This is me on my birthday at Lake Nakuru with Kelsey atop Baboon Cliffs. Thats the lake in the background..see all the pink? Thoses are flamingos.

This is a beautiful shot of the water. All these flamingos were amazing to see.

But see, it was also very sad because many of them are dying. And at the edge of the lake, you can see all the dead flamingos, so sad.

]]> Tue, 15 Aug 2006 20:41:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/42023 21.9286111 -159.530277821.9286111-159.5302778 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41637
After a month in Kenya the Jumper’s from Hawaii I hope you all got home safely and that all is well and you are enjoying the rest of the summer, here in Nakuru all is well the Jumper’s here are on holiday now and I manage to meet with a few of them every now and then some went to Nairobi for the holidays while the rest are participating in the national school music and dance festivals which are being held in Kenya and Menengai secondary is one of the venues where the music is being held,
The Jumper’s here are ok and moving on with work I think this is going to be one of the best projects that am involved in the students are eager and they have ideas that are great we just wait for the implementation of the projects that they have. They go back to school on Monday the 7th they had a 1week holiday after exams.

Alec hello well your name was the photographer with “good hair”, that’s what you did not here the students calling you when you were here; I want to pass greetings from Doreen’s family they are asking when you are coming back. Man I got to see all those pictures you took, while here.

Allie hope all is well and that you enjoyed your time in Kenya very much, Stan had nicknamed you Adhiambo C, after the latest song that is on air now (here in Kenya) about a beautiful girl in Kisumu the city by Lake Victoria.

Andrew I know you got back safely and probably you are juggling now, maybe this is the reason you are famous from the Nakuru people lots of greetings from the Menengai high school students who attended the open day that was at the school on that day. I thought I was “famous” but when you arrived in Kenya I realized I need to do more work on my fame am no complaining. Greet your parents for me they have wrote twice and thank them also.

Aria, how are you and are you back to work or still enjoying your summer, also I send lots of greetings from the JUMP team here, hope you liked the vegetarian food here in Kenya.

Bailey, how are you doing back home, hope you are enjoying your summer, greetings from the JUMP team and the girls from London at the dump site. Greeting’s from Patrick and his sister.

Carly hello to you and is all well greetings also from the JUMP team here, especially the church group that we talked with Ken the other team leader conveyed this message from the church youth’s. Let me also pass James’s greeting and gratitude for visiting there family.

Eric (small) well hope that you are fishing now and enjoying it greetings from the JUMP team Nakuru, especially Ann Linda and the family, for agreeing spend the evening with them I met the mum in church yesterday and asked me to pass my greetings to you and the whole JUMP team from Hawaii, pod cast’s coming soon Patrick is really good with them you won’t believe this they are on there 8th what we just need to do is put them up, I checked the archive’s.org and I listened to one of the old ones that you had put up.

Eric the teacher if I could I would email you Ugali, next time you should learn how to make it. Well hope you also enjoyed your stay here and that you did not have a had time chaperoning the team, never got to ask did you finally get to test Tusker in Kenya, hope you will compare it with the one’s in America.

Ernie hello let me start by saying that Dan Brown is a really good writer the book was really nice, also I enjoyed talking to you, am sending a picture special in a while and you will be able to see what the photography team has captured about children’s theatre here, hope to here from you soon.

Isabel I don’t know if I heard write but I think people were calling you “Shakira” I don’t know why, and will not try and guess. Let me convey greetings from the Nakuru team also from James for having dinner with there family. well hope that Nakuru and Kenya in general was a different but fulfilling experience all together.

Julie, you like in everyone’s mind every week the JUMP team here, they are like taking rounds every week someone goes the Ukelele home for a week and they learn to play it Wilfred has been learning to sing the song that you guys sang at Menengai, well the next blog will be a picture special for you guys to see what we have been up to. Thanks for everything.

KelliRose, where do I start ok let me start by passing from Mercy and her sister they enjoyed the time you spent with them also I have to say that you are good company I enjoyed having dinner at Mercy’s the food was really nice but I have to say my mum still remains the best cook so whenever you make it back to Kenya you will test her food, and anyone else from the team who makes to Kenya for JUMP or personal visits in future, thanks again for being who you are.

Kelsey hello to you though the 1st days were tough on you in Kenya you really picked up and everybody was happy the guys thought that you are very quiet then they realized you were sick and also so much life in you the last few days after you got well, greetings from the whole team here.

