I am back in town, for a week of assisting with the 2010 Math/Science Secondary Education Pre-Service Training. The new training group is great: they are eager, level-headed, and will make good teachers.
In addition to assisting the Peace Corps staff to organize sessions and choose sites for the trainees, I also went to visit my host family. I wanted to bring them a chicken, and wanting to arrive as early as possible after the day's work was done, I ran with the chicken held in both hands out in front of me. I ran for maybe 3 kilometers this way, which I am sure was a fantastic site for all those I passed.
The last time I slaughtered a chicken for my host family was the end of December 2008. This was the first chicken I had ever slaughtered, so when I cut off the head and it kept moving I was startled and let it go. Yes, the chicken did run around with its head cut off, but it also flew, spraying blood on me and on my younger host brother's clothes. Needless to say, I had something to prove, and I did prove it. I chopped the head, defeathered it, and removed the internal organs. The only time I embarrassed myself was when I broke its leg to butcher it and a mix of chicken juices got into my eye.
Afterwards I sat outside, looking up at Mt. Kilimanjaro and husked black-eyed peas for my host mother. While sitting there I felt this overwhelming calm about me and I thought to myself that this is how I imagined my Peace Corps experience. I imagined leading a simple life, a slow life, filled with many calm moments sitting outside in cool shade. My experience has been this way in some instances, but in others I have chosen to retain my stressed out technology-crazed life (take the netbook that I am writing this on as one example). Instead of making time to separate rocks from unprocessed rice, I find it much nicer to buy processed rice with the rocks already removed. Often times, when people want to talk talk talk about nothing, instead of entertaining them I become fidgety and make an excuse to leave.
My life is certainly less crazy than it has been at many points, but I have retained more of my Western customs than I expected to.
After my nice sit, watching the cows and goats and husking peas, I went inside to talk to my host father about lots of things of little importance. We sat, and I enjoyed it. I did not become very fidgety. Then we ate, and realizing it was getting late, instead of rushing back to the hotel I asked if they had an extra bed to sleep there.
Leaving at 7am, I began my quick paced life again, running back to the hotel to shower, eat, and rush to Peace Corps training.
27 October 2010
Theft: A Lost Knife and Self-Questioning
Friday morning, while walking past the row of classrooms I encountered a student walking in the other direction. When we got closer I realized he had a knife twirling from his king ring; not only that, but the knife was mine!
He told me he had purchased it “in Nanyuki, or rather, it was Meru town.” You cannot find CRKT knives in Kenya. Even in Nairobi there are only two stores that sell serious outdoor gear and they sell a single brand of gear (not CRKT).
When the student was called to the principal's office the story changed again and the student said he purchased it in Nyeri at the gate to a Scout camp out we attended. And the price at which he purchased this knife new? 350KSH, or approximately $4.50. Admittedly CRKT is a cheaper brand of knife, but I bought this one for at least $20.
The worst part of this ordeal was that while I was reclaiming my knife from him I had in my other hand a picture of him and 4 other scouts smiling and enjoying themselves at the aforementioned camp out (the first camp out I took them on). Unlike America where there are many adult leaders who participate in the camp outs, I was alone with them for two nights. We cooked together, played frisbee, and shivered next to one another.
I interacted with them very freely. As an example, the only dry area at the camp was my tent, which I offered as a storage facility for the grains. The scouts entered it even when I was not present, which I permitted them to do because I trusted them.
I do still trust most of them. The biggest question I have is to what extent my faith in them can change their habits. For instance, I was also dismayed to find out on the more recent camp out that they were trying to trap animals. I guess trapping animals is the sort of activity most boys would do if they thought they had the opportunity, even American boys. In Kenya though, trapping animals is very illegal, yet the animals are still over-trapped, leading to a decline in animal populations.
