Travels

Photos: Mombasa

beth_king — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:23:00 GMT

Mombasa

beth_king — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:07:00 GMT

Last Thursday after the long-awaited end to my working day arrived, I bounced home in the 118 matatu to grab my things; I was going to Mombasa for the weekend! After meeting the other interns at the bus stop, we clambered aboard for our overnight trip to the coast. There were eight of us in total, all interns, all from different countries. Fabio (Brazil), Veerle (Holland), Bhavin (India), Heiko (Germany), Kazuki (Japan) and I left from Nairobi together, and when we arrived in Mombasa we met up with the others: Triinu (Estonia) and Veronika (Czech Republic).

One of Kenya’s oldest cities, Mombasa enjoys a rich history influenced by its extensive trade and battles with various foreign empires. The first written records point to trade in spices, timber, gold, ivory, tortoise shell and rhinoceros horn (as well as the notorious slave trade) with Arab and Persian merchants in the 1^st century AD. Interestingly, it was the interaction of Arabs, local Africans and Persians which gave birth to the Swahili language, now Kenya’s second national language, and to the Swahili culture (Islamic-focused in contrast with the predominantly Christian interior). Despite the inherent ambiguity surrounding who is considered ‘Swahili’ nowadays, the main thing that seems to set them apart is their connection to the Muslim, particularly Arab, world.

Following Vasco de Gama’s visit in 1498, Portuguese invaders arrived in the early 16^th century. After sacking the town repeatedly they eventually captured it and built the imposing Fort Jesus before being ousted by the sultans of Oman, who were not much more popular with the local Swahilis. The sultans themselves were ousted by the British in 1870, and following this Mombasa became the most important city in British East Africa. After Kenya became a fully fledged British colony in 1920 Mombasa was appointed capital of the separate British Coast Protectorate, however following independence the city was removed from the centre of Kenyan politics as focus turned inland and Nairobi became Kenya’s capital city. Mombasa politicians still campaign for a limited federation as they consider the coast culturally, economically and religiously distinct from the rest of Kenya.

The Mombasa old town still bears witness to its Arabic and Portuguese history, with many mosques lining the streets and Fort Jesus dominating the waterfront. Despite its allure we did not spend too much time there, instead opting to head down the coast to lie on the sand at Diani Beach. Despite all I’d heard, nothing prepared me for the sight of endless white sand stretching effortlessly on either side of our lodge, as we dumped our bags and ran excitedly down to the sea. After the coolness of Nairobi (which, occupying a high altitude, is quite temperate), the oppressive humidity of the coast would have been unbearable had it not been for the miles of warm sparkly water.

We arrived on Friday morning, and after recuperating some sleep lost during our very uncomfortable bus ride and sampling the sea’s refreshing coolness, we bought food for lunch and lazed around, reading and swimming, for the rest of the afternoon. That night was an early one, as we were to wake early the next morning to go snorkeling with some of the local fishermen who doubled as tourist touts. Sitting in their tiny wooden dhow, heading out towards the horizon and looking back at the nearly deserted beach, I felt very peaceful. The snorkeling was interesting and we saw some brightly coloured fish and interesting black spiky sea anemones, among other things. For lunch we feasted on fish caught fresh from the ocean with sauce and coconut rice, again courtesy of the local fishermen, then leaned back on our towels and pondered the sky for some hours, an activity disturbed only by the occasional dip in the ocean and finally, by our stomachs’ craving for dinner. After we had cooked, eaten and played a very interesting drinking game (the specifics of which now escape me), we headed down the local beach bar called Forty Thieves (its accompanying restaurant is called Ali Babar) for a boogie and a midnight walk along the sand staring at a sky clustered with stars including (I was excited to note) the Southern Cross.

On Sunday we woke late and after checking out, headed back to the bar to hang out before setting off for a self-guided tour through Mombasa Old Town. We checked out the fort, sat against its towering stone walls still warm from the fading sun, then headed for dinner at a local diner before catching the bus back to Nairobi, the real world.

Photos: Working at AMHF

beth_king — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:50:00 GMT

Photos: Everyday Life

beth_king — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:39:00 GMT

Everyday Life

beth_king — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:32:00 GMT

So I was thinking, there are all the fun adventures that you have when you are travelling, but what about the mundane, the everyday? The things that become so much habit you don't even think to mention them when people ask you about your experiences? To help my much-beleaguered brain I've divided my life (rather unrealistically) up into sections, and hope that I can throw in some insight into life in Kenya along the way.

Work

Well firstly there's work or more importantly (as they say) the people I work with. I'll start with the interns of which there are a lot, from Martin (a fourth year medical student), to Tina and Malcolm studying nursing (Tina is my boss Victoria's daughter, and Victoria said that she always comes in to volunteer her time during university holidays, and often brings along friends to work with her), to Sarah and Noah studying business administration (Sarah is the Professor's niece), to little old me. We stake out behind whichever computers are free, trying not to get in the way of the researchers and administrative staff (hardly a mean feat given that the whole organisation squeezes into 5 offices and a reception area, tucked away within an unassuming blue-rimmed building in a leafy suburb 10 minutes southwest from the city centre).

The Africa Mental Health Foundation (or AMHF) is an advocacy and research organisation that aims to improve the mental health of poor Kenyans, especially those living in the slums and rural areas. Due to internal migration to the cities, nearly all the psychiatrists are concentrated in the urban areas. Further, a significant proportion of those psychiatrists remain in private practice, providing services to only those who can afford them. This means that the majority of Kenyans are without access to a psychiatrist. In most regions outside the urban areas there are more than 1 million people without a single psychiatrist. AMHF was started in 2004 by Professor Ndetei along with some of his students from The University of Nairobi to attempt to address this issue. Their goal is to work towards the provision of affordable, available, accessible and appropriate mental health services for all Kenyans.

