Butere fish farmers are very well organized we are still continuing with digging and expanding each others ponds since Susan left Kenya.  While Susan was here we dug and expanded two fish ponds, and now we are working on our eighth.  The group is doing well and with proceeds and the micro-loans provided they have bought three cows for the group.  The aim of this project is that the group is looking t many different ways on how it can generate funds for themselves. When these three cows grow big they will sell them at a higher price and buy another small one. The money they get it can help them in buying something that they lack; nets, fish feed etc.  So far the group has helped each in digging and expanding the ponds of Hesbon, Abraham, mama Tabitha, John Luvanga, Esau, Abel, and Boniface and next week we shall be at James Mwinjiros place cleaning up his fish pond.  The group is moving forward.  In the next few months they should be able to supply fish in Kakamega town because there is shortage of fish at the market right now.  Hussein Wechuli.

Being back in Whitehorse has left me missing working with fish farmers in Kenya.  But luckily Hussein continues to spend a lot of time visiting and supporting farmers and keeping me informed with his great emails.  I feel like I am right there with him.  The following is his latest installments with both Kwhisero and Bukura farmers.   I went to visit Kwhisero fish farmers and introduced a new system of digging and expanding each others fish ponds the way Butere farmers are doing.  We kicked of well by identifying those people who need help most, so that each member in the group can have a standard fish pond.  The first person to receive help was mama Beldina Webuko where we helped her to clean up her two fish ponds which were coved with mud.  We cleaned them for her and thanks were received from her to the group for helping her do the job.  We agreed as a group that we will be doing the same to everyone in the group and hope to see some changes over the next 6 months.  While doing the work some farmers complained about the leeches biting their legs.  So they want gumboots for next time.  The next farmer to get assistance was mama Mary Mideva who wanted the group to help her dig a new fish pond.  She had tried to hire people to dig for her but they wanted a lot of money which she could not manage, so when we introduced the system of helping each other she was so happy.  The group went to her place and did the job for her, for free, so she thanked the group for what they have done in her life by helping her dig the pond. So she is now going to achieve her goals through fish farming now that she has two fish ponds.  The one the group helped her dig is so big which will produce a lot of fish for her and her family.  We then went to Mr. Geoffrey Atulo’s place to help him harvest his fish.  Because all members were present he did not have a hard time looking for people who will buy the fish as each member bought one fish on the spot.  Some members do not yet have fish so this was a good way to show how successful they can be.  I asked Geoffrey if he can see any difference concerning the size and the growing rate of fish Susan supplied 4 years ago.  He said there is a big difference, fish grow very fast compared to the ones which he once had in his pond.  He could go for a whole year without seeing any change, but these ones are bigger and he said tell Susan thanks for everything and always praise for her.  Showing me the biggest fish and smiling at it.  Next week we are going to the next farmer, who is a member. 

 With great support from Wheels 4 Life I was able to buy 3 more bikes before I left Kenya.  I want to share letters and stories from the three recipients.  Geoffrey Atulo has been a friend of mine since 2004 when I first visited his ponds in Khwisero, Kenya.  He was working hard to get his ponds in top shape and welcomed me to see all the work he was doing.  When he is not working on his farm he is collecting rocks and pounding them into gravel.  Geoffrey has never owned a bike in his life and whenever we would meet he had walked for many kilometres to see me.  He was so excited when he received the new bike and so happy.  He was extremely proud and was looking forward to getting it home and using it.  Daniel Abdallah is 18 years old and was born into a family of four children.  His parents both have died from AIDS and as the last born he is the only one that has gotten the opportunity to go to school.  He sat for his primary examination and managed to pass and join secondary school.  He had no one to pay his school fees but different people have been assisting him and paying his school fees.  He lives approximately 15 kilometres from school and he walks to and fro daily or else borrows a bike from friends.  He was so excited to get the bike and promised he would not miss any school for the rest of the year.  Kennedy Esala is a fish farmer in Bukura and we have known each other for over 3 years.  As a fish farmer he needs a bicycle to help him transport fish feed and fertilizer to his ponds and harvested fish to the market.  As he said to me “A bicycle is of more importance to me, to my projects and to my entire life in general”. 

