Saturday was quite an interesting day. In the morning, the team I am sponsoring from HOVIC had a friendly soccer match in town. It was a great match because the kids have these new uniforms that were donated to them and new cleats so they really look like a legitimate team. They kept telling me "People won't even know we are street kids when we play." A very proud moment for them... And they won the game 5-4 so I think we are off to a good start for the season.
In the afternoon, my friend and I went to Kakamega, which is a town about an hour north of Kisumu, for a soccer match. A few of my friends play for a team there called Western Stima who competes in the Premier League, which is the top league in Kenya. It was their last game of the season and they had to win in order to stay in the league and not be kicked out. The ride up there was in a matatu which are vans and the main for of transportation here. At one point I think there were 22 people in the car, which is made to seat 14. Later in the trip a woman got on who was carrying a live chicken... pretty typical in Kenya.
We got to the stadium in Kakamega and there were tons of people there to support the team, me being the only white person of thousands, obviously. During the second half we went and sat right behind the team bench and the one camera man from the local TV station came and filmed me for like 5 minutes. Everyone was staring at me the entire game. A mzungu (white person) at a football match in Western Kenya... apparently that was news worthy. Luckily, Western Stima scored in the first half and won the game 1-0. People went crazy at the end of the game and rushed the field. Everyone was chanting and cheering and dancing... slighlty different than celebrations in the US. Also during the game, people were yelling things at the ref like "You obvisouly didn't eat your ugali today," (ugali being a staple food in the Kenyan diet that is thought to give people strength, yet it is made from ONLY flour and water) and others were saying "You must have gone to see a witch doctor recently." These are pretty typical criticisms here that I don't think would be very effective in the US....
After the game, since we knew players on the team, we got to ride on the team bus through town. All the players were singing and clapping and waving signs that said Western Stima from the bus and we drove SLOWLY all through town. Now remember, they didn't win the league... they didn't even finish in the top 10 (out of 16). They finished third from last and just missed being relegated. Basically they were the winner of the losers and this was the celebration. Kinda funny.... We went to a restaurant and they had a team meeting and then a bunch of them and us rode on the bus back to Kisumu. During the hour and 15 minute ride back, the bus overheated twice, so the trip ended up taking almost 2 hours.
Needless to say it was a totally fun day and just really emphasized the fact that I am soooooo far away from home haha. I guess sometimes it's easy to forget when I'm here in Kisumu because i is much more of a city and there are some things I am used to, but once you leave the city it is a whole different world.... and I totally love it!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
So recently the thing that I have missed most about home is the FOOD, or should I say the variety of food. I love the food here, don't get me wrong, but there just isn't as much stuff as home. I went into town yesterday to do only one thing... go to the supermarket and buy cheese!!! I came home and made a cheese and vegetable sandwich and was in absolute heaven. It's the little things in life....
Work is going well. I've basically been doing a lot of planning recently for an academy that is going to be started by KYFA. It will basically be a mobile clinic that will move around Kisumu and do mini-camps on the weekends for kids. I've also been planning the budget for the HOVIC soccer team that will play in the league for the first time this season. The kids are so excited to be part of a team and be playing and thankfully a lot of people from home have been really great and generous with contributions to help fund them.
Not much other news here. Serena Williams was in Kenya last week opening a secondary school that has been named in her honor. I watched a news story last night about recent violence in a prison here. An inmate (who somehow had a camera phone in prison?!!?) had filmed the guards making many prisoners strip and then beating them until they were unconscious and even killing one man. Most likely no one will be arrested in this case... just a different world here.
All else is well. Just looking forward to my trip to the coast next week. Touristy vacation, here I come!
Work is going well. I've basically been doing a lot of planning recently for an academy that is going to be started by KYFA. It will basically be a mobile clinic that will move around Kisumu and do mini-camps on the weekends for kids. I've also been planning the budget for the HOVIC soccer team that will play in the league for the first time this season. The kids are so excited to be part of a team and be playing and thankfully a lot of people from home have been really great and generous with contributions to help fund them.
Not much other news here. Serena Williams was in Kenya last week opening a secondary school that has been named in her honor. I watched a news story last night about recent violence in a prison here. An inmate (who somehow had a camera phone in prison?!!?) had filmed the guards making many prisoners strip and then beating them until they were unconscious and even killing one man. Most likely no one will be arrested in this case... just a different world here.
All else is well. Just looking forward to my trip to the coast next week. Touristy vacation, here I come!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I arrived at Pandipieri this morning because today I'm supposed to work with their rehabilitation project and of course, no one is here because they all went to a meeting and no one told me. Awesome... this is the type of stuff that is frustrating here, but at least they have internet here so I get to write in my blog haha.
