We did good!!!

And many thanks to the tireless efforts of Grace!

Having listened with horror to the story of Majengo and the challenges they face - I thought I (we) could help a bit with some food and soap. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that 18 thoughtful souls would find the time and resources to dig deep and send some extra cash this way. Together we raised about $2000 dollars that will provide essential goods for a number of families who live in these desperate times.  The kindness shown by all of you is a tribute to an enduring human spirit that seeks to care for those among us who are unable, at times, to care for themselves.

Thank you so much!!!

We bought Soap - Face Masks - Cloth Bags - Rice and Beans and sent those goods into the slum. Grace (our contact in the slum) talked to each motorcycle rider who carried the goods -- to explain the panya route (rat route) to get around the barricades. With each shipment we waited on pins and needles hoping that the riders would not be caught and our goodies confiscated by the Popo. Great job Grace and riders!!  getting all the shipments in. Imagine those motorcycles with bags of rice slung across the seat snaking through tiny alleyways with goats and kids scrambling out of the way as they pass. :) Love it!

In all this week, we spent $316 CDN and provided essential goods to 100 families who greatly appreciated the effort. The soap and masks will help with preventing the spread of Covid19 -- while the food will at least help a bit in chasing hunger away. We'll continue working with Grace in the weeks ahead to double down on the shipments with a goal reaching 200 families a week for the next few weeks.

Of note - I bargained ruthlessly for each item - finding the lowest price and ensuring that each dollar entrusted with me was well spent. Not a penny was wasted.

It's likely that the barricades and curfews with lift in the coming weeks allowing people to get back to earning a living and feeding their families. Not wanting to "chill the mood" but have to note that many who didn't receive were left crying hoping to be helped next time. We'll do our best to help those folks this week!!

Grace was able to mobilize a number of volunteers to fill the bags and helped with distribution to the community. Again - her efforts to help out her in her community are inspiring.

Grace and helpers hard at it!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead.

Sonny was no help at all!

Thanks for reading ....Layno!!!

.... and hey don't forget to wash your hands!

Those least able

In previous blogs I've introduced my good friend Lucy and now also would like to introduce her best friend Milan. Lucy, 5 years ago and through thoroughly duplicitous means, interviewed me about the upcoming Pacquiao vs. Mayweather boxing fight. Explaining to me that the camera and recording devices in that busy parking lot on my second day in Africa were merely for a project she was working on - and no that she was a sports reporter for a local TV news channel. I of course was more than happy to give my usual colorful opinion on the optics of the fight and ended up on the evening news. This was a strictly forbidden activity with my previous employer and so despite harboring a healthy amount of disdain for her nefarious underhanded methods, have had to concede, after 5 years  that she is a person of excellent character and a delight to spend time with.

So too is her cracker jack smart and hilarious sidekick Milan. So close are they that you can barely tell where one begins and the other ends. Milan is the definition of a "self-starter" managing her own business and always ready to roll up her sleeves and do whatever needs to be done. And that -- always a chuckle and a giggle finding funny in the mundane and hilarity in the obvious.

They need a hand ...

Under the guise of free pizza and wine (something I knew Milan and Lucy would never turn down) I lured them to my place to cut bulk soap into bars or the folks at the Majengo slum. You see, Grace shown below is the head of Malezi the volunteer school in the Majengo slum where I have been helping out a bit together with a great team of spirited volunteers.Together, we have helped out with cleanup - education - laptops dishes and food. These efforts focused on the Malezi kids until now.

What has changed? Well -- I've had an urgent plea from Grace to help the Mom's and Dad's of the kids we've been supporting. As a result of Covid19 and associated lockdowns throughout the country and city, the supply chains that bring food and other basics have been severed.  The result is the cost of goods have risen and certain things have become increasingly hard to get. Like soap. The slums are being isolated as hotspots by the government and "sealed off" to avoid infecting the rest of the city. An already extremely marginalized community, this now means a new level of desperation leading to unprecedented levels of domestic violence and suicide.

Grace, who is more like Mother Teresa than the fabled Mother Teresa - is working hard to get food and soap into the slum. This week (Monday) I'll use motorcycles that can smuggle goods into the slum using Panya routes (swahili for the path of rats) that avoid the road blocks. 300 bars of soap and 200 kgs of rice and beans will be sent in to help out. I'm also purchasing small cloth sacks so the food can be prepackaged for easy quick covid mitigating distribution. Volunteers in the community will do the prep work. We will do all this for $171 USD and help a lot of people.

What would be helpful would be an additional 1000 kgs of food which would get these needy folks through the next month or so.  The cost is about $750 - and that is what I hope to raise before the end of the month.

