A Sobering Story

As you may be gathering from my blog, life here is hard and not terribly comfortable much of the time. However all of us interns came with a desire to do something positive and make a difference. Last night I received the email below from, Jackie, another intern who I have befriended. Jackie is working at an organization called SOLWADI which aims to stop sexual exploitation and abuse of girls and women. Orignially I had expressed an interest in interning there but Jackie has a Masters in Women's Studies and has devoted much of her career to this issue so she was the natural choice. Below is a reality check on life here and how far we have to go on this planet.

I was asked to attend a trial that involves some dickhead 55 year old (most people here consider him an old man) who anally and vaginally raped a 3 1/2 year old and they let him out on ba il and postponed the trial till April. Lovely that he works at a private school as a gardener. The guy is an ex Navy/Air Force officer. I wonder why he wants to garden when he could easily be living off his pension. Anyway, we were all over town in disgusting matatu's trying to figure out why the case was postponed and it turned out the school was trying to pay off the police because they were afraid of their reputation. The little girl told her mom that one of the teachers (a sister no less) cleaned off the blood from her broken hymen and sent her home like that without calling the hospital or anything. During our mission we met with the head prosecutor at the state council's office who said he couldn't understand why a man would do that when there are women all over he could have had sex with (meaning the prostitutes) and he mentioned that it can't be the money because they are fairly cheap. I had to inform this moron of the reason. Then when he was informed that his own police officers rape and abuse the sex workers when they are caught his question was not why or let's look into this but why don't they use a condom when they know how risky sex work is?

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So what the heck am I doing here!

To date you haven't seen me post about my internship, which is the main reason I came to Kenya. Well there was a reason for it. Originally FSD assigned me to work at an organization called Ujamaa. This organization is involved in community activism and human rights work. However they are undergoing a lot of personnel changes and upheavel so I felt it was not an ideal place to work given the turmoil. I asked FSD to change my assignment and started on Monday at an organization called Eco Ethics International Kenya. Their URL is www.ecoethics-kenya.org. Their mission is to help the coastal communities become more environmentally aware and to develop new sustainable ways of making their livelihoods. There are 5 major programs they are currently running:

Environmental Education and Outreach

Chemicals and Toxic Waste Management Education and Reduction

Fisheries and Marine Resource Management

Sustainable Community Capacity Building

Green Economics

I'm on day three and I feel confident that I am going to be able to make positive contributions to their work. Given the lack of environmental controls and the state of the land, air and water here there is a ton of work to be done. Right now I'm in learn mode but I have already come up with a short list of projects to help them be more productive internally.

On Tuesday I went out into the field to visit two projects Eco Ethics has sponsored located in the very rural villages of Mueje and Mwakambe about an hour south of Mombasa on the coast. Our day's adventure was supposed to begin bright and early at 7am which meant I had to leave my house at 6am (this NGO is a bit of a commute and traffic here is as bad as the Bay Area). Now I should have known 7am really meant 8:30am since everyone works on African time! Part of the problem was that our Jeep's starter did not work so the guys had to push it down the road to get it going. I asked what we would do if the car wouldn't start when we got to these rural communities and was assured all would be okay. So we crammed 6 people into a vehicle that at best should hold 4 and off we went. Now a word about Kenyan roads-DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT US HIGHWAYS EVER AGAIN! I think there are more pot holes than asphalt, if paved at all. Plus remember from my last post one spends a great deal of time dodging cows and goats to keep one alert. Given I was in the back of a very old Jeep with very bad shocks I may have done permanent damage to my insides with all the jostling around.

However the drive was worth it when we arrived at the village of Mueje. Though quite poor and extremely rustic the women and children were beautiful. Mueje is a Muslim village and the women wear beautiful fabric to cover themselves called bui bui (see pictures) The purpose of the trip was to follow up on a project Eco Ethics did to help them build a greenhouse to grow fresh vegetables as part of their Sustainable Community Capacity Building. Though they spoke in Swahili, so I could follow very little of the actual meeting, I still found the trip quite rewarding. However when it was time to leave the Jeep would not start and this time it took almost 30 minutes to get the engine to turn over. I had visions of walking a very long way back to civilization.

