Mandera attacked again

I heard on the BBC World Service last night that there has been another al-Shabab attack on Mandera, which was attacked before in November, 2014.

See  http://luolaughter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/kenyan-security.html 

Todays BBC Africa news has a brief report (any other news being eclipsed by the expansion of Heathrow Airport news):-

"At least 12 people have been killed in an attack in Kenya claimed by Somalia-based militant Islamist group al-Shabab.

The target was a guesthouse hosting members of a theatre group who were performing plays in schools in the north-eastern town of Mandera. 

There has been a spate of deadly attacks targeting Christians in the mainly Muslim region around Mandera.

Reports say that the 10-member theatre group was composed of university students who had travelled to the town to perform plays in local schools.

Two members of the little known theatre travelling group, Pearls Quality Edutainment, were killed."


 There is really nothing to say about senseless killings like this .....  

~  ~  ~

Update on 6th November:    "The Kenyan government has introduced a curfew in Mandera county from 6:30pm to 6:30am until 27 December, 2016"

The latest 'Old Africa' magazine

 

 

I'm always amused by some of the letters to the editor !    This issue includes one which starts "Issue 66 fetched up at our manyatta this morning ..."   interesting, I thought .... a Maasai subscribes !   Then I saw the address of the writer .... J. Smith, Sutton, Surrey, UK !!

 

There's an article on coffee farming in Koru; another on elephants swimming in the sea; and more articles on WW1 in East Africa.   A friend of mine who also subscribes commented on the latest issue:  "Gives the feeling that our time in Kenya was very recent, but I suppose most of the articles are written by children, or perhaps even grandchildren, of the old-timers described in them."

We were both there in the 1960's and 70's, so yes, I guess that was quite recent !  But as for 'old timers' I have occasionally met some of them on my regular visits to Kenya.   A few years ago I met the nursing sister who delivered my daughter in 1971, and have on my last three visits by sheer coincidence met a fellow traveller at the airport either in London or Nairobi who knew people I knew when I lived there.   Small world.

Us old Africa hands !!

I was in the HATW office this morning; we had a lady from Hereford come in who was interested in volunteering sometime.   She had worked out in Uganda; was born in Ghana; had lived near Nairobi for a while.

She had a chat to us for nearly an hour .... lots of reminiscences and comments on how things were and how they are now in Africa.  She said how nice it was to be able to talk 'Africa' to people who knew what it was like, and who could listen and comment with interest. 

That's just how I feel and it's what I get mostly from working in the office with 'old Africa hands' !   Most people where I live, even my family, have absolutely no interest in where I go, what I do.  I remember telling someone in the village that I'd been out to Kenya for a month, working with orphans, street kids, people with HIV, and the only comment I got in reply was 'Oh yes;  we went to Majorca for a holiday this year'.   End of conversation.    

Harry Hook's talk and film

I went to see this in Monmouth with some of the others from HATW.   They were selling Harry's beautiful, beautiful book in the foyer of the cinema, but at £65 a copy (!) it was a case of look only.    His talk was most interesting; lots of wonderful slides and short films, some of which I'd seen before on the BBC.   Poor man, his Apple kept stalling and that meant his flow of pictures and short films got snarled up, but someone from the audience was able to sort it out.

I quote from the blurb about his book on the 'net:- 

"Across much of sub-Saharan Africa millions upon millions of Africans are heading for towns and cities. This permanent movement of people leaving their land and villages has gathered pace during our lifetime.  It’s a migration that’s caused massive cultural and social change across Africa.  African cities loom large and now dominate people’s frame of reference.  Many of the distinct rural societies and tribal groupings have become homogenized and lost within urban populations.  Africans do still hold an allegiance to their tribe and ethnicity but with a newly found urban-psyche many miss the close bond and support of their group.  Crucially most modern city-dwellers have lost their personal link to a place on the land that until recently was 'home'."              http://www.aboutafricabook.com/book.html

This is so true in my experience; when I first went to Africa 48 years ago, and saw what the students were being taught .... I knew it was wrong.   We were teaching boys to become white collar workers, aiming at jobs in the cities, whereas at independence when the British government set up schools, we should have concentrated on technical schools leading on to apprenticeships.   African countries need engineers, agricultural experts, foresters, electricians, mechanics .... not so many unemployed academically trained people.   I have visited government offices recently and seen for myself how most of the staff sit around reading the paper most of the day or take the day off ... "he is not on seat"  is what you get told if you need to see a specific person.

I managed to have a chat with Harry in the interval, and mentioned I'd met his father; Harry sighed and said everywhere he gave these presentations someone says they knew his father ! 

