July 31, 2011

Greetings

It’s been almost two weeks since arriving back in the states.  Why is it?  Two weeks here in the states seems like no time at all but in Africa two weeks seemed like a really long time.  The ten weeks I spent in Kenya seemed like two and a half monthsJ.  Ever take a vacation for two weeks and wonder where the time had gone?  I did not get that feeling when I was away.  However I do wonder where the last two weeks have gone.

For the next few days I thought I would try to update my blog with a little update of what we were able to accomplish and how it is progressing so far with each project.  In the next couple of weeks I will try and paint a better picture of what we plan to accomplish in the next six months or so. 

Our first project that we got involved with was the ground nut and simsims at the United Methodist Church in Matasia (Ngong Hills) in the suburbs of Nairobi.  This five year old project helps support eleven or so orphans by providing funds so they can be fed, clothed, and pay for boarding school at various locations in Central Kenya.  Essentially all the product that is made for the day is sold out nightly.  The constraints are raw materials, roasting, packaging, licenses, medical inspections, and labeling.  We provided a donation to the UMC Nairobi District Headquarters to add money to their micro-finance operation to help fund and expand this project for the Matasia church. 

Ground nuts and simsims ready for packaging

With the money the church has purchased raw materials, a new bag sealer, and new Jiko.  They are also working on getting the license and medical inspections to operate legally.  On top of this they have now rented a store with two employees on the main road from Ngong Hills where they are now selling various raw materials to help fund this project even more.  I am told that the daily profits are about a thousand shillings and with time the profits will be much higher now that the local residents do not have to travel as far to get their grains.  The store sells cereals including the ground nuts, maize, rice, beans, and even eggs.  The store has electricity and the next expansion is to start making cookies and cakes to sell too. 

Some cereals

Some eggs

Cereal shop

Take care and God bless

Dave

Back in the US

Hi all

Well that was what I call a long journey.  I left the Sheywe Guest House for the Kakamega airstrip at seven am on Monday morning.  I spent a few hours with Pastor Ososo and family in Nairobi before going to the Nairobi airport at four in the afternoon.  I waited for about five hours before the night flight to Amsterdam.  We arrived in Amsterdam shortly after sunrise and I headed over to get some breakfast.  I do not know what they were trying to serve us on our flight from Nairobi but it was not fit for human consumption.  I remember the little box that it came in.  It had the KLM logo on it and it had some words printed on it "Delicious Food".  Both dinner and breakfast on the flight were just nasty.  Gives a whole new meaning to airline food.  Anyway I had a wonderful breakfast at a little eatery at Schiphol and it was worth the twenty six bucks I paid for it. 

After a few hours it was time to board the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.  After another long flight on another crowded plane we arrived on time in Detroit.  The food on that flight was much better but I can not figure out how to get any sleep.  By this time my eyes were on fire from not having any sleep and I knew I still had quite a few hours to go.  Upon arrival in Detroit I passed through the long lines at customs without any major hurdles.  After customs it was time to go back through the security procedures again.  I guess the US does not trust any other countries security procedures for boarding aircraft so everyone must be checked again before getting on a domestic flight. 

After going through the process again it was time to find Wendy's and a spicy chicken sandwich.  Right next to my gate in terminal B was a Wendy's.  I noticed I am not the only weird one out there.  I saw a few other people that had been on my flight from Amsterdam coming in the Wendy's too.  I really enjoyed my sandwich.  After another hour or two it was time to leave for Philly.  I walked from the gate onto the jet way and I got my first reality check since coming home.  The heat hit me like a ton of bricks.  Welcome home!!  After a short taxi out to the runway the Captain came on and said we were next for takeoff.  We turned the corner onto the runway and he started to fire up the engines for takeoff.  Before we moved very far down the runway the engines slowed and we just moved down the runway without taking off.  The pilot turned the plane off the runway and went back to the staging area.  He came on and told us that our tiny plane would be delayed for a while because Philly had just shut down. 

By now I was feeling fairly anxious to get back.  Not only was the plane hot but the person next to me was much too big for her seat and took up part of mine.  After about a thirty minute delay we took off for Philly.  We landed in Philly an hour or so later to a packed airport.  The airport had shut down again and planes were everywhere.  Planes were landing but none were taking off.  We could not get to the gate because planes were just sitting there blocking the terminal.  So we sat again on the tarmac waiting to move for another hour and a half.  The airport opened again and before long we were at the gate.  My forty four hour journey home had just extended to forty six. 

