Among the challenges Kenya faces politically and economically, an ongoing issue that the country has been dealing with for quite awhile is the humanitarian issue of hosting refugees from other war-torn African countries, namely Sudan and Somalia.
"Dadaab" is referred to as one camp, but is actually three refugee camps in the northeastern part of Kenya on the border of Somalia, created in 1991 to assist refugees fleeing Somalia. The camp was designed to host 90,000 refugees and currently has almost 250,000. Estimates are that in the last several months, 10,000 refugees from Somalia have been coming into the country every month, which is really not sustainable. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is an agency that oversees the camp with assistance from NGOs like CARE and other UN agencies like UNICEF (for nutrition, water and sanitation, and child protection services mostly) and WFP (for food provision). UNHCR has recently promised to expand Dadaab's facilities because they are completely overburdened and in some cases are not safe or sanitary. Local drought and flooding conditions make life harder in Dadaab as well, in addition to violence that spreads from Somalia into that part of Kenya. Facilities for the local community, such as schools and hospitals, are also overburdened because of the refugees and so UNHCR will be investing in improving those facilities as well. In addition, at least 50,000 refugees will be transported to the other major refugee camp in Kenya, Kakuma.
Kakuma is the refugee camp in the northwestern part of Kenya that has housed 70,000 predominantly Sudanese refugees since 1992 (notably, "the Lost Boys of Sudan" were hosted at this camp until they were resettled to the United States). Kakuma is known to have "good" education services and is it has also been noted that the people who live in the camp are less poor than the Kenyans who live in the area surrounding the camp. Interestingly, Sudanese refugees are being repatriated to Sudan more readily than Somalian refugees, who really can't go back to Somalia due to the ongoing violence. Because of this, refugees from Dadaab will be moved to Kakuma and, eventually, it is anticipated that both camps will host more Somalians than refugees from any other African countries (there are pockets of refugees from Ethiopia, Burundi, Uganda, etc.).
Given UNHCR's commitment to improve conditions in Dadaab, I thought it was an interesting time to share this information on life in Kenya. At the end of March, Kristoffer will be monitoring schools for WFP up near Kakuma and hopes to get a look at the camp; he has already been to Dadaab once before. It is so interesting to me that even though I think Kenya is all screwed up in so many ways (corruption, etc.), it is still a "model" country compared to places like Sudan and Somalia and refugees would rather live a permanently tough life in a camp in Kenya (many of them have been here for more than a decade!) than stay in their unstable homelands.
LMW
Showing posts with label UNICEF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNICEF. Show all posts
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
December 2, 2008 - The Dislocated American
There is a very interesting article in the NY Times this week, "The Dislocated American" about Americans who become expats, and how the happiness of the spouse of the person with the overseas job can pretty much make or break such a big move. We were warned of this and have actively tried to make sure that both of us were happy with our decisions and activities. Kristoffer has been my biggest advocate over here since the beginning (to get work, meet other spouses, etc.) because he realized that he would be unhappy with his great new job if I didn't find a life here. The article points out that sometimes it is other expats who provide the most amount of comfort because they know what you are going through! Check it out if you care for a quick, interesting read that tells you a little bit about some of the things we have gone through in the last year...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/business/worldbusiness/02expat.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
And while I'm on the topic, I feel a bit like a "Dislocated American" myself right now! As desperately as we want to and are ready to come home (3 more days!), my work deadlines appear to be flying at me in hyper-speed this week. My work is very dependent on other people giving me information at certain times, and when they don't it makes it very hard for me to get my job done, which is the situation I am in right now. Last night I had what Kristoffer is calling my "first real pregnancy night" because I was overtired, stressed about work, unable to eat, unable and unwilling to be consoled, and a general emotional wreck. He survived the night pretty well but it was definitely a little touch and go for a few hours! After going to sleep at 8:30pm, I woke up at 4:38 am this morning with my mind completely wired with a million things to do. I think I'll be happy when we are on the plane!
So I shouldn't even be writing a blog right now but since I have been staring at spreadsheets for the last 5 hours straight I decided that a few minutes of "me time" while I try to eat a sandwich would be a good idea. In my 27th week of pregnancy I have decided that there are quite a few things about being pregnant that I am good at...
• Sleeping
• Talking to the baby
• Getting food on my belly
• Lying down when I’m at home
• Dealing with pregnancy symptoms well and not panicking or over-reacting
• Tripping (only actually fell once, used my knees and hands to protect my belly)
• Taking my vitamins
• Thinking of myself as and visualizing being a mother
• NOT using the pregnancy against Kristoffer to get what I want
There are also some things that I am not so good at regarding this whole pregnancy thing...
• Eating regularly or healthily...alright, let’s just say eating altogether
• Exercising more than regular walking
• Taking breaks from sitting at my desk at work to stretch
• Finding safe, high-quality, nice-looking, affordable baby furniture in Nairobi
The good news is that the first list is longer than the second :) We will soon see which list "travelling very long distances" falls under!
LMW
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/business/worldbusiness/02expat.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
And while I'm on the topic, I feel a bit like a "Dislocated American" myself right now! As desperately as we want to and are ready to come home (3 more days!), my work deadlines appear to be flying at me in hyper-speed this week. My work is very dependent on other people giving me information at certain times, and when they don't it makes it very hard for me to get my job done, which is the situation I am in right now. Last night I had what Kristoffer is calling my "first real pregnancy night" because I was overtired, stressed about work, unable to eat, unable and unwilling to be consoled, and a general emotional wreck. He survived the night pretty well but it was definitely a little touch and go for a few hours! After going to sleep at 8:30pm, I woke up at 4:38 am this morning with my mind completely wired with a million things to do. I think I'll be happy when we are on the plane!
So I shouldn't even be writing a blog right now but since I have been staring at spreadsheets for the last 5 hours straight I decided that a few minutes of "me time" while I try to eat a sandwich would be a good idea. In my 27th week of pregnancy I have decided that there are quite a few things about being pregnant that I am good at...
• Sleeping
• Talking to the baby
• Getting food on my belly
• Lying down when I’m at home
• Dealing with pregnancy symptoms well and not panicking or over-reacting
• Tripping (only actually fell once, used my knees and hands to protect my belly)
• Taking my vitamins
• Thinking of myself as and visualizing being a mother
• NOT using the pregnancy against Kristoffer to get what I want
There are also some things that I am not so good at regarding this whole pregnancy thing...
• Eating regularly or healthily...alright, let’s just say eating altogether
• Exercising more than regular walking
• Taking breaks from sitting at my desk at work to stretch
• Finding safe, high-quality, nice-looking, affordable baby furniture in Nairobi
The good news is that the first list is longer than the second :) We will soon see which list "travelling very long distances" falls under!
LMW
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
November 19, 2008 - World Toilet Day
When you work at UNICEF, you sometimes get emails like this....
Dear Colleagues,
You may not be aware, but today is World Toilet Day. November 19 was declared as "World Toilet Day" in 2001 and this is now being celebrated all over the world. The purpose is to increase awareness and generate local action for better sanitation practices.
In Kenya, with 38 Million population, we need to increase available toilet facilities by over 50% to meet the demands of our growing population. Lets applaud the WASH section who are working with GoK and partners to achieve this goal.
Remember, always wash your hands with soap, after every critical moment, please be an advocate and remind others! Why? Imagine, Over 70% of care-givers do not wash their hands at critical moments , Hand washing with soap alone, will reduce child death caused by diarrhoea by 20%!! AMAZING.......We can do this together, Yes we can......
So, Happy World Toilet Day to you...I hope you make it a good one!
LMW
Dear Colleagues,
You may not be aware, but today is World Toilet Day. November 19 was declared as "World Toilet Day" in 2001 and this is now being celebrated all over the world. The purpose is to increase awareness and generate local action for better sanitation practices.
In Kenya, with 38 Million population, we need to increase available toilet facilities by over 50% to meet the demands of our growing population. Lets applaud the WASH section who are working with GoK and partners to achieve this goal.
Remember, always wash your hands with soap, after every critical moment, please be an advocate and remind others! Why? Imagine, Over 70% of care-givers do not wash their hands at critical moments , Hand washing with soap alone, will reduce child death caused by diarrhoea by 20%!! AMAZING.......We can do this together, Yes we can......
So, Happy World Toilet Day to you...I hope you make it a good one!
LMW
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
October 15, 2008 - An American Visa
Last night I had a very funny phone call around 7pm. It was from an offical from the Ministry of Education who Kristoffer and I both deal with in our respective positions at the UN (for school feeding and post-election emergency). He did have a piece of work-related news to tell me, yes, but the main purpose of his phone call was to share a personal story. You see, a few months ago he had applied for a visa to go to America and visit some of his family. The US Embassy has been taking forever to process it, and he basically anticipated being altogether denied. This is a Kenyan man from the Somali tribe (there are half a million Kenyan-Somalis) with an obviously Muslim name, and in the US there is a problem of Somalis going into the country with false names, out-staying their visas, etc. So he was at least understanding as to why the US Embassy might take a long time, or deny him , and he was in relatively good spirits about the situation considering that he really wants to go to the US.
So, when I get this phone call last night he told me that US Embassy informed him that he could pick up his passport and that he was granted a visa to the US for one year! Now that is almost unheard of! One month is the typical length of a visa, but he happens to be friendly with the director of the Peace Corp over here who gave him a glowing recommendation and, I assume, helped get him such a long visa.
He thanked ME many times on the phone, because he says I am his favorite American and apparently by affiliation he feels like I somehow helped him get this visa. When I asked him if he was going for the whole year (because we have a lot of work to do over here and he is a big player in getting things accomplished!) he said that he would be going for just a few weeks in November to get married in Minneapolis.
I said, "Oh Congratulations!" and he said, "Yes...I am taking a second wife, and when that business is finished I will come back. But then I can at least travel back and forth a few times in the next year to see her. It is very good."
Whoah! I mean, after thinking about it and recognizing that he is a Somali, Muslim man I am not surprised to hear that he is taking a second wife, but in that moment on the phone with him I was a little thrown off. This young American woman is not used to hearing that everyday (nor do I really with it, either)! I actually felt a bit like the conversation was taking place in a parallel universe, where this man was thanking me for helping him get a visa to America so that he can take a second wife. Crazy!
LMW
p.s. I bet you didn't know that today is the first-ever Global Handwashing Day, which is sponsored largely by UNICEF! To quote the official website, www.globalhandwashingday.com, "The guiding vision of Global Handwashing Day is a local and global culture of handwashing with soap. Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at the critical occasions." Make sure you always wash your hands with soap - to be able to do so is a privilege that many people don't have (approximately 120 million children worldwide) and one that could save many, many lives each year!
So, when I get this phone call last night he told me that US Embassy informed him that he could pick up his passport and that he was granted a visa to the US for one year! Now that is almost unheard of! One month is the typical length of a visa, but he happens to be friendly with the director of the Peace Corp over here who gave him a glowing recommendation and, I assume, helped get him such a long visa.
He thanked ME many times on the phone, because he says I am his favorite American and apparently by affiliation he feels like I somehow helped him get this visa. When I asked him if he was going for the whole year (because we have a lot of work to do over here and he is a big player in getting things accomplished!) he said that he would be going for just a few weeks in November to get married in Minneapolis.
I said, "Oh Congratulations!" and he said, "Yes...I am taking a second wife, and when that business is finished I will come back. But then I can at least travel back and forth a few times in the next year to see her. It is very good."
Whoah! I mean, after thinking about it and recognizing that he is a Somali, Muslim man I am not surprised to hear that he is taking a second wife, but in that moment on the phone with him I was a little thrown off. This young American woman is not used to hearing that everyday (nor do I really with it, either)! I actually felt a bit like the conversation was taking place in a parallel universe, where this man was thanking me for helping him get a visa to America so that he can take a second wife. Crazy!
