October Update

This is the blog we kept during our trip in Kenya. The first few entries after this one are some video clips that help bring our experience to life. After that, the blog consists of entries from Kenya in reverse chronological order (statring with our return).

On November 2, students from Cary Academy will be making a presentation about their experience in Kibera. The presentation will run two times -- once from 7:15-8 and the second from 8:15-9.

The presentations will be brief (10-15 minutes), with ample time for Q&A with the audience.

More video

This short video clip shows what the conditions are outside one of the few (if not the only) hospitals in Kibera. When the video ends, you are looking up a narrow path with waste water running down the middle. The hospital entrance is about 20 feet up the path, on the right side.

Video of Kibera

This video gives a sense of how crowded it is in Kibera -- an area about 75% as large as New York's Central Park that is home to roughly 1.5 million people. This short clip shows part of the path our group followed to get to the Girls Soccer Academy, a high school we visited in Kibera. As we walked, it took about 3-4 minutes of winding single-file past narrow corridors and occasionally ducking to avoid people's laundry. We visited on July 7, 2009, well after the rainy season. I wonder how different Kibera is during the rainy season, when dirt floors turn to mud.

The first of the picture links

Here are some of Katie's photos from early in the trip.

And here are some of Steve's photos.

We'll upload more people's photos soon.

We're baaack`

Our flight touched down at Dulles airport in Virginia at about 2 p.m. East Coast time. We're glad to be home after about 24 straight hours of travel.

Here are updates from our final days in Kenya. More student reflections will follow in the coming weeks (parents of travelers, we will call upon you in the coming months to help make sure that students take some time to reflect and process the trip in writing).

On our final day in Kenya, Sunday, we went to the Ya Ya Market for some "late" morning shopping (we left Rosa Mystica at 9 a.m. -- our latest start EVER). When we got back we packed a bit more and then headed to Prestige Plaza for a quick lunch. After lunch, we visited the offices of Carolina For Kibera, located (not surprisingly) in Kibera, between Olympic Primary School (Ken's old primary school, which we visited on Thursday) and Red Rose.

Describe CFK here. We learned mainly about a program that empowers young women in Kibera, called Binti Pamoja. We saw the newly opened Tabitha Clinic (new as of February of this year) as well. The contrast between the sewage/garbage outside the clinic and our vision of an American hospital/clinic was quite jarring.

After our visit there, we headed back to pack and then walked to the Junction Mall for a final dinner there before loading up the bus and heading to the airport.

Also, filling in some details from earlier in the trip -- on Thursday afternoon, after visiting Olympic Primary School, we went back to Kibra Academy where there was an opening ceremony of the new computer lab, funded by the Children of Kibera Fonudation (CoKF). We'll get some pictures of that event up on the blog as well.

[Five CoKF interns who have graduated from college -- three from the United States and two from Kenya -- have already put the lab to good use, setting up the computers and training students and teachers alike. One day, the lab was in use for nine straight hours.]

Many many many pictures will be uploaded soon - look here for links to galleries.

update through Sunday

We finished our final two days teaching at Red Rose Thu and Fri, and students there were very appreciative of our efforts there. Our group went to see the new Harry Potter movie at the mall one block away -- reviews of the movie varied, but seeing a movie in Kenya was kind of fun.

Saturday (yesterday) we celebrated with about 50 students from Red Rose who have lost at least one parent -- it was a day of seeing baby elephants and rhinos being fed, and of feeding giraffes ourselves at the Giraffe Center. After lunch, we played soccer and rode camels and danced and hung out with our new friends until 4 p.m. We then came back to Rosa Mystica, changed into nice clothing, and went out to dinner at Carnivore (google it -- it's an amazing restaurant experience).

Now it's Sunday morning and we are packing and/or doing some last minute shopping.

This will likely be our last blog entry, as we're soon checking out of Rosa Mystica.

Our flight is due in around 1:30 to Dulles on Monday afternoon -- but you knew that :)

We'll see many of you blog readers there...

Monday's visit to Salve Regina School

Reflection:

Returning from a simply astounding safari adventure, we kicked off the
week on Monday afternoon with a rather formal visit to Salve Regina
School. The group was presented with a full program plus the pleasure
of having virtually everyone at the school thrilled to welcome us as
visitors.

