Rotary is Everywhere

 Infrastructure here is fragile with the power going out without notice or apparent reason. The telephone guys came after a week and confirmed that we had no telephone and were not able to even estimate when it would be once again operational. Yesterday the water pump which pumps water from a wellhead to the compound reservoir tank quit working. We have enough water to last for a few days if we shower sparingly and flush only occasionally. Rumour has it that the pump would be repaired more speedily in return for a few hundred shillings. Could it be coincidental to the fact that it is at a time when parents have to pay their children's school fees??

I arrived in Kakamega on a Thursday and on Friday was witness to an all too familiar Kenyan ceremony, a funeral. As I stood on the main street of town with another Rotarian we heard some loud music coming from down the main street. It was a parade. Apparently a local musician popular with the young people had died of malaria and, after two day of celebrating the dearly departed was being transported to his place of rest. First came fifty or so bicycle taxis with the drivers making lazy loops on the road ringing their bells and singing and laughing. A half-ton truck crammed with people both in the cab and riding on the fenders and hood followed this. Perched on the roof was a pair of large speakers, of dubious quality, blaring out what was most likely the music of the deceased. The box of the truck was also loaded with well-wishers. Following the truck were a large number of women dressed in brightly coloured dresses and headscarves, singing and dancing and clapping their hands in the air. Following was another half-ton truck loaded with friends and in the box was the casket of the newly departed surrounded by palm-frond waving family and confidants.

The whole procession took about five minutes to pass and was a scene of joy and happiness.

As I watched I suddenly realized that halfway around the world, our friend George's life was being celebrated in a somewhat different ceremony. I couldn't help however thinking how much George would have enjoyed the Kenyan ceremony despite the fact that neither of the procession vehicles were GMC's.

My first weekend in Kenya was spent with (my daughter) Sarah Jane at Rondo Retreat in the Kakamega Rain Forest. Not far from Kakamega, this is one of the last surviving portions of a massive rainforest that once stretched to beyond the Uganda border.  The first people we met were two Swedish doctors, one male and one female, both married to others and both volunteering as Rotary Doctors in a rural area. Very interesting people offering their time and knowledge to others in need. After some great discussions with them at mealtime and on hikes, we were able to help them out when they found out, much to their chagrin that they could not pay with visa. The most humorous part of the weekend was the fellow who showed Sarah and I to our rooms. He simply could not understand why Sarah and I took separate rooms with single beds when there was a large room with a queen size bed available!

Last week in Kakamega a special event took place. A group of Canadian eye doctors and their crew, organized by Bill and Janet Jackson members of the North Delta Rotary Club, set up operations at Western University in Kakamega. There was also a Canadian Lion involved. For the six days that they were here they saw about 450 people a day, many travelling from many miles away and standing in line for many hours in hopes of receiving free eye glasses. Sarah had pre-screened over 1000 students in the schools she works with. The Eye-guys saw some very sad cases, small children with serious eye cancer and other diseases rarely seen in Canada. Just before they departed one of the Canadians came to me and told me how he had treated a young 16-year-old girl with an eye cancer. He set up and appointment at a very good eye hospital nearby, (sponsored by the Lions Club) The young girl told him she could not go as her parents did not have enough money to pay. He handed me some money and asked me to have the Rotary Club contact her and to pay the hospital for her care. He said the Rotary Club could contact him and he would continue to cover her ongoing costs. The Rotary Club President agreed to assist and the PDG of the Lions offered to assist as well. 

In honour of the Canadian's visit the Kakamega Rotary Club held a special dinner for them, inviting local dignitaries, the DG from the Lions and special guests. They would not allow any of the twenty visiting Canadians contribute to the cost of the event.

It was at this dinner that I presented two Paul Harris Fellowships contributed by our Club and by PDG Kevin, to Past Present Vaghelis and President Elect Pillai of the Kakamega Rotary Club. The Club and the two recipients were entirely surprised, delighted and overwhelmed. These were the first two PHF's in the Club's existence and considered a great honour. In fact, they insisted that they hold a second meeting, inviting even more Rotarians from neighbouring Clubs and I got to make the presentations for a second time in their presence. $1000.00 US is a huge amount of money here and both recipients, vowed that they would personally contribute an equal amount to Rotary projects over time. I am confident both of them will do so.

Work at Rotary High School continues. The day school, started in 2001 continues to grow and for the first time is able to balance it's budget and pay its teacher from fees collected. One temporary classroom was constructed last fall and another is currently being built to accommodate the fifty new form one students who will arrive next week. In the next few weeks work will begin on second floor classrooms. The concrete blocks arrived this week. Vaghelis and I met with the Clerk of the City of Kakamega one afternoon last week and the City, recognizing the value of the school to the community, committed to pay for one of the second floor classrooms out of special project funds.

 If our Club were looking for an international project for next year, a $5000.00 donation to this school would be a tremendous boost for the community.

Progress is being made with the computer lab. Tomorrow I will travel by Matutu for three hours to get some power bars needed for the computers. All the new, replacement computers have been installed and are running well. Glass has been installed in the computer lab to cut down on dust. In the next couple of days I will upgrade a couple of the machines with larger hard-drives and ram and tidy up the wiring. We will then concentrate on spending some time working with the teachers and assisting them in developing an improved instructional programme for their students. I was amazed on visiting the school unannounced, to find that the teachers were preparing their lesson plans using Excel.

Last week I also had an opportunity to meet with the Kisumu Rotary Club, who will be receiving and distributing the container load of medical and educational goods sponsored by our Club through the Rotary World Help Network. The Kisumu Club is excited about the impending arrival and planning the distribution to schools and health clinics in the area.

I also had the opportunity to travel to several of the Anglican Church Medical Clinics in the area and see the difference the medical goods we sent in the last container made to these communities.

Monday, I will travel to Vihiga to meet with the Vihiga Rotary Club, our partners in the matching grant well water project.

To end this epistle, I will show you a photo that to me shows what Rotary is all about. Our club donated a large amount of money to a sports complex for a Rotary Centennial project. At the same time the Homabay Rotary Club painted the public washroom in their village as a Rotary Centennial project. I expect each Club gave in it's own measure to projects needed within their communities.