Robin the role model, well I have to say you are the role model of almost every person we met here in Nakuru, thank you for making this dream a reality and from here you will be really proud that you met us and worked with the team, but I will let the actions speak well I have been selected to be one of the MTV’s film maker, in Toronto we are going to make short films there and am being taken for a short training while in Toronto so JUMP is really going places and they are going to give 7 of us from different cameras to come back and document for them for one year in our countries so we have a good partnership already I will talk more about JUMP with them once am there. “The students here think that I will not be allowed into the plane because I am too dark they say” hope that your mission was fulfilled while you visited the groups here in Kenya. JUMP in conjunction with REPACTED and Oasis of Hope Secondary school in Kisumu are organizing for concurrent walks in Kisumu, Nakuru and New York on the 6th of October to raise funds for orphans in secondary schools here, will update the team on that once I come back from Toronto.

Rory the man, just tell me if I missed anyone, well there are two very happy boys here in Kenya because of you and your symbol is the communication tool for Jumper’s in Menengai High School, lots of greetings from the whole tea, here, and also from Esther for having dinner with you, well man Italy won the world cup but am really waiting for the euro cup to see how far they will go I still believe they play a very defensive game, ok I will not talk football anymore thanks man for everything hope to see you in Kenya someday if I don’t make to Hawaii.


Well my special days this year was when the JUMP team were here for the week I really had a good time, and I want to thank you all sincerely for making it possible and thank you whole heartedly for supporting me while you were here, may all of you be blessed and have good times wherever you were, imagine for the 1st time I ate a crocodile all because of you I went to carnivore and had good chicken at the JAVA and more and more the rest in the next blog well one more day and I go to Toronto I hope to here from you all, if you get this mail and there are others who are not on the blog please pass it forward.

Best Regards,

Dennis
]]> Mon, 07 Aug 2006 03:19:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41637 -0.2833333 36.0666667-0.283333336.0666667 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41441 Most people don't drive in Kenya. This is because cars are expensive, and their is a great public transport system in Kenya.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
First they have Buses and taxis like most places, but they also have matatus and boraboras.
To speak of what is familiar first, Buses run like buses in the states you pay a fair and get on and off at bus stops. Taxis are also similiar except the drivers make thier own prices, .... bartering is encouraged. But the interesting methods of transport our next
BODA BODAS(Edited with suggestion from Dennis)
I never rode one but a boda boda is a bike. The driver pedals the bike and the passenger sits on a pad above the back wheel. The name boda boda is derived from the origional use of the boda boda as a means to transport people from the borders of African countries.
MATATUS
Matatus are vans. They aren't mini vans, but the kind of van that the FBI uses as a headquarters for a stakeout in a movie. They have 5 rows of 3 seats so they accomadate 14 passengers and are limited to that number. Also all are equipped with speed govenors that limit them to 80 KPH(about 50MPH), all public transport and government vehicles are governed. The 14 passenger limit and the speed limit are new laws and because of this some people revert to the old ways. This means they pack a matatu as full as they can (and do not enforce seat belt wearing) and they tamper with the speed govenor. Matatus have their stops (which are cities/towns) painted on the side and will drop people off at matatu stops, which sometimes are also bus stops. The name matatu comes from the fact that all matatus once cost 3 shillings to go anywhere (tatu is three). Prices have since risen.

Robert and Charles
Charles drives a matatu for a small company. The company owns 3 matatus. Robert in contrast drives for Mololine a large company that specializes in Nairobi-Nakuru traffic. Mololine owns many matatus and pays its employees a flat wage per day. Matatu companies are respected, as one Kenyan told me that her family will only go on Mololine when they go to Nairobi from Nakuru.]]> Tue, 01 Aug 2006 06:24:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41441 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41389
I wish to share to you my embarassement when i woke up on Saturday morning-29th/07,very late and I rushed to the bathroom,wanting to get ready for our normal meetings in Kwacha Afrika site...gosh!!I realised you were gone....I will miss you guys so much.
Andrew-Hope you will be back to show me the 'pepeta' thing,with your tiny ball,i just couldnt get it but at least my hand helped alot in your games in Kwacha.
The 'shaka' bit,well,now i can do the shaka well.

I arrived Nairobi Sunday morning and had chest pains and my mobile battery was low,i received Robbin message late..it was a 'kwaheri' sms.....when i called....Kauai JUMPers are at the airport already.

The times will remain memorable for me for I truly love the Coast-Mombasa and the people in it and you coped so well,it was amazing how making friends,in our day to day fixed programme was so smooth,the morning briefs,outreaches,recordings and last evening together,these are days that are etched in my memory book-as special days that I have to thank God for.