Up early on Saturday morning to head back to Bukura…yes again to await the delivery of the feed from Kisumu.  Jackson had arranged another lorry to carry the feed first to Khwisero farmers and then on to Bukura farmers.  Luckily the rain has held off and the roads should be in better shape than last year.  It was pretty bad with the lorry getting stuck a number of times in the mud.  We arrive to Bukura early and wait patiently.  Farmers come and go and eventually Hesbon and Kennedy arrive.  Also Bilha comes to see me as I told her I would be there to meet her and make sure she knew that I had a sewing machine for her.  By about 12:30 the feed truck arrives and the driver agrees to take it another 3 kilometres for 500 shillings.  So we make our way to Kennedy’s house and deposit the feed into the store.  It was a perfect end to the day and it has been a great success with farmers getting all those things they need to be successful.  We pile onto the back of the bicycles and get taken to the main road so we can catch the matatu to town.   Kennedy Asala came to town with me as he is another recipient of a new bicycle.  Kennedy is the secretary of the Butere Fish Farmers Association and has been a tremendous help to me when visiting fish farmers.  He usually takes me or Hussein when we go to visit fish ponds.  We bought the bike at Yako Supermarket and take it to the same fundi for fixing.  This time I decide I will not wait for it to get fixed because the rains are here and I need to get home before it pours.  I barely make it and get soaked on the way but at least I am home.  I meet a friend in the evening for beers and mbuzi; roasted goat meat and then back home for a nice evening.  Only 3 more days before I leave and I am already feeling extremely sad. 

So there is quite a contingent of us heading out to Bukura to visit farmers.  Joyce and Matano have decided to join Hussein and I and then the 4 Canadians.  We meet at the matatu stand and Michaels is already full and heading out so we have to grab thee next one.  We wait patiently trying to find other people to fill it as these drivers won’t leave until the vehicle is full.  Doesn’t take too long, an hour, because it holds 16 and we are 8 so we pile in and head off.  The vehicle drops us off and we start walking in and eventually get picked up by Hesbon, other farmers and other boda-boda drivers and hop onto the back of the bike for the ride into Abel and Susan’s home. 

We are greeted by Tabitha and some of the other ladies and ushered into the house for some tea and bread.  We then head down to the ponds and see all the other farmers working in the hot sun and the mud and have extended one of the ponds.  They all take a break and we jump in to continue the work.  It is amazing seeing this group working and helping each other and we get the pond finished for Abel and Susan to finish and pipe so they can get more fish stocked.  The mud is so heavy but it has certainly been made easier to dig with the new shovels and wheelbarrows.  We work for a couple of hours and then head up to the house for the meeting. It was a very emotional day for me as this will be the last time I see the group until September.  Hussein and I are given a flowered necklace around our necks while they sing in appreciation for all the work we have done with them.  We are entertained with speeches and then I am asked to stand to accept some gifts.  They present me with 4 beautiful chairs for my new home made by local Bukura crafts people.  They are made of sisal and wood and are just beautiful.  I also receive eggs, fruit and sugarcane that Hussein and I will share.  It was very emotional and I was actually at a loss for words with tears in my eyes.  I give a speech and then we move outside to wait for food.  We receive very sad news as fish farmer James Wandere’s brother was hit and killed by a matatu in Mumias town just a few hours previously.  Last year when we were meeting his son broke his leg falling off a bike so again sad things happen to him.  He was at a loss so he took his bike to head home to help with the arrangements.  All the positive things that happened that day are a part of the struggles people face here.  Kenya is going through a famine due to many issues from lack of rain and high food prices all related in some way to post election violence.  Everyday in the papers there is more bad news about people facing struggles.  The corruption is still bad and rich people are still taking more and more money.  One big issue here right now is the price of maize the staple for all Kenyans.  The price is skyrocketing and becoming out of reach for a lot of people.  So the government decided that poor people pay 52 shillings a kilogram and rich people will pay 72 shillings a kilogram.  But then how will the storekeepers know who is rich and who is poor.  And I can’t imagine a rich person walking in to a store and saying, yup I can pay more.  What a stupid concept.  Currently they say 3 - 4 million Kenyans are facing famine.   After eating a fabulous meal the matatu driver phoned to see where we were.  So I told him we were just on our way walking back to the road. He said he would come and get us so we started walking and he drove down the road to pick us.  Of course with 8 of us it certainly helps fill up his matatu.  So we pile in to funny looks from the other passengers in the vehicle and head back to Kakamega.  We made it about 2 kilometres away before we had to abandon the vehicle because of the 2^nd flat tire and none left to use.  Of course I had my chairs so a truck stopped to give us a lift all the way to the house.  We piled in the back and while sitting in my chairs we headed home.  It was pretty funny. 

Thursday is another farmers visiting day and it’s exciting because I am meeting some new farmers in the Khwisero area.  This group has had some problems so they got rid of the chairman who was doing things in a selfish way and elected a new group of leaders with the hope that they can move forward in a more positive direction.  Their new chair is a lady so it will be exciting to see the way forward this group takes.  They have a very large number of women who are taking an interest in fish farming.  I visit 8 new farmers and give them some advice about how to get their ponds working properly and I am really impressed with the hard work they have done to get started.  This new group really needs training and are all keen about the upcoming program. 

