The white man cometh ... more about the history of the Joluo ...

European penetration of East Africa started with missionaries and explorers.  They 'discovered' peoples and the African lands, (as if they were the first people to see them) !  Following discoveries of new lands and peoples, were the battles for supremacy between the imperialist powers, principally Britain and Germany.   They divided East Africa between them, from the shores of Lake Victoria to the coast, with a kink in the straight line going around the north of Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain in the whole of Africa).  Borders drawn by the colonialists bore no relation to tribal boundaries, and have caused subsequent problems all over the continent.  

Its a nice story that having Mount Kenya in British East Africa, Queen Victoria decided to give the Kaiser Mount Kilimanjaro for a present, thus the border had to be changed to the north of the mountain to include it in German East Africa (Tanganyika) !

The two peaks of Kilimanjaro - the Kaisers birthday present !

The border of Kenya with Uganda once went from near Nakuru, to the north and south along the Rift.  Kisumu and the Joluo would then have been part of eastern Uganda.  At one time during and after the first world war, there were suggestions to make a Jewish homeland in the area around Njoro and on the Nandi escarpment, instead of the present Israel !  

But I'm jumping ahead in the story ...

The Luo at first  resisted British colonialism, and refused to co-operate in matters like agriculture and education, which nowadays might be called passive resistance.   Various tribal sub-groups of the Luo were in favour of the British; some were ambivalent; others opposed them vigourously.   Some collaborated, possibly in order to advance their own causes or to be able to trade and profit financially from the white incomers.   Many used the British to protect them from other tribes, and in time most realised the Wazungu, or white men, were powerful and could be used for personal enrichment.

By 1901 the Uganda Railway had reached Port Florence (the old name for Kisumu) which made white settlement much easier.  After the railway, came religion !   By 1904 the Mill Hill Mission had been founded in Kisumu, and was soon followed by Anglicans, Seventh Day Adventists and other denominations.   The Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.) started a school at Maseno, which is where I used to live, and built a small church there ... I remember there was no bell to call people to church ... instead, a large drum was beaten with enthusiasm and the sound carried a long way, and called the faithful to church.  

Maseno School church; our house was among the trees to the right !

There were also many tribal forms of Christianity which sprung up in Nyanza and other parts of Kenya, as well as non-Christian cults.  Some of these preached rejection of everything European, and a return to traditional ways of life.  But there was no turning back, and by the early 1950's cries for independence from British rule were heard throughout the country ... culminating in the Mau Mau uprising, and finally full independence in 1963, with Mzee Jomo Kenyatta as the first African president.   The Luo had participated in the move to freedom from the British, but were ill represented in the new African government.

More about the last fifty years to come in another episode !

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Its good for me to be able to drag the history of western Kenya as well as traditional tales up and up from the deepest recesses of my aging brain !!   I can't vouch for the accuracy ... but I think its near enough !   I hope it is interesting for the people who are offering to sponsor me, and for my friends, including the team going out to Kisumu in February !

Luo traditional tales, #2

Hare, a clever animal, was friends with Elephant and Hippo.   He knew that he was physically weaker than they were, but he  also  knew he could prove he was actually stronger than they.

One day we saw Hippo wallowing with his friends in the waters of Lolwe, and said 'Hello, you big, stupid brute !'   'What', said Hippo; 'How dare you address me like that !   I'm the biggest and stronger of all the animals who live in the water.'   Hare replied, 'You may be the strongest in the water, but I am the cleverest and strongest of ALL animals.  Let's meet here in three days time and I'll prove to you how strong I am.   I'll be able to pull you straight out of the water and into the forest.'

They parted, and to be honest, Hare had no idea how he could outwit Hippo !    He thought deeply, and at last had the idea of perhaps tying one end of a rope to a tree ... when his friend Elephant came by.  

'Hello, you giant long-nose !  Why on earth do you keep swinging your ugly snout like that ?'   Elephant was NOT pleased at being spoken to so rudely.   'Don't you know you should respect your elders and betters ?' said Elephant.    'Run along, and find a weak little child like yourself to play with.'

Hare replied, 'Don't be silly.   I'm not a child.  I'll offer you a challenge.  Come here in three days time and I'll prove I'm stronger than you by dragging your great lumpy body out of the forest and into the lake.'   And he turned, and hopped off into the forest.

