Every Day is Sunday

According to our Lonely Planet guidebook, the nickname for Nairobi is “Nai-Robbery.”  Like many other descriptions in our East Africa guidebook, this description of Nairobi misses the mark.  We’re not saying that Nairobi is crime-free, but we felt just as safe walking the streets of Nairobi as we do walking the streets of Washington DC.  Just as there are certain parts of our nation’s capital that you wouldn’t want to visit at night, there are certain parts of Nairobi that are best avoided after dark.  In and around central Nairobi, however, we felt secure on the streets.

We were in Kenya’s capital city to visit an organization whose mission is to fight malnuitrition and assist local farmers.  The project teaches farmers how to grow and cultivate pest-free bananas, helps the farmers organize into collective, and then assiste the farmers in marketing their crop and establishing relationships with commercial buyers and exporters.  The aim is to create a sustainable collective - one that can prosper long after they stop receive assistance.  

Without a doubt, the highlight of our visit was traveling to Thika (an area just outside of Nairobi) and seeing the positive effects of the program on the local community first-hand.  Our excellent guide, Wangari, started us at the beginning: at the nursery where the farmers pick up pest-free banana plantlets. 

Nursery of banana plantlets

We went on to observe three different groups of banana farmers at three different stages of their own development.  The first group was newly formed and still working on solidifying their group and mastering the basics. 

The second group was more well-established and had already experienced some of the benefits of their farming enterprise.  The final group was highly organized, well-established, and had even constructed a computer learning center and bio-fuel annex.  This last group helped us realize the true potential of this banana project.  Not only does the program help to fight malnutrition by improving crop outputs, but its work also helps strengthen communities and develop sustainable and profitable businesses. 

One common thread emerged as we introduced ourselves to each group of farmers: none of them could pronounce Erin’s name.  Even when we spelled it, they just couldn’t put the “E” and the “r” together to produce the right sound.  Wangari decided that the best solution was to give Erin an African name.  Erin was re-named Makena, a common name in the Kakuro tribe which means “full of joy.”  We thought it was a perfect name and Erin introduced herself as Makena for the rest of our time in Kenya.

After all that talk of bananas, we were hungry for some meat.  To remedy the situation we took a trip out to the famous Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi.  Carnivore got its fame by offering every kind of meat available on the menu.  We opted for the crocodile and ostrich, but passed on the zebra and giraffe.  The ostrich was good, but the croc was delicious.

Just by luck there happened to be a huge reggae concert being held on the grounds next to Carnivore.  Of course we had to check it out.  Our first big music concert of the trip!

We also experienced another “first” on this trip: we went to the gym.  Drawing on our squatting skills (see Buzios Entry), we found our way into the Stanley Hotel in downtown Nairobi.  Although we were staying in a dumpy hotel across the street, we took advantage of the Stanley’s pool, internet, and gym.  Man, we are out of shape!  As we stood in the mirrors admiring our flab, we decided it’s time we started a push-up and sit-up regimen. 

And just in case you needed another example of how Facebook is shrinking the world . . . Our friend Seth Nickinson saw on Facebook that two of his friends (Erin and Austin Peck) were both in Nairobi at the same time.  Coincidentally, Erin, Austin and Seth all met at the same time while studying abroad at the University of Cape Town.  Seth linked them through Facebook, and Erin and Austin had a ten-year mini-reunion in Africa.  On Austin’s recommendation, we moved into the YMCA and spent a few days hanging out with him and his girlfriend Ann Elise.  Austin and Ann Elise had just returned from Northern Kenya where they spent three months living in a slum.  They had both recently finished their degrees, and escaped to Africa to record footage for a documentary on street kids who are addicted to sniffing glue.  They showed us a 3 minute rough-cut trailer with soundtrack – it looks amazing.

Finally, our trip to Nairobi would not be complete without a visit to Karen, a suburb of Nairobi.  “Karen” is named after Karen Blixon, a woman who came to Kenya from Denmark in the early 1900s and tried to grow coffee.  She became famous in Kenya for her kindness to the Nakuru tribe who inhabited the area, and became famous throughout the world when when Meryl Streep portrayed her in “Out of Africa” opposite Robert Redford. 