Sunday afternoon Hussein and I head to town to catch the bus to Kisumu to spend a day with Jackson and organize to get the fish feed for farmers.  The bus is slow but sure so we wait for about 2 hours before we get going.  It takes just under 3 hours to get to Kisumu and the potholes so big that a few times we actually got stuck and the bus had to gear down to get out of them. 

We arrive to a town alive with Obama hype and I am constantly asked my opinion of him.  It’s great to see people rejoicing about something after such a difficult year last year.  We meet up with Jackson and my other friend Fred and we head out to Kiboko Bay to enjoy an afternoon at the lakeshore.  It’s a beautiful spot to spend time relaxing. 

That evening Hussein and I enjoy a meal outside at a restaurant near the hotel.  We have a good laugh because the menu had some pretty funny misspellings.  I ordered chicken and nuns; it was supposed to be nans (a type of chapatti).  We thought it was funny.  When the waiter asked us what was so funny we told him we hoped the nuns were cooked well.  He never got it. 

Up early the next morning shopping.  I was trying to find sewing machines to see if I could get a better price than Kakamega, but there was no difference and by the time I transport them here then the cost is even more.  We met up with my friend Ann who is working for Covenant House, a program that helps young kids in school.  She is a teacher from Hamilton and has taken a years leave to teach here.  It was so great to see her and spend the day together.  We head to Jackson’s restaurant for lunch and then Hussein and I head back to the bus stand to catch the bus home. 

On Thursday I was invited by my friend Matano to meet with his group KASFOC.  They are interested in getting involved in fish farming and asked me to come and explain the program I am working on here.  They have had funding in the past to assist with their projects and fish farming seems like it would be a good fit with their objectives.  They work with orphans and widows assisting them with planting bananas and other items that can be harvested to eat or to sell. 

One of their members is an avid fly tier and was keen to hear that I was also able to tie flies and an avid angler.  I have committed to helping him with some much needed material so he can begin tying flies again.  He has not been able to buy hooks and some of the other things here in Kakamega. 

On Monday we make our way in the back of a matatu to Khwisero to see the group.  On the way a young lady and her son threw up for about 1 hour all over my feet and all over everyone in the back of the vehicle.  I felt so sorry for them but there was not too much we could do to assist. 

We make it to Khwisero and start the meeting.  It’s been a difficult year with this group, too much dishonesty and I try to be as frank as possible.  If you can’t work together as a group it is better to work on your own.  I leave with many doubts in my mind whether this group will continue, but I know individually they will.  In the evening I get a phone call from David and they have decided to conduct new elections and get rid of the chairman and elect a new executive and start a fresh. 

I asked the Fisheries Officer if we can get a vehicle to visit farmers, but no luck, its busy doing other stuff.  So the option is matatu, motorcycle and bicycle.  The fishery officer declines to come, he wanted the luxury of having a vehicle so I guess when he says he likes the office its true.  Hussein and I head off to catch the death machine to Makunga and luckily we arrive alive….its true they must loose 20 people a day in this country from these reckless drivers. 

Hesbon and Abraham are waiting for us and we hop on the back of their bikes and head off down the road to yells and questioning from all the people wondering what I am doing.  Some of the young men who are sitting there remember me from last year…off we go and we arrive at James’s place and start the visits.  We do look at fish ponds but it seems we spend more time eating and talking.  So it takes three days to complete the visit of all the farmers in Bukura.  It is an amazing time and I laughed so hard and enjoyed myself so much.  We visited each farmer and I gave suggestions on improving their ponds and people are starting to follow through. 

On Saturday Hesbon and Abel come in to town and we buy 60 pipes, 5 wheelbarrows and 14 shovels.  We get a vehicle and stuff everything in the back and squish into the vehicle and head to Hesbon’s home.  We are stopped by the police and the driver takes 50 shillings from Abel for a bribe.  5 minutes later he comes back and says if we add another 50 shillings we can go.  We dig deep and make the payment and off we go.  We arrive to a crowd of kids who are waiting for us.  Most of them wearing Whitehorse Minor Soccer School t-shirts that I had brought.  They looked great and the kids were looking so smart, as Hesbon says.  We headed down to the fish ponds and see most of the farmers standing around a half dug pond.  We say lets finish this expansion before we eat and meet and they say it’s too hard without shovels.  So Hesbon goes back up to the house and gets all the shovels and we finish the expansion.  I sunk in the mud up to my knees but we all had a great time.  We expanded Hesbon’s pond and with everyone working together we got it done in one day.  So we have a great meeting and people are really thankful for all the new items that will assist them with their ponds. 

We eat and then Hussein and I climb on the back of a motorcycle and make our way to the tarmac road to catch a vehicle to town.  Sunday we spend the day in town doing some things and sit and plan for the following week.