Heri Za Mwaka Mpya

Everyone at 

Kenyan Community Initiative Support

wish all who support us, and all who we support

A Happy New Year

Dare We Hope?

We have just received an enquiry regarding our plans to build a small residential unit at the Twiga Children's Centre, something that has always been on the "To-Do" list, but which has never had the funding.

As we had a change of direction regarding residential care of our children, we now need a lot fewer places than originally envisaged. We are going to offer support to family units where there is a capable adult, rather than just take the children into care automatically. But we still have six children who are either total orphans or totally abandoned by parents. These need residential care that, at present, we cannot offer.

So, last night, I was re-drawing building plans, and sending out requests for costings of materials. I have never constructed a building in my life, not even a garden shed, so I am bound to have forgotten stuff - like window frames and doors, pretty fundamental really!

Luckily, Vincent, the other director has build things in Kenya and is well used to traditional building methods, so I passed my initial workings-out to him.

We are planning on two "huts", each with 4 sets of bunks. The existing hut is split into three rooms, which will become the kitchen, matron's quarters and dining/study area. I have designed in a shower block, but we will need to build toilets. We have already started a deep-pit latrine, so we are wll on the way.

Using traditional building materials should cut costs considerably, but we want concrete floors and corrugated sheet roofing.

Of course, we will need to buy the bunks, a unit for each child to keep clothes and personal belongings, as well as furniture for the matron's quarters.

Then there are the running costs, food, wages for the adult supervisor (or matron), electricity (dare we?), clothing, books, etc.

But I will worry about these costs once the huts have been built. Let's cross one bridge at the time!

The Kids Cook a Meal

It was Sunday. About 15 children were at the Twiga centre, where they were letting off steam and remembering what it was like to be a child for a while.

But they were hungry. They had been given sugar cane, as much to help clean their teeth as to give them the energy from the sugar itself, but they were still hungry.

We were about to find a couple of volunteers to cook a meal when Aloys (13) said that he wanted to cook, as long as someone provided the ingredients. He was despatched to the local shop clutching a Ksh 200 note and soon came back with kale, tomatoes, onions and a bit of meat - probably goat. We already had maize flour in stock and he set about getting a fire going.

Looking for firewood was just the excuse that two of the younger lads to shin up the tall trees on the plot. These trees don't have branches below about 20 feet. They literally shinned up!

Firewood collected, stones placed to make a fireplace, Dennis, kneeling down to blow the flames into life and Aloys started to prepare the Ugali. Meanwhile, some of the girls were in the hut preparing the vegetables. But what was going on outside was far more entertaining!

Aloys had not placed the stones well and as he stirred the ugali, and it thickened, he could not keep the pot still. Dennis, on his knees, cheek on the ground was still blowing on the fire, but had to jump up to grab the pot to steady it, using leaves and bits of card to protect his fingers.

As soon as the ugali was ready, the girls turfed Aloys out of the cooking area. He was not going to get all the credit for the meal.

Soon, sukuma wiki was on the go and not long afterwards, the girls were serving up.

Baba Mzungu is not keen on sukuma wiki and ugali, so was not served. However, as soon as Aloys finished his meal, he shot back outside, fanned the fire and made himself busy. Soon, he presented Baba Mzungu with two hard-boiled eggs and salt.

The boy is very thoughtful. Having asked Vincent if Baba Mzungu took ugali and being told that he didn't, he had made a meal for one. OK, two boiled eggs is not a lot, but with a budget of Ksh 200 and 15 mouths to feed, it was a nice thought.

But then, that's is what we would expect from Aloys.

Newbury Freegle - Thank You from Twiga

I was not disappointed when I arrived at Twiga with toys and games for the children! I will be thanking people personally when I can get the details back (my laptop died in Kenya), but in the meantime, the children have asked me to say a big thank you to everyone who donated toys, games and clothes.

In particular, we were given a giant snakes and ladders and a junior twister game, both of which were big hits with the whole age-range (3 to 16).

Several of the boys also asked to be taught chess. Many are already accomplished draughts players but as we had been given a set with both games, they wanted to try the game they knew nothing about.

I have to confess that, other than the movement of the pieces, I do not know a lot more than they do. I had to explain that it was a game of strategy, then left them to it. It kept them occupied for hours, with potential players staring over the shoulders of those actually involved in a match.

Toy cars and Barbies were distributed to the younger children. One little girl braided and re-braided the hair on a Barbie, each time running around showing everyone the "new" hairstyle - another hit!

So, all in all, Christmas came early at Twiga. Clothes were given to those most in need and money donated went towards the swing and food.

Oh, and we were also given some vegetable seed. The children were introduced to seed sowing on my last visit, so they attacked the chore with enthusiasm. Before I left, there were peas and bean plants up to 2" tall growing on the Twiga plot.

We also handed out seed to the children who had a plot at their home. I visited them just before I left and saw the loving care these children have put into sowing their seed.

So, this trip was another success. I left a lot of very happy children, which, if you saw the living conditions of some of them, you would wonder just how they survive!

Of course, they survive due to the untiring work of the Twiga volunteers, and Vincent and his wife, Abigael.

Swing Low, Swing High

I had thought it a good idea to put up some sort of swing - after all the Twiga Centre is surrounded by trees. A simple rope with a tyre on the end would be simple enough ...

