River Cottage, Kenya

In the UK, we are plagued by "celebrity chefs", on the TV in particular.

For those of you who do not receive UK TV, the programmes started many years ago with Fanny Craddock, with her husband Johnny, knocking up braised pheasant with truffles and the like.

These days, the programmes are far more diverse, with a couple of chefs advocating healthy food, "back to basics", fair trade, etc. I have no problem with this. In fact, I passively support the ideals, if only they didn't cost so much more than factory-produced plastic food.

One celebrity in particular, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, started living at his weekend cottage, growing his own fruit and veg, and with the addition of animals, soon became self-sufficient.

He expanded and now has a farm in Devon, River Cottage HQ, as well as a city farm in Bristol.

So where is this blog going? Well, I reckon that what I want to do on my (as yet theoretical) model shamba is pretty much what HF-W is doing in England. So I am pinching the name River Cottage and calling my shamba "River Cottage, Kenya". There is a cottage on the plot, there is a river running past it and it is in Kenya, so why not?

Before HF-W became a celebrity chef, he worked in conservation in Africa, although I cannot find out more details. Maybe he will hear about River Cottage, Kenya. Then he can either ignore it, sue me, or help out. I would prefer the last - but any publicity is good publicity - so they say.

Model Shamba

Part of my remit within ACIS is to find new ways to do traditional tasks that will be less harmful to the environment, but no more complicated.

As an example, finding alternative, readily available fuels to cook on. This will reduce the need to cut wood, damaging trees, thereby helping to prevent soil erosion.

We are presently looking at water purification, methane collection, solar cooking and finding crops that will grow in Kenya that repel mosquitoes.

We are not claiming that all the ideas are ours. What we want to do is to introduce them to rural Kenya together with an education programme, explaining how everyone would benefit from using this technology.

To this end, at our last meeting in Nairobi, it was decided that the best way to raise funds for this work would be to create a model shamba, on the lines of a show home on a new housing estate. When everything is up and running, we will invite the Kenyan press and TV to take a look.

But for this, we need land.

It occurred to me that we have a plot in Kisii, the plot that has been set aside to build the orphanage, but as this will take more funds than we are likely to raise in the near future, we might as well put the land to good use. And the kids could get involved. I am sure that the older ones would find it fascinating - I hope.

Some of Our Kids

Let me introduce a few of the 36 kids who are on the Mercy Gate register.

I will start with the two who I help to support. They are living with Abigael and Vincent, the directors of Mercy Gate.

Josephat (4 years)

Jojo was abandoned at birth by his schoolgirl mother and was left in the care of his grandmother. She was unable to cope with the rather sickly baby and he arrived at Mercy Gate at the age of about 6 months. He is very small for his age, probably due to an intestinal parasite, for which he has now been treated.

He is a lively, active little boy, very confident and with a big smile.

He is attending baby class in a local school, where he is doing well.

He has an enormous appetite and I hope that now he has been treated, he will put on a growth spurt.

Benta (5 years)

Benta is a happy little girl. She is quiet (most of the time) and studious.

She likes to do crafts, and she is a dab hand at housework! I was shocked at first, but then realised that she does what every little girls does, copying her "mother", the difference being that here (UK/USA), a little girl will have a toy vacuum cleaner.

Benta doesn't have one and Abigael doesn't have a real one!

So Benta sweeps the floor, just like Mamma. She also likes to look after Abigael's baby daughter. And she helps with the clothes washing and cooking, just like Mamma.

A perfectly normal little girl, except that she is in the care of the orphanage.

Edwin & Dennis

These boys are brothers, Edwin (left) being the older.

Their mother died and their father eventually re-married. He moved away from the area and the boys now live with their adult sister, who is a single mother.

They are a couple of good kids, but Dennis in particular is mischievous, especially when he is in the company of Henry.

Both boys are doing well enough at school.

Dennis has a problem with chiggers, a small flesh-eating insect, which has infected his feet, the treatment for which is expensive.

The food crisis in Kenya is taking every penny from our funds, just to feed the kids. Medical treatment has become a luxury.

