The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I haven’t blogged in a while because well nothing really has seemed notable.  It’s really been business as usual: collecting poop, driving around on the bike dodging baby goats and people, and hanging out at home. So these are mostly just my thoughts of late.  Please forgive this non-linear, somewhat random ramble. 

I have been more frustrated lately, a little bored with work I guess, and all of those Kenyan traits that are hilarious at first, but on an off day just drive me up the wall. In fact, let’s just make a little list of those quirkily little daily things (some that drive me nuts but) I definitely don’t want to forget, and often forget to mention.

1) Going into a store and not knowing if the 1 person in there owns the place or is a customer because they sit (not behind a counter) and don’t say anything to you. AND, it is very likely the owner has stepped out for a minute or 2 hours. 

2) Customer service in general.  People acting like you are ruining their day by asking them to do their job (like make a copy or answer the phone)

3) Busses coming at me head-on, assuming I will get off the road and let them have my lane since I’m just a motorcyclist. 

4) Crossing another pedestrian on the sidewalk and hearing them say in a low voice “hello” or just “mzungu” right as you pass them, so you have no time to react or even clarify that they said anything

6) Men asking me for a job, or my personal favorite asking me for advice starting a business. Clearly because I’m white I am a business wiz.

7) People asking me to buy things they selling (sausages, men’s socks, candy…) and when I say I’m not interested, asking me just to give them money. “Ok. just promote me.”

Since freshman year of college, or maybe before then, I assumed once I graduated I would go to “Africa” and that it would click, it would feel right, and that I would basically never look back. Maybe I would spend just a few years or maybe I would settle in.  But in my time here I’ve found this is not the case.  I do not feel like Kenya is the place for me.  I’m trying to let myself be ok with that.  And, at the same time I’m working on being content where I am. Ok so this isn’t it for me. It is ok that I really hate some things here some days, but I need to not mope about it.  My life is still wonderful. I have incredible opportunity and freedom.  I don’t know why I’m in such a hurry to find that fit, that long term place that feels right. I’m here now and Naivasha is pretty incredible. 

The other day I was frustrated; something hadn’t gone as planned and I was late. But driving the motorcycle down the road I with an amazing sunset before me I couldn’t help but smile.  The country song “just another day in paradise” came to mind.  So Naivasha isn’t where I want to spend the rest of my life, or even the next year, but without a doubt, it’s an amazing place. 

Some things here are beyond quirky or a little frustrating.  Sometimes it’s not small things.  Sometimes it's pretty big things that make living here hard.  There are reports that during the Westgate attack, the Kenyan army and police were drinking beer and looting the mall…during a 4 day hostage crisis! I can’t think of many things more disheartening.  How can that happen? Closer to home, a woman I know in the village was recently attacked and raped in her home by someone she knows.  She is poor and lives in a mud home. While her door was locked, the man simply had to make a small hole in the mud and unlock the door from the inside.  I hear this and went to her home with Nancy to get something for her.  I saw blood on the couch where she had been hit on the head with a paint tin.  After seeing what I could do to help, I just went home and cried. How can this happen?! How can people do this to each other? What hope is there for a women like this, who works to support herself and her son, when she can be abused like this so easily.   This is not a country thing, this is a humanity thing.  Maybe I just need a thicker skin, but it really hit me. It has also relit something in me to do more.  I sit and talk about caring about these issues, but when I not working in sanitation, I’m eating banana pancakes and catching up on Breaking bad.  Why do I do that?

Don’t leave with the impression that it’s all bad. There are some good – plenty of great- things.  On a positive note, I have the pleasure of almost daily interactions with an adorable boy named Paulo (below). 

If I leave Africa without adopting a 2-4 year old boy, I will be thoroughly impressed with myself.  And occasionally I see this cute girl, who is the daughter of a man I work with.

I have not gotten involved with the local human rights group (yet) but I have been playing soccer semi-regularly both in the village and at a school where my Swahili tutor works, which has been wonderful.  I also have some wonderful friends in Nairobi.  While I don’t get to see them all the time, last weekend I spent in Nairobi doing everything from playing (dominating)  Yatzee to petting/riding/eating ostriches.

Sometimes I forget how blessed and strange my life is. And then I remember.

And just to even things out, let me leave you with a list of hilarious and entertaining things that I never find time to write about, but I hope never to forget:

1) Listing to Dolly Parton, Seal, and Michael Bolton in any café at lunch. 

2) The looks I get when I drive a Kenyan on the motorcycle. A complete role reversal.

