Blog #2

Day three is now almost over and there are just hours until the official weekend here at the IcFEM camp. I’m just sat in the guesthouse lounge with the smelliest feet ever but I don’t really care who’s around to smell them because I've had an active past couple of days and all I want to do now is sit down, relax and write out something interesting for you all to have a good read at. I’ve just finished my evening dinner which was like always beautiful and I've come to download the images from my camera. The pictures are amazing and I am going to attempt to upload them sometime soon, that’s if the internet connection at the IcFEM Headquarters will let me this time.

Thursday morning May 17th, I woke up from my first nights sleep and I felt pretty awesome. The night before was a bit overwhelming for me but after having a nice good sleep underneath my trusty mosquito net I felt refreshed and excited at what lay ahead for me over the next few months. It’s 7am and I have been woken by Matthew. It’s now time to have my first shower in Kimilili. I was warned the day before that there is a switch to activate the warm water for the shower, but not to flick it too early because if I were to dordle, which my Mom and Dad will agree I do when it comes to showering, the water can heat quickly and eventually feel like it is being poured out of a kettle. So I flicked the switch and headed for the shower to start off my day and to waken myself up, and for sure it certainly did that. The water didn’t start getting warm for at least 2 or 3 minutes so I was stood there naked, shivering slightly, waiting for my wash in a shower that consisted off a tap head to release the water and a grate with eroded tiles surrounding it. After not even 5 minutes in the shower I came out to get dry. I still had Pantene Pro V foam stuck under my arm pits and hair that didn’t even feel as if it had been touched. I had to look up a few times during my shower to see if water was actually coming out, as the water pressure was very weak and the shower head sprayed the water in numerous directions. After my shower I head across for what was now going to be my first breakfast in Kimilili. Matthew and I were sat again on our regular table, eating Toast with Jam and we also had a Mango that was halved and sliced into small squares for us to pull off with our spoons. Today was going to be a day full of firsts and I wanted these new experiences to come as quickly as possible.

So we left the IcFEM compounds as I practiced some Swahili that I had learnt the day before and over breakfast. We reached the main road that could either take us in two directions. We could head left which could lead us to the main town or to the IcFEM Headquarters, or we could head right to DreamLand Medical Centre and Primary School where I would be spending the morning as part of the schedule Matthew has organised for my IcFEM Orientation. The distance to the DreamLand centre was quite far so we decided to catch a Buda-Buda taxi, which was a bicycle taxi that I mentioned I had spotted on my way back from the airport in my previous blog. This experience was different. The roads were very muddy and you really felt as if the stranger who was steering the bicycle you were sat clutching the back of, had your life or at least you’re well being, in his hands. Every second I was on the back I just had the doubt that the tyres were going to give way because of the wet red mud, and I was going to end up being thrown across the floor like a bowling ball towards skittles.

We arrived safely to DreamLand and were shown around the Medical Centre. We saw many of the rooms and a lot of them were being used for multiple purposes, for example some rooms were being used as storage areas rather than consultation rooms and others were being used for both assessment and sleeping facilities. Although the hospitals here were way less advanced than the hospitals back home, they didn’t do so badly for equipment and supplies. Okay, they didn’t have all the latest technology and hi-tech machinery, but they had x-ray scanners and the basics to get them by effectively and successfully. The lady showed me around and was very cheerful. She allowed me to sign the Visitors book which it was very nice to be considered for. We were then shown across to the Primary School where we could scope out the grounds and see exactly what a school in Kimilili was like.

We met up with the teachers in a small room again smaller than my bathroom at home, possibly half the side, maybe less. One of the teachers took me to straight away sign the Visitors Book, and then we left for a guided tour of the classrooms. In each classroom we introduced ourselves and told the children where we were from. The children were really polite and they obviously knew how to act and had a set routine for when visitors arrived. They all stood to attention and all spoke their class names at the same time, they even smiled and allowed me to take a photo of them in their traditional classrooms wearing their traditional uniforms. I took several photos here and it was great to get use out of my camera and be able to have some pictures of what life was like here, so I could send them back home and also keep for myself in the future. We were made to feel so welcome and the children really appreciated and loved the attention and the fact there were visitors, not to mention white ones.

