The North Americans (a.k.a. wazungu or "Europeans") of the AGLI team for Kenya in summer 2007, in Addis Ababa, en route to Nairobi: Barbara Myers, Ann Dusseau, Miranda Amos, Roland Barth, Delia Amos, Marlena Amos, Dawn Amos and Mark Amos
Visiting Nairobi National Park the day before departing for Kakamega: Delia, Marlena, Dawn, MIranda and Annie
A signpost at Nairobi National Park
See? It really is winter at the Equator in July!
Packing all our suitcases at Malesi Kinaro's rental townhouse in Nairobi -- Malesi in blue -- as we get ourselves to the bus station for the 10 hour ride to Kakamega
Marlena and Delia at Malesi and John Kinaro's lovely home in Hirumbi, outside Kakamega
Whitney (one of Malesi's granddaughters) playing with Delia in Malesi's Hirumbi home
Kids playing on the lawn at Malesi's Hirumbi home
Delia, Tracy (Whitney's older sister), her brother Alvin, Marlena, and Whitney
Whitney, Delia, Alvin, little Malesi, Marlena and Tracy playing the Telephone Game (these are all siblings of Mellab and grandchildren of Malesi's)
More Telephone Game
Marlena and Whitney climbing Marlena's favorite Guava tree
Marlena, fascinated by one of the cattle at Malesi's compound
Miranda, cleaning the women's dorm room at the Friends Peace Center near Lubao -- this building was completed just before the work camp began.
This is what our project looked like on day 1. The foundation had been dug, but it was out of square, so our first job was to re-dig one foundation wall, and square off another one, using a very common Kenyan tool like a large hoe, along with spades.
This is the far end of the new building site, looking back at the current, newly completed Friends Peace Center dorm/meeting building. The building in the background was built by two previous AGLI work camps, and completed with Kenyan work camps and professionals, with AGLI support.
Foundation wall to be re-squared
The foundation for the "veranda" is in the foreground
Note the size of standard bricks in western Kenya -- about the size of a loaf of bread, and we think 7-10 pounds apiece. We would handle about 10,000 of these blocks, some several times, before the month was out. The completed building has a nice porch outside the main meeting room, but we would consider this the "side" of the building.
Our favorite dining porch on the dorm/meeting building of the Friends Peace Center. The kitchen for the compound is in the silver metal building in the background.
The back of the first, AGLI-built building on the Friends Peace Center compound. First two windows are the meeting room, second two windows are dorm rooms.
This is the front of the first AGLI-built building at the Friends Peace Center. On the left are two dorm rooms, with a washroom in between, and an outside toilet being installed in the inset space. On the right, the main entryway veranda, leading to an office/dining space with a pantry in the back. In the background, the roof over the main gathering space.
The veranda/entry on the right and the dorm rooms on the left.
A matatu ride, from the back seat.
The AVP (Alternatives to Violence Project workshop) graduating team. Back row: Roland, Rita, Annie, Ana, Cheloti, Winnie, Hangayu, Getry, Edward, Stanley, Barbara, Dawn. Front row: Valentine, Miranda, Lydia, Mellab, Peter, Bernard. (Mark photographing) Ana worked with us from another NGO.
