Kwaheri Kenya

So, kwaheri Kenya. We're off after our longest stay in any one place of the whole Big Trip, probably our most intimate connection with rural everyday life in the developing world, and possibly the most useful bit of work (outside of parenting!) that H and I will do all year ...

The thought of hitting the road again is mainly a tiring one - but once we get to our Bangkok hotel we should be able to relax and enjoy hot running water and the "cleanest hotel swimming pool in Thailand." We've still a pile of things to do before we go, and coming back from Kisumu today I felt the slow unclenching of the stomach that accompanies the end of pressured workdays - for the first time in a good number of months. Not the 'work' isn't good to do - today we:

• Met with Josefta, Naomy's key ally in her plans to organise and unite African disabled women, who is Secretary General of United Disabled Persons of Kenya, and of Women Challenged to Challenge (though not yet of the UN), and is a formidable, attractive, very sharp woman.
• Pursued funding leads for Naomy's fledgling organisation, which we've helped her goal-set, proposal-write, action-plan and budget forin the last few weeks. Matatu business plans are shelved, by the way (I couldn't get the balance sheet to look nearly healthy enough to balance the fairly high risk of crashing and writing the thing off), and we're much happier lending Naomy three months' seed money for NGO-starting - we think she's got a very good shot at attracting funding, especially with Josefta's help
• Wrestled with not-quite-what's-needed technology to get as many photos as poss in a form Lani can take home with her, while keeping enough of the more recent ones with us to be able to post them to this blog from Bangkok.
• Read the first bits of feedback on our ideas for a bid for a five-year jobshare, and talked more about that.
• Enjoyed the comments on this blog (tee-hee, JK and Ron)
• Booked Rebecca an English test, and pursued her application to Coventry University
• Shopped for fruit, groceries and stationery
• Talked with Rosa about which bits of maths she wants to look at next
• Tried to figure out how to help Melissa (and us) cope with her ants-in-the-pants-ness she gets before big changes.

- Mark