As a parent, a leader, or a teacher, how should I balance showing my disapproval with offering loving-kindness to keep them from hardening their deviant behaviors? Does it take two people working together to pull this off? - One who is the yin, showing unconditional love, and the other who is sharp and critical? I am a 24 year old male and I find myself fitting the stereotype that young males tend to be critical and exacting in their code of conduct. And, like a true addict, I find myself justifying it, while simultaneously acknowledging that I make more enemies than friends through this conduct. My self appraisal might be hyperbolic to some degree, but I guess the point is I am still at a point in my life where I am trying to figure out how to be a good coach and mentor.
I wanted quick and moving justice exacted on the student, but the principal and deputy were more verbally critical of the behavior than they were with their actions – which I see to be neither yin nor yang, but just ineffective.
After the knife was paraded as evidence I sat down with it, filed out the dings, tightened the bolts, and gave it to a Kenyan friend: I did not miss the knife too greatly while it was gone.
He told me he had purchased it “in Nanyuki, or rather, it was Meru town.” You cannot find CRKT knives in Kenya. Even in Nairobi there are only two stores that sell serious outdoor gear and they sell a single brand of gear (not CRKT).
When the student was called to the principal's office the story changed again and the student said he purchased it in Nyeri at the gate to a Scout camp out we attended. And the price at which he purchased this knife new? 350KSH, or approximately $4.50. Admittedly CRKT is a cheaper brand of knife, but I bought this one for at least $20.
The worst part of this ordeal was that while I was reclaiming my knife from him I had in my other hand a picture of him and 4 other scouts smiling and enjoying themselves at the aforementioned camp out (the first camp out I took them on). Unlike America where there are many adult leaders who participate in the camp outs, I was alone with them for two nights. We cooked together, played frisbee, and shivered next to one another.
I interacted with them very freely. As an example, the only dry area at the camp was my tent, which I offered as a storage facility for the grains. The scouts entered it even when I was not present, which I permitted them to do because I trusted them.
I do still trust most of them. The biggest question I have is to what extent my faith in them can change their habits. For instance, I was also dismayed to find out on the more recent camp out that they were trying to trap animals. I guess trapping animals is the sort of activity most boys would do if they thought they had the opportunity, even American boys. In Kenya though, trapping animals is very illegal, yet the animals are still over-trapped, leading to a decline in animal populations.
As a parent, a leader, or a teacher, how should I balance showing my disapproval with offering loving-kindness to keep them from hardening their deviant behaviors? Does it take two people working together to pull this off? - One who is the yin, showing unconditional love, and the other who is sharp and critical? I am a 24 year old male and I find myself fitting the stereotype that young males tend to be critical and exacting in their code of conduct. And, like a true addict, I find myself justifying it, while simultaneously acknowledging that I make more enemies than friends through this conduct. My self appraisal might be hyperbolic to some degree, but I guess the point is I am still at a point in my life where I am trying to figure out how to be a good coach and mentor.
I wanted quick and moving justice exacted on the student, but the principal and deputy were more verbally critical of the behavior than they were with their actions – which I see to be neither yin nor yang, but just ineffective.
After the knife was paraded as evidence I sat down with it, filed out the dings, tightened the bolts, and gave it to a Kenyan friend: I did not miss the knife too greatly while it was gone.
06 October 2010
Why I Am Skeptical of Donating My Money to NGOs
NGOs obviously do a lot of good. Take for instance AMREF, which has the endorsement of the Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation and has a 4 star charity rating from "Charity Navigator" (whoever that is). There is no way to get the endorsements that AMREF has without doing MANY good things.
I wonder if they really need my money though... Take the following situation as an example:
There is a Peace Corps Volunteer living in desert Masai-land somewhere south of Nairobi. Shortly after he arrived at his site AMREF showed up with four computers. They explained that the computers were loaded with all sorts of health-related education software and that the students should be instructed to use the software to raise their awareness of health issues and how to protect themselves. Sounds great, right? Well, this school's electricity comes from a few small solar panels. The electricity is powerful enough to charge cell phones and power approximately one laptop at a time, but NOT powerful enough to run even one desktop, let alone four.
