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Dear East African,
Executive Director's Message
I have never for a moment thought my work here in
Takaungu to be a
sacrifice - until this week. I love what I do. I love the
EAC and I love being in Kenya. However, this week life
has been a little difficult for us EAC people. This week,
being here in Kenya has most certainly been a sacrifice.
As many of you know, tropical countries tend to have
more bugs than those in more temperate climates.
Kenya is no exception. My week of bugs and horrid
creatures
began one week ago. It was at 3 a.m. when I woke up
out of a deep sleep. I hate to reveal what happened
next. Its too horrid. I
felt as if there was some sort of lint ball in my mouth.
Alas, as I turned on my bedside lamp I found not lint,
but a COCKROACH!
I wish it ended there. That was the
day that it all began. Since then, Evan's house has
been
invaded by trails of ants so dense that he had to
shower to get them all off of him, there was a scorpion
in his house, a giant spider, a giant cockroach in
Breona's toiletry bag, and a giant cockroach in
Amanda's
bedroom. A mouse was found in Breona's house, and
after we killed
it and threw it in the grass, the largest snake I have
yet to see in Takaungu came to take it away.
I love Takaungu, but the volunteers and I are getting a
little tired of topping each others hideous
insect stories. Besides all of the insects, things have
been going great. The Center is going fabulous.
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What's Happening in Takaungu? |
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With daily nursery school (45 kids), adult education (30
people), after-school tutoring (about 80 kids per day),
weekly sewing club meetings, the health library, and
our Farmer Field School, things at our Vutakaka
Community Center are insanely hectic and Suzanne is
running around like a chicken with its head cut off. (We
actually see chickens running around with their heads
cut off fairly frequently here, so she's not impressing
us.) So, she's asked me (Evan Serpick, the Peace Corps
volunteer) to talk about the Farmer Field School (FFS)
we've started at the Center. Kenya's Ministry of
Agriculture sponsors the FFS program to help small rural
farmers improve their techniques and use new
technologies to increase their crop yields and learn
marketing and business skills that will help them bring
their products to market.
In and around Takaungu, most households have small
agricultural plots, but even if they manage to feed their
families, few farmers have much of surplus to bring to
market. Those who do are often forced to sell their
products below market value-or watch them rot-due
to a lack of basic business skills and resources.
Takaungu's district is one of the most fertile in the
Coast region, but due to lack of information, its farmers
are terribly under-utilizing the land. The FFS is designed
to change that. For example, local farmers typically
produce 2 to 3 bags of maize per acre. After FFS
training, they can expect to produce 20 to 25 bags,
which is a life-changing difference.
As part of the program, the Ministry of Agriculture
trains instructors who will come to rural farms to teach
farmers in the field. Groups of 20 to 30 farmers meet on
a demonstration plot-or on one of the farmers'
fields-through one planting season. Participants meet
twice a week, for four hours. One day, the farmers do
classroom work, and one day they work in the field.
Over the course of the season, they get to see how
their lessons are producing better crops and take those
methods back to their farms. Toward the end of the
season, I hope to conduct some sessions on basic
business skills (bookkeeping, marketing, cooperative
management, etc.) to help them take the next step
and bring their crops to receptive markets.
We were able to set up the FFS in Takaungu with the
help of another Peace Corps volunteer, Chris, who is
working with the Ministry of Agriculture.
Representatives came to the center and explained the
program to 40 or more farmers who came to hear about
it. At the end, they were chanting "F-F-S!" Now, we
have an instructor, and the FFS has been meeting for
three weeks. In the field, the farmers are working on
clearing and tilling a plot of land adjacent to the center
that we will use as a demonstration plot . In the
classroom, they are getting organized: electing officers,
sorting out the cost of supplies, setting rules for the
group, etc. Planting season starts next month. If all
goes well, I hope to start a similar program with the
scads of independent-and largely failing-fishermen in
the village. In addition to increased knowledge and
resources, I think they could also benefit from some
form of cooperative arrangement. Chris and I are also
working on a proposal to create a Farmer Information
Center, with market prices, weather info, and new
technology info, on the coast (there already are
centers near Nairobi and in western Kenya). We'll keep
you updated.
Visit our website! »
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Volunteers in Takaungu |
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So, I've only been here two full days, and Suzanne is
already asking me to share my experience with the
world. It has been a whirlwind, these last few days.