LMW
p.s. I bet you didn't know that today is the first-ever Global Handwashing Day, which is sponsored largely by UNICEF! To quote the official website, www.globalhandwashingday.com, "The guiding vision of Global Handwashing Day is a local and global culture of handwashing with soap. Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at the critical occasions." Make sure you always wash your hands with soap - to be able to do so is a privilege that many people don't have (approximately 120 million children worldwide) and one that could save many, many lives each year!
Friday, August 29, 2008
August 29, 2008 - Politics
I have to say that this morning, as I watched Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination this morning (well...CNN showed long highlights but I was asleep for the live event), I couldn't help but ache for my classroom in NYC. I envy my colleagues who get to teach this historic moment in American history and I spent at least 15 minutes drafting lesson plan ideas in my head while I was eating breakfast.
Regardless of who individuals are voting for or if Barack Obama wins the election, I cannot imagine that every American watching that speech was not completely moved by the fact that an African American man is a candidate for President. I had goosebumps and I shed a few tears for sure...it was "awesome" in every sense of the word.
But actually, these days in Kenya I have been dealing with a different kind of politics. This week at work, a UNICEF colleague of mine and I had an extremely disappointing experience with another colleague from a different UN agency. It would be highly unprofessional of me to describe the situation in detail here, but I will say that I learned something very interesting.
You see, I expected that the UN system would be rife with political agendas and motivations, as any institution is. But for some reason, I naively thought that the politics at the UN would be different from other politics I have experienced...somehow more mature or worldy. This, as I learned this week, turns out to be completely untrue. The politics at the UN are the same as the politics of a high school in NYC or Washington, DC, the same as the politics at a major private university, and the same as the politics of an American small-town's musical theater company. Some people with a relative degree of power here defend it with their lives, at all costs, and at whatever expense it is to their colleagues. At this point, I am now in the middle of an unexpected and undesired battle, which will hopefully be resolved with mediation from high level administration on Monday. Sheesh! And I am just a consultant - I thought there would be no stress!
That's most of the news from Nairobi this week. Kristoffer has been a little less busy at work this week than last week, or at least he is going in to the office a little bit later than he was last week! We bought some furniture for our house from some friends who are moving back to Denmark today so we are only one room away from being fully furnished at this point. Sadly, it looks as though our efforts with a second internet company are failing and we will need to start our search again, or resign ourselves to not having internet at home. This seems unacceptable to me so I think we won't give up the fight just yet...perhaps we just need to change tactics.
Kenya is certainly proud today of its favorite "half-son" today (Barack Obama, that is) and, again regardless of political affiliation, I think all Americans should be too!
LMW
Regardless of who individuals are voting for or if Barack Obama wins the election, I cannot imagine that every American watching that speech was not completely moved by the fact that an African American man is a candidate for President. I had goosebumps and I shed a few tears for sure...it was "awesome" in every sense of the word.
But actually, these days in Kenya I have been dealing with a different kind of politics. This week at work, a UNICEF colleague of mine and I had an extremely disappointing experience with another colleague from a different UN agency. It would be highly unprofessional of me to describe the situation in detail here, but I will say that I learned something very interesting.
You see, I expected that the UN system would be rife with political agendas and motivations, as any institution is. But for some reason, I naively thought that the politics at the UN would be different from other politics I have experienced...somehow more mature or worldy. This, as I learned this week, turns out to be completely untrue. The politics at the UN are the same as the politics of a high school in NYC or Washington, DC, the same as the politics at a major private university, and the same as the politics of an American small-town's musical theater company. Some people with a relative degree of power here defend it with their lives, at all costs, and at whatever expense it is to their colleagues. At this point, I am now in the middle of an unexpected and undesired battle, which will hopefully be resolved with mediation from high level administration on Monday. Sheesh! And I am just a consultant - I thought there would be no stress!
That's most of the news from Nairobi this week. Kristoffer has been a little less busy at work this week than last week, or at least he is going in to the office a little bit later than he was last week! We bought some furniture for our house from some friends who are moving back to Denmark today so we are only one room away from being fully furnished at this point. Sadly, it looks as though our efforts with a second internet company are failing and we will need to start our search again, or resign ourselves to not having internet at home. This seems unacceptable to me so I think we won't give up the fight just yet...perhaps we just need to change tactics.
Kenya is certainly proud today of its favorite "half-son" today (Barack Obama, that is) and, again regardless of political affiliation, I think all Americans should be too!
LMW
Thursday, August 14, 2008
August 14, 2008 - 28 will be great!
Hi there! I realized today that I haven't blogged since my "caning in Nairobi" tirade and that wasn't a very nice way to leave you. The update on that is that some groups have spoken out passionately against it (thank you very much) but the Ministry of Education is still remaining silent on the change in policy. Silence on such an issue is never good.
Work is really busy for Kristoffer these days. He has the possibility of travelling to South Africa and Uganda in upcoming months for different conferences, both which would be very good experiences for him (and they will certainly look good on the old resume too). We are hoping that they work out. Because of rising food and oil prices, as well as food shortages here in Kenya, his job is a bit stressful these days. WFP's budget is essentially the same size, but the money is buying a lot less than it used to - especially factoring in enormous transport costs. So he is basically trying to push their money as far as it can go in order to feed as many children as possible. Not an easy task.
Work for me is picking up a bit. At least I am getting paid now! One of the things I deal with is constantly being in meetings with humanitarian stakeholders who are talking about the "reality on the ground" for displaced people in Kenya, which even at this distance from the post election violence is really not good...and then at the same time I attend meetings with high level government officials who say that the situation on the ground is improving, people are happy and getting back to their lives, and the government is doing a great job facilitating the resettlement. There always seem to be a conflict between the truth and the perception that government would like people to have. Of course we (UNICEF) are worried about the displaced children, a large and surprising percentage of whom are separated from their guardians and participating in risky behaviors or have become the victims of various crimes against them, and the atrocious conditions they are living under right now. My job is not glamorous or high profile, but I keep track of a lot of information and hopefully I am helping in a small way.
We had some American visitors this week! Two of my dearest high school teachers with whom I keep in touch - Craig Simpson and Kathy Cook of Andover High School fame - have friends from Sante Fe, New Mexico who were coming here for a 2 week safari. I had been updating them on security in the country earlier in the year, and so we got together for a lovely dinner when they stopped over in Nairobi before their safari began. It was really nice to meet new people with whom we have a friendly connection and to share a bit of our knowledge of this country with them before their big adventure. Thanks to Craig and Kathy for putting us in touch!
Since my last blog I also had a birthday (yesterday)! 27 was certainly interesting for me as a newlywed with two big moves, two new jobs, and two heart surgeries! I would say it was an eventful year indeed and look forward to seeing if 28 turns out to be as exciting!
LMW
p.s. The installation of internet at home has begun...but technical difficulties abound so it is not quite working yet. I promise more pictures (and maybe a working slideshow!) as soon as we have the capabilities. Plus we will look forward to some conversations on Skype as soon as possible!
Work is really busy for Kristoffer these days. He has the possibility of travelling to South Africa and Uganda in upcoming months for different conferences, both which would be very good experiences for him (and they will certainly look good on the old resume too). We are hoping that they work out. Because of rising food and oil prices, as well as food shortages here in Kenya, his job is a bit stressful these days. WFP's budget is essentially the same size, but the money is buying a lot less than it used to - especially factoring in enormous transport costs. So he is basically trying to push their money as far as it can go in order to feed as many children as possible. Not an easy task.
Work for me is picking up a bit. At least I am getting paid now! One of the things I deal with is constantly being in meetings with humanitarian stakeholders who are talking about the "reality on the ground" for displaced people in Kenya, which even at this distance from the post election violence is really not good...and then at the same time I attend meetings with high level government officials who say that the situation on the ground is improving, people are happy and getting back to their lives, and the government is doing a great job facilitating the resettlement. There always seem to be a conflict between the truth and the perception that government would like people to have. Of course we (UNICEF) are worried about the displaced children, a large and surprising percentage of whom are separated from their guardians and participating in risky behaviors or have become the victims of various crimes against them, and the atrocious conditions they are living under right now. My job is not glamorous or high profile, but I keep track of a lot of information and hopefully I am helping in a small way.
We had some American visitors this week! Two of my dearest high school teachers with whom I keep in touch - Craig Simpson and Kathy Cook of Andover High School fame - have friends from Sante Fe, New Mexico who were coming here for a 2 week safari. I had been updating them on security in the country earlier in the year, and so we got together for a lovely dinner when they stopped over in Nairobi before their safari began. It was really nice to meet new people with whom we have a friendly connection and to share a bit of our knowledge of this country with them before their big adventure. Thanks to Craig and Kathy for putting us in touch!
Since my last blog I also had a birthday (yesterday)! 27 was certainly interesting for me as a newlywed with two big moves, two new jobs, and two heart surgeries! I would say it was an eventful year indeed and look forward to seeing if 28 turns out to be as exciting!
LMW
p.s. The installation of internet at home has begun...but technical difficulties abound so it is not quite working yet. I promise more pictures (and maybe a working slideshow!) as soon as we have the capabilities. Plus we will look forward to some conversations on Skype as soon as possible!
Monday, July 28, 2008
July 28, 2008 - My contract!
It was a sad morning in Nairobi for sure when Kirsten and Hans left us to go back to Denmark, but the sun broke through the clouds a bit when I arrived at UNICEF to find that my contract was finally ready! It has been signed and sealed and as of Friday (August 1st) I am employed and paid by UNICEF for two months! This is great news because it will give me more credibility within UNICEF and for future work in Nairobi after this contract. Kristoffer and I are both happy, relieved and looking forward to the work I will be doing to assist UNICEF's efforts to provide basic education rights to children in post-election Kenya. I am also feeling fully recovered from my heart surgeries and my former sleeping disorder is completely resolved.
All is definitely well!
LMW
Thursday, June 26, 2008
June 26, 2008 - Expats
There are some really great things about living in our house. For me, I love that we can walk on our street. It is very quiet with compounds of houses only (no apartments) and so much security. Our security guards call Kristoffer "Mr. Kris" (which he can't decide if he likes or not) and they are more strict about letting people into the compound than at our old apartment (which is a good thing). Christine said that it was like "Fort Knox" getting in to our house the first time she came. The compound is very secluded and quiet. We have already gone on two nice long walks, and Kristoffer has even gone for a morning run! Another thing I love is that our compound has a generator because, even though we lose power just as often as we did in the apartment, the generator kicks in right away and power is restored immediately. It feels like a luxury here but I am loving it! I will not miss 8 hour power outages for sure!
Speaking of luxury...we are finally caving in to the pressures of living in a developing country and are going to hire "staff". Our house comes with "SQ" (or servant's quarters) for two people, but I think we will only hire one - and we haven't decided if that one will live with us or not (depends on the person we hire I think). We are interviewing a woman named Mary on Sunday to be our housekeeper and cook. Isn't that SO crazy?!?! If you had ever asked me when I could imagine myself hiring a housekeeper/cook before living in Kenya, I would have cooly answered, "Well...the year after never of course!" And now here I am, imagining how nice it will be not to spend half of every weekend cleaning our big house and food shopping, and half of every night cooking dinner and cleaning it up. Mary supposedly has a license from a catering school and knows several styles of cooking (we'll have to see if one of them is "vegetarian"). If not her, than we'll find someone else. In Kenya, hiring domestic help is a big part of the economy and there is no shortage of (inexpensive) labor. We've also found a driver, named Justice, to use consistently instead of a taxi because he is a little cheaper, and Kristoffer will occasionally employ the compound's gardener to help with our backyard (rent includes maintenance of the greens in the front of our house only). Did I mention that our house has rose bushes?! There are at least 5 of them, in all different colors, and I think they will be really beautiful once we learn how to take care of them. When Kirsten and Hans are here we plan to ask for their help - they are great gardeners!