All manner of work gets done here. There is my immediate boss Victoria's PhD research into PTSD in vulnerable children affected by the 2007 post-election violence, as well as PhD projects spearheaded by the three other researchers Dr Khasakhala, Dr Warsame and Dr Solomon. There is also the volumnous work carried out by the organisation's founder, Dr David M. Ndetei in his various capacities as researcher, Founding Director of AMHF and lecturer at the University of Nairobi Department of Psychiatry. Then there are the indispensible additional worker bees, the administrators Grace, Susan and Kyalo, Daniel the accountant, and a host of associate researchers scattered across the globe and who visit the centre semi-regularly to participate in projects. And, of course, us interns, some local and others international like me.

Drinks

Next, a very important component of my week- drinking with fellow interns and local AIESECers, which mostly occurs at one of three bars within walking distance of the university (sound familiar?). Tuesday's venue is always the CoCo Lounge, where everyone congregates on the small balcony for a weekly catch-up. Showing up there for the first time, I was amazed by how many AIESECers and interns there are in Nairobi! It's a veritable little community, and a handy one if you want to plan joint trips to the coast or other fun misadventures. The other major venue (at which our attendance usually follows the weekly Thursday AIESEC meeting) is called Central, and is interestingly located in the same building as the local police station (thus the name) although this does not seem to affect its patronage one bit. Among the university crowd it's a good place to go and drink KK - Kenya King vodka (or it is gin? the debate continues) - which comes in 260mL bottles generally costing just over A$1, and is a good cheap, quick way to get completely legless. Nights start and finish early on weekdays,as everyone is keen to get home before 8:30pm (the city isn't nicknamed Nairobbery for nothing), however on the weekends everyone lets loose, and (don't worry mum) at the end of it all we all safely catch taxis home. :)

Nairobbery

I hate to say it (again don't worry mum) but muggings are all too common in the city and the more prosperous suburbs (where muggers know they stand to collect). However, I have not heard of any intern who has (recently) been harmed and usually if you hand over your wallet/phone you will be let go without any hassle. A friend of mine got his phone taken last weekend, and nearly everyone I speak to who has been here for more than 4 months has lost something (usually their bag), however Nairobians treat this as a part of life, and something that, while frustrating, has to be tolerated along with the traffic and everything else that gives the city "character". Thankfully (touch wood) I'm yet to lose anything, although of course I am by nature a hideously careful, conscientious and responsible human being ;)

Matatus and Buses

So it has to be said, Nairobi is a congested city. With a public transport system that relies completely on buses and matatus, the roads regularly clog and it can take up to an hour for me to get from the city to my host family's house in Westlands, a distance that can be covered in 10 minutes when the roads are quiet. Up until recently most matatus (and some buses) sported impressive decorations showing Snoop Dog and Tupac at their gangster best, Beyonce and Shakira pouting alluringly, and all manner of other rappers and singers splashed across the sides of the vehicles. Unfortunately, since a recent government crackdown on this colourful public service you will be more likely to find matatus displaying signs stating that "Jesus is King" or "God Loves All" while booming gospel music at much the same decibel level as the now retired hip hop, although this is still an interesting sight.

My host family

A major part of my time here has been spent at home, or rather at my Kenyan home away from home - my host family's house. We are a motley crew, comprising of myself, my host mum Victoria, her son David (23y), her adopted daughter Naomi (16y), her sister Anna, Anna's daughter Vivian (10y), and various cousins and friends who regularly stay over and bring a bit of diversity into the household. Victoria works for a large Kenyan development agency, where she is responsible for policy development, giving advice on proposed project direction, and drawing up project proposals. While the NGO industry (like most in Kenya) is plagued by corruption, there is still much amazing work being done by people like Victoria, and it is a great place to learn about the realities of development, in order to build a more realistic picture of "starving Africa" than the images displayed on many a Western television.

My hosts sisters Vivian and Naomi have been heaps of fun to hang out with and it's been lovely to spend time with them, from dancing crazily around the kitchen to perusing the latest fashions at the market to sitting on my bed together reading or chatting. Unlike many children in Kenya (where boarding is common) Vivian and Naomi live at home during term time, and I was amazed when Vivian told me that her school started at 7am! Needless to say the early start took me a little to get used too.. The work day also starts early, with 8am the norm (although I still stubbornly cling to the fact that my job description states 9am as the start time!) and people often work long hours.

Anna (kindly) cooks most nights with the help of the girls, either ugali and vegetable and meat stew, or cabbage, sukuma wiki (spinach), rice and even sometimes spaghetti. Breakfast comprises of bread with butter, peanut butter or jam, accompanied by steaming (often very sweet) milky tea. Similar to India, it is mandatory to have at least 3 sugars in your tea/coffee and interestingly despite Kenya's superior coffee industry everyone drinks Nescafe.

Our house, located in prosperous Westlands (home of many expats including the large Indian community) is owned by Professor Ndetei. It is accessed via an imposing stone driveway locked always with a large silver padlock. Walking down my street the houses on either side are bordered by high stone fences, topped with broken glass and barbed wire- this place is security central! But given the high crime and affluence of its residents, the strict security measures are understandable.

AIESEC in Nairobi

Since I arrived in Nairobi the AIESEC office (tucked away at the end of an underground corridor in the Mahatma Ghandi wing of the University of Nairobi) has been a great first port of call for anything I need help with and a good space to hang out with local AIESECers. Although my working hours mean that I cannot make it down that often, I have tried to come to a few of AIESEC UON's LCMs (local committee meetings), which are held every Thursday from 4:30-5:30pm. Of the local AIESECers some deserve special mention for all the help they've given me since I arrived. These include Michael, Bishar, Hafsa, Asha, Will, Kim and Stella, who respectively helped organise my internship, settled me into AIESEC in Nairobi, introduced me to my workplace, organised fun activities for me to do with other interns, accompanied me around town during my first couple of days, and put me up for my first night when I had nowhere to sleep! Thanks guys :)

It's also been heaps of fun hanging out and going on short holidays with the other interns, from a kaliedoscope of countries including Germany, Japan, Canada, Rwanda, Congo, South Africa, Brazil, India, Netherlands, Estonia, Czech Republic, New Zealand and Australia, among others. Everyone is doing interesting work here, with some people teaching in the slums, others working for NGOs, others in IT and still others in marketing, fundraising and finance!

