With the camp over, I was ready to fully focus on village banking, what I hope will be my primary project while I'm here. Village banks are self-selected savings and loan associations meant for those normally outside of the formal banking sector. Even though micro-finance is the sexy topic of the decade, most truly poor people are still excluded because of outrageous fees or inaccessibility. With a village bank, the members of the group save small amounts through a share purchase program and those contributions are used to give loans to members in the group. The interest on the loans is kept within the group and then at the end of the year all profits and savings are re-distributed on a proportionate basis to what each member has saved. Best of all, ideally no outside money is needed, which reduced the ever present dependency syndrome in this country. OK, I know that was probably super boring for most of you but when I first saw this program online in August, I was so excited to get it started in Rift Valley. About a month ago I went to Nyanza to stay with another volunteer, Nadiya, and train on creating village banks. That week was awesome, socially and work-wise, and I will have to put pictures up later. Nyanza is like a Different World from where I come from (dang, I miss re-runs).
So far, I have two, possibly three, groups that I could start village banking with. All of them are women's groups and if it works out well hopefully I can expand it more into the interior where it is more needed. Explaining the process is the most difficult thing; it took our donor Nia a few times of me explaining in English for her to understand. Now imagine explaining it in Swahili or having it translated into Maasai where most of the words dealing with finance don't even exist! I'll be at all the meetings for the groups the first 2 months at least, so hopefully any misunderstandings can be resolved. And, thankfully, these are women I have known for a few months so we understand each other generally a bit more. I wanted to start off in January with the groups up and running but this country basically shuts down after mid-December- no complaints here!
Hope everyone is enjoying the snow, my uncle sent me a picture of snow covered Cleveland and not being home for Christmas is actually a much bigger bummer than I thought it would be. I had to physically stop myself from dissolving into tears many times yesterday and have just resolved to believe that Christmas is not actually happening this year. This is made easier by the fact that I am currently sitting in the sun with a T-shirt on ;-)
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Day 5: Career/ Future
So.... this day took place a week and a half ago but after the camp ended I was too tired to post for awhile...
The last day of the camp was about career exploration and goal setting. If you ask an average a Kenyan student- girl or boy- what they want to be when they grow up you will invariably get doctor or nurse with the occasional teacher or accountant thrown in. While an overwhelming number of students wanting to be a medical professional is generally present in any country, what makes it more difficult in Kenya is that the kids really don't get to choose what they will study in college/university. You take a standardized test (similar to the Regents for my New York readers) and your scores on that test determine what, if any, major university program you qualify for. If you score high enough for the medical track, you can study medicine. If not, you won't be becoming a doctor unless you have a ton of money. In other words, my gameplan of choosing a major senior year of college would not have gone over nicely here...
Since they don't really get to choose what they want to do, I mostly wanted them to know about other careers that are out there and how to set realistic goals. If you don't qualify for one of the major tracks, all hope is not lost. There are hundreds of diploma and certificate programs someone can get in all sorts of subjects. I can't tell you how well these are regarded but at least they are out there. We had two women come and talk about their respective careers- one is a social worker and the other a youth officer. Then an education officer came to talk to them about how to choose a career path. After lunch we played two games to demonstrate the importance of realistic goal setting and networking (thanks Antony and PEPFAR!). Before the last session started, it was time for the question cup. At the beginning of the week, I put a question cup in the house and told the girls they could put any questions in there that they were too shy to ask in front of the gang. On the last day I answered all of the questions they had placed in the cup. Here are a few highlights from the cup:
--How do I stop having a boyfriend after having one for a long time?
--I hate my big pot belly and always worry my shirt won't cover it. How can I reduce?
--I like a boy but he never pays attention to me more than a friend, how can I get him to be my boyfriend?
It was a fun conversation to have with them and hopefully I gave them decent answers!
The last activity of the week was to make a vision board. Major shout out to all of you who have sent me magazines the past six months, they not only gave reading pleasure to the Peace Corps Kenya community but also were great resources for the girls to make their vision boards with. Essence and Ebony were naturally great hits!
So, with the camp over I retired to my room to relax and enjoy a (few) glass (es) of wine :-)
Bad internet today so pictures to come another day!