Okay, so AMREF made a single mistake... they did not confirm whether or not the computers could function before they took off in their shining luxury Land Rover, but thankfully they came back some time later to check how things were coming. Only one of the computers had been taken out of the box until the morning when AMREF was to arrive, at which point the other computers were hurriedly set up and dusted off. The officials arrived, were shown around, and were told by the school that things were going great: THANKS FOR THE FREE COMPUTERS, we are making excellent use of them (as receptors for passing dust)!!! At the end of the visit the volunteer took the officials aside and informed them of the charades they had just been put through. The official looked concerned and instructed the volunteer to begin sending AMREF reports on the subject. The volunteer acquiesced at first, but never received a reply and eventually quit.
Some months later along comes AMREF again, this time with a 72" thin screen, state-of-the-art, impress-your-neighbors TV in tow (Okay, I don't know the exact size of the TV, but the box was more than 4 ft. long and about 2.5ft tall). They told the school the TV was for the school's HIV/AIDS resource center. The problem? The school has no resource center and has no plans of constructing one. Additionally, again, the school's electricity is almost definitely not sufficient to power an electricity sucking vampire like this one. When I visited my friend some months after the TV arrived I found it in the corner of a storage room, still in its box.
As I said, in other situations AMREF does probably do useful things to improve community health. I wonder though, how many other schools and communities are targeted in such ridiculous ways.
This story is meant to highlight the dissonance between what people hear about from NGOs about the need for more money and the NGOs ability to wantonly spend money.
This state can be attributed to a few factors, among them: (1) NGOs usually do not have people on the ground to assess potential methods of conveying information and (2) in order to increase the scope and reach of their organization they must continue to show donors they need more money, which can become a vicious cycle.
Additionally, NGOs (and groups like Peace Corps) really want to brag about how many people they are reaching per money they are spending. A one-time investment such as a TV and a few computers allows them to say that they are initially reaching around 350 students and around another 70 each year, which if true would be great. Therefore, they have some incentive to ignore the finer details of their projects and focus on the report numbers.
I wonder if they really need my money though... Take the following situation as an example:
There is a Peace Corps Volunteer living in desert Masai-land somewhere south of Nairobi. Shortly after he arrived at his site AMREF showed up with four computers. They explained that the computers were loaded with all sorts of health-related education software and that the students should be instructed to use the software to raise their awareness of health issues and how to protect themselves. Sounds great, right? Well, this school's electricity comes from a few small solar panels. The electricity is powerful enough to charge cell phones and power approximately one laptop at a time, but NOT powerful enough to run even one desktop, let alone four.
Okay, so AMREF made a single mistake... they did not confirm whether or not the computers could function before they took off in their shining luxury Land Rover, but thankfully they came back some time later to check how things were coming. Only one of the computers had been taken out of the box until the morning when AMREF was to arrive, at which point the other computers were hurriedly set up and dusted off. The officials arrived, were shown around, and were told by the school that things were going great: THANKS FOR THE FREE COMPUTERS, we are making excellent use of them (as receptors for passing dust)!!! At the end of the visit the volunteer took the officials aside and informed them of the charades they had just been put through. The official looked concerned and instructed the volunteer to begin sending AMREF reports on the subject. The volunteer acquiesced at first, but never received a reply and eventually quit.
Some months later along comes AMREF again, this time with a 72" thin screen, state-of-the-art, impress-your-neighbors TV in tow (Okay, I don't know the exact size of the TV, but the box was more than 4 ft. long and about 2.5ft tall). They told the school the TV was for the school's HIV/AIDS resource center. The problem? The school has no resource center and has no plans of constructing one. Additionally, again, the school's electricity is almost definitely not sufficient to power an electricity sucking vampire like this one. When I visited my friend some months after the TV arrived I found it in the corner of a storage room, still in its box.
