Jimzy In.......
Would it be fair if we, young energetic able bodied youth visited a new city and did not taste/tempt the party scene or did not write about it? I think not! So, what does Nairobi city look like when the shops close, bankers go home, and children are safely tucked in? A few members of the SE101 team (names witheld on request, and my writing this should/does not insinuate that I am the party animal of the team. It so happens that tonight the blogging duties fall to me) will take you on a tour of the Nairobi party scene.
TACOS: Location-CITY CENTRE. The music is great, some of the tracks were similar to those played in Canada and I clearly recall two memebers of the team singing along to some of the songs being played. This is where Alvina, Kevin and Steven took to the dance floor-details of which may be found in an earlier blog.
PAVEMENT: Location-WESTLANDS. An extremely great and a must go-to club in my opinion. Had what it takes to make a great club scene. Nice music, perfect ambience, crowd that seemed to be made up of passionate club goers and party people. I noticed the crowd was mixed (not unlike a Vancouver club scene) and was clearly a favorite for tourists/foreigners/expatriates or it was probably the theme night that seemed to attract everyone. It was a 2 in 1 club. With one section of the club playing main stream hip hop music and the other playing techno/garage sounds. The only hustle was getting into the club and the line up stretched about a block. Club cover was about 400Kes, beers 120Kes, a gin shot 300Kes.
QUEUES: Location-WESTLANDS. Also a 2 in 1 club establishment. Despite the flight of steps one has to climb to get to either, it is a fairly descent party place. Both clubs play similar genre of music but are manned by different D.J's. The top floor is an open air club/bar/pub allowing you to party alfresco. With the another club on the 2nd floor where you could relocate if you wished for warmer temperatures.
REZEROUS(not too sure of the spelling): Location-WESTLANDS. A 3 minute walk from QUEUES. Extremely jam packed on all occasions one of the team went there. A wide range of music, pocket friendly prices and great crowd. Other than the line up to get into the club, all is well at this location.
CARNIVORE: Location-CLOSE TO NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK. Yet to be tasted/tested.Though it is well known for its theme nights.
K1: Location- WESTLANDS. Excellent ambience and decor. Wood and grass thatch is the predominant architectural design theme. In essence there are close to three different pubs at this location. Fortunately, there is nyama choma and othe fast food should belly make demands for food. Beer and nyama choma is definitely big in Nairobi and a great combination too experience has proven. Highly recommended you carry along a sweater or jacket. Also a great spot on Tuesdays for Karoke lovers.
And that is it for now. Please note more venues may be added to this list in the near future. So incase you wish to stumble home at 5am the next time you are in Nairobi like........................ you know where the adventures lie.
.................Jimzy Out!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Doing Business in Kibera
Both Friday and today I had to journey through Kibera by foot in the hopes of helping to set up the business of one of our participants from last year. Part of this experience has been really fun. Today, while walking along one of the streets, I was stopped by three people, all of whom called me by name. Felix, who works at my hotel; Lawrence, who owns the matatu we used last year to get back and forth from Kibera; and Cartoon, one of last year's participants. On Friday, I ran into two of the other participants from last year. They all give huge smiles and loud, friendly greetings and handshakes. Kibera houses nearly a million people. I can't think of a time I encountered three people I knew on the same day while walking a street in Vancouver. There are not that many white people who pass through in the course of the day, so I'm easily recognized.
However, trying to set up a business here is not an easy task. In this situation, our team is trying to fund Patrick, who wants to start Nimitz Kerosene, which will sell small quantities of kerosene to individuals who can only afford to buy enough to cook one meal at a time. He is the only participant from last year who mostly completed a business plan, and one that showed that a profit was fairly easy to attain. We are committed to trying to set up a successful business so that we can show that our training can make a difference.
It is difficult to know how much of what feels like an almost impossible challenge is due to simple (!) cultural differences, and how much arises due to the unwillingness to just hand out money to a person starting a business. Our concern is that we really want Patrick's business to start--we don't want him to just take our money and use it for other purposes. The amount of money we're talking about is roughly $160 (10,000 Kenyan shillings.)
Trying to convince Patrick that he really does need to show us the receipt for the rent he paid (and trying to convince the purported landlord of the same) took about an hour. We didn't get a receipt at the end of that conversation. Henry, a Kenyan partner who is trying to help our team launch a successful business, interrogated them both, after I'd already done so before he arrived. I encouraged him to do it in Swahili, even though it would mean that I didn't understand the conversation. I figured he could assess honesty in "native" language better than I could do so in English. In the end, we agreed that the rent receipt must be produced at our next meeting.
Then we were off to buy 100 liters of kerosene, a tank to hold it, and small polyethelene bags (think baggies with twist ties!) Nothing is ever easy, though. The woman we'd met on Friday who is to sell us the kerosene wasn't around. One of her employees was. Should we buy from him or wait for her (because we need her to guarantee that if for some reason Patrick doesn't actually accept delivery of the kerosene, but wants the money instead, the money has to come back to us.) We'd also like to ask her to mentor him, so that each day, he deposits with her the cost of the kerosene he's sold that day (keeping the profits himself), so that by the time the first tank of kerosene is sold, he's put on deposit all the money needed to buy the next one.
Stymied on that front, we try to do something else--purchase the polyethelene bags that will hold the small quantities of kerosene. An old, rugged looking guy arrives at the kerosene depot after a five minute wait, carrying a very heavy bag filled with packets of baggies in a variety of sizes. Bargaining begins, all in Swahili. I can tell that the bargaining is not going well, at least for my side. The seller seems to think he has the edge. I whisper to Henry, "it's because I'm standing here," which he acknowledges. White people can afford to pay much higher prices, or at least that's what the seller is using as his bargaining strategy. He accurately assumes that I must be involved somehow, or I wouldn't be standing there. Henry tries to explain to him that the bags are not for me, but for Patrick. Somehow a price is arrived at that Henry deems fair, and then of course, I shell out the money ($3.87), living up to the stereotype: white people have the money.
We learn of a good price on the kerosene tank (1000 Kenyan shillings, or about $16), though it's sold at a shop near Bahati, our other teaching site. I decide that we can probably get our cab driver to pick it up for us during one of our daily trips. Then Patrick claims that he's already ordered the tank from elsewhere (meaning we're supposed to give him the money for it.) This was not in our plan (which was mainly to purchase his supplies, not give him any cash). So, we finally decide to give him the money for the tank, but not the money for his sign, and a few other things (all of these other things came to an amount equivalent to the cost of the tank). Instead, he'll have to produce the tank and the receipt before we go any further along in this business venture.
Before finishing for the day, we make Patrick sign a document acknowledging receipt of the money, and acknowledging that it's a loan which he must start paying off within a week, at $1.60 a week. At first he tries to beg that we give him a three-month grace period before he begins to repay the loan, but we do not budge. There is no interest charged. We tell him that if he misses any payments we will liquidate his assets to get our loan repaid. This is a high finance operation, afterall.
As I write this, I consider that maybe we should have just given the entire $160 away. Henry is a business consultant here in Nairobi, and I have a good salary in Canada. We have now spent 12 hours collectively trying to make sure we don't lose $160. And we're not even done. And, if I want to collect on the default, I may need to add on the cost of an airplane ticket to Nairobi. Or send Henry.
Mentoring entrepreneurs is hard work!
However, trying to set up a business here is not an easy task. In this situation, our team is trying to fund Patrick, who wants to start Nimitz Kerosene, which will sell small quantities of kerosene to individuals who can only afford to buy enough to cook one meal at a time. He is the only participant from last year who mostly completed a business plan, and one that showed that a profit was fairly easy to attain. We are committed to trying to set up a successful business so that we can show that our training can make a difference.
It is difficult to know how much of what feels like an almost impossible challenge is due to simple (!) cultural differences, and how much arises due to the unwillingness to just hand out money to a person starting a business. Our concern is that we really want Patrick's business to start--we don't want him to just take our money and use it for other purposes. The amount of money we're talking about is roughly $160 (10,000 Kenyan shillings.)
Trying to convince Patrick that he really does need to show us the receipt for the rent he paid (and trying to convince the purported landlord of the same) took about an hour. We didn't get a receipt at the end of that conversation. Henry, a Kenyan partner who is trying to help our team launch a successful business, interrogated them both, after I'd already done so before he arrived. I encouraged him to do it in Swahili, even though it would mean that I didn't understand the conversation. I figured he could assess honesty in "native" language better than I could do so in English. In the end, we agreed that the rent receipt must be produced at our next meeting.
Then we were off to buy 100 liters of kerosene, a tank to hold it, and small polyethelene bags (think baggies with twist ties!) Nothing is ever easy, though. The woman we'd met on Friday who is to sell us the kerosene wasn't around. One of her employees was. Should we buy from him or wait for her (because we need her to guarantee that if for some reason Patrick doesn't actually accept delivery of the kerosene, but wants the money instead, the money has to come back to us.) We'd also like to ask her to mentor him, so that each day, he deposits with her the cost of the kerosene he's sold that day (keeping the profits himself), so that by the time the first tank of kerosene is sold, he's put on deposit all the money needed to buy the next one.
