Nov. 19, 2007 - MarksExcellentAfricanAdventure2

Saasa, everyone!

In this update, I want to tell you about some of the things I've seen and done. First, I'll introduce you to the group I'm with -- Besides myself, there is Stephanie (a friend I had classes with and graduated with at UNM), her mother June, and Ben who is a native Kenyan and our guide and translator. YWIDC was started by Ann Githinji and Ben is her adopted son. In December, June and Stephanie will leave; Ann and another former classmate/current friend, Marica, will arrive. We are all living with Ann's wonderful family.

My first purpose was to bring school supplies to 5 schools in return for survey research they gave us on HIV/AIDS. At the schools, we took time to have a short discussion about the topic and created an open forum for the students (aged 11-14) to ask us questions. Some of the questions we received included: "What is the difference between HIV/AIDS?" "I heard a rumor that the condoms coming from America and Europe already had HIV in them. Is this true?" "Can dipping the penis in lemon water before sex prevent the spread of HIV?"... As you can see, there is great need in these schools for an education program.

Three of our schools are in Kibera, a slum of Nairobi. I spent two afternoons in Kibera during my first week here. Kibera is the largest slum in East Africa. It only takes up a quarter mile squared, but has over 30,000 residents. Right now, the government is trying to turn Kibera into project apartments, but many residents are unwilling to leave their homes in fear that the government will permanently displace them. The only property many of these people own are the clothes on their backs and their scrap-metal huts, but these are their livelihood.

When arriving in Kibera, all you see from the top of the hill is a village of scrap metal, running on either side of railroad tracks. As you enter, you see garbage piled high on the ground. All the foot paths are have raw sewage running alongside them. Small children try throwing stones on top of the passing train, nearly naked infants crawl in the garbage as they cry out for their mothers. Right outside a school, a dead dog lays in the shade, as the flies and rats start to seek out the stench.

On Monday, we went left Nairobi for Nakuru (about 2 1/2 hours outside of Nairobi). Along the way, we stopped at a viewpoint at the top of the mountain. From 8000 feet, you can see a great span of the Rift Valley and it is spectacular. In Nakuru, we were visiting a woman named Josephine and her orphanage and VCT (HIV Voluntary Counseling and Treatment Center) called Little Lambs/Hope for Life. There, she feeds and counsels over 100 children and teens who are either orphans or who's parent/s are infected with HIV/AIDS. We were intending to stay for 4 days, but we knew we couldn't. In addition to me getting a head cold, the living conditions were uncomfortable. Josephine's house (about a mile from the orphanage) was very dirty and cramped. Her live-in house/orphanage help had to sleep on the floor outside the kitchen so we could have beds. We knew we couldn't stay. We spent one day touring the facility, documenting Josephine's struggles and playing games with the children. We learned that on the premises, the following Friday, 8th grade boys would be circumcised in this small unsanitary room. (It is custom for males and formerly females to be circumcised around the age of 12, after the completion of their 8th grade examinations).

On the late-morning matatu ride home from Nakuru, we spotted several herds of zebra and antelopes along the roadside. There were also groups of baboons, one of which brought our vehicle to a stop as it crossed the road. This is the Africa I have always dreamed about.

Today, we visited an orphanage in a small town outside of Nairobi called Kikuyu. The orphanage called Amani Children's Center is a home to 27 children, all of whom are mentally and physically disabled. The woman who started the home 2 years ago, a former school-teacher named Elizabeth, is fulfilling what she calls a pact she made with God. In the course of 2 hours, she spoke, unloading her trauma on us as she told us stories about how 8 of the children had come to her home. As the stories unfolded, we all began to realize that most of the physical and mental disabilities that existed in this home were as a direct result of neglect, abuse, and rape.

All of the children are under the age of twelve, and at least 1/2 the girls had been raped. Perhaps one of the most terrible stories is about one of the very first children to come to the home. Her name is Faith and she is 9 years old, although looking at her, she looks 5. When she was found in her home (where one parent had HIV), she was on a mattress that had been soiled for years. She was still wearing diapers and was in a fetal position. She was 6 when she was found, and because of the fetal position, her muscles had grown week and she was stuck with her forehead nearly touching her knees. She had rotting bedsores running the entire length of her body. Now 9, she has barely enough strength to hold up her head. She still cannot walk and only speaks 3 words (mom, rice, and water).

