Open Letter from the Director of Project Kenya

This is a letter from Brydie Hill, Director of Project Kenya Charity, that we want to share with you.

“Hello-

Yes it is the week before Christmas and in just a few days we will be opening up presents, eating dinner with our families, and thanking God for our loved ones and for all that we have. For the past five years, I have been working (unpaid) for the hope in making a difference in the lives of some Kenyans and in the lives of some Americans. Project Kenya Charity is a volunteer organization that simply wants to teach, share, and help Kenyans so that they can “change their stars.”

This Christmas, Project Kenya and the children of Ribe, Kenya have a HUGE gift wish. We are trying to raise money to send a 40ft. container to Kenya. I did type 40 FOOT container! The cost will be $8,000 for shipping and taxes. We have already raised $3,000. Please help us bring this 40 foot container to Kenya. It will ship in early January and meet our Project Kenya missionaries in March (if we raise the money for shipping).

The village of Ribe, Kenya is very small and rural. Just imagine the faces of 600 children as a 40 ft container filled with books, school supplies, computers, tools, clothing, shoes, and much more arrives and is unpacked. Their faces alone will be worth every cent.

Please consider making a donation to Project Kenya, memo: container. This shipment is so important to this village that I will even come and pick up your donation. Just let me know when and where. Your donation is tax deductible through Project Kenya.

Lastly, we are looking for a few more items for the container as well. If you have any of the following please let me know and I can come and get it.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR THE CONTAINER
Gently used clothing
Gently used shoes
Adult bicycles (that work)
Sewing equipment and machines
Hair clippers for men
Push lawnmowers
Soccer equipment
Lumber
Tools-all types and kinds
Learning aids for the classroom
Photocopier
If you have other items you would like to donate please give me a call.

Have a blessed Christmas- and remember to pass this email and wish along!"

Brydie Hill
Project Kenya Charity, Inc.
4360 Jackson Drive
Jackson, WI 53037
www.project-kenya.org
c-262-573-6523

Merry Christmas!

Exciting week (part I)

Warning: ridiculously long posts ahead

This past week we have taken part in a number of fun things. The previous weekend was pretty much consumed with Chris being very ill – don’t worry, he’s fine now. It was probably malaria, since the malaria treatment made him better quickly, but without a lab test we don’t know for sure. So, this week was full of activities to make up for it.

-On Tuesday the 15th, we went to the primary school for a little event with some American donors. They were from a small organization called “Motherland Mission” – some Kenyan sisters from Ribe had moved to Virginia and started this organization with a US pastor. The group of 5 people was entertained by the kids singing some songs and the donors passed out new uniforms to those who were there. I was particularly touched to see them bring plastic flip flops (the typical Ribe footwear); it breaks my heart to see so many kids going to school barefoot, which can lead to all sorts of infections/bug infestations/skin issues.

-On Wednesday we went to visit the home of a teacher, Mr. Gege. Mr. Gege sits next to me in the staff room and has become our good friend. He guided me through my first term and teaches both Chris and me Swahili lessons whenever our three schedules line up. I have also been teaching him about computers and we were able to help him recently when he was in a bicycle accident.

To get to Mr. Gege’s house, we took a matatu and then a motorbike for the first time, since it would have otherwise been an hour and 15 minutes walk through rural farmland. When we got to his house around 11, we met all the members of his extended family who lived nearby and then enjoyed chai and mandazi that his wife served. We spent a while sitting and chatting; for a few minutes we would sit outside under the mango tree, then see storm clouds roll in and go inside while it rained. Then when the heat of the house became too much, we would go outside again and repeat, carrying our chairs with us all the while. Conversation topics ranged from North American animals (can you name and describe 10 mammals that are in the US but not Kenya? And how on earth do you describe an opossum?) to the differences between the 9 local tribes, from the Swahili verb conjugations to strategies for enacting effective and humane discipline at school.

After a while Mr. Gege took us on a tour of his shamba (farm/garden) where he keeps chickens and goats, and grows maize, cassava, peas, mangos, and coconuts. We stopped for a nice drink from some madafu (young coconuts with water) and then headed back to his home when we realized that the equatorial sun was scorching our skin. Luckily I brought the umbrella with me – although we encountered no rain while on our walk, it made a nice parasol as we returned to his home! His village is called “mikomani,” meaning “location of mikoma,” which are local trees. They didn’t know the translation in English, and we still don’t know what a mkoma is even after seeing it! Some kind of palm, perhaps?

