We meet every sunday from noon til 4:30. We practice computer skill, discuss health concerns, plan community events, act as big brother and big sisters to TWAAYF's kids, eat lunch together, and have fun. We even go to the beach and take field trips!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
LSF's mentoring program
We meet every sunday from noon til 4:30. We practice computer skill, discuss health concerns, plan community events, act as big brother and big sisters to TWAAYF's kids, eat lunch together, and have fun. We even go to the beach and take field trips!
Madaraka Community Nursery School
Madaraka is a nursery that educates young children regardless of their ability to pay fees. Four trained, volunteer teachers enthusiastically teach 120 kids each day, mainly though art and song. And the best part, our 3 year olds at Madaraka can read and write short words! Twaayf Youth started Madaraka in 2007 to educate their kids, they now educate there own along with many others who would not otherwise have access to early childhood education because there are no public nurseries in Kenya. It's another example of the great work TWAAYF has done, and evidence of what they will do.
TWAAYF Children's Development Center
Here are a few shots of the Children's Center, minus the main building, which I did not find a photo of. These are of the main open space/play area, the kitchen, our table/Mato's tin house, and the boys bed room with their new bunk beds.
The Three Musketeers
Mato, Kwame, and Me, Gabrielle- our team of three knows no obstacle too large, no day too long, and no bike ride in Mombasa traffic to daunting. Though I'll admit that when we are riding in Mombasa traffic I'm scared out of my wits and Mato and Kwame have to ride in front and behind me to make sure I survive.
DHL Field Day
These are pictures of our field day with DHL. DHL hosted TWAAYF, LSF, and another youth group for a day of field games, football, dancing and eating. Mato MCed the whole thing, which he is great at, and our kids had a wonderful time. Plus TWAAYF's football team won their match and took home the DHL cup.
TWAAYF Kids
These are the kids of TWAAYF Children's Development Center, where I spent most of my time while in Kenya this past summer. The Likoni Scholarship Fund and TWAAYF are now partners. The young people who run TWAAYF help us to run LSF, in particular Martin helps us each week with our mentoring program. I spend lots of time with TWAAYF's kids, and this Jan, we will add TWAAYF's primary age students to LSF scholarship program. We are joining under one umbrella name, are fundraising as one, and will continue to create new programs together, long into the future. Together we will be more successful at creating change in Likoni than either organization could be on its own.
LSF's first meeting
Likoni Scholarship Fund's first group meeting! Our scholarship students and their parents join us for a day to discuss our plans and our goals for everyone. Kwame and I introduced our ideas for a mentoring program and a micro enterprise training class and we asked everyone to give suggestions for what to include in these programs. All in all the meeting was a success.
Madaraka Field Trip
Here are photos of Madaraka's trip to Shelly Beach. Madaraka is the nursery school started by TWAAYF in 2007. The youth of TWAAYF created Madaraka to educate the orphans of TWAAYF Children's Development Center, but now it provides early childhood education to 120 children, half of whom attend for free.
photos of our July 26th, 2008 clean up of Shelly Beach in Likoni
These photos are of the beach clean up LSF and TWAAYF organized together in July. It was our first collaborative effort and jump started our partnership. The clean up was aimed at getting plastic off our local beach and at getting youth involved in community service. We invited almost every school in Likoni and ended up with over 2,000 participants. The DO of Likoni (head of local government) said the event was historic, that it was the most successful community action event ever organized in Likoni. We feel good about that!
After the clean up participants gathered for music, snacks, and to preform for one another. Over 20 student groups sang, danced, acted, and entertained the crowd during our post clean-up party.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sept 2008
Hi friends,
I'm sitting with our Likoni Scholarship students and showing them how blogs work. We will sign them each up with one so they can post their own stories. In other news, Life is good. Its too busy and thats why I haven't written, I'll try to post more soon.
I'm sitting with our Likoni Scholarship students and showing them how blogs work. We will sign them each up with one so they can post their own stories. In other news, Life is good. Its too busy and thats why I haven't written, I'll try to post more soon.
Monday, June 30, 2008
June 2008
Hi Friends,
It’s been three weeks since I arrived in Kenya and things are starting to settle down. I spent my first week in Nairobi staying with my friend Tony and is family. It was a little odd, like arriving to the US after a long time away and spending a week in Boston before going home, but it definitely ad its up side. For one thing I was able to spend time with Jess and Kennedy, both of whom are doing well, and both of whom are leaving for the US at the end of July. Kennedy, who is born and raised in Kibera and who started Schofco, the most impressive organization I know off, and who is, in general, one of the most impressive people I know, will be a freshman at Wesleyan this fall. Those of you who are still students there, find a way to meet him, he is wonderful. Jess is, of course, wonderful, too (which is why they make such a good couple). She is doing senior thesis research that looks at the causes and impacts of Kenya's post election violence and is working on another play with Schofco youth, this one addressing that subject.
Now I'm in Mombasa, Tony, who studies environmental science at Kenyatta University, is on break until Sept and doing an internship with Matano's organization, CRDO, so he is staying with me and Cynthia and Mowly. Sorry to go crazy with lots of names, i'll try to explain a bit. Matano helps us to run the Likoni Scholarship Fund, he shares his office with us, he teaches our micro enterprise education class, and he helps us navigate the world of running an NGO. Cynthia and Mowly are my sisters, I lived with them last time I was in Kenya and will continue to live with them every time I am here.
Until this morning we were all sharing one small room in a house where the landlord never paid the electric bill and which had a smelly bathroom. For all these reasons we've moved to a newly constructed house. Here we have two rooms and a clean bathroom, but since the house is new and has not yet been hooked up, we still don't have power. The landlord and says it will be less than a month before we are hooked up so we'll use candles til then. Its a bit inconvenient, we have to charge our phones at fiends' houses, and makes me lazy at night, but really, its not bad. And the house is a good one.
Work wise things are good. We are having our first mentoring session this coming Sat and are preparing for that. We are also writing a constitution so we can register as an org in Kenya and are visiting families to see how everyone is doing. The big news is a guy named Mato, whom Kwame (my LSF partner) called the Kennedy of Mombasa. He is young, 24 or 25, used to be a homeless street boy, and now runs an organization called TWAAF which is a home for orphaned kids, a primary school, and a recording label. He is a musician so he as concerts and uses the money to support his 15 kids and he is introducing the kids to music so they can all make an album together that can bring in money. The school came about because the orphans were being excluded from local public primary schools. It now has 120 students, mostly from the community, and 4 teachers who mostly volunteer their services and do so with a lot of enthusiasm. This past friday we joined the kids for a field trip to the beach and had a blast. We've also been talking to Mato about how we can partner up. Our thoughts so far is that he will help us with our mentoring program, since that's his area of expertise. We are also going to start sharing is school building with him and make use of it in the afternoons as a reading room for our secondary school students. Once we have library books and computers we will set them up in the school so that all of our students can use them. I also imagine that we will help send some of their kids to school when they are old enough for secondary. In general, I think we are going to pool resources and find ways of working as a team.
Kwame and I have also been talking to a guy named Collins who is a Likoni native and the manager of Energizer Batteries in the coast province. He said he'd see about getting Energizer to help sponsor us, that he can make arrangements for us to bring our students to visit local business to learn about career options, and that he can help us bring together a group of professionals from Likoni who might donate to us or help mentor our students.
All in all we've been getting lots of exciting ideas and feel good about how things are going. I'll try to write again soon, maybe once we've gotten the internet in the office up and running. My number is 011254720391661, so call me or write me text messages. Or just write, GFondiller@gmail.com, it would be great to hear from you.
It’s been three weeks since I arrived in Kenya and things are starting to settle down. I spent my first week in Nairobi staying with my friend Tony and is family. It was a little odd, like arriving to the US after a long time away and spending a week in Boston before going home, but it definitely ad its up side. For one thing I was able to spend time with Jess and Kennedy, both of whom are doing well, and both of whom are leaving for the US at the end of July. Kennedy, who is born and raised in Kibera and who started Schofco, the most impressive organization I know off, and who is, in general, one of the most impressive people I know, will be a freshman at Wesleyan this fall. Those of you who are still students there, find a way to meet him, he is wonderful. Jess is, of course, wonderful, too (which is why they make such a good couple). She is doing senior thesis research that looks at the causes and impacts of Kenya's post election violence and is working on another play with Schofco youth, this one addressing that subject.
Now I'm in Mombasa, Tony, who studies environmental science at Kenyatta University, is on break until Sept and doing an internship with Matano's organization, CRDO, so he is staying with me and Cynthia and Mowly. Sorry to go crazy with lots of names, i'll try to explain a bit. Matano helps us to run the Likoni Scholarship Fund, he shares his office with us, he teaches our micro enterprise education class, and he helps us navigate the world of running an NGO. Cynthia and Mowly are my sisters, I lived with them last time I was in Kenya and will continue to live with them every time I am here.
Until this morning we were all sharing one small room in a house where the landlord never paid the electric bill and which had a smelly bathroom. For all these reasons we've moved to a newly constructed house. Here we have two rooms and a clean bathroom, but since the house is new and has not yet been hooked up, we still don't have power. The landlord and says it will be less than a month before we are hooked up so we'll use candles til then. Its a bit inconvenient, we have to charge our phones at fiends' houses, and makes me lazy at night, but really, its not bad. And the house is a good one.
