Heather met Naomy in 1995 at the NGO forum of the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, in the disability issues tent with Lani (then 13). Naomy had become involved in disability issues in 1993 when the (non-disabled) head of a local special school asked her to represent him at a national meeting of the newly set up United Disabled Persons of Kenya. Inspired by this, she set up a local "extremely grassroots" organisation of disabled people, and was soon a disabled people's rep on the Kenya Council of Churches.
She left school teaching a few years later to work full time in disability issues - first in Zimbabwe, then in Botswana. For the last five years, she's been saving money from her earnings and using it to build a house in her home district of Vihiga, Western Kenya - where we're now staying.
Naomy had made sure to warn us, many times over, about the lack of electricity here, how simple it would be - so we're amazed by how big and comfortable it all is. H and I have an en-suite bathroom, the lack of electric fans is not really a problem - we're pretty much on the equator here, but we must be nearly 1500m above sea level, and it's almost cool at night, and not at all the oppressively humid, mosquito-ridden atmosphere we'd begun to fear!
Paul looks after the place for Naomy, and always hears the car coming and has the gates open before we get there. His wife, Esther, washes our clothes and floors, and brings us bucket-loads of hot water for washing ourselves. Susan (not in the photos below), who was Naomy's maid for many years, has come on a visit and is helping out with cooking and other chores. Naomy's friend Rose has been staying, too (though she's gone off for a couple of days to cater for a wedding), and she has been in charge of feeding us a huge variety of simple and more complicated food. With Rose away, Naomy's niece Rebecca takes charge in the kitchen, and Naomy's daughter Anne helps out too, in between revising for her exams at the beginning of the new school year in January. Naomy's sister Lydia was here to welcome us, and Naomy's neighbour Gladys drove her car to collect us from the bus station (Naomy's not yet confident to drive in the local city, Kisumu). And Gladys' youngest son Brian visits most days, too.
The water supply is very intermittent (so they've installed a big tank to store water when it is on), there's no electricity and no phone, and there are lots of padlocks, bolts, ornamental window bars and other security precautions - but this is a very good, relaxing, warm comfortable, secure and generally great place for us to have as home for the next eight weeks.
- Mark
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