In These Stories Pages

Since I can't get pictures up/haven't really taken any, if you go to 3:50 in this video, this is Kibera, and CFK is the organization they are featuring for the clinic and soccer game, for some visuals.

For the last few days, I have had a searing pain in the right side of my chest that has made eating and drinking like taking a knife and jabbing it in the same spot over and over again, topped off with a dull residual pain, making eating a game of balancing the growling in my stomach and dealing with the repeat stabbing. Three days in, deciding that I really wanted to enjoy food again, I was off to the hospital.

Now, anyone else who travels abroad is aware that drinking the water and eating certain places in developing countries can have nasty side effects for the digestive system- but since in Egypt I never had a problem like other students, I decided that I would risk it, and I drink the water in Kibera and Nairobi. Yet it wasn’t my water or food source choice wreaking havoc on my health, but my prescribed malaria pills that caused the side effect of gastritis, leading to acid eating away at my esophagus. So now I’m on pills for my pills. I find it slightly ironic.

So I’m not sure how much coverage it got in the United States compared to here, but President Obama’s first visit to Africa as president, specifically Ghana, was a HUGE deal. It was interesting to make the comparison to Obama’s speech in Egypt last month- in both, the country I was residing in was targeted and criticized- In Israel, Obama focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, pointedly calling for a freeze on the settlements (a smack in the face to Israel), and in Ghana, he used Kenya as his punching bag for calling out weak democratic institutions and corruption (pulling the heart strings by using the poverty of his family as an example).

While it is difficult to make generalizations, and I’ll say first that this assessment hardly applies to all, but in Israel I remember a good majority just being pissed- Obama was being unfair, he didn’t understand the situation, he’s pandering to terrorists, etc. Even some individuals who lean liberal surprised me by going on the defensive, as if his statements were personal insults to the Israeli national psyche. A friend still in Israel mentioned in her blog that some boycotted the 4th of July because of their new disdain for American policy.

Yet here in Kenya, most Kenyans seemed to sigh in relief at Obama’s stiff and criticism- many Kenyans have voiced to me that the message was exactly what the government needed to hear, and they are glad he said it- for those individuals that it was aimed at, they just ignored it (apparently it’s a very Kenyan thing to do-ignore what you don’t like?) Instead of focusing on whether Obama was right or wrong about his statements, it was whether the politicians would get the message or not.

It’s difficult to make this comparison, because there is obviously more contention about the Israeli/Palestinian issue versus fighting corruption and political ineptitude- but I was still intrigued about the difference in reactions. It may be the sense of national identity, or the sensitivities of the issues at hand, or the fact that the everyday Kenyans feel the effects on a daily basis of the problems facing the country, while the average Israeli does not. In any case, a good lesson in how diplomacy works.

In other Kenyan news, the tribunal issue still bounces back and forth between the Hague and the local tribunal, although they just rejected a bill that would have created the local tribunal, and Ocampo, the prosecutor at the Hague, opens the envelope tomorrow. The other big story is the water shortage, which is leading to predictions of increased starvation.

In my little world of CFK, I’m content as a bee (I think the actual saying is content as can be, but I like the image of a content bee). After battling to get things done for two months in Israel, it is a relief to work with an organization that (1) has the capacity to actually accomplish things, (2) does what it can to support you in projects and tasks instead of promising to then letting you drown, and (3) has people who are just awesome. I think that is the one thing that has truly made working with CFK a joy so far- the caliber of individuals I interact with on a daily basis. Whether volunteers, part-time, or full-time staff, each individual has impressed me with their dedication, intelligence, and personality. It’s like CFK put out a bright light radiating ‘work here!’ and everyone with talent flew in like flies. Ok, that was a weird analogy, but I think the point was made. You constantly meet individuals who got involved with CFK in one of their programs in primary school, whether playing soccer or as a girl in the Binti Pamoja program, who are now part of leadership and decision-making. Something some of the other volunteers and I have talked about is how incredible CFK staff is when it comes to working in the community. Watching them interact with people, facilitate forums, energize youth to talk about subjects like ethnicity, ‘mobilize’ (they love that word) people from all walks of life to participate in events,and their knowledge of the community, I think is one of the most critical aspects of what makes CFK good at what it does, following the belief that Kiberans are the ones who know the solutions to their problems. There are still obstacles and difficulties, of course, particularly with organization and evaluation (I can only speak with the program I’m involved with), but there is this complete openness to developing and attaining these skills. While I hardly have the experience that many do, I’m truly impressed with how CFK has effectively married western assistance and grassroots, community level driven development. But that is a whole other topic.

I have a few different projects going on, and I’m enjoying them all. Last Sunday I helped develop a 2-hour session on conflict resolution, and this weekend we the new G.H.E.T.T.O curriculum I got to help develop with Lucy, Maureen, and Alice, beginning with a session on public speaking- I’m designing the Communications unit. The questionnaire is going well; I’ve gotten to talk to the people who were the brains behind starting Jamii ya Kibera, and it has been an amazing learning experience. The profiles for the G.H.E.T.T.O girls is moving right along, with a slight snafu—normally, I would go after work to the field where the girls practiced, and would sit with them individually, taking their picture and recording them. But last night, in the same field, a group of mzungus went to the field with lots of cameras, tripods, and video equipment, and ended up being mugged and robbed at about 6 in the evening. When Lucy told me this, she said don’t worry- that group was with a Kenyan who wasn’t from Kibera, and she said the fact I was with CFK, working with Cantar, (who is a local soccer celebrity), was the best protection I could have. Yet to be on the safe side, she wants to do the rest of the interviews in the homes. Once again, the whole community legitimacy thing hitting home.

Tua says hi to everyone!