Finished Murals and Other News

Hello Blog Readers, again my apology for being spotty in my recent posts.   So let me start with the murals.  They were completed last weekend and look amazing.   Some of you already got a sneak peak so this is a repeat.   

This mural is about the importance of education and says in Swahili 

MONEY WHEN USED DECREASES BUT EDUCATION WHEN USED INCREASES

This mural is about the beauty of one's community and says in Swahili

GO EAST, GO WEST, HOME IS BEST

This murals is about the reward of work and says in Swahili

ONE WHO WORKS IN THE SUN WILL EAT UNDER THE SHADE

This mural is about food and cooking and says in Swahili

THE BREAKING OF THE COOKING SPOON DOES NOT MEAN THE END OF COOKING

I hope you all agree they are incredible and show that beauty and talent come from all corners of the globe, in all circumstances and at all ages.  I still find it hard to believe these youth were able to create this with only 2 weeks of very basic art instruction.   

I had recently visited the one and only fine African art gallery down the coast in the tourist area of Diani Beach a few weeks prior and told the gallery owner about our project.  She invited us to bring all the students down for a private gallery tour and we decided to do so as a final end to the project and their spring vacation.  So last Saturday, April 30th we piled 31 kids and 6 adults into 3 matatus for the 20 mile ride down to Diani.  I will not go into detail describing the ride but suffice it to say I have a few more gray hairs!  The plan was to have the students visit the gallery so they could see first hand fine African painting and sculpture, then head to the beach for a picnic and some fun time in the water.   For 19 of the 31 they had never been to Diani Beach even though it is only 20 miles from their homes in Likoni.   We take for granted the ability to get out and see the world around us but for these kids just going a such distance is a real luxury.   

Ruben one of the gallery staff giving everyone a tour

Being crazy at the beach

Me and Gabi the cofounder and director of Hatua Likoni

Some of the boys being boys!

More of the kids. 

So now that the murals are complete what comes next?  Though one of our main goals was to expose the students to art and to let them have the chance to do something creative we also have a goal to leverage this project to raise on going funding for Hatua's mission.   Candidly we were not sure if the murals would be of a quality we could do so, but now that we've seen the finished product we know we can, and I'm moving ahead on a number of fronts.   

First I've come up with a name for this project since calling it The Mural Project really didn't cut it.   We are calling it THROUGH THEIR EYES.   I wanted a name that could be used again in the future and was not specific to Hatua or Likoni.  It also needed to capture the essence of this project and not be too wordy.  These murals reflect the students' reflection vision of life and culture in Likoni as seen "through their eyes".  

Right now I am working on three different initiatives.  First setting up production and distribution for a small line of items such as t-shirts, tote bags, beach towels, calendars etc that show reproductions of the images.  These will be sold in the Diani Beach area.   We've already gotten a commitment from one of the major hotels that we can sell during their weekly market day where they invited vendors into the hotel to sell to their guests.  We also have a commitment to participate in Saturday Market Days at Diani Beach Shopping Center.  These take place during high season from August through January.    Our two hurdles here are finding reliable, high quality producers that will do limited quantities for reasonable prices, and someone to act as our sales rep during these market day events.   

The second initiative is to set up production of our gift items in the US and create an on line store.   Along with that we are working on a YouTube video based on clips and stills taken during the three weeks of mural making and shots around Likoni.   We'll use the video as a way to draw traffic to the website and create awareness for Hatua.  

The third initiative is a mural tour in the US.  Gabi has gained commitment from a friend with a gallery in NYC to hold an event to raise money for Hatua and to display the murals.   I want to do something similar in the Bay Area and plan to contact Oakland and Berkeley galleries.   My ask of all of my readers is if you have gallery contacts please let me know.   I also plan to reach out to MOAD (Museum of the African Dispora) in San Francisco.   I figure they might have an interest in showing the murals.   Finally I suggested to Gabi that she contact the Kenyan Embassy in DC to see if they might be willing to hold a small event and show them to the community.   Our goal from the mural tour is to raise awareness and direct donations for Hatua's work.   

So that's where things stand with the Through Their Eyes project.  Now for my other news.  I've decided to come home early.  I'm leaving Kenya on May 17th and will enjoy a 36 hour journey back to SF. I feel at this time I can do more to help Hatua and continue with this project from the US than here in Africa.   I've committed to Gabi that if I am able I will come back to Mombasa at the end of the summer to help launch the gift business in Diani.   In the meantime I will work on these other initiatives and in addition just applied for a summer fellowship at the Women's Initiative in Oakland.  They provide micro enterprise and micro finance support to low income women starting businesses.   It's something I'm very interested in and think I have strong talent to apply.   I have an interview with the executive director 2 days after I get home.   As for longer term career decisions I'm not making any at this time and will see where life takes me over this summer. 