Religion

Kenya is a deeply religious country no matter which faith group you belong to and religion is definitely worth a mention as it is a very hard topic to avoid. In Nairobi the majority of people are Christian, with about a 50/50 Catholic/Protestant split, although there are many different Protestant churches with new ones (genuine and not so genuine) springing up all the time to take advantage of the tax breaks awarded to churches in Kenya. Atheism is uncommon and saying that you do not believe in God or even that you do not attend church will be met with surprise. The public stance on homosexuality is unforgiving, and homosexual people have even been known to be ejected from buses, and the recent marriage of two Kenyan men in the UK has launched spirited debate on the moral implications of homosexuality for Kenyan society. The population along the coast is more Islamic due to a long history of Arabic influence through trade, and Judaism, Baha'i, Hinduism, and tribal religions are also influential throughout the country.

Photos: Bands, Museum, MoFaya & Church on Sunday

beth_king — Tue, 8 Dec 2009 19:18:00 GMT

Photos: Mathare

beth_king — Mon, 7 Dec 2009 23:45:00 GMT

Mathare

beth_king — Mon, 7 Dec 2009 23:40:00 GMT

Last Thursday 4 Dec I accompanied a friend Michaela to the closing day for the school where she has been teaching for the past three months, located in the Mathare slum. Mathare - slightly smaller than Kibera but still home to over 500,000 people - is one of the five major slums in Nairobi, zigzagging through the Mathare Valley for seven miles. Like Kibera it has a long history, and has been in existence since the 1960s when it was established to house the thousands of people moving to the city from rural areas in search of work. Again like Kibera it is a cheerful place, although the obvious poverty and the violence embedded in its recent history cannot be ignored. Mathare was a prominent site of the 2007 post-election violence where thousands of people were killed, and although there is now no threat for residents or visitors, those violent times have left their mark on the community.

For the 50,000 school-aged children living in Mathare there are only two government schools, catering for only 1,000 students. The remaining 49,000 students either attend non-formal NGO-run schools or do not attend at all. It is the trend of non-attendance that schools like the one we visited are trying to break. This school, called Jafrest Care Centre School, was established in 2008 by a teacher from Nairobi called Frederick, who was only 24 at the time! Frederick explained to us that when children are not in school they are out on the street, picking through garbage for food, idle, and that is when they turn to crime. Educating children is the best way of preventing further crime and violence in the area.

Since its humble beginnings with two students, the school has grown to cater for over 200 students, and hopes to extend further, although Fred told us that once enrolment reaches 350 they will have to stop taking students as they will have reached capacity. The classrooms, like those in Kibera, are shacks pieced together from corrugated iron with dirt floors, and despite attempts to keep class sizes down the younger classes often have over 80 students. Fred's school charges a lower fee than the government or "public" schools (around A$20 a year), however it is still often too much for parents to pay, especially when they have up to seven children attending classes. Finding the funds to pay the teachers enough to live on and buy resources is a constant struggle, and Fred was hoping that the closing day ceremony would be a good opportunity to encourage parents and the community to support the school in any way they can, but preferably by giving a Sh.50 ($A1) donation.

During the ceremony, held in a local community hall that Michaela had organised to hire for the occasion, several classes of children got up and gave performances, ranging from gangster rap to insightful political satire to an fantastic gospel choir that simply blew us away with their beautiful harmonies! The kids were all students from Jafrest and from a neighbouring school, and it was amazing to see how much work they had put into the day. One stand out performance was at the very beginning, by a 14 year old boy who is possibly the best dancer I have ever seen, seemingly able to move each part of his body independently, with some bottom jiggling second to none!

Following the dances there were lengthy speeches and unbeknownst to Michaela and the three of us who had come with her (myself, Stan and David), we were expected to speak as well! Stringing a couple of words together, we each thanked the school for having us and expressed our wish that it would be able to continue into the future, an outcome dependent on donor and community support. Despite living in Nairobi all their lives, this was the first time that Stan and David had visited Mathare, and they were blown away by the difference between their lives and those of the Mathare residents. As they are both in a well known Nairobian rock band, they decided to hold a benefit gig to raise funds for the school in the new year.

After this the local politician arrived, recognisable by his flashy clothes and equally flashy manner. I have no time for politicians at the best of times, and although he had brought exercise books to donate and the not-so-royal sum of Sh.2000 (A$40, a meagre amount considering what Kenyan politicians earn), he treated the occasion as the opportunity to capitalise on this attentive audience, and so it became more of a show than a serious awards ceremony. After all of the top students had been awarded their exercise book, he suggested the hilarious idea of dragging all of the kids who came last in their class up on stage and awarding them an exercise book as well, something I imagine was quite embarrassing for the kids involved and frustrating for those who had tried but not come top of their class, who were left with nothing. In the end he was awarding prizes to the smallest child, the tallest child, and then he waved a Sh.1000 note in the air and said that anyone who could pronounce his name correctly would be given it on the spot. While this may sound generous, consider the fact that these children are so poor that their parents cannot afford to pay their Sh.200 school fee once a term- Sh.1000 was a huge amount of money and here he was just waving the note around in the air. In addition, needless to say nobody could pronounce his name correctly, not half because (as David and Stan told me), he was actually changing the pronounciation each time he said it!!

After both Fred and the politician had made further lengthy speeches (respectively genuine and not so genuine) about the importance of children's education, we were officially farewelled and after trudging back through the mud caught a matatu back to the city - only 20 minutes yet seemingly a world away from where we had been.

