It could be worse

OK so the bad news this week is that I’ve turned 30.

The good news is that unlike other recently turned 30 yr olds (Bob), my hairline isnt going all French and retreating as fast as is possible from the front line. Also unlike other recently turned 30 yr olds (guess who), the Heat and humidity is helping me shed the pound or two (cough) I needed to reach my optimal weight.

Yes, the Heat. It feels like the Day itself will burst at it’s very seams, unable to cope with the excessively cruel temperature. The soil, the animals, the people, the water, the trees - everything creeks under the pressure exerted by the relentless humid Heat.

I sweat sleeping, talking, walking, stopping, starting, crapping... When it’s windy, when I’m in the shade, when I’m indoors, when I’m outdoors; Heat stalks me like a bad storyline from a soap. Everyday, the same tiresome shit. The more it goes on the more it starts to piss me off.

Ok it’s not that bad, in fact everything is pretty good for me in Kenya.

VSO volunteers are strongly encouraged to start slowly in work and concentrate on integrating into the work and social culture first, which I am trying to do. It’s marathon not a sprint (like anyone can run long distances in this country with its heat!) no hurry, two entire years to get things done. Nonetheless, this week I was relieved to start working more on the projects I came here for.

So on Monday and Wednesday, we met the women from the Women's groups that we will focus on supporting with basic business skills, micro finance and will help them gain access to markets. Trading a variety of vegetables and fruits, fried potatoes and samosas etc, the ladies are jovial, curious and above all, keen to grow their businesses.

It is abundantly clear however that sustaining successful income generating businesses in this environment is a real challenge. But showing incredible solidarity with the size of my task, several women have dared to take on an equaling daunting challenge;

‘We’ll find you a wife!’ They say to me in Swahili accompanied by a big hearty laugh. The jokes on them.

My colleagues are ensuring my first weeks are very easy, making every effort to help me settle in. The warm traditional African welcome is disarming, natural and genuine which has magical qualities is assisting youn.., sorry I mean, middle-aged Irish volunteers assimilate.

In Scope there are 15 employees, the majority of which are talented volunteers between the ages of 20 and 27 devoting themselves to tackling the diseases, medical and social, which plague their country. We get the misguided impression from western media that Africans are waiting hand out ready to accept ‘generous’ aid from western governments to solve their problems.

However, this humbling desire to work to solve the issues that threaten the future of their families and future is a far more realistic if un-newsworthy reality. It’s an attitude which is strikingly absent from many of our own communities.

Right that’s it. I’m going to bed.
Sweating of course, because I’m hot. Or maybe everyone sweats like this when they turn 30?

What do you mean, 'no parade'??!

I arrived in my new home village of Mnarani just a bridge length from Kilifi Town on Saturday afternoon dripping in sweat, tired, hungry but happy to be at my home to be.

To describe my new home village to you, think a huge sea of corragated iron, bare-bricked houses seperated by narrow laneways and a worn out dirt roads. The sea of light blue, dull grey and rust brown is interupted my lush Boabab and Banana trees exploding skywards like blooms of green smoke.

Every morning it is serviced by countless cocks annoucing dawn (every fucking fifteen seconds) and the soundtrack of busy village chatter and clatter which plays around me at home after work.

The same locals sneek a long stare at their new white visitor as he hopelessly fails to mingle amongst them in their busy village, all trying to solve the mystery that will reveal my presence here. I think they’ve quickly worked out I’m not a tourist as while there are some excellent reasons to visit the area - ancient ruins and eden-esque creek marking the entrance to the indian ocean – there are few reasons why tourism would trouble the village itself.

It’s quite a nice village and somewhere I am quite confident will be some where I could feel at home. It has comfortable lived in feel to it and a warm charm that’s familiar to many large family villages. However, I have no doubt a marching band, a local GAA team and a float on the 17th of March of next year would be a significant addition.