3) Posters of Asian babies in tons of homes with cliché sayings like “Happiness isn’t yours until you give it away”. Never black babies.

4) Babies wrapped in 3 blankets, a sweater, and a hood (independent of a sweater or sweatshirt) in 80 degree F weather

5) An old grandma wearing a 50 Cent t-shirt while she collects firewood

6) Men in jeans that I think I bought at Limited Too when I was 11.

7) Matatu names such as “Farty shots” “Hotter than July (July is winter here), and “the jolly escort”

8) The fact that you may need to specifically ask for working seatbelts and a rearview mirror when you rent a car because, why would those come standard. 

Seeing Kenya From All Sides

The Lokey Sisters Do Kenya

So as most of you know, my sister Anne was able to visit me a few weeks ago. This was so fun to fall into our sister shenanigans.  We got to do our stupid waiting games and movie quotes.  Seeing her actually made me miss her and the rest of my family and friends more once she left.  But having her here also meant a lot to me, beyond just missing her.  I love being abroad and no one from my life back home has ever come to visit me and see this part of my life.  So part of her time here, Anne was just seeing my life; where I live, my crazy “commute” to work on a motorcycle where kids yell “mzungu, how are YOU” constantly, and meet a few of the Kenyans I work with.  While in Naivasha we also saw some sites: Mt Longonot, Hell’s Gate, and Sanctuary, where we had a minor standoff with a zebra. 

Then we were off to Masai Mara. Due to a complex set of circumstances, we had much nicer accommodations that I am used to or anticipated.  It was amazing. We constantly remarked that our tent was nicer than my cabin in Naivasha, which is only half a joke.  And the game drives were insane.  I think the first day we saw everything I wanted to see except the elusive leopard.  At one point a baby elephant charged us; at another, a lion meandered within 5 feet of our open car. It was just exactly what you dream a safari should be.   At some point, Anne and I were sitting on top of the Land Rover, driving through a herd of wildebeest at sunset, singing “Africa” by 80s legend Toto (we were singing, not the wildebeest).  And then I dragged Anne along to visit to a Masai village.

Next on our tour of Kenya was Lamu, a tiny old island of the north coast.  It’s been called a “found paradise”.  The island itself is beautiful but it is the mix of old Swahili, Arab, and Indian cultures in the towns that gives Lamu such a unique and exotic feel.  Here we wandered aimlessly through old Lamu Town, without a recommended guide- mostly so I didn’t feel rushed when I inevitably took a million pictures of doors.  We also lost ourselves in the little village of Shela.  Shela is so cool and very safe, with its maze of shops and homes.  We bought some gifts and took our chances with some local restaurants, which were usually a bit disappointing, but no food poisoning! We also saw a hatching of baby sea turtles (something like 200) but sadly forgot the camera.  One evening we took a sunset ride on a dhow, an old traditional African wooden boat, which was so beautiful and actually the first time I’ve ever technically “sailed”. The last day we spent relaxing some at the pool and beach.

Reflecting on life in Kenya

Sometime in Lamu I started reading “Kisses from Katie,” which I highly recommend.  I do not, however, recommend reading this book while on a luxury vacation. It messes with you, as it should.  This beautiful story of a girl and her life in Uganda was eerily familiar and yet seemed like a completely different world.  Reading it made me think about a lot of things and assess my life and my future- my favorite activities. 

First, it made me miss Uganda, which I thought strange since I live in Kenya which is geographically and culturally very close to Uganda.  But I realized I missed working with kids, being in the most broken places I’ve ever seen, and doing it in a loving, moving community.  I realized I have fallen back, believing that being in Kenya is enough, patting myself on the back for fulfilling my dream of living in Africa.  But being present in Kenya isn’t enough.  Don’t get me wrong.  A big part of me loves that I can work in the villages here and then lay by the pool, or go wake boarding, or clubbing with friends from Nairobi on the weekend.  I do like that after a long day of people being late and taking poop samples, I can watch Suits with Emily.  But I realized by doing this I have yet to actually dig into this community.  I did not come to Kenya because I’m passionate about poop.  I chose to come because I’m passionate about people, and seeing transformation in broken/dirty places.  As Come Let’s Dance taught me so long ago, it should be “people over projects” but I’ve given little thought to people beyond those working with me.  I’ve been working in the village but I live a different life, and have remarkably few Kenyan friends.  Part of this, I think stems from the fact that I haven’t seen that same urgency, and brokenness in Naivasha that I saw in Uganda.  This is good for the most part.  It makes working here practically easier, and messing up means people are not going to die.  But I have not broken for this community; I have not seen need that makes me pour myself out and invest everything into it.

