Into Africa
By Gardia Voerman
Written after the Voerman family trip to Kenya in Dec 2003-Jan2004...
It was like no other Christmas our family had ever spent. We left an unbelievably warm Halifax on December 24, 2003, and flew via Montreal to London, England, on the first main stop of our journey to Kenya in East Africa. Christmas Day was spent tramping along a few streets around Paddington Station, which was the only public transport destination available. Christmas dinner consisted of some unidentifiable food in an ethnic restaurant, and the atmosphere was anything but festive. We didn’t really mind because we were tired, having flown all night, and Kenya, rather than Christmas, filled our thoughts.
We flew out of London on Christmas night and settled down for our nine-hour flight to Nairobi. When I had first realized we would be traveling with Kenya Airlines, I must admit to some misgivings. Knowing that Kenya is a Third World country, I envisioned flying on a decrepit aircraft held together with Krazy Glue and “Red Green” tape. I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself on a modern airplane. The service was excellent, as were the food and wine - which were free! (Take that, Air Canada!).
My husband, Teunis, and I, along with our two younger adult children, Vanessa and Jacob, were on our way to visit our oldest child, Johanna. She had signed up with CUSO (Canadian University Services Overseas) and left on September 4, 2002, for her placement in Kenya. She is an internetworking specialist and some sort of systems analyst (my eyes roll up in my head) and was assigned to teach some of her expertise to employees of the Nairobi branch of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières, or Veterinarians Without Borders, a Belgian company. Over the course of time, she fell in love with her main “pupil”, Anthony. Last summer they came home to Nova Scotia for six weeks and were married on the beach at our cottage on Northumberland Strait. None of Anthony’s family was able to make the trip, so it was decided to have a “wedding blessing” ceremony at Christmastime in Kenya; thus the ostensible reason for the trip.
Johanna had just purchased a used safari van, so the day after we arrived in Nairobi, we left for Kitale which is the nearest town to Anthony’s family home, about 350 km north, or “upcountry”, as they say there. That trip took eight hours! Most of the roads are in such poor condition that continual speed is impossible. They are narrow, the pavement edge is ragged and often just drops off, and “pot hole” is a charming word for the “chasms and gullies” that are rampant. The average person cannot afford a vehicle, so there are hordes of people walking on the roads almost continually, and the driver has to watch for goats, donkeys, monkeys, and cattle as well. By some miracle we had only one flat tire and arrived safely at our hotel in the early evening.
The wedding blessing ceremony on Sunday, December 28th, lasted about an hour and was a part of the regular church service. There were hundreds of people there. We paraded into the church two by two to wonderful upbeat music, interspersed with shrill ululations from some of the women. Not expecting it, I would jump every time! There were countless prayers, a lot of singing, and many blessings on the young couple. Johanna also had two friends visiting from Halifax, and we were all invited up front to introduce ourselves and to say a few words which were translated. We incorporated a few basic Kiswahili words – a good P. R. touch – such as “jambo” (hello) and “asante sana” (thank you very much). The Swahili people are very friendly and welcoming, and they clapped and cheered for us. They’re also very noisy, constantly singing, talking, or blurting out some expression of happiness.
Everyone in the church was invited to Anthony’s home at Lol’Keringet deep in the countryside for a reception in the afternoon. It was estimated that six or seven hundred people – relatives, friends, and neighbours – were in attendance. We were all fed – and this without electricity or running water! Anthony had built a thatch-roofed gazebo and we were enthroned within it – I felt like the Queen Mother! In some ways I was, because Anthony rose out of an extremely poor background, went away and got himself educated, and actually has a job. There is a 70 percent unemployment rate in Kenya. Unlike most of the people who don’t really get around to official marriage, he actually did get married and to a white girl at that! Whites are respected and widely thought to be rich, so as far as the general populace is concerned, Anthony hit the jackpot! He is the oldest in his family, and despite the fact that his father is still living, Anthony is the head of the family and considered to be a leader. Many friends and relatives depend on him – and Johanna – for advice and financial aid.