Three days later, Hare took his horn and the longest rope he could find, to the lake shore, and met Hippo.  'Here, hold onto this tightly and when you hear me blow my horn, pull as hard as you can'.   Hippo yawned and smiled, and sank back into the water and waited.

Hare carried the other end of the rope into the forest and gave it to Elephant.  'Hold onto this, and as soon as you hear me blow my horn, pull as hard as you can, but I will also be pulling, and will drag you into the lake !'

And running and hopping away, he hid himself in some bushes where he could watch what happened.  He blew his horn, and with a crashing of trees and bushes, and splashing and cascading of water, the tug-of-war started !

Hour after hour they pulled, hour after hour the forest and lake rang to the sounds of trumpeting and splashing, as neither Elephant or Hippo managed to pull the other ...  So at last, seeing his friends exhausted, Hare blew his horn again to stop the contest. 

He hopped down to the lake shore and spoke to Hippo.  'Brother Hippo, you may be strong, but I am stronger, and also much more clever than you !   I hope you will respect me now.'   Hippo sighed, and sank back into the water, blowing spray out of his nose as he disappeared from sight among the papyrus reeds.  

Back in the forest, Hare spoke to his other friend, Elephant.  'You wouldn't believe me; you may be as big as Got Ramogi, but you've learned your lesson ... I am much more clever and stronger than you !'  Much puzzled, Elephant shook his head, swung his trunk, and plodded back among the trees.

Moral:-    Even the weakest people can be strong if they use their brains !

Forms, paper work ...

We had another group meeting last night to fill in forms !

A visa form for Kenya (don't think I've ever had to do one before) and CRB form (in case we have police records)   I seem to have filled in CRB forms many times over the past few years; I still don't have a police record (despite being caught recently speeding at 34 in a 30 mph zone !)

Lots of discussion about fund raising.  I've 'paid in' the sponsorship donations I've had so far, and must count up my vegetable money !   I think its around £35 so far, which isn't bad for spare garden produce.   'A little and a little fills the pot' !

But bigger money raising efforts were the main talking points.  Camel racing in the village hall sounds fun !   (Don't ask !)   I've got several ideas which I now need to get started.   

I now have an official HATW shirt, complete with logo !

Statistics

Kenya has a population of about 32 million.    The UK is 62 million.

At birth, life expectancy in Kenya is 45 years ... yes, 45.    Life expectancy in UK is between 75 and 80 years.

78 Kenyan children per 1,000 die under one year of age, and 1,000 women per 100,000 die in childbirth.   That's one mother in 100.

A quarter of the Kenya population live on less than one US $ per day  (that is 64 UK pence per day).  

In UK the average income is just under £30,000 per year (£82 per day), and in the US, $50,000 per annum, or $136 per day.


There are many more statistics I would like to quote, but its hard to find comparative figures, comparing the UK and USA to Kenya.     However, I think the above figures show something of third world poverty.

The question is, do we in our comfortable western lives have too much ??   Are we wasteful, are we greedy ... do we continually confuse our 'wants' with our 'needs' ?   I think we do ...

Pandipieri shanty town

(This comes from a site I found today ... this is where we are going !)

If you look at an urban map of Kisumu, a town in Western Kenya not far from Lake Victoria, you will notice a neat little border that marks its outskirts. Around it you will see a blur of scattered spots. "This is how the shanty-towns are portrayed", explains Father Hans Burgman. "The city has 60,000 inhabitants. The shanty-towns, which cram in more than 300,000 people, do not even appear on the map". 

(This explains why I can't find Pandipieri on any maps I have, nor on any Google maps ...)

Established during the colonial period, when a gate closed off the town of Kisumu, the shanty-towns are now the place where the majority of people live. Pandipieri is the name of one of the two largest shanty-towns and, as odd as it may sound, its Luo translation literally means 'hide your butt'. "The shanty-towns historically had no services, including latrines" continues Father Hans,  "so when people had to go to the toilet, they only had one choice".   Entrenched poverty and a lack of basic services are what prompted Father Hans, a Mill Hill missionary originally from Holland, to settle here more that twenty years ago. 

