Return to Kaimosi Primary School/Education in Kenya - July 28, 2009

When we arrived in Kaimosi all those years ago, the community put me to work teaching. I ended up working with the students who were preparing to take their 8th grade and 12th grade exams in English and teaching Health. After visiting the hospital, Maureen and I walked over to see the school buildings.

The school has changed more than the hospital. There are more buildings and the secondary school has moved off site, but the primary school building looks the same. The preschool children were out playing in the yard as we approached, and seeing a muzungu (foreigner/white person), ran to the fence. As we walked along the road to the gate for the school, they followed along the fence, and then ran to greet us as we entered the compound. The children all gathered around, each wanted to shake my hand, and I felt like royalty of some kind. These children are beautiful, and are among the 1.2 million children receiving some kind of early childhood education today a significant rise, from c. 500,000 in the early 80s, indicative of Kenya's commitment to building a universal education system.

The teachers invited us into the classroom, and the children and I sang head, shoulders, knees and toes, which seems to be a fairly universally known song. (I learned the words in Luo and Maasai while I was there.) The classroom had sparse materials, but the children were engaged and the teachers caring and committed.

Education is one area that has changed significantly since Marshall and I were in Kenya. The Kenyan government is moving toward universal primary education, and their millenium goals have set 2015 as a target date. Free primary education was introduced in 2003, and there is some movement toward free secondary education as well. Enrollment in primary education has increased from the c. 800,000 students attending school in the late 60s to 1.5 million today. government, however, estimates that although primary education enrollment is rising, there are about 2.8 million children who are not receiving any secondary education.

The schools are structured in an 8-4-4 system, with governmental exams at the end of 8th grade and at the end of high school which determine whether a student will progress to secondary or post-secondary education. Competition for slots in the public universities in Kenya is fierce; only about 5% of the students who sit for the secondary exams are admitted to the seven public universities. According to the Assistant Minister of Education, Dr. Kilemi Mwiria, gender parity is still a problem; only 33% of those admitted to public universities are women and most of them are enrolled in arts based courses. Although, according to Education Minister, Professor Sam Ongeri, at the national level primary education ratios show 46% of those attending primary school are girls, this national statistic masks steep regional disparities. The north eastern province registers a gross enrollment rate of 29.3% for girls. The highest percentage of education for girls is in the western region, where the Ombogo Academy is. The staff at Ombogo are clear that intervention for these girls, giving them the chance to complete a secondary education, is a key step in making changes in this part of Kenya.

Special education services for students with disabilities is also an unmet need in Kenya at this time. Out of the estimated 800,000 school aged students with disabilities, only 80,000 have been evaluated for services and only about 30,000 were receiving services in the public schools.

The significant number of orphans also is a significant challenge for Kenya's primary and secondary system. According to Dorothy Otieno, an education correspondent for Msafiri, there are almost 1 million orphans enrolled in the primary schools and about orphans make up about 11% of the enrollment in secondary schools.

Return to Kaimosi Hospital - July 28, 2009

This day was full of emotion and memory. As the others headed toward Rabour Village, Maureen and I got into her jeep and headed north to Kaimosi, the village where Marshall and I lived all those years ago. I am so grateful to Maureen for her fellowship on the ride, listening to my stories about Kaimosi and fielding my anxiety about going back to a place after nearly four decades.

The landscape changed from the flat dusty plains around Kochia to tea plantations and terraced gardens on the hillsides as we climbed out of Kisumu and headed up the Kakamega Road. The road from Kisumu to Kaimosi is paved now, but when the sign appeared by the side of the road, and we turned, we were on the same rutted dirt road that Marshall and I drove down 39 years ago.



And entering the hospital compound, I was struck by how little had changed. The hospital itself, which was built in 1965, looked older, but the wards and the exam rooms were virtually unchanged or actually in worse condition than before, the laundry is still set out to dry in the courtyard (although now on lines, instead of on the grass) and the patients still gather on the lawn to wait for the doctors appointments. These women were bringing their babies in for well-child exams.