I don’t know exactly what this means for me.  Maybe I really need to live in a completely poverty stricken rural or slum community that will just rip me up inside.  Or maybe I need to just learn how to have compassion for the people around me, regardless of their state of being.  And there IS poverty here; there is hunger and abuse and everything else.  In fact, one of our friends here, a 60 year old user of in-home toilet we have been testing, is in a long land dispute with her brother which recently resulted in him breaking her arm.  Women fail to inherit or can be intimidated off of their land pretty frequently here.  But I haven’t been seeing, or caring. 

So as I said I don’t know what all of this means for my future or career trajectory, but while I am here I am going to be an actual part of this community.  I’m going to actually, intentionally get to know the people here.  To start, I’m going to visit and maybe volunteer at an office that fights gender-based violence and I’m going to play soccer with the kids regularly. 

Today I finally played football (soccer) with the village kids.  It was so joyful, that’s really the best word for it.  There were tons of kids (ages 2-12 probably) running around mostly without shoes, with huge smiles on their faces.  A group of small boys would yell my name until I ran over to them, then they would run away.  If one let me catch him, I would put him on my shoulders in a burst of laughter. A tiny little girl in a dirty white dress came up to me while I was in the middle of playing the game and gripped my legs so hard.  I picked her up and she wrapped her arms around my neck with the same intensity and longing, acting as my shadow for the rest of the afternoon.  When the ball got a hole in it and began to deflate, I started getting frustrated. “I haven’t even got to use this for 1 full day and it’s broken” I thought to myself, but it didn’t seem to upset anyone else or slow the games down, so I continued just trying to keep up with the boys.  It was such a wonderful afternoon, I don’t know why it’s taken me so long.  I have traveled and seen so many places in Kenya, the parks and coast, but I’ve been missing out on my own neighborhood

Nairobi attack

On a totally different note and a different side of Kenya, I suppose I should acknowledge the terrorist attack at Westgate Mall that started a week ago today. (If you have not been following the news you should look it up.)  I was in Nairobi last weekend to watch an international rugby tournament.  I actually caught a cab maybe a block from that mall about an hour or two before the attack started, but I was completely safe.  I could have easily have been there, and it’s a place my friends frequent.  I had no a few friends there in hiding but they made it out ,shaken but safe.  It is unbelievable to me to think of families, having a nice Saturday outing that turned into a 4-day hostage situation.  It was a terrible, unthinkable act. But I am safe, I am fine.  It really puts those little complaints and annoyances in perspective.  There is evil and good in every country.  Kenya has its problems for sure, but it is not a violent country overall and I don’t want anyone to worry unnecessarily. 

PS.   If you want to hear more about what I am doing for work, you can find it on Sanivation’s blog which is a link above to your left.  

All Pooped Out--But not

Work has been insane, but fun mostly.  Emily’s friend Madison came to visit so Emily took some time to travel and show her Kenya.  It was fun to have Madi around, 1) because she is just a chill person, and 2) because it’s always fun to see these things that I’ve become accustomed to from a fresh pair of eyes.  But with Emily out having ridiculous adventures, I had a ton of stuff to do here.  The MoSan  toilets finally arrived and this week we began our pilot with 5 households.  Before distributing the toilets - Mona, the designer of the toilet, and I were able to sit down with many people and really get a feel for what their situation is like and why they want a mobile toilet in their home.   In the US if you need to go pee in the middle of the night, you can half sleep walk to your bathroom, go and come back in 2 minutes - no problem.  This is not as convenient, comfortable, or safe when your bathroom is possibly 20 feet from your house as it often is here in Kenya.  It is especially bad if you are an elderly woman and fear for your safety.  It is also not easy if you are disabled.

Now, being friends with the lovely Sarah Moll in high school, I became somewhat more aware of certain difficulties physically disabled people face, but it has never been a focus of mine.  Having spent more time learning about sanitation though, and especially after visiting Kakuma I have come to be more passionate about this issue. I got my heart set on targeting disabled persons for our project in Kakuma, but was told a few weeks ago by wiser, senior members of our team that this was going to be too difficult bureaucratically and present data not easily generalized for reporting.  Part of me completely understands this and respects it. We are having enough issues starting this project as it is; working with a particularly vulnerable population would only make matters more complex.  But, part of me also feels that that’s maybe exactly why we need to do it.  Disabled refugees are a vulnerable group within a larger vulnerable population. If our little project can’t attempt to cater to their needs, who will address them? Anyway, that is a fight for another day I suppose. We have begun working with some disabled people here in Naivasha, and hopefully, if the pilot goes well, people will take notice that this is a real issue. 

