Claudia’s Blog

Today the workshop was in the Government Dispensary in Barsaloi. The women who were there were the traditional women with necklaces around their neck. The age were some young, like the one in the picture 18 years old, and others between 20 to 30 years old.  All of them are mothers.

This is a tough group to work with due their strong attachments to their traditions. They still believe the man has all the rights over them because the man “bought” them. For example, they are afraid to request the use of a condom to protect themselves from contracting HIV. This is a shame!! Among the participants of the workshop, there was a woman who was married with an HIV+ man. This is what my translator, Farena, told me. She is infected, of course, and all their children are too. This is a very sad situation. The women are married by their parents a very early age and they don’t care if the man is sick. The parents want to receive their animals, that’s all.

The Female genital mutilation is another strong tradition for these women. They don’t think they have the right to feel pleasure and when I mention it they smile, expressing their shyness. They also mentioned that this information was not important because they had already had to undergo FGM, so I told them that this information was for their children. Kenia has forbidden the FGM but is still a practice in the Samburu tribe. I hope one day this practice will be abolished, but from I can see is going to take time. At least, I have seen that the more educated women are refusing. Little by little.

I have clear that my goal here is to educate the women and not change their traditions. However is frustrating that the women are the victims of all kind of violence and under the excuse of their traditions are not doing anything to improve their situation. What a shame!!!!

Today, during mass the principal of the primary school introduced the students that just finished 8^th grade to bless them. Primary school goes until 8th grade and secondary goes until 12th grade. These students are going to take the public exam that will place them in a secondary school. It was very nice for me to see all the community blessings these young people and wishing them luck

In the afternoon, I had my workshop with some women leaders. I was expecting to have at least 10 women but just 3 showed up. I was somewhat disappointed but the Fathers and Sisters said that at least I have 3 women. The topic of my workshop was leadership. It was very interesting seeing the women discussing Barsaloi’s problems and looking for possible solutions. One of the discussions was about the security, because of all of the problems that have been occurring between the tribes. For this problem, a potential solution they gave was to stop selling the alcohol and the ra materials needed to prepare it. Another problem they spoke about was electricity. The power has been bad are not having power all night every night. At the end of the meeting they decided to invite the other leaders and go and talk about these issues with the chief. They want to exercise their leadership!!

These are my mosquito bites from my night in Lowa!!!

I did not have a very good night in Lowa. I was scared of every small noise because I didn’t know what kind of animal it could be (maybe a fly, a cockroach, bats or something else) so I couldn’t have a peaceful night, even if I was sleeping in a bed. I’m wondering how the women here can sleep well on the floor!! Additionally, I couldn’t eat anything. The women cooked rice, potatoes and hen. Yes, I know, I’m in Africa but I have to be very careful with the water and the food.

We started our day going to each mayata telling the women we were going to celebrate de word of God first and then we were going to have a workshop. But we didn’t have any breakfast. So in the middle of the village I started feeling dizzy. I guess it was also because of the smell of animal poo mixed with all the different smells of the village. So I went back to the small school (small because I just saw 1 classroom). On my way back I saw a group of men, the elders, discussing the security problems they are having. The situation is that people from another tribe called Turkana are stealing animals. In Baragoi, a small city close to Barsaloi,  the Turkana and Samburu have been recently fighting and 12 people have died. However, the Fathers and Sisters say that some people from the government are involved and that they are the one who are stealing, while the people blame it on the other tribe. All this happens with the help of the elders, who receive some animals for their collaboration. Corruption!!!

Anyway, we started our mass celebration and later the workshop. Today my workshop was about HIV. The government dispensary gave me free condoms that I gave out today. I also gave out some clothes that I brought from Miami for each correct answer the group gave me about HIV prevention. The women were very traditional with their neklaces, this is the way to distinguish them. However, they knew some basic things about HIV. But to the question: “how to prevent it?” some of them still answer “By being faithful and abstaining from sex”. However, others mentioned the condom!! But I can still see some resistance. Also, in the dispensary they didn’t have the female condom so I had to explain how to use the male condom. This is a problem because the women have to wait for the men’s agreement to use one, and in this macho culture that is not easy.

Before finishing, the elders came and joined us in the classroom. It was a big surprise for everybody. In this culture it is not very common that a woman speaks to or teaches the elders. My translator was happily surprised when they joined us!!. Unfortunately when they arrived the women started leaving. Men and women can’t be together in this culture. I had to start again. They were very interested in the topic and just like the women, some had more knowledge than others. This was the case of the Lowa chief, who was the one who explained them how to use a condom. After the workshop everyone there was very excited, and they all asked for more than one condom.