Work wise things are good. We are having our first mentoring session this coming Sat and are preparing for that. We are also writing a constitution so we can register as an org in Kenya and are visiting families to see how everyone is doing. The big news is a guy named Mato, whom Kwame (my LSF partner) called the Kennedy of Mombasa. He is young, 24 or 25, used to be a homeless street boy, and now runs an organization called TWAAF which is a home for orphaned kids, a primary school, and a recording label. He is a musician so he as concerts and uses the money to support his 15 kids and he is introducing the kids to music so they can all make an album together that can bring in money. The school came about because the orphans were being excluded from local public primary schools. It now has 120 students, mostly from the community, and 4 teachers who mostly volunteer their services and do so with a lot of enthusiasm. This past friday we joined the kids for a field trip to the beach and had a blast. We've also been talking to Mato about how we can partner up. Our thoughts so far is that he will help us with our mentoring program, since that's his area of expertise. We are also going to start sharing is school building with him and make use of it in the afternoons as a reading room for our secondary school students. Once we have library books and computers we will set them up in the school so that all of our students can use them. I also imagine that we will help send some of their kids to school when they are old enough for secondary. In general, I think we are going to pool resources and find ways of working as a team.
Kwame and I have also been talking to a guy named Collins who is a Likoni native and the manager of Energizer Batteries in the coast province. He said he'd see about getting Energizer to help sponsor us, that he can make arrangements for us to bring our students to visit local business to learn about career options, and that he can help us bring together a group of professionals from Likoni who might donate to us or help mentor our students.
All in all we've been getting lots of exciting ideas and feel good about how things are going. I'll try to write again soon, maybe once we've gotten the internet in the office up and running. My number is 011254720391661, so call me or write me text messages. Or just write, GFondiller@gmail.com, it would be great to hear from you.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Likoni Fund News, June 2008
The Likoni Scholarship Fund is a scholarship and mentoring program for secondary school students in Likoni, Kenya. In Kenya students must pay $500 per year to attend secondary school. We believe all students deserve education and therefore offer scholarships to students who are dedicated to learning and unable to afford the cost of school fees.
Donations to LSF are Now Tax Deductible!
The Likoni Scholarship Fund has been invited into the Incubator Program of the Fund for the City of New York, and now, through FCNY, is tax deductible.
The Incubator Program supports select nonprofit enterprises and government projects through the first stages of development by providing them with essential fiscal and administrative management services. FCNY has pledged to provide the LSF with a complete array of back-office functions, including fiscal support, accounting services, auditing, grants management and technology assistance, and have offered to do so for free throughout our first year of partnership.
To make a contribution make your check payable to Fund for the City of New York/ LSF and send it to 121 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013.
Our Website is Coming Soon - LikoniFund.org
Web designers Jeff Hertzberg and Steve Loring have donated their time and expertise to creating a magnificent website for LSF. In doing so they will take us from a small project depended on friends, to a larger one, able to attract new interest and new donors online.
LikoniFund.org will also help us to keep you up to date on our programs and our students, particularly through their student blogs. As part of our mentoring program, student will keep journals, learn to use computers, and regularly update there very own blogs, connected to the Students page of our website.
LSF 2008 Scholars are Earning High Marks
All eight of our 2008 freshmen scholars have earned A's and B's during their first term. We are proud of their success, though not surprised!
One of our A students is Masika Ali. She was born June 30th, 1989 in Likoni, Mombasa and attended primary school through age 7. Unfortunately her family did not have the money to continue her education, so she stopped going to school after the fourth grade and stayed home until 2002, when the Kenyan Government made primary school free and she was able to re-enrolled.
Masika's father died before she was born, so she as been raised by her mother and 5 older siblings. Her Mother, Mwama Hamisi, sells fire wood and charcoal earning about $2 per day. Together with help from uncles and Masika's brother the family is sending Masika's older sister to secondary school, but this is challenging and there's no money left for Masika.
Meanwhile, she is a gifted student and should be in school. Masika loves studying math and Kiswaili. She plays volleyball and was on her primary school soccer team. She loves to joke with friends, to read, and hopes to someday be a doctor with a salary that allows her to help her family.
Donations to LSF are Now Tax Deductible!
The Likoni Scholarship Fund has been invited into the Incubator Program of the Fund for the City of New York, and now, through FCNY, is tax deductible.
The Incubator Program supports select nonprofit enterprises and government projects through the first stages of development by providing them with essential fiscal and administrative management services. FCNY has pledged to provide the LSF with a complete array of back-office functions, including fiscal support, accounting services, auditing, grants management and technology assistance, and have offered to do so for free throughout our first year of partnership.
To make a contribution make your check payable to Fund for the City of New York/ LSF and send it to 121 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013.
Our Website is Coming Soon - LikoniFund.org
Web designers Jeff Hertzberg and Steve Loring have donated their time and expertise to creating a magnificent website for LSF. In doing so they will take us from a small project depended on friends, to a larger one, able to attract new interest and new donors online.
LikoniFund.org will also help us to keep you up to date on our programs and our students, particularly through their student blogs. As part of our mentoring program, student will keep journals, learn to use computers, and regularly update there very own blogs, connected to the Students page of our website.
LSF 2008 Scholars are Earning High Marks
All eight of our 2008 freshmen scholars have earned A's and B's during their first term. We are proud of their success, though not surprised!
One of our A students is Masika Ali. She was born June 30th, 1989 in Likoni, Mombasa and attended primary school through age 7. Unfortunately her family did not have the money to continue her education, so she stopped going to school after the fourth grade and stayed home until 2002, when the Kenyan Government made primary school free and she was able to re-enrolled.
Masika's father died before she was born, so she as been raised by her mother and 5 older siblings. Her Mother, Mwama Hamisi, sells fire wood and charcoal earning about $2 per day. Together with help from uncles and Masika's brother the family is sending Masika's older sister to secondary school, but this is challenging and there's no money left for Masika.
Meanwhile, she is a gifted student and should be in school. Masika loves studying math and Kiswaili. She plays volleyball and was on her primary school soccer team. She loves to joke with friends, to read, and hopes to someday be a doctor with a salary that allows her to help her family.
Likoni Fund News, Jan 2008
Hi friends,
Many of you know that I’ve spent time living in Mombasa, Kenya and am working with a talented group of Kenyans to create a scholarship and mentoring program for Kenyan students. From the news you may also know that protest and violence have consumed Kenya since the incumbent president claimed victory in last months disputed election. Since then more than six hundreds people have been killed, over 230,000 are displaced from their homes, food prices have inflated out of reach, and communities have fractured under the weight of mistrust. While the country’s humanitarian crisis grows, inadequately addressed domestically and internationally, I do have good news to share. Primary schools have reopened and secondary schools are slated to follow within days.
I recently spoke with one of the 18 students we have pledged to assist this coming year, a 16 year old named Doctor who wants to be a doctor but was unable to begin secondary school last year because his family could not afford the cost of fees. His mother passed away a few years ago and now his father is sick and has not been able to access medical care. While I cannot address all the challenges his family faces today, I can promise him that when schools reopen he will be in attendance.
Thanks to many of you, many generous guests at Total Tennis, and my fellow students at Wesleyan University our scholarship program is now in its second year and we had already meet half of our 2008 program expense needs. I write today to ask for your help meeting the second half. But before you’ll take out your check book, I imagine you’ll want to know a bit about our programs and our goals.
My colleagues and I began the Likoni Scholarship Fund in summer 2006 after my semester abroad in Mombasa, Kenya. Our focus has been school fees because secondary education is expensive in Kenya, making it impossible for many primary students to continue their education, and, in turn, makes many ineligible for formal sector jobs. In our first year we were able to provide school fees and uniforms for six students.
This fall, during my second trip to Kenya, my colleagues and I discussed new ideas with our community and new plans to make the program more holistic. With the help of teachers at local public primary schools we selected 12 new students, all of whom are both dedicated to their education and unable to afford its high cost. We will continue to work with these 12 students, along with our original six, through the completion of their education, and, with your continued help, will add new students every year.
This year we have developed a new system of partnering with our scholarship recipient families. The process began by sitting with each family, estimating their monthly budget, and asking each how much they feel able to contribute towards their student’s education. We believe this partnership is important because it recognizes the hard work of parents, their successes, and the pride they deserve to enjoy along with the accomplishment of educating their children. Each family is able to contribute a different amount; we have sought to find the right amount for each and have promised to provide for all remaining expenses.
On average, schools fees, uniforms, shoes, book bag, note books, text books, lunch money, bus fare, and boarding fees for those attending boarding school amount to $550 per year. On average each family will contribute $150 per year towards this total, leaving us responsible for $400 per student, per year, for school expenses. Along with this $400 we will use an additional $100 per family per year to provide a small business training course for our partner parents and a mentoring program for our students. To keep our budget focused on these goals we have kept our overhead costs to just the stamp on this letter.
Many of our partner families are already engaged in micro-enterprise but few have had training in book keeping, writing business plans, or accessing loans. We hope our small business training course will help each family financially and, as time passes, enable each to take on more of their students’ educational expenses. In the future we also hope to add a micro finance program to our efforts in order to provide loans to our partner families and their businesses.
For our students we are planning a mentoring program. By discussing issues facing young Kenyans, particularly those brought to the forefront by the current conflict, by engaging in talks with community leaders, through a big brother/big sister tutoring program, and through time on the beach and the soccer pitch, we hope to promote self confidence within each student and reinforce one basic idea: that every person, in every part of Kenya and the world, is equally valuable and equally capable.
