NUNGUNI AND A MAN NAMED MUSYOKI

Nunguni: the start of all this Kenya business and home to Will for one year. When he left in 2006, the people gave him the name "Musyoki" meaning "one who returns." Whether it was wishful thinking or prophecy, they were right. I was very excited to finally see the places where Will lived and worked, and to meet members of his theatre group, Muungano.

The scenery of the foothills was absolutely spectacular.

The first thing we had to do when we got into town was visit Mama Kimeu at the posho mill. This is her little kiosk where she sells flour, snacks, and other things.

The children of the village followed us around, exclaiming, "British! From America!" (Geography apparently isn't their strong suit)

This is the parish where Will stayed. He planted some trees and many of them survived and grew pretty tall (some, however, were eaten by goats). As we ran into people he knew around the village, everyone mentioned his trees and he really seems to be remembered for them.

Members of Muungano who still live in the area: Kyalo, Michael, and Felicia. We met up for tea and mdazi at "Chic Jambo," a local restaurant.

STELLA'S WEDDING, NAIROBI

We spent a lot of time with the Kimeu family over the holidays since Peter Kimeu has been Will's Kenyan mzee (father) since Will's trip in 2006. Peter invited us to the wedding of his daughter, Stella, when we saw him in Minnesota in September, and three months later, there we were.

Stella and Anthony walking down the aisle. The chapel they were married in had beautiful stained glass, which is pretty rare here. The ceremony was pretty similar to a typical Western wedding ceremony, but at least twice as long. I've heard that weddings usually begin notoriously late- a 10 o'clock wedding could start at 2 pm. On "African time," I've found that the more important the occasion, the later you are. But this ceremony started relatively on time.
Mama Kimeu, Stella, Anthony, and Peter. Stella's wedding color was bubblegum pink.
Kimeu relatives dancing at the reception. The bridal party arrived after everyone had eaten, and the women rushed to greet the new couple with singing and dancing.

There were around 400 people at the reception, in 2 tents facing opposite each other- one tent for the bride's family and friend and one tent for the groom's. There's not so much mingling of the families, because the whole affair is basically a goodbye party for the wife as she leaves her family and becomes part of her husband's family and homestead.
Peter's son, James, and his girlfriend, Ashley, in the conga line. His other son, Pius, is married to another Ashley and it caused a lot of confusion.

The wedding couple and their guests dancing and celebrating.

GRACE'S FARM, NGONG HILLS

Grace's farm is about an hour from Ngong in the Rift Valley, which is known for its scenery and the Maasai people who live there. She moved from the city to the middle of nowhere so the students she cares for wouldn't have so many distractions (i.e. she runs a tight ship). Her neighbors are....

GIRAFFES! I was so excited to see some wildlife in the wild. We've seen some distant zebras and antelope a few times from the roadside, but these giraffes were pretty close. "Only in Kenya!"
Grace in the kitchen of a Maasai house.
One of Grace's students, Anne. She is an orphan and is working towards her degree in Social Work. Grace has been raising her and her siblings since there were young, sending them through primary and secondary school... and now college. GUW sponsors some of the children.
Anne's brother, Peter, who is in high school.
The landscape of the Rift Valley.

ILLKIORET WOMEN'S GROUP, NGONG HILLS

We headed to the Rift Valley to meet up with Grace, who takes in orphans and disabled children and gives them an education. She brought us to a Maasai women's group she has been working with, which Give Us Wings has also partnered with. The Maasai are the most famous tribe in Kenya because they have held onto many of their traditional ways--- the "Amish of Kenya" as Will described it.