It is good to be back and I finally got some sleep.  Many thanks to all of you that have been following along with this blog.  I pray that I have been able to show, explain to you a little about East Africa and the conditions in which these fine people live.  Our challenges here in the states are nothing compared to how some must cope with daily life in East Africa.  I will be posting again as soon as I can digest everything that has happened to me in the last few months.  In the last two and a half months there have been thousands of views from people in thirty countries.  I still have had no one from South America.  I also would like to thank all my friends in Kenya for making my stay as comfortable as possible for me.  I hope to see all of you again soon.

Again thanks and God bless you all

Dave 

Day 72 Amsterdam/Philly July 19, 2011

HI all

Made it to Amsterdam and sitting waiting for my flight to Detroit.  No sleep and I am tired. 

Take care and God bless

Day 71 Nairobi July 18, 2011

Greetings

This morning got up early and started out to the bustling airstrip in Kakamega at seven am sharp.  Within about fifteen minutes we were at the airstrip and my driver was assisting me with my baggage to the terminal for check in.  I had my baggage weighed and they told me that my baggage and back pack was about twenty pounds to heavy.  I thought I packed lite with only one suitcase and a back pack.  The plane had nineteen seats and there were only five of us on the flight.  Out of us five I was the only one that had a piece of luggage everyone else just had a brief case or backpack.  I guess my overweight bag really did not matter that much.

After I got my ticket there was a nice security dude and he told me that he did not have an x-ray device so he was going to have to remove everything from my bags and inspect them.  He ran across my extra Slim Jims in my backpack and he wondered what they were.  I didn’t want to tell them that they were little sticks of dynamite.  It could have been an international incident.  I gave him a few to eat later.  After he checked my luggage it was time for us to become more familiar and he gave me the TSA treatment.  I would have to say that there are not going to be any terrorists coming through Kakamega.

Kakamega Airstrip my journey starts here

Fly540 the Southwest of Kenya

We were supposed to land at Jumo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi but right before the flight they told us that we were going to Wilson Airport instead.  I quickly called Pastor Ososo that was heading to Kenyatta Airport to meet me.  I told him I would arrive at Wilson at nine am.   Pastor Ososo was there to meet me and then we headed out to Matasia to see the ground nut project and the new cereal shop.  The cereal shop is doing very well and we need to look at finding a better source for his supplies to increase their margin.  After the shop we headed up to Pastor Ososo's home and they showed me the new bag sealer.  Perfect seal and no burnt fingers.  They are awaiting the approval of the certificate and once that happens and they get a label then off to the stores to increase sales.  After the visit in Matasia we headed over to the UMC District Headquarters in Kayole to meet with Pastor Odongo and his Pastor Ososo's on Reuben.  We spent a couple of hours working on his district blog.  After our visit to the headquarters it was off to the airport for my departure later tonight.

Pastor Ososo and staff at new Cereals Shop in Matasia



Some of the cereals they sell

New bag sealer and ground nuts

Sealed ten shilling ground nut bag

Sealed simsims in the bags

I made it through the process pretty quickly then went and found a bite to eat.  Found a nice little eatery at the end of the airport.  I had a bean and cheese burrito.  It was pretty tasty.  Then I splurged and had a piece of New York style cheesecake and a cup of Joe.  I now have another couple of hours to wait until my plane leaves.  I have found out that this plane is overbooked and they will be looking for volunteers to stay behind.  I already got one $1200 voucher for this trip when I was denied boarding in Amsterdam on the way here.  Another free ticket would really be a nice way to end the trip.

I am not sure what it is about Kenya.  I am in the main international airport here in Nairobi and there is no power.  I am sitting here in the dark again writing my blog.  I hope that the control tower and radar are working.

Take care and God bless

Dave

Day 70 Kakamega July 17, 2011

Greetings

Today is my last full day here in Kenya and tomorrow morning I will start the long journey back to the states.  Today I finished up some documents and printed them out for Hezron.  I had my laundry done and everything is packed ready to go. 

Tomorrow I will wake up early and have the guest house shuttle take me to the Kakamega airstrip at seven am.  I had asked the lady at the fly540 office what time I needed to be at the airstrip and she told me that I should be there thirty minutes before departure.  Not only does she work the ticket office in town she is also the gate attendant at the airstrip.  I wonder if she is also the security agent at the airstrip too.  I remember being at the airstrip up in Kisima and the terminal building was a two stall outhouse with no doors.  My flight to Nairobi is about an hour or so and will arrive at around nine thirty in the morning.  I want to take time to say thank you to her for getting me a reduced priced ticket.  I went on line and the fare was one hundred seventeen US dollars.  When I went to the fly540 office the other day she told me the fare was about ninety one US dollars.  I had reserved my flight and when I came back to pay later she had gotten the fare reduced to sixty five US dollars.  Not bad for a last minute flight and the relief that I will not have to take the eleven hour grueling bus trip across the country.