Photos: Tanzania: Zanzibar!

beth_king — Wed, 2 Dec 2009 18:03:00 GMT

AIESEC Conference

Tanzania: Zanzibar!

beth_king — Wed, 2 Dec 2009 17:01:00 GMT

It started with a mad scramble, a flustered, exhausted sprint through the early morning Nairobi streets, pack swinging on my back, arms flailing, my host mother Victoria calling out as she ran behind me. A not entirely unusual (for Nairobi) string of events had led to my crazed dash, struggling to reach the bus stand before the 6am Mohamed Express to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania pulled away.. We had arranged a cab to take me to the bus stop, however when 5:30am rolled around and there was none waiting outside, Victoria concluded that the man “must be drunk!” and we began our trek, running down to the local supermarket where a lone taxi driver waiting out the early hours agreed to take us. The stress was not yet over however, for as we powered along the highway with minutes to spare, the cab slowly ground to a halt; it had run out of petrol. Now really panicking, we ran to the nearest matatu stop and bundled inside, praying we’d make it. From where the matatu dropped us I ran full pelt (admittedly in the wrong direction at first, but after startling some passersby with my gasped requests for directions, got back on the right track), and as I rounded the corner to the street, saw the bus just pulling out. “Wait! Wait! Too exhausted to notice people staring, I ran across the road in front of the bus and got on just as it was about to leave. However, a commotion stopped us from taking off- my host mother, Victoria, jumped on the bus as well. “The taxi driver! He’s here and demanding his fare!” Not feeling too kindly about paying a man who’d left us stranded in the middle of the highway, I nonetheless threw her the cash and suddenly the bus was away, and I had made it.

As we crossed the Kenya/Tanzania border and got our papers in order, I was struck by the sense of anticipation that comes with visiting a new country. Tanzania has an interesting history. It was formed from the union of mainland Tanganyika with the island of Zanzibar in 1964 following independence from the British, and it's name reflects this combination (Tan + Zan + ia). Its first President, Julius Nyerere, implemented wide-scale reforms in the areas of health care and education following a socialist model. There were massive gains in health and education, however Nyerere has been criticised for instigating the forced relocation of people onto collective farms and repressing opposition, establishing one-party rule in Tanzania. Despite this, Nyerere is widely viewed as the father of the nation and is the only President in Africa to have resigned voluntarily from his position as President, in 1985. Following his resignation, Tanzania's dependence on foreign aid became one of the highest in the world, and the neoliberal policies enforced by the IMF severely eroded previous gains made in the areas of education and health care. Today Tanzania is a peaceful country, its education system is slowly recovering, and despite remaining widespread poverty it lacks Kenya's large slum areas. Tanzanian people confess to be 'slower' than their neighbouring Kenyans, but this is not necessarily a bad thing as some would say this makes them a much more relaxed and easygoing people. Finally, everyone is extremely welcoming, especially all the cool AIESECers who let us stay at their house and took the time to hang out and show us around their city!

Bumping along the unmade road (we could see the new road being built next to the old one carrying us), I watched the landscape change as great mountains rose up, diminishing the plains and thrusting their craggy heads into the wispy clouds. We were in Mt Kilimanjaro country. The trip was supposed to take 15 hours, however a flat tyre and other amusing incidents meant that we ended up being on the road for 18 hours, finally arriving in Dar Es Salaam at around 11:30pm, where we were greeted by some of the Tanzanian AIESECers. Enjoying the balmy tropical warmth, we dropped our bags at our house for the night and 10 minutes later were out on the town again, off to the local bar for drinks with other AIESECers who had come from across Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya to gather in Tanzania’s de facto capital city in preparation for our trip to Zanzibar the next day. Kenyans love to party all night and Tanzanians are no different, so it was near dawn when we finally stumbled back to the house. I relished the fact that we were able to walk on the street at night without fear of robbery or rape, a nice change from the constant vigilance required when navigating in Nairobi after dark, and we sang and chatted loudly to ourselves as young folk with an ounce of drink to spare are want to do. Once home we collapsed onto whichever bed didn’t have too many other people sleeping on it, and 3 hours later were up again preparing to catch the ferry to Zanzibar. It was a big task for the organisers, with over 100 delegates and facilitators to account for, but eventually we all made it across!

The conference centre was on the water front and although no beach was in sight, the sunset view of fishing boats tethered against great streaks of sky was humbling. We were kept busy on the first night, starting off with a mass performance of the "AIESEC dance" (similar across the many countries in which AIESEC operates) and the “role call”, an AIESEC tradition whereby each delegation introduces itself with a group dance. The dancing was all very good, and I discovered that shaking your booty was to be a big part of the weekend. The sessions went until midnight, and despite our bleary eyes I had some beers in the onsite bar (convenient!) with Junki, another intern from Japan who was doing an entrepreneurial project in Dar Es Salaam, trying to set up a market for traditional African-made bags in Japan in a way that allows local producers to benefit directly from any profits made. We also hung out with Shige (also from Japan and who like me was doing his internship in Nairobi, raising money for an NGO operating in the Kibera slum) and Da, who was from China but attended college in the US, and was now working for Standard Chartered Bank in Dar Es Salaam.

After a relatively early night (3am) we had a full day of sessions, where we discussed leadership, the relevance of AIESEC in Tanzania, and the projects run by AIESEC in Tanzania, among other things. There were separate sessions for new and old members, and I found it great to sit down with the experienced AIESECers and talk about their leadership challenges and successes, where they found their inspiration, and what they thought made good leaders. We had a quieter afternoon and watched the sunset before dinner and our final session. Afterwards the partying started in earnest, and we headed to the "Rock Bar" and boogied down until the wee hours of the morning. The dance floor was pretty steamy, with couples getting very close, and everyone looking far sexier and coordinated that I could ever hope for. There were a large number of illicit couplings, with many delegates adopting for the “out of sight out of mind” approach when it came to their partners back home, but all was exposed the following day when the "Rumours and Scandals" team produced incriminating photos which were projected up onto big screen at the morning briefing. Struggling through our third day of minimal sleep, we finished our final session at around lunchtime, and frantically wrote our last "sugar cubes" - sweet messages to be placed in personalised envelopes, one for each delegate, which were stuck on the walls of the conference centre. The idea was that the envelopes would be taken away and read once we were home again, to remind us of the conference and all the lovely people we had met. After everyting was wrapped up and the obligatory group photos had been taken, we prepared to head off on a tour of Zanzibar!

