Why Kisii?

Kisii is a town, but also a District in the province of Nyanza, Kenya. It is situated in the SW of the country, in hilly country, mainly above 5,000 feet. Although it is only some 70km south of the Equator, the climate is pleasantly warm, around 25°C during the day and rarely drops below 15°C at night.

There is no rainy season as such. It can rain pretty much all year round, and the soil in the area is extremely fertile, except where it has been over-farmed.

The area was a coffee-growing area, but due to difficulties in receiving payment, the local farmers have reverted to subsistence crops.

The area also supports bananas, avocados, pineapples and other exotic fruits.

So, why have I made my base in Kisii town? I have been asked this many times, so it is about time to put the answer down "on paper".

First, I think it is necessary to explain briefly my connection to Africa.I was contracted to South Africa in 1989, during the apartheid era. I was politely asked to leave when the authorities found out I was too friendly with the ethnic population. I always wanted to go back to Africa, it had got under my skin.

Then, a few years ago, I was asked to manage the Rhino Ark website. Rhino Ark is a conservation charity in Kenya, so there it was, a (rather tenuous) connection to Africa.

A little later, I was contacted by ACIS, a Nairobi-based organisation, asking if I could supply cheap computers to schools in Kenya (I was, and still am a computer consultant in the UK). I couldn't help, but in conversation, I got roped into building them a website.

Soon afterwards, a children's home in Kisii contacted me, also looking for computers. Again, I offered to build them a website. We communicated regularly and became cyber friends.

Then, purely by chance, I met a rather pretty, intelligent, educated, Luyha lady over the Internet. She lives on the coast with her two children.

With all this going on, I was beginning to plan on going out to Kenya, which I finally managed in September 2007.

I was hosted by the director of the Nairobi-based organisation, who made me very welcome. He booked my coach to the coast so that I could meet up with my lady friend (that worked out rather well, by the way!).

On my return to Nairobi, I met people at WHO and KeNAAM. Then I arranged a trip out to Kisii to visit the children's home.

As soon as I arrived, I was "adopted" by a cute little boy, Josephat, who dubbed me his Baba Mzungu (hence the blog name). I met many of the kids, and was shown the plot where it was hoped the orphanage would be built.

I returned to the UK after a month in Kenya, and vowed to return as soon as possible.

I did, in March 2008, after a delay caused by the post-election troubles.

I went straight to Kisii, where I stayed for about 10 days as a guest of my friends Vincent and Abigael, the directors of the children's home. I made another vow. I wanted to work with Vincent and Abigael, in Kisii.

After another 10 days on the coast to see my "New family", I returned to Nairobi, where I stayed a further 10 days.

Upon my return to the UK, I started to work on the projects we had discussed.

Vincent and I eventually decided to form a new organisation, KCIS, of which we would both be directors, or trustees, and we would incorporate the children's home, renamed Twiga (giraffe in Swahili).

Vincent, Abigael and I are now ready to start the practical work that we have been planning for a year. We will turn the plot into a shamba (farm), where we will install the projects, grow food for the children, hopefully with a surplus that we can sell.

So, that is "Why Kisii?" Pure chance, if you believe in chance, or was I guided there?

The Matatu

When in Kenya, I tend to try to live Kenyan. I am there on a budget so I am not going to hire a car, and the only car I did have the use of was destroyed during last year's PEV.

So, it is public transport for me, usually matatu or shuttle, or coach, when going to the coast (because going to the coast is 'holiday').

Matatus and CitiBuses are fine to get from the suburbs into town. Mataus are 14 seater minibuses that run a specific route which is displayed by a hand-painted number badge in the windscreen. This is fine as long as you know where the routes go, not so good if you don't. You can always ask a tout. They are usually very helpful.

On a short matatu journey, it does not matter too much where you sit. Every seat is uncomfortable and these vehicles are usually packed with people and luggage, which can include livestock.

For longer journeys, there are the shuttles. These are 12-seaters and provide a non-stop service between far-flung towns, stopping only for a refreshment break.

When using shuttles, there are a few points I would make.

Firstly, there is fierce competition for your custom. Touts will guide you to their vehicle. Don't be bullied. At the very least, check the tyres and if possible, get a general idea of the state of the vehicle.

Shuttles do not leave until all seats have been filled. Having found one in reasonable condition, try to get a seat between the axles. The back seat is to be avoided at all costs, unless you like being bounced between the seat and the roof of the vehicle. Personally, I like second or third row, right window seat. If you are brave, you could sit up front, next to the driver. But in a head-on crash, front seat passengers are the first things that get hit. Avoid the seat over the engine. Six hours on that will cook your butt!

