04 Dec - 11 Dec 2011
Where do I start...a busy and eventful week, some boredom, some excitement, loads of problems and some new experiences... one of which I never want to repeat.
Its all turned into a bit of a mush now but I'll try and recount it as best I can.
Sunday evening 04 Dec
Ben the cook tells me that one of the older girls (Id say she's between 17 and 19) has gone missing from Wamba. This takes quite a while as he doesnt speak much English and my Swahili is very poor but Im eventually happy that this is what he is trying to tell me. I immediately wonder why he is telling me this and not one of the managers at Wamba, so I phone and am told it is OK, she is in Ngaremara and staying with family.
Monday 05 Dec
I was satisfied with the answer from last night and set off about normal business returning early from Isiolo. Once back I decided to go into the village to meet the girl and find out what the problem was. Guess what... she was not there and noone had seen her.
Determined not to lose anyone on my watch, and fearful that she may be sold as a wife (it happens), I set off in search of her travelling round the numerous manyattas, visiting many huts and talking to loads of people trying to find her. To be honest I quite enjoyed it as although it hadnt rained for a few days, there was still enough mud about to make the driving challenging and for the landcruiser to be totally covered in it by the time I got back (dont worry Ken...I cleaned it and tried to avoid the thorn bushes when driving off road).
By night fall we still could not find her and after two more trips to the village, I decided to set off for Isiolo to look for her as the Matatu (local minibus) from Wamba only stops there and at Archers Post.
Isiolo at night was definitely an interesting experience and I spent quite a while driving round the unlit streets trying to locate her... Still no joy, it was late and I wanted to report her missing to the Childrens Officer first thing in the morning so I decided to stay and booked into a local hotel.
Tuesday 06 Dec
I reported her missing and returned to Ngaremara. On the way back I got a phone call from one of the numerous intelligence sources I had recruited during the previous day (LOL). He rang to say he had found out where she was and was en route to meet her at Archers Post. We agreed to meet up after he had met her.
I picked her up from Archers and brought her back to Ngaremara after a long chat about why she had run away. I could tell you the whole story but it would take too long to type, but if you are a script writer for a soap opera, drop me a line and I could possibly give you some new ideas for a plot...
The plan for today had been to go to Wamba and start bringing the kids back. In the end it doesnt happen because the Land Rover Pick Up's gear box is still lying in pieces on the ground by night fall.
Wednesday 07 Dec
At first light (before six), Locham, two builders, my newly returned from being suspended member of staff and I set off for Wamba. We manage about 500 metres before I give up on the Land Rover station wagon and opt for the Pick Up instead. Ive said in previous posts the road to Wamba had been bad but today it is definitely the worst Ive seen it, with more sections washed away. Im glad we didnt go last night.
We arrive at about nine and leave after lunch for Ngaremara with all the boys and some of the girls and as much luggage, mattresses and supplies as we could manage. My recently returned member of staff made herself scarce hoping I would forget her and leave her behind. I let her play her game as Locham and I had already decided we would return to Wamba as soon as we had dropped the kids off at Ngaremara.
We reach Ngaremara at around five, unload everyone and everything, have a quick cup of coffee and start the return journey to Wamba. At the edge of Ngaremara village one of the feeding programme kids waves at me to stop. He tells me that the three children from Wamba are still in Ngaremara village and that they thought I was going back to Wamba tomorrow. I was totally confused by this statement as a) I didnt know any kids from Wamba had travelled with us and b) I had given explicit instructions to the managers at Wamba that we were to bring as many of the kids from Ngaremara back as possible on the first run... I didnt realise they thought I was operating a tour service. They also knew I was returning immediately after the first load was dropped off... After more than a few seconds of complete bewilderment I smiled at him and told him I hope they enjoy Ngaremara, they are going to be here for a while... It has since turned out they do like it.
We get to Wamba by about half eight. Thankfully we have travelled the road twice today and know where the dangerous areas are and make it there without incident, well almost... The new spotlights on the landcruiser (which I am glad to be driving now as it is a much smoother ride than the Landrover) give up en route.
At Wamba, she who has just returned from being suspended and shall from now on be referred to as Trainee A, had yet again done no work and had successfully recruited one of the older kids from the home to cook dinner.