After the trip around the school we took a look round the farming land. I was originally told the story of how the whole DreamLand idea came around by the lady from the Medical Centre, and it was good to put some scenery and proof to the story. The story I was told involves a man who owned this land originally and how he had a dream that saw his land being used to help the needy with lots of green buildings occupying it. He gave up some of his land to the church which was next to his land, but these dreams still continued and he believed God was sending him messages that he needed to give up more land so that it could be used productively. At this time the IcFEM mission were praying for land and some how IcFEM and the owner of the land met and it was agreed to give the land over for productive use.

We also got to take a look at the schools canteen and saw two men preparing food, the real old fashioned way. They had a giant spoon and were stirring Ugali in a huge metal container powered by burning materials underneath it.

After our visit to the DreamLand centre was complete we decided it was a good idea to go spend time in the IcFEM Headquarters in the office and chill, maybe go online and send some emails. We decided to walk back to the office and on the way we walked past another school. All the little children dressed in yellow sweaters and blue skirts or trousers came running towards the fence shouting “Mazungu”, which means White person and “How are you” wanting a reply. They don’t see a lot of white people so this is like a big deal for these children. Even the older children tend to do this I’ve noticed since, and it isn’t meant to be offensive but just because they view people with white skin as rich or as blessed members of the human race.

I had chance to create and upload my blog, send emails to who ever I needed to contact and do whatever I wanted really while I had some free time while the main part of the orientation was on hold. We stayed in the office for the rest of the afternoon until evening dinner time at 6pm. During our stay there was more heavy rainfall and we stayed undercover while we tinkered on our laptops. For a second the power cut out but the computers were soon back up and running again.
In the evening we came back home and had dinner with a new member to the IcFEM mission who was called John Sercombe, a retired accountant from Bromley who has come to stay and help with the missions accounts. We ate and sat in the lounge for an hour or so basically chatting and getting to know each other until i was greeted by Ann for the first time. We then head off to sleep at around 10pm as we had another exciting day ahead of us tomorrow with more activities already planned for us to do.

7am again and I was being woken by Matthew. I remember being woken from the middle of a dream as he banged on the door and told me the time. I hit the shower, had some toast with tomato and fried egg and then set off at 7.50am to morning devotion. This was definitely going to be a new experience and the way Matthew had explained it to me was very precise, but still, it wasn’t how I expected it to be. We sat around in a circle of mixed coloured and styled chairs, in what looked like the main hall of the IcFEM Headquarters compound. It began by us all singing a song from a Praise book and then after this finished we began to repeatedly sing a chorus in which one of the women initiated. Once the singing was over, we all had the chance to pray and thank God for the projects and goings on in our lives. This got quite loud and was interesting to be involved in and watch. At the end of the almost an hour devotion, a few announcements were made regarding the movement of offices and transport.

I set off for a primary school called Kamusinga almost immediately after the morning devotion was complete but before leaving the grounds we placed two broken desktop computers in the Library where interviews for the missions head of communications was being held.
At the primary school the children were mostly outside on the land doing athletic activities and they had been doing this for the past 2 days picking the best students for an athletic tournament that was to be held in Mombassa. We hopped in and out of classrooms introducing ourselves and taking photos of the children and one particular class asked quite a few questions which was good to see and answer. Just incase you are not aware, here in Kenya there is no set age to be able to go to primary school so you can find people of various ages in these classes as education has now become free and you have to pass your class before you can move up to the next. We stuck around for around 40 minutes then decided to head back as we had to fit in another primary school before lunch.

So we walked back towards the guesthouse direction and on past this into town. At this time children were beginning to leave the schools to go home for lunch. There was Me, Matthew and our Kenyan friend Dennis walking back and we had a group of little children following us. Dennis gave two of them sweets and then they immediately ran off with the others who didn’t have an, chasing them trailing behind. We were advised by Dennis how much transport to the next school would cost as unfortunately Mazungu’s can be over charged, and it cost us 20 shillings (18p) each on the back of a Buda-Buda to Lutonyi primary school. This journey was a lot more comfortable as the roads were much more solid with no bumps, so it was all flat and downhill. You begin to pick up speed very quickly so it doesn’t take very long to get to your destination and as you journey down the road you get all the people on either side looking at you and the little children waving.