There is a disabled persons community group in Naivasha that has gotten me really excited. I met 2 of the members many months ago to talk about a completely different thing, but when we got the MoSan toilets I called them up to see if any members wanted to be a tester for us.  They do. These great guys, Thaddeus and Peter were thrilled to try this new toilet.  We got to talking about what all their group does in the community and it turns out they do briquette making! They showed me around their office and briquetting equipment and are actually excited at the prospect of collaborating with us and experimenting with briquettes made from poop. They have been doing this for about 2 years and already have an established infrastructure and market AND it would be amazing to train them to have a sustainable briquetting business for when Emily and I leave (eventually).  Mona and I were so pumped we were practically jumping up and down.  It’s inspiring to see these people (men especially) working so hard to be involved in and improve their community with trash clean up and recycling, briquetting, health promotion and more. 

The pilot has been a really interesting learning experience already and it has just begun.  It’s just another wonderful reminder that these things will likely not run as you planned and there will problems you never imagined.  Our waste collector, Stephen, who goes around to all of the toilets to collect the waste containers and bring them to the treatment site - is wonderful and tries so hard to do a good job and not complain that he actually makes it a bit harder on us. For example, we gave him a log sheet to fill out as he made his rounds, with things like arrival time, departure time, cleanliness scale, etc and went through how to fill it out with him.  He assured us he understood, but then the day after collection, we saw that the sheets were completely empty.  So with Nancy translating, we learned that he was afraid of somehow making an error in filling it out, so he just didn’t write anything. It just amazes me.

So on a completely different note, school has been starting back in the US, and while I’m not at all jealous of class registration and exams, I do miss that community.  It’s not just that I miss people (although that is true) but it has been pretty long time since I have not been invested in a very intentional community (CCF, El Oasis, Church on the Street, Big Saps, etc) where I could lead and serve people and also be challenged and pushed and encouraged by people.  I have some wonderful friends here but it is very different. Most expats are pretty transient, and well the village is just a whole different world. While I’m learning Swahili pole pole (slowly slowly), I just can’t connect with people from Mirera on the same level.  I’ve been thinking a lot about community lately, and I don’t know how long I will be here, but it’s something I need to work on.  In the meantime…. my wonderful sister Anne is coming to visit in less than a week! Words cannot express how excited I am.  

Hardship Bonus

Little Cabin in the…Savanna

So I realized I haven’t shared where I’m living now.  I’m in a little cabin (a definite upgrade from the shack) behind a bed and breakfast with Emily.  It’s a wonderful location: safe (as long as you are aware of hippos) and really pretty perfect.  Here are some photos. 

It’s really hard to explain life here -- the craziness of everyday life in an African town, the disgusting experiences of sanitation, the beauty and adventure of Kenya.  Emily and I met a guy many months ago who is an Israeli geologist doing geothermal work in Kenya.  His company gave him a “hardship bonus” on top of his salary just for living in Kenya (because it must be so awful…?).  So at times-- like this morning-- when I’m drinking a smoothie and lying by the pool, I have to remind Emily that I’m still waiting for my hardship bonus.  Life is rough.  Anyway, here’s some of what I’ve been up to lately. 

Cooking up Poop

Coming back to Naivasha is wonderful for so many reasons: perfect weather, zero traffic (minus goats), and giraffe spotting—but among the top reasons is working with Nancy and Francis again.  While Emily and I were in the US, Nancy did her own “experiment” which turned out really well.  The poop that we had put on the concentrator before I left, which had not reached high enough temperatures (we think, our loggers were broken at this point) she put this poop back on the concentrator for about 20 days. Then she took it off and let it dry, rolling it on occasion, for another few weeks.  The result is a completely safe, dry solid devoid of any poop smell or appearance. 

                

Emily and I even burned some, just to see what would happen. Yep, that’s my job.  And it went surprisingly well.  The waste doesn’t quite ignite, but it gives off good heat when lit with charcoal, and does not smell like poop.  Our plan is to combine this dry waste with organic materials like leaves corn husks, cobs, and press it to make briquettes that will be a cheaper environmentally friendly alternative to wood charcoal.  We have found some other people in the area who have experience making briquettes, namely our friend Alistair, but none of them have used human waste so this is a new dimension.  Alistair has helped us repeatedly cook poop in his own backyard. That’s friendship. 