Thu 08 Dec
Set off from Wamba at around eleven. Before we leave, one of the babies vomits on my car seat. Great!!! During the journey Dominic's (the Ngaremara site manager) wife is sick numerous times and we have to stop every now and then as a result. Im totally surprised that she is even in the car as I was sure she was in the back of the pick up yesterday going to Ngaremara, in fact I thought she was in charge of the kids in Ngaremara last night. I am totally bewildered at what is going on yet again. Maybe feeling a little left out of the vomit party in the back of the car, Rosemum, one of the older students at secondary school also decides to join in... It was a lovely journey. The ability to announce you are going to be sick in enough time so that the car can be stopped seems to be definitely lacking with my passengers... As we drive back I think about maybe setting up and running a course on the subject.
Trainee A had sucessfully avoided all duties and tasks all day. Back at Ngaremara she even managed to recruit another student to do her work. She had done the same this morning but I had told the girl to stop and go back to the home as she was not a member of staff and therefore shouldnt be doing the staff's work. Obviously the message hadnt sunk in.
In the afternoon I went to Isiolo returning in the evening. Trainee A gave me my dinner then left. I was starving as I hadnt eaten all day. I quickly gulped down 6 or 7 large spoonfuls of the pasta, tomato and onions before realising something was very very wrong. I thought maybe it was just me so I brought the remainder out to the night watchman and one of the Administrative Police (APs). They tasted it and said they couldnt eat it.
Throughout the remainder of the night I was rather ill (a major understatement).
Fri 09 Dec
I awoke early feeling really sick, weak and with a bad headache. Id been up several times during the night and hadnt been able to get to sleep until after two. I now had strong pains in my chest and when checking my pulse it varied between being really weak and beating at over 120 beats per minute, to feeling fairly normal but every 6 or 7 beats it would miss a beat or two. All measurements were taken when I was lying down at rest. I was more than a little concerned... as you would be.. and decided the best course of action would be aspirin. I took three and waited until it was a reasonable time back home to contact Andrew, my brother who is an Accident and Emergency Consultant.
At half six (UK time) I contacted him and told him what had happened. Rather amusingly he sent this text "a heart trace, blood tests, intravenous fluids, anti sickness...Ah I see your predicament! Middle of nowhere..Aspirin why not.If heart continues to be irregular later go for a heart trace somewhere??? Drink plenty of fluids"
Before this Trainee A arrived at the house and seemed genuinely surprised to see me up and about. Determined not to let her know I had been effected by whatever she had put in my dinner, I sat with my laptop on my knee pretending to be working.
Locham the driver/mechanic, who of course had to be on his day off today, has mentioned several times putting poisoned bread in the car when we are traveling north in case we are held up by bandits (hardly a solution) and I heard someone else mention it another time so Im guessing, and I repeat Im guessing poisoning might not be uncommon here.
I continued the 'Im working on the laptop' facade until about half two, when I felt I was able to walk around, despite frequent requests to go to Isiolo as a food delivery was needed for the Killimani Home.
I managed to survive what seemed like a very long afternoon in Isiolo.
A quiet evening, still not feeling well but greatly improved from this morning.
Sat 09 Dec 11
Another bad nights sleep and still not feeling 100%. Did a stock take in the morning and back to Isiolo in the afternoon for repairs on the station wagon's brakes.
I went with Martin who is a student teacher who helps the Wamba kids at night with their studies. I talked with him about Monica the trainee from Wamba who had been taken away by her father from the site the day before (sorry forgot to mention that). He thought the father was planning to marry her off against her will for money and cattle. To cut a long story short she is on her way to the site at Ngaremara now and I'll have the full story in a few days.
Trainee A has again done little all day and when I arrive back she tells me dinner is sitting in the house. I go and look and its cold beans from lunch time and cold pasta. The pasta has green things in it which looks like herbs, which I find very unusual as they dont use them on the site.
Im pretty fed up (a slight understatement again) with her behaviour by now so I go and find her and hand her, her book of duties and ask her does she need to reread it. I tell her she has five minutes to decide.
I had expected her to come back over to the house but instead I find her 20 minutes later making a nice dinner for herself and her friends using what definitely looks like my food.
Trainee A is asked if she has anything to say... She says no, so I escort her from the site with all her belongings.
Later in the evening I have a few more dramas when I find the gate to the site is open, the night watchman hasnt turned up and the APs are sleeping. I go and speak to the manager, he tries to lie to me, fails and ends up with the night watchman job for the night.
Sun 11 Dec 2011
Get up early and take a walk round the site, still not feeling great. I discover there is no security again!!! I Wake up the manager (dear help him, he'd just got into bed) and confirm with him that he is in fact the manager. He says he is so I tell him he is managing the gate until he manages to get someone else to do the job.
