Life has been a whirlwind with many things to do, and the list continues to grow. As per my last post, I am still in Nairobi. My laptop computer has been a good and faithful companion, truly worth its weight in gold, especially now that a consensus has been reached that my NGO, Shiriki, wants a brand new website. The old website is slow, inefficient, and riddled with viruses. Therefore, I have been focusing much time on building a new site. Actually I am very happy to do it, as I am learning a lot about web design as I go.
I am staying at the same backpacker camp that I initially arrived at. I sleep in a tent that I bought for 45 dollars. It is surprisingly waterproof, and although small, saves me 200 shillings (about two dollars) a night. I will also be taking this tent with me when I go to work on the shambas (farms) in the rural area. The camp is clean, reasonably priced, has good facilities, and is in a good location. Nonetheless, I am actively looking for an apartment to rent here in Nairobi. I have found a few good leads of reasonably priced, safe apartments, so am crossing my fingers that I am able to book one of them. I am very much looking forward to cooking again and having some personal space. Currently, if I want cooked food, I have to buy it at a restaurant or kiosk. Fortunately, there is an abundance of fruits and vegetables nearby from the local markets. Did I mention that Kenya has the best avocados I have ever tasted? An avocado cost about 20 cents, a banana 5 cents, tomato 5 cents. One can also buy ugaali or chapatis for as low as 10 cents, so at least I am not running up a high grocery bill.
As a last ditch effort to learn Swahili, I have enrolled in regular Swahili classes. I have come to the realization that I am not disciplined enough to learn on my own, and before I know it, a whole year will have passed and I still won’t be able to speak the language. I am very excited about these classes, I have had five so far, and can already feel my confidence and knowledge grow. My teacher is excellent, and the lessons are a lot of fun.
The work with both NGOs is getting more exciting albeit challenging as I go. Both Soweto Academy and Shiriki have a non-stop wish list. If anyone has some money they would like to donate to some worthy projects, please let me know. Nonetheless, there is also no shortage of grants to apply for. I recently found a blog competition where Kenyan nationals who work with an agricultural based NGO can submit their blog on an agricultural initiative. If they win, they will receive 400,000 shillings, or 4000 dollars for the NGO. This money could go a long way out here. I am not a Kenyan national, so am not able to submit my own blog; however, I have taught a young Shiriki volunteer how to blog, and he has begun posting about the Maragua initiative which we can submit for the competition.
What is the Maragua initiative? A crew of 5 Shiriki volunteers left Kibera on the 29th of August to develop a vacant piece of land in Maragua. Maragua is a district located in Central province about 2 hours away from Nairobi. We were given a 4 acre plot of land on loan for 5 years to grow organic produce, develop links with the local community, and build living accommodations. The volunteers are armed solely with jembes, seeds, a few thousand kenyan shillings, and second hand corrugated tin. They have no machinery, no house, no well, and limited resources, yet hopes are high that they can set a positive example about organic crop growth, land development, environmental sustainability and agriculture in the surrounding community.
Upon arriving in Maragua, the volunteers received a very warm welcome from the surrounding community. The piece of land they arrived on is completely vacant, with not even a house or lean-to to sleep under. A neighbour offered the 5 volunteers a room to stay in until they had built up a structure where they could sleep secure from the elements. The volunteers were also introduced to neighbours who grow eucalyptus who kindly offered wood poles for the use of building a house. After three days, the structure, made up of tin sheets and wood poles, was firmly in place, and the volunteers had a place to sleep.
They have also introduced themselves to the area administrators which include the Sub-Chief, the Chief, the District Officer and the District Commissioner in which they shared their mandate, vision and objectives. They received a very warm welcome and will also be in touch with the government agricultural offices in the area in hopes that viable partnerships will be formed. I would like to visit the area towards the end of the month to collect data, document, and help out with the farming initiatives.
Thus far, I have received reports that the situation for farmers in the area is dire. The farmers are growing genetically modified bananas, cucumbers and french beans, all for commercial sales. In addition, a common sight in Maragua is of farmers wearing yellow alien suits as they spray harmful chemicals onto their hard earned crops degrading the soil and poisoning the eco-system. The bananas and cucumbers are sold for pennies to brokers who hike the price and transport the produce to the market where they receive hefty profits from their manufactured mark-ups. The French beans are sold directly to foreign companies for export, again, for pennies. The farmers have an air of hopelessness to them, and seem to have accepted their fate as low paid labourers barely able to provide for their families. The Shiriki volunteers have begun to talk to them about subsistence farming, indigenous crops, and organically grown produce. The farmers are curious to see what initiatives the Shiriki volunteers come up with and while they are not yet ready to change their routine, they are eager to hear about other potential uses of the land.
In other areas, we have now implemented a test revenue tracking system where each volunteer has a template form for costs and expenses that they must fill out when purchasing goods or services, or when sales are made for the organization. Everyone is required to submit their form on the 15th of this month to the treasurer. The form will then come to me where I will input the data into an electronic database. I am anticipating that we will need to have a meeting about the parameters of the form, but for now, I am happy that everyone is on board and willing to record their transactions. I also have been asked to complete the next annual return for 2010.
As I already mentioned, I have also been working with another non-profit organization: Soweto Academy. Last post I mentioned that I had visited Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK) and thought that Soweto Academy may be able to benefit from their services. I met with the founder and the principal and told them all about CFSK and what they do. The founder thought it was a great idea, though he had bigger ideas on the agenda. What I did not mention in my last post, is that Soweto Academy has a water bottling company on-site that has helped fund the school and health facility. The water has been tested by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, and branded as Class 1 water. The water meets the World Health Organization, SGS and United Kingdom Accreditation standards in all categories. However, there are some shortcomings.
The well and pump are able to pump out 14,000 cubic litres per hour, but they are not using it even close to capacity. They do not have a professional grating machine, or professional labels for the water bottles, meaning the water they produce cannot be sold and marketed to the big name supermarkets, hotels or safari companies. They need some initial capital to develop this product to a professional standard, and when this occurs, hopes are high that the water bottle revenue will be able to fully fund Soweto Academy, and outside donations, loans and grants will be a thing of the past. They are already selling the water to the surrounding community and small organizations; however, in order to capitalize on their product, a business plan to solicit funding is in order. I have been asked to help out with this, in addition to creating a website for the company. I have met with the accountant and we did some initial number crunching; however, much work remains.
I am optimistic and truly excited about helping Soweto Academy as the young women who benefit from Soweto’s program make it all worthwhile. The women who grow up in the ghetto (Kibera) are among Kenya’s most vulnerable people groups. They have no power, no choices and no resources. Early marriages to abusive men, young pregnancies, HIV and TB, and a life of hardship and survival are commonplace for the young women of Kibera. Soweto Academy offers these girls another life and hope. For the first time, these girls are given the power to make decisions over their own life. The founder is a visionary and wants to be able to support each girl far beyond secondary education. There are so many uses of the funding the water bottling company could bring. I remain sceptical at the massive amounts of work that needs to transpire, but hopeful that progress will occur. God opens doors and uses those that are willing, so I hope I can be a useful vessel in this initiative. More progress!
