Everyday life

I won’t lie, but I want to start my blog with “time is flying by”. It is the actual classic, but life is happening, and somehow, three months have already passed since I first arrived. To summarise, we are now four volunteers, which is nice because it means that we have a strong support network among each other. Our Swahili could be better, but we plan to tackle that issue - soon, we will be fluent (Inshallah). And I have completed my first few activities as a gender advocate here.

International Women's Day in Shianda

To start with the latter, at the beginning of March, I was able to get various stakeholders together to talk about GBV and develop a plan to proceed from here. With International Women’s Day, we were able to join hands and organise a march through Shianda to raise attention to gender equality and GBV. These were some interesting events with many lessons learned. Most of all, it was great to see the motivation of community members and to meet new people working on the same issues.

Other activities that I am planning include a refresher course for the current GBVA and recruiting and training new GBVAs to strengthen the community's efforts. However, my mind is also wandering towards the identified deadlocks that are limiting the GBVA's work and measures to overcome them, which is quite a challenge on its own.

Chairladies meeting

Although work and private life tend to get mixed up a lot in and around the house, which is a given fact when you live with three of your colleagues, we are also able to enjoy our moments off work. We mostly share our meals together, which is nice as I can often get away with cleaning the dishes afterwards. We fill the house with books, have little movie nights, and our love for sports is combined with our hatred for doing the dirty laundry afterwards. We have visited various places, including the Crying Stone in Kakamega, Ambururu Waterfall, Kakamega Forest, and Nairobi.

Visiting the country’s capital city was a bit of a startle, having skipped it altogether upon arrival and having lived in a rural area for 2,5 months. We had to travel to Nairobi for our visa renewal and for me to take my PMP exam. Seeing the difference between the places puts more things in perspective. While enjoying the luxuries of the city, it was also hard to grasp the fact that one meal could easily cost over 1000KES while two days prior, I was dealing with a survivor of GBV who couldn’t afford a 10KES book to visit the government’s medical facility - let alone the costs of medicine after diagnoses. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the headspin Nairobi gave me. Even though we see and understand the disparities (the reason that led us to be here in the first place), there are these moments when nothing makes sense anymore. It is especially during these moments that I realise having this network of volunteers around me to help me ground again is a blessing.

Daily views from the field visits

The gym has always been an essential release for me, and you have no idea how glad I am to continue that habit here. There is something about the sunrises in that little rustic room, the unorganised and confusing weights system, the welded steel beams that function as a leg press or shoulder press, the poorly laid wooden floor, and that intrusive smell of sweat that is simply motivating. Mumias East will keep a bodybuilding competition soon; needless to say, the guys are training hard. And while I will definitely stay out of that, it is nice to train alongside people who are just as motivated to push themselves to their limits.

The sunrise from the gym

We have had our fair share of issues surrounding the house, considering we spent 11 days without electricity, we wake up regularly to the fact the water has run out, and we have to wait until the sun generates enough energy to fill the tank, and the question of how we keep our grass short without overspending (yes at one point we had some cows and goats over). But all in all, I am very grateful for the place we call home - which does have plenty of space, wifi, and even a little projector to create a cinema effect on movie nights.

Life is not all roses, sunshine, unicorns and rainbows. But for some reason, I find myself at peace here. I get carried away by all the little glimmers in life that seem to make any obstacle worth conquering.

My first month in Kenya!

 

Unsurprisingly, I already feel like calling this place home. My arrival has been a bit different from that of Ebba, Emma, and Mohammed. 

I was lucky to find them waiting for me with a very warm welcome after my 24 hours trip before arriving to Shianda. 

In these past weeks I have felt a lot of emotions, most of them very pleasant, sometimes a bit of frustration but I can surely say that the current balance of the experience is so far more than positive!

 

From my second week in Shianda, together with Ebba, I got the chance to visit several of the group of farmers that WEFOCO works with. Apart from the differences in organization and schedule, it has been  enriching to talk to the different women that are part of these groups. 

Understanding their challenges is not always straightforward, one of the issues being going past the problems that they are well aware of, and for which they directly ask help for. But sometimes it is also necessary to go a bit further and more in depth apart from their explicit requests.

However, we are fully dedicated to supporting them, and we are trying to maximize our efforts and be as efficient as possible to help them with the more and less obvious issues.

Being on the receiving side of their requests is a very humbling experience. For them to ask for things in such a direct way is a sign that they really need it, and although we cannot give them everything they ask for, I personally feel very happy to be here and to play my role in helping them achieving their goals, and improve their quality of life.