Stymied on that front, we try to do something else--purchase the polyethelene bags that will hold the small quantities of kerosene. An old, rugged looking guy arrives at the kerosene depot after a five minute wait, carrying a very heavy bag filled with packets of baggies in a variety of sizes. Bargaining begins, all in Swahili. I can tell that the bargaining is not going well, at least for my side. The seller seems to think he has the edge. I whisper to Henry, "it's because I'm standing here," which he acknowledges. White people can afford to pay much higher prices, or at least that's what the seller is using as his bargaining strategy. He accurately assumes that I must be involved somehow, or I wouldn't be standing there. Henry tries to explain to him that the bags are not for me, but for Patrick. Somehow a price is arrived at that Henry deems fair, and then of course, I shell out the money ($3.87), living up to the stereotype: white people have the money.
We learn of a good price on the kerosene tank (1000 Kenyan shillings, or about $16), though it's sold at a shop near Bahati, our other teaching site. I decide that we can probably get our cab driver to pick it up for us during one of our daily trips. Then Patrick claims that he's already ordered the tank from elsewhere (meaning we're supposed to give him the money for it.) This was not in our plan (which was mainly to purchase his supplies, not give him any cash). So, we finally decide to give him the money for the tank, but not the money for his sign, and a few other things (all of these other things came to an amount equivalent to the cost of the tank). Instead, he'll have to produce the tank and the receipt before we go any further along in this business venture.
Before finishing for the day, we make Patrick sign a document acknowledging receipt of the money, and acknowledging that it's a loan which he must start paying off within a week, at $1.60 a week. At first he tries to beg that we give him a three-month grace period before he begins to repay the loan, but we do not budge. There is no interest charged. We tell him that if he misses any payments we will liquidate his assets to get our loan repaid. This is a high finance operation, afterall.
As I write this, I consider that maybe we should have just given the entire $160 away. Henry is a business consultant here in Nairobi, and I have a good salary in Canada. We have now spent 12 hours collectively trying to make sure we don't lose $160. And we're not even done. And, if I want to collect on the default, I may need to add on the cost of an airplane ticket to Nairobi. Or send Henry.
Mentoring entrepreneurs is hard work!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
We know Kung Fu
Two weeks of teaching has passed and I had a chance to teach a full day class - Financial Plan. Teaching is not as easy as I thought, it sure need lots of preparation and high level of concentration as students might as you many challenging questions. However, the hardest part is to teach basic accounting in only 1.5 hours. At the end of the class, they were supposed to know how to prepare the whole financial statement. Students in our class have different education background, some of them understand the concept right away, but some of them need more time to digest the information; it was not easy to make sure everyone understand within the tight timeframe. Another challenge for the students is to apply the financial plan to their own business. Preparing financial forecasts is one major component in our course. Our students are very hard working, they collected information from suppliers and competitors within few days. However, in Canada, market information is easily accessible by internet and databases. In Kenya, market information do not get centralized; therefore, it is very difficult for our students to estimate revenue. Also, almost everything is negotiable, and this makes revenue projection even harder as prices are different for each customers. Adding more time in lecturing financial plan would be necessary in the future.
Speaking of negotiation, I am becoming an expert through practice. We negotiate everyday. From cab fare to a bottle of water. I was shopping in Maasai Market - a market that only opens on Tuesdays and Saturdays and sells jewellery, crafts, arts, souveniors, etc.- for about 5 hours and almost 2 hours was spent on negotiating prices. I learned that if I am not sure to buy, I should not ask for the price. Once price is asked, the seller will follow and pursuade you until you make the purchase. Since I am obviously a tourist, they normally start the price ridiculously high. I was looking at a necklace and asked the price and the vendor listed 2750 shillings ( ~$45), i made an offer for 500 shillings ( ~$8) but he rejected. I left the kiosk and kept shopping. 15 minutes later, the vendor showed up again and I found out that he has been following us. We end up agreed the price at 700 shillings (~$12) after another 15 minutes negotiation. I learned the the trick to get lower price is to pretend walking away. When I was leaving the market, a local lady showed a Kung Fu pose to me. This remind me that Alvina was once asked in a local disco whether she knew Kung Fu and the kenyan wanted to learn from Alvina. Thanks to the movies, we individuals of Chinese descent were viewed as Kung Fu experts that can jump from wall to wall and roof to roof. One of my students in class even asked me if Kung Fu is in the curriculum in school as required subject to learn. Since it would be to my advantage, I did not deny that I don't know Kung Fu (in fact, I learned Tae Kwon Do).
I finally had a chance to visit Kibera on Friday. My first impression was that there were many people on the street. There is about 1 million people living in Kibera. We walked for about 30 minutes and were being stared by many people. I remembered that a website describe Kibera as a place a tourist should never go because you would be lucky if you come out in underwear. We were very cautious in Kibera, there was a local lady following us and asking for money, and many kids come up and ask for money as well. Kids were friendly, many would ask you "how are you?". Brent were approached by a little boy, he has some bottle caps in hand and we thought he was offering that to Brent as a gift. In fact, he was just pointing at Brent's camera and he wanted that. In Kibera, many people were struggling for money, even for kids. Kids can only see money in their eyes; they are like bamboon that live in Lake Nakuru, who look cute but have to be agressive in order to survive in this tough environment. Hopefully in the future life in Kibera can change and kids can get out from this poverty. SE101 would be a small step in helping this community to create more employment for better lives. When leaving Kibera, I saw one Asian lady walking by herself in Kibera, many of us was shocked but I guessed she will be fine since we Chinese know Kung Fu.
Speaking of negotiation, I am becoming an expert through practice. We negotiate everyday. From cab fare to a bottle of water. I was shopping in Maasai Market - a market that only opens on Tuesdays and Saturdays and sells jewellery, crafts, arts, souveniors, etc.- for about 5 hours and almost 2 hours was spent on negotiating prices. I learned that if I am not sure to buy, I should not ask for the price. Once price is asked, the seller will follow and pursuade you until you make the purchase. Since I am obviously a tourist, they normally start the price ridiculously high. I was looking at a necklace and asked the price and the vendor listed 2750 shillings ( ~$45), i made an offer for 500 shillings ( ~$8) but he rejected. I left the kiosk and kept shopping. 15 minutes later, the vendor showed up again and I found out that he has been following us. We end up agreed the price at 700 shillings (~$12) after another 15 minutes negotiation. I learned the the trick to get lower price is to pretend walking away. When I was leaving the market, a local lady showed a Kung Fu pose to me. This remind me that Alvina was once asked in a local disco whether she knew Kung Fu and the kenyan wanted to learn from Alvina. Thanks to the movies, we individuals of Chinese descent were viewed as Kung Fu experts that can jump from wall to wall and roof to roof. One of my students in class even asked me if Kung Fu is in the curriculum in school as required subject to learn. Since it would be to my advantage, I did not deny that I don't know Kung Fu (in fact, I learned Tae Kwon Do).
I finally had a chance to visit Kibera on Friday. My first impression was that there were many people on the street. There is about 1 million people living in Kibera. We walked for about 30 minutes and were being stared by many people. I remembered that a website describe Kibera as a place a tourist should never go because you would be lucky if you come out in underwear. We were very cautious in Kibera, there was a local lady following us and asking for money, and many kids come up and ask for money as well. Kids were friendly, many would ask you "how are you?". Brent were approached by a little boy, he has some bottle caps in hand and we thought he was offering that to Brent as a gift. In fact, he was just pointing at Brent's camera and he wanted that. In Kibera, many people were struggling for money, even for kids. Kids can only see money in their eyes; they are like bamboon that live in Lake Nakuru, who look cute but have to be agressive in order to survive in this tough environment. Hopefully in the future life in Kibera can change and kids can get out from this poverty. SE101 would be a small step in helping this community to create more employment for better lives. When leaving Kibera, I saw one Asian lady walking by herself in Kibera, many of us was shocked but I guessed she will be fine since we Chinese know Kung Fu.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Use only as directed by a physician
This week marked my inaugural visit to a hospital in Africa. I have had the misfortune of being sick in various locales, on a few continents. While such a statement may imply an inadequate immune system on my part, the fact of the matter is that I am rarely ill, and for that I am thankful.
I came down with what I self-diagnosed as a fever earlier in the week. While the team has occasionally wrestled with bouts of the sniffles, when I was in 4 blankets, a fleece, socks, and awake and freezing at 4:00 am, I decided I would get acquainted with the local medical facilities.
The first step in this process was deciding which clinic, hospital, or practitioner to visit. Luckily, a phone call to our gracious hosts from earlier in the visit (the Khan’s) reminded me that Qaisara’s father worked in administration at the Aga Khan University Hospital. It was suggested that I visit there. It turns out that the Aga Khan is the best (or second best, depending on whose views are sought) health care facility in Nairobi.
A short cab ride later, and I met Mickey (Qaisara's father), who led me through both the paperwork (surprisingly little) and the hospital (surprisingly large). I paid my consulting fee to see the physician (about $10), and about 20 minutes later I met Dr. Thorpe. She is an expat Brit who grew up with her time divided between Kenya and the UK, the latter of which was homebase for her medical education. No nurse, straight to the physician. This reminded me of my surgery in Mexico a number of years ago, where my surgery was performed by 3 physicians, no nurses, and I had outpatient care every second day after the surgery by, you guessed it, a physician. Try getting a doctor in North America to re-assess your wound after surgery every 48 hours for a week. But I digress.