This week has been pretty low-key so far. Monday I helped out in the school here and red some books with the kids while they teach me Swahili and I try to teach them English. Tuesday I went with one of the case workers here to follow up on a case that has gone to court involving the rape of a ten year old girl. They deal with A LOT of cases like that here and it is really hard for me to br around sometimes. The way things are dealth with here is so different than home. It is such a slow process that in my opinion does not do nearly enough to protect the child or apprehend the criminals. So to hear the adults involved speak about the case so non-chalantly is quite upsetting to me. I just have to bite my tongue and deal with it, which is really draining and hard for me.
As far as my work with the soccer association goes, I am helping them get ready for their upcoming season which will start in the middle of Decemeber. This involved developing a lot of documents with rules, regulations, expectations, consent forms and things like that. I am also helping them to plan and hopefully implement an academy of sorts under the umbrella of KYFA. It will essentially be a travelling camp that will train local kids and coaches. Hopefully some of my sports admin training will pay off...
Everything else is going well. In two weeks an American girl I met here, myself and my friend from UNC who is coming to visit are all going for a touristy vacation on the coast. I am so excited for that!
This week has been pretty low-key so far. Monday I helped out in the school here and red some books with the kids while they teach me Swahili and I try to teach them English. Tuesday I went with one of the case workers here to follow up on a case that has gone to court involving the rape of a ten year old girl. They deal with A LOT of cases like that here and it is really hard for me to br around sometimes. The way things are dealth with here is so different than home. It is such a slow process that in my opinion does not do nearly enough to protect the child or apprehend the criminals. So to hear the adults involved speak about the case so non-chalantly is quite upsetting to me. I just have to bite my tongue and deal with it, which is really draining and hard for me.
As far as my work with the soccer association goes, I am helping them get ready for their upcoming season which will start in the middle of Decemeber. This involved developing a lot of documents with rules, regulations, expectations, consent forms and things like that. I am also helping them to plan and hopefully implement an academy of sorts under the umbrella of KYFA. It will essentially be a travelling camp that will train local kids and coaches. Hopefully some of my sports admin training will pay off...
Everything else is going well. In two weeks an American girl I met here, myself and my friend from UNC who is coming to visit are all going for a touristy vacation on the coast. I am so excited for that!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Obama
So the last few days have been quite eventful. Tuesday night I stayed up pretty late watching election stuff and then I woke up at 4:30 am my time which was 8:30 eastern time. It was so exciting to watch everything. One of the main TV stations here was showing the CNN broadcast so I watched that along with BBC News, Al Jazeera, and Sky News. So it was definitely interesting to see the different broadcasts. When they announced the Obama win I was yelling and screaming and SO excited. The speeches were very emotional and everything here was crazy. They kept showing Kogelo, the birthplace of Obama’s dad, on TV. That is about 2 hours from where I’m living. So later in the day when I finally left the house, EVERYONE on the streets was yelling to me things like “Obama’s sister” and “Yes we can.” People were playing music really loud in the streets and everyone was dancing and singing. There are a lot of songs here by local musicians about Obama so I heard those songs all day long. I could not stop smiling all day and it was really a cool experience to be here when he won. That afternoon the president here, Kibaki, declared Thursday a public holiday, Obama Day haha. So Thursday was a national holiday and it was nice to just relax and celebrate.
Yesterday I spent the whole day with kids. In the morning I visited HOVIC, the drop-in center for street kids. I hung out with them while the listened to music and some of them showed me their sweet dance moves. Later in the day we went to play soccer in town. Some visitors from the UK had brought the kids some donated cleats and uniforms so the kids got to look like real teams when they played. They were sooooo excited and they kept saying “Kelsey look, we don’t even look like street children now!” So it was a good day for them. In the afternoon, all the kids and staff from Pandipieri came into town and we played a soccer match with the staff vs. the kids. I played for the staff and was of course the only girl playing. After the first time or two that I sprinted I thought my lungs were going to collapse haha. Those kids can run forever, but it was so fun to play with them. Of course, I have no idea what any of them are saying ever because everyone speaks in their mother tongue, Dholuo, so I kinda just stand there and smile. I played much better than I thought I would and the kids were pretty impressed, I think mostly because I’m a girl but I guess also because I’m white. Needless to say, after about two hours of playing I had to stop because I thought my legs would give out haha. It was a great day to be able to spend a lot of time with the kids. I really feel like I am starting to connect with some of them which is cool because there is still a major language barrier. Now when I’m walking around town a lot of the street kids recognize me and come and talk to me.