We both arrived on our separate bikes at Lutonyi primary school, paid the guys who drove us and headed for the gates. The place looked deserted and as if there were no students here on this particular day. When we got in and spoke to the deputy head, we found out the children had left for another school where they too would be doing athletic activities. Never the less we still were shown around the school and were told which classes occupied which rooms and how many students were in each particular class. We were told that the biggest class had 120 students in it and the reason for this is because they don’t have enough teachers to separate the classes and also not enough classrooms to do the teaching actually in. See it's situations such as this that IcFEM are trying to help and raise money to provide the schools with more facilities to expand the schools and make the quality of education for the children much better. As the there were no students in the classrooms, our trip to Lutonyi primary was over after around 30 minutes and we had an uphill trek to get started for our way back for lunch.

A long 30 minutes walk back to the guesthouse and I was boiling. I was sweating and my legs were aching slightly. My stomach was rumbling and I was really looking forward to another great meal that I could munch down in a matter of seconds. Avocado and unions in vinegar was placed in front of me and I felt so bad. I let Matthew take a bite first to see how he reacted as he hadn’t personally had it properly before either. He didn’t seem to squint too much and he began to take another spoon full. I thought I’d have a try as you can’t label something off before you try it can you, so I stuck in my spoon and threw it into my mouth. I managed to swallow it but there was no way I could continue to eat it without forcing myself and probably making myself sick because I really didn’t like the taste. Luckily it was just a starter but I still felt really guilty for leaving what the others thought was a pleasant meal. Later cheese and tomato toasties were served so i had a couple of these blessed gifts.

This afternoon I was going to visit Buko Primary school. This was even further away from where we were staying so we had to get a Matatu from Kimilili town all the way to the school. A Matatu is a van taxi that should hold about 14, 15 people including the driver. This particular vehicle rammed in around 23 people if I counted correctly and amongst the passengers was a police man. It was so cramped and there were even two guys hanging onto the side of the van with the doors open. You felt as if you were almost sat on top of each other and it made me actually appreciate the bus services back home, although the fares here were considerably much less. We jumped off the Matatu and found ourselves at a real rural school where once again there was athletics in place which appeared more like our sports days back home. I took some short video footage of the races and some pictures and it gives you a nice feel of the African culture towards their sports within education. We had the usual trip around the classrooms where I saw one classroom which was really small holding 72 children.

The walk back was hard and really long. Infact it was the longest so far. My trainers began to rub, not because they were not up for the surfaces but more because it was hot and I wasn’t used to walking. It took us about 40 minutes to walk back with the sun beaming down on us and us constantly having to move in to allow traffic and pedestrians to pass us by. We got back to the office and I checked my emails and went online for about 15 minutes. We then came back for evening dinner to fill our stomachs and rest our legs.

I removed my shoes in my room and my feet stunk. I had marks on the top of my feet where the shoes had been rubbing but nothing really to complain about, but I covered them and wore some sandals provided by the mission. I spent most of the evening downloading my images and writing out this blog trying to fit in everything I’d done over the past couple of days. It’s taken me all evening and looking back over it at the length its beginning to get quite worrying. I'm hoping every blog doesn’t come to this length and im sure it wont, but at the same time I don’t want what I am doing to get boring and for me to have nothing much interesting to talk about. I'm feeling pretty happy and comfortable with my surroundings. The back of my neck has gone slightly red but I wouldn’t exactly say I’d caught an awesome tan on my first few days. I'm going to continue to cover myself up with sun cream over the next few days, just to get used to the heat of the Equator and make sure I don’t get in too much pain to ruin part of my trip.

I hope everyone is doing great anyways, and hope you enjoy reading what I’ve done over my first week. I’ll drop another post soon which I'll try keep shorter so you don’t get bored but if you have any questions or anything like that I will be more than happy to let you know.

Lots of Love and God Bless Paul x