Items by Dad Mzungu

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • Being Green ...

    Posted: October 6, 2008, 11:23 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Kids in the UK are now being encouraged to be green - no bad thing. But they are also being encouraged to report parents and neighbours who are using too much power.

    Don't get me wrong, I am all in favour of saving this planet. It is rather useful - to live on, for example.

    But kids in Kenya don't give a damn. All they are interested in is whether they have something to eat. And they don't care how it is cooked, over kerosene, charcoal, wood, whatever. They will chop trees to get fuel to cook. Or buy charcoal (for which someone has to chop down trees). What choice do they have? None. They have to eat.

    A difference in priorities.

    • In the UK - Survival of the planet;
    • In Kenya - Survival.

    I bet the kids in Kenya would love to have the opportunity to use a bit less electricity, a little less petrol, switch off the lights when they leave their bedroom, not leaving the TV, computer, games console on standby.

  • The Threat of Power-cuts ...

    Posted: September 29, 2008, 5:18 pm by Dad Mzungu

    It is all doom and gloom at the moment, the UK news. Banks going bankrupt, the threat of power-cuts, food price hikes, fuel prices - it goes on and on.

    I thought back to last March when I stayed with my friends in Kisii, SW Kenya, and how happy I was.

    There was no electricity at the little two-bedroomed house, occupied by three adults and four young children. There was no running water - it was delivered daily in 25 litre drums and had to be boiled for consumption. The loo was at the end of the plot and was a glorified hole in the ground. There was a wet room and a room for preparing food. I cannot call it a kitchen.

    We had a battery-powered radio, a kerosene lamp for the evenings - and each other's company.

    And, that last is all I needed. I was happy.

    It was a little strange at first, standing in a bowl of tepid water to wash, but I soon got used to it.

    I did not have to cook, which is just as well. I don't know how well I would have coped over a single kerosene ring and a charcoal brazier.

    I did not miss TV, or a home computer.

    In town, there were frequent power cuts and it was a bit annoying if I was in the cyber café, checking emails etc., but I soon became resigned to the fact that this was Kenya.

    The two things I really missed were my car - and oxygen. I am mildly disabled and walking any distance is uncomfortable. Kisii is a town on a hill, a town at 5,500ft, so oxygen is a bit scarce. And everywhere is either up or down, there is nowhere flat.

    From the house to the town was about 2km, uphill, and I couldn't do it. I had to wait for a taxi or matatu. So I really did miss the ability to jump in my car and go wherever I needed (or wanted) to.

    But apart from that, I was happy.

    Mind you, the average daytime temperature is 25°C and at night it rarely drops below 16°C. So heating is not an issue.

    In Britain, if the power goes, everything goes, no lighting, no heating, no cooking (and no blogging).

    Frankly, if the prospect here is to have electricity rationing, I think I'll go back to Kenya.

  • Before I was Baba Mzungu

    Posted: September 26, 2008, 2:25 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I have not always been called Baba Mzungu - of course

    When I was in South Africa, I was Leisimane, which means Englishman in Sotho, the language of the people of the same name.

    While I was there in 1989, I fostered a couple of street kids, then another couple and then ... etc.

    And I kept a diary. All the little anecdotes about these kids from a different culture, speaking a different language. I found it interesting but to anyone else, it was just that, a diary. So I decided to change the perspective and re-wrote it from the point of view of the first of my charges, a 12 year-old Sotho boy, living in a township during the apartheid era. Obviously, my diary only covered the time that they were with me, so I had to plump it out a bit. I had a good idea about what these kids got up to when not with me, but writing about the life of a 12 year-old in the style of a 12 year-old was a challenge.

    Well, here's a taster:

    Leisimane

    You can never guess the consequences of a simple mistake.

    A young boy is begging in a suburb of Johannesburg. He is very competent, but he suffers a slip of the tongue, a Freudian slip perhaps, when instead of asking for money to buy bread for a fictitious little sister, he instead asks for money to buy the chicken and chips he longs for.

    What happens next could never have been imagined in his wildest dreams. The person he is asking is a visitor to his country, and is not yet impervious to little black kids begging. He takes pity on the child, and as a result, a whole set of events transpire, changing the lives of this boy, his family and friends, and even total strangers.

    Want to know what happens? Click Here!

African Community Initiative Support

  • The Chinese Deal (Pt. III)

    Posted: September 24, 2008, 3:10 pm by Dad Mzungu

    So, we have negotiated the prices, the delivery times, the quantities, the means of payment ... etc. etc.

    Now, they are asking for samples!

    Surely, that should have been done right at the beginning!

    And they don't know the logistics of sending a parcel from a small town in provincial Africa!

    First, I have to send money out there

    Then my partner, using the money has to buy the samples

    Then he has to package them up and post them.

    This is in hand (I hope) but I don't know how long it will take 1kg of soapstone to get to the middle of China.

    Still, if they finally honour their initial order, it will have been worth it.

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • Still Raping and Pillaging ...

    Posted: September 19, 2008, 1:50 pm by Dad Mzungu

    As a born and bred Englishman, I am sick, tired and ashamed when I hear of UK companies and organisations "ripping off" our erstwhile colonies. I am also ashamed when I read about UK companies being involved in graft and corruption in deals with other countries.

    The latest, of course is the debacle over the De la Rue Currency and Security Print Ltd, where it is alleged that said company obtained the contract from the Kenyan Government to print their currency by fraudulent means.

    At least the Serious Fraud Office is looking into it and I hope that, at the end of the day there will be a full and honest outcome, unlike the Saudi Arms deal, which was swept under the carpet by the British government.

    When I was last in Kenya, it was also mooted that many international companies with subsidiaries in Kenya were avoiding paying tax on profits to the Kenyan Government by salting away the money to their respective head offices. I don't know if this is true, but if it is, Kenya must be losing billons of shillings every year in revenue - revenue that can hardly afford to lose, bearing in mind all those 4x4s and elevated salaries they have to pay as a price for political stability.

    Kenyans, don't expect the British Government to step in. They are too interested in saving their own skins at the moment. Our Scottish Prime Minister and Chancellor are making sure they gain a few extra votes at the next election by pandering to the banks with bases in Scotland.

    Yes, tribalism exists in the UK. Each looks after its own.

    So, Kenyans, don't think you are alone!

African Community Initiative Support

  • OK, I give up!

    Posted: September 15, 2008, 12:28 am by Dad Mzungu

    I really thought that trying to earn our own funds rather than going around cap in hands was a good way forward in financing our future projects.

    Maybe it is, but after two attempts to get a business off the ground, I have fallen flat on my face and lost a fair amount of my own money in the process.

    [I had to use my own money because anything that comes into the organisation goes towards feeding and housing the kids - and that is paramount.]

    I am not really going to give up. After all, I have developed websites and sunk money into these projects, so they have to carry on.

    But, in the meantime, we are back to going around, cap in hand looking for hand-outs.

    Take a look at some of our projects

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • They Do Not Represent the General View ...

    Posted: September 13, 2008, 5:09 pm by Dad Mzungu

    This was the plaintiff cry this morning after first Siobhain McDonagh, then Joan Ryan, both junior minions within the Labour Party called for a look into the leadership of the party.

    These two do not represent the general feeling of backbenchers was the cry. Oh, really?

    Then why has George Howarth (Lab. Knowsley North) written to the party asking for a leadership election?

    And in any case, it is not what backbenchers, front benchers, ministers, or good ol' Gordon thinks. It is what the electorate thinks. That's us, I do believe. And I am pretty sure that a majority would like a change of Prime Minister, if not a change of Government!

    Come on Gordon (and your supporters), give in before you are forced to, as was Maggie. You really don't want to suffer any more indignity, do you?

  • Corruption in High Places

    Posted: September 13, 2008, 2:44 pm by Dad Mzungu

    No, not Kenya, not even Africa, but in the great and good Europe!

    For the 14th year running - yes, that is 14 years - the European Union has failed to manage to balance its books. They auditors have refused to sign off the accounts in 17 different areas.

    This is a body that spends about £95bn per year (of which the UK contributes around £7 billion) and has a staff of around 170,000 people, but they cannot get its accounts to add up.

    Now, maybe this is just government incompetence at its worst, or, as I suspect, it is due to total corruption of the system.

    This is supposed to be Government, European Government - you know, that which we try to impose upon the rest of this world full of despots and commies.

    Well, I reckon that we have taught the world well, by example.

    Tony Sharp has the full story here

African Community Initiative Support

  • The Chinese Deal (Pt. II)

    Posted: September 10, 2008, 2:28 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I have concluded that the Chinese deal (See Scam ... ? below) is not a scam - until they prove otherwise, so I am going along with them.

    But as we are not in a position to pay for notarisation - or anything else - I have sent them a new contract, based on theirs, but making sure that we are not liable for any expense outside of Kenya.

    As a sweetener, we have decreased the advance payment (that they offered in the first place), set out a new payment package that favours the Chinese, and sent the contract off for their perusal. That was on 5th September, which of course was a Friday.

    I received an email stating that the new, or revised, contract had been received and would be presented to the Board of Directors.

    We are now waiting for a reply, five days later. I try to keep the attitude that no news is good news, but expenses are mounting up in Kenya and with the impending failure of the cyber café, I need this deal to go through, just to cover my commitments.

    A worrying time. Still, we now have a structured business to sell the product globally, complete with website, and a vision of a way forward.

    All we need is a few clients that want to buy our products at wholesale quantities.

    Our website - take a look!

  • Feed the Orphans

    Posted: September 3, 2008, 12:44 pm by Dad Mzungu

    It is about time to start an appeal again. The last one asked people to donate their old mobile phones, digital cameras and any other old, high tech gadgets that are lying around in the back of a drawer.