As I said, in other situations AMREF does probably do useful things to improve community health. I wonder though, how many other schools and communities are targeted in such ridiculous ways.
This story is meant to highlight the dissonance between what people hear about from NGOs about the need for more money and the NGOs ability to wantonly spend money.
This state can be attributed to a few factors, among them: (1) NGOs usually do not have people on the ground to assess potential methods of conveying information and (2) in order to increase the scope and reach of their organization they must continue to show donors they need more money, which can become a vicious cycle.
Additionally, NGOs (and groups like Peace Corps) really want to brag about how many people they are reaching per money they are spending. A one-time investment such as a TV and a few computers allows them to say that they are initially reaching around 350 students and around another 70 each year, which if true would be great. Therefore, they have some incentive to ignore the finer details of their projects and focus on the report numbers.
23 September 2010
Traveling in August and Shipment From Books For Africa
In Kenyan parlance, “I have been quiet” or “I have been lost” which means that I haven't communicated in too long.
When people tell me this I instinctively become defensive, since despite my lack of communication I have been neither quiet nor lost. As proof of this, or rather because I want to share some of this with folks in America, I have included a number of photos from this period.
At the beginning of the month my mother visited me for two weeks. Not only did she meet my friends, including Mary, Mr. Dick, and Mr. Hyena (shown in the above picture), but we also went to Masai Mara where she got to fulfill her high school dream of seeing exotic animals (such as the Cheetah shown below).
After she left I climbed Mt. Kenya, the second tallest mountain in Africa, with a small band of Peace Corps Volunteers. In the picture we are standing on the third tallest peak.
From Mt. Kenya I went to visit Eckhart at his site deep in the heart of Masai land - relatively uninhabited desert outside of Magadi. When we swore in as Peace Corps Volunteers and were given a map of Kenya I noted that there was a hot springs indicated on the map and set out to one day visit it. On the last day with Eckhart we set out at 5am to be at the hot springs in the early morning.
This hot springs is the most undeveloped I have ever seen. All of the pools are completely natural and the only sign of human use is garbage cans that have been strategically placed around the periphery.
Lake Magadi is home to the Magadi Soda Company, which mines and processes soda ash, a mineral compound used in the production of glass.
The lake was also used in the movie The Constant Gardener in the last scene where the diplomat, Mr. Doyle, goes to meet certain death. I believe that the picture below is where the scene was shot.
From Eckhart's site I visited my house for two days before heading off to Nairobi to meet a shipment of books, the arrival of which Matt Palma and I have been facilitating. See the bottom for a short tirade on the how this seemingly routine process went.
I had the pleasure of traveling with the truck of books to Matt's school while Matt remained in behind to tie up some loose ends. His students were very excited and equally cute.
The next day my school's portion of the books made it to school. Four schools participated and each one received approximately 5000 books. The board of governors at my school has been very helpful and is currently making arrangements to build shelves in our newly constructed library building. They want to call it the "Thomas Mosier School Library," a name that I am opposed to. Maybe we can call it the "Watu wa Amani School Library," which means "people of peace."
About facilitating the clearance of our container of books:
From personal research I knew that the importation of books in Kenya is NOT subject to the duty tax, and that this fee is automatically waived. They are subject to a CIF tax, which can be waived for books being donated to non-profit groups.
Matt and I set out to get the CIF waived. First, we compiled six documents ranging from a packing list for the container to a letter from the District Education Office and forwarded them to the Ministry of Education in Nairobi. The people there assured us that they would write the necessary two paragraph letter and forward it to the Ministry of Finance within 2 days. A week after the first meeting we called to inquire and found that they had not completed this task. Five more visits, numerous phone calls and one month later, they did forward the letter to the Ministry of Finance.
When Matt asked them which office they had forwarded the letter to in the Ministry of Finance they refused to tell him, saying that he would be notified when they had finished processing the exemption. Knowing that we did not have a chance of getting the exemption without our constant probing, Matt investigated and found the person in the Ministry of Finance responsible for handling this type of claim. This man assured us that all that needed to be done was for the Minister of Finance to sign our request and to forward the exemption code to the Kenya Revenue Authority.
