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