The first picture is from one of the visits, here, they were showing us their sweet potatoes that will soon be ready to be harvested!

 

Changing topic, we also had to chance to go around the area for some visits!

Together with Mohammed, Emma and Ebba, we went to Kakamega to visit the so-called crying stone. It was a curios location to visit, and our local guide was happy to share all her knowledge with us. However, right after that we became famous for about half an hour: there were some locals (some students, some other were also tourists visiting the stone) which all had one thing in common: they all wanted to take pictures with us! We stayed there with them for quite some time as they wanted to take group pictures, individual ones with each one of us and also wanted all of our contacts: email, phone numbers and whatnot.

It was quite a funny experience, although it made me realize that I am happy to be a not-famous person!! 

The picture is with all the people that were also visiting, and they just wanted to have a picture with us :)

 

 

Here in Shianda, for now we mainly had good weather and the amount of rain has started to increase lately. However, last week we had a crazy rainstorm while Ebba and I were at Evelyn’s house (one of the chairladies) as we were visiting her group.

We thought we were going to get stuck there as it was already late afternoon and it was heavily raining and also hailing! We managed to get back home, but only to find that the power had gone out. Nothing too strange, as we often have some power cuts. That usually entails that we stay without electricity for some time, usually some minutes or one-two hours.

Well, not this time! The extreme rain from that afternoon had burned some of the electric wires on the main road, meaning that from Thursday, we only got the electricity in our house on Tuesday evening. It might not seem that long, but considering that at 7pm it is already night, and that the fridge and everything else in the house was not working, the four of us had some funny days and some candle-light dinners. We somewhat enjoyed it although eventually we were missing the comforts of electricity!

 

It has only been some weeks since I arrived here, but thanks to my housemates and colleagues, Esther (WEFOCO’s superhero-director) and the locals which are very friendly, I really feel comfortable and already at home. Especially the first two weeks were of adjustment, but once that period has passed, I got to start fully enjoying this experience.

 

I also have the luck to be able to go running early in the morning during the week (we all became morning people due to our routine) and I am really enjoying running in the unpaved roads, seeing all the people starting their days as we share some quick greetings as I run by.

 

The next month will be very interesting, as I will become even more involved with the local groups during the trainings that we are preparing for them, I am enthusiastic about working side by side with these people. They are very resilient and hard-working women, role models from which I have a lot to learn from. 

Below, you can see another picture from one of the groups that we visited: they were all wearing matching dresses during our visit :) 

 

I will be back with some updates in some time!

Mattia

A new beginning

 

Living in this lush environment, the daily orchestra consists of birds singing, insects buzzing, and the light-dappled white curtain gently blowing in the wind. Once the sun sets, there is complete silence beside the crickets chirping. Occasionally, the neighbour's or our guard's music finds its way through my poorly closed window when I lay in bed, trying to read a book while my eyes are giving up for the day. The next morning, the sun finds its way through the split of the curtains, shining on my face to greet me. It's another day in Shianda. There is much to be done; everything goes at its own pace. Flexibility here is key; don't plan too much, but have faith that everything will fall in place.

Snapshot from a matatu

My interest in gender-based violence and psychosocial support has led me here as I am a gender advocate and PSS volunteer, working mainly with GBV with the community focus groups. In all honesty, it has taken me a while to understand how everything is organised, leading to an optimal use of my observation time. Only now, 3 weeks later, am I looking into how I can best develop and organise my activities.

Mohammad, here for ICT, and I arrived around the same time, allowing us to explore the life of Shianda, West Kenya, at the same pace. I feel quickly at peace, having been warmly welcomed by everyone around me. I am well-acquainted with living in countries outside of Europe, being used to frequent power outages, being careful with water use, and the overall chaos of boda bodas (moto-taxis) and matatus (local busses). The market is vibrant, with enough options for a rich diet, although we don't shy away from going to the city for some extra choices. I am enjoying the diversity of food ranging from the local restaurant, where we eat ugali or chapati with beans, spinach, eggs, cabbage and more at lunch, to the homemade cooked dinners at home, mainly by Mo himself in the fashion of the Syrian and Middle Eastern kitchen. 

The love for food!