Later in the afternoon I attended a ceremony at St Charles Lwanga, a Catholic secondary school located in a very poor industrial area of Mombasa. Eco Ethics helps schools organize what they call Eco Clubs and annually gives out a grant to the Eco Club that has the best proposal to start an eco friendly initiative. St Charles came up with a proposal to sell a form of charcoal made from recycled materials within their community. Many of the poor families here burn charcoal made from hardwood trees as a fuel source to cook thus causing deforestation. I had the honor of presenting them with their 50,000 KSH-about $625 check (see pictures). Though the school itself is very rundown with none of the modern ammenities we see in US high schools the students were so well behaved and attentive. It felt completely different then what one sees at the everyday US high school. I think children and parents value education much more here since the government does not pay for it past the 8th grade and everyone recognizes this is the way out of poverty in the future.

Old Town Mombasa-A New Favorite

I have found a favorite spot in Mombasa in what is known as Old Town, an area near the water that is very old and consists of a series of small alleys. The occupants of this community are almost all Muslim and though it is quite run down and dirty (like all of Mombasa) it has a lot of character. In Old Town is a wonderful coffee house called Jahazi. It has a middle eastern feel, within a series of cozy rooms where you can sit in comfortable chairs or on cushions and drink delicious Swahili coffee (coffee mixed with ginger, cinnamon, and cardamon) or chai tea. I guess you'd call this Mombasa's version of Starbucks!

Trip to Marazeri

This past week I had the opportunity to go with a group of community mobilizers on a trip up the coast to a very small village about 90 miles north of Mombasa, past the town of Malindi. This was my first opportunity to see the rural countryside of eastern Kenya and it was an eye opener. The purpose of this trip was for this team to meet with a group of elders from a small village called Marazeri. Marazeri is one of many small villages along this stretch of coast that has been effected by the salt production industry which is dominate in this area. These salt producers are causing two major problems, first because of government corruption and lacks laws they are able to take these villagers land and force them out, and second they are destroying the fresh water table by allowing salt water to leach into it. The community organizers work with a group call Muugano Trust, which is part of a larger global movement called Slum Dwellers International. A major goal of Muugano is to give slum dwellers a voice and to help them organize.

As I sat in a small shack made of mud and corrigated metal I started to think about my life just 6 months ago when meeting was by web conference or in a fancy conference room, in a skyscraper in downtown San Francisco, with every modern amenity. What a change!

As for the drive itself I am lucky to still be on this earthplane! Our driver believed that if he honked it gave him permission to just go around any car in his path on a very rough two lane highway. It didn't matter if there were other vehicles coming the other way he figured if he honked they'd move. I normally do not pay too much attention to the way people drive but in this case I was petrified. Also besides avoiding other cars we continuously had to avoid goats and cows wandering out into the road. I asked if folks ever hit them and he said rarely.

From top to bottom:

Downtown Malindi

Typical coastal village

Village of Marazeri

Brigid in Marazeri

The Case of the Flying Cockroaches

There are 7 of us interns here in Mombasa right now as part of the FSD program. We get together each Friday for Swahili lessons and to share experiences. Now as I mentioned in an earlier post I feel quite lucky that I am living with an affluent family that has a modern, clean home in one of the best areas of Mombasa. Not all the other interns are so lucky. One in particular, arrived on Friday with glazed eyes in a state of horror. She had been awakened the night before to the sound of loud hissing and then flying (yes flying!) 6 inch cockroaches coming into her bed and starting to crawl on her. Terrified she started screaming and the family ran in, just picked up the cockroaches, broke them in half then told her to go back to sleep. Clearly this was not possible and she sat up all night panicking as they continued to come into her room. Then the next day the families' 2 year old baby climbed onto her bed and peed on it. Their answer was to just flip the mattress! Then to make matters worse she has been without running water for most of the week (something quite common here along with all day electricity outages). Both of these occur regularly at my house too.

I realize now just how lucky I have it and am grateful for my host family. In fact I'm getting quite spoiled since they have two house staff that do everything for me. They even take my shoes when I arrive home and clean them for me. My room is cleaned daily and my clothes, washed, ironed and folded. I could get used to this.

My Home for the First Week-Jawambe Hotel

So yours truly is not the best sometimes with technology and tends not to take a lot of pictures. However given the "unique" nature of this journey I am trying to change my ways. I have just figured out how to compress my pictures to such as size that I can now easily upload them to the Blog so you guys can see more of what I'm experiencing. For this post I'm sharing pictures from my stay at the Jawambe Hotel. It make a Motel 6 look like luxury!