From there, my walk to work is about 20 minutes, 20 minutes in which I sweat more than an Irish Banker being called into meet HR. Yet it’s a pleasant walk over the bridge with its stunning views over the Kilifi creek, the many dhows below carrying fisherman on there way out to the Ocean to complete another days work.

On Wednesday I was out in the rural areas surrounding Kilifi and the many sparsely populated villages suffering under the relentless heat and struggling to maintain a living off the scorched, bone dry soil when funnily enough, I saw on the door of one ramshackle mudhouse – Sunday: Chelsea Vs Man City Live KO: 3:30 (Spurs Vs Aston Villa – Fuck Off! We’re not desperate enough to show that shite) – ok that last part is made up!

My boss, Josho has an impressive history serving the community in which he was born and bred. His intensity is clearly shown by his large saucer like brown eyes, black beard and deliberate speaking style. But more about my work and colleagues next week. I bet you cant wait!

Hope all is well at home.

Before the start

Haburi

I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya for a weeks in country training on Friday. And while at first I was almost overwhelmed, I'm coming too now and really looking forward to the next two, you know, years.  

In total there are 46 volunteers in Kenya of which 18 volunteers are new and are attending ICT. They hail from a range of different countries; Canada, US, UK, Philippines, Ireland and Uganda.

Four volunteers have been insitu in there placement for 3 months. The rest of us rabbits have only just been caught out by the headlamps and seek every opportunity to listen to their work place struggles and accommodation calamities. Ok it’s not that bad. In fact they’re stories are quite reassuring.

I heard some great stories about Kilifi, my placement and how astoundingly beautiful it is. I’ve met volunteers from there and the Coast region and am gratefully reassured by the community they’ve established. I’m slowly learning Swahili (pole pole – slowly slowly) and learning about African and Kenya football, the latter beset by corruption.

I got introduced to my employer on Wednesday and he seems a nice guy. He explained to me more about my role, my accommodation and some of the issues facing the community.

Nairobi is a traffic laden pressure cooker of people with an incessant sound track provided mainly by the mattatu traffic.

I get to Kilifi via mombasa on Saturday evening. My house is only being built but it is not ready so will stay with either my boss or another volunteer. Looking forward to getting there thou I’m told kilifi is a ‘furnace’

Hope all is well at home

Colm

In the beginning...

Here we go

Two years. 24 Months.  104 weeks. Many days. Many, many nights.  But to what end?

For the past two weeks, longer even, I've been asked more or less that question - 'And what are you going to be doing out there?'.  And it's a very good question. I cant help answering it without vomiting out  a string of buzzwords -HIV/AIDS Programmes, Diversified Income Streams, Meet Fundraising Objectives, Access to MicroFinance etc.  

But essentially it's this - Small, developing businesses including Community Based Organisations (like Scope) need income to help them achieve their objectives whatever they maybe, commercial or social  -  they need to provide a value added product or service to a market with little or no income.  Essentially, my role is to assist them develop their business plans with the aim of helping achieve their objectives. Our specific objectives is to combat the yoke that is the HIV/AIDS virus.

This to a market with 42% living on a dollar a day, 58% on $2 a day, highest female illiteracy and lowest secondary school attendance in Kenya, and with 2 million people threatened by Famine....the challenge is enormous. But it's part of a greater challenge, a challenge that none other is more important. 

It is Fundamentally an Essential One.  

My challenges of living in a different environment with a different culture, cut off from the usual amenities that my current day to day activities are based pales into almost meaningless significance.  But of course, it feels anything but meaningless. I will have immense personal mountains to climb, peaks to enjoy, celebrate and aspire for evermore to scale.  But also deep, dark, horrible valleys to endure.  

 The challenges both personally and professionally are Massive. I'm looking forward to dealing with them.  Both successfully and inevitably, at times, unsuccessfully. And I will certainly appreciate comments from the 'outside world' throughout my time in Kenya that will make the peaks more enjoyable and valleys more endurable.

Win Win. Fail Fail.  Either way - Two years.  24 Months. 104 weeks. Many days. Many many nights.

Ambulance by Blur.