As it turned out, our tour started and ended at the beach. We had meant to spend some of the day looking around town, but unfortunately (or fortunately) we ran out of time and ended up whiling away the afternoon sitting on the milky sand, staring out across the effortless blue, pondering along the shoreline, or splashing in the waist-high water playing footsies with soft green seaweed. At the end of it all we watched as the sun turn bright orange, throwing the myriad of palm trees into sharp shadowed relief against the setting sky. Too soon it was time to bundle back into the buses and head for the Zanzibar port to catch our overnight ferry back to Dar Es Salaam. On arriving at the port and with time to spare, Shige, Junki, Jeremy, Da and I headed down to the Zanzibar night market. When we arrived we were overwhelmed by the voracious Saturday night crowds (mainly families and children) buzzing around numerous stalls manned by men in full chef's attire, serving all manner of tea, sweets, and most importantly, fish. The tables groaned under the piles of fresh lobster, shellfish, shark, octopus and much more. We selected what we wanted and it was cooked in front of us, piled onto the plate and served with plenty of salt and fresh chapati. The shellfish was comically chewy, and I ended up swallowing some pieces whole making it look like I was swallowing a golf ball! Just as we were basking in a meal well eaten and admiring the scene, two of the others ran up telling us in panicked voices that the ferry was leaving at 9pm not 10 as we had thought, and (it being 8:50pm) we had to run for it. So we pelted back to the port, rushed through immigration and just as we were boarding, we were told that the boat was leaving at 10 after all! Of course.

The ferry was packed; I found out later that there had originally been 2 boats leaving that night but ended up being only one, so we were jammed in pretty tightly! Despite the journey usually taking a mere 3 hours, our boat had to wait at sea until it could dock in Zanzibar when the port opened at 5am. After spending a couple of hours on the top deck playing games and watching the still water around us, we decided to try to sleep, and carved out a patch of floor on the deck below to rest our heads. Before I knew it, it was sunrise and we were back in Dar. Those of us sticking around for the day headed back to the house to unwind and get some sleep. After a lazy morning relaxing on the front porch we had a look around the markets then headed to the bar near our house for dinner and drinks. The night went too quickly and after collapsing into bed at 3am it was suddenly 4:30am and time to get up to get on the bus back to Nairobi. I have to say, I wasn't admiring too much of the scenery on the way back!

Now back at work again, I'm looking forward to escaping to the coast again, and am planning to head down to the Arabic-influenced coastal town of Mombasa next weekend. :)

Nights out, Markets, Giraffes & Kenyan dancing...

beth_king — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:30:00 GMT

My first weekend in Nairobi city lived up to expectations. On Friday night I headed out to Simmers, an infamous Congolese dance parlour where patrons consume Tusky’s (good local Kenyan beer) by the schooner (the beers here are sold in 500ml bottles and are pleasingly cheap and potent!) and well-practised Kenyans carve up the dance floor with booty shaking and grooving next to none. Jessie (another intern from Canada) and her partner Will (a local Nairobian) accompanied me, along with Jessie’s friend Kibe who used to work with her as a social worker caring for vulnerable children at an NGO in Nairobi. It was fun to let my hair down (figuratively speaking…my hair actually was quite greasy and so stayed in its regulation bun), and I even had a bit of a dance, although Kibe kindly accompanied me to the dance floor and made my self-conscious jiggling look like child’s play.. There were professional dancers who delighted the audience with lots of coordinated shaking of their thang and strutting of their stuff, and the band powered on for most of the evening. After consuming kebabs and fried chicken with chips (again, vegetarianism was not an option on this menu) and as many beers as we could while still being able to stand, we finally piled into a taxi and headed to our respective homes.

On Saturday morning my host sisters Naomi and Vivian took me shopping at Ndengu market, where stalls cascade across the sidewalk in all directions, sporting shoes, bags, pants, business shirts, jeans and bras and undies, all bursting off teetering stands. These and various other products were thrust at us by eager vendors shouting, “sister! sister!” as we wound our way through the crowd. An adjacent street was lined with stalls piled with mangos, limes, bananas, potatos, and heaps of maize (which uncannily resembles corn; in fact “sweet maize” as Kenyans call it is actually corn, and is eaten as a desert or with breakfast). We had a deliciously greasy lunch of chips with sweet chilli sauce and soda before they popped me on matatu to the city so that I could check out the masai market…

After meeting Jessie and Will in the city, Jessie kindly offered to show me around the market. I was supremely grateful to her, for upon entering we were confronted with a cacophony of bright stalls, many selling similar or identical wares. Like a local Nairobian (she has been here nearly a year), Jessie helped me to navigate among the vendors, and with her wining smile (they all loved her!) helped me get a good price for my purchases. I enjoyed the haggling and the vendors were often pleasingly explicit about the whole process, saying “okay, so I give my first price, then you give your first price, then I come down a little and you come up a little and we meet in the middle!”, and were without a doubt the best actors I have ever seen, with one gravely nodding his head and explaining that the materials used to make this particular sculpture were “very rare, very special” while the vendor next door agrees to sell them to me for much cheaper as long as I don’t let on to the others. Jessie explained afterward that often the vendors agree on minimum prices for their wares to avoid undercutting, and so if any of them break this rule they warn you not to tell anyone else, as it will push prices down market-wide. A clever scheme if you ask me! Weary and satisfied, when we had shopped all we could and I was carrying not one but two bags (hello Christmas presents!), we retired to CoCo Lounge near the university for a drink, before I headed home and stumbled into bed.

The next morning I woke early and headed off to see the famous Nairobi National Park which, located just 7km south of the CBD, is almost suburban (if you ignore the lions and rhinos). On getting there I was disappointed to find that (predictably) I’d failed to read the guide book properly and had missed out on meeting the baby elephants rescued by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org), for which there is a daily viewing where the little guys (some the size of big dogs) romp around and play in the mud. These animals are mostly orphans or have been separated from their families as a result of poaching and/or destruction of their habitat.

