It's hard to believe that 50% the population lives in abject poverty and squalar (no running water, no toilets, no electricity, cooking over wood pits. Although both countries have no support programs for the poor.
12/5: My initial view is that the poor in Kenya are worse off than the poor in Uganda , because at least in Uganda food is plentiful, because of subsistence farming and ability to make brick homes that has been from the clay soil. Kenya is a very stable, demographically diverse economy. It's population has been spared from war (although AID's has taken it's toll)
Me and Irene, in the Rift Valley , on our way to IDP camp in Nakurucentral kenya12/22: This Irene Ngatia, VICDA exec director and my best friend in Kenya. . Her organizations' emphasis is on providing food, shelter, education and health care for orphaned/abandoned children and internally displaced people ( IDP'S) driven from their home after the 2002 and 2007 elections. We spent a considerable amount of time together, at her home, office, business trips with large project donors going to Polite and Nakuru IDP camps and in Central Kenya to buy building materials for shelters and health clinics. Jordan and I also went with her to South Eastern Kenya Masa Mara to a evaluate building a new vocational schools for Massi tribes. She also works with GVN to place international volunteers help care for and teach orphaned children at private and government oprphanges in and around Nairobi. She is a tireless worker and I witnessed many of her 15-18 hour work days.
She's involved in 2 other other business ventures and her story of success is similar to other "Kikiyou "tribe people of Kenya. It's being a hard worker. She said that most people think that she is rich, but she gives a lot of her income away to support siblings education and food/shelter for extended family.Irene came from a very poor family of 9 children. A family friend paid for her first 2 years secondary (high) school but then stopped. She pleaded to take a test that would qualify her to receive her secondary diploma She was the only one to past the test. but because she could not pay the past due tuition fee's, she stole and ean off with her secondary school transcripts, while the school superintendent temporarily left the meeting room so that she could apply to college.pply to college. While in college, she stole other peoples meal cards, to have food to live on (she felt it was OK) because the other students meal cards would be replaced at no cost. She did not finish college, but was driven to make life better for the "poorest of the poor", which including her extended family. She frequently puts in 12-15 hour days towards this effort.
12/7 We just checked into the Fairview Hotel in Nairobi Kenya . It is a lovely very high end, westernized business hotel. All the luxuries.. a large swimming pool with a bar and resturant service poolside, 3 restuarants, waterfalls private meetings rooms, executive lounges. Our room had 2 king size beds, dual showers, private ourdoor tables etc. etc. Little did I know what lay ahead of me.
12/9: In general, we are finding that Kenyans are not very friendly. If they look at us at all, it's with an expression of "why are you here". We are still trying to figure out the culture here and how to make friends. They are not always honest about honoring their commitments and many times tell incomplete truths. This leaves us feeling that we are unable to trust them. In general, they are very reserved and do not engage in personal discussions. When they do it's to express how they "made" it. They express their climb to success with an overly proud attitude, sometimes bordering in arrogance. For poor people who that have not "made it" the purpose of their conversation is to request that you "sponsor them to go to the US for a job, education etc., or better yet just give them money. It's pretty exasperating.
Our modest residence the "Volunteer House" in Nairobi Spring Valley neighbor hood, 
1/1/11. We went to Carnivore Restaurant for New Years Eve Dinner and celebration with Irene W. VICDA Exec. Dir. and some of it's major international donors. The meal and restuarant environment was a comical over-the-top"carnival of flesh" eating humans. It represented all that to me seems illogical incomprehensible. Exotic meats relentlessly served in exhorbant amounts until no more could be consumed . Every type of drink freely provided throughout the night until half full glasses remained on tables. drunken caucasions and africans patrons staggered out on dance floors Souls seemingly replete of restraint, compassion and generousity. A place on our God blessed earth where two opposite worlds exist side by side; with mercedes benz on one side of the street and Kibera slums and shoeless children on the other side. Middle class will not help the poor. What's good about Kenya is that it is developed and things are very much like America. What's bad about Kenya is that it has lost it's sense of the value of it's African culture, there is a high level of pretense in being "westernized".
12/9 We visited the National Museum of Kenya,
Jordan enjoyed the avian collection! 
I was mesmerized by the human origins anthropology exhibit....but it totally freaked jordan out!
