The really hard work begins

As I have said on this blog many times before, the VSO approach is to facilitate learning and build the capacity of people and organisations so that our skills remain when we leave. Unlike many voluntary placements, this is not just doing a job and heading back to a land of cheese, salaries and cities you can walk around in after dark, feeling good about yourself and having something worthy to talk about in job interviews. There’s a bit of that, obviously, but if it works well there’s so much more.



Me looking exceptionally elegant - really need a haircut



I've worked with individuals to support some various communications elements of the programmes,  but not done any team-wide work until yesterday. We began with partnership-building, not the ideal place to start sharing the skills my placement is designed to impart but operational pressures dictated. We need to find the right partnerships to help us reach as many persons with disabilities as possible; organisations which can distribute our simplified introductions to human and constitutional rights  and providing fora for the outreach workers we are training.  

Yesterday's session was not designed to be formal training. I wanted to prompt discussion and generate some creative ideas around how we identify partners, communicate with them and build something together which helps to meet our ambitions and the aims of our programme.



Maxwell putting the finishing touches to out Olympic
 running track. Sponsorships still available.



The VSO training - and volunteers' previous work experience - should provide lots of ideas and techniques to do this, but the reality is always going to throw up some surprises. I have introduced a couple of visual elements to the programme – an Olympic running track that we’re ‘racing’ round, with team members moving further along as we produce active partnerships, and maps on the wall where we’ll be marking the growing network of partners. 

The opening exercise, drawing portraits of each other to adorn the running track, seemed to have the desired effect as it raised a few laughs.





Drawing Mzungos is obviously a challenge
for my colleague Mercy



But the group discussions which followed never seemed to continue the momentum. Asking individuals questions within the discussion showed that they clearly understand the subject matter and have intelligent observations to share.

But contributions seemed a little stifled, with no-one wanting to volunteer information. It was surprising and frustrating to see a group of individuals who are usually so talkative, forthcoming and sociable turn so quiet. Most volunteers will know their homeland's working culture inside out, which is a huge advantage when trying to work out whether the contributions of people in meetings or team sessions reflect their levels of boredom, confidence, knowledge, attitude towards the subject at hand or most importantly the value they place on being there.

But when you are acclimatising to working life on another continent, there are so many elements and variables to success that make judging your work and refining your techniques much more difficult. The most important thing to ask is whether what you are experiencing is 'normal' here; the response might simply be alien or unexpected because just the way things are done in another place. The same applies to identifying development needs; volunteers have to be exceptionally careful  that their capacity building work is not  actually trying to undo an integral part of Kenyan working culture. For example, although it has not necessarily been the case for me, we are prepared for the fact that hierarchy is much more respected, so we shouldn't expect to stimulate a free-for-all creative meeting if the boss is in the room.




The team as drawn by the team



If this is the case in an organisation, volunteers will not change it within a year so they should not try. We have to quickly understand and accept what elements are fixed and which are flexible, and then work within those parameters. The only way to find out which is which is to sound out lots of other volunteers to determine what is 'normal', be patient, properly reflect on the work and get as much feedback as possible. I have had a lot of feedback but its all too positive for my liking. Encouraging really honest feedback will be one of  my biggest challenges, but will be critical to the success of my placement.

Only time will tell how successful it was, which is lucky because at the moment I have no idea.I've had feedback about yesterday ranging from the reassuring (facilitated well, people listening, people were quiet because not everyone had done the preparatory work) to requests for better seats and a soda. But at least I have now been reminded what capacity building cannot look like;  with me at the centre asking questions or prompting discussion.

Back to the drawing board. Or maybe not, considering our artistic efforts yesterday.


 



Walking in the footsteps of Mau Mau

A long walk through hilly, forested tracks, a sudden downpour of freezing cold rain, followed by a nice cup of tea in front of a roaring fire to dry off and a fish and chip supper. Have we moved back to Yorkshire? No, just visiting the equator for an unlikely reminder of home.

The birthday girl, Liz

 A friend’s birthday prompted a recent trip up to the town of Nanyuki, near Mount Kenya and officially on the equator (yes we have the cheesy photo to prove it, nervous smiles showing we had just seconds to spare before we were ambushed by determined curio sellers).

We had a fantastic day hiking the bottom of the mountain on the trail of the caves where the Mau Mau rebels hid from British forces. Our guides told us some interesting facts about the rebels, how they got food, where they hid their ammunition and just how tough these people were living up in those mountains for eight years.  They crossed the dense terrain through the trees to avoid be tracked across the ground, and gathered in caves close to waterfalls to cover the sound of their planning meeting.  The Mau Mau rebellion came in response to decades of often brutal oppressive rule, discrimination, enforced labour on white settler land – land which the indigenous population had once farmed as their own.  

