Pineapple

So as you may have discovered, I love pineapple. And the AMAZING pineapple I had last week that I blogged about came from Uganda, which boarders Kenya. So, when I found out that VEF Business Mentors were going to Busia, a town right on the Kenya-Uganda boarder, to train members of our Peace and Business program, I immediately made sure I was part of that trip.

I left early Thursday morning to go to a savings training meeting in a small town halfway to Busia. The village is the smallest town I think I’ve ever been to; it was just a small collection of houses, an open-air market, and a church. They local women were gathered outside the church and they all were very surprised to see a mzungu ride up on the back of a motorcycle. We joined the organized savings group in the church where we held the training. Savings is one of VEF’s newer programs as we organize ten businesses we are funding into a savings group of 50. The session provided information on different ways to save and facilitation of the election of officers and creation of a constitution to minimize later disputes. The Business Mentor did most of the training but I jumped in to help explain some of the areas where she was less clear. Overall the session was a success and everyone was very grateful.

We went straight from the village to Busia where we checked into a fancier hotel than I was expecting. It even had a real toilet and a hot shower, two things that are not part of my daily routine. After settling in, ordering lunch, and waiting an hour and a half (everything runs on “Kenyan time” which I’m almost getting used to), I was ready to explore Busia. I walked half an hour to the main town which was very active. There were street vendors everywhere and even 18-wheelers rolling slowly toward what I assumed was the boarder. I was approached by tons of locals, asking me for money, if I wanted to get in their car, and for my phone number. No, no, and no. Because Busia is larger than Kakamega, the locals are more used to mzungus and aren’t shy about getting in your face. I followed the road and two minutes later, voila, there was the boarder with Uganda. I took advantage of the opportunity and bought the biggest, ripest pineapple I could find. After exploring the town a bit more and hearing all of the “Mzungu, mzungu!” calling I could take, I walked back toward the hotel, pineapple in hand.

On my way back to the hotel I passed a group of kids kicking around a ball that seemed to be made of the outside of a pineapple in their front yard. I watched for a minute then asked if I could join. The three kids welcomed me with open arms and a friendly pass. But before long it had turned into an intense match of soccer. Even though we didn’t speak, soccer (well, football to them) was our universal language. The teams became apparent as did the goals between fence posts and shoes that I’m sure they had been using for years. Man did they wear me out. I was able to keep up for the most part but they knew what they were doing with this homemade “soccer ball.” Time flew and before I knew it, it had gotten dark. The kids could have gone on for hours but I finally decided I had to leave. The nicest boy said he lived near the hotel so he walked back with me. He told me his name was Ian and that he actually enjoys school (the first time I had heard that in Kenya). He said he wanted to be a pilot and I told him that if he set his mind to it, he could be anything he wanted. Hopefully 10 or 15 years from now, he will be flying around fulfilling his dream. I went back to the hotel and enjoyed my big yellow dinner, all sliced up and juicy as ever.

Friday morning I went with a new Business Mentor to train a group in the town of Nambale, not far from Busia, as part of VEF’s Peace and Business program. A little background/Kenyan history: Kenya has five major tribes and tribal loyalty is very important in the Kenyan culture. In the 2007 Kenyan presidential election, one candidate rightfully won but the incumbent president refused to step down and proclaimed that he had won. Violence broke out all over Kenya, especially against those of the president’s tribe, and tribal conflict ensued. So, our Peace and Business program requires that members coming together to start a small business must be from at least two different tribes. Friday morning we taught basic business principles and how peace is good for business just as is business is good for peace. At the end of the training, the business groups received grant money to start the micro-enterprises they had been planning for months. All of the recipients were incredibly thankful; some stood up and gave speeches in English just for me and the other mzungus present. It was heart warming to see the connection between the paperwork I had been doing and the actual people who benefit from the program. Hopefully sometime in the next two months I will be able to come back to Nambale and see the outcomes of these businesses. And if I’m in the area I’m sure I’ll make it back to Busia for some more pineapple and pineapple soccer.