Culture Trek

Early Morn

Today felt like most other days. I woke to the whirr of the air conditioner, the 14 year old cat who still wants to suck on my shirt and kneed my fleece, the dog who (once he actually got out of bed) spun in circles to be fed, and my husband, Tim, whose eyes were still no more than slits but whose smile was running at full power.

“It’s Africa Day,” he said.

Then it clicked… and I cried (again) at the thought of not being able to share my amazing experiences with the person I cherish most in the witnessing of each other’s lives…

Up and Running

There was much to do by noon but nothing motivates me more than deadlines and lists. (Deadline dependence is a sickness. Truly it is.)

First up was to print a Dewey Decimal System summary to share with the newly renovated library in Have. Once on the OCLC web site I learned that printing the four volumes of instructions would require packing a tree. Another site said “You can’t learn this in a day.” Really? Holy crow, I would think not. As luck would have it, while saving some teaching documents from the Village Volunteers site, I read that Maia, another volunteer who will be in the village at the same time, currently works with the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland as a librarian. Check.

I moved on to collect additional lesson plans at readwritethink.org. (Thanks for the tip Elliot!), and printed copies of my passport, license, credit cards and contact info for Tim. He got the address for the American Embassy and punched holes in my preprinted pages about farming, health, teaching, etc. I ran off photos of him, the pets and our home while he repacked the duffels so I wouldn’t break my back.

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Shoving things in a bag takes little effort. Making them FIT requires far more…

Two of my most successful space savers were the ever important TPs (toothpaste and toilet paper). Removing the packaging from 72 tubes of toothpaste, I was proud to earn the blister on my thumb, particularly since they now take up a third of the space with far less waste. I also rejoiced at my ability to squeeze six rolls of toilet paper into the space of two by carefully removing the cardboard tube and standing on the rolls with all my weight.

Next came the first layer of both bags.

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Round one of incoming donations

Click the photo above for a larger image.
Seriously. Do it. Then come back.

Remember when I said I needed supplies? Well, I sent out a little email with a list about 2 weeks ago. Yesterday, after packing just half of the donations received along with my own supplies, I nearly toppled over trying to lift my bag. How am I going to sling this thing on a bus when I leave Accra? Just hours after asking myself this question, I received a check in the mail that would afford a second rolling duffle to redistribute the weight and cover the extra airline fee. Can you believe it? The universe has finally aligned in the name of a greater good! (Sounds nice, right? Just don’t ask how it so thoroughly screwed up my vaccination schedule.)

Today, when lunching with a friend who added to the collection, I was overcome with emotion at the outpouring of support from so many people. Yeah, I got all teary eyed and forced myself to breathe before I had a public meltdown. I’m SUCH a baby. But really, this list is incredible… If only you could see it all in person!

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When I first planned to travel to Kenya, I knew what my lodgings looked like, what language was spoken, what weather to expect and what my mission was. I had spent about 8 months doing research on the culture and political climate by reading every blog and book I could find and sitting in on an African Lit class.

Switching gears so quickly after Kenya’s outbreak of post-election violence, I had little lead time to research Ghana well. I didn’t even know the name of the village I would reside in until my invoice came three weeks ago. It’s absolutely my own fault. I had been so distracted by finals, graduation, time sensitive home improvement projects and family responsibilities that I failed to address what this shift in plans meant. It was time to get a serious move on.

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It has been an overwhelming two months with final papers, graduation, the never ending basement reconstruction and family responsibilities galore. Through it all, I have been scrambling in preparation for my trip to Ghana, a rush that began on May 23rd with the following introduction from Florinda at Village Volunteers:

Please help me welcome Kim Clune to Village Volunteers International Organization.

We should all be honored that Kim has chosen to volunteer with Village Volunteers and be a part of your village family. We know the camaraderie and friendships that develop between community leaders, villagers and volunteers will enrich all of our lives and keep us all connected for years to come?

Kim is a writer/photographer with a passion for genealogy. Kim has traveled the world as an international flight attendant. From a young age, Kim had the desire to join the Peace Corps but her family strongly dissuaded her. When she first read about the Village Volunteers memory box project, her heart fluttered.

