (local laborers)help us to construct the frame. They build the roof while we finish of the walls. The next step is to make mud sometimes this is easy sometimes this is a challenge. If we have to get the water ourselves it takes alot longer as it means that we have to walk to the water source and carry buckets of water something that white people are just not very good at. I dont think our necks can take the weight but we get there in the end. Sometimes the water is already on site so its just a matter of the locals mixing it together and then we make mud 'bricks' really just balls of mud and put them in the frame.
Tuesday: We usually just finish muding on tuesday which usually only takes us until lunch time and then we either go home and hang out or go and do some other volunteer work depending on how we are feeling.
Wednesday: is similar to mondays as we start building a new house
Thursday: is pretty much like tuesday we mainly mud and get home early.
Friday: we usually have off to complete our individual projects and visit different places.
Saturday and Sunday are always different we sometimes go into Kisumu we have been to a national forest and this weekend we have been packing because we are off to odede the next village.
I havent decided what I want to do for my individual project yet but I have had a look around and some schools, a baby home called Rangala which really needs help but visiting there was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. Gemma a girl that has been volunteering since feb runs a HIV and AIDS and drug abuse classes that I went along to which was really interesting because the people attending don't have much knowledge on the topics and really want to learn. There is so much I could do in Mutumbu when I get back and I am excited that I will be able to work on my own project when I get back.
Kakamenga Naational forest was amazing. We spent two nights there in this awesome huts with no electricty. We had hot showers and western toilets so we were all very happy. We walked in the forest as a group and the next morning went on a sunrise walk. The sunrise walk was just so beautiful and the photos just dont do it justice. We walked up a rather large hill and got a 360 degree view of the forest as the sun was rising.
Since coming back from kakamenga we finished our last two houses in Mutumbu. There are a total of five now which is pretty cool. We held a sports day at one of the schools where we played lots of games and the kids were all very excited about us being there and about learning these new games. We had three legged races, potato sack races, potato on the spoon (we couldnt encourage egg on the spoon because that would be a waste of food) and some other games.
We are off to odede today which is an hour out of kisumu in the other direction away from mutumbu. I really love mutumbu the people are so beautiful and inspiring and I am really looking forward to getting back there. I have a washing mama who well washes my clothes and although she doesnt speak english I spend a bit of time with her and her family. She is going to cook me chapatis when I get back to the white house which I am very happy about.
Well I must be off now as I have a lot of things to do in Kisumu before we head of to odede. Keep me posted on whats going on back home.
Peace and love
Xx
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Kisumu
I have been in Kisumu for four days now and we are leaving for Mutumbu today. Kisumu is pretty quite. The hotel is nice and basic we have hot running water and a fan which is awesome. We went to a place called HOVIC two days ago which is a street boys drop in centre. They have just set up a night shelter as a part of that which was pretty cool. They boys were so cute and ranged from about 5 to 18. They just wanted to know about Australia and play with us. We took them some biscuits and handed out their lunch. It was really inspiring going to HOVIC because WYI painted the walls there and built the kitchen. It was also very challenging because the children take you aside and ask fro you to sponsor them. It is so hard to know what to say because you can't sponsor all of the kids you meet no matter how cute they are. I think they were happy to just play with us. Yesterday we had an 'amzing race' where we had this list of places to go in Kisumu to make sure we are comfortable catching public transport and just getting around. It pretty fun but Pip and I were sick so we didn't run which meant that our team came last. We have found this really cool resturant called the green garden which I am sure I will be going back to. After the amazing race we went to a place called shinners which is a refuges centre. We walked around the slums and even went into a couple of the houses. It was so eye opening. It's one thing to see slums on TV or read about them but to actually be in one is so completely different. In one of the houses I went into it was slighty bigger than my bedroom and had 29 babies and small children and one one women who was the grandmother or greatgrandmother of all of these children. As we walked around children followed us until there was about 40 kids following us. They just wanted to hold our hands and play with us. Well thats about all for now I am going into mutumbu today and wont have internet access for about 3 weeks. Hope everything back home is going well and i look forward to reading your emails when I can get to a computer again.
Peace and Love
Xx
Peace and Love
Xx
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Nairobi
I have arrived in Nairobi now and have been here for two days. I was the second to get here so Sarah our team leader and Katy one of the other participants came and got me from the airport. The flights were okay and I managed to sleep for a lot of it. When we got to Upperhill campsite where we are staying for three nights there were some other World Youth participants who have been here fro a few months and I will be staying with two of them after I finish my action program so it was really inspiring to hear what they were doing two of the girls had set up a womens group for young mums and had also been educating the community on HIV and AIDS. After a bit of a rest and a nice hot shower the three of us went out for dinner. We met up with a woman called Natalie who is a friend of a friend of Sarahs and has been living in Nairobi for the past two months. The next day Melissa and Dani arrived and the four of us went to a baby elephant orphanage where we saw it was so cool. They look after these baby elephants and then let them back into the wild when they are old enough. After that we went shopping and out for lunch. Then back to the campsite where we waited for the others to arrive. Deanna and Kirby were the next to arrive. Kirby had already had her wallet and jacket stolen and Melissa had her wallet stolen when she was in Thailand. The last three didn’t arrive until 10pm by which time we were all in bed. They had some stories to tell though. Katherine’s flight had an emergency landing after being hit by lightning. Pips credit card had been eaten by an ATM. Then one the way home they were pulled over by the police for not wearing their seatbelts but they were but in the end all they had to do was say sorry and they let them go. Then when they were getting ready for bed Pip realised that her pack was in fact not her pack and she had accidentally picked up the wrong bag. So Sarah and Pip are at the airport at the moment sorting everything out.
We are going to have team meeting in an hour and then go out for lunch and then to a giraffe park. Nairobi is not as chaotic as I thought it would be but there are people on the roads everywhere. The school kids are so cute I will struggle not to take one home with me. I don’t feel as if I am really in Africa yet maybe because we haven’t really explored much but I’m sure by the time we reach Kisumu it will all sink in. Well that’s all for now I’m not sure when I’ll get to the net again but probably within the next few days when we are in Kisumu. Hope everything is okay at home and that Edgar feels better.
Love you all
Xx
ps i cant use paragraphs because the computer goes crazy
We are going to have team meeting in an hour and then go out for lunch and then to a giraffe park. Nairobi is not as chaotic as I thought it would be but there are people on the roads everywhere. The school kids are so cute I will struggle not to take one home with me. I don’t feel as if I am really in Africa yet maybe because we haven’t really explored much but I’m sure by the time we reach Kisumu it will all sink in. Well that’s all for now I’m not sure when I’ll get to the net again but probably within the next few days when we are in Kisumu. Hope everything is okay at home and that Edgar feels better.
Love you all
Xx
ps i cant use paragraphs because the computer goes crazy
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