But we don't do simple at Twiga. Vincent's dad, although a farmer, is also an accomplished woodworker, and what he can do with a piece of wood and a panga (machete) is a wonder to see.

He had cleaned of a tree trunk for an upright, another for the crossbar, and shaped the joints using just his panga. He also made the seat from a plank of wood he just happened to have lying around.

All we needed to buy was the rope!


And the kids? We can't keep them off it, although I am happy to say that there have been no arguements as to whose turn it is. They are too good-natured.


So we say a big thank you to Vincent's father, who is always there to help when needed.

When Little Faces Light Up

Without wanting to wish my life away, I am really looking forward to Saturday, when I will be at the Twiga Centre with a majority, if not all the kids on the register.

On my first visit, I took toothbrushes and pencils (with a rubber on the end) for the children, and their were smiles from all of them, so what will the reaction be, especially of the younger ones, when they see cars, dolls and games for them to play with.

There will also be a selection of clothes for the most needy.

But it is the little ones I want to see when they see the toys. Many will not even know what a toy is - they have never had anything other than sticks to play with.

While I am there, and if I can find a suitable tree, we will be putting up a tyre on a rope to swing on, and I think we can also make a see-saw, if the plank I saw last time is still on the plot.

Yes, it may be a bit early for Christmas, but I won't be hearing any complaints, I am certain of that!

Generous People Will Make It Christmas At Twiga

Since the beginning of 2008, I have been collecting old cell phones for sale in Kenya. Last year, this effort raised enough to buy all our kids a new pair of leather schools shoes!

I have continued to collect cell phones, but they are becoming rarer. So I put out a plea for toys and games, as we approach Christmas - and my departure for Kenya.

Orphaned kids in Kenya don't do Christmas. They go to church, but other than that, Christmas Day is just another day to survive.

Anyway, I just want to say a big thank you to Sophie, 10 years old, who lives in Newbury. She has given up her complete collection of Barbie dolls, 15 of them! Her little brothers gave 4 or 5 cars and a few other bits and bobs.

Anne, also from Newbury, gave us a load of cuddly toys, and some games, such as chess, draughts and card games and a junior Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

Mia, a South African, also from Newbury gave us some games and some seed for our vegetable plot.

Our kids at Twiga are going to have one very good Christmas, even if it will be a little early - I will be back in the UK for the day.

But we still need money to feed them (and to build the much needed children's home), so if anyone is feeling generous, or wants to do some fund-raising, please feel free. Donations can be made with the PayPal button in the right margin.

Also posted on Baba Mzungu's blog

On the BBC - again

I have been asked to "appear" as a guest on Sarah Walker's afternoon programme on BBC Radio Berkshire to talk about Kenya and what I am trying to do there.

Sarah has a slot which her version of Desert Island Disks. But on the dates she proposed, I will actually be in Kenya. So we have fixed the date as the first weekday after my return to the UK - 14th December.

At least everything will be fresh in my mind, although, judging from previous returns from Kenya, everything will still be a jumble in my head - no change there then!

Oh well, at least I will be able to promote KCIS and the Twiga Children's Centre, and all publicity is good publicity, as they say, although I have my reservations about that.

Next Trip To Kenya - Official

After a near heart-attack when I checked air fares from Heathrow to Nairobi [again], only to find that KQ had put their prices up by £101 in a week, I scrabbled around the Internet to check prices at the other carriers who make a direct flight.

Bless you, Virgin Atlantic. Your prices were the same as last week, and as I was making my booking on-line, was very happy to see that the return trip was at a reasonable hour. On my last trip, the plane left at 9:15am, which meant being at JKIA at 7.00am, so, to avoid traffic, I spent the night there - not recommended.

I didn't even bother to check BA as they are nearly always more expensive.

So, I will be leaving here on 11 November and arriving at JKIA at 9:05am on 12th - give or take a few minutes.

Taxi to wherever I have to pick up the shuttle to Kisii, where I hope to arrive between 16:00 and 17:00.

So, now it is a question of careful packing, as I have a lot of children's clothes and toys to take out, as well as video and still photography equipment. I rather hope I might get the chance to see some animals, other than chickens, goats and lizards this time!

Next Visit to Kenya

Here we go again

The weather may be the best we have had in England for a few months, but I am forsaking it for the sun (and rain?) of the Kisii Highlands ... again.

I have found in the past that in order to get to Kenya, I have to set a date and then raise the money. If I just wait until I have the money, I would never get there. It is rather like starting a family. If you wait until you can afford to have children, you will never have them!

So, I have set my leaving date, 10th November, so I will be in Kisii by the afternoon of 11th - whoopee!

There is a lot to do when I get there. First, we have the KCIS projects to start of continue, then I have to resurrect my business there. It is not dead, but rather comatose and needs and injection of enthusiasm - at least enthusiasm doesn't cost anything.

I would have liked to have the money to hire a vehicle while I am out there. A lot of people have asked me to visit their projects, in Kisumu, Kericho, Nakuru, but I suppose I will have to put up with matatu trips, unless someone coughs up a few quid before I leave. I also wanted to take some of the Twiga kids to see Lake Victoria.

Oh well, when in Rome ...

