Peace Kortni in Kenya
I have been invited to serve as an HIV/AIDS and Hygiene Educator in Kenya from June, 2011 to August, 2013. I’m using this journal to document my journey.
Just in case you were wondering what type of art you’d find in a typical Kenyan home. Thanks Cory <3
You know, I find this question difficult to answer. I can’t really rank the events that have occurred during my time here. It’s really more of a journey, and no matter how good or bad the experiences are, I feel as though I’ve gained more by the end of the day. I originally joined Peace Corps because a goal I set for myself so many years ago when I visited distant relatives in Jamaica. While Kenya and Jamaica are different in many respects, they have a lot of similarities as well. Kenya has really helped me grasp a lot of things I witnessed at a young age and has given me a greater appreciation for my heritage.
Besides that, it has given me a broader understanding of the world and the people in it. Before moving to my new home, I was teaching life skills at an all-girls high school, and just being there was truly inspiring. I made a post days prior about education and the expenses. Education is a big deal and for many reasons, you see less girls in secondary school. After talking and spending time with the Form 4 girls and learning that ALL of them had plans of going to college, I was amazed. Being able to witness a school producing strong women for Kenya’s future is nothing but fantastic.
My house was burglarized in November and I had a lot of issues with trusting strangers/people. Dealing with this so far away from home made me feel stronger than I thought, and I’ve learned a lot of lessons from that.
I’ve met so many amazing volunteers along the way, in my training class and out. I still believe it takes a special person to join PC and you see that by meeting all the volunteers. People at different stages of their lives, but somehow we’ve all come together for this moment in time. Meeting so many personalities, seeing their accomplishments, and learning their aspirations is just another facet of being a PCV.
Learning the norms here have been difficult at times. Being a woman, especially a mzungu woman, you get harassed constantly and really learn to grow a tougher skin. People asking you for money and having odd requests to “speak” for just a moment with you - which usually turn into date requests, you learn to just deal with it (and sometimes not, on those really special days). Being lied to about the meeting times, and just waiting around for hours until it actually starts (or not at all), you learn patience.
I’ve met some really awesome Kenyans here, and with being the foreigner, you really have to sift through all the crap, and that makes you value that person even more. I don’t know. I still think it’s amazing that you have people volunteering their time to help their community. I’ve been laughed at before for saying that I’m a volunteer. They say, “Why would you volunteer? Kenyans don’t volunteer! What a waste of time!” With criticism like that, it’s pretty amazing to see people volunteering on top of making a living.
I think this reply was sort of long, but I just wanted to list a few events that have really made me appreciate my time here and look forward to the rest of my service.
Education
March 23, 2012
It has been a while since my last post. A lot of things have been going on, but not a lot to report. Long story short, there have been quite a few issues I have been ironing out since December, and things are finally settling down.
Currently, I am studying for the MCAT, a beast of a test that I’ll be taking so I can apply to medical school. Since I’ve been studying so much lately, education has been on my mind. Here in my village, and I think it might be safe to assume in most of rural Kenya, being able to speak English is a big deal. A majority of Kenyans learn English in primary and secondary school. The problem with education, however, is that it costs an ungodly amount of money for the average household. Because I’m so used to public education back home in the States, calculating the costs with a mama in my village really shocked me.
From what I remember, public school here can cost about 300-500 USD a year for primary education. I don’t even want to think about how much more private school costs. Considering how many children families tend to have, I’m wondering how people in the village are able to fund for their children’s schooling. To put this in perspective, I can easily live off of a $1 a day and people generally have 3+ children per family. With secondary school, it’s common for children to live away from home for 4 years, meaning an extra fee tacked onto an already lofty bill. A lot of students discontinue their education upon completion of primary school, whether it be due to pregnancy or the fact that they just can’t afford secondary. Nonetheless, spending 300+ dollars a year for 8 years per child is a long time and a lot of money.
Despite this, it’s very common to come across a Kenyan in my area who can speak better English than I can speak KiSwahili. It’s disappointing at times because I love having the opportunity to practice (and so do they!), so there’s sometimes a battle of the languages to see who will give in first. I’ve digressed.
What surprised me the most was speaking with mamas at the market. So many of them speak English, and well! They primarily work at home and in the fields, but they are very well educated. I’ve been told before that many women go to school just for the social status, so an educated man will marry them. That’s it. I’m a huge advocate for education, but to spend so much money for primary school education and quite possibly secondary to get married baffles me. I guess, at the same time, it makes sense. I don’t question why many Americans live beyond their means and rack up debt. I get it; it’s a social status. This is just one of those very subtle examples of the differences in cultures.
Like I said, not much to report here, but I just wanted to point out an observation I’ve made recently.
Yes. Yes I do. In fact, when I first moved to Funyula (the day of, I kid you not), I witnessed a cub being born. I named him Simba. I’ve been with him for about 7 months now, and he’s getting so big and surprisingly loves water. We are the best of friends, and I don’t think any house cat will ever suffice once I return to the states. /Africa
