Education is Hope, Kenya

Most of the time I live in Meru at the home of Karambu Ringera. For the first few days of being here we lived in a full house, as in 4-6 students, a girl from the US named Emily, Dylan, Karambu, Gary, and I. Dylan and I bunk in a room probably 6’ by 10’, Dylan’s got the top, I’m on the bottom. Yes, we’ve got a large mosquito net covering theboth of us, however there area very few mosquitos to keep out, in fact I’m not sure if I’ve seen one in Meru… Though I have seen a couple very scary flying insects and some GIANT spiders on our walls.
Of the interesting things we have done. We have traveled to a semi-remote, rural church an hour outside of Meru. At the church was organized a group of 90+ girls who had taken a bold step in their community by saying no to female genital mutilation. The impact of this is extensive. By doing this, those that keep to their pledge may face ostracizing forces within their community, leading them to a need to pursue education which would ultimately take them out of their community and into a different life.
We have seen several beautiful sunsets, eaten more than you can believe of fruit, and breathed the fresh air of Meru. Meru is a place of exceptional beauty and there exists here a chance to develop a town and large area into something that would be close to a definition of sustainable development. Indeed, it pains me to think about the destruction of the beautiful landscape, pure air, farmland, to put in place cement and industrial agriculture.
One of the funniest things so far… and I’m afraid this might not be funny to all of you… Every time we enter the house of Karambu’s we are forced to take off our shoes and place slippers (aka flip flops) onto our feet. It has taken us a while to get used to this. When I entered the house for the first time I didn’t put on any slippers because none of them were “mine” and I didn’t want to take someone else’s slippers. Bad mistake, within thirty seconds the whole of the house was in commotion about getting some flip-flops on my feet. Apparently, the slippers in the house are universal. Dylan and I have been quietly resisting the attempts to keep our feet bound. At opportune times we choose to not wear any slippers, inevitably we are found out if we wait too long to put them back on… but I feel that over time they may just give up on this front. And don’t worry, they are not concerned about our bare feet dirtying their floor. Today, we found out that the reason we are always “reminded” (aka forced) to put on flip-flops is because they do not want us to catch a cold from the cold floor. And no… the floor is not cold.
Dylan and I are in the process of figuring out exactly what it is we are doing here; who we are filming, what our film will be about, and how to operate our equipment. There is much to do on this front and well, that’s about all I have to say about it.
Oh, and we have interviewed a couple people and they went pretty well. There are people here that are very engaging and should make good pieces in the film.

Dylan’s email is: dwestfall13@gmail.com
Our phone: 011-254-711-147847

News From Kenya:

Hello all. The following is an update of my life and that of Dylan Westfall. My guess is it will contain a bit of history from the past week or two, and probably some digressions about thoughts I may be having.
I just wrote in my journal about hope. As most of you should know, the project Dylan and I are working on is called Education is Hope. I am beginning to see the true meaning of this as I move around and speak with people in this area. Indeed, hope is often the only thing that drives those who are poor and lost for options, and faith is all that sustains them.
When kids here are given the chance to get an education they seize it with both hands. They will sacrifice everything to go to school, for it is one avenue of two that will lead out of poverty, the other being born with an astute business mind. When I say sacrifice everything, this, of course, does not have anything to do with material matters but more of things that really matter; family, friends, loved ones, their culture… often their language. This is not to say they forget about their family or loved ones, it is the family and loved ones that not only give them their blessing but push them out the door. And those who are given such an opportunity do not seem to forget where they came from, and, at least those in IPI, seem to be intent on bringing their former community up with them.
We have met, even lived with some of all these people: Freda, Joy, Anne, Dennis, Dennis, Morris, Morris, Matuma, Alice, Sharon, Prisca and her family… Biden. Every one of the people have a story that is hard to believe. Hard to believe because the spirit that radiates out of these people seems hardly possible when their background is known. They are all people IPI has influenced, and I think it exemplifies the saying that only when one has known pain can one know joy. Some of the youngest of the children I’ve met have a wisdom I can scarcely grasp.
And although some circumstances have evoked sorrow and sadness, even pity, I think that the real message here is one for rejoicing. It is somehow more evident to me at this moment that any one of us can have a profound impact on others, particularly those who have forces beyond their control holding them down. Simply listening and speaking to people holds such awesome power.
Anywho, I’m hungry and breakfast is getting cold. I’ll write another one of these that will hopefully have less prostletizing and more info on what I’ve actually been doing.

