Beginning in Budalang'i

On Thursday, August 16th, I arrived in my new community of Budalang’i after a long drive from Nairobi to the extreme western edge of the country along the Ugandan border.

Since arriving, I have been spending my time setting up my homestead and acquainting myself with the people of my host-organization and the community at-large.

The outdoor market and assorted ‘maduka’ (shops) in the center of Budalang’i town. The town has two market days: Wednesday and Saturday.

I would describe Budalang’i as a sort of middle-ground between my village of Makili in Mali and the town of Loitokitok, where I had just trained here in Kenya for the past two months.

Budalang’i is a relatively small, poor community within Busia. The village is much poorer than Loitokitok, but not nearly at the level of Mali. Most people here live in mud homes, although the construction of said homes differs greatly from that in Mali. However, within the town center are several ‘hotelis’ (restaurants), bars, small retail shops, and even a timber awning housing two coin-operated pool tables. The community is also seeing a significant amount of development from the government in terms of the construction of a new paved road and a new market shade structure.

People here are, on the whole, generally friendlier than I had found them to be in Loitokitok. They also form a much tighter community more reminiscent of Mali, where most people in village know each other and are generally more involved and attached to their community. A lot of this comes from the fact that Loitokitok was much more metropolitan, with people of all ethnic groups having migrated there. Yet people here do still have their own isolated homesteads, and more so stay indoors at night with their families in a more western set-up. But thankfully no bulky walls lined with broken glass and barbed wire to barricade them in.

My new home. I was originally supposed to be living at a Catholic Mission, but due to distance from the office and cost, my host organization decided to renovate a structure at the home of John, the chairman of the organization. The family’s house is the large one on the right, the structure in the center is my house, and the house with the mud exterior belongs to my host-brothers, Oscar and Peter. My house, as with most buildings in the area, is a mud structure. But the walls have been nicely coated in cement, so no repeat of my walls crumbling around me as they did in Mali.

Whereas the primary struggle in Makili and across Mali as a whole is the lack of water, here in Budalang’i the primary issue is semi-annual flooding from the nearby rivers Nzoia and Yala which flow into Lake Victoria. Access to water, however, is still a major concern as it is a dry area with regards to rainwater, and I have found that many of the borehole pumps, and even the piped water in town, are currently dry.

As I had previously mentioned, I am now working directly with a host organization. My host organization was formed and staffed entirely by members of the local community they serve; the Bunyala and Samia sub-districts of Busia District in Western Province. They began work in 1999 in order to address the concern of flooding, but have since been working on far-ranging issues involving health, water, sanitation, and community development.

As a big change from my work in Mali, here I actually have specific working hours, 9AM to 5PM Monday through Friday, where I am expected to be at the office. So far, that time has been used to get acquainted with the staff and to brainstorm our upcoming work together. I am excited to get started next week, at which point I plan on touring the flood-prone areas within the district with a member of the staff and assessing the current state of the dykes, which were constructed to guard against flooding but regularly fail.

Budalang’i is very much a town on the rise. Pictured above is town on market day, but note all of the construction taking place. The men by the bricks are currently working on constructing a new market structure. Also note the tractor in the background. The main road heading to Port Victoria, the largest town in our district, is currently in the process of being expanded and paved, and with it the branch road which serves our town.

The office of my host organization is the door on the right. Note the water and sanitation paintings across the face of the building.

Despite the emphasis on handwashing, I have not found one occurrence of someone washing their hands with soap before eating outside of a restaurant. This includes people who have made it their job to facilitate such behavior change.

I had been encouraged by seeing that each restaurant in town has a handwashing station with soap, but I was recently told by a coworker that the reason behind this is simply Kenya’s equivalent of the FDA. They inspect restaurants and fine them if they don’t have proper sanitation facilities.

Since proper handwashing is one of the easiest practices a person can employ to improve their health, this will remain one of my primary initiatives here in Budalang’i.

I would say that I have learned a lot from my time in Mali, and am approaching this experience differently right from the start. In Mali, I learned how to be a true member of a community. I became more social, and spent all of my free time out in the community, even if it was just chatting over tea until the late hours of the night.

But that attitude took a few months to build. When I first got to Mali, I was certainly more self-conscious of my perception in the community, and also was generally weary of just walking up to people on my own to strike up a conversation. I am definitely much more relaxed here in these initial days. I think I have a confidence in myself that wasn’t there at the start in Mali. I find myself spending my time within the community, trying to get to know the people. I can say that I haven’t once opened a book to read since I arrived in Kenya.

The current dirt road heading into the town center of Budalang’i. Soon this road may look awfully different.

There was a moment in particular that drove home to me just how Malian I have become. I am now living in a building within the household of John, the chairman of the board for my host organization. I have often been eating dinner with the family, something I asked for because I enjoy being with people rather than on my own.

But one day this past week, I was sitting with the family inside their sitting room well past dinner. After the conversation trailed, I began studying my Kiswahili. But later that night, John came in and had to tell me that it was time for him to retire. That’s a very Malian thing to do, to not be alone. To sit with people through all hours of the day, never a thought of whether that other person wants you there or not. It is weird to be alone. And I have really bought into that, and I think in general it’s a good thing.

I find myself searching for a similar connection to my new community that I had in Mali. It’s just that here, I understand that I will have to work harder for it. People rarely greet on the street or strike up a conversation if I am not the person to do so first. But as I make the first move, I have found people here to be equally friendly, welcoming, and eager to get to know me.

Okampo, named after the former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo who had a primary role in sorting out Kenya’s 2007 post-election violence, has been my pal for the past week. She’s a very cute, energetic little girl who likes to keep me company while doing my chores and setting up my house. She is the granddaughter of my host-father John.

The other major difference is one that I touched on in a previous post. People in Kenya are more empowered by education and more motivated, because they know that they can make a difference in their communities. And my host organization is a prime example of this.

It is staffed by several community members, generally youth still in their twenties. They commit themselves full-time to the organization, yet are not regularly paid. They generally only receive stipends when travelling to meetings or project sites. Yet they are very educated and have made a profound difference already in many aspects of the community.

Whereas my work in Mali was primarily to motivate and encourage committees and community leaders to take a stake in improving the livelihood of their community, here, those people and organizations already exist. I am no longer starting my work from the ground level. My role here is to improve upon the great work the organization already does.

My two experiences will therefore, without a doubt, be much different. But through all the differences, I am optimistic that I will end up feeling a similar connection to the people here as I did in Mali. I am excited to see where this upcoming year will take us.

On Friday, my host organization helped in putting together a cultural festival here in Budalang’i, primarily honoring the contributions which the ‘wazee’ (elders) have made to the community. Pictured above is a local band who performed traditional Luhya music during the event.

Local elderly women were quick to join in and dance. Note the circus-style tents which circled the event for shade -much different and more organized than events in Mali.

The main event was the honoring of wrestlers of olden days. Pictured above are the group of about ten men, around the age of 70, who upon being called made a lap around the circle in front of all of the crowds, dancing and swinging their canes.

Who says age matters? After being honored, they wanted to ‘show the youth how wrestling is done!’ So three different pairs actually took turns wrestling for the crowd. Their energy, form, and strength was amazingly impressive for their age. One match got so intense that the two fell hard to the ground, and they still kept attacking. I don’t know if I would have even been able to keep up with them now, let alone at their age!