I'm in LONDON!! I love love LOVE it here! I'm staying with my friend Tessa (who I went to UCSC with for a year). We stayed in her flat in London the first night I was here and now we're at her family's house in Reading. It is SNOWING!!! I've never been in a city with snow before. It's really cool and SO beautiful seeing the gorgeous old stone houses covered with a fresh layer of snow. We went to Oxford today just to wander around. It was really beautiful. We walked around for a good 3 hours and then warmed ourselves up with some high tea at 3pm. It was GREAT! we just got back to Reading and it was snowing like crazy! Apparently this is the first time it's really snowed this much in this part of england. we had to walk back to the house because all the roads are closed. It was fun, and kind of difficult (slippery on the hills). We're listening to Christmas carols and are going to decorate the tree and drink hot coco with the family tonight! it's so wonderful. I am definitely in the Christmas spirit now! Tomorrow we are going to go back to London (if the weather permits) and are going to go to the Tate Modern, wander around shops, listen to Christmas carols in a chapel and then the Nutcracker at night. I'm excited! Although, I'm kind of worried about my flight. I really hope it's not delayed!! I'll keep you posted on what happens. But I am really enjoying myself here. It has be great to catch up with tessa and her family is just really wonderful. What a wonderful end to a wonderful trip!
Much love and Merry Christmas!!
Anna
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Kitchen Garden Training #2 and a Wedding!
Yesterday was quite an eventful day. We had another kitchen garden training in Likoni and then I rushed to the north coast to attend the wedding of one of my host sister's brothers (he doesn't live with us so I'm not sure if I can technically call him my "host brother").
The training went relatively smoothly, although we started late...but I'm realizing that that is kind of a given here. We had a lot more participants than the first training, which was really great. In total we had 13 participants, all of whom were women (we need to work on getting more men in the trainings). Once again, I was struck by how kind, welcoming and open the women were to me and the other facilitators. All in all, I think it was a really rewarding experience for everyone involved. The participants expressed their deepest thanks to us for giving them the knowledge and skills to make a kitchen garden and start their own business. They were very optimistic about the impact these skills will have on their lives. One of the participants from the first training came, Mary, because she was providing us with soil and manure again for the demonstration. She and I spoke for a while and she told me that her kitchen garden was really doing well and that she was so grateful to me and the other facilitators for helping her overcome the challenges she has faced in adhering to her ARV regimen. It was SO rewarding and touching for me to hear that I had helped t0 empower these women to lead a positive lifestyle. I got really sad when I realized I will be leaving next week and won't be working with this community anymore. However, I will hopefully be able to work with similar communities in the future. This experience has really solidified my interest in working with communities in need and giving them the skills and knowledge to improve their lives (whether it be monetarily or in terms of health).
The wedding was very beautiful and provided some interesting cultural insights for me. It was at the Voyager resort (a VERY swanky resort on the north coast). The venue was on an outside terrace overlooking the indian ocean. I think the most "interesting" part of the whole event was the sermon given by an evangelist pastor. The main point to this sermon was how "it is the duty of the wife to submit to the husband." He literally talked about this for a good 10 minutes. I was just sitting there trying SO hard not to open my mouth in shock. Even more surprising was that the audience (including women) were all nodding their heads and saying "amen." All I could think was "how is women's rights in this country going to progress when female submission to men is embedded in the culture and the religion and the women themselves accept it?!" It was definitely a shocking and eye opening experience. Other than that, the wedding was pretty normal (except for a handful of mzungus-white tourists- who walked into the wedding to take pictures of the "Africans getting married." One guy was sitting on his balcony with a huge camera taking pictures. I was SO mortified and embarrassed for them..how rude!!!!). There were some traditions which were carried out. The bride and groom fed their in-laws cake (they cut the cake before dinner here), and Mama Irene gave them two ropes to represent the two cows she bought for them, which are currently in Kisii (up country).
All in all, it was a really fun and great wedding, with some interesting cultural insights. I felt so honored that they included me in the celebration (and even the family photo!). I'm really going to miss the Gitaas so much when I come home. But thankfully there is internet so i can still keep in touch.
Well, I best be off. I hope everyone is well!! Can't wait to see you all SO SOON!!!!!!
oxoxoxo Anna
The training went relatively smoothly, although we started late...but I'm realizing that that is kind of a given here. We had a lot more participants than the first training, which was really great. In total we had 13 participants, all of whom were women (we need to work on getting more men in the trainings). Once again, I was struck by how kind, welcoming and open the women were to me and the other facilitators. All in all, I think it was a really rewarding experience for everyone involved. The participants expressed their deepest thanks to us for giving them the knowledge and skills to make a kitchen garden and start their own business. They were very optimistic about the impact these skills will have on their lives. One of the participants from the first training came, Mary, because she was providing us with soil and manure again for the demonstration. She and I spoke for a while and she told me that her kitchen garden was really doing well and that she was so grateful to me and the other facilitators for helping her overcome the challenges she has faced in adhering to her ARV regimen. It was SO rewarding and touching for me to hear that I had helped t0 empower these women to lead a positive lifestyle. I got really sad when I realized I will be leaving next week and won't be working with this community anymore. However, I will hopefully be able to work with similar communities in the future. This experience has really solidified my interest in working with communities in need and giving them the skills and knowledge to improve their lives (whether it be monetarily or in terms of health).
The wedding was very beautiful and provided some interesting cultural insights for me. It was at the Voyager resort (a VERY swanky resort on the north coast). The venue was on an outside terrace overlooking the indian ocean. I think the most "interesting" part of the whole event was the sermon given by an evangelist pastor. The main point to this sermon was how "it is the duty of the wife to submit to the husband." He literally talked about this for a good 10 minutes. I was just sitting there trying SO hard not to open my mouth in shock. Even more surprising was that the audience (including women) were all nodding their heads and saying "amen." All I could think was "how is women's rights in this country going to progress when female submission to men is embedded in the culture and the religion and the women themselves accept it?!" It was definitely a shocking and eye opening experience. Other than that, the wedding was pretty normal (except for a handful of mzungus-white tourists- who walked into the wedding to take pictures of the "Africans getting married." One guy was sitting on his balcony with a huge camera taking pictures. I was SO mortified and embarrassed for them..how rude!!!!). There were some traditions which were carried out. The bride and groom fed their in-laws cake (they cut the cake before dinner here), and Mama Irene gave them two ropes to represent the two cows she bought for them, which are currently in Kisii (up country).
All in all, it was a really fun and great wedding, with some interesting cultural insights. I felt so honored that they included me in the celebration (and even the family photo!). I'm really going to miss the Gitaas so much when I come home. But thankfully there is internet so i can still keep in touch.
Well, I best be off. I hope everyone is well!! Can't wait to see you all SO SOON!!!!!!
oxoxoxo Anna
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Gedi Ruins: A mystical and serene sanctuary in the midst of chaos
Sorry I haven't been able to update my blog recently. My laptop of 5.5 years is on the verge of death...the end of an era. So I write this message in a lovely air-conditioned cyber cafe in downtown Mombasa. The past two weeks have been the most frustrating and stressful weeks I've had here so far. I have definitely faced some challenges at work (which I will go into further detail in a less public forum for those interested). But I have FINALLY succeeded in planning the second kitchen garden training, which will (hopefully) take place tomorrow (Friday) morning.
Last weekend I was able to visit the Gedi ruins, north of Mombasa. I went by myself, which I was a little hesitant about at first (traveling by myself can be kinda annoying---kenyan men), but it ended up being a great decision. The Gedi ruins are a fairly in-tact Swahili settlement from the 14th century or so. What is particularly interesting about these ruins, despite the amazing architecture (and that all the buildings were constructed out of coral), is that there are no historical records of the people who lived there. This is particularly surprising because it was a very developed or "civilized" town with a huge palace and numerous mosques, not to mention the fact that there is a great deal of evidence that the people who lived there traded with China, Islam and Europe (there were many bowls and plates made in China and Islam, coins from both of those places and there were Venician beads). The Gedi ruins are located in the middle of a forest, which made it especially mystical. There weren't many other visitors there so there were many times where it was just me, the ruins, the butterflies and the monkeys. It was SO serene and SO peaceful. The perfect ante dote to my incredibly stressful week. I will upload pictures of the ruins when I get home and fix my computer.
Today (Thursday) I went to a conference on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Policy and Medical Practices in Kenya. It was such an informative and inspirational event. We heard speakers from legal institutions, medical institutions, chiefs and the police. It was really interesting to hear all the different points of view on the issue. They are trying to combine forces so the Medical, Legal and Cultural institutions in Kenya can work together to address the needs of survivors of SGBV and prevent future assaults. It was a really great experience and was so nice to be surrounded by really thoughtful, articulate and educated people.
Well, I best be off. I need to go home and hang out with the family. Oh, also tomorrow after my training my host brother is getting married, so I have to go to the wedding (which I SUPER excited about). The whole family is staying at our house for the weekend (except for one sister who is finishing up finals in the U.S., but she'll come next week). Irene is one of 7 kids so this means that there are 5 of her siblings staying at our house and five kids. Two of the kids are from the U.S. (a 14 year old girl and a 9 year old boy), which is funny because they sound "American" and don't speak any Swahili. Someone like meeee! There is also an adorable 2 year old boy and the 4 year old boy Kelvin, who I have a picture of on my facebook, and a 13 year old girl who I briefly met this morning at 6am but didn't get to hang out with for very long because I had to go to the conference. This brings the term "full house" to a whole new level for me. But so far it has been really fun! Hopefully I'll be able to fill you all in on how the training and wedding go before I come home.
Hope everyone is doing well! I can't believe I will be home in a little over a week!! CRAZINESS!! But I can't wait to see you all :)
Much love,
Anna
Last weekend I was able to visit the Gedi ruins, north of Mombasa. I went by myself, which I was a little hesitant about at first (traveling by myself can be kinda annoying---kenyan men), but it ended up being a great decision. The Gedi ruins are a fairly in-tact Swahili settlement from the 14th century or so. What is particularly interesting about these ruins, despite the amazing architecture (and that all the buildings were constructed out of coral), is that there are no historical records of the people who lived there. This is particularly surprising because it was a very developed or "civilized" town with a huge palace and numerous mosques, not to mention the fact that there is a great deal of evidence that the people who lived there traded with China, Islam and Europe (there were many bowls and plates made in China and Islam, coins from both of those places and there were Venician beads). The Gedi ruins are located in the middle of a forest, which made it especially mystical. There weren't many other visitors there so there were many times where it was just me, the ruins, the butterflies and the monkeys. It was SO serene and SO peaceful. The perfect ante dote to my incredibly stressful week. I will upload pictures of the ruins when I get home and fix my computer.
Today (Thursday) I went to a conference on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Policy and Medical Practices in Kenya. It was such an informative and inspirational event. We heard speakers from legal institutions, medical institutions, chiefs and the police. It was really interesting to hear all the different points of view on the issue. They are trying to combine forces so the Medical, Legal and Cultural institutions in Kenya can work together to address the needs of survivors of SGBV and prevent future assaults. It was a really great experience and was so nice to be surrounded by really thoughtful, articulate and educated people.
Well, I best be off. I need to go home and hang out with the family. Oh, also tomorrow after my training my host brother is getting married, so I have to go to the wedding (which I SUPER excited about). The whole family is staying at our house for the weekend (except for one sister who is finishing up finals in the U.S., but she'll come next week). Irene is one of 7 kids so this means that there are 5 of her siblings staying at our house and five kids. Two of the kids are from the U.S. (a 14 year old girl and a 9 year old boy), which is funny because they sound "American" and don't speak any Swahili. Someone like meeee! There is also an adorable 2 year old boy and the 4 year old boy Kelvin, who I have a picture of on my facebook, and a 13 year old girl who I briefly met this morning at 6am but didn't get to hang out with for very long because I had to go to the conference. This brings the term "full house" to a whole new level for me. But so far it has been really fun! Hopefully I'll be able to fill you all in on how the training and wedding go before I come home.
Hope everyone is doing well! I can't believe I will be home in a little over a week!! CRAZINESS!! But I can't wait to see you all :)
Much love,
Anna
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thanksgiving in Paradise
First of all, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I am SO incredibly thankful for all my family and friends who have supported me throughout my life and during my time in Kenya. I honestly wouldn’t be where I am today without all the care, love, inspiration and support you all provide me on a daily basis. THANK YOU!!