After returning from our walk and chatting for a while, his wife prepared a lunch of pilau complete with kachumbari (relish of onion and tomato) and bananas (traditional accompaniment). We relaxed some more, and then took off on another walk to see the church where Mr. Gege sometimes preaches (it’s pretty common for teachers here to double as preachers – which are generally unpaid). On the way we also stopped by a little storefront where he and his wife have started a tailoring business. They have a few machines and hope to build it into a small sewing school. Then we walked, walked, and walked some more until we found a motorbike that could take us back to the matatu stage. We finally arrived home as the sun was setting - it was a long, fun day visiting a colleague.

-On Thursday morning we headed to town to do some errands before heading to Nyali (suburb north of Mombasa where Crossroads Fellowship is located). As usual, by the time we reached town we were ready for lunch, so after eating we headed to the National Library of Kenya, Mombasa branch. We had been trying to go there for months, since I’m desperate for reading material. But what a disappointment it was! It was one room about 20 ft by 40 ft, with books on each long side, and a loft upstairs with children’s books. Most of the books were reference and academic, and the small fiction section seemed to have ancient tomes of which I had never heard. Only a few sections were labeled, many of the books were missing spines and the covers were generally faded, making it nearly impossible to find anything in particular. Most of the people in the library were students busy studying or men reading the newspaper on their lunch break. I had only purchased a day-pass, since registering as a member required references from an employer. However, I don’t think I will be pursuing that option – in less than 15 minutes I think I saw all there was to see of the poor library. It makes me wonder about the relationship between literacy/English language skills and library offerings – I would think one would promote the other and vice versa. It also makes me wonder if it would be possible to offer more material in Kiswahili, which would be significantly more useful and accessible to the coast population. This excursion left me with renewed energy to develop as good a library as possible in Ribe.

After the library we went north of the city to pick up a dress I had made for the upcoming wedding in Ribe, then shopped a bit at one of the street-side markets that line Mombasa’s busier roads.
Then, finding that we were about 4 hours early for our next event, we caught a series of matatus that put us in Nyali at a swanky strip mall with a Nakumatt (big supermarket), cinema, trendy clothing shop, bowling alley, and several cafes. We browsed, ate, read, and generally killed time (I discovered The Time-Traveler’s Wife is coming in January!) before heading over to the church for a Christmas concert. The concert was fun – the church was packed, we got to sing some classic Christmas songs and hymns, and for the first time we really felt like Christmas is approaching! After the concert we went home with a missionary couple who lets us stay at their house and we got a good night’s rest on comfortable mattresses with a/c running!

-Friday we slept in and after a quick walk on the beach we went to the supermarket and bookstore before returning to Ribe. If it ever seems like it takes us a long time to do errands, and that we do them frequently, it’s because it does, and we do. Walking to the matatu stage, waiting/getting on/leaving, the drive, and walking to desired location (potentially a few times) takes several hours. Then, repeat that all in reverse with backpacks and arms full of groceries – we can only bring home as much as we can carry, and nothing that will melt in the 100* heat. So, we take advantage of any chance we have to stop in a grocery store and grab some things.

-Friday night began the long-anticipated wedding in Ribe … (see next post for more!)

Wageni Wakaribishwa

There is a cute song here that is sometimes sung by children (and heard at tourist locations). It goes like this:

Jambo, jambo bwana (Hello, sir)
Habari gani – Nzuri sana (How are you – I am very fine)
Wageni wakaribishwa (Visitors are welcome)
Kenya yetu – hakuna matata (to our Kenya – no problem!)

So, we would like to echo – wageni wakaribishwa! Visitors are welcome!

If you have any interest in visiting Kenya (and us!) we would love to have visitors. It’s definitely a big trip, but if you are interested in either being a tourist or a volunteer, there are opportunities for you.

Specifically, our organization, Project Kenya, is planning a short-term mission trip to Ribe in early March. The volunteers will be working on some of the projects you may have heard us right about – the new school building, the library, and a resource center. The cost of the trip is $500 plus airfare (airfare for March looks like about $1200). This trip is pretty basic (homestays, etc.) to keep costs down, but if you are interested in seeing more of Kenya they (or we) can arrange safaris and other trips. See the Project Kenya website for more information, and feel free to ask us any questions! We would LOVE to see any and all of you who have an interest in this area.

Holiday season: harambee, wedding, birthday, and more!

