Winding Down

 As you may have noticed, blog posts and pictures have slowed down a little. The last few days have been full of people and experiences. Now, we are spending our last night in Chogoria. There is a very bittersweet feeling in the house.
 Today we said some of our first goodbyes. We finished our time at Village Hopecore International. Only a few tears were shed, but memories and friends were made that will last a life time.
 Tomorrow we leave at 10:00 am to head to Nairobi. We will stay one night in Nairobi and then take a flight to our resort where we will stay until Friday, when we will fly back to Nairobi and then catch our first international flight home.
 Tonight, we are packing, journaling and printing off pictures to give to people tomorrow. Our last morning in chogoria will be a very emotional morning followed by a long drive.

I am not sure if I will have a chance to blog anymore on this trip. We will stay one night in Nairobi, but I will not be bringing the computer to the resort.

There will be more posts and more pictures once we are home with unlimited internet and time. Can't wait!

Until then, (or maybe tomorrow, if I have time) thank you so much to those of you who have kept up with this blog. It means so much that we got to over 2,000 views and that you all enjoyed the posts and the pictures.

To close, I want to extend congratulations to my friend Allison, who commented a few times on this blog. She had a beautiful baby boy (on Sunday I think.) CONGRATS!

Faraja and a Waterfall

Yesterday, the group decided that we had had one of the best days of the trip.
In the morning, we went to Faraja Project. This family center provides a feeding program for children and a safe place for them to play. They also have a pre-school and a library. We were able to play with many children, see them get a good meal and blow lots of bubbles.

Abby held a very successful bookdrive in Jamestown and was able to bring bags of books to help build the library at Faraja. We had a really fun time browsing through all of the books and putting them on the shelves, knowing that they would be read by many children who didn't have books of their own. It was a very low key, yet satisfying and inspiring way to start a Saturday.

At Faraja, there is one little boy named Clinton who started coming there when he was very small and very ill. Now, he is healthy and happy and basically runs the place. He loved playing with us and letting us carry him places.

We also brought a ton of coloring books and crayons. Tables were lined with kids coloring and they were all talking and discussing and stealing crayons from each other.

After Faraja, we were picked up by Micheni, the driver for Village Hopecore International. He agreed to show us a beautiful waterfall and a natural land bridge. The hike down to the waterfall was very slippery and a little treacherous, but we all made it through. The hike was definately worth it. The waterfall was breathtaking.

After the hike, we returned to the house, muddy, sleepy, a little sore, but satisfied. What a fun and exciting way to spend one of our last days in the area.

(Pictures will be uploaded eventually :) )

One Week Left

As I write this post, we are approaching the time we will board our plane and leave for home in one week. One week left here in Kenya and only three days left here in the community and Chogoria.

The next few days will be filled with teary goodbyes, friendly hugs and many thanks.

In fact, we have a few thank you's to say tonight.
First, to the F.I.S.H Foundation. There is no way we could have ever made it to Kenya with out the support of this amazing group. They gave each student a scholarship to help pay for the cost of the trip, which decreased the amount we had to raise on our own.

Next, to the community and family members who supported us on this journey. Your financial contributions, donataions of school supplies, well wishes and thoughts all helped us get this far.

Everyone of us at this point feels a little torn. On one hand, we can't wait to go on safari and then head home to our families and comfort food. On the other hand, each of us has expressed that spending many more weeks in Chogoria would be a fantastic and enjoyable experience.

This community has welcomed us and climbed into our hearts, where they will never leave.

One week left! Where do the days go.

Gifts and Reverend Brenda

Today was a day full of so many things, but a few of the best parts were gift giving at Village Hopecore and visiting Reverend Brenda and her beautiful home.

As we start to wrap up our time here in Chogoria, we are giving gifts to some of the people who have influenced us the most. So many people at Village Hopecore International made an impact on our stay here. We handed out a few special gifts: a calculator to Albert the accountant, a flashy hunters orange hat to Micheni, our driver, and a pen set to Dr. KK. Then we let the rest of the staff pick from an assortment of other gifts. Speaches were given by Chris and the three girls who spent the most time with Village Hopecore and those thanks were given back.

Working with Village Hopecore International was an eye opening and educational experience that not only taught the students about the challenges of a non-profit, but also showed them parts of Kenya many people will never see. In return, Village Hopecore International gained new friends and used our Character in Leadership students to help write a documents to include more character and leadership qualities into organizations in the area.

After the gift giving, we were introduced to Reverend Brenda. Reverend Brenda has lived in Africa for over 20 years, and has a beautiful little house on the complex. Her yard is gorgeous and filled with flowers and plants and a swing that hangs from one of the highest branch in a huge tree. After swinging for a while and eating supper, we returned to her house to just sit in the clean and well furnished home. After living in the guest house for this long, it made us all a little homesick, but very appreciative to have met her and to enjoy her hospitality.

Also, because she has been here so long, she knows many more things about the culture and the people of Kenya. She answers all of our questions patiently, though she greets and brefriends many travelers just like us.

Like I said earlier, today was very full but wonderful.

Gapath Dancers

Yesterday, we experienced something that was truly experiencing Kenya. We were honored to attend a meeting of the Gapath Performers and Educators. Gapath, is a mixture of a Meru word and an English word. When translated it means small path. In order to live a healthy life and help others, they must follow a small path.
 The Gapath Performers and Educators are a group that uses the traditional mother tongue of the area, traditional songs and dance to teach people about the culture of the Kimeru and to teach people about things like the dangers of alcohol, AIDS, malaria and typhoid.

