Village News

I was able to contact Beth, a volunteer I met while visiting Kenya in March. She is now home in the states and I thought it would be wise to ask her for any advice. She lived and worked in the Village for three months and loved it! She is jealous that I can spend six months. She writes in part to answer some of my questions:

"They run the generator from about 9 in the morning til around lunch time. Usually they run it in the afternoon for a while as well. There is an opportunity to charge cell phones, etc. when the generator is on, but you will be competing with others who also have phones that need to be charged up. Forget about a toilet seat, unless you plan on making your own toilet as well. The seat won't work over the holes -- go native my friend -- you will get used to it. Things to bring -- for sure mosquito repellent, stuff to read, crosswords, etc. as the evenings get pretty long (it is dark early) -- enough batteries to keep your flashlights going -- the batteries that you can purchase in Kitui town are usually not very good -- only last a couple of days. I highly recommend a headlamp light (miner style) -- they are great for reading in bed and walking outside at night. I would recommend that you take your own sheets and a blanket or light sleeping bag.

I would recommend that you bring a nice shirt and pair of nice pants -- if you will be attending any school related meetings, etc. The staff at the village dress very nicely -- and you will want something nice if you plan on attending church.... hope this helps -- if I missed anything, let me know. I am so jealous that you are going -- I wish I could leave tomorrow!! Hope to hear from you soon!"

In another email she writes:

"You can buy a phone (and minutes) at the Nakumatt in Karen -- it will cost about $30.00 and is well worth it -- you can buy minutes just about anywhere (including Kithiani, which is about a twenty minute walk from the village). If you pack enough stuff to get through a week or a week and a half -- you can always do laundry. Make sure you take laundry soap from Nairobi to the village. Also -- the best investment (other than the phone) was a lightweight easy chair (kind of like a beach chair, made from aluminum and canvas) that I bought at Nakumatt for about $25.00 dollars. There is NOTHING comfortable to sit on in the village -- I used it every single day and night and was really glad I bought it --

I'm excited for you -- how great that you can stay for six months. If you do get email, please send me a note after you are there and let me know how the chickens and goats are doing!

Beth"

Sr. Mary, Director of Nyumbani in Nairobi wrote with an update on progress in the Village of Kitui:

"Nyumbani Village continues to come alive with the typical sounds and scenes of village life. We now have 163 children and 25 grandparents in residence with 146 children waiting to come. We will soon have to start building again once we have enough funds for more houses. We opened Hotcourses Primary School on 7th May, which has now an enrolment of 72. Assessment of the children’s education level had been done during the previous week and those for Standards 1 – 4 identified. The performance of some Std 5s was not up to standard so they were guided to repeat. The next day, all the other Std 5s presented themselves at the Village Manager’s office and announced that they too would repeat. Seeing the facilities in the Village school, they had assessed that their chances of succeeding in school would be greater there than in the local school. It took much dialogue to convince them that it was to their benefit to continue in Std 5. At Assembly on the opening morning, I noticed a 3 year old girl standing with the Std 1 and a 3 year old boy ensconced among the Std 2. After Assembly the two marched with the others to the respective classes. We had no choice but to start a nursery class later that morning!

A day for the grandparents happened later in May when a delegation from Free Play Foundation, UK, and Path, Kenya came to the Village to present 40 free-play radios, thanks to Anthonny Lumadede’s mediation. Such joy on the faces of the grandparents as each came up, some dancing, some singing, some ululating to receive the gift for their family. They were then trained in the operation of the radio and, finally, proudly signed possession with a thumbprint.

The Sustainability Program in the Village is gradually showing very promising signs under the direction of our local consultant and his team, and with the assistance of GEMSAF Wisconsin University, Steven’s Point, who give us both personnel and technical expertise. We are about to venture into a bigger commercial enterprise through collaboration with another Trust in which we will develop 100 acres of castor and they will ensure marketing. A further collaboration with Jatropha is planned. To our great joy, we now have been connected to the public Masinga Dam water supply, which solves our problem with the high fluoride content in our borehole supply."

And so the emails serve to get me even more excited. No movement on the condo - still trusting it will work out and sell soon.