Hopefully Kwacha came up with few wayforward but very functional- to start with-Finish the editing of the Kwacha promo,great help we got there from Robbin and the 'computer wizard' we named him...haa,'Asante'.
Hopefully fundraisings will start here too for few activities and the JUMPers will be in charge of documentation in Kwacha,talking about newspaper articles with the help of few skills that we learnt and a magazine/annual newsletter for Kwacha.

The passion of media came out strongly from few Kwacha individuals and JUMP was really a door opened for some of us,amazing dedication,coolaboration and participation we had there,for talents were taped,and now its so easy to delegate duties for media work in practicals,with few help from head people,from the birds eye point of view-Kwacha Afrika will make it in terms of delivery,from the little but powerful knowledge they have now.

Let me not say much for the low moments that we had-sicknesses,programme dragging,unfinished programme,coping up with few individuals(the teens were amazing!!!)which i always dont shy away in giving feedbacks and i receive them positively for they help me to grow in grace.
Teens,pliz,let me hope you are sharing the great moments and not the bad moments you had,if you experienced any,for any bad moments,aim to JUMP higher.!!

My point-let me declare the trip to Kenya for Kauai teens a success-very educative,passionate and powerful.

A member ask me today-"Jacky,can we also fundraise to emulate what the Kauai JUMPers deed but starting with visiting parts of Kenya for a start?
I took this as a very functional comment and driven by this trip to Kenya.

I cant wait to see photos shared to all.

Am still left with great Jumpy memories.......

From Jacky
]]> Mon, 31 Jul 2006 02:41:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41389 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41043 Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:03:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41043 21.9286111 -159.530277821.9286111-159.5302778 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41026

Andrew teaches some kids in Kibera about the wonders of a hackisack



Lunch scene from Swahili Dishes in Kibera


Juli films a performance on the street about HIV/AIDS stigmatization


Rory always finds time to play the guitar.


We visited a Masai village when we were on safari. We'll put up some pictures of them jumping soon. The higher they jump, the more girlfriends they get. They had some of our guys try their best to compete with them. Yeah, you can imagine how that went.


Allie was given the honor to wear a hat made of goat skin I think. Really, it was an honor.




The cheetahs were busy marking their territory here. Later some of our JUMPers saw these guys in action taking down a gazelle.



]]> Sun, 23 Jul 2006 19:46:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41026 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41022 To start this lesson I'll start with a song. Spelling is probably wrong.

Jambo, Jambo bwana,
Habari gani,
Mzuri sana.

Wageni, Wakaribishwa,
Kenya yetu Hakuna Matata.

This is a song that is song to visitors. Members of the Nakuru group (Ann Linda and Felix in particular)taught it to me during the matatu ride to Thompson falls.
This song is good because is uses many of the common phrases(or the ones that I know) and also uses some grammar!
Jambo is Hello
Bwana is Sir
Habari Gani means how are you
and Mzuri Sana replies Im very good.
Wageni, Wakaribishwa, means welcome visitors to
Kenya yetu means my kenya
hakuna matat is kenyan for no worries.( immortalized by the lion king)

along with the words in the song mzungu which means white people
ashante which means thank you
pole which means sorry
Polepole which means slow
sawa means good
and hakuna which means there is no

Grammer
Wa before anything makes it plural, much like adding an s.
yetu adds possession.

Sheng
Sheng is the slang of Kenya, although it seems to be more respectable than say pigeon.
Poa means cool
sawasawa means ok


well thats my lesson. hope you enjoyed it]]> Sun, 23 Jul 2006 19:28:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41022 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41025 So it has come to my attentions that I have not informed the global audience of the stay in Nairobi, with the Kibera group. This I hope to remedy tonight and to a fine degree. Excuse the ramblings and grammar as I am doing this past midnight, but most of my papers are done at this time anyway so it should be an acceptable quality.

Nairobi
Coming from a small island isolated in the Pacific Ocean one would think the change to a city like Nairobi would be a trying thing. It was not. Quickly, I got to know the area surrounding our hotel and began to feel comfortable walking down the streets. Nairobi is full of wazungu(white people) and it seems the town is use to them. The hawkers are not as insistent as they were in Nakuru and the people are not as surprised to see us. Prices are higher, and sometimes even the same as American prices, but this is only at expensive places. It still is comparably cheap.