Im meant to go to Nanyuki tomorrow to meet Ken and Pam the founders of the charity but decided its probably for the best if I go now before I lose my temper and do something I might regret later. I get the impression some (definitely not all) of the staff are trying to get a last minute break in before Ken and Pam arrive. Its been an interesting few weeks observing how a few of them behave when Ken is here and when he is not. I think this time some are going to be in for a shock and a few changes lie ahead.
Still not feeling the best and have just spent the afternoon in bed writing this.
2nd - 4th Dec 2011
02 12 2011 Friday
Go to Isiolo to see the DO1 (District officer) to ask about the current situation, whether it is safe to bring the children back and how long the APs (Administrative Police) will be staying on the site. He thinks the situation has now stabilized as the 'bandits' have moved on, there is a second inter tribal peace meeting on Saturday and the APs can stay as long as we want them here.
The safe room, complete with steel shutters and doors, in between the girls and boys dormitories should be complete by Monday so I plan to start bringing the kids back from Wamba on Tuesday. If all the vehicles are working that is.
Buy some paint etc for finishing the safe room and return to Ngaremara around three. Walk to Zebra and back with James, one of the builders, thankfully it was pretty cloudy so I didnt get roasted.
On the subject of the weather, its been pretty cool for the last 7 or 8 days and Ive barely seen the sun. Theres been plenty of rain and the mud is awful here. It sticks to your boots like concrete, and after walking in it for a while you end up being about 6 inches taller than when you started.
Tip of the day... Dont suspend the person who is meant to help you look after the house when it is the rainy season... I seem to be spending about an hour a day running around with a brush trying to keep the mud out.
03 12 2011 Saturday
Fairly lazy morning, not much happening on the site funnily enough as there is noone here except a few staff, the APs and a couple of the feeding programme kids who pop in every now and then.
Talk to some people in the village and find out the time and location of the peace meeting. Drive up to it at Camp Garba at around two. Its taking place in a field beside a school, under a tree. I was hoping it would be indoors as it looked like it was about to rain.. There was roughly just over a hundred men, women and kids in attendance along with fairly tight security.
The meeting gets under way with Borana tribeswomen singing and dancing and then some of the Turkana elders join in, along with the MP for the region (and minister of livestock) and some chiefs. It looks fairly well intentioned and friendly. The process is then repeated with Turkana Tribeswomen singing and dancing and some Borana elders join in. All very good, but by the third or fourth round of this Im thoroughly bored and glad to see the rain start and somebody suggest they begin the talks.
The first man to speak is from the Borana tribe and obviously didnt realise what the meeting was about as he is quickly ejected and sent on his way as he wasnt exactly talking about peace. As the second man speaks, another starts heckling from the crowd and is swiftly removed by the police. How much of this, if any, is being staged for the small and one sided press contingent in attendance, I dont know.
The rest of the meeting seems to go pretty well (apart from reports of cattle being
stolen a few miles away during the proceedings) with both sides talking about peace.
I speak to the Chief of Isiolo who wants to know when the kids are coming back and if she can come out and visit and also have a long chat with the Chief for Tigania East.
After the meeting I drive the short distance to Isiolo to use the internet cafe to print off some documents sent out by Ken but the printer isnt working. Whilst walking back to the car I meet one of the APs who had been on the site on one of the nights of the shootings. He greets me like Im his long lost brother and wants to know how things are and whether the kids are back.
Once back at Ngaremara a Chief from the neighbouring area calls and we have coffee and a long chat. I learn some very interesting facts about what has been going on and that a senior government oficial has been removed from their post and demoted as a result of their collusion in the attrocities.
A quiet night on the site most of which I spent trying to talk with the night watchman, Ben the chef and James the well digger. The APs found it pretty amusing as the aforementioned three spoke as much as English as I did Swahili.
04 12 2011
My coffee must have been good yesterday as the Chief returns with the Chairman of security for Ngaremara. We chat about what has happened and the chief shows me his emails about the killings along with attached pictures of the dead and destroyed villages on my phone, which has a really bad internet connection here, so it takes a while. He promises to return this evening with a full list and dates of all that has happened. We all agree that the full story was never told in the media.
We also talk about getting the night watchman made to be a 'home guard' which would mean he would be armed and all agree this would be a good idea.
