What's It For?

As I sit here, writing my blog entry, I wonder "Why?"

Why am I doing this? Is anyone actually reading this?

Of course, no blogger knows whether their work is being read unless they get comments from the readers. I have had a couple, but they are few and far between.

So, am I wasting my time writing this?

Then another question pops up. Does it really matter? Why did I start writing a blog? Why does anyone?

In my case, it was to put down "on paper" my frustrations and fears over Kenya and my desire to return to the country of my choice. In which case, does it matter whether any one else reads it?

No. I think I am writing this to let off steam, to put my thoughts down wher I can see them and maybe make a decision, or at least see a problem more clearly.

So then, why not a diary, written in Word or similar? Or even, a real diary, you know, pen into exercise book?

OK, the last comment is ridiculous. I am left-handed and get cramp in my poor old hand after writing two lines. Then it becomes unreadable, not tht it would be a problem as no one would read it anyway.

Is there a little vanity in bloggers? Do they hope that someone will read their blog and maybe even award one of those little badges that so many seem to be passing around to one another? Maybe.

Do I really care if no one reads my blog? Probably.

Would I be happy if someone awarded me a "Good Blogger" badge? Definitely, but at the same time, seeing the quality of other bloggers, I would be surprised.

Oh well ...

Contact Lost

It is a few days now since I have had any contact with antone in Kenya. This is unusual. I usually have contact with Vincent in Kisii at least three times a week. I usually get an email from Nairobi, and Mzungu Chick usually posts something in her blog.

But, nothing!

I know it has been raining hard in Nyanza Province, and that may have kept Vincent at home (he has to go to a cyber café to contact me). Then again, I heard a rumour that the cyber café that he works in is closing down - no more free Internet!

So I really don't know what is going on in Kenya, at grass roots level, at the moment. Still, no news is good news - isn't it?

Christian Aid

Our Rector's wife came round this evening, collecting the Christian Aid envelopes. Unfortunately, our dog had eaten ours, and as she rummaged around in her bag for another one, I told her that I was disillusioned with them.

During the PEV (Post Election Violence) in Kenya, my organisation had the partial responsibility for nearly 3,000 displaced people who had fled the violence. I could do little from here (the UK) but contacted the Red Cross, Oxfam, Christain Aid, etc. to notify them of the plight of these people and to ask for help. I got a couple of replies, but no aid for these people.

The reason, we guess, was that our town is off the main Mombasa-Nairobi-Kisumu-Eldoret route, and were therefore a bit more difficult to get to.

But surely this is not the point.

Oh, what the heck, I've already blogged about this and I don't want to go through it again.

In the end, I put my loose change in the envelope. I am Christian, after all. And they are only human.

Fallen off the Radar

On the face of it, it should be a good sign, Kenya not being in the news for a while. Due to the Burmese crisis, the China earthquake, the Zimbabwe (non?) election, there is little if anything relating to Kenya on any of the International news websites.

But thre is a lot going on in Kenya. Food is short and prices are rocketing. Fertiliser and seed prices are also up. The Government is forcing people presently in IDP camps back to their homes, regardless of the risk of violence erupting and dissent bolstering the Mungiki.

The new coalition government is knee-jerking and any measures taken about just about anything seems to be short-sighted.

Is Kenya ever going to get back to the relative stability it enjoyed before the Presidential election debacle?

Grass

As I was mindlessly wandering up and down the lawn, being pulled along by the mower, I was dreaming of kenya - Kisii to be geographically precise.

Here I am, mowing a lawn that stretches to about ¼acre. What a waste of time and space. In Kenya, this land would be put to good use, growing crops to feed the family.

My friend in Kisii could not believe we have so much non-productive land.

He has a strip of grass running along the house, but the rest of his land, as well as a plot he bought, was all freshly tilled ready for planting.

So here I was, mowing this lawn, wondering how much food I could grow if I turned the land over to vegetables.