Kibera
Kibera as I have been told is the largest slum in Kenya, and some have told me the largest in Africa. You would be a fool to argue against this as when you look at it from higher ground you can not see it all. We took a walk around Kibera and in 2 hours we didn't cover an eighth. Kibera is in the middle of a valley, hence the higher ground to peer down at it, and is bordered by what I am told are some very expensive houses.
There is open sewage, by this I mean small rivers, rolling down the hills and along the roads. Roads in kibera (the ones on the outskirts are two laned) have enough room for a car, but I only saw cars on the outskirts. Within the heart of Kibera everyone walks and doing this you walk on paths that the largest are a meter long, that wind in between houses, and usually along the same path the sewage follows. Houses in Kibera are right next to eachother and are the epitome of efficency, all space is utilized in and outside the home.

Kibera Team
The Kibera team had a vastly different group dynamic than the Nakuru team. The way that the Nakuru team functioned was not even apparent to me until we met with the Kibera team. The Nakuru team is solely focused on JUMP and it seems as if all members share similiar, if not equal, footing. The Kibera team is different. JUMP is one of many projects they are doing( they also are involved in adding solar panels through out Kibera, for one) and because of this need a structure that supports a large multi-tasking group. The structure they use is like a military structure with people of varying degrees of power in the organization. Because of this difference working with the groups was very different. Different but enlightening.

Well its 2 am now so I may head to bed ...]]> Sun, 23 Jul 2006 19:28:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41025 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41024 We finally made it to Mombasa, still in one piece, or at least in the same number of pieces as we started with. Sorry we've been out of communication, hard to email from the Masai Mara where we were on safari. Actually they had a business center at the lodge, but the internet rates were outrageous, especially when we've grown accustomed to paying on 1 ksh per minute (less than a penny). It's almost 2am but I'm so thrilled to finally have an internet connection after days of no communication...so I'm still awake trying to resize some photos of our recent adventures to share with you and briefly describe what we've been up to...sorry if I'm not as coherent as i should be,but I figure a foggy blog is better than no blog at all.

On July 17 we finished working with the Kibera JUMPers. What an experience. They are so full of ideas and talent and enthusiasm, at times it was hard to keep up, not only with their energy but also with their high spirits and optimism. Perhaps the most memorable experience for the Kauai JUMPers, apart from the friendships they made, was the walk through Kibera to visit a school for AIDS orphans and witnessing firsthand how challenging it is to live in this slum of almost a million. We brought some soccer balls to the kids at the school and they immediately engaged some of the JUMPers in a game. The ball quickly rolled into an open sewage stream running by their school, but they were unphased and continued to pick it up, toss it, and kick it with their bare feet. Andrew kept right up with them. He later told me he was horrified and wanted to get as far from this sewage as possible, but couldn't let the kids down. The school house was in an aluminum building with no electricity. All the primary grades meet in this room lit only by a little sunlight streaming through two doors at the ends. There they sit on benches in rows and attempt to make out the writing on the small chalk boards in front of them. The class sections are separated by rice sacks from the donated food of NGOs and aid organizations. These sacks are sewn together and hung as a curtain, lending a small sense of formality to each grade level's "classroom." We gave them a donation from JUMP, but it seemed insignificant in comparison to the challenges they face. I told the principal, Mr. Charles, that we would like to stay in touch. I hope someone at home will help me organize a book drive for this school. Something, anything, is better than seeing this school and doing nothing.

We also visited Nyambani, a home in the suburbs of Nairobi for children who are orphaned and also HIV+. It's hard to write about these experiences. The facilies are beautiful, thanks to the tireless work of Father D'Agostino and Mr. Proteus, the manager. We visited a kindergarten room where the children put on a show for us, singing and dancing to songs like "This little heart of mine" and one I wasn't familiar with, something about being happy. We videotaped the whole thing, and I'm sure Eric Talvi, our videographer of the day, will have more than a few minutes of the little girl in the front row who put her own sassy moves to each of these tunes. We were all grinning and applauding, but I think some of our JUMPers were overwhelmed by their emotions as they took in the realization of what these smiling children faced every day...medications, illnesses, and the struggle of fitting into society and living normal lives as children with HIV. After the kindergarten performance, we were led to their cemetery in the back of the buildings...

Thank God for antiretroviral drugs that now keep these children alive. In the beginning, this was a home to care for dying children. Now it's a home to care for children with a future.

Pretty serious stuff. It was good we took a break on July 18-20 and went on safari. After watching Out of Africa too many times to count, I had recently been disappointed by our visit to Karen Blixen's home. And then there had been the dead flamingos on the shore of Lake Nakuru. I wondered if the Masai Mara would turn out to be a disappointment too, overrun with tourists chasing animals in their land rovers, maybe litter spoiling a once pristine landscape, but I'm thrilled to say my fears were unfounded. The masai mara is one of the most beautiful places I've even experienced, and seeing the animals in their natural habitat was indescribable. We saw elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, a leopard, ostriches, and on and on. Some of our JUMPers actually saw the cheetahs catch a gazelle for their evening meal. And we came upon a pride of lions and their cubs in the early morning feasting on a carcass fresh from the previous night's hunt...the fat cubs lolled about and licked their bloody paws and swiped at their moms, not too much different than the human species. But the pictures that you'll soon see will tell the story much better than these words.