This week we picked out a paint color and Kristoffer painted one of the walls in our upstairs living room the other night. It is a creamy/orangey/yellowy color - very warm and friendly. It looks great on one wall but might be too strong for much more than that so we will pick out one shade lighter and have some other rooms painted in that (rest of the living room, hallway and entryway, kitchen). I think it will take us awhile to furnish and decorate the house entirely, so right now we are just focusing on key rooms where we spend most of our time. This weekend our hunt for furniture will continue.
As for me, I have come in to the UN three times now. I have to "check out" as a volunteer before starting a consultant's contract; "checking out" means walking around to have all kinds of people who never even knew that I was a volunteer sign off on a piece of paper that I have returned everything I never borrowed from their department (technology stuff, finance stuff, etc.). It actually takes awhile to do this and most people are like "Who are you?" when I ask if they will clear me as a departing volunteer! Sometimes they will give me a little speech about how the UN needs good people and do I really want to check out? That is when I say that I am waiting for my consultant's contract to be processed so the UN isn't losing me, but that I am rather happy to expect a pay check in the near future.
But about that contract...it seems that it had been approved while I was away but that in the last few weeks there has been a salary adjustment, and I will now be getting paid at a higher rate. Because of the new salary, though, the contract has to go through the entire process of being approved again which will take between 2 and 3 more weeks. When it is finally approved, Kristoffer and I expect to be travelling a bit with his mom and Hans. Ideally, I will start working part time next week "off the books" and will then pick up full time "on the books" when Kirsten and Hans leave. It is sort of confusing, but hopefully will work out for the best. I am lucky that UNICEF has been very patient with me and that my boss is still giving me a contract. She is on leave for the next several weeks anyway and I will be working for an Italian woman who is in charge of the education emergency now; from what I understand I will mostly be organizing, analyzing and finding meaningful ways to report data that people have been collecting for months but haven't really done anything with.
Finally, today Kristoffer and I realized that we actually know a lot of people here! This is sort of a surprising revelation to me because I have been gone for awhile and because I still think of us as being new here. During lunch in the UN cafeteria though, a few women I know came over to say hello. Kristoffer had also seen a few people he knew and I found out later today that some of my UNICEF colleagues were watching us eat but I didn't notice them. Kristoffer and I are now sort of having a contest to see which one of us is more popular. As we were leaving we saw two of WFP Danish guys talking to one UNICEF American women and were like, "How do they know each other?!" We joined them briefly and then as we walked away from all of this Kristoffer said, "It is a really small world here, isn't it?" because eventually all expatriates (expats) know all of the other expats!
Before I sign off, I'll just add that I think it is great that Kristoffer has blogged a bit more. He has the great fortune with his job to be able to see parts of Kenya that average tourists and international business people do not see. His views of "real Kenya", as opposed to the happy little expat bubble we live in, are very valuable and I am always grateful when he shares these stories. I also hope to eventually acquire a few stories of my own when I am working more!
LMW
Speaking of luxury...we are finally caving in to the pressures of living in a developing country and are going to hire "staff". Our house comes with "SQ" (or servant's quarters) for two people, but I think we will only hire one - and we haven't decided if that one will live with us or not (depends on the person we hire I think). We are interviewing a woman named Mary on Sunday to be our housekeeper and cook. Isn't that SO crazy?!?! If you had ever asked me when I could imagine myself hiring a housekeeper/cook before living in Kenya, I would have cooly answered, "Well...the year after never of course!" And now here I am, imagining how nice it will be not to spend half of every weekend cleaning our big house and food shopping, and half of every night cooking dinner and cleaning it up. Mary supposedly has a license from a catering school and knows several styles of cooking (we'll have to see if one of them is "vegetarian"). If not her, than we'll find someone else. In Kenya, hiring domestic help is a big part of the economy and there is no shortage of (inexpensive) labor. We've also found a driver, named Justice, to use consistently instead of a taxi because he is a little cheaper, and Kristoffer will occasionally employ the compound's gardener to help with our backyard (rent includes maintenance of the greens in the front of our house only). Did I mention that our house has rose bushes?! There are at least 5 of them, in all different colors, and I think they will be really beautiful once we learn how to take care of them. When Kirsten and Hans are here we plan to ask for their help - they are great gardeners!
This week we picked out a paint color and Kristoffer painted one of the walls in our upstairs living room the other night. It is a creamy/orangey/yellowy color - very warm and friendly. It looks great on one wall but might be too strong for much more than that so we will pick out one shade lighter and have some other rooms painted in that (rest of the living room, hallway and entryway, kitchen). I think it will take us awhile to furnish and decorate the house entirely, so right now we are just focusing on key rooms where we spend most of our time. This weekend our hunt for furniture will continue.
As for me, I have come in to the UN three times now. I have to "check out" as a volunteer before starting a consultant's contract; "checking out" means walking around to have all kinds of people who never even knew that I was a volunteer sign off on a piece of paper that I have returned everything I never borrowed from their department (technology stuff, finance stuff, etc.). It actually takes awhile to do this and most people are like "Who are you?" when I ask if they will clear me as a departing volunteer! Sometimes they will give me a little speech about how the UN needs good people and do I really want to check out? That is when I say that I am waiting for my consultant's contract to be processed so the UN isn't losing me, but that I am rather happy to expect a pay check in the near future.
But about that contract...it seems that it had been approved while I was away but that in the last few weeks there has been a salary adjustment, and I will now be getting paid at a higher rate. Because of the new salary, though, the contract has to go through the entire process of being approved again which will take between 2 and 3 more weeks. When it is finally approved, Kristoffer and I expect to be travelling a bit with his mom and Hans. Ideally, I will start working part time next week "off the books" and will then pick up full time "on the books" when Kirsten and Hans leave. It is sort of confusing, but hopefully will work out for the best. I am lucky that UNICEF has been very patient with me and that my boss is still giving me a contract. She is on leave for the next several weeks anyway and I will be working for an Italian woman who is in charge of the education emergency now; from what I understand I will mostly be organizing, analyzing and finding meaningful ways to report data that people have been collecting for months but haven't really done anything with.
Finally, today Kristoffer and I realized that we actually know a lot of people here! This is sort of a surprising revelation to me because I have been gone for awhile and because I still think of us as being new here. During lunch in the UN cafeteria though, a few women I know came over to say hello. Kristoffer had also seen a few people he knew and I found out later today that some of my UNICEF colleagues were watching us eat but I didn't notice them. Kristoffer and I are now sort of having a contest to see which one of us is more popular. As we were leaving we saw two of WFP Danish guys talking to one UNICEF American women and were like, "How do they know each other?!" We joined them briefly and then as we walked away from all of this Kristoffer said, "It is a really small world here, isn't it?" because eventually all expatriates (expats) know all of the other expats!
Before I sign off, I'll just add that I think it is great that Kristoffer has blogged a bit more. He has the great fortune with his job to be able to see parts of Kenya that average tourists and international business people do not see. His views of "real Kenya", as opposed to the happy little expat bubble we live in, are very valuable and I am always grateful when he shares these stories. I also hope to eventually acquire a few stories of my own when I am working more!
LMW
Thursday, June 19, 2008
June 19, 2008 - Back in Nairobi
Jambo! Greetings from Kenya!
I arrived here on Saturday night. My trip was long and uncomfortable, to be honest. British Airways was not particularly accommodating (and, in fact, tried to charge me additional fare for having changed my plane ticket even though I was assured that a hospitalization relieved me of that expense) but I did make it here in one piece. Kristoffer picked me up at the airport and I can honestly say I have never been so happy to see anyone!
Our house is amazing. It is big and bright and well made, as opposed to our apartment which showed no quality craftsmanship whatsoever. We visited with our neighbors on Sunday, a guy who I worked with at UNICEF and his wife, and it is nice to know that we will have friends close by. All we need now is furniture! We are going to upgrade some of the things we had made already and will buy some new stuff too - we have a lot of rooms to furnish. Four bedrooms and two living rooms! Of course we don't actually need all of that space, but it is nice to be in a cozy home and we have plenty of room for visitors. The UN also subsidizes part of our rent, so it isn't costing us much more to live in this house as opposed to our apartment.
I haven't done much since I got back. Kristoffer is travelling for work and Christine is here until tomorrow. Today I am at the mall at an internet cafe because we don't have internet at our house yet; this is my biggest outing of the week. I don't have serious pain anymore, but I have had the worst jet lag ever and that has made my aches even more achey. I hadn't slept for 2 days before getting a really good night's sleep last night (after some wine and some tylenol PM). The good part of my insomnia is that I was wide awake to watch the last game of the NBA Finals (from 4 am to 6:30 am) and was overjoyed for the Celtics' win. I think my body was already screwed up from the surgeries/anesthesia/blood transfusion and that losing 7 hours just screwed it up even more. Hopefully after last night (and no more daytime napping) I will be back to a regular sleeping schedule.
I should be meeting with my boss and colleagues at UNICEF tomorrow to look at my new (paid!) contract and figure out what my work schedule will be. I think for a little while I will work part time, also because I want to spend time with Kristoffer's Mom and Hans when they are here for 3 weeks in July, and perhaps when (if!) we get internet at home I can work from there as well. UNICEF has been very supportive and patient so I am sure we will work something out that pleases all of us.
I will say that it is a big adjustment to be away from my parents, especially my mother who was with me everyday. We were almost inseparable for 6 weeks and now I really miss them! It is strange that even as a grown woman, my mother can bring me a sort of comfort and care that nobody else can. Kristoffer is pretty amazing, though, and I am certainly happy to be home with him again.
That's all for now; I will write again soon.
LMW
I arrived here on Saturday night. My trip was long and uncomfortable, to be honest. British Airways was not particularly accommodating (and, in fact, tried to charge me additional fare for having changed my plane ticket even though I was assured that a hospitalization relieved me of that expense) but I did make it here in one piece. Kristoffer picked me up at the airport and I can honestly say I have never been so happy to see anyone!
Our house is amazing. It is big and bright and well made, as opposed to our apartment which showed no quality craftsmanship whatsoever. We visited with our neighbors on Sunday, a guy who I worked with at UNICEF and his wife, and it is nice to know that we will have friends close by. All we need now is furniture! We are going to upgrade some of the things we had made already and will buy some new stuff too - we have a lot of rooms to furnish. Four bedrooms and two living rooms! Of course we don't actually need all of that space, but it is nice to be in a cozy home and we have plenty of room for visitors. The UN also subsidizes part of our rent, so it isn't costing us much more to live in this house as opposed to our apartment.
I haven't done much since I got back. Kristoffer is travelling for work and Christine is here until tomorrow. Today I am at the mall at an internet cafe because we don't have internet at our house yet; this is my biggest outing of the week. I don't have serious pain anymore, but I have had the worst jet lag ever and that has made my aches even more achey. I hadn't slept for 2 days before getting a really good night's sleep last night (after some wine and some tylenol PM). The good part of my insomnia is that I was wide awake to watch the last game of the NBA Finals (from 4 am to 6:30 am) and was overjoyed for the Celtics' win. I think my body was already screwed up from the surgeries/anesthesia/blood transfusion and that losing 7 hours just screwed it up even more. Hopefully after last night (and no more daytime napping) I will be back to a regular sleeping schedule.
I should be meeting with my boss and colleagues at UNICEF tomorrow to look at my new (paid!) contract and figure out what my work schedule will be. I think for a little while I will work part time, also because I want to spend time with Kristoffer's Mom and Hans when they are here for 3 weeks in July, and perhaps when (if!) we get internet at home I can work from there as well. UNICEF has been very supportive and patient so I am sure we will work something out that pleases all of us.