What makes this worse, is that attached to the property, we have a paddock of about 1 acre. Now that, in Kenya would almost be a self-sufficient farm and my paddock is just brambles, weeds and ragwort!

How Lucky We Are ...

We just don't realise, do we? We take so much for granted.

You are thirsty? Have a drink of water ... from the tap or a beer from the fridge.

Cold? Switch the electric fire or central heating on.

Need to go somewhere? Jump in the car, or at worst, on a bus, running to a regular timetable.

So what is this rant leading to?

Stuck as I am in the UK, with many friends and business associates in Kenya, any communication is usually over the internet, email, Skype, MSN Messenger, etc. This of course relies on the power not being cut and the telphone lines working.

But, from time to time, I have to send things by post. Remeber the post? Writing the address on an envelope, sticking a stamp on it and putting it in a letter box?

Then, if it is going abroad, filling in a Customs label, trying to make the contents as uninteresting as possible, so that it does not atract Import Duty, and more importantly, catch the eye of some postal worker who is looking for something to acquire.

Well, in this last, I seem to be sadly lacking.

I have recently sent a parcel containing some small computer accessories to a friend in Kenya. It didn't arrive.

I have sent some official forms to Nairobi and they haven't arrived either.

It just doesn't happen over here. If we post something, it arrives.

This is assuming that the mail gets lost over there, rather than over here, of course. But I think this is a safe assumption.

Living Conditions

I have been meaning to write this for a long time, but life has grabbed me by the throat and kept me in the real world - that is the world of having to work, rather than writing blogs.

While I was in Kenya in March, I lived with Kenyans, ordinary Kenyans, in their homes.

So, where to start? I suppose, with my living conditions in the South of England.

I live in a large bungalow in a small village. Our property backs onto the lands of an ancestral home, so it is calm.

The bungalow has the usual central heating, lighting, telephone line, fitted kitchen, bathroom, shower room, three bedrooms and two living rooms, two TVs - it is a "normal", middle class abode. I have a car, not new, but reliable. I have two computers and a laptop, all permanently connected to broadband.

-oOo-

My first stop in Kenya was Kisii, where I stayed for 10 days with friends, Vincent and Abigael. They live in a rented two-bedroomed bungalow comprising a sitting room, kitchen, wet room and the two bedrooms.

There is no electricity or running water and the toilet is a deep-pit latrine 20 or 30 yards from the house.

Most of the garden is for growing food and Vincent has also bought a second plot adjacent, to grow more.

I felt rather guilty as, being a guest, I had been given the "good" bedroom. I shared it with one of the kids, Josephat. Everyone else slept in the other bedroom. This suited Jojo, as he never strayed more than about 3 feet from me the whole time I was there. He has decided that I am his Baba Mzungu (white Dad).

Lighting is by kerosene lamp in the main room and by torch or candle anywhere else.
The kitchen is a room with a couple of low work surfaces, no running water and no cooker. Cooking is over kerosene or charcoal.

Water is brought up from the river every day by a water carrier and has to be boiled.

Internet connection is out of the question, so collecting emails, etc., involves a trip into town to visit one of the many cyber cafés.

The wet room is just a room with a small hole in the wall to let out water. Having a wash involves heating water in the kitchen and carrying it into the wet room in a bowl.

Despite being a "soft" European, I survived. No - more than that. I actually enjoyed my stay there. I happily put up with what I saw as deprivation. OK, going to the loo during a downpour was a bit of a pain, but hey! This is Kenya!

-oOo-

The second leg of my stay was far more "civilised". I had arranged to use an apartment in the village on the coast, sharing it with my girlfriend and her two children.

This apartment comprises a massive living room with dining area, a kitchen with a combi cooker (two gas rings, two electric), although the electric part is not connected, and a fridge/freezer, a bathroom with a bath with shower, "real" toilet, basin and running water (only cold). The bedroom has a king-size and large single bed.

There is electricity, although only one power point in each room. There is also a TV in the living room. The whole is finished off with a large, east-facing balcony.

