state of the art

Max and Simon participated in another swim meet on the weekend. This one was at the new Kasarani Aquatic Stadium.

The Moi International Sports Centre was built in 1987 on the outskirts of Nairobi. The Centre has a 60,000 seat football (soccer) stadium, a 5000 seat gymnasium, and the Aquatic Stadium.

These modern facilities provide a unique toilet experience. It took me a few minutes to figure out where to put my feet! And I am still not sure which way to face....... This style of toilet is very common in public washrooms (men and women's).The Moi Stadium hosts the local Kenya National Football (soccer) Team, called the Harambee Stars. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. In fact, in 2006 FIFA suspended Kenya from international football (soccer) play for corruption in its Football Federation (government interference). The FIFA World Cup Soccer is played every 4 years and is next scheduled for June 2010 in South Africa.

Cultural Richness

This academic year Rosslyn Academy has students from 40 countries. Each year the school celebrates this diversity with a Cultural Richness Festival. Students wear traditional clothing, bring traditional foods for an International Feast, and share dance, music, and stories from their country.

Under each flag students presented posters and information about their home country. Simon and Max got African braids and flags painted on their faces. Max and his classmates made Korean origami “quilts”. There were also performances of Ukrainian dance, Korean dance, a guest clarinetist from Korea, and international choirs.


Simon’s class prepared maps of their home countries – made from cakes and cookies.

Inequity

Last night we attended our church Christmas Banquet at the Windsor Golf and Country Club. The 18 hole golf course is the best in Kenya and was just voted “2009 Undiscovered Golf Destination of the Year”. In fact many residents of Nairobi do not know that such place exists. The hotel is Victorian style with 5-star amenities and costs 6000 shillings per person per night ($100 each person). Culinary opportunities are available on the terrace, in the fine dining room, or at the poolside café. The pool and grounds are beautiful. It is absolute luxury!

Today we drove on a road very near the Windsor golf club and got a glimpse of the Mathare slum. This is home to over 600,000 people in an area no bigger than Bible Hill Nova Scotia. Families live in one room shacks with no electricity, no running water, no light, no ventilation, and no waste disposal. 6000 shillings would be a great monthly salary. With “complete unemployment” Mathare Valley has been called the worst and most dangerous of Nairobi’s slums. Tim plans to visit the slum in December.

In a 24 hour period we saw the best and the worst that Nairobi has to offer. The disparity between rich and poor is easy to see here; we are confronted with this incredible inequity on a daily basis.

Street Vendors

The streets of Nairobi are lined with vendors. This is Lucy and her daughter Marylyn, selling carved birds. Marylyn comes to work with her mom every day.


Merchants selling all sorts of products set up a little shop on the side of the road and sell to cars passing by. We have purchased a few items this way : flowers, fruit, vegetables, clay plant pots. I also have my eye on a beautiful wrought iron bed. These are not just a place to purchase an item – many of the goods are made right there on the roadside. It is quite remarkable to see several men building furniture in this “open air” factory.

Just a couple of minutes from campus there is a young woman named Miriam who has a produce stand. Every morning (except Sunday) she travels from her home to the downtown Hawkers Market. There, she barters with the hundreds of vendors and walks away with a cart load of fruits and vegetables. She hires someone to push her cart the 10 km to her stand. Then she unloads her items and prepares to sell for the day. My friend, Jane, and I make a couple of trips to see Miriam each week to purchase apples, oranges, broccoli, cilantro, lettuce, pomello, carrots, watermelon, mangoes.

Some vendors will even come into the middle of the street between the cars stuck in traffic. We have never purchased from one of the “middle of the street” vendors. They sell things like puppies, bandannas, metal art, raffia mobiles, phone cards, helicopters, kittens, and bunnies.