Trudging Through Swamp and 'Siasa' (Politics)

Trekking through the swamp, back to Bubamba School to begin work. Thankfully, the water has reduced greatly.  The Yala River had swollen in January, at the time of our first trip out there, causing waters to reach up to waist-deep. This time, only up to knee-deep.

At the beginning of the month, I joined all 123 Peace Corps Kenya volunteers when we were required to consolidate in a central location, such that in the event of any widespread violence resulting from the elections held on March 4th, we would be able to quickly evacuate the country by any number of means.

Although the voting and tallying process was fraught with a number of failures and inconsistencies, and results therefore were delayed until five days after the election, there was thankfully only isolated reports of violence, all of which quickly contained by the security forces. So instead of an abrupt end of our time in Kenya, which would have marked my second evacuation in as many countries, what we were left with instead was a week and a half vacation with close friends in a rather fantastic resort in rural Kenya. Comfortable accommodations, buffet meals, Peace Corps Olympics, sports, and general shenanigans... yes please!

Working Through Political Interference

When I first heard about my site, I figured that I would have a predetermined workload. Unlike in Mali, I was assigned to a host organization, which has had over ten years experience in implementing a variety of projects within the community. I thought this meant I'd basically be an employee again. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The disorganization within my host organization at the moment, along with the abrupt resignation of my supervisor to pursue politics once I arrived, and the departures of my initial counterpart, whom I saw only once a month anyways, and Austin, the young man who assisted me over my first two months, has meant me being again on my own, the same way I was in Mali.

We hired Edwin, my current counterpart within my host organization, on a voluntary basis at the end of November. I really enjoy working with this guy. He is very motivated to help his community, specifically marginalized villages within the Yala Swamp near where he lives. But Edwin lives across the river from me, voluntarily teaches at a local institute each afternoon, and must often scrape together odd jobs to earn money to support himself. With all of these constraints, we are only able to truly work together a couple times a week.

In many ways, I like working this way. The situation has given me a lot of freedom to determine for myself where my time can best be utilized. I am still working hard with my host organization to build it's capacity and succeed with it's current contract on Land Rights outreach. But otherwise, I have been largely able to choose whom to work with, and what needs to focus on.

Mumbaya Youth Group members during a weekly meeting this past Sunday.

Maisha Ndani ya Swamp Kabisa (Life in the Interior of the Swamp)

Yesterday, Edwin and I finished our trips to the most remote reaches of the Yala Swamp, traveling to the villages of Madua and Buhuma.

My counterpart Edwin and I took a boat through the swamp from Madua to Buhuma. George, a native of Buhuma, propels the boat forward using a bamboo rod.

Every time I head out into the swamp, I feel like I'm in some Dr. Seuss fantasy world, surrounded by crazy papyrus plants topped with green needles in the shape of balls.

In my last post, I covered the villages of Bubamba and Iyanga. Those villages were the most physically-taxing villages to get to, requiring long treks on foot, often wading through waist-deep water, in addition to pulling boats by rope permanently positioned in particularly long and deep stretches of water, and taking a boat across the Yala/Bulwani River propelled by bamboo rods.

We later visited the village of Buongo, which although being within the swamp, does not entail anywhere near the effort to access it. There, planks of wood and felled wetlands plants are used to bridge standing water within the swamp along a trail leading to the main road south of the River Nzoia..

Yesterday, we visited the villages of Madua and Buhuma. Buhuma is probably the most remote of all of the villages in the district. Inhabitants of Madua and Buhuma must enter Lake Victoria in order to reach any other village. And the distance required to reach Buhuma by boat is significant.

So you think your daily commute is tough?

When I began working with Edwin, my new counterpart we hired in November, he told me that I hadn't yet been in the swamp. I was skeptical. Villages like Runyu and Bulwani, which I had previously visited, seemed pretty damn 'in' the swamp to me.

So when Edwin, who lives by the swamp himself, planned to take me to villages in the swamp, I was curious. On Tuesday, we visited the villages of Bubamba and Iyanga. I wouldn't say that the homes were any more 'in' the swamp than homes in other villages I've been to. But we, ourselves, were certainly more 'in' the swamp to get to them.

Below is our journey in pictures:

First thing in the morning at 7AM, I made the hour long trip by bike, including the river crossing at Sigiri by boat, to meet Edwin in his village of Rukala, at the edge of the swamp. Once we met up, we began our journey into the swamp, crossing this footbridge at the village of Khulokhongo.

