Tuonane Nakuru

The last ten days........

To squash the last week and a half into a single post seems an injustice, but the reality is  so many things happened in such a short time that to post on each and every one of them is neither possible, interesting or viable, so an abridged version is the best I can offer.

I told myself at the outset this was a fact finding trip, and the facts you find aren't always the ones you want.  From the outset of my time in Nakuru I've had many conversations with a friend Ive come to trust, at my increased disappointment with the charity I came here to serve, now its hard to sit back and see things that sit so dramatically opposed to how you think something should be done and say nothing.

I felt I had two choices, sit back and say nothing or think long and hard about the right way to broach the subject with those with sufficient power to facilitate change.  I'm reminded daily by a Martin Luther King quote I see on the wall at Aberdare Ranges School
         
           "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"

this mattered to me, I had to say something.  So after much deliberation and referring to notes I had made from the beginning of my time in Kenya, I put "pen" to paper and expressed my concerns to those that I felt needed to hear my voice, and in the interest of transparency and honesty I addressed the email to the parties concerned here in Kenya too.

I was impressed, the response was immediate and the in my opinion the concern genuine.    I was invited to share my suggestions and recommendations.  I had chosen not to do this in the initial email, as I felt to automatically assume they would want to hear my suggestions was in my, arrogant.  But I indicated I had given careful consideration and thought before writing, so its my belief my concerns were treated with respect.  I've since done exactly this and I await a response.  They may choose to disregard my concerns and pay no heed to my suggestions, this I can do nothing about, but to have remained silent, when my concerns were so great would have been, I believe irresponsible on my part.

Like I've said on a number of occasions, this was always going to be a fact finding mission.  Prior to leaving New Zealand I had begun researching a number of small charities also operating out of Nakuru, I had made contact with a few, two in particular piqued my interest as they were focused on what has always underpinned this entire dream of mine Education.  With my discontent at where I was posted I was keen to personally concept with a couple of these NGO's and learn a little more about their projects and the people behind them, so that's what I did.

During my time in Nakuru its become glaringly obvious that nothing is simple, nothing is easy and nothing is purely focused in one direction, and sadly many organisations are battling against the very people they should be in partnership, this battle seems always to be in the name of "charity".

My immediate impression on meeting these two very different people was, here were two charities, both being run single handedly at grass roots level, both in two different parts of Nakuru, but neither were in competition with each other or other organisations, but rather working collaboratively to make this tough job just a bit little easier.  I was immediately interested to learn more about them.

Start Small is a UK based charity run by a lady called Cindy Cooper-Ling, Cindy's passion with Nakuru started about three and a half years ago when she initially came to volunteer for an already established charity, but over time and repeated visits, Start Small began to evolve.  In essence Start Small sponsor children from the Rhonda Slum, this is a "whole" sponsorship. Many program's whilst they pay the school fees ensuring the child is entitled to be at school, fail to take into account the additional expenses attributed to attending school, uniform, transport, text books all additional expenses a family already stricken by extreme poverty can ill afford.

Start Small currently have nineteen children they have acquired sponsorship for, these sponsors are primarily but not solely from the United Kingdom.  Cindy has a trusted support person, a Kenyan local, who in her absence carries out regular checks on the families to ensure the children are attending school, and that their health is being maintained.  Start Small focuses not only the sponsored child, but also on their families, helping with medical costs where possible and supplying of care packages each Christmas.  Cindy is also looking at the viability of starting a small micro finance programme within this same small group of families.  During my time in Nakuru I went out a number of times with Cindy and her fantastic support person, the warmth shown towards them was heartfelt and genuine, many of these women were moved to tears as they expressed their gratitude for the support Start Small is giving them.  Cindy and I have been in discussion about ways she and I can collaborate, between ourselves and other charities to bring more support into the Rhonda slum.  I have a plan formulating and when I have some more specific facts I will be sharing that with you, this is something I believe can help literally thousands of people in a year, for a relatively small cost.

The second charity I have developed strong ties to, is run by a young man by the name of Ross Floyd from Northern Ireland.  Actions Not Words is a remarkably similar program to Start Small, aimed at placing children in education, Action Not Words currently has in excess of 30 sponsored children.  Action Not Words works out of the Gioto Garbage Slum, colloquially known as The Dumpsite.

If Rhonda is a slum, then I'm at a loss for words how best to describe this place.  Prior to my trip to Nakuru I tried to paint an image of The Dumpsite, an image I'd built from photos I had seen, and information I'd gathered.  But until its experienced first hand the desperation and reality of such a place is neigh on impossible to fully comprehend.  Many children here live in the shadow of death, too many are orphans, most survive with only one parent or grandparent (if they are lucky) accident, disease and violence are all part of every day life.  Ross and his Kenyan associate Agnes, work tirelessly to improve the lot of those they can.

I'm astounded at the work being done by this young man, his personal dedication to complete his own university degree and keep returning to Nakuru is admirable, his total transparency and honesty on all levels should be held up as an example to other more established and bigger organisations.

The assistance I'm going to give Ross is far less visible, but we both believe equally valuable.  During every meeting we had, he constantly reiterated his belief in the importance of doing the basics Well before he tries to grow Actions Not Words, and this is where I come in.  My role is to look at how we can streamline and set up a sound administrative data base to hopefully enable Ross to develop a clearer picture of each and every child; from their personal background, academic achievement and basic health records.  We will also work together to develop a data base of the sponsors ensuring those contributing to these children also have a clearer picture of their sponsored child.

My time in Kenya hasn't been all doom and gloom, far from it.  I've met people who have changed my view of charity and aide, I've forged friendships based on a shared desire to make a difference, friendships I believe will endure distance and time.

The friendship I formed with Cindy enabled me to realise one of the main tasks I came to Kenya to do, distribute the personal water filtration devices - Lifestraws.  When hampered by internal politics on the Dumpsite (Ross wasn't in Nakuru at that time or things may have been different) it was Cindy who suggested we seek out the most in need at Rhonda slum, a previous post detailed the distribution in full, but what I've not yet shared is the final distribution day.  We ventured into the dusty back hills behind Nakuru, to a small slum village called Nymarutu, a village populated by the very old and the very young, the most vulnerable to water borne illness.  We distributed the final 35 Lifestraws to these women and it was here I shed my first tears, this tiny old lady hugged my with so depth of appreciation and held my hand so tight, repeating over and over "Asante sana, Asante sana " I couldn't hold back the tears, and even now as I write this, on a plane bound for Abu Dhabi I'm welling up with tears at the mere thought of it.

The longer I stayed in Nakuru, and the more I saw, I began to think I could no longer be shocked by what I saw, then the horrors on the streets would remind me at the naivety of such a thought. I will never fail to be stunned into silence by the sights I see here.  But what I've come to realise more than anything is the vast majority of these people are uncomplaining, with such a strong sense of pride and dignity, their warmth of heart extends to offering you the guest the little they have. I'm honoured and truly blessed to have been allowed to share just a tiny part of this.

Asante sana tuonane Nakuru