We also have started our sampling for lab testing with the CDC. When the traditionally proposed technique of gathering a sample didn’t work out, we had to resort to a less scientific tactic of literally reaching our gloved hands in the waste with a ziplock bag and grabbing a fist full of poop.  That is the type of high tech system we work under. 

We also are going to be receiving some in-home toilet prototypes here from Germany to test in Naivasha, and hopefully some from Haiti too. Things are starting to take off.  For more about our projects and work stuff, you can read the Sanivation blog: http://sanivation.com/category/blog/.

Living for the weekend

Ok that’s not true, but as much  fun as I have at work, that is only the beginning.  One weekend recently we had a bunch of friends coming up to Naivasha for volleyball, margaritas, camp fires, and dancing. The best part was that even though most people only new a handful of the other 25ish people there, everyone got along incredibly well and are amazing people in their own right. We had some med students, taking time between 1st and 2nd year to do medical stuff in Kenya, refugee resettlement workers, fellow poop people, and all just amazing good-hearted people all around. 

Two weekends ago Emily and I took off to the coast to play touch rugby on Diani beach with some of the girls from the Kenya Women’s Rugby team.  It was amazing! Rugby, a beautiful white –sand/ turquoise—water beach, dancing, more great people from all over, not mention some good looking fellas. I love that rugby is rugby anywhere. I think I slept about 15 hrs in 4 days, my body and feet hurt like crazy, and it was one of the best weekends I’ve had here. 

Then we had an amazing weekend up in Eldoret and Kakamega Forest.  Kenya is so diverse and I love seeing all of it, but it is really the company that makes the trip.  When 4 hours in parking lot waiting for a car and then riding on pothole-filled African roads are enjoyable events you know you are surrounded by good people. 

Then this weekend we stayed home, which turned out splendidly, and we got to hang out with the most random people. It started with American girls we met (well Emily sort of accidentally picked up at a bar) and had over for drinks. We ended up talking about some politics, traveling, sexuality, intentional community, and faith, while drinking and singing to RENT and Moulin Rouge.  Then Saturday, off to have lunch with two Kenyan cowboys who have zebra and polo fields on their land, followed by dinner with missionaries from Kentucky who made us fried chicken. There’s never a dull moment here and we never lack for fun company.  We also have amazing American neighbors, Mike and Aliza, who let us come use their oven as long as we share the enchiladas, pizza, or whatever the specialty of the night is with them. 

That's about it for now.  

Refuge in the Desert

So my two weeks in Kakuma were amazing!  The camp is like nowhere else. They are 15 or so nationalities represented and even more ethnic groups. It was so great to go around and see all the areas where different cultures are represented.  The camp was started in 1992 so some of the same people have been there for 20 years.  Their stories are incredible. Some people can’t wait to go back to their country of origin, but some don’t even remember it and call Kenya home.  Lots are looking to be resettled to the US or Canada.  Emily and I happened to be in Kakuma over World Refugee Day which was such a cool experience.  The day was full of celebrations: dancing, singing, athletic events.  This was the first year apparently that the refugees took charge and ran the events. There were auditions and everything.  Basically every nationality got to put on at least one performance, so we got to get a taste of each culture. 

My time was spent doing a couple things. First, I was there to observe a focus group discussion training for moderators and observe some of the discussion sessions. This was very helpful in preparing for our own focus groups that Sanivation plans on conducting in Kakuma in the Fall.  It was also really fun to get to hang out with the moderators. These were all refugee youth who speak English but have very diverse backgrounds.  We spent lunch comparing cultural views on things like dowries and homosexuality.  A couple of them are being resettled and will already be in a university in Canada by the time Emily and I are back to conduct our groups. 

The second job I had while in Kakuma was just to go around and talk with people, holding sort of informal interviews with refugees about their sanitation experiences and concerns.  This was a bit harder than I would have liked.  I kept wanting to just wander through the streets of the camp and talk with people, but because of the language issue that would not have been the most productive. Plus I suppose there are securities concerns as well. So I had to find people willing to come with me and translate for me.  These were usually community health promoters who are refugees but also work for groups like IRC and NRC.  I loved getting to sit with the refugees, see their home and hear some about their lives, and yes their toilet.  It was a bit frustrating that upon seeing me, a white person and obviously aid worker, people would often just start listing all of their complaints: the roof is broken, we don’t have enough firewood, my husband is sick…The culture in a refugee camp is such that these people really are reliant on others for just about everything.  Some have some side jobs, but they hardly earn anything and there is actually a cap on how much you are allowed earn.  The system, because it is meant to be temporary actually makes it quite hard to be or become independent.  I enjoyed working with refugees (so far) more than I thought I might. It is a temporary situation, not long term governance and democracy issues that I love, but there is so much to be done. I’ve also been thinking about the word refuge.  The Bible talks about cities of refuge, mainly for people who have killed someone accidentally.  But is also talks more generally about taking care of foreigners, the oppressed and vulnerable.  Even if we make a mess of it sometimes, it’s pretty cool to step back and see how people from all over the globe will come together to help some kids from South Sudan, or women from Somalia, or a man from the Congo, who have become vulnerable. 

