Mission Accomplished?

As many of you know, I am now back home in Steamboat Springs, CO.  Having been back for no more than four days, I've already been assailed by the obligatory "How was Africa?!?" question. Well, I answer,  Kenya was .....hmm......great!, frustrating, good, interesting, an adventure....and all the other non-descript, non-comital adjectives I can think of.

This last blog post is my attempt to articulate (with a bit more clarity than aforementioned responses) my final reflection on the experience. And I figured my faithful readers deserve an account of my whereabouts in the last few weeks. Bear with me, though, since I'm now finding it hard to produce a witty-yet-sentimental description of my last days in Kenya.

Though my internship commitment technically lasted until December 15, I decided to leave Kisumu the week after World Fisheries Day was over. By that time, I was fairly disenchanted with the operation of IFP and my interactions with my boss. And since I think WFD pretty much wiped out the whole staff, I could foresee no immediate project that would require my attention in the Kisumu office. So with no objection from my boss, I returned to Nairobi.

In Nairobi, my friend Moses was hosting an art camp at the community center he runs in Mathare, one of Nairobi's biggest slums. I figured I'd stop by and help out, giving me a chance to catch up with friends and get away from IFP. It turns out, my contribution at art camp was about as extensive as at IFP, but somehow the experience was far more satisfying. Officially, I helped supervise the painting of a mural on the outside of the Inspiration Center, but since the painters were far more artistic and self-sufficient than I am, I mostly just watched. I also became the self-appointed "kindergarten teacher," playing with adorable little kids who weren't old enough to participate in any of the classes. 

The mural designed and painted by slum kids depicting the transition from violence to peace in their community

 Tindi and Smitho, my favorite playmates 

  
I spent Thanksgiving evening with all the art camp volunteers. To my surprise, we pulled off an extensive American feast--complete with a very freshly slaughtered Turkey, mashed potatoes, and sweat potato pie. We didn't eat until 10:30 since the bird didn't get in the oven until about 6:30 due to power failures, but I couldn't have asked for a better turkey day celebration half way across the world.

After spending a few days finishing up some stuff for IFP on my computer, I finally got the beach vacation I had been lusting after since I got to Kenya. In typical Kenyan fashion,  my friends Aimee, Ken, and Kylee planned a last minute trip to the coast. After an uncomfortable bus ride through the night, we arrived at 6am a bit dazed and confused in Mombasa. As us white girls hid in the bus company waiting room, Ken negotiated with a taxi driver to take us south to Diani beach, on of the main resort towns of the south coast. After searching for a bit, we scored a great apartment at Coral Beach Cottages right on the beach for about $50/night total.

I thought Kisumu was hot, but after being in Mombasa, Kisumu is mild. The heat and humidity of the coast is stifling. The last time I sweat so much was in the Malaysian jungle. And unlike my previous experiences in the Pacific, jumping in the Indian Ocean isn't a cool refresher--infact, it's more like a warm bath.

     

The beach at Coral Beach was quite coral-y (imagine that!) and the water was quite shallow--not really the place for body surfing or playing in the crashing waves. But it did make for some unexpected sea life observation. One afternoon we took a little glass bottomed boat out a couple hundred yards for a snorkeling adventure. From the shore, the rocky coral looks a bit lifeless and dull against the backdrop of sparkling turquoise water and swaths of white sand beaches. Duck your head under, though, and the shallow waters are teaming with life--tropical fish, bright red sea stars, prickly urchins, slimy sea cucumbers.

Kylee, Me, Ken, and Aimee

Other coastal highlights include: a delicious dinner of the freshest fish I'd ever had--white snapper bought from an fisherman who had just emerged from the water in his wet track suit and woolen cap, fish in hand; chillin' with the monkeys that scampered about the compound; sun-soaked lounging overlooking white sand and azure ocean; enjoying an overpriced glass of wine with a backdrop of sparkling stars and lapping waves.

Dinner

After returning to Nairobi for a couple days more, I set off to Kisumu to visit my host family for one last time. It was a short visit, but I was really glad to see them again. I was starting to miss the constant attention of small children wanting to play with my expensive electronics and climb on me like a jungle gym. I worked in one final pizza dinner for the family and had spoiled the kids with candy, movies, and popcorn. It was really sad to say goodbye for real this time, not knowing when/if I'll be back to visit. Staying with the Madaras was truly one of the most rewarding parts of the whole internship experience.

So the final verdict?

