School has begun in Nambale and Siaya. Our kids are back in school and a new year begins. I am so far away from them and yet they are with me every day.I see their ragged uniforms, I look down at their unshod feet, I cringe at the disease I see in their eyes and [...]
I have an ongoing problem with the millennium projects. I know they are the darling of Jeff Sachs and countless famous and important people. However, there are a couple of projects in Kenya where I work. The first one (and no campers I am not going to name it lest I get blackballed from the [...]
I just had lunch with a lady who helps non-profits get the word out. She had some good suggestions all of which I will honor. As we were talking about the industry of charity and non-profits, I posited this dilemma. We are very small. Our budget is $25,000 a year. It costs about $3000 to [...]
Lemony Snickets The blogosphere did indeed go blank from Mama OVAAT for a few weeks. It in no way should reflect the success of the trip. Frankly I’m over the moon over how we are doing. That Sunday, Monica and I went to church and then sat under the trees by Lake Victoria and talked [...]
30 November 2011 What you say? What happened to the past 10 days? Ok I didn’t come back to the US in one piece, actually it was 3 pieces but that is a different story entirely. I wanted to wrap up the trip for you all. That Saturday after we had finished visiting all the [...]
17 November 2011 Wash it away please I am back at the Blue York after a day in the field. The torrents of rain are hurtling against the roof and windows, and of course there is no power now. It was not a good day. I am frustrated and disappointed by Nambale ACK . It [...]
15 November 2011 I So Dirty My Dirt is Covered in Dirt Yeah and I’m a crispy critter too. So much for SPF 30, there’s no fighting the Kenyan sun. You only have to be out in it 15 minutes to fry, so I will be a dermatological dream again. I am constantly telling my [...]
13 November 2011 Today we drive the Great Rift Valley. I don’t remember when exactly I started driving the Rift instead of flying. Probably when I smartened up and realized that a. it was much cheaper and b. it brings me to my heart home as I travel the different climes that are the Rift. [...]
Among the places Amercans will never go are the slums of Muthare and and Kibera on the outskirts of Nairobi. They are places of savage poverty, filth, and a vulnerability we cannot comprehend. They have no running water or electricity and are generally what I call God’s throwaways, because they are the poorest of the [...]
As I watch the tv and the endless programming on the famine in Somalia and Kenya, my heart sinks. It feels like they are re-runs of news cast 10 years ago. And Americans who are freaking out about the stock market and the economy want to watch it but just barely. See it’s hard to [...]
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