We have much work ahead of us. We are filing for 501c3, non-profit, status and will soon begin writing grant proposals for future funding. In the mean time we depend on donations from you. If you would like to send us a check please make it payable to me, Gabrielle Fondiller, addressed to 11 Polhemus Pl. Brooklyn, NY 11215, and please include your e-mail address so we can send you biographies of each of our students and updates in the future. If you have advice, suggestion or encouragement, or would like to be on our contact list, please e-mail me at GFondiller@gmail.com.
Also e-mail me if you would like to learn more about the conflict in Kenya and how you can contribute to the emergency humanitarian relief effort currently underway. To follow these events please see www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgindex.asp, www.eastandard.net, and www.news.bbc.co.uk/africa.
Kenyans are struggling under the weight of today’s conflict. We hope that in the midst of this hard time our program will offer a bit of comfort. Education won’t bring peace back to Kenya, but it does help to create opportunity and optimism, both of which are forces that can counter the desperation and frustration that have fostered the current crisis.
Thank you for reading! I know you receive endless requests for your help and resources. I hope you’ll consider us and become a partner in our effort.
Many of you know that I’ve spent time living in Mombasa, Kenya and am working with a talented group of Kenyans to create a scholarship and mentoring program for Kenyan students. From the news you may also know that protest and violence have consumed Kenya since the incumbent president claimed victory in last months disputed election. Since then more than six hundreds people have been killed, over 230,000 are displaced from their homes, food prices have inflated out of reach, and communities have fractured under the weight of mistrust. While the country’s humanitarian crisis grows, inadequately addressed domestically and internationally, I do have good news to share. Primary schools have reopened and secondary schools are slated to follow within days.
I recently spoke with one of the 18 students we have pledged to assist this coming year, a 16 year old named Doctor who wants to be a doctor but was unable to begin secondary school last year because his family could not afford the cost of fees. His mother passed away a few years ago and now his father is sick and has not been able to access medical care. While I cannot address all the challenges his family faces today, I can promise him that when schools reopen he will be in attendance.
Thanks to many of you, many generous guests at Total Tennis, and my fellow students at Wesleyan University our scholarship program is now in its second year and we had already meet half of our 2008 program expense needs. I write today to ask for your help meeting the second half. But before you’ll take out your check book, I imagine you’ll want to know a bit about our programs and our goals.
My colleagues and I began the Likoni Scholarship Fund in summer 2006 after my semester abroad in Mombasa, Kenya. Our focus has been school fees because secondary education is expensive in Kenya, making it impossible for many primary students to continue their education, and, in turn, makes many ineligible for formal sector jobs. In our first year we were able to provide school fees and uniforms for six students.
This fall, during my second trip to Kenya, my colleagues and I discussed new ideas with our community and new plans to make the program more holistic. With the help of teachers at local public primary schools we selected 12 new students, all of whom are both dedicated to their education and unable to afford its high cost. We will continue to work with these 12 students, along with our original six, through the completion of their education, and, with your continued help, will add new students every year.
This year we have developed a new system of partnering with our scholarship recipient families. The process began by sitting with each family, estimating their monthly budget, and asking each how much they feel able to contribute towards their student’s education. We believe this partnership is important because it recognizes the hard work of parents, their successes, and the pride they deserve to enjoy along with the accomplishment of educating their children. Each family is able to contribute a different amount; we have sought to find the right amount for each and have promised to provide for all remaining expenses.
On average, schools fees, uniforms, shoes, book bag, note books, text books, lunch money, bus fare, and boarding fees for those attending boarding school amount to $550 per year. On average each family will contribute $150 per year towards this total, leaving us responsible for $400 per student, per year, for school expenses. Along with this $400 we will use an additional $100 per family per year to provide a small business training course for our partner parents and a mentoring program for our students. To keep our budget focused on these goals we have kept our overhead costs to just the stamp on this letter.
Many of our partner families are already engaged in micro-enterprise but few have had training in book keeping, writing business plans, or accessing loans. We hope our small business training course will help each family financially and, as time passes, enable each to take on more of their students’ educational expenses. In the future we also hope to add a micro finance program to our efforts in order to provide loans to our partner families and their businesses.
For our students we are planning a mentoring program. By discussing issues facing young Kenyans, particularly those brought to the forefront by the current conflict, by engaging in talks with community leaders, through a big brother/big sister tutoring program, and through time on the beach and the soccer pitch, we hope to promote self confidence within each student and reinforce one basic idea: that every person, in every part of Kenya and the world, is equally valuable and equally capable.
We have much work ahead of us. We are filing for 501c3, non-profit, status and will soon begin writing grant proposals for future funding. In the mean time we depend on donations from you. If you would like to send us a check please make it payable to me, Gabrielle Fondiller, addressed to 11 Polhemus Pl. Brooklyn, NY 11215, and please include your e-mail address so we can send you biographies of each of our students and updates in the future. If you have advice, suggestion or encouragement, or would like to be on our contact list, please e-mail me at GFondiller@gmail.com.
Also e-mail me if you would like to learn more about the conflict in Kenya and how you can contribute to the emergency humanitarian relief effort currently underway. To follow these events please see www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgindex.asp, www.eastandard.net, and www.news.bbc.co.uk/africa.
Kenyans are struggling under the weight of today’s conflict. We hope that in the midst of this hard time our program will offer a bit of comfort. Education won’t bring peace back to Kenya, but it does help to create opportunity and optimism, both of which are forces that can counter the desperation and frustration that have fostered the current crisis.
Thank you for reading! I know you receive endless requests for your help and resources. I hope you’ll consider us and become a partner in our effort.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Oct 2007
Hi all,
Hope you're well. Sorry for being silent for so long, getting time to
sit at a computer is scares so I'll try to make the most of it right
now.
My research with street vendors is going a bit slowly, mainly because
I'm not working myself to death the way I did last year. Instead of
spending 9 hours a day doing interviews I'm dividing my time between
home and work in a way that is less exhausting, and more fulfilling. I'd
say that a major difference between this year and last is that I'm a bit
more grounded here in likoni. I have a home and am living the "double
shift" lifestlye, meaning I work in and out of the house. Generally I
wake up, help make breakfast, leave for work after doing some dishes or
some laundry. I walk or take a bodaboda (a ride on the back of a bike)
down to the ferry and meet Kwame there. Together we will generally do
three interview in a day. Our questions focus mostly on the changes that
have happened over the past year and on the politics of the two street
vendors associations that are competing in the area. Like all stories,
nothing in this market place is simple. For example, I am having to
negotiate between the hostility that exists between these two groups. I
explain that my role here is as a student, but there is still this
underlying idea among vendors in one of the groups that I am helping the
other group and not them (the members of the other group are less
suspisious). I'm confident that this feeling will dicipate as I spend
more time with the individual members, but my guess is the the suspision
is not so much a reflection on my actions but more a consequense of the
situation, in which the available resources in the market (space and
security) are tenuous and those engaged in the politics of fighting to
maintain these resources are looking for any advantage they can get
while being cautious of all things that are out of their control. While
working within this enviornment has its challanges it is really
interesting. I regularly introduce myself to people I've never spoken
with before and begin interviews with these new participants. I only
real obsitcal is time.
This is mainly because I'm working on two projects at once. Yesterday I
met with two of the families we are sponsoring and did interviews about
the challanges and successes of the past year, including the students'
school experiences. We wrote letters to the funders that I'll being
home, and we made plans for the coming year. I've also been spending a
lot of time making plans for how to add new students. We have decided
not to move our primary school students to new schools becasue all are
happy at the ones they are currently attending. We're moving our focus
to secondary school fees and have decided to select our students from
the local public primary schools using the advice of the teachers at
those schools. We will chose those students who are dedicated to their
schooling, have performed well enough to be admitted to secondary
school, and are financially unable to pay fees. Since teachers spend 8
years with the same students they know who are most impoverished. As one
teachers said, he knows "who cant even afford a pencil". So we will
select 9 new students, meet with their families and prepare to pay their
fees. Most of the leg work of paying fees with have to be done in Feb,
after students get their "calling letters" to the secondary schools that
have admitted them, so I'm trying to create a system that kwame and our
new partner, cynthia, will follow once i've gone back to the states.
So that's work.. I usually work between 10am and 6:30pm with a lunch
break sometime in the middle. The best thing about lunch is that I get
to eat one of the street cafes where I do research and patron the women
who help me so much. I love it, I really get to make concious decisions
about how I spend my money.
On the other hand money is starting to become a bit of a frustration.
Like I said, one of the things I like about my current stay is that I
feel more grounded. At the same time I'm treated like a "mazungu" by
everyone that doesn't know me, and even by some who do. What I mean by
this is that people see white skin and think money. This means that I'm
overcharged for everything even though I know the proper prices, and if
I object to being over charged it's as if I'm ripping off the seller.
For example I tried to buy water this morning, which is 15Ksh for one
can of fresh, but the guy told me 20 (sounds petty but its that way for
everything). Like a few days ago when my friends were negotiating
transportation costs with a tuktuk driver (think rickshaw, after they
set a price I walked over and the man was furious. In swahili he said,
"you mean you have a mazungu! come on, add more money, add more money".
I guess it just gets a bit exauhsting to be treated like a bank instead
of like a person. I know that I cant expect to be outside the social
systems that operate here, I'm just commenting that it's a down side of
life as a white person in kenya.