Few of the windows are glazed. It is not necessary, the temperature never falls below 20C. They are all covered with mosquito-proof netting.

This leg of my stay in Kenya was luxury - a real shower, a real toilet, a real kitchen. And then, of course, I was with my girlfriend!

-oOo-

The third leg was in a suburb of Nairobi. My friend there has a four-bedroom terraced house with a front and back yard. It is in a gated estate with security guard.

The house comprises two floors. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms and a bathroom, the ground floor has the living room, kitchen, wet room, a guest bedroom and with access from the front yard there is the fourth bedroom. Normally this might have been the domestic quarters, or workroom.

The kitchen is basic, but does have electricity and running water, although it is not advisable to drink it.

The wet room has an "Asian" toilet which flushes, a basin and a shower head, again giving only cold water.

Cooking is over kerosene or charcoal, but every room has electric light, as long as the supply is working!

This was very comfortable, and I could happily live in this house, but it was not as "comfortable" as the apartment on the coast. Nor would I particularly want to live close to Nairobi.

Given the choice of the three places I know, I would settle in Kisii - the coast is just too hot.

This stay in Kenya, particularly Kisii, reminded me of just how lucky I am, living where I do.

But even the house in Kisii would be considered luxury to many Kenyans, who live in small traditional mud huts under thatch, not through choice, but because they can afford nothing better.

Is No News Good News?

Through the wonderful medium of Skype, I usually have some contact with Vincent in Kisii (he is the director of the children's home), but I haven't heard anything from him for since about Sunday - it now being Thursday. The last time this happened, he had been down with malaria.

I believe the kids are still off school, so of course, there is more to do at home (Jojo and Benta are living with Vincent and Abigael), and also the other kids on the register will be floating around.

But, Vincent is my "link" with Kenya. Without it I go cold turkey. I like to get news of what is happening, especially as Kisii is so different to Nairobi. It is a provincial town with its own economy.

I also get news of the children, and sometime, even some funny stories, or photos.

So, without my almost daily contact, I start to worry. Is everyone OK? What is the food situation? Is one of the kids ill or injured? Or maybe Vincent or Abigael?

I know that even the smallest of our children is far more robust than the average European. They don't have our soft lives. Kids of 9 or 10 can wield a machete to cut wood without cutting both their legs off. But it is worrying to see them using such a dangerous tool.

Oh well, I dare say that everything is fine, Vincent is either tied up with work, or the kids, or both and he will get into town to the cyber-café when he can.

In the meantime, I will sit here and worry.

Where is Zimbabwe going?

It has been announced, albeit unofficially, that Morgan Tsvangirai has beaten Uncle Bob in the Presidential election. The country is gearing up for a run-off election between the two.

In the meantime, the army and "war veterans" are carrying out a campaign of terror against the supporters of the MDC.

So, let's just assume that after the run-off, Morgan wins outright. Then what?

The army seems to be loyal to Uncle Bob; the war veterans certainly are. So what will the new MDC Government do? How will they bring Zimbabwe back into some sense of normality? Will Tsvangirai and his new government be allowed to rule, or will there be a coup?

Winning an election in a country where violence and repression has been the order of the day for so long, may not count for much.

A Lesson in How To ...

... Run the Country's Finances.

From the BBC News Website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7375140.stm)

Kenya cash shortfall over cabinet.

Kenya needs to find another $300m to pay for the expanded coalition cabinet formed after a power-sharing deal.

Finance Minister Amos Kimunya says he may be forced to shift funding from vital programmes like resettling the displaced to pay for new ministries.

Or from the Daily Nation website (http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=122218)

Grand Cabinet to cost Sh33bn in two months

Taxpayers will pay Sh33 billion to fund the grand coalition Cabinet in the next two months alone.

Some of the money will be shifted from programmes with major social implications, including the building of new hospitals and road rehabilitation.

The programmes had been factored into the Budget for the current financial year which ends in June.