    I took all this "rubbish" to Kenya and we sold it on the local market. Every child at the Mercy Gate orphanage, that is 38 kids, got a new pair of black leather school shoes - success!

    So I think I will do it again. Maybe the village has now off-loaded their old phones to us already, but I bet there are still a lot out there, gathering dust. So it is worth a try.

    This time, I hope that I will be able to raise enough to start a health fund, a pot of money set aside to treat kids when they are ill. Malaria, chiggers and intestinal parasites seem to be the main ailments. They are all treatable, as long as the money is available.

    It would be such a relief to be able to take a child to the hospital without wondering who is going to go without what to pay for the treatment.

    -oOo-

    On another tack, I was reading somewhere that there is a World Blog Day, where people get together to do their bit to help others - or something like that.

    This got me thinking. All those in Kenya who write blogs, and all those Kenyans overseas who also write blogs (and all us non-Kenyans who have an interest in Kenya), if we all got together and donated a bit of time [or money] to a central blog-pot, I wonder how much of a change we could make?

  • Scam ... ?

    Posted: August 30, 2008, 1:13 pm by Dad Mzungu

    A couple of months ago, we were approached by the representative of a Chinese company that wanted to buy Kisii soapstone carvings. We sent a price list and a few photos as examples of the work and they promptly put in an order for 16,500 items.

    So far, so good. The order was quickly followed by a contract, written in poor English, but which was just about understandable. I made a few minor adjustments as as to make sure there was no loopholes caused purely by the misuse of English. I have to emphasise that this contract was drawn up by the Chinese with no intervention on our part. In it, they state that they will pay 15% of the total as an advance payment - before we do anything!

    We signed it ans sent it back, expecting to receive a signed copy from the Chinese.

    This is where things started to go a bit pear-shaped.

    Them: "The contract has to be signed by your legal representative".

    Us: " OK, this is not a problem. We know a lawyer in Kisii."

    Them: "No, the contract has to be notarised by our legal representative in China". WHAT?

    Us: "Fine, get the form signed then."

    Them: "You have to pay the fee."

    Us [smelling a rat]: "How much?"

    Ch: "$1780.00"

    Us: "We can't. We don't have the money."

    CH: "Come to China and discuss it, face to face."

    So it goes on. I explain that we do not have the money to pay for the notarisation, nor a trip to China.

    We are no closer to a resolution after several weeks of to-ing and fro-ing of emails and letters. I have contacted the Dept. of Commerce near to these potential clients, but i can make little sense of what they said.

    If we win this contract (if indeed, it is not a scam), this will set up River Cottage Kenya, the orphanage and other community projects, as well as paying a fair price for the carvings. It would be a win-win situation for a little corner of Kenya.

    If we win the contract ...

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • Who will do What about Which, to Whom?

    Posted: August 29, 2008, 4:38 pm by Dad Mzungu

    An interesting report has been issued from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights regarding who was responsible for the post election violence, naming names.

    Names like Uhuru Kenyatta from President Mwai Kibaki’s Party of National Unity, Sally Kosgei, Henry Kosgey, William Ruto, Najib Balala and the late Kipkalya Kones from Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (to mention but a few) are mentioned as "alleged perpetrators".

    I am not going into the rights and wrongs of the actions of these people or the reasons for the PEV. Readers who are au fait with the post-election problems in Kenya can draw their own conclusions.

    What interests me is that the state-funded KNCHR has produced this large report (159 pages, I believe) about the problems as a result of the Kenyan elections in December, alleging that MPs and other people in high places were involved. But, what is going to do be done with it?

    Will evidence be collected to prove these allegations? And if so, will those who people in high places be prosecuted? Will they be at least be relieved of their posts?

    I will watch with interest.

  • Kibaki -v- Githongo. Round II

    Posted: August 28, 2008, 9:20 pm by Dad Mzungu

    OK, now maybe I can see why Kibaki snubbed Githongo. I thought it was because the whistle-blower was touching base a bit too close to home.

    But I have read another blog criticising Githongo for washing Kenya's dirty linen in public, that is the BBC et al.

    That's fair enough, but the problem is that "we" expect African governmnets, including the Kenyans, to be corrupt. Nothing that Githongo said could have surprised anyone over here.

    But in a way, I envy Kenyans. Some of your legislators are corrupt. You are not surprised. You assume that, even if there is no proof, they are crooked.

    We, in the "West", generally expect our politicians to be honest and aren't we disappointed when some sleaze or graft comes to light. We are outraged.

    I am not sure which I would prefer. But I would still choose to live in Kenya rather than the UK, given the choice. At least you know where you stand in Kenya.

  • Kibaki snubs Githongo

    Posted: August 28, 2008, 12:15 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I don't want to get bogged (or blogged) down in Kenyan politics, but I find it incredible that President Kibaki has refused to meet with Githongo, the whistle-blower on one of the major graft cases during Kibaki's first term.

    If I were a Kenyan, I would be very suspicious. What has Kibaki got to hide? Why will he not meet that man he appointed to counter corruption in high places?

African Community Initiative Support

  • Can the bubble be repaired?

    Posted: August 27, 2008, 1:07 am by Dad Mzungu

    OK, so the cyber café is going rapidly downhill due to the recent lack of pedestrian traffic in our part of town.

    So, what do I do with a well qualified IT guy and six fairly modern PCs?

    Then I read a blog (don't we all?) tagged as "A Resource Center for Kenya Entrepreneurs. Get the information, step-by-step guides and essential tools that you need to start and build a successful small business in Kenya."

    Hey! That's Us!

    In a previous life, I taught IT to adults here in the UK. OK, I'm not a trained teacher, but apparently I was quite good. I ran three courses, basic, intermediate and advanced, and the students kept coming back. The college didn't like me much because I was, er, unconventional, off the wall, a loose cannon. But people kept on paying the tuition fees, learned how to use a computer and they were happy. So I must have been doing something right. And I didn't get fired. I left.

    So, why don't we do that again? we have the promises, we have the computers and we have the knowledge.

    Oh yes. I am stuck in the UK. I knew there was a drawback. Still, with my IT guy there and me here in the end of an Internet connection, it could work.

    It just needs good marketing. Keep it cheap. Bums on seats. And somewhere in all that, mention a mzungu, that usually draws them in.

  • The Bubble has a leak ...

    Posted: August 23, 2008, 1:52 pm by Dad Mzungu

    The best laid plans ... and all that. In my last blog, I was over the Moon about how clever we were in funding our community work by opening a business. A good idea in theory, as long as the tide of luck is running your way.

    Ours isn't. We are located in a part of town that the council has decided to "clean up". That must be a good thing, you say. And I agree, as long as it doesn't drive the pedestrian traffic away from your front door, which this clean-up has.

    I can't blame the council. I have always found Kisii a fascinating place, chaotic, dusty, shambolic even, but it has its charm. A big, new bus terminal was built, but no one ever used it, until now. The council has decreed that all buses, coaches and matatus must go to the station to disgorge their passengers.

    So, at our end of town, which was a traditional if unofficial matatu stand is now virtually deserted, and so is our café.

    I am not sure where we go from here.

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • My Take on Kenya

    Posted: August 14, 2008, 1:09 am by Dad Mzungu

    There is no doubt. I love Kenya.

    There are some places I like more than others, but that must be true of just about any country in the world - and of course, I don't know the whole country, only little bits of it: the Nairobi area, especially the business district and the eastern suburbs, Kisii and Malindi.

    That's quite a spread, though, Coastal, to over 5,500ft, village to major town to rural town.

    I find the Malindi area too hot and too humid. I don't really like it.

    Nairobi and its suburbs are fascinating. But I am a country boy and I have an inbuilt dislike of big cities. The public transport system has deteriorated since I have been going to Nairobi. It used to be reasonably easy to get from my base in the east suburbs to the office in the business district on top of the hill. Now it is virtually impossible.

    Kisii is what I would expect a large African town to be. Chaotic, dusty (when it is not raining) noisy, busy. I like Kisii.

    And then there are the people. Naturally. top of the list is my love interest, beautiful, intelligent, well educated, living on the coast.

    There is the man in Nairobi that started my Kenyan adventure. He is very very friendly, plausible and pleasant, but is always finding ways of borrowing money to "invest". I don't suppose I will ever see it again. He is always trying to impress, introducing me to Daktari This and Hon. That. His promises are big but never forthcoming.

    And then there is the couple I met in Kisii, young, enthusiastic, well educated, friendly, caring, honest.

    I like Kisii, and I have good friends there.

    So I have set up business there, with a view to ecventually settling down near the town.

    Why Aren't I there already? That's personal, but I have good reason to remain at my base in the UK - most of the time. I will travel to Kenya whenever I can. The only restraint is the money for the air fare. I have managed a couple of visits within the last year, and I am about due to go out there again, as soon as I have found the money for the ticket.

    But one day, I will arrive and never leave.

  • Bedroom Menagerie

    Posted: August 11, 2008, 2:45 am by Dad Mzungu

    I am in bed, under the mosquito net, sleeping like a babe, when I wake up. Why? I hear a scurrying noise, that's why. I fumble around for my torch (there is no electricity in the house) and switch it on. I sweep the walls and there they are, the biggest bl00dy cockroaches I have ever seen in my life - three of them. They are big, about 4 cm long, mid brown, but slow-moving.

    They scurry away from the beam of my torch and I draw a circle around them. They are confused now. They can't escape the light. I find that I can herd them with the torchlight.

    Then I hear a crunch. I scour the walls with my light. In the corner, there is a small, pale lizard. Sticking out of its mouth there is the back end of another cockroach. It's legs are still wriggling slowly.

