Rain, rain, rain. Yesterday my long journey to Kenya ended as it began in Ottawa, with rain. I descend from the plane in Nairobi to a cool and rainy welcome. Karibu!, Welcome to Kenya!
Today, as I make my way to the city of Kisumu in western Kenya, thoughts crowd my head. It strikes me that for a country that suffers from severe poverty and has just experienced one of its worst droughts in the past decade, there is a surprising amount of hope. Hope for business, hope for higher crop yields, hope for peace, hope for change.
In the districts surrounding Kisumu change is happening! With the help of our partner organizations and local government officials, WaterCan is bringing clean water and basic sanitation to rural communities and schools. When these basic needs are met all sorts of opoprtunities for economic growth
While it may be wet I can only imagine the smiles on the faces of the teachers and children at the schools we support in this beautiful area of Kenya. As the rain falls, the rain water harvesting tanks fill with clean, safe water. All I can say is LET IT RAIN
- Leslie Moreland, Project Officer
Flying from Nairobi to Kisumu I noticed that the drought causing havoc across many parts of eastern Africa has not hit this area.
Farms lie surrounded by brown and green fields, irrigated by local canals with water from the rivers that zig zags their way across the landscape. The colour green is more noticeable than brown.
It is amazing what access to water means for the people that harvest the land. From Canada to Kenya, we all depend on nature’s reserve, and I’m sure that farmers around the world would agree with me, that this “reserve” is becoming more and more difficult to access or predict.
I know my field visits tomorrow with our partner organization SANA will shed some light on water conservation practices at the schools in which they work – perhaps even shed some light on what we at home could and should also be doing to protect this potentially finite natural resource.
Watching a beautiful sunset over Lake Victoria. It is so peaceful (aside from the blaring TV noise coming from my neighbors room). A nice change from Nairobi.
The air feels a little fresher; the hustle and bustle of the big city is almost non existent. Although I suppose it is Sunday.
On the drive in through Kisumu city the consequences of the 2007 post election violence are still very apparent. Remnants of buildings are boarded up, where arsonists destroyed the businesses and property owned by members of the Kikuyu tribe. It is one thing to read about it in the paper, it is another thing to see first hand.
I asked my colleague how things were now, almost two years later. He says for now they are calm, most of the Kikuyu have left. But he goes on to say that if by the next election (to be held in 2012) the new constitution has not been finalized, there is no guarantee that it won’t happen again.
For a place of such apparent calm, it is hard to believe that this is the case. I am starting to understand the complexities of this amazing country a little bit better. Africa is a continent full of endless social, environmental, cultural and economic complexities, and Kenya is no exception.
Today I visited a rural health clinic and dispensary. Only one nurse and 40-50 patients per day.
One broken rain water harvesting tank. 3 latrines for nurse and all patients. No hand washing facilities.
Such need, and such dedication by nurse Jen Odwar. It is women like her who inspire everyone they meet to do better, get involved, and help in any way they can. Hope.
“Leslie Tree.” This is the name of the tree I planted at Chunga Primary School today, a school where water supply is almost non existent.
Children carry water from home in 5L containers to use to help keep the school compound and classroom clean, to water the few plants and trees in the compound and if there is any left, to quench their thirst.
Sadly, this water comes from a nearby stream, or from the river that is a nine kilometer walk…one way. The water isn’t always treated at the home, which leads many children to miss class due to stomach aches and diarrhea, and in this area, even cholera.
In the very near future, this school will have a brand new rain water harvesting tank. The parents and community leaders are so eager to begin the project that while I was there they offered to bring materials for construction this week!
The tank will be built, but first the community mobilization and pre-project planning activities must take place. It’s wonderful to see the excitement about access to clean, safe water and what it will do for the students, and future leaders, of this school.
In the AM...
6:30—Alarm goes off, shower
7: 00 — At breakfast, fresh fruit, masala chai, mmm.
7: 45 —Wait in lobby with colleagues for taxi to arrive
7:55 — Still waiting…
8: 10 —Still waiting…
8: 15 —Taxi! in car on the way to workshop facility
8:30 —Setting up
9: 15 —Not too bad, only an hour late - workshop introductions
11: 00 —Workshop going well, Oh, we’re in the dark!
