Eco-san toilets

 

The composting toilet for the girls' secondary school is progressing and should be finished next week. The locally made bricks are so irregular in size and shape they require a lot of mortar. We would like to invest in a machine to make interlocking bricks from earth for future projects.

Violence growing

This is a  society with underlying violence and with many instances of vigilante justice and irresponsible reactions by police who often seem to shoot first and ask questions later. Then there are the tribal skirmishes in the north over cattle rustling
About ten days ago a contingent of police was ambushed as they moved north to track animals stolen earlier. Reports give the dead as 40 with others injured. The saddest thing is that most of the police officers killed were new recruits with little experience.
Add to this the threat of terrorists passing through the porous borders, mainly with Somalia. Three days ago a bomb exploded in a matatu (public bus) in Nairobi, killing ten and injuring many others. Many locals attacked Somalis in their community and street chaos ensued. It is believed that this attack was terrorist inspired and instigated. According to the newspaper '10 women had been raped as a result of Monday’s skirmishes, which was concentrated in Eastleigh Section I.

At least nine people were injured and property worth millions of shillings destroyed when angry mobs went on the rampage in the wake of the matatu explosion....Business premises closed for most of yesterday as police battled rioting youth who were targeting residents from the Somali community. ...The running battles entered the second day despite the heavy presence of officers led by Nairobi Provincial Police Officer Moses Ombati. ...The mostly young men were attacking and looting business premises. They also stoned motorists along the busy Juja Road. Police used tear gas and fired into the air to contain the violence.'

Last night three policemen were shot in Garissa and a woman and children were killed in the ensuing street battle. The violence continued today.
A politician was stabbed at a rally yesterday.
There are many fears about the situation leading up to the election. Things are quiet where we are and we are safe, but we will be vigilant and careful as we were before. We still believe in the innate goodness of the people and are thankful for our donors who have enabled us to offer training in conflict resolution and mediation through the Virtues Project.

Read for the Top training

We trained teachers from five new schools yesterday for Read for the Top. The teachers had great fun 'practising' with newspaper stories. The winning team had an extra soda! They are excited and heard from two colleagues who were able to tell them first hand of the benefits they had seen in their students. I will buy the books in a week or so, ready for delivery when school reopens in January.

Virtues training

The Virtues Project promotes positive discipline and restorative justice, without the use of the cane. The teachers at Ebusakami Pri School completed their two day training on Saturday, proudly wearing their 'Virtues for Kenya' badges

Kakamega update

The Sports Club has a whole new look and some road repairs (potholes) are taking place.

The termites are flying!

The winged insects are thick in the air and settle on the grass. Two caddies on the golf course squatted with the marabou storks to pick the delicacy. Children scoop them up to feast and along the road side people with any kind of container are busy taking their fill.

More good news! A couple of years ago we put in a water harvesting system & rehabilitated a dug well in Imulama village. The water was very important for the small rural clinic with one nurse, but serving at least 4-500 patients a month. Now they have water, they have been upgraded to a maternity centre with a new building and two more nurses. Another wing is under construction for living quarters so that a nurse can be on site at all times. They are also hoping for a Clincal Officer (rural doctor)