Saturday, January 12, 2013

 

Bullfights in Kyhega and Celebration in Kasavai

As usual, we hired a truck and driver to help us get the goodies we brought from America and purchased in Kakamega to Kasavai.  I had written down Ben’s number from last year and he was happily available again this year.  He arrived at the Golf at 8 AM, at which time he, we, and a hotel security guard loaded the truck to the gunwales, if that’s possible.  Then  down A2 we trundled quickly and merrily until we came upon a bus blocked by about one hundred people (all men and boys, we believe) walking down the road with a man in the lead waving a black, gold, and green  flag and another blowing the now infamous vu-vu-zela.   They were in no mood to let traffic through in either direction.  Could this already be the start of another political rally?  No, it’s Saturday morning and this is Kyhega - that means bull fights.

We’ve never actually seen a bullfight, although I did try to a few years ago but got there too late.  Here, in Kyhega and other small towns and villages, local bull owners and fans gather early Saturday morning in an outdoor enclosure on the outskirts of town.  There, as I understand it, the owners pit their bulls against each other, taunting them and encouraging them to fight each other, kind of like a cock fight.  I don’t know how they determine who has won, but I do know that the bulls do not fight to the death, for all that’s worth.  When the fights are over, the bulls and their respective fans march home down the highways and roads celebrating the fight and perhaps the winner.  We were behind one bull and his throng of fans, with the men and boys in the lead and the lone bull bringing up the rear. 

When we arrived at the Quaker church in Kasavai, where today’s festivities were to be held, two or three widows were already making preparations.   Pots were being filled with water, and cooking fires were being built, all inside a small cook house behind the church.  The truck was unloaded quickly with the help of two village men who happened to be at the right place at the right time.  A fifty shilling tip was a good start for the day for each of them.  Meanwhile the cook house was filling with smoke.

Sandy and I unpacked goodies for the next hour or so and lined them up on tables and chairs as widows and children filled the room.  By the time the meeting and festivities began around 11 AM, we had a full contingent of 45 widows, 2 family members representing the 2 widows who died in 2012, in excess of 100 children, an assistant chief and his wife, the village sub-chief, a village elder, the pastor of the church, a church deacon, and honored guests and speakers, including Chris and Connie Shisanya, Sandy and me, a student from Kenyatta University, a 16 year old orphan girl who the Shisanya’s have taken on as a live-in housekeeper and “eldest daughter”, and  a lone homeless man who ended up staying in the back of tehchurch for nearly the entire day.

 

As usual, the festivities began with the widows singing and dancing while praising the Lord and extolling the virtues of their guests from America, us.  This was followed by prayers and then short and not-short introductory speeches by each of the above mentioned dignitaries, including us.  In addition, as seems to be traditional, a few young children recited poems or sang, and David Ashmosi a 2011 high school graduate who had been supported by CLOUT Cares told current students and recent graduates to study hard and seek out opportunities.  Finally, tea, eggs, groundnuts, and bread and butter at around 12:30 provided a much needed break for the children and for us.

 

Sandy and I followed the break with short, and I mean short, presentations about issues dear to our hearts.  Sandy talked about the value of play and how children learn from it.  For example, she showed how playing with Duplo blocks helps young children to learn colors, numbers, addition and subtraction, eye-hand coordination, and cooperation with others.  From simple picture books with text, they can learn the alphabet, reading, science, and life skills.  Play is their “work”.  I followed and talked about the importance of drinking clean water at all times.  I introduced the concept of the use of the BioSand water filters that we are having installed on Monday in their CLOUT multi-purpose “office” and in a few of their homes.

A belated celebration of Christmas followed.  Each of the widows was given a small amount (by US standards) of cash to help manage increased expenses associated with the start of the new year.  This year we also established a fund to help defray funeral and related costs for the families of widows who died during the year, leaving their children as total orphans.  These small sums of cash brought joy and smiles to the widows’ faces and tears to their eyes.

Then we distributed the goodies we brought from America and the foodstuffs and household items we purchased at wholesalers in Kakamega yesterday.  Each widow accumulated a hefty stash of stuff, including the things I mentioned yesterday and four reusable “shopping” bags each, donated by our friends in America.

A 3 PM “lunch” had been prepared by the ladies and we consumed it rapidly. Everybody, including widows and guests partook of a hearty meal of five chickens that had started out the day clucking in the cook house, goat, ugali, sukuma wiki, pumpkin, and fried bananas.    All went home happy and full, carrying their goodies and memories with them.

 

 

And, I got to see my namesake, Terry (the little one), again who is about one and a half years old now.

Once back in Kakamega and snuggled behind our Tuskers, we spotted a huge bird in flight right in our back yard, which some of you bird watchers may be able to identify if you watch carefully.