I will say that it is a big adjustment to be away from my parents, especially my mother who was with me everyday. We were almost inseparable for 6 weeks and now I really miss them! It is strange that even as a grown woman, my mother can bring me a sort of comfort and care that nobody else can. Kristoffer is pretty amazing, though, and I am certainly happy to be home with him again.
That's all for now; I will write again soon.
LMW
Sunday, April 27, 2008
April 27, 2008 - American Religion
The weather in Kenya has become sort of interesting. It is raining more than it was before and not only at night, so that usually it is cold and rainy in the morning, sunny and warm/hot in the afternoon, and then cold at night with rain again. You sort of need to be prepared with layers and rain gear at all times.
Kristoffer and I are feeling better this weekend. I seemed to recover much more quickly than he did, and he actually had to see a doctor to get some antibiotics for his infection. Our week was not a normal week because of getting sick - we didn't go to the gym or eat too much, and we were both pretty tired at work. For me, I finished up a big project I had been working on for my boss at UNICEF. I am happy because even though I am a volunteer, my name is going on the project as the editor (and partial writer, to be honest). I am told that is a big deal and will help me secure future work there. My new paid contract - after all this time - was sort of stuck and not going anywhere, and last week my boss started the process again and I am told it will go through in the next few weeks. For Kristoffer, rising global food prices are making his job very difficult these days.
I had a funny experience at work this week. One of the women in our office, a program administrator, was singing at her desk, apparently a Christian song. I must have been bopping my head along to her music or something and she said, "I like to sing Christian songs; they make me feel very calm," and I said, "That's really nice." Then she said, "Oh! Are you a Christian? Do you go to church?" and I said, "Yes, I am Catholic and I do go to church," and then she said, "Oh. I thought all Americans were Jewish. I didn't know any of them went to church." Isn't that so funny? She didn't think in a country of 300 million people, that there were any Christians? I think she forgot that we were colonized by the same people.
Sorry there isn't too much else to report. Hopefully next week we will have more to say now that we are feeling well again.
LMW
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
April 15, 2008 - Action!
So there has been a lot of action in Kenya in the last week. First, Kristoffer and I have taken action at the gym! Other than the mistake we made of sitting by the pool for 15 minutes without sunblock (can you say Lobster #1 and Lobster #2? - we forgot that we are nearly on the equator!) our experience at the gym is going well. I am enjoying aerobics classes and Kristoffer really likes to swim. We are sort of in training because before this year is over we intend to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro (and I, for one, definitely need to be in better shape to do that!). It is nice to have a routine of going to the gym after work.
We also took action to be more social! We are pretty much home-bodies over here, but that is doing nothing for our social life. On Saturday night we went to a really fun party thrown by a Danish guy Kristoffer knows (it was actually a birthday party for his wife, but we didn't know that). There were a lot of Danes there - I think they are taking over Kenya! And when you meet new people in the expatriate community you ask them their story (why they are here, what agency they work for, etc) and then you tell yours, so the time flew by as we exchanged stories a few times and learned about other people's experiences here. And the party was so fun that I spent most of Sunday recovering from it :)
On Sunday, the government finally took action and came to an agreement on a Cabinet of 40 ministers (plus the President, plus the Prime Minister). It is good news that they agreed to something, but it is not good news that the Cabinet is so bloated and that the government seriously increased its own paycheck. People have mixed emotions and I think there is a lot of distrust between the government and the people now. Only time will tell if this arrangement will work.
Yesterday we woke up in the morning to hear of violence in the city; we first thought it was in reaction to the new Cabinet, but in fact it was not. There is a large gang in Kenya called the Mungiki; they are essentially the Kenyan mafia, are known for doing the government's dirty work, and are loyal to the largest tribe in Kenya, the Kikuyu. Their leader is in prison and last week his wife was unexpectedly and brutally murdered. They claim she was killed by the police and so they launched violent protests yesterday in certain areas of Nairobi and elsewhere (although nowhere near the UN so we are safe). They blocked roads, killed a random driver on the road, burned tires, shot at and stoned cars, etc. The police killed 11 of them yesterday and so far two of them today. They are not only protesting the wife's death but are also hoping to force the release of their leader from prison. They are an extremely dangerous group here in Kenya and some people with whom we work were actually unable to get to work yesterday because of the trouble they caused; people are afraid of the Mungiki to the degree that one of my colleagues is not staying at her home anymore because she lives in an area with a lot of Mungiki activity and she doesn't think she is safe. They don't seem to be targeting anyone in particular, they are just angry at everyone in general. Now, I am not writing this to scare anyone - please don't be worried about our safety, we take every precaution we can - but rather to show that life in Kenya is action-packed and changes constantly. Every day there is something new to observe or learn!
My job is going well and, while it is taking longer than hoped (no surprise there), some progress is being made towards processing a consultant's contract for me at UNICEF. Kristoffer's job is also really good these days; it is hard for us to believe that we have been here for over 4 months! We are very happy that we get American Idol on Tuesday and Thursday nights, although we are weeks and weeks behind the live version in the US (and, of course, I love it a bit more than he does), but yesterday was a true highlight when we flipped on ESPN after work to find the last 2 innings of Sunday's Yankees/Red Sox game! It didn't matter that it wasn't live, it just felt so good to watch the Red Sox play, especially because they won - it was almost like being at home!
We also took action to be more social! We are pretty much home-bodies over here, but that is doing nothing for our social life. On Saturday night we went to a really fun party thrown by a Danish guy Kristoffer knows (it was actually a birthday party for his wife, but we didn't know that). There were a lot of Danes there - I think they are taking over Kenya! And when you meet new people in the expatriate community you ask them their story (why they are here, what agency they work for, etc) and then you tell yours, so the time flew by as we exchanged stories a few times and learned about other people's experiences here. And the party was so fun that I spent most of Sunday recovering from it :)
On Sunday, the government finally took action and came to an agreement on a Cabinet of 40 ministers (plus the President, plus the Prime Minister). It is good news that they agreed to something, but it is not good news that the Cabinet is so bloated and that the government seriously increased its own paycheck. People have mixed emotions and I think there is a lot of distrust between the government and the people now. Only time will tell if this arrangement will work.
Yesterday we woke up in the morning to hear of violence in the city; we first thought it was in reaction to the new Cabinet, but in fact it was not. There is a large gang in Kenya called the Mungiki; they are essentially the Kenyan mafia, are known for doing the government's dirty work, and are loyal to the largest tribe in Kenya, the Kikuyu. Their leader is in prison and last week his wife was unexpectedly and brutally murdered. They claim she was killed by the police and so they launched violent protests yesterday in certain areas of Nairobi and elsewhere (although nowhere near the UN so we are safe). They blocked roads, killed a random driver on the road, burned tires, shot at and stoned cars, etc. The police killed 11 of them yesterday and so far two of them today. They are not only protesting the wife's death but are also hoping to force the release of their leader from prison. They are an extremely dangerous group here in Kenya and some people with whom we work were actually unable to get to work yesterday because of the trouble they caused; people are afraid of the Mungiki to the degree that one of my colleagues is not staying at her home anymore because she lives in an area with a lot of Mungiki activity and she doesn't think she is safe. They don't seem to be targeting anyone in particular, they are just angry at everyone in general. Now, I am not writing this to scare anyone - please don't be worried about our safety, we take every precaution we can - but rather to show that life in Kenya is action-packed and changes constantly. Every day there is something new to observe or learn!
My job is going well and, while it is taking longer than hoped (no surprise there), some progress is being made towards processing a consultant's contract for me at UNICEF. Kristoffer's job is also really good these days; it is hard for us to believe that we have been here for over 4 months! We are very happy that we get American Idol on Tuesday and Thursday nights, although we are weeks and weeks behind the live version in the US (and, of course, I love it a bit more than he does), but yesterday was a true highlight when we flipped on ESPN after work to find the last 2 innings of Sunday's Yankees/Red Sox game! It didn't matter that it wasn't live, it just felt so good to watch the Red Sox play, especially because they won - it was almost like being at home!
The rains have started again, now later at night and throughout the early morning, but our afternoons are quite lovely. We hope this blog finds you well and that spring is beginning wherever you are.
LMW
Thursday, April 3, 2008
April 3, 2008 - Working (for free) and Paying Bills
Happy April and Happy 7th Birthday to my nephew, Michael. I called him for his birthday and he asked me if I was coming home for his party. When I choked back tears to tell him that I was too far away to come to his party, he was like "Ok. Bye." Clearly 7-year olds have bigger fish to fry than aunties who live in Africa!
Since my last blog some interesting things have happened. First of all, it hasn’t rained once in Nairobi since I wrote the all about the “long rains”, mutant-sized pot holes and my rain bug enemies. So weird! The weather has been alternately cold and hot this week so I almost feel like I am in New England! Other parts of the country, though, are having serious floods which are really bad.
Yesterday my boss brought me with her to a really important meeting; in fact, I would say it is one of two supremely important meetings for education in the country. It is a three-day budget workshop for Kenya’s public education system (K-university) for 2008-2009, attended by government officials, development partners (such as UN agencies, USAID and the development organizations of other countries like England, Canada, Switzerland, and Japan), and other education stakeholders like the teacher’s union. There were close to 200 people there, not including the press, and the Minister of Education opened with a lengthy speech about Kenya’s achievements in recent years, such as increasing the number of children enrolled in primary school, as well as its upcoming challenges, such as the fact that there are 1 million Kenyan children who do not attend school at all. All Kenyan speeches are lengthy, by the way. I learned a lot about the system and the fiscal policies supporting it here. Specifically, the country faces the challenge of quickly rebuilding 38 schools that were burned to the ground during the recent violence, 65 schools that were completely looted/devastatingly vandalized, and over 40 educational offices that were looted! That is in addition to the fact that over 100,000 children and 1,350 are displaced, living in camps, and in desperate need of support. By the end of the conference tomorrow, the budget will be tightened up and expanded to meet these needs.
I met some really interesting people and got some political “gossip” during my lunch with a UNICEF colleauge and two people from the Ministry of Education. They were discussing the stalemate over Cabinet positions for the Coaltion and which members of government funded the post-election violence. The Cabinet dilemma was subsequently resolved today after Kofi Annan - “Kenya’s Daddy” – lectured the President and Prime Minister to make decisions like adults. I was interested to learn that my colleague, who is Somalian-Kenyan, is married to a Harvard-educated lawyer (also Somalian-Kenyan) who was just elected to Parliament for the first time in this past election – a very interesting time to be a newcomer! It was a little bit hard to follow the conversation in a noisy cafeteria because Kenyans talk so softly and have very thick accents to which I am still tuning my ears, but I did my best and found myself understanding some of what they were talking about. After my political orientation at lunch, the conference was broken down into groups. Unbeknownst to me, my boss had signed me up to keep minutes and produce a final document for one of the them. This would have been fine if she had told me that she signed me up for this job…but she didn’t! So, I didn’t know that I was supposed to be doing anything for the group and this led to a very awkward misunderstanding between me (lowly UNICEF volunteer) and a high ranking government official from the Ministry of Education. Whoops! While I appreciate that she has a lot of confidence in me and trusts me, I did ask my boss not to secretly sign me up for anything again! The conference continued today but I had work to do for her back at the office so I did not attend. I did really appreciate the opportunity she gave me though; it was both a professional and a cultural experience for me.
As for today, before going to work I had to pay our bills. This may sound strange to you, but here in Kenya we don’t get a bill in the mail and then send a check back to the company or have the funds electronically taken out of our account. Oh no, the country is not quite there yet. Some people go to the post office and pay there where they have an electronic way of transferring funds to different companies. But since we all know how I feel about the post office, Kristoffer and I usually go door-to-door to the electric company, water company, and cable company to pay our bills (luckily, the internet company will come to us to receive payment) as most Kenyans do. Even though Kristoffer is away this week the bills are still due! So I called a taxi this morning and went door-to-door paying bills for 90 minutes before going to work. I even paid for next month in advance just to save us a Saturday morning of sitting in traffic to pay bills! It is so annoying!
