Saturday, 26 November 2011
Nyama Choma!
Yesterday I had Nyama Choma, "the meal of meats" as I like to call it. I never thought I was going to eat sausage, chicken, pork, beef, lamb, goat, crocodile, ostrich and camel in one meal! My favorite was the crocodile, it tasted really good! They cook the meat in one big fire pit and each meat was brought on a long skewer. We first were given some pumpkin soup which was very sweet, then we given a plate with spinach, roast potato, Ugali and boiled bananas. Next, we got a plate of salad and then a "hot plate" which was boiling hot iron and it fit into the wooden plate we already had. That's where the meat went. We had about 10 different chefs come all carrying different meats! By the end, I didn't hardly know which meat was which!
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Moving on from the Village
Hi, this is Gavin's Mom, Gail here.
We have now left the village and have a real mixture of feelings. Let me start by focusing on all the positive things that we have accomplished:
1. Played games and sang songs with the children every night, and on the last day we led them in singing in church - the joy of the congregation crossed all language barriers - they loved it!
2. Blair taught guitar to our friend Fred every evening, as well as others from the village too. We have left them with two guitars to continue with this.
3. Blair painted wonderful murals in the clinic, orphanage and the guest house - he has really left his mark on the village.
4. Gail had fun selling baskets at Sondu market with the women in the village, and is returning to Canada to try set up a trade partnership with Ten Thousand Villages.
5. With money that was donated, we built a hut for the women to keep their corn in, and celebrated with them when it was finished.
6. Gail worked with the young girls (age 12 to 16) in workshops on empowerment, and took them on a field trip to the Impala Sanctuary.
7. Gail story told in four local schools, with help from Gavin, and co-ordinated a storytelling festival at the local high school. It was great to see the children grow in confidence.
8. We counseled our friend Fred, and paid for him to enroll in a 48 week computer course.
9. We sponsored a young girl (Ida) at high school.
10. We supervised and paid for the repair of the chicken coop.
11. We worked at the rehabilitation centre for children with special needs.
12. We led the children in an environmental clean up ,and taught them about the importance of conserving and the environment.
13. Bought many books to equip the library.
It has, however, also been VERY difficult to work through the web of deception and corruption which seem cultural. In a country where it is common practice to bribe the police officers, it is no wonder that honesty and integrity are sometimes lost. We were told that our donated money had bought things, only to find out that other donors had been told the same thing. Or asked for money to buy things e.g. mattresses, and then watch as the new mattresses slowly disappeared - maybe sold, or who knows! The worst was when we found out that we had been given forged receipts, and that 82,000.00 KES is unaccounted for! It sometimes feels that the Ligusa Centre have made poverty into a business, where the family and the community centre are so interwoven, and where there are no clear boundaries. This should perhaps be a warning to anyone who may want to help in a developing country.
Sadly the negative experiences have marred our stay at the village. Although we will miss the children, we are not sad to leave. It is time for us now to move onto our next leg of our journey - Safari!
We have now left the village and have a real mixture of feelings. Let me start by focusing on all the positive things that we have accomplished:
1. Played games and sang songs with the children every night, and on the last day we led them in singing in church - the joy of the congregation crossed all language barriers - they loved it!
2. Blair taught guitar to our friend Fred every evening, as well as others from the village too. We have left them with two guitars to continue with this.
3. Blair painted wonderful murals in the clinic, orphanage and the guest house - he has really left his mark on the village.
4. Gail had fun selling baskets at Sondu market with the women in the village, and is returning to Canada to try set up a trade partnership with Ten Thousand Villages.
5. With money that was donated, we built a hut for the women to keep their corn in, and celebrated with them when it was finished.
6. Gail worked with the young girls (age 12 to 16) in workshops on empowerment, and took them on a field trip to the Impala Sanctuary.
7. Gail story told in four local schools, with help from Gavin, and co-ordinated a storytelling festival at the local high school. It was great to see the children grow in confidence.