 Earlier in the week, Dr. KK Mugambi asked the three students, Darla, Morgan and Jacie, who are working at Village Hopecore, to prepare job descriptions for the leaders of the group who are elected. The problem was the people of the group elected people because they liked them, not because they were qualified.
 The group wrote up job descriptions for the people to show them the importance of competency and urge them to think of these requirments when electing their leaders.
 The Gapath dancers agreed with the job descriptions for most of the leaders including the chairwoman who was elected unanimously, but secretary was a bit harder.
 In order to be a successful group, one person must be able to read and write in English and KiSwahili. The issue with language is that different regions have different mothertoungues. This becomes an issue when traveling out of your district or talking to a person from a different region. Unfortunately, no one in the group was able to read and write both languages. The position was post-poned until new members joined.

 Before and after the meeting though, they danced and sang for us. Few things are as beautiful as the Kimeru people singing. When they sing together, they are strong and confident and their dancing is contagious. Despite the fact that they don't have traditional dress yet, you know you are witnessing a part of history when you watch them dance. After all, the chairwoman is over 70 years old. (She could be older, the exact age is escaping me.)

Offering

Last Sunday, we attended a 3 hour church service here. (As mentioned in a post below.) But I skimmed over the process of offering.

In this church, there are many members who do not have shillings to donate to the church. When this is the case, they bring a gift to be auctioned off and then the proceeds will go to the church.

The offering is collected in baskets, not plates and things that are placed in there may be jewelry, a live chicken or fresh produce.

The first item they held up was a pink necklace. Amy, (one of the girls who has been going to the school) bid 100 shillings. After seeing the bright color, I called out that I would pay 200 shillings and the necklace was mine. Don't worry, Amy got a nice red necklace and Cindy (our advisor) purchased a purple necklace.

Giving offering this way made church such a fun experience and the congregation loved that we participated. It was a wonderful way to bond with the people of Chogoria Complex.

The church tower of the brand new church that should be finished in January.

"Leonard, I am in need of your skirt." -- Dr. KK Mugambi

This day was full of laughter, sight seeing, hiking, discussion, teaching, dancing and laughing. However, at the end of it, I am too exhausted to blog about it at this moment. Enjoy these photos and short captions in place of a blog post and look forward to more than one tomorrow.

Views are very close to 2,000. Share with all of your friends. Who knows, maybe they will like it. :)

Chris hamming it up this morning as he helped some of the Character in Leadership students work on some documents for Dr. K.K. These documents are already beeing implemented and could be historic. Stay tuned for more information!

A brightly dressed little boy that Darla and I met during business visits today. He looks shy, but his mother was very insistent and he eventually warmed up to the strange looking smiley things.

Darla and I stopped for a photo op after a hike down to a waterfall. The waterfall was really hard to get in the background of the photo. Just imagine its splendor.

She was the chairperson of the traditional educational dance group we visited today (interested? better check back later for more) She had a beautiful voice and led most of the songs despite having malaria and typhoid. Talk about strength.

One of the dancers who had great earrings.

Even the men wore earrings in this ddance group.

(From left to right: Darla, Beth, Morgan and Jacie) We got into the action when they let us wear their skirts. I was really getting into it, but shortly after this, they group made fun of my dance moves.

Days in the hospital

It is my turn, Hannah,  to share a little bit about my experience here in Chogoria. Many of you reading the blog may not know me but I am a Radiology Tech major. I also loving anything that involves kids. All last week I was working in the schools with the kids and teachers which was so much fun but not in my field at all. Yesterday and today I got the opportunity to work at the Chogoria Hospital in the Radiology department. It has been a very interesting and eye opening experience!

I had no idea what to expect when approaching the department after getting to know the area of Chogoria over the last week. How to even begin to explain I'm not sure but I'll try my best. The deputy of the hospital lead me to the department. When we walked in, the Radiology Tech had no idea I was coming that day (typical with the communication between departments). The room was quite small. It had one X-ray machine that was not movable, except for moving it horizontally and vertically. For a machine that does not move, it was not in a good location in the room because it was very hard to move around. As for the machine itself  the arm would slide up and down for positioning. It had a pointer for aligning the patient where they need to be and we would have to adjust the table or cassette to be in the correct position.

The controls and "office" were in the same small room, tucked in the corner. The exposure controls was a small box next to a big generator box. Like controls back home, you pick what kind of X-ray you are doing then adjust the degree of exposure you need according to the type of patient. The machine here is very old so the older the patient the higher they put the numbers for exposure. When I was shadowing at Jamestown Hospital they had recently updated to the most updated machines so it was a few simple clicks of a mouse and the image was up on the computer screen. That was not the case here! To take the picture you had to hold the prep button for about 5 seconds and then press exposure and hold them both for about another 5 seconds. As I have mentioned, it is a very old machine! They still you cassette's with film in them to take the X-ray. As soon as they take the X-ray they go right to the dark room and develop it. It's like a photo printer, it's pretty cool! You put it in the tray and let is process through 4 cycles to develop and harden the film and about 5 minutes later you have the developed X-ray.

The machine that interested me the most was the ECG machine. I was used to seeing ECG's done on an ultrasoundd machine but here they had a seperate machine and a very old one at that! It reminded me of the game "Operation". The control box looked like a projector without the lens. The patient was hooked up to four different color clamps, two on their ankles and two on their wrists. The cables were then hooked up to their respective colors and then the cables that hook up to the chest looked like mini balloon horns that clowns carry and were suctioned to their right chest. The recording of the ECG printed out on reciept size paper with  many different readings on it. Out of all the machines I encountered, this one was the most different but so fun to see!

Today I got to spend most of my day with the Sonographer, Jeremiah, who studied in the US for four years. Ultrasound is the area of Radiology I am most intersted in so it was fun to spend most of my day in that area. Again the sonography machine was very outdated but it functions just fine. A difference between the US and here is they dont get to save images while they are doing an ultrasound they just have to print them and they come out of the machine like a kodak pciture out of a polaroid picture and then at the end they get a stream of pictures like a photo booth. Another difference is that they handwrite medical results immediately after the ultrasound to give them back to the patient.

