Flood Reconnaissance – The Northern Banks of the River Nzoia

A picture along a portion of the dyke protecting residents from flooding of the River Nzoia. The dykes are generally kept fairly barren of vegetation.

This past Monday and Tuesday, I went outside the office with my coworkers Austin and Michael to bike along the dyke beside the northern banks of the River Nzoia. The River Nzoia is the source of annual flooding which affects the Budalang’i area. I will later tour the southern banks of the river, the scene of most of the devastation from last year.

Coworkers Austin and Mike at my host organization showed me around the flood-prone areas and the dyke.  

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.

I am officially (still) a Peace Corps Volunteer

Last Wednesday, August 15th, I was amongst thirty Americans sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers at the US Ambassador's residence in Nairobi. Of course, I have been a volunteer for almost two years now, so this was a bit anticlimactic. But what it did mean is that the following day, I was able to head out to my new site of Budalang'i, just North of Lake Victoria along the Ugandan border to start getting acquainted with the community and the work that I will be doing for the next year.

Pictured above are all the members of our training class, along with the US Charge d'Affairs and the Country Director of Peace Corps Kenya. We have a great group, and I've enjoyed getting to know them all over the past two months.

The Last from Loitokitok

A view of Mount Kilimanjaro (right) and a nearer mountain as seen from downtown Loitokitok, home for the past nine weeks.

The guys of our training class during a hike to a nearby waterfall, dubbed ‘51’ by the locals. We've got a great group here, and we've really gotten tight over the two months of training.

The girls of our training class during that same hike.