The AVP (Alternatives to Violence Project workshop) graduating team. Back row: Roland, Rita, Annie, Ana, Cheloti, Winnie, Hangayu, Getry, Edward, Stanley, Barbara, Dawn. Front row: Valentine, Miranda, Lydia, Mellab, Peter, Bernard. (Mark photographing)
The AVP (Alternatives to Violence Project workshop) graduating team. Back row: Rita, Ana, Cheloti, Winnie, Hangayu, Edward, Stanley, Mark, Barbara. Front row: Valentine, Miranda, Lydia, Mellab, Peter, Bernard. (Dawn photographing)
Celebration time! Valentine, Rita and Marlena
Edward, Miranda and Hangayu
Mellab, Bernard, Miranda
Mellab, Bernard, Miranda and Stanley
Bernard and Miranda
Lydia and Bernard
Lydia and Miranda
Hangayu and Ana
Mellab and Miranda
Bernard and Ana
Mark and Lydia
Hangayu and Mark, who are within a few months of the same age
Valentine, Cheloti and Miranda
Rita, Ana and Edward
Barbara, Valentine, Miranda, Rita, Lydia
Getry and Bernard
Stanley, Delia, Rita and Mark
Barbara, Hangayu, Miranda, Lydia, Edward
Cheloti, Rita, Roland, Valentine (Winnie, who is a daughter of Malesi's, is in the background)
Mark, Bernard and Delia
Edward, Peter and Mellab
Peter taking phone camera photos
Bernard, Cheloti and Roland
A sibling of Lydia's?, Delia and Hangayu
Regal, Spoon, Delia
Regal and Spoon
Stanley and Mark
Hangayu and Roland, officially the eldest men on the team (Getry and Edward in the background)
Rita and Miranda with Valentine in the background
Mellab, Dawn, Rita and Valentine
Hangayu, Bernard and Edward
Hangayu, Bernard, Edward and Dawn
Bernard and Dawn
Spoon and Regal (Lydia & Wilson's family)
Barbara, Hangayu and Annie (officially the eldest women on the team)
Winnie (Malesi's daughter), Hangayu and Bernard with Edward in the background
Cheloti and Dawn
Edward and Marlena, with Barbara and Rita in the background
Valentine, Edward and Barbara with Regal and Spoon
Lunch at the delightful Golf Hotel in Kakamega, clockwise from noon: Hangayu, Annie, Dawn, Delia, Marlena, Edward, Miranda, Barbara and Roland (Mark taking photo)
Miranda too is fascinated by the livestock at Malesi's compound
Building day 1 (July 6): Re-digging parts of the foundation on the new building
Re-digging parts of the foundation on the new building
Pouring concrete to start the foundation!
Building day 2 (July 7): A bucket brigade for pouring concrete, one shovelful at a time, from pans
Delia, Dawn, Valentine, Lydia and Rita on the bucket brigade
Rita could toss a pan of concrete like nobody's business!
Delia on the "ballast," which would later be used for subfloor foundation. Looks like tea time!
The quilt Marlena made during the first week of work camp
Marlena at Hirumbi Friends Church, started by Malesi, where we worshiped on our first Sunday in Kakamega
Marlena and Sammy, Malesi's house helper and landscaper, with the legacy vehicles on the lawn
Monday July 9: The 4th grade class at St. Anne's Junior School, a private elementary school in Lubao near the Friends Peace Center site
Delia and Marlena participating in the 4th grade Social Studies lesson
Building day 3 (July 9): First rows of brick on top of the concrete poured into the foundation!
Foundation rows. Note how the brick line is not in the center -- this was part of our re-squaring.
More bucket brigade for concrete pouring
Four (maybe more) rows of brick before we get to the inside floor level
Foundation brick layers
Stanley and Miranda, trading hats
Tea time on the porch!
A great tom turkey on the compound of a neighbor's home in Hirumbi
Building day 4 (Tuesday July 10): The wheel of Transforming Power, with Miranda and Dawn resting at lunchtime. This is only an hour before Dawn developed the classic fever and chills of malaria, which explains why laying on a concrete floor felt so good.
Building day 5 (July 11): Backfilling the foundation, bringing all the walls up to floor level
Building day 6 (July 12): Backfilling the foundation; adding ballast stones which will later be covered with concrete for the floor.
Adding ballast for the subfloor.
Unloading ballast from the tractor trailer.
A classic western Kenya view.
A western Kenya home compound.
A sister of Lydia's? And Lydia.
Loading ballast onto the tractor trailer.
Another example of western Kenya building / home structures.
The tractor ride after picking up the ballast.
Eventually, the entire floor will be filled with ballast, but at this point, only one room is filled, and the other lines will support interior walls.
The interior floor level of the new building.
LIGHTS in the Friends Peace Center! A generator was installed in the middle of the month.
Interesting name.
Gotta love it!
Building day 7 (July 13): Prior to adding concrete to support the interior walls
Ballast that will comprise the concrete floor and support the interior walls
The cooks, water carriers, and fundi (artisan, mason, site engineer) Wilson, who is Lydia's dad and the expert professional builder for the site
Timo, who lives on site as a caretaker and who joined the work team during the second week.