As for a few differences besides the machines that really stuck out to me. First of all, the prices of the X-ray's! They were so inexpensive. A chest X-Ray was 1,000 shillings so about $12.50. An ECG was about 1,500 shillings which is about $20, just for a few examples! I was shocked, but to them that is expensive. They had to pay the fees before they could have any X-ray taken.  Another shocker was they do not use robes at all. To say the least, when the first person was a girl getting a chest X-ray and I walked out of the office I was a little surprised as to what I saw. As the day went on I realized that was norm and that was the way things worked here. When a X-ray was being taken we would lock the door with a skeleton key, but other than that people just walked in an out as they pleased even with a patient in the room. The biggest shock to me was the patients were handed the results right after the test and it was their responsibility to take the results to their doctor.

I have four favorite experiences over the last few days: taking a hand X-ray on my own, developing/processing X-rays for 2 hours and reading them, holding a 7 month old baby boy for about a half hour, and watching OB/GYN ultrasounds. Overall it was a great experience for me to spend two days in the hospital. Sometimes I wish I could be in two places at once. I'm very excited to get back to the kids and teach standard 2 tomorrow but I would also love a few more days at the hospital. Hopefully I can get a few pictures up on the blog so everyone can see what I am talking about with the machines I worked with the last few days!

Loan Distribution

The Village Hopecore Office is always a little jumpy the day of loan distribution. It is an important day after all. This day is when the members of the groups who were approved for loans arrive to receive their money. This is the first step in creating a business they can support their families with. Even the stoic faces of Kenyan people cannot hide how much this money means to each person.

The groups who receive money are made up of 12 people. Most of these groups are made up of only women, but some have a few men. There are even a few that are made up of solely men.

Village Hopecore International gives each group some business training and then travels to their homes to see their assets and what they are planning to do with the money. Most people grow coffee, tea and/or bananas. They may also own a cow or two and chickens. The money they receive in the loan can be used to improve their current business or start a new one. For example, one family might use their money to put a cement floor down for their cows to stand on. (It is safer and cleaner for the cows.) Another family may be purchasing their first chicks to raise and then sell the eggs or the chickens themselves. There are many options for the families to create an income to help sustain their family.

Carlo's hands writing during the interview of one of the members.

The issue that makes the Village Hopecore employees so nervous is the question of whether or not the groups will show up. “You would think money would be a good incentive to get here,” said Carlo, the man who visited each farm and is in charge of making sure the loan money is used correctly. “Kenyan time,” as some refer to it, is the reluctance of local citizens to keep track of time. Rarely will an event start on time, but Village Hopecore tries to change this attitude in their employees and the people they work with. When dealing with the loans, timeliness is encouraged and expected.

This particular loan distribution didn’t start until three hours late.

The groups sitting in the small conference room at Village Hopecore International.

After everyone finally arrived, the people were seated in a room and the ceremony took place. Despite their tardiness, the people who received the loans were obviously excited and thankful. This small loan of about 400 American dollars at 9% interest for two years with a two month grace period, is just enough for them to create a successful and profitable business. If the loan is paid back in one year, they are able to take out another loan of equal value with no interest, which is a big incentive. However, only a small percentage are able to take advantage of this perk.

 

One woman after receiving her loan.



After the ceremony was over and the pictures were taken, the groups quickly left to start the trek back to their homes and start the process of using their new loan. The chairs are stacked up and the office returns to its peaceful self. Two weeks after the groups receive their money, they will be visited to make sure they have taken the steps they had discussed. That could mean buying the chickens, contracting the cement work or purchasing a new cow. These improvements and purchases could never be imagined if it wasn’t for Village Hopecore International.



Some of the cows at one of the farms during the appraisal visit. These cows did not have a cement floor, so that would be the first improvment made with the money.



Pictures!

As you may have noticed I have been pretty stingy with photos because I was afraid to use to much of the internet access I bought at the beginning of the trip.

Turns out...I have way more than I thought. Look forward to many more photos! Also, if you click the "View My Gallery" link near the top of the page, you will be directed to an online gallery of photos. I only added a few today, but my goal is to add a TON of photos tomorrow as well as add captions and get them in a chronological order.

Disorganization of photos drives me crazy.

Look forward to more stuff tomorrow! 111 views today already! Keep it up and thank you for following what we are up to here in Chogoria. It makes us feel wonderful to know you are there.

Motivation

Today, the teachers were actually teaching in the Chogoria Complex Primary School. They taught math, science and English and were able to sit in on a couple Kiswahili lessons.

One of the things I was asked to do was take pictures of a motivational exercise. One of the second grade teachers in Janice. She has made friends with a lot of us and even brought us someone to do our nails today! (pictures to follow) (tomorrow, I promise)

Janice asked me to be in her classroom to document the giving of motivational gifts. She stood at the front of the class and called the names of the students from the number one score on the exams to the last student. All of the students recieved gifts though, because they all improved.

All except for one small girl who was new, so seeing the gifts, Janice said she would be motivated for the next exams.

She purchased the umbrellas from a shop one of the student's parents owned and used the money the parents provide for this sort of gift.

The students were very excited and giggled as the camera flash went off in the dark classroom that is lit, usually just by sunlight.

I led them out to the field where they all lined up for a picture.

Some of the boys hammed it up for the camera.

The class all posing nicely with their umbrellas. The three bigger umbrellas (can you spot them?) were given to the top three in the class.

Putting the umbrellas away. This is probably one of my favorite photos of the whole trip.

