Tag Archives: Nairobi

New Years, Gunshots and Sparklers

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It was only a few days ago we were glad to see the back of 2012 and celebrated the coming in of 2013, hoping it would be more prosperous, peaceful and an improvement on the past.

While we’ve been in Kenya for New Years before, it was different this time because we’re actually living here, not just visiting.

It was the first time I can say I got home sick for Sydney, for the entire day. I thought watching the fireworks online might help, but it made it worse. I missed the beach, the cafes by the beach, and being able to walk down the beach any time I wanted. I missed the conveniences of living in a first world country, like internet all of the time.

By the end of the day we had a large group of people over for a good Aussie barbeque, some fireworks and an outdoor movie (Mission Impossible 4), and the homesickness had gone.

It was interesting to hear from different people at the barbeque, from 5 different countries talking about their usual New Years Eve habits. What interested me most though was what has happened in Kenya over the last few years.

The last elections were held in 2007 and resulted in a lot of deaths, tribal fighting, destruction of homes and businesses and overall civil unrest. It all kicked off on Boxing Day. I remember being in Australia on the phone and internet for the whole day making sure my university students from here were all okay. I remember some saying that there were gunshots everywhere and they weren’t sure if their family members were even alive.

Move a few days ahead and apparently some people were letting off fireworks, the really noisy ones, which when people are already traumatised, is totally wrong. Hence, fireworks are now illegal. But, they are still sold in shops – go figure.

We had a few sparklers and even some loud fireworks which totally freaked out the little kids.

Not our Kenyan fireworks

Not our Kenyan fireworks

Kenya seems to be a country of irony. There are armed police everywhere, but their AK47’s are so old they probably wouldn’t even fire properly. In fact forty something police were killed by cattle rustlers not that long ago. If they had working guns, they would’ve had the upper hand.

People are now fined $1,000 if they don’t have a first aid kit, emergency triangle and fire extinguisher in the car. However, you can get away without your brakes, indicators or lights not working.

Guards at the malls check the boot of your car for explosives but in reality if you wanted to blow up a place you could put them under your seat.

Of course, the best one is that there are a few sets of traffic lights, but no one seems to obey them.

I’m sure the shine of a new year is fading for many already but we’ve decided to embrace all the differences of living in a new country until we can really call it ‘home’. I’ll probably watch the fireworks of Sydney online again, but by Dec 2013 I am sure that I’ll simply shrug my shoulders at any new and whacky laws that come out and simply say TIA (This Is Africa).

Why I endorse Neways Products

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I very rarely endorse anything because there’s always pitfalls, people are only human and will let you down, or some things are just a fad.

However, I’ve been on the road for a few months now, and based in East Africa for a few weeks more. I’ve lived in several homes, motels, units and even tents in that time.toothpasteNow we’re actually settling down in Nairobi, I’m able to start setting up home. In reality, we’re only in our transformed container cottage for another 5 weeks and then we house sit for friends for 5 months, but a sense of home and belonging is important. The day we can stop living out of a suitcase will be a day for celebration.

While there are a few supermarkets here, there seems to be a myriad of household and personal products. That is except for a scrubbing brush for the dishes and some good quality things like shampoo and conditioner. In the past few months we’ve been to 6 different countries and I’ve yet to find anything that measures up to the Neways products.

Either the shampoo leaves your hair feeling like straw, or just about every personal product has aluminium or palm oil in it. That’s not good for our bodies nor the environment. You know that stuff like moisturiser is watered down and unless you are going to pay through the roof prices you can’t get anything decent.logo

After only 3 weeks of being in Kenya people are asking ‘So, are you ready to call it quits and come home yet?’ Quite frankly, we are home and although we’re short of the few comforts of life, it’s not that bad. It all comes down to attitude.

However, I am darn sure to get some good quality healthy homecare products from organisations like Neways. Their toothpaste needs no water, their shaving gel means less razor use and the shampoo actually is good for your hair and the skin cleaner actually works. Unfortunately I can’t get them delivered to Kenya but have friends who can pick up some goods for me and wait for someone to come through.