One more example: I was in Nairobi last week (more to come on that
because it was amazing) and I got sick. I went to a clinic (which was my
first big mistake because these places are known to be dishonest) and
was told that I have malaria and typhoide. For some reason I decided to
buy the medicines that were perscribed by this "doctor" instead of
ignoring him completely. I guess it was a combination of feeling pretty
sick and having grown up to believe that doctors wont endanger your
health to make a buck. But anyway, I went to hospital later to have the
tests redone and both came back negative meaning the medications were
totally unnessecary. I had thought that would be the case so I didn't
take them, but I had also thought I would be able to return them and get
my money back. Well, that's not the case at all. I was so angry! Doctors
all over this country operate private clinics on top of their work at
public ones. They take the medicine that is suppose to be available at
very low cost in the public hospitals and sell it for profit at their
private businesses. It's doctors looking for profit that tell everyone
in kenya that they have malaria even when they dont, and of course, this
leads to drug resistance.
I was talking to a professor in Naiorbi about this after having my
little encounter with the health care system and she said that the
courts dont hold doctors accountable, even when they kill people. The
system needs serious change, but, like so much in kenya, it will require
way more than reform. Things here function so that the person able to
make profit extracts the most profit possible with very few limits
imposed. These are the people with power and therefore the ones most
able to maintain the status quo. I know this level of corruption sounds
like an exaggeration but it's not. Corruption is the norm here,
everything that moves functions through it.
On a lighter note I bought a wheel barrow for a guy who collects trash
in likoni and he is really happy about it. He is also generous with it
and is sharing it with the larger community of garbage collectors. He
sat down and talked with me yesterday about many things but also
explained that he use to steel for a living. He said that when he say a
white person he felt completed to steel from them in retribution for
past crimes. But then he said he appreciated that I was willing to share
with him and said that he would look out for me. So I guess I've got
protection. kwame (and others) think its crazy that I've not been
robbed. I'm not sure if its good luck or the fact that I dont walk alone
at night, but I havent been and I'm pretty happy about that.
Another light note, one of the vendors associations had a fund raiser on
Sat that did remarkably well. James, my good friends and one of the
founders of this group, said that its revolutionary, that no vendors
group in mombasa has pulled off such an organizational feat. It really
was impressive, they had sound equipment and t-shirts made for the
group, and they ended with celebratory sodas. I loved it.
So, back to the story... I generally get home a little after dark (If
kwame is not walking with me I take a bodaboda). Once home I either help
cook or help do dishes while talking to my friends. Its hard to get
alone time, which means I've not been reading or writing much, but thats
not too much of a sacrific given how much I value the community I live
in. To give you a bit of a picture, the house has seven rooms, each used
by a family. The rooms suround the middle of the house which is open
space that has no roof. This is where we socialize, cook, eat, and wash
dishes. We cook using carcoal in a jiko (find a picture online if your
curious) and generally eat rice, or ugali, or chapati, with beans,
veggies, eggs, or meat. Or if its breakfast we have chai with some kind
of bread based food. We do dished using a three bucket system. This
means you scrub the food off dishes in one bucket and then rinse them
twice in the two others. Its the most effective use of water possible,
but its also a bit hard on your back becasue you sit on a stool and bend
over the buckets. Luandary is done the same way but takes many more
buckets to get the soap out. One interesting fact is that salty water
washes off soap much more easily that fresh (it's also only 2ksh for a
can).
I have my own room but I sleep in my friends room. My friends (and now,
I too) dont understand why anyone who prefer to live alone. Its
wonderful to wake up with other people! I used to sleep on my mattress
on the floor but its become so thin that its no different from sleeping
directly on the floor. Queen, one of the sisters, was in Mombasa for a
month but she has gone back to nairobi, so there is now space on the bed
for me, so I either share the bed with cynthia and mowly or sleep on the
couch if Doc (their brother) is not using it. I dont feel like I can
explain what a joy it is to be a member of this family. Take as evidence
the fact that its been weeks since i last e-mailed, and if it were not
for cynthia, mowly, queen, and doc I would be home sick enough to e-mail
more often.
Ok, last story: Nairobi. I got to meet with the executive co-ordinator
of the Kenya National Alliance of Street vendors and Informal Traders
(KENASVIT), which was more than amazing. Evalyne, is passionate about
her work and also really receptive to my interest in her field. We
talked about the policies being created by the state on behalf of
traders, the participatory drafting processes being used, and about how
likoni fits into this national picture. All in all I love her.
I also got to spend time with my friend Toni. He is one of the most
thoughtful and intellegent people I know and we spent two days talking
about your understandings of faith and grace, and power, and all sorts
of other big questions that I love discussing. He also took me to
Kenyatta University and one of his enviornmental science classes, which
more than anything made me grateful to have attended wesleyan! The
Professor read from notes slowly enough so that everyone could record
exactly what she said. On top of that the content was at a level you
might find in a high school earth science text book. Toni assured me
that that lecture was particularly bad so I might be judging here, but
again, I'm happy I went to wes.
I also visted my friend jess, who is a wes student studying in Nairobi,
it was such a refreshing thing to be able to talk with her about our
experiences here. I guess not having peers to share those thoughts with
is another difference between this year and last, so being with Jess
helped fill that gap. We also watched a movie with ton of little boys on
a dirt soccer pitch in Kibera, which was a fun thing to experience.
Ok, I think that's enough. I'm sure I made no sense, and I'm out of time
so I'm not even going to read it over to confirm that. Write back with
update from your respective parts of the world. I miss you all. Also,
I'm going to be home and unemployed 6 weeks from now, so if you're
willing to let me crash with you (I mean visit you!) december would be a
great time!
Lots of love,
-Gabi
Sept 2007 II
Hi all,
How's work, and school, and travels? I hope each of you is doing well
and feeling happy. Things are going really well here in Mombasa. I want to
try to give you a picture of things without taking up your whole day, but,
lets be honest, I'm not go at being short winded. Hopefully what I write
is either interesting enough not to bore you, or boring enough that you
stop reading early. I recommend skimming.
After arriving I took the first few days to settle down a bit before
moving into my room and starting interviews. After four days I was
feeling like I had my feet under me so Kwame (my partner in crime) and I
began our work. As of now we have spent a week working and are begining
week.
Kwame's family is doing really well. and its been great to spend time
with them. His mother works for the coast water board and has helped him
get a job delivering water to remote parts of the coast. Since he
doesn't have a permanent position he works for three months at a time
and then has three months off before starting again. I guess it is a bit
of luck that his three months off coincide with the time I am spending
in Kenya.
Kwame's father is an aspiring politician. If he can raise the 100,000
Ksh required to join the race he will run for MP (member of parliament)
on the ODM ticket. ODM is the opposition party that is running against
the current president, Mr. Kibaki, and his newly formed coalition, the
Party of National Unity. Elections will be held some time around
December of this year, and Kenyans LOVE politics, so it is a main topic of
news coverage and conversation. In part the election is issue based.
Generally speaking Kibaki supports a most centralized, capitalist
system, while Raila (running for Prez with ODM) advocates for
decentralizing power and economic resources. Though these politicians and
parties are talking about different policies, the big issue still seems to
be ethnicity. Kibaki is Kikuyu and Raila is Luo. Central province is the
home of the national government and the Kikuyu community. According to
most people I've talked to who are not from central, central province gets
a disproportionately large portion of the nation’s resources. This means
Nairobi has better roads, better schools, and better social services that
the rest of the country. Kenyans call this tribalism, and blame tribalism
on politicians who aid their own community at the expense of others. Those
who like Kibaki tend to be from central province. They argue that he has
served the country well during the past five years (i.e. free primary
education and many repaired roads). Pro-Raila people, of whom there are
many on the coast, seem to be set on voting against the Kikuyu voting
block in favor of decentralization.
In the end there is always the fact that, historically, Kenya
politicians will say what they need to say to get elected and then
spend their time in office amassing as much money for their personal
back accounts as they are able to. So I'm wondering what will happen
this time around. Kibaki was elected on an anti-corruption campaign,
but no one here seems to think corruption has decreased. Two examples:
1)if you go to the Likoni chief’s office and ask him for his signature
on a document he'll ask for "money for soda," 2)just recently the
parliament voted in favor of giving each MP a 6,000,000 Ksh end of term
bonus, on top of their salaries and other additional "official
expenses." As on person put it the other day, corruption is "part of
the culture."
Kwame's father is very opposed to this culture of corruption. He has
spent much of his life stepping in on behalf of Likoni residents in need
of advocacy; he has a good heart and a lot of ambitious aims. But at the
same time he seems not to have much expertise. He tells me what he wants
to accomplish but doesn't have concrete plans for how he will do it. He
seems convinced that the battle is gaining election and that once in
parliment he will be able to make change. It seems to me that he will
have to contend with a dysfunctional system that is not very welcoming
to people who want to follow a straight path. I wish him well, I hope he
wins, but my guess is that idealism alone is not going to produce change
in the Kenyan parliament.
That said, I met with the District Officer (DO) of Likoni after having
spoken to many street vendors who credit him with having protected them
over the past year. I'm not sure if he is a good man, or if he has
reasons for his actions that I don’t understand, but he actually
followed through on the promises he made to street vendors last year. I
was talking to Dillon about this and he suggested that maybe this DO has
concluded that the best way for him to protect his appointed position is
to do a good job at it and thereby encourage people to vote for his boss
(Kibaki). It might seem odd that I'm so shocked by that, but in Mombasa
it’s uncommon to hear good news about politicians.