We arrived back in Nairobi after a gruelling drive over some of the bumpiest roads I've ever encountered. For our Kauai readers, it was like the road to Mahaluapu times 10, but for five hours. There was motion sickness, a little vomit, and a lot of tired and achy kids. We fell into our beds at the Kenya Comfort hotel, woke up the next morning at 7am and by 9am we were loaded onto the matatus for what we thought would be a 6 hour ride to Mombasa. We arrived a little over 10 hours later, in the dark, at a "charming" bug-infested guesthouse. I woke up in the morning still wearing the same clothes from the night before, I had been too terrified to do anything but dive under the mosquito net and pray to see the morning light. I had dreams that bugs were stinging my neck all night, and I thought for sure I was paralyzed when I awoke. Not long after realizing I was still alive, I glanced over at Allie's bed only to discover the fattest, ugliest centipede I've ever seen in my life, sitting happily on her bed, under her mosquito net, gradually working its way up to her face. I screamed, cried, begged Isabelle next door to come save us and finally did an emergency rescue and pulled Allie from certain death. She opened her sleepy eyes, took a look at the offending beast, and said "come on mom, it's not that bad." Turns out it wasn't. It was actually a harmless millipede, but right then I made up my mind we weren't staying there another night. When I met everyone for breakfast over gelatinous porridge and soggy bread, they all agreed in various levels of hysteria that we had to find a new home. I'll let someone else tell you about where we are now, but the name may give you a slight indication of our improved accommodations: The Castle Royal.

]]> Sun, 23 Jul 2006 18:05:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41024 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41654 but there'll be more, in no particular order. someday i'll even touch them up and make them look decent. the ones that look a bit dark or a bit light i should be able to fix when i have time, thanks to the wonders of the digital age. they probably got that way because photoshop has silly defaults for generating jpegs from raws anyway. but i'll get off my soapbox.

i'd really like to thank Whoever It Was That Donated The Ukes. i don't know your name, just that you're a nice person that donated them. so, thanks. they continue to be a big hit with the students we're working with - a few people in each group want to - or already can - play guitar, but don't have access to one. the ukes are especially entertaining for them. not to mention educational.
so, thanks. i hope you find this.

and thanks to the Goldsmiths for sending us to Naivasha. Fish Eagle Inn is a great place to stay, and it was really neat to tour the farm and talk to the nurses there. thank you.

also, people who donated money and equiptment, thank you. our kenyan friends love their shinny new cameras and laptops. they're mastering everything at the speed of light, and i think they'll continue to produce a lot.

thanks to felix masi, who just left us about an hour ago - he's a photojournalist. i think you can check him out at www.voicelesschildren.org
anyway, he's been helping our photography group. giving us tips. helping us communicate with people and find our way around. and entertaining us. so, thanks for all your time.

and stan and dennis from nakuru. they've also mentored and guided us, spending a lot of our precious time helping jump work.

and other youth leaders here, like fred. he's the guy here in nairobi, and he's obviously the guiding force of jump nairobi.

so, thanks everyone. we're off early tomorrow to go safari our brains out. cant't wait.

oh, and i think we're going to the carnivore tonight. it's supposed to be really famous - some kind of restaurant with big game animals as food, cooked hibachi (sic?) style (right in front of you, that is).
it sould be neat. i pity our vegetarian - hopefully they'll have some celery.]]> Mon, 17 Jul 2006 19:27:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41654 21.9286111 -159.530277821.9286111-159.5302778 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40758
http://www.archive.org/details/jumpkibera

Enjoy!]]> Sat, 15 Jul 2006 08:22:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40758 21.9286111 -159.530277821.9286111-159.5302778 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41655
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alecburney/

when they do finally go through.
also, keep in mind that these are not final pictures, they're previews i quickly made from the raw files...
i'm quite pleased with some of them.

]]> Fri, 14 Jul 2006 19:30:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/41655 21.9286111 -159.530277821.9286111-159.5302778 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40720
Walking through an area that from an angle looks so unhappy and forgotten you find that everyone is moving and everyone is doing something. Children playing with their make shift soccer balls and women selling their vegis and mens even playing chess. everyone with their own purpose none of them truly unhappy it seems and none forgotten.