I got to see and experience a couple really cool things while in Kakuma.  I have been thinking a bunch about how I see or don’t see God here, and just praying I will be able to grow more and feel that God is present while I’m here.  I’ve been struggling with it, and just getting caught up in my role, things I need to accomplish, etc. So I had been praying about it and the next day I completely, randomly ran into an American missionary who is in Kakuma for a few weeks with a Kenyan friend.  We just talked about life and Kenya, and he prayed for me and encouraged me that God cares, he has compassion (looking at Mark 4). He especially prayed that I wouldn’t get bogged down by the harsh situations and needs.  I’m not usually one to think much of these little things, in fact I’m usually quite skeptical.  But I’ve been told many times, there’s no such thing as coincidence, and at I time when I was asking to see God and be encouraged, it came.  That’s pretty amazing. I think it also helped prepare me for the harsh realities I would see the next day, knowing that God does have compassion.

The next day I went out to visit families with children who have disabilities, many of them bedridden.  The reason is that we believe these families would be especially interested in having an in-home toilet, since getting to a latrine is so difficult. With the time that I have spent in developing countries, I’m sorry to say I am often accustomed or immune to poverty and hardship, but this finally did me in.  All of the families had stories, but one of them absolutely broke my heart. This mother has two sons, 8 and 9 years old, who have severe mental and physical disabilities leaving them bedridden all the time.  She also has 4 other children to care for.  The two boys were so malnourished I had to force myself not to cry or wince looking at them. I asked her about how she cares for them and about sanitation. All of the things that are problems but minor problems for other refugees, become major problems for her.  She doesn’t have enough water to be constantly cleaning them. She can’t work because she needs to be home with them…She obviously loves her family, but I could just see pain in her face. Then I asked if I could take her picture and she went off about how every NGO comes in and interviews her and wants a picture of her and her sons, but nothing ever gets done – nothing changes.  I kept having to remind her that I can’t promise that she will receive any new aid or services but that I would try my best to use the information she gave me to help her and other families in the camp.  It’s so hard to see a need like that and not be able to do anything. 

But I’ve very excited about this project. We just have to submit some materials for review and then wait.

So then last weekend, Emily and I went with some other friends to Aberdare National Park, which was sweet and has very different terrain than I’ve seen in Kenya; it is all green mountains with beautiful overlooks and waterfalls. We had hilarious car trouble as usual. Some times this meant us getting out so that it could make it up a hill and occasionally pushing.  The car adventures ended with a bus (that we had just passed) pulling over and everyone unloading to help us change a flat tire.  The actual park was great, and we got to see several elephants pretty close up. 

Now I’m back in Naivasha working with Nancy and Francis, who kept working while we were gone.  More on that later.  

Back again, Kenya believe it?

I've been absent from the blogger world for a while.  First, because my laptop was stolen and I didn't have the ability; then I was in the US and had no need since I was seeing all of my beautiful friends and family in person. But I’m back to traveling which means the entries are coming.

On the Horizon for Sanivation

So let me catch you up on what’s going on in the Sanivation world these days. Emily and I came back to US for a couple of months while projects were getting worked out.  Emily arrived in Kenya a month or 2 ago, and just got in a day ago. Sanitation has a couple of projects in the works. First, we are working in Kakuma refugee camp with support from the CDC’s i-Fund award.  Kaukuma is the second largest refugee camp in the country. It is going to be an unbelievable experience working in such an extreme and diverse environment.  Also, as part of this project we will be continuing some testing at our site in Naivasha. Emily found us a new place too (pictures to come), and we have a bathroom AND kitchen INSIDE the place! Basically it’s the ritz.

In addition to this project, we are also working on a proposal for USAID funding to work with the CDC in Kibera slum in Nairobi.  This would give us yet another environment to work with and play with new sanitation systems.  Kibera is famous for its flying toilets, which is just about what it sounds like: poop in a bag that is then thrown in the air, likely landing on a nearby roof.  It’s a sanitation nightmare.