When travelling by matatu or shuttle, remember that fares are the premium for the driver and tout, and more journeys mean more fares. So they get to wher ethey are going to as quickly as possible - they have two speeds, stop and full speed.

And to give you an idea, I was once in a matatu during a driver change-over. The driver got out while the vehicle was still running and the new driver jumped in to take over. We lost about 3 seconds on the journey!

Also, don't be surprised if the vehicle breaks down en route. But don't worry. The tout will climb under the bus and usually get it going again.

That's a Rash Idea

My imagination has been running away with me - again!

OK, so the idea is this - I don't remember suffering a fever at the time ...

On our plot in Kisii, Kenya, there is a two-room hut, not a cottage, not a bungalow, a hut, made of sticks, stones and mud. At least the roof is corrugated steel. There are proper windows and doors, with security grilles.

There is a corridor running front to back between the two rooms with doors to the outside at both ends.

As the hut is built on the side of a hill, the back faces a small cliff and there is an open passageway running between the hut and this cliff. There is also a small appendage which could be used as a "kitchen".

So, my idea is ... to live there for a while ~ no electricity, no running water.

But, while I am there, I want to carry out some minor improvements.

First off, I will install water, with a tank on the cliff behind the hut, to give a head. This will supply an outside shower and maybe running water to the kitchen.

Second, a home-made portaloo. I want to use the waste to collect the methane, which will eventually power a generator and a water pump (there is a river at the bottom of the plot).

Then there is the land itself. On top of the cliff, the land is a lot flatter than in front of the hut. It is very fertile and I reckon, from memory, there is enough to grow crops to feed all the kids on the orphanage register, with some left over to sell.

A by-product of the methane production is fertiliser. This together with composting will keep the soil rich, which will be necessary as I want two or three crops a year - it rains all year round in Kisii.

Linking into these improvements, I will be experimenting with using the sun to warm water for washing, and water filtration and purification. I also seem to remember building a food cooler when I was at school - but that was in 19 - yes well, it was a long time ago.

To finish off the place, I will make a BBQ out of ½ an oil barrel, so that the kids can sample the delights of a burger or hot dog (you know the type, burnt on the outside, raw in the middle).

What I had forgotten when dreaming up all this is that I am approaching 60, I am not the fittest person in the world, and I am mildly disabled. Further, Kisii is at 5,700 feet and oxygen is a bit thin.

Still, it will be an experience and it will allow me to tinker with the project designs and get them to work to their best effect.

Wish me luck!

I Don't Get Sick ...

... very often. I cannot remember that last time I visited the medical centre other than to get anti-malaria pills etc.

But this week, I had to give in. Two or three weeks ago, I sneezed and promptly became deaf in one ear. I was not too concerned ~ it has happened before and cleared itself after a couple of days.

But this time, it hasn't. And on Wednesday morning I woke up to find my face was swollen and resembling a misshapen pumpkin - nothing new there then I hear someone retort - cheek.

So I trotted down to see a doctor, who confirmed that I had an abscess in my jaw. Brilliant.

I am now on a course of antibiotics to clear the abscess and hopefully the infection I have probably got in my ear. Cost? £7.30.

And then, of course, I will have to line up a visit to the dreaded dentist.

Oh well, it could be worse. At least I am in the UK at the moment. Although I have complete faith in the Kenyan health service, it is a question of the comfort of surroundings I am familiar with.

Power Cuts

It was about 7.30 last night. Both computers were humming contentedly, the TV was on and I was reading through emails, whilst keeping an eye on Twitter.

There was a flash and everything went dark - power-cut. After 15 seconds, everything came back on and I was just reaching the power button on computer 1, when the power cut again. This went on for about 3 or 4 minutes before it want altogether.

OK, nothing for it but to find the torch (always at hand), then dig out the paraffin lamp and candles.

Having restored some level of light, the old Calor stove was retrieved and I started a brew - after all, what else is there to do, other than drink tea?

We were without electricity for about 2½ hours - not too bad.

When it was restored, I reset the clocks and re-booted the computers. They fired up without complaint, thankfully. So I made another brew.

Brew made, I sat at the computers to continue checking the latest mail - when the power went out again.

So I reached for the torch, re-lit the candles and paraffin lamp, etc ...