8. We counseled our friend Fred, and paid for him to enroll in a 48 week computer course.
9. We sponsored a young girl (Ida) at high school.
10. We supervised and paid for the repair of the chicken coop.
11. We worked at the rehabilitation centre for children with special needs.
12. We led the children in an environmental clean up ,and taught them about the importance of conserving and the environment.
13. Bought many books to equip the library.
It has, however, also been VERY difficult to work through the web of deception and corruption which seem cultural. In a country where it is common practice to bribe the police officers, it is no wonder that honesty and integrity are sometimes lost. We were told that our donated money had bought things, only to find out that other donors had been told the same thing. Or asked for money to buy things e.g. mattresses, and then watch as the new mattresses slowly disappeared - maybe sold, or who knows! The worst was when we found out that we had been given forged receipts, and that 82,000.00 KES is unaccounted for! It sometimes feels that the Ligusa Centre have made poverty into a business, where the family and the community centre are so interwoven, and where there are no clear boundaries. This should perhaps be a warning to anyone who may want to help in a developing country.
Sadly the negative experiences have marred our stay at the village. Although we will miss the children, we are not sad to leave. It is time for us now to move onto our next leg of our journey - Safari!
Momul Tea Factory
After visiting the tea plantation, I went onto the Momul Tea Factory to see how the leaves are made into tea. Momul is supplied with tea from 13,000 local farms - it is Kenyan owned. The process of turning the leaves into tea is very complicated. First they bring it in bags on big trucks; it is weighed and the 'bad stuff' is removed. Secondly they 'wither' the tea with a large fan that dries it out, reducing the moisture content to 65%. This takes 14 hours. When withered, the workers put the leaves onto conveyor belts that take it onto the next level of processing with is cutting, tearing and culling (C.T.C). This is done by an automated machine that mashes and compresses the tea leaves. After this it goes into a continuous fermenting machine to oxidize the leaves and turn them black. Stage one of this process takes 90 minutes, and stage two and three take 50 minutes each. The Green Tea does not go through this process. The next stage is to dry the fermented leaves in an oven which is heated with a huge boiler that is fueled by wood. The factory grows the trees for the boiler in a greenhouse - they grow into saplings which are then transplanted into the fields that surround the plantations.
The last step of the process is the sorting of the tea. In this step they put the tea into an agitator which sorts the tea into 7 grades (sizes) by using the automated sieve that lets the grains fall through to different levels (grades). Grades 1 and 2 are used for loose leaf tea, grades 3 and 4 are used for tea bags, and grades 5 to 7 are sent to Afghanistan to make dry wood.
Once the tea is sorted, it is bagged up into 80kg bags and sent o Mombasa where it is sold for $4US per kilo. They are then sent by sea to the distributors and repackaged. Momul tea receives 20,000,000 kilos of green leave per year, and exports 95% of that. Only 5% remains in Kenya. It is the third biggest tea producer in the world after India and SriLanka.
I thought that it was really interesting learning how they turned a little green leaf into tea. The only thing that I didn't like was the taste testing at the end!
The last step of the process is the sorting of the tea. In this step they put the tea into an agitator which sorts the tea into 7 grades (sizes) by using the automated sieve that lets the grains fall through to different levels (grades). Grades 1 and 2 are used for loose leaf tea, grades 3 and 4 are used for tea bags, and grades 5 to 7 are sent to Afghanistan to make dry wood.
Once the tea is sorted, it is bagged up into 80kg bags and sent o Mombasa where it is sold for $4US per kilo. They are then sent by sea to the distributors and repackaged. Momul tea receives 20,000,000 kilos of green leave per year, and exports 95% of that. Only 5% remains in Kenya. It is the third biggest tea producer in the world after India and SriLanka.
I thought that it was really interesting learning how they turned a little green leaf into tea. The only thing that I didn't like was the taste testing at the end!
Kericho Tea Plantation
We took a break from the village to visit a ta plantation in Kericho owned by a compnay called Kericho Gold. Some of the information that I learned was that the groups go out to pick the tea leaves are called 'gangs' and they are usually between 200 and 300 people in a gang. They work from 7am to 3pm and in that time they must pick between 34kg and 80kg. They are paid 9KES per kilo, but are also given free housing, health care and free schooling. The owner however, gets 22KES per Kilo!