    The lizard doesn't move. It just sits (or stands) there with its prize in its mouth. It is almost too small to each its catch, let alone catch the others with its meal still in its mouth.

    The other cockroaches are trying to escape the hunter, but to do so, they have to go into the light of my torch, and they don't like that!

    But soon (not soon enough for the cockroaches), I grow weary of my "game". You can only herd cockroaches with a torch for so long before it becomes tiresome.

    I switch off the torch, and hear the free cockroaches marching across the wall, away from their predator.

    A short while later, I switch my torch on and sweep the walls again. The menagerie has disappeared. I can hear no more crunching, or the scampering of tiny feet on the plaster.

  • Recurring Dream ...

    Posted: August 4, 2008, 1:37 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Many years ago, I served in the British Police Force and my first posting was to a village on the River Thames.

    It was pretty cushy as postings go and a relatively quiet, pleasant life. During the Summer, the village was a popular tourist spot, people took boats out onto the river, picnicked on the banks, and all was well with the world.

    One day, I was called to the car park of a riverside pub. A boat was moored at the pub, and the parents told me that they had lost their three-year-old boy. Mother had gone into the village to buy provisions, taking the baby and father had stayed with the boat, fishing. Each parent thought the boy was with the other. When mother came back, they both thought the boy had wandered off.

    I set up a search party, calling in units from other areas. It occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, the boy had fallen into the water, but the Father insisted that he would have heard if he had.

    Eventually, we called in the Underwater Search Team and the boy was found, in four feet of water, under the boat.

    He was blond, fresh-faced and dressed in dark blue. Although this happened over thirty years ago, I can remember it as if it was last week.

    The usual procedure was carried out; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Normally, we would have called out an undertaker, but as he was so small, I put him into the back of the Police car and took him to the Police Station, where he was formally identified by the father.

    I then had to take him to the mortuary at our nearest town, retrieve his belongings and clothing, and slip him into a fridge. He was so tiny.

    The following morning, I attended the post mortem and in the afternoon, the inquest was held.

    Within 24 hours, the whole episode was over. The parents and their baby went home to grieve, and that was that.

    Until a few months later, when I saw on the TV the story of a boy who had fallen into a lake in the USA and after a considerable time was rescued and resuscitated.

    Then the questions started. What if I had found the boy, maybe by poking around with the boat hook and tried to resuscitate him. Would he be alive now? Did I fail this little kid? Could I have done more?

    I will never know.

    But these questions frequently come back to me, even after 34 years, usually in the middle of the night.

    And I feel guilty.

  • Raila, you are wrecking my business!

    Posted: August 3, 2008, 8:59 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I don't suppose the Right Honourable Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya has done it on purpose, but he managed to stop our clients visiting our establishment.

    He turned up and held a rally in the town, and of course, everyone went to see him. This is, after all, one of his strongholds.

    But, while the town went to see their hero at the stadium, they were not visiting our emporium to spend their money.

    Shame!


  • Bribery in the UK Government? Surely not!

    Posted: August 2, 2008, 1:57 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I have just heard over the radio that the Secretary of State for Justice, Rt. Hon. Jack Straw, is calling for a measure to bribe the British public.

    Apparently, the latest ploy of our esteemed socialist government is to bribe the electorate at the next general election.

    According to Straw, the idea is that if you turn out to vote, you will be entered in a draw to win a plasma television, presumably regardless of which party you vote for - at least I hope this is the case!

    I know that the turn-out at elections is dropping, probably due to the total apathy felt towards our leaders, but this is a pathetic attempt to get us into the polling stations.

    Surely, it would be more plausible to have a manifesto that fires the imagination of the public - love it or hate it - you would feel obliged to vote for or against it.

    But then, of course, manifestos are usually conveniently forgotten. What a party promises to do in order to get voted into power, has little bearing on what they actually do when they win.

    Admittedly, the British Labour Party has hit a popularity low since Tiny Blur abandoned the Premiership (and the country) to Gordon Dour. The Scots want to break away from the rest of the UK (and who can blame them?), the Government cannot hold on to its safe seats in a by election, and the opposition parties are winning other by elections with ever increasing majorities.

    So, I suppose Straw is hoping that if, at the next election, the Labour Party can get their apathetic voters to the polling stations, they will manage to hold onto power.

    I doubt it. Listening to interviews with life-long Labour supporters after the Glasgow East by election, Labour have a snowball's hope in Hell's chance of winning - unless they bribe the electorate - and I don't mean with a plasma TV.

  • Getting Used to Kenyanese - part II

    Posted: July 31, 2008, 10:25 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I am not even going to try to explain the nuances of Kenyan English - sorry. There are other blogs out there, written by Kenyans that can explain this. A good example is:

    [howdidigethere-kenyanchick.blogspot.com]

    However, there are certain idiosyncrasies that I could point out. I have already touched on the "Yes" meaning "No" and the constant use of the word "Sorry" in a previous blog,

    [www.blogger.com]

    But now I want to touch on more general differences. Firstly, it has to be said that to a Brit, Kenyans can seem to be very rude. They are not. In my experience, they are very warm, polite people. But they can be a little abrupt. Do not be surprised if, when giving someone something such as a cigarette (or stick as it is known in Kenya), you will not necessarily receive a "Thank you". It is implied, though. Accept it as said.

    The same goes for "Please". This seems to be used as a plea, a last resort. I child may say please when asking for sweets, for example, but only after several attempts to ask for sweets without using the word. This is not rude. Again, the please is implied, not spoken.

    "Oh pleeease buy me some sweets," is accompanied by a cute (girl) or cheeky (boy) smile, a fluttering of those beautiful brown eyes (girls only, though).

    Be warned: If you like Kenya and Kenyans, you will not resist the pleas of the children. They are masters of the plea. They are not begging, well most aren't, they just want you to be friendly and buy them sweets. Simple.

    Even when travelling by train between Nairobi and Mombasa, you will not escape the children asking for sweets. They line the track-side, calling out how much they like you ("Mzungu, I love you. Pleeeease give me sweet!"). The trains only runs every other day and are slow, I mean like you will be overtaken by tuk-tuks.

    The kids living in the villages next to the line know when the trains are due, and will even break from school classes to ask for sweets. Many a time I have seen an open-air classroom with only an exasperated teacher standing by his chalkboard, his charges running next to the train, carrying plastic bags in which they put their spoils.

  • It is a Government thing ...

    Posted: July 31, 2008, 3:03 pm by Dad Mzungu

    The buck stops here ... But these days, we have to ask ourselves where "here" is. Because, once upon a time, it was at the desk of the President of the United States, Harry Truman.

    These days, it seems, when there is a problem, the minister in charge of the relevant department takes a quick look around, and tosses it to whoever is nearest.

    In the latest cited case in Kenya, secondary schools are complaining about funding. President Kibaki announced in January that secondary education was to be free. Hurray!

    But had he given a thought about where the money was coming from? Obviously not, because he and Raila then went on to create a 42-minister government, just to make sure that all their friends had jobs.

    Did they wonder where the money was coming from to finance the extra "ministries"? Obviously not.

    Now the Ministry of Education, which is strapped for cash as all ministries have had to rein in on their budgets, are blaming school administrators for the delay in payment of government funding to the schools.

    During the school riots, is was the fault of the parents, mobile phones and buses with music systems installed.

    When will they wake up and face their responsibilities?

    I would guess that, because they are just like most other governments in the world, yes including ours, never.

    While they earn their inflated salaries for doing little more than bickering among themselves, or selling of Kenya's "family silver" for a song, and making sure that they don't have to pay income tax like real Kenyans, they don't have time to look at real issues, and find a real solution.

  • Clarity at Last

    Posted: July 27, 2008, 1:33 pm by Dad Mzungu

    My business partner in Kenya and I (still in the UK) have been battling with emails from an important potential client because the English used by said client is not as precise as I would like. We have been going round in circles for the past week, trying to understand each other.

    Finally, the veil has been drawn away from my eyes

    Apparently,there is a trade agreement between Kenya and the country of origin of our potential client and our contract has to be notarised, at our cost. That's not really a problem, so, with a bit of luck, we are ready to advance to the next stage.

  • Nerve-racking ...

    Posted: July 26, 2008, 10:13 pm by Dad Mzungu

    As well as opening a cyber café in Kisii, I have found that I am a partner in an export business. This came about quite by accident when we offered a foreign trading company photographic samples of the ware we have on offer.

    To our surprise, they wanted to place an order, not the usual 15,000/- but lots of zeros after the US$ sign.

    Now, we are not an export company, which is not to say we don't have some experience in the field of international commerce, gleaned from a previous life. But that was in Europe, where there are rules to be obeyed, guidelines to follow, etc. Yes, I know we moan about all the red tape, but believe me, when it's not there ...

    So, here we are, in a backwoods town, off the beaten track, receiving an order for umpty-tump thousands of dollars-worth of goods.

    Now the next problem is that English is not the first language of the buyer. Nor is it the first language of my partner. The problem arises because their first languages are not the same! So, there are issues raised, and we have to guess what they are by deciphering the "English" emails sent to us.

    It has taken a week @ three emails a day to get this far and I think (hope ... pray) that we are approaching the final straight ... that is, the straight that hands us the contract.

    That's the easy part. Then we have to ensure that the products are of the correct quality, are produced within the right time frame, and are packed to withstand international shipping, not least of which include the Kenyan roads!

    Of course, in a rural town anywhere in the world, you are not going to find a bubble-wrap manufacturer or supplier. That has to come in from somewhere bigger. Then there is the need for a fork-lift truck. "What is one of those?" OK, maybe a tractor with a lifting attachment on the front? Maybe.

    Then there is Health & Safety. In gB (that's great[?] Britain, not Gordon Brown), you have to be qualified to drive a fork lift. Try explaining that in a country where many car drivers have never passed a test!