I had the chance to meet with the Hospital Director and the Head of Nursing, but there weren't any staff left from the time we were there, so most of this visit was about place and the power of place to hold memory. As with the other parts of Western Kenya, the lack of change over four decades was striking and sad. I can't imagine visiting an American town after 39 years, even a very rural one, and seeing so little change.

The staff told us that the hospital has seen very hard times, and this history is summarized on the Kaimosi Hospital website. When the transfer of governance of the hospital moved from the Friends Mission to local governance in the early 1980s, local loyalties and clanism caused schisms in the management structure, and the hospital began to deteriorate badly. The Nursing School, founded in 1953, had to be closed in 1996. In 2006, the governance transferred back to the Friends Misson, and the current staff is working hard to rebuild the hospital services, for minuscule salaries. (A registered nurse makes $1800 per year! That's not a typo...$1800.) Since this is the only hospital between Kapsabet and Mukhumu and serves most of the population of Tiriki, maintaining it as a site for services is essential to the health of those in this region who cannot afford to travel the longer distances to Kakamega or Kisumu.

Walking Kochia July 27, 2009

In the afternoon before the celebration, Monica and Zilpa, two of the young women from the household, took us on a walk around the Kochia area, up to the top of one of the high hills to see the views and get a feel for the landscape in a different way.

Along the walk, we met lots of people who wanted us to stop and talk, and to take their pictures. This phenomenon seemed universal on this trip. As a courtesy, we always ask before taking someone's picture, but here, we were often approached first by not only the children, but also by adults who pulled us into their compounds. Their faces are beautiful. I am planning to make copies of these photos and send them to Maureen to distribute, but they also seemed to get a kick out of looking at the LCD screen in the moment.



Monica took us to see her brother's house. This compound was typical of many in the area with a more modern house where part of the family live and the more traditional dung and wattle house where other members of the extended family live.

One of the women we met along the way was harvesting millet, one of the staple grains in the diet. She had it laid out on a mat in the sun to dry, and then pounding the grains off the stem with a mallet. The grain is then taken to the posho mill locally to be ground into a millet flour for the ugali.





This walk also let us see more of the impact of the drought in the area. Since this village is very close to the lake, those who can afford a pump can irrigate, but those who cannot have crops that are dying from the lack of water. Most of the region is very poor, and the access to pumps is limited. (Kenya does not seem to have addressed the long term impact of using the lake water for irrigation without any regulation. If you can get a pump, you can pump as much water as you want.)

Celebration at Ombogo - July 27, 2009

Our last night in Kochia, the girls from Ombogo put on a show for us with dances, song, skits and acknowledgements all around. During this celebration the girls got to really show their stuff. At the beginning of the evening, a few of the honored guests hadn't arrived yet, so the girls entertained us with spontaneous singing. This music moves me deeply, and reminds me that our culture has largely forgotten how to sing. These girls are very unselfconscious about singing and fall naturally into beautiful harmonies.

Once the show got rolling, the girls pulled out all the stops. They seemed most excited about the fashion show in which they modeled some of the beautiful cloth traditional to this region (although in a more risque form than most of the women typically dress). One of the highlights for me was their reprise of the dance they did as part of a competition earlier this year. The dance, which was built on the more traditional forms of dance, told the story of young women who were forced to sell themselves for sex because of poverty and having no one to care for them or protect them. It was very powerful.


At the end of the evening, we went out into the dark, and the Kochia dancers, who had performed for the President and the Prime Minister, were there to dance for (and with) us. The evening ended with all of us dancing until we couldn't catch our breath any longer.




Then it was time to say our goodbyes to the girls, with promises to write and keep in touch until the next Western service learning group comes again next summer.

Trip to Kendu Bay - July 25, 2009

Kendu Bay is the closest town to the the school and the place to go to find an ATM machine, buy stamps or small grocery supplies. We all loaded into the bus, including the kids from the household, and headed out for a shopping trip. It's a pretty small town, and donkeys share the street with the few cars, but you can buy the basics like soap, pencils, TP and tea. The cooking staff often come here to buy meat or other supplies.


