More Peace Corps Training

Dear Friends;

This blog entry finds me in Nairobi for more Peace Corps training. So for the past week I have been living with running water, sometimes hot water, electricity and free wireless internet. I also have a TV and feel a bit more current on what is going on outside my world. Some of the news I would rather not be aware of! PLEASE, no one send a copy of Sarah Palin's book for the Kadzinuni library!

Before my arrival here in Nairobi, it was extremely hot on the coast. I don't think I have ever lived in heat and humidity like we were having. Nairobi is much cooler and it is nice to have a break from that heat. I will be returning to Kadzinuni this coming Sunday (Nov. 22nd) and sure hope that the heat wave has passed.

Our training here has focused on how to effectively convey public health messages in our sites. There are numerous obstacles: traditions and religious beliefs, witch healers, poverty and lack of education, suspicion of outsiders----the list goes on. We are constantly encouraged to interact with community members. I think I get a star in that area; I think most people in Kadzinuni know who I am and most greet me by my name. They have quit just calling me "mzungu" (white person). Before I left for Nairobi, I was pleased by the number of adults coming up to me and expressing excitement over the library opening. I have no idea of what the average reading level among adults is but I will probably soon find out.

I am including a random selection of photos of some of my Kenyan friends. I am so proud of many of the young people I meet. Despite grim family and financial situations, they seem so focused on getting an education. Also, it is common to have a wide age range in any given class. Children are often held back from going to school; they are needed to work in family farms or care for younger children. At the primary school by my home, I see teens that appear to easily be 16 -18 and they are in the 7th grade. Here is a slice of Kenyan life for elementary aged children: they are required to help gather fire wood that is used to cook a very simple lunch for them each school day. One morning I looked out and there were several children, high up in a tree, wildly swinging their pangas (very long, thick knives that are used in farming, etc.) to chop off large branches of the tree. My mind went back to all the safety regulations for American schools; I wish I had a picture to show you.

This entry looks weird I know; just haven't mastered blogging yet. But I wanted to add a lot of pictures since I have free wireless internet. So the following is a list of picture titles, starting at the top and going left to right:

1. view from my front door
2. my good friend Victor who is hoping to get into a good high school next year. he is an orphan who lives in his own house but within a very loving village
3. part of the path I walk down to get to the paved highway
4. the primary school RIGHT behind my house
5. the dispensary RIGHT next to my house (I live in a fish bowl)
6. a view of a nearby resort where I can go to relax
7. my friend Nimrod who is about to finish high school (he attends a private boarding school, common for those who can afford it) he hopes to go onto college to study agriculture
8. baobob trees
9. my home!
10. a family of friends
11. my best friend Ibrahim with his two nephews - their mother died last year so they are cared for by Ibrahim's mother and whoever else is available
    

That is it for now. I hope I am able to artistically place photos and wrap the text around them all fancy like for my next entry!!