Monday is Goal Setting Day

It is amazing to me that while things are so very different, they are also very much the same. 

On Monday morning we attended an One Acre Fund District weekly meeting.  Field Officers are mandate to collect weekly loan repayments from the farmers, hold a weekly meeting, and provide training for their team of farmers.   Each week they come together to meet with their Field Manager, who then shares with the whole district how each Field Officer has done and how the Field Manager's team has done as a whole. They are rated on the percentage of group leaders and farmers; attending weekly meeting and training sessions, making a repayment, and percentage of total loans repaid.  Results are captured on flip chart paper and posted for everyone to see.  During the meeting the agenda for the entire district team of field officers and field managers includes the sharing of best practices, discussion on challenges and training to be shared out in the field.  This very much sounds like goal setting and management meetings at home.  The saying same, same but different seems very appropriate. 

At the beginning of the session each field officer turns in the receipts for all the payments he has collected during the week to the bookkeepers. The bookkeepers then verify the receipts to the actual cash that was electronically transferred to the repayment accounts.  Considering in this specific district there are 7,292 active farmers that is a lot of receipts being verified each week.  

The second picture shows the Field Officers receiving the supplies they have personally ordered for their farms. The process of how items should be provided is demonstrated to them as tomorrow they will need to distribute supplies to their individual teams.  Roleplaying at its finest.

Sounds of the Night.

The sounds of Bungoma at night were pretty amazing starting with all the neighbourhood dogs breaking out in song. As the choir began more and more animals joined in. It sounded like a pack of coyotes, yet we knew it wasn't.  Then the resident donkey joined in honking out his tunes. Interestingly enough his part went on throughout the night, even though the rest had long since finished their part of the performance. Occasionally throughout the night his honking would ring clearly ensuring we all knew his part was not over. About 5 am we were awaken by the ritual of the morning prayers. I am not sure if the whole 44000 people of the town could hear the chants of the lone singer but it definitely sounded like it. Shortly before the sun began to rise the resident rooster began to crow. Awakening the town with his song. The only challenge is I think he lost his off button. And so the day begins....

Nairobi to Bungoma

We woke bright and early after a good nights sleep at the guest house, to the warm Kenyan air and birds chirping. If you want to shower there is a light switch to activate the flow of hot water. Unfortunately the switch had been left on for sometime and wasn't working.  Hence we started the day with cold showers. Warm climates or cold, I still don't like cold showers, but a quick rinse and I was ready for the new day.

Lenny was waiting for us at 7:30 and we headed to the airport. Interestingly due to uprisings at the airport last year, every car is totally searched by security before entering the premises. While the line-up initially looked long, our taxi driver played cat and mouse with the other vehicles, moving us to the front of the line fairly quickly. Checking in for our flight we learned that all laptops had to be placed in your carry on luggage. Of course, Randy had backed his safely in the middle of his backpack so there we were unpacking to pull it out. Once our bags were checked he sat down to rearrange his carry on bag only to find out that we had another security gate to clear in which your laptop needed to go through separately.  While it seemed like a bit of a hassle we now know the rules and can plan accordingly next time.  50 minutes from leaving Kese Center we were already for our flight to Kisumu. 

The flight to Kisumu was only 30 minutes and the stewardesses hardly had time to offer everyone a refreshment before we were landing.  In Nairobi it had been 28 degrees but still felt quite cool. Landing in Kisumu we were hit by the heat. It was probably about 32 degrees. This is what I had expected. 

Donald would be our driver as we travel the rest of the way  to Bungoma by car.  Leaving the airport the road was filled with potholes and often Donald would drive down the dirt path on the side of the road rather than staying on the blacktop. It was certainly smoothIt maybe a long two hour ride.  However after a short while the road conditions improved and we were off. 

Taking in all the sights along the way we went from Nairobi, which appeared to be fairly modern and developed with a very diverse population to the communities along our route of very poor to poor dwellings with absolutely no diversity. We saw rows of homes made from corregated tin, adobe huts, to brick homes and everything in between. As it was Sunday, it appeared to me that lots of people were walking up and down the highway.  I learned later that it was a quiet day for foot traffic.

 Along the highway there are lots of major speed bumps. Official ones before schools and illegal ones placed in front of stores by the merchants to force traffic to slowdown and hopefully stop and shop. The speedbumps were so big that Donad would almost come to a complete stop to maneuver over them carefully. 

Finally we arrived in Bungoma and my imagination was going wild on where we were actually going to stay. Up and down a few dirt roads we came to a stop at a small gated courtyard. The gates opened to reveal a well kept area with 8 apartments, outdoor eating area and lounging deck. 

We were escorted to the "Big Banda", a very impressive appartment, that would be our home for the next five days. The pictures don't do it justice. A completely self contained room, with kitchen, sitting area and bedroom section. 

. We could live here easily. At least from an accommodation perspective. Tonight we sleep under the mosquito need.  So cool. 

The rest of the day was spent lounging and napping as we relaxed from two days of travel.  Plus we weren't sure that we should be wandering around on our own or even where to go? 

Heading to Kenya

Promptly at 1 pm on Friday March 28th, 2014 I packed up my desk and headed home to pick up Randy. We were starting an adventure that could possibly change the rest of our lives. Randy has a job interview with One Acre Fund in Kenya.  As we entered the Calgary airport I suggested to Randy that it was the last time I should be cold for at least the next ten days. It has been a terrible winter/spring and I am so looking forward to seeing the sun and feeling the warm rays on my skin! 

The trip would consist of a short eight hour flight direct to Amsterdam followed by another short eight hour flight direct to Nairobi. Watching several movies and having a few naps the trips went smoothly and at 8:25pm Saturday night we arrived to the welcoming warm, humid air of Kenya. 

Debarking the plane we took a short bus ride to customs. While it was dark the bus route was lined by corregated tin fences topped with circles of barb wire. We wondered " was this to keep the passengers in or the residence out?". Purchasing our Visas and clearing customs was a relatively simple process. They took our picture, finger prints, (first the right hand and then the left) collected $50 US, stamped our passports and welcomed us to Kenya. Less than 20 minutes and we were ready to go.

Quickly collecting our bags, we found Lenny our taxi driver and were off to the the Kese Center where we would be spending the night. Kese Center is a gated community where One Acre Fund has a guest house. Clean and comfortable  appartment number six, is way bigger than our condo at home. 

A large common area living room, kitchen, and  4 bedrooms, each with its own washroom. We were pleasantly surprised.