Today I have reached Kisumu where I will start my internship. The bus journey took five and a half hours, which was comfortable. Although I will not comment on the driving! Luckily there was someone waiting to meet me when I arrived on the edge of Lake Victoria. It was Peter who is the office advocate (in Kenya they don’t have the solicitor/ barrister distinction – instead everyone goes to the bar). Peter took me to the office and I noted there would be three tables and computers for 5 people. The others in the office seem nice.
It is much warmer in Kisumu than in Nairobi, which will be huge challenge although I think I will rarely have to wear a suit. My new accommodation has lifted my spirits somewhat as I have a well-protected room from mosquitoes and a woman called Lillian who washes my clothes!! The apartment is very clean and secure however I am not sure how long I can stay here, as it may be temporary.
I have been shown how to get in and out of the city in a matatu (mini bus). It takes about 15 minutes and costs 20 Shillings – equivalent to 16p.
I slept in the afternoon and woke to find three Swedish girls and it turned out they had been living in the apartment for the previous three weeks and were leaving the next morning. They cooked me dinner that night and offered me a lot of useful information about Kisumu. It was refreshing to have conversation with clear English speakers and learn some facts and safety measures that may have taken me weeks to find out. The girls had been working for an NGO in Kisumu and had left for Tanzania by the time I was out of bed the next morning.
Day 3 was the first time I had spoken to anyone from home - a five-minute conversation with Mum. Also that evening I managed to get online via wireless in the apartment and send some messages on Facebook. I listened to Radio 4 to try and bring some normality back into my life, especially as everything has changed at once.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Kenya Day 2
6 hours sleep saw me rise at 7 am (which is 4am in the UK). I dressed in Jacket and Tie as I was acting as assistant counsel in Nairobi High Court Anti-corruption Division that morning…you couldn’t have written it. However, I didn’t make it to the office until 10 am and missed the hearing – luckily it had been adjourned.
I was however offered a tour around the High Court buildings and met the Chief Justice – no big deal! Kenya is currently debating a revised constitution that is primarily opposed by most as it includes entrenched provisions concerning Islamic law. Although it may cause little consternation in the current climate, the future implications could be huge regarding the rise of Islam in a country which is roughly 90% Christian (albeit some being nominal).
God has been taking care of me and I can see it. I feel content after Day 2 and the mother of the family I am staying with says I am her son. The parents where very touched by the tea towel of the Giant’s Causeway and 4000 KSH (£32) I presented to them. I have been invited again if I ever make it back to Nairobi. I thank God for good health and good meals so far. Food was one of my biggest fears. Although in a few weeks I may be potentially cooking for myself (BIG Prayer Point).
I’ve been blown away by Nairobi and the standard of living here. There is no such thing as a footpath (bar the city centre) and drains by the side of the road are holes. I was under the impression that the city was very developed, yet everything in terms of finish and structure is sub standard for the UK. Welcome Stuart to the 3rd world. Yet after only a day of walking in the city I do feel that I’m getting used to how everything appears to be in disrepair, almost like a building site that will never be finished. I believe that our level of infrastructure would stun many of the people here. Anyway, I’ll get over it!
I felt a lot less self conscious today walking about in a suit because 50% of people in the CBD wear a suit and so I look much less like a tourist. Today it didn’t rain and wasn’t overly humid so wearing a suit was just about do-able.
We have been watching the God channel in the house during the evenings and I’ve noticed the prosperity Gospel is rife among teaching. Everything seems to focus on becoming wealthy and having more money with the eventual outcome of reaching immense happiness. The family, although clearly Godly, seem to subscribe to this doctrine and I’ve figured (for the time being) that this is only due to the amount of poverty which quite literally surrounds them. I have been advised to approach everything with a patient and open mind mainly as this is not my culture and I wish
not to become bitter about things I cannot change.
Still getting used to the currency, personal hygiene is facing an all time low and before I go to bed I will read my Bible and pray. 5 O’clock start and an 8-hour bus journey to Kisumu in the morning!
Kenya Day 1
The first day was all about the travel. It worked out at 28 hours from when I left 14 Oldtown Rd and arrived in the office in Nairobi. Some confusion on my arrival left me stranded at ‘International arrivals’ for over 4 hours before I was able to email and call back to London in order to find an address.
As usual I made friends on the flights without much problem. On the Belfast – Heathrow flight I sat with a couple who were on their way to Goa, India and seem to be seasoned travellers. They explained to me how every year they went on SKI holidays (Spending Kids Inheritance) – I told them they were just right. The Couple who where from Newtownabby gave me some tips on making my way from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3. This was found to be a rather easy task as I took the bus. Heathrow is mad – I’m nearly sure the population of Northern Ireland was packed into the duty free Dixons alone, never mind WHSmith.