Now that the school term is over, we have a chance to do some tasks that need to be done and also have a chance to explore this area and Kenya more. We have already enjoyed hiking in the hills around Ribe, running errands in Mombasa, reading a lot, and working hard! Chris has been working tirelessly this past week at the old church building doing renovations so the women can begin the sewing project. I have been taking a stab at lesson planning for both English and computers, and have kept busy with errands, housework, and visiting different villages in Ribe.

This past weekend we visited a harambee (“ha-rom-bay” - community fundraiser) for a youth group in Ribe called Play Safe. Their mission is to educate young people about how to be safe in all activities, including avoiding HIV, pregnancy, alcohol and drugs. We have seen them practicing drama skits frequently at the school grounds; their dedication is impressive. This was our first harambee, so it was quite a surprising experience!

A harambee is held when a family or group needs to raise money for something. Whenever there is going to be a wedding, funeral, church construction, or sending someone to school/college, the members of the community chip in. Rather than having individual savings plans, they tend to share whatever is available at the moment with each other. It’s an interesting phenomenon, because it goes against traditional western ideals of saving and investing, but it really serves the same purpose in the long run. You set aside or give money when you have it, and when you run into a big expense the money you need will be there.

As with most harambees, pledges are taken in advance and invitations are distributed to important people in the community (educators, church leaders, politicians … us?). We brought a little bit of money that we planned to contribute, and at various points attempted to give it to the organizer, only to be told that it wasn’t time yet. The entire harambee is a well-orchestrated ceremony, with specific steps and timing of which we were initially completely oblivious.
Guests are seated in different areas: some under the shade of a tree, special guests under a tent. The harambee is opened by the chairman of the organization, then in this case the Play Safe group performed an acrobatic show and a skit about safe sex (I think – it was mostly in Kiswahili). Then the official fundraiser came up (someone outside the group), and each person is supposed to go and greet him with “a little something,” ranging from 10-100 shillings (in the range of a few cents to a dollar or so).

After that, various people from the general audience give their donation, and these were pooled to be considered as one big donation. Then everyone is invited to “escort” this donation with a little something extra – 20, 30, 50 shillings. Then each special guest is invited to give his/her donation, each of which are also “escorted” by a little extra from others. As we were doing this process, it appeared that when you escort someone’s donation it is a way of paying respect to them and thanking them for what they are giving. The larger the donation, the larger the escort, usually. During this segment they also totaled the amount of money pledged from those who were not present and encouraged people to escort that as well.

In addition to asking for the escorts, the fundraiser used additional tactics like encouraging the audience to help round out a number (“we have 1,240 shillings, can we get 60 more to make 1300?” or “we have 1300 shillings, can we get 200 more to make 1500?”) It was pretty effective – you really wanted to see the group have a successful fundraiser, and there is definitely peer pressure to keep donating! As each person donates they are applauded, so there is definitely also an aspect of pride and recognition. Finally, when you think they can’t possibly squeeze another cent from you, they ask for things like a “chair” donation – 50 shillings if you were sitting in a chair! It really was all pretty amusing – at least we knew when we went that we were going to be asked for money – we just didn’t know how many times! Next time we will bring the same amount as planned but in smaller bills. :-) All in all the Play Safe group raised 40,000 shillings (about $570) - pretty impressive for a small audience in a small town with poverty struggles – even for Kenya. Their first project, aside from the skits raising awareness, is a water storage tank in an area of Ribe that frequently has water issues.

(video: Chicken! ... sorry, video to come soon)

After the harambee we headed to Kaloleni (where our post office is – larger than Ribe, smaller than Mombasa) to catch the latter part of a wedding. The headteacher’s sister was getting married and he invited us; we had never met her, but it is common to invite anyone and everyone in the community to weddings. When we arrived at 3 pm we thought the party would still be in full force, since we heard there are large crowds and long parties … but I guess this one had started the night before and was now ending. We had a chance to say congrats to the wedding party and then they left about 10 minutes after we got there.

(the ecstatic bride and groom ... Kenyans don't usually smile for pictures)

Although the wedding was basically over, we did get to enjoy visiting with the headteacher and his family, and eating the food traditionally cooked for mass quantities of people: Pilau!