My thanksgiving was really fun. Of course, I missed everyone at home, but it was nice to celebrate the holiday with my Kenyan “family” (all the volunteers and friends I’ve made here). Mary had a bunch of us over for dinner at her adorable apartment in Old Town. We didn’t have a Turkey because a) they are expensive here and we don’t have that chapaa (dough) and b) No one in Kenya has an oven, unless you’re really wealthy….so none of us do. But not to worry, I had a “bird experience” the night before thanksgiving that made up for us not having a turkey at thanksgiving. On Wednesday I had to make dinner for my family because my host sister was held up in town. She had me get a whole chicken, which I had to tear apart with my own hands (breaking bones and manhandling the meat). The worst part was that the guts and the heart were still all inside (they’re usually cleaned at home). It was definitely an “interesting,” and slightly disturbing experience. But it definitely gave me a similar experience to preparing the turkey.
Instead of Turkey, the guys made steak for Thanksgiving. I made a “bomb-ass” salad with fresh lettuce, tangerines, walnuts and blue cheese (it was pretty amazing), Sasha made some really yummy candied yams, Mary made garlic mashed potatoes and Amanda brought Kenyan pancakes with bananas and chocolate sauce for desert. It was all very yummy. Kati (the woman I may work for if I come back here) came with her kids, which was really awesome. She is SO cool, and both her kids are very eloquent and outgoing even though they are only 10 and 12. Mary also invited some of her other volunteer friends, which she has met during her year here, who were also very cool. Overall, it was a great success and tons of fun!
The day after Thanksgiving, Amanda, Sasha and I went down south to Wasini Island. Wasini is just off the coast of Kenya, about 1.5 hours from Mombasa. We had a pretty intense matatu ride there, but got there safe and sound. At one point there were 27 people crammed into a 12 person van. It was VERY smelly, very crowded and there were about 4 people hanging out the door…we just all laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. The matatu was also pretty rickety and the last 30 mins (although it seemed longer) was on a dirt road. There were many points when we thought the matatu was just going to burst apart…but it didn’t ☺. We had a really nice matatu conductor that told us all about Wasini and where we should go and what we should see. As life would have it, it turned out that his cousin was the main captain for the only hotel on the island (which we were staying at). The captain, Ali, met us at the matatu stop with some of his crew and kinda took us under his wing and showed us around. We were a little hesitant at first because past experiences have showed us that when Kenyan men try to show us around they either want money or us. But we soon realized that they just wanted to be kind and helpful. There are apparently a lot of volunteers from America on Wasini who work with the coral reef and dolphins, and Ali and his crew were friends with all of them. So they were used to hanging out with people like us. Ali gave us a free ride to the island with the locals (a ride that usually costs 1,000KSH ($13.50 USD)) and gave us a tour of the island. Wasini is a coral Island (i.e. the entire island was formed by coral) so there is a coral garden—this means that there are beautiful formations of coral (almost sculpture like) in the middle of the island. During the full moon, the water from the ocean comes into the coral garden and surrounds the coral sculptures. There was also a mangrove forest, which was cool to see. There are only 2,000 people that live on Wasini. They are all Muslim and they are all related. When Ali said that the people on Wasini were all a big family, we just thought they were a really close community. But then we found out that they all marry their cousins…so they really are one big family!
After dinner we hung out with Ali and some of the other crewmembers (Babu, Mr. Cool and Finger) at the hostel. They were all chewing miraa (a local plant that most men chew, which has the same affect as coffee) and we just talked about plans for the next day and what life was like in Wasini.
In the morning we woke up at 6am and went back to Shimoni to meet the other members of the snorkeling group that Ali placed us with (to make it cheaper). The trip to the Marine Reserve was amazing!! We saw 5 dolphins that came right up to our boat and beautiful views of the coast. The snorkeling was incredible. We swam in one of the most preserved coral reefs in the world. The fish were literally surrounding us and they were all so beautiful and colorful. I saw so many fish that I never new existed. It was like swimming in the new Academy of Sciences aquarium, except WAY better because it was in the beautiful Indian Ocean. After snorkeling the other members of the group were taken to a fancy lunch at the hotel we were staying at. But the meal cost something like 900KSH and we just didn’t have the money to afford that. We told Ali about our budget the night before and he mentioned off hand that we could just have lunch at his house. We thought he was just being nice and didn’t think much of it. So we just went back to our room, packed up our bags and sat down to have some fruit and crackers. But before we could start Babu was outside our balcony asking us if we were ready to go to Ali’s for lunch. We were so surprised!! We were completely welcomed into their home and had a lovely lunch of Pilau (a traditional Swahili dish of seasoned rice with pieces of beef and tomatoes) with Babu. We were all just so taken aback by the kindness and hospitality of the people we met on Wasini. AND none of the guys made any comments about our looks and none of them asked us to marry them or to go out with them. They just wanted to be friendly. It made me feel so warm and happy inside that there are people in the world who are truly just kind, with no strings attached. The guys we met in Wasini were definitely some of the kindest people I have met in my entire life. I’m not even exaggerating here. This kind of thing would NEVER have happened in the US.
So that was my Thanksgiving weekend. It was a ton of fun! I will definitely always remember the Thanksgiving I spent in Kenya. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too!! I look forward to hearing all about your holiday festivities ☺
Oxoxox Anna
My thanksgiving was really fun. Of course, I missed everyone at home, but it was nice to celebrate the holiday with my Kenyan “family” (all the volunteers and friends I’ve made here). Mary had a bunch of us over for dinner at her adorable apartment in Old Town. We didn’t have a Turkey because a) they are expensive here and we don’t have that chapaa (dough) and b) No one in Kenya has an oven, unless you’re really wealthy….so none of us do. But not to worry, I had a “bird experience” the night before thanksgiving that made up for us not having a turkey at thanksgiving. On Wednesday I had to make dinner for my family because my host sister was held up in town. She had me get a whole chicken, which I had to tear apart with my own hands (breaking bones and manhandling the meat). The worst part was that the guts and the heart were still all inside (they’re usually cleaned at home). It was definitely an “interesting,” and slightly disturbing experience. But it definitely gave me a similar experience to preparing the turkey.
Instead of Turkey, the guys made steak for Thanksgiving. I made a “bomb-ass” salad with fresh lettuce, tangerines, walnuts and blue cheese (it was pretty amazing), Sasha made some really yummy candied yams, Mary made garlic mashed potatoes and Amanda brought Kenyan pancakes with bananas and chocolate sauce for desert. It was all very yummy. Kati (the woman I may work for if I come back here) came with her kids, which was really awesome. She is SO cool, and both her kids are very eloquent and outgoing even though they are only 10 and 12. Mary also invited some of her other volunteer friends, which she has met during her year here, who were also very cool. Overall, it was a great success and tons of fun!
The day after Thanksgiving, Amanda, Sasha and I went down south to Wasini Island. Wasini is just off the coast of Kenya, about 1.5 hours from Mombasa. We had a pretty intense matatu ride there, but got there safe and sound. At one point there were 27 people crammed into a 12 person van. It was VERY smelly, very crowded and there were about 4 people hanging out the door…we just all laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. The matatu was also pretty rickety and the last 30 mins (although it seemed longer) was on a dirt road. There were many points when we thought the matatu was just going to burst apart…but it didn’t ☺. We had a really nice matatu conductor that told us all about Wasini and where we should go and what we should see. As life would have it, it turned out that his cousin was the main captain for the only hotel on the island (which we were staying at). The captain, Ali, met us at the matatu stop with some of his crew and kinda took us under his wing and showed us around. We were a little hesitant at first because past experiences have showed us that when Kenyan men try to show us around they either want money or us. But we soon realized that they just wanted to be kind and helpful. There are apparently a lot of volunteers from America on Wasini who work with the coral reef and dolphins, and Ali and his crew were friends with all of them. So they were used to hanging out with people like us. Ali gave us a free ride to the island with the locals (a ride that usually costs 1,000KSH ($13.50 USD)) and gave us a tour of the island. Wasini is a coral Island (i.e. the entire island was formed by coral) so there is a coral garden—this means that there are beautiful formations of coral (almost sculpture like) in the middle of the island. During the full moon, the water from the ocean comes into the coral garden and surrounds the coral sculptures. There was also a mangrove forest, which was cool to see. There are only 2,000 people that live on Wasini. They are all Muslim and they are all related. When Ali said that the people on Wasini were all a big family, we just thought they were a really close community. But then we found out that they all marry their cousins…so they really are one big family!
After dinner we hung out with Ali and some of the other crewmembers (Babu, Mr. Cool and Finger) at the hostel. They were all chewing miraa (a local plant that most men chew, which has the same affect as coffee) and we just talked about plans for the next day and what life was like in Wasini.
In the morning we woke up at 6am and went back to Shimoni to meet the other members of the snorkeling group that Ali placed us with (to make it cheaper). The trip to the Marine Reserve was amazing!! We saw 5 dolphins that came right up to our boat and beautiful views of the coast. The snorkeling was incredible. We swam in one of the most preserved coral reefs in the world. The fish were literally surrounding us and they were all so beautiful and colorful. I saw so many fish that I never new existed. It was like swimming in the new Academy of Sciences aquarium, except WAY better because it was in the beautiful Indian Ocean. After snorkeling the other members of the group were taken to a fancy lunch at the hotel we were staying at. But the meal cost something like 900KSH and we just didn’t have the money to afford that. We told Ali about our budget the night before and he mentioned off hand that we could just have lunch at his house. We thought he was just being nice and didn’t think much of it. So we just went back to our room, packed up our bags and sat down to have some fruit and crackers. But before we could start Babu was outside our balcony asking us if we were ready to go to Ali’s for lunch. We were so surprised!! We were completely welcomed into their home and had a lovely lunch of Pilau (a traditional Swahili dish of seasoned rice with pieces of beef and tomatoes) with Babu. We were all just so taken aback by the kindness and hospitality of the people we met on Wasini. AND none of the guys made any comments about our looks and none of them asked us to marry them or to go out with them. They just wanted to be friendly. It made me feel so warm and happy inside that there are people in the world who are truly just kind, with no strings attached. The guys we met in Wasini were definitely some of the kindest people I have met in my entire life. I’m not even exaggerating here. This kind of thing would NEVER have happened in the US.
So that was my Thanksgiving weekend. It was a ton of fun! I will definitely always remember the Thanksgiving I spent in Kenya. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too!! I look forward to hearing all about your holiday festivities ☺
Oxoxox Anna
Sunday, November 22, 2009
“A Sack of Hope”
Although the title of this blog entry is pretty cheesy, it really does describe my kitchen/balcony garden project and what it means to the PLWHA community that my organization is working with. This past Tuesday and Friday we held our training sessions with the first group of participants. Tuesday was the “theory” part of the training. The representative from LICODEP, named Mwasina, gave a very thorough and informative talk about how to start and manage a micro-enterprise (it was all in Swahili, but I looked at my co-workers notes, which were in English, afterwards). Then we had an AMAZING representative from the Ministry of Agriculture, Tabitha, come in and do a tutorial on the logistics of kitchen and balcony gardening. It was really useful and I actually learned a lot from the talk too. She covered the technical and theoretical foundations of kitchen/balcony gardening (like what plants you can grow, why it’s sustainable, the materials you need to make a kitchen or a balcony garden and how to construct them). Apparently, there are many different names for this kind of home gardening. In Kenya there is a distinction between “Kitchen” gardening and “Balcony” gardening, which I didn’t know. So a “Kitchen garden” is like a mini farm on a plot of land right near the homestead and a source of water. I think some of us might even have something like a kitchen garden in our back/front yards back home (my grandparent’s vegetable garden in San Mateo comes to mind). But many of the participants don’t have the money to acquire that extra amount of land (which made me wonder why she even covered it…but in the long run, I think it was best that she introduced it just in case someone happened to have a little land they could spare), and so then she introduced “Balcony gardens.” These are the sack gardens I was talking about earlier (apparently, their official name is “balcony gardens”). Tabitha gave a nice explanation about why this form of gardening is a great alternative for people who don’t have any extra land and don’t have access to much water. After a quick break a representative from Equity Bank, Joseph, came and gave his talk on Equity Bank’s micro-loan programs and how they expect their members to manage their groups and payments. It was very interesting to get a short tutorial about the logistics of micro-finance. Before this training I had a basic understanding of how micro-finance programs worked, but it was really great to get a more detailed definition. Joseph also kindly typed up an outline of his talk in English for me so I could follow along, which was very helpful ☺
On Friday we met up with the participants at the Ministry of Agriculture’s district head quarters (which are apparently in the Likoni town center, right near the Hospital, and NOT in Dogokunda – which is in the middle of NOWHERE). We went across the street to pick and buy seedlings for the participants to put in their balcony gardens. Friday’s experience really reminded me how much of a city girl I really am. I thought a seedling was just a seed that had only sprouted a little bit, but apparently seedlings are pretty well grown plants that you just uproot. Some of you reading this right now must be laughing at my ignorance, but hey, I’m still learning here folks. However, I will admit that I was kind of shocked and embarrassed that I didn’t know what a seedling was (especially because I had done the research on kitchen gardens, but there were just no pictures or a description of what a seedling was exactly). Oh well, we live and we learn.