    So, it looks like I will be going out rather sooner than I had anticipated, to make sure that all things are safe, and that the quality control system, insisted upon in the contract, is in place.

    It's a tough life, but someone has to do it. ;)

    Look out kenya, here I come - again!

  • The bell tolls for Gordon?

    Posted: July 25, 2008, 10:52 pm by Dad Mzungu

    The last few months must have been a nightmare for Prime Minister Gordon Brown. His Labour party lost the Henley election (not surprising) coming in after the Conservatives, Lib Dems, the Green Party and the BNP.

    They lost at Crewe and Nantwich, they lost the mayoral election in London, and now, they have lost one of their safest seats, Glasgow East.

    This morning (Friday), Gordon Brown stated that he realises that he has to listen to the people. This afternoon, he stated that he had a job to do and he was going to get on and do it.

    Excuse me, Mr Prime Minister, but, what do you think the people want you to listen to, taking the last four elections into consideration? Are they saying, "Please, Mr brown, we are voting your party out, but we want you to carry on?"

    Or, are they saying, "Mr Brown, you are not what we want, please leave - now!"

    Personally, I think the people, to whom Gordon insists he is listening are stating the latter.

    Parliament is now in recess for their elongated Summer break (for which they still get paid), so absolutely nothing is going to happen until September.

    But what then? Will there be a coup? Will he call an election (fat chance)?

    Or will he try to muddle on as he has been for the past 13 months?

    Mr Brown, practice what you preach. You criticised Mr Kibaki for hanging on to power. You criticised Bob Mugabe for hanging on to power, so ...

  • Guilty as charged ...

    Posted: July 23, 2008, 3:17 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I plead guilty, as charged. I have been wasting my time, not only writing a blog, but also reading others' blogs.

    And it struck me. Why are all the best blogs [in my humble opinion] written by the females of the species?

    There are a few good blogs written by males, but the majority tend to be rather dry. Have we men lost our sense of humour? I look at my past efforts and shudder.

    I look at the blogs written by Mzungu Chick, Mom de Plume, Nutty Cow, Reluctant Memsahib, etc., and in every case, there is humour, usually about little things that happen in life, or just life in general.

    Conclusion? I need to get a life.

  • I will always be white ...

    Posted: July 22, 2008, 1:44 pm by Dad Mzungu
    During my stay in Kisii, Josephat frequently asked (through an interpreter) why I was so pale. As he is a Luuya, his skin is very dark, and I was particularly pale, having just escaped from a British winter.

    So Josephat took it upon himself to make me dark. After I had bathed him and Vaselined him, he decided that if he greased me, I would become dark like him.

    [Note: The character that resembles a European Buddha is, unfortunately, me. However, I was happy to find that after a month in Kenya, I lost about a stone - no biscuits or cake, no chocolate, a lot of walking, only fresh food!]

    [Note 2: Josephat was abandoned at 6 months and deposited with Mercy Gate Children's Home, Kisii. On my first visit in September 2007, Jojo adopted me, calling me his Baba Mzungu. Whenever I am in Kisii now, Jojo is an almost permanent attachment to my hand, shoulders, neck or lap.]

  • Riots in Schools

    Posted: July 21, 2008, 12:57 am by Dad Mzungu

    I read an article today in the Daily Nation about students in several schools going on strike.

    The answer from the powers that be? A suggestion that the ban on caning should be abolished.

    And whose fault is it? Why, that parents, of course.

    It obviously isn't the fault of the education system, but no one in the system thought to ask why the students were rioting. So, why were they?

    They say that the food is atrocious and the hygiene facilities were terrible - and they had heard that, after the debacle of the KCSE results last year, the mock results were going to be used this year. It is well known that the mocks are much more difficult than the real thing. Also, they are set and marked internally, so there would be no national standard. That doesn't sound very fair.

    Of course, the education system [?] in England and Wales is not without its problems. The SATS test results were late.

    Why? Because the government had sub-contracted the marking to a US company - a company in a country that does not even speak the same "English" as the British.

    There was a case of one kid's work, using correct punctuation and no spelling errors was marked below another's where there was no punctuation and a plethora of spelling mistakes.

    When are politicians - in any country - going to realise that they are playing with the future of children? These kids are the future of their countries. Let's get our respective governments to stop playing around and take education seriously!

  • Why has China bought Mugabe a mansion?

    Posted: July 20, 2008, 8:39 pm by Dad Mzungu

    IT MAY not be surprising that, as befits any mad dictator, President Mugabe is now the proud owner of a palatial £4.5 million mansion in Harare and a similarly lavish country hideaway, each fitted with the latest electronic security systems, including anti-aircraft missiles. But why should all this have'been provided for him by the People's Republic of China?

    The explanation lies in a deal struck in 2005 whereby Mr Mugabe handed over to China his country's mineral rights, including the world's second largest reserves of platinum, worth £250 billion. In return for allowing the Chinese to cart away more than half a billion pounds' worth of minerals a year, Mr Mugabe not only makes a vast personal fortune for himself and his henchmen, but is given all the arms he needs to keep his criminal regime in power, including guns, jet fighters and military vehicles. (For further details, see my colleague Richard North's EU Referendum website.)

    Contrast this with our own Government's response to Mugabe's tyranny. Since Zimbabwe is included in the 28 areas of "common foreign policy" we have ceded to the EU, we can do nothing except in conjunction with our EU colleagues.

    On Monday we saw the humiliating spectacle of Gordon Brown pleading with the EU's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, to add 36 more names to the list of Zimbabweans on whom the EU has imposed pathetically ineffectual "personal sanctions". Otherwise, the EU's only contribution is to give Zimbabwe €25 million a year in aid, which Mr Mugabe welcomes as a way to give food to his supporters while the rest of his people starve.

    All this provides a remarkable parallel to what is happening elsewhere in Africa. In Sudan the tyrannical government is given full support by China in return for a monopoly on its large reserves of oil. Meanwhile, EU politicians wring their hands over the tragedy unfolding in Darfur, while a pitiful EU military force in Chad notably fails to protect a million helpless refugees from the genocide waged on them by China's friends in Khartoum.

    In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as we learned from an excellent report in The Daily Telegraph last week, China last January signed a "minerals for infrastructure" deal, worth £2.25 billion, under which it bought the rights to some of the world's richest copper and cobalt reserves, in return for building roads, railways, hospitals, dams and airports. This is the country where, five years ago, the EU proudly sent its first military force bearing the ring of stars insignia - to achieve precisely nothing.

    All over Africa, the Chinese dictatorship props up ruthless and corrupt regimes We now learn that the Congolese government had first proposed such a minerals deal to the EU but, according to the country's deputy minister for mines, the EU replied that it "did not have the muscle that was needed".

    All over Africa we see a similar story. The ruthless but canny Chinese dictatorship props up equally ruthless and corrupt governments, as in Angola, in return for that continent's fabulous mineral reserves. Britain, which once ruled much of Africa, has handed over its policy-making to the EU, which does little but make sanctimonious and irrelevant gestures. Yet this is the continent which, in 2005, both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown proclaimed was "at the top" of their international agenda. It was in the same year that, as the EU's acting president, Tony Blair flew to Beijing to sign an agreement making the EU and China "strategic partners". It is only too obvious which "partner's" strategy is proving the more successful.

    I cannot guarantee all the statements in this blog. They were complied from a vatiety of articles

African Community Initiative Support

  • Funding our work II

    Posted: July 17, 2008, 10:13 pm by Dad Mzungu

    This was a wild dream a few months ago, a pipe-dream, a silly idea, total rot!

    Not so now though. Things are afoot to actually make a reasonable income that will totally fund at least one project, and once that is started, if it is successful, that will help fund another, and so on.

    We could be setting a trend. Whereas, many British charities have shops in the UK to raise money for work overseas, we are opening a business in the country where we are doing the charity work and creating employment at the same time.

    I like this idea. I like it a lot. Let's hope it works, and that we can expand it!

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • Remote Business

    Posted: July 17, 2008, 9:28 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Things have suddenly taken a turn for the better (or at least, busier) in Kenya - as far as my business partner and I are concerned, anyway.

    But he won't do anything without my agreement, and vice versa, so to get anything done at either end involves a lot of emails, SMS and faxes! It is a wonder that we get anything done.

    At this moment, it would be so much easier if I were there and we could talk to each other face to face and make quick decisions, especially just at the moment, when we are negotiating a deal with a client.

    And, just as we are getting busy in Kenya, work here is coming in - and I also have to write a proposal regarding another project that only really got started yesterday - the proposal is for the Ukraine! It's not a million miles from Kenya, but it might as well be.

    Still, anything that gets picked up in Ukraine will surely be replicated in Kenya eventually, so I suppose it is worth the effort.

    I will just have to get a few more candles that I can burn at both ends.

  • PC in Britain

    Posted: July 12, 2008, 6:18 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Police Constable? - No
    Personal Computer, then? - Nope

    Political Correctness, that's what it is. The mindset that lets white Christian people decide that we should not have Christmas decorations in the towns because it may offend non-Christians (who make up 4% of the population. I believe) - these same non-Christians who join us Christians in the festivities!

    And now for the latest.

    A mother of a severely epileptic child has to take him to school every day. If she were using her own car, there would not be a problem. But she doesn't. She uses a taxi provided by the authorities - so she has to undergo a Police check to make sure she has no criminal record of child abuse. She only accompanies her own child, no other children are in the taxi. So now, until the checks have been carried out, she is not allowed to accompany her son to school.

    The child needs constant supervision. She and her husband are the only people trained to administer drugs should the need arise.

    Is it just me, or is this situation really - REALLY - crazy?

