I was meant to post this over a week ago, but only just got internet access. I arrived in Nairobi on Monday 22nd January and wrote this on Tuesday evening. Apologies and prepare for several entries in quick succession!
Well, at the time of writing I’ve been here less than 48 hours and have ticked off more African experiences than I expected to cope with in such a short time. I’ve had chai (tea) and mandezi (like a doughnut) for breakfast, ugali for lunch, a mango off of a nearby tree, a LOT of rice and beans and I’ve even travelled on an over capacity matatu screeching along the streets (and pavements) with the doors wide open. All fairly positive experiences although ugali I would describe as an acquired taste which I cannot imagine acquiring to at all. Ever. It is like hard porridge which you slice and eat with everything. I really tried and I’m not fussy but I literally couldn’t swallow it. I will maybe persevere but then I might not bother and just have rice instead. Every day. We’ll see how that goes.
I was picked up at the airport on Monday morning by Angelina (the director of SMAK), her husband Nandwa, who has a car, and my landlord, Alex Oyolo. Since my flight got in so early, when I stepped outside the airport it was just a lovely pleasant temperature which by noon had, along with the dust (Nairobi is very dusty and dry), reduced me to a flop.
Everyone has been really kind so far and eager for me to make myself at home. In return I’ve been saying thank you a lot and smiling far too much in case I let my face relax and offend anyone with my natural frowny face. We have laughed a lot but I think mainly at each other rather than with…seeing as it seems to be working both ways I’d say that’s ok?? My landlord is Angelina’s brother and their families spend a lot of time in one another’s houses, they just stroll in from time to time and sit for a while and drink tea.
Tea.
Everyone so far drinks a lot a lot of tea. Either that or because I said I liked tea they thought they better serve it to me at every occasion, I’m not sure. They drink it super milky with a lot of sugar, or black. I quite like the milky sugary stuff but I’m thinking I better just hold back a bit on that particular healthy treat.
Today I went to the office and met all of the volunteers. SMAK owns quite a large compound with several buildings on Ziwani estate. Apparently the area used to be very good with a mix of incomes, but it‘s recently become overpopulated and there is a lot of unemployment, teenage pregnancies and spread of HIV. So, SMAK has large grounds which they used to run a school from, however when the Kenyan government introduced free primary education for every child several years ago, they had to close their school as parents didn’t see why they should pay for something they can get for free elsewhere.
This means there are a lot of vacant buildings with a lot of potential. They have a cyber café which they also use for computer lessons, a beading and textile room, a pre-school day care centre, an HIV testing clinic and counselling service and a workshop for young boys to learn metal work skills, run by Angelina’s husband. Despite all of this activity there is yet more space for expansion. In March they hope to start a three month course for young women to become trained ‘house girls’. This doesn’t sound like much but I am told there is a great demand for house girls in Kenya, to assist with the running of homes, and also that a lot of girls do not care about their work and steal from their employers. If SMAK runs this course the girl will get a certificate at the end, will therefore have more chance of being employed and the employer knows that the girl can be trusted. Additionally, as part of the girls’ catering training they will help to run a small café on site, which will boost SMAK’s income, making them more sustainable in the long run.
So I learnt all about this today, had rice for lunch, played with some babies in the day care centre and flew home on a matatu (a tiny overcrowded, generally mental minibus).
And had rice for dinner. Then some more tea.
SUCH fun!
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