After collecting and purchasing the seedlings we went to the house of one of the participants, Mart, to do the demonstration. At the training on Tuesday, Mary had volunteered to get some soil, manure and gravel for the demonstration. I don’t know if I mentioned this in earlier blogs, but apparently in Kenya, people don’t buy soil or manure or gravel. You just kind of take it from anywhere. When I first heard this, I was totally shocked, especially because I immediately had images of people just going to a neighborhood park and digging a hole to collect soil for their gardens. I think you’d probably be fined or something for that. My co-workers could see that I was shocked and kind of confused and they were like, “Do you have to BUY soil in America?!” And I said, “Yes, of course! Where else would you get it? You can’t just go into someone else’s yard and dig up their soil to use for yourself.” They didn’t understand and just said, “but there is soil everywhere. It is a natural resource, why would you pay for that?” It was a good question because it really made me think about the fundamental differences between America and Kenya (or just the differences between developed and developing nations in general). For me, this conversation highlighted the drastic differences in the infrastructure of developing vs. developed nations. For example, America has the infrastructure in place to support a business for soil, and laws in place, which inhibit people from randomly digging up public property. But in Kenya (and I’m assuming other developing nations), that infrastructure just doesn’t exist. Also, just in general, with the exception of Mombasa city center and Nairobi, most of Kenya is just really underdeveloped as a whole (I’m speaking in terms of land here, but it’s obviously underdeveloped in many other areas as well, unfortunately). Other than main highways, the roads here are all dirt, and from what I can tell, there really isn’t any town/city planning, especially the farther away you get from Mombasa or Nairobi, which means that there are no real laws saying that communities have to “preserve” a certain area or so. Furthermore, the majority of the population here can’t even afford one meal per day, so why would they pay for soil if they could just get it from the side of the road?
Anyways, that was a long tangent, but it was definitely an interesting conversation.
SO…we went to Mary’s house and we constructed a balcony garden. As many of you know, it is one thing to read about something but it is a completely different thing to do it. Having said that, I definitely learned A LOT during the demonstration and realized some logistical adjustments I need to make to my project. So the sacks we used were MUCH bigger than the ones I had seen in the research I did. Fully packed with soil, they come up to my mid waist. Needless to say, they are REALLY heavy. In my grant proposal I said that each participant would make one bag on their own during the demonstration and then we would drive that sack to their houses. Hahahha! There is NO way anyone is picking up one of those sacks after it is made. I think a fully constructed balcony garden probably weighs twice as much as me because there is a ton of soil and a bunch of rocks in there. There is also the challenge of getting enough soil, manure and gravel for each participant to make their own balcony garden during the demonstration. Since you can’t buy soil in Kenya, there is no place where you can get a sufficient amount of soil to fill 15 huge sacks. Therefore, we’ve decided to just to a hands-on demonstration with the participants and do routine check-ins with them at their homes over the course of 6 months. What’s great is that Tabitha was already working with individuals who wanted to start balcony gardens, because promoting this kind of farming is a new initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture. So she’ll be doing most of the checking in with the participants since it’s already part of her job. Yey for community and stakeholder involvement!!
Anyways, on to how we constructed the balcony garden: First we placed the bag in an area outside the house that received some good sunlight. Then we took and empty paint can (the ones you buy when you want to paint a room), with the bottom punched out, and placed it in the center of the bag. We filled the paint can with stones and started packing in soil around the can. We kept adding more soil until it came level with the paint can and then we pulled the paint can up (the rocks stay in place because they are now held there by the soil) and place it on the top of the first layer of rocks and then fill it with some more rocks, pack the soil around and repeated that until we reached the top of the bag. The column of rocks acts as a natural filtration system. Then we cut evenly spaced holes (about the length of a hand apart) into the sides of the sack. Next, we put the seedlings into the holes (roots first of course) and in the soil at the top of the sack. Finally, we just poured water onto the top of the column of rocks in the middle of the sack to water the balcony garden. It was SO satisfying to make it and see the final product. All the participants were really excited about learning how to make these gardens, having access to a sustainable source of nutrition and the potential of some extra income. It was just a really rewarding experience overall.
We’re sensitizing a new group of PLWHAs, who are taking ARVs, on nutrition and ARV adherence next week, so we’ll probably have another training the week after next. I can’t wait!!
Sorry for the novel. I hope everyone is doing well at home! I love you all!!
P.S. There are pictures from the training at the bottom of this blog
Best,
Anna
On Friday we met up with the participants at the Ministry of Agriculture’s district head quarters (which are apparently in the Likoni town center, right near the Hospital, and NOT in Dogokunda – which is in the middle of NOWHERE). We went across the street to pick and buy seedlings for the participants to put in their balcony gardens. Friday’s experience really reminded me how much of a city girl I really am. I thought a seedling was just a seed that had only sprouted a little bit, but apparently seedlings are pretty well grown plants that you just uproot. Some of you reading this right now must be laughing at my ignorance, but hey, I’m still learning here folks. However, I will admit that I was kind of shocked and embarrassed that I didn’t know what a seedling was (especially because I had done the research on kitchen gardens, but there were just no pictures or a description of what a seedling was exactly). Oh well, we live and we learn.
After collecting and purchasing the seedlings we went to the house of one of the participants, Mart, to do the demonstration. At the training on Tuesday, Mary had volunteered to get some soil, manure and gravel for the demonstration. I don’t know if I mentioned this in earlier blogs, but apparently in Kenya, people don’t buy soil or manure or gravel. You just kind of take it from anywhere. When I first heard this, I was totally shocked, especially because I immediately had images of people just going to a neighborhood park and digging a hole to collect soil for their gardens. I think you’d probably be fined or something for that. My co-workers could see that I was shocked and kind of confused and they were like, “Do you have to BUY soil in America?!” And I said, “Yes, of course! Where else would you get it? You can’t just go into someone else’s yard and dig up their soil to use for yourself.” They didn’t understand and just said, “but there is soil everywhere. It is a natural resource, why would you pay for that?” It was a good question because it really made me think about the fundamental differences between America and Kenya (or just the differences between developed and developing nations in general). For me, this conversation highlighted the drastic differences in the infrastructure of developing vs. developed nations. For example, America has the infrastructure in place to support a business for soil, and laws in place, which inhibit people from randomly digging up public property. But in Kenya (and I’m assuming other developing nations), that infrastructure just doesn’t exist. Also, just in general, with the exception of Mombasa city center and Nairobi, most of Kenya is just really underdeveloped as a whole (I’m speaking in terms of land here, but it’s obviously underdeveloped in many other areas as well, unfortunately). Other than main highways, the roads here are all dirt, and from what I can tell, there really isn’t any town/city planning, especially the farther away you get from Mombasa or Nairobi, which means that there are no real laws saying that communities have to “preserve” a certain area or so. Furthermore, the majority of the population here can’t even afford one meal per day, so why would they pay for soil if they could just get it from the side of the road?
Anyways, that was a long tangent, but it was definitely an interesting conversation.
SO…we went to Mary’s house and we constructed a balcony garden. As many of you know, it is one thing to read about something but it is a completely different thing to do it. Having said that, I definitely learned A LOT during the demonstration and realized some logistical adjustments I need to make to my project. So the sacks we used were MUCH bigger than the ones I had seen in the research I did. Fully packed with soil, they come up to my mid waist. Needless to say, they are REALLY heavy. In my grant proposal I said that each participant would make one bag on their own during the demonstration and then we would drive that sack to their houses. Hahahha! There is NO way anyone is picking up one of those sacks after it is made. I think a fully constructed balcony garden probably weighs twice as much as me because there is a ton of soil and a bunch of rocks in there. There is also the challenge of getting enough soil, manure and gravel for each participant to make their own balcony garden during the demonstration. Since you can’t buy soil in Kenya, there is no place where you can get a sufficient amount of soil to fill 15 huge sacks. Therefore, we’ve decided to just to a hands-on demonstration with the participants and do routine check-ins with them at their homes over the course of 6 months. What’s great is that Tabitha was already working with individuals who wanted to start balcony gardens, because promoting this kind of farming is a new initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture. So she’ll be doing most of the checking in with the participants since it’s already part of her job. Yey for community and stakeholder involvement!!
Anyways, on to how we constructed the balcony garden: First we placed the bag in an area outside the house that received some good sunlight. Then we took and empty paint can (the ones you buy when you want to paint a room), with the bottom punched out, and placed it in the center of the bag. We filled the paint can with stones and started packing in soil around the can. We kept adding more soil until it came level with the paint can and then we pulled the paint can up (the rocks stay in place because they are now held there by the soil) and place it on the top of the first layer of rocks and then fill it with some more rocks, pack the soil around and repeated that until we reached the top of the bag. The column of rocks acts as a natural filtration system. Then we cut evenly spaced holes (about the length of a hand apart) into the sides of the sack. Next, we put the seedlings into the holes (roots first of course) and in the soil at the top of the sack. Finally, we just poured water onto the top of the column of rocks in the middle of the sack to water the balcony garden. It was SO satisfying to make it and see the final product. All the participants were really excited about learning how to make these gardens, having access to a sustainable source of nutrition and the potential of some extra income. It was just a really rewarding experience overall.
We’re sensitizing a new group of PLWHAs, who are taking ARVs, on nutrition and ARV adherence next week, so we’ll probably have another training the week after next. I can’t wait!!
Sorry for the novel. I hope everyone is doing well at home! I love you all!!
P.S. There are pictures from the training at the bottom of this blog
Best,
Anna
Monday, November 16, 2009
Nzuri Sana
Last week was very interesting and exciting. It started with a trip to the Ashton Apparel Factory on Monday. As I mentioned earlier in this blog, Wal-Mart is a big funder of Hope Worldwide. When I first saw this I was VERY skeptical. But I have learned, in my time here, that Wal-Mart’s involvement with Hope Worldwide is in response to the bad publicity they got a few years back for treating their employees horribly. Hope Worldwide has an HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness program with the people who work in Ashton Apparel Factory- a factory that supplies clothing for Wal-Mart (and Jones of New York). HWW also provides vocational training (computer classes and dress making classes) for the factory workers and their dependents. I went with one of my co-workers, Kameri, to drop off some forms from one of the computer classes, at the factory. I met the manager of the factory and was given a full tour. It was really intense. The security was really high, we had to tell the guard why we were there, who we were there to see and then he had to confirm it with that person before he could let us in. We were led through the main factory floor (which was packed with tons of people and machines) and walked up some stairs to the manager’s office, overlooking the entire factory. It was like something out of a movie. The manager was Indian and was very welcoming to me, but all I could think about was how corrupt he was. The workers are treated VERY poorly at Ashton (even though the conditions have improved over the past few years). The factory workers are paid on an individual and group “target” basis. If they don’t meet their target number of garments in a day then they won’t be paid their full wages (which aren’t even enough to support them…most workers have other jobs on the side to just get by). This means that they have to work non-stop until their break or the end of their shift (apparently shifts are a new thing- until about a year ago, Ashton employees worked all day). I have never been in a factory before and it was a very eye-opening experience. There were so many people (1,800) working in the building, with only inches of workspace. Everything was just so crowded, hot and cramped. I have always been relatively aware of where my clothes come from, but this took it to a whole other level. I think it was really good for me to see. The sad thing is that Ashton may be one of the better factories because they were happy to give me a tour. I’m sure other factories would not be so happy to show me around…which is a scary thought because what I saw was already pretty distressing.