So many hands!

After church today, we were invited to the private primary girls boarding school. (The name will be filled in once I am able to remember what it is.)

We had tried to approach some of the girl earlier this week, but had been told we needed to have permission, so we were excited to visit. We weren't exactly sure what we were getting into, but the headmistress sent us off with the prefects of each class and we went around to different grades to visit and answer questions.

The girls were all very excited to have us at their school. They would sing for us and then ask us to sing for them. They often asked to hear our national anthem and they were very interested in anything American.

Questions ranged from how many counties were in the state we lived (53, Darla only missed this number by one today) to if we were homesick. They had so many questions to ask about knowledge and about our personal lives, which was interesting and a bonding experience for all of us.

Another questions they ask is "Why is your hair different than ours?" We tried to explain that it is just another way in how we are different, and that there are people that look just like them in the United States too. They really asked tough questions that were difficult to answer in a way that is appropriate.

Touching our hair was also a big draw. I took my hair out of my ponytail today and let a few classes to touch it. They giggle and tell me how soft it is. One girl started braiding it today. When they touch your hair, they usually move to your face and then they looked at our ears and earings today. So many hands on your skin and in your hair, you feel more like an attraction at a petting zoo than a person in a classroom. Then, you are reminded you are human when they ask you to tell them about your family back in the U.S.A..

The school we visited is one of the best schools in the country and has girls from all over Kenya. All of the girls were extremely intelligent.

With them, we sang High School Musical, talked about our families and life at home, learned about each other's countries and had some physical contact. I think we qualify as friends.

(Sorry for no pictures! I had no idea the tour of the school would involve as many people and I was taking a break day from the camera around my neck that afternoon.)

Sunday, Sunday

What a Sunday we had here in Chogoria! It was much more full than we had planned, but at the end of the day...I think we all enjoyed ourselves.

Church service today at the P.C.E.A. lasted three hours. We arrived at 10:30 to the sound of loud and joyous music pouring from the small stone church at the bottom of the small hill near the school. When we walked in, few people had arrived. (African time.) And we were just enjoying the music and greeting people we had already met earlier in the day.

The service was pretty wonderful to be a part of. These people are so full of faith and are not afraid to show it. There were many songs and dancing. During the sermon, the people respond to what is being said. It wasn't as flamboyant as some, but a short mhm, chuckle or nod of agreeance let's the reverand know he has their attention.

 The children are all dressed up in their Sunday best. Some sit quietly, others bounce in the pews to the beat of the music and many roam the aisles and play outside in the grass and the small entrance that has some seating. The children were less afraid of us today and many came up to say hello to the teachers or shake our hands as we passed.

The church is actually going to be replaced very soon. The congregation and church council hopes to be in a much larger new church that is being built up the hill from the old one. With this larger church, services won't get as hot, singing will sound better and they will be able to include the girls' boarding schools in some of the school services and church services.

Going to church this morning was a really fun way to bond with the community. For offering at this church, if you do not have shillings to contribute, you can bring a small trinket or some produce. Today, Amy and I both purchased necklaces, a live chicken was auctioned off and some fresh fruit was bought for us. Participating in this offering helped us to show the community that we are here to work and experience their community and culture.

Rain and reflection

As I write this short personal post, the rain is starting to fall on our house. We are all pretty settled down tonight. Some are writing in their journals and others reading in their books. Still, others are already sound asleep.

Tomorrow, we will attend church service at the Presbyterian church on the complex. We practiced songs to sing tonight, and I am really looking forward to this!

A few special thank yous:

-Thanks to Abby and Jacie for being guest bloggers this week.
-Thanks to my family and boy for keeping me from getting too emotional tonight. (Getting a little homesick and we aren't even halfway through!)
-Thank you to all who are reading this blog. It feels really nice to know that people are paying attention. Share us with your friends and keep us in your minds and hearts as we continue here in Chogoria.

Good night/ good afternoon!

Olive Gardens Retreat

There are five lessons you can learn from a pencil.

Lesson Number 1:  Everything you do will leave a mark.
Lesson Number 2:  You can always correct the mistakes you make.
Lesson Number 3:  What is important is inside you.
Lesson Number 4:  In your life you will go through painful sharpenings which will make you a better pencil.
Lesson Number 5:  To be the best pencil you can be you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hands that hold you.

Hello, all.  My name is Abby (Teacha Abby as the students here call me).  I just graduated from Jamestown College at the beginning of May with a degree in Elementary Education.  I'm one of the young adults on the trip that is working in the Chogoria Complex Primary School for the duration of our time here in Chogoria.  The above lessons that can be related to a pencil were discussed today in our retreat.  I just thought it was neat and wanted to share it :)

Today we went with members of the Chogoria Complex school committee (school board) and staff to a retreat in Meru.  The retreat is held annually and is a time when members of the school committee and staff get together to disucss issues and news involving the school.

This year the retreat was held at Olive Gardens.  Olive Gardens was a beautiful place to hold the retreat.  We emptied the bus at the entrance and walked through some beautiful scenery back to our meeting place.  There were swings.  The teachers, the support staff, and some members of the committee were swinging.  Some of the girls on the trip were pushing them and swinging as well.  Everyone was enjoying the beautiful day, the wonderful place, and the new relationships.

The retreat consisted of worship, songs, dance, and many speakers.  The retreat was meant to teach, inspire, inform, and unite the teachers, support staff, and school committee members of Chogoria Complex.

