Day 23 Kakamega May 31, 2011

Greetings

Today Hezron and I had two stops to make.  Our first was to Mumias and then afterwards back to Kakamega to visit again with the widows.  Hezron stopped by around 10:30 and we headed out.  First I wanted to go to the bank and get some money that we were going to need.  We went to the Equity Bank in Kakamega and it had 4 ATM machines.  When you go to a bank in Kenya you can feel safe that you are not going to be held up at the ATM.  Every ATM machine I have ever seen comes with its own military.  Most banks only have one or two men with machine guns but some I have seen come with a small platoon of soldiers.  Photos of military personnel are forbidden and I would love to take a picture for you but I do not want to spend anytime in a Kenyan prison.  You are just going to have to take my word for it these guys have real machine guns. 

I stood in line to get my turn at one of the ATM’s I put my card in to withdraw some money it told me it was out of cash.  I tried another and it would not give me any cash either.  Then a bank employee came and told me that all the machines were out of cash and they would be filled sometime later that morning.  She then told me to go to the Nakumatt and withdraw from there.  I told her I was already there before here and it would not give me any money either.  She then told me to go to KCB Bank up the road.  For some reason KCB machines keep throwing out my card and telling me I do not exist.  So I was not going to go there.  Only Equity and Barclays will give me money with my card.  I then decided I would just go inside and exchange some 2006 and newer C-notes.  You see here in Kenya if you want a decent exchange rate your bills better be big and they better be crisp 2006 or better.  The exchange rate on a new C-note will get 80 to 82 Ksh per dollar.  Anything older then 2006 or bills less then $50 will only exchange at around 70 Ksh per dollar.  I learned this lesson in Maralal on my last trip.  Went into an Equity bank with some large bills from 1996, 2001, and 2003 the guy would only offer 69 Ksh per dollar.  We negotiated and he finally gave me 74 Ksh per dollar for some of them.  You would think that a dollar is a dollar? 

So I went inside stood in a long line waiting to get to a teller.  Finally got to the teller and handed her the cash and she told me that I needed to go through door number 11 over there (behind me).  So I went into door number 11 and it was a room with some more doors and people sitting in chairs around the perimeter of the room.  There were no more chairs and there were still quite a few people standing.  If there was ever a place that needed one of those number machines this was it.  I would have no clue as to when my turn was.  Obviously the guy that came in right behind me would know his turn.  So I went back to the car and asked Hezron if we had enough gas to make it to Mumias.  There is an Equity bank near Mathew’s shop.  He told me if we can make it to Shibuli without the car giving its first sputter letting him know we are about to run out of gas we would have about 15 kilometers to go before we run out.  He knew I was worried about running out of gas.  I have already had an experience sitting on the side of the road waiting for hours.  We were about 7 or 8 kilometers out of Mumias when Hezron told me that he got his warning.  We made it to the bank I went into the ATM and withdrew the money I needed and yes there were machine guns present.

We then stopped at Mathew’s shop and gave Mathew the money to buy his lathe.  He then told me that he was waiting to purchase it after he could secure transportation for it to his other shop across town.  Mathew’s shop has been broken into before and he does not want his new toy to be stolen.  I explained all the details to Mathew and he was quite pleased.  After we left Mathew’s shop we got some fuel for the journey back to Kakamega.  Hezron is right on time we were to meet with the widows at 1 pm.

We arrived back in Kakamega just after 1 pm and the widows had already met.  Most of them had already left and we were left with only about a dozen widows including all the leadership.  They had discussed in their meeting the possibility of starting the passion fruit orchard instead of maize on their plots.  The Chairwoman quickly told us that they are in favor of replacing the maize with passion fruit.  We told them that the yogurt project could still be viable but they are much better suited for agricultural projects since they are already and have been growing crops successfully for a long time.  Hezron and I spoke to them for about an hour explaining all the details or at least the ones we could speak to. 

All of the plots the women have to use are presently filled with maize and will not be available until August.  Pastor John was kind enough to allow the women to use a portion of land where I think we can plant about 160 vines.  Based on the data I got from Colin in Moi’s bridge and from the literature I got from the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute I calculated we would need 160 seedlings, 110 support posts for the vines, about 300 meters of wire between the support posts, about 20 perimeter fence posts to finish the fence line, and about 350 meters of barb wire to fence it all in.  What I do not know yet is the chemicals and fertilizers needed.  We have someone to till the ground on Monday for 1000 Ksh and again the following Monday for another 1000 Ksh. 

As we went out to the plot of land with the ladies there were a few large piles of dirt that had to be moved before the land could be plowed.  I asked how much it is going to take for someone to come in and move this dirt.  I heard 500 Ksh and I thought to myself no way.  Hezron then said it would take at least 1500 Ksh to move it.  I then asked the treasurer to find someone that will move the dirt.  As she started to go and get the guy who was going to plow the other ladies stopped her and said why are we giving this man money for something we can do?  We are starving and we could use this money to buy us all some food.  As you can see in the pictures below these are not small piles of dirt and I quickly had a learning lesson.  These women who among themselves have virtually nothing and some are pretty frail but ready to move 4 or 5 large piles of dirt with hoes and shovels 10 to 30 yards away so the guy can come in and plow on Monday.  As I thought about it I thought to myself this is their project and they are not going to be paid for any of the other work they do until the crop starts to produce income.  Then I thought this is their money and they were ready to pay someone to come in and move the dirt.  Why not pay themselves to move the dirt?  I quickly went into my wallet and pulled out 2000 Ksh ($25.00) and gave it to Hezron.  The women were jumping for joy, yelling, and just so happy.  I had to walk away before I broke down.  As I walked back to the car one of the guys that helps with the widows passed me with tools in hand and I turned around to look back.  I could see the women on the mounds moving stones and some already with hoes breaking the dirt.  Then came the hardest part me continuing to walk away knowing deep down I want to go back, help dig and move that dirt with them.  My mind says lets go dig but my body says otherwise.  I wouldn’t last 5 minutes before I would be on the ground gasping for air.  I hate this condition I have and so wish it would go away.  I have prayed and prayed but for some reason God has not answered with any healing.  Today was a very emotional day for me and I might just be starting to understand his motives.

Hezron showing some of the widows the plot dimensions

Measuring the plot for the passion fruit orchard

Some of the mounds that must be moved $25 ??

A possible future plot available in August

I have budgeted 25 Ksh per hole to dig the 110 post holes.  I guess the women can do this too.  Without the chemicals or fertilizers I have calculated the total cost for this small orchard around $300.  If the numbers are correct this small plot of passion fruit could generate somewhere between $75 to $100 per week in income after 6 months and for up to 5 years.  This might not seem like a lot of money but if we are able to get at least one acre planted and produce up to 40,000 Ksh a week these 40 women can live a much better life then they do now.  Remember how happy the group was when I pulled out 2000 Ksh to move some dirt.  Just think how happy they would be if they were all able to take home 800 to 1000 Ksh a week each.  Even 500 Ksh is more then they have now.

I do hope with all these blogs that you are starting to get a picture of what life is really like over here for those that have nothing or even less.  If anyone has any questions or would like me to investigate something for you to help you better understand what is going on please feel free to ask.  My email is.

dawjsw@verizon.net

Take care and God bless      

Dave