I have now lived in Shianda village for 3 months, which means my halfway point as a volunteer in Kenya has passed. I try to prepare myself for how fast the remaining time will go, but I know it will feel like a blink of an eye no matter what.
An attempt to slow time down a bit is to think back on what has happened so far. To begin with, the house was enriched with two more volunteers. Their arrival has brought a lot of positive energy and laughter to the group. We are like a family who do basically everything together; grocery shopping, cooking, eating, training, and of course, we work together. My favorite part is when we go touristing together. We have visited museums in Mumias and Kisumu, waterfalls, the Crying Stone and Kakamega Forest. One highlight has been our trip to Nairobi. I was lucky to have friends from Sweden visiting Nairobi at the same time, and I really enjoyed spending a couple of days with them! To be in a big city, meet new people and eat food that is not found in the village, was refreshing and gave new energy and motivation.
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| Friends visiting |
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| The Crying Stone |
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| Kakamega Forest |
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| Ambururu Waterfalls |
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Nairobi National Park
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The weeks that followed were busy with planning and carrying out activities. Mattia and I visited the women groups of WEFOCO to see what they are working on, what their challenges are, and what they can improve. Based on our observations, we arranged two days of trainings focusing on agricultural practices and financial keeping. The topics we discussed were the importance of soil health, methods to enhance crop production, and strategies to become financially literate. Preparing and facilitating a full day of training is something I have never done before but I am happy and proud over how it turned out. With translation support from our mentors, we managed to create a good learning atmosphere where the participants were engaged, asked questions and shared their own experiences with each other. We look forward to continuing with the practical parts of the training and are planning to carry them out in the coming month!
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| Group visit |
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| Group visit |
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| Training |
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Training
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| Training |
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Training
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My fellow volunteers, especially one (not to mention any names), are joking about how little time there is left before I leave. But it is not a joke anymore: time is really running out and I am looking at the calendar trying to figure out how to fit all the activities and trips I want to do before leaving Kenya. The math is not mathing so the only option is to start planning the next visit to Africa :) Jokes aside, it is not over until it is over and for the remaining time I will enjoy every minute; gorge on fruits from the market, dance in the pouring rain, slide around in the mud, embrace the darkness of power cuts, and throw ugali in the air like a true local!
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