The Mau Mau was lead by one of Kenya’s largest and arguably most influential ethnic group, the Kikuyu. They were prepared to be ruthless to secure discipline and avoid betrayal by their own, especially as many Kikuyu fought alongside the British against them. Whether they were quite as ruthless as the colonial ruling powers (hope the British government is noting the distinction I’m making here for legal reasons!) were prepared to be (castration, setting fire to people alive) is open to debate, given some of the practices which have been revealed through the recent claim for compensation from the British government from four men interned in British camps. Whatever else it did, the bloody rebellion paved the way for eventual independence and for the Kikuyu dominance of Kenya’s post-independence leadership, arguably in the process defining some of the inter-ethnic tensions which characterise (and, many commentators say, cripple) Kenya’s politics today.

Nanyuki town itself is an interesting place. It hosts quite a lot of NGO regional offices because it one of the safest places further north in Kenya, just before you get to the wild arid lands beyond where local disputes and cattle rustling are notually left to the police to settle.

The Mau-Mau conference cave

It is also home to a sizeable white Kenyan population who still live outside the town on family lands that the Mau Mau never managed to win back from them. To give you an idea of what stock these mzungo are from, the royals are regulars out here and Wills proposed just up the road.



Nanyuki is also home to a large British army base, from where we were told British soldiers venture into northern Kenya to do arid land training for Afghanistan. So this might explain why, when we went out for a meal, we were offered fish and chips and burgers on the menu and could watch the Six nations rugby finale. A bit like being in a Wetherspoons but with better beer. Nanyuki also caters for the mzungo with some great little coffee shops where you can sit over a coffee or very nice hot chocolate and leisurely read the morning papers. A 3-4 hour journey from Nairobi for weather a bit like home and stodgy food-well worth the effort.

More pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/61370474@N03/5597885580/in/set-72157626447536066
Joanne



Could be Otley Chevin



The People of Kenya

Sometime not long after we arrived in Kenya Gareth and I were perplexed by the following joke:

Why do Kikuyu marriages last longer than Luo?
Answer: A Kikuyu won’t get divorced because it is expensive, whereas a Luo will get divorced because it is expensive.

This is funny I am told because it mocks the characteristics of two of the most promiment ethnic groups in Kenya (tribes as they used to be called) in short it suggests Kikuyus are tight with money and Luos are flash harrys (who eat a lot of fish). I have to admit that before I arrived here my ignorance did not run beyond knowledge that there was a group of people living in Kenya called the Masaai who wore traditional dress and still, in some places, roamed the land. There are in fact 48 different ethnic groups in Kenya and the Masaai are not the largest by a long shot. I think I can only now name about 10 of these groups and they are largely geographically rooted. In the north-west desert-like region of Kenya live the Turkana people who seem to have a very hard life and are very resistant to all that nature throws at them. North-East you have Kenyan-Somalis who are a group of their own and often tainted by association with the neighbouring land of the pirates, towards Coast the very colourfully dressed Digo, whose women apparently rule the roost compared to the men and the Swahili whose influences are much more Arabic and Indian than African. Then there are Luyha (who eat a lot of chicken), Samburu , Kamba, Kalenjin (where most Kenyan runners come from apparently) and so many more that I don’t even know all the names, let alone the associated stereotypes. Most Kenyans therefore speak their local language as a native tongue, Swahili as their second language and English as their third, very impressive! Even those born and raised in the city will associate their home as ‘the village’ and their identity much more with the region where their families are from than where they have spent their lives.



Testing the stereotypes: Three of Gareth's colleagues:
(left) Geoffrey, Luhya, only laughed when asked if he likes chicken, and then complicated matters by telling us that there are actually 16 Luhya sub-tribes!
(centre) Philomena, Kikuyu, ANDY's accountant (!)
(right) Maxwell, Luo, who loves fish but last night made himself a french omelette

 Of course Nairobi is a melting pot of all of these groups as well as the odd mzungu (white person) but dominated in political and economic life it seems by the Kikuyus and Luos. And tribal loyalties do run much deeper than we initially realized. You will hear accusations of jobs and contracts being awarded based on which group you are from, certain careers only being open to you if you are the right group (i.e Kikuyus work in finance, Luos are doctors and engineers) and within society people are more inclined to do favours for one of their own. Most significantly of course politics seems to follow this mould, who you are and not what you stand for gets you the votes, hence the post 2007 election violence fell heavily along ethnic lines.

It is a very complex social make-up and I do not pretend to understand a fraction of it. Sadly however the stereotypes are often much more harmful than the joke about divorce, as stereotypes are. But it seems, for all the fractious behavior that these stereotypes and loyalties encourage, they are not actually ingrained Kenyan beliefs but were introduced by the British during their rule. Divide and conquer does work after all.