"At the time, the Catholic church was very rural. It had not yet come to terms with the phenomenon of swelling shanty-towns in the growing urban areas. I was given the task to explore new forms of doing missionary work in this changed context".  So in 1977 this young Dutch missionary, assisted by a handful of community members, established a "new form of Urban Apostolate", which is now known as the Pandipieri Catholic Center, a community-based, urban, and integrated development program. The core philosophy of the Center is based on three principles:-

First, solutions to existing problems must come from within the community; they should not be imported from outside. 

Secondly, if you want to be part of a solution, you must be part of the community. 

And thirdly, resources used must also come from within the community. 

We are, I understand, going to be building the carpentry workshop as part of an off-shoot to the Missions main programmes; but we will certainly fulfill the principle of 'if you want to be part of the solution, you must be part of the community'.   We will be living in the community, and working with members of the community, and hopefully, getting to know the people there ... 

Read more by clicking the link below ... 

http://www.hopeforafricanchildren.org/New/Country%20Programs/kenya_orgs_pandipieri.html

I'm back from my summer holiday !!

... which I spent in sunny, yes sunny, Manchester !

It gave me the opportunity to talk to lots of friends and my daughter about the HATW charity, the project in Kisumu, and to ask for sponsorship ... and I've left people s.a.e's and gift aid forms and HATW leaflets.

Gift aid is a wonderful idea, and I hope the present government doesn't suddenly realise its one thing they could cut !   If a sponsor is a UK tax payer, and completes a simple gift aid form, then returns it to me with their (generous !) cheque,  the charity can claim back tax paid by that person ... and the value of the donation will increase by 28% !!  

Doing the sums, this means a donation of £100 turns into £128; £50 into £64, £10 into £12.80.    Some companies will add a donation if they run a charity donation scheme and one of their employee's also donates.    So, dear readers, please be generous !

Independence ?

We had an interesting sermon yesterday in church.  The vicar based it on something she had heard someone in the congregation say to a visitor, that the people in this parish were very 'independent'.

I missed half the sermon because my mind drifted onto other things loosely based around people being 'independent'.    We have a lot of rather elderly and frail people in this parish who need help with lifts for shopping, doctors visits and so on, because they no longer drive.    Probably most rural villages are the same.  Many people are available to give lifts, and its no bother to pick up shopping or prescriptions if the person themselves doesn't want to go to town.   Its just necessary for the person to ask; ... "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find" !!   But asking is the hardest thing ... 

So how about the teenagers living on the streets in the shanty town ?  They are leading independent lives of necessity; many will have no families, homes or employment; they are living on their wits.  These teenagers have had a sort of rough independence thrust upon them.    And who is there that they can ask for food, a safe place to sleep, the chance of a job ... and ultimately self-respect ?  HATW has seen a necessity for a workshop for these teenagers and young people in Kisumu, but throughout the so called developing world this is a drop in the ocean.   I am once again reminded of the story of the boy throwing back the star-fish into the sea.


Maybe independence for those who don't have it forced upon them is not such a good thing.  We lead comfortable lives in the UK; we don't actually NEED to be so independent.   Inter-dependence seems much better !   It makes for more friendly communities if people share what they have, if they can live 'together' lives.    But what IS the answer for the millions of shanty town dwellers ... the people in Pakistan today coping with floods of Biblical proportions ... the huge colonies all around the world of refugees ?

I just have no idea ...

Who is Muderma ?

A friend just called me ... she had been reading this blog and asked 'Who is the Muderma who is posting these entries ?' 

Well, its me !   I was given the Luo name 'Muderma' when I lived in Kenya; it means 'the only child in a family' ... which is what I am ... an only child !

Names are often given based on the time of day or the season or after a famous person ... thus my children are Akoth, Atieno, Adhiambo and Obong'o !!

A little about the history of the Joluo of Nyanza ...

Nyanza is one of the provinces of Kenya  (I suppose provinces are somewhat similar to English counties ... but considerably bigger !   And while I'm writing about size, Lake Victoria is HUGE ... it covers an area approximately the same size as the whole of the island of Ireland.)