Having spent almost 5 years in Africa working in the NGO sector - I have witnessed the frittering away of phenomenal sums  of money. In fact, single UN employee can blow through $750 by lunchtime on any given day. hehe

My ask for $50 e-interact to my account - and I'll make sure that your donation goes right to the people who need it so desperately. The video below is a pretty good intro to Majengo - and while 10 years old - conditions have not changed at all. This cycle of poverty is complicated and persistent but can be changed with the good intensions and good deeds. Majengo needs heros right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqO0fu-EH2c

if you can help please e-interact to - laynemahon@live.com

... a special note of thanks to Cliff Cyr who parted with a few more dollars to help the kids in the slum - thank you on their behalf.

Sonny & Lucky love the soap idea.

Thanks for reading ....Layno!!!

I smell a rat!!

Would you Mind moving along please?

I "shared a moment" with this long-legged lovely yesterday in a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable drive in the Nairobi National Park. And by that I mean the giraffe not my friend and co-pilot Esther.

The giraffe had been having a mid-morning snackaroo when interrupted by the clanging of the diesel powered Land Cruiser as I "snuck up" on her. "Her or him" Esther queried? As looking between the animal's legs seemed both dangerous and overly intrusive at the time, I later looked it up and discovered that you can tell by the hairiness of the horns. Bald horns male -- hairy horns female. Apparently the horny hairy one is the female - good to know.

You lookin' at me? Huh - you lookin' at me!!!

This Buffalo seemed to feel the same way as the giraffe giving me the death stare as we edged up alongside. They are a bigger animal than you would think - and when you come up close it's pretty awesome. The most feared animal on the savanna by far. Coming across single male is near 100% disaster if on foot.

A couple Grants Gazelles posed beautifully for us before we drove to the top of the hill where Ascaries with bundukis (soldiers with guns) protected us so we could get out of the cruiser and gaze through powerful binocs to scan the savanna far below. From this vantage point three rhinos were visible as well as a host of other beautiful beasts. None of the 50+ lions were visible today but I'll be back to see them another time as the main gate is only 15 mins from the house. Although with lions, the hairy horny one is definitely the male. 😉

Small side note - many things I have taken for granted are a source of frustration in a developing country like this. The bank - as an example - accepted money from my employer in the first week of April - but it took 4 weeks to get any out.

The conversation went something like this;

Layne:  why can't I access my money
Bank dudette: because the account is frozen
Layne: but you accepted the money into the account?
Bank dudette: Oh yes - we take money when it's frozen
Layne: (now puzzled)  - how do I get my money out?
Bank Dudettte: Well sir -- you'll have to re-apply

Grrrrrrrrrrr.

And at the park - I don't have a stamp in my passport to show I work here in Africa - I only have a piece of paper because the stamping office is currently closed due to Covid19.

The conversation at the gate went something like this.

Layne: I live here
Gate dude: yes I see that - but you don't have a stamp
Layne: I can't get the stamp as the office closed
Gate dude: yes I know
Layne: Yes but I have the piece of paper that says the same thing
Gate dude: Yes I see that but no stamp so please pay 10x the normal rate.

Grrrrrrrrrrr

Murder in the Kitchen

Waking early one morning this week I was surprised to find a big fucking rat on the couch. As I prefer a rat free environment, I immediately felt both concerned and relieved that while the BFR had in fact entered my home during the night, he had been quickly dispatched by Sunny and Lucky and then placed lovingly on the couch for my inspection and congratulatory remarks.

At first I thought it was a cat that had wandered in mistakenly and unaware of the canine protection unit assigned to my detail  - but no it was in fact a 3kg rat that I suspect would have gone into the freezer and made off with the whole chickens kept there.  Great work Sunny and Lucky - I shall not starve.

As Sunny and Lucky solemnly accepted their thanks and praise my attention turned to the kitchen that now looked more like a crime scene than country kitchen. With the blood splattered walls, all that was missing was the yellow tape, chalk outline of the BFR and the CSI guys in white suits to make it completely legit.

A planned pizza party for my friend Yvonne and her 2 year old son Jake, had to be cancelled today due to significant increases in the number of Covid19 folks infected in her area.

That's a bit of a bummer  -- but good news is that my friend Cliff Cyr has generously parted with a significant amount of his hard earned money to help Yvonne and Jake out. A million thank you's to Cliff for his generosity. It will make a big difference in their lives.

My hope is that with a bit of help, we can continue to support Yvonne and Jake as they make their way along. I have pledged to assist with Jake's school which will start in January and if anyone is interested in helping out a bit - please e-interact a bit o' cashola to: laynemahon@live.com

Thanks for reading ....Layno!!!