Dr. Thorpe indicated that I did have a fever, red throat, and elevated heart rate, and prescribed me some basic painkillers, an anti-inflammatory, and some throat lozenges. She also ordered a blood test to rule out malaria, which is rare in urban areas. Total bill for all of the pills, about $4, for the blood test, about $9.
The blood test indicated that I had some bacteria or virus; I am sure it was more esoteric sounding, but the gist was that it wasn’t all that serious, and if I took my 17 pills a day (I am not exaggerating, but again I fear this makes it sound more serious than the situation warranted) I would be just fine. This total included an additional antibiotic that came in at a surprisingly high $18. Still not sure the deal there, but when all was said and done, I was $41 poorer for the best care (as defined by price), from a western-trained doctor (we’ll leave the debate as to how much this makes a difference, if any, for those more versed in public health than I) that Kenya had to offer. A side bar about the physician, though: if I paid $10 to the hospital to see her (and almost double for antibiotics), what was her cut? I am pretty sure it is clear that she is not in Kenya for the money…
There is also a medical facility near where I teach in Bahati. The building stands in sharp contrast to the Aga Khan. Its tin roof and benches give the impression that the building could house just about anything. I queried one of our students, who informed me that medical care there costs 20 shillings, or about 33 cents. I asked if he had ever visited, and he quickly said “no”. When pressed for a reason, he said (and I am paraphrasing) that medical care shouldn’t cost 20 shillings. He said he pays a figure close to what I paid to visit a doctor. However, every day when I pass, there is a small gathering in and around the clinic. Apparently there is sufficient demand. There is also a free public hospital in town, but the guidebook advises not to go there, as “you may leave with something worse than you came with”. When I think of the debate over two-tiered health care in Canada, the controversy seems so trivial when on the ground here, given that the resulting “tiers” would almost certainly never be as disparate as they are here. That being said, is a gap in quality or “levels” of public health ever acceptable when we are talking about human life? If you think that I am advocating or endorsing a particular ideology or trying to make a meaningful contribution to a philosophic debate (as I fear I am starting to sound like a bad op-ed piece), I assure you I am not and apologize for my miscommunication (or your misreading). It is just a blog.
Yesterday, I noticed that parts of my body were beginning to become quite itchy and red (I know, I am clearly the weak link on this trip). I consulted some of the other team members, who diagnosed the situation and recommended various remedies, one of which was a topical ointment that was great for these types of things. The only catch (well actually there were two): no one had any, and you needed a prescription. I embarked on a trip downtown in search of this elusive ointment. I did have a feeling that I could get some from a pharmacy, if I could find one stocking the goo. The first pharmacy had some, and like most medication here, it was over-the-counter. Same solution as Canada, but no prescription needed. As I applied the ointment to the affected area (which the pharmacist indicated was likely the result of an allergic reaction to one of the pills I was taking), I noticed the box: use only as directed by a physician….
I came down with what I self-diagnosed as a fever earlier in the week. While the team has occasionally wrestled with bouts of the sniffles, when I was in 4 blankets, a fleece, socks, and awake and freezing at 4:00 am, I decided I would get acquainted with the local medical facilities.
The first step in this process was deciding which clinic, hospital, or practitioner to visit. Luckily, a phone call to our gracious hosts from earlier in the visit (the Khan’s) reminded me that Qaisara’s father worked in administration at the Aga Khan University Hospital. It was suggested that I visit there. It turns out that the Aga Khan is the best (or second best, depending on whose views are sought) health care facility in Nairobi.
A short cab ride later, and I met Mickey (Qaisara's father), who led me through both the paperwork (surprisingly little) and the hospital (surprisingly large). I paid my consulting fee to see the physician (about $10), and about 20 minutes later I met Dr. Thorpe. She is an expat Brit who grew up with her time divided between Kenya and the UK, the latter of which was homebase for her medical education. No nurse, straight to the physician. This reminded me of my surgery in Mexico a number of years ago, where my surgery was performed by 3 physicians, no nurses, and I had outpatient care every second day after the surgery by, you guessed it, a physician. Try getting a doctor in North America to re-assess your wound after surgery every 48 hours for a week. But I digress.
Dr. Thorpe indicated that I did have a fever, red throat, and elevated heart rate, and prescribed me some basic painkillers, an anti-inflammatory, and some throat lozenges. She also ordered a blood test to rule out malaria, which is rare in urban areas. Total bill for all of the pills, about $4, for the blood test, about $9.
The blood test indicated that I had some bacteria or virus; I am sure it was more esoteric sounding, but the gist was that it wasn’t all that serious, and if I took my 17 pills a day (I am not exaggerating, but again I fear this makes it sound more serious than the situation warranted) I would be just fine. This total included an additional antibiotic that came in at a surprisingly high $18. Still not sure the deal there, but when all was said and done, I was $41 poorer for the best care (as defined by price), from a western-trained doctor (we’ll leave the debate as to how much this makes a difference, if any, for those more versed in public health than I) that Kenya had to offer. A side bar about the physician, though: if I paid $10 to the hospital to see her (and almost double for antibiotics), what was her cut? I am pretty sure it is clear that she is not in Kenya for the money…
There is also a medical facility near where I teach in Bahati. The building stands in sharp contrast to the Aga Khan. Its tin roof and benches give the impression that the building could house just about anything. I queried one of our students, who informed me that medical care there costs 20 shillings, or about 33 cents. I asked if he had ever visited, and he quickly said “no”. When pressed for a reason, he said (and I am paraphrasing) that medical care shouldn’t cost 20 shillings. He said he pays a figure close to what I paid to visit a doctor. However, every day when I pass, there is a small gathering in and around the clinic. Apparently there is sufficient demand. There is also a free public hospital in town, but the guidebook advises not to go there, as “you may leave with something worse than you came with”. When I think of the debate over two-tiered health care in Canada, the controversy seems so trivial when on the ground here, given that the resulting “tiers” would almost certainly never be as disparate as they are here. That being said, is a gap in quality or “levels” of public health ever acceptable when we are talking about human life? If you think that I am advocating or endorsing a particular ideology or trying to make a meaningful contribution to a philosophic debate (as I fear I am starting to sound like a bad op-ed piece), I assure you I am not and apologize for my miscommunication (or your misreading). It is just a blog.
Yesterday, I noticed that parts of my body were beginning to become quite itchy and red (I know, I am clearly the weak link on this trip). I consulted some of the other team members, who diagnosed the situation and recommended various remedies, one of which was a topical ointment that was great for these types of things. The only catch (well actually there were two): no one had any, and you needed a prescription. I embarked on a trip downtown in search of this elusive ointment. I did have a feeling that I could get some from a pharmacy, if I could find one stocking the goo. The first pharmacy had some, and like most medication here, it was over-the-counter. Same solution as Canada, but no prescription needed. As I applied the ointment to the affected area (which the pharmacist indicated was likely the result of an allergic reaction to one of the pills I was taking), I noticed the box: use only as directed by a physician….
Routines and Surprises
Like Nancy mentioned in the previous post, our team has really settled into a routine this week which probably does account for our lack of blog postings. Our second week of teaching ended with a bang as Art finally taught his first and final class! Despite his usually calm demeanor, Art did an energetic job of both entertaining the students and ensuring that they understood the fundamentals of Daily Operations. While it's sad that he's leaving our team today, we congratulate him as he embarks on a year-long opportunity to teach English in Japan!
At the Kibera site this week, our teaching team was really able to bond with the participants. On Wednesday of this week, instead of our usual afternoon mentoring session, Kevin and I were able to be part of an impromptu discussion on Kenyan politics, standard of living and current events with our students. By just listening to the discussion, I was able to learn so much about our students and their desire to effect change in their lives. I think that discussion really helped our teaching team understand a lot more about the background of our students and helped our class as a whole bond together. I found out that many of the students in our class did not know each other before the course. Yesterday, we had another opportunity to get to know our students better through the soccer/football game. One of our students is a soccer coach so he arranged a field and equipment for our class. It was an informal game but a great time of fun and bonding for all who participated.
Perhaps the most memorable this week was my conversation with one of the quietest students in our class during the walk back to the classroom from the soccer field. While we walked, she openly shared with me how her mother had passed away several years ago and that she was now living with a stepmother and taking care of her younger brothers and sisters. She was unable to finish school and had only completed up to Form 2. She told me how much she appreciated this course as it provided an opportunity for her to think differently and to be successful at business. Just knowing that we had made some difference in this young woman's life was enough to convince me that it was worth all the preparation and hours of hard work back home to come to Kenya.
I hope that the last week of teaching will be just as good as the last two. More updates soon!
At the Kibera site this week, our teaching team was really able to bond with the participants. On Wednesday of this week, instead of our usual afternoon mentoring session, Kevin and I were able to be part of an impromptu discussion on Kenyan politics, standard of living and current events with our students. By just listening to the discussion, I was able to learn so much about our students and their desire to effect change in their lives. I think that discussion really helped our teaching team understand a lot more about the background of our students and helped our class as a whole bond together. I found out that many of the students in our class did not know each other before the course. Yesterday, we had another opportunity to get to know our students better through the soccer/football game. One of our students is a soccer coach so he arranged a field and equipment for our class. It was an informal game but a great time of fun and bonding for all who participated.