The one thing that i see everywhere i look in every set of eyes and every motion that is done in the towns we visit is the sense of hope. hope that what they are doing will change something. The pharmasisit hopes to help change the health of a million by selling condoms to those who need them and helping to solve ailments of those who come to his window. The women who clean the bathrooms that were donated by the movie the constant gardner. The children who run around us barefoot asking us how we are. All contain hope and strive for a better. this is something i dont always see in american nothing here is taken for granted, everything is used and everything is appreciated.]]> Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:59:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40720 22.0783333 -159.321944422.0783333-159.3219444 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40725
We're working in a small center that the Kibera Community Youth Program recently rented. it's in Kibera, but on the outskirts and has a security guard. It seems safe and the equipment should be secure. It has three small rooms where our teams break into groups to work on podcasts, photography and digital stories. Though I don't like to play favorites, our digital story team rocks! We're almost done with our first production...we filmed a street performance of a young man (next academy award winner), slightly mad, slightly intoxicated, who cries out against a society and his brothers and sisters who have made him an outcast because of his HIV status. In the background four talented Kibera JUMPers sang, played guitar and drums and heightened the emotion of his powerful monologue. You'll see it soon on the Internet, once we can compress it enough to get it up with the slow connection speeds here. We're trying to beat the podcast team. It shouldn't be hard, in between every recording they break out the deck of cards. I heard Andrew asking for a bunch of coins earlier today, but don't worry, gambling is strictly forbidden. I'm sure that was on line 26 of the student contract.

We break for lunch around 12:30...and today we hopped in the matatus and drove a few minutes up the dirt road in Kibera to a tiny cafe that served traditional swahili dishes. we piled into the tiny rooms and spilled out onto the street while the owners quickly served us about 30+ dishes of everything from rice (pilau) and chapatis to traditional fried fish (tilapia, heads and all). A few were sad they were out of the savory cow intestines. What an incredible meal...I heard Rory say it was some of the best food he's ever eaten. Eric Devlin ate all the leftovers, his primary role.

Speaking of food, it's time to go again. Tonight it's Jamaican food down the block.

more to come...thanks for all the aloha from home.

Kwaheri,
Robin

]]> Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:55:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40725 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40721 Actually that didn't happen. Nothing much has happened in Nairobi. Its pretty calm out here, for being a large city. I am sharing a room with three crazy teenage mutant ninja turtles. Oops, I mean Carly, Juli, and Isabelle. Robin wakes us up 10 minutes before we have to leave every morning (because now we have to meet the groups at ten o clock in the freakin morning) and all four of us fight over the showers, and i end up not able to get breakfast, causing me to act all super grumps. Actually that only happened the first day. The grumpy part.
We drink a lot of tea here. I drink like seven cups a day. I really hope i am not getting addicted to caffeine. That would suck. Right now we are in another cyber cafe. Its um, fun. I don't really have anything at all to blog, but robin is forcing me. thats why i am doing it on the group blog instead of my own. i think i am never going to post on my own again. because it doesn't matter where i post it, i have decided. Um our group is very nice and fun again. Its all very good. I don't really do much. Our kibera partners are very self sufficient. I wanted to change out in the beginning, and join podcasts or photography, but robin said i wasn't allowed. So instead i just overlook. its pretty rad. Aria interviewed me today for some article or something. That was pretty much the highlight of my day.
Every night a bunch of us get together and watch movies before bed. Thats fun too. I watched cabin fever last night and it prompted dreams of a world take over by zombies. In my dream I watched Olivia from school get eaten alive. Am i allowed to branch of into the wild this far robin? Is this stuff not supposed to go in my blogs? OH WELL!! Maybe you shouldn't have insisted on this blog. Maybe. What now?
:D
]]> Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:37:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40721 21.8763889 -159.453888921.8763889-159.4538889 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40716 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:35:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40716 21.9286111 -159.530277821.9286111-159.5302778 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40718 I have completely run outta clothes. Mom, I have to tell you, I did not pack enough. I never ever thoughtI would ever say that in my entire life.
Narobi and Kibera are fast pace anf theres always a million things going on. The kids are adorable. The street kids are heartbreaking.They sniff glue, so they can forget the are hungry. When we see a group of them we bring them food, instead of money so we know the are getting food and not any other drugs. Its very sad.
I miss my family and friends and its amazing the support i am getting. Thank you sooo much]]> Fri, 14 Jul 2006 06:52:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40718 21.9066667 -159.469166721.9066667-159.4691667 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40653 Wed, 12 Jul 2006 13:54:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40653 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40652 we made it to nairobi after stopping off at lake naivasha and spending a night at the fish eagle lodge. i really like that place it was nice. I'm bummed we can't stay longer in nairobi because its a really cool city with so much to do. i want to go to a movie while we're here.
Today we met with JUMP kibera and like Nakuru everyone is so nice! I'm on the digital stories team again and im really excited for what out project is going to be on. I'm not quite sure but some of the boys in our group have a production that involves drums, guitars, and poetry and we're going to film that. It's about living on the streets i believe. and i think it's going to be very interesting andi can't wait to film tomorrow.
2 days ago we went to Lake Nakuru game park and saw so many animals. we saw like 7 giraffes, one was standing right by the road and we were looking up at it from the car. I saw a rhino and water buffalo and gazelles and impala. Lake nakuru was filled with flamingos but it seemed like the number living and standing in the lake matched the number dead on the shores of it. Stanley said it was because of the pollution. that the all the toxins from nakuru drained into the lake. it was really depressing.
well thats it for today i think
-isabelle]]> Wed, 12 Jul 2006 13:52:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40652 21.9066667 -159.469166721.9066667-159.4691667 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40649 JUMPs Mission is to share the voice of teens with the world. The JUMP Nakuru Podcast team is a shining example of what JUMP is trying to achieve. To check out their work visit http://www.archive.org/details/JUMPNAKURU . I, along with Andrew Jones and Rory Marsh(we make up the Hawaii podcast team), have been teaching the Nakuru team how to spread their message with the podcast form.
The Kenyans in the Pocast team; Patrick, Lucy, Mercy, and Judy, are some of the brightest kids I have ever met. This group of kids jumped right into the podcasting and the first time they every did a podcast it was good enough to air. The enthuasism that they have makes mine pale in comparision and they make me want to give my all into the project so that I do them justice. Anything less then my best seems as if it would insult them. Although this is probably the furthest from the truth, being that they will apologize to me if I run into a wall.

