Water for Kakamega’s Communities in Kenya

Peter, my program director in Kenya, has been working on bringing a water supply system to local communities. My community, Luvambo (where my Mama lives), is currently getting water pipes put in underground. This project is expensive and some of the costs have been raised by the communities themselves. This is an important project because with a clean water supply, citizens are less likely to become sick from intestinal diseases. This project helps my family, the Imbomas, and the hundreds of other families who deserve clean water – a commodity that many of us take for granted.

Project Designed by: Peter Khamusali, FSD Program Director and Kenyan native, in close collaboration with the Shikokho Water Resources Users Community Group; FSD intern Abigail Papé.

Total Project Cost: $23,000.00

Community Contribution: $4,000

Raised to Date: $14,000

Additional Funds Needed: $9,000; $4,598.54 of which we are trying to raise now for phase two of this project!

The village of Shikokho is among the many villages in Kenya and Africa, at large, that currently is without appropriate access to a sustained clean water source. Women spend several hours each day collecting water for washing clothes, cooking, and bathing. The sources from which the water is obtained are open to the air and subject to contaminants that affect the health of the villagers and families.

This initiative aims at getting clean, accessible and sustainable water to this community. Electricity was recently brought to the village and is helping to improve the lives of the villagers. Additionally Peter Khamusali, the project leader and Kenyan native, would like to see running water flow into the community. Not only will running water be brought through the project; drilling a borehole and installing a submersible pump, Peter has a vision to protect the wells and springs within the community and its surrounding area.

So far Peter reports the first stage of the project, the geophysical /hydrological survey, has been completed and he is now in the process of training a committee of 12 community members in the practical dimensions of managing the water source. The next phase after training will be drilling and the third will be the installation of tanks. He reports the community had a goal to raise approximately $4000.00 USD toward the project, with an estimated cost of $23,000.00 overall. He recently reported that funding is now over 50% complete for the project. My goal for this campaign is to raise $4,598.54 which would cover the expense of drilling to establish the clean water source. Having lived in the village adjacent to Shikokho and participated in gathering water, boiling water, using it for washing clothing and dishes, as well as working in a health clinic for nine weeks, I am acutely aware of the necessity for accessible clean water sources and believe this project will sustainably improve the lives of the villagers in western Kenya.

If you would like to contribute via check, please send to:

Abigail Papé

1410 SW Broadway #210

Portland, OR 97201

OR

go to http://www.fsdinternational.org/donate/projects/Pape to donate via PayPal.

Just wanted to say…

that I am so frickin’ fortunate to have met these ladies!! They became some of my greatest friends and I miss them dearly.  For any FSD intern who has the honor to cross paths with any of these amazing women consider yourself beyond blessed!!

Kirsten, I’m so glad that the D Session orientation went well for you!! I know that you are setting high standards for the International Program Coordinator position!!

I miss you!!

Kirsten McConnell graduated in 2008 from Queen’s University, (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) with a BA in Global Development Studies. She first came to Kenya in the summer of 2007. At that time she was an intern, through FSD, with FIDA (Woman Lawyers Federation of Kenya). At FIDA her responsibilities were varied but her main project was starting a child therapy center for young girls that were victims of sexual violence. While in Kenya she also worked on an art therapy project directed at those affected by HIV / AIDS and was asked to give leadership training to a locale youth group. Upon returning to Canada she served as a peer mentor for Queen’s counseling and disability services and treasurer for the Global Development Studies department student council.

Erin, I know that your conference was splendid!! I wish I could have been there to gain more insight into your expertise!! All FSD site teams wish they had a site team member like you!! I love and miss you too!!

Erin Hersey, previously FSD’s AlumniConnect and Events Coordinator in San Francisco, joins the Kakamega Team as our first International Programs Fellow. She graduated in 2005 from The George Washington University with a BA in International Relations double concentrating in Latin American Studies and Comparative Political, Economic, and Social systems. During college she studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina where she volunteered her time with a grassroots human rights organization that focused on youth and education. This experience influenced her to become involved in grassroots development work, and in 2006 she left her paralegal job with a law firm in DC to move to San Francisco and pursue this interest. Erin enjoys rock climbing, biking (she did the AIDS Lifecycle in 2007), and food (she really, really, really loves food).

And Damaris, how could I forget you? I couldn’t and never will. I think about you and Donnel every day!! You are missed greatly!! Damaris Gitau is driven by a desire to improve peoples’ lives, while positively contributing to effective solutions on sustainable development issues and challenges. During the recent post-election violence in Kenya, she worked with the Red Cross helping the internal displaced persons. She worked towards seeing that all people understood that despite their differences in religion, tribe, and political affiliations of power, they are all equal. As a volunteer in youth affairs, she realized the strength in working with people living with HIV/AIDS and worked with the communities that have both been affected and infected. In addition, she facilitated the design, implementation and monitoring for both strategic and action plans in the community. Damaris loves cooking, swimming, listening to music, traveling, meeting different people, watching movies. She has a five year old son called Donnel, who is the joy of her life.

Choking On Food For Thought

Please note that thoughts like these were had all during my time in Kakamega. Typically, feelings culminate over time and emotions can be triggered by particular events/moments (aka reverse cultural shock). This post describes a more concrete example so that readers may understand reverse culture shock to some degree.

