Blog 1 Kenya
June 24, 2009
Kisumu, Kenya
Dear Family and Friends,
We are now in Kisumu, Kenya where we will be volunteering for the next 3 1/2 months. Before arriving here, we spent a week in Kampala with friends and African family where Peter celebrated his 71st birthday with an RSVP Birthday Bash. Peter can still dance, although he had a difficult time keeping up with his granddaughter Maggie and daughter Atyero and all his friends. Hinda is still a great dancer but also had a hard time keeping up with the young folks. At the party a few people were asked to say a few words which were very special and meaningful to the both of us, and we were both deeply moved and honored.
In August we have been invited to a wedding in Uganda, and it is another honor for us so we will attend. In September we have been invited to an introduction ceremony where the couple to be wedded are formally introduced, and gifts are given to the brides family from the groom and his family. We will wear traditional clothing and will share photos with you. Once again we are honored to be invited. We were given parts of these clothes when we went to the home of daughter Atyero to visit and where when parents visit it is customary for them to receive a gift. Peter will wear a kansu,and Hinda a gomesa.
As we were waiting at the airport in Nairobi to board the flight to Kisumu, we watched 7 men sitting on the ground under a jet liner. They were jacking up the plane by hand - do you know much one of those baby's weigh? -and then it took them several hours to change one of the tires. We hope they screwed the lugs on good and tight. Glad it wasn't our plane. Happy Landings whoever you are!
Kisumu is the 3rd largest city in Kenya after Nairobi and Mombasa. It sits on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world. Actually, we are right across the lake from Kampala and at the same latitude, just about at the equator.
Kisumu town is small compared to Kampala and Nairobi, but seems to have all we will need and will be easy to get around.
We just rented a very nice cottage within a 10 minute walk or so from the office. Two bedrooms - so you are welcome - and a swimming pool. It won't be available until July 1, so until then we will stay at another beautiful brand new apartment owned by the same landlord. We will be the first tenant, and there is a pool there also.
Peter has already picked up a few Kiswahili words, and by the time we leave should be able to get along with the basics.
The weather so far has been clear and quite warm, although the locals don't agree that it is hot yet. Uh oh! Lots of green all over, and very pretty hills. It is exciting to be here in the Great Rift Valley. This is where humans first evolved, and we shall soon be doing some exploring and sending you photos and blogs. So we have come back home to Africa and actually where it all began for us humans.
The organization we are volunteering with is quite impressive with most programs focusing on reproductive health. The Executive Director is a visionary "par excellence" and referred to as Mama "K". We expect to work closely with her and learn a lot as well as teach as much as we can. When we arrived at "K" we were welcomed with "Welcome to the 4 K's: Kenya, Kisuma, "K", and Kogelo, the ancestral home of Obama. Kenyans and all Africans, and we too are very very proud of this man. One of the most exciting programs is a nutrition program. The organization which we shall call "K", has developed a nutritional cereal or porridge for children and adults which are being distributed and/or sold to the clients on a sliding fee basis, but very soon will be marketed in retail shops.
We understand that this part of Kenya has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infections and a considerable amount of child malnutrition. One of the reasons explained to us is because in this part of Kenya, there has been a lot of opposition to the political party in power and has thus not received important resources to fight and alleviate these scourges. Perhaps with the new power sharing agreement things will get better.
As we drove around Kisumu for the past couple of days, we saw burned out buildings as the aftermath of the election violence last year. Many people had to flee to here from their villages, and of course it put a strain on resources and services. "K" helped to provide emergency food and other support.
We will tell you lots more, but just wanted to start off with this. More later.
Hope you are well and happy. We already miss you. Come to visit!
Love,
Peter and Hinda
Kisumu, Kenya
Dear Family and Friends,
We are now in Kisumu, Kenya where we will be volunteering for the next 3 1/2 months. Before arriving here, we spent a week in Kampala with friends and African family where Peter celebrated his 71st birthday with an RSVP Birthday Bash. Peter can still dance, although he had a difficult time keeping up with his granddaughter Maggie and daughter Atyero and all his friends. Hinda is still a great dancer but also had a hard time keeping up with the young folks. At the party a few people were asked to say a few words which were very special and meaningful to the both of us, and we were both deeply moved and honored.
In August we have been invited to a wedding in Uganda, and it is another honor for us so we will attend. In September we have been invited to an introduction ceremony where the couple to be wedded are formally introduced, and gifts are given to the brides family from the groom and his family. We will wear traditional clothing and will share photos with you. Once again we are honored to be invited. We were given parts of these clothes when we went to the home of daughter Atyero to visit and where when parents visit it is customary for them to receive a gift. Peter will wear a kansu,and Hinda a gomesa.
As we were waiting at the airport in Nairobi to board the flight to Kisumu, we watched 7 men sitting on the ground under a jet liner. They were jacking up the plane by hand - do you know much one of those baby's weigh? -and then it took them several hours to change one of the tires. We hope they screwed the lugs on good and tight. Glad it wasn't our plane. Happy Landings whoever you are!
Kisumu is the 3rd largest city in Kenya after Nairobi and Mombasa. It sits on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world. Actually, we are right across the lake from Kampala and at the same latitude, just about at the equator.
Kisumu town is small compared to Kampala and Nairobi, but seems to have all we will need and will be easy to get around.
We just rented a very nice cottage within a 10 minute walk or so from the office. Two bedrooms - so you are welcome - and a swimming pool. It won't be available until July 1, so until then we will stay at another beautiful brand new apartment owned by the same landlord. We will be the first tenant, and there is a pool there also.
Peter has already picked up a few Kiswahili words, and by the time we leave should be able to get along with the basics.
The weather so far has been clear and quite warm, although the locals don't agree that it is hot yet. Uh oh! Lots of green all over, and very pretty hills. It is exciting to be here in the Great Rift Valley. This is where humans first evolved, and we shall soon be doing some exploring and sending you photos and blogs. So we have come back home to Africa and actually where it all began for us humans.
The organization we are volunteering with is quite impressive with most programs focusing on reproductive health. The Executive Director is a visionary "par excellence" and referred to as Mama "K". We expect to work closely with her and learn a lot as well as teach as much as we can. When we arrived at "K" we were welcomed with "Welcome to the 4 K's: Kenya, Kisuma, "K", and Kogelo, the ancestral home of Obama. Kenyans and all Africans, and we too are very very proud of this man. One of the most exciting programs is a nutrition program. The organization which we shall call "K", has developed a nutritional cereal or porridge for children and adults which are being distributed and/or sold to the clients on a sliding fee basis, but very soon will be marketed in retail shops.
We understand that this part of Kenya has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infections and a considerable amount of child malnutrition. One of the reasons explained to us is because in this part of Kenya, there has been a lot of opposition to the political party in power and has thus not received important resources to fight and alleviate these scourges. Perhaps with the new power sharing agreement things will get better.
As we drove around Kisumu for the past couple of days, we saw burned out buildings as the aftermath of the election violence last year. Many people had to flee to here from their villages, and of course it put a strain on resources and services. "K" helped to provide emergency food and other support.
We will tell you lots more, but just wanted to start off with this. More later.
Hope you are well and happy. We already miss you. Come to visit!
Love,
Peter and Hinda
posted by Peter and Hinda Schnurman at 12:48 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Peter and Hinda,
Just read your blog - we miss you already. It looks like your adventure in Kenya is shaping up to be another defining experience for you. We look forward to more pictures and posts. Francie and I send our love.
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