Kenya: October 2008 Mambo?

Poa! that is the Swahili equivalent of "Wassup? Everythin' cool!" I am in Lamu. Got here thursday but Lamu's narcotic effect knocked me out. We had a terrific two weeks at N'Donyo Wasin. We got lots done and every day presented a new problem and a rewarding answer. We had to make a film for a school in Brooklyn that raised $30,000 to build two new class rooms. They had provided us with a camcorder but not the cassettes. Luckily I had my new video camera (it is also more advanced...memory card etc.) and so I became a cinematographer/director on a very steep learning curve. Jane was the scriptwriter/producer and characteristic of all great film makers we had several disagreements o how to shoot some things.

Samuel is very poised

Maxmillian... fearless

Fab Five Fabelly... his name says it all

It was fun and challenging to get shy Samburu children to act as video hosts. I realized that they were only children speaking a foreign language whereas Jane was a bit Tom Brown's School Days. But, we got some good footage and I can't wait to go home and learn how to edit it on my new imac!!! I will be excited to screen the final version as 3 of my favourite students are in the film: Samuel, Maxmillian and Fabelly. As usual their ages have changed... two of them got one year older and Max one year younger.  Age is very flexible in Africa.

Warrior with ochre in his hair

Besides doing work at the school we got involved in everyday Samburu life. One day were asked to drive to a nearby village to pickup a man who had been beaten badly the night before by warriors.
The request had arrived by "bush telegraph" ... two runners.  It only took an hour but it was into very wild bush and Jane's driving skills were once again awesome. When we got there the man was able to walk but his face was swollen. Turns out he had chased after one of the warriors' girlfriends... a definite no-no. His wife was very non-plussed by the whole thing. The school nurse kept him at the dispensary for a few days and then he trotted home.

Lepiesele with his lovely wife and baby Julius

On our way back to NDW from the randy man's village we stopped off at Nessesei to see Lepiesele's wife and newborn. His wife is gorgeous and spicy, not usual in a Samburu maiden. His baby's name is Julius and Lepiesele seems very proud of his little family. He says that he loves his wife and does not want to marry another. I hope so, but who knows, when he is old he might change his mind. Jane and I boycotted a wedding earlier in the week of a 70 year old man (I call them Goats) marrying a 14 year old girl. If that had been in Sereolipi,  Chief George would have stopped it. But the chief in NDW is horrible and avaricious. Greedy eyes in a starched uniform and a swagger stick.

I'm so happy that I'm not a village chief. They get so many problems from every quarter. When we saw Chief George in his Sereolipi office he looked quite thin and wrung out. Turns out he had malaria but he still had to go and vaccinate 350 goats and listen to all the villagers lined up outside his door with various petitions. He is an extraordinary man and you will get a chance to meet him when he comes over in June with 7 warriors in tow.

At the end our trip we took 6 students to Nairobi to get them checked out by various experts. The great news is that Loimorodo, the deaf blue eyed boy (everyone in his family has blue eyes and is deaf) saw a hearing specialist who said he may be able to give him some hearing. Apparently the blue eyes/deafness is a genetic condition and a researcher in the States would be very interested in his studying his family.

I was very impressed with all the doctors that we saw; they were informative, caring and very gentle with the children. Imagine these childrens' experience. They've never seen a tarmac road let alone a modern, busy African city!!! They've never been in a two story house so imagine what they thought of elevators, escalators, air conditoning and traffic lights. Their favourite thing was ice cream but they did not like cold water.

Cleaned up (sort of) boots

In Nairobi it was cold and rainy quite a contrast from the searing heat up north. We went to the Maasai market despite the rain, but no one was there except for the Maasai Mamas and they were packing up their things.  But Jane insisted on checking out their goods... she certainly has drive. We ended up standing in the middle of a field of mud, haggling with the Mamas whilst rain pelted down on us. It was a great deal of fun and we laughed ll the way home; the Land Cruiser smelling of mud, soaked clothes and the milk/smoke odor of the jewelry we'd just bought. When I saw my mud encased boots the next day they reminded me of some ancient artifact.

Fittingly enough my departure for Lamu was dramatic. We'd got stuck in a traffic jam and called Air Kenya to delay the flight (it's a very small plane, small airport etc.) and they said they'd delay it no more than 10 minutes. Anyway, I told Jane it would be fine to fly the next day..hakuna matata... but she would not give up (that drive again). We got out of the tangled knot of cars, trucks, and matatus and she drove like the clappers to Wilson Airport. At the toll she flung the shillings at the booth keeper and swerved around the barrier and screeched up to the Air Kenya counter. The plane had already been boarded, the engines and propellers started but she simply insisted that they take me. I rac across the tarmac, up the stairs and plunked into my seat. It was all very Indiana Jones and I had the boots to match!!!

Every time I return to Lamu I am struck by the sea, the architecture, and the island's Arabian Nights quality. The faces of Lamu are fantastic; you see arabic, indian, european, and sometimes chinese features. I'd love to photograph them for a book. Everywhere you look it is a photo op. I've just looked up and seen dhows gliding along like swans.

Whiling away on the rooftop of Makubwa House

I had a great many plans for my stay in Lamu but characteristically they have all been derailed by... Lamu.  It's just to languid here.  I've been staying on the roof of Makubwa House most days. In fact, I am sleeping in a up here. It's right in front of a breezy window that gives me a view of the sunrise every morning.  At 5:15 the sky turns red and then on the dot at 6 the sun rises above the horizon. It is hot from 8:30 a.m. on. The day is spent reading, drinking Ali's chai, snacks, reading, lunch, nap, yoga, reading, nap and then dinner. Lots of cold showers in between as the heat is quite unbelievable. Sometimes I walk down the two flights of steps to the plunge pool but then their is the climb back up. Life is hard.

I have, however, applied myself to improving my Swahili and I have improved. Ali's favourite English word this trip is ...Corruption! He uses it at least a dozen times by noon.  It covers everything from the stock market mess (try explaining that to him) to why the doctor did not show up yesterday to give him an "injection".

Audacity of Hope

I get the Daily Nation every day at 4 p.m. from the Big Shop on the town... it comes on the bus from Mombassa... and I eagerly read the two pages devoted to the US election. Of course everyone here is for Barack. Not just because he is 1/2 Kenyan but because McCain/Palin seem to belong to another time and place. Barack is heavily featured on the back of the matatus in Nairobi and once on the NDW track a truck (it comes once a month) crawled by with "Audacity of Hope" scrawled in white paint on it's side. Oh speaking of tracks and trucks... the Chinese have arrived. They are building the road from Isiolo to Moyale (Ethiopian border). We estimate it will cut down a 10 hour drive to 3 hours. Strange to see the Chinese engineers in their blue work clothes and coolie hats and wonderful to see all Kenyan work crews. We speculate on the impact on the Samburus' intact culture but embrace the fact that sick person will be able to get to Wamba Hospital quicker and without being jostled to death.

O.K. that's it. This has been the most active I've ben in a few days and so "I go to rest now"Ali's most used expression. I have a big day tomorrow. I am sailing on Angalia and Kris arrives on her way to Kiwayu. Busy, busy.
nakupenda wewe,
Linda







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