Time Flies...

Mercy

Some of the Media Club

Happy February everyone!  Again, I apologize for delay of posting.  Round two of our U.S. visitors has just come to and end.  Out friend Lauren from San Diego made the long haul out here to experience life in African first hand.

Maria News: Exactly ten girls have volunteered to take part in my thesis research (which is exactly the number of girls I outlined to have as participants).  Observations have begun but interviews must wait until USD’s Institutional Review Board gives the final ok on my proposal – which essentially means that they deem my proposed work to be ethically sound.  Each girl will be engaged in a series of interviews and reflection pieces which will ask them to explore their self-efficacy beliefs concerning their goals post-graduation, self-regulatory behaviors, control beliefs, and the etiology of their goals.  My aim is to gather data purely concerning behavior as the student perceives it.

The Media Club loves to document themselves

Lauren’s trip was very eventful.  A few days after her arrival a bunch of us caravanned into the bush to our temporary residence on conservancy land.  Five of us piled into an ancient vehicle and two followed from behind on motor bikes (a real daring adventure considering the ever present force of elephants, who do not hesitate to charge if they feel their peace is disturbed.  In fact, a local Kenya told us that when he encounters elephant on his motorbike, he leaps from the bike and runs instead of attempting to escape on his vehicle.  Apparently, it is easier to avoid being stampeded if you run/move in a zigzag pattern – something that cannot be easily accomplished on a bike).  We had a smooth (not literal) ride to the bush, making out with only one flat tire.

We all spent a lovely evening dining under the stars.  For the special occasion we transported two frozen chickens with us and I cooked, with the help of our Danish friend and meat connoisseur Martin, roast chicken over onions and potatoes.  Bennett and I enjoyed having a group to entertain (the magnificent sky aided our cause), but we increasingly became aware that the smell of those slow roasted chickens had attracted a host of nighttime predators.  You could feel their hovering presence, anxiously awaiting a free meal.  The grumbling digestive noises of the nearby elephants sent everybody wheeling, not wanting to wait to discover what else was monitoring us.  Besides having to remove a poisonous scorpion from the inside of our guests’ mosquito net, the night proceeded peacefully.

The following afternoon we all gathered again and headed back to the school.  Minutes from our bush doorstep elephants on either side of the vehicle trumpeted in irritation, luckily our motor-biking friends trailing us did not hesitate in fear.  Half way into our trip an ominous clunking noise sounded repeatedly, until finally the vehicle collapsed.  We jumped out to discover that the propeller shaft had dropped from the car.  Bennett strolled around searching for service in hopes of reaching Charles our friend/property manager/mechanic.  Meanwhile, some rangers from the neighboring conservancy out on patrol stopped to confirm that we were ok, simultaneously alerting us the presence of lion tracks that had been made earlier that day.  Not to worry they exclaimed, lions will only attack when provoked, unlike those volatile elephant and buffalo.  Martin jumped in the back of the vehicle and slammed the door, fearing that it was not lions but rather the more ferocious liger (the mythical hybrid of the lion and tiger which couldn’t possibly inhabit the Laikipia Plateau) :)  Luckily, all we needed was four bolts – an hour and a half later we resumed our journey.      

Later in the week we traveled to Mombassa (photos pending) to relax on the beach and pay a visit to our new friends Max and Sima, parents of one of our CCC parents and dear San Diego friend, Moji.  We swam in the ocean and even a pool (the first pool we have swam in since arriving in Kenya), and Sima prepared the most wonderful Indian and Persian food.   On the first evening we arrived, Max and Sima hosted a dinner party.  We dined on her gourmet spread and sipped on champagne (complements of Peter, a true English gentleman), while enjoying the view and breeze emanating from the Indian Ocean. I now have a great recipe for vegetable curry and Persian rice, which I will be attempting to prepare with equal skill tonight in the bush.  We explored Old Town Mombassa and what we refer to as “New Town”, enjoying the architecture and shopping for spices (while of course being unable to avoid being offered only wazungu (white-people) prices.  I have yet to master the art of bargaining, despite Bennett’s insistence (he does not enjoy being scammed) :)

Shamsia volunteering at the local orphanage

The oppressive drought continues to assert its dominance.  Even the elephants have migrated farther south than usual, encroaching into farmed areas adjacent to the Daraja Academy in search of edible delights and water.  One of our neighbors lost 3,000 heads of cabbage.  The town was subsequently surrounded by a ring of fire to ward of these masterminds of devastation.  Imagine the amount of crop needed to satisfy a 10,000 lb. creature. 

Random side note:  On the way back to the school form Nanyuki town we drove by a crowd of people surrounding an over-turned motorbike, so we pulled over to inquire.  A man who just that day purchased this vehicle, subsequently lost control of it and both he and his passenger were thrown.  His passenger, more severely wounded, was attempting to stand up and we intervened as blood began to pour from his ravaged face.  It took about 15 minutes to convince a matatu to back up and allow some of the crowd to load him into the vehicle to be brought to the town hospital.  We asked our friend Leonard if there was an ambulance we could call to retrieve him, Leonard laughed and said yes of course but there is no way they would make the trip for just two people – there had to be at least 7-8.  Oh Africa! :)

Bennett News: Bennett has begun his work with autistic children.  Last week he made his first visit to Nanyuki’s only special education school that is located in the slum area of Likii (such a poor population exists because many people displaced from the 2007 post-election violence migrated there in hopes of finding peace and work (Nanyuki is one of the Kenyan towns that was not witness to the violence)).  He had a successful and rewarding visit – the principal invited him to come as often as he likes and all the staff announced their eagerness to learn from him.  There are 98 kids in the school – ranging from toddlers to teenagers.  Very little English is spoken, so Bennett will have to communicate primarily in Swahili.  The kids of course all immediately fell in love with him.  He will also be conducting one-on-one behavioral therapy both in-home and in-school with 15-year-old “Sang” (Sangria means Happy Boy in Maasai).

Speaking of Likii… Our friend Matt, who additionally volunteers his time at the Daraja Academy, does a lot of work with the street kids of Nanyuki (70% of which come from Likii).  He is in the midst of forming a foundation that finds job placement for these kids and helps some gain entrance into school (despite the supposed existence of free primary education, kids are required to purchase their uniforms and supplies (and those hailing from the poorest sectors cannot even afford these costs)), and if they show up to class with a hole in their sweater or with lack of pencil, they are sent home and ordered not to return until they have fixed the problem.  Education therefore is designated for those who can afford it.  Secondary school is not free.  Matt has already raised money to sponsor 8 kids’ education.  His first sponsor recipient Alfred is a success story – at the end of his first year his scores ranked him the highest in the district!   Check out his blog: http://www.intheshadowofmtkenya.blogspot.com/

This February my Aunt Mo and Uncle Alan are making the trip from Colorado, I will be paying a visit to primatologist Shirley Strum’s research site to take part in some ecological monitoring, and the new freshman class of girls arrives on 25 February.  This should be an exciting month!

    

Maria

Tina volunteering