Because I use the same taxi company all the time, all of the drivers know be my name. Every time I call for a cab the guy answers the phone with “Good Morning Lisa! How are you?” This morning there was some kind a mix up and 3 taxis showed up at our apartment at the same time to pick me up! It was really funny and I have no idea how they figured out which driver “got me” because they were speaking in very fast Kiswahili. Anyway, I thought it was really funny that my driver really likes Kenny Rogers and we listened to a Kenny Rogers tape as we drove around paying my bills before going to the UN. He rewound the tape three times to listen to the song “Lucille”, which I didn’t realize was such a popular hit over here in Kenya (considering I have never heard in the US!). He didn't seem to like "The Gambler", my personal favorite, that much.
I had a really busy morning and attended my second meeting for UN Spouses (aka “the wives club”). I tried to recruit more people for Book Club and everyone seemed to just love the idea, but we’ll see how many of them actually read the next book! Then the meeting sort of took a dive for me because the topic was MENOPAUSE, which is not something I can really identify with just yet. They even brought in a nurse to make a presentation and some of the women shared their menopause stories. I am sure this was useful to many 40+ year-olds in the large group of 26 women, but I was also relieved that there were more non-menopausal faces in the crowd than at the last meeting and they also seemed at odds with the presentation.
I am really happy that tomorrow is Friday! I am attending a different meeting on behalf of my boss where I will give a brief report on the state of post-election violence education in the country. I will be supported by two colleagues from Save the Children (United Kingdom) who will report on their activities in the field. Should be interesting! I am trying to make myself indispensable to my boss, so as to secure my future at UNICEF for as long as I want one. At least I hope that is what I am doing!
The best news is that Kristoffer comes home from his amazing week in Rome on Saturday night. I can’t even remember the last time we went an entire week without talking on the phone, but this week we did it. Thank God for email! And I am sorry that we’re still having problems uploading picture but someday you will see our Easter Elephants – I promise!
LMW
Yesterday my boss brought me with her to a really important meeting; in fact, I would say it is one of two supremely important meetings for education in the country. It is a three-day budget workshop for Kenya’s public education system (K-university) for 2008-2009, attended by government officials, development partners (such as UN agencies, USAID and the development organizations of other countries like England, Canada, Switzerland, and Japan), and other education stakeholders like the teacher’s union. There were close to 200 people there, not including the press, and the Minister of Education opened with a lengthy speech about Kenya’s achievements in recent years, such as increasing the number of children enrolled in primary school, as well as its upcoming challenges, such as the fact that there are 1 million Kenyan children who do not attend school at all. All Kenyan speeches are lengthy, by the way. I learned a lot about the system and the fiscal policies supporting it here. Specifically, the country faces the challenge of quickly rebuilding 38 schools that were burned to the ground during the recent violence, 65 schools that were completely looted/devastatingly vandalized, and over 40 educational offices that were looted! That is in addition to the fact that over 100,000 children and 1,350 are displaced, living in camps, and in desperate need of support. By the end of the conference tomorrow, the budget will be tightened up and expanded to meet these needs.
I met some really interesting people and got some political “gossip” during my lunch with a UNICEF colleauge and two people from the Ministry of Education. They were discussing the stalemate over Cabinet positions for the Coaltion and which members of government funded the post-election violence. The Cabinet dilemma was subsequently resolved today after Kofi Annan - “Kenya’s Daddy” – lectured the President and Prime Minister to make decisions like adults. I was interested to learn that my colleague, who is Somalian-Kenyan, is married to a Harvard-educated lawyer (also Somalian-Kenyan) who was just elected to Parliament for the first time in this past election – a very interesting time to be a newcomer! It was a little bit hard to follow the conversation in a noisy cafeteria because Kenyans talk so softly and have very thick accents to which I am still tuning my ears, but I did my best and found myself understanding some of what they were talking about. After my political orientation at lunch, the conference was broken down into groups. Unbeknownst to me, my boss had signed me up to keep minutes and produce a final document for one of the them. This would have been fine if she had told me that she signed me up for this job…but she didn’t! So, I didn’t know that I was supposed to be doing anything for the group and this led to a very awkward misunderstanding between me (lowly UNICEF volunteer) and a high ranking government official from the Ministry of Education. Whoops! While I appreciate that she has a lot of confidence in me and trusts me, I did ask my boss not to secretly sign me up for anything again! The conference continued today but I had work to do for her back at the office so I did not attend. I did really appreciate the opportunity she gave me though; it was both a professional and a cultural experience for me.
As for today, before going to work I had to pay our bills. This may sound strange to you, but here in Kenya we don’t get a bill in the mail and then send a check back to the company or have the funds electronically taken out of our account. Oh no, the country is not quite there yet. Some people go to the post office and pay there where they have an electronic way of transferring funds to different companies. But since we all know how I feel about the post office, Kristoffer and I usually go door-to-door to the electric company, water company, and cable company to pay our bills (luckily, the internet company will come to us to receive payment) as most Kenyans do. Even though Kristoffer is away this week the bills are still due! So I called a taxi this morning and went door-to-door paying bills for 90 minutes before going to work. I even paid for next month in advance just to save us a Saturday morning of sitting in traffic to pay bills! It is so annoying!
Because I use the same taxi company all the time, all of the drivers know be my name. Every time I call for a cab the guy answers the phone with “Good Morning Lisa! How are you?” This morning there was some kind a mix up and 3 taxis showed up at our apartment at the same time to pick me up! It was really funny and I have no idea how they figured out which driver “got me” because they were speaking in very fast Kiswahili. Anyway, I thought it was really funny that my driver really likes Kenny Rogers and we listened to a Kenny Rogers tape as we drove around paying my bills before going to the UN. He rewound the tape three times to listen to the song “Lucille”, which I didn’t realize was such a popular hit over here in Kenya (considering I have never heard in the US!). He didn't seem to like "The Gambler", my personal favorite, that much.
I had a really busy morning and attended my second meeting for UN Spouses (aka “the wives club”). I tried to recruit more people for Book Club and everyone seemed to just love the idea, but we’ll see how many of them actually read the next book! Then the meeting sort of took a dive for me because the topic was MENOPAUSE, which is not something I can really identify with just yet. They even brought in a nurse to make a presentation and some of the women shared their menopause stories. I am sure this was useful to many 40+ year-olds in the large group of 26 women, but I was also relieved that there were more non-menopausal faces in the crowd than at the last meeting and they also seemed at odds with the presentation.
I am really happy that tomorrow is Friday! I am attending a different meeting on behalf of my boss where I will give a brief report on the state of post-election violence education in the country. I will be supported by two colleagues from Save the Children (United Kingdom) who will report on their activities in the field. Should be interesting! I am trying to make myself indispensable to my boss, so as to secure my future at UNICEF for as long as I want one. At least I hope that is what I am doing!
The best news is that Kristoffer comes home from his amazing week in Rome on Saturday night. I can’t even remember the last time we went an entire week without talking on the phone, but this week we did it. Thank God for email! And I am sorry that we’re still having problems uploading picture but someday you will see our Easter Elephants – I promise!
LMW
Thursday, March 20, 2008
March 20, 2008 - Mount Kenya
I would like to say that we are going to climb Mt. Kenya, Africa's second highest peak, this weekend, BUT it takes 5 days to go up and come down the mountain and we only have 4 days this weekend. So instead of climbing it, we are just going to go stay at a resort near it. As I mentioned before, our hope was to go to the island of Lamu in the Indian Ocean, but we tried to make plans too late last week and all flights in and out of the island were already booked! So a resort near Mt. Kenya is the best we can do on short notice, and we are looking forward to an Easter weekend of relaxation, beautiful scenery, and great animal watching.
We have had a busy and interesting week at work. Kristoffer's office is working on their "Country Programme", which is their strategy for the next 5 years. It has been a difficult and drawn out process but is pretty much done now. Kristoffer feels like it is a boomerang - every time they send it on to a higher level it comes back to them with more comments and changes to make...so I should say that they hope it is done now! Kristoffer and his colleagues have been dealing with a difficult manager as well; it would be safe to say that he is learning a lot about working with different people in addition to his WFP-specific knowledge. As for me, I have developed a really great working relationship with my boss, Aminata: a Malian woman who is American-educated and has worked at UNICEF in Nigeria and Kenya following careers at the both the World Bank and the University of Illinois. She trusts me and respects my views, even though I am very new to the world of UNICEF, and she takes every opportunity she can to teach me all the things I don't know. The job she wanted to give me, unfortunately, needs to be filled ASAP and my paperwork is taking too long to be processed in NYC. So...that job is going to someone else and when my paperwork is complete Aminata will create a position for me based on her needs and my skills. She believes there is room for growth for me at UNICEF, which is nice for me to hear.
Based on my work and recent conversations with Aminata, I have decided not to pursue teaching in Kenya at this time. I was officially offered a position at the international school here, but the workload was more than I desire right now and the position would definitely be for one school year only. I know from experience that the best part of the first year teaching some place is when you can use everything you developed in your second year at that place! I also feel really attached to the post-election crisis, and working to improve education for thousands of displaced children in the country. I am getting to know more people at UNICEF, which makes me feel more like I belong there, and so I think I will try it for a bit longer and see where it takes me.
The other aspect of this week for us has been dealing with "customer service" issues. Basically, we feel as though we can't trust anyone we deal with in Nairobi because it seems as though everyone is out to take advantage of us in some way. First there was the phone repair-guy(remember he stole my sim card and left me a $7,000 T-Mobile bill?) and then came our carpenter, who built us 2 bed frames 6 weeks ago that our beds did not fit in and since then has not followed up and fixed our bed frames. This week we took our car to be serviced and the manager at the car place was extremely skeezy, leaving us with scratches on our car and indicating to us that he was barely paying his workers anything. It took us three visits before he followed through on all of the work we agreed he would do. At the same time, we bought a printer from a computer store at a local mall. We were sold a "brand new" HP printer that had empty ink cartridges and no installation disc. When we brought it back to the store, we were given new, in-the-package ink cartridges that turned out to not even fit the printer! They also gave us a bootleg installation disc that still did not work. They clearly sold us a "brand new" lemon! On our 3rd, or was it 4th?, trip to the store, we exchanged it for another printer. I have not been brave enough to try to get it to work but I might go somewhat postal if it doesn't! It is also hard to barter here for goods - just the fact that we are white, not to mention that we drive a car with diplomatic license plates, means that all sellers increase their prices for us by at least 300% and it takes FOREVER to haggle them down to prices that are only 100% inflated. The place we discovered that sells the best fruit, for example, will just not give us a good price!
We are having a really hard time accepting the fact that we cannot trust people here until they really, really prove to us that they are trustworthy. We are open-minded and accepting people, which has not previously been a negative quality, but here it is something we really have to watch.
That's all of our news from this side of the equator. Now you won't hear from us until after the holiday weekend so we wish you an extremely Happy Easter weekend if you celebrate it, and a really nice long weekend if you don't!
LMW
We have had a busy and interesting week at work. Kristoffer's office is working on their "Country Programme", which is their strategy for the next 5 years. It has been a difficult and drawn out process but is pretty much done now. Kristoffer feels like it is a boomerang - every time they send it on to a higher level it comes back to them with more comments and changes to make...so I should say that they hope it is done now! Kristoffer and his colleagues have been dealing with a difficult manager as well; it would be safe to say that he is learning a lot about working with different people in addition to his WFP-specific knowledge. As for me, I have developed a really great working relationship with my boss, Aminata: a Malian woman who is American-educated and has worked at UNICEF in Nigeria and Kenya following careers at the both the World Bank and the University of Illinois. She trusts me and respects my views, even though I am very new to the world of UNICEF, and she takes every opportunity she can to teach me all the things I don't know. The job she wanted to give me, unfortunately, needs to be filled ASAP and my paperwork is taking too long to be processed in NYC. So...that job is going to someone else and when my paperwork is complete Aminata will create a position for me based on her needs and my skills. She believes there is room for growth for me at UNICEF, which is nice for me to hear.