If you haven’t heard or tried Neways before, contact my friend Ginny Parker (ginny@aslanassociates.net) and she will help you out.conditioner

Not A Working Holiday

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It was Pete’s Dad’s birthday last Sunday so we Skyped him from Nairobi. While it wasn’t the best line for them, we could hear them clearly. His parents are so old school, they have a mobile phone but don’t ever use it and the internet is something other people use.

I had to snicker as his Dad said ‘Have a good working holiday or whatever you’re doing over there’. We are so blessed we’ve travelled more places than either of our parents, seen more of the world and the wonders it holds.

Every trip we’ve undertaken has been paid for by ourselves. We’ve never received grants, been paid for by organisations or used fundraising tactics to get our flights. It’s been a lot of hard work and sacrifice, especially the last 5 years. We’ve gone without a lot so that we could jump on a plane and visit all sorts of places.

This is the first time we’ve asked people to partner with us to live long term in Kenya serving communities and working with young people. It’s quite a different and humbling experience. There’s no way to make extra money for surprise expenses. Normally if we need something like a car we’d go hard out making the extra dollars. Now, we need to live as cheaply as possible and make every dollar count. We’re helping to run a camp this weekend, and we’ve pitched in to buy extra things needed to make it happen.

That’s how it works here. Everyone pitches in because we’re all in the same boat.

Our biggest splurge since coming here has been the Christmas tree. Life here is so different, so to have something normal like a tree is unbelievably nice. We even managed to find some lights for the tree, so we’re quite happy.

A working holiday entails working a bit to make some money, then take time off to see the countryside and relax. What we’re doing is quite different. We’re either in the office, out on the farm, organising events, writing reports, learning a new language, spending hours in traffic jams, writing endless emails, in meetings, and every now and then take a breather. Because we’re newbies it can get overwhelming, but we’re realistic about giving it time.

We weren’t even going to try and explain it (again) to Pete’s Dad what we’re doing. All we say is that we’ll be back for a visit in about 3 years and that makes him a happy camper.

So, if you do get to go on a working holiday – go for it, but for the rest of us – it’s back to work!

tree

 

 

Surviving Week One

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So, we’ve made it to the end of week one of our new life in Nairobi. It certainly has been an adventure, especially since we spent nearly 3 weeks in the States dashing from one place to another. I will be glad not to have to pack and get back on a plane for a long time. Actually, tomorrow we pack to go to Tanzania on a 7 hour shuttle to climb Mt Kilimanjaro and then fly home.
But we’ll forget that for now and let you in on some of the challenges / pleasures of the week.

1. Accommodation

We were pleasantly surprised to have a cottage to ourselves on our arrival. Okay, it’s 2 shipping containers transformed into a cottage but it has two rooms and a bathroom. We were expecting the 3 of us to be put into one small room and try and not fall over each other with all our baggage.

2. The Team

We’ve joined the team from Afri-Lift and they have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. There was even a fruit bowl and food in the fridge when we got here. They’re happy to give info on how much to tip, how much we should be charged for either a matatu or motorbike ride to the mall. I even have my own desk in the office!

3. The Weather

I could easily get changed 3 times a day here. Shorts are not what you wear to the office but I’d be more than happy to wear them if I could. Things really heat up here late in the morning and jeans are a killer in it. I spend a lot of time in an office so can get away with it, but am really over them. In January it gets up to 30 degrees, so I’ll be clothes hunting for something that doesn’t look daggy but not expensive. We’ve noticed a real price hike since being here last year.

4. Transport

We don’t have our own car yet, and won’t for a while so are catching pike pike’s (motorbikes) and matatus (mini vans squashing in 14 people). They are super cheap, only about 45 cents to go to the mall. They also move really well through the traffic. Congestion is an understatement here. It can take 2 hours to get back from the airport, for what should be a 20 minute ride. We’ve also been doing a bit of walking cause that’s what the locals do and a lot of the time it’s faster than driving short distances.