The rest of my week was pretty normal, but Friday was awesome. I went to work, as usual, did some small things and then went into town so I could run a few errands. I was going to meet Amanda in town around 3pm so we could go to the Kangaweya market on the North Coast. I had some time to kill so I went to Dorman’s coffee shop and had a nice cold drink and started reading my book. Then I noticed that Dr. Catherine Maternowska (aka. Kati) was passing my table, so I said hi and we began talking. A little background on who Kati is: When I was working at UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, my boss put me in touch with Kati because she was doing work in Mombasa. Those of you who read the New York Times magazine about women’s rights work in the developing world may recognize her name because she wrote an article about female sex workers who work with truckers in Zambia. So, I shot her an email, not expecting much because she’s a pretty big deal, but to my surprise she responded within a day. We realized that we were connected in another way: Mary, one of the FSD site team members, also works with her. So anyways, long story short, we have been meaning to meet up and talk about the work she does here. We got that chance on Friday and spoke for about an hour. It was SO interesting. Apparently her mentor was Paul Farmer (!!!) and she lived and worked in Haiti for something like 7 years. She’s currently doing work on sexual and gender-based violence. I learned a lot from speaking with her and was greatly inspired.
Moments after she left, Mary (from FSD) walked by and we started chatting. She told me that my project (which I submitted the grant proposal for) received full funding from FSD!! This made me SO happy especially because a) My project was the only project from the Mombasa interns to be funded and b) I was competing with all the other FSD interns around the world for the prize money. It made me really happy to hear the news and really encouraged me. We are holding the training session tomorrow, and I will write soon to let you all know how it goes.
This weekend I went on safari with Amanda and Graham. It was a lot of fun. We saw a ton of elephants, a lion and a lioness, water buffalo, zebras and many other animals. I was kinda disappointed because we only saw 2 giraffes (and they were really far away). But Graham and I are going to Haller Park in a few weeks and apparently there are a lot of giraffes there.
Anyways, that’s what I’ve been up to. I best get to bed though to rest up for the busy day ahead. Hope everyone is doing well!!
Oxoxo Anna
The rest of my week was pretty normal, but Friday was awesome. I went to work, as usual, did some small things and then went into town so I could run a few errands. I was going to meet Amanda in town around 3pm so we could go to the Kangaweya market on the North Coast. I had some time to kill so I went to Dorman’s coffee shop and had a nice cold drink and started reading my book. Then I noticed that Dr. Catherine Maternowska (aka. Kati) was passing my table, so I said hi and we began talking. A little background on who Kati is: When I was working at UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, my boss put me in touch with Kati because she was doing work in Mombasa. Those of you who read the New York Times magazine about women’s rights work in the developing world may recognize her name because she wrote an article about female sex workers who work with truckers in Zambia. So, I shot her an email, not expecting much because she’s a pretty big deal, but to my surprise she responded within a day. We realized that we were connected in another way: Mary, one of the FSD site team members, also works with her. So anyways, long story short, we have been meaning to meet up and talk about the work she does here. We got that chance on Friday and spoke for about an hour. It was SO interesting. Apparently her mentor was Paul Farmer (!!!) and she lived and worked in Haiti for something like 7 years. She’s currently doing work on sexual and gender-based violence. I learned a lot from speaking with her and was greatly inspired.
Moments after she left, Mary (from FSD) walked by and we started chatting. She told me that my project (which I submitted the grant proposal for) received full funding from FSD!! This made me SO happy especially because a) My project was the only project from the Mombasa interns to be funded and b) I was competing with all the other FSD interns around the world for the prize money. It made me really happy to hear the news and really encouraged me. We are holding the training session tomorrow, and I will write soon to let you all know how it goes.
This weekend I went on safari with Amanda and Graham. It was a lot of fun. We saw a ton of elephants, a lion and a lioness, water buffalo, zebras and many other animals. I was kinda disappointed because we only saw 2 giraffes (and they were really far away). But Graham and I are going to Haller Park in a few weeks and apparently there are a lot of giraffes there.
Anyways, that’s what I’ve been up to. I best get to bed though to rest up for the busy day ahead. Hope everyone is doing well!!
Oxoxo Anna
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sea Shells and Kitchen Gardens….
I just returned from a lovely weekend at Diani beach (south coast of Mombasa). I went with all the other interns and one of the members of the site team, Mary. Mary is AWESOME. She is from Michigan and is a former FSD intern. She actually works with a researcher I met through one of my colleagues at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention. She is just really tight and it was great to have her with us.
This weekend was essentially our “mid-term retreat.” I can’t believe I’m already half way through my time here! While there have been some challenges, on the whole I really do love it here and I’m beginning to realize how much I’ll miss it. I’m just trying not to think about that though and really see my limited time as a motivation to do all that I wanted to do while I was here…this includes stuff with my work, but also some touristy things.
The beach was literally THE MOST beautiful beach I’ve been to in my life (even more so than the one I said was the most beautiful beach in my first blog). The sand was SO soft and so white. The water was really clear, warm and actually turquoise. This morning, Amanda, Sasha and I swam and walked up the coast for a while. It was really fun (we also saw, and petted, some camels). The only downside about these beaches is that there are SO many “beach boys” around. They come up to any white person and ask if they can take them out for a ride on their boat, sell them some stuff or, with white women, if they can “talk to you” and “kiss you.” It’s really actually pretty annoying. But I’m getting really good at showing no interest and getting annoying men to stop bothering me (I’ve had a lot of practice here).
But other than that, which wasn’t even that big of a deal, the weekend was AMAZING. We stayed in a beautiful cottage and were able to cook our own food, which as incredible and very needed. I never thought I’d be so excited about things like cereal, deli meat sandwiches and pasta. Pretty crazy. But it was nice to have something from home. Another really fun thing was that Amanda, Sasha and I all got hour-long massages on the beach for only 500 Ksh (+/- $6.50). Our site team manager recommended the woman and she was really great.
So all in all, I had a very relaxing and fun weekend. I have to say I really think we all deserved it. What with the new challenges we face each day, adjusting to a new culture and way of life and working. Last week was particularly busy/ mildly stressful because I was working on my Grant Proposal, which I submitted on Friday. It was a wonderful experience to work on it. I really learned a lot and I am VERY excited about my project.
I am working with the PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) population in Likoni (a town just south of Mombasa). The Ministry of Health in Likoni approached Hope Worldwide to see if we could help address the problem of PLWHAs not adhering to their drug regimens (Anti-retroviral therapy- ART). Kenya has offered free ARVs (anti-retrovirals) since 2005. So these people have access to the medication, but there are major disparities that exist, which inhibit PLWHAs from adhering to their medications. It is very important that PLWHAs adhere to their ART because not only does it suppress the virus and make them healthier, if they take it irregularly or stop and start again, it can create resistant viral strains and give them limited treatment options in the future. So through a needs assessment, held in mid-October, with the Ministry of Likoni, Hope Worldwide and members of the PLWHA community in Likoni some barriers in adhering to the treatment were identified. The most common reason for not adhering to ART was poverty, specifically the inability to afford enough food. Most of the PLWHAs in Likoni are unemployed and because of this they don’t have the income to support a nutritious diet of three meals a day. Oftentimes, these people eat one meal a day consisting of only ugali (the carb substance eaten here).
It is important for PLWHAs on ARVs to have a nutritious and substantial diet because if they don’t eat enough, not only will their bodies not have enough energy to support their immune system, which is already failing, they feel really sick whenever they take their meds. If someone can’t afford food, but are taking their ARVs, the only way to stop feeling incredibly sick all the time is to just stop taking their meds.
To address this problem, my supervisor and I spoke with the PLWHA population about the different options they had to overcome this barrier (income generating activities, farming etc.). What we came up with was holding training sessions with PLWHAs to endow them with the skills, tools and knowledge of how to grow a kitchen garden and eventually start a small business selling them in the market.
Kitchen gardens are a relatively new idea. It is probably one of the most sustainable ways to grow plants. It allows people who don’t have access to land or much water to grow up to 20-50 plants. Kitchen gardens are made from sacks, which can be found locally at very little cost. Holes are first punched about 2 cm in diameter and at a spacing of 0.25 m-3.0 m starting about 0.15 m from the bottom. The bag is filled with soil and a watering shaft is created in the soil by placing three posts at the centre of the bag, then packing the space in between with gravel and straw. Vegetable seedlings such as kales, tomato and, spinach are planted through the holes as well as at the top of the bag. To water the plants, you can just use wastewater from the kitchen.
While the PLWHAs and their families will not rely on the vegetables alone to feed themselves, it will offer them a reliable and important addition to their food rations and starches.
I am very optimistic about this project and I’m excited to see how it will turn out. But as for right now, I must sign off because I’ve already written a novel and I need to go to bed soon.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the first weeks of November.
Much Love,
Anna
This weekend was essentially our “mid-term retreat.” I can’t believe I’m already half way through my time here! While there have been some challenges, on the whole I really do love it here and I’m beginning to realize how much I’ll miss it. I’m just trying not to think about that though and really see my limited time as a motivation to do all that I wanted to do while I was here…this includes stuff with my work, but also some touristy things.
The beach was literally THE MOST beautiful beach I’ve been to in my life (even more so than the one I said was the most beautiful beach in my first blog). The sand was SO soft and so white. The water was really clear, warm and actually turquoise. This morning, Amanda, Sasha and I swam and walked up the coast for a while. It was really fun (we also saw, and petted, some camels). The only downside about these beaches is that there are SO many “beach boys” around. They come up to any white person and ask if they can take them out for a ride on their boat, sell them some stuff or, with white women, if they can “talk to you” and “kiss you.” It’s really actually pretty annoying. But I’m getting really good at showing no interest and getting annoying men to stop bothering me (I’ve had a lot of practice here).
But other than that, which wasn’t even that big of a deal, the weekend was AMAZING. We stayed in a beautiful cottage and were able to cook our own food, which as incredible and very needed. I never thought I’d be so excited about things like cereal, deli meat sandwiches and pasta. Pretty crazy. But it was nice to have something from home. Another really fun thing was that Amanda, Sasha and I all got hour-long massages on the beach for only 500 Ksh (+/- $6.50). Our site team manager recommended the woman and she was really great.
So all in all, I had a very relaxing and fun weekend. I have to say I really think we all deserved it. What with the new challenges we face each day, adjusting to a new culture and way of life and working. Last week was particularly busy/ mildly stressful because I was working on my Grant Proposal, which I submitted on Friday. It was a wonderful experience to work on it. I really learned a lot and I am VERY excited about my project.
I am working with the PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) population in Likoni (a town just south of Mombasa). The Ministry of Health in Likoni approached Hope Worldwide to see if we could help address the problem of PLWHAs not adhering to their drug regimens (Anti-retroviral therapy- ART). Kenya has offered free ARVs (anti-retrovirals) since 2005. So these people have access to the medication, but there are major disparities that exist, which inhibit PLWHAs from adhering to their medications. It is very important that PLWHAs adhere to their ART because not only does it suppress the virus and make them healthier, if they take it irregularly or stop and start again, it can create resistant viral strains and give them limited treatment options in the future. So through a needs assessment, held in mid-October, with the Ministry of Likoni, Hope Worldwide and members of the PLWHA community in Likoni some barriers in adhering to the treatment were identified. The most common reason for not adhering to ART was poverty, specifically the inability to afford enough food. Most of the PLWHAs in Likoni are unemployed and because of this they don’t have the income to support a nutritious diet of three meals a day. Oftentimes, these people eat one meal a day consisting of only ugali (the carb substance eaten here).
It is important for PLWHAs on ARVs to have a nutritious and substantial diet because if they don’t eat enough, not only will their bodies not have enough energy to support their immune system, which is already failing, they feel really sick whenever they take their meds. If someone can’t afford food, but are taking their ARVs, the only way to stop feeling incredibly sick all the time is to just stop taking their meds.
To address this problem, my supervisor and I spoke with the PLWHA population about the different options they had to overcome this barrier (income generating activities, farming etc.). What we came up with was holding training sessions with PLWHAs to endow them with the skills, tools and knowledge of how to grow a kitchen garden and eventually start a small business selling them in the market.
Kitchen gardens are a relatively new idea. It is probably one of the most sustainable ways to grow plants. It allows people who don’t have access to land or much water to grow up to 20-50 plants. Kitchen gardens are made from sacks, which can be found locally at very little cost. Holes are first punched about 2 cm in diameter and at a spacing of 0.25 m-3.0 m starting about 0.15 m from the bottom. The bag is filled with soil and a watering shaft is created in the soil by placing three posts at the centre of the bag, then packing the space in between with gravel and straw. Vegetable seedlings such as kales, tomato and, spinach are planted through the holes as well as at the top of the bag. To water the plants, you can just use wastewater from the kitchen.