Communicating with the people - the Kenyan government masterclass

Never have I felt prouder and more appreciative of the efforts and commitment to good communications of my colleagues back in the UK than yesterday. In all the VSO training we’re told to expect meetings to be delayed, for people to care less about things, to be unprofessional but so far I have not encountered too much frustration.

But yesterday I was led a merry dance across Kibera by the Kenyan government, and all as it attempted to engage the community in meaningful dialogue about the soon-to-be-implemented devolved government structures.

The early signs had not been too encouraging. The task force for devolved government’s public meetings had been heavily advertised, but only in the media. Not many people living on less than a dollar a day buy the national papers on a daily basis, and despite rhetoric and reference to marginalised groups there was no special attempt to engage them through the plethora of organisations which support them.

But organisations like ANDY have been attempting to mobilise persons with disabilities, holding focus groups to gather opinions and publicising the meetings. The task force is visiting every county, which stands in its favour, as does the fact it held yesterday's meeting entirely in kiswahili. The language of government is usually English, which can often exclude or confuse the many Kenyans who did not benefit from a full education. English is not the language spoken in shops, pubs, matatus or the home.

But it seemed the Kenyan government had tried hard to limit the numbers who could access it. The press notice and advert had stated that the meeting was to take place at the district office, Kibera, a very well-established and central point to the community and a sensible choice. But when we arrived there was no sign of any meeting. When we asked in the district office they suggested we looked around the compound, so we walked around it for a while asking more and more people. Eventually, a colleague ascertained that it had been moved. Yet no-one had thought to put a sign up telling people about the change of plan, let alone where the new venue was.

When we arrived where we'd been sent by the officer in the compound, we were confronted by an empty, open field. Again, many more questions for passers-by, with no results. No-one had seen the massive public meeting we had somehow missed. One of our colleagues arrived separately at the DO's office and asked them where it was, only to be directed to a different venue. Rather frustratingly, the correct location was only five minutes walk from our office, yet we arrived over an hour after leaving. If this long walk didn’t stop persons with physical disabilities attending, then the steep, uneven path to the seating area would. It was totally inaccessible to wheelchairs.  This theme continued from there. There was no sign language interpreter and the speakers made constant references to material which had been handed out; but no versions were available in braille or large print.

The task force representatives, in a position equivalent to
behind the old score board at the Gelderd End, Elland Road

 Remarkably, a couple of hundred other people had also managed to locate this key consultation, and we joined them to be talked at for the next 90 minutes. In an odd move, the organisers inverted the functions of the sports ground; the speakers were placed at the back of a stand (which had sufficient seats to hold the gathered throng) and the audience were in housed in presumably hired marquees on the pitch.  The result was a gaping and symbolic distance between the government and the audience

The government wanted to be close to the people,
but not that close!

Just as I thought I'd wasted an entire morning the microphone was opened up to the public to offer their views on the 46 questions which the task force is posing to people all over the country. This being Kenya, the opening few contributions were dominated by a certain category of ‘Mzee’ (a respectful term meaning a male ‘elder’), who have an awful lot to say - often about themselves and not necessarily connected to the topic in hand - and an inexhaustible craving for the sound of their own voice. The first was heckled roundly as he attempted to return to the microphone to respond to the second contributor’s comments, while many were ushered away by the chair after many complaints from the crowd, which was quickly beginning to realise that we were probably going to have to carry on through lunch (the possibility of this happening has been enough to cause outbreaks of panic at some meetings I have attended in Kenya).

But the chair was very conscious to close the gender gap from the outset, and began to invite more and more women to the floor. Some of them proved that a woman can do anything a man can do, launching into their speeches like the would-be county seat candidates they probably are; one of them addressed the TV camera throughout rather than the task force or audience.



Lilian makes the government listen

And then our hero entered; my colleague Lilian took to the floor and used all the skills she has honed as a preacher to give a passionate and insightful (so she tells me, it was in kiSwahili) contribution on behalf of the often excluded persons with disabilities. Typically, a few heads dropped in disinterest but more nodded along than I expected, and the round of applause at the end was more than respectful.

Two of the key questions asked by the task force is 'how should the government communicate with you?' and 'how can we encourage you to participate?'.

The answer on behalf of persons with disabilities was simple:

• communicate with people through the channels we like to receive information, including our support organisations,
• don't change the venue of public meetings at the last minute necessitating a long walk to an inaccessible field
• if you're holding a public meeting it might be an idea to have a sign language interpreter on hand, and literature in braille, large print and other formats so that everyone can join in.

The new constitution prohibits discrimination and brings into law all manner of regulations which should guarantee that persons with disabilities are able to take a full part in mainstream meetings, not just have their own meeting in the one disability-friendly room in town.  

But only months after the constitution was voted in by referendum, some of these key victories are far from being realised. The fact that a government organisation can hold a meeting which actively discriminates against persons with disabilities only serves to show Kenya’s disability community that the constitution is a victory on paper alone, and we have entered the key phase of the balttle to make it a reality. ANDY is trying to deliver this message to as many of our beneficiaries and partners as possible, and to give them the advocacy and political skills to spearhead change and make the pwers that be deliver on their promises.