A busy market scene, from Harry's book.  

And for a flavour of his talk, see this:-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBODpBlaySw

Harry Hook

 

 

Look what's on one evening in our town; a talk/film by Harry Hook about his photographs/films from Kenya .... his father was Hilary Hook; an old colonial type who featured in a BBC film about 25 years ago.   Hillary was shown trying to cope (with not much success !) as he adjusted back to life in Britain.   I think it was called 'Home from the Hill'.   We met Hillary once, I seem to remember, in one of the game parks where we were camping.   A great character; it will be interesting to see his sons film and photographs and hear his lecture.

Catching up ...

Two and a half months since I last wrote anything, and Africa and particularly Kenya are always in my thoughts.

Another 'Old Africa' magazine has come ....

Interesting article about the E. A Safari Rally which we used to watch roaring through the muddy roads and major towns.   Joginder Singh was my hero in the 1970's !


Then I've been reading this:-

This is about nine youngsters from Dadaab, the refugee camp which is the largest in the world.  Situated in north eastern Kenya, it houses up to three-quarters of a million people, mostly from neighbouring Somalia and some from Eritrea and Ethiopia.   Here in Europe, we just know about refugees who are fleeing Syria to try to get to Europe, and some who attempt to cross the Mediterranean from Libya and north Africa .... but we hear very little about refugees who don't have the means to escape war and turmoil and end up in places like Dadaab.

Post Referendum.

I knew I'd have to say something about it sometime.

Everyone I've discussed the result with is looking at it from the point of view of their own interests, whether they are in big business, or run their own family business, or are farmers, builders, and so on.    I'm looking at things from the point of view of HATW, and Kenya.

One of our volunteers who is in Zambia at the moment also writes a blog which I have mentioned a few entries ago as being worth reading.   I'm sure he won't mind if I quote from it, with his first reaction to the UK decision to leave the EU.:-

I really didn't believe that the British people would make this choice. It seems to me that in a world which is becoming more connected, to choose to isolate ourselves in this way is an odd choice. What saddens me is that it appears to be a move made primarily out of selfish motives. We are keen to keep the benefits of a decent life to ourselves and not be prepared to welcome others, particularly the less fortunate, to share in our good fortune. I suspect that in fact the result will in fact be that we will be much poorer financially as well as being much poorer as human beings.

One immediate impact is that unless we increase the amount we send, our projects in Zambia will receive less today than yesterday. With fluctuations in the kwacha to some extent the differences cancel themselves out, because prices here go up or down as a result, but the drop in the pound it will have a direct impact."

All this of course, also applies to Kenya.   We'll have to send out a bit more each month for it to be worth the same in K. Shillingi as previously, and this in turn means we'll have somehow to raise a little more.

Another thing that occurred to me is that Kenya's Rift Valley farmers and growers of things such as snap peas, beans, roses that we buy in our supermarkets will be affected.

"If a UK recession triggers a fall in consumer demand in Britain, African exporters could be affected as well. For example, exports of Kenyan roses could fall, as UK consumers demand fewer of them.
The UK's trade deals with Africa are essentially the EU's trade deals with Africa. As the UK exits the European Union, all of those deals will have to be renegotiated.
That could take years, leaving trade relations between the UK and Africa in limbo."    (BBC world news)

 

I think the 'Brexiteers' were fed so many lies and opinions that they just didn't know what they were voting for, and what the results could be.

Probably best not to mention the referendum :-(

I was turning out a load of old newspapers and spotted this in a Daily Telegraph from April, which I must have missed. 

 

This could so easily apply to most African countries, and it certainly does to Kenya, where the poor get poorer, and the rich keep their money off-shore.

 

Its hard to find the actual amounts given by the UK to Kenya, but a 2013 figure suggests £98 million per year.   Is that all government aid ?    It doesn't seem very much.     Or is most of it via charities such as Oxfam, Water-Aid .... and even HATW ?    Its almost impossible to find a break-down of actual amounts given by the UK government on the internet.   But the above newspaper cutting suggests we need to rethink aid, and in what form we give it.   

Worth reading .... the blog of one of our volunteers in Zambia.

http://ourmaninmonze.blogspot.co.uk/

Chris goes to Zambia every year for six weeks or more, to Monze and PIZZ school.    Read all about it !

Corruption

Still reading about Kenya in all its aspects; I came across this article on a BBC site the other day ....


"In our series of letters from African journalists, Joseph Warungu considers what the collapse of a building in Nairobi reveals about Kenyan society.