Rose was the first to speak and talked a lot about the importance of everyone's role in the school.  She really stressed that in order for the school to work and run smoothly everyone had to be united.  The audience was in agreement.  We also heard from a teacher who teaches at the Girls' Primary Boarding School on the Complex.  She also spoke of unity and had many words of wisdom.  As a teacher myself, I took a lot away from what she was saying, but even the non-teachers at the retreat could get a lot out of it.  True to teacher form I did take a hand-out titled "Remarkable Teachers", my new words to live by.  Janice, the class 2 teacher at Chogoria Complex Primary School, is the one that made the pencil analogy.  Be inspired.. 

David Mbae, the Chairman of the Chogoria Complex Primary School, also spoke.  He talked a lot about the partnership forming between the Chogoria Complex and Jamestown College.  I was so happy as I was listening to him talk about the partnership because I am a part of that, we are a part of that, and many people to come will get to be a part of it.  They already have many ideas about what they want to see in the future.  They want to continue bringing teachers to Chogoria and they want to eventually get some of the Chogoria teachers to Jamestown.  The main point of the partnership is to have a constant exchange of ideas.

After the retreat ended, we took some group photos, made a couple stops in Meru, and headed home for the night.

More updates to come from the teachers!

Tea, Stone and Coffee

 Today the group took a tourist day.

 Every morning, we meet for breakfast at 7:30. This morning we had fresh pineapple (delish), eggs and toast as well as red plum jam (which is also delicious.) We didn't spend as much time at breakfast this morning though, because we wanted to get over to see the Chogoria Complex Primary School's morning assembly. We ended up being a little late. (Breakfast is served at 7:30 and the assembly starts at 8. It's a tough squeeze every morning.)

After we watched the morning assembly, I tried to use a couple ATM's. I was unsuccessful. One machine simply wouldn't take my card and the other one would, but it was out of money today.

We headed back to the house just in time to see Tony, our driver for most of the outings we take and a good friend of Chris and Jamestown College, pull up in a land rover, just like the picture posted below. We piled in and took off.

Roads are very interesting in Chogoria. Some are paved, but have HUGE potholes and very large speed bumps. The dirt roads are in bad condition this time of year because of the rain: imagine a prairie trail in North Dakota. (Very bumpy.) And others are paved and perfect. Roads are a process here, just like they are everywhere else in the world.

Tony is a good driver, and the land rover handles the roads pretty well, but the drive was a rough one.

We reached the stone quarry first. It is HUGE. Massive walls of the hill have already been carved away leaving a gaping hole in the ground that fills with water sometimes. The stones are all cut from hand. Stones from that quarry are used all over the district to build houses, schools and churches. The guide who showed us the operation also took us to see a nearby waterfall. In order to get to the waterfall we had to cross a bridge that was pretty rickety. Some of the boards were bending under the lightest member's weight, but the view was worth it.

On our way back to the land rover, our guide was telling us that it is dangerous work to cut rock. During the rainy season especially, the rock can become unstable and rock slides are not unheard of. He told us one happened that killed seven workers. Another larger one happend, but luckily it happened at night.

Jacie standing next to stones that were almost as tall as she was!

Hannah and Abby in the back of the landrover. The scenery was so beautiful, we stared out the windows most of the time.

The men who work there walk around in bare feet and scale the rock walls very quickly. Some of us had trouble even in our tennis shoes.

Then we headed to the tea factory where we learned about the process and a little bit about the chemistry of harvesting and producing tea. Kenya only drinks 2% of the tea they produce and they drink tea up to three times a day. We had tea time before we left the tea factory, which kind of served as our lunch.

Our last stop was the coffee factory, which was a much different place. Instead of the machines we saw in the tea factory, the sorting and moving of the coffee is all done by hand and with water. The racks of coffee drying were very impressive, but very pale. None of the roasting takes place at that factory, so they ship it to Nairobi to be processed.

This is what coffee beans look like before they are roasted, while laying on drying racks in the sun.

The Village Hopecore Office

 This morning a group of us headed to Village Hopecore to witness the loan distribution ceremony, which will be described in a later post, but we had an interesting morning before any of that started. We had been told to arrive at the office at ten o'clock this morning, but the day didn't go quite as planned.

 We arrived on time and were told the groups were running late and we were directed to the office where the three girls will be working next week. All six of us sat down, for what we expected to be a ten to twenty minute wait. We ended up waiting for almost three hours.

 Though the wait was unexpected, it was not unpleasant. We took the opportunity to relax, have some good oonversation and enjoy the atmosphere of the Village Hopecore office. While sitting there, I wrote some notes about what was going on in the office that morning and what the atmosphere was like. This is an interesting style of blog post, but I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

This picture isn't the greatest, but it is the level above the level VHI is on. You can see the open air quality and the blue steel railings.

The office is open air with an open section all the way from the first floor to the sky above. Voices speaking both English and Kiswahili echo in the cement and steel hallways.

 Mitsuaki, the public health team leader, rushes up and down the steps, preparing for a movile health clinic at a school that is a decent drive away. Mobile clinics are demanding work that take all day, so he wants to get there as early as possible.

 The micro-finance team is anxiously awaiting the arrival of a group who will get their micro-loans today. Kenyans do not always keep time and often show up much later than the meeting is scheduled. Today though, they are even later than usual. This meeting eventually started three hours later than planned.

 Dr. K. K. Mugambi, the head and founder of Village Hopecore International, sits in his office and directs his staff on how to handle visitors and prepare for the loan distribution ceremony.

 The office we sit in is airy and sunny. Orange and lace curtains blow in the windows. Village Hopecore International is one of the most Western offices in Chogoria because of Dr. K.K.'s education in the United States, yet the office feels completely different from any office in the United States.

A Relaxing Evening

Our blog views have gone through the roof! Thank you so much for your continued support. Words cannot express how wonderful it is to see how much people are actually reading.

I have only heard good things, but my mother did mention some grammar errors. Those will be fixed soon, as she has agreed to be my blog editor. Thanks mom!