One month and six visits by a plethora of volunteers, our books arrived in the Mombasa port without the Ministry of Finance fulfilling their promise. Having five days before the shipment was processed, we asked the shipping company, Siginon, to provide us with paperwork stating the amount required if we were unable to get the exemption. Siginon was very slow in providing this paperwork, but at our continued insistence gave us a paper on KRA letterhead stating that we did have to pay duty, which with the CIF totaled to 120,000KSH (about $1,500). Being very sure that duty was automatically waived, we took this presumably KRA issued paperwork to the KRA office, where we were informed that this paper was a forgery. The officer then showed us the real document, readily available in the KRA's online database, which showed that we only owed 20,000KSH (about $250).
They then called Siginon and threatened to press charges forgery charges. The company then called us, upset that we would go to KRA. Obviously we were the ones with a valid complaint since they forged a government document, presumably in an attempt to steal over $1,000 from us.
When I inquired again with the Ministry of Finance to hear how the tax exemption was coming, the officer who we had been dealing with told me that he had forwarded the letter to his supervisor and he no longer had any ability to work on the case. When I asked for the office number of his supervisor he said that I would not be able to find the person with the document because it had to pass through the hands of around seven other officers in the ministry.
With one day left, Matt went back to the officer who had the day before told me he could no longer assist us with the case, and was told by him that the next morning the Minister of Finance would sign the document. Matt called to tell Siginon this, but they informed him that they had already paid the 20,000KSH on our behalf. This was a good decision on their part because the officer in the Ministry of Finance stopped returning our calls and did not forward the exemption code to KRA.
This experience of dealing with the Kenyan government ministries was by far the most ridiculous and frustrating experience that I have had while in Kenya. It is almost comical how good they are at giving people that are trying to help Kenyan students the run around.
When people tell me this I instinctively become defensive, since despite my lack of communication I have been neither quiet nor lost. As proof of this, or rather because I want to share some of this with folks in America, I have included a number of photos from this period.
At the beginning of the month my mother visited me for two weeks. Not only did she meet my friends, including Mary, Mr. Dick, and Mr. Hyena (shown in the above picture), but we also went to Masai Mara where she got to fulfill her high school dream of seeing exotic animals (such as the Cheetah shown below).
After she left I climbed Mt. Kenya, the second tallest mountain in Africa, with a small band of Peace Corps Volunteers. In the picture we are standing on the third tallest peak.
From Mt. Kenya I went to visit Eckhart at his site deep in the heart of Masai land - relatively uninhabited desert outside of Magadi. When we swore in as Peace Corps Volunteers and were given a map of Kenya I noted that there was a hot springs indicated on the map and set out to one day visit it. On the last day with Eckhart we set out at 5am to be at the hot springs in the early morning.
This hot springs is the most undeveloped I have ever seen. All of the pools are completely natural and the only sign of human use is garbage cans that have been strategically placed around the periphery.
Lake Magadi is home to the Magadi Soda Company, which mines and processes soda ash, a mineral compound used in the production of glass.
The lake was also used in the movie The Constant Gardener in the last scene where the diplomat, Mr. Doyle, goes to meet certain death. I believe that the picture below is where the scene was shot.
From Eckhart's site I visited my house for two days before heading off to Nairobi to meet a shipment of books, the arrival of which Matt Palma and I have been facilitating. See the bottom for a short tirade on the how this seemingly routine process went.
I had the pleasure of traveling with the truck of books to Matt's school while Matt remained in behind to tie up some loose ends. His students were very excited and equally cute.
The next day my school's portion of the books made it to school. Four schools participated and each one received approximately 5000 books. The board of governors at my school has been very helpful and is currently making arrangements to build shelves in our newly constructed library building. They want to call it the "Thomas Mosier School Library," a name that I am opposed to. Maybe we can call it the "Watu wa Amani School Library," which means "people of peace."