The high cost of managing the expanded Cabinet became clear in a mini-budget presented by Finance minister Amos Kimunya in Parliament Tuesday.

Kenyan politicians are among the world's best paid MPs - each taking home about $17,000 in salaries and allowances each month. To re-direct money that is destined to help the poorest in the country is disgusting!

More violence ... ?

It has been reported today on the BBC that Charles Ndungu, the leader of the political wing of the Mungiki, Kenya National Youth Alliance, has been shot dead in his car near to Naivasha.

A couple of weeks ago, the wife of the leader of the sect was murdered and this led to riots, bringing Nairobi to a standstill. These were only brought to a halt when Raila Odinga agreed to talks with the sect.

Can we look forward to more "reprisals" from this outlawed and lawless, mafia-style organisation? Or will it lead to another crack-down on the Mungiki by the police?

Either way, the only people who will benefit will be the undertakers.

Staggering from Crisis to Crisis

I have been taking a keen interest in Kenya for about four years now, and until recently, say Christmas last year, everything seemed to be calm. Kenya rarely figured on the news websites or in the UK newspapers.

But, since the Presidential election, Kenya is never out of the news, allegations of vote rigging, violence, political corruption, mass murder, inter-tribal violence, the Mount Kenya Mafia, police brutality,displaced people, assassinations, the Mungiki, food shortages, and now the prison warders strike - have I missed anything?

And all this has happened in the last four months! What is happening to this wonderful country? How can so few people (the legislators) cause so much havoc in such a short time?

Will Kenya ever get back to the peaceful haven that it was before the elections, or will the underlying racial tensions continue to dominate the lives of the wananchi?

As far as I can make out, Kenyans were so proud of their mixed culture, with 42 tribes, Arabs Indians, and Europeans, all living in harmony, and on my first visit in September 2007, I was impressed.

Now, after my second visit in March of this year, although I did not see any violence, I did notice a tension, especially in the Rift Valley. Maybe I was imagining it, but as far as I was concerned, it was there.

Surprise, surprise

Kenya's parties 'bribed voters'

Kenya's political parties spent millions of dollars bribing voters in last year's elections, a survey says. OK, so is this really news, or did we already know this?

The Coalition for Accountable Party Finance says out of $90m raised by the parties, 40% was used as bribes.

The report also says public corporations contributed to President Mwai Kibaki’s campaign via his party.

The allegations relate to both of Kenya's main parties - the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU).

The lobby group now wants legislation to compel politicians to reveal their sources of income and expenditure during election campaigns.

Charles Otieno, who heads the Coalition for Accountable Party Finance, says new laws are needed urgently.

"Most of the money politicians use is from tax-payers and without such laws they will continue to spend massive amounts from the public coffers with impunity," Mr Otieno said.

The report alleged that the state-owned electricity company charged customers around $8m too much and then donated the surplus to a political party.

But the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) denies the allegations.

"These accusations are completely untrue and the organisation should come up with evidence to prove their claims," KPLC’s chief executive Don Priestman said.

But Mr Otieno insists several government departments created inflated invoices and used the money for campaigning.

The report says the parties also raised funds from Kenyans in the diaspora and Kenyan companies based overseas.

The lobby group says candidates should declare their wealth before they contest an election, to prevent such abuses of power.

World Malaria Day

This is the first World Malaria Day and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to launch a new campaign to eliminate deaths from malaria.

I wish him luck. I have been studying malaria, or more accurately, mosquito control. Studies have been made all over the world, some with really encouraging results, but from what I can see, because these studies are carried out by academics (naturally), once the result has been found, that's the end of it. No one actually puts the trials into long-term meaningful action.

So, let us hope that Ban Ki-moon can kick the powers that be into some sort of shape to do something about this disease and the unnecessary deaths it causes.

The Kenyan government, a long time ago, started a programme of issuing insecticide treated nets to all under-fives, firstly at subsidised prices and more recently, for free. I raise my hat to them.