This outage was for only about 45 minutes, but when I re-booted PC1, it complained by taking an absolute age to get through its self-check procedure. In the end, it sprang back into life.

I re-set the clocks, put away the candles and paraffin lamp. The power stayed on and we haven't had another outage since.

And no, this was not in Kenya, this was 50 miles from London, UK.

How is it that in the 21st Century, 50 miles from London we still get regular power outages?

Fruit 'n Veg

When I have been in Kisii, fruit and vegetables were always in abundance, for sale in small stalls or stacked on blankets all along the Rongo-Kisii road, in the open market, in fact anywhere someone could set up a stall.

However, having been indoctrinated in the buy-everything-in-one-shop mentality of most Brits, if I was in the local supermarket, I would go through the fresh food department, only to find two or three shriveled carrots, a moldy mango, no sukuma, and little else.

It soon struck me that if I wanted fresh fruit and veg, I had to get it outside. But, buying from these stalls along the side of the road, so close to the road, where overloaded lorries laboured up the hill, belching out black, choking diesel fumes all over the wares, was very off-putting.

Venturing into the open market by myself was also a little daunting.

Don't get me wrong. I don't feel threatened in Kisii, or anywhere else in Kenya, but I am aware of pick-pockets, and I have been accosted more than once by people asking for handouts, sometimes quite forcefully. So I only venture into the market when accompanied by a friend (or two!)

So why do the supermarkets have such a poor selection and quality of vegetables and fruit? It's not rocket science. I guess they can't compete with the stall-holders. It is just not worth their while to stock quantities of the stuff. After all, right outside, there is a stall selling mangoes, pineapples, apples, bananas, as well as various fresh herbs and spices - no contest.

Thinking about it, most fruit comes well wrapped in its own skin. Once peeled, with a bit of luck, they are just as wholesome as the sterilised, force-ripened, over-priced junk we buy from our supermarkets in the UK.

And we have fruit on our plot. This is well away from the main road. The soil around Kisii is very fertile and of course, it rains all year round, so growing two or even three crops a year should not be impossible.

There is nothing better than fruit ripened on the tree. I am always disappointed when I get back home and tuck into a regulation straight banana that was cropped green and ripened on its way to the UK. They are tasteless.

We have avocados growing on the plot as well. The problem is that I have yet to meet anyone in Kisii that knows what to do with them! Maybe I should ship Jamie Oliver, HFW or AWT over there - or how about Steve and Dave, the Hairy Bikers? They would know what to do with a tree-full of avocados- and enjoy the ride as well.

Food - for thought

Interesting Point of View

KCIS has recently posted a blog, asking for donations to get a project off the ground, and it brought an interesting comment from a Kenyan, apparently in the town where we are based, Kisii.

"I could give you a donation, but I'm opposed to this kind of aid, because it encourages dependency and entreches the aid industry. Poor people don't exist in Africa so Westerners can get an opportunity to "help" them and feel good about themselves."

I could not agree more that poor people in Africa are not just "feel good" toys for Westerners, and it made me think long and hard about what I am doing, and why.

1. KCIS is run mainly by Kenyans, I am the only non-Kenyan in the organisation.
2. Second, I was asked to join the organisation. The other directors, both Gusii, asked me to join their efforts to help them to offer shelter to the children in their care. They were my friends before I started to work with KCIS.
   
3. My main role is to raise awareness of KCIS in the developed world, and to try to raise funds for the organisation.
4. As a mechanical engineer, I have designed systems that can be built for little money, that will improve the lives of the poorest families, those who have lost the bread-winner and are literally scraping a living. These people do not have the time to worry about building a safe water system. They are too busy surviving.

OK, that's what I do. So the next question is why?

Do I do it so that I get plaudits from people, either in Kenya or here at home? Definitely not.

Do I do it so that the kids at our home treat me like a demi-God? Again, no. I like the kids and they like me. Why? Because I am friendly towards them, and probably there is the curiosity factor. My skin is the colour of a plucked chicken, theirs is dark. My hair, what little i have left, it straight and soft to the touch, theirs is black, curly and course. So, especailly to the little ones, I am odd.

So, why do I do it, why do I work for a Kenyan organisation?

I like the people. I like the country. I like the climate. In other circumstances, I would be living in Kenya. But that's another story.

It also gives an outlet for my low-tech approach to engineering. If people can benefit from my possible solutions to their problems, why shouldn't they?

I am not offended by the comment in the KCIS post. It did make me wonder, but now, in my own mind, I plead "Not Guilty".

