Habari za mchana! (Good Afternoon!)

Habari za mchana!

Sweat is trickling down my back as I take refuge from the oppressive heat of Mombasa. Taking a bath is my way of spiting Mother Nature because no matter how well I scrub myself, a healthy sheen coats my skin within ten minutes. Gusts of wind blow the sand into your eyes and nose as you squint your way across town towards your destination. Even still, I'm not complaining. At least I'm missing out on Canadian winter!

Work has been ramping up toward the first sessions of our work here at Kwacha Africa. We begin teaching computer classes tomorrow which consist of basic computer usage, Microsoft Word, web-browsing and Excel. What's striking is that the largest portion of those lessons will be devoted to teaching the students what a left-click on a mouse is for versus a right-click. Organizing a curriculum around such elementary steps is difficult because us Westerners are so fluent in computer usage that they have become second nature. Luckily, English proficiency in Kenya is high so the lessons won't be as onerous to teach.

Today I was privy to a seminar on HIV education at Kenyatta University in Mombasa. One of the departments of Kwacha Africa is called YouthAlive. This group is focused on living positively - that is, being HIV-positive. Our peer today, Diana, told a forum of about forty students her heart-rending story of contracting HIV after being raped when she was eighteen. Since then, she experienced all sorts of social ostracization and hardships, but has dedicated herself to teaching as she says, "life goes on," after testing positive for HIV.



Meanwhile, my living situation has changed up somewhat since arriving. After the first few days at my homestay, I noticed a proliferation of bug bites along my left arm. The natural reaction is to blame mosquitoes, but I was fairly confident in the precautions I had taken. Another YCI volunteer diagnosed the culprit immediately: bedbugs. After unsuccessfully trying to convince my host family that I had bedbugs and not mosquitoes, my in-country coordinators decided it would be less socially awkward if I switched families rather than risk insulting my previous homestay. Evidence can be seen below:



There will be much better photos in upcoming posts, but the speed of computers here is prohibitive against lots of graphics. I've taken some beautiful shots and even a video in a matatu that I hope to post before long. Work will be busy soon, but I promise to keep posting so long as you all keep checking.

A Kenyan man just farted and smiled at me. I should go...


(Ed.: The suburb in which I am residing is Bamburi and not Barumbi. My apologies.)

"Jambo!" from Kenya!

Jambo everybody!

I've just popped into an internet cafe here in downtown Mombasa. Kenya is beautiful but hot, and the people are extremely kind. It's been a great few days here. My first impression of the country wasn't the best as I was greeted exiting my taxi by a mother asking me to help her feed the starving child strapped to her back. However, I met my group the morning of the 22nd, and then settled down with my host family later that day. It's been smooth sailing ever since.

We live about a half-hour matatu ride from downtown Mombasa in a suburb called Barumbi Bamburi. It has semi-paved roads, but it is almost precisely what I stereotypically imagined a Kenyan village to look like. My host family is great, led by its retiree patriarch Steven, who can talk endlessly about Kenyan culture and the world. The host mother Rosa has been extremely attentive to us, and there is even a grandson running around named Austen. I'm boarding there with two other Canadians, but I have a solo room because I'm the only male volunteer in the house. Apparently running water is sporadic at the house so I had to bathe myself from a basin this morning. Water is an issue here and it is difficult to remain hydrated. Sleeping under a mosquito net is also kinda cool, and fortunately we are missing the heavy mosquito season. It is hot 24/7, but we are lucky in Mombasa because the heat is tempered by a cool sea breeze from the coast.

So far we haven't really got down to work because we are still settling in. The Kenyan volunteers we will be working with have given us the brief introduction to the public transit system here. Matatus are a study in dangerous elegance. Thousands of these snub-nosed vans zip around the rural and city roads shouting their destinations to passers-by. You flag them down, hop in, and they zip off again. Road lanes are anathema to these drivers. Sidewalks double as road space, oncoming traffic is a mere inconvenience and pedestrians must have a sixth sense to avoid getting hit. I've never felt as scared and awed at a driving experience as when I was riding shotgun in a matatu.

After some orientation sessions, we meet the kids from the community centre later today and work begins in earnest on Monday. Even still, I have found enough time to try picking up Swahili and have been testing out the language on my homestay, much to their delight. It's been quite the trip already so I can't imagine what the rest of it will entail.

As it stands, it looks like I will have the opportunity to post more online than I thought. Apparently there is an internet cafe close to where I will be working. If things go as planned, I will be looking to post pictures ASAP.

Thank you all once again for all the support. Keep an eye out for my postings! Kwa heri!