The Virgin Atlantic flight was through the night and although I failed to register more than about 4 hours sleep, I did watch ‘Adventureland’ and one hour of ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’. The food was surprisingly good and filling – hats off to Richard Branson. I sat beside an American girl, Blonde, Californian, who had worked 5 years for Google (two and a half of which were in London). As we chatted, I discovered she was a Christian and attended Holy Trinity Bromton. She was friendly and certainly made the flight a lot more fun. She had a Boyfriend who ran an online dating site. (I conveniently directed her to the headline from The Times Business Section, which read ‘Man makes fortune from online dating site’ – she just smiled). Her name was Alexa and was attending an International Malaria conference in Nairobi for one week.
After the flight I paid $25 for my visa because they refused to take my Northern Bank £10 note – needless to say I was offended before I had stepped through immigration. The atmosphere was noticeably more humid, however not that warm. The ground was wet from the rain showers, which came every 30 mins and I was left with the irony that no one was there to meet me with my name on a board like I had always suggested. I hijacked the internet in the tourist booth to tap into my googlemail account to notify Christine that I had been approached by 40 men to see if I wanted to get in their taxi. She called through on my new Kenyan sim card to offer an address that would take me to the Kenyan Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship office. 1500 Kenyan shillings and 30 min drive later I was there. On Arrival, John who is in charge of the office welcomed me with open arms.
I was beginning to feel incredibly sleepy and was facing a long journey to Kisumu in the next few days. Hence, I was falling asleep at my Mac… it was only 3 p.m.
I was eventually taken back to the parents home of John Swaka, the CLEAR advocate. We watched Kenyan TV and ate at 9;30 (chicken Dish). The family is huge and live in an ‘up-market’ compound called Diamond Park. At bedtime I was faced with a mosquito net full of holes. Hence, the stuffing of toilet roll into each gap and a poor nights sleep. (I would arrive home the next day to find the family had bought a new net…I felt bad…but only a little.)
As usual I made friends on the flights without much problem. On the Belfast – Heathrow flight I sat with a couple who were on their way to Goa, India and seem to be seasoned travellers. They explained to me how every year they went on SKI holidays (Spending Kids Inheritance) – I told them they were just right. The Couple who where from Newtownabby gave me some tips on making my way from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3. This was found to be a rather easy task as I took the bus. Heathrow is mad – I’m nearly sure the population of Northern Ireland was packed into the duty free Dixons alone, never mind WHSmith.
The Virgin Atlantic flight was through the night and although I failed to register more than about 4 hours sleep, I did watch ‘Adventureland’ and one hour of ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’. The food was surprisingly good and filling – hats off to Richard Branson. I sat beside an American girl, Blonde, Californian, who had worked 5 years for Google (two and a half of which were in London). As we chatted, I discovered she was a Christian and attended Holy Trinity Bromton. She was friendly and certainly made the flight a lot more fun. She had a Boyfriend who ran an online dating site. (I conveniently directed her to the headline from The Times Business Section, which read ‘Man makes fortune from online dating site’ – she just smiled). Her name was Alexa and was attending an International Malaria conference in Nairobi for one week.
After the flight I paid $25 for my visa because they refused to take my Northern Bank £10 note – needless to say I was offended before I had stepped through immigration. The atmosphere was noticeably more humid, however not that warm. The ground was wet from the rain showers, which came every 30 mins and I was left with the irony that no one was there to meet me with my name on a board like I had always suggested. I hijacked the internet in the tourist booth to tap into my googlemail account to notify Christine that I had been approached by 40 men to see if I wanted to get in their taxi. She called through on my new Kenyan sim card to offer an address that would take me to the Kenyan Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship office. 1500 Kenyan shillings and 30 min drive later I was there. On Arrival, John who is in charge of the office welcomed me with open arms.
I was beginning to feel incredibly sleepy and was facing a long journey to Kisumu in the next few days. Hence, I was falling asleep at my Mac… it was only 3 p.m.
I was eventually taken back to the parents home of John Swaka, the CLEAR advocate. We watched Kenyan TV and ate at 9;30 (chicken Dish). The family is huge and live in an ‘up-market’ compound called Diamond Park. At bedtime I was faced with a mosquito net full of holes. Hence, the stuffing of toilet roll into each gap and a poor nights sleep. (I would arrive home the next day to find the family had bought a new net…I felt bad…but only a little.)
Chronicle Article - 3
Christmas time, mistletoe and wine, children sniffing glue out of a bottle in order to dampen the pain of hunger… no wait, that’s not how the song goes, is it? The harsh reality of the festive season in a 3rd world country cannot go unnoticed by even the least observant among us. With no food, home or family the street boys were unconcerned that Sony had dropped the prices of the new slim line Playstation 3 for 25th December.