Perhaps the most memorable this week was my conversation with one of the quietest students in our class during the walk back to the classroom from the soccer field. While we walked, she openly shared with me how her mother had passed away several years ago and that she was now living with a stepmother and taking care of her younger brothers and sisters. She was unable to finish school and had only completed up to Form 2. She told me how much she appreciated this course as it provided an opportunity for her to think differently and to be successful at business. Just knowing that we had made some difference in this young woman's life was enough to convince me that it was worth all the preparation and hours of hard work back home to come to Kenya.
I hope that the last week of teaching will be just as good as the last two. More updates soon!
Rules Apply
It has been a busy time in Nairobi, and I've noticed that the students haven't been as religious about filling in the blog as when they first arrived, and I too have not been writing as much as I might about our adventures. Some of it probably is accounted for by the fact that routine of sorts has set in, so there is an element of "same old, same old" for those of us on the ground, even if it might seem to our readers that we're in a highly unusual situation.
Perhaps the most amusing thing I can report on is yesterday's second annual UBC-Kenyan soccer matchup, a game held at each of our sites. It's not really UBC vs. Kenya, because there are not enough of us to make a team, so in fact it's two Kenya teams, each of which is handicapped by a few UBC participants. Last year I played team photographer. This year I arrived at the game to find I could not plead that role, as I'd left my "film" behind in my laptop when I was uploading pictures from my camera. Oops. That meant I had to play.
I'm sure that this next sentence will come as no surprise to many readers: I have never played soccer in my life. My general reaction to a ball of any size coming at me is to close my eyes and duck. Not the signs of a good soccer player. As the teams were dividing up, I could see everyone else anxiously awaiting my placement (we simply counted off 1, 2 to divide up). At least I didn't have to go through the humiliation of being chosen last. I might add that I'm about twice as old as the next oldest player.
Game started. I could not remember who was on which team (except I knew which team each of the UBC players was on). I didn't even know which end of the field was my team's, so I stopped one of the UBC students from the other team to get him to tell me. Which he kindly did.
My team, through no help of my own, got off to a quick 3-0 start. I managed to miss kicking the ball when it was stopped right at my feet, twice. (I could imagine doing the same thing in golf.) In the middle of the game I had to take a cell phone call (I don't even have a cell phone in Vancouver!). Yesterday was logistics day--trying to get myriad people from myriad places to a place where we would eventually converge later in the afternoon. While talking on the cellphone I actually managed to get my foot to connect with the ball, and gave it a good kick. I didn't even kick it in the wrong direction, though whether it was kicked in a helpful direction is less certain. Obviously I need the distraction of a cellphone to get me to connect with the ball.
Several minutes later, the ball comes toward me again, and I again give a faint kick. Seconds later, I see an intense argument going on nearby, in Swahili. Actually the entire game was conducted in Swahili, which didn't really help my ability to understand what was going on. I soon intuit that I've committed a foul. I can't tell if one of my teammates is more angry with me or the ref. The ref comes over to me and asks me which team I'm on. I have no idea (we didn't have team names, and we didn't have team shirts or anything). I tell him "not David's" because I know for sure I'm not on David's (one of the Kenyans) team. He tells me some rule about I can't kick the ball if my team has the ball. I have no idea why this might be true, and point out that I really don't know the rules of soccer, this being my first game. So, he looks at me very sweetly and says "no problem." Just when I think that the foul will be forgiven, he adds, with a pause, "Rules apply."
Shortly thereafter I exited the game of my own volition. Having become a liability to the team, and having a ref with no mercy meant that the only honorable thing I could do for my team (whoever they were) was to bow out. Shortly thereafter my team lost its lead, and the game ended 4-4, when we had to leave for our next appointment.
Maybe I was not such a handicap after all. And, though I don't know what they were told by the UBC students who were in the game with me, when I met up with our students from the other game later in the evening, the three of them greeted me with a sort of surprised "Nancy, we heard you played soccer today." I think they were a bit admiring in their tone. Or at least that's what I want to believe.
By the way, we have apparently agreed to end this tie next week, which means another opportunity for "clueless in soccer."
Perhaps the most amusing thing I can report on is yesterday's second annual UBC-Kenyan soccer matchup, a game held at each of our sites. It's not really UBC vs. Kenya, because there are not enough of us to make a team, so in fact it's two Kenya teams, each of which is handicapped by a few UBC participants. Last year I played team photographer. This year I arrived at the game to find I could not plead that role, as I'd left my "film" behind in my laptop when I was uploading pictures from my camera. Oops. That meant I had to play.
I'm sure that this next sentence will come as no surprise to many readers: I have never played soccer in my life. My general reaction to a ball of any size coming at me is to close my eyes and duck. Not the signs of a good soccer player. As the teams were dividing up, I could see everyone else anxiously awaiting my placement (we simply counted off 1, 2 to divide up). At least I didn't have to go through the humiliation of being chosen last. I might add that I'm about twice as old as the next oldest player.
Game started. I could not remember who was on which team (except I knew which team each of the UBC players was on). I didn't even know which end of the field was my team's, so I stopped one of the UBC students from the other team to get him to tell me. Which he kindly did.
My team, through no help of my own, got off to a quick 3-0 start. I managed to miss kicking the ball when it was stopped right at my feet, twice. (I could imagine doing the same thing in golf.) In the middle of the game I had to take a cell phone call (I don't even have a cell phone in Vancouver!). Yesterday was logistics day--trying to get myriad people from myriad places to a place where we would eventually converge later in the afternoon. While talking on the cellphone I actually managed to get my foot to connect with the ball, and gave it a good kick. I didn't even kick it in the wrong direction, though whether it was kicked in a helpful direction is less certain. Obviously I need the distraction of a cellphone to get me to connect with the ball.
Several minutes later, the ball comes toward me again, and I again give a faint kick. Seconds later, I see an intense argument going on nearby, in Swahili. Actually the entire game was conducted in Swahili, which didn't really help my ability to understand what was going on. I soon intuit that I've committed a foul. I can't tell if one of my teammates is more angry with me or the ref. The ref comes over to me and asks me which team I'm on. I have no idea (we didn't have team names, and we didn't have team shirts or anything). I tell him "not David's" because I know for sure I'm not on David's (one of the Kenyans) team. He tells me some rule about I can't kick the ball if my team has the ball. I have no idea why this might be true, and point out that I really don't know the rules of soccer, this being my first game. So, he looks at me very sweetly and says "no problem." Just when I think that the foul will be forgiven, he adds, with a pause, "Rules apply."
Shortly thereafter I exited the game of my own volition. Having become a liability to the team, and having a ref with no mercy meant that the only honorable thing I could do for my team (whoever they were) was to bow out. Shortly thereafter my team lost its lead, and the game ended 4-4, when we had to leave for our next appointment.
Maybe I was not such a handicap after all. And, though I don't know what they were told by the UBC students who were in the game with me, when I met up with our students from the other game later in the evening, the three of them greeted me with a sort of surprised "Nancy, we heard you played soccer today." I think they were a bit admiring in their tone. Or at least that's what I want to believe.
By the way, we have apparently agreed to end this tie next week, which means another opportunity for "clueless in soccer."
Monday, July 23, 2007
photoBLOG
Thank you all for your patience, we finally have the time to post some pictures from our busy days teaching! These pictures are from Kibera and we will soon upload photos from Kimathi and our weekend adventures.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy... (and Jill a wealthy widow)
Week one - complete! As a reward for our terrific first week of teaching, the team went out to celebrate at a local landmark restaurant, Carnivore. It's exactly as it sounds: a restaurant with a prix fixe menu of a variety of different meats, featuring one exotic specialty per evening. We lucked out with ostrich meatballs, which interestingly tasted like beef with a hint of chicken. The decor was kitsch but the food was great, and the bill spoke volumes of just how well we treated ourselves. Consensus: well deserved.
Our weekend of celebration, however, didn't start with our meat-eating binge. Friday afternoon, Kathleen invited us to a free concert at the local Alliance Francaise: the annual event was called Spotlight on Kenyan Music, and was absolutely terrific. Featuring a veritable cabaret of female vocalists, jazz bands, traditional Masai chanting and even a blind self-taught guitarist/floutist/singer, we really were treated to exceptional talent that was clearly very popular among the local youth in attendance. We certainly didn't hesitate to buy a CD of this year's featured musicians, and Jessie even had the good fortune to have hers autographed by her personal favourite - the young Masai activist who combined traditional chanting with modern beats and political messages.
Not yet ready to call it a night (and happily enjoying the 100 shilling beer), some of the team decided to take on the local wildlife and headed to Tacos, a hopping joint with a knock-off Taco Bell logo for a sign. We met up with Stephen, one of our Daystar students at Kibera, and spent the evening enjoying more of the local brew (Tusker, fyi), the company, and even a song or two on the dance floor. It seems to be the case that in Kenya, dancing brings people together; thus, thanks to his smooth moves, Kevin met a few members and even the coach of the National Kenyan Cricket team. Alvina and Stephen were met with less success, but nonetheless enjoyed the occasion to "shake what their mamas gave them", as the local expression goes. Tragically, Brent and Jim were not to be found getting their grove on, but we
think it likely they'll be dragged into it by the end of the trip.