Based on my work and recent conversations with Aminata, I have decided not to pursue teaching in Kenya at this time. I was officially offered a position at the international school here, but the workload was more than I desire right now and the position would definitely be for one school year only. I know from experience that the best part of the first year teaching some place is when you can use everything you developed in your second year at that place! I also feel really attached to the post-election crisis, and working to improve education for thousands of displaced children in the country. I am getting to know more people at UNICEF, which makes me feel more like I belong there, and so I think I will try it for a bit longer and see where it takes me.
The other aspect of this week for us has been dealing with "customer service" issues. Basically, we feel as though we can't trust anyone we deal with in Nairobi because it seems as though everyone is out to take advantage of us in some way. First there was the phone repair-guy(remember he stole my sim card and left me a $7,000 T-Mobile bill?) and then came our carpenter, who built us 2 bed frames 6 weeks ago that our beds did not fit in and since then has not followed up and fixed our bed frames. This week we took our car to be serviced and the manager at the car place was extremely skeezy, leaving us with scratches on our car and indicating to us that he was barely paying his workers anything. It took us three visits before he followed through on all of the work we agreed he would do. At the same time, we bought a printer from a computer store at a local mall. We were sold a "brand new" HP printer that had empty ink cartridges and no installation disc. When we brought it back to the store, we were given new, in-the-package ink cartridges that turned out to not even fit the printer! They also gave us a bootleg installation disc that still did not work. They clearly sold us a "brand new" lemon! On our 3rd, or was it 4th?, trip to the store, we exchanged it for another printer. I have not been brave enough to try to get it to work but I might go somewhat postal if it doesn't! It is also hard to barter here for goods - just the fact that we are white, not to mention that we drive a car with diplomatic license plates, means that all sellers increase their prices for us by at least 300% and it takes FOREVER to haggle them down to prices that are only 100% inflated. The place we discovered that sells the best fruit, for example, will just not give us a good price!
We are having a really hard time accepting the fact that we cannot trust people here until they really, really prove to us that they are trustworthy. We are open-minded and accepting people, which has not previously been a negative quality, but here it is something we really have to watch.
That's all of our news from this side of the equator. Now you won't hear from us until after the holiday weekend so we wish you an extremely Happy Easter weekend if you celebrate it, and a really nice long weekend if you don't!
LMW
Friday, March 7, 2008
March 7, 2008 - It's Official!
It is a little weird to put it in writing, but we received documentation today that we are now legal diplomatic residents of Kenya. I suppose renting an apartment and buying a car and having furniture made and all of the other things we have done should have tipped me off that this was for real, but for some reason the two little stamps in my passport have really made all the difference. I'm not totally freaking out about this, but maybe a little bit.
To help the reality sink in even more, my boss, who is the Chief of UNICEF's Education & Youth Services Sector, asked me to apply for a short-term consultancy (that means a paying job) after only one month as a volunteer. My work permit will take a few weeks to process but, if all goes well, I will start as soon as that is taken care of. Right now I have been collecting data from field officers on education services in displacement camps and schools hosting IDP children and then I analyze the data, write reports on the data, and attend meetings about the data on a daily basis. I also do A LOT of editing of other people's work. For my new (paid) position I will become one of the field officers! I will be working in Nairobi and Central Provinces (Central is a small province north of Nairobi) and, basically, will visit slums and IDP camps to monitor and evaluate the education situation as well as the UNICEF education interventions in those places. For one week a month I will travel with a driver security and a security officer (but usually no other UNICEF staff), and Kristoffer hopes to arrange his monitoring and evaluation (M&E) at the same time so that we aren't missing each other at home. Part of my job will be to recommend what actions the UNICEF Education Sector should take in the future, and to correct any mistakes that have been made. I expect to see a new side of Kenya and feel great about the prospect of directly impacting the education of some of the poorest children in Kenya.
Assuming it all works out, it is an exciting and interesting opportunity for me to learn new skills and broaden my experiences here. I will work on a 3-month contract first so that if I don't like the job or it isn't a good fit, I can still get a teaching job for the fall. If I do like it, then the contract will be extended and I will increase my chances of getting future consultancies at UNICEF. I am happy that my boss has enough confidence in me to think that I can do this job well, which is a very new kind of work for me to do. I also consider myself to be pretty brave in taking this job because it is definitely outside of my comfort zone.
Kristoffer has been on his field visit since Monday and comes home tomorrow (Saturday) night. I think he has seen and learned a lot more in this week and I am really hoping that he will write a blog to share his experiences and pictures. Christine and I did pretty well without him this week (taking lots of taxis!) and it was really nice for me to have her here. She will actually be here for one more week.
The saddest news is that we bought "24 Season 5" on boot-leg DVD from the Indian market here in Nairobi. We got through the first 23 episodes with NO problem...but then episode 24 was all screwed up so that we could hear the episode, but the visual on the screen was actually the first episode of the season. SO FRUSTRATING! Christine even went back to get another copy, but it had the same problem! So this afternoon we actually sat in the living room with our eyes closed listening to episode 24 and trying to figure out what action was happening during all of the music. I suppose when you buy a 24-episode bootleg DVD for $5 you have to be willing to accept that the disc is not perfect, but I will admit that it would have been really nice to see the episode!
LMW
Saturday, February 9, 2008
February 9, 2008 - Progress in Kenya
We don't have too many new updates here, except for Kofi Annan and his team's press conference yesterday. They announced, as you may have read, that both sides of the political conflict in Kenya are close to agreeing on a solution to the election controversy. Before the press conference, the media went wild with rumors that everyone had agreed to a power-sharing government, which is actually not the case. The news now seems to indicate that Odinga is agreeing to legitimize Kibaki's presidency, but in exchange for what we are not quite sure yet. We remain slightly on the skeptical side but the people we have spoken to in the past two days are greatly encouraged by the prospect of political peace.
I really enjoyed working at UNICEF for the last three days and I think that everything I am learning will give me great perspective for future employment, be it in schools or out. I am learning so much and have already produced one useful document analyzing the overall picture of education for displaced children in Africa, inconclusive of the information UNICEF is missing and the challenges they are facing right now. I also received a call from the international school that interviewed me a few weeks ago; they've asked me to come in for a second discussion about available positions in the fall and so I am encouraged that it will lead to a job offer.
There is no news on "the Great Sim Card Caper of 2008", but we expect to hear from the Diplomatic Police next week. Kristoffer and Christine are both doing very well. We are going to give my back one more week of recovery before we go on safari in the Nairobi National Park next weekend; we are ready to see more animals but it will be a long day of sitting in the car and my back is not quite ready for that.
Lent began this past week and Christine and I weren't able to make it to an English mass on Ash Wednesday, which I think was the first Ash Wednesday of my life that I didn't go to mass. So weird! Tomorrow we are going to try going to a different Catholic Church, an Italian one with 3 English masses each Sunday, and they are also giving ashes for the first Sunday of Lent. Better late than ever I guess! We will eat a good breakfast and bring water in case it is a 2 hour ordeal again :) Kristoffer asked me what I was giving up for Lent this year; last year I successfully gave up using the elevator at work (a 14 story school building!) and the year before that I miraculously gave up ice cream (extremely difficult). The way I see it now, when I moved to Kenya two months ago I gave up living in my country, being close to and talking regularly with my family and friends, eating meat, and apparently my sim card! I think Jesus will understand if I don't sacrifice anything else for Lent this year...he will understand that I want to hold on to some selfish indulgences, like chocolate croissants and hot chocolate for breakfast and watching old episodes of "How do I Look?" on the Style Network.
The weather is beautiful in Nairobi today. February is supposed to be the hottest month here, which usually means sunny and in the 80s. Some days I feel challenged to be here, but there are definitely some perks to living in Kenya.
LMW
I really enjoyed working at UNICEF for the last three days and I think that everything I am learning will give me great perspective for future employment, be it in schools or out. I am learning so much and have already produced one useful document analyzing the overall picture of education for displaced children in Africa, inconclusive of the information UNICEF is missing and the challenges they are facing right now. I also received a call from the international school that interviewed me a few weeks ago; they've asked me to come in for a second discussion about available positions in the fall and so I am encouraged that it will lead to a job offer.
There is no news on "the Great Sim Card Caper of 2008", but we expect to hear from the Diplomatic Police next week. Kristoffer and Christine are both doing very well. We are going to give my back one more week of recovery before we go on safari in the Nairobi National Park next weekend; we are ready to see more animals but it will be a long day of sitting in the car and my back is not quite ready for that.
Lent began this past week and Christine and I weren't able to make it to an English mass on Ash Wednesday, which I think was the first Ash Wednesday of my life that I didn't go to mass. So weird! Tomorrow we are going to try going to a different Catholic Church, an Italian one with 3 English masses each Sunday, and they are also giving ashes for the first Sunday of Lent. Better late than ever I guess! We will eat a good breakfast and bring water in case it is a 2 hour ordeal again :) Kristoffer asked me what I was giving up for Lent this year; last year I successfully gave up using the elevator at work (a 14 story school building!) and the year before that I miraculously gave up ice cream (extremely difficult). The way I see it now, when I moved to Kenya two months ago I gave up living in my country, being close to and talking regularly with my family and friends, eating meat, and apparently my sim card! I think Jesus will understand if I don't sacrifice anything else for Lent this year...he will understand that I want to hold on to some selfish indulgences, like chocolate croissants and hot chocolate for breakfast and watching old episodes of "How do I Look?" on the Style Network.
The weather is beautiful in Nairobi today. February is supposed to be the hottest month here, which usually means sunny and in the 80s. Some days I feel challenged to be here, but there are definitely some perks to living in Kenya.
LMW
Thursday, February 7, 2008
February 7, 2008 - UNICEF
Yesterday marked two months in Kenya for me and Kristoffer. I suppose it is fitting, then, that it was my first day of work; after two months of getting settled I am definitely ready to do something! Being a volunteer is very similar to being an intern, which I feel is an interesting regression for me at this point in my life. I don’t have my own desk or computer or keys to anywhere…and I have to ask a million questions! Lucky for me, everyone at UNICEF is extremely grateful for anything I can do to alleviate all of their overburdened workloads and they have all been very nice to me. The work I am doing is not extremely difficult, but it is extremely interesting. So far, I have two major tasks:
1 - I read and edit grant proposals for education projects to help the current crisis (mostly for children in displacement camps) that would require UNICEF support or money.
2 - I compile and analyze education news and data from field officers and NGOs about the status of children, schools, and any education-related programs in displacement camps around the country. My reports are alternately distributed to all UNICEF officers, related NGOs, the Ministry of Education and other UN agencies over 4 days each week.
I have learned that among the hundreds of displacement camps around the country there is a range in the quality of the camps. Some of the camps are spacious so that well-made tents aren't too crowded, people have access to proper kitchens and toilets, and the grounds are well lighted for security. In other camps, however, people basically live under thick sheets with no toilets, kitchens, or security and, in many cases, little food. It has been documented that at least 19 schools have been burned in the violence, and dozens more have been vandalized or looted. Thousands of displaced people are living in police stations right now, because of a lack of camps or transportation to camps, and there is one police station just outside of Nairobi that has 7,000 people living there, including at least 2,000 children. While schools throughout the country have opened, obviously children in these circumstances are not regularly attending any school and UNICEF cannot set up learning centers in police stations.