I mentioned previously Ann's amazing family. Every day that we return from our expeditions to the city or to schools/orphanages, they greet us with smiles and warm welcomes. The house here is so clean and comfortable. There is always enough clean water and food available and we are always offered warm water to shower. Every day starts and ends with warm tea (made the British way with milk). At night, I look out my window and see lush greenery and city lights far off in the distance.

Every morning I awake to the sounds of birds chirping and the smell of breakfast being prepared. I mention all these things about the house to let you know how we live in contrast to what we see and hear every day. After only 2 weeks, I have absolutely no qualms about calling this place home or calling these people an extension of my family. I already feel eternally grateful to everyone here for providing a place of safety and rest after encountering the worst of humanity.

Its time to wrap this all up. I'm currently working on plans to visit a national park to see more animals. The end of November will bring a wedding for one of Ann's brothers. A greater part of December will be spent traveling to Rwanda and Burundi as well as spending the holidays with Ann's extended family. I will keep you all posted as my journeys continue. - Mark

Nov. 16, 2007 - QuestionAndAnswers

Answers are in green! Enjoy!

Do you have toilet paper? Yes!

What do you eat? Meat, a lot of vegetables, rice, ugali chipati, samosa. (see my other e-mail and google for more info.) Even I have that question.

Are food supplies bought daily for the meals, as is done in many parts of Europe? Yes, we visit the store every day.

How big is the house you are living in? I don't know the square footage but I would assume its about 1800 square feet or so. It has 3 bedrooms and the garage has been converted into an apartment.

Are you sleeping on a mattress, or some kind of mat on the floor, or what? I sleep in a bed with a matress, sheets, pillow, mosquito net .

How do you get around; does Ben have a car? We take the public transport (matatus).

The house has electricity, what other modern conveniences does it have, i.e. range, refrigerator? Refrigerator, TV, kerosene stove.

Do you hear Lions roaring at night? Lions live far away from where I'm at. The noises heard at night (and in the early morning) are the wild birds, the roosters and the local dogs.

Nov. 16, 2007 - MarksExcellentAfricanAdventure

Hi Everyone!

My cousin from Albuquerque, NM is fresh out of college and taking some time to meet some folks in Africa and learn about the country and people living there. He's allowing us to peek into his life and times there, so we can all enjoy learning and visiting vicariously! Join in the fun and if you have any questions you'd like me to ask Mark about, let me know and I'll update you with his response. With that said, here are his first impressions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

11-12-07 Hi, everyone! Saasa (a local greeting)!

This is my first update.

Well, I have been in Kenya for a week now. Things here are very different than I expected, but I have fit in quite well. I miss home a bit I'm doing great. This is a very good place for me to be in this stage of my life, and I am learning a ton.

Despite any travel warnings and such, I assure all of you that I am completely safe and very well cared for.

In this update, I want to outline a few important things about life here:

l. *Home* The home life is very nice. We are living in a very nice place called Kasarani, a suburb of Nairobi. Traffic pending, it is about a half-hour outside the city. We sleep under treated mosquito nets at night. We shower out of a bucket and the toilet is a hole (called the loo). Clothes hand washed in a bucket and hung to dry. There is a water spout, which pumps treated water from inside the city. All the water and food is heated using either the kerosene stove (inside the house) or charcoal (outside the house). The garbage is burned in a pit outside, except plastic and metal which are recycled. There are many birds and lizards around. The lizards come into the house at will and eat the mosquitoes at night, which is a-ok with me. There is little light pollution from the city and even less from this area, so the nights are incredibly dark and the sky is filled with stars. The yard is very green and there are bananas, avocados, berries and mangoes which are grown here.