The Resort Life

The Mombasa area is full of world class beach resorts and is a major winter holiday destination for folks from Europe. Lots of Brits and Germans around. Haven't seen any Americans as of yet. Yours truly has taken the time to check out a couple of them. I can just stroll in and use the facilities since they think that all "mzungus" must be staying there.

From Top Down

Nyali Beach Hotel property on the Indian Ocean
Drinks at the Tiki Hut at the Nyali Beach with another intern Jackie (my drinking buddy)
The pool at Tamarind Village overlooking Mombasa Bay (a 5 star resort) located a 5 minute walk from my house
Me at the pool at the Tamarind (life is good!)

My apologies but I have found that there is no feature that allows one to label pictures on this blog without knowing HTML coding. I've tried everything so this is my answer so you guys know what you are looking at.

Pictures at Last-meet the children

Steven at the Tamarind Resort, Little Sam, Sam and Steve at home

Brigid's gone native-no muss no fuss

Now as I think all my friends know in the US I took time with my grooming and wardrobe. I patiently blew dry my rather curly hair everyday to give it a sophisticated style, I put on makeup most days, I wore nice jewelry, usually dabbed on a bit of perfume and tried to wear nice coordinated clothing. Well those days are behind me. I've gone native! First of all I am usually sweating to death since it is on average 90 degrees with about 80% humidity and no one has A/C so the idea of putting a lot of effort into my looks seems pointless. I've been here now for almost two weeks and have not put on one stitch of makeup (tried mascara once and it slid down my face making my eyes look ridiculous). I've also decided for the "natural hair look" which means my hair is somewhere between curly and a frizz pile most days. I'm actually considering braids or dreads and now understand why they are so popular here. I've not put on so much as a ring since I've been told it is not a good idea to wear nice jewelry and as of yet have not purchased any inexpensive native pieces. Also I've purchased a few "African dresses" which are quite colorful, comfortable and cool. I've decided worrying about what I wear is pointless since whatever I put on will be soaked and sticking to me within 30 minutes anyway! Over the years many of you have teased me about just how "white" my skin is. You'll be happy to know I'm actually starting to get a tan and imagine by the time I get home will have a nice one. I do slather on SPF 100 since the sun is so strong and the last thing I need is a severe sunburn but even with I'm turning a rather golden color (at least for me).

The Commute!

As I mentioned in a previous post the way most Mombasans' get around is to take matatus. Yours truly is now becoming quite an expert at this form of "mass transit". It's a colorful way to get around and much more "entertaining" than your average US subway, train, or bus. Matatus are old beat up vans that look like something a surfer would take to the beach. They have four rows of seats (including the front), a weird padded roof and tons of stickers all over them. You just have to know where they stop since there are no signs posted and it's very hard to tell exactly the route for each one so you just hope if they are headed in the direction you want to go you're on one that might get you there. One guy drives, while a second operates the door that slides open and takes the money (it costs 15 shillings about 20 cents around town that is if you don't get charged the mzunga price which I'm on to!) He spends most of his time hanging out the side with the door open in preparation for picking up and dropping off people for optimal speed and efficiency (no worries about falling out!) Bad American music is BLASTED at top volume (Backstreet Boy is quite popular)as they careen along at top speed then slam on their brakes for the next stop. They yell down the street as they are coming to see if anyone wants to hop on. If you want to get off you bang on the wall or roof of the van to let them know. The seats are extremely small and they pack everyone in like sardines in a can. In the morning when most folks are still relatively clean and sweat free it's not so bad but coming home in the evening folks can smell quite ripe (including yours truly I'm sure). I'm becoming quite an expert at this form of transportation and it is now what I use for my commute to and from work.

Meet the Family

It is 8pm on Sunday night and I have just spent the first weekend with my host family. I live with a family of 4 plus a house staff of two. Billy and Joyce Olong and their son Steven, 7 and Sam 2. The boys are adorable but very high energy and quite curious about me. Steven is interested in everything US and watches the Disney channel all the time. His first question to me was about Hannah Montana. Currently Billy is away on business (he travels for weeks at a time) and won't be home until the end of the month. Joyce is a bit aloof but I think some of it is just cultural plus she is dealing with two high energy children and even with help I can tell she is tired.