So I’m working with HOVIC to try and help develop their soccer program. They are entering three teams, under 12, under 14 and under 16, in the local KYFA league here this season. They are looking for funding to transport the kids to a field every day and so feed the kids during the season and pay a few fees to be in the league. Hopefully I will be able to use my resources and connections to help them, but we are also trying to develop a plan to make their organization sustainable and maybe start involving the kids in some income generating activities so they can be self-sustainable. We’ll see how it goes…
This morning I had a pedicure here in the house. This girl I met, a friend of a friend, works at a salon in town and she offered to come to the house to give me a pedicure. It was hands down the most thorough pedicure I have ever had, although some of it was a little painful (maybe African women are tougher than me…). I had to do some deep breathing to get past my intense disgust with feet and realize that my feet definitely needed this. The whole thing cost $5… I love Kenya.
Yesterday I spent the whole day with kids. In the morning I visited HOVIC, the drop-in center for street kids. I hung out with them while the listened to music and some of them showed me their sweet dance moves. Later in the day we went to play soccer in town. Some visitors from the UK had brought the kids some donated cleats and uniforms so the kids got to look like real teams when they played. They were sooooo excited and they kept saying “Kelsey look, we don’t even look like street children now!” So it was a good day for them. In the afternoon, all the kids and staff from Pandipieri came into town and we played a soccer match with the staff vs. the kids. I played for the staff and was of course the only girl playing. After the first time or two that I sprinted I thought my lungs were going to collapse haha. Those kids can run forever, but it was so fun to play with them. Of course, I have no idea what any of them are saying ever because everyone speaks in their mother tongue, Dholuo, so I kinda just stand there and smile. I played much better than I thought I would and the kids were pretty impressed, I think mostly because I’m a girl but I guess also because I’m white. Needless to say, after about two hours of playing I had to stop because I thought my legs would give out haha. It was a great day to be able to spend a lot of time with the kids. I really feel like I am starting to connect with some of them which is cool because there is still a major language barrier. Now when I’m walking around town a lot of the street kids recognize me and come and talk to me.
So I’m working with HOVIC to try and help develop their soccer program. They are entering three teams, under 12, under 14 and under 16, in the local KYFA league here this season. They are looking for funding to transport the kids to a field every day and so feed the kids during the season and pay a few fees to be in the league. Hopefully I will be able to use my resources and connections to help them, but we are also trying to develop a plan to make their organization sustainable and maybe start involving the kids in some income generating activities so they can be self-sustainable. We’ll see how it goes…
This morning I had a pedicure here in the house. This girl I met, a friend of a friend, works at a salon in town and she offered to come to the house to give me a pedicure. It was hands down the most thorough pedicure I have ever had, although some of it was a little painful (maybe African women are tougher than me…). I had to do some deep breathing to get past my intense disgust with feet and realize that my feet definitely needed this. The whole thing cost $5… I love Kenya.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The last week has been quite busy and eventful. On Wednesday, I visited the street children drop-in center again. There was another German woman visiting Pandipieri this week so she cam along with us. At the center the boys were having their focus group discussion so I sat with them. They are all amazed that I can speak Swahili so they all want to introduce themselves and shake my hand. After this went on for a while, we all walked into town to the sports grounds where they played a soccer game. I think the game was probably 20 v. 20 instead of 11 aside. But it was still so fun to watch. None of them have shoes. Most of them barely have clothes that cover themselves. As soon as we left the center to walk to the field, the kids are free to sniff glue or do whatever drugs they do. Only in the center do they have to be clean. So at the field a lot of them were sniffing glue while playing or would take a break to get their glue form the sideline. Basically what happens is they buy these bottle of glue for really really cheap and this is not Elmers glue, it’s like a very toxic horrible smelling industrial type. So they actually aren’t sniffing it, they’re inhaling it. So they just walk around with this little bottle hanging from their mouths. The effects are crazy and the kids who were totally smart and normal at the center become kind of crazy and delusional as soon as we left because they are high from the glue. They will say and do anything… it is so sad because some of them are only 8 or 9 and then some are 18 or so. Street children in general are so overlooked especially in Kisumu so I really feel like I will be able to help a lot just because they are a population that is given so little attention. I try to explain to people how we don’t have street children in the US. I mean obviously we have homeless people, but when was the lats time you saw an 8 year old child living alone on the streets in America? Yea, doesn’t really happen. Yet, here it is so much more common than homeless adults. The good thing is that these kids are OBESESSED with soccer which is really cool because it is a good way for me to bond with them. It is just so sad to hear their stories and they all ask me to help them go home or to help them go back to school or to buy shoes or a shirt or stuff like that. The center provides a lot of good services, but the truth is they just don’t have the funding to help every single child.
