Grampa Bud and MeMe Arrive

There was lots of anticipation for the arrival of Grampa Bud and Meme on March 31, 2006. They left Canada a month previously to travel in Egypt, which helped them settle in a bit faster. The first evening we had a chance to hear what is new in Alberta and Canada as well as share some pictures of our stay in Kenya thus far. We went for a brief walked to the local grocery store. The evening ended with security guard killing a snake and lighting a few fireworks! Karibu to Kenya!

Book Commentary about Africa

The Village by the Sea - Authored Anita Desai

Then there were birds flying out of the shadowy, soft-needled trees and the think jungle of palm tress, singing and calling and whistling louder than at any other time of the day. Flute-voiced birds swooped and cut through the air like dazzling knives that reflected the sun and birds that sang from the branches. Crow-pheasant called out in a coop-coop-coop in its deep voice. It was the voice of the village much as the roar of the waves and the wind in the palms.

In the silence of the late afternoon, with the tide out and the breeze still, they all heard a sound that was like a whisper or a sigh, a deep sigh uttered by the ocean itself. Then the sigh extended into a long rustling, rippling sound. It came from far out at sea. The ripple lifted itself out of the flat, dull ocean – a long, white line that lifted and rippled and rushed closer and closer to land till it dashed against the rocks in a shower of spray. The tide had turned. It was coming in now. Along with it came the evening breeze, fresh and cool and lovely.

Steps had been cut into the red, gravely soil of the hillside, making it easy to climb. As we brushed through the dry, golden grass that grew at the sides, we met a shepard coming down the hill with a herd of goats. His goats were black and white and chocolate brown and followed him in a cloud of dust, bleating and calling to each other.

Pastor Joseph Momanyi - A Face in our Community

Pastor Joseph is fifty years old and was raised in a small community in South Kenya called Kisii, approximately 600 kms from Mombasa. He was rasied in a very large family, with a total of 13 children (9 females and 4 males). His parents were farmers and it was described as very difficulty due to the poverty level in the home.They has some crops (maize, corns and beans) as well as a few animals. Joseph completed his Form 4 (Year 10) schooling.

He has been spreading the gospel for over 21 years and moved to Mombasa in 1989. He felt that many people were lost and needed the direction of God. His family including four children (aged 18, 10, 4 and 1.5 years) reside in Mombasa. His wifer also returns back to Kisii to look after her father-in-law. Last year the church moved as the landowner from Nairobi wanted to build apartments on the site. Currently they are using a temporary site. A large part of the congregation has gone elsewhere. “We need your prayers to help out and accomplish much.”

Mau Mau Film Festival

In conjunction with the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Aga Khan Academy hosted the inaugural series of human rights consisting of dialogues, debates as well as films. The four films included, In my country (south Africa), Malcolm X – A documentary (US), Fidel (Cuba), and 100 Days (Rwanda). They were extremely powerful and graphic illustrating the struggles for independence and preserving human rights.

The following information, from the BBC, describes the journey of Kenyan independence and why the series is refereed to as Mau Mau.

Kenya, during the 1950's, was dominated by the Mau Mau uprising against the British. A central feature of this revolt was a desire on the part of the Kikuyu, along with some Embu and Meru people, for land taken by the Europeans.The Mau Mau uprising also marked a turning point in the struggle for independence. Kikuyu resistance to European colonisation was well established before the Second World War. The Kikuyu Central Association was active in the 1930's under Jomo Kenyatta who campaigned energetically for the Kikuyu in Europe.In 1951, Kenyatta was arrested and imprisoned by the British for being a leading light in the Mau Mau movement. With his detention Mau Mau expanded.In October 1952, the British declared a state of emergency, which continued until 1960. The State of Emergency was in response to an increase in attacks on the property and persons of white settlers, as well as African chiefs who were seen as collaborators.

A far larger amount, about 13,000, were killed fighting the British, and a further 80,000 were kept in detention camps. The number of Europeans who died in the course of the emergency totalled just 32. The number of original Mau Mau fighters was hugely increased by Kikuyu squatters who were expelled from European land after 1952.The main military leaders were Dedan Kimathi and Warihu Itote, also known as General China. Dedan Kimathi was captured and executed in 1956. General China was eventually released.Kenyatta was not released until 1961. The Kenyan African National Union (KANU) had voted him their President while he was still in prison.The other main party to emerge in the run up to independence was the Kenyan African Democratic Union KADU. In the event, KANU gained a majority in the Legislative Assembly and Jomo Kenyatta led Kenya to independence in December 1963.

Book Commentary about Africa

The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver - Set in the Republic of Congo

Our mother went laying out in the spare bedroom all the worldly things she thought we’d need in the Congo just to scrape by. In addition to Betty Crooker cake mixes, Underwood deviled ham… a good pair of scissors, a dozen number-2 pencils, a world of Band-Aids, Absorbine Jr.; and a fever Thermometer. (For the McLeans, Kraft Dinner and Sugar-free gum, and pancake mix were small items).