Our weekend of festivities was dominated by trips to various animal-viewing grounds. First stop: the Nairobi Giraffe Centre, where one could entertain him/herself by feeding giraffes from raised verandahs, and (secondarily, of course) learn all about the histories and habits of African giraffes. Some of the more adventurous deigned to hold a piece of giraffe food between their lips, and as the rest of us looked on with a combination of gleeful disgust and horrified captivation, both young and old (and mostly American) stepped up to undergo the touristy rite of passage. We happily resigned ourselves to the traditional hand-to-mouth technique, even sneaking in a timid yet affectionate pat now and again. And for everyone's information, a giraffe's tongue is dark, leathery, and unsurprisingly slimy.
Our next adventure took us to the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, where a greater variety of animals could be appreciated. Although not nearly as exciting as fauna in the wild, it was nice to at least be guaranteed that we'd see them, seeing as you can't get far behind a chain-link fence. Speaking of getting behind chain-link fences, Art, Alvina and Jessie managed to sweet-talk their way into the cheetah cage, so under the extremely tight observation of a barrage of groundskeepers, they managed to score a picture. When it is up, you will notice a pained look of control on Art's face, thinly veiling an expression of sheer terror.
Last stop on our African safari: Lake Nakuru National Park. Known as an ornithological paradise, it boasts one of the highest number of different species of bird of any national park in the world. Within metres into the park, it was easy to see how it got its reputation: we saw a whack of funky looking birds (none of whose names we caught), and turning the bend towards the lake, we were immediately greeted by a sea full - or more like an entire lake full - of bright pink cheerfully squawking flamingos. I kid you not: at best estimate, there were probably several thousand of them stretching in a warbling colour mass from shore to shore, right down to the horizon. It was like the world's fair of flamingos was being held at Lake Nakuru that very day, and we just happened to stumble upon it. Very cool.
In other news, we saw the usual horde of zebras, buffalo, and even a couple of impalas fighting for domination, but other than a brief sighting of a black rhino, the flamingos were definitely the highlight. We also spotted a bunch of park visitors who were dumb enough to leave food lying around for baboons (and then panicked when the baboons came after them), but such guests unfortunately don't seem to be a rare species. Judge not lest ye be judged, though: a particularly cheeky monkey found its way into our van when we weren't looking, and managed to sneak away with one of Alvina's granola bars, which it unwrapped and consumed from a nearby treetop. We'll know better for next time.
The evening wrapped up with a bright orange Kenyan sunset just as we arrived back in Nairobi, all sufficiently safari-ed out, pleasantly tired, and looking forward to another eventful week of teaching, business plans, and the adventure that has been our trip thus far.
With Love,
The SE101: Kenya Team.
Our weekend of celebration, however, didn't start with our meat-eating binge. Friday afternoon, Kathleen invited us to a free concert at the local Alliance Francaise: the annual event was called Spotlight on Kenyan Music, and was absolutely terrific. Featuring a veritable cabaret of female vocalists, jazz bands, traditional Masai chanting and even a blind self-taught guitarist/floutist/singer, we really were treated to exceptional talent that was clearly very popular among the local youth in attendance. We certainly didn't hesitate to buy a CD of this year's featured musicians, and Jessie even had the good fortune to have hers autographed by her personal favourite - the young Masai activist who combined traditional chanting with modern beats and political messages.
Not yet ready to call it a night (and happily enjoying the 100 shilling beer), some of the team decided to take on the local wildlife and headed to Tacos, a hopping joint with a knock-off Taco Bell logo for a sign. We met up with Stephen, one of our Daystar students at Kibera, and spent the evening enjoying more of the local brew (Tusker, fyi), the company, and even a song or two on the dance floor. It seems to be the case that in Kenya, dancing brings people together; thus, thanks to his smooth moves, Kevin met a few members and even the coach of the National Kenyan Cricket team. Alvina and Stephen were met with less success, but nonetheless enjoyed the occasion to "shake what their mamas gave them", as the local expression goes. Tragically, Brent and Jim were not to be found getting their grove on, but we
think it likely they'll be dragged into it by the end of the trip.
Our weekend of festivities was dominated by trips to various animal-viewing grounds. First stop: the Nairobi Giraffe Centre, where one could entertain him/herself by feeding giraffes from raised verandahs, and (secondarily, of course) learn all about the histories and habits of African giraffes. Some of the more adventurous deigned to hold a piece of giraffe food between their lips, and as the rest of us looked on with a combination of gleeful disgust and horrified captivation, both young and old (and mostly American) stepped up to undergo the touristy rite of passage. We happily resigned ourselves to the traditional hand-to-mouth technique, even sneaking in a timid yet affectionate pat now and again. And for everyone's information, a giraffe's tongue is dark, leathery, and unsurprisingly slimy.
Our next adventure took us to the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, where a greater variety of animals could be appreciated. Although not nearly as exciting as fauna in the wild, it was nice to at least be guaranteed that we'd see them, seeing as you can't get far behind a chain-link fence. Speaking of getting behind chain-link fences, Art, Alvina and Jessie managed to sweet-talk their way into the cheetah cage, so under the extremely tight observation of a barrage of groundskeepers, they managed to score a picture. When it is up, you will notice a pained look of control on Art's face, thinly veiling an expression of sheer terror.
Last stop on our African safari: Lake Nakuru National Park. Known as an ornithological paradise, it boasts one of the highest number of different species of bird of any national park in the world. Within metres into the park, it was easy to see how it got its reputation: we saw a whack of funky looking birds (none of whose names we caught), and turning the bend towards the lake, we were immediately greeted by a sea full - or more like an entire lake full - of bright pink cheerfully squawking flamingos. I kid you not: at best estimate, there were probably several thousand of them stretching in a warbling colour mass from shore to shore, right down to the horizon. It was like the world's fair of flamingos was being held at Lake Nakuru that very day, and we just happened to stumble upon it. Very cool.
In other news, we saw the usual horde of zebras, buffalo, and even a couple of impalas fighting for domination, but other than a brief sighting of a black rhino, the flamingos were definitely the highlight. We also spotted a bunch of park visitors who were dumb enough to leave food lying around for baboons (and then panicked when the baboons came after them), but such guests unfortunately don't seem to be a rare species. Judge not lest ye be judged, though: a particularly cheeky monkey found its way into our van when we weren't looking, and managed to sneak away with one of Alvina's granola bars, which it unwrapped and consumed from a nearby treetop. We'll know better for next time.
The evening wrapped up with a bright orange Kenyan sunset just as we arrived back in Nairobi, all sufficiently safari-ed out, pleasantly tired, and looking forward to another eventful week of teaching, business plans, and the adventure that has been our trip thus far.
With Love,
The SE101: Kenya Team.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Day Three: On Solid Ground in a Shaky City
[This blog entry has been adapted from a mass e-mail sent to family and friends. Apologies for the personal tone.]
Hello dearest family and friends!
First thing's first: I'm alive and well, even in spite of the earthquakes. For those of you that haven't heard, there was an earthquake on the Tanzanian-Kenyan border, and its aftershocks have been hitting Nairobi for the past week. Yesterday the quake on the border registered a 6.0 on the Richter scale (that's high), with a proportional aftershock in town. I kid you not: I haven't felt a thing. Guess I'm too busy bouncing off the walls to feel the ground shake. :)
So, to the gist of things: I've been working in Kibera for three days now, and it's been nothing short of amazing. The students span the spectrum of ages, education and life experience, and yet are active, participating, and really really inspiring. Here are a few stories:
Peter is 24, and didn't graduate from high school. He completed grade 10 but was forced to flee his home in southern Kenya when his family's land was raided and stolen. Given his incredible entrepreneurial talent, he started a dvd shop in Kibera, and has been doing well supporting himself. He's noticed, however, that the market is getting saturated, so wants to focus his attention elsewhere. He hopes to start a mini-farm and become an inexpensive wholesaler to local retailers, to provide a more affordable food source for his community.
Roseline is 22 and did graduate from high school. She's currently employed in a pharmacy, and hopes to open her own mini-pharmacy to provide more affordable medicine to the community. Through her employer, she's learned the ins and outs of the business, has met prospective suppliers, and has saved enough of her own money to cover the entirety of her start-up costs, minus the first month's rent and start-up inventory. She wrote in her mission statement that part of the reason she wants to start her own pharmacy ('chemists', they're called) is to earn enough money to avoid resorting to 'evil ways', which was later explained to me to be sex trade work. Apparently in Kibera, that's not uncommon.
Peter and Roseline are only a couple of examples of the students we're working with (I feel like this is beginning to sound like a World Vision commercial). The honest-to-god truth is that all of their stories are really incredible, and that for many of them, all they need is some business training and no more than $100 US (about 7,000 Kenyan shillings) to get their ideas off the ground. There were 22 students at my site on the first day, and that's been whittled down to about 12 given drop-outs, but the 12 that remain are here to stay. I only hope that our microfinancing partner, Ebony Foundation, will come up with the capital, support and monitoring, to make sure they make it.
So that's what I've been up to lately. So far my role has been to support the UBC and Kenyan university students on my team while they teach their assigned workshops (we've covered Intro to Business Plans and Marketing I), and to provide mentoring in the afternoons to 3 or 4 participants. I take over the teaching on Friday - Finance I - which should be really interesting, given they're not the world's simplest concepts, but I'm really trying not to underestimate them.