I decided to jump in another matatu and visit the Giraffe Centre, a breeding centre for the endangered Rothschild Giraffe (www.giraffecentre.org). The bus stop was a little further from the centre than I realized and so, after accidentally cueing up for what turned out to be the annual expat Christmas Fair, I wandered the genteel tree-lined streets of Langata (a prestigious suburb populated mainly by the descendants of while settlers and foreign expats) until I eventually found it. The giraffes walked up to a viewing platform where you could feed them food pellets and even kiss them if you so desired. The baby giraffes were very cute, and the sight of a giraffe sticking out its long tongue in anticipation of a treat was quite comical!

After I’d tasted giraffe saliva and felt that my experience was complete, I walked back to the matatu stop, chatting to a nice English bloke called Dave who’d been working in Kenya for four months on a reading project in schools. While he headed onto Nairobi to catch his flight home to Britain, I set off to see some traditional Kenyan dances at the Bomas of Kenya entertainment complex (www.bomasofkenya.co.ke). Although quite touristy, it was a good chance to see a cross-section of dances from a range of different Kenyan tribes, many of which have become less commonly performed as people move to the cities and traditional customs become less an aspect of everyday life. My favourite was the Giriama Wedding dance, where the groom had to enlist the skills of a medicine man after his bride was bewitched into not wanting to marry him! The acting was very dramatic and comical and it ended happily when the bride finally escaped her curse and they were married. The costumes and technical ability were amazing to watch, and I realized where the ubiquitous Kenyan skill in booty-shaking comes from as most of the dances contained a decent amount of this, albeit performed quite differently to the moves observed at Simmers on Friday night!

On Wednesday I head to Zanzibar in Tanzania for an AIESEC conference, and will look forward to experiencing a different country and meeting other AIESEC delegates from Tanzania and Uganda!

Gallery: Nights out, Markets & Giraffes

beth_king — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:30:00 GMT

Gallery: Kenyan Dancing...

beth_king — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:30:00 GMT

Gallery: Kibera...

beth_king — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:31:00 GMT

Kibera... and AMHF Fieldwork

beth_king — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Yesterday I went and visited the school where David, Phillip and Julia (three other AIESEC interns) are teaching in the Kibera slum, the largest slum in Africa. It was first established in 1918 to house Nubian refugees from Uganda, but over the years it has grown to encompass many different tribes and now hosts a population of approximately 1 million. The poverty is made more bizarre by the fact that Kibera is so close to the city (10 minutes on the bus), and you really notice the stark contrast between the tall city buildings and the muddy slum alleyways. It had rained heavily the night before and so by the end of the morning we were all covered in mud; David was saying that in the heavy rains (predicted to start soon with the onset of El Nino, a periodic storm that affects many regions of Africa, Asia and South America) those people living near the river often arrive home after work to find that their entire home has been washed away in the storm.

I took a couple of photos but didn't want to take too many, conscious that these were people's homes. It seemed that all the services in the city were completely replicated in the slum, with road-facing stalls housing clothing, electricals (including lots of mobile phones for sale), cosmetics, chemists, barbers, fruit, groceries, you name it they have it, for a fraction of the price in the city. The rent, often paid to Nubian landlords, is also very cheap, and many people chose to live in the slum for this reason and because it is so close to the city. The roads were unpaved, consisting of dirt (or mud) tracks, and when we walked up onto a hill we could see all the houses, pieced together from scrap corrugated iron, squashed against each other for miles and miles with small alleys in between. Tellingly, the intercity railway line goes through the slum but there is no station at Kibera.

Despite outward appearances, the slum residents live good lives, with lots of laughing and a pervasive optimism. The children were very friendly and we were greeted with choruses of ‘Hello!’ and ‘Habari!’ ("how are you" in Swahili). I noticed that far fewer people spoke English here than in the cities, with Swahili the main lingua franca. Some adults greeted us with wearied looks (I imagine they are sick of voyueristic tourists coming and taking photos of their homes and then leaving without contributing to the community), but most didn't seem fussed either way by our presence, and the school teachers and Principals were very welcoming and happily answered our questions about their work.

The NGO schools were amazing, again corrugated iron constructions with students perched behind small wooden desks, bursting out of mud floor classrooms. That day the students were all taking their end-of-year exams that determine whether they will be admitted into the next year level, and everyone was concentrating hard. We chatted with the teachers, who were mostly volunteers doing the Kenyan version of a "gap year" or years before starting university and were really inspirational people. They said that their school catered for those children who could not afford to attend one of the four massively overcrowded public schools in Kibera (where there are often 100 children in one class), as they charge 500 Kenyan Shillings (A$10) each month and require that students purchase a uniform. Although this doesn't sound like a lot, many of the pupils in the schools we visited were orphans, living with relatives or in half way houses, and thus had no capacity to pay, and for the parents of others the sum was simply too high. This NGO school provided daily meals to every child for only 20 Shillings (A40c) each per week, and charged only those students whose parents could pay a measly 10Sh per month in school fees.

David told me that due to endemic corruption the Kenyatta family (the family of the first democratically elected President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta) now own almost 50% of Kenya, and it is this and similar concentrations of wealth that drain funds from the slum areas. Most of the NGOs receive no government funding and rely solely on private donations, and as a result staff are often underpaid or not paid at all, and resources are scarce. There are similar slums in every town and several in Nairobi, although Kibera is by far the largest.

It's an interesting time in Kenya at the moment, as Kenya’s new draft Constitution has just been released, and Kenyans have the next 30 days to register their comments before it is put to a vote in a referendum. There are many changes to the old laws (established at Kenyan Independence in the 1060s and which allowed ample space for corruption) and the papers are full of discussion on the topic at present. One NGO in Kibera will be trying to get readable versions of this document out to as many slum residents as possible, so that they can have a voice in the consultation process and are made aware of their rights under these new laws.