l. *Transportation* Matatus are the mode of public transportation. They vary in size, but are always very crowded and smelly and cost anywhere from 10-90 Kenyan shillings (KSH) depending on where you go and at what time of day. They drive very fast and very dangerously and are the cause of 90% of the traffic accidents here. The traffic in the city is crazy; traffic laws rarely exist. Pedestrians do not ever have the right of way, but despite this, people walk up the roads anyway because the sidewalks are crowded with sidewalk vendors (sidewalk vending is actually illegal in the city limits). At 5 pm, the traffic jams everywhere and since there are few stoplights (and a ton of roundabouts), it takes 3 to 4 times as long to get somewhere. We take matatus for long distances and walk everywhere else.

l. *Culture* The food here is incredible. Besides being very tasty, it is also nutritious. So far my favorites are chipati (sort of like a whole-wheat tortilla), samosa (beef and cabbage wrapped in dough and fried, tastes exactly like egg rolls) and mendazi (a pastry that is similar to a sopapilla, only better). Every dinner here features ugali (a cornmeal dish), rice or chipati, some type of meat, two types of vegetables, and fresh fruit for dessert. The dress here is very western (inside the city, especially), but some of the women wear more of the local traditional dress. The only tribe that still sticks very close to their original culture is the Masai. They can even be seen herding their cattle through the city. Tea and soda are taken several times a day,especially when you visit someone's home.

l. *Politics/Economics* Right now $1 American is about 66 KSH. There are no fractions of a shilling here (whereas we have quarters, dimes, etc.)

Some things here (like locally grown foods and matatu rides) cost much less than they would in America. Other things, like clothes and electronics cost exactly the same as they would in America, which is problematic because the income level is lower. Nairobi is home to the biggest slum in Eastern Africa. Called Kibera it has over 30,000 residents in about a quarter mile squared of land (and growing). I visited this place twice this week and it is very sad to see a town of garbage and scrap metal, sewage running down the side of the paths, unclothed children running around, a dead dog laying next to a house. Despite this, the people go on living their lives, ignored by the government.

The presidential campaign is in full swing. They campaign by hiring people to drive around in vehicles and ride bicycles, blasting music and rallying on the streets. On Thursday, the president (who's running for re-election) spoke in Kasarani, and the entire area shut down so everyone could see the speech.

l. *Mass media* Radio and television are very popular here. The 6 most listened to radio stations are: Reggae, British/American alt-rock, Motown/R&B/Soul, American Hip-hop and Rap, local music and worship. As far as television is concerned, the popular station is Citizen TV. They broadcast BBC World news, Kenya news, and an assortment of cartoons, dramas and comedies from America, with a spattering of local favorites and other imports (soap operas from Japan and Mexico). DVD's are also very, very popular. They watch American movies and TV shows mostly. As I've been writing this, the kids of the household have been watching CSI and the movie Antz. The local news and newspapers don't focus on much negative news. They are currently covering a lot about the election and politics, as well as a little international news. There is not a whole lot about murders or other violent crimes.

Well, I guess that's enough for now. My internet access is somewhat limited, but I am looking into a solution besides the cyber cafes.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions about life here, and I will attempt to answer them in a timely manner. - Mark

Nov. 14, 2007 - 2007_STRANGE_BEDFELLOWS

Cartoon is copyrighted and permission granted for reproduction by Cagel Political Cartoons.

Nov. 6, 2007 - StLouisREMAXBalloon Flight2007

Well, the flight finally took place! After 3 times of having set up the time/place and having to cancel, we got the go-ahead. Balloons Over St. Louis was the company that called the shots! It was a lovely fall day, slight breeze, and plenty of sunshine. I arrived on time after a listing appointment and met up with Ciju and his new bride, Neethu, at Queeny Park. The truck and storage van were already in place and the balloon was in place on the ground. Steve Mroz and his wife, Janine, pilots and their 2 helpers were there to get it laid out properly and then the fan set in place to blow it up. We had some folks stop by to watch the excitement too and ask questions about the procedure. Before we knew it, it was time to get in and take off! Janine and the helpers took off in the truck to follow the balloon after catching up with them. They use walkie talkies to communicate and locate them. What a beautiful day to fly above the town! Enjoy the photos!