The most interesting statistic I have learned is in regards to Kenya's economic situation: for every tourist who cancels a trip to Kenya or decides not to book a trip at all, 7 Kenyans will lose their jobs. So the bottom line is that you have to visit us! Soon! Kenya needs you!
I am really happy to have something to do besides be an internet junky and watch TV/DVDs. I think that as I get more knowledgeable and comfortable at UNICEF my boss (the Director of the Education Sector of UNICEF for Kenya) and her colleagues will be able to benefit even more from my skills and, perhaps, will find me so indispensable that they will have no choice but to offer me a job. J
In other news, our "sim card theft" investigation is going as well as can be expected, and in fact the diplomatic police are doing more than we expected. In the last two days they have investigated colleagues and even the boss of the guy who was using the sim card. My parents received a T-Mobile bill in the mail and scanned/emailed it to us so the police can see the call log. This was very helpful but there are a few factors working against the case. First, the sim card has not been found yet; mostly likely when T-Mobile eventually suspended the account the guy tossed the sim card. If they could find the sim card, which the police have not given up on yet, it would be an open-and-close case in terms of prosecuting the guy. The second problem is that if they don't find the sim card, they would need a representative from T-Mobile to present and authenticate the call log in a court of law in order for it to be accepted as evidence. We're thinking it might be a bit tricky to get someone from T-Mobile to come over to Kenya (they don't like me too much and it is pretty far!) but if we could get a subpoena than maybe T-Mobile would just wipe away the charges to avoid the hassle. It is still a frustrating situation, but the initial shock has worn off and we are doing everything we can. We are also hoping that some legal help in NYC might make T-Mobile slightly more sympathetic to the situation than they have been so far. I’ll definitely keep you posted.
The political situation in Nairobi is very calm, while terror reigns in the Rift Valley. Ten people were killed last night, houses and churches continue to be burned, and yesterday two teachers were shot by police during a protest of the arrest of 4 local leaders who were charged with inciting violence. With two teachers killed, it could present problems for the government if they want the teacher's union (KNUT) to be an ally in the future. The police manning the protest were supposed to fire only rubber bullets and, obviously, the union is up in arms that they actually fired live rounds.
Kristoffer continues to like his job and this week has learned how important it is that each person at WFP does their job well. If anyone makes a mistake it means that hundreds or thousands of children might actually not receive any food, which lowers school attendance and is obviously not good for their health (this happened this week, but it was not Kristoffer’s mistake). It is critical that the WFP gets food to the children for the school feeding program, in addition to the fact that they are now also providing food to people in displacement camps (there is a lot of collaboration between UNICEF and WFP in regards to the current crisis).
We look forward to a short Friday work day tomorrow (in Africa Friday is always a short day!) and a relaxing weekend.
LMW
1 - I read and edit grant proposals for education projects to help the current crisis (mostly for children in displacement camps) that would require UNICEF support or money.
2 - I compile and analyze education news and data from field officers and NGOs about the status of children, schools, and any education-related programs in displacement camps around the country. My reports are alternately distributed to all UNICEF officers, related NGOs, the Ministry of Education and other UN agencies over 4 days each week.
I have learned that among the hundreds of displacement camps around the country there is a range in the quality of the camps. Some of the camps are spacious so that well-made tents aren't too crowded, people have access to proper kitchens and toilets, and the grounds are well lighted for security. In other camps, however, people basically live under thick sheets with no toilets, kitchens, or security and, in many cases, little food. It has been documented that at least 19 schools have been burned in the violence, and dozens more have been vandalized or looted. Thousands of displaced people are living in police stations right now, because of a lack of camps or transportation to camps, and there is one police station just outside of Nairobi that has 7,000 people living there, including at least 2,000 children. While schools throughout the country have opened, obviously children in these circumstances are not regularly attending any school and UNICEF cannot set up learning centers in police stations.
The most interesting statistic I have learned is in regards to Kenya's economic situation: for every tourist who cancels a trip to Kenya or decides not to book a trip at all, 7 Kenyans will lose their jobs. So the bottom line is that you have to visit us! Soon! Kenya needs you!
I am really happy to have something to do besides be an internet junky and watch TV/DVDs. I think that as I get more knowledgeable and comfortable at UNICEF my boss (the Director of the Education Sector of UNICEF for Kenya) and her colleagues will be able to benefit even more from my skills and, perhaps, will find me so indispensable that they will have no choice but to offer me a job. J
In other news, our "sim card theft" investigation is going as well as can be expected, and in fact the diplomatic police are doing more than we expected. In the last two days they have investigated colleagues and even the boss of the guy who was using the sim card. My parents received a T-Mobile bill in the mail and scanned/emailed it to us so the police can see the call log. This was very helpful but there are a few factors working against the case. First, the sim card has not been found yet; mostly likely when T-Mobile eventually suspended the account the guy tossed the sim card. If they could find the sim card, which the police have not given up on yet, it would be an open-and-close case in terms of prosecuting the guy. The second problem is that if they don't find the sim card, they would need a representative from T-Mobile to present and authenticate the call log in a court of law in order for it to be accepted as evidence. We're thinking it might be a bit tricky to get someone from T-Mobile to come over to Kenya (they don't like me too much and it is pretty far!) but if we could get a subpoena than maybe T-Mobile would just wipe away the charges to avoid the hassle. It is still a frustrating situation, but the initial shock has worn off and we are doing everything we can. We are also hoping that some legal help in NYC might make T-Mobile slightly more sympathetic to the situation than they have been so far. I’ll definitely keep you posted.
The political situation in Nairobi is very calm, while terror reigns in the Rift Valley. Ten people were killed last night, houses and churches continue to be burned, and yesterday two teachers were shot by police during a protest of the arrest of 4 local leaders who were charged with inciting violence. With two teachers killed, it could present problems for the government if they want the teacher's union (KNUT) to be an ally in the future. The police manning the protest were supposed to fire only rubber bullets and, obviously, the union is up in arms that they actually fired live rounds.
Kristoffer continues to like his job and this week has learned how important it is that each person at WFP does their job well. If anyone makes a mistake it means that hundreds or thousands of children might actually not receive any food, which lowers school attendance and is obviously not good for their health (this happened this week, but it was not Kristoffer’s mistake). It is critical that the WFP gets food to the children for the school feeding program, in addition to the fact that they are now also providing food to people in displacement camps (there is a lot of collaboration between UNICEF and WFP in regards to the current crisis).
We look forward to a short Friday work day tomorrow (in Africa Friday is always a short day!) and a relaxing weekend.
LMW
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
February 5, 2008 - Lisa gets a job and really hates T-Mobile!
There is a lot of good news to report today. Violence in Kenya seems to be calming down since the rough weekend we had. Between yesterday and today we haven't heard any reports of political or ethnic violence. I think that the situation is still very volatile in the Rift Valley but certainly around Nairobi people are of the opinion that the situation is on the mend, although there is a lot of work that the mediators have left to do. I neglected to mention in my last blog that when Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General, visited Kenya last week, Kristoffer stood two feet away from him when he was greeting people before addressing UN staff. I don't know that Ki Moon's visit had a direct effect on the situation here or if it is the combination of his appearance as well as the other mediation efforts between the opposing sides. Whatever it is - keep it coming!
I also start to work tomorrow! My back is doing well enough that I turned in all of my paperwork today and they were begging for me to start right away. UNICEF has a lot of work to do, charged with protecting and educating all of the displaced children in the country. I look forward to becoming involved in the organization and hopefully helping the healing process.
The bad news is that I have been the victim of a crime. My American sim card was stolen out of my cell phone almost a month ago and, naively, I did not know this happened until yesterday. It is a long story which, if I wrote it all out, indicates that I am guilty of being too trusting. It is something that over here, especially, I have to work on. The bottom line is that we paid a guy to repair my cell phone and in the process he stole my sim card.
I didn't know my cell phone was stolen and so did not report it to T-Mobile, so T-Mobile is holding me responsible for thousands...I repeat thousands...of dollars in phone charges in the last month. You see, T-Mobile's roaming charges in Kenya are $5 a minute. Riiight...so when someone steals your sim card and doesn't know this...and he or she talks for over 13 hours...it leaves you with a pretty hefty bill. The real kicker is that T-Mobile didn't even contact me to tell me that they finally suspended my account after several thousand dollars or that there was suspicious activity on my account. I accidentally found this information when I called T-Mobile to get their fax number for sending proof of our address in Kenya so that we could finally cancel our contracts without penalty. If I hadn't called, I would still not know!
What I am going to do about this, you ask? Today Kristoffer and I visited the Diplomatic Police Office here in Nairobi. We explained our situation which, of course, sounds ludicrous at first. Until the police heard the dollar amount, I know they thought we were crazy for complaining about a stolen sim card. They did take us seriously though and mobilized to action right away. I went with two diplomatic police officers to the place where the man worked on my phone. After his co-worker caused some delay and tried to alert him to the police's presence, he did show up and confess to "accidentally" keeping my sim card. He made one attempt to contact me, by calling my parents in the middle of the night, but the situation was very unclear at the time and I did not end up getting the message that he had my card. So he kept it and used it for a few days, and then supposedly "lost it”. The police and I took him back to the police office for further questioning and scrutiny of his cell phone. They seem to think that he probably sold the card to someone else after he used it, but he had not confessed to that when Kristoffer and I finally left.
While they are collecting evidence on their end, the police asked us to get a call list from T-Mobile because the serial number of the handset used to make a call is attached to each phone number it calls. This would help them determine if the guy is lying or if they can identify other users. Sadly, T-Mobile refuses to cooperate. They will not release my call list because my account is suspended and because it is not the end of my billing cycle. Even when it is the end of my billing cycle, they will no longer allow me to access my account online because of the outstanding charges, so I will have to wait for my parents to receive the bill at their home and then send it to us here (which takes at least one month). It is so frustrating! T-Mobile will basically not help me in any way, except to keep reminding me that I am responsible for paying the bill because I did not report the sim card lost or stolen. I have spoken with 4 different representatives at T-Mobile, at various levels of their hierarchy, and they have the worst customer service I have ever experienced, without a doubt.
Their best advice was to give me the legal department's address if I wish to take legal action for T-Mobile to credit my account for the thousands of dollars that I owe, but they refuse to give me a phone number or fax number: snail mail only. Too bad that snail mail from Kenya to the States can take weeks or months! There is no way that my actual level of frustration can be conveyed in words, but if there is one message I hope you will get loud and clear it is that T-Mobile does not care about its customers at all and I do not recommend that you use the company as your cell phone service provider.
I will say this: the Diplomatic Police really impressed us! There is so much crime in Nairobi and very rarely are the perpetrators ever caught, especially those stealing something as insignificant as a sim card. They didn't seem to have any other diplomatic crime to be taking care of and we have their two best agents on the case, which is both a relief and a surprise to us. The problem we face now is that even if the guy is guilty or the police find others involved, none of them will have the amount of money that I owe because the amount is more than they probably make in several years! I can't sue them for money they don't have, can I? AH!
Ok...enough of that story. Share it with your friends...down with T-Mobile!
And I will happily go to work tomorrow and try to forget about it, until we speak to the Diplomatic Police again. When my instincts are to be an open-minded and fair person, it is a very expensive lesson to learn that I have to assume people here are trying to rip me off before I allow them to prove otherwise.
LMW
Friday, January 25, 2008
January 25, 2008 - Lisa has a good day!
