to speak basic Swahili as a courtesy both on and off the property, there will always be people conversant enough in English to help you.
Transportation around the area is primarily by local buses called matatus, that are minivans with seating for twelve to fourteen occupants. [But will often have twice that many crammed in and on top of them] They operate fairly ramdomly around Maseno and neighboring villages, and between Maseno and Kisumu. A one-way trip to Kisumu costs about the equivalent of one U.S. dollar. Boda-bodas, bicycles with peddlers and a padded backseat, are for hire for short distances for approximately the equivalent of thirty cents. [I have more to say about both of these forms of transportation but I’ll finish with the letter first.] But be prepared to do a great deal of walking on a daily basis! The compound has two vehicles that are for the exclusive use of the mission and the hospital. You should carry toilet paper, drinking water, and antiseptic wipes with you at all times. There will be a short guest orientation upon arrival on the property that will have tips for making your stay more productive and enjoyable. [I don’t know if these orientations ever happen. David is supposed to conduct them. Although they seem like a good idea at the time, the concept is born of my own immediate frustration and I soon realize that it is impractical.]
PROJECTS:
Unless you are coming as medical personnel for the hospital or have already discussed a project with the Hardisons, you may find yourself at loose ends when you arrive. Jet lag combined with culture shock can make acclimating difficult. The pace in Kenya is slow. This can be frustrating for folks used to being very busy and moving fast. There may be a list of suggested projects, but if you are coming with one in mind you should bring the necessary materials with you, as they may not be available locally. Be prepared to slow down, re-evaluate, and self-motivate. Clearly, the need here is huge and there is always a great deal that can be done. [I wrote this section more with a mind of giving Nan and Gerry disclaimers and getting malcontents off their backs, than toward orienting visitors. There is no way to adequately prepare anyone for what they’re getting themselves into.]
DONATIONS:
As always, if you would like to make monetary donations to the mission projects, please send them to All Souls’ Episcopal Church, 1475 Catalina Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92107. Checks should be made out to All Souls’ Episcopal Church with “Kenya Project” on the memo line and in the accompanying note. The needs of the Orphan Feeding program, the Educational Project, and the Mobile Health Clinic vary widely. Please e-mail [email protected] for current needs. Otherwise, as previously stated, non-generic/non-expired medicine, school supplies, mosquito nets, NEW T-shirts, used clothing, shoes, and toys and games for children ages three to twelve (soccer, volley, and rugby nets and balls, balloons and inflatable beach balls) are always welcome. [I leave this last bit in but I disagree. Anything inflatable gets impaled on some shrub or piece of trash and is punctured within minutes. Then there is no way, and no will, to repair it.] Often, however, shipping and customs duties exceeds the value of the donation. So please try to carry donations in an extra suitcase. When you return to the U.S., it is hoped that you will fill that empty suitcase with items from the mission’s various micro-enterprises. If you would like to donate books, please ask for mailbags at your local post office. It is possible to send up to 66 pounds per bag, but please send multiple bags so the mailbags are manageable. The cost is $1 per pound. Mark the bags “Used Books” or “Donated Items,” and note a nominal value. No customs duty will be collected in Nairobi and the books will arrive in eight to ten months by sea.
MONEY:
Before departing the U.S. contact your bank and credit card company to inform them that you will be using your cards in Kenya. This is absolutely necessary due to the increase in identity theft. Contact them again upon your return. There is an ATM machine in Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where it might be prudent to test your card and your four-digit pin. Traveler’s checks are discouraged, as commissions are quite high. At least $100 U.S. in small bills is suggested, or figure on double the amount you think you’ll need.
COMMUNICATION:
Call your cell phone company to unblock your phone for international use (if you have a tri- or quad-band phone) and suspend your U.S. service to save money in your absence. If your phone cannot be used abroad, you can purchase one in the States that has the capability. [My personal phone could not be used overseas so I bought a used quad-band for fifty dollars before I left home. This makes life easier and I recommend it to anyone going abroad for any length of time. Not having to deal with impatient landline operators who speak a foreign language makes it worth it ten times over.] Purchase a SIM card for the phone and a calling card to load minutes. There is surprisingly good reception in the area and you will be able to recharge your phone in the dorm. For urgent calls only, you may purchase Safaricom cards everywhere in Maseno to load minutes onto one of the mission cell phones.
At the POSTA (post office) in Maseno, you can purchase stamps and aerogrammes (air letter), as well as cards to load minutes on from one of their computers. Internet services are available, though not always reliable, at both the post office and the Maseno University campus for about 1KSh per minute. Again, e-mail service is not available on the mission compound itself. The receipt and delivery of e-mail is slower than in the U.S., as is browsing the Internet. Please remember to bring e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for all of your travel and financial companies as well as family and friends. Postcards are available only in Kisumu, not in Maseno.
CONTACT:
The Hardisons’ phone number in the U.S. and in Kenya is given, as is the mailing address of St. Philip’s Theological College.
THE END
This forthcoming pamphlet is chock full of useful information. Still, for the first stretch and much longer for some, visitors are at best muddled. There is simply no way of being Kenya-ready without already being in Kenya—sometimes not even then.
The dining hall food is an illuminating cultural statement and warrants a more in-depth description. I can’t say I ever acquire much of a taste for ugali, the staple food of Kenya. Ugali, made from the abundant Kenyan maize that grows prolifically and is fairly drought-resistant, is a mixture of water and flour poured in giant vats over an open fire and stirred with a big stick until it thickens into a gooey dough. It is served in a steamy mound that is usually cut into slabs with a bowl by the server and then hand held in a glob by the diner who uses it to sop up and mush around the other food on his or her plate. Ugali is flavorless and has minimal nutritional value. But it is also inexpensive and filling. Another staple, chai, a mixture of weak tea, milk, and an overabundance of sugar, never grabs me either. It is served at each meal and at mid-morning and afternoon “tea times,” a pleasant residual from the days of proper British rule. I find much of the rest of the Kenyan fare to be quite good. Ugali complements every main course, often some greasy meat and a side of cooked cabbage, or sukuma wiki, cooked kale. I find that I like both of these vegetables so much that I decide not to dwell on the secret sauce that they are prepared in, which makes them taste so sweet. I only ever see one slimy, gallon-tin of something white and lardy-looking in the back that could serve as the oily cooking agent, but I don’t even want to know what it is. After awhile, I ignore most ingredients altogether. This is well-advised if I’m not planning on starving to death while I’m here.
Once, when catching a ride into Kisumu, I ask Nan if she wants me to pick up anything at the Nakumatt, Kenya’s answer to a supermarket. “Oh yes, can you get me one of the big bottles of Royco?” she says.
Once at the store, when I ask one of the stock boys where I might find the item, I’m directed to a row of big and little jars of an MSG-loaded tenderizer. Horrified, I don’t purchase it. When I get back to the mission, I report to Nan, “I must have heard you wrong. The stuff I saw called Royco is lousy with MSG! You couldn’t have meant that, right?” I ask hopefully but I can already see by her pinched face that she did mean that, that she is livid that I didn’t buy it, and that she does not want to have the discussion. We have it anyway.
“Pam, nothing in Maseno would be edible without it,” she sighs with that air of perseverant, exhausted fury that will come to personify missionary stoicism for me.
“But