The last day of the camp was about career exploration and goal setting. If you ask an average a Kenyan student- girl or boy- what they want to be when they grow up you will invariably get doctor or nurse with the occasional teacher or accountant thrown in. While an overwhelming number of students wanting to be a medical professional is generally present in any country, what makes it more difficult in Kenya is that the kids really don't get to choose what they will study in college/university. You take a standardized test (similar to the Regents for my New York readers) and your scores on that test determine what, if any, major university program you qualify for. If you score high enough for the medical track, you can study medicine. If not, you won't be becoming a doctor unless you have a ton of money. In other words, my gameplan of choosing a major senior year of college would not have gone over nicely here...
Since they don't really get to choose what they want to do, I mostly wanted them to know about other careers that are out there and how to set realistic goals. If you don't qualify for one of the major tracks, all hope is not lost. There are hundreds of diploma and certificate programs someone can get in all sorts of subjects. I can't tell you how well these are regarded but at least they are out there. We had two women come and talk about their respective careers- one is a social worker and the other a youth officer. Then an education officer came to talk to them about how to choose a career path. After lunch we played two games to demonstrate the importance of realistic goal setting and networking (thanks Antony and PEPFAR!). Before the last session started, it was time for the question cup. At the beginning of the week, I put a question cup in the house and told the girls they could put any questions in there that they were too shy to ask in front of the gang. On the last day I answered all of the questions they had placed in the cup. Here are a few highlights from the cup:
--How do I stop having a boyfriend after having one for a long time?
--I hate my big pot belly and always worry my shirt won't cover it. How can I reduce?
--I like a boy but he never pays attention to me more than a friend, how can I get him to be my boyfriend?
It was a fun conversation to have with them and hopefully I gave them decent answers!
The last activity of the week was to make a vision board. Major shout out to all of you who have sent me magazines the past six months, they not only gave reading pleasure to the Peace Corps Kenya community but also were great resources for the girls to make their vision boards with. Essence and Ebony were naturally great hits!
So, with the camp over I retired to my room to relax and enjoy a (few) glass (es) of wine :-)
Bad internet today so pictures to come another day!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Days 3&4: Life Skills& Environment
By Day 3, I was exhausted and so thankful that the other PCVs were there to help me de-stress! I was actually giving the lecture on Day 3. Life Skills is supposed to be taught in secondary schools in Kenya, but many schools don't offer it because they lack a teacher. It is supposed to cover things like dealing with peer pressure, gender roles, self-esteem, etc. Since many of the girls are headed into secondary and the others are headed into the real world, I wanted to start them off with a little help. I gave a discussion on stress, what causes stress, and the best ways to deal with it. Next, Andrea gave a session on yoga and meditation which was VERY well received. On Friday, a mom told me that her daughter came home that day and gave her some meditation tips. Although it was hard to do a lot of the poses, like warrior pose, in skirts, the girls had a lot of fun and I especially liked the 10 minute quiet reflection :-) In the afternoon, I did a second session on self-esteem. Many of the girls lack confidence, they don't speak up and speak very low when they are asked something. We talked about surrounding ourselves with positive people and then we had a mini photo shoot in the courtyard, where I had to resist saying several times, "THE CAMERA LOVES YOU!" After the photo shoot, they all made and decorated their own "stress diaries".
Thursday was Environment Day and the JICA volunteer, Sachiko, came over to give a talk on environmental education. There's a big disconnect though because they all know the things they need to do to save the environment, the namely saving and replanting trees. Yet, most families still use charcoal or firewood to cook meals and heat water. I tried to garner some interest in biomass briquettes when I first got here but it's a bit like hybrid cars- the price point isn't quite there for the low/middle income consumer. In any case, after the lecture, we went back to the house to try and cook a cake with a solar cooker (Thanks Giles and Nia!). Unfortunately, the day became overcast so the cake was half cooked in the solar and half in the jiko oven. The last activity of the day was supposed to be making a sack garden, something I was really excited about, but rain was looming so we just enjoyed the afternoon off.
Enjoy the pictures!
Hellen posing for the camera
Andrea leading yoga and meditation
I really need to stretch more!
Siato smiling!
Thursday was Environment Day and the JICA volunteer, Sachiko, came over to give a talk on environmental education. There's a big disconnect though because they all know the things they need to do to save the environment, the namely saving and replanting trees. Yet, most families still use charcoal or firewood to cook meals and heat water. I tried to garner some interest in biomass briquettes when I first got here but it's a bit like hybrid cars- the price point isn't quite there for the low/middle income consumer. In any case, after the lecture, we went back to the house to try and cook a cake with a solar cooker (Thanks Giles and Nia!). Unfortunately, the day became overcast so the cake was half cooked in the solar and half in the jiko oven. The last activity of the day was supposed to be making a sack garden, something I was really excited about, but rain was looming so we just enjoyed the afternoon off.
