Week 1: Nova Scotia to Nanyuki

In just over a week, I have travelled from Nova Scotia to Nairobi to Nanyuki. It has been quite the transition.

Let me tell you about Nanyuki, the place where I will be for the next few months. Nanyuki is near the base of Mount Kenya, second only to Kilimanjaro as the highest mountain in Africa. In terms of population, it is comparable to my hometown of Truro. This is a traditionally Kikuyu area, so many of the people with whom I interact in the microfinance groups are Kikuyu. Though there is at least one person in each group who speaks English, there is a language barrier between me and people who only speak the Swahili or Kikuyu tongues. I think this will be one of the biggest challenges in my work here. So I am trying to pick up some phrases in these languages. Thankfully I have an 11-year old tutor who is willing to help! This girl is part of the family with whom we stay in Nanyuki. I think God is so good: I am missing my young neighbours, but am blessed with relationships with children even here!

I guess I had better talk about the kinds of things I am doing here. My title is Microfinance and Business Development Coordinator, and I work with Chalice and Crown the Child Africa. Chalice is a Catholic charity that facilitates child sponsorships. Crown the Child Africa disseminates these sponsorship funds, and works directly with families in African communities like the ones around Nanyuki. This is not simply a relief charity, but works actively in development. The parents or guardians of sponsored children are engaged in this work. They are all part of groups in their community and are learning to save money each month and lending to others in the group to help cover unexpected expenses or start or expand businesses. My job is to work with these groups. I will be doing a study to determine the impact of microfinance and the direct family funding program (this is the model of child sponsorship that Chalice uses) in these communities. This will help Chalice and their donors understand where their money is going and how it is contributing to development, and could result in changes in the program to make it more conducive to development. Thanks to my wonderful experience in Cameroon with OneBook a couple of years ago, I am well aware of the importance of impact assessment.

As well, I am hoping to help some of the people in the groups who want to start or have started small businesses by helping them form business plans or helping them to think of some ways to add value to products they are selling.

I have to admit: the first few days I was here I was really missing home. But God is good, and there is a lot I can thank Him for. On Thursday we were able to visit a farm operated by the priests who oversee the office where I work. We use this farm to demonstrate good growing practices. On the day that we went, we were teaching how to plant some indigenous trees. Together, we all planted trees. Later, some of us went to the greenhouse and picked tomatoes.
God is good because in a land where everything is so different, doing agricultural work feels like home. I am continuing to thank God as each day is filled with new experiences and new challenges.

Adding manure to the topsoil for planting trees as Father Raju looks on

Planting trees was a community exercise!

Here the ladies from the Mureru microfinance group give me the lowdown on how they keep the books. Also, notice the tomatoes in the foreground- these are some that we had picked the day before.