Sunset Hotel Kisumu

... be a good source of entertainment on the rest of the trip.

We had an early night in Kisumu as we had an early start the next day as we had to be in Kampala by 4pm to pick up our Gorilla permits before the Wildlife office closed. We were told the border crossing could take 2 or 3 hours so it was up at 5am to pack and have breakfast. This was not helped by James being on cooking duty so he had to be ready early to help with that.

... self help groups, many of which seem to be competing with one another. While Samanga village has four such groups, there must be hundreds across the district. The community have asked a number of us to keep in contact and provide information from home so hopefully we’ll be able to see if the groups manage to successfully work together.

We held the final microfinance meeting and harambee which raised a good amount of money to get the programme ...

... off the shore of the lake and spent a couple of hours in the sun with canes and line trying to catch our supper. Unfortunately, only Evance caught anything and that was a tiny little mudfish far too small for eating! Apparently we should have been fishing in the early hours of the morning if we wanted to catch anything although the boat captain didn’t tell us this until we had paid him and he was taking us back to shore!

For me, Sunday was the day of rest.

... unlike the private ventures he was claiming. In sum, our first weeks work was hijacked by the supposed patron of the projects who the community doesn't like or trust. In response we have agreed to work on income generating projects with the community groups alone and have cut all our links with the patron. Disappointment aside, I can see a certain comic iron in a group of Europeans being shipped to Africa to work for nothing on a private farm! Some would call it payback ...

... as we prepared to head out to our various projects. I had continued to stay at milimani so was asked to get to a different hostel by 6.30am so we could leave early. Having trudged to the hostel as the sun rose, I found myself still sitting there at 9am still waiting to leave. Eventually we were all shipped down to Nairobi's Country Bus Park to board busses to the various camps. The Country Bus Park is not the nicest part of Nairobi and seventy or so ...

... Hmmm lovely. Oh and then of course you had the wonderful feeling of being hunted by a lion. Would they chase after you if you went into the lake?? Yes, yes I think they would.

After the lake we cut back up to the lookout which offered amazing views across the park. Really stunning place and even though I wasn't too impressed with the early morning wake up call, I was very pleased to have made the effort. Whilst I remember, entry was US$60 which, luckily for us, was paid ...

First off I'm fine. Second, my purse was stolen this evening while it was on the back of my chair while 8 of us sat and ate dinner in a restaurant frequented by white people and some affluent locals. Someone slipped the purse off the back of my chair probably while we had our eyes closed and were saying grace. None of us saw or heard a thing. When I went to leave, the purse was gone. Fortunately my camera bag was ...

... basically a seat on the back of a bicycle with someone driving the bike). It was interesting to take a bodaboda while wearing a skirt! Which reminds me to tell you that I have to wear skirts everyday here because that is what is socially acceptable. I can wear shorts or pants in the evenings around my flat or on weekends. Whenever I am working at the school or out representing the school I have to wear a skirt. My accomodation at DOM is a flat. It was ...

... me to sit under her umbrella. A Mzungu sitting on a street corner under an umbrella like an African drew some puzzled looks, but I ignored them as I chatted with my newfound friend. Once Steve and Dianne had come, I went back to their compound where I was introduced to some of the street boys with whom they work. They've lived in Kenya for the past three years running a ...

SCI worked with one of SCI's founders, Bob Metcalf, in training members of the Water & Health Ministries how to test water with the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML). This method allows portable testing of water with simple & scientifically approved equipment, without the need of electricity, running water or advanced laboratory assistance.