The problem is that the responsibility has been passed to NGOs, usually foreign. In my experience (admittedly limited), these NGOs are falling down on the job.

For example, my orphanage in Kisii has not received a single net although we have several children under five.

The director of the home has two children under five. He has not received any nets. And other people I talked to in the town with children under five have not received nets either.

The government is paying these NGOs to do a job. Where is the money going?

Baby Naming

So the names Kofi and Raila are suddenly very popular in Kenya, especially in the West of the country.

A record number of boys are being named after new Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and the former UN chief Kofi Annan who helped mediate an end to the violence.

Baby girls have been named after Graca Machel who also helped broker the recent power-sharing agreement.

US presidential hopefuls, Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, and Hillary Clinton, have also been popular.

Among the Luo and Luhya tribes in Kisumu, serious consideration goes into the choice of name, as it is believed the baby will adopt the traits of the person it has been named after.

Oh well, whatever rocks your cradle, I suppose.

Raila keeps his Promise

It is not often that it can be said of a politician that he has fulfilled a promise!

"We will ensure that power, wealth and opportunity are [in] the hands of many, not the few," he said after taking his oath of office.

Well Raila, you certainly have. With the inflated Cabinet, you have certainly made sure that wealth and opportunity is in the hands of many!

Back in the UK - again.

Back home, I have brought a lot of "tasks" with me. I have a list of people to contact over here. I have to make up a poster to say a big Thank You from the kids in Kisii to the people in my community for their help. And I have a bit of research to do, too.

The weather is appalling. Two days after my return, it snowed. Bearing in mind that in Nairobi the average daytime temperature is 26C, snow is most unwelcome.

The only good things I can think of to cheer myself up is that I have a fast broadband connection, a car and ... well, that's about it really.

On the downside, the government appears to be in self-destruct mode, fuel prices and the cost of living in general is on an upward spiral. Oh well, I suppose it is better than conditions in Kenya - for the wananchi anyway. There are still thousands of people displaced, unwilling to go back to their homes for fear of violence. There are thousands of children still separated from their families, still not knowing if indeed their families still exist.

Watching the news from Kenya, I am relieved to see that the two main players have agreed to agree and have formed a Government. But it looks so much like the law-makers are more interested in lining their own pockets, and getting comfortable. It appears that nothing is being done to help the displaced people, nothing is being done to avert a food shortage, in fact, as far as running the country is concerned, nothing is being done about anything! From the outside, it looks as if a terrorist organisation, the Mungiki are running the country!

And then, down the road, there is Uncle Bob in Zimbabwe, who seems to be copying Kenya's dash to the brink of civil war. The difference is that Kenya's Kibaki is not a bad man. He is not a despot. And when he saw that his country was about to fall apart around him, he did something about it.

Uncle Bob or Tim as he seems to be known by some (That Idiot Mugabe) is a despot. He is power-hungry. He cannot be holding on for the money. If, after 28 years of rule, he hasn't managed to divert enough money for his own use, he has left it a bit late.

Unlike Mugabe, I believe that Kibaki and Raila care about Kenya and the people. OK, so there is bickering about who should do what, who should get the plum jobs, cars, offices, etc. But they found a solution while Kenya still has a chance to rebuild itself.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, is going to be difficult to rebuild. A large proportion of the population has left the country. 80% are unemployed. And the Government is spending money on arms instead of food for the starving.

I'm in Kenya - Part 3 - Nairobi

Back in the capital, I met up with my co-director and we made our way, on foot, to the office. I was struggling for breath but put it down to tiredness, the hill we had to climb and the fact that I was carrying luggage.

Almost as soon as I dumped my luggage at the office, I was off in a taxi to the Kenya Wildlife Service compound on the outskirts of the city for a meeting with a client. The taxi waited, we having agreed a price. But the meeting lasted rather longer than anticipated and three hours later, I had to call it a day, making another appointment for after Easter.