About facilitating the clearance of our container of books:
From personal research I knew that the importation of books in Kenya is NOT subject to the duty tax, and that this fee is automatically waived. They are subject to a CIF tax, which can be waived for books being donated to non-profit groups.
Matt and I set out to get the CIF waived. First, we compiled six documents ranging from a packing list for the container to a letter from the District Education Office and forwarded them to the Ministry of Education in Nairobi. The people there assured us that they would write the necessary two paragraph letter and forward it to the Ministry of Finance within 2 days. A week after the first meeting we called to inquire and found that they had not completed this task. Five more visits, numerous phone calls and one month later, they did forward the letter to the Ministry of Finance.
When Matt asked them which office they had forwarded the letter to in the Ministry of Finance they refused to tell him, saying that he would be notified when they had finished processing the exemption. Knowing that we did not have a chance of getting the exemption without our constant probing, Matt investigated and found the person in the Ministry of Finance responsible for handling this type of claim. This man assured us that all that needed to be done was for the Minister of Finance to sign our request and to forward the exemption code to the Kenya Revenue Authority.
One month and six visits by a plethora of volunteers, our books arrived in the Mombasa port without the Ministry of Finance fulfilling their promise. Having five days before the shipment was processed, we asked the shipping company, Siginon, to provide us with paperwork stating the amount required if we were unable to get the exemption. Siginon was very slow in providing this paperwork, but at our continued insistence gave us a paper on KRA letterhead stating that we did have to pay duty, which with the CIF totaled to 120,000KSH (about $1,500). Being very sure that duty was automatically waived, we took this presumably KRA issued paperwork to the KRA office, where we were informed that this paper was a forgery. The officer then showed us the real document, readily available in the KRA's online database, which showed that we only owed 20,000KSH (about $250).
They then called Siginon and threatened to press charges forgery charges. The company then called us, upset that we would go to KRA. Obviously we were the ones with a valid complaint since they forged a government document, presumably in an attempt to steal over $1,000 from us.
When I inquired again with the Ministry of Finance to hear how the tax exemption was coming, the officer who we had been dealing with told me that he had forwarded the letter to his supervisor and he no longer had any ability to work on the case. When I asked for the office number of his supervisor he said that I would not be able to find the person with the document because it had to pass through the hands of around seven other officers in the ministry.
With one day left, Matt went back to the officer who had the day before told me he could no longer assist us with the case, and was told by him that the next morning the Minister of Finance would sign the document. Matt called to tell Siginon this, but they informed him that they had already paid the 20,000KSH on our behalf. This was a good decision on their part because the officer in the Ministry of Finance stopped returning our calls and did not forward the exemption code to KRA.
This experience of dealing with the Kenyan government ministries was by far the most ridiculous and frustrating experience that I have had while in Kenya. It is almost comical how good they are at giving people that are trying to help Kenyan students the run around.
30 July 2010
Samburu National Park
The principal and I organized a trip for some of the students to visit Samburu National Park. The trip cost about $17, for a one night and full second day trip, yet the majority of the students' parents could not afford it. Most of these students have not ever traveled more than 50km from their homes, so for those that did go it was a great experience.
The park is about 150km from the school and in order to see the most animals we spent Friday night at a 30 child foster home that is close to the park. Seeing our students play with the orphans, share stories about their challenges, and sing together was very moving to me. What made it so nice is that the students really enjoyed getting to know and helping nurture the children.
Then, on Saturday morning, we got up at 4:15am and headed out to the park, which contained all other sorts of unexpected highlights.
For example, the students got to get their picture taken with the wildlife ranger's gun. I have about 50 pictures on my computer, more than one picture of each student, of each student taking their turn holding the gun.
