turn the radio up for that sweet sound

Seven weeks of project work had come to an end and we all gathered at the Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground to present and discuss our work with the public. Of course it was mostly men asking the questions, however some fine ladies came up to us with encouraging words like the radio hostess at Urban Radio. Our group ended up talking about our project live on air the following Monday. Now that was an experience worth remembering!

Photos courtesy of A. S, P. L and Y. A K.

how to escape the full-mouthed, clamorous place of people and vehicles

Kakamega Forest National Reserve

hard rocks and strong girls

Paid a visit to the weeping rock Kit Mikayi with the students of Maseno University. Astonishing nature just outside the city of Kisumu.

Kit Mikayi

As a part of our project we created a memory game with Lake Victoria as the theme. A way to try to spread awareness about the conditions of the lake. Golden Girls Foundation were kind enough to invite us to try it out on their little girls. At Golden Girls Foundation girls are encouraged and empowered to take place, raise their voices and be proud of themselves and their sisterhood. 

There was also some postcards being made and poems being written. Later on we were joined by the teenagers of the foundation. We had a nice chit-chat with them about what it is like to be a women back in our homes and cultures, what it is like to study, have our own home and family. What our troubles and struggles were, what we thought was hard and how we dealt with it and how important it was to talk to each other, listen to each other and have each others backs. 

Photos courtesy of A. S, P. L and Y. A K.

he didn't cry on a safari

We took a weekend down south with the animals. Surrounded ourselves with elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos… The Masai Mara was truly beautiful.

On the very last day we suddenly happened to find the rhinos hanging about.

There were carcasses all over the place.

As the sun was about to settle one evening, the van of another tour company got stuck in the mud. Big strong men were trying with complicated measures to get them out whilst the passengers just stood by watching. Time passed by and people were starting to get nervous as the darkness crept closer and they were all stuck in the middle of nowhere. Until our group, all of us half the sizes of the passengers that just stood there, strode up and, within minutes, pushed it out. Come on people!

The mandatory visit to a nearby Masai village.

The local school of the Masai.

Photos courtesy of A. S, P. L and Y. A K.

entering the world of Kisumu

Stepping into the guarded grounds of the train station, after finally being granted access, was like stepping into a lost world. An unaffected realm from the 40's and 50's. No trains, no people, no public - just an armed guard and untouched architecture from a past life.

Payed a visit to Nyalenda as well - the slum suburb - and ended up at a school with darling children. 

At Kisumu Innovation Center Kenya (KICK) young local artisans use recycled materials to create hand made greeting cards, furniture and home decor. KICK is a social enterprise that works with and encourages young women and men in Kisumu to recycle and reuse material for their arts and crafts, that are sold both in Kenya and abroad. This gives the artisans ability to not rely on aid, but sustain themselves through their skills.

Got myself a bicycle, or two. 

Kibuye Market, where hardworking men and women produce and sell their hand made products made from scratch each and every day.

At Dunga beach people gather around as the fishermen get ashore with the morning catch. Intense negotiation and auction fills the air and smiling faces among disappointed ones walk away with buckets of fish fresh out of the waters of Lake Victoria.

A heavy rainstorm passed through last night with the result of one of the houses crumbling down to the ground. And so the clean up had begun - a huge bonfire. 

Children playing underneath the African sun. 

Photos courtesy of A. S, P. L and Y. A K.