In the past, various tribal groups tended to live together in one area and not mix ... for example, and very generally, the Kikuyu were mostly around Mt Kenya and north of Nairobi; the Swahili were at the coast; the Maasai were on the plains of the Rift Valley and so on.   This isn't so nowadays ... people have moved for work and for land, and many from one tribe have married into another; thus tribal boundaries are breaking down.  Religious groups however, tend to marry within their groups.   But there is no hard and fast rule ! 

So ... the Luo ... they have tended to stay around the north and east of Lake Victoria, both in Kenya and over the border into Uganda.   But where did they come from ?   Up until about 1600, the area was inhabited by Bantu-speaking peoples ... remnants of these are the Gusii and Kipsigis, whose centres nowadays are Kisii and the tea growing district of Kericho, up on the Nandi escarpment; the Abaluyia, who live around Maseno and Kakamega; and the Kuria, from South Nyanza, along the border with Tanzania.   

Back to where the Luo came from !   After about 1600 - 1650, there was a migration of peoples from along the Nile, possibly necessitated by population pressure, or wars, or other unknown reasons, into Uganda and then Kenya around the north and east of the lake ... the Luo.  Traditionally, they first entered Kenya and settled on and around Got Ramogi ... just a little west of Got Usenge (Usenge Hill) in my title photo.    Ramogi is thought to be the first Luo man - a sort of Luo Adam !   

There is no written evidence from the past for any of this, but archaeological evidence and oral histories have been studied by wiser people than me, and this is the conclusion they have reached about the origins of the Joluo.  

The people lived by fishing, and a sort of subsistence agriculture.   It is hard to imagine that trade with other tribes would be necessary, but even going back to stone age times, materials and tools were traded throughout East Africa, so there is no doubt the Luo traded with other local peoples.   In was in both their interests to do so.   The Luo are good at making pots and baskets, and iron implements and would have traded these ... and possibly/probably even slaves. 

I'll write another time about the coming of the white man, and the effect it had on Nyanza !

I've got a little list ...

Oyawore !   Good morning !

1.   Make an appointment at the doc's, maybe for next month, to talk through a plan for the vaccinations.   It IS possible to get the lot done in a hurry ... but I prefer to take them one or two at a time, for I know from past experience that I find some of them have side effects.   Find my old certificates to see if I need all updated ... I think my yellow fever one is still OK ...

2.   Go to Boots again and get some more insect repellent, sun cream etc ... they have a '3 for 2' offer at the moment !

3.   Check what clothes I'll need for a month on the Equator in February ... and get them NOW ... no good searching the shops in December or January for summer clothes !

4.   Get myself a decent bag or rucksack ... the one I lugged round Canada for eight weeks and then Namibia has definitely seen better days !

5.   Email the rest of the group for a 'chat' !!

Our first meeting ...

I had to go to another meeting 30 miles from home yesterday afternoon, so didn't get back to the HATW meeting until 7 ... but was welcomed and given tea and Welsh cakes ... and introduced to the other members of the team.   I'm definitely the granny of the team ... but with age comes wisdom !!   (or so I am told ... not so sure myself !)

We are a small team of five a young man, (maybe a student ?); a pretty 30-something lady; a married couple, perhaps in their 50's and me, 60 something !... one other person having dropped out.   We were given scenario's to comment upon ... such as 'one of the African workmen has cut himself.  You are stitching the wound for him, and accidentally prick your finger with the needle'.   Well, we aren't doctors, so we shouldn't be stitching someones arm !   But the question was to make us aware of the HIV risk ... we were told about 20% of Kenyans are HIV positive ... this figure shocked me ... can it be so ?  

Another question to consider was 'A person you are asking for sponsorship, makes racist and abusive remarks about the project ...'    I was put in mind of my 'friend' who refuses to sponsor my 'month lazing in the sun' !!

We were given information packs, fund-raising packs, form filling packs, vaccination lists ... I haven't read any of it yet but will later today.   The vaccination list is horrendous ... yellow fever, cholera, meningitis, typhoid, tetanus, diphtheria, rabies ... I'd better make an appointment at the doctors and work out a time-table for all these jabs.   Anti-malaria tablets need to be discussed too ... I took lariam on one visit to Africa ... nasty stuff ... I did almost 'go on a trip' with it !