The driver was fast asleep in his car - it was hot - but was soon whisking me back to the office. The price had gone up, naturally, but he didn't rip me off as I expected.

Easter. I spent a lot of my days, sitting just outside the gate of my host's front yard, watching the world go by.

As the house is in a gated estate, the world consisted, in large part, of the neighbourhood kids playing in the road. This is not an area where you would expect to see a white man, so I became a bit of a curiosity.

Most kids over five would stare at me then approach and even speak to me. They all wanted to touch the remnants of my hair, my skin, or hold my hand. In fact as time passed, they would come up, offer me a high five and chatter away to me. My first impression was that most of them spoke excellent English and only reverted to Swahili to tease me, or talk behind my back.

Timo, or Timothy as he was christened, is eleven. He is small for his age, has a lopsided grin, uneven teeth, and generally would not win a "best-looking kid on the block" contest.

But he had something else. There was a look in his eyes begging me to take notice of him. I did. He is a charming, friendly, intelligent, confident kid, and I soon found out all about his family.

He lost his father in 2004 and he had to move from private to state school. He attends a a very large class in which he proudly stated he is top.

Over the following week, if he found me sitting on the step, he would slot his slight frame between my knees and just sit there with a contented look on his face.

Timo introduced me to his widowed mother, Florence. He also introduced me to his best friend and 9-year-old nephew, Winston. Winston is taller and heavier than his uncle, but they are obviously good friends.

The regular gang also included Ben, a cheeky 5-year-old who had a striking resemblance to the kid who plays Chris Rock in Everybody Hates Chris. A bunch of girls made up the "regulars".

Oh, and there was Tyrone. This kid is what everyone thinks an African kid should look like - dead cute. But he has a laugh like a foghorn. You know when Tyrone is around!

After the Easter break, I had a couple of days of meeting people at the office and doing other things that one does in the office. Then it was time to leave Kenya.

We set off for the airport in a private hire car - and hit an enormous traffic jam. It has to be pointed out that in the afternoon it had rained like I have never seen. The roads were flooded and no one wanted to drive on the left as potholes were invisible. We moved about 500 yards in 3 hours. Needless to say, I missed the flight by over an hour, so we turned round and crept home again.

We got back at 3:30. I went to the office for a while and a new ticket was acquired for the following Wednesday, then I went home.

Timo arrived home from school as I arrived and his face just beamed. I explained that I was going to be around for a few more days. He was almost jumping up and down with joy.

I put the extra time to good use, with more meetings with people who may be able to help me settle in Kenya eventually.

All too soon, it was time to leave Kenya - for the second time - and we left ourselves plenty of time.

We spent three hours drinking tea at the cafe just outside the terminal, but eventually, I could put it off no longer - I had to check in.

I will be back soon.

I'm in Kenya - Part 2 - Coast

Having travelled west to east across virtually the width of Kenya on public transport, I arrived in Malindi at 6:30 am, filthy dirty, tired, shaken and relieved.
My girlfriend, Liz, was supposed to be meeting me, but she was late, so I booked my ticket back for ten days time, saving me the bother of returning at a later stage.

I sat outside the office and smoked covertly. The town was awake. People were bustling about. There were a lot of Moslems, people of Arabic origin, and in my sleepy state, I did not want to offend anyone with my smoke. Then I saw the coach station manager with a cigarette between his lips and I was relieved.

Liz arrived and we took a taxi to her village, a 25km run. We went straight to a school which my organisation supports, as I had been loaned the apartment in the school grounds for as long as I wanted it. This was great. It is light and airy, with a good kitchen (by Kenyan standards) and a "European" bathroom, which meant it had a proper toilet rather than a hole in the ground.

Liz had to shoot off to work, so I was left to unpack and have a long, cold shower before trying out the bed for a couple of hours.

I went shopping at the local supermarket. In the UK, it would be classed as a corner shop, but it had everything I wanted, or a substitute, and I bought "proper meat", fresh vegetables, fruit, and the usual provisions. I was determined to have at least a couple of English meals while I had the chance.