    I agree that children need to be protected and a mechanism has to be in place. But checking out the parents? Come on, that is a bit stupid.

  • Time to call - Heads or Hearts?

    Posted: July 11, 2008, 1:50 pm by Dad Mzungu

    It is now more than a quarter year since I was last in Kenya. And I am getting withdrawal symptoms ... cold turkey.

    So, having planned out what I must do with regards business and the River Cottage Kenya project, I am now looking at my personal plans, aspirations and whatever else I should be looking at in my circumstance.

    I suppose the question is 'where, when I make the final plunge, should I be based?'

    I only know three little bits of Kenya, all poles apart - location, ethnicity - different in every way!Firstly, the Nairobi area. When in Kenya, I work in the Business district, where we have an office, and I stay with a colleague and friend in the eastern suburbs. I have an important client in the Lang'ata area, who I would like to visit from time to time.

    Then there is Malindi, or a village close thereto. I rent a house there and my girlfriend and children are installed. One of the schools/orphanages that we support is situated here.

    Lastly, but not leastly (if there is such a word), Kisii. My business is located here. I have some very good friends, and, of course, the other orphanage.

    In the best case scenario, I will have to make a decision as to where to set up "home".

    So, toss a coin! Heads or Hearts?

    Nairobi.

    • The centre of everything business.
    • The centre of opportunity in Kenya. [?]
    • The altitude keeps me breathless for days. Still, I would acclimatise if I stayed long enough.
    • Getting into town from the eastern suburbs is a nightmare, but how about from the Lang'ata, Ngong, Karen area?
    • Close to the airport, so I can get home easily (the UK one, that is).

    Kisii.

    • My business is here, but Vincent is perfectly able to run it without me. Still, it would be nice to have an active part in it.
    • The larger orphanage is there. But I don't need to be there to work for it.
    • The altitude keeps me breathless for days, but I would acclimatise if I stayed long enough.
    • Housing is cheaper than on the Coast or Nairobi.
    • Kisii does not rely on tourism.
    • River Cottage Kenya is to be based in Kisii.

    Coast

    • No altitude problems here, but the heat ... I can't bear it. As for working in it!
    • My girlfriend and children live here. But would she be willing to move? Yes, if it meant a better life and prospects, especially for the children.
    • We support a school/orphanage in the village, but I don't have to be there to support it.

    So I have pretty well ruled out Coast, unless of course better half digs in her heels. Here we have an ethnic problem. Although she was born and raised near Malindi, she is, in fact a Luuya, from near Lake Victoria (for those who are not familiar with tribal homelands). Apparently, the Luuya and Kisii historically were not the best of friends and she is a little reticent about living in Kisii.

    The Nairobi/Narok/Bomet/Sotik/Kisii roads are being repaired and the journey will eventually be acceptable, even by matatu.

    I am talking myself into setting up base in Kisii, aren't I? So, for those of you who don't know the town or the area, what is it like?

    Firstly, it is off the tourist map. It is a largely agricultural area and the economy of the area is strong in its own right. The land is fertile, not too hot, (average daytime temp is 26°C) and humid. The town itself is typically African, bustling, chaotic and big enough to boast two supermarkets.

    It is cosmopolitan. I have met Kisii, Luo, Kikuyu, Maasai, Luuya, an Afrikaner and probably many others. They seem to be able to live together for the common good.

    It is in the mountains, there are a lot of trees, it is very green, although the earth is a rich red.

    Yep! My heart says Kisii! My head though, still whispers Nairobi.

    But I think my heart will win.

  • I've been what?!!?

    Posted: July 11, 2008, 11:47 am by Dad Mzungu

    The other day, my favourite blogger, Lost White Kenyan Chick, AKA Mzungu Chick (no relation) was tagged with a UU by another famous blogger, Bell of 'Diary of a Housewife'.

    What is a UU? Well, to quote Mzungu Chick, this is how it goes:-

    The UU must list the three things their husband (or wife) (or significant other!) (could be a pet, in lieu of all of the above.) (no pet? got a plant?) (if you have none of the above, you should go get one.) knows about them. The rules of this UU are that at the end of the post, the player then tags a randomly chosen number of people and posts their blog names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged. The comment must end with the word 'pthththth'.

    Huh?

    Now, I have a problem. The nearest I have to a significant other is my girlfriend. She lives in Malindi - and I live in the UK, about 4,500 miles apart, and we communicate by SMS or email only, and not regularly at that.

    Unlike MC, I don't have an 8-year-old to interrogate and the dog looked at me as if I was mad (no change there, then!).

    So, I asked my mother. It took a while to explain what a UU was, but then, she is 86 years old, and doesn't really understand, or want to understand computers, let alone blogging.

    Anyway, Mum thought for a couple of moments and then rattled off a list of things. This is a precis:

    1. I love Kenya
    2. I want to help any waif or stray that crosses my path
    3. I am too soft for my own good.

    The list could have gone on for another page, but basically, Mum thinks that my life revolves around Kenya ...

    Hmmm! Can't argue with that.

    Well, that wasn't too painful. I am sure that Mum could have found other, less favourable things to say about me - she has known me for 58 years.

    As for tagging other bloggers, looking at my list of blogs that I read, and looking at Mzungu Chick's 'FAB LINKS' I see that I don't have any links that MC hasn't already UU'd.

    So ... pthththth to nobody in particular.

    I reserve the right to tag someone in the future if I find a blog that deserves it.

  • More lies from the UK Govt.

    Posted: July 10, 2008, 1:09 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Our esteemed leader, Gordon Brown, who reckons that he is rather like Heathcliffe from Wuthering Heights (a drinking, violent, womanising killer? - oh well, Gordon, whatever trips your trigger) wanted to change the rates for vehicle excise licences. When he proposed it, he stated that most people would be better off.

    Fine, so far.

    But now, the Treasury has admitted that 9 million people will be worse off, mainly poorer people with older cars.

    As it stands, it will not affect me, as these changes will only be enforced for vehicles first registered after 2001 and I cannot see myself ever driving such a new one (my present vehicle was first registered in 1996).

    What annoys me is the blatant lie - it seems that the Govt. thinks that it can say whatever it likes and we will believe them.

  • Expanding? Already?

    Posted: July 9, 2008, 12:37 pm by Dad Mzungu

    The cyber café is open. We are getting clients in - not enough of them, but it is a start, and I am confident that the numbers will build up.

    But, as Vincent is known in the town as the local IT guru as well as the director of the children's home and the manager of the new cyber café, many clients are asking if he can obtain bits and pieces that are either not available in Kenya, or are very expensive.

    So, we are now looking at the possibility of diversifying our services and are looking for a supplier of the bits and bobs that we are being asked for.

    Other than the major computer manufacturers, very few companies are represented in East Africa. So, that's the way we are looking to go, as long as we can find a supplier willing to deal with Kenya, of course.

  • So, why DO we pay more for diesel?

    Posted: July 8, 2008, 6:55 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Well, it is easy really. Not too long ago, the government encouraged people to buy the more expensive diesel cars, citing the fact that they are more fuel efficient and greener.

    When diesel cars became really popular, the government slapped more tax on it so that a litre of diesel is now £1.33 (and climbing), whereas petrol is £1.20. Clever government!

    Now, it is estimated that you have to do at least 40,000 miles a year to make owning a diesel car worthwhile.

    But it doesn't end there. The government offered free parking spaces to people who bought an electric car to commute to London. What happened? Commuters bought electric cars, and now the government has scrapped the scheme because it is costing them too much - and they have run out of parking spaces!

    Our government may not be corrupt (although nothing would surprise me), but they are totally unscrupulous - and inept.

  • Recession looming for UK firms

    Posted: July 8, 2008, 1:36 pm by Dad Mzungu

    The "Experts"* have announced that the UK is heading for a recession! WOW! Like you need a degree to work that one out.

    With petrol and diesel (why do we pay more for diesel than petrol in the UK?) prices rising by about 1p a day, food prices are going up in proportion.

    Our fuel is heavily taxed - by percentage. So if the price at the refinery goes up, the taxes at the pump go up and the government rubs its collective hands as it trots off to the bank to deposit the increase. But a government spokesman tried to tell us that the government was actually losing money with the fuel price rise - I bet he didn't pass his maths GCSE.

    People don't have the money to spend, so high street shops, especially the independent ones are closing.

    Walk down any high street in any town, and you will see empty shops. It is depressing.

    The bottom has fallen out of the housing market and mortgages are very difficult to get since the debacle in the USA.

    And what does our esteemed Prime Minister suggest? Don't waste food. Don't throw food away! According to the government, we are throwing away £460 worth of food per household per year!

    Why? Because all food is date-stamped and people (some people) will no eat anything that is past its use-by date. It has been stated by many people, the food manufacturers for example, that these dates are artificial, to protect themselves, just in case someone is poisoned by their products.

    The UK Government has run out of ideas. Gordon Brown is trying to stay afloat in a tsunami. I wish him luck.

    Well no, actually I don't. In my personal opinion, the sooner he resigns or is forced out by his allies, the better.

    I am not saying that all the ills of the UK are a direct result of his management, but at least we in Britain would regain some of that 'feel-good' factor if he went.

    It will be interesting to see the outcome of the impending election in Glasgow. This is considered a Labour safe seat, but they are having difficulty getting anyone to represent them.

    Looking at their performance at recent elections, they will lose, probably to the SNP.

    But Gordon clings on to power like a demented despot, the only difference is that he doesn't have a Fifth Brigade to bully people into voting for him.

    And we have to wait two years before we can force him out - the Prime Minister we didn't elect.

    * Definition of Expert: Ex=has-been; spurt=drip under pressure

  • Now for the website

    Posted: July 4, 2008, 12:59 pm by Dad Mzungu

    We opened on Wednesday, the cyber café, that is.