The really exciting news is that street vendors, the DO, and Kenya Ferry
Services (the ones that built the Depot and, last summer, told street
vendors to clear the area) have reached an agreement that allows vendors
to work in the pathways leading to and from the depot.
Likoni is an example of vendors organizing together and making an impact
on policy. This is a kind of a big thing. Last year I met with a prof at
the University of Nairobi who researches street vending and who helped
to found the national organization of street vendors that helped Likoni
vendors in their fight with Kenya Ferry Services. Just last month this
professor was in Likoni to learn more about how these vendors managed to
organize themselves and experience some success. The situation is not
perfect - I'll report a more complicated picture next time-, but it is
better than I had expected it to be, and it seems to be win win for the
vendors, the DO, and Kenya Ferry Services. It seems that Likoni is
unique and potentially a kind of model. When I head to Nairobi and speak
with this prof I'll give you guys the update.
According to one of my research participants vendors achieved this by
promising to support the sitting government in the upcoming elections. I
asked the DO if he thinks the vendors will become vulnerable after the
elections and he said that he doesn't believe so, in part because he
expects Kibaki to win and therefore to stay at his post, but also
because he thinks Kenya is making a change. He thinks Kenyan policy
makers are starting to give more consideration to the needs for vendors.
This is a big question I'm going to look into, is kenya being nice
becomes its good for election campaigns, or is the state going to become
more supportive of vendors.
The other side of my work here is the scholarship project. On Saturday
I opened a bank account that has on-line banking. This means that I
will be able to move funds from my account to school accounts in Kenya,
while I'm in the US. It’s a big step towards making this project work
more systematically. The other big step will be creating a system for
adding new students as we increase out funding. So far we have decided
hat we will continue to focus on Depot area street vendors, and those
among them with children who have been admitted to secondary school but
cant afford the fees. Right now most of our sponsored students are in
primary and these students are in a number of different schools. We are
considering moving these students (if they want to go) to St Kevin's
which is the highest rated primary school in Likoni and has a great
reputation for helping students score well on their secondary entrance
exams. If we move our students to that school it means not adding very
many new students this year even though we have more money than we did
a year ago. It’s a trade off, but I think it might be a good idea and
am leaning in that direction. I'm seeking advice everywhere I can think
to go. I have spoken with Athman (the SIT Mombasa program director who
runs the program I was on last year) and with a man named Matano who
runs an NGO in Likoni and has a masters degree in international
development (I'll write more about him later, he is my new role model),
and am planning meetings with other organizations in Mombasa who also
run scholarship programs. I'll keep you all updated as I learn more
about them and the successes/challenges they experience.
In other news, my home life is great. My neighbors are mostly women
around my age who speak English. This means I'm not practicing my
Swahili enough to regain what I've forgotten over the past year (I
really need a lot of work- my language skills are just awful) but it
also means I am making great friends and loving life. Last year my
neighbors did not speak English, so when eating dinner with them at
night I struggled to understand the conversation and felt no rest. Now
I go home at night and can laugh and learn and relax all at once, which
helps me to feel energized when I do interviews with Kwame and our
research participants. I also love the communal style of living that
people practice here. Swahili houses share common space in the middle
of the house where everyone does their cooking and their washing, so it
is also where everyone talks all day and where everyone watches out for
on another. I eat breakfast and dinner with my neighbors almost every
day, we went to the beach together this past Saturday, and together we
are planning a trip to Nairobi. It's a generous environment. When one
person is out of water, neighbors help out, when one person's kid is
crying, she is comforted by any number of people. People help each
other without thinking it's a big deal.
In general Likoni is more expensive and has more shops than last year. I
guess that's "development" by some definitions. Increased costs are
really hitting vendors who sell cooked food as their input costs have
gone way up and they have not been able to raise their prices without
losing customers. On the other hand veggie sellers havign a great season
becasue the rains have been really good. Nothings ever stagnant, whether
is policy or the climate vendors are always dealing with something.
I'm sure you are more than exhausted by now, so just one more thing- at
the bank the other day I saw a women wearing a boi boi (black robe warn
by Muslim women as a sign of modesty and as a symbol of belonging within
the Swahili and Arab communities) with the boi boi pulled down over her
shoulder so she could breast feed her child. Interesting, right? not
what you would expect.
Keep in touch
-Gabi
Sept 2007
Because habits are hard to kick, and because all of you are important to
me and I want to stay connected to you, I'll once again be sending out
e-mails from Kenya. I'm in Nairobi now and heading to Mombasa shortly. I
will be in Mombasa for the next two and a half months working on the
research project I began while abroad in the spring of '06 and trying to
make more viable the scholarship program my father and I have been
working on for the past year. For those of you that have not heard, we
are sponsoring school fees for 13 students this year and have raised
enough money to double that number for the term beginning in January.
The students we are sponsoring are the children of street vendors with
whom I worked while in Likoni. I hope to reconnect with many of them to
learn how they have faired since we last spoke, particularly, how they
have been effected by the state sponsored marketplace constructed in
their area in order to gain a sense of the effects of the state's
development policies on street vendors. I also hope to discuss with them
the scholarship program and its future potential. I'll keep all of you
posted as I learn more. Thanks for reading. And please, write back with
thoughts, questions, and suggestions of things I should be thinking
about.
With love,
-Gabi
June 2006
Jambo,
Hi. How is everyone? How were finals and spring fling? I'm so curious about everyones summer plans, write to me and let me know. Also, work a trip to NYC around July 21st into those plans as I will be turning 21 and would like a crowd (but that can be discussed later). From e-mails it
seems that no one knows my plans, so: I will arrive home on July 1st and will divide my time between NYC public library thesis research and the fun of summer.
For the next month I will be continuing the field research that I began in April and May. I think I have given some details about these studies so please excuse me if this is repetitive. I started by looking at the daily economic choices of women with low incomes: how they make money, how they spend it, what assistance they receive from the Government, and what
limitations remain in basic service provision. I narrowed this focus by collecting participants from among the women that sell food on the sides of roads in Likoni. This population was easily accessible and clearly earning low incomes, but I soon realized that they had much more to offer
as research subjects. For reasons to complicated to explain in an e-mail it became obvious that the major obstacle to financial stability and growth in the lives and businesses of Likoni's food sellers is the governments harassment of micro enterprise sellers around the country. For
decades the Government has claimed it supports small industry while simultaneously demolishing kiosks, making sellers pay bribes, and restricting them from gaining ownership over their workplaces. As a result they never know if they businesses and incomes will continue to exist in the future.
So I did this research, wrote a paper, which is attach (and in very first draft form- please excuse that if you choice to read the thing), and then the semester ended. For over a week I traveled through East Africa with 6 friends. We first took a bus from Nairobi to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. On the way we got to see the rift valley and the mouth of the Nile river, all in all not to bad for sitting in a bus. The city is very different from Mombasa, it is more crowded but also much cleaner. The streets are crazy with cars, taxis, and motorbikes that carry passengers from place to place. You would think it is dangerous but the drivers seem ready for anything to happen at any moment so it is in fact safer than crossing the street in Mombasa where Matatus (privately owned public transport vans) are a bit out of control. Thank goodness this is true because your taxi ran out of gas on the way to the hostel. Our driver left us on the side of the road while he jumped on the back of a motorbike to go get gas. Now, there were seven of us so we were defiantly not helpless, but we had all just been in Nairobi for a week and that is not a place were you want to sit on the side of the road at night.... but the driver gets back and we are all OK. Then he tries to start the car. He of course has no success so we ended up having to push the car up a hill to get it to start. This must have been a great sight: a bunch of white kids pushing a taxi up a hill at night. Again, thank goodness Kampala is a nice city with nice people cause we were as ridiculous as they come! Leaving Kampala we took a night bus to Kisoro. This was another taxi adventure since our driver had no idea where to go and it was 2:30am. It worked out but not until our seats had been given away and some unfortunate souls had to get off the bus after thinking they had seats (this story is longer and a bit crazier- ask me if you want details). This bus took us to an area in south west Uganda bordering Rwanda and the
Congo. We stayed that day, night, and following morning at a national park. We hiked in a cave that use to be a Pygmy Kings Palace, walked on mountain sides inhabited by elephants and gorillas, crossed the border into the Congo, and did exercise for the first time in forever- not a bad day and a half.