Ann Linda: Singer, Student, Friend
On Friday night, July 7th, the Hawaii team went to the Kenyan's houses to have dinner. I was invited to Ann Linda's house. Ann Linda is the young woman who, less then a week before we came, created a song about AIDs. This song will hopefully, and is planned, to be brought to all of your attention, although at the present moment is still under work.
When I got off the matatu, kenyan public transportation, and was led into her house I was greeted by her family. Her sister, brother, and mother all came up to me and welcomed me into their home. Her brother's son, Kelli, was afraid of me when I first came. Ann Linda lived in a 3 bedroom house, that was about the size of grey hound. Her kitchen had room for a stove, a wall of shelves, and then just enough room for someone to stand inside. Nonetheless, her family was in one of the most jovial moods. Her mother spent much of the night in the kitchen, while I sat in the living room conversing with Ann Linda and her brother and sister. Her mom would come out through out the evening and take pictures of us all.
While I was their we talked of many things from shoes to ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings and why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings. Well it wasn't actually like Alice in Wonderland, but we taled of many things, from schools to jobs, to Kenya compared to America. All the while my cup of coke was kept bottomless, and food stared me in the face.
At the end of the evening, I was walked out to the matatu and given armfuls of hugs and told that when in Kenya I always have a place to stay.

THE MANY THINGS---
Judiciary: Ann Linda wants to become a lawyer. And because of this interest I used her to fulfill my desire to know more about the Judiciary of Kenya. It was definately worth it. They have lower state courts that I suspect work in much the same way as most. But the main difference in the Judiciary of Kenya is that they have a religious court. Their religious court is for the Moslems. In this court if the plaintiff is a moslem you must go there. It was created to ease tension between the religions within the nations, and I think that it is a great idea. The High court of Kenya is made of one chief justice who is appointed by the current President. All big cases go through the same high court, but cases that do not go to the high court go to either the Religious or State court.

School: School is made of 8 classes a day. And all through secondary school(high school) you study Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math, English and Swahili. Then depending on how you do in certain classes you specialize in either Geography, History, or Religion. The most important thing in any class is to learn what is going to be tested on in the national tests, these tests are what the syllabis are founded in. Also, they have saturday school which is optional for first and second form(year), but mandatory for third and fourth. Oh and there are no teachers on saturday, classes are done in group discussions on that day.

Work: Ann Linda's sister sells cell phones and her brother is a street hawker. Her father is a retired Head of Post office and now works for the Electoral commision(which I will speak of next). Because there is an election going on right now her brother is also doing that, he is actively searching for jobs but cannot find any. Additionally, students do not work. While in school you are not allowed to work. It is illegal.

Well thats a wrap.