    Now DABIVAM Technologies has a website. - not fabulous, but it is a start. We needed something on the web just to give ourselves a presence.

    So we are on the way!

  • Today IS the day - Official!

    Posted: July 2, 2008, 1:23 pm by Dad Mzungu

    The cyber café is open!! Vincent, the manager has contacted me from the café, where he is supervising two clients - not bad for the first hours of the first day.


    Once word gets about that we are open, we are hoping that things will really take off.

African Community Initiative Support

  • Silverstone

    Posted: July 1, 2008, 8:51 pm by Dad Mzungu
    You may think from reading my recent entries, that our work is confined to the area around Kisii.

    It isn't. We also support a school in Watamu. The school is private and the parents pay for the priviedge of sending their kids - well, most of them do. If the parents fall on hard times, the kids aren't turned away.

    And then there is the question of the 17 orphans and vulnerable children who live there and whoalso receive an education.

    You can see these kids at:

    [acis.awardspace.com]

    and the school website is:

    [silverstoneacademy.awardspace.com]

    Take a look. They are a wonderful bunch of children - and they could all do with sponsorship.

    The school is still being built with a canteen, kitchen, library and extra classrooms in progress. But this costs money and any help would be most welcome.

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • Happy Birthday to ...

    Posted: July 1, 2008, 5:13 pm by Dad Mzungu

    So our esteemed Prime Minister, Gordon Brown MP has completed a year in office as leader of [Great?] Britain.

    In the last year he has aged about 10 years, but he insists that his way is the best way (Hmm ... didn't Robert Mugabe say something similar not so long ago?)

    We in GB are lurching from one crisis to another, lost sensitive data on CDs, laptops, in briefcases ... the great and good who fund the Labour Party are pulling back ... abolition of the 10p income tax belt - there is another revolt looming over this one ... fuel prices soaring (GB - that's a world problem, not mine!, despite the fact that we are the most heavily taxed country in the world when it comes to petrol and diesel) ... inflation is climbing above the Government's own targets ... house prices are falling ... mortgages are almost impossible to get ... it goes on ... and on ...

    Local and by-elections have been a disaster for the Labour Party as well. But Gordon is insisting that he is running the country, not a popularity contest.

    He could have fooled me on the former and he wouldn't have a snowball's chance in Hell on the latter!

  • Yesterday WAS the Day - or not!

    Posted: July 1, 2008, 12:38 pm by Dad Mzungu

    OK, so I was wrong. Yesterday was not the grand opening of our new Internet café in the bottom left-hand corner of Kenya.

    It should have been, but apparently, Internet connection was not available yesterday - not just for us, but for a large swathe of Kenya!

    I got a text from Vincent last night explaining all this, and also to tell me that we now have all the necessary equipment, printer, scanner, fax machine, etc.

    So ... Today's the day ... or not.

  • Inside Mugabe's World

    Posted: July 1, 2008, 11:40 am by Dad Mzungu

    I have just read excerpts of an interview with President Robert Mugabe, by Heidi Holland, which took place last December.

    When the Ms Holland suggested that his policies had caused the economy to collapse, he sat up straight, his eyes flashing.

    "Our economy is a hundred times better, than the average African economy. Outside South Africa, what country is [as good as] Zimbabwe? ... What is lacking now are goods on the shelves - that is all."

    On his reasoning behind the land invasions, he said: "We had hoped that the British would take notice of it and that they would say: 'Let's meet and discuss this'"

    It became clear that Mr Mugabe has arranged himself in a bubble of denial to avoid facing what he has done in Zimbabwe.

    What a sad old man he must be ... a despotic, sad old man.

    Excerpt from "A glimpse inside Mugabe's world" by South African writer Heidi Holland.

    -oOo-

    On another tack, I see that Kenyan PM Raila Odinga is urging the African Union to suspend Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe until he allows free and fair elections.

    As to the other members:

    South Africa's Thabo Mbeki is the key mediator. He has not criticised Robert Mugabe, despite pressure from the ruling ANC.

    Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has taken the toughest line. He's called Zimbabwe a "regional embarrassment". But he has just been rushed to hospital in Egypt.

    Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos is one of Robert Mugabe's closest allies. He has urged Mr Mugabe to end the violence.

    Botswana has summoned a Zimbabwean envoy to complain about the violence. It has supported Zimbabwe's opposition.

    Namibia is an ally of Robert Mugabe. It wants to re-distribute white-owned farms to black villagers. It has not criticised the violence.

    Mozambique has hosted some white farmers forced out of Zimbabwe when their land was seized. It is seen as sympathetic to the opposition.

    Tanzania's ruling party has a history of backing Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. Its foreign minister has condemned the violence.

    DR Congo's President Joseph Kabila is an ally of Robert Mugabe who sent troops to help his father, Laurent Kabila, fight rebels.

    Malawi is seen as neutral. But 3m people from Malawi are in Zimbabwe and many were badly hit by the farm invasions.

    As for the EU, Italy has recalled its envoy to Zimbabwe, and called for other members to do likewise.

    And the British? Oh, I expect we are making a nice cup of tea to calm the situation.

African Community Initiative Support

  • Inside Mugabe's World

    Posted: June 30, 2008, 1:17 am by Dad Mzungu
    I have just read excerpts of an interview with President Robert Mugabe, by Heidi Holland, which took place last December.

    When the Ms Holland suggested that his policies had caused the economy to collapse, he sat up straight, his eyes flashing.

    "Our economy is a hundred times better, than the average African economy. Outside South Africa, what country is [as good as] Zimbabwe? ... What is lacking now are goods on the shelves - that is all."

    On his reasoning behind the land invasions, he said: "We had hoped that the British would take notice of it and that they would say: 'Let's meet and discuss this'"

    It became clear that Mr Mugabe has arranged himself in a bubble of denial to avoid facing what he has done in Zimbabwe.

    What a sad old man he must be ... a despotic, sad old man.

    Excerpt from "A glimpse inside Mugabe's world" by South African writer Heidi Holland.

    On another tack, I see that PM Raila Odinga is urging the African Union to suspend Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe until he allows free and fair elections.

    As to the other members:

    South Africa's Thabo Mbeki is the key mediator. He has not criticised Robert Mugabe, despite pressure from the ruling ANC.

    Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has taken the toughest line. He's called Zimbabwe a "regional embarrassment". But he has just been rushed to hospital in Egypt.

    Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos is one of Robert Mugabe's closest allies. He has urged Mr Mugabe to end the violence.

    Botswana has summoned a Zimbabwean envoy to complain about the violence. It has supported Zimbabwe's opposition.

    Namibia is an ally of Robert Mugabe. It wants to re-distribute white-owned farms to black villagers. It has not criticised the violence.

    Mozambique has hosted some white farmers forced out of Zimbabwe when their land was seized. It is seen as sympathetic to the opposition.

    Tanzania's ruling party has a history of backing Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. Its foreign minister has condemned the violence.

    DR Congo's President Joseph Kabila is an ally of Robert Mugabe who sent troops to help his father, Laurent Kabila, fight rebels.

    Malawi is seen as neutral. But 3m people from Malawi are in Zimbabwe and many were badly hit by the farm invasions.

    As for the EU, Italy has recalled its envoy to Zimbabwe, and called for other members to do likewise.

    And the British? Oh, I expect we are making a nice cup of tea to calm the situation.

  • Funding our work

    Posted: June 30, 2008, 7:06 pm by Dad Mzungu
    We are not very good at getting people to donate funds to us. Yes, OK, when we have a specific need, like buying shoes for all the kids at the Mercy Gate Home, we managed it by collecting old mobile phones in the UK and selling them in Kenya. It was very successful and surpassed our best expectations.

    But, raising funds to build River Cottage Kenya is a different matter. So, assuming that we are not going to get external funding, I have sunk some capital into starting up a business in Kenya, an Internet café to be precise. Vincent, Mercy Gate's director will manage it and draw a weekly or monthly salary. The rest (assuming there is any) will be put in the bank, and I will use it to start the River Cottage project when I next go over, probably in September. The income will also support two of the kids at Mercy Gate, Jojo and Benta, as I have already said that I will pay for their upkeep.

    The actual shamba project itself doesn't need a lot of funding. What I really need is a vehicle to cart the materials to the plot, as well as so get between our three main sites, Kisii, Nairobi and Malindi.

    We did have a little Toyota which wasn't best suited to our needs, but it was better than nothing. Unfortunately, someone turned it into a bonfire in January and we haven't been able to replace it.

    So, the café has got to work, so that I can get our projects off the ground.

    I don't know what an old 4x4 would cost, but it is more than I have.

  • More Mercy Gate Kids

    Posted: June 30, 2008, 1:36 pm by Dad Mzungu
    On the last day of my stay in Kisii, I was introduced to a family of five orphans who were temporarily being housed by Pastor Liston.

    As we were going to the plot for a party, the four eldest came along too.

    The oldest of the five is Dominic, a very serious-looking boy.

    He is about 14 and appears to look out for his younger siblings.

    Once at the plot, I made him team captain for one of the volleyball teams, which drew him out.


    Next in line is Mary.

    She seemed to have no problem in mixing with the girls both younger and older.








    Osando and Getembe are the next two.

    Osando stuck close to Dominic for a lot of the time, until he felt more comfortable and Getembe was honoured - he was the only child that was allowed to touch Jojo's ball!










    Last but not least is baby Kemuma, who did not come to the plot as the weather was a little chilly (by Kenyan standards), so she stayed with Pastor Liston.