Yesterday was a very good day for me, here in Nairobi. First I attended the meeting of my new sorority – UNIASC. When I arrived at the restaurant (on the UN compound) there was only one other woman there because I was 20 minutes early. I started to talk to her and, much to my surprise, she seemed even happier to meet me than I was to meet her. She has been in Nairobi for 5 months and has been participating in this group’s activities for most of that time. It turns out that she and her husband were married one week after Kristoffer and I and also had no children. She was so happy to find out we didn’t have kids because she has had a hard time meeting women who aren’t mothers. She is a few years older than I am but we seemed to have a lot in common and I do hope we will become friends.
When the rest of the ladies joined us for the meeting (yes I was right, the spouse club is all wives), there were 12 or 13 women in total and I could understand more where my new friend was coming from. We were by far the youngest women in the group and there was a lot of discussion about children, most of whom attend the school at which I interviewed for the fall. The group is very diverse, composed of women of many different nationalities: Indian, Pakistani, American (2 of us), Filipino, Bolivian (my new friend), Kenyan, British, Bengali, to name a few. That makes it very interesting!
The women were very welcoming to me, although the meeting was extremely chaotic with the women often talking at the same time as each other and little focus on getting through their agenda efficiently. They held a charity bizarre in November and their revenue was finally made known; we discussed which charities that money will go to, which led to a larger discussion of the crisis in Kenya and what we could do to help. I learned from several women who have been in Nairobi for many years, that the tribal tensions we are seeing these days have always existed. The current political situation just exacerbated them and motivated some people to act on them, but these women seemed to think that the world is finally seeing for the first time what has existed in Kenya forever. There was also some discussion of the fact that both sides of this crisis are guilty of directing, sponsoring, or encouraging the tribal violence that is still happening. Finally, from a charity perspective, the women spoke about having to be careful to whom we give money and making sure that it is through a neutral party like the Red Cross. Otherwise, our group (associated with the UN) could be seen as biased if our charity is given to one tribe and not another, and that would be really bad for the UN. There have been instances lately where people in very poor, destitute conditions have denied charity from an organization because of that organization’s affiliation with either the government or the opposition. It was a great discussion for me to hear, albeit hard to follow at times.
My big interest in this group was because I was told they had a book club! The book club I belonged to in New York City was one of my favorite activities, outlets, and groups of people! I really miss discussing literature with my friends! When I inquired about the book club it was explained to me that the book club was more in theory, or a hope of something they would like to establish, but they have never had anyone who wanted to take the lead. Enter me. Instead of volunteering to run a charity project in foreign territory (at least not yet), I volunteered to establish the UNIASC Book Club. I am just waiting for the email list of all the group’s members and then we’ll get started.
I left the morning meeting feeling pretty good, having made a good connection with at least one person (we even hugged goodbye!) and knowing that someday soon I will have a new book club. I decided to go back to UNICEF and check to see if the resume I had dropped off the day before had actually made it to the Director of HR. I had to wait a few minutes to see the director, but when I popped my head into her office she seemed to know exactly who I was. In fact, she said “Oh! The Education Director is typing up your TOR right now!” TOR means “Terms of Reference” and is basically a job description. I was quickly brought to meet UNICEF’s Education Director, who was a lovely woman, and engaged in a discussion of the work they would like me to do, starting ASAP. Because of the current political crisis, there are tens of thousands of children who are displaced from their homes and essentially living as refugees in camps throughout the country. UNICEF’s Kenya Country office, which normally has projects in the northeastern part of the country only, is now responsible for the security, sanitation, physical and emotional well-being, and education of these displaced children all over the country, with the largest numbers in the western province.
There are UNICEF field officers throughout the country who are in the process of counting children, feeding and protecting them, setting up schools, training teachers, counseling, etc. Based on my skills and experience, they think I will be helpful in compiling and analyzing data from all of their different field officers and sources, writing twice-weekly reports on the situation to be dispersed throughout the organization, writing and editing proposals for different projects and, to whatever degree I am comfortable, making field visits to help assess the needs in different camps. While I am not interested in making over-night visits to some of the worst-hit areas like Eldoret and Kisumu, I am very open to visiting the camps established in and near the slums of Nairobi with the secure teams that go there and I was told that this will definitely happen.
This is an incredible opportunity for me! I will be a full-time volunteer for 4 months, with the possibility of a paid position in the future if they like me and if funds allow. It is a chance for me to use some of my non-teaching skills and my teaching experiences for an organization that I have long-admired and that truly needs my help right now! It also makes me feel like I can actively do something to help the crisis in Kenya, instead of just watching it happen around me on TV. As soon as I collect all of the documentation that UNICEF requires of its volunteers, I will be ready to start working. Hopefully it will all come together next week (although in Africa-time things never happen as quickly as I would like them to). Kristoffer is very excited that we will carpool to work and eat lunch together a lot, and we are both so thrilled that I will finally have a purpose in my life once again.
Yesterday was also a big day for Kenya because Kofi Annan mediated the first meeting between President Kibaki and Raila Odinga since the disputed election on December 27th. When the brief meeting first ended, both sides sounded optimistic about finding a resolution and Kofi Annan seemed very pleased with the initial talk. Since last night, however, both sides have made new claims of being mad at each other and it is unknown when or if a second meeting will take place. ODM says that Kibaki spent the entire meeting repeatedly claiming to be the duly elected president; ODM believes he is not acting in good faith to sincerely resolve the crisis. Kibaki has retorted that Odinga is behaving like a child and is trying to sabotage mediation efforts. The latest today is that Odinga officially rejected the idea of becoming the Prime Minister to Kibaki’s President. He has put forth 3 plans that he could agree to: Kibaki resigns and Odinga becomes President, there is a vote re-count, or they engage in power sharing which will lead to constitutional change and a new election in 3 months.
Of course, this new round of mediation efforts came on the same day that the Human Rights Watch non-profit reported that they have evidence that ODM paid and organized people to behave violently and attack members of Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe when Odinga was not announced as election winner. When it all comes out in the wash, it is likely that both sides have participated in such despicable behavior and, therefore, that both sides equally have the blood of Kenyans on their hands. At least seven more people were killed last night in the Rift Valley, and dozens of homes are burned every day it seems. The symbolism of Kibaki and Odinga meeting yesterday had newly inspired Nairobi with hope for the future, but the coming days will have to prove that the symbol can become a reality in order for lasting peace to begin.
LMW
When the rest of the ladies joined us for the meeting (yes I was right, the spouse club is all wives), there were 12 or 13 women in total and I could understand more where my new friend was coming from. We were by far the youngest women in the group and there was a lot of discussion about children, most of whom attend the school at which I interviewed for the fall. The group is very diverse, composed of women of many different nationalities: Indian, Pakistani, American (2 of us), Filipino, Bolivian (my new friend), Kenyan, British, Bengali, to name a few. That makes it very interesting!
The women were very welcoming to me, although the meeting was extremely chaotic with the women often talking at the same time as each other and little focus on getting through their agenda efficiently. They held a charity bizarre in November and their revenue was finally made known; we discussed which charities that money will go to, which led to a larger discussion of the crisis in Kenya and what we could do to help. I learned from several women who have been in Nairobi for many years, that the tribal tensions we are seeing these days have always existed. The current political situation just exacerbated them and motivated some people to act on them, but these women seemed to think that the world is finally seeing for the first time what has existed in Kenya forever. There was also some discussion of the fact that both sides of this crisis are guilty of directing, sponsoring, or encouraging the tribal violence that is still happening. Finally, from a charity perspective, the women spoke about having to be careful to whom we give money and making sure that it is through a neutral party like the Red Cross. Otherwise, our group (associated with the UN) could be seen as biased if our charity is given to one tribe and not another, and that would be really bad for the UN. There have been instances lately where people in very poor, destitute conditions have denied charity from an organization because of that organization’s affiliation with either the government or the opposition. It was a great discussion for me to hear, albeit hard to follow at times.
My big interest in this group was because I was told they had a book club! The book club I belonged to in New York City was one of my favorite activities, outlets, and groups of people! I really miss discussing literature with my friends! When I inquired about the book club it was explained to me that the book club was more in theory, or a hope of something they would like to establish, but they have never had anyone who wanted to take the lead. Enter me. Instead of volunteering to run a charity project in foreign territory (at least not yet), I volunteered to establish the UNIASC Book Club. I am just waiting for the email list of all the group’s members and then we’ll get started.
I left the morning meeting feeling pretty good, having made a good connection with at least one person (we even hugged goodbye!) and knowing that someday soon I will have a new book club. I decided to go back to UNICEF and check to see if the resume I had dropped off the day before had actually made it to the Director of HR. I had to wait a few minutes to see the director, but when I popped my head into her office she seemed to know exactly who I was. In fact, she said “Oh! The Education Director is typing up your TOR right now!” TOR means “Terms of Reference” and is basically a job description. I was quickly brought to meet UNICEF’s Education Director, who was a lovely woman, and engaged in a discussion of the work they would like me to do, starting ASAP. Because of the current political crisis, there are tens of thousands of children who are displaced from their homes and essentially living as refugees in camps throughout the country. UNICEF’s Kenya Country office, which normally has projects in the northeastern part of the country only, is now responsible for the security, sanitation, physical and emotional well-being, and education of these displaced children all over the country, with the largest numbers in the western province.
There are UNICEF field officers throughout the country who are in the process of counting children, feeding and protecting them, setting up schools, training teachers, counseling, etc. Based on my skills and experience, they think I will be helpful in compiling and analyzing data from all of their different field officers and sources, writing twice-weekly reports on the situation to be dispersed throughout the organization, writing and editing proposals for different projects and, to whatever degree I am comfortable, making field visits to help assess the needs in different camps. While I am not interested in making over-night visits to some of the worst-hit areas like Eldoret and Kisumu, I am very open to visiting the camps established in and near the slums of Nairobi with the secure teams that go there and I was told that this will definitely happen.
This is an incredible opportunity for me! I will be a full-time volunteer for 4 months, with the possibility of a paid position in the future if they like me and if funds allow. It is a chance for me to use some of my non-teaching skills and my teaching experiences for an organization that I have long-admired and that truly needs my help right now! It also makes me feel like I can actively do something to help the crisis in Kenya, instead of just watching it happen around me on TV. As soon as I collect all of the documentation that UNICEF requires of its volunteers, I will be ready to start working. Hopefully it will all come together next week (although in Africa-time things never happen as quickly as I would like them to). Kristoffer is very excited that we will carpool to work and eat lunch together a lot, and we are both so thrilled that I will finally have a purpose in my life once again.
Yesterday was also a big day for Kenya because Kofi Annan mediated the first meeting between President Kibaki and Raila Odinga since the disputed election on December 27th. When the brief meeting first ended, both sides sounded optimistic about finding a resolution and Kofi Annan seemed very pleased with the initial talk. Since last night, however, both sides have made new claims of being mad at each other and it is unknown when or if a second meeting will take place. ODM says that Kibaki spent the entire meeting repeatedly claiming to be the duly elected president; ODM believes he is not acting in good faith to sincerely resolve the crisis. Kibaki has retorted that Odinga is behaving like a child and is trying to sabotage mediation efforts. The latest today is that Odinga officially rejected the idea of becoming the Prime Minister to Kibaki’s President. He has put forth 3 plans that he could agree to: Kibaki resigns and Odinga becomes President, there is a vote re-count, or they engage in power sharing which will lead to constitutional change and a new election in 3 months.
Of course, this new round of mediation efforts came on the same day that the Human Rights Watch non-profit reported that they have evidence that ODM paid and organized people to behave violently and attack members of Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe when Odinga was not announced as election winner. When it all comes out in the wash, it is likely that both sides have participated in such despicable behavior and, therefore, that both sides equally have the blood of Kenyans on their hands. At least seven more people were killed last night in the Rift Valley, and dozens of homes are burned every day it seems. The symbolism of Kibaki and Odinga meeting yesterday had newly inspired Nairobi with hope for the future, but the coming days will have to prove that the symbol can become a reality in order for lasting peace to begin.
LMW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)