11:20 —Still no power, presentations continue without powerpoint (funny how much we rely on computers)
In the PM...
12:00— Decide to move to new location in city that has power
12:05—Lunch arrives
12:30—Eating, BAM, power back on
1:30—Workshop continues
5:30—Phew, crammed as much in as possible in the last few hours that should have taken a day, oh well, we’re all flexibleJ
6:00—Arrive back at hotel, confirm project financial templates with head office, review notes from the day and blog
7:30—Meet colleagues for dinner
8:30— An hour after ordering dinner arrives (great conversation about marriage, gender roles and women, with mostly males at the table!)
9:15—Walk back to hotel, run to room to grab laptop and memory key
9:30 —Check email, respond to urgent matters, write this!
10:30—Has an hour passed already???
10:40 —Back in room, prepare workshop materials for tomorrow, pack bags for trip to Dar es Salaam
11:20 PM—Brush teeth, grab book and lie down for first time today! Love it.
The African landscape speaks for itself – prickly shrubs, drought resistant trees, dusty brown and red soil as far as the eye can see. Yet if you look quickly, you will catch a beautiful purple flower, or yellow blooms peaking out from the rough landscape. This is how I see Africa – a continent with great challenges, extreme poverty, yet full of these bright glimpses of hope.
These brief glimpses of bright flowers remind me of the healthy children using the new latrines at the schools in which we work, the faces of the women as they fill the jerrycans with clean, safe water from the newly installed well, and the teachers smiles as they share with me what their school has achieved and how they look at their school with pride.
With commitment, it is these blooming flowers that will change the lives of the students, teachers, parents, chiefs, elders and everyone here.
Women collecting water at a well. A long line of colourful jerry cans. Children returning from school, empty 5L water containers in hand. Men digging ditches for drainage. Rain, lots of it.
Women in colourful kangas collecting water from a hand dug hole in the ground. Women and girls with buckets on their heads, so well balanced and so sure.
Latrines leaning to the right, made of local branches and leaves. Schools. An old, cracking rainwater harvesting tank elevated high above the ground. Markets, water buckets being emptied with brown water from hand washing.
A car wash, soapy water splashing on the ground. Women doing laundry. Children playing in the recently made puddles, splashing, running and splashing. Water, water everywhere.
Several hundred children sit anxiously underneath a large tree, next to the newly constructed latrine block in their school compound.
They chat quietly and giggle upon our arrival. The teachers are sitting on one side, the parents and caretakers on the other. We are invited to sit in the front. Suddenly it starts to rain, radiant smiles appear on the children’s faces, and rather then run for cover like the rest of us, they stand up, wave their hands and start to dance.
Rain, it has finally come. We gather again once the rain has let up, and after introductions are made by the head teacher, my colleague Semu from MAMADO makes a brief speech.
I then say a few words, and ask some of the students to show me what they have learned as part of the school, sanitation and hygiene education training they have received to date.
Some rather shy girls and boys come up to the front, and proceed to act out different handwashing techniques. Then comes the part they have all been waiting for, “we now officially declare the new latrines open for use!”
Some of the children scramble to take a look inside, later the parents follow murmuring their praise and excitement for their children in Swahili. It is a new beginning for Chamwino Primary School, where healthy, happy children will be able to attend classes with dignity, health and pride for their school.
"Every time I come to a workshop facilitated by WaterCan, my eyes are opened and I think big," says my colleague Semu as he takes a break from eating lunch. I’m glad to hear this, as in the workshop our group has just spent the morning sharing project updates, discussing Tanzanian water sector reforms, and the importance of school health clubs. An array of topics, but all directly related to our Clean Water for Schools program in Tanzania. The discussion and sharing among partners has been fantastic, and it is comments like this that confirm that the capacity building opportunities WaterCan strives to provide are having an impact, a great one at that.