All afternoon we were entertained with singing, dancing, poems, stories, and recitations. It was like something you would see in the National Geographic. Relatives galore were introduced; many spoke and we were all asked to do so once again. We had the same wonderful translator as in the church. Our speeches were mostly on the theme of how glad we were to be there, and we thanked them for welcoming us so warmly and accepting Johanna as one of them. We also extended a heartfelt invitation to visit us in Canada.
Upon learning that we were going to an area where supplies of any kind are rare, many people in our church, Knox United, in Lower Sackville had given us school supplies for the children of the area. Anthony’s children, Kevin and Leah, now eight and seven, respectively, attend the local school. (Anthony had been married before in tribal tradition and was a widower when he and Johanna met). Some people even donated money to be used for whatever is needed. Great cheering and clapping resounded when Teunis’s announcement of these gifts was translated to the assembly of friends and neighbours. Anthony had told us that we could not just hand over the three large boxes of supplies and the money to the headmaster of the school because of corruption that is a way of life in that part of the world. His job as logistics officer and stores master helps in this situation: He keeps the provisions locked up in the bedroom of his two-room house; when he and Johanna come upcountry to visit, they dole it out piece by piece as needed. Apparently, if a child was given three pencils, say, he would very likely either give them away, even sell two or all three! The same mind-set applies to the money; it cannot be just handed over. Anthony is to determine with the headmaster and Elders of his tribe what is most needed at the school and arrange for its purchase or construction. He thinks it will likely be another outhouse to be built in the schoolyard, because the only one there now is woefully inadequate. Rather unromantic, but necessary! Time in Kenya is casual and not very strictly adhered to, so the new “edifice” has not yet come to pass. Also, it is difficult for Anthony to see to any arrangements because he and Johanna live and work in Nairobi, and can only make that long, rough trip on days off.
Having seen the school, we are very pleased to know that we are helping to make the lives of the approximately 150 schoolchildren in this area a little easier. The school is actually two buildings at right angles to each other. There are windows and doorways, but no glass and no actual doors. The one window in each room does not admit much light. The floor is mud and the “desks” are rudimentary. The “blackboard” is a piece of painted concrete, pitted and scarred. There was nothing to resemble a typical elementary school room in Canada.
It is difficult to realize that these children have next to nothing: There might be a half dozen or so stubby pencils to share amongst all of them, and maybe only a few sheets of paper. Marking with a stick in the dirt is normal. Unless we see poverty first-hand, we Canadians tend to be like ostriches with our heads buried in the sand; affluence has made us complacent.
We stayed in the Kitale area for a week and visited Lol’ Keringet every day. Anthony’s parents, children, and other relatives are warm, loving people. They are quite religious and remember to give thanks to God at every opportunity. They are also very handsome! I was struck by the beauty of the Kenyan people in general. We are pleased that Johanna has married into such a wonderful family; our only regret is that she is so far away. Thank heavens for e-mail!
We braved the roads once again – on four new tires this time! – and returned to Nairobi. After a day or so of regrouping, we left on safari to Amboseli Game Reserve, a visit to a Maasai village, and thence to a resort for a few days in Mombasa on the Indian Ocean. Upon returning to our home base in Nairobi, we spent the third week relaxing. We also had a little excursion to Karen, just outside Nairobi. It is a town named for Karen Blixen, of Out of Africa fame. We toured the house and grounds and immersed ourselves in the life and times of this extraordinary woman.
We enjoyed our African trip immensely and had many experiences, but we find our thoughts keep coming back to Anthony’s family and the many other people like them. They do not have the financial means to obtain the conveniences which we find so necessary, but they are an extremely content and carefree people. It makes one realize that all the trappings of modern Western life are not essential, nor are they indicators of happiness. We returned home with the thought that what really matters in life is family and a spiritual sense of wellness.