Just coming home by boda boda today... I am on the back of a bicycle, looking at the back of my driver. He is wearing a bright green, very clean, St. Patrick's Day t-shirt with a shamrock and the words, "The consuming will continue... until the morale changes." His waist and hips are no bigger than my right thigh. The fare is 30 bob... I give him 50.
Yesterday when we were touring fish ponds and spring sites, I was shaken, again and again throughout the day, with reminders of just how tough it is here. It is inspiring and heartbreaking all at the same time. No matter how many times I see it, I am just in awe of the women and young girls carrying water, firewood, sugar cane, bundles for the market, babies, and yesterday, huge buckets of fish.
It was beautiful to see how many people, neighbours, family members, gathered at harvest time. Word is sent to the community when someone is planning on harvesting their pond, so that buyers can come. And then there are those who "are hanging around hoping to get a free fish." At Grace's home, Joyce handled the selling of the fish to ensure a fair price and that all the money made it to Grace! Some of the widows are able to handle the selling on their own, and others are lacking the necessary literacy and book keeping skills. Grace kept a few fish for herself because "as the owner, she should have something to consume." The sales totalled 2100 Ksh ($24)...
To paint a fair picture, though, this was the third harvest for this pond and the first two had much higher yields (about 200 "honest" fish). Not long ago, Grace also sold 1,500 Ksh worth of fingerlings. The fish ponds and farmers are definitely not where they need to be, but we are hopeful that with some more training and support with feed and equipment, the farmers will be in a better position to work cooperatively toward sustainably.
Another moment... we were walking along a beautiful rural road. Terry and Matano were up ahead. Jackson was laughing, saying "if you walk at that pace in Kenya, soon you will find yourself lying down." Terry is still Terry, even in Kakamega. He is quick and to the point. Grace gave us a piece of sugar cane as a gift of thanks for the support and Terry's initial response was... "No. No thanks... but we don't want it... we don't like sugar cane... surely she needs it more than we do." Terry, it is a gift. Just say thank you. So, we accepted the sugar cane with a smile and an asante sana. Matano carried it for us and shared it with Joyce and Moses as we walked.
A little later... Moses and I were walking together chatting about trees, maize and other interesting scenes we passed. He had invited us to come to his place on Sunday to meet his daughters. How wonderful... and then he started telling me about his struggles. How he had worked as a fly tier in Kisumu (or was it Nairobi?) from 1981 to 1994, when he decided to come back to Kakamega to be with his family. When you work away from home, you work very hard for very little. It is also more expensive to live in the larger centres, so it is not worth it. At home Moses makes bricks in the dry season; in the rainy season he collects sand from the river. He has six children that he is supporting and putting through school. Two were sent home because he wasn't able to pay their full fees. He told me that there have been times when Joyce has paid the fees for his daughters. She is very generous. About half way into this story, just before he started praising God for sending Terry and I... rats... I clued in... he's looking for a sponsor.
I forget sometimes that I am a walking ATM here.
Anyway, we will go on Sunday, to see his home and meet his children.
Oh, and Fredrick made bed side tables for us. We paid him for the materials and then gave him a little something for his labour when he delivered them. Fredrick delivered the tables on the back of his boda boda, the varnish was still wet. I love them.
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