So ... lots to think about; lots to prepare for.   I'm not sure I'm going to be physically capable of hefting building blocks around, but they need plastering done too ... now that's a skill I've always fancied having !   Must get son-in-law to teach me ...

'Bura achiel' .... our first group meeting is today !

6.30 this evening ... the group going out to Kenya meets together for the first time !   Its quite exciting !

I just noticed on some of the HATW literature that they have a group in Kenya right now ... I wonder if the organisers are in contact ?   They must be !   So I wonder if someone there can get me that dictionary I need ??

Dholuo ... the language of the Luo people.

Kawuono wouk tich, ochiko mar due aboro.    Today is Monday, ninth day of the eighth month !  (At least, I think that is what that says !) 


Dholuo (pronounced something like 'Dtho-loo-o') is a Nilotic language, very unlike Kiswahili which is the lingua franca, together with English, used  throughout Kenya.  Swahili is also used in Tanzania, Uganda, parts of central Africa, parts of Zambia ...   Kiswahili is a Bantu language, with a large number of words derived from Arabic, but Dholuo has its origins among the peoples of the southern Nile. 

Other Nilotic languages which are similar to Dholuo are Acholi and Lango, spoken in parts of Uganda, and also Alur, which is used in north western Uganda and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.   So a Dholuo speaker from Kisumu or Maseno travelling to parts of western Uganda would most likely be able to speak with the local people.   And it is also probable that a certain amount of Dholuo would be understood by other Nilotic peoples going north along the Nile, for example, the Dinka in Sudan.

The Dholuo language also contains a large number of words 'borrowed' from Kiswahili, which has a larger vocabulary, and even some 'Luo-ised' English words have crept in !  This is one problem I'm having with trying to relearn a language I never spoke particularly well ... I keep 'cross languaging' with Swahili !

( I think I need to try and find a Dholuo-English dictionary ... the basic word list I down-loaded from the web isn't really adequate ...)


(Later ... I found a secondhand one on the 'net ... £89.99 ... from the USA ... I don't think so !)

Luo traditional tales #1

The Luo people, like all African peoples, have a long history of story telling.  Its fun, and is also a way of passing on their history, and for grandmothers to instruct their grand-daughters with these often very moral tales.

The strange children of Opondo

Years ago there was a man called Opondo.  His wife constantly gave birth to monitor lizards instead of normal babies.  Every time this happened the couple took the horrible animal out into the bush and threw it away.  But eventually, when another monitor lizard was born, the couple decided to keep it and see how it grew up.

The lizard grew, and after many years was able to walk and behave just as any other lizard.   He used to go secretly to the river to wash, and when he got there, he would slip off his scaly skin, and there was a beautiful young man !

One day when he was splashing about washing, he was seen by an old man, who rushed to the parents and told them what he had seen.  The parents didn't believe him, but after several days wondered if perhaps there could be some truth in what they had been told.  So they hid in bushes near the river, and watched .  They saw the 'lizard' strip of his clothes, and the beautiful young man go down into the water to wash.  

The parents were not convinced, for when the 'lizard' returned home, he was still, quite clearly a lizard !  The old man who had told them the truth persuaded them to go another day and watch their son.  This they did, but this time, Opondo crept out quietly and seized the lizard skin lying on the bank.  He ran home with it and flung it on the fire.   He returned to the river bank to see what the young man would do.  

The boy climbed out of the river and searched for his lizard skin, which had gone.  Horrified, he sat down on the river bank and cried.   His parents were so saddened by this that they came out of hiding, and encouraged him to return home, naked as he was, with them.

The boy, now visibly a young man and not a lizard, became accepted and loved by everyone in the village.    Opondo and his wife regretted that they had cast out so many monitor lizard children, but the Luo know that what is gone, is gone ... 

The moral of this story is that even those who are rejected by many, can have those who sympathise with them ... like the street children of today ...