Consumerism is generally an unknown concept here and in many ways it is refreshing that the need to buy 25 selection boxes or have a Christmas tree in every room doesn’t yet exist. However, there remains something unjust about a child who is oblivious they are living in the midst of Christmas.
Our legal aid project runs a program in a juvenile home to advise the boys that face trial for usually petty offences. Some may be guilty and some not, yet hearing their stories can be heartbreaking. I met one street kid called Joseph who at 14 had already been living on the streets for five years. His plight of having both parents passed away is not uncommon. Combine this with a bottle of glue permanently attached to his mouth and Joseph’s outlook on life becomes bleak. The government views this part of society as a nuisance and offers no welfare. It is true that one must see, smell and touch before it hits home.
I am so thankful for the social background I was born into – not everyone is that lucky!
Chronicle Article - 2
I am 99% sure the U2 line, ‘the streets have no name’ was specifically referring to Kenya and its lackluster attempt to offer directional guidance on the roads. It is simply beyond me how anyone knows what direction they are headed. Yet, this is the beauty of African society as people always appear to know where they are going, hence there is little need for a signpost. This does however cause much consternation for the newly arrived legal intern who faces a steep learning curve in navigation.
My first real experience of Kenyan travel came in the form of a six-hour bus journey from Nairobi to the picturesque lakeside setting of Kisumu. Although the trip covered the ‘best’ roads in the country, I couldn’t help thinking I was part of a Top Gear test drive. I was assured the drivers were competent and so remained opened minded until the driver passed three lorries on a tight cliff edge corner. Hence I resumed my one-foot-on-the-dashboard position, you know, the way your mother sits the first time she takes you on a driving lesson? The bus arrived in record time I must add and seemed proud of its get-out-of-the-way-or-I’ll-knock-you-down policy. Efficiency was welcome; stepping off the bus was more so.
With the fear of travel behind me, our office presented a ‘Legal Awareness’ day in a remote village somewhere in Africa. To help introduce myself I enlightened the highly interested locals of Northern Ireland’s average temperature during the month of December. Completely astonished, a man in the front row barked, ‘Then how do you grow sugar cane?’ ‘We don’t’, I replied (and laughed).
Living in a new culture can be exciting and perhaps even frustrating, yet one can always be guaranteed two things: Taxes and Coca-Cola. Thankfully I’m not required to pay taxes.
My first real experience of Kenyan travel came in the form of a six-hour bus journey from Nairobi to the picturesque lakeside setting of Kisumu. Although the trip covered the ‘best’ roads in the country, I couldn’t help thinking I was part of a Top Gear test drive. I was assured the drivers were competent and so remained opened minded until the driver passed three lorries on a tight cliff edge corner. Hence I resumed my one-foot-on-the-dashboard position, you know, the way your mother sits the first time she takes you on a driving lesson? The bus arrived in record time I must add and seemed proud of its get-out-of-the-way-or-I’ll-knock-you-down policy. Efficiency was welcome; stepping off the bus was more so.
With the fear of travel behind me, our office presented a ‘Legal Awareness’ day in a remote village somewhere in Africa. To help introduce myself I enlightened the highly interested locals of Northern Ireland’s average temperature during the month of December. Completely astonished, a man in the front row barked, ‘Then how do you grow sugar cane?’ ‘We don’t’, I replied (and laughed).
Living in a new culture can be exciting and perhaps even frustrating, yet one can always be guaranteed two things: Taxes and Coca-Cola. Thankfully I’m not required to pay taxes.
Chronicle Article - 1
Martin Luther King Jr. in his most famous speech at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial proclaimed, ‘We will refuse to believe that the bank of Justice is bankrupt’. Forty-six years later I stand on a different continent with new problems, however Luther’s ideology of Justice still stands strong.
My travels have brought me to Kenya in the heart of East Africa as part of an eight-month internship with the charity Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship. The justice system lies sweltering with the heat of injustice. In response we provide legal aid to those who are unable to pay professional fees and would otherwise be left to fend for their own rights. Embracing the vision of providing the poorest in developing societies with access to justice is a huge ask, yet the day to day imprints we embed in society has the potential to change many lives.
I landed on Kenyan soil on the 1st November ready to exchange currencies and climate. An average temperature of 30 degrees C makes for an unusual run up to the Christmas period but then again so does paying 24p for a bottle of coke. My first day was spent in court as assistant counsel for a man called Brian who had been framed for robbery. The offence carried a maximum sentence of 14 years, however after trial Brian walked free as our team exploited major flaws in the police evidence. This was a significant success for LCF and another step on the road to Justice. I had a dream and I’m living it – Thank you for all the support.
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