5. Security

Our neighbour had her handbag stolen out of her car as she was stopped in traffic. Sure, she should’ve had her door locked and window up but she’s a visitor and wouldn’t think that thieves work in teams. We take as little money with us as possible and even on the compound keep everything locked when we’re in the office. Security is something you can’t take for granted, especially here. You have to keep your wits about you. You also don’t go out at night very far, so for us we catch a taxi. We’ve got someone we can call upon and we can trust to not rip us off too much.

6. Technology

Technology is great when it works, but when it doesn’t it’s a pain in the butt. For some reason my Aussie phone won’t send or receive anything even though I’ve topped it up. When you go from one side of the compound to another you have to log into different routers. Last night we had our first power cut, when Pete was in the shower, which we thought was really funny. When it’s dark here, it’s really dark. Most of the time we have the internet, our local phones work and life isn’t harsh for us, just sometimes inconvenient.

7. The Food

After 3 weeks of eating crappy US food (sorry guys, but so true) it’s nice to get back to normality. Gone is the idea of steak on the barbie, instead it’s often chicken. Pete’s discovered a charcoal BBQ and it cooks chicken really well. I’m surprised that the supermarket up the road has some gluten free items like cereal but I miss a few things like rice crackers and the New Zealand cheese. I’m sure I’ll find them somewhere, well, not the cheese! Pete is loving the Kenyan coffee and there is plenty of fruit galore. We’ve got a small bar fridge so a big weekly shop is out of the question. We send Liz up to the supermarket each day but she is still not confident on crossing one of the busy roads.

I think once we come back from Tanzania we’ll be more settled and in the swing of things. But then we have a camp we’re involved in so who really knows!

There’ll be no sitting around here mate!

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I was kind of shocked last week when someone we know was concerned that we would arrive in Kenya and be sitting round twiddling our thumbs.

That would be the biggest joke of the century!

So, what will we be up to you may ask?

Here’s a list of just some of the things we actually will be doing:

  • Monday morning meetings with the Afri-Lift team
  • Training of administration staff
  • Book writing
  • Photographing and videoing promotional material
  • Running youth camps
  • Hosting visitors from overseas
  • Taking teams to places such as Mount Kilimanjaro, safari parks, bike riding tours etc
  • Overseeing creation of buildings
  • Teaching agricultural trainees
  • School ministry trips
  • Facilitating the building of a boarding school
  • Involved in supporting all the different ministries of Afri-Lift
  • Two days a week working on water projects for BeyondWater
  • Last weekend of the month out in the field working with communities about water projects

Our main objective is to serve the ministry of Afri-Lift (www.afrilift.com). Part time we will continue our work with BeyondWater (www.beyondwater.org.au). It’s the perfect combination really.

So, while we will be having the odd coffee at the mall, there won’t be much time sitting around!

Yes I am excited

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The number one question people ask me is ‘Are you excited about moving to Kenya?’. Not ‘How’s your support level going, do you guys need a hand with anything, is there anything I can pray for?’ No, it’s about our excitement level.

We’ve started selling off our gear, finalising what we’re sending over in boxes and deciding what clothes we can fit into our 23kg allowance. Our unit is looking emptier and messier at the same time.

There’s so many logistical things going on that kind of steals away the joy of the journey.

As with most mornings, I’m down at the beach after a run, walking up and back to a certain point praying up a storm. Today there was the song ‘God of this City’ by Chris Tomlin going through my iPod while I was conquering the stairs at Dee Why Beach.

I just love the words:

You’re the God of this City
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation

Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

 

So when people ask me am I excited, yes I am. I’m excited to see what God will do. I’m excited to be a part of a team working with young people. I’m excited to learn new things and I’m excited to resource people so they can lead more fulfilled lives.

While most people think that God has gone on holiday and not interested in our world, He is actively involved in our world. While a whole lot of crapola is going on, He is majestically working away in the lives of individuals. It’s the kind of stuff that won’t be on the six o’clock news, but it’s out there.

Greater things are yet to be done in our city. Whether that be Sydney or Nairobi. Now that excites me!