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • Today IS the Day - probably

    Posted: June 30, 2008, 12:54 pm by Dad Mzungu
    I received a phone call at 8.30am this morning from Kisii. It was my friend, Vincent. I haven't heard from him for a few days as he has been busy getting the Internet café ready and trying to get electricity, phone lines, Intnernet connections ... er ... connected.

    He phoned just to say that in principle, all is now ready and he is hoping to open the doors today.

    Here's hoping!

  • Winter has arrived in Nairobi

    Posted: June 29, 2008, 11:27 pm by Dad Mzungu
    A friend and colleague who lives and works in Nairobi emailed me to say that he was in his office and feeling the cold, as winter had arrived.

    On questioning him, he told me that the outside temperature had crept up to 19°C at 10.30am. That's 8.30 here and our outside temperature, was at 6°C, but forecast to rise to a glorious 16°C in the afternoon.

    He concluded that he preferred winter in Nairobi to Summer in GB! So do I.

  • Time for a change and mental ramblings

    Posted: June 29, 2008, 1:20 pm by Dad Mzungu

    It is summer (in the Northern hemisphere at least) and I felt it was time for a change. Nothing devastating, just a minor change to format and colour. The previous template was dark and serious. I don't feel dark and serious at the moment, just a bit frivolous.

    -oOo-

    In the UK, I drive a multi-purpose vehicle with 7 passenger seats. I have this urge to paint a broken yellow stripe around its waist and MATATU across the front - perhaps route 19C (my route from office to home when I am in Nairobi).


    [Yes, I know this is a Nairobi~Kisii shuttle, not a matatu - but it has the yellow stripe!]

    Can't do that. I want to sell my ol' bus, and turning it into a matatu would not be conducive, unless a local Kenyan wanted to buy it. It is too old to take to Kenya, although it would be put to good use at the ophanage.

    -oOo-

    There was a South African choir in our town yesterday. They sounded very similar to the Ladysmith Black Mambazo Choir and were very entertaining.

    But the most entertaining for me was a little girl, braided and beaded, wearing what looked like a kanga, moving to the music. I had forgotten just how easily black kids pick up rhythm.

    -oOo-

    That little girl reminded me of a winter a few years ago. I was in town when it started to snow. A few feet in front of me, there were two little black girls with thick quilted jackets and wooly bonnets. As the snow fell, they both stopped and looked up. Their wide-eyed amazement was fascinating. As the snowflakes settled on their upturned faces, they looked shocked, then they both burst into giggles - as only little girls can.

    I just had to speak to their mother. These girls had just arrived from Uganda for the Christmas holiday, staying with friends in the area. And, naturally, they had never seen snow before. I wish I had had my camera with me.

  • Getting used to Kenyanese

    Posted: June 28, 2008, 10:07 pm by Dad Mzungu

    "Sorry!" When in Kenya, I hear this all the time, even when the speaker had done nothing to be sorry for.

    I have to say that I am clumsy. I can trip over my own feet while standing still, or even sitting down - no kidding. And it is not the alcohol - honest - OK, not all the time.

    So, I will be walking down the road and trip on a matchstick or whatever. "Sorry," my companion would say. It took me a long time to understand this. There is no real equivalent in English English ... er that is English as spoken in Great Britain.

    Another one is "Yes" when we would say "No". Because the speaker is saying "Yes, I agree with what you are saying," as opposed to "No, I don't think so either."

    Confusing.

    But once I came to terms with these little nuances, I soon found that most Kenyans, even those upcountry, speak excellent English. And the kids in Nairobi speak better English than many kids here. They speak grammatically correct English - innit - and don't interject any "Y' know", "er", "like", and certainly don't swear - well, not in my company and not in English, anyway.

    I sometimes wonder how a well-spoken Kenyan could possibly survive over here, where we beat up our own language until it is an unrecognisable pulp!

    Ask a Kenyan kid "How was school today?" and the reply will be. "It was good (or bad). We did math, english and geography."

    Here, the answer would be something like, "Er, well, y'know, it was, like, yeah, good. Innit."

    And to think that I was considering bringing my girlfriend and her children over here! No way. I don't want to ruin their education - and their good grasp of the English language.

African Community Initiative Support

  • Oil on Still Waters

    Posted: June 28, 2008, 9:52 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I have seen and read about pouring or spraying mineral oil onto standing water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, or more precisely, suffocating the larvae.

    However, treating water holes with mineral oil sounds less than healthy for the cattle and goats that need to drink from these sources.

    Has anyone tried using old cooking oil rather than mineral oil? I would think that animals would find it more palatable and less harmful.

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • What does this mean?

    Posted: June 27, 2008, 6:42 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Trawling through the hundreds of photos that were taken with my cameras while I was in Kenya (not all taken by me), I came across this one of Ben, a five year old Nairobi boy. I have seen this sign many times, both in Kenya and the UK. I didn't take this photo, so couldn't ask him what the sign meant, if anything.



    Ben bears a striking resemblence to Tyler James Williams, the boy who plays a young Chris Rock in Everybody Hates Chris ...


    ... don't you think? (Ben is the one with hair!)

  • Water -v- Oil

    Posted: June 27, 2008, 12:03 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Michael Grunwald, a correspondant for Time Magazine who has been commenting on Florida's attempt to restore the Everglades to their former glory commented, "There is an understanding that one day water will be as precious as oil."

    I am sorry Mr Grunwald, but we can all live without oil, albeit with very different lifestyles, but try to live without water.

    Water is the most precious commodity on this planet. We survived for thousands of years without oil, but we have always needed water.

    Even in this modern age, there are still people who do not use oil or its products, but they need water every day. Needless to say, most of these people do not have enough water.

  • The situation in Zim

    Posted: June 26, 2008, 9:24 pm by Dad Mzungu

    This was received from an acquaintance in Zim. I have blanked the names to protect them. I hope it still makes sense. This email is posted on other blogs as well as this one.

    I cannot guarantee its authenticity.

    Dear all, It has been quite a weekend.

    We were made very aware of impending problems on our farm before it even started. Various letters came in as well as verbal warnings from concerned people all over the district. People were told that our cattle and potatoes would be dished out to them. The election campaign is being fought on "one hundred percent empowerment" ie. taking everything that belongs to people who are not black and giving it to Party faithfulls. The Party has got nothing else to offer the people...

    People were told if they did not come they would be beaten.

    President Mugabe arrived in our little town that afternoon and people were only informed that morning. Everyone had to suddenly go to his rally whether they wanted to or not. He apparently told the people that if the opposition got in it would be war. The unexpected Presidential rally must have thrown the organisation for the "programme" [as it was referred to in a letter from one of the organisors].

    That evening we only ended up with about 500 of the expected 1500 people that were to come. They were bussed in from all over on tractor trailors, lorries, car and busses. We even had one bus from Shamva hundreds of kms away.

    The drums and chanting started soon after dark. Nearly fifty fires were lit all around. The leaders were waving guns around and had everyone doing their bidding. The chanting and sloganeering was military style - all in unison for hour after hour after hour all the way through the night. We could not sleep.

    When dawn broke and the birds started to call the chanting broke into a noise that sounded like a terrible swarm of bees on the rampage. We knew that the beating had then started and we prayed. It turned out that anyone who they believed had been polling agents at polling stations was covered in cold water. We had frost that morning and it was cold.

    They were then told to beat each other with sticks while the crowd egged them on. The noise went on for a few hours. Some of them had already run away. Those people will not vote; still less be polling agents in the next election because you have to vote in your own ward I understand and they are designating which polling station too so that they can check who you voted for.

    They had been searched for any cell phones so that they not relay any atrocities on to anyone. They were told that they would be killed if information leaked out. Everyone is tight lipped about what went on. Today they go through the day mechanically with terror written all over them.

    A neighbor, M***E, drove past on the main road and was stopped at a road block that they had set up on our road. He managed to get through that but at the next one they put burning logs on his bonnet and tried to get into the car. A couple of hundred people came out from the packshed where the indoctrination was taking place. He managed to reverse and turn around and get through the other road block taking some rocks on his windscreen and other places on the car.

    Meantime B*** had been at the police station trying to get police out. We had been there on five occasions the previous week trying to tell Chief Inspector and Inspector and Assistant Inspector of what was to take place. We had given two letters for the attention of the officer in charge, Chief Inspector .

    B*** waited for six hours at the police station but could not get a reaction to stop the beating and dismantle the road blocks. He saw Chief Inspector , Inspector and Assistant Inspector amongst others. It is clear that they are under orders not to react.

    Our electricity went down and both cell phone networks also ceased to operate. We were left with no communications and our way out onto the main road was sealed off by a road block. We prayed and read psalm 118.

    B*** eventually decided to come out himself. Miraculously, just before he arrived, the road blocks were dismantled and everyone disappeared. Shortly after the guards came to tell us of thieves in the maize - about 30 people were just helping themselves. We caught some of them and chased them off and recovered their booty.

    That evening we got a call from N* R* who was very badly beaten up with her husband six weeks ago by Gilbert Moyo and his gang. They had also had everything from their house and workshops stolen in that raid including even their clothes. Gilbert Moyo was taken into custody by police but was then let out again as a hit man. He "hit" XYZ and NN in the area a few nights ago and they had half an hour to get out of their home and off their farm or end up the same way as Bruce and Nettie had. We do not know what has been looted there yet.

    B*** and N* were staying in a cottage on another farm when Gilbert Moyo arrived with thirty people and said he was taking the farm for Senator Madzongwe. They managed to get to the main homestead with the E*** brothers while I went to police with ABC.

    We spent an hour at the police station but they refused to react as it was an "issue of land." I told them that disposession of ones home and assault of ones workers were matters that were important for them to deal with; but after B***'s six hours fruitless wait for a reaction that morning I knew we were wasting our time; and so we eventually proceeded to Stockdale to give whatever support we could.