Karen Blixon's House

In Madison, WI, there used to be a bar called the “Flamingo” with a pink sign and a tacky interior.  The locals derisively called it the “Flaming-O.”  It was Erin’s go-to underage bar.

Because of Erin’s experience with the Flaming-O, we’ve studiously avoided any bar, restaurant, or casino with the same name, on the assumption that it couldn’t possibly be an establishment worthy of our patronage.  Our recent visit to Naivasha, however, has caused us to re-think our prejudice against all things Flamingo.

We left the water projects in western Kenya and began a road trip to Lake Naivasha, a popular weekend destination for those who live and work in Nairobi.  With Jeff’s friend Tal at the wheel, we passed through the Masai Mara area, home of the famous nomadic Masai tribe. 

We found our way to a wonderful guesthouse just off the small lake that Amanda recommended while we were in Ukunda.  We checked-in and had a nice conversation with our hostess Rosemary, a kind English woman who talked and talked and talked to us about the area.  Once settled, Rosemary suggested that we take a walk down to the lake.  A nice stroll down to the lake?  Why not?  Little did we know we were about to enter our very own walking safari. 

The giraffes and zebras were cool, but the highlight came as we approached the lake.  We saw hundreds of thousands of beautiful and graceful Flamingos covering the lake.  They were gorgeous. 

View of the lake - and the hundres of thousands of flamingos covering the lake

 After hanging out with the flamingos and zebras for a while, we traveled from our guesthouse to view the families of hippos and storks that live on Lake Naivasha. 

Lake Naivasha provided such a beautiful backdrop that Erin decided to take some glamour shots.  She got a pretty good one of Tal.

.

Yes, ladies, he is single.  Please send all enquiries to our personal email accounts and we’ll judiciously pass them along.

Unfortunately, before we left Naivasha we were robbed for the third time since the trip began.  Unlike the first two times when the bandit was a dog (see Entries 5, 22), this time the bandit was a monkey who opened the door to the kitchen, grabbed a bunch of bananas, and climbed straight up a tree.  He ate them with impudence right in front of us

[Ok, we admit it, we got our own glamour shot by the lake]

You don’t have to spent too much time in East Africa to learn that one of the biggest issues facing the people is lack of access to clean water.  In countries like Kenya it is common woman and children to walk for two hours to a water source to collect water for their families, and then to walk two hours back to their village.  The task of gathering water often keeps children from going to school, and prevents women from developing and utilizing a skill that could otherwise benefit their family and community.

Through Erin’s connections in the development community, we hooked up with an organization dedicated to alleviating this problem.  We traveled out to western Kenya to meet up with Davila Langant, the local coordinator for a Washington DC-based organization that promotes clean water in Kenya through “water harvesting.” 

The idea behind water harvesting is simple: you capture rainfall and use it for drinking water. It’s easy and economical.  First you construct special wide-mouth gutters on the roof of buildings to catch rainfall and direct it to a tank.  Then you build huge concrete tanks that can hold up to 100,000 liters.  Finally, you filter the water taken from the concrete tanks in sandstone.  The result is 99% pure water.

Step 1: Direct rainwater through gutters on the roof

Step 2: Build a huge concrete tank

Step 3: Filter the water in sandstone

Davila’s organization goes to churches, schools, community libraries, and other places where people gather, and provides the seed funding to construct the gutters and the tanks.  The organization insists that the community contributes 25% of the cost in order to create ownership for the project. 

We toured around several water projects and saw the amazing impact that this simple cost effective solution was having on the community.  We stopped by Kabungut Secondary school and met with the principal.  He told us that rather than spending their days fetching water, children were going to school and collecting the water for their household at the school.  We saw the same positive benefits at Silibwet community library and Umoja Children’s Home. 

