Mondo's volunteers in Kenya

Greetings from Shianda and Happy Woman's Day (here we celebrated it on the 10th of February)!

“Mimi ni Hanna. Natoka Estonia. Nafanya kazi na WEFOCO. Nafanya kazi bila kulipina. Niko hapa kwa miezi sita”. Pardon my Swahili :)

“My name is Hanna. I’m from Estonia. I work with WEFOCO organisation. I am a volunteer. I am here for six months.”

The sense of community is very important here in Kenya. And how beautiful it is when we know how and when we have the possibility to help each other. In a small place everyone knows everyone except when you’re newcomer. Then at first it’s important to go around and introduce yourself. Introduction is taken very seriously, everyone in the room says their names and professions and signs the visitor book. Guests are the first ones offered a seat and the first ones offered food at mealtimes.

This is exactly why one of my first activities has been going around and introducing myself and letting everyone know what it is that I am doing here and how am I planning to help the community. I have attended meetings, project proposals, community gatherings, trainings and other visits while encountering great people to work with and feeling most welcome, as they say “Karibu” (Welcome) to which I reply “Asante sana!” (Thank you very much!).

All of this is needed to hear people’s ideas and worries and main struggles at the moment and then slowly start to gather my ideas and ways to really try and help the community.

In Kenya, the first born in the family will most probably go to school and receive education. They are under a lot of pressure, as they need to set a good example for younger siblings and be the ones in charge of the household. Sometimes the family can be as big as 20 children (considering polygamist families).  It is not always well balanced in a sense that if you as a man have two wives, you are still able to provide for the both families, as it is supposed to be. The chances are that, as a child, you will be malnourished from very early on because there is not enough food to feed the whole family. Some of the examples I have seen are that either the mother is exhausted or doesn’t have breast milk (from the lack of nutrition herself) or finds it more convenient to give the baby low nutrition porridge from very early on. Also, families eat from the same bowl, not knowing how much you actually eat or having an overview how much the child eats.

Many of the households own a farmland or at least a kitchen garden. During one of the community “Agrinutrition” (agriculture + nutrition) trainings, it was said that they are hoping for every household to have at least a kitchen garden (fresh veggies for the family + good nutrition) after the rain season. At the same time there are families who are better off and so there is a contrast of being either malnourished or obese as the food doesn’t vary much in their menus and the portions are not known, in my opinion. And of course there are people who are already following healthy lifestyle.

I started going to the local market from day one and I saw a good variety of food here  (depending on the market day also, but overall good) - fresh vegetables and fruits, salads, nuts, beans, lentils, fish, meat. The prices at the market are not very expensive for the locals either. It is to say that buying a lot of veggies or rice with the same price, one will choose the rice because stomach feels more full after.

Normal eating habits contain a lot of starch, carbs. Until now what I have seen is that at lunchtime it is either ugali (cornmeal porridge), green bananas, potatoes, rice or lentils, with boiled veggies or salads (cabbage, kale), sometimes boiled beef or chicken and chapati (my favourite, reminds me a pancake that my granny would do - meaning a lot of oil :)).

I’ve been learning the ways they prepare their meal and what are the common traditions for cooking, normally the food is either boiled or fried. When fried you use either no oil (because you cannot afford it) or a lot of oil. Only fruits like bananas, watermelons, mangos, papayas, pineapples, oranges go straight to your mouth and they taste delicious! :) I have also noticed that making soups is not very common here and drinking tea with milk is sometimes considered a meal. I had the pleasure to attend one of the previous volunteers trainings where the host offered soda (fizzy drinks - Coca, Fanta, lemonade..) for lunch, which is very common. And it is true, you feel full after, at least for a short while.

I will continue to learn and understand the value of food here and as we know - habits can be good or bad but I have already seen and heard the need for knowledge about nutrition, which just makes my being here so much more easier.

I have to say that at the beginning, I still sometimes draw parallels to my country's history or the situations in Europe but I know I will soon let go of that because of knowing that different cultures have so many layers and the difference in scale is just enormous.

My adventure is still at the beginning and there is so much to discover and I’m really trying to take it day by day because it already seems that 6 months is too short of a time. I’m am so grateful for deciding to come here and for seeing how people from all around the world have worked here before and how much they have given their best to work for sustainable community.