So we have successfully uploaded Video #2 (AKA our first full video of interviews)- Hurrah! If you haven't seen it yet, please check it out and spread it around: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NffQ_pti2W0&feature=plcp . Our hearts break a bit after watching the final 10 minute piece, because it is all we have to show for the hours and hours and hours of footage and conversations we have had. To some extent, these small video clips make the discussions more superficial… And that's really a shame, because if there's one thing we have been getting out of the trip so far, it is that foreign aid is complicated. It's not all good and it's not all bad- The answer lies somewhere within the complexity of it all.
We are still in Kisumu, we have been here for about a week, and believe it or not, we have just started our interviews here. Creating and uploading Video #2 turned out to be much more complicated than we had thought. Hopefully we have learned from this experience and will save some time in the future.
Anyways- we wanted to fill in a bit on what's been happening the past few days. But first rewind back to June 7 (Thursday). In our last blog we mentioned that we met a guy named Chris on a rooftop who taught us to play a card game, AK47 [yes, Marie, that is the game you're thinking of] and then gave us a really great interview. Chris used to be a street boy in Kisumu but is now in his mid-20's working at a restaurant and seems to be doing really well for himself. We got along really easily, and both of us got really positive vibes from him. It's difficult here because it seems that 99/100 people you meet have an agenda. Usually it's money, sometimes it's just a meal or a drink. Regardless, we've both experienced the disappointment that comes with thinking you've met a great friend, who ends up having anterior motives. So we are both pretty skeptical of making friends like that on the fly in Kenya. However, if you go through every day distrusting every person you meet, you will end up being an asshole to that 1 person in a hundred who really doesn't have an agenda. So we were both trying to feel out who this Chris guy is.
He offers to get us interviews with several of the NGO's in Kisumu that have programs for street boys, and even states that he doesn't expect/want any money or compensation, that he's really just interested in our project and would love to expose a lot of the corruption within Kisumu's NGOs. We decide to see what happens. We meet up the next day for an interview (set up by Chris) with Duncun, the Director of "KESBoys," one of Kisumu's organizations for street kids. Chris has these connections because he has gone through the programs himself. Interview goes great. We head out to grab a bite to eat. Long story short, at lunch Chris finally brings up that the restaurant he's working for needs KSH 2500 by 4 PM that day or else they'll be shut down. He repeats that he's really not trying to scam us, that he'll even pay us back if we give him a week's time, etc. We explain that we're on a grant, that the money is not even ours to give, that we have to record every shilling we spend, and if the foundation finds we are using the money for things unrelated to our project we could be shut down. But god forbid the guy is telling the truth- right? What if he actually is just in a tight place and our $30 could help him save his restaurant?
Blegh. Whatever you do in that situation, it's hard to find peace with yourself. Which is ironic, because this is a Project for Peace. As a compromise, we offer to continue coming to his restaurant to eat every day-- It was relatively cheap, and good food, so we wouldn't be out any money even if it was a scam. Also, if we came for lunch and dinner every day for four days, that's $30 right there. But of course he needed that money by 4 PM that night so that offer was no good. Gah. We ended up not helping him out, because we felt weird about the whole situation. Several days later, the restaurant is still open.
We now feel weirder, though, because Chris has continued to stay in contact and has been trying to set up interviews for us with different organizations/ wants to just grab a drink together. So that makes us think he could be legit? Either way, although Kisumu is a city, it's a small city, so we don't want to piss anyone off-- Just yesterday afternoon we ran into Chris on a sidewalk downtown. So we've been trying to stay on good terms while keeping our distance.
June 11 (Monday) we met up with Betty, the director of Civil Society Organization Network, for an interview. She is an amazing woman. The Civil Society Organization receives a lot of international funding, and runs workshops across Kisumu to encourage discussions on violence, democratic values, human rights, the value of free speech, etc. She spoke about the difficulties she finds in receiving funds internationally, that a lot of donors treat her and her staff as if they are criminals, ready to use the money with bad intentions. To receive money from some international donors you have to write a proposal. Some donors award the money two to three years later, when the project proposed is no longer relevant. Yet because the donor does not trust the organization, there is no flexibility- if the organization uses the money for anything but the originally proposed project, the organization will become blacklisted. If an org. is blacklisted they will struggle to find another donor to supply any money. If the org. carries out the irrelevant project to appease the donor, 1- They are no longer doing effective work, and 2- They will quickly lose support from the community, and will be seen as doing irrelevant work. Betty was a very useful contact and gave us an idea for our next week's location!
Today, June 12 (Tuesday), we visited Agape, a Christian ministry organization that houses street boys in Kisumu. We got an interview with the director, Chris Page, who had graduated from West Point and had possibly run track at Colgate. Small world. After Agape we walked along the street for a bit until we saw a sign on a building that read "KICK." We walked inside and found that it stands for the Kenyan Innovation Center in Kisumu. Inside, there were 4 or 5 different groups of artisans- One group was making jewelry from recyclable goods. One group was making chairs and tables from woven Hyacinth plants-- [Sidenote: The Hyacinth plant is a weed that has grown a lot over the past few decades on the water close to the shore of Lake Victoria. In some areas, the Hyacinth is so thick that fishermen can no longer access the water.] We interviewed a man named George, who used to be a fisherman. He stopped fishing because of the hyacinth, but is now really successful because of the hyacinth- How ironic, no? They received initial funding from the Department for International Development for a 5-year grant. After the 5-year grant (2004) the organization fell through. In 2005, group members revived the organization as a business without any funding. They have been extremely successful since. In fact, their work is so impressive that they were recently asked to create the casket for Wangari Maathai, esteemed Kenyan philanthropist and professor. Amazing work.
Other life updates since the last blog:
-We found a little joint in Kisumu that has really great banana bread for cheap! We also learned that we both love banana bread! Win, and win.
-Cal finished reading "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins. It's a non-fiction book. Perkins used to be CEO/chief economist of a company that made contracts with developing countries in order to make them dependent on the US. This book is his personal memoir about what went on behind the scenes. Cal is currently interested in other people's opinions on the book. For anyone who is interested in international development/globalization/IR/politics in general, the book will probably be up your alley whether or not you agree with the content. Email ccrawford@colgate.edu or get at me on Facebook if you've read it-- I'd love other opinions.
-Evan found a tick on his body last night (Monday June 11). We pulled it off. Good.
-We have a new idea- to create small videos highlighting Kenyan news articles which we find pertinent to our project. Hopefully this will go well!
E&C