Another total surprise was the spring that we came across. This area was totally dry until WWII, when an Italian soldier bombed the desert in the middle of nowhere, and, like some figure from the Bible, striking this vast rock-land produced water! No joke, he happened to hit an underground river.
More expected, we saw many animals, including these zebras.
The last new experience for the students on the trip was getting to see an airplane. This was such a big deal for them that we sat waiting for it to arrive for almost an hour.
Trips like this was are more common place at more established schools, but this was the first one of its kind for our school. It goes without saying how nice it was to be with the students on this trip and to see their excitement.
The park is about 150km from the school and in order to see the most animals we spent Friday night at a 30 child foster home that is close to the park. Seeing our students play with the orphans, share stories about their challenges, and sing together was very moving to me. What made it so nice is that the students really enjoyed getting to know and helping nurture the children.
Then, on Saturday morning, we got up at 4:15am and headed out to the park, which contained all other sorts of unexpected highlights.
For example, the students got to get their picture taken with the wildlife ranger's gun. I have about 50 pictures on my computer, more than one picture of each student, of each student taking their turn holding the gun.
Another total surprise was the spring that we came across. This area was totally dry until WWII, when an Italian soldier bombed the desert in the middle of nowhere, and, like some figure from the Bible, striking this vast rock-land produced water! No joke, he happened to hit an underground river.
More expected, we saw many animals, including these zebras.
The last new experience for the students on the trip was getting to see an airplane. This was such a big deal for them that we sat waiting for it to arrive for almost an hour.
Trips like this was are more common place at more established schools, but this was the first one of its kind for our school. It goes without saying how nice it was to be with the students on this trip and to see their excitement.
My Dog Friend
It might be a bad sign that I decorated the neighbors dog...
The dog belongs to a man that lives about 0.8km away from me in the village. I have never fed the dog, but he comes over to my house sometimes. In fact, he even follows me to the market, and one time he tried to follow me all the way to Maua (5km away). The only reason that he likes me is because I pet him and no one else does.
I really like having him around. He can fight with other dogs and people don't care much. He can pee on the neighbors fence without a second glance from the fence's owner. When he goes with me to the market there is never talk of a leash. His life seems so natural and free. Even though he has made me really want a dog I don't think that I could get a dog in the States, in part because no dog there could ever have as nice an existence as this dog.
13 July 2010
Campout: Building Our Scout Troop
Scouting in Kenya is typically very different from America. For one, there is no parent involvement in Kenya, two girls and boys are together in the same troops, and the troops focus heavily on marching and do not know that there is anything else to scouts - like merit badges.
I attained the rank of Eagle Scout in America, without being very good at marching, so I am inclined to think that the scouts will benefit from a little re-direction, which I am trying to provide them by organizing more activities for them to participate in
This last weekend the principal, who was also a scout, and I organized a 3 day hike and camping trip to the Nyambene forest.
In Kenya, the forest is a place that people usually do not go unless they have some shady businesses, such as cutting down trees illegally or poaching animals. Therefore, most of our students had never been to the forest even though it is only 12km from our school. It was great to see how excited they were to be out in nature. While we were there we went on a hike, I taught them about first aid, we talked with them about environmental conservation, and yes, they even practiced marching a little bit.
Additionally, they had never been organized into patrols and had never elected leaders, so we took advantage of this time together to explain the organization to them and help them elect their first set of leaders.
Another difference between American scouts and Kenyan ones is the gear. In America, we are used to having rain jackets, pre-fabricated tents, gas stoves, thermarests, sleeping bags, etc. In Kenya, they use whatever clothes they can kind to keep warm, they usually make their own tents (often out of tarps or left over grain storage sacks), they cook everything over a wood fire, they carry their mattresses and blankets from school, and often times they only carry one set for each pair of students.
Another difference is that they have rotating watchmen throughout the night, so that at every hour of the night there are 3-4 scouts huddled around the camp fire watching the darkness.