Events from Kenya:

Hello all. I am going to make a concerted effort to relay some of the events that have taken place along this Kenya trip.
When I flew into Nairobi I was picked up by Karambu and Gary, two of the head people for IPI. We went to an apartment where I met some others. The following day we traveled to Meru via an IPI private van, (I was happy we didn’t have to take a matatu, which is like the Ghana Tro-tro (a small van crammed with people that might be the epidemy of voluntary uncomfortableness).
We spent the week in Meru, meeting some of karambu’s family, and accompanying IPI staff on various adventures. We have been to Nairobi once since arriving and most of our time has been spent in Meru.
Meru is a beautiful place. The people here speak primarily kiswahili and kimeru. It is in the 70’s at all times. It is humid, but not terribly so. The mosquitos are almost non-existent (as of now). The soil is rich and the foliage shines green from every nook and cranny. If you’re lucky, and in the right spot, you can glimpse mount Kenya in the distance… a jagged rock with snow of all things resting on the top. It is the dry season, though it rains a small bit. We expect to be drenched a couple of times in March.

02.11

Coming on three weeks we are really starting to settle in here. I’ve made a couple of dishes for the house (pasta and Burritos). The days here are on Kenya time, ie, Willy time. Things happen, but slowly, and when something doesn’t work out nobody is surprised. For example, today we were supposed to go to the local Meru market to film, instead we are going to Alamano to take a young teenager to a boarding school. Haha, Anne, the housekeeper just brought me some freshly grilled corn. Hold on… mmm, delicious. Fresh food. We in the US really need to work on living off the fruits of the land instead of processed food. Farmer’s Markets!
Yesterday Dylan and I were put to work for a bit (until a torrential downpour started). We were given some shoddy but effective tools that we used to turn over a 5 by 8 foot patch of soil 18inches deep for planting. The soil is wonderfully rich… but there were GIANT rocks below the surface. When it was all done, to see all of the rocks piled on the side I couldn’t imagine them even fitting in the space we dug in. I should say that we did some work, but after the downpour a local man took over and showed us that we’re just little boys.
This Friday Dylan and I plan to stay the night and the next day at a local family’s home. We will record the activities of the members throughout that time in an attempt to capture and convey a microcosm of what their daily lives are like.
Miss you all, take care, and write me at any time you feel inclined!

Will

2.16

This is Monday, the beginning of Dylan and my own fourth week of being in Kenya. We’ve done a host of things; from witnessing elephants walking to a watering hole, staying the night in a more provincial part of Meru, taken lots of photos and video, attended many events under the wings of Karambu and IPI.
We are currently trying to get a handle on our project and organize the next few weeks. Suddenly it seems as if our time here will be over before we realize it. We are going to try and go on a safari or a trip to mombasa… or both, as well as get a lot more footage. So far, I’ve been clear on the upset bowels arena, a miracle I know, and bound not to last.
Naturally, people here are so psyched about Obama being the president. I feel a little bit like this is one of those chances when the social conditions are ripe and there could be some progressive movement in this country. However, I don’t think there is any force that is really pushing all that hard here.
Hmm, for what it’s worth I want to say a little bit about “traditional” American fears about places in Africa. First, Africa is huge, and though there are similarities in issues that arise throughout, the circumstances are dramatically different in every country. Second, places like the congo, Rwanda, sudan… places that we here of violence and ethnic fighting. I sincerely believe that 98% of it is manipulated by those in power. Some of the worst political violence during the post-election violence in Kenya was in the large slum of Nairobi. Is that a surprise? That the worst fighting occurs in the areas where people are terribly impoverished, have little to lose, and are promised rewards by political leaders for election results. Divides are created by those who seek power and violence is exacerbated by the seemingly insurmountable odds that the poor find themselves in. The story here I think is a similar story in so many places, that most Kenyans did not think their fellow countrymen were capable of violence like that. Indeed, it is rare to find a person who is willing to fight with another if he/she is well fed and healthy. This is not a violent land, but it is impoverished, not always because of a lack of food. Help lessen others burden and you’ll make friends and peace