I spent the afternoon with the founders of the school, talking about the progress, and the orphans that they had taken in, 17 in all.

I wandered over to the baby class to pick up Natasha, who showed little emotion either way to my being there.


Ian, on the other hand, threw himself at me and gave me a big, long hug before settling on my lap. Ian was five and 364 days and looking forward to his birthday, hoping that my presence would make it somehow different.

We went up to the apartment, and were soon joined by various children who lived at the school, the orphans.

I started preparing a meal and when Liz came home, all was ready. This was nice. It is the first time the four of us have spent time alone as a family. Liz usually lives with her extended family and on my last visit, I felt overwhelmed.

After school on Ian's birthday, I took both kids to Malindi. Natasha had told me that she needed a new teddy, and I know that Ian wanted a helicopter. In the end, both kids got what they wanted and Ian also got a set of cars for his birthday.

Back at the apartment, he was the envy of all the little boys, and some of the bigger ones. He took his battery-powered, very noisy helicopter downstairs and I could hear a lot of gasps of astonishment as it moved across the patio, making all sorts of aggressive noises.

The week passed too quickly. I held a photo shoot with the orphans as well as taking many candid shots of them doing their chores. They wash their own clothes, do the housework and even help with the cooking.

Liz and I looked at a little house on the outskirts of the village. It is very pretty and very safe for the kids, being in a large grassy compound. I agreed to rent it.

The it was time to go and I caught the overnight coach back to Nairobi.

I'm in Kenya - part 1 - Kisii

It was with a little trepidation that I boarded the plane to Nairobi at the end of February, but any fears were soon dispersed when I walked out of the flight-side and saw the smiling face of my friend, Vincent. Vincent had travelled from Kisii to meet me and seeing his face was a tonic to me.

We took a taxi into town, where I popped in to our offices to dump my luggage. My co-director was there, surprised to see me, as he had been telling me that it was not safe.

Greetings over, we all went to see one of my clients and arranged for back pay to be sent to me in Kisii. This was a relief as I went over with very little money.

Vincent and I found a shuttle and set off for Kisii.

Kisii is the location of Mercy Gate Orphanage, which I support - Vincent and his wife, Abigael, are the directors.

After a brief stop in Narok for lunch, we eventually arrived in Kisii just after sundown. A short car journey later and we were home.

Josephat, one of the kids on the Mercy Gate register has been fostered by Vincent and Abigael, has been waiting for me to return since I left in September last year. He was over the moon when I walked through the door, not waiting for me to put my luggage down before he threw himself at me.

The next few days was spent looking around town and visiting the cyber cafe. Whatever did we do before email?

Kisii is an important town in SW Kenya. It is in a very fertile area and the economy relies on agriculture. It is off the main Nairobi to Kisumu route so it rarely gets a visit from tourists. The town is shabby, full of rubbish, chaotic, wonderful.

On Saturday, I held a belated Christmas party for the kids at the orphanage, and bought games and toys for them, as well as a lot of fruit and soft drinks.

They had a brilliant time, as did I.
We took the opportunity to measure their feet as I had collected mobile phones in the UK to sell and raise money to buy shoes.

The week was spent selling the phones and looking for business opportunities that would earn money to run the home, and the following Saturday, we held another party.

This time, we provided a cooked meal from the contents of a food parcel received from the USA. And we fitted all the kids with new leather school shoes. They were delighted.

I took Josephat, who is four and extremely small for his age, to hospital for a check-up. I thought he had an intestinal parasite and the doctor agreed. We got the appropriate medication. We also had him tested for HIV/AIDS.

Jospehat is lively. Once he started his medication, he became even livlier, so it looks as if I was right. I have since received the results of his HIV test, he is negative.

All too soon, it was time to leave Kisii for Watamu, a journey right across the country, stopping off in Nairobi to see my friend and co-director, Dominic.