We got to the Rwandan border in the back of a pickup truck, which is a great mode of transport for a large crowd that cant fit into a taxi. We then took the 1.5 hour ride south to Kigali, the capital city. We arrived in the evening with no Rwandan money and went on a bit of a crazy adventure to find an open bank. The general theme of this trip is that we arrived in each location not knowing where we would stay, how, or when we would get to the next location- we just know that some of us had to be back in Nairobi by a certain date and that before that date we had a lot we wanted to do. So we would arrive in a city, split into teams to find money, lodging and to get outbound bus into- go crazy for a little while making plans, and then work everything out in enough time to enjoy the sites of the stop before boarding a night bus or a 5am bus out. In general we did not sleep very much (except in buses). We also did not spend very much, between hostels, YMCAs and churches, plus cheap buses, pickup trucks and student discounts we managed to do the whole trip on under $150 per person. Obviously arriving in a place with no money is not a good idea but for some reason we had nothing but good luck. We spent the next day at the Genocide museum and spoke with a young man, 25 years old, who had survived the genocide in hiding and now devotes his efforts to peace and reconciliation. I am not convinced that the whole population is as well adjusted as he is but in general the city seems to
be doing very well. The roads are the best in East Africa (very much a result of EU funding) and the people are very well dresses- I even saw a street sweeper wearing a blouse and slacks! Also, the Rwandan frank is strong and prices are high. But it is hard to know if these economic changes are seeping into the hillsides. I spoke with an aid worker who explained that most people are still very traumatized and that this has a negative effect on job and school performance. Yet he also believes that peace and reconciliation efforts are having a strong and positive influence throughout the country. My friend from the museum is convinced that the next governments efforts to eliminate ethnic titles and teach the youth of Rwandans common history is having a large influence, but he is fearful that children are being taught old prejudices when they go home from school. These two individuals both believe the genocide will not be repeated, but I cant say if every in the country agrees. It is such an beautiful and interesting place, worth studying if you have the drive.
So we left Kigali the next morning and split into two groups, some went straight to Nairobi to fly home while I and 3 others spent a night in Kampala before busing to Kisumu. Kisumu is a Kenyan city on Lake Victoria, home of the Luo tribe. It is also the place with the highest rate of HIV and AIDS in Kenya, standing at 30%. My friend had been studying in that area so we spent time visiting the youth center and slums that she had been working in. This center does very active work to invite youth for testing, counseling, and fun. Their idea is that youth empowerment along with guidance and alternative activities will help kids avoid sex. Its a hard sell in an area where most kids are having sex at 12 or 13 and where girls are taught always to say yes to adults and therefore don't know how to say no to older men asking for sex. Its a beautiful city, its just a little scary to know that everyone you met has lost much of their family
to the disease and might be infected themselves. Another aspect of life in the area is that many Luos are polygamous and faithfulness is also not very common among men. As a result many men become infected, and then infect their wifes. So a father, supporting 4 wives and maybe 30 kids dies first, then the wifes die one after another, the older children are left
to support the younger ones. Some might contract HIV and pass away, and then eventually the last born children (if born to infected mothers) might be infected and die around the age of 12. It is an cycle of tragedy, but at the same time the youth center is working hard and anti retro viral
drugs are available to youth for free and adults at low costs.
After Kisumu we traveled to Nairobi. Here we visited the Masai market place (I purchased more stuff than I can carry), I visited the University of Nairobi and get great material and contacts for my research, we went to temple on Friday night!, we went ice skating at the only ice rink in East Africa, we visited the womens prison were my fiend Allegra had done her research, and I visited Kibera (the HUGE slum in Nairobi) and made friends who we took out to dinner. Nairobi is a crazy place, the center city is pretty, during the day it is clear of hawkers, and in general it is clear of all signs of poverty. But then there is Kibera where many people don't have access to toilets, and were the youth sit around idly because there are no jobs to speak of. This is a problem in Kenya- there are not jobs.
The friends I made in Kibera have both finished secondary school. Their parents stretched their resources as far as they would go, very experiencing one bit of material comfort, all in the hope that some day their children would move out of Kibera. Instead their sons are hoping to
make it as football stars, since that appears to be the only way to find an income. Yet when you stand in the center of the city, between the Hilton hotel and the Parliament, you would never know such poverty exists. All I can conclude is that it must require a lot of stern vigilance to
keep the impoverished people of the city out of this money rich center.
So now I'm back in Mombasa. I am resuming my research in Likoni; I don't yet know where I am going to live but soon as a figure that out I should be back in the swing of things. My data is really exciting, it agrees with the work published at the university of Nairobi, and is getting positive feedback from professors in the same field. Again I apologize for the
draftish nature of the attached document. Also, its a bit long, so take a break from the computer and come back later if you feel like giving it a try.
Write to me, I really want to hear what everyone is up to. I miss you all but will see you soon. Congratulations if you got to the end of this!
-Gabi
Hi. How is everyone? How were finals and spring fling? I'm so curious about everyones summer plans, write to me and let me know. Also, work a trip to NYC around July 21st into those plans as I will be turning 21 and would like a crowd (but that can be discussed later). From e-mails it
seems that no one knows my plans, so: I will arrive home on July 1st and will divide my time between NYC public library thesis research and the fun of summer.
For the next month I will be continuing the field research that I began in April and May. I think I have given some details about these studies so please excuse me if this is repetitive. I started by looking at the daily economic choices of women with low incomes: how they make money, how they spend it, what assistance they receive from the Government, and what
limitations remain in basic service provision. I narrowed this focus by collecting participants from among the women that sell food on the sides of roads in Likoni. This population was easily accessible and clearly earning low incomes, but I soon realized that they had much more to offer
as research subjects. For reasons to complicated to explain in an e-mail it became obvious that the major obstacle to financial stability and growth in the lives and businesses of Likoni's food sellers is the governments harassment of micro enterprise sellers around the country. For
decades the Government has claimed it supports small industry while simultaneously demolishing kiosks, making sellers pay bribes, and restricting them from gaining ownership over their workplaces. As a result they never know if they businesses and incomes will continue to exist in the future.
So I did this research, wrote a paper, which is attach (and in very first draft form- please excuse that if you choice to read the thing), and then the semester ended. For over a week I traveled through East Africa with 6 friends. We first took a bus from Nairobi to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. On the way we got to see the rift valley and the mouth of the Nile river, all in all not to bad for sitting in a bus. The city is very different from Mombasa, it is more crowded but also much cleaner. The streets are crazy with cars, taxis, and motorbikes that carry passengers from place to place. You would think it is dangerous but the drivers seem ready for anything to happen at any moment so it is in fact safer than crossing the street in Mombasa where Matatus (privately owned public transport vans) are a bit out of control. Thank goodness this is true because your taxi ran out of gas on the way to the hostel. Our driver left us on the side of the road while he jumped on the back of a motorbike to go get gas. Now, there were seven of us so we were defiantly not helpless, but we had all just been in Nairobi for a week and that is not a place were you want to sit on the side of the road at night.... but the driver gets back and we are all OK. Then he tries to start the car. He of course has no success so we ended up having to push the car up a hill to get it to start. This must have been a great sight: a bunch of white kids pushing a taxi up a hill at night. Again, thank goodness Kampala is a nice city with nice people cause we were as ridiculous as they come! Leaving Kampala we took a night bus to Kisoro. This was another taxi adventure since our driver had no idea where to go and it was 2:30am. It worked out but not until our seats had been given away and some unfortunate souls had to get off the bus after thinking they had seats (this story is longer and a bit crazier- ask me if you want details). This bus took us to an area in south west Uganda bordering Rwanda and the
Congo. We stayed that day, night, and following morning at a national park. We hiked in a cave that use to be a Pygmy Kings Palace, walked on mountain sides inhabited by elephants and gorillas, crossed the border into the Congo, and did exercise for the first time in forever- not a bad day and a half.
We got to the Rwandan border in the back of a pickup truck, which is a great mode of transport for a large crowd that cant fit into a taxi. We then took the 1.5 hour ride south to Kigali, the capital city. We arrived in the evening with no Rwandan money and went on a bit of a crazy adventure to find an open bank. The general theme of this trip is that we arrived in each location not knowing where we would stay, how, or when we would get to the next location- we just know that some of us had to be back in Nairobi by a certain date and that before that date we had a lot we wanted to do. So we would arrive in a city, split into teams to find money, lodging and to get outbound bus into- go crazy for a little while making plans, and then work everything out in enough time to enjoy the sites of the stop before boarding a night bus or a 5am bus out. In general we did not sleep very much (except in buses). We also did not spend very much, between hostels, YMCAs and churches, plus cheap buses, pickup trucks and student discounts we managed to do the whole trip on under $150 per person. Obviously arriving in a place with no money is not a good idea but for some reason we had nothing but good luck. We spent the next day at the Genocide museum and spoke with a young man, 25 years old, who had survived the genocide in hiding and now devotes his efforts to peace and reconciliation. I am not convinced that the whole population is as well adjusted as he is but in general the city seems to
be doing very well. The roads are the best in East Africa (very much a result of EU funding) and the people are very well dresses- I even saw a street sweeper wearing a blouse and slacks! Also, the Rwandan frank is strong and prices are high. But it is hard to know if these economic changes are seeping into the hillsides. I spoke with an aid worker who explained that most people are still very traumatized and that this has a negative effect on job and school performance. Yet he also believes that peace and reconciliation efforts are having a strong and positive influence throughout the country. My friend from the museum is convinced that the next governments efforts to eliminate ethnic titles and teach the youth of Rwandans common history is having a large influence, but he is fearful that children are being taught old prejudices when they go home from school. These two individuals both believe the genocide will not be repeated, but I cant say if every in the country agrees. It is such an beautiful and interesting place, worth studying if you have the drive.