But no one here stays under a roof. It is in the front yards- all the world’s a stage of hard red dirt under barefoot-where tired thin women in every thinkable state of dress and disrepair poke sticks into their fires and cook. Clumps of children stone throwing outflowing rush upon terrified small goats, scattering them across the road so that the goats may tiptoe back and be chased again. Men sit on buckets and stare at whatever passes by.

The first task was to pull out all the mosquito netting and stitch it into our tents to cover our four identical cots and my parent’s larger one. Malaria is our enemy number one. Every Sunday we swallow quinine tablets so bitter your tongue wants to turn itself inside out like a salted slug. (For the McLeans, this was an extreme worry; however, we have stopped our Malaria medication and may start again once the weather changes to the raining season due to an increased number of mosquitoes).

What the people do is stare at us – especially … as the hair color is blonde like a white rabbit. Everywhere she goes out, whole bunches of little Congo children run after her on the road a-reaching and a-yanking on her long white hair to see if it will come off. Sometimes even the grownups do too. (This has been our experience in terms of younger children staring at our children – the mzungu (white – skin as well as hair color).

Maharagee is a stable food consisting of maize flour, beans and tomatoes. Any other thing a person might eat- a banana, an egg, beans, or a piece of meat – that was just the opposite, and its consumption was seen as a remarkable, possibly uncalled-for-occasion.

But a Congolese life is like the useless Congolese bill, which you can pile by the fistful or the bucketful into a merchant’s hand, and still not purchase a single banana. It’s dawning on me that I live among men and women who’ve simple always understood their whole existence is worth less than a banana to most white people. I see it in their eyes when they glance up at me.

The Congolese are used to it and have developed a thousand shorcuts. They sum up prospects by studying each other’s clothing and disposition, and the bargaining process is well under way before they open their mouths to speak. I have heard foreign visitors complain that the people are greedy, naïve, and inefficient. They have no idea. The Congolese are skilled at survival and perceptive beyond belief.



Over population has deforested three-quarters of Africa, yielding drought, famine, and the probable extinction of all animals most beloved by children and zoos. The competition for resources intensifies. For every life saved by vaccination or food relief, one is lost to starvation or war. Poor Africa. No other continent has endured such an unspeakably bizarre combination of foreign thievery and foreign goodwill.

Birthday Wishes for Kyle

At the school the tradition is the birthday boy or girl is able to wear their own clothes. During the morning assembly the birthday boy or girl goes in the front and the entire Junior School sings Happy Birthday with a big OH-LA-LA and the end of the song. We brought in a birthday cake, another tradition in the school.

We enjoyed the weather and had a birthday party at Pirates (water slides and pool) for Kyle. There was over 20 children invited and fun was had by all. Later that eveing the family went out for Chinese food and enjoyed Black Forest Cake. KYLE is now 8 YEARS OLD!

Kyle Makes the AKAM Athlethics Team

Kyle was picked to represent the AKAM Junior Athletics Team. There were 5 schools in the competition held at the Shree Swaminarayan Academy and the school placed third overall. Kyle was the second runner for the U8 boys 4X100 that finish 3rd in the race. As you can see, the starters in Africa do not us pistols, but rather 2 pieces of wood. It was very interesting to watch the races and see all the excitement in the athletics as well as spectators. Brenda and her colleagues spent alot of time coaching the athletes over a 10 day period before the event.

Kenya in the News – March, 2006

Hooded policemen raided a Kenyan television station network and switched the satiation’s power off and immediate cut the TV service. They also harassed staff and removed equipment. After the media station, they next went to a nearby printing news press; vandalized equipment and set ablaze thousands of newspapers and the building.
Apparently the raid occurred as the media have been critical of the current government, however the actions are unsubstantiated in the connection to any level of government organization.

Scott Travels to Dar es Salaam

Scott had a recent opportunity to travel to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to visit the Aga Khan University – Institute for Educational Development, which oversees the role of Professional Development. The trip was a total of two days. The weather was a bit cooler than Mombasa, however the city itself is much more developed (infrastructure) and modern. The main difference, told by Tanzanians as well as Kenyans is that the government of Tanzania is less corrupt. Although some of the basic streets and stores are similar, the main tourist area and downtown are clean with updates fixtures. They have a few giraffes painted that reminds me of home with the painted/decorated cows around the city of Calgary.

The Aga Khan - Education Development, has a mission to improve the quality of education through individual and school based professional development that is focused on teaching programs that leads to certificates, advanced diplomas and in the future, leading to Master of Education and PhD. This was a really important meeting to receive information on what opportunities are available for our faculty.