Mohammad making chickpeas fatteh

Last week, Ebba, the volunteer for small-holder farming, arrived, leading us to move to a larger house with a bigger garden that will fit all of us, including another volunteer yet to come. The house is slowly coming together as many renovations had to be done before we could move in, and now the plumber, electrician, and another person for the ants are still working on the last issues we are experiencing. Ebba has started planting some seeds for a vegetable garden, Mohammad is working on creating a little stone walkway from the gate to our door, and I have been separating the organics from plastics and other waste to create a little waste management system. The latter is ground for a new side project, as I can't accept burning my waste like everyone else for lack of a better alternative.

Storm clouds over the old house

I'm still navigating my sports between home workouts and visits to the local gym, but I'm happy I can choose and combine. Learning Swahili is high on my list, as my Duolingo streak is improving day by day. However, I still forget the words when I want to apply them in conversations - hoping I will improve soon. 

Overall, life goes slow, but the days fly by. As mentioned by previous volunteers, the hakuna matata mentality is very much present, which is something I highly value. The unnecessary stress of the future, or the past for that matter, has dropped away. As my dear colleagues from MONDO and WEFOCO mentioned in the interview, life in Shianda is something to be experienced, as words will fall short.

Kids smiling as we greet each other in Swahili

My First Weeks in Kenya: Path to a new Life

  Going to Kenya was a big adventure for me. Before I left, I tried to learn as much as I could about it online. But, no matter how much I read, nothing could really prepare me for what it was actually like to be there. It's a bit funny - I thought I knew what to expect, but when I got there, I realized it was both exactly and nothing like I imagined. I think That mix of feelings is what people call culture shock.

In just three weeks, a lot of things changed for me. One of the biggest surprises was how my sleeping habits changed. Back home, I used to stay up late. But in Kenya, I started going to bed early and waking up with the sun. The nights there feel different. It gets really dark by 7 PM, and by 9 PM, it feels like midnight. Every morning, birds chirping outside my window woke me up, like nature's own alarm clock.

I was really lucky to stay in a big house with a beautiful garden. It felt peaceful and made me happy.

people in Shianda, the place I stayed, were super friendly. Even if they didn't know me, they would say hi and make me feel like a celebrity. They often called me “Mzungu,” which is a word used for foreigners. I also had to get used to doing things like washing my clothes by hand.

I tried to mix a bit of my life back home with my new life in Kenya. For example, I wanted to make pizza one day, but there was no oven. So, I tried to make one using pots. It didn't go as planned - I ended up melting the bottom of one pot! It was a funny mess, and I learned I should add water to the pot next time.

sure it didn't look good😂😂!!!!!

The first two weeks were all about getting used to everything. By the third week, I started teaching computer lessons to students. It was great to see that they liked me and trusted me right from the start. I really hope I can do something good that lasts even after I leave.

I wanted to share my story so far, to show what it's been like for me here. It's been a mix of learning, making mistakes, and meeting amazing people. And it's all part of this big adventure in Kenya.

First weeks in Shianda

Two eventful weeks have passed in Shianda village and it is crazy how fast we adapt to new environments and situations. Less than a month ago I was snowboarding with friends in the mountains of Norway, now I shop mangos that have fully matured out in the blazing sun and melts in the mouth.

Though us volunteers draw a lot attention walking the streets in town, it feels safe living here and people always greets you with a ‘hello, how are you’. When I am fast enough I use the Swahilian phrase ‘jambo, habari’ to which you get the answer ‘mzuri’ and a surprised face. Like in most other places, the locals here gets excited when they hear you trying to learn their language. They get so excited that they also want you to learn luhya, which is their tribe language and something I am saving to learn for the future when I feel more secure with my Swahili skills :)

Views from morning jog

The market preparing for rain

When I arrived to Shianda, there were already two volunteers here: Emma and Mohammed. Together with the director Esther from the hosting organization WEFOCO, they made me feel warmly welcomed. Us volunteers now live together in a big house with a big garden, waiting for a fourth volunteer to arrive in less than a week!

Our green pathway to the house

Home office

Work wise I am still in the observation period. The goal is to understand the situation, before brainstorming activities that can be arranged with the women groups. Two farmers visits have already been carried out and more visits are planned for the whole of February. The farmers are friendly and happy to show what they are doing so I am excited to work more with them! A difficulty, on the other hand, have been adapting to the work pace. For example, I am used to start meetings at agreed time, but here you for sure will wait at least one hour for people to drop in. Lets see how long it takes before I also embrace the no-stress-mentality!

Field visits

The everyday life in Shianda is getting more and more pleasant for every day and I especially appreciate the good friendships with the other volunteers. Our discussions and reflections over the situation are helpful in the process of getting settled here. Together we figure out the social codes to follow, how to get around in the village and meals to cook with limited sources. Last mentioned is well taken care of: the food in our kithen is enriched with cuisines from all over the world thanks to our different nationalities and experiences. Also the local food is very enjoyable! 