(The headteacher's wife, relative, and brother show us the enormous pilau pot)


(Lesley with some flower girls and other children after the wedding)

Oh yeah, and all this was on my birthday – what fun! We didn’t really do anything additional to celebrate since this was already a lot of activity. I did enjoy getting the chicken you saw above, a new pair of sandals, and some chocolate :-)

Other things we have planned for December:
- Visiting the homes of a few different teachers from Ribe Primary
- Visiting artisan workshops and shopping in Mombasa
- Celebrating Chris’s birthday by attending another local wedding (December is wedding season in Kenya, and there are more than 5 weddings each weekend just in the local area!)
- Spending Christmas in Nairobi with our friends Albo and Eda and their family
- Going on a safari in Maasai Mara and one of the lakes
- Celebrating New Year’s in Ribe with Tito’s family and village
We will also need to continue working on some of the community projects, like helping the women’s sewing project get started and planning for the computers and library. There is quite a bit to keep us busy this holiday season!

Wish List

Many people have expressed interest in sending packages or asked if we have a wish list - thanks! It's very nice to have such generous friends and family. One thing we would LOVE is any sort of picture, card, or letter from you that we can hang on out wall - so please don't forget to include us on your Christmas card list! Snail mail can be sent to our P.O. Box, which is listed on the sidebar. We don't have a printer, so though we love emails we can't hang them up.

We also would really appreciate donations that would help us to complete projects in the community. This includes the women's sewing project (some remaining building renovations and in the future, more machines), the computer course (computer equipment and set up), and the library (books and organizational supplies).

Donations can be made by check to Project Kenya, and in the notes line put "Stahls" and whichever project you would like to support (or just our names if it is to support our work directly). They can be mailed to 4360 Jackson Drive, Jackson, WI 53037. Alternatively, you can donate online: go to http://www.project-kenya.org/wherewework/ribekenya.html to see the updated page about Ribe, and then go to the "Donate Now" link at the top of the page. However, I don't think you can specify our names or a project there, so it just goes to the general Project Kenya fund.

We really don't expect anything, but if you are feeling generous, we have come up with a few things that we would enjoy personally:
-- Any DVDs of TV shows or movies, since they are difficult to buy here. Anything you can get for free/cheap is great, though if you want to spend money we would love the LOST series, any/all seasons.
-- Books are expensive to ship, but we do love to read. Again, pretty much anything and everything, and the books would then be donated to the library here.
-- Food: Starbucks Via, Propel/Gatorade packets (especially those with hydrating/electrolytes), Power Bars, dried fruit, beef jerky, summer sausage, Splenda
-- Supplies: food thermometer, rubber spatula
FYI, a padded envelope is cheaper and more likely to arrive than a box ... and feel free to remove things from original packaging.

Thank you again to all our friends and family who have been praying for us and keeping in touch - it is so much more important than material things, and we feel so encouraged by you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving twice, in a country where Thanksgiving is not even a holiday!

Brydie, the director Project Kenya, was here on Tuesday to visit. She was traveling throughout Kenya to see the various project locations and was able to stay in a Ribe for a little over a day. She brought us some goodies so that we could make a Thanksgiving dinner in Ribe!

(picture: Chris & Lesley with Thanksgiving-in-a-box)

One of the coolest things about this celebration was hosting our neighbors and friends and introducing them to our holiday. Brydie made a video capturing all the things for which we are thankful ... I can't figure out how to post it right now, but I'll work on it soon.

(picture: Mophat, Brydie, Judy & her sons, Sophie & Nesta, Virginia, Chris at Ribe Thanksgiving)

The main purpose of Brydie's visit was to help set up the Ribe Methodist women’s sewing project. This was a project that was underway before we came, so her visit was to bring funding and confirm the official launch. We met with about 25 women, had a lunch at our place, and then she took a couple of the women shopping for the first set of sewing machines.

(picture: Lesley and Brydie with the sewing women)

The next day we were also able to bring a donation to the school of 6 laptop computers! Many thanks to Carroll University's IT department for donating these - the teachers and students are ecstatic. We did an unofficial presentation, since we now need to install programs and get them ready to use before the January term.

(pic: Lesley w/teachers)

On Thursday, we were invited to celebrate Thanksgiving again with some American missionaries in Mombasa. There were about 30 people there, including 10 children, all either local church families or American missionaries around the coast area. It was great to meet other young couples and families and we hope to visit them in the future. We enjoyed all the Thanksgiving traditions – turkey, stuffing, pie – while eating outdoors and then enjoying a swim in the pool!

(pic: Chris and friends at ocean-side Thanksgiving)

All in all, we had a great Thanksgiving and there are many projects that are moving forward in Ribe keeping us busy. We have MUCH to be thankful for - God's provision and guidance in these holidays and projects has been very evident and we continue to seek His plan!