I sit in the dusty compound of a partner school, surrounded by young students as they are all curious to see what this muzungu is doing. I sit in front of three students, all in class 6A, who are telling me about their family, their dreams and what they aspire to be.
We have just officially opened the new latrines facilities at the school and these students are offering not only their thanks but also sharing with me their thoughts about what these new latrines mean for them. You can tell from their faces and from their large smiles that they are proud of their new facilities and that going to school where clean toilets and handwashing facilities are available makes them proud to be studying here. And as they shared with me, it will help them to continue studying and hopefully become the pilots, teachers and presidents that they wish to be!
I am surrounded by lush, green hills where women and men are busy at work picking tea leaves, plantains and digging up cassava root. The view here in Kyenjojo District, Uganda is quite different from where I was less than 24 hours ago - travelling the dry and dusty roads back to Dar es Salaam.
Visiting three of the schools we are working at with our Ugandan partner JESE, I am thrilled to see the school health clubs are well organized and participating in a number of different health promotion activities. Each school has a weekly schedule for sanitation related activities to be completed by the different members of the health club.
Today, even though the schools are closed due to a meeting for all of the teachers in the District, the health club members and patrons have made time for our visit. The boys and girls grace me with songs, poems, and some cultural dances stating key messages about improved hygiene practices and washing hands at critical times. I can tell that the school health club patrons at these schools are very dedicated individuals, and have spent a lot of time working with the students to ensure that keeping a clean and healthy learning environment is part of their everyday tasks.
Enjoying the hustle and bustle of Kampala, Uganda I wait patiently in the car as we wait to enter the roundabout and make our way to VAD’s office. We could be here 2 minutes, or it could be 20.
This “city of 7 hills” has approximately 1.5 million citizens, but the number of cars, matatus and boda bodas on the road make it feel somewhat congested. I was told by a taxi driver recently that it once took him 4 hours to drive from the airport to Kampala, only 40km!!!
After meeting with the VAD (WaterCan’s partner organization) Clean Water for Schools team, and being briefed on project activities to date, we discuss the upcoming workshop. The staff attending are eager for the workshop to begin, as one colleague tells me “each time we get together with other WaterCan partners doing similar things in the rest of the country, I learn something, and this helps me to do my work better and helps to improve our projects, right away.”
I’m happy to hear this, and I’m also excited to hear what our partners have to share, both successes and challenges. This is what helps us to learn and improve our work.
Ensuring soap at the hand washing stations is a great challenge, it's often costly, not commonly used, or stolen, and thus never replaced. However, today I was greatly surprised at Katembe Primary School, where several bars of soap were placed at the hand washing station, and I even saw it being used.
When there are actually a few minutes to sit, relax and chat casually with colleagues I am always humbled by the conversations we have.
Speaking with my colleagues from Kampala over lunch, they shared their experiences of the clashes between the government and Buganda people in Kampala. Road blocks were set up, people were forced to state their lineage, and if reported incorrectly, potentially beaten.
Some of my colleagues had to walk more than 6 kilometers to get home from where they were that day as roads were blocked, and traffic stopped. While no one was hurt, there are still things that haven’t been resolved, such as reopening some of the Buganda radio stations. Some are fearful that if the major issues are not resolved between the parties there could be severe consequences come the next national election.
Everyone laughs as they tell their stories, the tone of the conversation is not heavy. Yet recently seeing the consequences of similar tribal clashes in Kenya, it is hard not to want to know more and understand why there is little worry or fear. I am told that when your time is up, your time is up. Perhaps that explains the attitude of the taxi and mini bus drivers on the road!
Leaving Kampala towards the airport, you drive along the shores of Lake Victoria. Children swim in the cool water, adults and family sit at the local restaurants enjoying cold drinks and fresh tilapia, while a nice, cool breeze makes the 30 degree temperature feel quite pleasant. It is hard to think that next week at this time I will be back in Ottawa, enjoying what I imagine to be either cold rain or some wet snow - perhaps I should stay.
May 2008 Reflections on WEDC Conference - Hygiene Promotion: Old Challenges and New Ideas
Leslie's Fall 2008 Monitoring and Evaluation Trip Diary
