Wednesday, February 25, 2009

more news from Nguluni

February 25‐ Much has happened in the past 3 weeks, although it seems like nothing has happened. Two weeks ago, the younger brother of Mr. Mwema (carpentry teacher at Kenbric) was killed riding his bicycle along with another young man. The driver (possibly a DUI) lost control of his vehicle and hit the 2 boys. It has been very sad around the school. Saturday we traveled as a “family of Kenbric” to visit the family. There were many people there, and I understand in this culture, those who visit bring maize, beans, flour as well as some funds. This helps the family pay for the funeral and provide food for the many visitors. This will go on until the actual funeral. The funeral is this Thursday, and we will attend as a group. I think the students will also be attending and so it should be a very interesting experience. We did not have school on Thursday or Friday because it was mid‐term break. I ended up walking to Mr. Kelly’s shamba (farm/garden) with him and his wife Veroncia and baby Felix. It was about a 45 minute walk. We harvested the little maize that was there. We were picking the smallest cobs – those that we in America would not bother with, because as Mr. Kelly said: “there might be one kernel” there and that is food. There is a definite food shortage in Kenya, and his expression really hit home. Several weeks ago, the government was offering relief maize. Their office is right by mine, so I could see many people lining up a 7 am, waiting patiently until 11 to receive a small bag of maize. It progressed in an orderly fashion and the patience of the people really impressed me. I feel somewhat guilty being able to splurge on peanut butter, fruits, vegetables and what ever I want. PCV are on a very tight budget so I really do watch my shilingi! I have not had to purchase anything of great cost yet, so I am trying to save for that day. Once I start to travel to different spots, it will be even tighter. The city of Nguluni neglected to pay its water bill, so the entire town has had no water for almost a week. People have being going to a nearby well to fetch water. I have about 20 L left, but my landlord is going to have his wife bring me some from the well today. I will pay her 20 bob (10 cents) for her efforts and it will be worth every penny! There has been a procession of people going to the well with every imaginable container every day. I was told the well would not go dry – I only hope that is true. Just another touch of reality of life in Kenya. We are all hoping water returns soon! Sunday, I traveled to 14 Falls near Thika with my new friend Alan. I walked to the college where he works and we went on to Tala for Chai before catching a matatu to Thika. We were early and got to ride in the front seat. It was a 90 minute, not too bumpy ride. More chai, but now with chapiti as we waited for Alan’s friend Steve, a local, to meet us. We then walked to 14 falls (about 20 minutes) and had to pay 300/= ($4) to get in. This was a lot more than either Alan or I expected to pay. The falls were nice, the water really dirty, so any thought of jumping in was quickly dismissed. It was just pleasant to sit outside and listen to the water falling. I had fun listening to Alan ad Steve talk in KSW and was pleased that I could pick up more

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My Great Family

My Great Family
Katie, Shannon, Lucy, Pat, Russ, Betsy

Contact Information

My email address is:    p_novak@hotmail.com

My snail mail address will be:
Pat Novak, PCV
        PO Box 539
        Tala   90131
  Kenya