One of the big surprises for me was that the local street market had none of the local crafts for sale. Mostly schlock imported from China. It reminded me of the market in Chaing Dao, where I saw the same phenomenon - plastic junk overwhelming the markets and the beautiful local handicrafts a dying art.


One of the enterprise projects the school that Kristi, Julie and Maureen have investigated initiating is to have the girls make some of the beautiful mats and bags from the water hyacinth plant that is choking the edges of Lake Victoria. The materials are readily available, just walk to the edge of the lake and cut some of the plants, dry them. The woven goods are beautiful and durable and the income could help provide some income for the girls and also fund some of the other projects that school is planning. Obviously there is little competition in this area at this time.

Cooking Lessons - July 25, 2009

In each of the countries I've visited this year, I've tried to learn how to cook some of the dishes popular in the area. The cooking in this part of Kenya is based largely in vegetables, maize (the large kernel corn)and millet. Fish (particularly Tilapia) is also a staple here near the lake, and chicken and beef are sometimes added to the meals.







The chickens arrive live and are slaughtered, plucked and then defeathered before being stewed or fried. To those of us used to the plump chickens grown in the states, the first bite is a surprise; these are tough old birds, stringy and a challenge to chew, although flavorful.







The corn meal is made into a thick moist 'mush' called Ugali that is used to sop up the flavorful juices from the meat or vegetable dishes. It's a treat to watch the local folks tear off a hunk of ugali, shape it into a little cup and scoop up the sauces. They make it look easy, but when I try it, I get sauces all over my fingers.








On this evening, Carol Sande, one of the Slum Doctor staff, took Kathryn, Julie, Heather and me into the kitchen to teach us how to make

• Kachumbari; (a cold shredded salad of vegetables - carrots, tomato, cucumber, or whatever is handy) and lime juice
• Pilau; a rice dish spiced with dhana jeera, garahm masala and cumin
• Potatoes, peas & carrots spiced with chiles and mchuzi mix, a cornstarch & spice mixture - (coriander, cinnamon, fennel, tumeric, ginger, garlic, cumin & methee seeds) that seems to be put in almost every dish. The cooks call it by the brand name Royco.

The cooks tolerated us, often laughing about our preparation attempts, but the food ended up tasting delicious.

Road Opening - Kendu Bay July 24, 2009

An unexpected opportunity - We were given the opportunity to see the President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki and the Prime Minister, Rialia Odinga. The day began with breakfast with Chairman Okundi. During breakfast he mentioned that he was on his way to witness the opening of a road construction project in Kendu Bay, about 30 minutes up the road. He told us that both the President and Prime Minister were going to be present, and asked if we wanted come along. We all jumped at the chance and piled into various cars to head to the ceremonies. Because we were with the Chairman, we got the VIP treatment, and were able to be right in the front row for the ceremonies.

The helicopters flew in and the President and PM arrived in separate limos with the crowds waiting along the side of the road. (President Kibaki is the man with the blue tie in the center of the photo. Prime Minister Odinga is walking to his right - white shirt/no tie). We were told that it is quite unusual to see the two of them together, as there are still deep lingering resentments from the election, which many of the people of this region believe was stolen by Kibaki from Odinga. Their coalition government is an uneasy alliance, but the peace seems to be holding for now. Western Kenya, where we are doing our work, is largely Luo - Odinga's tribe. The Luo have been the minority in government ever since independence in 1966, while Kibaki's tribe - the Kikuyu, have been in power. The crowds responded with enthusiasm to Odinga and with a lukewarm courtesy to Kibaki.


This ceremony marked the initiation of a road project that will pave the road that leads from Kisumu to the towns and villages long the edge of Lake Victoria. We were told that this project actually began 28 years ago, and is only now getting the necessary funds to complete, in part as elements in the compromise after the post election violence in 2007.


After the road grater lumbered down the road to signal the beginning of the project, the ceremony moved to a big grassy field and we heard speeches, listened to the band, and watched traditional dances in honor of the event. These dancers are called Kochia Dancers (named after the region). Like some of our Native American ceremonial regalia, the ostrich feathers in these headdresses are only allowed to be worn by these traditional dancers. The man on the left is blowing on a kudu horn to call the dancers in.