Henry

This 11 year old is as cheeky as they come. He has mischief written all over his face! But he is also active, good-natured and popular.

He is often seen in the company of a younger lad, Davis and also Dennis (above), and when the three of them are together, watch out! Nothing naughty or malicious, but, pranks and jokes are never far away.

This kid can turn any melodrama into a comedy.

Henry was born in 1997. His father died after suffering chest pains. He has a mother and two brothers, Nelson and Eric, who are both older.

Davis

This kid is a walking smile. I have never seen him without one on his face.

Davis has an older sister, Vanessa, also on our register. Their father died in a road accident in 1999 the same year that Davis was born. His mother is unable to look after Davis and Vanessa as she has no income.

Davis works well at school and is developing well.

Vanessa

Vanessa (on the right) is the older sister of Davis. She is about 12 years old. She is also very, very shy.

When the kids get together, she is often seen with her friend Divina. And that is when I have seen her come out of her shell. The two of them like skipping, and they were skipping together in almost perfect synchronisation.

How about that for a new sport? synchronised skipping!

NGOs - What are they for?

In September 2007, I went to the Children's Home in Kisii to meet the people responsible for distributing insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs) to children. The home had not received any nets and we wanted to know why.

The meeting with the NGO, Merlin, was very successful and we were promised that the nets would be delivered as soon as possible.

When I returned to Kisii in March 2008, the ITNs still has no been delivered.

What are these people doing?

During the political crisis after the elections in December 2007, Kisii received 3,000 refugees. I was receiving daily reports from Vincent in Kisii and I was told that no aid was being sent to the town.

I contacted all the major charities and aid agencies, but no one even had the courtesy to reply, apart from Oxfam, who sent an email telling me that my email as being forwarded to the appropriate office.

The refugees have now gone, but while they were there, not one crumb of food aid was delivered to them. They relied upon the good will of the people of Kisii.

I know that ACIS is a small agency, but we do have people on the ground, people who can see what is going on. I passed this information on to the people who were supposed to be carrying out the aid programme, but it fell on deaf ears.

Who do these people think they are?

Back in Nairobi

I didn't want to leave Watamu so soon, but I had meetings in Nairobi on the Thursday before Easter. I couldn't afford to return to Watamu after the meetings, so was stranded in Nairobi over Easter.

As a smoker, staying with friend who did not smoke, I took to sitting on the step outside their front yard to pump up my nicotine level. Their road is gated and is therefore safe for kids to play and wander around. Needless to say, sitting there on the step, I soon became the centre of attention. After all, I was the only mzungu in town!

At first, kids would stand on the other side of the road and stare, but some of them soon plucked up the courage to approach and talk to me. And when they saw my camera, they all wanted to be photographed and then see themselves on the viewing screen.

There were three boys who always came over when I was there, Timothy (11), Winston (9) and Ben (5). Timothy is Winston's uncle. Ben is not related to them.

It soon became apparent to me that Timo was no ordinary kid. He was bright, confident, open and intelligent. He spoke near-perfect English and could hold an intelligent conversation. He also has ambition.

It was not long before he was telling me all about his life. He lost his father in 2004, had to move from private school to the local state school and move from a nice house to a little one just big enough for his mother and him.

Timo proved to be very artistic, too. He could compose a good photo and I was soon encouraging him to use my camera - not that he needed any encouragement.

After Easter, I was lucky enough to meet a couple of people who are willing to help ACIS to advance - it is who you know, not what you know, that counts in Kenya.

All too soon, it was time to return to the UK. We set off for the airport in torrential rain - and got stuck in a traffic jam for five hours. Needless to say, I missed the flight and we returned home, tired, frustrated and not a little worried. I had budgeted carefully and now my money was gone.

The following day, I had some money wired to me and I sorted out a new ticket, but I could not leave for another six days!

Timo was overjoyed when he came home from school and saw me sitting on my step.

And I had a few more days to "network" with the people of Nairobi.