Past projects of the 'Hands Around the World' charity

Several of my friends who are interested in what I'm going to do, have asked me about past projects, so here are some of them:-

Siriba, Uganda ... built a village vocational training centre

Nyumbani, Kenya ... built homes in an orphans eco-village

Chisamba, Zambia ... phase three of classroom and workshop building

Sarberia, India ... built vocational training centre

Athi, Kenya ... building a wheel-chair friendly boarding school dining facility

Dogba, Benin ... rebuilding of flood damaged school

Muko, Rwanda ... classrooms at a junior secondary school

Mossoro, Brazil ... classrooms for favela children

and the last, Ogenda, Uganda ... this is a project I know about !   Building another classroom at the girls school our parish has helped to build up and support over the past five years; the project has now been taken over by HATW, and is very important, in its support for girls education where girls have often been seen as second class citizens.

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I've been thinking about fund raising possibilities, and with that in mind, my son's fiancee has set me up with eBay and Paypal accounts; I have several things I can sell, such as some antiquarian books, a jug made by an internationally known potter who just happens to live round the corner from me ...  and even the family silver !!  It will be good to have a clear out as well as raise money for the charity. 

I'll put the links to the eBay site when I have something up on it to sell !

Children ...

This is what children should be like ...happy and laughing ...

... not this ...

Kenya says 'Yes' in referendum

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-10876635

Let's hope and pray that this will be the start of reforms which will in time bring a solution to the problem of street living for so many.   

Vegetables !

(Nyanya, rabuon, sikuma wiki !)

I've been raising a little money towards what I have to raise by selling my spare organic vegetables !  I've made over £19 this week - and to think I was going to have to put the surplus on the compost heap !

Matin gi matin oromo sufuria !  

(I think that is the Dholuo version of the English version of the Swahili proverb 'A little and a little fills the pot !!!)

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I've just had a chat to an internet friend who has read my blog; something she said made me think of how hard its going to be when the team are in Kenya, seeing these hungry, homeless, troubled kids.   I've often wondered how the aid workers and BBC reporters who got sent out to report from refugee camps and saw the starvation and misery ... how they could return to their bases and have a decent meal with what they had seen during the day on their minds.  But they had to or couldn't do their jobs ... and I suspect it will horrify us as well, and we will have to do our allotted tasks too; then we will understand a little of what aid workers, reporters and others have to struggle with.  But the biggest struggle is that of the poor, the homeless, the hungry ...

Michael Buerks reports from Ethiopia made such an impact on me in 1984 ... "Dawn ... lighting up a famine of Biblical proportions ..."   we'd only been back from Africa for about four or five years, and had seemingly left a continent of plenty ...

Learning ... or re-learning ... the language

Gosh its hard !  I've just realised that when I learned French at school, we had a French teacher who spoke French to us; we didn't do it all out of a book !   And when I learned Kiswahili and Dholuo the first time, it was partly from a book, but mainly by using it and hearing it around me all the time.  Now its just me, and a grammar book talking to myself (and the cats) in Dholuo !!   I have no idea if I'm getting anywhere ... but I plod on. 

Jarikni ja a nono !   Slow but sure wins in the end ! 

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I've been listening to the World Service news ... there is to be a referendum on the constitution tomorrow in Kenya ... that'll be interesting !   The aim I think is to try and limit the power of the president and MP's ... too much of Kenya ... and other African countries ... and even our own (!) is corrupted by bent and devious politicians.   Think of our own parliament last year, when all the scandal came out about claims by MP's for duck islands, and two homes.   I do hope the result for Kenya will be the right one, and that some good will come from it. 

Sunday comparisons ... here in our comfortable lives, and in Kenya among the street children

Today I've been to church, went to have coffee with friends, eaten a good lunch of fresh home grown vegetables and some meat, had a rest, watched a video, talked on the phone to a few friends (one of whom was whipping cream for a luxury pudding as we spoke ... and I know she won't mind me mentioning this ... she is a compassionate person) ... and what have the ragged street children of Kenya been doing ?

Well, probably scavenging and eating rotting food from the rubbish dumps, sniffing glue to keep away the cold and dull the pain of hunger, begging for a few shillings, maybe stealing or prostituting themselves ... anything to get a little money to buy a loaf or some bananas or a little more glue ... and I'm reminded that the collection taken in our little church this morning with a congregation of 16, was £75. Think what that could do for street children ! 

So this entry is going to end with some pictures which I hope will shock ... and I have unashamedly 'borrowed' these from other sites on the 'net.

Yes, that's cheap, nasty, toxic shoe glue in the bottles ...