While the PLWHAs and their families will not rely on the vegetables alone to feed themselves, it will offer them a reliable and important addition to their food rations and starches.
I am very optimistic about this project and I’m excited to see how it will turn out. But as for right now, I must sign off because I’ve already written a novel and I need to go to bed soon.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the first weeks of November.
Much Love,
Anna
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Reflection on the values and beliefs of different cultures
Last week illuminated some very interesting and shocking values and beliefs that exist in Kenya. There was a huge scandal in the national news (and throughout the country) because two Kenyan men were married in the UK. I have never experienced such incredible homophobia. I was immediately reminded of what a bubble I’ve been living in, in the bay area. People were going crazy because of these men. What was the most shocking was that even people who I have become close to expressed some very disrespectful and hateful views about homosexuals. My supervisor at work (which is a faith-based NGO - mainly Christian, with some Muslims) actually sent an email to everyone at work entitled “REPENT” and went on to say, “REPENT! The world is coming to an end. This is bad. Jesus needs to come back NOW!” Attached were photos from the marriage between the two Kenyan men in the UK. I was absolutely shocked and incredibly offended. It was especially surprising that it came from my supervisor, because I’m close to him and he’s an authority figure, but most of all because Hope Worldwide Kenya says it does work with the MSM (men who have sex with men) population. I haven’t seen them making an effort to get in touch with the homosexual population…and now I understand why.
After reading the email, I immediately deleted it while exclaiming (aloud), “I don’t agree with this.” When asked why by my friends, I began to explain why I believed in homosexual rights…especially the right to wed. They were shocked that homosexuals were able to marry in some states. But what really caught me was that when I was trying to explain the way I thought about these issues I found myself constantly explaining that my views were not very representative of America as a whole. That was a very humbling experience, and it really inspired me to continue my research on stigmatization of the homosexual community in the US. It is very different to read about people in the US (or around the world) who strongly disagree with homosexuals and think they should be “punished,” but it is an entirely different thing to have friends that say that. It makes it WAY more personal, and I think this experience really made me realize that those people, who are incredibly homophobic, really do exist—they aren’t just random people who are in the news, documentaries and movies. I know it sounds really nieve to say…I do understand that homophobia exists (that’s why I did my honors thesis on it), but I guess I didn’t really understand to what extent. One of my friend’s host sister even said that if her son was homosexual she would kill him…she was completely serious. Wow.
So that was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. On a similar note, the past few weeks have been the first time, in my life, that I’ve really had a full conversation with very devout Christians about their beliefs(homosexuals obviously made it into those discussions). One of the more interesting conversations actually grew out of that homophobic email my boss sent me. I asked my friend if people really thought the world was coming to an end because people from the same sex were falling in love, having sex and getting married. She said “Yes!” like I was crazy to be even asking such a question…like she was asking “you don’t?!” When I asked why her explanation was as follows: “Because the bible prophesizes that when people start behaving badly and ‘against god’s will’ and when there are devastating diseases such as HIV/AIDS the world will come to an end.” When I asked her why the world didn’t stop earlier she said: “There were never homosexuals when my grandma was alive. Women obeyed their husbands and there was no diseases like HIV/AIDS.” I was SHOCKED when I heard that but tried not to give my thoughts away so I just smiled. She noticed my change in behavior and asked why I was smiling. I pointed out that homosexuals were probably around when her grandma was growing up because there were homosexuals in America at that time…heck, there is evidence that there were homosexuals in ancient Rome (they’re even mentioned in the bible!!). I also pointed out that there have been devastating diseases before HIV/AIDS…black plague. She had never heard of it. She was also very disbelieving that homosexuals existed before her grandma’s time. I told her they probably hid it because they knew they would be discriminated against (actually probably killed). I had some anger when I heard her say these things (not towards her, but towards the beliefs that she was representing). I am trying really hard to be understanding and accepting of different cultures and religions, but it is SO hard when they compromise the rights of other human beings. People here always talk about women’s rights; that they are human beings, just like men, so they should be treated equally. But then there is this huge double standard because it doesn’t apply to homosexuals. News flash: THEY ARE HUMANS TOO!!!! It really makes me so frustrated. It is hard to distinguish where the line is drawn between respectfully informing people about my beliefs and being culturally sensitive. I try to do the former, but I’m afraid that by doing so, I’m risking being culturally insensitive and rude. It’s definitely good experience. I’m learning how to tread lightly but still express my beliefs.
On a completely different note: work is going well. I’m in the midst of writing my grant for the project I want to do with PLWHAs (people living with HIV/AIDS). It is due by the end of this week, so I’ll be VERY busy. I’m really excited about it though. We are going to do a training with PLWHAs about how to start “kitchen gardens” in their homes. With these skills, PLWHAs can grow vegetables in their kitchen just using a sack with soil in it. Not only will this provide them with sustainable access to vegetables, when they start growing enough, they can sell them in the market and earn money to buy more food. This afternoon my advisor and I are meeting with Unity Bank to see if they can come and speak at our training session with PLWHAs about microfinance. Tomorrow we are meeting with the ministry of health, Likodep (a community development/ microfinance NGO) and the ministry of agriculture. I’m very excited for these meetings and getting my project up and running.
This past weekend was wonderful. It stopped raining on Thursday and has been hot and sunny for the past five days (knock on wood!). On Friday, Amanda and I went to this really amazing restaurant called Tamarind and had some good seafood. On Saturday, I went to town with my host sister and we had lunch with her good friend Superior (great name ☺. It was really nice to meet her and we had a good time. Then I met Amanda at Fort Jesus and walked around there with a tour guide. It was VERY interesting and I took lots of pictures. Fort Jesus was built by the Portuguese, when they first came to East Africa, as a military fort. A couple of years later, the Arabs took over and converted it to a place to keep slaves during the slave trade. Then the British army took it over and it was a government prison until independence. It was so interesting to see the artifacts and hear the history of the place (those of you who know me well know how I love visiting historic sites).
Later that night Amanda and I went to a house party to celebrate Halloween. It was at the house of a peace corps volunteer we know through FSD. It was SO much fun. Amanda went as a zebra and I, a cheetah. We had to get really creative with costumes, and I think we definitely succeeded. We used a headband and attached drawings of cheetah and zebra ears. It was pretty great considering the limited resources we had.
But yeah, things are good and I’m getting ready to write my grant this week. Wish me luck!
oxoxo Anna
After reading the email, I immediately deleted it while exclaiming (aloud), “I don’t agree with this.” When asked why by my friends, I began to explain why I believed in homosexual rights…especially the right to wed. They were shocked that homosexuals were able to marry in some states. But what really caught me was that when I was trying to explain the way I thought about these issues I found myself constantly explaining that my views were not very representative of America as a whole. That was a very humbling experience, and it really inspired me to continue my research on stigmatization of the homosexual community in the US. It is very different to read about people in the US (or around the world) who strongly disagree with homosexuals and think they should be “punished,” but it is an entirely different thing to have friends that say that. It makes it WAY more personal, and I think this experience really made me realize that those people, who are incredibly homophobic, really do exist—they aren’t just random people who are in the news, documentaries and movies. I know it sounds really nieve to say…I do understand that homophobia exists (that’s why I did my honors thesis on it), but I guess I didn’t really understand to what extent. One of my friend’s host sister even said that if her son was homosexual she would kill him…she was completely serious. Wow.
So that was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. On a similar note, the past few weeks have been the first time, in my life, that I’ve really had a full conversation with very devout Christians about their beliefs(homosexuals obviously made it into those discussions). One of the more interesting conversations actually grew out of that homophobic email my boss sent me. I asked my friend if people really thought the world was coming to an end because people from the same sex were falling in love, having sex and getting married. She said “Yes!” like I was crazy to be even asking such a question…like she was asking “you don’t?!” When I asked why her explanation was as follows: “Because the bible prophesizes that when people start behaving badly and ‘against god’s will’ and when there are devastating diseases such as HIV/AIDS the world will come to an end.” When I asked her why the world didn’t stop earlier she said: “There were never homosexuals when my grandma was alive. Women obeyed their husbands and there was no diseases like HIV/AIDS.” I was SHOCKED when I heard that but tried not to give my thoughts away so I just smiled. She noticed my change in behavior and asked why I was smiling. I pointed out that homosexuals were probably around when her grandma was growing up because there were homosexuals in America at that time…heck, there is evidence that there were homosexuals in ancient Rome (they’re even mentioned in the bible!!). I also pointed out that there have been devastating diseases before HIV/AIDS…black plague. She had never heard of it. She was also very disbelieving that homosexuals existed before her grandma’s time. I told her they probably hid it because they knew they would be discriminated against (actually probably killed). I had some anger when I heard her say these things (not towards her, but towards the beliefs that she was representing). I am trying really hard to be understanding and accepting of different cultures and religions, but it is SO hard when they compromise the rights of other human beings. People here always talk about women’s rights; that they are human beings, just like men, so they should be treated equally. But then there is this huge double standard because it doesn’t apply to homosexuals. News flash: THEY ARE HUMANS TOO!!!! It really makes me so frustrated. It is hard to distinguish where the line is drawn between respectfully informing people about my beliefs and being culturally sensitive. I try to do the former, but I’m afraid that by doing so, I’m risking being culturally insensitive and rude. It’s definitely good experience. I’m learning how to tread lightly but still express my beliefs.
On a completely different note: work is going well. I’m in the midst of writing my grant for the project I want to do with PLWHAs (people living with HIV/AIDS). It is due by the end of this week, so I’ll be VERY busy. I’m really excited about it though. We are going to do a training with PLWHAs about how to start “kitchen gardens” in their homes. With these skills, PLWHAs can grow vegetables in their kitchen just using a sack with soil in it. Not only will this provide them with sustainable access to vegetables, when they start growing enough, they can sell them in the market and earn money to buy more food. This afternoon my advisor and I are meeting with Unity Bank to see if they can come and speak at our training session with PLWHAs about microfinance. Tomorrow we are meeting with the ministry of health, Likodep (a community development/ microfinance NGO) and the ministry of agriculture. I’m very excited for these meetings and getting my project up and running.
This past weekend was wonderful. It stopped raining on Thursday and has been hot and sunny for the past five days (knock on wood!). On Friday, Amanda and I went to this really amazing restaurant called Tamarind and had some good seafood. On Saturday, I went to town with my host sister and we had lunch with her good friend Superior (great name ☺. It was really nice to meet her and we had a good time. Then I met Amanda at Fort Jesus and walked around there with a tour guide. It was VERY interesting and I took lots of pictures. Fort Jesus was built by the Portuguese, when they first came to East Africa, as a military fort. A couple of years later, the Arabs took over and converted it to a place to keep slaves during the slave trade. Then the British army took it over and it was a government prison until independence. It was so interesting to see the artifacts and hear the history of the place (those of you who know me well know how I love visiting historic sites).
Later that night Amanda and I went to a house party to celebrate Halloween. It was at the house of a peace corps volunteer we know through FSD. It was SO much fun. Amanda went as a zebra and I, a cheetah. We had to get really creative with costumes, and I think we definitely succeeded. We used a headband and attached drawings of cheetah and zebra ears. It was pretty great considering the limited resources we had.
But yeah, things are good and I’m getting ready to write my grant this week. Wish me luck!
oxoxo Anna
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Wrath of el Niño
El Niño has hit Mombasa. And man, is it intense! It has been raining practically non-stop for the last few days and it is supposed to keep raining for another week. NO GOOD! The intensity of this rain is like nothing I've ever seen. It rains so hard that you actually think the roof is going to fall in (and in some houses it has...mainly in the slums though). The roads turn into rivers and in Mikindani, where there is not really much of a paved road, everything is VERY muddy. I haven't been outside for a couple of hours, but one of my co-workers just stepped inside and said that down the road from work (where I pass to go home) the water was up to his mid-thigh. YIKES!! talk about flooding. It should be interesting to see how life goes on when the flooding gets worse. I'm a little nervous right now because I have the images we see in the media back home flashing through my head right now (rushing, waist-high, rivers rushing through the middle of town and destroying everything in its path). Not the most comforting of thoughts. I'm sure if things get really bad, FSD will re-locate us, but right now I'm just wondering how I'm going to get to and from work. I'm sure my sister knows some good routes.
