Back from Kenya

I arrived back yesterday from a very short visit to Kenya to see some of the work that ICROSS Kenya is doing in some of the most deprived areas of the country. I will post some of the pictures i took over the next few weeks. My son Peter came with me- he is studying osteo-archaeology as a follow-on to his basic degree in human genetics, and so had an interest in seeing how the people in the tribes in the Rift Valley live.

Things happen fairly slowly and at a relaxed pace in Kenya- so that was the first adjustment I had to make. I am used to a very organised and fast paced day, and that is not really the way life is in Kenya. However from the very beginning my first overall impression was of the friendliness and kindness of the Kenyan people that I met.
I had arrived in Kenya with very little cash as it was not possible to get Kenyan Shillings here in Ireland and I assumed that I would simply be able to get to an ATM to get cash once I arrived. However this proved to be not so simple- most of the ATMs there did not have Cirrus or Maestro and then when I finally found a Barclays Bank in Karen, a small towm just outside Nairobi where we stayed for the first 2 nights, the ATM was out of order.A few panicked calls home and attempts to organise western union or bank transfer ensued, but then the ATM was repaired and All Was Well.

So after a day of sorting all that out I finally got to meet Elle Kihara again, Patrick the National Director for ICROSS KENYA and the 2 people who were to be our companions and guides for most of our time there-Little Joe and John/Sarune. I will post pictures and some commentary on Flickr as I work through sorting them all out. However the bottom line is that I have seen the work that this organisation- ICROSS KENYA is doing on the ground. It is making a real and positive difference to people who are living in very deprived and difficult conditions. ICROSS Kenya and the teams of people working there need and deserve to be supported.