Beware SATA

Not too long ago, I built a "new" computer (see previous two posts) from other people's scrap. It included something new to me, SATA hard drive interfaces. 'Fine,' I thought. 'I can cope with this new technology.' And I did.

However, I have found that the SATA data and power sockets and plugs are not as robust as the old IDE types. My new computer is still flaky and doesn't always boot up - I have found the reason.

The power plug to the boot drive (C:\) is cracked and although it delivers enough for the drive to be recognised at boot-up, the drive cannot be read!

Fiddling about with the plug into the drive allows the machine to boot up correctly, but I am now wary about even touching the tower in case I dislodge the power cable to the drive again.

I know that an IDE to SATA power adapter is available. I guess this is going to be my next move.

It's Fixed ...

OK, I'm happy again!!

The new posts to fix the heatsink to the CPU arrived by post this morning (less than 24 hours since ordering) and I have put the computer back together.

Everything works. I have access to all my data, website files, contacts, diary and emails.

Oh joy!

It's Broke ...

Being a bit of an IT geek, I recently built myself a quite nice computer from bits and pieces lying around. So I have the folowing machine:

CPU Pentium D (2 x 2.8GHz)
1GB RAM
3 x 250GB hard disks (SATA interface)
etc., etc.

So far, so good, but remember, this was built from other people's scrap. And that's where the problem starts.

Last night, the heatsink fell off the CPU (well, not exactly, but you get the idea!), causing the machine to switch off after about 30 seconds of frying the CPU.

Never mind, I thought. I will get a new heatsink and in the meantime, I will transfer all my hard disks to another machine. This is where the problems started.

I have only one other PC with SATA interfaces, and it only has two. I have 3 drives.

Oh well, I will just have to keep fiddling until I find out which drives I want most, or keep switching them around, copying data ferom one to the other - how boring.

For the want of a nail (or, in this case, a fixing post), the shoe (or CPU heatsink) was lost ...

UPDATE

The cause of the heatsink becoming detached from the processor was that the plastic posts had deteriorated (probably from constant heat) and snapped.

I have ordered four new ones for the princely sum of 99p each (+99p p&p). AS long as they arrive in the next couple of days, I may just survive.

At least I have Internet access, email after a fashion, blogs, Twitter and Skype.

WhatI don't have is all my records of clients and my diary, other than what was downloaded to my PDA.

I'll survive ... I mean, it's not as if I need all this data every day ~ is it?

I am overwhelmed

From the KCIS blog ...

Since pushing to raise the profile of our organisation KCIS, I am overwhelmed by the amount of support I have received from people - people I know, people I don't know, people on Social Network sites, all sorts. We received pledges, not enormous amounts, but all together , they would get us started.

I became very positive, something I find difficult in February, in the UK, in a grey and chilly climate. But positive I am.

We have not received a bean. I checked our PayPal account. Not a single pledge has been received ~ what am I doing wrong?

At least I won the Lotto last night, not the big prize, but £25. That will go straight into the pot. Maybe this is a start?

C'mon people and tweeple. Let's give some people in Kenya clean, pure drinking water, clean cooking fuel, "home-grown" fertiliser ...

Kenyan Community Initiative Support
Helping People to Help Themselves

Ready to Lose weight?

I know I am overdue to return to Kenya when my trousers start to get a bit tight round the waist.

It's not my fault, but my job in the UK involves sitting in front of a computer all day, and being mildly disabled, I find exercise difficult. I have bought a bike, but in the recent bad weather , I thought it a little imprudent to go cycling.

And chocolate is for to easy to acquire in the UK.

What I need is a good stay in Kenya, eating only fresh fruit and vegetables, with a bit of meat on Sundays, no sweets, chocolate, candy, no cakes, biscuits, etc.

And most important, no car. Trying to stay in your seat during a six hour matatu ride must burn off a lot of calories, and just walking a few hundred metres at 5,700 feet altitude is also hard work. Just being subjected to 26°C to 35°C every day is hard work.

As soon as I get to Kenya, the pounds will soon drop off and I will be able to wear my trousers again, comfortably.

Ready to Produce Clean Water

Based on a principle we submitted a few months ago to a major Clean Water charity, I have finally drawn up a design for a water filtration system that can be made from materials that are available in just about any small town in Kenya. It is easy to construct, easier to use and will filter to >100 microns.

