Easter Sunday - I talked to Mwololo. He called and was in Nairobi. He purchased me a seat on an express matatu to go to his hometown of Kilongu, (not really Machakos as I had thought). It is in Machakos District but a distance from Machakos town. We traveled for about two hours and two buses to get to his home. The geography is beautiful, terraced hills, plateaus like the southwest or what you would picture in Central America. But there has been no rain so there is only a little remaining green. I was happy to spend the night at Mwololo’s, cooking, talking about his home, Kamba life etc. We had stopped at the butchery and bought some meat and the market for some vegetables. We were all set for a couple meals. We also took a walk and met some of the local children digging arrowroot. We took one home with us to boil and for me to try. I can’t say that I am a fan. Not a lot of taste really paste-like. The next day we traveled by matatu back to Athi River.
Things go well in Athi River. I met Monday with the organizers of TOT training sessions. These are sessions that will run from 10am - 2pm for approximately eleven Masai who are expected to then train others in the manyatta. Tomorrow’s subjects are: Dynamic Culture and Child Rights. We will spend the day discussing Masai cultural practices that are unhealthy and detrimental, especially to kids. Those I planned with today are Kamba and Masai. We will discuss women’s roles in society, educational opportunity disparities, female genital mutilation practices, healthcare herbs and tonics vs. modern medicine and some other hot topics. It will be interesting (if we escape alive!). Past sessions dealt with building teamwork and the attributes of a good teacher as well as HIV/AIDS awareness. During tomorrow’s sessions we will also discuss plans for the Youth Activity Day coming up during this school break. We sponsored a Youth Activity day in December and got over 120 kids attending!
As you know, we were offered use of some land in Kajiado, the rural home of many of the Athi River Masai. I traveled there with Mwololo a few weeks ago to see the land and visit with some of the Masai there. The land is barren and the conditions are made worse by the drought and famine. There has been no rain for over one year. MWEP Director Mwololo returned to Kajiado on April 6th with an research assistant and an interpreter to see if there were enough children to warrant the opening of two preschool classrooms on the land offered MWEP. The simple answer is “yes” there is a need. The question is only the expense and whether MWEP can handle the additional investment of money and personnel. It is not a lot of money but knowing our current financial situation and possibilities for additional income – I question whether we can consider this?
The other survey site (Kangundo) is more complicated. It involves a possible start of a Children’s Home, street kids, orphans, social workers, etc, etc. Of the two sites, the need is probably greater for a Children’s Home in Kangundo but there are many issues to be resolved before we can even consider. The 2 preschool classrooms in Kajiado seem more doable if we think we can fund them.
The TOT training session went well. We began with an activity/drama which locked out anyone who was not a Masai man.
The point was to begin discussions of the various groups and people who were locked out of discussions and participation in tribal life because they are women or children. The day went well discussing education, family, pregnancy, FGM – (Female Genital Mutilation), politics and finances. These are all areas that the Masai woman has basically no say. We also discussed Child Rights (eating, education, child labor, etc.) These were difficult discussions but the group is willing to be that 20% of the community willing to look at changes in these particular aspects of Masai culture.
Today is Thursday – a day to catch up on laundry, the blog and transferring pics and videos from my cameras. Benson should be coming to visit from Nairobi on Friday. He has been taking classes on VCT (AIDS/HIV Volunteer Counseling and Testing). Fred the Masai lead part of the TOT training yesterday and tells me that his mothers home is almost completed, which means I can stay overnight sometime in the manyatta. Can’t wait. Women build the houses in the Masai culture, another discussion point from yesterday.
Things go well in Athi River. I met Monday with the organizers of TOT training sessions. These are sessions that will run from 10am - 2pm for approximately eleven Masai who are expected to then train others in the manyatta. Tomorrow’s subjects are: Dynamic Culture and Child Rights. We will spend the day discussing Masai cultural practices that are unhealthy and detrimental, especially to kids. Those I planned with today are Kamba and Masai. We will discuss women’s roles in society, educational opportunity disparities, female genital mutilation practices, healthcare herbs and tonics vs. modern medicine and some other hot topics. It will be interesting (if we escape alive!). Past sessions dealt with building teamwork and the attributes of a good teacher as well as HIV/AIDS awareness. During tomorrow’s sessions we will also discuss plans for the Youth Activity Day coming up during this school break. We sponsored a Youth Activity day in December and got over 120 kids attending!
As you know, we were offered use of some land in Kajiado, the rural home of many of the Athi River Masai. I traveled there with Mwololo a few weeks ago to see the land and visit with some of the Masai there. The land is barren and the conditions are made worse by the drought and famine. There has been no rain for over one year. MWEP Director Mwololo returned to Kajiado on April 6th with an research assistant and an interpreter to see if there were enough children to warrant the opening of two preschool classrooms on the land offered MWEP. The simple answer is “yes” there is a need. The question is only the expense and whether MWEP can handle the additional investment of money and personnel. It is not a lot of money but knowing our current financial situation and possibilities for additional income – I question whether we can consider this?
The other survey site (Kangundo) is more complicated. It involves a possible start of a Children’s Home, street kids, orphans, social workers, etc, etc. Of the two sites, the need is probably greater for a Children’s Home in Kangundo but there are many issues to be resolved before we can even consider. The 2 preschool classrooms in Kajiado seem more doable if we think we can fund them.
The TOT training session went well. We began with an activity/drama which locked out anyone who was not a Masai man.
The point was to begin discussions of the various groups and people who were locked out of discussions and participation in tribal life because they are women or children. The day went well discussing education, family, pregnancy, FGM – (Female Genital Mutilation), politics and finances. These are all areas that the Masai woman has basically no say. We also discussed Child Rights (eating, education, child labor, etc.) These were difficult discussions but the group is willing to be that 20% of the community willing to look at changes in these particular aspects of Masai culture.Today is Thursday – a day to catch up on laundry, the blog and transferring pics and videos from my cameras. Benson should be coming to visit from Nairobi on Friday. He has been taking classes on VCT (AIDS/HIV Volunteer Counseling and Testing). Fred the Masai lead part of the TOT training yesterday and tells me that his mothers home is almost completed, which means I can stay overnight sometime in the manyatta. Can’t wait. Women build the houses in the Masai culture, another discussion point from yesterday.