13 May 2016

"Huruma" is a Swahili word meaning mercy.   It is also the name of the district of the city that has attracted world attention following the building collapse that killed 51 people.    Judging by the sad events of Huruma, and many other previous tragedies, it is safe to say that the majority of Kenyans live by the mercy of God.   The collapse of the building is a reflection of a society that is collapsing bit by bit, day by day.

Impunity means you can put up an unsafe building in an unsafe area and stuff it with desperate families.  And then sleep soundly, knowing that although something really nasty could happen to your tenants, there is nothing bad that can happen to you.

More than 30 buildings have collapsed in the last 10 years in different parts of Kenya, killing and injuring people.  An audit of the safety of buildings in Nairobi, conducted last year by the National Construction Authority, showed that only 42% of the buildings were found to be safe to live in.

The rule of law in Kenya has all but collapsed under the weight of impunity.  Furthermore, many do not trust the very people whose job it is to enforce the law - the police.  The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, a watchdog body established by the constitution, has said the police have been responsible for torture, killings and summary executions.  While action has been taken against some individual officers accused of taking the law into their own hands, not all have faced justice.

The one institution in Kenya that has stood the test of time and is unlikely to collapse any day soon is corruption.

The education system too has been teetering on the edge of collapse.   In March, the national examinations board was dissolved, following widespread cheating in national exams, which resulted in the cancellation of 5,000 results.    Some of this cheating is inspired and funded by the parents themselves, a sign of another institution - morality - in danger of collapse.  Morality stands little chance once discipline in Kenya buckles.  It is the indiscipline and impunity that gives people the confidence to drive dangerously in the wrong lane as police watch helplessly.

We have also witnessed examples of the collapse of clear leadership in key public institutions with negative consequences.

During the 2013 terror attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi, in which 67 people were killed and 200 others injured, the rescue operation was hampered by rivalry between the police, who initially responded to the attack, and the military, who eventually took over the operation.  It was a case of inflated egos, lack of co-ordination and confusion over who really was in charge.

Sometimes it is never quite clear who is in charge in Kenya.  The president himself has in the past found himself in an embarrassing position after pronouncing on one thing, or issuing a particular directive, only to be contradicted or overruled by another institution.

And this month we witnessed the collapse of yet another Kenyan virtue - hospitality.    The authorities have lost patience with the hundreds of thousands of refugees, mainly from Somalia who have been sheltering in Kenya. If the government has its way on the matter, the refugees will need to find a new home either back in Somalia or in a different country.

But the one institution in Kenya that has stood the test of time and is unlikely to collapse any day soon is corruption.

In almost every tragedy in Kenya, money will have changed hands.  In Kenya money speaks loudly, and it can silence anyone or anything. 

A study conducted in 2014 said some buildings collapse because contractors steal cement and use less steel.  Architects and engineers are also blamed for failing to verify the quality of the work or properly supervise construction.    And then you have the Nairobi City building inspectors who are overstretched.

As a result, the institution of corruption is always hanging about in the shadows and it never takes a day off.

The police were quick to take action following the collapse of the building in Huruma and arrested the owners, but they did not target the whole chain of people involved in the construction industry.

This though, is Kenya where we love painkillers to deal with the symptoms instead of treating the causes of the illness.  And because of this, our lives will continue to be at the mercy of God.  Until we reinforce our social, political, economic and governance structures to prevent the collapse of the Kenyan soul, the Huruma building collapse will repeat itself.

And our response will be to reach out for the predictable pill to kill the pain.

Hopefully one day those entrusted with public positions will move the nation from huruma (mercy) to another Swahili word, huduma (service)."


Having recently read the book by Errol Trzebinski  "The life and Death of Lord Erroll" all I can say is, that even after independence for so many African countries in the 1960's .... plus ca change .... nothing changes.

 

Time I wrote something !

I see the last entry was about five or six weeks back, tut, tut !   But I haven't forgotten Africa, and particularly Kenya.   I've been doing so much reading about Kenyan ancient history, and in the last few weeks, have been 'exploring' Happy Valley in books and articles .... the Wanjohi Valley north of Lake Naivasha, made famous by the permissive 'goings on' in the 1930's and 1940's.  

 

 

I remember an elderly lady who lived near us in Nakuru in the late 1970's who regaled me with tales of wild parties in the Happy Valley; I didn't realise what she meant then, but I do now !



Me; the HATW office; and more about rubbish !!