Lining up another bucket brigade, pouring concrete for the interior walls
Concrete bucket brigade
Valentine
The Fundi (professional artisan masons), with project manager Wilson on the right
Hangayu and Miranda
The Friends Peace Center resident chicken with her chicks
First excursion, Saturday July 14, 25 people in a matatu headed for Kakamega Forest. Eunice and Miranda.
Donkeys in the village Getry calls home, en route to Kakamega Forest
Colobus monkey in Kakamega Forest -- we saw three or four species of monkeys that day
Aaltonen and Miranda
Entrance to an old, defunct mine at the top of a basalt hill in the middle of the forest
Bats in the cave
Peter and Hangayu
Miranda in front of the mine
Aaltonen, Miranda and Timo
Miranda and Robert
Mark and Dawn atop the basalt hill in the middle of the Kakamega Forest
Ann, Cheloti and Miranda
Miranda and Aaltonen
Climbing back down the basalt hill
The whole team at the Kakamega Forest
Another monkey, at our picnic site
View of Kakamega Forest from top of embedded basalt hill
Delia, Aaltonen and Dawn
Delia, Hangayu and Dawn
Bernard, Lydia and Roland
A walk to the 250+ year old tree, the last of its kind, whose seeds were used to repopulate the Mutere species
Mama Mutere
Eunice
Hangayu and Eunice
Marlena and Mellab
3-4 men measuring the circumference of the Mama Mutere tree
Bernard
Hangayu and Bernard
Eunice and Peter
Dawn and Bernard
Another cool tree
Colobus monkey
One of a hundred kinds of things transported by bicycle
Marlena's favorite bananas
Gladys Zarembka, wife of Dave Zarembka, coordinator of African Great Lakes Initiative, at Malesi's home in Hirumbi outside Kakamega
A neighborhood family in Hirumbi
The family of our work camp team member Robert
Robert's compound
Some of Robert's children
Robert's latest baby
Robert and ??
Robert and a son?
You can begin to see the six rooms in the building
A favorite meal of the compound's kitten, whom we later named Mrs. Mumbly
The kitchen/library in the foreground (back of building), the sitting room in the middle, and the front veranda by the maize
Two washrooms, one in each bedroom on this end of the building
How many times did we move each brick???
Mixing mortar
This is a kind of asphalt vapor barrier used under the row of bricks at the ground level. They measure off a strip, fold it over, and zip a string through the fold to cut it.
Vapor barrier strip being moved
The first block of the floor+ level is laid by Roland, the eldest on the team
Roland, as eldest, sets the first brick at floor level
Mellab, Rita, Marlena, Valentine and Lydia, while Marlena gets plaits
Two rows of bricks above floor level in front, one row in the hall and interior walls
Bedroom in foreground, followed by an office, then the reception room with the adjacent veranda/porch entry on the left
Two bedrooms on this end, two offices in the middle (left side of photo)
Kitchen, with divided cooking area in foreground corner (will have a chimney) and a pantry to the right, though this kitchen space may be used as a library
Marlena's plaits
Kitchen front left, reception room front right, hall in the middle
Looking into the hallway of the back door, kitchen on right, office on left
Rain! It rained nearly every evening when we were there -- with a few 2-3 day lulls. The rainy season was supposed to have ended by June 30.
Building day 9 (July 17)
Sign at the "Nursing Home" or medical clinic
Very typical "strip mall"
A friendly neighborhood family -- the dad had to encourage the kids and illustrate that wazungu are nice people!
Building day 10 (July 18)
Building day 11 (July 19)
Veranda structure was lagging at this stage, but it was caught up later
After every three rows above the floor, steel strips were mortared in, it was said to prevent cracks from moving up/down the entire building.
The fundis would set every corner for 3 rows at a time, and then we would lay and mortar one row at a time around the entire structure -- outsides first, followed by interior walls.
It's laundry day every day!!
Building day 12 (July 20): you can begin to see where the windows will be set on the exterior walls!
Note the gaps for the windows. Compare this to day 1!
The vapor barrier layer is at the interior floor level. You can also see the ends of the metal reinforcement strips sticking out.
Veranda is catching up; entry to reception area toward the left
See the window gaps
A final view of the first building on the compound, with the construction building to the right, and the kitchen structure to the right of that
A final view of the first building on the compound -- this is the dormitory end. Gutters collect rain water for drinking.
Not bad for about 11.5 work days, starting below ground level!