Lastly, we are possibly partnering with Rice University to implement technology they developed that sanitizes and vacuum dries using solar energy and a nano-particle solution.  That’s about the extent of my understanding of the sciencey aspects.  The cool part is that it is very efficient and the drying mechanism lends itself nicely to transforming the waste into a burnable cooking fuel.  This would be amazing! So we are still waiting to hear back.

(If you would like to know more about the Sanitation projects you can read on the Sanivation blog)

Geneva

On my way to Kenya I had the amazing opportunity to accompany the team from an NGO called Peacebuilding Solutions to a UNHCR Annual NGO Consultation in Geneva. Basically, big shots working with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and organizations that work with refugees all coming together for lectures and networking.  Crazy cool.  Peacebuilding Solutions is a group based in Atlanta that is planning on doing long-term, holistic internally displaced persons (IDPs) care in Haiti. Sanitation will be one part of their approach so hopefully Sanivation will be able to partner with them in that future project. 

On my way to Geneva, the airline searched and broke my bag, which meant I lost all my toiletries. I’m not used to my things getting lost/stolen BEFORE I get to Kenya, but the adventure began early. I had two huge bags plus my pack and needed to get from Zurich to Geneva. After the world’s most expensive taxi ride, I got a train to Geneva.  Then with the help of a stranger carrying one of my bags, I eventually made it to the hotel, to meet Greg and the team.  We had the smallest hotel room I’ve ever seen and sharing it between 3 people.  But we saved money and it ended up working out fine, sleeping 3 people to 2 beds, all laying horizontally and trying to keep from falling into the crack between the beds.

The conference was really interesting.  It was amazing to even be there with that caliber of people and expertise. I would step back every once in a while, though, and say this is it, this is how it all gets done? Most of the lectures and even organizations were not related to what I do at all.  It was all high level policy discussion. But it is fun for an IR nerd like me to get to think about some of these problems that I never have to think about.  How can you best take care of LGBT victims of sexual abuse? How does the whole process of resettlement actually work?  And all sorts of others. I also met plenty of people that work with refugees in Kenya and the region and got to hear about their experiences and programs.  I was by far one of the youngest and most inexperienced attendees, so the first day was quite intimidating, but I started to feel like I got the hang of it by days 2 and 3.

 The first night the conference held a little cocktail hour for everyone at UNHCR.  Among the mingling, a short man came up and shook my hand and those of the rest of the Peacebuilding Teams’. I assumed Greg knew him and thought nothing of it really and after a minute continued talking with another woman.  Later that night I learned that the man was the High Commissioner, António Guterres. Oops…But maybe it is better this way. Had I known it was him, there is a higher probability I would have said something stupid.  We got to hear him speak at the closing of the conference and he is a brilliant guy. He took questions for about an hour about specific problems and regions, and knew what was going on in all of them without consulting anyone else.

After the conference I had just a little time to actually see the city. It’s one of those interesting blends of old and new and so many different cultures.  The old town was my favorite part; cobblestone and old cathedrals including St. Pierre known for Jean Calvin preaching during the Reformation.  I wish I had had some more time to explore, but at the same time I’m ready to get back to Kenya. I’m really ready to be back, see Emily and get to work.

Landing in Cairo (for a connection) was one of the coolest sights I’ve ever seen from a plane: You fly over the Mediterranean and then you come over this huge mass of land and see the Nile flowing into the sea.  The whole delta was incredible and then you move into the desert tinted red by the sunset and then huge masses of tan and red buildings appear. It was so congested, but really the same colors as the desert it almost blended. Then, I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I saw the pyramids from the plane! It was insane.  

Hit the Ground Running

So in “first day Kenya” tradition, I got in at 3:45am slept a few hours in Nairobi and then had a full day of fun and night of partying ahead of me.  Emily and I picked up some materials for building a new solar concentrator while in Nairobi at this crazy market where you can buy anything you’ve ever imagined.  It was a perfect picture of doing business in Kenya; 4 people came up to us immediately asked what we were looking for, we struggled for a minute to explain, then one of the guys leads us through a maze of shops to his friend’s store where they have these reflective sheets.  All the while, people are looking at us, taking our picture on their phones and so on.  Then we bargain, buy and try to fit everything in the car.  It’s really cool actually how people will go out of their way to help you find what you need. 

