Brigid In Kenya: April 2011

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.