The tea bushes were first planted in 1928 and those bushes are still giving tea. It takes 3 years for a bush to grow, and they are pruned back after 2 years. If you don't pick from a bush, it can grow up to 8meters tall and it will flower and give seeds. But they use cuttings to grow new bushes instead and only allow them to grow to chest height since that makes it easier for picking. When they are picking, they only take the new light green shoots because they make the best tea. The pickers work in one area for one day, then rest the filed for 14 days so it can grow again. They pick 6 days a week and work year round, but they are evacuated from the fields in heavy rains.
I will tell you all about the Tea Factory later
The tea bushes were first planted in 1928 and those bushes are still giving tea. It takes 3 years for a bush to grow, and they are pruned back after 2 years. If you don't pick from a bush, it can grow up to 8meters tall and it will flower and give seeds. But they use cuttings to grow new bushes instead and only allow them to grow to chest height since that makes it easier for picking. When they are picking, they only take the new light green shoots because they make the best tea. The pickers work in one area for one day, then rest the filed for 14 days so it can grow again. They pick 6 days a week and work year round, but they are evacuated from the fields in heavy rains.
I will tell you all about the Tea Factory later
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Birds In Kenya
Mrs C. has asked me about the birds here in Kenya, so:
Kenya has the second largest bird list in Africa after Congo. There are almost 2000 species and all of North America only has around 600 birds. Some of the ones that i have seen are:
1. The Maribou Stork - I saw it in Nairobi sitting on top of a tree. it is a big ugly vulture like bird with bald head and dangley pink throat. I even saw one on top of a lamp post.
2. Mangrove King fisher - this is found near the coast of Lake Victoria. I saw some in Mbita sitting on a dow boat. They are small black and white and gray with long pointy beaks.
3. "The African Robin" - this is not the real name, but it looks like a small robin with bright red chest and a black body.
4. The Hammerkop - this bird has a hammer like head. They are not very big but they have a huge nest that take up most of the tree. I saw one in Mbita.
5. The Sacred Ibis - I was these in Mbita. They look like small white storks with short legs and black head and beak.
6. Ostrich - I saw a huge ostrich at the Impala Sanctuary in Kisumu. Did you know that they can run up to 50mph? I hope to see one in the wild on safari.
7. The African Eagle - I thought this bird looked more like a falcon because it wasn't very big, but it did SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE!
Kenya has the second largest bird list in Africa after Congo. There are almost 2000 species and all of North America only has around 600 birds. Some of the ones that i have seen are:
1. The Maribou Stork - I saw it in Nairobi sitting on top of a tree. it is a big ugly vulture like bird with bald head and dangley pink throat. I even saw one on top of a lamp post.
2. Mangrove King fisher - this is found near the coast of Lake Victoria. I saw some in Mbita sitting on a dow boat. They are small black and white and gray with long pointy beaks.
3. "The African Robin" - this is not the real name, but it looks like a small robin with bright red chest and a black body.
4. The Hammerkop - this bird has a hammer like head. They are not very big but they have a huge nest that take up most of the tree. I saw one in Mbita.
5. The Sacred Ibis - I was these in Mbita. They look like small white storks with short legs and black head and beak.
6. Ostrich - I saw a huge ostrich at the Impala Sanctuary in Kisumu. Did you know that they can run up to 50mph? I hope to see one in the wild on safari.
7. The African Eagle - I thought this bird looked more like a falcon because it wasn't very big, but it did SOAR LIKE AN EAGLE!
Thursday, 3 November 2011
CHICKENS GALORE!
Last week we went into Kisumu to buy 200 chickens for the Ligusa Community Centre. They had been ordered from Kissii, and when we got them they were just one day old! They had 2 boxes with 100 of them in each box, all jumping over each other and making chirping noises. I enjoyed holding them and I even put one on my dead's head! These chickens were all egg layers, and they will help the orphanage with a sustainable income; they will sell some of the eggs at market, as well as eating some themselves. When we get back to the village next week it will be interesting to see how much they have grown!