In fact, on that note, here's some interesting facts about the Kenyan education system that I found just bewildering. Background: a 'C' in high school is considered a decent grade, a 'B' is really good, and an 'A' is nothing short of exceptional. The way it was described to me, 'A' students are the top of the top of the class. It used to be the case that the entrance requirement for university in Kenya was a 'C' in Form 4, your final year of high school. Due to over-enrolment, instead of building more spaces for more students, the government simply raised the entrance requirement to deal with the problem - to an A. And in Kenya, I'm told that if you don't have a degree, you're 'a nobody'.
Which means that Kibera and other slums in Kenya are chock full of solid students, students who in Canada would be averaging a solid B+/A-. These people aren't just intelligent and talented, they're also reasonably well-educated, but because they didn't get the opportunity to pursue post-secondary education - either because of entrance cut-offs or very steep tuition fees with virtually zero financial aid - they're in the slums, trying to get by. The injustice is palpable.
But I want to make clear that Kibera isn't doom and gloom. In fact, one of the most remarkable things about the place is that it really is a city unto itself - complete with its own law courts - and that other than the condition of the infrastructure, it could be any other city in Kenya. It's the mud walls, the corrugated iron roofs and the lack of basic infrastructure (water, electricity, etc.) that give it away. Nonetheless, it's there, it's bustling, and people are making do.
In other news, my journal is mad at me. It's frustrated that I haven't been able to put a half-decent entry together for it in a while, because I keep falling asleep while writing in it. I even went as far as to sit at the table in my room for a solid hour well before bedtime trying to make up for three days of neglect, and I still didn't make it. Just goes to show that the days have been long, and the nights have been short. Somehow typing seems to keep me up, but for the purposes of posterity, I'm going to have to start writing in the morning before school.
And last but not least, I'm thoroughly disappointed in the tolerance level of my UBC peers for the weather. No, it's not to hot. If you can believe it, a handful of Canadians from Vancouver, BC are finding Kenya too cold! In fairness, Nairobi is at a pretty high elevation, and it's 'winter' here right now, but I'm having trouble believing that the slight chill is anything more than a decent spring or autumn day in Toronto. I guess it's just these thin-blooded Vancouverites that have yet to experience the true meaning of winter in Canada (then again, as a bred-in-the-bone Torontonian, have I? :).
So, that's all the news that's fit to print. The food is great, the people are nice, and I recently purchased the Lonely Planet guide to Swahili, to satisfy my intense itch to pick up more of the language than just 'hello', 'goodbye', and 'thanks'. I'm in the process of mastering some basic verbs and sentence constructions, but until then, I'll just have to be satisfied with my expertise in the area of one through ten.
Until then, be well, lala salama, and chao! (Yep, for those in the know, Swahili has roots in Spanish.)
From Shakesville, East Africa,
Kevin K. (on behalf of the SE101 Team).
Hello dearest family and friends!
First thing's first: I'm alive and well, even in spite of the earthquakes. For those of you that haven't heard, there was an earthquake on the Tanzanian-Kenyan border, and its aftershocks have been hitting Nairobi for the past week. Yesterday the quake on the border registered a 6.0 on the Richter scale (that's high), with a proportional aftershock in town. I kid you not: I haven't felt a thing. Guess I'm too busy bouncing off the walls to feel the ground shake. :)
So, to the gist of things: I've been working in Kibera for three days now, and it's been nothing short of amazing. The students span the spectrum of ages, education and life experience, and yet are active, participating, and really really inspiring. Here are a few stories:
Peter is 24, and didn't graduate from high school. He completed grade 10 but was forced to flee his home in southern Kenya when his family's land was raided and stolen. Given his incredible entrepreneurial talent, he started a dvd shop in Kibera, and has been doing well supporting himself. He's noticed, however, that the market is getting saturated, so wants to focus his attention elsewhere. He hopes to start a mini-farm and become an inexpensive wholesaler to local retailers, to provide a more affordable food source for his community.
Roseline is 22 and did graduate from high school. She's currently employed in a pharmacy, and hopes to open her own mini-pharmacy to provide more affordable medicine to the community. Through her employer, she's learned the ins and outs of the business, has met prospective suppliers, and has saved enough of her own money to cover the entirety of her start-up costs, minus the first month's rent and start-up inventory. She wrote in her mission statement that part of the reason she wants to start her own pharmacy ('chemists', they're called) is to earn enough money to avoid resorting to 'evil ways', which was later explained to me to be sex trade work. Apparently in Kibera, that's not uncommon.
Peter and Roseline are only a couple of examples of the students we're working with (I feel like this is beginning to sound like a World Vision commercial). The honest-to-god truth is that all of their stories are really incredible, and that for many of them, all they need is some business training and no more than $100 US (about 7,000 Kenyan shillings) to get their ideas off the ground. There were 22 students at my site on the first day, and that's been whittled down to about 12 given drop-outs, but the 12 that remain are here to stay. I only hope that our microfinancing partner, Ebony Foundation, will come up with the capital, support and monitoring, to make sure they make it.
So that's what I've been up to lately. So far my role has been to support the UBC and Kenyan university students on my team while they teach their assigned workshops (we've covered Intro to Business Plans and Marketing I), and to provide mentoring in the afternoons to 3 or 4 participants. I take over the teaching on Friday - Finance I - which should be really interesting, given they're not the world's simplest concepts, but I'm really trying not to underestimate them.
In fact, on that note, here's some interesting facts about the Kenyan education system that I found just bewildering. Background: a 'C' in high school is considered a decent grade, a 'B' is really good, and an 'A' is nothing short of exceptional. The way it was described to me, 'A' students are the top of the top of the class. It used to be the case that the entrance requirement for university in Kenya was a 'C' in Form 4, your final year of high school. Due to over-enrolment, instead of building more spaces for more students, the government simply raised the entrance requirement to deal with the problem - to an A. And in Kenya, I'm told that if you don't have a degree, you're 'a nobody'.
Which means that Kibera and other slums in Kenya are chock full of solid students, students who in Canada would be averaging a solid B+/A-. These people aren't just intelligent and talented, they're also reasonably well-educated, but because they didn't get the opportunity to pursue post-secondary education - either because of entrance cut-offs or very steep tuition fees with virtually zero financial aid - they're in the slums, trying to get by. The injustice is palpable.
But I want to make clear that Kibera isn't doom and gloom. In fact, one of the most remarkable things about the place is that it really is a city unto itself - complete with its own law courts - and that other than the condition of the infrastructure, it could be any other city in Kenya. It's the mud walls, the corrugated iron roofs and the lack of basic infrastructure (water, electricity, etc.) that give it away. Nonetheless, it's there, it's bustling, and people are making do.
In other news, my journal is mad at me. It's frustrated that I haven't been able to put a half-decent entry together for it in a while, because I keep falling asleep while writing in it. I even went as far as to sit at the table in my room for a solid hour well before bedtime trying to make up for three days of neglect, and I still didn't make it. Just goes to show that the days have been long, and the nights have been short. Somehow typing seems to keep me up, but for the purposes of posterity, I'm going to have to start writing in the morning before school.
And last but not least, I'm thoroughly disappointed in the tolerance level of my UBC peers for the weather. No, it's not to hot. If you can believe it, a handful of Canadians from Vancouver, BC are finding Kenya too cold! In fairness, Nairobi is at a pretty high elevation, and it's 'winter' here right now, but I'm having trouble believing that the slight chill is anything more than a decent spring or autumn day in Toronto. I guess it's just these thin-blooded Vancouverites that have yet to experience the true meaning of winter in Canada (then again, as a bred-in-the-bone Torontonian, have I? :).
So, that's all the news that's fit to print. The food is great, the people are nice, and I recently purchased the Lonely Planet guide to Swahili, to satisfy my intense itch to pick up more of the language than just 'hello', 'goodbye', and 'thanks'. I'm in the process of mastering some basic verbs and sentence constructions, but until then, I'll just have to be satisfied with my expertise in the area of one through ten.
Until then, be well, lala salama, and chao! (Yep, for those in the know, Swahili has roots in Spanish.)
From Shakesville, East Africa,
Kevin K. (on behalf of the SE101 Team).
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Day 2
Today brought the second day of teaching for both teams. One team member (myself) came down with a bout of something (and is blogging from the bed), but everyone picked up my slack, including bringing me back dinner to my room. Apparently the love ends there, because I still was not granted a pass on my turn of blogging.
Today in Bahati we got to know the students and their ideas a bit more. Our students are very strong and motivated. Most have formulated business ideas, but there remains the challenge of matching the ideas with resources needed. Our challenge will be to help them to turn their plans into something with a lower cost structure. This is doubly important because the financers here are reluctant to loan large amounts. Big dreams are common the world over, but some students have proposed considerably smaller scale operations that are quickly moving towards the competitive advantage needed for success.
Eye-opening to me at the site were the comments of 2 students. One student has been asking us about scholarships to study in
Another student was looking for ways to generate income for her non-profit company. I mentioned that in
On another note, there have been at least 2 earthquakes today. I would have been much more afraid of my first earthquake experience had I not been barely conscious in bed. While it has made the paper as of late, apparently there is only a small chance that any earthquakes will be serious in this area. It is easy to forget that there is a much greater chance of a serious tremor in the
Monday, July 16, 2007
TEACHING 101.......
Jimzy logging in.......