Other than that, things are good. George and Jerusa (two members of the FSD site team) came to work yesterday and gave me and my supervisor, Salim, a $200 US seed grant to get started on my project. I'm getting really excited about my project, and we have already started planning the intervention. Right now I'm working on my grant proposal, which I will submit to FSD next week to try and get funding for the project (up to $1,000 US).
This weekend I was planning to walk through old town with my friend Amanda and then go to the beach. But maybe we'll have to postpone that... take a "rain check" (literally). There is also a Halloween party in Likoni on Saturday that we wanted to go to. Hopefully the rain will let up a little so we can do that.
Well, I best get back to work. Hope all is well back home. I miss everyone so much, but I'm definitely still enjoying myself :)
love to all,
Anna
Other than that, things are good. George and Jerusa (two members of the FSD site team) came to work yesterday and gave me and my supervisor, Salim, a $200 US seed grant to get started on my project. I'm getting really excited about my project, and we have already started planning the intervention. Right now I'm working on my grant proposal, which I will submit to FSD next week to try and get funding for the project (up to $1,000 US).
This weekend I was planning to walk through old town with my friend Amanda and then go to the beach. But maybe we'll have to postpone that... take a "rain check" (literally). There is also a Halloween party in Likoni on Saturday that we wanted to go to. Hopefully the rain will let up a little so we can do that.
Well, I best get back to work. Hope all is well back home. I miss everyone so much, but I'm definitely still enjoying myself :)
love to all,
Anna
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Adventure to Malindi
The past few days have been VERY good. Thursday was great because I was able to go into a nearby village and conduct one-on-one community mobilizing with two of my co-workers. It was such a rewarding and interesting experience. It was pretty amazing to me that within just a 2-3 minute walk from town (Mikindani) we were in, what looked like, a VERY rural area with mud huts/thatched roofs and dirt roads. My co-workers, Jonathan and Carol, and I went to people's homes and just sat and spoke with them about whether or not they had been tested and what they knew about HIV/AIDS. The responses varied a great deal from; "No, we haven't been tested because we (this was a couple) trust each other" (these same people thought HIV/AIDS was only transmitted through sex), and "yes we've been tested, we know our status and we know how to prevent becoming infected." I was actually surprised by how many people had been tested. I think that may have something to do with the past work of Hope Worldwide, but also that they live in a relatively developed area (i.e. not very "rural" because they are only a couple minutes walk into town). I plan to work more with Jonathan on educating the local community about HIV/AIDS and mobilizing them to get tested and know their status.
Friday was also an awesome day because I spent the whole morning developing my work plan for the remaining months. My main project will be to develop some sort of income-generating activity for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in Likoni. During our needs assessment last weekend we found that one of the main reasons PLWHAs go off their medication (ARVs) is because they don't have enough money to buy food, and taking ARVs without food is not good because the ARVs will be less effective and it oftentimes makes people very sick to take them on an empty stomach. I have scheduled a meeting with a micro-finance organization in Likoni, called Likodep (where Amanda works). I look forward to working with them to develop a sustainable solution to our problem.
So...on to the FUN stuff :) This Saturday Amanda and I took a beautiful matatu drive up the coast to Malindi. The city/town was very beautiful and surprisingly clean. There is a HUGE Italian influence in the town, which was nice for meals :) Apparently Malindi is supposed to be a crazy tourist town, but since we came during the off season, it was pretty barren (except for the locals). While this made our night a little less exciting than we'd hoped, it was a perfect situation for a relaxing sunday morning. When we arrived in Malindi we checked into our hotel, Eden Rock, and had some delicious lunch of crackers, cheese and red wine (a meal I have been longing for, for a couple of days☺. When we finished, we immediately changed into our bathing suits and went for a long walk on the beach and then into town. There is much more craft work in Malindi, than in Mombasa (this is probably because more tourists go to Malindi than the actual downtown Mombasa)…so we perused over some of those crafts and then headed back to the hotel for a swim in the ocean. At night we went to a restaurant/bar called “Stars and Guarders”…a very strange name (not as strange as some of the other names we saw there though; one restaurant was called “Baby Marrow,” hmmm…and a boat was named “Trani”…when I saw that I was like; “I’m home!!”). Apparently that was the place to be that night, so we stayed for a while. But we went home relatively early when we noticed that we were definitely the youngest there and were surrounded by disgusting old white men with their young African girlfriends. Old white men “dating” young African women seems to be a “trend” here…i.e. Sex tourism is big on the coast, which is very strange, and slightly uncomfortable to witness.
We woke up this morning, had a delicious (western) breakfast (of fruit and toast ☺ and then hung out at the pool for a while. It felt SO good to swim!! After a couple of hours of swimming and reading/tanning by the pool, we went for a walk on the beach and then headed into town to grab some lunch and catch a matatu ride home. All in all, it was a successful weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I definitely needed to get away for a bit and relax.
Well, I’m off to bed now. I hope everyone is well. Know that I’m thinking of you all ☺
Oxoxoxo Anna
Friday was also an awesome day because I spent the whole morning developing my work plan for the remaining months. My main project will be to develop some sort of income-generating activity for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in Likoni. During our needs assessment last weekend we found that one of the main reasons PLWHAs go off their medication (ARVs) is because they don't have enough money to buy food, and taking ARVs without food is not good because the ARVs will be less effective and it oftentimes makes people very sick to take them on an empty stomach. I have scheduled a meeting with a micro-finance organization in Likoni, called Likodep (where Amanda works). I look forward to working with them to develop a sustainable solution to our problem.
So...on to the FUN stuff :) This Saturday Amanda and I took a beautiful matatu drive up the coast to Malindi. The city/town was very beautiful and surprisingly clean. There is a HUGE Italian influence in the town, which was nice for meals :) Apparently Malindi is supposed to be a crazy tourist town, but since we came during the off season, it was pretty barren (except for the locals). While this made our night a little less exciting than we'd hoped, it was a perfect situation for a relaxing sunday morning. When we arrived in Malindi we checked into our hotel, Eden Rock, and had some delicious lunch of crackers, cheese and red wine (a meal I have been longing for, for a couple of days☺. When we finished, we immediately changed into our bathing suits and went for a long walk on the beach and then into town. There is much more craft work in Malindi, than in Mombasa (this is probably because more tourists go to Malindi than the actual downtown Mombasa)…so we perused over some of those crafts and then headed back to the hotel for a swim in the ocean. At night we went to a restaurant/bar called “Stars and Guarders”…a very strange name (not as strange as some of the other names we saw there though; one restaurant was called “Baby Marrow,” hmmm…and a boat was named “Trani”…when I saw that I was like; “I’m home!!”). Apparently that was the place to be that night, so we stayed for a while. But we went home relatively early when we noticed that we were definitely the youngest there and were surrounded by disgusting old white men with their young African girlfriends. Old white men “dating” young African women seems to be a “trend” here…i.e. Sex tourism is big on the coast, which is very strange, and slightly uncomfortable to witness.
We woke up this morning, had a delicious (western) breakfast (of fruit and toast ☺ and then hung out at the pool for a while. It felt SO good to swim!! After a couple of hours of swimming and reading/tanning by the pool, we went for a walk on the beach and then headed into town to grab some lunch and catch a matatu ride home. All in all, it was a successful weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I definitely needed to get away for a bit and relax.
Well, I’m off to bed now. I hope everyone is well. Know that I’m thinking of you all ☺
Oxoxoxo Anna
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Kenyatta Birthday
Mambo! As most of you know, my birthday was on Tuesday, October 20th. Lucky for me, the 20th also happens to be a national holiday, Kenyatta Day (essentially Kenya's independence day), so my friends and I had the day off from work! We all went to Mombasa beach and spent the day laying in the sun and frolicking in the Indian Ocean. I LOVE the beaches here! The sand is SO white and so soft and the water is actually the temperature of a luke-warm bath. Mombasa beach is located on the northern coast, and is surrounded by some very nice beach resorts. My friend Amanda and I took a walk to a nearby resort called Voyager to use the restroom and have a little look around. The 20 minutes or so that we were on those grounds was the first time in 3 weeks that I didn't stick out. There we SO many mzungus!! It was definitely an interesting experience. My host sister told me that I shouldn't even try to go use the restroom in the resorts because they wouldn't even let me on the grounds (she even laughed at me like I was crazy when I asked). But Amanda and I just walked right into the resort, no questions asked. It was so strange. I felt like we were back in the 1950's or something, where the color of your skin determined your access into certain areas. It was definitely shocking to me.
Amanda and I also noticed what a distorted view of Africa the tourists that stay in these swanky resorts must get. Most tourists don't even venture into the city of Mombasa. They just stay within the walls of the resort. It was so surreal and kind of infuriating how drastically different the resort was from the actual way of life in this area. But I'm not going to lie, it was nice to get a peak into the luxury of it all...and it was VERY luxurious.
After hanging out on the beach for the afternoon, the other interns and I headed into town for some dinner. We all indulged in some "American cuisine." I never thought I would order a hamburger in a foreign country, but that was the only non-Kenyan food option the restaurant offered. And boy, it was GOOD! I have to say, one of the things that I miss most from home is the cuisine. I miss simple meals, BREAD, salads and cheese. Ugali is definitely NOT growing on me. It is just pretty gross. But I do like pilau (which I actually had tonight)..which is essentially like the Kenyan version of Paella, minus the fish (and substituted with beef). I was telling my co-workers that the day I get home I'm going to have some baguette (mmm!), some cheese (mmmm!!) and a yummy yummy salad (mmmmmmmm!!) and maybe some wine. hahaha!
So my birthday was good. I missed everyone from home though...probably the most I have during my entire stay here. But not to worry, I was fine by the afternoon when I went to the beach :)
As for the internship, things have been moving VERY slowly up until now. Today was very exciting though! In the morning I went with some community mobilizers to speak with community members in a nearby village. It was SO interesting..especially because (unlike other meetings I've had) the mobilizer I was with, Jonathan, translated for me once in a while. He asked me if I had any questions and if I had anything to say to them....so I was able to indirectly communicate with the community. I actually felt like I was doing something to help which was a really rewarding feeling.
In the afternoon I finally met with my supervisor to discuss the project that I will be working on during my time here. I'm very excited to start working on it. Last week we had a sensitization session for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in Likoni. We met today and talked about our findings...what gaps there were in ARV adherence and what solutions the community suggested. Some of the major gaps we found were that many of the community members do not have enough money to sustain a nutritious diet (which is crucial to the effectiveness of ARVs) and they are lacking information about how HIV/AIDS works on the biological level and the role ARVs play. During our meeting we came up with some income generating ideas (such as holding training sessions to teach PLWHAs skills that they can use to earn some money) and ways to disseminate information about ARV maintenance.
I'm excited to start work on that project tomorrow!!
As for now, I must go to bed...I have an early rise tomorrow morning.
Kwaheri!
Amanda and I also noticed what a distorted view of Africa the tourists that stay in these swanky resorts must get. Most tourists don't even venture into the city of Mombasa. They just stay within the walls of the resort. It was so surreal and kind of infuriating how drastically different the resort was from the actual way of life in this area. But I'm not going to lie, it was nice to get a peak into the luxury of it all...and it was VERY luxurious.
After hanging out on the beach for the afternoon, the other interns and I headed into town for some dinner. We all indulged in some "American cuisine." I never thought I would order a hamburger in a foreign country, but that was the only non-Kenyan food option the restaurant offered. And boy, it was GOOD! I have to say, one of the things that I miss most from home is the cuisine. I miss simple meals, BREAD, salads and cheese. Ugali is definitely NOT growing on me. It is just pretty gross. But I do like pilau (which I actually had tonight)..which is essentially like the Kenyan version of Paella, minus the fish (and substituted with beef). I was telling my co-workers that the day I get home I'm going to have some baguette (mmm!), some cheese (mmmm!!) and a yummy yummy salad (mmmmmmmm!!) and maybe some wine. hahaha!
So my birthday was good. I missed everyone from home though...probably the most I have during my entire stay here. But not to worry, I was fine by the afternoon when I went to the beach :)
As for the internship, things have been moving VERY slowly up until now. Today was very exciting though! In the morning I went with some community mobilizers to speak with community members in a nearby village. It was SO interesting..especially because (unlike other meetings I've had) the mobilizer I was with, Jonathan, translated for me once in a while. He asked me if I had any questions and if I had anything to say to them....so I was able to indirectly communicate with the community. I actually felt like I was doing something to help which was a really rewarding feeling.
