I am wrapping things up for this jaunt in Africa. It has been a busy four days in Kisumu. George and I traveled a good bit of Thursday to arrive here. I met with Pastor John Atieno of Neema Children’s Home on Thursday evening to talk about our schedule for next few days. We stayed at the beautiful complex of Le Savannah.
I think someone was checking to see if I was eating chicken nuggets…….
I said goodbye to George as he headed back to Nairobi on Friday. Pastor John and I spent a good bit of time on Friday getting prices on things in Kisumu. This is a shot of the street vendors in the city.
We are working with Neema on several projects. We want to get a sewing center started for the ladies. The home has two machines already, one good one and one not so good. The fancier looking one is a cheap knockoff that isn’t reliable. We were able to find a vendor with good quality treadle machines.
We also found a supplier for the flannel needed to make Luopads. We provided some pads along with a starter kit with material and supplies. We will be setting up the sewing operation soon.
We spent a little time getting some drip irrigation line ready for a couple bucket drip kits. I was able to bring 30 kits with me which will be a start.
We are also supplying Neema with a half-acre drip system for them to use on their farm. A technician will visit when they have the raised beds ready and help them get the system installed. We had a group of about 25 for training on Saturday.
We also spent some time in the garden installing a kit. The bed was not prepared, so it will be taken back out. But it was important for the students to see the water make it to the field.
I was a guest at Pastor John’s church on Sunday. This was the receiving line.
On Sunday night, a few of us went to Kiboko Bay Resort for dinner. It is on the shore of Lake Victoria.
Monday was a day of meeting people. I got to meet with the deputy governor of Kisumu county Dr. Matthew Owili. I also met the governor’s chief of staff, Patrick Ouya. Later, I met with the food and fisheries committee of the county assembly, pictured below. Pastor John chairs this committee.
Later Monday evening, I met the Minister of agriculture for Kisumu county, Gilchrest. He had been in Nairobi and made a special effort to get back to Kisumu and came by the hotel to introduce himself. All of this attention made me feel like a real dignitary. All of these officials are very interested in the drip irrigation and its use in increasing food security in their community.
Lastly, I have to introduce you to Mike, Pastor John’s son. He is a cute boy. When the music starts, he will be moving!
EDEN in Africa 