Tanya will tell this better. But shes next to me having no luck. We met widows receiving farm aid. We met 10 and they each told us how much this organization has helped and changed their lives. Margaret's farms makes her 15000 Ksh a year thats $300. She is considered rich because she only needs to buy sugar and oil, self sufficient. The money allows her to make micro loan payments and the loans go to keeping her kids in school. She says its so nice not to have to worry about starving, they can focus on bigger things. We had Fanta in a VERY tidy mud hut. One woman has a sewing machine and makes extra $$$ that way. Iam still stunned by how poor these people are. Not starving, just poor and impacted by AIDs. At the same time Im gobsmacked to see their tiny farms of pineapples and tropical fruits. They have (the ones we visited yesterday) rich land but nobody to work, most of the youth want to be in the city, not learning to farm. The women are the driving force. It was hard to keep $$ in my pocket. Each organization we meet seems excellent and we want to support. But we have limited funds and want to learn more.
Next week we visit Julie (she works at Fit Ex and just by chance got accepted to join a project here at the same time as our trip, on very short niotice) in nairobi . She is working in true city slums. Hopefully we can stay with her.
Its lunchtime now (its 1am where you are). This afternoon we tour Rotary High School (teachers strike is over today) and then we go to a Rotary meeting in the next town over (Vihiga). Hopefully they have some room for a matching grant. The local club is full up of applications.
Hooray for Pittsburgh- they have been my team since Terry Bradshaw was king.
x my fingers this posts
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