Later that afternoon, I went back to the Pandipieri Center and played soccer with the boys for a little while. They were blown away that I could play. And let’s be honest, I haven’t played for like 8 months or so… not quite the same as I used to be haha. But after I would touch the ball they would all be laughing and yelling like crazy. Of course, I couldn’t understand what they were saying because they were speaking their mother tongue, but I would hear the word “mzungu” meaning white person in Swahili or “odiero” meaning white person in their mother tongue. So I asked the teachers to translate and apparently the kids were saying “Wow, the white girl knows how to play” and “the white girl can actually run,” hahahah. I guess I impressed them a little…
Thursday night I slept at Pandipieri. They have two center pretty close to each other. One is where the 40 or so boys stay and they other has the school on the compound and is where the 6 girls stay. So I slept at the girl’s dorm. They have a house mother who helps take care of them and lives with them. We had dinner and then I got to hang out with the girls. I brought some nail polish so we did manicures and pedicures… yes I even touched some of their feet despite my extremely disgust and hatred of feet, but this seemed like an appropriate time to suck it up. The girls were totally in heaven. They don’t really speak English so well so most of them were speaking Swahili and their mother tongue so the house mother was there with us and translating. They were all so excited and kept saying how they felt so pretty with their fingernails and toenails painted!! One girl even told her house mother that she thought I was the nicest white person in the world and she couldn’t believe I wanted to be friends with them and help them…. After we painted nails and took a bunch of pictures the house mother wanted each of the girls to tell me their story about how they wound up there. I wasn’t too excited about this because I wanted it to be a fun night and not a night where they had to talk about their horrible past. Of course, I lost that battle and they all told their stories with the house mother translating for me. There are 6 girls age 10, 11, 11, 13, 13, 15 ( I think). Some of their backgrounds include being total orphans, daily beatings, born out of wedlock and abandoned by parents, week long treks to Kisumu to find food, living on the streets for weeks, abusive step-parents, sexual abuse, drunken family members, child labor and starvation. Their stories were absolutely heartbreaking and overwhelming. All of the girls are so smart such hard-workers. All they want is to be able to go to formal school, but the center can’t afford it. Also if they want to go to formal school they need a place to be able to stay and most of them don’t have any living family members or anyone in their family who wants them. So sad…. But overall the whole night was a blast and I hope I will be able to spend more time with them.
Yesterday, I met up with an American family from Portland who has come to Kenya for 6 months to do volunteer community work in a small place a few hours from here. So I hung out with them most of the day and we went out to dinner with us and another American family from here. It was so funny to be at a table with 7 other white people talking about the election and crazy/awkward Kenyan stories. It was really really fun. I would have to say that is the thing I miss the most about home... being around other people from my culture who share my background and understand my mindset. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in another culture and learning how other people view the world, but it’s nice to discuss this with other people who can understand where I’m coming from. That’s why this week has been great because I spent time with the German woman and two American families so I’ve had my fill of white people interaction for a while haha.
I’m excited to relax this weekend. This morning I slept in (until 8:30, very late for me) and had some coffee and was able to relax. I watched a little Fresh Prince and some BBC News… not a bad morning. Yesterday evening I watched American Idol reruns and Oprah. So I also get my fill of American TV….
This upcoming week will be very busy. I’m working on quite a few projects with both Pandipieri and KYFA. For Pandipieri, I’m helping write a proposal for an increased sports and recreation program for the kids. I’m also doing some teaching and home visits. Also, I’m working with HOVIC (the street kids drop in center) to help write a proposal for a soccer program for them. I would like to be able to help them find some funding so the kids could practice on a regular basis because they are joining the KYFA league this year, yayy! With KYFA, I am helping to develop their procedural handbook, a contract for their referees, and a code of conduct for all positions within the organization. They are trying to build a resource center related to sport management, so hopefully I’ll be able to help considering that’s what my degree is in haha. I’m also working with one of the KYFA staff members to help him pioneer an economic development program in his home area which is just outside of town here. So I basically have a lot of stuff going on and a lot of people asking for my help. They obviously want my input, but I’m sure they are also looking for me to be a financial resource so I’m hoping to be able to assist with fundraising and be able to use my resources and connections from home.
Bottom line, I have lots going on and lots to do. All anyone talks about here is the election and most people here in Kisumu legitimately believe they are related to Obama and that if he wins, the will benefit tremendously. Some people actually think that all Kenyans will be relocated to America for free and be able to form their own state becoming the 51st state in the US… I try to tell them this is not going to happen but a lot of people are convinced it is. Oh well….