In the afternoon I finally met with my supervisor to discuss the project that I will be working on during my time here. I'm very excited to start working on it. Last week we had a sensitization session for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in Likoni. We met today and talked about our findings...what gaps there were in ARV adherence and what solutions the community suggested. Some of the major gaps we found were that many of the community members do not have enough money to sustain a nutritious diet (which is crucial to the effectiveness of ARVs) and they are lacking information about how HIV/AIDS works on the biological level and the role ARVs play. During our meeting we came up with some income generating ideas (such as holding training sessions to teach PLWHAs skills that they can use to earn some money) and ways to disseminate information about ARV maintenance.
I'm excited to start work on that project tomorrow!!
As for now, I must go to bed...I have an early rise tomorrow morning.
Kwaheri!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Hello everyone! I'm done with the first week of work. I have already learned a lot about how Hope World Wide works, but I'm looking forward to actually making a tangible contribution. We had the forum with a group of people living with HIV/AIDS yesterday. I was looking so forward to it, and it was interesting, but I didn't really understand anything anyone was saying because it was all in Swahili. I could follow a little bit, based on the limited vocabulary I know, but most of the things they said went over my head. I look forward to having a meeting with my supervisor..in English..to learn what the people had to say about their experiences living with HIV/AIDS and taking ARVs. After the forum was over, I went to a local pub in Likoni where my supervisor was holding an information session with commercial sex workers. The day was very interesting, but I felt SO out of place because everything was in Swahili and everyone called me "mzungu" even though I was introduced to them. I know mzungu is not a derogatory name here, but it just doesn't make me feel very welcome. I also feel pretty unwelcome and out of place when most people who talk about me laugh at me. I'm sure it's not intended to make me feel unwelcome but it certainly has that effect.
I think yesterday was the first day that I really felt some intense culture shock. It may have been because I stayed up until 5am with my friends and my host sister. But I felt exceptionally sensitive towards the difference of life here. I just was really longing to hear english and see some familiar faces, and be back home where everything is just so much more calm, quiet and comfortable. I soon got over it, but it was definitely interesting for me to notice.
Well, I hope you all are doing well. I miss you all so much and I hope to hear updates of your lives soon!!
oxoxo Anna
I think yesterday was the first day that I really felt some intense culture shock. It may have been because I stayed up until 5am with my friends and my host sister. But I felt exceptionally sensitive towards the difference of life here. I just was really longing to hear english and see some familiar faces, and be back home where everything is just so much more calm, quiet and comfortable. I soon got over it, but it was definitely interesting for me to notice.
Well, I hope you all are doing well. I miss you all so much and I hope to hear updates of your lives soon!!
oxoxo Anna
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Hope World Wide
Mambo! I started work at Hope World Wide on Monday. The first day was interesting, but I didn't really do much. My supervisor wasn't in the office so I went into the field and helped to set up a VCT clinic in a town in the north called Frere town. It was really interesting to see what the VCT counselors did, but because I'm not qualified to do any counseling, I ended up just sitting in the shade the entire day. It ended up being kind of boring after a while because not many people came as it was the first day. I was kept amused by my male co-workers who were shamelessly hitting on me the ENTIRE day. I can forsee that the gender disparities will be something that I will need to get used to and try to accept for the time being.
Yesterday was much better because I was able to meet with my supervisor, Salim, and hang out in the office with the other female volunteers. I've made fast friends with two women especially, named Risper and Winnie. During my meeting with Salim I learned that I will be helping with a new initiative to provide social/medical support (remind them to take their medications and provide them with tools to overcome stigma) for people living with HIV/AIDS...which made me VERY happy because it's exactly what I wanted to do while I was here.
Later in the day I met with Winnie, who works to provide communities and at risk populations (sex workers, men who have sex with men etc.) with prevention education. I learned that I will be traveling to a town on the South coast in November to do outreach and prevention education. I will be staying there for a week and I will work with high school students, muslim imams and at risk populations. I'm VERY excited about this. After our discussion, Winnie and I went to a community mobilizing event in Mikindani (where Hope World Wide is located, and where I live). It was very interesting. There was a youth group there playing loud music and doing skits to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention. The community became very involved and were asked to answer some very hard questions. It was really great to watch (even though I didn't understand most of what they said:)
Today was the best day so far. I went to Likoni (on the south coast) with my supervisor (Salim) and one of the VCT counselors, Linet. We met with the head nurse at the Ministry of health in Likoni and discussed plans to spearhead our project to provide support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Tomorrow we will be meeting with a group of 15 patients (each with one family member or friend). We will conduct a needs assessment to see what type of support would help them most to take their medication.
I am VERY excited to go to work tomorrow and start getting immersed in my project! As for now, I must go and have some dinner.
oxoxo anna
Yesterday was much better because I was able to meet with my supervisor, Salim, and hang out in the office with the other female volunteers. I've made fast friends with two women especially, named Risper and Winnie. During my meeting with Salim I learned that I will be helping with a new initiative to provide social/medical support (remind them to take their medications and provide them with tools to overcome stigma) for people living with HIV/AIDS...which made me VERY happy because it's exactly what I wanted to do while I was here.
Later in the day I met with Winnie, who works to provide communities and at risk populations (sex workers, men who have sex with men etc.) with prevention education. I learned that I will be traveling to a town on the South coast in November to do outreach and prevention education. I will be staying there for a week and I will work with high school students, muslim imams and at risk populations. I'm VERY excited about this. After our discussion, Winnie and I went to a community mobilizing event in Mikindani (where Hope World Wide is located, and where I live). It was very interesting. There was a youth group there playing loud music and doing skits to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention. The community became very involved and were asked to answer some very hard questions. It was really great to watch (even though I didn't understand most of what they said:)
Today was the best day so far. I went to Likoni (on the south coast) with my supervisor (Salim) and one of the VCT counselors, Linet. We met with the head nurse at the Ministry of health in Likoni and discussed plans to spearhead our project to provide support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Tomorrow we will be meeting with a group of 15 patients (each with one family member or friend). We will conduct a needs assessment to see what type of support would help them most to take their medication.
I am VERY excited to go to work tomorrow and start getting immersed in my project! As for now, I must go and have some dinner.
oxoxo anna
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Katika Mombasa...
So I am at the end of the first weekend I've spent in Mombasa. It was VERY fun. I was able to walk around my neighborhood, Mikindani, with my host sister yesterday and she showed me how to get to work. It's not that far at all. My neighborhood is very nice. It is kind of the "suburbs" of Mombasa. It takes me 20-30 minutes, by matatu, to get to town...but it really seems so much farther away because it is SO different. Mikindani is mainly residential, with small shops along the road. It is more like a small town. Mombasa is so big and very crowded all the time and is definitely a "city."
I feel so lucky to have such a great family. Everyone in my house, mama Irene, baba Irene and Gardener, (in Swahili culture, young people call the elders by "mama/baba" and the first name of their child...usually first born daughter/son...but I call them mama/baba Irene because I know Irene and not their first borns) are all very welcoming and kind (I think I said this in the earlier post, but it definitely needs repeating..because it is SO true). I already feel really at home here.
Last night Irene and her friends took me clubbing. Irene and I caught a matatu into town and met her friends at a club called Club Rio. Then, after a drink or so, one of their friends gave us a ride to a club on the North Coast called Tembo. It was VERY nice. It was also very touristy and we met some guys from the Dutch Navy (which was random). Then we took another matatu to go to this local hang out place called Bob's. It's a pub located in front of a large parking lot, and they just turn the parking lot into a huge party. SO many people and kinda overwhelming. By that point, (3:30) I was getting VERY sleepy and really wanted to go home. Irene was shocked that I was so tired because in Mombasa, when people go out they stay out until 5am or so. Ah! I'm going to have to adjust to that :)
Today was also an AMAZING day. I woke up at 9:30 or so and had a leisurely morning until around 11am, when I took the matatu (by myself!!) into town. I hadn't taken a matatu on my own yet so I was very proud of myself when I made it to town safely. AND I didn't get ripped off!!! A major feat. I really didn't even have to bargain that much. I've noticed it helps when I try to speak in swahili to them.
I ran a few errands in town and then met up with the other interns and took the ferry to Likoni (South Coast) to go to a beach (Shelly Beach). We met Amanda there (she lives in Likoni) and took some piki-pikis (motorbikes) to the beach. OH MY GOD!!! It was the most beautiful beach I've ever been to! The sand was perfectly white and soft and the water was a clear light blue color. It was VERY shallow water (like up to your ankles) for probably a mile or so and then the waves started breaking. But there were little natural pools scattered throughout and we just swam in those. It was so picturesque, and SUCH a different feel from Mombasa city and Mikindani. I think it's funny how whenever I travel to a different part of the Mombasa area, I feel as if I'm in a completely different place entirely.
But yes, a very good weekend indeed. I hope everyone is doing well! My thoughts are with you all...and I get to look at most of your lovely faces every day because I taped my pictures from home above my desk.
Well, I'm going to start studying my Swahili and then go to bed. Kwaheri!! oxoxox
P.S. I've been meaning to send postcards to everyone but honestly, there are ZERO postcards in Mombasa. It is very strange considering it's supposedly a "tourist destination." The only postcards I've seen are cheesy ones of Lions and their cubs. I'm holding out until I can find actual Mombasa postcards. Just Fyi.
I feel so lucky to have such a great family. Everyone in my house, mama Irene, baba Irene and Gardener, (in Swahili culture, young people call the elders by "mama/baba" and the first name of their child...usually first born daughter/son...but I call them mama/baba Irene because I know Irene and not their first borns) are all very welcoming and kind (I think I said this in the earlier post, but it definitely needs repeating..because it is SO true). I already feel really at home here.
Last night Irene and her friends took me clubbing. Irene and I caught a matatu into town and met her friends at a club called Club Rio. Then, after a drink or so, one of their friends gave us a ride to a club on the North Coast called Tembo. It was VERY nice. It was also very touristy and we met some guys from the Dutch Navy (which was random). Then we took another matatu to go to this local hang out place called Bob's. It's a pub located in front of a large parking lot, and they just turn the parking lot into a huge party. SO many people and kinda overwhelming. By that point, (3:30) I was getting VERY sleepy and really wanted to go home. Irene was shocked that I was so tired because in Mombasa, when people go out they stay out until 5am or so. Ah! I'm going to have to adjust to that :)
Today was also an AMAZING day. I woke up at 9:30 or so and had a leisurely morning until around 11am, when I took the matatu (by myself!!) into town. I hadn't taken a matatu on my own yet so I was very proud of myself when I made it to town safely. AND I didn't get ripped off!!! A major feat. I really didn't even have to bargain that much. I've noticed it helps when I try to speak in swahili to them.
I ran a few errands in town and then met up with the other interns and took the ferry to Likoni (South Coast) to go to a beach (Shelly Beach). We met Amanda there (she lives in Likoni) and took some piki-pikis (motorbikes) to the beach. OH MY GOD!!! It was the most beautiful beach I've ever been to! The sand was perfectly white and soft and the water was a clear light blue color. It was VERY shallow water (like up to your ankles) for probably a mile or so and then the waves started breaking. But there were little natural pools scattered throughout and we just swam in those. It was so picturesque, and SUCH a different feel from Mombasa city and Mikindani. I think it's funny how whenever I travel to a different part of the Mombasa area, I feel as if I'm in a completely different place entirely.
But yes, a very good weekend indeed. I hope everyone is doing well! My thoughts are with you all...and I get to look at most of your lovely faces every day because I taped my pictures from home above my desk.
Well, I'm going to start studying my Swahili and then go to bed. Kwaheri!! oxoxox
P.S. I've been meaning to send postcards to everyone but honestly, there are ZERO postcards in Mombasa. It is very strange considering it's supposedly a "tourist destination." The only postcards I've seen are cheesy ones of Lions and their cubs. I'm holding out until I can find actual Mombasa postcards. Just Fyi.
Friday, October 9, 2009
First week in Mombasa, Kenya
Jambo! I am so sorry I have been slow to update you all on my time in Mombasa. This past week has been so incredibly hectic! We had orientation from Saturday until today (friday) and were literally doing something from 8am-7pm each night. No time to sit down and write. But, I was lucky to find a great deal on a portable motem (sp?) so I can now access the computer from my home...giving me more opportunities to write to you all!!
This past week, all the other interns and I (5 of us total) stayed in a hotel named the Jawambe hotel, in the Gonjoni district of downt0wn Mombasa. We met at the FSD offices every day for either swahili lessons or a development workshop. The site team is AMAZING!! They are all so nice, welcoming, intelligent and friendly. I was worried that I wouldn't have much support in adjusting to this new culture and my new job, because of the emphasis placed on independence, but they have done a great job in supporting me.