SO....we got off to our first day of teaching with a bang (in the view of Jessie, Jim and Brent who were at the second site in Bahati, Kimathi Information Centre). After a few hiccups in the start, we were able to get through the ice breakers that "Brent pulled out of the hat". Our students were a tad bit short of excellent - interactive, enthuiastic, attentive and showed up in huge numbers. Fortunately, Brent used his teaching experience to delve through the introductory material. This rubbed off well onto Jessie and myself who taught different sections of the material with as much vigour. Soon, I realised teaching isn't so easy. You have to keep tabs on a number of issues concurrently. What and how well did you just deliver the last pieces of information, what comes next, how much time did you take up, how much time is left, are the students fully grasping your concepts, are you grasping the concepts, when is it best to ask questions; I'll clearly have more respect for teachers henceforth. We are located in a church building and Morris, a church leader of sorts asked us to have prayers before and after each training session which depcits the presence and strength of the church/religion in this Nairobi. The location is great, fenced off and has a gate which gives a heightened sense of security. We have benches in our classroom that are not unlike church pews, a black board and even a water toilet in the facility. The neighbourhood is a cross between a residential area and a small commercial center.
Kibera, our second teaching site had an equally eventful day. It was in a different location from last year-a more central location with a strong enterprenual enviroment according to Alvina. This is where Art, Alvina, Kevin, Jairo, Stephen and sometimes Nancy are going to be located for the next 3 weeks. The room is much smaller and they have about 15 participants.
There is a 3rd site is at Sinai where Qaisara, Caroline, Lillian and John taught. They have to themselves about 20 particiapants.
The entire team met for a debriefing session at Sarova PanAfric Hotel to recap their day's work and make plans for a better teaching day 2. Before we left the PanAfric, Brent had good old Felix contact one of his people to get us some safari trip information. While he was on phone, so as to ensure the person on the other end took this offer seriously he said, "....there is some V.I.P's here;you need to come to their hotel room....". So the next time you are in Kenya and need something done urgently -use the V.I.P card. It was on to our guesthouse where I took a quick shower, joined the rest of the team in hq and discussed with Lucy, Felix's travel contact about some safari fares. We then took a trip to Siam Thai, a restaurant on Unga house where the food was pretty good. We retreated to the guesthouse but not before we learnt our last lesson for the day-do not make assumptions about cab fare. Not everyone knows what round trip means. As I sign off, we are in Alvina and Jessie's room playing poker, Brent's going to take a shower and looking forward to tomorrow. Apparently Art keeps Brent out of the room when.............................till tomorrow.
......Jimzy logging out!
SO....we got off to our first day of teaching with a bang (in the view of Jessie, Jim and Brent who were at the second site in Bahati, Kimathi Information Centre). After a few hiccups in the start, we were able to get through the ice breakers that "Brent pulled out of the hat". Our students were a tad bit short of excellent - interactive, enthuiastic, attentive and showed up in huge numbers. Fortunately, Brent used his teaching experience to delve through the introductory material. This rubbed off well onto Jessie and myself who taught different sections of the material with as much vigour. Soon, I realised teaching isn't so easy. You have to keep tabs on a number of issues concurrently. What and how well did you just deliver the last pieces of information, what comes next, how much time did you take up, how much time is left, are the students fully grasping your concepts, are you grasping the concepts, when is it best to ask questions; I'll clearly have more respect for teachers henceforth. We are located in a church building and Morris, a church leader of sorts asked us to have prayers before and after each training session which depcits the presence and strength of the church/religion in this Nairobi. The location is great, fenced off and has a gate which gives a heightened sense of security. We have benches in our classroom that are not unlike church pews, a black board and even a water toilet in the facility. The neighbourhood is a cross between a residential area and a small commercial center.
Kibera, our second teaching site had an equally eventful day. It was in a different location from last year-a more central location with a strong enterprenual enviroment according to Alvina. This is where Art, Alvina, Kevin, Jairo, Stephen and sometimes Nancy are going to be located for the next 3 weeks. The room is much smaller and they have about 15 participants.
There is a 3rd site is at Sinai where Qaisara, Caroline, Lillian and John taught. They have to themselves about 20 particiapants.
The entire team met for a debriefing session at Sarova PanAfric Hotel to recap their day's work and make plans for a better teaching day 2. Before we left the PanAfric, Brent had good old Felix contact one of his people to get us some safari trip information. While he was on phone, so as to ensure the person on the other end took this offer seriously he said, "....there is some V.I.P's here;you need to come to their hotel room....". So the next time you are in Kenya and need something done urgently -use the V.I.P card. It was on to our guesthouse where I took a quick shower, joined the rest of the team in hq and discussed with Lucy, Felix's travel contact about some safari fares. We then took a trip to Siam Thai, a restaurant on Unga house where the food was pretty good. We retreated to the guesthouse but not before we learnt our last lesson for the day-do not make assumptions about cab fare. Not everyone knows what round trip means. As I sign off, we are in Alvina and Jessie's room playing poker, Brent's going to take a shower and looking forward to tomorrow. Apparently Art keeps Brent out of the room when.............................till tomorrow.
......Jimzy logging out!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Long meeting Day
After cleaning up the washroom that I flooded last night with my long shower (as I waited for hot water), the second night sleeping was much more enjoyable. After a nice breakfast, we headed to another part of downtown in search of a Nakumatt grocery store. This part of downtown was more of a tourist area with big name hotels including the Hilton. We were approached by many safari tour salespersons on the street. We rejected their offers to be cautious. Fortunately, we found a tour agency from our Lonely Planet Kenya book, but we had to challenge 9 flights of stairs (since Brent refused to use the elevator) to find the place. Behind a gate was a very old and dirty office without computer equipment, but the agent we spoke to was very helpful. We didn't sign up as the price was not as good as we expected. Despite walking 9 flights of stairs to an office that could potentially be a high pressure sales environment or an 'organized mugging,' it was definitely an adventure.
We walked (I had to jog as the boys were walking very fast!) back to the hotel for the next meeting with the Daystar University students and Ebony Foundation representatives. We confirmed that there will be 3 sites for teaching; however, we UBC students will only be co-teaching with Daystar students at the Kimathi Information Centre and Kibera. Each UBC student is paired with a Daystar student and will co-teach the workshop that corresponds with their specialty. We discussed the teaching methods and came up with lots of great ideas with the local expertise of the Daystar students. The meeting was long (about 5 hours) but very productive and we got our schedules and staffing organized.
Tomorrow is our first day of teaching. I am in Brent and Art's room, which has become the SE101 headquarters, with the rest of the team. Alvina is preparing flip chart slides for the Introduction to the Business Plan session tomorrow, Kevin is updating the 'quote wall' and Art is just being “awesome”. The room is cold and Brent is holding a candle in his hand to keep warm (as if it works…). The team has been doing great and hopefully we will have a good start tomorrow!
We walked (I had to jog as the boys were walking very fast!) back to the hotel for the next meeting with the Daystar University students and Ebony Foundation representatives. We confirmed that there will be 3 sites for teaching; however, we UBC students will only be co-teaching with Daystar students at the Kimathi Information Centre and Kibera. Each UBC student is paired with a Daystar student and will co-teach the workshop that corresponds with their specialty. We discussed the teaching methods and came up with lots of great ideas with the local expertise of the Daystar students. The meeting was long (about 5 hours) but very productive and we got our schedules and staffing organized.
Tomorrow is our first day of teaching. I am in Brent and Art's room, which has become the SE101 headquarters, with the rest of the team. Alvina is preparing flip chart slides for the Introduction to the Business Plan session tomorrow, Kevin is updating the 'quote wall' and Art is just being “awesome”. The room is cold and Brent is holding a candle in his hand to keep warm (as if it works…). The team has been doing great and hopefully we will have a good start tomorrow!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Meeting the Partners
'Twas an early morning wake-up for some of the team members, and not
so early for others. We discovered that breakfast is from 7 am to
9:30 am, and as jet lag took its toll, some of us didn't quite make it
in time! Breakfast was nice and basic - toast, eggs, jam, the usual -
but Brent the caffeine fiend quickly noticed something amiss: no
coffee! And no tea! We quickly put two and two together -
Seventh-Day Adventists (who run the guesthouse we're staying in) don't
indulge in caffeine! Brent is currently plotting other ways to get his
morning fix.
A note on the guesthouse: we're staying at the LMS Guesthouse and
Conference Centre, and LMS stands for Literature Ministry Seminary (as
the bibles in our room informed us). We discovered rather quickly,
however, that it's normally referred to as the SDA House, when not
a soul had heard of LMS That made it awfully difficult to tell our
taxi drivers where to take us, although fortunately we're just up the
street from the Integrity Centre, a well-known civic landmark. The
place is great - clean, secure, and if you wait long enough for the
heaters to kick in, hot water showers - and we even have internet
access. The only hiccups were when Jim's closet door fell off, and
Kevin nearly flooded the bathroom because the shower didn't drain
quickly enough, but otherwise, home sweet home.
Our first order of business today was at 1 pm, when we met with our
partners from Daystar University and the Ebony Foundation. It was
great to finally meet the students we would be working with, until we
found out that they unfortunately were all in summer school, and would
only be able to collaborate on evenings and weekends. The student
president of SIFE - Students for International Free Enterprise - is
hoping to find more students who would be able to team-teach with us
during the week, but it looks like we might be on our own.
