trans4mations

The final note

2012-01-10T06:04:00.000-08:00

We're so happy to be home, yet we miss our new friends in Kenya. What an experience. What a trip.

I would like to write a little wrap up for those of you who have been following the few posts we managed to get up while in Africa. First, I apologize for not having more posts for you all, we only had access to electricity for about 2 hours per day and no access to internet. While there is absolutely no way to convey our experiences in words or pictures, I will try my best with both.

That is a shot of the hotel we stayed in our first night in Kenya, in Nairobi. The hotel was generally similar to what you would expect in America - but almost no buildings have a/c and they are not nearly as fancy. After one night here, we jumped in the van you see and drove 15 hours to Muhuru.

This is the view of the Great Rift Valley on the way to Muhuru, about 1 hour outside Nairobi. It was breathtaking; you cannot possibly imagine the size from this picture, but it was incredible.

After 3 flat tires (2 driving through that valley you see above) and some significant lost-time, we finally made it to Dickens house in Muhuru Bay, the rural town on the border of Tanzania and Lake Victoria where our library project took place.

Don't forget the Baboon chilling on the guardrail (Kaitlynn mentioned in her post).

We will post some pictures of Muhuru Bay later on Facebook and other places, they are still on the camera right now. As Americans, if you have never traveled to Africa, I will promise you that you cannot imagine what the towns look like. The two pictures directly above give you a little idea of what most towns/homes we saw in rural Kenya look like.

The most important part of our trip was, of course, our project. The library/resource center project is already a great success. While we had workers accomplishing some of the major renovation work on the library ahead of time, much work still remained to be completed. On Thursday we spent some time cleaning, mudding, and working at the building. On Friday, while three of us traveled to Maseno University, Cody and Lindsey stayed behind and worked incredibly hard on the facility. They did a fantastic job.

This is a picture of the inside of the main building in the complex that has become the resource center. This building holds the library.

Us with children outside the library

On my computer right now I do not have pictures of the rest of the pictures of the facility, and the other buildings in the complex. As soon as we clear the cameras and upload pictures, we will post the link everywhere. In short, there is another stretch of building outside the large library building. We will use this extra building as meeting space and computer space (we have 5 computers) for people to use to read and work. We are also planning on having a tutoring program for those looking to learn outside the classroom.

We had a grand opening for the library on Saturday, and there was a packed house. Myself and 2 administrative representatives from Maseno spoke, we had a ribbon cutting, and people got to see the facility. It was clear at this event that our project is going to have a tremendous impact on the community.

Next steps: we need a lot of help with books. We need as many books as possible to send to Muhuru. Prepare to see a book drive and for us to ask for your help in the coming days.

Thank you all for following this project. The pictures and video are truly incredible, and as soon as we have all of that media cleared and uploaded, I will post a source for them.

January 5th - First full day in Muhuru

2012-01-08T22:01:00.000-08:00

Today was the start of our first day in Muhuru Bay with these amazing people. Beginning early in the morning, we were all up for breakfast at 8:00am and in for a surprise after. We did not know where we were going or what we were doing, but we were asked to go for a walk. Walking outside the front door, I was able to see the breathtaking view that we missed when we arrived due to how late and dark it was. Standing in their front driveway, you can literally look at all of Muhuru Bay. When we began our walk, they were starting by showing their land to us. This consisted of many goats, chickens and bulls/cows, and continued onto their cornfield and garden. Turning the corner of a very large mountain of rocks and they filled us in on our future climb up. Although it looked tough and very high, we were all ready for the experience, and it sure was. As soon as we got to the top, the rigorous climb became worth it because I have never seen so much land in one view. We could see for 50miles at least, while we were up there and we just sat on a rock and chatted while we took it all in. After we realized we were wasting some time, we descended down the mountain, pilled in a car and began our 30 minute trek to Customs, Mahuru Bay where the library is located. Arriving in this area was a wake up call for all of us due to how run down it was. This area literally looked like a town that was abandoned 50years ago and left to die. Even though the view is amazing because of Lake Victoria, the living situation is very unfortunate. When we came up to the library, to us, it looked very run down and small for a library, but for the people of this area, this was a mansion. It was set in a compound so there is a boundary for safety around it and there is also a police facility directly outside the front door. The inside is one large room with a separate room for a reception and on the outside, walk ways. When we would leave the compound to go into to the car, there seemed to be more and more children sitting outside and watching us. They would call out “mzungu, how are you?!” and that means “white people, how are you?! It was all very sweet because they were all so happy to see us there and they would come up and shake our hands and laugh with us. When we weren’t socializing with the people, we were tearing down concrete, sweeping, spackling and cleaning. There is still much to do tomorrow to complete the library for the grand opening on Saturday. We then ate in town and then headed out to WISER which is a school specifically for girls from Mahuru Bay to help them with their education. Without this establishment, only 5% of the women of the Bay would finish grade school. I was happy to know that our library will assist them in continuing their education. Here, they also showed us how they purify the lake water (which is where the people of the Bay wash clothes, dishes, their bodies and also where they relieve themselves throughout the day). They showed us what comes out of the water after it’s purified and the water was literally green from all the feces. After seeing this, it was time to head back to the house, shower, eat and sleep.