So that's it for now.  I will post again to wrap up this amazing experience and plan to put up a link to all of my pictures in a Picasa album so everyone can see them all.   

The Mural Project

I know it's been awhile since I've last posted.   My apologies but I've been commuting to Likoni from my home in Nyali everyday for the mural project at Hatua.   Though only about 15 miles this commute has got to be THE MOST GRUELING of my life.  I'll take sitting on the Bay Bridge for 2 hours any day and as god is my witness I will NEVER bitch again about Bay Area commutes.   My current one consists of taking a matatu (now you all remember matatus, the old broken down vans where they cram in 15 people and blast very bad music) then transfering to a second matatu which then deposits me at the ferry.   Now I wish I could show you lots of pictures of the ferry loading area and the actual ferries however the Kenyan government is so embarrassed by the horrible conditions that they forbid all pictures.   Yours truly ignored that one day and snapped a few pictures which I've posted here.  Unfortunately I got caught by "Ben" of the ferry security team.  Now Ben was not very happy with yours truly and threatened all kinds of nasty things including taking me to jail and making me pay a huge fine (which I'm sure he would have pocketed).   I played the dumb tourist and apologized profusely.   By the end I knew his name, and he asked all kinds of questions about life in the US and let me go without even deleting the pictures off my camera.  

The  ferry takes me between the island of Mombasa south to the mainland community of Likoni.  The distance is less than a mile and in the west there would be a nice bridge, but here in Kenya where modern public infrastructure is non existent, people and vehicles must commute by very old, run down ferries.  Everyone tells me they had the money allocated many times over to build a modern bridge but folks in the government stole it so the project never has been done.   As I've said before corruption is the number one issue here and it shows when you see the deplorable condition of things throughout this country.   The fact that part of the only road between the two largest cities (Mombasa and Nairobi) is NOT PAVED says it all.   Not only is there no bridge there is no real ferry terminal area so I must walk down a steep hill of rock, weaving my way past hundreds of "hawkers" with thousands of other people all pushing and shoving then stand in the blazing sun sometimes for up to 30 minutes to get on board.   Boarding this ferry is mass chaos.  Over 100,000 people a day plus all vehicles make this commute and there are only three ferries so needless to say it is CROWDED.   The queue to board is so bad that they separate the men from the women and children due to the fact that they have head people trampled to death during boarding.

Yes this is what I walk through to get on the matatu

A matatu in rather good condition

The ferry

The climb up the hill from the ferry on the Mombasa side

Once on the Likoni side my fun does not end.  I must then navigate the gauntlet of the local market place with thousands of people, weaving my way through rows of smelly dead fish and other delightful smells!   And keep in mind I am usually THE ONLY white person so am constantly being aggressively approached to buy something since they figure I've go money.   Now all this is happening in 95+ degree heat and humidity.

After I get to the main road I then jump on a boda boda to get to my final destination at Hatua.  Now what is a boda boda you ask?  It's a motorcycle taxi.  Yes I ride down the streets of Likoni on the back of a motorcycle with no helmet, holding on for dear life and praying we don't take a spill.  The other day I almost met my maker on one when my driver barely missed turning into the side of a matatu and after swerving to miss it came very close to careening into a COW in the road!  

Me climbing on my boda boda for the ride to Hatua

However this insane 90 minute each way commute is all worth it when I get to Hatua's office where the mural project is taking place.   In collaboration with our two art teachers we put together a curriculum to teach the students the basics of drawing and painting as a first step since none had any previous experience with art.   From the first still life drawing exercise it was clear they were hooked and that many had innate talent for this.   They are now on to painting images of local things in preparation for working on the actual murals next week.   I see the joy in their faces and the fun they are having and it makes everything I've endured here worth it.  I am so thankful to everyone that has supported me in all ways on this journey and cannot wait to show the completed murals.   I only wish each of you could step into my shoes for one day and see the wonder of these young people.  

 