When we are back at Ligusa next week we will not be able to post any blogs for a while, but stay tuned and we will post again from Nairobi in three weeks.
When we are back at Ligusa next week we will not be able to post any blogs for a while, but stay tuned and we will post again from Nairobi in three weeks.
Mama Obama
Hi, it is Blair here, Gavin's Dad.
Yesterday was an exciting day for us. We had been anxiously waiting to visit Barack Obama's grandmother. She lives about half and hour from where we are currently staying at Bondo University, near a tiny town called Kogelo. Her small quaint house is situated in a very rural setting with lots of cows, chickens, goats, rabbits and turkeys running around. Things might change soon though, since they are now about 3/4 way finished a new highway to her house from the main road, and plans are underway to build a museum. President Obama's father grew up here and is buried on the property, and so is his grandfather, who died at age 105! When talking to Mama Sara Obama, she told us that Obama's father had been a good boy and a good students, and she pointed to a distant hill and told us that he had walked 7 miles to school each day. She also told us that when President Obama first visited when he was 25, he had spent half an hour silently touching his father's grave.
You have to have an appointment to visit Mama Obama, and security is very tight. No photos are allowed without permission, and you can not put pictures of Mama on any web site (but we will show our friends later.) The visit, however was quite informal, we chatted to her through the interpreter, sitting on plastic chairs under a tree. I spoke first, telling her of my keen interest and great respect that I have for President Obama. Then Gail spoke about more personal matters about her being a mother and care giver. Mama Obama has been taking in orphans for many years, in fact she has been a 'grandmother' to countless children that have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, magistrates, teachers etc. Her children's foundation is doing great work on farming and other agricultural sustainable projects. We told her about our work at the Ligusa community Center and showed her pictures; it seemed like we had more of a connection with her than your average American tourist. Gail then told her a story - The Lion's Whisker - about the love of a step mother for her child. Mama Obama really enjoyed it and we have promised to send her a copy of the picture book when we return. When we were finished, we had our photo taken with Mama Obama. It was a great experience and yet another example of an old woman doing so much good for children and widows. Very humbling!
Yesterday was an exciting day for us. We had been anxiously waiting to visit Barack Obama's grandmother. She lives about half and hour from where we are currently staying at Bondo University, near a tiny town called Kogelo. Her small quaint house is situated in a very rural setting with lots of cows, chickens, goats, rabbits and turkeys running around. Things might change soon though, since they are now about 3/4 way finished a new highway to her house from the main road, and plans are underway to build a museum. President Obama's father grew up here and is buried on the property, and so is his grandfather, who died at age 105! When talking to Mama Sara Obama, she told us that Obama's father had been a good boy and a good students, and she pointed to a distant hill and told us that he had walked 7 miles to school each day. She also told us that when President Obama first visited when he was 25, he had spent half an hour silently touching his father's grave.
You have to have an appointment to visit Mama Obama, and security is very tight. No photos are allowed without permission, and you can not put pictures of Mama on any web site (but we will show our friends later.) The visit, however was quite informal, we chatted to her through the interpreter, sitting on plastic chairs under a tree. I spoke first, telling her of my keen interest and great respect that I have for President Obama. Then Gail spoke about more personal matters about her being a mother and care giver. Mama Obama has been taking in orphans for many years, in fact she has been a 'grandmother' to countless children that have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, magistrates, teachers etc. Her children's foundation is doing great work on farming and other agricultural sustainable projects. We told her about our work at the Ligusa community Center and showed her pictures; it seemed like we had more of a connection with her than your average American tourist. Gail then told her a story - The Lion's Whisker - about the love of a step mother for her child. Mama Obama really enjoyed it and we have promised to send her a copy of the picture book when we return. When we were finished, we had our photo taken with Mama Obama. It was a great experience and yet another example of an old woman doing so much good for children and widows. Very humbling!
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