Of course, water will still have to be UV treated to kill pathogens, but this filtration system weill get rid of grit, insect eggs, larvae and most other little nasties, making it taste better than boiled river or well water.

I am ready to travel to Kenya under my own steam (our base is in Kisii). We just need some funding to buy materials and tools to make the first unit. £500.00 or Ksh 57,500 should do it.

Of course, if someone would like to lend us a vehicle for the month that I am in Kenya, that would be a welcome bonus.

Alternatively, if you know how we can raise these funds quickly, please contact us.

At the same time, we are ready to make our first methane collector and introduce our mosquito reduction education plan.

Rhino Ark

During the course of a year, there are usually four or five off-road events held in Kenya and the UK to raise funds for the Rhino Ark charity. These are the Rhino Charge, Rhino Charge UK, Quattro Charge and the Hog Charge.

We have already had the Hog Charge, the Kenyan Rhino Charge is at the end of May and the UK Charge is usually sometime in September. But I hadn't been given the dates for the Quattro, a 4x4 event at Athi, in one of the quarries. This is usually held twice a year, but this year, there is only one, and it is on 31st October - 1st November.

At last, the Rhino Ark Events calendar is virtually complete - we are just missing the exact dates for the UK Charge, but there is time for that.

Donations to KCIS

You can now make cash donations to Kenyan Community Initiative Support using PayPal.

There is a link in the right-hand column ----->

Snow

Highclere, Hampshire, morning of 2nd February 2009.

Back garden

Back garden

The pond

Bongos?

I have just left a client who has decided to let me design a website to sell his wares - Bongos.

No, not a form of drum struck with the fingers and palms, but a rather adaptable Mazda vehicle imported from Japan.

It's going to be a fun project - I hope, with lots of updates as stock moves.

Rhino Charge 2009

Having followed the Rhino Ark fund-raising antics of a bunch of 4x4 enthusiasts dashing through the Kenyan bush for several years (as the webmaster for said organisation), I keep promising myself that I will arrange to be in Kenya when the event is on, this year it is 31st May.

Somehow, though, I doubt that I will be. I haven't even been able to attend the somewhat tamer UK version in Pippingford Park!

Rhino Ark supporters hold four main off-road events each year, The Hog Charge, which has just passed, The Quattro, which is organised by one of the regular entrants to the Rhino Charge and the UK Rhino Charge.

With the exception of the Hog Charge, which is kids on bikes getting very dirty, the events are for serious off-road vehicles - you wouldn't get far in a Vitara!

Being a frustrated 4x4 enthusiast (frustrated because although I have the potential use of a 4x4 vehicle, it won't run!), I would love to attend these events. And it would give me an outlet for my other passion - photography. Of course, I could always use the excuse that my attendance was as the webmaster taking photos for the website, but as I always receive loads of photos after each event, that would be a bit lame.

Anyway, when I get back out to Kenya, I think I will have enough to do with our KCIS projects without disappearing off to some sun-baked corner of the Rift Valley or wherever to watch a lot of lunatics trying to go where vehicles were never intended to, just to get from point A to point B (then C, D, E, etc.) in the shortest distance and time.

Oh well, maybe next year.

The Rhino Ark Hog Charge

Why is it that, when I decide to update or upgrade one of my websites, a client sends through a whole ream of updates for their site? And then another lot before I have finished the first lot?

And, when I have finished all these updates for my clients, I am all washed up and have lost any idea of creativity?

Over the weekend, I have received the report and photos for the annual Rhino Ark Children's Event, The Hog Charge. This is a Kenyan cross-country event where a horde of children cycle an all-terrain track in teams and the muddiest one wins - er, no. I think it is the fastest team and also the team who has raised the most sponsorship money (for Rhino Ark) that wins.

I have to say that if you can judge how much fun a child has had by how dirty he or she has got, then these kids had one heck of a time.

This update was quickly followed by the announcement that Rhino Ark, in the form of Rhino Charge UK will be represented at the Total Off-Road & Planet 4x4 at Donington Exhibition Centre on 22nd February. This update/announcement was, of course, urgent.

Then I get the problem that people in Kenya checking the site don't have fast connection and sometimes photos don't download, or their cache is open and they don't se updated pages, so I have to check to make sure that everything is in order. I now check all work on two PCs and a Macintosh ~ belt and braces!

Then, of course, before all this is ironed out, I get updates for another client site ~ then another, they arrive just like red double-deckers, in convoy.

Oh well, it's all good fun and it buys a crust of bread.

Only in Africa