I had taken that bus ride once before on my first visit and let me tell you it was no fun.  It was really bumpy, dirty, and hot in that bus.  Once we got down into the Rift Valley the temperature in the bus became quite unbearable and I kept putting down the window to get some fresh dusty air.  The guy in the seat in front of me kept putting it back up every time another vehicle came by so we would not get a face full of dust.  Once you get past Nakuru it isn’t so bad.

Pastor Ososo will meet me at the airport in Nairobi around ten and we will spend the day together before I have to be back at the airport later that evening for my departure back to the states tomorrow night.

Take care and God bless

Dave

Day 69 Mumias July 16, 2011

Greetings

This morning we were cutting it close to get to Mumias.  Hezron got a call yesterday that thieves were stealing his maize in Lumakanda and he had to go there and take care of it.  This morning we were to be at the Equity Bank in Mumias at eleven thirty to meet with Pastor Robert and get the token keys for the micro-finance account.  Hezron was able to get back to the guest house just before eleven and we were at the bank at eleven thirty sharp.  The bank closes at noon.

Robert arrived shortly before noon and we waited for the Account Manager Vincent to greet us.  The bank shut its doors right at noon and we met with Vincent and he told us that we would have to wait because the token keys were still in route from Nairobi.  We waited about thirty minutes more and then they arrived.  Robert signed for one key and I signed for the other.  Both keys will return back to the states with me.

After our goodbyes with Robert we went over to visit with Mathew a bit before we headed back to Kakamega to take another look at the widow’s passion fruit orchard.  The orchard looks great.  The widow’s have added a little nursery for collards to be planted between the rows.  They will also plant about twenty more passion fruit seedlings in a discrete location in case any more die.  It looks like every plant is healthy and continues to have new growth.  

The seedlings are starting to look really good

The graft of a disease resistant yellow (below) and purple passion fruit (above)

Even the one I caught a goat eating one day is coming back to life

They all have new growth

Nursery bed for the Collard Greens to be planted in between rows

I can't wait to come back and cook a huge pot (with pork bacon) of them for my friends

They call it Sukuma Wiki here in Kenya but I will make a little different then they do

They all look so good

Fresh new growth (they grow pretty fast)

 

Tomorrow I will be wrapping up my stay here in Kenya before heading back to Nairobi on Monday morning.  I have more documents to finish and print out for Freedom Ministries.  All in all I guess this trip has been successful.  I believe that the most important goal has been accomplished and it is now time to move to the next steps.   I continue to be amazed on how God has brought all this together.  I sincerely hope that all of you that have been following along can see how God has touched his people here.  I am so happy to have been a part of it and my prayer is that some of you reading will want to take part in the future.  I truly believe that we can make a difference to the lives of people here in East Africa by helping to create opportunities that did not exist before. 

Take care and God bless

Dave

Day 68 Kakamega July 15, 2011

Greetings

Today I just relaxed sat around doing nothing.  I did take a walk into town earlier to buy another pair of shoes and check out flights from Kakamega to Nairobi.  My shoes that I bought about six months ago could not hold out to the bush here in Kenya.  After I purchased a pair of shoes I headed over to the fly540 office to see about getting a flight out of here on Saturday afternoon.  Not a chance the only flight out of Kakamega is the eight am to Nairobi.  Eldoret and Kisumu both have afternoon flights but are sold out for the weekend.  I really am not up to taking an eleven hour tortuous bus ride across the country at this time.  I do not even want to take a six hour car ride across the country either.  I then went back to my room and had a nap.  After my nap I went back to fly540 to see about getting out of here on Monday morning.  Monday morning is available and I think I am going to start my forty four hour journey back to the states early in the morning out of Kakamega.  I should be back in Philly Tuesday evening around six pm.

Tomorrow we are supposed to be in Mumias at the Equity Bank by eleven thirty to pick up the control keys for the micro-finance account we set up a week ago.  Before going to the bank we will stop at fly540 to pay my reservation for my flight Monday morning.  After fly540 we will then go to the orchard site to meet with the widow’s one last time before I leave.  I am not sure what is on the agenda for Sunday but I am still not feeling that great from whatever I caught in Maralal a few weeks ago.  I just cannot seem to get rid of whatever it is.  I am really too tired to do much of anything.  The afternoon storm is coming in and my steak and chips dinner is about to arrive before the daily power outage. 

I found out that Kenya does not have cuts of meat like we have in the states.  If you order a beef fillet sometimes you get lucky and it actually turns out to be a really good piece of meat sometimes I am not so fortunate.  I have had tender cuts and I have had grisly tough cuts even though I have ordered the same item every time.  Today’s cut was really good and tender well seasoned too.     

Take care and God bless

Dave