Tonight, the group got to the house about an hour earlier than usual after supper so there is some extra time. As I type, the rest of the girls are playing Phase 10 on the coffee table. There has been lots of laughter and girl talk tonight.

The whole group wants to make sure everyone knows they are great and enjoying their time here in Chogoria.

More photos and hopefully some information and pictures tonight. Thanks for your support!


Beth

So much to say!

I have to apologize. I was poking fun at Jacie because her blog post looked so long. Now, as I look back on my recent blog posts, I realize they are getting quite long.

We have a lot going on! But in the future, I hope to put some shorter stories in so there is some quicker reading on the blog.

To everyone who is reading, thank you so much! This is a great experience already and it is awesome to get to share with everyone!

Here are a couple pictures, which are always fun. :)

Smiles at Saint Augustine School

The land rover that has been my main transportation these past two days.



Me and a group of mostly Class 8 girls at Saint Augustine School. They really wanted to carry my things for me. I guess they made the picture!



One of the women getting approved for a Village Hopecore loan.

Microfinance in Chogoria

            Village Hopecore International, in Chogoria, Kenya provides a micro-lending program that provides small loans to help groups of 12 people build their individual businesses and create a community they can lean on when paying the loans back.

To qualify for these loans, the group must go through some business education and an appraisal. Today (Wednesday), Carlo Abuyan and his driver and interpreter Michene were visiting six homes to go through the appraisal and interview process. If this process goes well, they will get their money tomorrow (Thursday).

Village Hopecore loans are carefully designed to help these families and businesses grow and succeed, if the funds are used correctly.

Every loan that is given is equivalent to 30,000 shillings which is about 400 dollars in the United States. The loan must be paid back in two years with a 9% interest and a 2 month grace period. This money is enough to improve the quality and output of their business. This money can make many things for possible for the people who meet the requirements.

The businesses the families have are tea and coffee farming, which brings a profit twice a year, and owning and selling animals and/or animal products, which can bring a profit all year once the animals are mature enough.

One of the most encouraged businesses is dairy farming. Kenyans take tea multiple times a day with milk, so there is a good market for it. Also, milk provides a lot of nutrition. The money given to the dairy farmers can be used to improve the conditions the cows live in. The first improvement often made is providing a cement floor, which keeps the cows healthier. Then they can repair or improve the building and possibly buy some feed. Some farmers might even choose to use the money to purchase another cow. Most of the families visited on the day I followed them had at least two cows.

Though Carlo is working with the microfinance portion of Village Hopecore International, it has little to do with his schooling. Carlo graduated from the University of California San Diego with a degree in political science. He then decided to join the Peace Corps. His first assignment was in Niger where he was attending women’s groups meetings, but the mission was evacuated due to terrorist threats. He was then reassigned to Village Hopecore, where he is working an assignment that resembles a job more than the Peace Corps normally does.

Carlo has faced many challenges working with the loan groups. “They see me and equate me with money,” he said. Often, people can become too dependent on the people who are helping them, and this becomes a real problem when they are expected to pay the loan back.

Carlo also has issues with people following through or taking the loan program seriously. On this particular day, one women had asked for the schedule to be changed so she would be available for her appraisal, but she still was not there. Carlo had to make the call that she was no longer able to recieve her loan. He sometimes feels like he is being rude, but you sometimes have to be.

There is also the issue of culture and language barriers. Carlo can speak Kiswahili pretty well, but in the town of Chogoria, English is often used. “You have to force yourself to use Kiswahili so you can use it when you go to the village,” he explained. The culture also thinks that if you are a young person, you should be extremely polite to the elders, which is not always suitable when collecting on a loan.

Carlo will be with Village Hopecore International until August of 2013. So far, he seems to have enjoyed the experience and his coworkers: “It’s a job, so it can be demanding, but it is also very rewarding.”

 

 

Who's on first?

I simply wanted to provide a breakdown of who is all with us one more time and give a few names of people we might mention often.

Hannah Cotton- radiology tech and health and fitness adminitsration
 --Hannah will be working mainly in the school and she will spend a day or two in the hospital. She will be teaching phy ed classes.

Amy Frederiksen-- psychology
--Amy will be teaching a kindergarten class (once she starts feeling better! She has had an upset stomach all day.)

Abby Heilman--elementary education
--Abby will be teaching in a  Grade 3 class room

Morgan Bossman --business
--Morgan is working with Village Hopecore International

Jacie Fabro-- organizational communications
--Jacie will be working with Village Hopecore International

Darla Dewald--accounting
--Darla is also working with Village Hopecore International

Beth Ryan (that's me!) -- mass communications
--I am following everyone around and updating all of you!

Chris Hoke --advisor, computers
--Chris is really our guide here in Chogoria and he is working on networking in the schools and bringing them internet.

Cindy Ault-- advisor, biology and every sort of science
--Cindy is taking in a lot of things this week, but she was asked today to help the public health team create a more reliable laboratory to do tests correctly in.

Public Health Teaching

 Mitsuaki Hirai, or as the locals have named him, Mwiti, is a young Japenese man who recieved his masters in Global Health in the United States at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA.) The morning we arrived at the Village Hopecore International office, he ushered us into the land rover where the rest of his team was already prepared to go. But, before we could leave town, we had to stop and buy bananas and peanuts. This crew doesn't stop to eat lunch.

Mitusakin teaching the younger primary classes about handwashing.

 Mitsuaki is the Public Health Coordinator at Village Hopecore International in Chogoria, Kenya. The office is located on the third floor of an open air building located on a steep hill near the main road in Chogoria. Village Hopecore International was founded by Dr. K.K. Mugambi. Dr. K. K. attended primary school in Chogoria and then traveled to the United States, where he earned a law degree. Dr. K.K. took his knowledge and compassion for Kenya and created Village Hopecore to help the community in Chogoria by providing microloans and public health education.

