House of Courage: An internship in Mombasa, Kenya

We are nearly through the Orientation week the Foundation for Sustainable Development has created for the incoming interns for the Mombasa program. It began on the 23rd and will conclude on the 29th. I along with six other interns have been fortunate to not only have a very supportive site team to help us with the adjustment but were also treated to meeting Dr. Alicia Robb, the founder and President of FSD who was helping with the set up of the new permanent offices in Mombasa Town.
After less than a week in Mombasa, it seems a lifetime away from the setting of the United States even if our time among the community has been limited. Our days have been regimented with morning Kiswahili lessons and afternoons of culture orientation. Our, mwalimu (teacher) Penina has been a great guide and my language ability has greatly improved in the small span of time. Still, there is much to learn before I truly feel comfortable with my communication skills. It is a considerably easier language to learn than English. Combining African Bantu language with pieces from other languages coming to East Africa through historic trade routes.

Interesting note on Kiswahili: Verbs are formed from subject+tense+verb
Subject: ni (I), u (you), a (he/she), tu (we), m(you {pl}), wa(they); Tense: na (present), li (past), ta (future).
The verb "kujua" (to know) would be formed: ninajua (I know), nilijua (I knew), nitajua (I will know)

The latter part of the day has been devoted to areas of development, culture shock, security, safety, and health. We begin with breakfast in the morning at 7:30AM and end with dinner at 7:00PM. It's dark by that time as we are just south of the equator so one's mind begins to get tired and fall asleep at 9:00pm. This has been the arduous schedule over the last few days, but it is worth the payoff of being acclimated to the people of Mombasa.
In Mombasa, I am a mzungu. A mzungu (mmm zoon goo) is a white/ european/ American/ Westerner. It is said where ever my colleagues and I go as a reference to our group of caucasians. It is not necessarily a derogatory term but does differentiate you from others in a form that I have not experienced in America. A majority of people of Mombasa are good natured and friendly when approached but there is an anti-American sentiment in areas of the city. Our group experience one instance as we were walking through Old Town of Mombasa Town. As we passed a shop of a group of young men yelled after us, "Why do you come through a black neighborhood, we hate America." There are security issues in Kenya to be sure. It is recommended that we not go out at night and if we do to do so in groups. We're to avoid political rallies resist the urge to act as the European tourists. Obsessive picture taking will only attract people asking you to pay them for inadvertently taking their picture.
Overall I am well. Some days I shower myself in more mosquito repellent than with actual shower water. Hand sanitizer, mosquito repellent, sun screen, malarone (malaria prevention medicine), and multi-vitamens fill my daily routine. Don't drink the water and don't eat uncooked foods. As of the moment I have no problems while some of my intern colleagues are spending the day at the doctors with unidentified red dots and upset stomachs.
The spectrum of life in Mombasa is wide and dynamic. As of now I am living on the South coast of Likoni and take a ferry to Mombasa Town (an island in the center of the city). It is the only form of transit to Likoni and you will see pedestrians and autos together heading across. You can see rich Mzungus in Toyotas with morning coffee at one end and barefoot young men pushing a 9ft tall cart of vegetables you wouldn't dream of eating in middle class American at the other end. At the North coast across from the other side of the island you wil find a state of the art cinemax showing new Ameican and Bollywood releases. It is surrounded by contemporary Indian restaurants and a pizzeria catering to the tourists of Nyali Beach. Across the street is one of the largest slums in Kenya numbering in the thousands. People live in cardboard boxes which fall apart in the rain.
The first few days were overwhelming, One of the interns who arrived Wednesday left for the U.S. Friday mainly because of a family emergency but he was also extremely taken aback by the situtation of many people and, at times, felt powerless to work in his organization. This feeling arises in everyone now and again but the open atmosphere of FSD allows us to discuss these issues.
I will be leaving orientation Tuesday, beginning life with my host family and starting work Wednesday. More entries to come by this weekend. Thank you for your support.

Posted by Ben Marcy at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

I arrived Wednesday to Mombasa and there are inadequate words to describe the sights at this time. All is well with FSD orientation as 6 other interns and I learn about the culture and living in Mombasa. More information about the program to come later. For now I am rushed to get out of the internet cafe.

Posted by Ben Marcy at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

The flight to Mombasa is not short trip.

One must first fly a good 7 hr flight over the Atlantic to some destination of choice and then another 8 hr flight to Nairobi. The lay over periods between these flights can be somewhat long and if you are in a less than 12 hour period of lay over it is best not to leave the airport because who knows how long you'll have to get back to the terminal with going through security, customs, etc.

To pass the time I've been going through some basic Swahili to improve language skills upon arrival. Ndiyo! (it is true, or yes). There are so many interesting facets to Swahili coming together as a trade language from different areas of East Africa. To note: most of the emphasis within the words fall on the second to last syllable. Many nouns that indicate a person have an M/WA beginning to indicate a singular or plural form.

mtoto-child
watoto-children

Along with the learning Swahili you can also pass the time by sleeping. Sleeping is good when you have lost the time going overseas.

Asante,
Ben

Posted by Ben Marcy at 05:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

This blog will serve as a professional and hopefully entertaining review of the work I do in Mombasa, Kenya through Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) and the House of Courage (HOC) from May 23rd 2007-August 7th, 2007.

About myself:

I, Ben Marcy, am a second year graduate student at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. I am a candidate for Master's of Public Policy (MPP). I am working on a self-design concentration of community development and civic engagement. Too often we think of development in economic terms of tangible product and traditional measured growth. My degree is focusing on understanding the distinctions of a community and finding common ground for change if it is desired among the people. Essentially, this is engaging the public in the policy formation.

This program has been a culmination of work and defining my self-interest for working in Kenya. I began the process of filing application forms with FSD in early February. I listed my interests in working with youth and new forms of education. I have worked in clerical work for the Positive Care Clinic (HIV/AIDS Clinic) of Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) for the last several years and have a personal interest in where the HIV/AIDS issues are moving. As well I am also a theatre enthusiast and have previously worked as a player in a sketch comedy group, LunchBox Voodoo, at Eastern Illinois University.

Currently, I work with a student group called Cedar Humphrey Action for Neighborhood Collaborative Engagement (CHANCE) at the Humphrey Institute. This group seeks to foster and promote community-building and civic engagement among Humphrey Institute students, staff, and faculty in order that the Institute forms positive, sustainable relationships with surrounding communities and those it affects. We mainly focus on Cedar-Riverside Neighborhood of Minneapolis, which has a very diverse community of populations including people from East Africa and South Asia.

With all this on my application papers I sent to FSD in early February, I was given a truly unique offer. I was offered an internship working with the HOC. In 2000, an outbreak of cholera in Kisauni led the Ministry of Health to mobilize local secondary school students to conduct outreaches within the community to prevent the spread of the disease. After the cholera was contained, the group of students decided to continue with their community outreach work and tackle other pressing issues such as HIV/AIDS. This led to the formation of House of Courage as a youth centered community group using participatory theater to improve public health in the Kisauni Division of Mombasa District. Recently, HOC recently attended training in Nairobi to conduct a Good Governance Puppetry program that raises awareness on issues of corruption, voter registration and the importance of voting, peace, security, conflict resolution and any other issues facing the community. HOC is also carrying out Abstinence for Youth Program to encourage students in primary and secondary schools to practice abstinence in lieu of the high level of sexual activity noted among youth.

As to my final placement and work I will be doing it is uncertain. I will have more details in the coming week about what project I will be taking on and the course of the work. Please, keep reading and checking for more to come.

Posted by Ben Marcy at 03:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBacks (0)