Now you are all probably wondering what my new digs are like. I am quite fortunate because I am living with what would be considered an upper middle class Kenyan family in a 2500 square foot home with 3 1/2 bathrooms, marble floors and a huge kitchen. My room has it's own on suite bathroom and a veranda. However there is one issue that is making it a bit tough and that is they do not have air conditioning and rarely even turn on the fans because they are used to 90 degree plus heat with 80% humidity! I am not though am hoping I will get used to it eventually. Since they are a very modern Kenyan family they have satellite TV and get over 100 stations from all over the world. However they have a habit of leaving the TV on all day at top volume and spend hours at the time in front of it. I guess given it is considered such a luxury they want to use it all the time.

As to the house staff Carolyn is a nanny to the 2 year old and does most of the cooking. Rashid takes care of the cleaning as well as all laundry. I am happy about the laundry since they still do it the old fashioned way with a bucket of soapy water in the backyard and then hang dry it. I'm not sure why since they have a brand new Whirlpool frig and plenty of money to purchase a washing machine. I've been told that this is cultural since they feel like it makes no sense to make doing a chore like laundry easier on the help. However it is hard on the clothes and takes so much time. Either way though I'm happy because he does everything for me so for 6 months I get my laundry done and folded!

Now as to the food. I'm struggling with Carolyn's cooking and what they eat. Breakfasts are very American though again they just have Nescafe instant coffee which seems so sad given where I am but lunch and dinner have been a bit tough for me. They eat white rice at every meal and usually this sauteed kale dish and sometimes sauteed cabbage. They also eat a lot of ugali (the corn mush I talked about). That part is okay though getting very repetitious. However the meat portion is awful. Yesterday they took about fish someone had caught in Lake Victoria and brought back for them and left it out on the counter in this sweltering heat most of the day then fried it whole. It was a a greasy, smelly pile of bones which I tried to eat but struggled. However the one thing they do prepare at most meals that is delicious is a fresh fruit salad which I love. I guess the good news is that I've already lost 5 pounds and have only been here for 9 days. Almost no alcohol and limited food intake are making a huge difference.

So Saturday was basically a veg day where we did very little but hang around the house. On Sunday I ventured out and first walked to the the Nyali Cinema Shopping Center which is less than 5 minutes from my house. It is very modern and as the name states has a cinema plex that plays first run western movies. I've heard it is air conditioned so when I cannot stand the heat anymore I'll just head to a movie. I had a very American cheese burger at a cafe in the center then wandered down the street to a very posh resort called the Tamarind. It is guarded by security and sits on a bluff overlooking the Bay of Mombasa. I guess because it mainly caters to rich westerns and I'm a mzunga (remember their word for white person) I was able to just stroll in and lounge by the pool. The place is paradise and an oasis from some of the more troubling sites in the area. I had a bottled water by the pool and chatted with a nice young professional woman banker from Nairobi who was there for the weekend. This hotel complex also has a very nice private health club which I am thinking of joining since it gives me access to the entire hotel as well as a spa and modern work out facilities. Also I am considering getting a scooter or bike to get around Nyali. It is quite flat and though I like to walk it is so hot and access to the beach is a few miles away so another form of transportation would be nice. After my little luxury time at Tamarind I came home and we all decided to head to the beach. I can now say I have swum in the Indian Ocean and it was fantastic. The water was like a bathtub, the sand pure white and the beach very clean. However I as the only white person on a beach with hundreds of people so boy did I stand out. Everyone was quite polite but I did get a number of stares.

So those are the highlights of the weekend.

The First Week

Sorry I have not posted since I arrived. It has taken me awhile to get set up with a broadband card for my laptop and I have had limited access to the Internet until now. Also I must inform everyone that this broadband is VERY slow so I will only be able to post pictures periodically when I am on a better connection at the Foundation for Sustainable Development office. However I am taking lots of them, something I rarely do on a regular vacation.