I had butterflies in my stomach days before I left my host family. I lost sleep thinking about leaving them and missed them before I had even said goodbye. I was very overwhelmed at the thought of seeing my biological family again. I spent 45 hours in total travel time from Kakamega, Kenya to Macon, Georgia. I spent a lot of my layovers reflecting on the past three months of my life. I knew that traveling by myself allowed for me to stay quiet and assimilate my thoughts about the past and the future and, most importantly, how these two were going to merge.

I was happily greeted by my family at Macon Groome. We exchanged hugs and took pictures before we loaded my suitcases up and drove to Logan’s Steakhouse nearby. I chose the restaurant before I even left Kenya since I had been craving a nice, juicy steak. I wanted a good cut of meat as the main entree of my first meal back in the States!!

I sat down with my family at the table and everyone began looking through their menus. I looked down at the menu in front of me and became instantly overwhelmed with emotion. Just seeing the options for any meal of my choosing brought on a huge gush of tears. I kept thinking about my family in Kenya and how they will never see a place like this or ever get to experience a meal like this one. I thought of the drought and the hundreds of starving families that I’ve been helping in the forest for the past 3 months. I thought of how easy it is for us to get food – how we demand large portions of grub in short amounts of time and want a variety of it to choose from. I thought about how we often don’t even finish the food on our plates because we are full; that we don’t eat every bite because we don’t have to worry about when our next meal may be. All of these images rushed through my brain within a matter of seconds.

I considered leaving the restaurant but didn’t want to upset my family. I ordered a steak and ate it all with a feeling of guilt. What I thought would bring me happiness and a true sense of being back in my native country ended up making me feel guilty and alone.

I always think about Mama, Saph, Jose, Wilkister, Pauline, Baby Britton, Praxides, Soya, Amiza, Rheinhart, Titus and his family, Evans, Polycarb, Eric, Patrick, Bettasita, Phyllis and everyone else who has become family to me over the past three months. But thoughts of them arise every time I go to the grocery store or to the fast food joint up the road. I find myself making decisions that I never even crossed my mind before this experience, especially when it comes to food and water.

We have more than we know and what we know isn’t nearly enough.

Mastication Elation

My last night at the Imboma compound was a celebration of sorts. I went to Kakamega Town earlier that Saturday morning and bought the perishable ingredients for dinner.

*Note: Buying ingredients for the party took me several weeks. Getting a ton of groceries and hauling them onto a matatu isn’t feasible because there is no room. And it’s impossible to carry 3 2 liter sodas, 7 packs of cakes, icing sugar, drinking chocolate, butter, milk, a large bottle of ketchup, a pound of potatoes, and a 3 liter jug of cooking oil by hand on a picky picky. Plus, there is no way to refridgerate meat or to keep hamburger buns fresh for more than a day so those items had to be bought the day of. We certainly take having our own vehicles and refridgerators for granted back here in the States!! We can go to the store, pick up two grocery carts full of food and take it all home without worrying about space or keeping items cold!!

I had to make sure to get back to the forest before the rain came in. And by the time I arrived home later that afternoon, it was time to fire up the jiko and start cooking!!

Saph helped me tremendously with preparing and grilling the burgers.

Mama’s good friend, Bettasita made the chips (french fries).

Everyone was eating by 6:30PM (!!) and the burgers went fast!!

Jose, Soya, Amiza, and Wilkister

Mama and Bettasita enjoying their meal!!

Needless to say, everyone was shiba (full) and happy!! A party that took weeks to prepare went off without a hitch!! All the trouble it took to get everything organized was completely worth it when I saw the smiles on my family’s faces!!

Negative List Part Nne

Hail storms (note: I’m sleeping under a tin roof)
Erin’s apartment being robbed
Picky picky accident (got only a bruise!!)
Solar power cell phone charging
Visa fees
Matatu flat tires
Electricity rationing
Having to leave my family in 5 days

Positive List Part Tano

Mama’s dog, Toby, having puppies (5 girls, 1 boy)
Taking Jose and Wilkister to Kakamega for their first time
Getting a cheap flight from Kisumu to Nairobi
White water rafting down the Nile River in Uganda
Birthday card from Granddaddy Wilson
Peanut butter from Dr. Funke, Jennifer, and Chris
Our hen having 10 chicks
Peaceful MP elections in Shinyalu
Dispensary finally getting a new supply of medicine
Walking (aka slipping and sliding) barefoot down muddy roads with Kirsten while trying not to pee our pants laughing
Obama Orange bubblegum
Nile River Explorers
NOT getting malaria
Bailey joining Kappa Delta
Wilkister’s smile
More sweet text messages from Brian
Learning to cook traditional Kenyan meals
Love from Paka
Taking a shower overlooking the Nile River
Rolexes (YUM!!)
Royco
Getting all my stuff packed into 2 suitcases

Negative List Part Tatu

Being stung by a caterpillar
Mud, mud, mud
Cake slices I purchased = nasty
Thinking about packing my suitcases (How is all this stuff gonna fit?!)
Mama’s dog dying
KFD being out of medicine
Ministry of Health saying that it is illegal to teach about contraceptives in schools
Aid instead of sustainable development
Developing country farts + extreme body odor during 100 degree, 2 hour long matatu rides