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Gotta love the quality of things in Africa July 29th, 2008 |
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July 29th, 2008
Today, as all days here, had it’s joys and challenges. I am still not feeling well but am getting around a bit. I am not very good at playing the patient. I took Allie to Christ Gift Academy to volunteer to help a teacher. I then went to the jobsite to make sure things were on task.
As I approached the property I began hearing voices speaking in Luo and saw the bushes just shaking. It was like a local version of some scenes from the TV series “Lost” where the creature on the island is shaking trees and things are flying everywhere. I did not disturb the fellows and went back to the masonette in ICIPE. As I was driving in ICIPE I noticed a young white woman with two black children. I assumed this was Erin who had come in the night before and the ones who will be living in the house on the base here. It was, and she was trying to find the house where Don and Nancy were staying. I told her I lived there as well and for her to hop in and I would take her there. She loaded the babies (one of which I sat on my lap) and away we went. Erin is from Canada and her husband is a Luo man named David. Both are wonderful people with a heart for the people here. David stayed back due to a car breakdown and would be here on the first ferry. After David arrived we all (or should I say “they all“) had breakfast. I had about 4 pieces of orange. Seems the only thing that tastes good to me are oranges or orange Fanta. After breakfast Don and I went to town to pick up some things to get the house ready for Erin and Paul. We picked up some plumbing pieces, got some gas for the water pump and went back to the base to get started.
I dropped off Don and Nancy at the base and went to Christ Gift Academy to give Allie some water as she had forgotten her bottle this morning. She was so glad to see me as she was quite thirsty. I then returned to the base to get started on the plumbing repairs. I got the flex tube replaced on one of the faucets only to find the faucet was no good. Bummer but typical around here. I then went to get a pipe plug out and it had to be drilled out and a spigot put in but the spigot was so cheap made the end of it broke off in my hand even before threading it in. The thickness of the metal was less than paper thin. Everything here is cheap, cheap, cheap. Finding something of quality is very hard. I have been trying to educate people that cheap doesn’t mean inexpensive but the message is a hard sell. It is all part of the poverty mentality that pervades the culture and makes it hard for anyone to advance because they are always going backwards. There is so much broken junk around here that should not even be. I finally got the whole thing put together and had the water pump taken down to the lake to get it started.
I went to the shed and cut a new piece of rubber from an old inner tube and took it with me down to the lake. I hooked up the outlet union and with some help pushed the inlet pipe over the inlet fitting as there were no threads left. I then wrapped the whole thing tightly with the inner tube strap which formed a vacuum tight flexible joint. We fueled the water pump engine and primed the pump and started the engine. Things were running good so I sat back in the shade to keep an eye on the pump while the workmen were having lunch. The wind was blowing nicely and it felt good on my skin still having a bit of a fever. As I propped myself up against an embankment I noticed something in the lake. It was Hippo’s surfacing just off of where I was. I watched them as I sat back and enjoyed the hum of the pump engine and the cry of an occasional fish eagle. After the workers came back I went to the tank to check in on the water level. It was almost 2/3 full with a couple gecko’s belly up floating around and some debris. I figure I will just let the water overflow and skim off the top rather than try to catch it all. As I was coming back down George (one of the workers here) said the pump quit so I headed down to see what was going on. I told Leah that there were Hippo’s down at the lake (she had wanted to see some but hadn’t yet) so she went down to see them. The guys already had the pump fueled up and going again so I sat back and waited until it was time for me to go pay the workers. After Leah saw the hippo’s I asked her if she would go back up and check the water tank water level but she said she was not interested in that. I simply did not feel like making the trip back up and down again in my condition or I would do it. Shortly something blew in the pump and water started spewing everywhere. Turns out the threads on the plastic plug to drain it in case of freezing weather gave it up and the pressure from the pump blew the plug out. I shut down the pump to see if it could be reinstalled but it was too far gone. Don came down and helped carry the pump to a storage shed in the lower garden. I then went up to the house, packed my tools and went to pay the fellows working on my place.
They are doing a great job and had almost half of the place cleared in spite of Henry Okatch‘s attempts to stop them, the discovery of a very large black mamba (about 6ft. long and as thick as a mans forearm) and a cobra which they burned out of some sisal plants! I wish they had killed them as they will have to be dealt with another time I am sure. I thanked them for their hard work and made arrangements with the lead man Samuel for tomorrow and the next day as I was going to Kisumu and would not be back to get them paid. They said no problem and I could get them caught up when I get back. They are very grateful to have a job and it shows. I then made arrangements to meet with Mr. Okatch on Thursday at 9AM to discuss his issues. I went back to pick up Allie but the guard at the school said she had already left with a couple teachers from the school. I was glad she went escorted as she was told to not travel alone while here. I went back to the base to pick up Don and Nancy but they were still in a meeting with a former staff member. I waited to give them a ride back to the masonette. When everyone was ready we made our way back to the masonette.
Allie met us at the door with a very not so happy look on her face. I could tell she was scared being there alone so I just held my little girl in my arms as she cried. I felt for her as she was not sure what had done on. Come to find out she had gone to the base gate but there was no guard there (he was informing Don and Nancy the fellow they were having a meeting with had arrived) and she had to either go with the teachers or get stranded. She made the best choice she thought but I told her to never leave the last place we had been together as that is where I will always look for her first. Things don’t go to schedule around here very well so it is easy for an American kid to second guess if someone is really coming if they don’t show up within a few minutes of the scheduled time. This is Africa, here it can take a while sometimes. We were all together though and she was much better and so was I.
Dinner consisted of fried Nile perch, chips (fries) and avocado. It smelled good to me so I tried a bit. It went down OK but when it made it hard to sleep after I went to bed with a lot of intestinal pain (sorry if this is too much information). Sleep was not easy all night which is a bummer as I have to drive to Kisumu tomorrow. It will be a long day starting early.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 July 2008 )
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