Books on Poverty - How We Can Better Achieve Successful Development

As we continue on this journey with The Ronnie Fund and our daily discussions with Ronnie about the approaches we should be taking to achieve continued success with our many projects currently underway in Wongonyi Village, I have been reading a variety of books on international aid and development. They have all been extremely interesting and I am learning a great deal about the aid business. Some of the books are quite disturbing on the amount of money spent by governments and organizations on aid but still poverty exists as just a drop in the bucket every really gets to those who really need it. And yet other books like "Out of Poverty" give one a sense of hope that improved quality of life can actually be achieved. The successes small grassroot organizations like The Ronnie Fund are achieving is because funds and tools get directly into the hands of local villagers and when training is provided the success rates are even greater. Perhaps these books will help shed some light on international aid and how best to implement it.

"Lords of Poverty, the Power, Prestige and Corruption of the International Aid Business"
by Graham Hancock, Atlantic Monthly, 2001

This is an interesting expose of the wastage in the international aid and development business. Using real life examples, I was shocked by the amount of money given to internatinal aid but how little of it actually reaches the people it is intended to help and those who are employed in the aid business who can sit and eat lavish meals while discussing how they are going to help those who eat only one meal a day, if that.

"The Trouble with Africa, Why Foreign Aid Isn't Working"
by Robert Calderisi, Palgrave MacMillan, 2006

Another publication that exposes how little funding actually reaches the poor in developing countries and the lack of accountability by those aid workers in the field. Robert's own admission that in his first placement in Africa, he had only one black friend for his socializing was spent with ex-patriates and he rarely ventured into the countryside. On his second posting to Africa, he spent most of his time travelling across the country and really getting to know those in rural villages and their needs but having to often explain why aid wasn't getting to them.

"Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail"
by Paul Polak, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc. 2008

Paul Polak's book focuses on the grassroot approaches to overcoming poverty. His philosophy is that if people are given the tools like irrigation pumps and systems they can grow enough food for their own consumption and have surplus to sell. Once they have income they can purchase education, health services, etc. He uses real life examples of people in the developing world who have been able to change their lives. When tools are made available directly to disadvantaged people, and not lost on large aid projects which can have funds redirected by corruption, improvements in the quality of life can be achieved.

What Not to Wear (or rather what you should wear)

Carrying school books in the kanga.


Typical clothing worn by the villagers in most rural communities in Kenya.










We here in the West are used to having freedom of individuality (by that I mean freedom of speech and freedom to choose the style of clothing we wish to wear). But not all cultures exercise these types of freedom. When travelling and working abroad, it is very important to show your respect of the host countries and communities by dressing appropriately and practicing cultural norms, especially if you are planning on living and assimilating in the communities.

Women and girls in rural African communities wear skirts or dresses, never pants or shorts. So if you are working in a rural area bring skirts or wraps. You can also purchase a "kanga", a brightly coloured rectangular piece of fabric that is adorned with a political or religious slogan. The Kenyan women even wrap kangas around their regular dresses. Ronnie purchased two kangas for me, one which I wrapped around my wasit and the other, which is traditionally used to carry babies, young children or even supplies on the back. I'm sure that I looked quite amusing to the school children of Wongonyi Primary School as I ("the mizungu") arrived, kanga on my back carrying books we were donating to the school as you can see in my photo above. Ladies shirts and T-shirts must also have sleeves that come below the shoulder (no sleeveless T's here.)

Men should also be cultural conscious by wearing long pants as very few men in villages ever wear shorts. And short sleeve T-shirts or cotton shirts are the norm (no muscle man shirts please).

As far as footwear goes, most people in rural areas wear sandals or flip-flops, but take note that you'll do lots of walking in Kenya as most roads and paths are of dusty red soil, often uneven. If you are working in the hilly countryside like we are, paths can be narrow, stony and with lots of ups and downs, so you are advised to take sturdy shoes, your feet will thank you!

Finally, Richard Roth, a professor from Red Derr College with many years experience working in Kenya recommends that you do not bring camouflage patterned garments as he says the Kenyan government doesn't appreciate this clothing being worn by visitors.

Remember that we cannot impose our clothing norms on the countries and communities in which we are a guest. We must respect the culture we are visiting, so take appropriate clothing with you or purchase kangas or traditional clothing from local seamstresses in the village, you'll be accepted more readily if you do.

Leaving on a Jet Plane - Airfare and Baggage

As everyone knows the quickest way to Africa is by jet plane. And if you are like many of us, once you have experienced the beauty of the land and the friendliness of the African people, you need to go back, and back, and back. But travelling from Canada to Kenya is expensive, so we are always looking for the cheapest flights.