On the outskirts of Nairobi, Salve Regina holds pre-kindergarten through second grade, with a third grade classroom on the way. Here, my main thoughts were on the purpose of the creation
and perpetuation of the school. The director proposed that the main
reason for poverty in places like Kenya was a general lack of
education, with children rarely being able to
grow up and lead initiating lives.

However, if these children are able
to attain such knowledge, they should grow to become very capable
adults who can work to fix his or her country’s problems. With this
direction, the school seemed to be very on top of its goals. The
school is able to take in children without charging large tuitions, as many of
the kids come from slums, and place them in an educational
environment. In my opinion, this focused initiative is indeed
succeeding, and is one of the more inspiring places to which we have
been. The Children of Kibera Foundation has donated a computer lab as
well as other school supplies, further pushing the magnificent school
ahead. Giving one small child, most likely living in a slum, a full
year of learning, a step ahead to leading a meaningful life, with a
complete lunch each day (sometimes the only meal of the day for a
particular child), is only $90.

-Brian

Tuesday and Weds update

Tuesday was our first day of teaching on our own at Red Rose. Students learned it can be both difficult and rewarding to be a teacher... We're hoping to get some reflections from students about their experience in the classroom in the next few days, but we're busy each night making sure we are prepared for tomorrow's lessons.

After teaching Tuesday, we went to lunch and then did some shopping at a Masai Market that sets up each Tuesday outside the mall where we ate. After that, we visited the National Museum where we learned about Kenyan culture and saw human fossils and learned about mammals.

Wednesday, after teaching, we visited the U.S. Embassy. Here is James' account of that visit:

Today we were fortunate enough to secure an appointment to tour the United States embassy in Nairobi. The embassy, which has been located across from the United Nations African headquarters since the 1998 embassy bombing in downtown Nairobi, is an enormous compound which houses not only foreign service officials from the US State Department but also various other organizations such as USAID. After an absurd security procedure (no cell phones or cameras are allowed inside the compound), we were met by a foreign service officer who led us into the embassy building and to a conference room where we met with several embassy officials: an economist with the foreign service, an expert on education with USAID, the consular general and acting ambassador, an DoD attaché, and a director of PEPFAR (AIDS relief) in Kenya. After a brief presentation by each official of their role in the embassy and their work in Kenya, we asked questions, and in turn were asked questions by the officials about our views about Kenya. The officials seemed genuinely interested about our experiences in Kibera and were enthusiastic to explain to students about their respective jobs. After our hour long meeting with the US embassy officials, we were given a quick tour of the three story embassy building (including a quick peak into the ambassador’s office) and were led outside to the memorial of the 1998 bombings where we concluded our tour. Personally, I was struck by the genuine passion that the US embassy officials had about their jobs. Rather than simply being agents of the state department’s political agenda, each official seemed to exhibit compassion for the Kenyan people that I wouldn’t have expected. Overall, our visit the embassy was incredibly interesting. Having never been in an embassy abroad, it was fascinating to see the internal workings of one of the largest US embassies in the world.

MASAI MARA,LAKE NAKURU SAFARI

Please click here for a link to a picasa web album with more pictures from the safari.

Back in Nairobi

My apologies if this is double post -- the first time it did not seem to go up.

