Turkana Education Centre Grand Opening

Grand Opening Ceremony

Last night it dropped to a cool 28 degrees Celsius here in Lodwar.  It was probably an additional 5 degrees warmer in our room.  Every surface is hot - the bed, the floor, the toilet.  To make matters worse, the mosquito net managed to block most of the airflow from the ceiling fan!  Yowza!  This born-and-bred Canadian was warm!  Today it is 39 degrees in the shade.  The forecast is the same: 39 degrees day-in and day-out.  I asked our driver what the temperature during different seasons.  He said, “39 degrees”.  Oh well, it could be worse.  It could be snowing.  HA!

There is a contingent of the US Army staying here at the Diocese.  They are here helping with animal care and distributing medicine and food.  We chatted with a couple of the soldiers for a few minutes, and I was really impressed by the work that they do.

We stocked up the kitchen storage for school lunches

Today we go to the Turkana Education Centre for it’s grand opening.  As stated in an earlier post, this school was built by A Better World, Carpet Colour Centre, and the Rotary Club of Lacombe.  As I understand it, there are classrooms, teacher dorms, and a kitchen/cafeteria.  The heat makes it too difficult for the children to travel home for a meal, so the school feeds them here.  Julie from ABW is heading in to town this morning to buy beans and rice, with money donated by her neighbours, to stock up the kitchens.  

We loaded into 5 or 6 cars and headed out through town to the new school.  We arrived to a real hoopla - the kids were all arranged in the shade of the kitchen and cafeteria veranda, there were many members of the community assembled on chairs under a canvas shelter, there was even a crazy DJ laying down the beats as we got out of the cars to greet the teachers and pastors of the community.  What a welcoming committee!  

The classrooms were bright and cool

We were immediately whisked off on a quick tour of the buildings, and I have to say these are the nicest classrooms I’ve seen so far.  Well constructed, painted with bright colours, and ventilated to take advantage of cooling breezes, this school is wonderfully built.  Patrick the contractor, who lead the tour, did an absolutely fantastic job.  His commitment to the project (travelling a long distance each week to work in the heat of Lodwar) was outstanding.  He really should get a medal.  There are offices, a storeroom, a staff room, and two classrooms in the first building.  There are a cafeteria and storeroom in the second building.  I was extremely proud to have my name and Carpet Colour Centre’s name on the side of the building.  It was an emotional experience seeing it for the first time.

Traditional Turkana dancers

We had some time to play with the children, and I gave away some finger-puppets that my kids had sent.  Then, we were assembled on the school veranda for the grand opening ceremony.  The Kenyans first sang their national anthem to us, and then we returned the gesture.  We were treated to a traditional Turkana song and dance by some of the local women, all dressed in their colourful fabrics and beads.  The crazy DJ even decided to add some beats to their singing.  (I’ll let you wonder whether or not it improved the music).  The kids sang a few well-rehearsed songs of greetings for us, and then the speeches began.  We heard from Bishop Kubundo, who has been our partner on the ground in this endeavour since the very beginning, the head teacher, some community pastors, and some people from the education department.  A common theme was thankfulness to God, and a emphasis that the people of Lodwar and Turkana must make education a priority and support the school to give their kids a better chance.  My Dad, Eric, and Tim, who is heading up the Rotary Club team, also spoke, and thanked community and each of the sponsors for their contribution.

At this point I've got to point out what an inspiring man Eric Rajah is.  His work to enable Central Albertans to make a difference in the lives of people around the globe just amazes me.  Eric is the icebreaker, the explorer.  I don't think many of us would have the gumption to travel to a developing country cold turkey, just to meet people and locate areas of need.  He does exactly that, and he has been in some pretty scary situations as a result.  He ventures out into the word to find hurting people and pave the way for help to arrive.  He then turns around and invites Central Albertans to follow suit.  When we do, he gives us all the credit.  As I said, inspiring.

Kubundo, my Dad, and I

I also want to say how proud I am of my old man.  My Dad has taken up this cause with complete abandon, just like he does with all the aspects of his life.  To see what effect he’s had in just a few short years, on the ground, in some pretty rough areas, makes my heart swell with pride.  People here remember him.  He makes them laugh, and puts them at ease around him.  He challenges those who need to be challenged, and he encourages everybody.  It’s like he was born for this kind of work.  It really is awe-inspiring to see him in action.  I am so glad I could come on this trip and get to know him a little better in this way.