But benefits do exist for those who are travelling on humanitarian missions. We learned about "Fly For Good" from our Kenyan partner World Corps Kenya. Fly for Good is an organization that partners with airlines in offering discounted fares to those travelling to help others. We purchased the tickets for our flight last summer through Fly for Good.

In order to qualify, we registered our organization with Fly for Good, they checked us out and then once approved, we were able to check the airlines that participate for the best ticket price. It was a great help to us. If you head up an organization, you may want to consider registering. If you are a volunteer travelling on a voluntourism stint, you should see if the organization you are working with is registered (everyone likes saving money especially when you are working to help others).

We also have been learning that not all airlines are created equal in terms of baggage allowance and this is a great concern for those of us working abroad. We have lots of things that we want to take over for our various projects - school supplies, books, sewing materials, etc. When we went last summer we travelled with one airline and were charged a considerable amount for excess baggage which really adds up when you are paying for airfare as well (we only considered the airfare not baggage limits). Since our return, we learned that British Airways has a larger baggage allowance which means we can take more resources over to those in need. The key point here is that not only is it necessary to get the best airfare, it is also important to check out the baggage allowance too. It is easy to end up with lots of donated items to take over to Kenya and if you are not careful that great (or cheap) airfare suddenly is not so great once you get to the airport and the baggage charge is added to the ticket price. We have also heard that if you contact some of the airlines, they will give you permission for extra baggage if one is travelling for humanitarian causes.

The best course of action is to check out Fly for Good, look for the best airfare and ensure that the baggage allowance is the best it can be.

Travel Tip - You Need a Visa

There are lots of things to think about before you travel to a new country but the most important is the documentation you need to gain entry into the country. As with any international travel you need a passport. You also need a Visa ( and I don't mean the plastic kind) to allow you to stay in Kenya for a limited duration.

Before our family travelled we obtained our Visa through the Kenya High Commission to Canada, located in Ottawa. We went on the Kenya High Commission website, downloaded the application form, followed the directions for submitting the needed documentation and included our payment. Off it went and the next week, we had our passports back in hand with Visas stamped inside.

You can also obtain a Visa at the airport when you land in Nairobi. Simply stand in the right line, grab a form, fill it out and pay (you'll need cash). The cost for the Visa at the airport is about $20.00 less than if you obtain it here in Canada. But I can tell you, it was worth the extra money for our family. We arrived in Nairobi late at night, so we were ever so thankful to walk right up to the security desk with no one in our line for those holding Visas and be able to scoot on through to get our luggage and meet our new African family. The lineup for those needing to obtain a Visa was really long and our kids were so tired, I don't think they could have handled the wait.

The Kenya High Commission website is also filled with valuable information on Kenya that will be useful to you in your trip planning.

Check it out at http://www.kenyahighcommission.ca/.

Money, Money, Money!

"Money, money, money - it's a rich man's world!" My daughter has been caught up in the Mama Mia craze and that song has been constantly played in our home over the past few weeks, and it got me thinking about our trip to Kenya and the need to be prepared and do your homework before travelling abroad.

Once again, it was on advice from our friends Bill and Ronnie that cash is the method of payment in Kenya. We had been about to purchase travellers cheques but learned it is difficult to get them cashed. Most people in Kenya do not have bank accounts and so cannot get reimbursement if they cashed a travellers cheque. Likewise, credit cards are only of value in big hotels. Even businesses in Kenya operate on a cash basis. When we made a large purchase at KickStart we thought we could pay with our credit card but that was not the case, they asked for cash. That necessitated a trip to the ATM. The staff at KickStart told us not to use the closest ATM but gave directions to an ATM a little further away but which was more secure and safe.

Prior to our trip we put money in two accounts at different banks so that we could access the funds we might need as each account has a daily limit. Since we knew we would be making large purchases we could not afford to wait for a day to get the necessary funds. You must also remember that you need a 4 digit access code. We also learned that not all ATM's are the same. Always visit an ATM during daylight hours and make sure it is safe. We chose Barclay Bank as they have security guards on duty.

We used a money belt to protect our cash and passports. Remember that you are travelling in a foreign land and it only makes sense to keep your funds close at hand. A friend stowed her wallet in her backpack and found while walking that her backpack was being opened. She turned quickly and lucky for her, her wallet was intact but she learned to be more vigilent. Also don't carry large amounts of cash at a time. It is important to remember that you are travelling in a country where people think all Westerners are rich and that when people are so poor, living on $1 per day, there are some who will do whatever it takes to feed their families.

Having said that, not everyone will take advantage of a situation regarding money. When we were in Wongonyi Village, unbeknownst to him, Peter left some cash in his pants pocket. The pants were taken
to be washed. That night when we came home the money was presented to him - faith in the human spirit of honesty.