Veranda on the right
Marlena leading Delia in a Trust Walk
Dawn cutting the heart-shaped "goodbye" cake
The group's last day with Dawn. Malesi, Bernard, Mellab, Rita, Robert, Dawn, Mark, Annie, Hangayu, Peter, Edward, Cheloti, Getry, Roland, Janet; Valentine, Marlena, Lydia, Aalton, Delia, Miranda, Stanley, Barbara, Silas, Eunice, Timo
Marlena and Delia say farewell to Dawn, who is departing Kakamega for Nairobi via Easy Coach
The Amos girls in Kakamega town
Preston Woods lumber yard in Kakamega
Webuye Falls, western Kenya
Walking to Webuye Falls
Peak overlooking Webuye Falls - Delia, Marlena, Peter, Getty
Webuye Falls fed from the upper left and the right
Peak overlooking Webuye Falls
Robert and Mark
Getty and Delia
Getty
Four streams feed the falls; this is looking downstream from the falls
Chilote, Valentine, Getty
Roland, Stanley and Peter at Webuye Falls
Mark and Peter
Silas, Mark, Hangayu and Stanley at Webuye Falls
Edward and Bernard
Peter and Miranda
Janet and Miranda
Silas, Bernard and Edward
Stone houses en route to Webuye Falls
Webuye Falls
Peace team at a peak near Webuye Falls
Marlena, Getty, Peter and Delia near Webuye Falls
Feeders and Webuye Falls
Feeder of Webuye Falls
Downstream from Webuye Falls
Four feeders of Webuye Falls
Getry at Webuye Falls
Delia, Lydia and Miranda
Stone building near Webuye Falls
Clockwise from noon on the wall: Valentine, Janet, Peter, Delia, Miranda and Lydia (Dave Zarembka's home)
Lumakanda shop
Delia, Getty and Marlena at Lumakanda
Marlena teaching Getty patty-cake in Lumakanda
Main street in Lumakanda -- Marlena and Getty
Miranda and Delia atop the giant boulder in the middle of Lumakanda
View from Lumakanda
Dave and Gladys Zarembka's house in Lumakanda (light blue roof in center)
Marlena and Getty at the Zarembka's
Installing Dave Zarembka's solar panel
Inn, two doors up from Dave Zarembka's in Lumakanda
Loading up the Peace team for the return to Lubao
Miranda and Getty at Janet's
Breakfast at Janet's
Janet
Sarah at Janet's
Getty and Janet
Janet's apartment
Janet and Getty
Janet's
The Amos underwear drying at Hirumbi, with Sammy bringing water up the hill from the well
Our neighborhood elementary school
Hirumbi neighbor
Hirumbi neighbors
Note the "names" on the wedding rings
Miranda's parenting style with Getty
Delia at the “little park” in Kakamega
Miranda at the “little park” in Kakamega
Delia at a bamboo hut in the “little park” in Kakamega
Miranda's parenting style wiht Getty
Kakamega's central post office
Delia, Marlena, Getty and Miranda near the park in Kakamega -- Miranda had just bashed her head on the sign
Marlena, Delia, Getty and Miranda at the park in Kakamega (doing the can can)
Delia, Getty and Marlena at the park in Kakamega
In the bamboo forest in the park in Kakamega
Hirumbi neighborhood
”Lake Hirumbi“
Building day 13 (July 23)
Annie doing “blupping”
Annie “blupping”, Getry in back
Islamic mosque in Kakamega
Kakamega town
The girls are on the back of the right hand boda boda; on the left, Robert happens to be riding home at the same time!
Kakamega suburb
Robert's compound, half way from Kakamega to Hirumbi on the paved road
The paved entry to the lane on which the Friends Peace Center sits
Getry taking typical Kenyan teatime snack
Getry's teatime snack
Marlena's teatime snack
Cheloti
Municipal Market in Kakamega
Mark and Peter in Kakamega town
Delia, Mark and Peter in Kakamega town
Nightclub in Kakamega town - Banjuka Tu!
The BEST supermarket in Kakamega
Ana
Building day 14 (July 24)
3 rows above the window bottoms, all around
Marlena on the floor level
The fireplace
Walking down to Janet's apartment - Kakamega center is immediately behind us
This is how our building will look, with a few more rows of bricks!