Trees, Charcoal and Rain

Once again I read that Africa is suffering because people are cutting trees for fuel and to produce charcoal. Generally, the charcoal production is illegal, but this can be sorted out with a back-hander - no change there then.
From what I have seen and heard on my trips to Kenya, the solar cooker, which can be made for pennies, are very efficient, but do not fit in with the East African psyche, they take too long to cook a meal. From my observations, it seems that Kenyans like to prepare and eat with little or no gap in between. So they need an instant heat source to cook on, wood, charcoal, kerosene or, if they are modern (and can afford it) butane gas.
So, trees will continue to be decimated until an alternative instant fuel is found, that is acceptable to those who have to use it.
You can read an article on the BBC website here

I have been working on methane collector design for a while now and have come up with a version that is easy and cheap to construct, and easy to use.
My contention is that if butane is acceptable, then so is methane. The difference is that methane occurs naturally, and to collect it is a simple matter. It is FREE!
Looking at its use ecologically, burning methane forms water and CO2, which is a good thing. Why? Because methane is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2, so it is far more acceptable to have CO2 floating around rather than methane, isn't it?
But most people living in rural East Africa are not interested in that, they are too busy surviving.
So, what about the charcoal makers? They will not be happy seeing their livlihood disappearing as people convert to methane for cooking.
So, show them how to make methane collectors, install them and maintain them. Yes, they need maintaining. A 45 gallon methane collector will produce gas for about six months before it needs refurbishing. But, the by-product is fertiliser, just what is needed on a shamba.
So, to recap:

• Methane is free
• Using methane saves trees
• A methane collector produces fertiliser
• Using methane helps to eliminate a potent greenhouse gas that would normally escape to atmosphere.
• Methane is a clean fuel, so there are no particulates to irritate and inflame eyes and lungs.
• Charcoal producers can be easily trained to make, install and maintain methane collectors, so they will not lose their income. In fact, with a little persuasion, maybe they will even promote the use of methane.

Methane can also be used as an alternative to petrol, so it will run a generator or water pump.

What is the next step?
KCIS has produced a working model. We can produce free methane. We are willing to spread the word.
We have contacted various charities and NGOs who are supposed to be interested in saving trees and protecting the water catchment areas. What is their response?
NOTHING!
If you are interested in saving trees in Kenya, contact us. We will work with anyone who is serious about making people's lives better in Kenya, or even East Africa.
Also published at Baba Mzungu’s blog

BBC Feature

I am happy to report that although the broadcast was some time ago, by broadcasting standards, KCIS is still featured on the BBC Radio Berkshire website under the 'Faith' section.

There is still the audio slide show, narrated by Nejra Cehic, as well as the two features that were broadcast on 9th and 16th of August, featuring the voices of some of our children, notably Aloys, Edwin, Esther and Dennis, and of course, our local director, Vincent.

In the broadcasts, Nejra visits the home of Aloys and Nyachuba to see just how primitive their living conditions are. She also visits the site of the Twiga Centre where she sees the children's efforts to grow their own vegetables. The children can be heard playing and singing in the background.

These broadcasts give a very good audio idea of life for orphans and needy children in rural Kenya.

It is really worth a listen.

KCIS on the BBC, Part 2

Last Sunday saw the second and last feature by BBC Radio Berkshire on KCIS and theTwiga Children's Centre in Kisii on the Clare Catford show. It can be heard on iPlayer here, rolling it forward to about 2:37:00

It featured the voices of some of the children, Aloys, Dennis, Edwin and Esther, as well as a group of the children singing.

The BBC Radio Berkshire website also features an audio slideshow and a short writeup about KCIS.

KCIS on the BBC - Part 1

It didn't last long, about 4½ minutes, but it was very good - the first broadcast about our organisation.

The recordings were made, edited and put together by Nejra Cehic, a BBC researcher, and I think she has done a first class job. The only let-down was me, reading from a script - well judge for yourselves. Click on the link below and foward the player to 2:44:00 or thereabouts.

Clare Catford

The next episode will be next Sunday (16th August) at about 8:40, although this could change. Watch this space for an update.!

A Plug on the BBC

We at KCIS have had a bit of luck (and let's face it, we need some!)

A researcher at our local BBC radio station travels to different parts of Africa with a charitable organisation during her main holiday, and this year, she was sent to ... Kisii.

A colleague of hers at the radio station had been following the blog or Twitter and pointed this out to the researcher, who then contacted David and a meeting was set up before she left.

Once there, she met up with Vincent and Abigael as well as many of the Twiga kids. She recorded, interviewed and observed. The kids sang and Aloys recited a poem in Swahili. or the rest, we will have to wait until the transmission.

The feature will be broadcast in two parts on the Theological programme, this Sunday (10th August) and next. The first will be cut and edited sound bites, and the following week David will be speaking about the ongoing and future KCIS projects including, of course, the Twiga Children's Centre - if he doesn't dry up. What do they call it? Corpsing?

Of course, the other possible problem is David's potential for verbosity. Maybe corpsing would be a better option.

Oh well we will see - or hear - next week.

They Don't Just Work Hard ...

They play hard too.

I have just posted a slide show of the Twiga kids having a couple of hours play time. Just look at how they are enjoying themselves!

Video on YouTube

One of our many projects in Kenya was to make a vegetable plot for the Twiga kids (orphaned and abandoned children). This we have now done, or rather, the kids did it under our supervision, and to find more enthusiasm would be difficult!

Many photos and some video were taken and have been compiled into a video, posted on YouTube.

Take a look here

Catch-up

I have just spent a few weeks at Kisii, with a few visits to the site that will, one day, be the site of our orphanage.

At the moment, it is just a plot on the wooded side of a hill, very pleasant, with a little hut on the site. This will serve as the start of our project to build a home for about 40 to 50 children in need. We presently have 37 children on the register, but not all need residential help.

But, as ever with children, our first priority is food. So we have prepared an area of our land for growing vegetables. I say we, the kids did most of the hard work, and I have never seen so much enthusiasm, bearing in mind that some of these children have to cultivate their own little plots to grow their food just to survive.

Over the space of one weekend, a couple of hours each day, the plot was cleared of weed, tilled, and sifted by hand. Then seeds for nine different vegetables were sowed.

The following weekend, we visited the site, hoping that the seed had sprouted and we were not disappointed. We also sowed the seed from a butternut squash on this second weekend and I have been told that they have also taken.

The kids then built a fence around the seed beds to protect their seedlings from marauding chickens, goats, etc.

Since I have returned to the UK, I have been told that the butternut squash has sprouted and the other seedlings are being transplanted to grow.

So, phase 1 of our children's home project is off the ground, or rather, in the ground.

Now we need to rasie the money to build the residential block.

Twiga Children's Centre

On my recent trip to Kisii, I visited the houses where some of our kids live.

Aloys (13) and Nyachuba (10)

These brave kids lost their mother a while ago. Their father remarried and moved out of the area, leaving them to fend for themselves.

They live in a two-room hut, living room and bedrom. Thre is a smaller hut which serves as the kitchen.

Aloys, the boy in this pair, milks his cow and sells the milk to buy food for the two of them. He cooks over an open grate in the kitchen. There are few utensils and some of those he has, he made himslf.

Both children attend school, and despite their desparately hard life, they both attain good marks.

Aloys, at 13 years old, has to act as father and mother to Nyachuba, administering medication if she needs it, etc.

I was astounded, when he was at the centre, preparing the soil for the vegetable patch. He was the hardest worker there. He stripped off his shirt and his hard life can be seen in his thin, sinewy body. He has muscles that many twice his age could only dream of.

But why should a kid have to work so hard that he has the body of a fully developed athlete?

Both kids are very cheerful, always helpful and rarely without a smile. In the case of Aloys, he also has a very cheeky disposition.

Their dream? To help build the Twiga centre so that they can move in and enjoy a little comfort.

Edwin (14) and Dennis (12)

Cousins to Aloys and Nyachuba, these brothers had a similar fate when their mother died. Luckily, they have an older sister who took them in, despite the fact that she is a teeneage single mother of two very small children.

Edwin is open, cheerful, helpful, and ready for hard work. Dennis is more withdrawn, but once he comes out of his shell, his rare smile lights up his usually serious face.

Edwin and Dennis put in more than their fair share of work to prepare the vegetable plot, working very hard to clear the weeds, prepare the soil and build the animal-proof fence.

They also want to help to build the Twiga centre so that they can move in and benefit.

Normal Service will be resumed ...

I am in Kenya at the moment (until 19 June) and my Internet connection is such that I will only be updating Baba Mzungu until I get back to the UK.

http://dadmzungu.blogspot.com/ is being updated daily (more or less) with everything that is going on here in Kisii.

Hip, Hip Hooray - I'm On My Way!

After several aborted attempts to arrange my next trip to Kenya, it looks as if I have finally nailed a date to the calendar.

It has been difficult. I have to consider my aged mother, who I look after when I am in the UK. Then, although this is a working trip, I want to be able to see my girlfriend, who is presently abroad in Tanzania on business. Then, of course, I have to make sure I have enough money to do what I want to do when I get to Kenya.

So, Mum is sorted, my girlfriend will have returned home by mid-May and I have an, albeit small, pot of money, which should get me through a month in Kenya as long as I am very careful and don't spoil the kids at the orphanage. But there won't be enough to hire even a small car, so it will be matatu from Nairobi to Kisii, coach from Kisii to Malindi and another coach from Malindi to Nairobi - a nice round trip!

It is a shame, because taking interesting photos en route when using public transport is not easy. they will not stop the bus just so that I can take a picture of a giraffe or something - never mind, this is a working trip.

I hope to spend a few days in Nairobi so that I can visit a client, Rhino Ark, to discuss the way forward for their website, but this is their silly season, with the Rhino Charge taking place at the end of May. Maybe I could get to see that? No, probably not.

I have made many contacts in Kenya on various social networking sites and if I accept all invitations, I will also be visiting Homa Bay, Kisumu, Kericho, Machakos, Mombasa, ... etc.

That should be a lot of fun without a car! Oh well, maybe fate will smile upon me and provide me with one when I get there - somehow.

So, the 2nd weekend of May should find me at JKIA, loaded down with bags of toys, laptops, cameras, oh, and a few clothes, I suppose.

Fighting Malaria

Having carried out as much desk-bound research as is possible on MMS (see previous post), I have now found that the wormwood tree can also be used to treat malaria.

Apparently - and I have not tried it - an infusion made with the leaves of the wormwood can cure malaria, and that propriety drugs are only synthetic versions of this natural remedy.

If anyone has documented proof (not anecdotes, please) that wormwood is effective against malaria, please contact me at david@kcisupport.plus.com

Thank you.

MMS - What is it?

Now, I may be a bit cynical, or I maybe I am very cynical. That is not for me to say, but when I see a product with the word "Miracle" in its title, my suspicions are raised.

And when a product with "miracle" in its name comes out of the USA, I just think, "Yeah! Another wind-up!".

But MMS has got me thinking. MMS is Miracle Mineral Supplement, which doesn't really explain anything. It was discovered by an American, Jim Humble, a few years ago while he was traipsing through the South American jungle, prospecting for gold or oil or something. Two of his colleagues went down with malaria and they had no medication.

So Mr. Humble made up a solution using his water purification tablets, thinking that if they could kill pathogens in the water, maybe they could kill pathogens in the body - and it worked. It worked surprisingly quickly, so, when he got back home, he started on his long path of research into the effects of the purification tablets (sodium chlorite) on pathogens in the body.

The long and short of it is that Jim found that mixing sodium chlorite with citric acid makes chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant used in swimming pools, abattoirs, meat cleaning, etc. However, this compound is, to say the least, unstable and has to be made up at the time it is needed.

He has carried out extensive trials in East Africa and South America, in areas where malaria is rife and has found that ClO2, or MMS is very efficient. As an aside, he also found that it would attack other pathogens and viruses in the body, whilst leaving "friendly" bacteria alone.

I had to try this for myself, not because I have any known dangerous pathogens in my own body, but i needed to know if it did any harm.

I can say with authority that the compound tastes awful - no, it is worse than that. Imagine drinking bleach. Yes, that's what it tastes like. But it is not chlorine and does not harm the body in the way that chlorine would.

But apart from that, it did me no harm. And I found that instead of using water to dilute the compound, using apple juice, as recommended by Mr. Humble, takes some of the awful taste away.

Now, as I said, I didn't have any particular illness I wanted to cure. However, I did suffer with chronic back pain, caused by two damaged disks just above the pelvis. I got sciatica on a regular basis and I was in constant pain.

This next bit is stupid, ridiculous, but true. After a week of a low dosage course of MMS, the back pain eased and then disappeared altogether. I cannot explain it, but after15 years of constant pain, I was pain-free.

That was at the end of last year (2008). I stopped taking MMS just before Christmas and now, in March 2009, the pain is just beginning to return, so I will put myself on the same low dose course and will report what happens in this blog.

Now, about Jim Humble. Jim has not made any real money out of MMS. He has written a couple of books which he sells for profit, but he will give anyone who wants it instruction on how to make and use MMS - for free. He wants MMS to be used to eradicate malaria. Why?

He says that thousands of work days are lost through malaria. If MMS can get workers back to work within a couple of days instead of a week, people will lose less of their earnings and African countries will benefit.

This is a bit simplistic, but in essence, true.

So where do we go from here? There are a couple of organisations that I know of in Kenya that promote MMS, under different names, and from what I can gather, the results are good. But these are very small organisations working in small communities. If this stuff works, and I believe it does, it needs to be produced locally and distributed as far and as wide as possible.

That's a Rash Idea

My imagination has been running away with me - again!

OK, so the idea is this - I don't remember suffering a fever at the time ...

On our plot in Kisii, Kenya, there is a two-room hut, not a cottage, not a bungalow, a hut, made of sticks, stones and mud. At least the roof is corrugated steel. There are proper windows and doors, with security grilles.

There is a corridor running front to back between the two rooms with doors to the outside at both ends.

As the hut is built on the side of a hill, the back faces a small cliff and there is an open passageway running between the hut and this cliff. There is also a small appendage which could be used as a "kitchen".

So, my idea is ... to live there for a while ~ no electricity, no running water.

But, while I am there, I want to carry out some minor improvements.

First off, I will install water, with a tank on the cliff behind the hut, to give a head. This will supply an outside shower and maybe running water to the kitchen.

Second, a home-made portaloo. I want to use the waste to collect the methane, which will eventually power a generator and a water pump (there is a river at the bottom of the plot).

Then there is the land itself. On top of the cliff, the land is a lot flatter than in front of the hut. It is very fertile and I reckon, from memory, there is enough to grow crops to feed all the kids on the orphanage register, with some left over to sell.

A by-product of the methane production is fertiliser. This together with composting will keep the soil rich, which will be necessary as I want two or three crops a year - it rains all year round in Kisii.

Linking into these improvements, I will be experimenting with using the sun to warm water for washing, and water filtration and purification. I also seem to remember building a food cooler when I was at school - but that was in 19 - yes well, it was a long time ago.

To finish off the place, I will make a BBQ out of ½ an oil barrel, so that the kids can sample the delights of a burger or hot dog (you know the type, burnt on the outside, raw in the middle).

What I had forgotten when dreaming up all this is that I am approaching 60, I am not the fittest person in the world, and I am mildly disabled. Further, Kisii is at 5,700 feet and oxygen is a bit thin.

Still, it will be an experience and it will allow me to tinker with the project designs and get them to work to their best effect.

Wish me luck!

Also posted on BabaMzungu blog.

Water, water everywhere ...

... well, maybe not in Kenya. But it strikes me that a lot is wasted.

I have been reading a paper produced by the Peace Corps, where people have been describing how they use water every day, and one phrase struck me:

"... only the rich can afford to collect and store rainwater for personal use."

This was written by an American living and working in Maasailand, Kenya. And it got me thinking.

Where I stay in Kisii, water is brought up from a source and delivered in 25 litre drums, which are emptied into our 100 litre storage drum. It needs to be boiled for drinking.

But, when it rains in Kisii, the heavens open. The rain hits the corrugated iron roof and the noise is deafening. My host, Vincent dashes outside and strategically places bowls and buckets under the water gushing off the roof, but most is lost.

When I am in Nairobi, I stay with a family in a suburb of 3 and 4 bedroomed houses with running water and electricity (when either is working). The rains fall here just as violently and pours off the roof into the compound. Nothing is done to collect this free water.

I thought of all the houses I have visited in Kenya. Most are under corrugated roofs, which are perfect water collection and channelling devices. But none have guttering to collect the water.

Reading other Peace Corps reports, it appears that there are communities that collect rainwater during the rainy season(s) to supplement their water supply, but imagine if simple, and most importantly, cheap guttering could be provided. Households that enjoy any rain at all could have more water at their disposal, especially those living in the highlands to the East and West of the Rift Valley, who enjoy all-year-round rain.

So, fitting guttering to a "tin" roof is easy enough, but what about thatch? Can a thatched roof have a gutter?

The answer is yes, although it is suggested that it be larger so as not to become blocked by any stray straw that may wash down.

Of course, fixing guttering to a round hut will need a bit of thought, but where there's a will, there's a way.

Where do I get cheap guttering in Kenya? Here in the UK, plastic guttering is (relatively) cheap, and comes in all shapes and colours - unnecessary really in Kenya. But I have yet to see this sort of guttering in Kenya, although I am sure it is available.

A simpler solution is to make "V" guttering from two planks, nailed together. This should not cost a lot per house, but the down pipe could be a problem. Still, I have a few ideas about that and will try them out once I am on site.

Of course, the collection container must be covered so as to prevent mosquitoes breeding. The last thing we want to encourage is these little blood-suckers to breed right next to a house!

It is all a question of trial and error, adaptation to individual needs, and education!

Keeping the kids amused ...

We told the kids to gather at the plot on Saturday for a 'Fun Day'. And it wasn't until after they were told that I put my mind to finding things to amuse them.

Boys are easy, well most are. Give them a ball and they are away, football, volleyball, whatever, they are running, shouting, playing in a team - they are happy.

But what about the girls? I got a couple of hula hoops (that's all they had in the shop), and some skipping ropes. But it didn't look like enough for about a dozen girls ranging from 3 to 16 years.

Then I had a brainwave (or was it a brain storm?)

I bought some macaroni, paints and a ball of string. Before the big day, I showed six-year-old Benta how to make a necklace. She was thrilled - a good sign - and spent a whole day, carefully painting the tubes of pasta and threading them onto enough string to make a necklace that touched the ground when she was standing up! But she was happy with her efforts.

On the big day, she was so important, because she was showing all the other girls what to do to make their own necklaces.

It was a big success, except that Aloys, one of the cheekier boys, complained.

"You are wasting good food," he announced, barely concealing his grin.

But I was ready for him for once.

"No, we're not. The paint is non-toxic, so you can eat it, and you can eat the painted pasta, so, the girls have a necklace and a meal at the same time."

It is not often I can get one over this bunch of street-wise survivalists that we call our orphans.

I am convinced that I could learn a lot from any one of them.

Next time, I will take paper and glue as well as a variety of shapes for the younger kids to make pictures. I wonder if I can find non-toxic, edible glue?

Kenya Media Watch

The author of the above blog, who is based in the Kisii area, posted a blog relating to the work we are doing in Kenya, as well as posting a comment on our blog (see below).

I don't have aproblem with that, but when I wanted to post a comment on his blog, I found I couldn't. So I am posting my comment here.

Time to Start Questioning Some Forms of Charity

I would agree about the problem of fatalism, and it is not restricted to Kisii. For this reason, we will be targeting children in schools, teaching them about malaria control.

Further, we are starting in Kisii because that is where most of us live. However, once the systems have been built, tweaked and proven, we will be expanding our operation. Other communities in Nyanza, Bungoma, Machakos and Coast as well as Cameroon, Malawi and Sierra Leone have shown an interest in what we are doing.

And yes, £500 is not a lot of money. But then, we don't have major overheads, no directors to pay, we use public transport. Personally, I pay my own air fares and living costs when I am in Kenya. And as we state everywhere, our systems are designed to be made from scrap and discarded materials, which are free or very cheap.

Can you spare a few pennies?

We are trying hard to improve the lives of many orphans and some of the poorest families (usually a grandparent looking after their orphaned grandchildren) in Kisii, Kenya.

We are ready to start several projects:

• Growing our own food
• Clean, safe drinking water
• Alternative, clean cooking fuel
• Home-grown fertiliser
• Malaria control
  

These are not just ideas. These are real, worked out and costed projects.

But we need funds.

If every person who follows u on Twitter donated £6, we would be able to get started.

We only need about £500 to get started, so how about it? There is a PayPal donation button in the column on the right.

Make a difference to the life of a child in Kenya. Donate a few pounds today!

I am overwhelmed

Since pushing to raise the profile of our organisation KCIS, I am overwhelmed by the amount of support I have received from people - people I know, people I don't know, people on Social Network sites, all sorts. We received pledges, not enormous amounts, but all together , they would get us started.

I became very positive, something I find difficult in February, in the UK, in a grey and chilly climate. But positive I am.

But, we have not received a bean. I checked our PayPal account. Not a single pledge has been received ~ what am I doing wrong?

But at least I won the Lotto last night, not the big prize, but £25. That will go straight into the pot. Maybe this is a start?

C'mon people and tweeple. Let's give some people in Kenya clean, pure drinking water, clean cooking fuel, "home-grown" fertiliser ...

Kenyan Community Initiative Support
Helping People to Help Themselves

Scrapheap Challenge

Our project, Scrapheap Challenge has been put together to cover all the ideas and prototypes that have been designed to make low-technology equipment largely from scrap or discarded materials.

So far, we have:

• Water filter and purifier
• Methane collector (with fertiliser by-product as a bonus)
  
• Rainwater collection
• Cheap bio-diesel
• Hydrogen cell

All these systems will be built and tested at out River Cottage Kenya plot in Kisii - as soon as we have funds to carry out this work.

When we have proved that they work, with tweeking as needed, their concepts will be passed on to other NGOs and communities throughout Kenya and further on, depending upon how successful we are in promoting them (and us!).

You can help by spreading the word and/or making a donation using the PayPal button on the right.

Please, please help us.

River Cottage, Kenya

The River Cottage project at KCIS has a plot in Kisii, on which we are going to grow food for the Twiga Children's Home. Presently, we have bananas, pineapples and avocados, and we will be looking at alternatives to the usual crops grown in the area. We will be trying out keyhole gardening and other high yield ideas.

I am also hoping that we can form a pool, fed by the river, to raise Tilapia fish, which are fast-breeding and very good to eat.

Any surplus food will be sold to put some money into the KCIS fund.

The older children at Twiga are raring to get started although clearing the plot and preparing the land for crop growing is going to be quite a task.

We will be using fertiliser produced by our methane generator (see Scrapheap Challenge)

Can You Help?

Our Wish List

As you will have seen in our previous post, we are ready to get started with our various projects - and a few that haven't been mentioned - which will help improve the lives of the kids at Twiga, the community around Kisii and hopefully, if successful, we will be able to work with other NGOs and charities to introduce the best to a wider world.

But we need stuff. We need gardening tools, spades, forks, hoes, rakes. We could do with a vehicle. Although this is a big wish, if we could borrow something that can carry equipment and tools to the site, it would be great.

But most of all, we need money! But, not a lot.

I reckon that, if we were lent a vehicle, we could get things started on £500. If, on the other hand we have to hire a vehicle, we would need nearer £1,000.

If you can help us raise some funds, or advertise our cause and website please contact us.

Thank you.

Ready to Roll ...

We are ready to put some of our design concepts into practice - at last!

We have a small plot in Kisii with a hut on it and a river on the border, perfect for an experimental shamba.

Apart from actually growing food for the kids at the Twiga Home, we will be harvesting methane to be used for cooking and running a small generator. We will also be purifying water straight from the river, producing pure clean drinking water using a system designed to be built from scrap and cheap materials.

If we can get the raw materials, we will also be producing bio-diesel and a hydrogen production system for petrol cars (it doesn't replace petrol, but cuts consumption by up to 50%).

We are in the fund-searching phase of the operation. Anyone with ideas as to who we could approach, please let us know.

An Alternative to Wood and Charcoal?

(... or even kerosene)

Methane. It is a gas found everywhere, especially in the vicinity of cattle and other herbivores. Noting special there, then.

But it can be "manufactured" and harnessed at no cost (other than setting up), and can be used for cooking. It does not produce smoke like wood, charcoal or kerosene, so will not irritate the eyes and lungs of people using it.

Trees do not need to be cut down to produce it, so the local environment is not decimated. Trees help to keep topsoil intact. Get rid of the trees and you eventually lose topsoil.

Methane can also be used to run a petrol motor, such as a power generator. Other than the cost of the generator (6,500 shillings), this could give free electricity - not a lot, admittedly, but enough for electric lights - no more candles, hurricane lamps or batteries.

Or, maybe it could run a petrol-powered water pump at a borehole, or to pump water from a river to a community.

But what is needed to make methane?

Waste. Animal waste (droppings) and vegetable waste (husks, outer leaves of vegetables), in fact most anything that rots down. If placed in an oxygen-free container, methane will be produced.

It is easy enough to produce. It is clean to use, and it does not rely on the sun, although the collector needs reasonable warmth to work. Most places in Kenya are warm enough.

Cooking on methane is similar to cooking over wood or charcoal. It is a lot easier to make the change to methane than it is to start using other alternatives such as a solar cooker.

KCIS has now designed a methane collector that is made, for the most part, out of scrap or other used materials (naturally), so it is cheap.

We are just waiting to prove it and then pass on the technology to all.

Cheap, Clean Drinking Water

A precious commodity in Kenya, in town as well in rural areas. Drinking water has to be boiled, even if it comes out of the tap, and in the area of Nairobi where I stay, it tastes earthy.

That got the Tool-using Think-maker in me to look at a way to filter and purify water so that it was not only safe to drink, but also palatable.

Of course, according to my philosophy, anything I design has to be made from scrap or discarded materials, or at the least, readily available cheap materials, and I have finally finished!

The purification side of things uses the Sun. This is well-known, but little used technology. When water left in the sun for 6 hours, all pathogens are killed. The filtration bit is just as easy to use, and is effective in removing any foreign body larger than 100 microns, so that's eggs, grit, larvae, etc.

The final build depends upon available material, but can be easily modified to account for local local materials.

Just need a bit of funding to get this project out into the big wide World - well, Kenya, anyway.

Exchange Rate

With the UK pound in free-fall against most currencies, it is getting increasingly expensive to send money from the UK to Kenya.

I read that the Kenyan shilling is taking a bettering, but I see that it is more or less holding its own against the US$, although it is losing against the Euro.

I also see in the daily Nation that I can get a much better rate in kenya than I can in the UK. I really don't understand currency exchange.

All I want to do is pay the rent on my house, without it going up £3 every month through no fault of my own.

Our Goals for 2009

From Baba Mzungu

As regular readers of this blog already know, we have several projects just waiting to be started up, but with the food crisis gathering pace in Kenya, I have had to juggle the priorities about a bit.

We have our plot just outside Kisii, a particularly fertile corner of Kenya, which is doing nothing worthwhile at the moment. We are going to start our River Cottage project here.

Our priority at the moment must be to produce food. With luck, we will be able to produce a surplus which can be sold.

We have a band of kids who are more than willing to work, but as most are 9 to 12 years old, and the soil is never really dry as it rains all year round in Kisii, I can just imagine the state they will be in after a short while, digging and preparing the soil for planting - filthy!

So, we need a means of letting them clean off afterwards. Needless to say, there is no tap water at the plot and the river at the edge of the plot is down a 1:5 path, so carrying up enough water to wash of half a dozen muddy kids would be a big effort.

So, we need water collection off the roof of the existing hut and anywhere else we can find. Then, behind the hut we can build a simple shower with bamboo screens.

All this can be done at a minimal cost, and falls in quite nicely with another project title, Scrapheap Challenge.

There is a UK charity in Kisii who gives out gardening tools to "worthy causes". I just hope that an orphanage trying to grow its own food will be considered a worthy cause!

Food Crisis in Kenya Pt. II

Courtesy of Daily Nation 12/1/09

Kenya to declare food emergency

Here we go again!!

The BBC reports that the Kenyan Government is to declare a national emergency due to drought.

President Mwai Kibaki's government warned that nearly 10 million people - more than a quarter of the population - were at risk from food shortages.

But even where food is in reasonable supply, prices have already shot through the roof during the past couple of months and we are struggling to feed our kids, despite the fact that Kisii is situated in one of the most fertile areas of Kenya, supply and demand, I suppose.

Food shortages are believed to be caused also by suppliers hoarding, forcing the prices up - some people are willing to make a quick buck out of other people's suffering - not just in Kenya, but the world over.

We need help to buy food and also to get the River Cottage Kenya farm up and running. I am sure that we could be self-sufficient by this time next year with a little help.

Can you help us? Do you know someone who can?

Shifting target? Or just expanding?

This was originally posted on my other blog, but as it relates to KCIS work, I have copied it here:

I have been approached by a businessman in Cameroon to shift the malaria-control project to Cameroon. He reckons that he could find financial backing for the project, and that is tempting.

But I can't do that. My loyalty is with Kenya. Kenya is my love, my mistress. Kenya is my second home. So, when the project gets off the ground, it has to be in Kenya.

But, that is not to say that when it is established and I have proven to myself that we are on the right track, I will not expand to Cameroon [or Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi ...]

I am a bi-lingual English/French speaker, so communication will not a problem in Cameroon, and I am not against helping Cameroonians (is that right?) or any other people, wherever they are, but they have to accept that Kenya takes priority.

Or am I looking at the problem with blinkers?

Volunteers

After the resounding success of Amy's visit last year to Twiga Children's Home, Kisii, we are happy to see that we are receiving enquiries for this Summer - two, so far.
It is so good for the children to meet people from other countries and cultures, to help them to speak English, and just generally see new faces.

Frustration

I may have decided that 2009 is going to be THE year for KCIS, but it hasn't started well.

My plan was to visit Kenya at the beginning of this year, and had set the departure date at 6th January.

It is now the 8th, and I am still in a cold, wet, foggy UK, and the prospects of travelling to Kenya are not good in the short term.

This has been brought about by the economic downturn/the UK Government totally trashing the UK economy [delete, one, depending upon your point of view], which caused my son (he with 5 dependent children) to lose his job, just before Christmas.

So, I have had to bail him out with money that had been put aside for my trip.

On top of this, work has been a bit slow for me too, so cash flow is almost stagnant.

Not a good start to the year, but I am still feeling positive. After all, it is only the 8th January. We still have 357 days for things to go right!

This Is Our Year

2009 is going to be the year that KCIS makes a difference.

No, we haven't received a large legacy, nor have we been offered financial support from a deep-pocketed benefactor (not that we need a lot of money to make a difference).

But I have decided that 2009 is going to be our year. I have been working on the theory of our projects for nearly a year now, so it is about time I out them into practice.

So, what is it that we are trying t achieve?

We are not trying to change the world, but, we do want to help to reduce the incidence of malaria, we do want to find ways of increasing crop yield, we do want to show that water can be purified without expensive equipment or chemicals.

And I am pretty sure we can do it - in such a way that rural communities can benefit without costing the earth.

[NB - a farm worker earns about $1 a day. We want to offer the above at a cost that these people can afford.]

To make all this happen, we need funding. We are not begging for money, although if someone out there wants to bankroll us, we will not refuse. We have set up a business based in Kenya, that, if successful, will fund our projects, or at least, get them moving. Once we can show that our projects work, then maybe people will take us seriously.