 Mitsuaki was hired as the public health coordinator with a one year contract. He has implemented programs to teach children how to wash their hands, eat a balanced diet and recognize symptoms of ring worm, typhoid and malaria.

 When the public health team stepped out of the land rover, a group of kids was waiting there to welcome them. Mitsuaki walked over to the children and spoke a few words to the children who answered back in unison. As he stood in the group of children with their faces looking very seriously up at him, he touched heads and lifted stocking caps, examining the childrens heads. This initial check was the first look at how many children at the school are affected by ring worm.

 Mitsuaki explained that ring worm is one of the few diseases they have been able to actually see results with because it's symptom is visible and does not need a blood test to confirm. Anyone with ringworm is given a pill during lunch, and those with more severe cases are given cream to use on the affected area. "It is hard to explain what the cream does to the children, but it is easy for them to see where they need to put it," he said.

 During the day, the primary school is split up into two groups. The younger classes are sent to sit in the shade of a tree in the playing field between the school and the bathrooms that are located on the opposite hill. The children all sit and play and chatter with each other, but when a bucket of water is retrieved and the Mitsuaki stands in front of the group, they all stand and give him their attention. He leads them in a song they have learned before. The song he sings has actions and is used to show the correct way to wash their hands. "The song and words actually have no meaning," he said, "It was created by UNICEF Japan and is a song that uses words that are similar to sounds." He went on to say that Japanese pronunciation and Swahili pronunciacion is very similar, so the song was easy for the children to pick up as well as it was easy for him to pick up the local language.

 Up in the church, the older children listened to two nursing students who spoke about the importance of a healthy and nutricious diet. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," they chant, as they connect a healthy diet to a strong immune system that fights away diseases. The next nursing student explains how AIDS takes away that immune system, no matter how well you eat.

 Village Hopecore International has created a public health program that is spreading knowledge as well as medication to the children and people who need it. Mitsuaki, who has only just started his career in global health, has already made an impact in a place that is benefiting from his knowledge.

"You are smelling very nicely."

There are so many personal things I could write about today. The excitement of getting out in the sun this morning and being ready to go or even surprising myself with the amount of information I collected during the day, but the thing I think everyone will relate to and enjoy the most were the school children.

Today, Cindy Ault and I (Beth) went along with the Village Hopecore Public Health Team to St. Augustine School. There the team would be teaching the students about how to wash their hands, the importance of a nutritious diet and the symptoms of malaria, typhoid, TB and AIDS.

As soon as I stepped out of the land rover, a group of kids was standing near by to greet us. I raised my camera and smiled to ask to take their picture and they all shuffled to be in the frame. Some smiled, others were very serious, but they were not afraid of the camera. The real fun started when I bent down to show them the pictures of themselves. I was swarmed with small warm bodies, all pushing to see the screen. Eventually I had to stand up and pull away.

All day, children would catch my eye and pose. I tried to take as many good pictures as possible, but the delight they got from the click of my camera and the brightness of the flash prompted me to take many mediocore photos. More to sort through I suppose.

It was so fun to realize that children are children everywhere you go. This school was a group of buildings that were very run down and poorly taken care of. The children were served food out of a hut and the cement floors had many holes, yet, the children and teachers were proud to show me their school, tell me about what they learned and pose for many pictures. I understood so very little of what was said today, but it is so very true that a smile is universal and people responded very warmly to me when I smiled.

So many small hands stroked my skin, comparing it to their own. They pet my arm hair and the taller ones pet my face and my ponytail.

Some girls who were in Class 8 (13-14 years) came up to me during lunch to touch my face. They told me I was beautiful and lovely. One girl was trying to think of what to say and came up with, " You are smelling very nicely." Compliments on my smell are my favorite to get. :)

I knew children in Africa would be a joy, but I had no idea how overwhelming they can be. So many hands and smiling faces.

One cheeky little boy came to shake my hand good bye when he had to go back to class. He looked up at me and raised his eyebrows and then he kissed my hand and ran off giggling. This instigated a full ten minutes of hand kissing and rubbing my hand on their face. As the crowd of younger primary children dispersed, one small girl stayed until it was just me and her and then she grabbed my arm and hugged and kissed it.

I brought very little value to these children's day except distracting them from their classes, but the smiles and laughter made me feel like today was worth it.


Below is Jacie's blog, which is quite lengthy (they experienced a lot today! ). Posted soon will be an article I wrote about Village Hopecore International's public health efforts. HOPEFULLY, pictures will also come tomorrow, but I am waitng to see how much data I have left on my Safaricom modem before I start that process.

Much love goes home and continue thinking of us on our journey!

VHI Day 1, Micro-Enterprise, Jacie (guest blogger)

Jambo!

My name is Jacie and I'm a now graduated communication major on this trip. While in Chogoria I am working with Village HopeCore International along with Morgan and Darla. Today we had our first adventure. We were initially told we were going to be picked up at around 10am this morning... The first vehicle for VHI showed up to pick up Beth and Cindy, the teachers and Chris left for the school and the three of us remained at the guest house... 40 minutes later, our ride showed up. Welcome to Africa time ;) However, we did not care and enjoyed exploring a bit of the grounds and waiting for our driver.

Our drivers name is Micheni, and I probably spelt that wrong but that's okay. Micheni works for VHI and brought us up to their office. Carlo, a Californian peace core volunteer, joined us at the office and was our guide for the rest of the day. I was personally very grateful for Carlo because although Micheni speaks English very well, it is still heavily accented. Carlo was able to explain to us what exactly we were going to be doing and answer any and all questions we had throughout the day.