Phrase for the day is 'Kubwa Eka' which I think, and Im not entirely sure, means boring. That pretty much sums up this afternoon... Hence the long post.. PS I really want a bar of chocolate, if anyone would like to post me one, preferably Galaxy milk chocolate, please feel free to do so...
24th Nov - 1st Dec 2011
24th 11 2011 Thursday
Set off early for Nanyuki, dropping off Richard at the bank in Isiolo and Rosemum and Damaris at the Matatu (local minibus) stop so they could return to Wamba.
Did some more shopping for supplies in Nanyuki and Ken left at 1 for Nairobi and his flight home. Pretty quiet day and was going to bed when I received a call stating there had been gunfire heard at Ngaremara but it was not thought to be nearby.
25th 11 2011 Friday
Awoke early and set off for Ngaremara. It was pouring with rain and it was a challenging drive with one windscreen wiper working (the one on the passenger side of course) plus the usual problems of the dodgy brakes and 5th gear not functioning except when accelerating. The plastic sheet sunroof survived well until I got to Isiolo where it finally gave up and I got a cold shower in the drivers seat.
I stopped in Isiolo to try and fix the sunroof and saw the Bishop of Marsabit and his wife (Rob and Lucy if I remember correctly) at the Bomen Hotel. They were a friendly English couple and were waiting in Isiolo for news on whether it was safe to travel north. They told me their driver had been grazed by a bullet on the back of the neck and his passenger shot and injured travelling down the road between Laisamis and Archers Post, on monday. They said the car was full of bullet holes. I didnt think to ask at what time this happened only realizing later that we had been along the same stretch of road twice on that same day. It could have explained the tracer we saw on monday evening on the way to Wamba.
I picked up three of the sponsored kids from the deaf school and brought the two who were from Wamba to Ngaremara, they will stay here until I go there, hopefully on monday or tuesday. I returned to Isiolo met Locham and Dominic and had a part for the winch on the Landcruiser repaired. On the way there I gave a lift to some old women who were laden with bags of relief food (I only realised what is was when unloading them from the car) which I can only presume they were taking to the market to sell... The town was full of APs (administrative police). I spoke to some and learnt that the area around Cambela and been been reinforced with 100 APs with the intention of containing the bandits who had been causing the trouble.
Returned to Ngaremara and tried to pick up the secondary kids school results without sucess. A quiet night.
26th 11 2011 Saturday
Went to Isiolo early to have a sheet of metal welded in as the sunroof, get the wipers repaired and the other electrical problems looked at. It ended up taking the whole day and I didnt get to leave until dusk.
Luckily, earlier in the day I met a girl called Gigi, who was originally Austrailian but now lives in Berlin. She was visiting Kenya as part of her PhD but as a result of the lecturer strike here, suddenly had a lot of free time and had decided to backpack round Kenya. She was heading to Archers Post, then Maralel so I offered her a lift to Archers.
Unfortunately, due to the car repairs I was unable to leave until later than expected and she stayed at Ngaremara, sharing a room with the two deaf girls and two trainees.
Had a slight bit of confusion later in the evening when the two deaf girls and two of the feeding program kids arrived at the house reporting there was no dinner and Ben (the chef) was not there. It became evident later that the two trainees had sent Ben home as they wanted to cook for the three APs (administrative police) on site... Maybe a nice idea for them but the flawed plan had meant the kids had no food, and the food they used for the APs was mine. Theres a lot more to the story but in the end everyone got fed and the two trainees werent speaking to me...
27th 11 2011
Set off early, well earlyish by the time everyone was ready, for the game park down the road with the two trainees, deaf girls and Gigi. We had to go in by Archers Post as the Ngaremara route was unpassable due to the rains.
It was an eventful day with arduous driving conditions. Several times the water in the puddles was 3-4 feet deep and I was never really sure if we would make it to the other side. Of course the car decided not to start in the middle of the park of all places after Id turned the engine off to photograph a large herd of elephants at the edge of the river. Luckily there were some French tourists nearby and we were able to restart the land cruiser after a short tow.
We went to Samburu Lodge for lunch and met John Doherty or John Giraffe as he is known locally (he is carrying out research on the reticulated giraffe and his work is sponsored by Queens University), who negotiated a good discounted price for us. We spent a few hours chatting with John before heading to Loruka (a village in the park) and enjoyed his story of waking in the night to find a scorpion sharing his pillow. We returned to Ngaremara by dusk.
