Monday, November 12, 2012

Marty Cej, BNN Anchor, Shares his Kenya Experience

Recently a group representing CrossFit was in Kenya.  Marty Cej, a Business News Network anchor from Toronto, Canada was with the group, filming, interviewing and observing life in rural Kenya.  This clip was shown on the BNN station this morning.  It is a great overview from the perspective of a newcomer to Kenya, with photos and experiences he had while there.

Click on this link to watch the video.  There is a brief ad at the beginning of the clip.

http://watch.bnn.ca/business-day/november-2012/business-day-november-10-2012/#clip804617


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Daryle Shadows Mama Frida

Daryle Stafford is in Kenya with Bret.  Daryle and Veracity Insurance are sponsoring the building of two classrooms and a cistern.  The following is Daryle's experience of shadowing a villager.


This photo was taken in the family room of Mama Frida's home shortly after returning from the fields

Daryle shadowed Mama Frida (Free-dah) for a half day today.  He fetched water from over a mile away, carrying two buckets instead of the traditional single bucket.  He also worked like a horse in the garden, helping weed a substantial part of their fields.  He not only fetched firewood, but he climbed a cashew nut tree and cut down dead limbs with a machete, then carried the bundle of wood back on his head to Mama Frida's house.  What he really did today was learn the difficulty of being a woman in this part of the world.  Mama Frida loved him because he was so strong and really dug in and got some work done.  The sweat poured off of him all day in buckets.  His bald dome was never without puddles ready to roll off onto his soiled shirt.  His shorts were soaked through, but he continued on working side by side with Mama Frida and her family.




I would expect that some of the villagers might have a hard time telling Bret and Daryle apart.  With their bald heads, blue eyes and large American bodies, they look strikingly similar!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Classroom and Cistern Construction in Peku


This was Bret's first email with photos of this trip.  The photos show the initial construction of the classrooms and cistern in this village.  My previous post showed the project a little further along.  I think it is interesting to see how the Kenyan's do their work with the most rudimentary of tools and materials, as well as concepts.  

Classroom foundation under construction and cistern base dug

I just arrived in the village late yesterday, and as a first matter of business I drove up to Peku (Pay-Coo) today to see how the work was progressing.  

Floor and first round of block in classroom construction

The construction of the first of two Veracity classrooms have given a distinct outline of the project. The Aclaime water cistern is located at the side of the school, as visualized in a couple of the photos with the round foundation and wire extending upwards. Until now the children have been meeting under a tree and drinking swill from a nearby watering hole.

Cistern structure

Within two weeks this construction site will look like a school site, and within 3 1/2 weeks the children will be filling the classroom and enjoying the water from the cistern.

BVL