Our most touching moment came at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Kabungut.  Although the church had completed construction of the concrete water tank, they had run out of money before they were able to purchase a filter.  The filter was not very expensive by US standards and so we decided to donate the money for a filter right there and then.  They were so appreciative that they insisted on planting a tree in our honor in the garden, and then followed us out singing as we were leaving.  For our part it was such a small gesture, but for them it made a huge difference in their lives.

Not only did we get to meet with the beneficiaries of the projects, we also traveled to Silibwet so that Erin could meet with the Minister of Agriculture for the Bomet Central Division.  The Minister talked earnestly and candidly about the needs of the Kenyan people and what the Kenyan government is doing to help.   

But the highlight of our Bomet trip was accompanying Davila as he presented a check to the Kwenik-Ab-Ilet primary school.  With the help of the local community, the school’s chairman had raised the requisite 25% of the funding for the construction of gutters and a water tank, Davila’s organization was presenting the chairman a check for the remaining 75%.  They were so happy to be receiving the money that they invited members of the local community and held a full ceremony.  Even though we were only observing, the Chairman insisted that Erin give a speech commerating this special day. 

She nailed it!  She started strong by talking about how wonderful it was to see the community come together and invest in their children’s health.  And she finished with a sure-fire way to get applause from a group of Kenyans: she thanked them for sending us Barack Obama!

The chairman thanked us for coming and thanked Erin for her kind words.  He then uttered what we thought was the line of the week:  “We hope you will come back soon because when we see your face, we see assistance.”  Hilarious.

For the last 30 years people have tried to discern the meaning behind the cryptic lyrics of the Eagles’ song “Hotel California.”  After a week in Diani Beach, we think we have a pretty good idea…

After spending our days at Amanda’s primary school in Ukunda, we traveled to her house in nearby Diani Beach. She was lucky enough to do a lot of her work steps away from the white sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean.

Amanda in her "office"

In many ways, Diani Beach is a paradise. Eastern Kenya has an absolutely stunning coastline with miles of beautiful beach. One day we went out for a snorkeling trip and saw an amazing variety of sea life – dolphins, giant blue and red clams, octopus and the most colorful fish we’d ever seen.

Although the coral was not as vibrant as in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the color and variety of fish in Kenya was incredible. You don’t usually think of Kenya as a diving destination, but it was some of the best snorkeling we’ve ever done.

Diani Beach also has great local produce. Each day we stopped off at Amanda’s favorite fruit and vegetable stand to get supplies for that night’s dinner. If we remembered to order ahead, we could also pick up freshly squeezed passion fruit juice which was TO DIE FOR.

Although quite beautiful, there is also something surreal about Diani Beach. It has a small but vibrant ex-pat community who gather most evenings at a bar the locals called “Forties.” If you ever make it to that part of the world, you won’t be able to miss the bar. Just look for the one with two 16-foot camels parked outside.

Because its such a small community, everybody knows everybody else’s business. We sat at the bar with Amanda and her boyfriend Pepe and got the gossip on all the locals. From what we could gather, Diani Beach is the kind of place where people arrive for a 2 week vacation and end up staying 20 years. You might think they are attracted by the beautiful beaches – but we learned that they stay for the young, sexy Kenyan men and women.

Diani happens to be a premier destination for sex tourism. That’s right, rampant sex tourism (and you thought this post might be a little dull). It was impossible to go to lunch without seeing an “odd couple.” Sometimes it was a short, lecherous 60-year-old white man with a tall, stunning 20-year-old Kenyan woman. Other times it was a 55 year-old overweight white divorcee walking hand-in-hand with a young svelt Kenyan man (or TWO!). The “tourists” would find boyfriends or girlfriends for the day, week or even month. They’d hang out at Forty Thieves and cuddle like they were honeymooners. It was more than a little creepy.

[Pictures have been redacted to protect the reprehensible]

Observing the crowd at Forties, we got the sense that Diani Beach had a “Hotel California” feel to it. You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave.

We stepped out of Air Force One and were met by Amanda, Erin’s friend and former colleague.  Amanda has been working in Kenya for almost two years as the project manager for an organization building a primary school and providing medical care for poor and orphaned children of Kenya.