Enjoy the pictures!
Hellen posing for the camera
Andrea leading yoga and meditation
I really need to stretch more!
Siato smiling!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Day 2: Health
The theme for Tuesday was all health related, which was great because I got to utilize some fellow public health volunteers. Clare came from Eastern province and helped with field day games but first we had a discussion with a female doctor from the hospital. The girls got to ask her all kinds of questions about their bodies, female circumcision, sex, illness, disease, etc and they were much more active than I had thought they would be. But of course, as always, I tried to do way too many things at one time. Those of you who watched my Cribs video know that my house is, ahem, small to say the least. Knowing I would have 2-3 people staying with me this week, I had to do something to create a bit more space. I never bought a bed frame when I got to site, I just used the one that was already waiting in my bedroom. However, it was a bit too small for my mattress meaning I could never quite tuck my mosquito net in. Last week, I decided to get a new bed made, one with drawers underneath so that I would finally have a place to put my clothes. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong. First, the fundi (carpenter) changed the price on me. He told me he would have it ready by Sunday and when I went to pick it up, not only was it not ready but he was trying to charge me an extra 1500 shillings! We got all that taken care of and I told him I would be by to pick up the bed on Tuesday morning. I get there Tuesday and the drawers are on the wrong side of the bed! The way my room is situation, I really need to have the bed where it is so now my bed is sitting backwards in my room. Which, I guess I should feel lucky because it almost didn't fit in the room at all.
After this little fiasco, it was time to start the camp for the day. After the doctor's session, Clare began Field Day. The girls LOVED it! We played dizzy bat, jump rope, had a sack race, a balloon race, did limbo and musical chairs. Many of the girls had never played any of the games, save maybe jump rope, and they are all teenagers! Since it was all fairly new to them they really enjoyed playing and just being outside.
After lunch we had a session on basic first aid. Many of them do not know what to do when someone is choking or how to care for a basic burn or sprain. We stressed the importance of keeping your wounds clean since the doctor told me that morning a little girl will have to have her foot amputated because she burned it three weeks ago and her father had just been trying to treat it with herbal remedies so it turned gangerous. Not fun. After first aid training, we talked about peer pressure and I gave them scenarios with different situations. They then made a drama, song, or story about how the person in the scenario should handle the problem. I was really impressed with their creativity!
In the middle of all this, another PCV Andrea came from Eastern to help out on Wednesday. It hasn't rained in about a month here but of course the day I need to schlep to town to get visitors, it's pouring! We decided to beat the rain and stop off for a drink at one of the restaurants I like.
Pictures!!!!!!!!!!
Limbo!
Anita and the sack race
Hellen going for the gold in the balloon race!
Masioi and Jecinta touching the ground with the jump rope
Jecinta won the limbo!
After this little fiasco, it was time to start the camp for the day. After the doctor's session, Clare began Field Day. The girls LOVED it! We played dizzy bat, jump rope, had a sack race, a balloon race, did limbo and musical chairs. Many of the girls had never played any of the games, save maybe jump rope, and they are all teenagers! Since it was all fairly new to them they really enjoyed playing and just being outside.
After lunch we had a session on basic first aid. Many of them do not know what to do when someone is choking or how to care for a basic burn or sprain. We stressed the importance of keeping your wounds clean since the doctor told me that morning a little girl will have to have her foot amputated because she burned it three weeks ago and her father had just been trying to treat it with herbal remedies so it turned gangerous. Not fun. After first aid training, we talked about peer pressure and I gave them scenarios with different situations. They then made a drama, song, or story about how the person in the scenario should handle the problem. I was really impressed with their creativity!
In the middle of all this, another PCV Andrea came from Eastern to help out on Wednesday. It hasn't rained in about a month here but of course the day I need to schlep to town to get visitors, it's pouring! We decided to beat the rain and stop off for a drink at one of the restaurants I like.
Pictures!!!!!!!!!!
Limbo!
Anita and the sack race
Hellen going for the gold in the balloon race!
Masioi and Jecinta touching the ground with the jump rope
Jecinta won the limbo!
Pictures from Leadership Day!
More posts to come tonight... I have never been so excited for a Friday!
Enjoying the discussion
Trying to untangle the knot
Success!
Women leaders they admire
Enjoying the discussion
Trying to untangle the knot
Success!
Women leaders they admire
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