So we left Kigali the next morning and split into two groups, some went straight to Nairobi to fly home while I and 3 others spent a night in Kampala before busing to Kisumu. Kisumu is a Kenyan city on Lake Victoria, home of the Luo tribe. It is also the place with the highest rate of HIV and AIDS in Kenya, standing at 30%. My friend had been studying in that area so we spent time visiting the youth center and slums that she had been working in. This center does very active work to invite youth for testing, counseling, and fun. Their idea is that youth empowerment along with guidance and alternative activities will help kids avoid sex. Its a hard sell in an area where most kids are having sex at 12 or 13 and where girls are taught always to say yes to adults and therefore don't know how to say no to older men asking for sex. Its a beautiful city, its just a little scary to know that everyone you met has lost much of their family
to the disease and might be infected themselves. Another aspect of life in the area is that many Luos are polygamous and faithfulness is also not very common among men. As a result many men become infected, and then infect their wifes. So a father, supporting 4 wives and maybe 30 kids dies first, then the wifes die one after another, the older children are left
to support the younger ones. Some might contract HIV and pass away, and then eventually the last born children (if born to infected mothers) might be infected and die around the age of 12. It is an cycle of tragedy, but at the same time the youth center is working hard and anti retro viral
drugs are available to youth for free and adults at low costs.
After Kisumu we traveled to Nairobi. Here we visited the Masai market place (I purchased more stuff than I can carry), I visited the University of Nairobi and get great material and contacts for my research, we went to temple on Friday night!, we went ice skating at the only ice rink in East Africa, we visited the womens prison were my fiend Allegra had done her research, and I visited Kibera (the HUGE slum in Nairobi) and made friends who we took out to dinner. Nairobi is a crazy place, the center city is pretty, during the day it is clear of hawkers, and in general it is clear of all signs of poverty. But then there is Kibera where many people don't have access to toilets, and were the youth sit around idly because there are no jobs to speak of. This is a problem in Kenya- there are not jobs.
The friends I made in Kibera have both finished secondary school. Their parents stretched their resources as far as they would go, very experiencing one bit of material comfort, all in the hope that some day their children would move out of Kibera. Instead their sons are hoping to
make it as football stars, since that appears to be the only way to find an income. Yet when you stand in the center of the city, between the Hilton hotel and the Parliament, you would never know such poverty exists. All I can conclude is that it must require a lot of stern vigilance to
keep the impoverished people of the city out of this money rich center.
So now I'm back in Mombasa. I am resuming my research in Likoni; I don't yet know where I am going to live but soon as a figure that out I should be back in the swing of things. My data is really exciting, it agrees with the work published at the university of Nairobi, and is getting positive feedback from professors in the same field. Again I apologize for the
draftish nature of the attached document. Also, its a bit long, so take a break from the computer and come back later if you feel like giving it a try.
Write to me, I really want to hear what everyone is up to. I miss you all but will see you soon. Congratulations if you got to the end of this!
-Gabi
April 2006 II
Hi all,
Hows life in the states and around the world? I hope school is winding
down well for everyone (finals will be finished soon!) I'm writing from
Mombasa after a long day with books yesterday and a night with my
friends. I needed a little mental break from life in Likoni after two
weeks of interviewing, bucket showers and sleeping on a camping mat. But
now I feel more than rejuvenated and am ready to start again. Might
efforts are focused around the road in Likoni that leads to the ferry.
This is a only means of crossing from the south coast to the city center
for cars, bikes and pedestrians, so you can be sure it is a center of
heavy traffic ALL day long. It is therefore also a center for business.
The road is lined with men and women selling fish, tomatoes, soap,
bracelets, roasted corn, baked breads, and everything else that people eat
or use here in Mombasa.
This is what is meant by the informal economy here in Kenya. It is small
kiosks or tables in long rows with hard working people sitting behind
them, or women with plates of prawns sitting on short stools, or a small
hut with cooked food and a table or a stock of coconut wine for sale.
People here work 12 hour days for 200 ksh, a livable wage to be sure but
not for anything more than food, rent and a few school books if you don't
add milk to your tea. I am spending my time talking to the women near the
ferry and in surrounding neighborhoods about their daily
finances at work and at home. In general these women rent one room which
the whole family piles into, some of these rooms have roof made of tin,
most have thatched roofs, and some don't have roofs at all. They work each
day, under the sun or in the rain, frying fish or stirring beans, sorting
greens and swatting flies, they are away from their homes and their
children until late at night when they head home to do the cooking and
cleaning. Those with husbands often tell me that their husband looks for
work every day but finds it about twice a week. Although none seem to know
how much their husbands earn (its not proper to ask) I believe these women
are earning more then their husbands. Even so, at the end of the day it is
the women that must do all of the housework. It is hard for me to imagine
a life more full of constant monotony, effort, and challenge. Their tasks
are repetitive day after day but never easy, and in the end their children
are still sleeping on the floor and they are pray that they stay healthy
and can work again tomorrow.
Gender is an interesting topic here. Roles are well established and very
divided with women are the inferiors of men, believed to be less
mentally capable. But the women I speak with agree that women are better
at running their small businesses than men and not one women I have talked
to has abandoned a child while many have been left by their husbands to
care for children alone. These women understand the breath of their
responsibilities and fully appreciate the gravity of their charges, yet
they are not specifically concerned with "equality" they way we are in the
states. Feeding a child is the main concern and so they do what they must
within the constraints they are surrounded by. The key to understanding
the situation here is knowing that everyone must be self sufficient. These
women would rather be able to rely on a husband or a politician or a
church for their basic needs but their is no one to rely on so they work
all day and again at night.
My own experiment in simple living is going well. I am eating on about
60 cents per day and paying very little for water, about 10 cents per
week, partly because it has rained so much recently so I can collect bath
water from the sky. My larger expenses have come from buying food from
other people, buying seeds for a farming family I have been
talking to, and paying a medical bill for a case of Malaria I am just
getting over (don't worry- I'm fine, really!). So thats me. I have another
week of research before I write my report, then 3 weeks to travel before
coming back to Mombasa to begin research again.
I miss everyone, and stories of home, so send me messages with all your
adventure and summer plans. I'll write again, Much love.
-Gabi
April 2006
Habari Zanu? How is everyone?
I'm doing very well. I am writing from Stonetown in Zanzibar (Paul, just so you know the food here is much different from the menu at the west side restaurant!). It's a beautiful old water front community which was once the seat of an empire, a center of international commerce, and the hub of the east African slave trade. It's not hard to realize that this place has an interesting and complected history. Today the town is almost all Muslim or tourist, though from what I can tell these groups are not at odds with one another. Instead many seem to be thinking out how to preserve history within a tourist economy. This collective and forward thinking attitude is different from Mombasa, Lamu, and Taita were focus is placed on past or present.
SO it is beautiful, lots of large stone buildings, soft beaches, colorful sky, etc.. Pictures will come once I get home. This is a bit of a vacation after our exams and our village stay before we begin out independent research projects (ISP). Over the past three weeks I have been in Mombasa, spent 2 days in Savo national park sitting on the roof of a bus spotting elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos, lions, antelope, buffalo, and baboons.
I then spent 10 days in Taita living with a wonderful family with 9 kids. The village is on the sides of large hills and deep valleys, it is currently very green thanks to recent rains and is by far the most beautiful place I have seen in Kenya yet. My father Francis is a school teacher and my mom Lucy tends that house, most of the kids are in school but also do a lot of work on the farm. They cook all their food over a fire, milk the cow in the morning, use an outhouse, and have paraffin lanterns for light. The family spends much of their time sitting in the kitchen on stools around the fire making tea or beans or corn, laughing or singing in such a loving way. These 10 days were some of the most wonderful. Other than hanging with the fam' we also worked on the hospital that the town is constructed. They have been working for decades to finish the building and are close but have run out of money again. If helping to create health care facilities in Kenya is on your list of things to do let me know and I can help get your resources to the right place.
In Taita my sister Jenta and I became close. She is 23 and has recently moved back home after 3 years of sowing in a sweatshop in Mombasa. Recently Jenta has started to Hear Jesus, as she explains (Taita is catholic), and is now spending much of her time as a vessel for Jesus to heal people through. She told me that she has been able to cure illness and disability through prayer, but like with all things, including medicine, it only works if the person has faith. I really admire her. She is so committed to her work and her faith. Other people in the town, though, think she's crazy and Lucy thinks it might be malaria. Its wild, the reaction in Taita is not that different than I might expect from a community in the US.
Since Taita we returned to Mombasa to re-join our first home stay families and work on our research plans. I got to spend a good amount of time with my research adviser, Dillon. He is a 25 year old PhD candidate from Rutgers studying the informal economy of Mombasa. He is a wonderful resources since he understands the history, economics, politics, diversity, and pop-culture of Mombasa so well and because he is completel willing to keep up with my unending questions. I feel really lucky and optimistic about this coming month.
My fellow students and I will be in Zanzibar for the next week before returning to Mombasa to venture out on our own. For now we are learning, relaxing and enjoying each others company. I am really happy with the people I am traveling with. They are smart and generous and all work to challenge each other in good ways. All in all I am very lucky.
I'll write again once I have stated my research to tell you about what I am learning and how I am living. Until then let me know whats going on at Wes and around the world. I bet it is starting to warm up back home!
Lots of Love,
-Gabi
I'm doing very well. I am writing from Stonetown in Zanzibar (Paul, just so you know the food here is much different from the menu at the west side restaurant!). It's a beautiful old water front community which was once the seat of an empire, a center of international commerce, and the hub of the east African slave trade. It's not hard to realize that this place has an interesting and complected history. Today the town is almost all Muslim or tourist, though from what I can tell these groups are not at odds with one another. Instead many seem to be thinking out how to preserve history within a tourist economy. This collective and forward thinking attitude is different from Mombasa, Lamu, and Taita were focus is placed on past or present.