I miss everyone. Keep the life updates coming!!!
Later that afternoon, I went back to the Pandipieri Center and played soccer with the boys for a little while. They were blown away that I could play. And let’s be honest, I haven’t played for like 8 months or so… not quite the same as I used to be haha. But after I would touch the ball they would all be laughing and yelling like crazy. Of course, I couldn’t understand what they were saying because they were speaking their mother tongue, but I would hear the word “mzungu” meaning white person in Swahili or “odiero” meaning white person in their mother tongue. So I asked the teachers to translate and apparently the kids were saying “Wow, the white girl knows how to play” and “the white girl can actually run,” hahahah. I guess I impressed them a little…
Thursday night I slept at Pandipieri. They have two center pretty close to each other. One is where the 40 or so boys stay and they other has the school on the compound and is where the 6 girls stay. So I slept at the girl’s dorm. They have a house mother who helps take care of them and lives with them. We had dinner and then I got to hang out with the girls. I brought some nail polish so we did manicures and pedicures… yes I even touched some of their feet despite my extremely disgust and hatred of feet, but this seemed like an appropriate time to suck it up. The girls were totally in heaven. They don’t really speak English so well so most of them were speaking Swahili and their mother tongue so the house mother was there with us and translating. They were all so excited and kept saying how they felt so pretty with their fingernails and toenails painted!! One girl even told her house mother that she thought I was the nicest white person in the world and she couldn’t believe I wanted to be friends with them and help them…. After we painted nails and took a bunch of pictures the house mother wanted each of the girls to tell me their story about how they wound up there. I wasn’t too excited about this because I wanted it to be a fun night and not a night where they had to talk about their horrible past. Of course, I lost that battle and they all told their stories with the house mother translating for me. There are 6 girls age 10, 11, 11, 13, 13, 15 ( I think). Some of their backgrounds include being total orphans, daily beatings, born out of wedlock and abandoned by parents, week long treks to Kisumu to find food, living on the streets for weeks, abusive step-parents, sexual abuse, drunken family members, child labor and starvation. Their stories were absolutely heartbreaking and overwhelming. All of the girls are so smart such hard-workers. All they want is to be able to go to formal school, but the center can’t afford it. Also if they want to go to formal school they need a place to be able to stay and most of them don’t have any living family members or anyone in their family who wants them. So sad…. But overall the whole night was a blast and I hope I will be able to spend more time with them.
Yesterday, I met up with an American family from Portland who has come to Kenya for 6 months to do volunteer community work in a small place a few hours from here. So I hung out with them most of the day and we went out to dinner with us and another American family from here. It was so funny to be at a table with 7 other white people talking about the election and crazy/awkward Kenyan stories. It was really really fun. I would have to say that is the thing I miss the most about home... being around other people from my culture who share my background and understand my mindset. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in another culture and learning how other people view the world, but it’s nice to discuss this with other people who can understand where I’m coming from. That’s why this week has been great because I spent time with the German woman and two American families so I’ve had my fill of white people interaction for a while haha.
I’m excited to relax this weekend. This morning I slept in (until 8:30, very late for me) and had some coffee and was able to relax. I watched a little Fresh Prince and some BBC News… not a bad morning. Yesterday evening I watched American Idol reruns and Oprah. So I also get my fill of American TV….
This upcoming week will be very busy. I’m working on quite a few projects with both Pandipieri and KYFA. For Pandipieri, I’m helping write a proposal for an increased sports and recreation program for the kids. I’m also doing some teaching and home visits. Also, I’m working with HOVIC (the street kids drop in center) to help write a proposal for a soccer program for them. I would like to be able to help them find some funding so the kids could practice on a regular basis because they are joining the KYFA league this year, yayy! With KYFA, I am helping to develop their procedural handbook, a contract for their referees, and a code of conduct for all positions within the organization. They are trying to build a resource center related to sport management, so hopefully I’ll be able to help considering that’s what my degree is in haha. I’m also working with one of the KYFA staff members to help him pioneer an economic development program in his home area which is just outside of town here. So I basically have a lot of stuff going on and a lot of people asking for my help. They obviously want my input, but I’m sure they are also looking for me to be a financial resource so I’m hoping to be able to assist with fundraising and be able to use my resources and connections from home.
Bottom line, I have lots going on and lots to do. All anyone talks about here is the election and most people here in Kisumu legitimately believe they are related to Obama and that if he wins, the will benefit tremendously. Some people actually think that all Kenyans will be relocated to America for free and be able to form their own state becoming the 51st state in the US… I try to tell them this is not going to happen but a lot of people are convinced it is. Oh well….
I miss everyone. Keep the life updates coming!!!
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