Here is an account of what we have been up to since Friday...
Friday morning we left Nairobi and crossed Great Rift Valley on our drive to the Masai Mara area. We arrived at the Mara Sopa Lodge (named for the Mara River, the site of annual animal migrations, and thus a really good location for a lodge to be near) and were greeted with towels and fresh juice. We checked into our rooms and relaxed briefly at the pool. At 4 p.m. we headed out for our first game drive, where we saw all sorts of animals. We’ll upload pictures that will speak for themselves. Ken’s prior posting gives you some of the details.
For those who have not been on a safari before, there are jeep-like vehicles that hold up to 8 people and allow passengers to stand up and see in all directions. When interesting animals are spotted, passengers pop up with their cameras and the vehicles move slowly (so as not to disturb the animals) and creep as close as they can to the animals. As you will see, we got quite a selection.
After dinner we relaxed and enjoyed the entertainment at the lodge.
Saturday, nine of us woke up early to go on a balloon safari (others went early Sunday morning), and then we met near where the balloon landed to go on a day-long game drive that included many more animals at close-up distances. We came back to the lodge in the late afternoon, showered, shared pictures, played cards and relaxed. After dinner, we talked about how we will bring the lessons we’ve learned on the trip back to our communities back in the US.
Sunday morning, six of us woke up early for the balloon safari. When we all met up, near where the balloon landed, we drove to Lake Nakuru where we checked in to the Lake Nakuru Lodge. We had a late lunch there and are about to head on a game drive where we will see rhinos and flamingos, and other animals as well.
Sunday evening we had dinner and went to bed. Monday, we got up, had breakfast, went on another brief game drive (this time up to the observation area that gives an overview of the whole lake), and then drove two hours back to Nairobi. We had lunch in a very neat mall near the United Nations building in Nairobi.
After that, we visited Salve Regina School, a school on the outskirts of Nairobi started by Greg's parents (Greg is the lawyer who spoke to us earlier in the trip -- he and Ken were deskmates at Starehe). Right now it houses pre-K through second grade and they are constructing a third grade class. The objective is to provide good education for kids who would not otherwise be able to afford the fees for the "free" public schools. After that visit, we checked back into our familiar quarters at Rosa Mystica, where we had dinner and are now putting the final touches on our lesson plans for tomorrow, when we will be teaching at Red Rose.

We're back from Safari

Here is an account of what we have been up to since Friday...

Friday morning we left Nairobi and crossed Great Rift Valley on our drive to the Masai Mara area. We arrived at the Mara Sopa Lodge (named for the Mara River, the site of annual animal migrations, and thus a really good location for a lodge to be near) and were greeted with towels and fresh juice. We checked into our rooms and relaxed briefly at the pool. At 4 p.m. we headed out for our first game drive, where we saw all sorts of animals. We’ll upload pictures that will speak for themselves. Ken’s prior posting gives you some of the details.

For those who have not been on a safari before, there are jeep-like vehicles that hold up to 8 people and allow passengers to stand up and see in all directions. When interesting animals are spotted, passengers pop up with their cameras and the vehicles move slowly (so as not to disturb the animals) and creep as close as they can to the animals. As you will see, we got quite a selection.

After dinner we relaxed and enjoyed the entertainment at the lodge.

Saturday, nine of us woke up early to go on a balloon safari (others went early Sunday morning), and then we met near where the balloon landed to go on a day-long game drive that included many more animals at close-up distances. We came back to the lodge in the late afternoon, showered, shared pictures, played cards and relaxed. After dinner, we talked about how we will bring the lessons we’ve learned on the trip back to our communities back in the US.

Sunday morning, six of us woke up early for the balloon safari. When we all met up, near where the balloon landed, we drove to Lake Nakuru where we checked in to the Lake Nakuru Lodge. We had a late lunch there and are about to head on a game drive where we will see rhinos and flamingos, and other animals as well.

Sunday evening we had dinner and went to bed. Monday, we got up, had breakfast, went on another brief game drive (this time up to the observation area that gives an overview of the whole lake), and then drove two hours back to Nairobi. We had lunch in a very neat mall near the United Nations building in Nairobi.

After that, we visited Salve Regina School, a school on the outskirts of Nairobi started by Greg's parents (Greg is the lawyer who spoke to us earlier in the trip -- he and Ken were deskmates at Starehe). Right now it houses pre-K through second grade and they are constructing a third grade class. The objective is to provide good education for kids who would not otherwise be able to afford the fees for the "free" public schools. After that visit, we checked back into our familiar quarters at Rosa Mystica, where we had dinner and are now putting the final touches on our lesson plans for tomorrow, when we will be teaching at Red Rose.

Masai Mara -- Doing Well and Having Fun

Warthhogs, elephants, zebra, topi, masai giraffe, thomson's gazelles, cape buffalos, geckos, harte beestes, wildebeeste, lions, hyenas, jackals, ostriches .... all these and more we have seen in the "Manhattan of Wildlife" -- Kenya's Masai Mara National Park. We arrived safely after a four-hour drive from nairobi yesterday to an amazing buffet lunch, followed by swimming or sunbathing at the swimming pool of the Mara Sopa Lodge. The views are stunning, the food is delicious, the atmosphere is zen!!!

This morning 9 members of our group woke up at 4.30 am and loaded up a van at 5.15 am to go on a dawn balloon safari ride followed by a wonderful breakfast out in the plains with the wide endless African sky as the ceiling above us.