After David had finished showing us around Kibera, Victoria (my boss at the African Mental Health Foundation or AMHF) picked me up and took me with her on a fieldtrip "upcountry" to the rural areas north of the city. She was meeting with a group of Community Health Workers who had been contracted by AMHF to care for a caseload of mentally ill clients in their local area. This included visiting the clients' homes to make sure that they were not being mistreated (due to stigmatization, people are often tied up and beaten or starved), trying to get clients to take their medication (when the doctor tells you that your pills need to be taken 3 times a day with meals but you have no food, what do you do?), and reporting back to Victoria at AMHF every three months on client progress and any obstacles encountered. Victoria had that morning been at a similar meeting in Kibera, which had been supposed to go for an hour but instead had run way overtime, and this meeting was no different, with many issues raised and advice given. The meeting was in Swahili, but it was lovely to visit the rural area, meet the workers and chat to them about their role. Each looked after around 10 clients for about 3 days per week, for which they were paid a small honorarium. As well as facilitating the program and offering supervision and guidance to the community health workers, The AMHF use the data collected from these workers to compile research into the status of mentally ill people in rural and slum communities, and uses the results to advocate for better services for these people.

At the end of the day I was dropped back at my host family’s home and vegged out on the couch while my host sisters showed me some funky dance moves (I have to get them to teach me so that I can dance like a real sista when I get home), then fell into bed.

Photos: Safari! In the Masai Mara...

beth_king — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:30:00 GMT

Safari! In the Masai Mara...

beth_king — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:30:00 GMT

Well I have now experienced one of Kenya’s main drawcards: the safari. Last weekend we took a trip into the African wilderness and visited the Masai Mara, a national park in Western Kenya famous for hosting the annual wildebeast migration from Tanzania to Kenya, where hundreds of animals cross the Mara River and stampede across the savanna in search of lusher grass. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the tourist numbers swell during this time) the migration is only from July to October, and our experience was more of animals scattered across the landscape than scraping the sides of our vehicle. Despite the obvious tourist trappings, it was an eye-opener into a different kind of Africa. Away from the bustling city, bumping across the vast plains, the sight of herds of animals just doing their thing as they have since before the cities, the safari vans, even before the Masai started grazing their cattle, was liberating and soothing.

On Friday morning I met up with four other AIESEC interns also working in Kenya and, along with our driver Peter, set off for the Masai Mara. On the way we chatted about our various projects: Shige (from Japan) was working to fundraise for a schools project in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, and Triinu (from Estonia) and Veronika (from the Czech Republic) were teaching at a children’s home in Nyeri (a town two hours north of Nairobi). Kazuki (from Japan) was also working for the Nyeri home, and had recently secured funding to build a greenhouse, enabling fresh produce to be grown for the children. As we crossed the Rift Valley in Western Kenya, I watched the land fall away from us on one side, as broad echoing plains faded into distant interlocking mountains scraping the horizon.

We arrived at our camp at around 4pm and were amazed to find it hosted a restaurant, bar and hot showers, as well as cavernous tents well protected from the hardy local insect population. After a brief rest we headed into the mara!! We hung our heads out of the open roof in true safari style and snapped happily away at zebra and wildebeast, even managing to spot a rhino (apparently quite rare), before heading back to the camp for dinner of beef stew, sukuma wiki (stewed spinach) and rice, and a post-dinner round of cards that ended up going quite late into the night (although, due to my good friend jetlag, you can be sure I was tucked up tight by 10:30pm).

The next morning after an early breakfast we set off for an all day ‘game drive’ (don’t worry, the hunting metaphors are merely an overhang from the colonial era), during which we spotted The Big Five! This consists of the Lion (we were lucky enough to have two large males walk centimetres away from our van! We were also witness to a male and female getting it on, although this was short lived as I think they were deterred by the vans with eager tourists watching, as I can imagine I would be!), the Rhino (of the aforementioned evening), the Cheetah (lounging in the grass, then bounding across the plains), the Leopard (this one is very rare, but we spotted him sleeping high up in a tree; apparently they take their kills up into the branches to eat, to avoid their meal being poached by lazy lions), and the Hippo (predictably wallowing in the mud on the banks of the Mara River). We also saw meandering elephants, awkward giraffes, dirty rotten thieving monkeys (Peter had to scare them off with sticks while we were eating lunch, and despite this one still managed to grab Shige’s banana off his plate and run off with it; an amusing cliché), herds of wildebeest (stretching off into the horizon in long caravans), frisky zebra (with their tails constantly switching their striped behinds), long-beaked vultures crouching over carrion, ostriches bending their necks into impossible configurations, Greater Kudu (with their impressive horns), gazelle and buffalo. The most peaceful times were when, in the absence of fauna, we stared across vast plains at the ever-receding horizon and marvelled at the land extending endlessly away from our tiny van, peaceful and nondescript under the bright sky.

After our drive, we finished the day at the Masai village near our camp where (for a negotiable fee) a Masai guide will show you around, giving a brief explanation of Masai customs. As we arrived, the Masai warriors demonstrated their infamous jumping competition (a traditional means for impressing the ladies), and the women performed a dance usually used to welcome a new bride to the village (Masai must marry outside of their own tribe, and when this happens, the women leave their tribe of origin and go to live with their husband’s tribe). Our guide John explained that Masai wear their familiar red shawls because this colour scares the animals and also allows Masai to identify their fellow tribesmen from long distances across the savanna. He informed us there were many Masai villages dotted across the savanna but that this one housed 350 people, living in 25 family houses made from grasses, wood and cow dung. Every 10 years the tribe moves and rebuilds the entire village somewhere else, following the good grazing land (every house takes 3 months to rebuild). Polygamy was still widely practised and the chief of his village has seven wives, but John explained that he only wanted one because “more wives means more trouble!” The marrying age for men and women is 25, and boys are circumcised at age 15 in a ceremony in front of the entire village. If they flinch or show any pain, they bring shame to their family and are banished from the village for the rest of their lives. Girls were formerly circumcised (a procedure more widely know as female genital mutilation or FGM) but this practice has now ceased as a result of pressure from the government and local NGOs. All Masai girls and boys attend the local village school and then have the choice of remaining with their tribe or seeking further education or employment in the cities and towns. During our tour John (who at age 18 is in his final years of high school) got a call from his girlfriend on his mobile phone (she lives in Nairobi and so their relationship is necessarily long distance, but they talk on the phone regularly).