Until tomorrow Coker,

Lindsey Allen

January 4th - Travels to Muhuru

2012-01-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2012

Wow, what an interesting travel here to the Muhuru Bay! Today we left the hotel that we stayed in Nairobi last night at eight A.M. due to a six-hour drive we had to the Bay. We were all excited to know that we were headed to Muhuru Bay. During our travel, we saw many interesting things. It started off with seeing a Baboon just sitting on the rail of the guardrail watching traffic. We then stopped at a beautiful valley called the Rift Valley. With miles of land, the view you have looking from above is incredible. An hour later rolls by in the car and we get a flat tire. Thank goodness the driver had a spare. While we were waiting for him to change the tire, we saw multiple dust storms. They were very interesting to watch they don’t harm a thing! Back on the road again he stopped at this village where everyone came up to the car and tried to sell you fruits, water, and other items. In the middle of our journey we then got another flat tire. After changing the tire again about thirty minutes later rolled by and we got another flat tire! This time though, the driver did not have a spare. It’s very different here because the driver just stood in the side of the road with the flat tire beside him and not even ten minutes later a nice man pulled over and took him to another village to buy another tire. Though it took him about three hours this time to get back with the tire, we definitely entertained ourselves. In the middle of nowhere, we learned a kid’s hand game that is played here; jump over sticks, and met people from that tribe. This was a great time to actually see what the people here are all about. When we finally got back in the car we were finally headed to Mahuru Bay. The last two hours was a very bumpy road! There was no pavement and so many pot holes. When we arrived at Dickens house they welcomed us with a song that they sing and were so welcoming into their home. The people here in Africa are amazing. They are so different and patient. Even with the three flat tires and not getting to Dickens house until late, it didn’t bother them at all. They are so patient and kind it is so mind-boggling. You know as well as I do if that happened in the United States people would be screaming and so mad that it would ruin their day. Not here though. I can’t wait to see what is in store tomorrow! I definitely miss my family and friends but this is such an experience that I will probably never have again.

Kaitlynn

First day in Kenya: Nairobi

2012-01-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

After four very long and smooth flights, the five of us finally made it to the Nairobi, Kenya airpot to continue through customs and meet with Simeon around 9:30pm. We walked downstairs to see him and two others, Charity and Collins, ready to greet us and welcome us to their country. Exhausted and ready to settle in, they drove us by van to our destination which happened to be Simeon's sister's hotel. Pleasantly surprised, we were year again greeted and welcomed to Kenyon by very kind and interesting individuals. Heading inside the hotel, there are elegant couches and chairs in the waiting room and the entire hotel seems to be maroon and tan colored. We were directed upstairs to our rooms where the boys each had individual rooms and Kaitlynn and I shared a double room. The showers and beds were much more than any of us had expected. There was a TV in each room, large sized bathrooms with showers and mosquito nets that looked more like a vanity than a net. Each room was also complete with a window and a nice maroon curtain to keep the heat out and it was surprisingly beautiful weather at night, only 70 degrees!

After warm showers and a long nights sleep, we all met in the dining room at 7:00am in the morning for breakfast. Once again, we were all pleasantly surprised with the food and the presentation. There was a table of breakfast cereals, sausage, eggs and tomatoes, toast, beans, pancakes and an arainment of fruit. Not only that, but there were three different kinds of fruit juice along with lots of coffee (espresso) and tea. Who knew that Kenyans were such experts at coffee? So far, we're off to an amazing start to our trip.

In about an hour, we will be off on our journey to Migori and then off to Muhuru Bay. This will be a little over a six hour car ride and then another six hour car ride between each city. We have also been forewarned that the terrain will not be ideal for the drive, but we are all prepared with some motion sickness pills before we head off. Stay tuned to hear all about the sights and the land later on today.

Thanks for taking some time to hear about our trip,

Lindsey Allen

The Journey Begins

2012-01-02T06:47:00.000-08:00

This morning at 7am we departed Hartsville for Charlotte. Our first flight departs at 12:51, and our first stop is Detroit (makes sense: fly west to turn around and fly east...). After a few hour layover in Detroit we will fly 8 hours to Amsterdam, and then another 8 hour flight into Nairobi. With the time change in Africa, we will arrive in Nairobi at 8pm on Tuesday!

The trip is sure to be exciting. Once we arrive in Nairobi we will meet up with our new friends of SIFE Maseno University. From there, we will spend the night in a Nairobi hotel before the 6 hour drive to Muhuru Bay on Wednesday morning.

The drive is sure to be interesting, and the time we will get to spend with the SIFE students from Maseno will truly be educational and fun.

Once we arrive in Muhuru, we will meet up with our main contact in the region, Dickens Ochiel. Dickens is a native, and a local philanthropist of sorts. He spends much of his time working to improve the region he loves.

We plan to spend most of our time in Muhuru meeting natives, working on the library, and gathering ideas for future projects.

As we get pictures and as the trip goes on we will make sure to update this blog. Please keep reading to see our updates and follow our journey. Kenya is the land of the unknown for many of us, and therefore we won't be sure of how much internet access will be available. Nevertheless, we promise to update when we can!