The trip here couldn't have been better. The first day I
spent in Mombasa with Suzanne running errands, and
then just as I was feeling like I really needed some time
to process, we came to the village. So far it has been
an interesting combination of busy-ness and
slowness. The environment -- the rustling palm trees,
the general pace of life, the amount of time spent
outdoors, amount of time spent drinking tea -- is
relaxing, but I have also been meeting so many new
people and trying to adjust to my surroundings, and
make sense of a new world (and the heat and time
difference!) that I haven't
felt relaxed. But I didn't come here for a vacation.
The people here are so friendly -- friendlier than I
anticipated and that has been a very pleasant
surprise. It feels like everyone is eager to meet me,
and they all say hello. The children are lovely and
charming and also crazy, running around the school and
shouting out their lessons in alternating bouts of order
and chaos. I am happy to be typing this out in what
will be my kitchen when this volunteer house is finished,
and I move out here next week. (For now I am staying
with Suzanne in her serene, relatively bug-free house.)
Here in the open air kitchen/sitting room, I can hear the
Center, but also the workers mixing cement for my
house, the breeze, a baby in the distance, someone
walking on the path behind the fence, and I can feel
the warm wind.
I tried to come here with as few preconceived ideas as
I could, but still there were some to shatter. It is more
multi-cultural here than I expected. I'm still trying to
puzzle out the economics of the place. There seem to
be fewer mosquitoes (thank goodness) but more bugs
of other varieties. Malaria and water quality, at least
so far, seem to be less of an omni-present fear than I
thought they would be, even for villagers. People
speak more English than I thought they would. The
pineapple is even sweeter than I imagined.
I am looking forward to beginning my jobs at the
Center, getting settled for a little while, and sharing
more with you next month. --Breona Gutschmidt
Read letters from past volunteers »
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The EAC Appreciates..... |
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A HUGE thank you goes out to Nancy Kaufmann's sixth
grade class in Ohio for all of the assistance you have
offered to the EAC. Your work has been INCREDIBLE! I
am so touched by your enthusiasm for this project.
Your pen-pals here in Takaungu love you too and a
group of them recently asked me when you were all
going to visit us here in the Village. Though I told them
that such a "field-trip" was unlikely, know that
they are thrilled to have you all as friends.
Members, Chapters, and States of the US Junior
Chamber continue to be fabulous! Thank you for
everything you have done for this organization. The US
Jaycees are making a real difference not only in their
own communities, but across the globe!
The EAC truly appreciates those of you who have made
financial contributions to the EAC over the last month.
You are making this project happen. Your
generosity is acknowledged and deeply, deeply
appreciated.
More about the EAC »
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Wish List |
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The EAC needs a safe at our Center in Takaungu. We
can get one here in Kenya for approximately $500.00. If
you are interested in donating toward this need please
email me at suzanne@swiftmombasa.com
The EAC's resource center needs several copies of the
book "Where Women have no Doctor", and "Where
There is no Doctor". Local residents LOVE this book and
our single copy just isn't enough. If you happen to
come across this book in the US, please purchase a
copy for us. You can contact Yarrow Goding at
yarrowgoding@hotmail.com regarding the details for the
book getting to Kenya.
We need a vehicle here in Takaungu. The vehicle will
provide for the transport of goods, supplies and people
and will most importantly, provide emergency transport
to people of the Village where at this time there is
none. We can purchase a reliable vehicle for
$10,000.00. If you can offer any advice or assistance
that can help us meet this need, please don't hesitate.
Please email me at Suzanne@swiftmombasa.com if you
would like more information.
We have two children's computer CD-ROMs here that
tell a story, then the children get an opportunity, at
the end, to answer questions about what they saw and
heard. It is a great interactive tool for the children to
improve their literacy and learn some basic computer
skills. Many children have come to our house to play
with the CDs and they absolutely love them. If you
have any of these that maybe your own child has
grown out of, or you just don't use anymore, can you
please contact Summer Starr at 206-271-9557 or
sstarr@eastafricancenter.org.
Make a donation »
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Address Change |
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Please update your address books. The East African
Center has a new mailing address.
East African Center, PO Box 95703,
Seattle, WA 98145-2703
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