The chief benefit of living by the swamp: fertile soil. All of the crops we passed during the day were full and healthy. In comparison to Budalang'i, where all the crops have dried out before even bearing grains, the contrast is striking.

We passed women working their fields, as well as carrying firewood and maize back to their homes. From them, we learned that the river had swollen. They suggested that instead of continuing down the path Edwin was leading us down, we backtrack and take a different one which leads directly to the school. The water we'd have to cross would be much more manageable.

Validation

Since we last checked in with my friends in Mali at the beginning of September, a lot has happened. The news on the national front had generally been getting worse, but fortunately the situation took a turn for the better last week when France intervened to assist the Malian military in combatting rebel advances threatening the southern part of the country. And a good thing, too. The Islamic rebels were actually threatening to advance through Mopti and into Ségou region, my region!

But within my village of Makili, the past few months have been very promising, particularly regarding my work:

Water and Sanitation Committee

I have been in regular contact with my friends on our Water and Sanitation Committee, and throughout this time, the committee has continued to hold regular meetings and treat the village drinking water wells with bleach monthly.

I also know that they have been continuing to enforce rules at the pumps. While chatting with a friend of mine over the phone last week, he actually told me that as we were talking, Daoudani had caught someone slamming the handle and was enforcing the fine.

The one problem has been money collection. As villagers began the millet and rice harvests, money collection had to stop. Not only were people too busy, but also people were generally short of money until they were able to begin selling some of their new crop. There were three months of monthly dues backlogged, plus the money for well construction.

Dramani, the president of the committee, continued to assure me that they wouldn't leave the work. They just needed to wait until after the harvest to proceed. I wanted to believe him, that everything would pick back up after the harvest, but with how difficult development work can be, I had my doubts. Its not that I don't trust him, I do fully. His intentions are true. But actions and behavior change are difficult, and I certainly saw my share of setbacks while working there.

Planning in the midst of adversity...

There hasn't been a lot of opportunity to get started with work these past couple of months. After our In-Service-Training in Nairobi at the beginning of December, I returned to Budalang'i on the 12th. From that time, I've tried my best to make arrangements for a productive final stretch of Peace Corps Service. But holiday festivities, and nagging health issues, have gotten in the way.

I am currently in Nairobi being subjected to numerous tests to finally sort out what digestive ailment has been distressing me over the past two and a half months. Hopefully after these tests, I can move forward healthy and energized.

And that energy will be needed. If my close-of-service date of July 1st, 2013 holds true, I now have less than six months remaining in exactly three years of Peace Corps Service (if you include Pre-Service Training), but only about five months of those have been in my current village of Budalang'i. The time is nigh to work to make my time in Budalang'i a success.

I feel that I have laid out a solid foundation for myself to build from. The problem again is, do I have time to erect anything meaningful?

I am very proud of my level of integration in Budalang'i. I feel almost as close to my village here as I did in Mali, despite being here for a much shorter period of time. I have built strong relationships with men and women of all ages. I have become near fluent in 'kiswahili', and have really made strides in 'olunyala', the local vernacular. I am now to the point where my first instinct is to speak to people in 'olunyala'. When I have trouble getting my point across, I move to 'kiswahili'. Only in the most difficult of situations do I revert to my third option, English.

It is rewarding that whenever I am out in the community, even in remote areas of the district, people call out to me by name. I will never know everyone by name, like I did in Makili. The sense of community just isn't as strong, and the area much more vast. But I do feel that I belong.

Being a valued and trusted member of the community means that I should be more easily able to affect change. But with my focus having been placed foremost on integration, I haven't really begun any real projects. I am behind. So what projects am I now planning to pursue?

New Year's in Budalang'i

Kenyans generally celebrate the arrival of the new year in much the same way that Americans do. There is sports during the day, and a night out on the town with friends. The sports and the venues may vary, but at their core, celebrations are much the same.

The final match of the football tournament pitted my hometown team of Budalang'i against Mundere, another small village bordering Budalang'i. The guys wore English Premier League jerseys of their choice to distinguish teams. Yellow was Budalang'i. 

Beginning on December 30th, Budalang'i hosted a three-day football tournament involving local teams in the northern part of our district. The event culminated on New Year's Day with the final between Budalang'i and Mundere. During intermissions, women's dance groups sang and performed traditional music to keep the crowd entertained.

The event was sponsored by, 'kama kawaida' (as usual), local politicians within the ODM political party. They provided not only a trophy to the winning team, and some prize money to the top four, but also the tent and PA system rental. The tent, as is always the case in Kenya, is there primarily to provide seating for the guests of honor, generally the sponsors themselves and local political officials.