    As it happened an army Major by the name of Indora spoke to Gilbert Moyo and the E***s and B*** eventually ended up transporting Moyo and his gang back to their base 20 km away in the early hours of the morning as the "hit" had not got official sanction. They got to a road block of 50 ZANU people on the main road but they were allowed through and back without incident.

    Such road blocks are now common at night to stop observors and anyone from "outside" getting to any pungwes and seeing the atrocities that are taking place. A friend's worker went to their rural area near to the Nyamapanda border post to see his elderly mother last month. In these areas any movement needs official sanction from the Party and written ZANU permits are even required to visit the next ward in many places. I have seen such permits.

    The friend's worker was stopped at a road block and had to wait 2 days to get someone to vouch for him. During that time 4 people who had not got anyone to vouch for them were asked if they wore long sleeves or short sleeves. The first replied "short sleeves". They cut his right arm off at the top with an axe. The other three replied "long sleeves". They cut each of their right hands off.

    He said that he saw the hands wriggling on the ground detatched from their owners. Those hands can not vote any more. I have heard of many other hands like that.

    It seemed macabre that B*** who was so badly assaulted by Moyo 6 weeks ago was taking him back to "his" home scott free. Presumably all B***'s worldly possessions are now in that place that they took him to. N* asked B*** to look out for their dog which also disappeared on the 6 May; but they most probably killed it. B*** saw no evidence of it.

    There appears to be no sign of any SADC observors out here. A friend said he had seen some sipping drinks and reading the newspapers in the Meikles hotel in Harare over the weekend. Voter registration goes on even now. The old people at Greenways Old Peoples home say they are now off the voters role but the ones that are dead are still on...

    Meanwhile the atrocities go on at the all night pungwes and the people tremble with fear. I read that the observors are officially not allowed out after dark because their safety can not be guaranteed. They need to defy that and get out and see with their own eyes these things if they care at all.

    We ask you to pray and send brave people and peace keepers to stop the atrocities before they get even worse. Maybe I write this in vain; but I write this crying.

    With love in Christ who is our Saviour whatever happens,

    B

  • Getting about

    Posted: June 26, 2008, 2:50 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I am always looking for new ways to get to and from Kenya, preferably quick, easy, cheap and comfortable.

    But this must take first prize ...


    Does this Nairobi bus really ply between Heathrow and Nairobi? Or is there a Heathrow in the Nairobi area that I don't know about?

  • Developed -v- Developing

    Posted: June 25, 2008, 12:43 pm by Dad Mzungu

    I was sitting in a traffic jam on the Thika Road when a man cycled past me. His bicycle was laden with what looked like the steel rods used for reinforcing concrete pillars.

    He crossed the road to his "shop", untied his bars and set up his gas welding kit.

    That evening, I was passing back along the same road when I saw this man at the side of the road, in his shop. In pride of place was a magnificent wrought iron coffee table. I just had to stop and look.

    Yes, this was made from the iron rods I had seen him carrying that morning. Yes, it wasn't finished - he was waiting for his friend to supply a sheet of glass to go on the top. Yes, it needed painting. But, on close examination, the legs were perfect, the scroll work was symmetrical, and this man used only a welding torch, a charcoal brazier, a large hammer and a length of steel railway track as an anvil. No drawings, no rulers, just his eye - brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

    -oOo-

    We needed cubicles for our new Internet café. I would be hard-pressed to know where to start in the UK, and would probably end up with ordinary office tables, with partition screens mounted on top. Not in Kenya. You go to the local carpenter and explain roughly what you want. A couple of days later, you pick up the finished product, which is perfectly made and ready for painting.

    -oOo-

    Our car broke down last September. The front disk brakes seized up. Luckily, we were in Thika Road, where there is a plethora of mechanics. I pulled into a dirt yard which was formed by a semi-circle of sheds serving as a body shop, spray booth, a mechanic, a greengrocer and a bar.

    The mechanic came over, carrying his toolbox, comprising a hammer, a half-set of open-ended spanners and a lump of wood. He had an apprentice with him. The kid looked about 10, his overalls swamped him.

    I sidled over to the bar where I sat sipping soda and chatted to the clientele drinking their breakfast beers. These were an off-duty tour bus driver, an off-duty policeman, a municipal worker taking a break for refreshment, and a "property developer".

    I was soon relieved of my cigarettes and one of the men sent a youngster off on his bicycle to get more. Obviously I had to tip the boy.

    90 minutes later, the mechanic told me that the car was fixed. We both jumped in and took it for a spin, testing the brakes. They worked.

    I asked how much and he thought for a while. "Even if you are mzungu, I will only charge you 1,350 bob," he said.

    I gave him Ksh 1,500 and he made a show of looking for change in his many pockets. I told him to give it to the boy.

    The following day, I drove from Nairobi to Nakuru, Kericho, Sotik and finally, Kisii, then back through Narok to Nairobi. I don't know how far it was, but it was a long journey going up and down the escarpments, and the brakes never let me down.

    -oOo-

    I am sure that this sort of service and inventiveness can be found all over Kenya. To me, a visitor, it is astonishing to see at first hand these artisans working with virtually nothing to produce works of art, perfect furniture, or sturdy car repairs.

    Here - anywhere in the "developed world" - you can get the same finished products, the difference being that most would be produced by machines. The workers are merely machine minders. They could not produce the coffee table, the cubicles for the Internet café without detailed drawings and a host of power tools. They could not fix the car without a workshop full of tools and a manual.

    We, in the developed world have lost that ability to make things, to bodge.

    What a shame.

  • African Time ...

    Posted: June 24, 2008, 1:40 am by Dad Mzungu

    Silly me! There was I, expecting my new business to open today as I had been told. The lines should have been put in yesterday. But that is African time yesterday. Which apparently means today!

    Still, the lines went in today, so we should be opening tomorrow. So, what's one day (or two) in the general scheme of things? This is Africa.

    Unless, of course, African time is even more flexible than I remember.

  • Sitting on the fence?

    Posted: June 24, 2008, 5:36 pm by Dad Mzungu
    From Daily Mail, 24 June 2008

African Community Initiative Support

  • River Cottage, Kenya

    Posted: June 23, 2008, 5:54 am by Dad Mzungu

    In the UK, we are plagued by "celebrity chefs", on the TV in particular.

    For those of you who do not receive UK TV, the programmes started many years ago with Fanny Craddock, with her husband Johnny, knocking up braised pheasant with truffles and the like.

    These days, the programmes are far more diverse, with a couple of chefs advocating healthy food, "back to basics", fair trade, etc. I have no problem with this. In fact, I passively support the ideals, if only they didn't cost so much more than factory-produced plastic food.

    One celebrity in particular, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, started living at his weekend cottage, growing his own fruit and veg, and with the addition of animals, soon became self-sufficient.

    He expanded and now has a farm in Devon, River Cottage HQ, as well as a city farm in Bristol.

    So where is this blog going? Well, I reckon that what I want to do on my (as yet theoretical) model shamba is pretty much what HF-W is doing in England. So I am pinching the name River Cottage and calling my shamba "River Cottage, Kenya". There is a cottage on the plot, there is a river running past it and it is in Kenya, so why not?

    Before HF-W became a celebrity chef, he worked in conservation in Africa, although I cannot find out more details. Maybe he will hear about River Cottage, Kenya. Then he can either ignore it, sue me, or help out. I would prefer the last - but any publicity is good publicity - so they say.

A Mzungu who loves Kenya

  • Just like London Buses

    Posted: June 21, 2008, 2:32 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Work was flagging in the UK, so during a visit to Kenya, I decided to sink my small fortune (I wish!!) in a business in Kenya, which would help support the orphanage as well as earning me a bit of money.

    With my good friend, we found a business for sale, but as I explained in a previous post, that was not to be, and we set about starting from scratch.

    As things were quiet here, I was hoping to spend a lot of time planning the opening of our new venture (next Tuesday, Internet connection willing), designing posters etc. to send over to Kenya as my friend is busy with settting up, cabling and all that sort of thing.

    But, as Murphy's Law would have it, I have been rushed off my feet! work is coming in thick and fast. Having had a period of near famine (work-wise) I am now getting enquiries coming all together, just like London buses.

    For a start, the charity, Rhino Ark ([www.rhinoark.org]) has just held their annual mad-cap 4x4 endurance event somewhere in the Rift Valley and loads of photos were sent to me (I maintain their website) for uploading.

    And it seems that every other client here has contracted a virus, mainly because they don't regularly run their virus scan software, or don't keep it up to date.

    I have a pile of very slow computers sitting here, waiting to be cleaned off.

    Oh well, it shouldn't take me long to get my air fare together to return to Kenya at this rate, although I heard this morning that airlines were putting up fares by a staggering 40% to cover increased fuel costs - Heaven help us!

  • So far, so good ...

    Posted: June 20, 2008, 7:44 pm by Dad Mzungu

    After all the messing about, with both a business seller and the landlord of the premises raising their price when he found out that he was dealing with a mzungu, and sending money out to buy equipment, rent premises, etc., my man in Kisii tells me we are ready to go - apart from the Internet connection, which will be in place on Monday.

    So, we should be trading on Tuesday!

    All we need now is a few clients, or better still, lots of clients.

    So, anyone in Kisii reading this, there will be a new cyber café in town next week!

    The name? DABIVAM TECHNOLOGIES. (Don't ask, it's another story)

  • Back Up

    Posted: June 17, 2008, 1:00 pm by Dad Mzungu

    Well, this blog has been searched for racism and bigotry. The only instances found were in comments.

    There were instances where small-minded people might be offended, but we consider that they do not represent the majority of the readshship.

    This site is declared sanitised.

  • Closing for Maintenance

    Posted: