Kamabido Community project visit in Kenya

I’ve been in Kenya for just over a week, spending the first two days in Nairobi, the following two days in Homa Bay at a women’s project called Kamabido Community, then two days in Mombasa and back to Nairobi where I am now. It’s been busy yet very beautiful and filled with new insights and possibilities.

In Nairobi I stayed in studio appartments for the first two nights, mosquito nets hanging around the beds like curtains. I enjoyed the spaces, the host was lovely. Almost everyone has been kind to me throughout my time in Kenya. The first day I needed to shop for some electronics and some things for the orphan children at the Kamabido project. I found used laptops for sale in a shop in town and bought two Macs, one for myself and one for the project. I bought a Kenyan SIM card and a cheap phone, some shoes, notebooks and pens for the children. Also a suitcase to transport everything in.

The next day I headed off on the bus towards Homa Bay where the project is based, near the town of Rongo, eventually reaching the township of Kanyangasi at 10.30pm. Some of the ladies from the group met me , coming on foot along the dirt roads, some walking for half an hour from their homes. It was a kind greeting and although I had been waiting for a while, I was very grateful and happy to meet them. We walked along the dirt roads to the place where I was staying, with grandmother Margaret, who lives in the biggest house in the township. This is a rural area with houses scattered through the land, no fences or gates, where all are free to roam. It’s friendly, we went for a walk the next day and met everyone, I said hi to the children , the women, and occasionally men where we met them alone. We met some of the widows of Kamabido Community , strong women who had a real sense of purpose and a love for life and for people. There were goats roaming and a cow with a calf , being milked by hand. I met a kitten too. We walked for two hours, visiting the houses of Lucy and Agnes. They were simple yet there was something special about them. They had more sofas and chairs inside their living rooms than I’ve ever seen in any house in England, they could each seat 15-20 people, a way of living which is so different from my experience anywhere else. When I told Agnes we had 3 sofas in the living room  at home she remarked that we could only have three guests, something I’d not considered… we rarely have many guests like they do - it’s not a way of life for sure.

When I arrived the ladies stayed with me and gave me beautiful milky Kenyan tea, with bread and butter, even though it was late at night. We talked, and Lucy brought me hot water for a bath, a plastic tub to wash from. I’ve got the knack from having used the same in eSwatini, but these are shallower tubs where it’s easy to gather water and wash yourself whilst crouching outside the tub on the floor of the bathroom. I enjoy washing this way, I’m able to clean myself well and the boiled water is so warm and refreshing.

The morning after my arrival I was met by Lucy and the village chief at breakfast - tea and chapati - and then taken down to the centre of the village along the main track where there are some buildings and  a few tiny shops. We went to the chiefs’ office and met the main area chief and the deputy chief, I signed the visitor books and was warmly welcomed. Onwards to the Kamabido Community headquarters where we were met by many of the women wearing their green Kamabido t-shirts and purple spotted dresses. They greeted me singing and dancing. We made introductions, I told them about myself, my experience and my reason for visiting - to help the community in whatever ways I could. They told me the main four things they needed were:

1. Funding for a solar system for the community building to facilitate better meetings and provide electricity for the small poultry breeding program in the pen next door. For now they’re raising the hens at their own homes.

2. Help with the growing project to diversify the planting and for the women to learn new skills in farming

3. Ideas and assistance with fundraising , including help to improve selling of the food and poultry produced by the project

4. Fundraising and help for the orphan children, of which there are 29 being looked after by the community

We danced and sang our way to the growing site along the road and they showed me what they were doing. I signed the visitor book the next morning and we had another meeting, along with a lot of singing and dancing. I told them my plan for how I’d help them, through building connections and finding opportunities from outside the community.

I left for Mombasa the next day with Margaret and have spoken to quite a few people about the project since. I’m making connections and have so far made one connection that has been pursued. I’m visiting more projects to see what they’re doing and take back lessons to the Kamabido women. I’ll be away for a few more days and then head back over there.