Going back to Barsaloi, it was raining a lot and the route was not the good one. The car got stuck again in the mud but this time there weren’t any men close by to help us. However, we cleared the route and managed to push the car out ourselves and we got out of there. Please see the pictures of this experience.

The car on the way back to Barsaloi. Look at the road!!!

Today in the morning, I went to give my workshop with the beads women. They are busy because they are making some bracelets for Father Memo, who is going to give some of them in a seminar promoted by the church. Anyway, these women are the hardest group to work with in Barsaloi because they are usually busy working their beads and they don’t want to stop for a class. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to convince them to meet in another place different from their workplace. Today, for example, I got there at noon, the time that sister Katherine told me to, but the women said they were busy and I couldn’t work with them. This was frustrating, but there was nothing else I could do. I just had to accept it.

In the afternoon, Sister Rosario, Katherine, eight women from a prayer group called St Francis, and I went to Lowa. Lowa is a small village 45 minutes away from Barsaloi. We had to cross the river to get there but it had a lot of water because it has been raining a lot (people say that this is the climate change). We had to wait for almost two hours until the water went down and we were able to cross the river (I forgot to tell you, there is not bridge).

While we were waiting at the edge of the river I talked to Angela, a Samburu woman who is around 40 years old (here the women look young, it’s hard to guess her age). Her parents married her off when she was around 15 years old (remember, Samburu people don’t count the time). She had 5 children. During her marriage she suffered from domestic abuse so she ran away to another city with her children. In Samburu tradition the children belong to the father, but her husband didn’t try to look for them when she left so she was able to keep her children. She has been working very hard for the last 20 years to provide food, education and a mayata for her children. Her first child has a mental problem due the aggressions she received.  Her second daughter got pregnant when she was 16 and she is now the mother of a 4 year old girl. Angela was telling me that she still wants her daughter to undergo female genital mutilation FGM, even if she is 20 years old. She thinks that her daughter is not responsible enough and behaves like a girl because she hasn’t had the FGM. In Samburu tradition, the girls who have had FGM are considered women and the rest are considered girls, even if they are adults. Angela told me that when she was circumcised she bled a lot so she drank blood with milk to recover. The only thing you can’t drink is water. I guess to not make you to go to the bathroom. In this tradition the one who are able to overcome such pain finally becomes a woman!!! I used all my wisdom to make her understand why we don’t become women just because of a surgery. Here, girls  are refusing to have the FGM little by little and the government is beginning to penalize this practice with jail. But the traditions are very strong. The way this society pushes the girls to accept FGM is by not allowing them to get married or treat them as a small girls. So, if a girl has good parents who support her to not have the FGM it is a blessing but if not she has to escape. There is no other alternative.

Finally the water, of the river, went down. We closed the windows and we crossed the river!! Sister Rosario is a very good driver!! But 10 mins after we crossed the river we got stuck in the mud and the car almost flipped over. It was scary!! I was so scared I couldn’t even take any pictures Sister Rosario told all of us to push the Land Rover to get out of the mud. We were very lucky that at that time (around 9pm) two other SUVs drove by with a lot of men. Good!! We received help and we went out. OMG!! What an experience!!

After all these events we finally got to Lowa around 10pm. The shepherd’s children, some women and some men were waiting for us when we arrived. While the sisters and the women were getting ready to celebrate the word of God, I sang with the children, I read them a book and I told them a story. After these, the ladies introduce themselves. They are very proud of being part of theSt Francis prayer group. Even after all the problems we had on the way to Lowa, they were very happy and singing all the way. For me it was like when you go out a Friday with your girlfriends for a happy hour, going to Lowa was the free time for them!!

The sisters and I spend the night in a room with two beds. To go to the bathroom I had to walk outside (around 20 steps) in a very dark night bats flying over my head. It was very scary!!

In the morning, I went with sister Katherine and Celina, one of the community leaders, to visit some sick elders. I went to read books to the children who were around. We visited three ladies. Two of them live near their relatives. It means in the same compound but not in the same mayata. But one old woman lives with her grandson (in the picture, the boy close to her grandmother). Her mother abandoned him. He looks like a very clever boy.  When I was reading the book he was repeating what I said without asking him to do it.  I felt really sad thinking in the lack of future for this boy. Why does a small child have to live this life without opportunities to go to school, without a mother, and taking care of an old grandmother when he is not even old enough to take care of himself? It made me cry (of course after I left).