Nonetheless, we had the opportunity to walk through our workshops with
the students from Daystar, and was that ever helpful! We were able to
clear up the translation of some key words into Swahili, and learn
more about how business is generally conducted in Kenya and East
Africa. Within a short hour, we had already made huge progress in
tailoring our workshops to make them more accessible for our
participants. We certainly hope we'll continue working with Daystar
throughout the project.
At 2:30 pm, our next meeting was with our second site partner, the
Kimathi Information Centre (KIC). We met with Jose and Carthy from
KIC, and Kathleen from the International Development Research Centre
(IDRC), a Government of Canada outfit in Nairobi. Kathleen put us in
touch with KIC because she heard about our project through a friend
from Canada, since she's a Sauder grad! She graduated with a BCom a
few years ago, and has been doing some very interesting research over
the past six months on microfinancing, as well as the social impact of
cell phone usage, for her masters program at a university in South Africa.
In fact, she just came back from doing field work in Mozambique. It
was great to meet a Canadian working in Nairobi and find out about work
in East Africa that some of us might be doing one day!
And thank goodness Kathleen put us in touch with KIC - Jose and
Carthy were absolutely amazing! Their energy and enthusiasm for
the project was just overwhelming, and although only in their late
20s, both of them have done terrific work with local youth, pulling
off a nearly 200-person youth symposium with absolutely no budget.
All of the youth that we'll be working with at our second site in
Kimathi are a direct product of the youth symposium, and each already
have their own ideas about what business they hope to start! Based on
current registration, the stats for our Kimathi participants are as
follows: 1/3rd are women; the majority are 18 years old, with the
highest age at 35; most have high school education, a few have
university-level education; and they're all deeply motivated. We're
very excited about working with KIC and have high hopes for their
participants!
So, all in all, a very exciting and productive day. We met with each
of our partners, confirmed many of our arrangements and worked on
details still to be sorted out. We'll be meeting again with the Ebony
Foundation and Daystar tomorrow to confirm whether we'll be
team-teaching with Daystar students, and how many sites in Kibera
we'll be able to cover. Once final arrangements are confirmed, we'll
have a much better idea of what the next three weeks will look like.
And either way, Monday is game time!
Many of us are starting to feel a little nervous, since most of us
have pretty limited teaching experience, let alone teaching in another
country. After this week, though, we're sure we'll be pros - next
thing you know, Sauder will be offering us positions on faculty! In
spite of any anxiety, we're all very much looking forward to the
challenges and experiences of the next three weeks, and are very
confident that as a team, we'll do a terrific job, learn a ton, and
have an amazing time.
Wish us luck!
xo. The Social Entrepreneurship 101: Kenya Team.
so early for others. We discovered that breakfast is from 7 am to
9:30 am, and as jet lag took its toll, some of us didn't quite make it
in time! Breakfast was nice and basic - toast, eggs, jam, the usual -
but Brent the caffeine fiend quickly noticed something amiss: no
coffee! And no tea! We quickly put two and two together -
Seventh-Day Adventists (who run the guesthouse we're staying in) don't
indulge in caffeine! Brent is currently plotting other ways to get his
morning fix.
A note on the guesthouse: we're staying at the LMS Guesthouse and
Conference Centre, and LMS stands for Literature Ministry Seminary (as
the bibles in our room informed us). We discovered rather quickly,
however, that it's normally referred to as the SDA House, when not
a soul had heard of LMS That made it awfully difficult to tell our
taxi drivers where to take us, although fortunately we're just up the
street from the Integrity Centre, a well-known civic landmark. The
place is great - clean, secure, and if you wait long enough for the
heaters to kick in, hot water showers - and we even have internet
access. The only hiccups were when Jim's closet door fell off, and
Kevin nearly flooded the bathroom because the shower didn't drain
quickly enough, but otherwise, home sweet home.
Our first order of business today was at 1 pm, when we met with our
partners from Daystar University and the Ebony Foundation. It was
great to finally meet the students we would be working with, until we
found out that they unfortunately were all in summer school, and would
only be able to collaborate on evenings and weekends. The student
president of SIFE - Students for International Free Enterprise - is
hoping to find more students who would be able to team-teach with us
during the week, but it looks like we might be on our own.
Nonetheless, we had the opportunity to walk through our workshops with
the students from Daystar, and was that ever helpful! We were able to
clear up the translation of some key words into Swahili, and learn
more about how business is generally conducted in Kenya and East
Africa. Within a short hour, we had already made huge progress in
tailoring our workshops to make them more accessible for our
participants. We certainly hope we'll continue working with Daystar
throughout the project.
At 2:30 pm, our next meeting was with our second site partner, the
Kimathi Information Centre (KIC). We met with Jose and Carthy from
KIC, and Kathleen from the International Development Research Centre
(IDRC), a Government of Canada outfit in Nairobi. Kathleen put us in
touch with KIC because she heard about our project through a friend
from Canada, since she's a Sauder grad! She graduated with a BCom a
few years ago, and has been doing some very interesting research over
the past six months on microfinancing, as well as the social impact of
cell phone usage, for her masters program at a university in South Africa.
In fact, she just came back from doing field work in Mozambique. It
was great to meet a Canadian working in Nairobi and find out about work
in East Africa that some of us might be doing one day!
And thank goodness Kathleen put us in touch with KIC - Jose and
Carthy were absolutely amazing! Their energy and enthusiasm for
the project was just overwhelming, and although only in their late
20s, both of them have done terrific work with local youth, pulling
off a nearly 200-person youth symposium with absolutely no budget.
All of the youth that we'll be working with at our second site in
Kimathi are a direct product of the youth symposium, and each already
have their own ideas about what business they hope to start! Based on
current registration, the stats for our Kimathi participants are as
follows: 1/3rd are women; the majority are 18 years old, with the
highest age at 35; most have high school education, a few have
university-level education; and they're all deeply motivated. We're
very excited about working with KIC and have high hopes for their
participants!
So, all in all, a very exciting and productive day. We met with each
of our partners, confirmed many of our arrangements and worked on
details still to be sorted out. We'll be meeting again with the Ebony
Foundation and Daystar tomorrow to confirm whether we'll be
team-teaching with Daystar students, and how many sites in Kibera
we'll be able to cover. Once final arrangements are confirmed, we'll
have a much better idea of what the next three weeks will look like.
And either way, Monday is game time!
Many of us are starting to feel a little nervous, since most of us
have pretty limited teaching experience, let alone teaching in another
country. After this week, though, we're sure we'll be pros - next
thing you know, Sauder will be offering us positions on faculty! In
spite of any anxiety, we're all very much looking forward to the
challenges and experiences of the next three weeks, and are very
confident that as a team, we'll do a terrific job, learn a ton, and
have an amazing time.
Wish us luck!
xo. The Social Entrepreneurship 101: Kenya Team.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Landing Notice
I've been ordained as the scribe for this post. Our team has now landed and assembled in Nairobi, Kenya. On the first night, we were welcomed by the hospitality of Qaisara's family. Their graciousness was overwhelming, and we fondly recalled the 3 canine members of their family: Cocoa, Tequila, and Brandy. To ensure that our stay was memorable, Brandy even took the trouble to pee on Brent's lap. The next day, after again thanking Qaisara and family for their wonderfulness, and after I had told them a splendid joke, we relocated to the LMS Guest House, where we'll be staying for the entirety of this project. Our cab driver is a worthy gentleman named Mengo, who is a friend of Qaisara's mother, Judy. Our cab ride from the airport to Qaisara's abode was $1,300 Ksh (about $25 CAD), and to the LMS Guest House was $600 Ksh (about $10 CAD); we are recording this as a future reference point from which to parley. Once we've settled into our lodging and unpacked, we felt daring and decided to walk to the downtown district for some grocery shopping. To our discomfort, we must also record that to be a pedestrian is to be in peril; the roads are bad, and drivers here have little regard for traffic lights. We went to a supermarket called Nakumatt. It's interesting to find that a regular box of Kelloggs' cereals costs 650 ksh (about $12 CAD), while the local brand equivalent was 1/3 of that price. On the other hand, a local brand 5L jug of spring water was more expensive than for a 5L of Dasani water! Our team must investigate this pricing mystery later. We ended our day with a team meeting and dinner at a pleasant Ethiopian restaurant. But being vigilant, I noticed two fat horseflies infiltrating the vicinity. For the safety of the team, therefore, I had to call for a strategic retreat. It is late evening, and the air has turned cold and unfriendly. So, dear reader, I leave you now for my happy place: the bed.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
12 hours in Dubai
As this is our first blog, I felt it would be appropriate to welcome you all and encourage you all to keep up with our updates for the next three weeks. At the moment, I am sitting at a Costa Coffee in Dubai International Airport with Jessie and Art. We've been here for over 10 hours and have already exhausted all possible methods of alleviating our boredom, which include: spending 2 hours finding each other at the airport, sampling moisturizers and perfumes at Dubai's world famous duty free shops, sitting and lying down in random corners of the airport and reclining in the lounge of the $50 USD per hour hotel in the airport without relinquishing a cent. We did, however, get the chance to get to know each other better since we will be spending the next three weeks working in close proximity with each other. And Art just told the 'funniest' joke ever.
Needless to say, we're pretty tired from the long flights, but we're excited about the project and are looking forward to reuniting with the rest of the team in Nairobi tonight and tomorrow!
Needless to say, we're pretty tired from the long flights, but we're excited about the project and are looking forward to reuniting with the rest of the team in Nairobi tonight and tomorrow!
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