I have arrived safely to Nairobi and my first day here has come and gone! This will be short since I am extremely delirious and keep thinking in French after my stay in Cameroon; totally confused right now. I had an overnight flight, slept about 1-2 hours total and immediately started checking things out when I got off of the plane so I have yet to sleep. I think I had my first sleeping with eyes open experience during a car ride today. It made me feel rather nauseous. I don’t think adjusting to the high altitude helped me either! Anyhow, 3 cappuccinos throughout the day helped me to survive. I’ll sleep when I’m dead!
I met my contact Mercedes who runs the programs we are looking at for funding in 2010 in Nairobi. She is great! She is originally from Spain but has been in Nairobi for 32 years and is a legal citizen now. She knows the needs of Kenyans very well and I have already learned so much from her in just 1 day.
At first glance Nairobi seems fairly developed and civilized, but take a closer look and the poverty is obvious. Also outside of the city there is such poverty among the workers in the tea plantations. I saw a few different projects today. The first is called CHEP and it is part of a school called Umoja. This program provides daily checkups for the primary school children attending Umoja. I made a terrible mistake of wearing a green sweater that just so happened to be identical to the ones the students wore for their uniforms. Man 6 year olds can be brutal. They were making fun of me!! Haha. To get them to stop laughing at me I took my camera out and started taking pictures of them. Man did they love getting their picture taken. So much so that they pretty much started climbing on me for me to take a picture. It was hard to explain that I couldn’t take a good picture if they were hanging on my arms haha.
After I went to check out a tea plantation where most of the students Mercedes deals with live. The houses are tiny, I mean not even the size of a walk in closet. Keep in mind most families have about 8 people. I must say the tea plantations are very beautiful. Kenya is so green.
My next stop was Kimlea which is a school for young women who have only completed primary school and would like technical training and general education so they may have a chance to obtain employment. Kimlea is a really awesome place. They teach these women all sorts of skills, agriculture techniques, cooking, sewing, business, language, etc. The girls are in charge of making their own honey and growing vegetables in the garden as income generating activities. They also sell the clothes they make in sewing class. Anything from sweaters, shorts, vests, to pot holders – pretty impressive stuff. I really liked a pair of shorts one student had made, but she made them for her sister and I couldn’t buy them L.
I spoke with a few students and former students who are now currently teachers at Kimlea. It is clear that not only do these women receive education and training but they receive an actual chance to reach a higher standard of living. These women are bright and deserve to feel confident about their abilities and see a bright future on the horizon.
I talked with a year one student, Margaret, first and oh my goodness she was terrified. She is 19, has 6 siblings (3 brothers and 3 sisters), and her parents work on a tea plantation. She timidly told me that she really liked knitting and wanted to do something with that. Kimlea has taught her how to organize herself and prioritize. She has taught her mother how to cook and often cooks for her family.
I spoke with many other students but just to give you a picture of how Kimlea changes these women I will contrast shy year 1 student Margaret with Paris. Paris graduated 7 years ago and now teaches cooking, nutrition, agriculture, sewing, and knitting. Some may call her a “jack of all trades.” Her family was displaced due to tribal clashes when she was 19. She heard about Kimlea and decided to give it a shot. One thing she really loved about Kimlea was the family-like atmosphere. Teachers and administrators truly care about the well being of the students and help goes beyond just education. Using the skills she learned, Paris started making cakes and selling them on the side for income. With this extra income she made while attending Kimlea, Paris was able to put her 2 bothers through school. Her father also received help from Kimlea. He received a loan from Frankie, Kimlea’s Principal, to start up a business after being displaced. Today she is married and about to have her first child.
Oh I almost forgot to mention, not only is there a school, but Kimlea also has a clinic where girls can receive clean, reliable, and affordable medical treatment and even counseling.
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