The child on the right lives with his grandmother who is old and sick!!!

Later I went to the preschool with Ntua. Today the story was about a young man (24 years old) who was abandoned by his mom and has had to fight for his dreams his whole life. He is one of the pre-school teachers who has been helped by the education projects coordinated by the Sisters. He is now a licensed teacher and he is going to study another two years to complete his diploma. When I asked him how he made his dreams come true he answered: Praying, dreaming and working hard. And this is what I said to the children: Dream and work for those dreams!! Anyways I love the joy of the children when they see Ntua, and the attention they give him. They are really paying attention!!

In the afternoon, I worked with the women of the bead’s project. Today, my translator was Nicolas but when I started to tell the ladies that they are inteligent, pretty and others good qualities he felt embarrassed so I had to ask Sister Katherine to translate for me instead.  Sister Katherine speaks more Swahili so I needed a translation between English, Swahili and Samburo!! It took time. However, even all the dificultities, the women liked it. I knew they liked it because I asked them what they have liked it? And their answer were that they really appreciated the opportunity to laugh, to share, to have a different moment in the routine!! The Samburu women are enjoying this moment to “play” and learn together. And I’m very thankful to be the expression of God’s through the service I give in Kenya!!

Today, I went with sister Rosario to Lodukome. This is a small village 1 hour away from Barsaloi. I went to work leadership with the teachers of the shepherd’s program. At the end of every school year, sister Rosario invites all the teachers to a meeting to evaluate the school year and to share a lunch together. It was a very interesting experience!!.  There were 13 teachers (10 men 3 women) and 3 headmasters from Barsaloi, and 2 from another village.

My topic was well received. All of the teachers were very participative. There you can see some pictures of some activities we did. Also, there is a video where the teachers represent the violence the occurs in the Samburu Family.

I specially emphasized their importance as role models, and the power they have to educate small children and to empower them in self-confidence, human rights, respect to each other, women rights and giving back to the community, among others. This last topic is important because there are 2 certified teachers who have received help from Africa Digna for their studies and the sisters have all the hope that these men are going to give back to the community. I have my doubts. These are young men between 25 and 27 years old who are receiving help to get a certificate, diploma and master degree with the promise that they have to give back to their people. The problem is that they are going to find a well-paid job in Nairobi. So, why would they go back to Barsaloi if they get good money in the big city? After the workshop it was lunch time, in the picture you can see how they are cutting the goat. The menu was potatoes, rice and goat. Of course I didn’t eat. I couldn’t.

After the workshop they had a break to drink chai (tea). Later, each one of the teachers had the opportunity to evaluate the school year and give some recommendations for next year. But the best moment was when the headmasters of Barsaloi and the neighboring towns told the teachers and sister Rosario that they really appreciate the program. They recognize that the shepherd’s people are being helped with this program!! Sister Rosario told them that this was very important because in case the sponsors don’t give more money the government can assume this program. But the head master was clear in saying that the primary is open for everybody. But to the question: the shepherd work during all day, are you are going to have primary at night? He never said anything. They know they need this kind of programs!!

At night there was a mini magic show for the visitors from Spain. They are a couple of architects who were in Barsaloi conducting a survey about the living conditions. There is a big chance that a nonprofit organization is going to support a project to build 20 houses in Barsaloi. This would be great!!! Anyway, since I’m still sleeping in the sister’s home, when I got there they were watching cinderella and later Peter Pan. So, movie time!!

Today I had my first workshop with a small group of 10 women who pray every Sunday. The workshop was at the church. First, the women read and discussed the gospel of the day. After that we started our workshop. One of the activities we did was telling each other about our our hobbies. These are women who like to dance, sing, talk and bring water to the house (I’m not sure they understood but maybe they like that??). I asked each of the women to act out their hobbies, and this was a very nice ice breaker. They laughed and enjoyed it a lot!!

After that we talked about  some of problems they perceive they have. These are some of the problems they expressed:

• The polygamy. They don’t like that their husband has more than one wife.
• The women who have to accept when a drunk man hits them
• A woman who has to work very hard to support her family because the man doesn’t care to bring food.
• The woman who is a single mother. Men see her a easy, but because she isn’t they talk bad things about her to the rest of the community.

Wow, what strong women they are!! However they live in a community that is tough for them and they feel tired and upset!! This is a perfect opportunity to empower them. To talk about their rights, traditions, dreams, God and the power of the mind among others.

Thank you God for allowing me to be an instrument to listen to these oppressed women, and through that help them to start healing what they have to heal!!