Camping alongside of their plastic tarp tent I felt over-privileged in my REI 2-person backpacking tent. All of them love seeing my camping gear, and I know that they envy it. Even though I have been here for over a year and a half, living with this group of people, I cannot really reconcile the feelings that these thoughts evoke. On the one hand, this is the life that I am used to, so it seems kind of natural, but on the other hand, I see that it is not natural or accessible for very many of the worlds people. I do not ever want to become comfortable with this discrepancy. When we are comfortable or not cognizant of this discrepancy we live like we are the only people on this earth, which is not true. The answer is not just to throw money at the problem either though. Foreign countries are doing that currently, and the result is that the Kenyan MPs can free up money from other places to give themselves a 50% pay increase, or just outright steal the money without being prosecuted by the attorney general.
All of that is a digression, but the corruption aspect of it is relative to scouting, because the first point of the Scout's Law is to be trustworthy, and how do you really teach the youth to be trustworthy and honest when they are bombarded daily with examples of extremely rich Kenyans lying and stealing their money. They see my tent, they know that I am rich, they probably think that I must also be corrupt by virtue of our status. The only way that I know how to combat this is to try to be as forthcoming, honest, and transparent as I can be, and also to have discussions with them about the scout oath and laws, which we did.
On a completely different note, check out this cool grass. The principal said that it is actually part of the moss family.
I attained the rank of Eagle Scout in America, without being very good at marching, so I am inclined to think that the scouts will benefit from a little re-direction, which I am trying to provide them by organizing more activities for them to participate in
This last weekend the principal, who was also a scout, and I organized a 3 day hike and camping trip to the Nyambene forest.
In Kenya, the forest is a place that people usually do not go unless they have some shady businesses, such as cutting down trees illegally or poaching animals. Therefore, most of our students had never been to the forest even though it is only 12km from our school. It was great to see how excited they were to be out in nature. While we were there we went on a hike, I taught them about first aid, we talked with them about environmental conservation, and yes, they even practiced marching a little bit.
Additionally, they had never been organized into patrols and had never elected leaders, so we took advantage of this time together to explain the organization to them and help them elect their first set of leaders.
Another difference between American scouts and Kenyan ones is the gear. In America, we are used to having rain jackets, pre-fabricated tents, gas stoves, thermarests, sleeping bags, etc. In Kenya, they use whatever clothes they can kind to keep warm, they usually make their own tents (often out of tarps or left over grain storage sacks), they cook everything over a wood fire, they carry their mattresses and blankets from school, and often times they only carry one set for each pair of students.
Another difference is that they have rotating watchmen throughout the night, so that at every hour of the night there are 3-4 scouts huddled around the camp fire watching the darkness.
Camping alongside of their plastic tarp tent I felt over-privileged in my REI 2-person backpacking tent. All of them love seeing my camping gear, and I know that they envy it. Even though I have been here for over a year and a half, living with this group of people, I cannot really reconcile the feelings that these thoughts evoke. On the one hand, this is the life that I am used to, so it seems kind of natural, but on the other hand, I see that it is not natural or accessible for very many of the worlds people. I do not ever want to become comfortable with this discrepancy. When we are comfortable or not cognizant of this discrepancy we live like we are the only people on this earth, which is not true. The answer is not just to throw money at the problem either though. Foreign countries are doing that currently, and the result is that the Kenyan MPs can free up money from other places to give themselves a 50% pay increase, or just outright steal the money without being prosecuted by the attorney general.
All of that is a digression, but the corruption aspect of it is relative to scouting, because the first point of the Scout's Law is to be trustworthy, and how do you really teach the youth to be trustworthy and honest when they are bombarded daily with examples of extremely rich Kenyans lying and stealing their money. They see my tent, they know that I am rich, they probably think that I must also be corrupt by virtue of our status. The only way that I know how to combat this is to try to be as forthcoming, honest, and transparent as I can be, and also to have discussions with them about the scout oath and laws, which we did.
On a completely different note, check out this cool grass. The principal said that it is actually part of the moss family.
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