Lunch at local restaurant

Cooking bananabread on gas stove

I look forward to getting to know the place better, working more with the women groups and see more of the Kenyan culture! 

Museum- visit 

Hike to Mumias

Bye Bye Shianda...

 The last few weeks have literally flown by, especially as Eugenie and I were caught up in organizing the event against gender violence in the market area.

Successful event, during which with theater and music performances  were addressed gbv topics, women's land rights and what to do in cases of gbv violence

 

By now it is time for me to go home as well. What can I say about these months?

It is difficult to put into words all the emotions I am feeling these last days in Shianda.

I am sad at the idea of leaving, scared at the idea of coming back. Honestly, I wish I could have stayed longer, because right at the moment when I really felt at home, the time has come.

I didn't always feel this way, the beginning was riddled with ups and downs, and anxiety due to being in a new place with new people, and especially in the first period it was hard not to feel lonely.

But that is part of the experience; over time I began to feel part of the community and and to consider Shianda my home. In all of this, the support and presence of my companions has been important.

What I would like to suggest is to come here with an open mind, try to live and laugh at every new experience, to not be scared, not to be afraid of stand for yourself , and to trust people because there is beauty in the world but sometimes it is not immediate and it takes time to be able to discover it.

I leave Shianda happy with this experience and the people I met!

This is it...

Mostly with sadness I realize that I have to leave Kenya soon. More and more I find myself thinking that I will miss certain things here, even walking down the street or buying ground nuts from my favourite lady by the gas station. Buy fresh fruit at 8 in the morning after walking home from the gym...

Time has gone too quickly, and I am not ready to leave. 

During this short period of time, I have grown- grown to appreciate and acknowledge more the privileges I have, grown to love this little place called Shianda, grown to appreciate little comforts. I have become more open-minded but also learned to stand up for myself more. I have learned to ask for help and recognize better when I need time off. I have met incredible people who I will have a deep connection and friendship for the rest of my life!

 

During my deployment I managed to work on different projects. I spent some time working in Shianda health centre, I gave trainings to young mothers about breastfeeding, safe environment for child, infant nutrition, recognizing a sick child. I trained community health extension workers as first aid trainers, so they would have the skills to train others. They also assisted me in my biggest project- training 300 community health volunteers (CHVs) in basic first aid. I organised a fundraiser to get the means to do this project, to offer tea, lunch and training materials for the participants. I trained about 300 CHV in 14 days in 12 different dispenseries and health centres. It was a very consuming project, but every day during my trainings I saw the interest and need for knowledge. The determination and dedication to learn. I am very proud of this project and truly believe it is of great value to the beneficiaries. 

 

Overall, I have loved my deployment here in Kenya. Not every moment has been easy, there has been setbacks, frustrations, stress, sadness, anger, annoyance. But there have also been incredible moments, successes, a lot-a a lot of laughter, deep connections and friendships. It has been an extraordinary journey which I will appreciate for the rest of my life!

All of my 14 amazing groups, who I trained in basic first aid!

Enjoy your place!

The advice I want to give to those who will come here in the coming years or to anyone who finds themselves living a life experience in a completely different context from the one they consider "home", is:

  ENJOY!!

Face every day with extreme curiosity, let yourself be carried away by events, by people, take new paths every day, ask questions, experiment.

Take as many walks as possible and get lost in the trees and houses.

Try your hand at experiences never done before.

Experience the local culture first-hand.

Taste new foods, let yourself be attracted by the scents.

Be ready to change and evolve.

Enjoy it and you will be forever grateful.

Shianda for me was all this.

Go out at any time of the day to buy something fresh to eat, 

stopping at the corner, on the main street or in the large market 

and chat with the ladies of the stalls.

Waking up in the morning to go spend an hour with my friends

and the "Shianda guys" in the gym above the office

and there fill up with smiles to face the day.

Walking for a 10-minute walk and returning home 3 hours later, 

because the landscape was getting more and more beautiful and new,

and it was impossible to stop.

Spend 5 hours sitting on a plastic chair, 

alternating moments of play with children, 

and laughter with passers-by, 

to have the famous braids.

See truckloads of sugar cane pass by 

and children run after them to get some. 

And many, many, many, many others..that I wish you all.

Facing everyday life in the village was an extremely beautiful and full of life experience.