Amanda was our guiding light in a country we did not know very well.  She graciously opened up her house to us and introduced us to her group of friends.  Amanda worked very hard: there always seemed to be an issue with the school employees to resolve, a government meetings to attend, or a school function to preside over.  In between all of that Amanda somehow found the time to help us have a great week.

Amanda taught us a lot about the challenges of working in Kenya.  Her personal approach, and the official policy of her organization, is to refuse to pay any bribes.   Unfortunately, many Kenyan officials move very slowly (or not at all) when there is no money to grease the wheels.  Even though Amanda has all the funding in place and hired a general contractor, she has been waiting for the government to issue the final construction permits since October 2008!

In the meantime, the school has been operating out of a temporary facility.  We spent a few days visiting the temporary school and hanging out with the kids.

Many of the younger kids speak only KiSwahili, and so we gravitated toward the older kids who spoke excellent English.  We were getting along great with the Standard 7 kids (13 and 14 year olds), and Amanda suggested that we take them all out on a field trip.  Even though these kids grew up in Kenya, many of them didn’t have the means to visit a game preserve and none had ever seen a live elephant.  We decided to remedy the situation by sponsoring a trip to the Elephant Sanctuary. 

It was not an easy trip to pull together.  Most of the kids walked an hour to get to school, and we asked them to come to school an hour earlier than normal.  The day finally arrived and we headed out on the vans bright and early.  The kids were so excited.  None of the kids had ever been on a school field trip before, much less one to see elephants! 

"King" James at the entrance to the Elephant Sanctuary

We arrived at the Elephant Sanctuary and we started to search for elephants.  We drove and we drove and we drove.  The elephants were nowhere to be found. 

We could see that the kids were a little disappointed, so we asked the van drivers to go down some less-traveled roads in search of the elephants.  The drivers obliged and we turned off the main path and headed down a dust road.  We made it about ½ mile down the road when one of the vans got STUCK in the sand. 

There we were, baking in the mid-day Kenyan sun, disappointed by the lack of elephants, and completely stuck. 

Well, if we weren’t going to see elephants, at least we get an adventure out of it!  We all got out and pushed.  A group of kids went out to collect some dry wood to put under the van for traction — and while they were foraging they got chased by warthogs!  It was a real group effort, and in a small way actually made up for the fact that we didn’t see elephants.  When we finally got the van out of the dust, the whole group got together and cheered.  It turned out that getting our van stuck – and unstuck – won the day!

We had such a great time with the kids that we couldn’t stay away.  We went back to the school for a school assembly where our kids were performing a play about preventing Malaria.  We helped with costumes and gave them moral support.

School Assembly under the Mango Tree

The school assembly was a success and the play well-received by the kids and the parents who came to watch.  Afterward Amanda gave a brief talk about the importance of mosquito nets and offered the parents top-quality nets for 70% less than they usually cost in the store. 

It was great to peak into Amanda’s world at the primary school and we left Ukunda with a great respect for the work she is doing.

Our trip from South Africa to Kenya was an adventure in itself.  We flew from Johannesburg to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and spent one night in Dar.  The PLAN was to take a bus to Kenya in the morning.  Our Lonely Planet guidebook said the buses to Kenya run daily at 9 am.  The website of the bus company said the bus to Kenya runs daily at 9 am.  We were all set for a 9 am bus, but of course, there was no 9 am bus to Kenya!

To make a long story short, we ended up on a ”matatu,” which is a privately owned and operated van that doesn’t run on a schedule.  The driver chooses a location (which he announces by yelling it out to passers-by) and only leaves after he has filled all the seats.  The matatus don’t leave until they are full . . . really full.  Like 13 actual seats but 17 passengers full.  We were a little wary of climbing in past the rows of five people sharing 3 seats, but we felt comforted by the fact that this particular driver named his matatu “Air Force One.”  We spent the trip chanting O-BAMA, which although a little annoying, helped to pass the time.