Kim knows the joy and healing that can be experienced through remembering (having healed rifts and mended false perceptions in her own family through a genealogical photo preservation project). Kim would like to help empower young girls by allowing them to see their own self worth and potential, allowing each child to realize together that they hold the power to change their lives. Spending a great deal of time in her own garden with no fear of getting her hands dirty, Kim’s interest in learning environmentally sound/organic farming, water preservation and solar technologies is strong. Homeopathy is something she knows little about but has a desire to assist with.

PLEASE NOTE: Kim is a vegetarian

Next came a letter on May 24th from Paul Kpai, director of the Environmental Development Youth Movement in Have, Ghana where I’ll be staying.

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I have just received the following story from Kevin Sudi, the volunteer coordinator at Kenya’s Common Ground Program. Kevin asks that anyone willing to repost this article do so freely.

IN NEED OF HUMANITY

Mr. Elie Nduwayesu, FCYF founder/director and the man behind the child-headed households development project shares a light moment with baby Hirwa while Aisha looks on

At the base of the majestic Parc de Volcanes mountain in the north-western part of Rwanda, in the town of Musanze, is a household headed by 19 year-old Aisha. She always has a smile on her face but a talk with her provides a glimpse to a life that would be near-impossible for some of us to even fathom.

I was introduced to Aisha and her siblings by Mr. Elie Nduwayesu, a modest man with a big dream for the poor children of Musanze.

This is Aisha’s story:

My siblings and I lived with our parents up to 2004, when my father passed away. My mother later confided in me since I was the eldest, that my father had died of the disease called HIV/AIDS. She asked me not to tell my siblings so as not to cause them any discouragement and worry. Later in 2005, my mother too succumbed to the same disease. It is then that I became the provided for my four siblings, who, by then, were aged 13, 11, 9 and 7.

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From Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

In the aftermath of the unimaginable chaos and sexual violence that gripped Kenya for months, Dr. Sarah Onyango knows exactly what to do. The only problem is, there aren’t enough supplies or resources to do it.

There aren’t enough post-trauma counselors, pregnancy tests, condoms, or emergency contraception.

Normally, I write to you about how to help Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the women, men, and young people we serve surmount challenges here in the U.S. But the reports coming out of our Africa Regional Office in Kenya are beyond comprehension. And that’s why I’m writing you today.

Right now, I need your help to ensure that critical reproductive health services continue to be available to the millions of Kenyans who need them ? and that we have the funds to continue our work around the world. Please help.

Talking to our Africa Regional Director, Dr. Onyango, I could hardly believe her composure given the challenges she’s facing. Her update spoke of progress, but against odds that I can’t even imagine. She told me that her staff members who feared for their lives have been successfully relocated; the health care provider who was shot is now recovering; the health clinics that were burned down or destroyed are nowhere near being rebuilt, but the nurses and counselors have found ways to continue to treat rape and trauma survivors; and health workers continue to distribute what contraceptives they have left however they can.

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It’s official. I bought my ticket to Ghana.
My happy dance scared the dog.

This happened on Tuesday. Wednesday was spent ironing out travel insurance. And today I’m faced with how to handle the blog.

This space has been dedicated to Kenya from the start. The name Alfajiri is a Swahili word. The banner and almost all my posts have been central to this particular country and I’ve been somewhat struggling with how to transition.

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Mere moments ago I received the following news:

With the continued unrest in Kenya, Village Volunteers finds it necessary to cancel the Kenya program for the remainder of 2008. If you would like to volunteer with one of our other programs in Ghana, India or Nepal or if you would like to postpone your trip, please contact our office.

I’ve known all along that this decision would have to be made for me, having refused to consider alternatives in the name of hope. Now that the choice is out of my hands, I feel oddly numb.

Just announced on The Today Show:

Today Kenya’s ruling party and opposition agreed to form a joint government in an effort to end weeks of post-election violence there that’s killing more than a thousand lives. The two sides are still discussing which roles each party would play.

A quick news search produced the following results:

Kenya govt sees end in sight at crisis talks
Reuters – 13 minutes ago
27 polls, shattering Kenya’s image as a stable business, tourism and transport hub. “It is not complete yet, but the progress is excellent. …

Breakthrough reported in Kenya crisis talks
Reuters South Africa, South Africa -35 minutes ago
NAIROBI, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Negotiators for Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have achieved a “breakthrough” in their dispute …

Rueters.com has updated their post-election chronology but has yet to mention this development.