After nightfall there was sustained gunfire from the direction of Zebra, a village about 1 - 2Km from here. During the night more shots were heard.
In the morning we learnt that it had been an ambush set by the police to catch cattle rustlers.
28th 11 2011 Monday
Back to Isiolo again. Met Dominic and Nzau the site managers of Ngaremara and Wamba who had both traveled from Wamba to go to the bank and get some supplies with me. The Landcruiser spent most of the day being repaired and by the end of the day was still not really working.
The two trainees went off round the town with Gigi. She swapped phone numbers with them so she could meet up with them again after she went to an internet cafe. I tried to contact the trainees as I needed to know if we had enough stock of a certain item. Both phones rang off the first time I tried to contact them and the second time I tried they were both switched off.
Maybe they thought they were being clever and that their excuse of having no charge left on their batteries would work (despite seeing them both being charged before we left), but that, the fact they still hadnt done what they were meant to have done in town and that they had abandonned a visitor who could have ended up being left behind earned them a bus ride home instead of a lift.
A quiet evening, even moreso because the trainees werent speaking to me again. There was a peace meeting in the village today with people from both tribes in attendance as well as officials from Nairobi. Numerous promises have been made for improving security in the area.
29th 11 2011 Tuesday
Isiolo yet again with the landcruiser. I must have looked that angry at being back again that none of the street kids, sellers or beggars came near me. The electrical problems were finally fixed on the car (I hope) and the new metal sheet sunroof was painted before midday.
Returned to Ngaremara then set off for Wamba, arriving at around four. Arrived to find older kids in the house trying to clean it before I got there. When I had been leaving the last time Id caught one of the trainees trying to slip the key to one of the older girls even after she'd been told the house was to be locked and noone was to use it. Obviously she'd still managed to give away the key despite been told quite clearly twice. This had caused problems at the site because all the older kids had been hanging out at the house every night and theyd told the site managers (who didnt approve) that Id allowed them to. As a result the culprit, who had been involved in the aforementioned problems plus more, is now enjoying a weeks unpaid holiday.
Spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids and a quiet evening chatting with Gigi.
30th 11 2011 Wednesday
Dropped Gigi to the matatu (local minibus) stop in the morning for her onward journey to Maralel.
Had a site meeting with the managers and trainees and several issues were ironed out.
Set off at around two for the return trip to Ngaremara. All was well and it was an enjoyable drive as the road was in a better condition than it had been in previous weeks. As we descended from the mountains that all changed when we came across a lorry parked in the middle of the road. The dry river bed beside the road was now a fast flowing river due to rain in the mountains. It had burst its banks and was flowing down the road. We waited over an hour before deciding to risk driving down it as the water level by then had subsided.
Arrived safely in Ngaremara around six. Quiet evening.
1st 12 2011 Thursday
Went to Isiolo to get some supplies with 4 of the feeding programme kids, Denzel, Joseph, Kennedy and Cosmos. Picked up supplies from the market and shops then went for lunch as there was heavy rain. We ate in the local friendly and cheap cafe where the 5 of us ate and had a large soda for about 3 quid.
Picked up the remaining items after lunch and the rain had subsided. I managed to provide some entertainment for the locals as I tried to cross the street which had now become a river. There was a big cheer as I made it back sucessfully.
Tried to see the DO1 and police chief in the government offices compound (they werent there) after almost rolling the landcruiser on a bank trying to bypass a badly flooded part of the road. The bank started to collapse but thankfully the tyres regained their grip before we slipped off sideways into the flooded section of the road. I honestly thought we were going in.
Thats about it for now..Writing this in the dark with the mosquitoes and midges loving my bright screen and my face lit by the light.. Forgot to say in the last update the Turkana encoutered a Bandit patrol outside Ngaremara and killed two of them with the rest running away. They are also believed to have left the area in the last few days but I have been unable to confirm this with any official sources yet.
23 11 2011 Wednesday
Fairly uneventful day with most of it being spent in Isiolo sorting out a bank account for me as I shall be staying behind.
Returned to Ngaremara around 4, shortly after which some shots were heard but they seemed quite distant.
Spent the rest of the evening talking through what needed done in the next 4 weeks, how the budgets worked, where things where etc. Pretty boring day.
Tip of the Day: If you ever stand on a large thorn and it pierces your flip flop, make sure you remove it before you crouch down to go to the toilet. Not doing so may cause balance issues when it painfully sticks into your foot...Apparently, not that I would know, or this actually happened or anything....