First day of class students learning some of the basic concepts

Second day of class about to draw objects from the table

Me with the students during one of the painting exercises this week

Students working on their individual paintings

Gabi the co founder and director of Hatua 

Suvi our Finnish, Rastafarian art teacher

Another shot of me with the students painting

Side of the road on my commute through Likoni

More of Likoni

More of Likoni

Two beautiful women in lesso garments walking in Likoni

Public housing near Hatua in Likoni

Nairobi Trip

Now you probably wonder why I would start this post with a picture of an air sickness bag when writing about my weekend in Nairobi.   This bag represents the first day of our trip.   We left Mombasa at 1pm on Friday for a 45 minute flight to Nairobi on Kenyan Air.  After the overnight bus journey to Nairobi when headed to Masai Mara we both decided it was worth the extra money to fly.   At the airport in Mombasa I  had a bite to eat then boarded our plane.   While still in the airport I started to not feel 100% and by 30 minutes into our flight I was feeling quite ill.  I was sweating, extremely dizzy and had horrible nausea.  By the time we were landing I told my travel companion, Olivia, I did not think I could get off the plane.   We were in the very back and at this airport everyone deplanes using stairs down to the tarmac.  We waited on the plane while everyone disembarked and I collapsed in a moaning pile of misery across a row of seats.  Olivia contacted the crew to let them know we needed a wheelchair and medical assistance.   At this point the air sickness bag became my best friend.   I was so sick I felt like death.   They finally got a wheelchair and took me out the back side door down the cargo lift and to the Nairobi Airport Medical Facility.   Let's just say if you weren't really sick before, going to their airport medical facility will ensure that you are.   The bed was covered in dirty towels and the pillow had dried blood stains on it.  However give my symptoms and the possibility of malaria it was important that I get checked out.   Good news, no malaria, bad news I still felt like death.  However when they discussed having me taken by ambulance to a local hospital as well as giving me a huge shot in the bum right there I rallied enough to get in a cab and head to the Hilton to recover.   We managed to get me to the hotel and into bed to rest and by later that night I began to feel much better.  We conclude that I got food poisoning from what I ate in the Mombasa Airport and when I told this story to my host family there first words were "you should NEVER eat anything in the Mombasa Airport".  Who knew!

Modern health care (notice the towel)

I cannot believe I let Olivia take this and am posting it!

In the taxi headed to the hotel.  I looked like death warmed over!

However by Saturday I was feeling up to sightseeing in Nairobi and had my full appetite back.  My host, Billy, had arranged for his driver, Paul for the 2 days.  He arrived at 9:30am and off we went to see Nairobi.  First stop was the National Museum.   Though a small museum by western standards, it houses some of the oldest bones and artifacts of prehistoric man in the world.   Seeing evolution through these bones was fascinating.  Anyone with any interest in archeology or anthropology would love this museum.

 

In front of the National Museum.  Note I had on a jacket.  It was a nice morning!

Brigid and Olivia at the museum

Yes this is a real elephant 

In front of a cool statue at the museum

Directly across from the museum we saw this building under construction.  This is an example of typical Kenyan construction.   I am very glad they do not have earthquakes here in Kenya.   

After the museum we headed about 15 miles out of town to a a community called Karen.  Karen is one of the wealthy suburbs of Nairobi where many of the top government officials and business leaders live.  It looked like any upper class neighborhood in the US with  houses behind gates, beautiful manicured gardens, and large mansions.   We went to the town of Karen to see the Karen Blixen Museum.  The book Out of Africa was written by Karen Blixen and was based on her life.   The museum is located in her house which has been preserved just as it was when she lived in it. 

The front of the Karen Blixen House Museum

The entry to the museum

At the restaurant near the Karen Blixen museum

Enjoying a nice lunch outside

After lunch we went to a place called Kazuri Beads and Pottery factory.   Kazuri was started back in 1975 to help single mothers learn a trade and support themselves financially.  Today over 300 women work at Kazuri and their beads and pottery are sold all over the world.  For my girlfriends, I did some jewelry shopping for all of you!   

We ended our Saturday with a delicious dinner at what is currently considered the top restaurant in Nairobi, called Pango.  We got all glammed up and for the first time since arriving in Kenya I put on makeup and looked stylish.   My no muss, no fuss mantra was put aside for one night. You know me I travel on my stomach and painstakingly researched where to eat dinner.   The restaurant did not disappoint.  For those of you foodies here is link to the menu.   http://online.co.ke/eatout/files/menus/fairview/pango.pdf

Olivia and Brigid enjoying a 5 star meal

The salad in front of me was slivered apples, and dates with blue cheese and balsamic reduction along with a nice glass of bordeaux.   HEAVEN!   

We awoke on Sunday morning to continue with our two favorite pastimes, eating and shopping.   We decided to go explore an area called Village Market in the suburb of Gigiri.   Both the UN and US Embassy compounds are located in this town.  Like Karen it is an affluent area, though much more urban than Karen and closer to the central business district of Nairobi.   I'd heard about a hotel called The Tribe and wanted to see it because it was voted one of the top 10 hippest hotels in the world last year by Conde Naste.  http://www.tribe-hotel.com/ I had a hard time believing such a cool hotel would be located in a suburb of Nairobi but was I wrong.  It was amazing and totally hip.   I'd love to stay there sometime when I go back to Nairobi but rooms start at almost $400 US a night so I'll probably just drop in for a drink.   Here are some pictures of Olivia and me at it.   

After touring the hotel we went across the street to village market for a delicious brunch at Cafe Artist and a bit more shopping.   From there our driver Paul  took us to the airport for our journey back to Mombasa.  We were both sad to leave after having such a great weekend and experiencing cooler weather.   I plan to go back again during my stay here in Kenya.   

Sunday brunch-yummy!

Real Kenyan coffee, no Nescafe!

Shopping at Village Market Center