On the right path...

Of all the people to sit beside on the bus from Nairobi to Isongo, I happened to sit beside a business and social studies professor from a university in Nairobi. Dr. Hebron Were was traveling to Kakamega to lecture at a new university here. When I told him what I was coming here to do, he got very excited an wanted to get involved. Hebron has 2 Master's degrees and a PhD, all studying sustainable development and marketing - exactly what I know NOTHING about! So, after finishing up his lecture he came out to the classroom (a mud hut) to conduct the first official class of GEWLS. He gave us an excellent lecture on building a grassroots program, explaining to the girls how important it is to learn new skills and open new doors, even when you're not sure where they'll lead. He talked to them about how to take a dream, or a vision, and make it a reality. It was incredible, and I couldn't possibly have planned for anything better. The students were very engaged and asked lots of questions - so much so that he's decided to come back in a few weeks to see how we're all doing. On top of that, he's even offered to develop a curriculum for the women so they will know how to keep building on the program long after I leave! The long-term goal for GEWLS is to build a vocational school for women. Somehow I ended up sitting for 7 long, dusty hours on a bus beside a man whose career it is to develop new educational opportunities in the region!

So today I came in to Kakamega to prepare for tomorrow's class. I was able to buy a big bag of m
mitumba (second-hand clothing) for next-to-nothing and tomorrow we start hooking the rugs! I'm really keen to see what kinds of patterns and designs they come up with. I hope to be able to post some pictures of the work but the internet connections, like everything else, run on 'Africa time'. I'll try this weekend.

I'm beginning to settle in to Kenyan life: waking up to cows mooing in my window, riding on the back of a moto boda through cane fields (motorcycle taxi), chasing the chickens around the yard (dinner), listening to Christmas carols blast out of the car-battery-operated CD player (A Partridge in a Pear Tree in Swahili!), and taking my first real Kenyan shower (after 3 days I decided it was time... too bad my tan washed away!). Of all I think the shower was the best - water warmed over the cooking fire and a scoop with which to pour it over my head.

I'm going to get back to the family compound before it starts to pour. Hope all is well with everyone, and thanks for following along - it doesn't feel so lonely this way!

Sincerely,
Obama's Sista

3 continents and 2 snowstorms later...

I made it! I'm in Kenya! I can't tell you how comforting it was to see my name on a sign held by a man in a SEA of people at the Nairobi airport. I arrived a night, and was immediately whisked away by my new-found friend to the backpackers accommodations I had booked (complete with airport pick-up). Nairobi is big, fast, and I had no idea where we were heading under the cover of darkness. How happy was I to find out that Bernard, my driver, had been my friend Hilary's driver when she was in Kenya last year!

It was Hilary's trip that inspired this adventure. She was volunteering with ICODEI in nearby region of Kenya and met a community leader, named Reverend Chrisantus Shikokoti Mukhalukha (let's call him Chris!). He wanted to begin a volunteer organization in his home area, which is Kakamega. He began with a survey of unemployed women, and asked how he could help them. They asked for skills and trades. Hilary returned to Canada with that message, and cast around for anyone with skills to share. I have a couple...

So I'm here as the first volunteer for Kenya GEWLS - Girls Empowering Women Leaders of Society. I am living on Chris' family's compound in a village called Isongo. And it's beautiful here. My mud hut is surrounded by rolling hills of sugar cane, and it's incredibly green and lush.

I met my students this morning - they are keen to learn and some of them already know a few textile crafts, such as crochet. They were so excited to see the pattern books I brought, and want to know what they'll learn to make. Who knew I'd become the Doily Queen?! I'll be collecting a few supplies in the next few days and will start classes on Friday. I'll let you know how it goes!

I decided I needed to ‘get away’. And in typical fashion one idea led to another and the next thing I know I’m getting on a flight to Africa in 6 hours.

I needed some time to step back, reflect and get out of my head for a bit. Working as a scientist and university professor is incredibly rewarding and wholly satisfies my intellectual curiosities. I make fascinating discoveries, add to the collective knowledge of society, and educate many people. However, there is something missing for me. These things are my job. While I wouldn’t trade my job in for any other, I want to do more. And there are so many things that can be done…

There is an entire continent in need. People without food, water or shelter. People in Africa live in conditions I can’t even begin to comprehend. And while I have no delusions that I alone could significantly alter the course of a continent of people, I think I can make an impact on a few lives. At the very least, I want to try.

So this is my idea: teach young women a sustainable trade. Give them their first opportunity to learn, create, and possibly to earn a living. With no education and few trades to participate in, children orphaned by AIDS have no opportunities in life. I’ll be working with 17 women from an area around Kakamega, Kenya, who participated in a survey about their hopes and dreams, and expressed their desire to learn a skill. The trade I’ve decided to teach them is primitive rug hooking. This craft originated in Atlantic Canada when settlers needed to reuse and conserve everything they had. Old clothes were ripped to strips and threaded through burlap feed sacks. Where I am headed – the Western province of Kenya – used clothing cast-off by developed nations is widely available, and coffee beans are traded in burlap bags. Hopefully this means the trade will be both sustainable and new.

Who knows where this will lead. Give a man a fish and he will be fed for a day. Teach a woman to hook a rug…