 

 

The arrival of a photo from an acquaintance in Canada I met at Mill Hill House, has prompted me to do a bit more blogging.   These are the baskets I bought to bring back to Monmouth to sell in aid of Hands Around the World.  (Gosh, I was HOT walking around Kibuye market carrying that lot !)   We have an open morning every Friday, with some African items for sale that volunteers have brought back.    Some of my baskets are just visible. 

 

 

 

 

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

 

A couple of weeks ago, we had a village clean up; a team of about 25 villagers went along all the lanes and ditches, picking up rubbish.   This was the result ....

 

 

 

.... quite incredible; there was even the proverbial kitchen sink !!

 

So it got me thinking again about all the rubbish, especially plastic bags, that I see increasing on every visit to Kenya.  Kenya used to be a beautiful and clean country; not any more.  Can you imagine all those safari adverts saying "Come to visit the tropical coast, the game parks, the deserts .... and see the rubbish" ??    

 

I've previously posted photos of the enormous rubbish dump of smouldering, rotting food, plastic, human waste, etc. which is behind the largest super-store in town.    This is not specific to Kisumu; rubbish and disgusting dumps are all over the country, and friends who visit other African countries, and India say its the same there.   Rubbish, particularly plastic rubbish, seems to be a curse of the modern age.   Plastic rubbish is found in every ocean, and inside fish, whales, penguins ....

 

In Wales, and other parts of the UK, we now have to pay for plastic bags in the supermarkets and shops; a small sum, but it has drastically cut by around 90% the number of plastic bags used and dumped.   Africa has wonderful hand-made shopping bags and baskets ... yet people expect a plastic bag every time they go to a store.  I spoke to the manager of the big store about it; he says if people take their own bags into the shop, they steal goods !   It cannot be beyond the intelligence of man to find some way of stopping that problem.   

 

And I frequently see cattle and goats scavenging for scraps on rubbish heaps and in ditches - UK vets report the danger of cattle and other animals eating plastic bags.   But African owners don't seem to care ....  

 

  

'Old Africa' magazine

This bi-monthly publication has finally tempted me to subscribe.   I usually pick up one or two copies on every visit to Kenya, and my first subscription copy arrived yesterday !   I am also very tempted to buy some back numbers; the web-site for the magazine hints at interesting articles of East Africa's past.  

 

 

The publisher requests articles and old photos and information, of which I have plenty !   David W. has said I can submit his photo of the sign to Piccadilly Circus (gold mine near Kakamega) which I will do.    

Now to make a cuppa and sit and read !!

An email from Father Hans

 

 

I emailed Hans to ask for some more information about the Stations of the Cross painting in Nyalenda Centre Church.   This was his reply ....

 

"Since the 1980s we have been running a small Art Academy in the Nyalenda slums: a 3 years course, day school, for young people with artistic talent. Up to now we have trained about 150 artists.

 

Ten years ago I had formed a small group of three former students, for the purpose of producing catechetial material. Then came a request from one of our homes in England for  Stations of the Cross. We designed that one with the group, and the three executed it. It was in full colour. Then, we decided to try an adapted design by colouring only the important people, and keep the rest in grey tones. We did nothing with this new edition and kept it on our files.

 

Now there was this church in Nyalenda Centre. It had the Stations of the Cross, just framed cheap prints. At Christmas time two years ago a fire broke out. It destroyed the roof and part of the walls, including the Stations. Somebody donated some money for new Stations, and I asked the three original artists to paint their second edition on the walls. Through the limited colour scheme it is very effective: clearly visible from a distance."

 

 

Easter Sunday - the day we remember and celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

Here is the painting of the resurrection from Nyalenda centre church, in one of the slum areas of Kisumu, Kenya.

The resurrection of Christ; the women have been to the gardeners hut (his jembe and coat outside) because they mistake the risen Christ for a gardener, and have gone to tell the disciples what they saw. .   The two angels and two soldiers (who believe they are guarding a body) are sitting outside, but Christ is being resurrected and taken up into heaven.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~ 

 

 

So that is the end of the Easter journey as depicted in Nyalenda church; I have many other pictures to show and words to write about my visit to Kisumu, which I will continue to do over the next few weeks.   But celebrating Easter last night at the local convent, and this morning at church in Tintern, I found my mind often drifting back to the simplicity of Nyalenda church, with its wall paintings, and simple wooden benches for the congregation.  

 

Maundy Thursday - the final stations of the cross from Nyalenda, Kisumu.

As I mentioned before, you may want to go back (scroll down) to the entry for Palm Sunday, to be able to see the illustrations in the correct order.

 

 



Yesu ana sulu bishwa msalabani = Jesus is nailed to the cross

(Note the dice on his red cloak, ready to gamble for it.  