So where to begin describing my first week. First of all I arrived at 1:30 am Saturday, February 5th and the first thing I discovered when I got off the plane and walked across the tarmac is that it is very hot and humid. Now I knew that from my reading but it really hit me when I stepped out into it even at that late an hour. The plan for the first week was for all the interns (there are 7 of us from across the US and yes I am the oldest though there are a few others in their late 30s) was to stay in downtown Mombasa at a hotel called Jawambe Hotel. The accommodations were to an American very primitive but after the first night in a sweltering room with a fan that barely worked my roommate and I decided to upgrade to a room with air conditioning which made a huge difference. All the other interns used our room as the hang out spot since it was not an oven.

After sleeping off my jet lag from 22 hours of travel I ventured out into Mombasa on Sunday. How do I describe this city? First for those of you that have not Googled it, it is an island with limited access on and off. My guess is about 400,000 people live on the island. Also it is very crowded. A few things hit me right off. First, the poverty and dirt. This area of Kenya though humid, has a major water issue and is extremely dry. EVERYTHING is covered in a coat of dirt. Second, that I and the other interns were the ONLY white people. In Swahili white people are called "mzunga". It is not really a derogatory term it is just used to describe us as white people. We screamed MZUNGA! Third that there is a frenetic pace here, something I think that is common in larger cities in poor countries. Finally I noticed the large Muslim population and how many women were completely covered from head to toe in black garments with only their eyes showing. As side note, this area of Kenya is about 50% Christian, 50% Muslim and they seem to interact and live well together.

It was quite obvious to me that I was definitely NOT in the US anymore. Okay so let me condense a little bit and give a few highlights and off the top observations.

The first week has been spent primarily in Swahili class, cultural training, information on the city and information on the host organization (known as a either an NGO or CBO) where we will be interning. We were given quite a bit of free time to get acquainted with our surrounding and learn how to tackle public transportation. We did not head to our host family until Friday, February 11.

Observations in no particular order:

• I have a new appreciation for clean drinking water or in some cases just running water
• Catalytic converters on cars and pollution laws are a good thing, they have NONE here and the air pollution is overwhelming.
• This is a MUCH more traditional culture when it comes to the relationship between the sexes. Also men and women here are not "friends". If you behave in a friendly manner to men it is most likely you will get a marriage proposal or at least a lot of unwanted attention.
• It is the culture to shake hands a lot. It is done at every greeting even if you know the person extremely well and it is an informal setting. Also overall Kenyans are a very friendly outgoing culture.
• The term TIAT (This is Africa time). Time and direction are not concepts they understand well.
• Locals need a license for everything, our tour guide needed one to be able to walk "mzunga" around the city.
• There are three forms of mass transit to get around. Matatus-small vans where they pack every seat, have no air and blast bad 80s American music. Tuk-tuks-look kind of like a golf cart and zip all over the city and taxis. One interesting fact is that Kenya has made it illegal to drive cars over 8 years old though some people find away around it. However for the most part the cars you see are all newer and well kept up.
• The children are adorable as I watched them in their uniforms heading off to school each day while eating breakfast on the outdoor veranda of the hotel. They seem so much better mannered than American children.
• We take garbage collection for granted. There are mounds of trash everywhere and many people burn it so the smell is awful. One morning I awoke at 5am to the smell of burning trash and the sounds of prayer being called at the local mosque.
• Though poor the people in the city are very friendly and seem to be happy with their lives. Now I'm not sure about the villages outside town but in town folks seem for the most part to live good lives even if at poor standards.
• The city is extremely crowded and getting around the main part of town or over one of the few bridges off the island is worse then driving in Manhattan at rush hour.
• They do have some very American things. The second day I went to their version of a Walmart called Nakumatt and they have EVERYTHING from the west. I wanted a basic local cell phone since my iPhone is off until I return. I have discovered that it is super cheap to call the US (about 3 cents a minute) so I plan to call many of you often.
• This is a land of haves and have nots. I actually live in an area just north of the island called Nyali. It is the area where all wealthy Kenyans and foreigners live as well as where some of the amazing beach resorts reside. (More to come on my host family later).
• Italian food is popular here and one night I ate at a very good Italian restaurant in Nyali called Robertos.
• Tusker beer is delicious (local Kenyan beer that goes down great in this hot weather)
• I am not a big fan of the local Swahili food and have already lost weight. This trip could be the best thing in years for my waistline. They have a local dish called ugali and it is this white corn paste with NO flavor which they eat with most meals. However one thing they serve all the time that is awesome is fresh tropical fruit. I am gorging on mangoes, papayas, bananas and pineapple.
• As a "mzunga" you must negotiate the price on EVERYTHING where it is not spelled out in writing and even then be careful. The FSD staff has tried to educate us on what is appropriate to pay for riding Tuk Tuks, Matatus, and Taxis since if not we'd be royally ripped off. They see all white people as wealthy and figure we can afford it. I understand in a way but it is still frustrating having to negotiate every transaction.
• You cannot get the delicious Kenyan coffee we know of here. They drink Nescafe instant in most places and ship all the good stuff out. However one afternoon I ventured into an area called Old Town which is a Muslim neighborhood by the water made up of small alleys and discovered an amazing Swahili coffee house called Jahazi. It felt very middle eastern and I sat on a cushion drinking Swahili coffee which is a very dark roast with ginger, cinnamon, and cardamon mixed in. I was in heaven. Much better then a Starbucks or Peets.
• Air conditioning and even reliable electricity is rare and at a premium here and I am struggling with the heat and humidity though keep being told I'll get used to it. Well see!

