On June 9th I visited with David Whiteside’s grade 5 students at Whitehorse Elementary School.  Students have had 4 bakes sales over the last year and all the money has been donated towards a feeding program at a Primary School in Kakamega that I am organizing.  So many Kenyan students spend the whole day at school and are trying to learn on an empty stomach.   

My friend Grace is the headmistress at Maraba School and together we plan to set up a feeding program in November this year.  Last year when I was in Kenya the teachers were on strike and I was unable to set anything up.  But all the money that was raised will be used this year and will provide food for so  many young students over the year I am in Kenya.  I want to thank David for his continued support and the enthusiasm of all the students; thanks Natalie, Lauren, Graydon, Logan, Harrison, Caleb, Matthew, Aimee, Abby, Mackenzie, Jessica, Paige, Felicia, Hannah, Lyndsey, Whitney, Hope, Madisen, Simon and Alix. 

This money could not have come at a better time.  Yesterday the headlines in the paper in Kenya read; KENYA: ”Now the drought comes almost every year”LAIKIPIA-ISIOLO , 10 June 2009 (IRIN) - LAIKIPIA-ISIOLO - Millions of Kenyans are facing hunger due to a prolonged drought and successive failed rains. In the northern region, pastoralists’ livelihoods are especially threatened not just by drought and high food prices but also by deadly inter-communal conflict, livestock diseases and a lack of basic services.

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. 

The following is the report I received from Lorna, teacher at the Bukura tailoring school.  First term started on January 5^th, 2009 and ended on April 3^rd, 2009.  The school closed for the month of April and reopens on May 4^th, 2009.   I was able to spend a lot of time with students and parents this year and it was exciting to see the new students and the second year students getting started on learning.   Student attendance – second year students responded well on the opening of the term.  We had eleven students in the second year class, one boy and ten girls, then three other students joined the class as new students, so in total we closed the term with fourteen students in the second year, thirteen girls and one boy.  The new intake in January was good, of which we admitted twenty one students, one boy and twenty girls. It was a good start and we hope it will be successful in the future. In total we closed school with thirty seven students.  School academic - Students are really working very hard to acquire their future skills, we hope it continues that way.  It is very positive as seen by the way last year candidates performed in their external exams, they all passed.  I hope this year we will send a good number to external exams. The community is very pleased with the issue of taking student for external exams.   Respond of parents - They are positive to the progress of the school.  This was shown by the good respond of bringing their kids to school on time, they attended meetings when called for, we concluded by saying that they have motive towards the progress of the school and their children.  Fees payments - The fees payments was good specially the new parents. Most of the students have finished the payments of the first term fees and registration.  This has enabled us to have the license for this year 2009, open the school account and also to meet some of the problems we had at the start of the term for example the construction of four benches to create sitting materials for students.  Due to the poor economy we have in our country, we agreed and managed to raise the school fees of the school from 1100 Kenyan shillings per year to 1700 Kenyan shillings per year starting this year for every student.  Project for the parents - For the good progress of the school, parents have agreed to start a good lunch program for their kids when they are at school for five days a week.  This has been a success in this last term. Production unit - The project has been started at school but due to poor economy it’s going on slowly by slowly because most of the money from items remains in debts.  I hope as we are marketing the project in the future it will be a success  Problems of the school - Thanks a lot for the machines heads you bought for us.  We haven’t got the tables for them therefore there is a shortage of machines in the workshop.  Hence students are sharing one machine which makes the work to be slow. Future plan - To have more machines to do better work and to have an embroidery machine to start embroidery work in the school.  To have a big workshop to accommodate more students.    Mrs. Lornah Mitungu    School instructor

 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”. 

Thursday night I head back to town after my visits with farmers to attend the weekly meeting with the Kakamega rotary club.  This is the monthly dinner and we have a great meal of curries and salads.  It was nice to see people as most of the members have been away due to the Christmas break.  Grace has returned from her trip to the US to see her son who has been sick for a while.  There is a large contingent of Canadians there and again I get interest from some of them to come with me on Friday to meet with farmers.  We arrange to meet in the morning so we can head out to Bukura.

Lorna came into town so we could purchase all the items she needs for starting the school year at Bukura. 

In the past I have been buying my machines and other items from a local shop but the machines fall apart in a matter of days and the prices are very high now.  We went to a store called Harry Harry Tailoring run by Jane Nyoroge.  Jane is a kikuyu and was affected in a very bad way from last year’s election violence.  Her home was torched and her 2 children were inside.  The police were able to rescue the children although they were hurt with burns.  The house was lost and all of her possessions. 

She is still here running her store but is never going to rebuild and her children now live in Central Province, Thika.  She was very accommodating with me about ordering new machines and also giving me very good prices for the sewing items I wanted to buy.  We bought over 26,000 Kenya shillings worth of material, scissors, thread, needles and tape measures.  She was very happy.  Lorna was also happy as we packed everything up and had it delivered to the matatu stand to take back to Bukura School. 

I wrote an application to an organization in the US that gives bikes to individuals in developing countries to assist them with their transportation.  I received word in early December that my proposal had been accepted to the amount of $2000 US to buy bicycles for anyone that I felt needed one.  I am now slowly assessing different people I know and offering them a new bicycle.  Hesbon has been carrying me on the back of his bike for the last few years so when he picked me last week he was carrying a bunch of spare parts for his bike.  He told me his bike was old and breaking down a lot now.  I asked him if he would like a new bike and he said yes…very much. 

I asked him to write me a short letter explaining why a bike was important and the following is what he wrote - “Reasons I need a bicycle.  A bicycle is something that was designed and made for various purposes and here are some of the reasons as to why I need a bicycle.  When I own or have a bicycle first I will be proud of myself and my family will be proud too because I will be always saving my money when it comes to traveling short distances and also I will be saving time and I will always try as much as I can to be punctual whenever I will be needed.  As a farmer, especially a fish farmers the bicycle will help me in different ways for example I will be sure of  transporting the fish feeds from the store or any other place to my home easily and my fish will not suffer from hunger.  I will also be able to transport other farm inputs to my farm easily and farm outputs to my home and to the market easily and also in good time.  If I own a bicycle I will also be visiting other fish  farmers from the area and also other fish farmers  from outside my region and by that note we will bee sharing ideas as fish farming is concerned and I will also be able to be attending seminars in various institutions about fish farming and other farm activities easily.  Also if I own a bicycle I will not forget my neighbors and the community as a whole.  I will also be using the bicycle to generate some income to uplift the living standard of my family.  When it comes to visiting my friends and relatives I will be able to do it easily because I will not be using money for transport.  According to my financial status I will also be able to maintain a bicycle because it doesn’t need fuel and if it is not in good condition I will be able to re-condition it again without using a lot of money like a vehicle or a motorcycle.  Before god, everything is possible so my bicycle will also be doing some work in the church.  I am looking forward for the help and bless you as you continue helping others.  Yours faithful, Hesbon Andabwa”.   So we spent all day Tuesday shopping in Kakamega for a bicycle.  We found one at the local supermarket that Hesbon liked, so we bought it and then we had to take it to the bike fundi for him to set up.  We were told it would take 30 minutes, but I should have known better as we sat watching for over 2 hours.  He did a good job and just seeing the excitement on Hesbon’s face was worth it.  He peddled home and when he got home he sent me a message on my phone that his family was so excited about the bicycle.  What a great day.

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.