12/9- I've been feeling increasingly sad over the last few days (actually since we arrived in Nairobi ). The reasons are many, the coldness of the people, I see very little genuine kindness. I get the feeling that people are too busy "doing" to be kind. I'm disappointed at the possibilty that we are not staying with a host family. I'm experiencing hot flashes and PMS. Jordan continues to not study. This hotel feels like a aseptic white enclave /fortress that won't let me be free out. The Internet communication system does not work well. Maybe it's because today marks 4 years since Dad passed away. Maybe, I've just got to get out of this hotel and find some "real" people to care about and love.
12/14 : Our stay at the Fairview Hotel in Nairobi was wonderful. It was one week of pure relaxation en-lux western style". It cost a lot...but needed it.
However, the garden setting is very pleasant. The gardener, Mulaey has lived on the premises in a small shanty house for nearly 35 years and over that time converted the cleared land around the house into a very nice plant garden. Brightly colored birds, familily of monkeys and
We sprnt thr first 3 days without power(no lights, no electricity and the past 5 days without running water( no bathing , no flushing toilets and limited water that has bern pilfered from thr onsite garden tender's ground water tap) which requires boiling before drinking and cooking).
Our house mates are three boys 3 girls from UK, Austraila, US(all in their late teen. Also a 37 year woman find her 12 year old daughter. The teens drink s lot and party. The mother from the UK is cool, but pretty driven.
We're across from the compound of IRAN's ambassador to Kenya . Jordan said. To tell you.....Boy will i have a lot of stories to tell. The "volunteer" house that we are staying Vodka, kissing, teenagers excessive drinking.. throwing up..sex...etc. ll first year college stuff Not the experience that I had intended... but it's the one God gave is.
12/30: It's a rarity and appreciation of it's a that in one conversation I can discuss, chemical reactions, politics of capitalism, poverty, nuitrion democracy. This afternoon when Jordan and I were walking towards NCH, I had that coversation with 35 year old Kenyan Peter Muirmiri. He said he was a chemical engineer, scientist for manufacturing, pilot, business entrepreneur alternative energy plant. For many reasons I don't believe he's any of those, but it sure was an interesting conversation!
12/17: We arrived at our volunteer house on Mugumo Lane in Spring Valley It is a beautiful rolling hills upscale neighborhoodin NW part of Nairobi. Jordan says the Nairobi Children's Home is awesome! Currently there are about 70-90 abandoned kids (age 0-6 yrs old).
NCH a govermment run orphange . Children are brought there by the police when they've been abandoned on the street or been severely abused. A heart breaking example is a 4 year old little girl who had been found after being repeatedly raped and then thrown in the fire. She survived but was internally injured so bad that she required 4 months of hospitalization for internal reconstructive surgery. She seems to be functioning, but
most likely will have lifeling the pain from obvious burn scars suffer lifelong and unseen emotional scars. The positive thing is the kids are have food and shoes, a good solid building with windows, doors, flloors and beds.
12/18: The best thing about our volunteer time is that we get to walk 50-60 minutes every day to our volunteer location. It's good exercise for muscle building and there are many beautiful flowering trees, plants.
12/19: We're having a good time. Jordan has a bit of a cold, but I am well... With the exception of a couple of "off balance" tumbles. *Our Christmas week celebration, was kicked off by a Christmas Celebration at the NCH. The little boys were doing their African dances, one volunteer rented a large bouncing house, we had dinnerat a friend friends daughter's home. Jordan joined a trip to a water park, organized by one of the volunteers for children at another orphanage. I went to the IDP camps(Polite, near Nakuru)
12/20: Today 4 of us female VCDA volunteers gathered the the 70+ NCH children outside on the on the play field to spot wash them apply treatment to their skin disorders(scabies, ringworm, impetego) cuts, scrapes abd infected sores). We only had 2 small basins of water a handful of ointments, wet wipes, band-aids and rubber gloves and a raisesd concrete block as the staging area. It was mayhem! Too many sores...too few medications.... Too many mischevious little hands..Too many children who just needed someone caringingly touch them...
12/23 Today, at NCH a christmas party was provided for the children by international students from a local international business school. They gave out many toys, candy, played songs and danced with the children earlier that day we helped the children make masks of paper plates and string. A returning volunteer, Guy rabbits d abought 2 lar
12/31 We have a family of small playful monkeys that visit the volunteer house a couple of times a month.They are sooo cute! but, Muwlee, our 74 year old Kenyan gardner, considers them a nusiance because they rampage his small vegetable garden. His deterence weapon of choice is a sling-shot. Despite his efforts the monkeys are somewhat used to humans. Jordan and another volunteers daugter,Nina were able to get them to take fruit out of their hands. Albeit they quickly scampered out reach to eat after snatching the fruit.
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