Okay so there is a condensed list of some of the things I have discovered in my first week. I'll leave you with one last short story. I decided I wanted to head to the beach one afternoon and found my way to one of the amazing 5 star resorts where tourists from Europe and the US go. I sat at the outside bar that looked like at tiki hut sipping my Pina Colada and began to think "maybe I have imagined this entire trip and am really in Hawaii". However just as I was forgetting where I was a man with a camel came wandering by up the beach. Brigid you are NOT in the US anymore!

Bon Voyage Fun

The outpouring of support and love has been overwhelming. I know I have the best friends in the world. Bon Voyage became the mantra of the month of January. Posted here are a few pictures with highlights.

The Big Move Out

Over the past week I experienced what most of you probably know in you own life-I have way too much stuff!!! I decided since I was to be gone for at least 6 months that I needed to rent out my house. At first I was going to only make it a 6 month furnished rental then friends generously offered me their guest suite in their beautiful home in Montclair for as long as I wished to stay. So after some consideration I decided the better option was to lease my house out unfurnished for one year. Keep your life options open was my moto.

I quickly found a wonderful couple, Clarissa and Lisa along with their Jack Russell Terrier and cat to lease the house. Now for the hard part getting my house packed up and put into storage. Friends suggested the POD method. Seemed reasonable to me. Now for those of you that don't know the design of my home it is on a hill and there are 26 stairs into the front door. In addition it was decided I would move my bedroom furniture and my clothes to my new temporary home in Montclair so that when I came back it would be ready for me. That house had over 30 stairs. Needless to say this move out made a stair master routine look tame.

At this point I must call out three incredibly generous friends (Ted, Francois and Robert). Between the three of them we got what seemed to be this monumental task complete. So for what seemed like an eternity I packed boxes and over last weekend the big move out began. I'm going to give all of you some advice. Cull the herd!! At one point in my life my father said to me "every asset is a liability", and after about the hundredth trip up and down my stairs I understood what he meant.

The Lead Up

Let me start at the beginning of 2010 to set the stage for how yours truly decided to step out of my conventional life in the Bay Area and head to Mombasa Kenya for a 6 month internship. In early 2010 I left my job at SAP to join Salesforce.com. Unfortunately from a career perspective it wasn't a great decision and by the fall I decided to leave. After some soul searching I decided I wanted a meaningful sabbatical from my corporate life and had a calling inside myself to go volunteer abroad. After much on line research I discovered an organization called Foundation for Sustainable Development www.fsdinternational.org and they had a program that seemed ideal for someone in my situation (i.e a slightly more "mature" working professional). And so I filled out the lengthy application, selected Mombasa Kenya as my first choice location and waited.....

In the mean time I went about starting the interview process in the Bay Area to find another job. It felt a bit like when I applied to colleges long ago and would go to the mailbox every day waiting for answers (except today it's clicking gmail). That very morning that I finally got a response I had been on a phone interview for a VP level alliance job with a successful pre IPO company. I got off the call knowing it had gone well and felt nothing. It was less than 2 hours later that an email appeared in my In Box, l that I had been accepted into the program. I knew immediately I was headed to Africa.