.

Elephants and Kilimanjaro

Recent ventures out of Nairobi took us south, to a town called Loitokitok and one of the best locations for elephant spotting in Kenya. As we neared the town and the border with Tanzania, police and army checks appeared about once every 15km or so, looking for Somalis we are told. Kenya is quite sensitive after being accused by the Americans of having weak borders which allow the Somalis to easily target neighbouring countries like Uganda. The standard of roads here is also much better than any others I have been on in Kenya, owing much to the strengthening of the East African Community and the importance that trade between the 5 countries will play. There are even discussions going ahead about a single currency, causing people to ask me how we like having the Euro!

Loitokitok is a small town located at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, on the Kenyan side. The town, apparently ignored by the majority of tourists, is in a stunning location, with the backdrop of the snow-capped mountain towering above it and beautiful views of the surrounding hills and valley below.

This area of Kenya does have a distinctly different feel to it because of the dominance of Masaai culture. The Masaai are the most well known tribe in Kenya and are what sells many of those quintessential images of the country: tall men dressed up in beads and red draped clothing jumping up and down with their ‘rungu’ staffs. In reality the Masaai are far from the largest group, their numbers are actually dwindling, and the majority of them live in Tanzania now. They do mostly wear their traditional dress, beads included, or for the more modern Masaai youth, fluorescent coloured clothes it seems. Masaai people are still herding their animals across this part of Kenya and have got into several bitter disputes with the government about rights to roam. In fact the lions of Amboseli became a victim of this dispute when bitter Masaai killed as many as they could find after being shut out of the park. There is a feeling of being squeezed out of their lands and down towards the border as land becomes more desirable for other purposes. Within Loitokitok itself there is also growing resentment of the arrival of more and more Kikuyus, the dominant Kenyan tribe who stereotypically have a good head for business. It will change the character of the town, we were told, making it seem more like other central Kenyan towns. In some respects though it already does, every Masaai man in Loitokitok seems to be either a Man United or an Arsenal fan.

Loitokitok is the perfect base for visiting nearby Amboseli national park, a park small enough for a day trip, which we did starting in the dark at 5.30 in the morning. Arriving at the park that early was definitely worth it though as this is when the animals are out and active. We were very lucky to see group after group of beautiful elephants, hippos, ostrich, zebra and giraffe, but to top it all off two male lions on the prowl at very close quarters to us, and a rarely spotted cerval (big cat with pointy ears).

Elephants live in family herds, and are exceptionally protective of their calves. One jumbo decided our car had got a little too close, so we were treated to a very noisy warning not to come any closer while the whole family fell into a defensive position around the calf the jumbo believed we’d threatened. The elephant’s roar was all the more impressive because these parks are so quiet. We were staring at fifty to a hundred elephants, a plethora of birds, some hippos and probably a lot more we couldn’t pick out, yet the only noise was coming from inside our vehicle.

Then up to observation hill to look out over the park and up at the mountain towering above before leaving the park by lunchtime when the animals tend to hide away or just stand for hours on end in the baking sun. At one point on the hill we were totally alone, with elephants, hippos and hyena the only life in view between us and Mt Kilimanjaro.

 

 If anyone is considering a safari themselves – anywhere from here to Mombasa, we’d highly recommend Moses Buli (bulimoses@yahoo.com / 0723 281840) or Ann (0721653467) as your guides. They booked us in a great hotel at ksh600 a night, and can provide a van for six for the day at Amboseli for around ksh8000. This commercial has now finished.

We spent the next day taking a hike up the lowest slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, which was tiring enough, walking until will found a lovely little waterfall and then out into the surrounding maize fields. People seem to grow nothing but maize here, whereas about 5 miles down the road it is apparently all sunflowers. Seeing how rural communities live in Kenya makes you realize the stark differences in prosperity within this country. Children here are dressed in dirty rags and will probably spend their entire lives scrapping a meager living in this town, not for them the lofty ambitions of the city children who, in their pristine uniforms, dream of studying in America and driving a fancy car.

As we headed out of town at the end of our weekend we popped in to say hello to another volunteer in the nearby town of Kimana, only to be taken on an impromptu adventure that beat even the lion spotting. We jumped on the back of two piki pikis (small motorbikes) and headed off into the bush just off the roadside, led by a local off duty game warden. Weaving in and out of the scrub we rode alongside galloping giraffes and fighting zebras, startled gazelle and very large birds that we couldn’t identify, it was a truly amazing experience and made for a very memorable weekend.

For more pictures go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61370474@N03/sets/72157626447036418/
And for the video of the piki piki go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61370474@N03/5597794792/in/set-72157626447036418

Jo