We traveled out of Chogoria to six applicant's homes. VHI currently has about 10 merry-go-rounds (a group) for clients and each merry-go-round consists of 12 people. The homes we were visiting today had all just gone through the education and necessary training before they could receive the loan and today was all about discussing and creating business plans and essentially performing a risk analysis. For us business/business communication kids-- this was super interesting! To begin the interviewing process, Carlo asked some basic questions: names, spouses names, children's names & ages, expenses (school fees, personal expenses), etc. He then dove into questions such as: income, profitability, and any asssets that they had. He would also ask what businesses are currently established? All of the homes in the merry-go-round we visisted today had: a dairy farm (by farm I mean one maybe two cows), banana plants, and tea plants. Others had pumpkin plants, pineapple plants and coffee! Pineapple and coffee plants were really fun to see, as well as tea, because I have never seen them before! I knew that pineappples grew in the ground but had no idea they sprouted up out of the center of a plant. Neat!

One of the families- the ones with all of the forementioned plants, took us to see those plants which all grow on, get this, the side of a mountain. No lie. We hiked down the side of this mountain to see where these plants were. He pointed out his brother's coffee plants and then to his own which were located in the valley below us, about 500 yds, we decided we weren't going down there! Nevertheless, it was so cool to see & the view from the side of the mountain was absolutely breathtaking. This family also had a little boy following them around as we walked around-- not sure if he was their child or their grandchild, but we are positive we were the first white people he had ever seen. He was very shy and kept his distance despite our smiling and waving. Although-- right before we left, Morgan dug into her purse and found a fruitsnack package and held it out to him. Without hesistation he ran over, grabbed the bag and returned to the saftey of the legs he was hiding behind.

Returning to the interview-- if the families had cows, Carlo would ask how many liters the cows produced per day. Ideally, VHI wanted these cows to produce between 6 and 12 liters per day. Cows in Kenya cost about $340 US dollars and goats cost $20 US dollars... quite a sticker shock (positive) compared to the US. But nevertheless, this is something that these families need loans for as well as to repair the pens for the cows and to feed them. Because the majority of Kenyans drink tea and drink their tea with milk... milk is in high demand and obviously calcium is good for the body... Cows are encouraged!! Along with the feed, each home is required to have a 1/2 acre of this special grass, my mind is slipping the name of it, per cow... so two cows-- 1 acre. Again, this is the ideal situation. If the families are approved for the loan, they are given the money (we get to participate in that on Thursday!!) and VHI will return two weeks later to make sure that they have followed through with their business plan and that they have invested where they said they would invest. The merry-go-rounds and families that are a part of them have two years plus a 2 month grace period to pay back their loans at a 9% interest rate (most of the banks in Kenya that do micro-enterprises have a 20% interest rate and a much shorter payback time). They are also required to put away 100 ksh (shillings) per month in a "savings" account that they will receive in return when and if their loan is repaid in whole.

Well- I think that is the jist of what we experienced today at VHI. We have so much more that will happen this week and in the next week & a half. Can't wait to see what we learn next!!

The Spewing of Facts and Events

We've made it to Chogoria. Almost three days of travel and we are finally here.

Our flights were long, the over-night in Nairobi was relaxing, the drive was a little stressful and dirty, and the house is an adventure, but we are here and ready for the journey to really start.

There are so many things to tell, so bare with the randomness and interesting compostion of this journal post. The rest of the posts by me will have a little bit more of a theme and the other members of our group will fill you in on there parts of the day.

Last night, we stayed at the Presbyterian Guest House in Nairobi. It was very clean and comfortable. Everyone was able to shower and get a pretty good nights sleep. The morning brought a fresh and delcious breakfast with fresh juice, omletes made to order and the most delicious watermelon I have ever eaten.

Walking around with the camera, I wasn't sure how people would react. Mostly, I have been greeted with smiles and posing. The man who was making the omelets and a security gaurd both posed and due to Darla's brilliant printer, we were able to print them both copies. Of course we won't be able to do this for everyone we meet because we only have so many pictures, so we agreed to print most of them for the children in Abby's class at the primary school.

Chogoria seems a little cleaner and calmer than Nairobi, where traffic is death defying and the people fearlessly walk in front of the busses and many Japanese cars.

Where we are staying, the Clive Irvine Hospital Compound, is secluded and the greenery is lush and creates a really cozy feeling. The house is incredibly similar to cabins at a bible camp I used to work at. (Upper Missouri Ministries, in Epping ND if you were wondering. ) The walls are white and the doors are a bright light blue.

Bathrooms are a little difficult, with toilets that aren't quite complete. One of the bathrooms doesn't even have a toilet, but is a porcelin hole in the ground. It would be perfect for boys, if we had any. The shower's heat is turned on outside of the bathroom. The water heaters work pretty well, but you have to be careful they don't get to hot and burn your skin off.

Chris and Cindy are staying in a guest house a short walk away. That's where we will eat our meals. They have a little bit of a nicer set up, with a refridgerator and there is a rumor that there is a much nicer shower over there, but I never checked.

For supper, we had chipoltes, noodles, meet to put on the noodles with carrots, cabbage, bananas and passion fruit. Passion fruit, is a bit like snot with seeds in it, but it is delicious.  The bananas are the most perfect and delectable bananas ever.

Wow, that was a lot of information spewed in an unorganized and kind of boring way. Please excuse this post. Most of things I post in the future I want to have more a meaning, but this is what is pouring out of my finger tips right now.

I might post again tonight, once I have collected my thoughts.

We are leaving!

Bags are packed and we are on our way to the Fargo airport for the first leg of our trip. 24 hours of flight travel, 3 hours of driving and then we are there. Think of us as we travel!