P.S. ernd is ernie blachowiak. Look him up he is now posting.

]]> Wed, 12 Jul 2006 13:40:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40649 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40567
Ok, my JUMPers are almost out the door...but a couple quick things. This is the most important: have faith. The Nakuru JUMPers know this, they live it. But throughout this past year of preparing for this trip we've all wondered if we would ever actually make enough money to make this trip a reality, if we'd find a way to procure the necessary equipment to leave with our Kenyan JUMP teams. But we had faith, and the reality of what we have experienced here has surpassed anything I could have imagined during the countless hours I spent planning this trip. Second impression: dream big and those dreams will grow. The Nakuru JUMP team has taken this idea and run with it. We've been chatting with a manager at Barclay's bank about receiving support for a JUMP Nakuru radio station. A newspaper is coming next. Our podcast team has already put up 3 podcasts. We have a photography book in the works, digital stories to come, a music video about AIDS written and produced by AnnLinda, one of the most talented young people I've ever met.

Ok, they're getting ready to pull me out the door so I better wrap it up. After lunch we're off to the Nakuru game park to see some lions. We already had the monkeys eating out of our hands, literally. They like Skittles. Then we'll pile ourselves and our mountain of bags onto the 2 matatus and head to Lake Naivasha. It's Aria's birthday, I'm going to try to find some Betty Crocker mix. i'm trying to persuade people to rent bikes with me to go in search of the hippos. Ernie's concerned, he saw hippos attacking a kayak on the national geographic channel. But i promised him we're safe if they're in the water and we're on land, especially if we can peddle quickly!

Ok, chapatis are calling. more to come.
Kwaheri for now,
Robin]]> Mon, 10 Jul 2006 04:40:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40567 21.9811111 -159.371111121.9811111-159.3711111 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40562 I've been asked some questions about my travels, so I'll try and address them.

The food here is awesome. I'm eating more healthy then I do on Kauai. There's lots of local food around, and yesterday I had the first thing that I just couldn't handel: some fried meat thing. There's chapati, which is like a fried sweet tortilla; ugali, a grainy hunk of carbs like cream of wheat after a couple of hours, Devy can't get enough of it; masala, this style of seasoning which is just about the best thing I've ever had. I've had masala chips (fries), masala steak, burger, tea and I've been told that there's more out there.

The language is great to listen to. Lots of deep 'oh' sounds. Swahili is the national language of Kenya, and also spoken widely in Uganda, Tanzania and other parts of east Africa. The official language though, is English. Politics is mostly in English, school is taught in Enlish, most of church ceremonies/readings are in English. Sheng is a mix of the two, a slang language that is sometimes spoken among friends. Denis, the head of Nakuru JUMP, has been a huge help. Though everyone speaks English (because it was a former British colony), our accent is difficult for them to understand and they speak Swahili much better. He helps us communicate in situations as important as talking to airport security, or clarifying what our order was at lunch. A lot of the kids also speak their tribal language.

Which brings me to the political situation. Though I've been around a lot of the discussions about Kenya's political situation, I don't really have the brain for it. I'd recomend checking out Erik Talvi's blog for that. One of the more prevelant issues is tribalism. People of the same tribe will favor eachother for job positions, or for getting out of trouble and other things. Being of two different tribes can get in the way of friendships and even marriages. Some people of odd accents from learning their tribal language. Lots of things.

Stan, our guide for most of the trip, talked about a group of haoles that visited last year: one of them pointed a camera at a Mosk--a big no-no. He said that before they got to the next turn-off, the road had been blocked before and behind them. The Muslims were demanding to have the film and they wanted to burn the car. It took a while but Stan said that the final thing that saved them was that the bus driver was of the same tribe as the Muslims. Stan also has talked about his personal difficulty of growing up being half of two tribes. Technically you are of the tribe of your father, but Stan still wasn't fully accepted into either.

Though I can't reply to every comment, know that I read every one and appriciate them all!

]]> Mon, 10 Jul 2006 04:16:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40562 21.9286111 -159.530277821.9286111-159.5302778 http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40559 the first two episodes are up right now, more should be arriving in the next week or so.

everyone here in Nakuru would love to get some feedback, so if anyone has a comment or question for them, leave a review there on the site, message to this blogg or email it to me at nexusj@hawaiiantel.net

since i'll be traveling and such, i don't know when i'll be able to foward it to them, but i'll do so ASAP.

Enjoy!]]> Mon, 10 Jul 2006 04:13:00 EDT http://www.tigblog.org/group/JUMP/post/40559 21.9286111 -159.530277821.9286111-159.5302778