The women are hiding their eyes.)

 

 

 

Yesus tho e musalaba = Jesus is dead on the cross

(A soldier has offered Jesus a drink on a sponge, while the other soldiers play dice.)

 

 

 

Ipudho Yesus e musalaba + Jesus is taken down from the cross

(and the two robbers are also taken down;

Mary and Mary are covering the body;

a woman in the background {left} is wailing).

 

 

 

Yesu ana zikwa kaburini = Jesus prepared for the tomb

 

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

 

 

I will put the final illustration from Nyalenda church, showing the resurrection, on Easter Sunday.   Please come back to see it !

 

 

More stations of the cross from Nyalenda Centre church

(Because of the way Blogger saves things, you need to see the first of these pictures here .... https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1204216357769455725#editor/target=post;postID=7801053024616644756;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname

 

Feronika oyweyo wang' Yesu = Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

 

 

 

Poth Yesus mar ariyo = Jesus falls for the second time  

(perhaps because, as seen in picture 6, Simon turned to look at Veronica,

who in this picture is now behind Simon, looking at the image on the cloth)

 

 

 

Akina mama wana mlilia yesu = the mothers (women) are crying for Jesus

 

 

 

Poth yesus mar adek = Jesus falls for the third time

 

 

 

Yesu ana vuliwa nguo = Jesus is stripped of his clothes.

(Note the man on the right is hiding his children eyes; Mary in blue is in the background,

and Mary Magdelene is in yellow)

 

 

Today is Palm Sunday;here are the first of the stations of the cross, from Nyalenda Catholic Centre, Kisumu

I thought I had a photo of the Catholic church in the Nyalenda 'slum' area, which is next to the Art School I went to, (and 'posed' for the students !)   But alas, I seem not to have got one, but I do have this photo of a wall painting from inside the church.    This church was partially burned down just after Christmas 2014, (a candle on the Christmas tree set fire to the tree, and then the building) but with the help of the local community, was repaired and rebuilt within months.  It was then decided to paint some new 'stations' around the walls, African style, to replace the ones damaged in the fire. 

So here are the first of a series of 'stations' ...

 

Pilatus ong'ado ni yesu buch tho = Pilate condemns Jesus (who has already blood on his body from a beating)

 

 

 

Yesu oting'o musalape = Jesus is given the cross beam (of the cross)

 

 

 

Poth yesus mo kwongo = Jesus falls for the first time (or was he tripped up ?)

 

 

 

Yesus oromo go min mare = Jesus speaks to his mother Mary

 

 

 

 

Simon konyo Yesus ting'o musalape = Simon helps Jesus carry the cross

 

 

 

(To be continued .... but because of the way blogger presents things, you'll have to excuse them being in the wrong numerical order !)

Back in Wales

The night before I left Mill Hill House there was a TREMENDOUS thunder storm which lasted for about three hours, and (according to Fr. Gerry who has a rain gauge) there was almost 4 inches of rain.  Unbelieveable .... but true !

 

 

The plane from Kisumu

I've given myself several days to recover from about 21 hours of travelling, flights from Kisumu, to Nairobi, to Heathrow, and bus to Chepstow .   Its much cooler at home, and I am at last sleeping better and catching up on energy.   I'll be finishing the Malarone tablets tomorrow, so might in a few days feel splendid again !!   They may prevent malaria, but for me, I'm sure it was their side effects of sleeplessness and the trots which has caused me to feel so tired.   However, I'm starting to sleep much better in my own bed (with hot water bottle and thick duvet and winceyette PJ's !)

Since coming back, I've written up a long report on the workshop and how I found things there, with regard to finances and the work the students are doing.   I've done all my laundry, and put away my cases, mozzie net, etc. ready for .... ??  next time, perhaps ?

Now I'd like to do several more blog entries about Kenya; a lot of the Kenya of today isn't the Kenya I knew back in the 1960's ....

So I'll start again in a day or so .... keep looking in !

 

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

 

(Just to prove it IS possible to pack 18 baskets in one suitcase PLUS some books

and a load of dirty clothes !!)

Day 23 .... I fly this evening.

My blog isn't finished yet; there are lots of things I would like to comment on but decided it wasn't right to do so while I'm here; and I also have lots more photos.    So keep looking in over the next few weeks or even months, and see what I have added !    And thank you for reading 'Luo Laughter' so far.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

This is a new one .... if you want to restore your run-away husband, or want to 'brek a personal eror curse' .... then phone this number !!

 

 

 

(and I never did discover what 'mexina' is)