Week 3: eRoots

I am now into my fourth week in Nanyuki and just want to share some highlights of this past week. Last week, we did a lot of eRoots activites. eRoots is a program to offer extension and training on sustainable food production for the people who are in Chalice's programs. Although my job is concentrated mainly in the microfinance area, there is quite a bit of overlap between these two programs. Moreover, there is a real spirit of camaraderie and teamwork in our office so when a job needs to be done we all help. And lately there have been many eRoots activities, so we have all helped with these.

This first photo is of a compost demonstration for one of the microfinance groups. In this rural area, many of the people have small plots of land that they work. Learning about compost will help make their land more productive- the goal is to increase food security for these folks. This is just one reason why I am so impressed by the Chalice child sponsorship program. It is helping build capacity in these communities.

Here is another example of an eRoots activity. This greenhouse is full of bean plants. Last week we built that structure in front as an entrance to the greenhouse.

I love this photo below because it is such a good example of teamwork. All day Thursday and Friday last week we were vaccinating chickens: going from homestead to homestead in the countryside to do this task. Many of these families bought these chickens through funds from the child sponsorship program or through microfinance loans. The chickens are now providing these families with some extra income and some food security. Actually, when I was in Guatemala way back in 2011, I was doing a bit of microfinance work and even then we were vaccinating chickens. Honestly I did not expect to be doing it again. I kept on thinking of that scene is Napoleon Dynamite when he asks "Do the chickens have large talons?" In this case, the answer was a definite YES as demonstrated by the scratches on my hands and clothing.

Also we planted apple trees and this made me very happy.

Here is a photo of the process of making my Kenyan comfort food: chapati. I am learning how to make them but somehow I cannot do it as well as Margaret. You know in some ways every day I feel like a small child. These things that come naturally to Kenyan women, like preparing chai the Kenyan way, making chapatis, or hand washing clothes, are new to me. So like a child, I am depending on others to teach me. I think this is ultimately a really good thing. As Canadians, we really value our independence. But living in a new setting, I have to give up a lot of my independence. Spiritually, this is so good. Jean Vanier speaks of us all essentially being just a small child in our mother's arms. Independence is only an illusion, because we are ultimately dependent on Jesus and on each other.

This photo is just one of the roads I have travelled. I am thankful for this beautiful country, and for the rain that comes to make these things grow.

  

And this weekend, I decided at the last minute to take a safari at a nearby park. When we saw the elephants I was so excited I nearly fainted. One highlight from this excursion was visiting chimps at a sanctuary that Jane Goodall started. Chimpanzees are the animal most similar to humans and this was so evident in the way they acted. Another highlight was seeing the rhinos. There is a certain species of rhino, the Northern White Rhino, who are going extinct. There are only three left in the world and they all live at this park. It is at times like this when the difference between what the world is and what it is meant to be is so obvious.

Finally, here is a photo of my host sister helping to prepare some fish. As part of the eRoots program, there is a demonstration fish pond at the resource farm, and it is filled with tilapia. Yesterday we had a real "farm to table" day: we caught the fish, cleaned the fish, cooked the fish and ate them all in one day. Of course we only ate four of the over 60 that we caught. The rest will be sold at market.