Our advice - make sure you have accessible cash in your bank accounts at home, and use safe and secure bank machines in daylight hours. By using caution coupled with a little common sense, you can enjoy a safe and secure work experience in Kenya.

5 Tips to Consider When Planning your Trip

For many people Africa is a magical place full of mystery and adventure. I have always had a fascination with the dark continent since childhood and as we prepared for our recent trip, I was filled with excitement. But I was not going to Kenya as a tourist but as a partner with Ronnie in helping him achieve his dream, so it was important that our family fit in to African life. Prior to travelling we asked Ronnie for suggestions on making those we were to meet feel comfortable with us and we with them. Here are 5 tips we used successfully.

1. It is important to have cultural sensitivity - as a volunteer, business person or organization leader you are not staying on the fringes but actually interacting with the Kenyan people in an advisory capacity. Except in the large centres like Nairobi, women in rural villages do not wear pants. Women should take skirts to wear or if you feel you must wear pants, purchase a Kanga (a rectangular piece of fabric) that you tie around your waist like a skirt. It is important to show your respect for their customs.

2. Don't impose your values - remember you are entering another culture. Meal times and food will not be the same as what you have at home (sweet potatoes are served for breakfast and you may get the same meal twice in one day) but smile and be happy. Many of the people who are entertaining you are serving you the best meal they can present and afford. The same goes for appointments - African time and business practices do not have the same hurried pace we have here - be patient.

3. Be conscious of the African perception of Westerners. Most Africans think that everyone from the West is wealthy. We were constantly telling the villagers we work with how long we had saved before being able to visit them. Ronnie says, "In African culture a visitor is a big deal. People will just want to be with you - you will have to have some understanding as Africans have preconceived thoughts of Westerners. You may be harassed by villagers for loans and food, it happens routinely." We did find that on our last night in the village we were approached with some pretty serious and expensive requests but as we are only the facilitators for our donors, we told villagers we would take back their requests for consideration.

4. Take time to learn even a few key phrases in Swahili. Although most people we met did speak some English, a few words spoken in Swahili shows that you cared enough to relate to them on their terms. We found that it certainly endeared the people to us and elicited big smiles as we struggled with pronounciation. Simple phrases like hello, goodbye, please and thank you are quick to learn. Another helpful tip to know is the Kenyan greeting - we called it "the secret handshake". Upon meeting someone you grasp the person's hand as in a normal handshake, then move the hand slightly to grasp the thumb and then return the grasp of the normal handshake. People we met were always surprised and happy to see we knew the common greeting.

5. Finally - take some gifts with you to hand out. The gifts need not be big or cumbersome, just something simple to show your appreciation of their hospitality. We took with us pins we obtained from our town, and both provincial and federal members of Parliament; small toys (like beany babies) along with pencils, pens and notebooks for children; head scarves or bandanas for the women and baseballs caps and multitools for the men. They may seem like small items to us but were very much appreciated. We always kept a few tucked into our bags when we went out as we never knew who we might meet and the hospitality they would afford us.

Learning Swahili

Having been a host family for Canada World Youth, we have gained an appreciation for being sensitive when travelling or living with other cultures. Before our trip to Kenya, our friend Bill loaned us a copy of the Lonely Planet phrasebook for Swahili. Upon our return home, a copy of this phrasebook has been added to our library which I use to look up a few words each day to add to my vocabularly before our next trip. It's small size makes it handy for carrying in a pocket or purse and it's certainly worth the $10 sticker price.

I have also downloaded a Swahili program from http://www.byki.com/ which I visit on a daily basis spending up to half an hour repeating words. This nice thing about a program like this is that you can hear the actual pronounciations and you can even slow down the speech to catch those tricky phrases.

We also purchased a copy of the Rosetta Stone in Swahili from e-Bay. It too is great as it breaks the language down into units which you can repeat as opften as you need before moving on. It also offers may different styles of learning.

Although we found that most people we met in Kenya spoke English, there were a few of the older folks who did not and we want to be able to communicate with them more next visit. We also learned that Swahili does have regional dialects. Our friend Sera, who grew up on the outskirts of Nairobi, was unable to translate some discussions in Wongonyi Village as the residents were speaking the Taita dialect.

I know that the Kenyans we met appreciated the fact that we tried to speak what little Swahili we knew. As well, when Peter made speeches at the various groups we met, he would have Sera translate a few sentences in Swahili. Our attempts at the local language, always brought smiles and giggles from those on the receiving end.

For those volunteering or working in Kenya, learning the local language will help you to feel more comfortable with those you encounter.