We’re off the wheels – but where’s it all going?

The physical peddles of Amanzi Awethu! came to rest on July 23rd, 2012, in Nairobi, Kenya. In a way, that’s only when the “giving back” wheels really got going.

A few months ago, our partners at The Water Project said they’d finalised the plans for a new water resources project with the IcFEM team, based in Kimilili, Kenya. As we discussed in one of our earlier blogs (see Kenya’s Warriors for Water – http://wp.me/p26par-4L), we were very impressed with the IcFEM team when we visited them and liked the way they worked. So when The Water Project contacted us to ask if they could direct some of the funds YOU so kindly donated, we were only too happy!

The first few reports and updates of how the projects are getting along can be found through here: http://thewaterproject.org/community/profile/alex-antrobus

Essentially, this project is to identify sites where natural water sources are available, particularly natural springs and mountain streams. As populations increase and people and livestock visit these water sources more and more often, there’s a chance of them becoming contaminated and unfit for human use. So the IcFEM is trying to get there first, to put in short pining systems, natural filters and concrete “dispensers” to allow people access to the water without contaminating it. It’s an example of foresight that is so often missed – do the job now, invest in protecting the water today instead of trying to clean it once the damage is done!

The first spring (Kamburu) has already been completed, and the IcFEM report had this to say:

“The construction work on this site is completed, and the community is already using the spring. The committee is in place and has been empowered to take ownership of the project. The committee has been trained on water, sanitation and hygiene and on operations & maintenance.”

The last part is important and uses a fair share of resources – making the community responsible for the spring, teaching people how to keep water clean once they’ve collected it and school kids how to wash hands – something we still battle with. This process is harder than it sounds. Like any founder of a project, it’s scary to do, but you have to let the reins go at some stage.

Collecting water form the new spring station in Kamburu

The next site is in the initial phases: gaining adequate community involvement. This includes things like helping the community select a committee who can represent them in overseeing the project, the community contribution to its funding and its future maintenance and use. It also involves selecting a contractor to do the construction – either one from the local community or one who is willing to use maximal local labour. It also begins the process of hygiene and water use education.

The current state of the Kimakwa natural spring site.

Things have only just begun and a team from The Water Project will be visiting Kenya in a few weeks to be part of it all. Thanks to everyone who donated, this is your generosity at work! Need us to cycle 7 600 km again? To visit places like the IcFEM projects in Kenya, it would be our pleasure.

Rolling Home and Wrapping Up

We designed our route from Mt Elgon to Nairobi to include a couple of interesting spots in Kenya’s eastern Rift Valley. The first was Kakamega Forest, Kenya’s last remaining pocket of Guineao-Congolian forest which once covered central Africa. We spent a cool, rainy night in a dusty old Guest House at the forest reserve HQ before heading on for Kapsabet. The night’s rain made the compacted clay roads incredibly slippery, forcing us to ride cautiously but perhaps that’s why we saw so many monkeys, birds and butterflies on the way.

The invaluable pocket of history that is Kakamega Forest.

Kenya’s Warriors for Water

Kimilili is a surprisingly large town at the base of east Africa’s fourth highest mountain. Our purpose of visit to this slightly out-of-the-way spot was the IcFEM – Interchristian Fellowships’ Evangelical Mission. The IcFEM is a Kenyan founded  organisation that operates in a 90 km² area centred around Kimilili and is (among many other things) one of The Water Project’s in-country partners. When we asked to visit the IcFEM we met a warm welcome and abounding enthusiasm to show us what they do. A few weeks later, when we eventually arrived, their enthusiasm hadn’t waned a bit.

Extracting smiles from Kimilili’s school children was reassuringly easy

Up for a good smiting?

After a week in Kampala of eating Rolexes (a chapatti-omelette wrap) and enduring multiple near-death experiences on both motorbikes and bicycles, our unscathed escape was quite a relief.  The route East was less-than-direct in order to visit the source of the Nile river and some new friends who worked in a hospital out in… well, nowhere really. Mother Nature seemed a little less happy about our wanderings though and made several attempts to smite us along the way.

The Sheraton Hotel – Busolwe

Through the Impenetrable Forest, via the crow dressed in a tea cosy to the automotive war zone

It was a relief to arrive in Uganda, where people once again drive on the right (meaning left) side of the road. Well, at least they’re supposed to. We also noticed that police and traffic officers were dressed in a combination of blue/grey/white camouflage and crisp white uniforms respectively. For a place where the only snow seen in the last several million years is on top of the Ruwenzori or Mount Elgon (where we assume crime rates are fairly low) we thought these uniforms a little queer.

In Africa, we’ve always got space for a little more.

Never ride up a volcano

Leaving Rwanda held the faint hope of cycling over some flat ground again, but not without some blood, sweat and beauty to get there. To reach Uganda we needed to navigate the mighty Congo-Nile watershed, survive a night sleeping in a dance club and traverse a couple of volcanoes. Never try cycle up a volcano.

The further we travel, the more we realise “The Force” is strong in Africa. At R20 a night, getting Star Wars bedding is great bang for your buck!

The land of A Hundred Hills… and A Million Deaths

If you made a model of Rwanda, it would be composed of emerald bumps, with the odd blue puddle amongst them. The country’s hills are a painful beauty for the cyclist and her rural roads bumpy but lead to quite unimaginable sights. All too often though in passing churches and schools a little memorial –  concrete slab and a plaque remind you of the horror that occurred here just 18 years ago.

The rolling hills to Rwanda begin before one reaches the Rusumo falls

The Stumbling Block of Mwanza

Last time you heard from us we’d just arrived in Mwanza, a large port on southern Lake Victoria and the biggest town we’ve seen since Harare! We planned to spend about a week here, awaiting some spares from JHB and resting up. Apparently that’s not an option ‘round here.

Arriving in Mwanza (Thursday 18^th of May) we decided, having done our fair bit of sailing, that we would try camp   at the Mwanza Yacht Club. Whilst unpacking we met a couple of locals, coming down to the club for a game of squash and a drink. A few of them were expat South Africans and that’s where it all started. We enjoyed an evening of eating, drinking and chatting about how everyone came to be here. When we gave our story, we were casually told by Mark that,

“Ah no man, don’t worry. You’re not going anywhere. No one leaves Mwanza. Sophie, this other girl, you’ll meet her. She came here for a six-month stint volunteering. It’s now been four years and she’s still around.”

The little jetty seems to stretch almost to the Dou on the horizon

Some interestng people in some interesting places.

When one is travelling on an adventure of all new places and new people, each day is full of action and it’s a little hard to fit it all in a few blogs. But some people you meet and places you see deserve special mention. And that’s what this blog is about.

Evarastous fills up during his 2010 expedition. Nice to see how similar we look at lunch time!

The Death-Bus highway, warm rain, and some interesting “new” species…

Kigoma is the main port on the Tanganyika and has the same seedy reputation of all port cities. As recently as last week some defecting Congolese troops crossed over and sought asylum there, followed by other troops trying to stop them! Despite a drunken official taking umbrage at Murray for photographing the Governor’s Mansion (a dilapidated colonial building described by said official as “the White House”) our experience was far from unpleasant.

The presence of a Mzungu inspires a wide range of reactions