Mombasa is wonderful! It actually really reminds me of Mexico in a way. The buildings have the same feeling as they do in mexico (kind of out-dated, with paint peeling off), there are colorful advertisements painted along cement walls and the sides of buildings, it is HOT and humid, it is by the water and it is kind of dirty. It has a very great feel to it...I guess I would say that it is very charming.
What is interesting about Mombasa is that there is a very large Arabic population. There is a part of town called "old town," which is largely a Muslim neighborhood. This community has been in Mombasa for a very long time (hence "old" town) and the houses are all beautifully made with intricately carved wooden doors and banisters.
The downtown is very busy during the day, but it quiets down at night. Every day there are major traffic jams in downtown Mombasa. This includes tuk-tuks (small three-wheeled taxis), matatus (the "bus" equivalent...essentially a mini-van) and huge private range rovers. I especially love how, no matter how congested it is, none of the vehicles stay within the two lanes. I would say that as a general rule, there are three lanes made out of a two lane zone. It's pretty intense, and I have definitely seen some close calls.
While Mombasa is of course VERY different from San Francisco (or any other American city for that matter), there are really only two things that have given me some slight culture shock. One is the ratio of black and white people, and the other is the way women are treated...especially in the work place.
This is the first time in my life that I have been a minority, and it is definitely a sobering experience. For the past week, I have gone for days without seeing any white person besides my fellow interns. It is to the point where I even turn my head around when I see a mzungu (white person) pass. I have to admit, that the color of my skin definitely draws a lot of unwanted attention when I walk down the street. Not necessarily in terms of people coming up to me and trying to talk to me, but more that I see a lot of people just staring at me because I'm so out of place.
The other cultural difference that has really thrown me is the way that women are treated in the workplace. I'm sure that I will gain more of an understanding of how women are treated in other contexts (home etc.), but when I went to visit my host organization, I experienced something quite unexpected. Before coming to mombasa, I was aware that women are a marginalized group of society and are often times objectified by men here. I expected to be "called out" to on the street and such...but that happens everywhere with all women. What I didn't expect was that women would be blatantly hit on by their co-workers. It was definitely an interesting experience, one that didn't necessarily make me feel like I was being taken seriously. I will see how it goes, but it will definitely be something that I will have to adjust to.
Internship: But on to what I actually came here to do! So, as you know from my last post, I will be working with Hope World Wide (HWW) in Mikindani (suburb of Mombasa). I visited their facilities on Tuesday and I was very impressed. While I was there, learned that the reason Wal-Mart is funding HWW is because they want their workers to be competent in computers and tailoring...essentially, they fund HWW to develop the skills of their factory workers. I want to learn more about the specifics of this relationship, while I'm working there.
So up until now, HWW has only focused on prevention in the realm of HIV/AIDS. They are just now brainstorming a program to provide support and networking for people who are HIV+. I will keep you posted.
Home-stay: I just moved into my new home this afternoon. I have an amazing sister (Irene). She is around my age and her birthday is nine days after mine! My mami is very sweet too and very welcoming. I have a brother (Gardner) who is currently unemployed and is living at home..he is in his 30s I think. He is also very nice and we've already had some good political conversations. Oh by the way, Kenyans are VERY politically aware. It is pretty interesting to hear what they have to say about American politics.
I also have a host father who is also very nice...and Irene's other brother (she's the youngest of 7) lives upstairs with his long time girlfriend and their little boy Kelvin (4 yrs old). I had a dance party with Kelvin last night because we were watching music videos (very popular)...they know their hip hop!
Well, I have officially written a novel now. If you have actually read this far, I am very impressed. I miss you all so SO much and I look forward to hearing how your lives are going!! Also, I'm on skype so you should all look me up. I can talk in the morning or the evening (SF time).
Much love,
Anna
This past week, all the other interns and I (5 of us total) stayed in a hotel named the Jawambe hotel, in the Gonjoni district of downt0wn Mombasa. We met at the FSD offices every day for either swahili lessons or a development workshop. The site team is AMAZING!! They are all so nice, welcoming, intelligent and friendly. I was worried that I wouldn't have much support in adjusting to this new culture and my new job, because of the emphasis placed on independence, but they have done a great job in supporting me.
Mombasa is wonderful! It actually really reminds me of Mexico in a way. The buildings have the same feeling as they do in mexico (kind of out-dated, with paint peeling off), there are colorful advertisements painted along cement walls and the sides of buildings, it is HOT and humid, it is by the water and it is kind of dirty. It has a very great feel to it...I guess I would say that it is very charming.
What is interesting about Mombasa is that there is a very large Arabic population. There is a part of town called "old town," which is largely a Muslim neighborhood. This community has been in Mombasa for a very long time (hence "old" town) and the houses are all beautifully made with intricately carved wooden doors and banisters.
The downtown is very busy during the day, but it quiets down at night. Every day there are major traffic jams in downtown Mombasa. This includes tuk-tuks (small three-wheeled taxis), matatus (the "bus" equivalent...essentially a mini-van) and huge private range rovers. I especially love how, no matter how congested it is, none of the vehicles stay within the two lanes. I would say that as a general rule, there are three lanes made out of a two lane zone. It's pretty intense, and I have definitely seen some close calls.
While Mombasa is of course VERY different from San Francisco (or any other American city for that matter), there are really only two things that have given me some slight culture shock. One is the ratio of black and white people, and the other is the way women are treated...especially in the work place.
This is the first time in my life that I have been a minority, and it is definitely a sobering experience. For the past week, I have gone for days without seeing any white person besides my fellow interns. It is to the point where I even turn my head around when I see a mzungu (white person) pass. I have to admit, that the color of my skin definitely draws a lot of unwanted attention when I walk down the street. Not necessarily in terms of people coming up to me and trying to talk to me, but more that I see a lot of people just staring at me because I'm so out of place.
The other cultural difference that has really thrown me is the way that women are treated in the workplace. I'm sure that I will gain more of an understanding of how women are treated in other contexts (home etc.), but when I went to visit my host organization, I experienced something quite unexpected. Before coming to mombasa, I was aware that women are a marginalized group of society and are often times objectified by men here. I expected to be "called out" to on the street and such...but that happens everywhere with all women. What I didn't expect was that women would be blatantly hit on by their co-workers. It was definitely an interesting experience, one that didn't necessarily make me feel like I was being taken seriously. I will see how it goes, but it will definitely be something that I will have to adjust to.
Internship: But on to what I actually came here to do! So, as you know from my last post, I will be working with Hope World Wide (HWW) in Mikindani (suburb of Mombasa). I visited their facilities on Tuesday and I was very impressed. While I was there, learned that the reason Wal-Mart is funding HWW is because they want their workers to be competent in computers and tailoring...essentially, they fund HWW to develop the skills of their factory workers. I want to learn more about the specifics of this relationship, while I'm working there.
So up until now, HWW has only focused on prevention in the realm of HIV/AIDS. They are just now brainstorming a program to provide support and networking for people who are HIV+. I will keep you posted.
Home-stay: I just moved into my new home this afternoon. I have an amazing sister (Irene). She is around my age and her birthday is nine days after mine! My mami is very sweet too and very welcoming. I have a brother (Gardner) who is currently unemployed and is living at home..he is in his 30s I think. He is also very nice and we've already had some good political conversations. Oh by the way, Kenyans are VERY politically aware. It is pretty interesting to hear what they have to say about American politics.
I also have a host father who is also very nice...and Irene's other brother (she's the youngest of 7) lives upstairs with his long time girlfriend and their little boy Kelvin (4 yrs old). I had a dance party with Kelvin last night because we were watching music videos (very popular)...they know their hip hop!
Well, I have officially written a novel now. If you have actually read this far, I am very impressed. I miss you all so SO much and I look forward to hearing how your lives are going!! Also, I'm on skype so you should all look me up. I can talk in the morning or the evening (SF time).
Much love,
Anna
Friday, September 11, 2009
Pre- Departure
Welcome to my blog!! (I never thought I'd have one of these!)
So, I leave for Kenya in 20 days. I'm starting this blog so I can keep my friends and family updated on my daily adventures for the next 3 (or so) months. For those of you who don't know, I will be going to Mombasa, Kenya with an organization called Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) (www.fsdinternational.org). FSD is kind of an umbrella organization that places interns in grass-roots organizations throughout the world.
I will be working with a faith based NGO called Hope Worldwide (www.hopeww.org). This organization has a very holistic approach towards community development, as it covers health promotion, health services, capacity building and economic empowerment. Some of the specific programs include HIV prevention (something that I anticipate I will be very involved in), economic empowerment (through vocational and entrepreneurial skills training and income generation activities with local/international organizations---something I am also interested in), orphans and vulnerable children's care and support, and blood safety.
As a student of global development and international public health, I have learned to pay close attention to who the donors and financial supporters are of NGOs in the developing world. These people are very important because they often control what the organizations can say and do. That said, it will be interesting to work with Hope Worldwide and see how the Christian faith, as well as the various corporations that support the organization, mold and shape the messages and the services they provide. For example, Hope Worldwide is funded, in part, by Freddie Mac and Wal-mart...
As most of you know, I am not particularly religious (that is lightly put) and I really disagree in supporting huge corporations such as Freddie Mac and Wal-mart (both of whom have not had very good "track-records" of late). This experience will definitely give me some much needed practice in keeping an open-mind and (this is for Andrew) biting my tongue when necessary.
FSD also places interns with a host family near their place of work. Unfortunately, I still don't know who my host family will be, but I did request that there were some children in the family. Kids are always fun and they definitely brighten up the atmosphere.
So, by now it must seem that I will be completely on my own in a foreign country, with no other American contacts. But fear not! Every week all the interns meet with our FSD site team and have a seminar. We will learn different things about the field of global development, as well as (what I'm particularly excited about) grant writing!! Such a crucial skill to have.
All in all, I'm SUPER excited. I think I'm most looking forward to actually getting to know the people and the culture of Kenya, as well as being able to do something tangible and concrete to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. I am also excited to meet my host family and the other FSD interns.
This will definitely be an adventure...one that I feel SO ready to embark on.
Stay tuned!!
With love,
Anna
So, I leave for Kenya in 20 days. I'm starting this blog so I can keep my friends and family updated on my daily adventures for the next 3 (or so) months. For those of you who don't know, I will be going to Mombasa, Kenya with an organization called Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) (www.fsdinternational.org). FSD is kind of an umbrella organization that places interns in grass-roots organizations throughout the world.
I will be working with a faith based NGO called Hope Worldwide (www.hopeww.org). This organization has a very holistic approach towards community development, as it covers health promotion, health services, capacity building and economic empowerment. Some of the specific programs include HIV prevention (something that I anticipate I will be very involved in), economic empowerment (through vocational and entrepreneurial skills training and income generation activities with local/international organizations---something I am also interested in), orphans and vulnerable children's care and support, and blood safety.
As a student of global development and international public health, I have learned to pay close attention to who the donors and financial supporters are of NGOs in the developing world. These people are very important because they often control what the organizations can say and do. That said, it will be interesting to work with Hope Worldwide and see how the Christian faith, as well as the various corporations that support the organization, mold and shape the messages and the services they provide. For example, Hope Worldwide is funded, in part, by Freddie Mac and Wal-mart...
As most of you know, I am not particularly religious (that is lightly put) and I really disagree in supporting huge corporations such as Freddie Mac and Wal-mart (both of whom have not had very good "track-records" of late). This experience will definitely give me some much needed practice in keeping an open-mind and (this is for Andrew) biting my tongue when necessary.
FSD also places interns with a host family near their place of work. Unfortunately, I still don't know who my host family will be, but I did request that there were some children in the family. Kids are always fun and they definitely brighten up the atmosphere.
So, by now it must seem that I will be completely on my own in a foreign country, with no other American contacts. But fear not! Every week all the interns meet with our FSD site team and have a seminar. We will learn different things about the field of global development, as well as (what I'm particularly excited about) grant writing!! Such a crucial skill to have.
All in all, I'm SUPER excited. I think I'm most looking forward to actually getting to know the people and the culture of Kenya, as well as being able to do something tangible and concrete to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. I am also excited to meet my host family and the other FSD interns.
This will definitely be an adventure...one that I feel SO ready to embark on.
Stay tuned!!
With love,
Anna
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