Monday, May 4, 2009
Sand Dams-A local solution to a water problem
Last week-end we visited a site using sand dams built by local people to store water during the rainy season for irrigation later. Here are some pictures:
Pictures #1 and 2 A dry river bed; what the area looks like before a dam (note the vegetation on the hillside is partially due to nearby dams which have the effect of raising the water table)
Picture #3 An "immature" sand dam which still has standing water present
Picture #4 A mature sand dam; no standing water--the water has seeped into the sand
Picture #5 Extracting water from a sand dam
Pictures 6 and 7 Area irrigated by a sand dam--look at the green!
Picture #8 Matt and local children on a sand dam
Picture #9 Steph on a sand dam
Shopping!
Since by definition women like to shop... I figured I'd share with you my shopping experiences here in Kenya. First, there's Nakumatt. Nakumatt is the Kenyan Wal-mart. There's anything and everything, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's cheaper. Their motto is "you need it. we have it." Which is somewhat the case... one week they might have this really great cereal or soap or piece of hardware and the next week it will be nowhere to be found with no timeline of when they will have it again. But overall, it's very convenient & you can find a version of just about anything you're looking for. Nakumatt is the closest grocery for us and it's even a Nakumatt Mega (ie. super walmart).
Our favorite place for produce is aptly named, Zucchinis. They have great service, but they're all the way across town, so we have to coordinate our shopping trips to fit with when someone can give us a ride. When you enter the store there are lots of men waiting around to help you find just the right herbs, vegetables and fruits you want. You can tell them how many, when you need them to be ripe, etc and they'll get the best of everything for you. Plus, it's really good prices. To put it in perspective, we bought a large bunch of bananas, a pineapple, multiple lemons, 3 mangos, a pack of strawberries, 3 green peppers, 2 yellow peppers, 2 red peppers, 3 zucchinis, large amounts of green beans & snap peas & broccoli, a bunch of potatos, a bag of onions and a few other assorted items for about 600 shillings. (600 Kenyan shillings = $7.50).
The other week, I successfully navigated & actually bought things (I've walked through some markets before) at my first Kenyan market. It's called Toi Market (there are barely any toys). There is every kind of clothing (for all ages), household items, shoes, food, decorations, jewelry, etc. In typical market style, you could find any combination of items next to each other: such as mangos & bananas next to a stall filled with men's pants.... Before going, I had braced myself for the worst. I fully expected to be accosted by tons of people, have to work my way through crowds and deal with all the locals seeking out the mazungu who has money to spend... Thankfully this was not the case. The Kenyans were very friendly with their "hellos" "how are yous" (they actually say those words plurally quite regularly) and "welcome customers." But they gave you space to look around and when you said no, they didn't keep bothering you (phew!). A friend of mine, Marti (another MCC-er) showed me the ropes. I successfully haggled down some prices and spent a grand total of 360 shillings to get 4 long skirts and 2 pairs of dress socks. I felt very accomplished. As we left I was already dreaming up plans of bringing Matt along or bringing our visitors to the market and having them experience it for themselves...
Our favorite place for produce is aptly named, Zucchinis. They have great service, but they're all the way across town, so we have to coordinate our shopping trips to fit with when someone can give us a ride. When you enter the store there are lots of men waiting around to help you find just the right herbs, vegetables and fruits you want. You can tell them how many, when you need them to be ripe, etc and they'll get the best of everything for you. Plus, it's really good prices. To put it in perspective, we bought a large bunch of bananas, a pineapple, multiple lemons, 3 mangos, a pack of strawberries, 3 green peppers, 2 yellow peppers, 2 red peppers, 3 zucchinis, large amounts of green beans & snap peas & broccoli, a bunch of potatos, a bag of onions and a few other assorted items for about 600 shillings. (600 Kenyan shillings = $7.50).
The other week, I successfully navigated & actually bought things (I've walked through some markets before) at my first Kenyan market. It's called Toi Market (there are barely any toys). There is every kind of clothing (for all ages), household items, shoes, food, decorations, jewelry, etc. In typical market style, you could find any combination of items next to each other: such as mangos & bananas next to a stall filled with men's pants.... Before going, I had braced myself for the worst. I fully expected to be accosted by tons of people, have to work my way through crowds and deal with all the locals seeking out the mazungu who has money to spend... Thankfully this was not the case. The Kenyans were very friendly with their "hellos" "how are yous" (they actually say those words plurally quite regularly) and "welcome customers." But they gave you space to look around and when you said no, they didn't keep bothering you (phew!). A friend of mine, Marti (another MCC-er) showed me the ropes. I successfully haggled down some prices and spent a grand total of 360 shillings to get 4 long skirts and 2 pairs of dress socks. I felt very accomplished. As we left I was already dreaming up plans of bringing Matt along or bringing our visitors to the market and having them experience it for themselves...
Spiritual
After a holiday weekend we are now back to the grind of learning Maasai. I wanted to take a little time to praise God for the spiritual developments of our last few months here.
MCC has been going through an ongoing process called, "New Wineskins" which looks at how to restructure organizationally. In the same way, I believe we both have been called to find new spiritual wineskins individually. The scope of the transition and challenges we face make it imperative that we find new ways to know God and pursue our faith.
Early on during our time here, I found a need for daily reliance on God. In the past, it has been hard to know what it means to rely on God when so much of life seemed self-determined. Between where I work, how I relax, how I provide for our needs, it all seemed like a stretch to say "God is providing for me" or "I need God today." In Kenya, things are very different. It has been a great blessing to truly need God to function day-to-day.
Recently, I have been thinking and praying more about my new spiritual wineskins. Do I need to adopt new disciplines, new patterns of doing things to keep my faith healthy and growing? The answer I have been getting is a resounding, "yes." Doing things the old way just doesn't cut it for me now, I get discouraged easily, I am "down" easily, etc... While I don't believe I can "fix" myself by my own works, I want to listen intently to what God is saying to me about my spiritual routines.
So, I am now in a process of discovering my new wineskins. I have been trying to listen more, to spend time in silence (something always difficult for me), to wait on the Lord, and be open to new or different spirituality. I pray that I will not only find the new wineskins, but be ready to taste the goodness of the new wine!
MCC has been going through an ongoing process called, "New Wineskins" which looks at how to restructure organizationally. In the same way, I believe we both have been called to find new spiritual wineskins individually. The scope of the transition and challenges we face make it imperative that we find new ways to know God and pursue our faith.
Early on during our time here, I found a need for daily reliance on God. In the past, it has been hard to know what it means to rely on God when so much of life seemed self-determined. Between where I work, how I relax, how I provide for our needs, it all seemed like a stretch to say "God is providing for me" or "I need God today." In Kenya, things are very different. It has been a great blessing to truly need God to function day-to-day.
Recently, I have been thinking and praying more about my new spiritual wineskins. Do I need to adopt new disciplines, new patterns of doing things to keep my faith healthy and growing? The answer I have been getting is a resounding, "yes." Doing things the old way just doesn't cut it for me now, I get discouraged easily, I am "down" easily, etc... While I don't believe I can "fix" myself by my own works, I want to listen intently to what God is saying to me about my spiritual routines.
So, I am now in a process of discovering my new wineskins. I have been trying to listen more, to spend time in silence (something always difficult for me), to wait on the Lord, and be open to new or different spirituality. I pray that I will not only find the new wineskins, but be ready to taste the goodness of the new wine!
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