These are the people who came to meet us when we arrived at the school, some group members, some jewelry hawkers, and some curious children. The tin sheet building is the school where the Maasai women are learning English, Swahili, and Mathematics. They are taught by a woman named Janet who was rescued by Grace because she was disabled when she was born and her parents wanted to hide her away since handicaps are seen as a curse. Grace sent her through primary and secondary school and she returned to her community to teach the other women. She is now highly respected in the community since she is one of the few learned people there. (She is on the far right)
These are Janet's parents, and they remind me of the painting American Gothic. Of course, they are now very proud of her and her father even donated the land for the school.
This is a Maasai man in the traditional brightly-colored plaid cloth. I think it has some sort of Scottish kilt influence?
Some women talking, with their babies on their backs.
This is a traditional Maasai house, made mainly out of sticks and mud.
The Maasai are known for their beadwork and colorful jewelry. Everyone eagerly spread out their "wares" when we arrived, hoping for a sale.
A Maasai woman and her baby.
A very decorated woman.

The Maasai thanking us for our visit and saying goodbye.

THE REST OF UGANDA

So here is the rest of our time in Tororo...

We met with 2 women's groups from the same area; the one in the picture is the Katonda Mbere group. They are focused on organic farming and small business loans. The loans have been quite successful and one group started their own group bank account to save some of the profits (I later learned that it is just a secret box in a secret location). In general, income-generating ventures are used to help the women pay for food, medical treatment when necessary, and their children's school fees. Though both Kenya and Uganda technically offer free primary education, there are still fees for uniforms and school supplies which can pose a problem to poor families.

Rose and another group member. Rose has kidney cancer and is receiving chemotherapy treatment in Kampala.
The two of us with the other group, Diochuny.
Jacinta the jeweler teaching Will how to make paper beads. We've now become quite the experts and I've even sold one of my necklaces (for $2 USD)! It's definitely become our favorite boredom-buster (surprisingly, we do get bored from time to time).
Our Thanksgiving dinner-- Indian food! There are enough people of Indian descent in Uganda (despite Idi Amin's legacy) that a few local restaurants offer a curry dish or two. We met with the cook beforehand to agree on the "menu" of chipati, rice, vegetable curry, and chicken curry, and it turned out great.

HERA WOMEN'S GROUP, TORORO

I am terribly behind on updating this because we haven't had access to fast enough internet for a few weeks. (It usually takes about 2 hours to upload a few pictures...)

This is a women's group we visited who live in a slummier area of Tororo. They are focused on developing their small businesses through microloans, and on adult literacy.

The group meets under this giant tree for their daily lessons. They have been working on vowel sounds and have also learned to write their name.
A woman showing off her produce kiosk. Many women chose to expand their selection of produce with the microloans; others added another venture like charcoal-making to their business.
Will's other nemesis: the "guppies"

Someone in the village was in the process of make "home brew," i.e. moonshine, which is actually kind of fascinating despite its disastrous effects. The black barrel is full of the alcoholic mixture which is being boiled, and the brown tub cools it off. If they make it improperly, it turns into poison.

Oh and the building in the background is an elementary school.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hi Everyone,

Kuwa na Krismasi njema! Merry Christmas from Kenya! 

We had a great Christmas in Nunguni with Peter Kimeu and his large family. There were 3 other Americans celebrating with us- one girlfriend, one college friend, and one wife- in addition to 4 of his 5 children, so it was a full house. The main celebration was on Christmas Eve, where everyone feasted on goat and chipati, exchanged gifts, and ended with an dance party which included Peter's octogenarian mother, Mwaitu. Will and I had made some Christmas sugar cookies from my aunt Mary's famous recipe, so that gave us Americans a slice of home.

Mwaitu and Pius
Peter leading the dance line with a Maasai leadership stick.

We were fortunate enough to have a Christmas tree- i.e. two evergreen branches tied together and decorated with balloons! We even had twinkling Christmas lights (when the electricity was working- it's only 4 months old).

On Christmas day, we endured a marathon Mass (3.5 hours!) and gave Peter's new nyama choma (roasted goat meat) restaurant a trial run. It officially opened the day after Christmas and has already experimented with new flavors in my honor (i.e. roasted chicken).

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family and friends and wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!

-Rachel

The Kimeu family