SO it is beautiful, lots of large stone buildings, soft beaches, colorful sky, etc.. Pictures will come once I get home. This is a bit of a vacation after our exams and our village stay before we begin out independent research projects (ISP). Over the past three weeks I have been in Mombasa, spent 2 days in Savo national park sitting on the roof of a bus spotting elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos, lions, antelope, buffalo, and baboons.
I then spent 10 days in Taita living with a wonderful family with 9 kids. The village is on the sides of large hills and deep valleys, it is currently very green thanks to recent rains and is by far the most beautiful place I have seen in Kenya yet. My father Francis is a school teacher and my mom Lucy tends that house, most of the kids are in school but also do a lot of work on the farm. They cook all their food over a fire, milk the cow in the morning, use an outhouse, and have paraffin lanterns for light. The family spends much of their time sitting in the kitchen on stools around the fire making tea or beans or corn, laughing or singing in such a loving way. These 10 days were some of the most wonderful. Other than hanging with the fam' we also worked on the hospital that the town is constructed. They have been working for decades to finish the building and are close but have run out of money again. If helping to create health care facilities in Kenya is on your list of things to do let me know and I can help get your resources to the right place.
In Taita my sister Jenta and I became close. She is 23 and has recently moved back home after 3 years of sowing in a sweatshop in Mombasa. Recently Jenta has started to Hear Jesus, as she explains (Taita is catholic), and is now spending much of her time as a vessel for Jesus to heal people through. She told me that she has been able to cure illness and disability through prayer, but like with all things, including medicine, it only works if the person has faith. I really admire her. She is so committed to her work and her faith. Other people in the town, though, think she's crazy and Lucy thinks it might be malaria. Its wild, the reaction in Taita is not that different than I might expect from a community in the US.
Since Taita we returned to Mombasa to re-join our first home stay families and work on our research plans. I got to spend a good amount of time with my research adviser, Dillon. He is a 25 year old PhD candidate from Rutgers studying the informal economy of Mombasa. He is a wonderful resources since he understands the history, economics, politics, diversity, and pop-culture of Mombasa so well and because he is completel willing to keep up with my unending questions. I feel really lucky and optimistic about this coming month.
My fellow students and I will be in Zanzibar for the next week before returning to Mombasa to venture out on our own. For now we are learning, relaxing and enjoying each others company. I am really happy with the people I am traveling with. They are smart and generous and all work to challenge each other in good ways. All in all I am very lucky.
I'll write again once I have stated my research to tell you about what I am learning and how I am living. Until then let me know whats going on at Wes and around the world. I bet it is starting to warm up back home!
Lots of Love,
-Gabi
March 2006 II
Sorry to have been absent for a while. All is well here. I'm now back in Mombasa after 3 amazing weeks in Lamu. Lamu is fascinating- it is the oldest continuously inhabited town in kenya and a recognized world heritage site by the UN, but the best way to make money there is through the tourist industry or by selling your house to a mzungu (white person) for the going rate. So visit Lamu, but do it soon because it will not last long in its current condition. For now it is a Muslim dominated city that practices subsistence fishing and expects women to keep a good distance from any man that is not part of her family. One fascinating thing about being a white women in this environment is that I was able to talk to women, as a member of their gender, and to men because I am white and therefore expected to operate outside Muslim modesty practices. So in Lamu I gained a few wonderful friendships, including one with my swahili tutor. I can now speak enough swahili to have basic conversations, though I have to ask everyone I talk to to repeat themselves a zillion times. Thanks in part to these friends I am developing a much better understanding of culture and politics here. As in any environment there are many social forces working below the surface that influence peoples interactions. For one thing gender definitions vary from person to person here. Some people seem to practice their gender roles with mutual respect and understanding. While women are expected to maintain the home and
children their role is recognized as important and in some families are shown a degree of reverence in recognition of this. Yet this varies; in conversations with educated Muslim women they tell me that the Koran fully protects a womens equal rights as a person, wife, and mother, and that cultural practices have corrupted the religions original intentions. Another conversation will be about all the ways in which men have more responsibility and therefore deserve dictatorial control of the home. Then a third conversation will focus on the burden women face as homemakers, breadwinner, child rearer all in one- in a society where (some say) men
don't take on enough responsibility. These contentions are everywhere. Another example is tribalism; politics here are all about tribal affiliation. The Kikuyu are the most numerous and have been politically dominant since independence. Today their position is being rocked by a corruption scandal that reaches directly to the president. Some people are going so far as to call for war against the Kikuyu for this theft of public resources. But these people dont really have much of an audience. Most people are just waiting to the chance to vote Kibaki out of office in 2007. Few people here think the election will bring much change, politics as usual here seems to be about favoring ones own tribe and very little about informed policy for the general good. But this is the report from frustrated Kenyans, who seem to believe that other countries dont experience the same problems they face. For example they think that in the US we can hold out leaders accountable for corruption and poor decision making- yeah right! Meanwhile some people on the coast believe they should not be part of kenya at all. They feel that they are economically neglected my the central government because they are mainly Muslims. Others, i.e. inland people, might say this is revenge for the role the coastal people played as middlemen in the slave trade- which by the way continued in East Africa much longer than we learn in school. But most people just think that Nairobi neglects every place that is not Nairobi, and since the coast was independent from Kenya until independence in 1964- and since the people here would rather not be under a govt they are unhappy with, they talk about gaining the right to self governance.
Anyway, I ramble- point is things here are interesting and I'm learning a lot. I'm back in Mombasa and staying with a wonderful homestay family that is full of children. It's a bit weird because they live in a big house behind a big wall in the middle of a neighborhood of one rooms mud huts. Yet they get along well with there neighbors and sit with them on the ground to celebrate weddings and mourn the passing of friends- both Muslim and Christian. My mom here- Mama Esha- prays, reads Koran, and goes to madrasa constantly, yet she walks around outside with her buibui open so that everyone can see her beautiful colorful clothing underneath, plus she has male friends that are not relatives (these are not the tendencies of conservative Muslim women here). This and everything else I learn is an example of how complicated human interaction, culture, and individuality can be. Now that I have border you all to death I have a bit of news related to life at home. I have decided not to be an RA next year. I was placed in Clark, but since I think it would be good to spend my senior year thinking about things other than the many concerns of the freshman class I have decided to do something different. So keep me in mind when determining your housing plans at Wes since I have no idea where I'm going to live!
Ok- thats all, I'll try to write much less next time- although I can't promise anything since I will be doing a safari, spending 10 days in a rural village homestay building a hospital, and then going to Zanzibar- so I might have a lot to say.
Love,
Gabi
children their role is recognized as important and in some families are shown a degree of reverence in recognition of this. Yet this varies; in conversations with educated Muslim women they tell me that the Koran fully protects a womens equal rights as a person, wife, and mother, and that cultural practices have corrupted the religions original intentions. Another conversation will be about all the ways in which men have more responsibility and therefore deserve dictatorial control of the home. Then a third conversation will focus on the burden women face as homemakers, breadwinner, child rearer all in one- in a society where (some say) men
don't take on enough responsibility. These contentions are everywhere. Another example is tribalism; politics here are all about tribal affiliation. The Kikuyu are the most numerous and have been politically dominant since independence. Today their position is being rocked by a corruption scandal that reaches directly to the president. Some people are going so far as to call for war against the Kikuyu for this theft of public resources. But these people dont really have much of an audience. Most people are just waiting to the chance to vote Kibaki out of office in 2007. Few people here think the election will bring much change, politics as usual here seems to be about favoring ones own tribe and very little about informed policy for the general good. But this is the report from frustrated Kenyans, who seem to believe that other countries dont experience the same problems they face. For example they think that in the US we can hold out leaders accountable for corruption and poor decision making- yeah right! Meanwhile some people on the coast believe they should not be part of kenya at all. They feel that they are economically neglected my the central government because they are mainly Muslims. Others, i.e. inland people, might say this is revenge for the role the coastal people played as middlemen in the slave trade- which by the way continued in East Africa much longer than we learn in school. But most people just think that Nairobi neglects every place that is not Nairobi, and since the coast was independent from Kenya until independence in 1964- and since the people here would rather not be under a govt they are unhappy with, they talk about gaining the right to self governance.
Anyway, I ramble- point is things here are interesting and I'm learning a lot. I'm back in Mombasa and staying with a wonderful homestay family that is full of children. It's a bit weird because they live in a big house behind a big wall in the middle of a neighborhood of one rooms mud huts. Yet they get along well with there neighbors and sit with them on the ground to celebrate weddings and mourn the passing of friends- both Muslim and Christian. My mom here- Mama Esha- prays, reads Koran, and goes to madrasa constantly, yet she walks around outside with her buibui open so that everyone can see her beautiful colorful clothing underneath, plus she has male friends that are not relatives (these are not the tendencies of conservative Muslim women here). This and everything else I learn is an example of how complicated human interaction, culture, and individuality can be. Now that I have border you all to death I have a bit of news related to life at home. I have decided not to be an RA next year. I was placed in Clark, but since I think it would be good to spend my senior year thinking about things other than the many concerns of the freshman class I have decided to do something different. So keep me in mind when determining your housing plans at Wes since I have no idea where I'm going to live!
Ok- thats all, I'll try to write much less next time- although I can't promise anything since I will be doing a safari, spending 10 days in a rural village homestay building a hospital, and then going to Zanzibar- so I might have a lot to say.
Love,
Gabi
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