After buying some Masai jewellery and carvings from the makeshift market set up in the village we headed home to a more subdued dinner, and early bed. The next morning we set off for one last early morning drive before bumping our way back to the city. Now back at the office in front of my computer that place seems a world away, but I look forward to escaping the city a few more times before tight scheduling pulls me back to Australia.

Gallery: The first few days...

beth_king — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:00 GMT

The first few days...

beth_king — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:00 GMT

Well I've been in Kenya two days and it feels like a year! The AIESEC students at The University of Nairobi have been so welcoming that I already feel at home in Kenya.

I flew into Nairobi Monday lunchtime, after a 34 hour plane adventure involving butterflies, sleeping on many different and equally uncomfortable chairs, and dozing through multiple screenings of 'Up' (clearly Singapore and Qatar Airways' movie of the month) while trying not to miss out on the periodic distribution of disappointing vegetarian flight-fare. The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was on my arrival surprisingly quiet and peaceful, and while waiting for my AIESEC buddies to come pick me up I amused myself by repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) trying to make the Coke vending machine accept my Kenyan shilling notes (100 shillings equals approximately A$2). When Stella (a local Nairobian) Jessie (from Canada) and Shige (from Japan) arrived we exchanged hugs and piled into an overpriced taxi and headed to the AIESEC Nairobi office at the University of Nairobi (or UON for short).

Once at the office I was greeted by a canon of handshakes and introductions, and whisked off to lunch at a nearby diner where we had Stoney’s Ginger Ale (a local nonalcoholic version of Stones it seemed to me) and I had black beans in sauce with chapatti (a slice of India in a nation which has adopted many facets of Indian culture, including the very popular milky (and sugary) chai!).

Two other local students Asha and Hafsa took me for a walk through the ‘upper class downtown’ area of Nairobi (I’ve been told that the real downtown area is too dangerous for naïve meanderings) and we chatted about the differences and similarities between Kenya and Australia, and about Hafsa’s work with the African Mental Health Foundation (AMHF), the place where I’ll be doing my internship. It sounded like amazing stuff, working to identify and treat PTSD in children who had witnessed the 2007 post-election violence and survived, sometimes the only members from their family to do so. In 2007, following Kenya’s second ever round of presidential elections, violence erupted protesting against what many believed was an unfair election result reinstating Mwai Kibaki as President. Over 1000 people were killed during this time and over 600,000 made homeless, with those living in the slum areas most affected. Hafsa visited the Kibera slum, heavily affected by the violence, and collected data from children there for the AMHF study.

I also learnt more about the problems with the current Kenyan government and the issue of corruption which often looms large for everyday Kenyans. Since the 2007 post-election violence and subsequent 2008 peacekeeping deal brokered by then UN Secretary Kofi Annan, a power-sharing arrangement has been in place with former opposition leader Raila Odinga occupying the newly created prime ministerial position while Mwai Kibaki retains ultimate power at President. This outcome meant however that ultimately little changed for Kenyans, with bribery of officials still the norm and government bigwigs pocketing much of the taxes collected.

Despite the political imperfections, Kenya is an amazing place. Its natural environment hosts everything from snow-capped mountains to deserts, to tropical forests and beaches. The cities, especially Mombasa (on the coast) are rich with history, and the people are very friendly and outgoing (I have heard great stories about the city’s nightlife!).

As my host mum Victoria had to work late, Stella offered to have me at her house for the night. I was amazed when she called her mum and dad to let them know that she would be bringing a strange Australian home with her and their only concern was whether they should have special food prepared for me!! Stella’s mum and dad and her sisters were so welcoming and there were many belly laughs as they prepared Ugali (a traditional Kenyan dish which is kind of like a grain-based porridge set hard and served in large slabs) for me and we watched the hip hop movie ‘Step Up’ together on their wide-screen tv. Their house was beautiful, set in the green hills overlooking the city, with gorgeous sculptured gardens and tall palm trees scattered across the rolling greenery.

The next morning Hafsa took me to the AMHF for my first day of work! I met my new boss (also called Victoria) and the other researchers, and did some data entry (a little mind-numbing but satisfying), and then we headed back to the uni. I went with Jessie and two other European interns to the local Masai market, and was overwhelmed by the variety of brightly coloured wares for sale, and by the overbearing touts that following us around constantly chatting and picking up things for us to look at. Despite Tuesdays being the weekly AIESEC drinks night at the local Coco Lounge, I was keen to take my bags to my host family’s house, and Kim (another local AIESEC member) kindly escorted me there on a matatu (the Kenyan buses which vary from small minivans to full sized 40 seaters, and often sport large pictures of Snoop Dog accompanied by booming hip hop). My host family (Victoria, Vivian, Naomi and David) were very welcoming and as soon as I’d been shown my room we sat down and ate a dinner of chapatti and lamb stew (unfortunately, being a vegetarian is almost impossible in Kenya, as 90% dishes involve meat and the concept of being veggie-only is greeted with anything from mild surprise to indignation) before I collapsed into bed.

I’m looking forward to meeting all the UON AIESEC members later this week at their weekly meeting - there are 90 members of AIESEC at the UON alone, and many more in the other Nairobi universities! At the moment there are also around 10 other foreign interns doing internships in Nairobi through the UON AIESEC, and it’s been really nice to meet some of the others and hear about where they’re working. This weekend we’re planning to go on a safari at Masai Mara, and I’m excited about hopefully seeing some lions, elephants, hippos, zebras and maybe cheetahs!