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Nairobi and Nanyuki
By Harmony | May 4, 2009 | 6:53 pm
I’ve been a busy bee the last few weeks. I made it through In-Service Training (IST), which was held at a conference center just outside Nairobi. While we were in training, there were some disturbances by Mungiki (see below). Luckily, we were in a super-nice part of town behind a gated, guarded fence, in a place run by nuns. I’m pretty sure a war could be going on outside and I’d still feel safe there.
Mungiki
There is this group known as the Mungiki, who have a presence in Nairobi and in parts surrounding Mount Kenya. I had never heard of them before coming here, but from what I gather, they are a rogue gang similar to the mafia. Mungiki means “multitude” in Kiswahili; they claim to be a sect founded by Mau Mau fighters who fought British rule. They were once a quazi-religious sect of youth in the Laikipia District, usually dreadlocked, from a segment of the Kikuyu tribe, who embraced traditional rituals. Over time, they morphed into a cartel who sold electricity and security in slum areas. They began organizing road blocks and extorting money from matatus passing through. And although they were officially banned by the Government of Kenya in 2002, they still have a major presence here. Roadblocks and violence are sporadic but a real problem, and it is usually in retaliation for some previous act.
Just last week, as I was getting ready to leave Nairobi and head up to Nanyuki for further training, there were 29 people slaughtered in Keratina. Since my route included a matatu ride through the affected area, Peace Corps staff held me and several others until they could get additional information from the Embassy ensuring that it was safe to pass. My matatu traveled through the area without incident. In fact, I never would have guessed that such a horrible thing had happened there, if I had not read about it in the papers just a day before.
I should probably mention here that the Mungiki do not usually target mzungu (white people) , so I feel pretty safe. And they are isolated to Nairobi and the areas around Mount Kenya, so on the coast, they are a non-issue for me. However, I have several PCV friends who live in the “active” areas, and there are whispers that Peace Corps might relocate a couple of volunteers to safer locations.
Permaculture
After IST, I went to Nanyuki for training on a practice known as Permaculture. I really enjoyed the class; it was held at a place called MOOF (which I’m told is an acronym for Mount Kenya Organic Farming, though the letters aren’t quite right). 
I learned how to make all sorts of “healing” potions for People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs), as well as laundry and beauty soap, a concoction that helps break down organic waste, an organic fertilizer, and an organic pesticide. I learned how to prepare land for agriculture in places where water is scarce, and how to plant in such a way that the nutrients in the soil are maximized. On the last day, I learned about composting. In America, I took a composting class through the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation (http://www.solanacenter.org), but this was a nice review; I even gained some pointers on how to speed up a hot compost pile so that it decomposes in only 4 weeks. I really enjoy these subjects and hope to use them in my site and back home in the future.
Mud and Mount Kenya
I was in Nanyuki for a week. I traveled with my fellow PVC Gavin, who lives nearby and offered me a place to crash in the downtime between IST and Permaculture Training. He graciously cooked some 
fabulous meals for me, and took me on several long walks to show me around town. I met all his Kenyan friends and even walked down to the edge of town to take a picture at the Equator. On Sunday, we took a 14 mile hike up into the hills at the base of Mount Kenya. I was hoping to see the peak, but there has been cloud cover, teasing us with the possibility of rain. Nanyuki really needs the rain right now; it is on the dry side of the mountain, and the farmers are anxiously waiting to tend to their crops. The dry grasses here remind me a little of the hills of Northern California.
On the first morning of Permaculture, the clouds cleared and I could see Mount Kenya. It was gorgeous! It is the second tallest mountain in all of Africa, after Mount Kilimanjaro, a view I also enjoyed during my eight weeks of Pre-Service Training (PST) in Loitokitok. I’m becoming quite the traveler, it seems.
On the second day, we finally got some substantial rain. When the downpour began, our host at MOOF thanked us; there is a saying that when a visitor comes and brings rain with him, he also brings good luck.
Unfortunately, the rains also bring mud. Many of the roads in Kenya are impassable in the rain, and the road to MOOF was no exception. After our training session ended, a group of us headed out to the main paved road to meet the Peace Corps vehicle, slipping and sliding in our mud-caked shoes down the ¼ mile road so sticky with thick mud that it was impassable by even a 4×4 vehicle. When we got back to our rooms, we were all dirty, tired, and ready for a hot shower.
Water and All Things Sanitary
There is an interesting thing that happens when you take the oath of a Peace Corps Volunteer. Almost overnight, your expectations of cleanliness take a nosedive. No longer do you worry about the ecosystem of small insects living in your choo (latrine), the ants crawling all over your legs, or the flies buzzing around your food. Even dirty river water is sawa (okay). At my site, the water that comes from the boreholes is not filtered or treated. It comes out clear but brackish. I cook and bathe and drink it, even though it leaves a thick sediment in the bottom of my water bottle and tears up my clothes in washing. I treat my drinking water at site with a chlorine solution and porcelain candles, and although it is safe for drinking, I would hardly call it clean.
The water in Nanyuki is a little different. Instead of drawing from the water table, the public water comes from the Nanyuki and Likii Rivers. When you turn on the tap, the water comes out green. This is the water that people drink, bathe in, and cook with. Even treated drinking water is not quite clear. But I drink it anyway, as it is what is available, and that’s what the people use. And although I would have gagged six months ago if told to drink green water out of a river, today I don’t really seem to mind.
Wildlife
I just wanted to mention how lucky I feel to be surrounded by such beautiful wildlife. On the coast, there are birds and monkeys and even elephants in the protected areas, but here, there just seems to be so much more. The birds around Mount Kenya are so colorful, and have the most wonderful songs. The forest is nearby, and is home to so many animals. I’m even told that there are giant rats with bodies two feet long in the forest (ROUSes, perhaps?) and elephants that come down the mountain and into town when water is scarce. I am a little jealous that Gavin and some of the other volunteers get to experience these animals every day. I hope that I can get around the country and see even more of them before my service is over. For example, I would love to check out the Kakamega forest and Lake Victoria at some point!
Back to Work
Training is over, and after a day and a half of travel, I am back at my site. I left home almost a month ago. And while some volunteers were itching to get back into their communities, I enjoyed my time away. I don’t know why I don’t feel more connected to my site. I love the community, I like the project, and my supervisor is really cool. I guess perhaps I wasn’t looking forward to getting back to the oppressive heat and the bureaucracy. I think I’ll put in a hard month or two of work, then schedule some vacation time and do some more traveling.
Topics: The Work |
May 7th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Wonderful, informative posts, Harmony…really the best, although I do enjoy commentaries by Nic, which can be more philosophical and contrasting-of-cultures in nature.
Humid heat and beauracracy would weigh me down, too. I served in a hot, arid place in India, and that was the worst weather-wise… when I was accustomed to the green hills of CT. I turned eventually to the green mountains of Vermont. Thank you for commenting on training, the mafioso, mud… and the photos. See some of my PC Days and my family if you can at http://picasaweb.google.com/Gannettm
May 8th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Hahaha.. ROUSes. Love the Princess Bride reference