Day 4 Training

Thursday, July 20, 2006

We woke up, packed up, and headed to Tuungane. Steve and Victor picked us up and drove us to Nyalenda, arguably the second largest slum in Kisumu. We had to wait for some time because many of the participants had been there earlier but had left. Someone had been sent to bring them back and, as we were told, they were coming.

We were impressed by the efficiency of the group. It was the first time that each person was able to complete each project successfully. Victor attributed it to the good leadership under a 23-year-old named Odessey Ismail.

Steve asked us if we wanted to have lunch down by the lake. We were concerned about charging our equipment, but Steve assured us that we would be able to do so in a safe place. We dropped our equipment off at Steve’s brother’s house to charge and headed down to see the lake for the first time.

We had heard about the car washing at the lake, but it was still a shocking sight. Matatus were lined up in the lake as men soaped and rinsed them. We headed into one of the open-air shacks where fish is served. We sat and Steve ordered for us as men pedaling fancy fur sandals, stereos, CDs, and other assorted items showed off their wares. Alexis and I requested to try the brown ugali, which we were told is made of millet. The food arrived and we had a whole fried tilapia smothered in sukuma wiki. Victor was dubbed “the flesh puller” as he assisted us in finding the edible meat. The food was delicious.

We left the lake and returned to Steve’s brother’s house to Alexis, Steve, and Victor singing along to Best Friend by R. Kelly, Kelly Price, and Ron Isley. We gathered our equipment and composed ourselves before heading to Kisumu Girls Secondary School.

We arrived at Kisumu Girls. Our group turned out to be a lot smaller. Steve suggested that we have the students use the video cameras to record the process. We gave them an intro to shooting and handed out the two digital video cameras. We then gave them an intro to interviewing and passed out some audio recorders. The girls excitedly interviewed everyone they could using the audio recorders and the video cameras. They also took digital photographs to illustrate the issue that they were focusing on for the day. One group took a photograph to illustrate rape cases. They took a purple flower, ripped it up and crushed it with a rock, set it on the ground with sand and the rock, and sprinkled green leaves around it. When presenting it to the class they explained that the flower represented a young girl, the rock represented the rapist, and the green leaves represented Kenya because that is where this takes place.

Afterwards, the girls asked when we would be coming back. The teacher informed them that because of their exam schedule, we would not be able to return. The girls protested. The teacher asked us how many trainings would be necessary to impart the skills they needed. We fumbled and explained that the learning process was continuous.

After some back and forth, we agreed to return the following week. The girls cheered. One girl, who had just moved to Kenya from Seattle, remarked at the difference between the girls’ sad faces when they thought we weren’t returning to their happiness after we had set a date.

We asked Victor where we were going the next morning. He asked us if we had the schedule he had printed out at the beginning of the week. We told him that we did not. He told us that he couldn’t remember.

We returned home and Alexis attempted to make rice and beans for dinner.