Pictures coming. Everyone is in good shape! Heading out to a long game drive now and a picnic lunch. We want to see the Mara Rive abutting the Serengeti, and if we are lucky, get a chance to see the great wildebeeste migration across the river.

July 9 Summary

This morning, after breakfast, we stayed for a little while at Rosa Mystica, where we unpacked and sorted the shirts, shorts, shoes, pens, pencils and other materials that we later in the day gave to the students at Red Rose. Now that we know the students in our classes, we are in a position to sort what we brought in a thoughtful way so we can make a presentation to each of the classes of students we're working with. “Make it feel like Christmas in July,” as Ken put it.

After we loaded up supplies for our classrooms, we got on the bus and headed over to Red Rose. We made presentations of gifts to the students. We found this to be a wonderful experience -- the Red Rose students were so appreciative. Some students will describe what it felt like when we have some time. For the rest of the morning, we observed and/or taught.

After lunch (at the same mall as yesterday), we visited the Nairobi School, a famous suburban school (click here for the school's history)where the Children of Kibera Foundation sponsors a student from Kibera named John Atella. As Ken tells the story, John does not have a dad in his life, and his mother has no income, so he relies on his Aunt for support. John applied last August for one of ten scholarships that the Children of Kibera Foundation (CoKF) offers. Of the 225 students who applied for the scholarship, 25 qualified on merit and need. But there were only enough funds for the Top 10, and John was in the Top 10.

John applied to Starehe, but his application was not on time, so although he had the qualifications to go there, the school could not admit him because 20,000 students had applied for 216 spaces.

Ken told John to find the best school he could find and CoKF would pay for it. So John walked from Kibera to the Nairobi School (an elite school founded in the 1930s for the children of British citizens living in Kenya). When he got there he demanded to see the principal. He showed the principal his 8^th grade test scores, and a letter from Ken at CoKF to show that he would be able to pay his own way, and he would not go away.

The principal decided to make an exception to their usual procedure and admit John. It’s a decision that the principal has not regretted, because John is at the top of his 9^th grade class (in Kenya, it’s called “form one”).

Once we got to the campus, John came on to our bus, shook each of our hands, and welcomed us. We then met with the principal in his office where he answered questions about the school. Then John walked with us as we toured the expansive tree-filled campus, which includes several farms (they grow their own greens, milk cows, and get eggs from chickens) and really nice playing fields.

After our tour, we headed back to Rosa Mystica for a quick change into our shorts, and then we headed off to the Polo Grounds to play volleyball and soccer (or, as the rest of the world calls it, football) against teams from St. Aloysius Gonzaga High School, the school we visited back on Monday (that seems like so long ago). Gonzaga had its students at the polo grounds for gym class. They have no room for athletics in their Kibera location, and this is the time of the week when they are allowed to use part of the polo grounds.

After those games, we came back to Rosa Mystica where we had dinner, packed for our upcoming safari (we leave tomorrow morning!), and did some brief reflecting about our first week in Kenya.

We're excited for the safari tomorrow! Again, it’s not clear what the internet situation will be on safari, so there may be a lull in the updates.

July 8th Photos

Students in a classroom at Calvary Academy
As you can see, space is tight
This is a view from the second floor of the classroom -- Kibera houses surround the school

Another view from the second floor

July 8

July 8, 2009

Another early morning off to Red Rose – this is our second-to-last day of observation before we start teaching the morning classes next Tuesday (after we get back from our safari Fri-Mon)

On the blog, some fifth grade students wrote questions they had about the United States during their morning break from classes. We then posted those questions on the blog. If readers of the blog could answer those questions by leaving a comment (click on the link above), that would be quite powerful for the students at Red Rose. It makes them feel good that their words can be heard as far away as the United States (or from wherever you may be reading this blog).

We had lunch at the food court of Prestige Plaza, a mall that opened in 2007. We then went into another section of Kibera to visit the Calvary Academy schools, where Ken's foundation helped construct two classrooms to begin a high school (before it had been just for grades 1-8).

We got back to Rosa Mystica around 3:15 and we’re taking the afternoon to rest. Days here seem quite long.

Also, if you are a regular reader of the blog, be sure to go back and read James' description of the visit to the Pamoja FM radio station from July 7 -- it has been added to the earlier entry for that day.