Mission accomplished. Though the entire process was quite frustrating, I don't regret it at all. In fact, I learned a great deal, both about myself and about working in the world of NGOs. I learned the virtues of patience and flexibility, but I also learned  the value of assertiveness and initiative. I learned how truly privileged my life has really been, and I struggled with how to carry this privilege when confronted with disadvantage. Most of all, I learned to be grateful for all the things I take for granted in the US: education, democracy, safety, efficiency, peace, and a good cup of coffee.

Ever since my first trip to Kenya two and a half years ago, something about the country and its people was drawing me back. This time around, I return with a far less romantic notion of the place, but its place in my heart has only expanded. Despite all its pesky characteristics like corruption, danger, inefficiency, and Nescafe, I am even more compelled towards the complexities the culture presents.

For now, I'm back at home, trying to enjoy all the creature comforts it entails without getting too distracted by the growing angst of the "I have no idea what I'm doing with my life" syndrome (compounded by the fact  that it's about the worst time in several decades to be looking for a job). And while it is the first time in my life I have absolutely no idea what comes next, I'm excited for my next adventure, wherever it may be.

Peace.

World Fisheries Day....Finally

After the slightly traumatic planning process that had claimed all my attention at IFP for 2 months, World Fisheries Day 2009 finally happened. And somewhat to my surprise, the day itself actually went quite well.

On the 19^th of November, IFP began our workshop that formed part of the celebratory weekend. At this point, the money from the Ministry of Fisheries Development was still in transit from Nairobi to Kisumu and the original budget had been slashed by about two-thirds. We had yet to hear about what, if any, materials had been procured and all attempts to start advertising early through print and radio media had been thwarted by the lack of money. So it was to our great surprise that on our arrival to Usenge on the 21^st that there were banners, tents, a large crowd, cultural dancers, several exhibition stalls, boat racing teams, and important guests.

The greatest surprise of all was that our guest of honor (with about 30 minute’s notice) was the Prime Minister himself! Honorary Raila Odinga arrived in all his glory by helicopter right on the fish landing beach. Samantha and I rushed over as throngs of Kenyans crowded under the blast of wind generated by the chopper’s blades. Embarrassingly, we couldn’t really tell which of the three men that hopped out was in-fact the PM. The next thing we knew, we were walking right beside him and he was reaching out his arm to shake our hands! It is now my firm conviction, based on our white skin and the way he continued to eye us throughout the day, that Mr. Odinga believed we were representing an important foreign development agency. If he only knew we were just the interns of a tiny, ill-functioning NGO. The honorary guest brought quite a thrill to the rest of the day. Although his interest in the event may have been lacking (evidenced by his reading the sports page during some of the other speeches), it was fun to see the grins on everyone’s faces at his presence.

Our 15 seconds of fame: Samantha shaking Raila's hand

Unfortunately, the excitement of the day is a bit tainted by my firm belief that the success of the event had nothing to do with what IFP or I did to plan the celebration. I was attempting to bite my tongue about the inefficient and less-than-punctual way IFP engaged in the planning and fundraising process until after the event. I was really hoping to be proved wrong and shown that the uptight, all-to-rational way Americans prefer to plan things is unnecessary. However, now that the event is all over, I can finally say, “I told you so!”

While the Ministry of Fisheries was able to throw together a very large and successful at the last minute, IFP was largely left out in the end. The magazine that I was largely responsible for creating was never printed due to funding constraints. The media and publicity campaign, including radio interviews and newspaper ads Samantha and I went to great lengths to organize went undone. I spent many frustrating hours designing banner templates that satisfied everyone’s desires. Ultimately, the banners the Ministry had printed completely ignored my designs and didn’t even include IFP’s logo. Since we arrived late with our workshop guests, IFP was not even given an exhibition booth and our brochures weren’t printed. We basically had to beg the MC (another pretentious politician) to allow our chairman to speak for just 5 minutes. The workshop we put on, due to short notice and unsuccessful fundraising attempts, was held in Kisumu instead of Usenge, lacked significant participation by important stakeholders, and functioned almost completely as a separate event.  Sadly, due to poor planning and a bit of bullying, IFP lost an amazing opportunity to really get our name out there.

Nonetheless, I suppose it was a great learning experience for me. I certainly will use a very different approach to any event planning and any partnership with a government agency in Kenya in the future. Maybe the Thanksgiving spirit is making me a bit sentimental, but even though I feel as though most my efforts for the last 2.5 months seem to have been in vain, I am grateful for the opportunity.