Staff at Carpet Colour Centre should be
absolutely proud of the work they've
contributed to here

Between the speeches, the crazy DJ would play short clips of music to keep the presentations flowing.  During one such break, an old grandpa, complete with cane, jumps up from the crowd and, in front of everybody, starts to groove to the music like only Africans can.  It was hilarious, and it took a few minutes to calm down the crowd before the speeches could resume.

Once the speeches were done, we had an opportunity to plant trees around the perimeter of the property.  Believe me, Lodwar can use more trees.  The sun is unrelenting and ruthless.  The kids carried seedlings out to the grounds and we each joined one of them to plant the trees.  It was a really cool experience, and I hope to return someday to some tall shade trees.

The school represents some hope for a very poor region of the world.  A Better World provided the facility, and our hope is that the community will provide the wages for the teachers.  The government of Kenya does not pay for Early Childhood Development - that’s the responsibility of the communities.  Prior to construction, Rick had received a commitment from the community leaders to provide the funds for the teachers’ wages, but so far that hasn’t happened.  The teachers thus far this year have not been paid.  It’s a sacrifice for these parents to provide that funding, but it is a core belief of ABW that the community must have skin in the game.  They must be an active stakeholder, so that they have 100% buy-in, and the project will ultimately be successful.  Aid has largely failed because of a lack of participation from the communities receiving the aid; hand-outs don’t work, they simply create a dependency and lack of innovation.  Let’s hope and pray that that buy-in will happen in Lodwar.

Hut Village

A woman making a reed broom

In the afternoon, we spent some time visiting the people in a hut village in the scrubland outside of Lodwar.  These people have very, very few possessions - a machete, a knife, some clothes, and maybe a couple goats or chickens.  They spend their days gathering firewood to sell in town, bringing water from the river, making brooms from reeds.  They are provided with some medicine and water purification tablets to prevent waterborne disease, but it is a tough life.  We watched a little guy, perhaps five years old, sitting in the dust, pulling a two-inch thorn from his foot.  No tears, no complaints.  With a similar injury, a Canadian kid would be in emergency, and both he and his mother would be distraught, to say the least.  The girls are married off and bear children very early, and the kids play in the dirt until they can walk and run.  This is where the Turkana Education Centre students come from.  Most of them will be the very first generation to attend any schooling whatsoever.  Illiteracy here is at 80% and most of those who can read and write are outsiders who have moved here.  This is the reason that the school is so important.  Lodwar is not a pleasant place to visit; there are no exotic animals or safari camps; it is remote, hot, and intimidating.  It has largely been abandoned or forgotten by the rest of the world.  But there are people here too who deserve the essentials of life just like the rest of us.  We need to keep coming to help that happen.

On the Run from the Law

A funny experience on the road today: we were pulled over by some police officers, who accused our driver of speeding.  Interestingly enough, there was no radar; these guys apparently had an uncanny ability to judge a vehicle’s speed by eye.  Also interesting, the speed limit, which was 80 km/h was matched exactly by the governed top speed of the van - it physically can't drive faster than 80 km/h.  Even more interesting, the tickets were to be paid in cash to the officer directly.  Gee, I wonder if this is a scam.  Driver Charles again used his mad, mad Kenyan mind tricks to confuse the officers with bad jokes.  He managed to get his papers back and we took off as fast as we could.  We fought the law and we won!

How to freak out a bunch of mzungus: have a couple of wrecked jet engines at the end of the air strip.  Lodwar.

Great Rift Valley - Civilization's Ground Zero

Driving west from Nairobi this morning, we came to the Great Rift Valley, 1000 feet deep and absolutely beautiful.  This is where two tectonic plates are pulling away from each other, leaving a void that dramatically cuts across east Africa.  The Euphrates and Tigris rivers lie at the base of this valley.  Ancient, dead volcanoes and craters pockmark its floor.  This is where most anthropologists believe civilization began.  

The Great Rift Valley - where it all began