My second attempt at leaving the country was successful and I returned to cold, snow, rain and strong winds.

... and on to Watamu

March 2008

As well as the Mercy Gate Home in Kisii, ACIS also supports a school in Watamu, Coast. This is a private, fee-paying school run by Janet and Allan, but it is also home to 17 orphans and vulnerable children.

My visit to Watamu had two goals, to see how the school was getting on, but also to see my girlfriend and her children. We were able to use the visitor apartment at the school during my stay, which meant that our kids only had to cross the school yard to get home, which amused them. It also meant that they could invite all their friends "home", so the apartment seemed to be full of kids after school.

During my stay, I took several photos of the kids living there, candid shots showing them carrying out their chores, playing, etc.. These will be added to the school's website here and our own.

One little boy, Brian, is six and has been at the school for about a month. Due to his family circumstances, he had never attended school before, and spoke no English.

He came up to the apartment after school and I talked to him in English, asking questions that had to be answered in English. The kid was like a sponge. His face showed that he really wanted to learn.

But unfortunately, the time to leave arrived too quickly, and I had to take the bus back to Nairobi.

My Visit to Kisii

It was a bit of a rush to book my ticket, a bit of a squeeze to get everything packed, but eventually I was at Heathrow and on my way. The plane was only a third full and I had three seats to myself, so I spent most of the flight in a horizontal position - brilliant.

Once through the passport and customs, it occurred to be that I was relying on being met by someone I had known for only one day, but I need not have worried. The smiling face of Vincent was at the barrier.

We took a taxi into the city and dropped my baggage off at the office, meeting up with my co-director at the same time. I had to shoot over to see a client while I was in Nairobi.

That done, Vincent and I took a shuttle to Kisii. It stopped once in Narok for lunch then were were on the way. We arrived at Vincent's at about 7pm.

Josephat, "my" 4-year-old orphan, threw himself at me when I walked through the door, yelling, "Bab' Mzungu! My Bab' Mzungu!"

There was a stream of Swahili which was later translated for me. "My white daddy has come. I said he would come." He remained attached to me for the next ten days, or so it seemed. Benta, the little girl I help to support was less demonstrative, thankfully as she is a lot heavier than Jojo.

The following day, Jojo insisted that he was not going to school, but was going to spend the day with his Baba Mzungu. This is fine as he attends Baby Class, which is not obligatory.

Abigael told me that one of our little girls, Evelyn had died. She was three and HIV positive.

We made arrangements to have a party for the kids on Saturday. We bought lots of fruit and biscuits, juice and a load of toys and games, skipping ropes, hula hoops, footballs, table tennis, badminton, chess, etc.

When we arrived on Saturday, many of the kids had already arrived and were sitting quietly in the hut. There were a lot of smiles when I walked in and I recognised several of them immediately - Davis and Vanessa, Henry, Morfat, Boniface, the two Divinas and Rister ...

While Vincent and Abigael sorted out the food, I got the toys and games out, much to the obvious delight of the kids. The rest of the day was spent playing, eating and drinking. We also measured the kids' feet so that we could get them their new school shoes, which was the main object of my visit.

On Monday, Evelyn was buried. Her coffin was so small.

During the week, VIncent busied himself with selling the mobile phones and by the following weekend, had enough money to get the shoes. The sack that they arrived in was enormous!

We took Jojo to the hospital for a check-up. He is very small for his age, but looks and acts like a very active little boy. He was diagnosed with an intestinal parasite and we got the medication for him. He was also tested for HIV - he is negative.

On Saturday, we had another party. This time, we prepared a warm meal for the children with goodies sent by a well-wisher in the USA. The parcel contained lentils, black-eye peas and all sorts of other pulses, and raisins. Surprisingly, none of the kids had ever seen raisins before.

Again, the children had a fun time playing with their new games, and the day was ended with them being presented with their new shoes. They all looked so proud, wearing their shiny black shoes. I felt humbled.

The following day, I left Kisii for the Coast. Jojo was not happy, but he knows that I will return. After all, I did before, didn't I?