Friends Pioneer

From Sofi Karlsson Lund, 15 June 2009, in Kisumu foing prestudy for their thesis.

Hey!
Four weeks have passed and the place in my heart for Kenya is growing everyday! I’m vaguely starting to get an idea of what it’s like to actually be a Kenyan. You might see Africa as a continent of misery and famine…. I’m fortunate to realize that the ppl of Kisumu have enough food for the day and you don’t see the stereotypical malnutritioned children with pot bellies. Of course there are many other problems, like Most Kenyans struggle to earn money, especially after the riots in 2007. The economy is primarily based on monopoly (the government making sure that certain companies get privileges for bribes) and the big businesses are owned by Asians. The Kenyans don’t own their economy and there is a great lack of jobs. I’ve also become more skeptical towards foreign aid. There are many Ngo’s working in Kisumu and I’ve learnt that some project are   because they fail to incorporate the community. So the locals get used to being “fed” without realizing that you have to work for it. (Not to underestimate the hard working Kenyan) but this has made the ppl passive in many ways. Another cultural clash is that Europeans/Americans are used to a faster pace in “the north”. Foreigners tend to forget that most african countries have only been independent for a bit less than 50 years. However there are prosperous Ngo projects. ex. if you’re tested HIV + you can join a group and get the meds free of charge. Speaking of the virus, I have a funny story that my Kenyan friend Ronny told me….a few yrs ago condoms were donated and imported from Asia. When the Kenyan co-coordinator took a look at them he said: this is not gonna work, they’re too small! so the condoms had to be sent back…so much for confirming the stereotypical view of african men;)

Anyway, I’m really enjoying my life down here. The weekend was amazing. On friday we watched the sunset by the Victoria lake while a massive storm approached us and at the end we were dancing in the pounding rain. On saturday we went to a hip hop jam and got down among the cool (naturally) lookin’ guys. A funny sight is when you see a big buff gangster-looking dude wearing an N’SYNC or a Betty Boop/Winnie the pooh T-shirt. They are keepin’ it real!

Stay cool
Sofi
ps. i love the Kenyan pace, you walk slow, you talk slow (awkward silences don’t exist, you just enjoy it) and take you’re time to say hello.

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Sofi Karlsson Lund and Camilla Rydén who are now (june 2009) doing the prestudy for the biogas project.

Jambo rafikis ( hello friends in kiswahili)!
For those of you who don’t know I’ve reached the equator once again…and this time I’m living in Nyalenda, a slum in the outskirts of Kisumu (the third largest city in Kenya, right by the Victoira lake)!
So what’s it like to live in a Kenyan shanty town? well, it’s not like the favelas in brazil where everyother person carries a gun. Nyalenda is very safe. all you need to look out for is cow dung and smelly liquids on the ground! Ppl are very friendly and it already feels like my second home thanks to our local friends Joseph. He is a very respected man (and like an inofficail leader of nyalenda) who runs 2 schools for orphans and raises money to support 70 children. He has a big heart and can make any street glue-boy or grandma laugh! so we are in good hands…
we were out last friday and got into the kenyan music vibe and i’m still amazed by the shape of kenyas arses, wow! we went with Joseph and his 2 brothers who watched over me and camilla as if we were their sistaz:) so when a man approached one of us in an unpleasent way, he would be thrown out in a second! Hakuna matata!
However, the sights in Nyalenda is not glamourous, the ground consist of 50% soil 50% waste and a lot of ppl live below the poverty line. but they are still cheerful and I get to know new ppl every day. I also like the african pace. The word stress doesn’t exist, you walk somewhere, stop and talk to everyother person. we baught fish on the street last night and we hung out chatting to the locals while the fish was being cooked. no rush, just chillin. i like IT!

Before i go i just want to share one of the highlights of this week….THE MASAI WARIOR!
A couple of nights ago i woke up from an earth tremor and i thought there was someone sneaking around in our garden. i woke joseph up and he realized i was pretty scared. so the next day he got, not only one Masai, but 3 masai wariorrs to guard the house! i was jumping up and down of exitement. Masai ppl are nomads living on the border to Tanzania. They dress in purple/red cloaks and are known for their plate earings and goat blood. They are one of the few tribes who have preserved their culture and lifestyle. Joseph tells us they are extremely trustworthy and are the only ones permitted to carry knives, bows and arrows in Kenya. I’m so amazed. Joseph and i had a chat with one of them (Moses) last night. He asked Joseph wether i was his wife! no, we’ve only know eachother for 5 days, he resonded laughing! I think I’ll buy a small world map for Moses because he asked if sudan and sweden are the same country. so he probably doesn’t know what europe is. anyway, i’m so thrilled, hopefully i’ll get to try his bow and arrow;)

Sawa sawa /Sofi