The Amos girls walking through Kakamega town
Banjuka Tu!
Miranda and Peter
Brian / Nock, at Malesi's house
Brian and Marlena
Delia and Brian
Building day 15 (July 25) -- tall enough for scaffolding
Al Best and Barbara, “blupping”, Roland on the other side
Six rows above the window bottom, on the side of the new building nearest the existing building
Miranda and fundi
Far wall of new building
Doorways to the rooms!
Kitchen/library in the foreground; windows plus 4 rows
Wall nearest existing building has more rows, especially around the chimney on the right and the corner at the far left; a window in each room, and a smaller window shaping up in the pantry between
Standing in one of the washrooms, looking down the hall, with the bedroom doors visible on the left and right in the foreground
Standing at the pantry, looking down the hall the other way
Overlooking the reception room, the veranda/entry shaping up on the right
The fireplace taking shape
Looking down the chimney
Fireplace and kitchen windows - note the ladders! (very heavy)
Fireplace from the pantry
Looking at the pantry, from the fireplace
Wilson's family - Spoon and Regal
The choo at the Friends Peace Center (two outhouses and a washing space)
Sunset over Kakamega suburb
Apartments in Kakamega suburb
Suburban lane in Janet's neighborhood
View from Janet's neighborhood
Lane in Janet's neighborhood
Apartment buildings in Kakamega suburb
Neighbors of Janet's
Hirumbi Primary schoolgirls
Kakamega, our favorite supermarket
Dawn couldn't walk over this footbridge (the stakes were too high if you looked into the gutter), but the girls loved it
A bank in Kakamega town
Boda boda drivers
Lubao marketplace
Lubao market day
Scaffolding on a building under construction in Kakamega
Closing ceremonies - Mark with a local woman running for Parliament who has been involved in the peace projects
Aalton and the Amos girls
The candidate, Robert, and Dave Zarembka after closing ceremonies
Wilson and Mark
Getry and Mark
Gladys and Dave Zarembka at the Friends Peace Center work camp conclusion, 2007, near Lubao Kenya
Mark, Gladys and Dave
Roland and Mark
Mark, Delia, Marlena and Miranda
BEFORE (on the left) and AFTER (on the right)
Wilson taking the kids home
Saying farewell to the Friends Peace Center near Lubao - fundi Wilson loading up the kids, carrying Queen cakes in their bags (kitchen in background)
Walking toward the paved road from the Friends Peace Center
Lookinb back up the lane toward the Friends Peace Center
Felllow en route to Lubao who simply wanted his picture taken
Kakamega Municipal Market
The fanciest boda boda in Kakamega
Road to Hirumbi
Delia entering Malesi's front yard in Hirumbi
Malesi's front yard in Hirumbi
Malesi's living room
Malesi's living room and dining area
Malesi's living room in Hirumbi
The hallway at Malesi's Hirumbi home
The room where Mark and Dawn stayed
Marlena's bed & net
Delia's bed & net
Malesi's kitchen
Miranda and Delia on the Easy Coach back to Nairobi
View from Easy Coach out of Kakamega
Kiosk shop
Startling apartment blocks -- families of military?
Tea plantation in western Kenya
In the Rift Valley
Maasai girl in Rift Valley
Nairobi skyscraper
Hilton Hotel, Nairobi
Nairobi
Freedom Park in Nairobi
Maasai Market in Nairobi - Donna on the left, with Marlena buying a set of ebony animals, and shop owners on the right
Hindu new year celebration in Nairobi
Parade for Hindu new year
Nicky (Malesi's son) on the right, with the only female driver we ever saw in Kenya at the wheel on the left
Malesi, Roland, Delia, Miranda, Marlena and Annie at Malesi's church
Malesi's new Friends Church in Nairobi
Malesi Kinaro and her British neighbor Donald Thomas who hosted us and also visited us at Lubao
Inside the Friends Church
Side of Friends Church
Malesi Kinaro at her Uzima Foundation for youth programs
Lena?, Toma, Malesi, Jesse, Rhoda
Lena?, Malesi, Rhoda
Delia, Miranda, Marlena, Malesi, and Annie at Malesi's townhouse in Nairobi
Video Clip - bucket brigade
Video Clip - matatu arrival in Kakamega
Barbara's photo of our group on Dawn's last day