After that we went to a Kenya Women’s rugby match against Uganda. Emily has been training with them for a while now, and once she gets her residence paperwork through, she will get to play in matches.  The team was really fun.  Rugby is rugby everywhere, it was interesting to see that culture in a main culture so different than America.  Then we had a ridiculous taxi drive home to Naivasha; waiting for our bags, the driver coming back not with our bags but with his wife and two kids to somehow fit in our packed car, waiting at a gas station while he fixed the engine and asked us for a $40 advance so he could pay the services, topped off with asking if we could put him up for the night so he wouldn't have to drive back in the dark.  Just a normal taxi ride. 

Finally in Naivasha, we were going to drop our stuff off and meet a bunch of people for a friend’s birthday party, only the motorcycle had a flat. So we waited and had them pick us up.  I almost didn't go because I was beyond exhausted at this point (11 or so) but I’m so glad I did.  There were so many great people at the bar including a guy we play touch rugby with, a friend I met in the middle-of-nowhere-Kenya 3 months ago, and some Americans Emily met last week.  The birthday party came back to our cabin and continued festivities but I headed in early.  It was quite the welcome back and a really good picture of a day here.  You never know what is coming but it will take longer than you think, will involve some problems and irritations, but will be worth it. 

Tomorrow we are headed to the airport at 5:30am to go to Kakuma for 2 weeks.  I’m so excited to finally get to be there and experience it.  I really don’t know what to expect, but I can’t wait.  

Extremes

(Written 26/2/13)

It’s been a wild few weeks.  Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged, my computer was stolen, which leads me to my first story.  Two weekends ago Emily and I went to Mombasa, a really old port city on the coast. It’s a wonderful blend of cultures being a Muslim, African city on the Indian Ocean.  Our “9 hour” bus ride turned into something like 13 hours total.  Having had someone throw up behind me I was reluctant to set my stuff at my feet.  Somewhere around the 12^th hour Emily and I both fell asleep with the laptop over our heads and woke up to find people exiting the bus and the laptop gone.  Despite this foolish and unfortunate start, I really enjoyed the weekend. 

The next day we spent exploring the old town, going to the spice market, shops, a miraculously peaceful Hindu temple in the center of town, and an old fort built by the Portuguese, called Fort Jesus.  Late in the afternoon we made our way to Diani beach. Although we asked about 15 people, no one seemed to understand the concept of “camping in a tent on the beach” or “campsite”.  On our mission to find the place which was aptly named “Diani campsite”, we stopped for some incredible Indian food.  Diani beach is the most famous in Kenya, and with reason, it was lovely.  The next day we went on a full day excursion, where we “sailed” (using a motor on a cool old wooden African boat) to the southernmost island in Kenya where I snorkeled and Emily scuba dived.  It was a really cool experience.  The trip back was thankfully uneventful. 

Getting back to work, I can’t say enough how much I enjoy working with Francis and Nancy.  Last week we got to try some or our side projects like the solar shower. They were so thrilled and thankful. 

There have been some downs. The place where we were staying had some break-ins reported so we decided to play it safe and move in with our friend Andrew temporarily.  Though it wasn’t such a blast being uprooted, we are not exactly roughing it, and in fact we upgraded substantially from the shack. 

So the past couple of weeks I have just been thinking about the extremes that exist here. The amazing hospitality and the theft.  The beautiful and the disgusting.  You can’t say “oh the poor Africans are just victims” but it’s also equally wrong to say they are all lazy thieves.  I see many expats here who have grown cynical working and living with Kenyans.  While I’m not there (yet), I am starting to understand more of where they are coming from.  Last week we heard back that Sanivation is a finalist for getting a grant to work in a refugee camp in Northern Kenya, called Kakuma, which would be amazing! [Sidenote: Read “What is the What”, it’s one of my favorite books and it’s about a Sudanese refugee who ends up at this camp in Kenya and is eventually resettled in Atlanta.] I keep thinking about what I’m doing here in Kenya.  Is this where I should be, where I’m can actually be useful?  I still don’t see myself in sanitation for the long haul, but I’m enjoying it right now.  These opportunities are too good to pass up.  I’m just trusting that God will make it clear if he has something else for me. 

This past weekend was extremely lazy- just getting Emily addicted to Smash and hanging around Naivasha.  Emily left yesterday and flies back to the US today. I really do miss her already.  It’s quite remarkable how we didn’t want to kill each other, and even wanted to spend more time together.  Hopefully we will get our project approved and she will be back soon! Friday I leave for Uganda. I’m thrilled that I get to see [people from such different parts of my life and get to take a little break from poop. 

Cheers,

Hana