Where we are

Kenya

Location:

East coast of Africa, divided by equator

Size:

219,788 square miles (569,250 square kilometers)
This is roughly twice the size of Nevada.

Population:

32 million

Capitol:

Nairobi (2.5 million people)

Languages:

English and Swahili
There are over 40 tribal languages spoken in Kenya.

Income:

52% of country lives below national poverty line
40-50% unemployed
23% of Kenyans survive on less than $1 a day
58% of Kenyans live on less than $2 a day

Here are links to more information about Kenya:

 

History of Kenya- Library of Congress Country Studies

http://www.countryreports.org/kenya.aspx 

Lonely Planet - Kenya

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/kenya 

CIA World Fact Book - Kenya
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html 

Mbita

The region along the banks of Lake Victoria that borders Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania is one of the most beautiful in all of Africa.  With a mild climate, fertile land, and plenty of fishing it was once a desirable place to live.  Situated in a promontory on the lake, surrounded by water on 3 sides, Mbita is a small town approximately 9 hours (by car) west of Nairobi.  It sits on a peninsula in Lake Victoria with several islands close by.  We can almost guarantee a picture perfect sunrise and sunset every day.  Mbita is only about 50 miles south of the equator and is 4,912 feet above sea level.  Because of this, the climate is moderately hot and seldom varies more than 20 degrees throughout the year.  During the day, it usually reaches between 75-95 degrees F. and at night it “cools” to 55-75 degrees F.  The hottest months are from December-March, but most Westerners find it very hot during the day no matter when they are in Mbita.  There are two rainy seasons; the long rains are from March to May and the short rains are from October-December.  Rainy season typically consists of intermittent rain showers during the evening times and generally doesn’t affect our work unless there is a lot of rains which make the dirt roads difficult to travel on.       

The population of Mbita and the surrounding islands is estimated around 50,000 with much of the population living in outlying areas.  It is almost exclusively inhabited by the Luo tribe, which is the second largest tribe in Kenya, numbering 2.7 million strong.  Because of their close proximity to the Lake, the tribe quickly adapted to fishing as a means of survival.  They are the pre-eminent fishermen in Kenya, mainly using gill nets and long-line fishing to catch Tilapia and Nile Perch.  They also still use basket traps to catch the tiny Omena fish (pictured), similar to a sardine, that are sold in large quantities.  Most of the fishermen use hollowed-out log canoes or plank-built craft of considerable complexity and size.  Every night thousands of kerosene lanterns attached to the canoes dot the horizon of the lake.  It is called “the city on the lake.”  They use the light to attract the lake flies close to the water, which then attracts the smaller fish to the surface and into their nets.

The Nyanza Province has the 2nd lowest per capita income in Kenya.  Forty percent of the residents lack basic home needs like food, shelter, and security. 

Because it has one of the poorest infrastructures in the country, the Suba District has been one of the hardest hit districts in poverty and unemployment.  With only dirt roads that are virtually impassable during rainy season and dangerously dusty during droughts, the district has no electricity and telephone service is unreliable.  Bad roads in the Suba District have stifled the growth of the fishing industry and agricultural production.  Banks and other industries have refused to start doing business in the district unless there are paved roads.

There is also insufficient and unpredictable rainfall, which negatively impacts crops, livestock, and fish on which these people depend for food and commerce.   

Another factor contributing to poverty in the Suba District is that 46% of the population is between the ages of 0-14 and 3.6% of the population is over the age of 65.  The people are not able to save money because the economically active population is supporting all the dependents.  Fifty percent of the population is supporting the other fifty percent.  The few with a reliable income are asked to support their entire extended families; buying food, paying school fees, and other necessities. 

Even the thriving fishing business is contributing to the poverty.  Every morning when the fishermen return to the beaches, they are paid cash for the fish.  Because there are no banks to save their money, they lavishly spend their disposable income on alcohol or on widows and young girls who perform sexual favors for them.  So even though these fishermen are earning a healthy income, it is being spent on a daily basis on sinful things. 

 

AIDS

• Every minute, 11 people worldwide are infected with HIV, 10 of them are in Africa

• In the next 5-10 years AIDS should pass Bubonic Plague as the biggest pandemic ever (40 million died from the Bubonic Plague in Asia and Europe during the 14th Centrury)

• AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since the early 1980s and an estimated 14,000 people are infected each day with HIV (5 million a year)

• 39.4 million people currently infected (25 million in Sub-Saharan Africa)

•In 5-10 years, 65 million people could die

In Kenya:

• 700 people a day are infected with HIV

• Experts predict that 50% of the adult population in Kenya could die from AIDS in the next 5 years

• Experts predict that 50% of the adult population in Kenya will die from AIDS in the next 5 years

In the Suba District (where Mbita is located):

• 35% of the total population has HIV/AIDS

• Close to 65% of the adult population are currently infected with HIV/AIDS

• 20% of the children under the age of 15 have HIV/AIDS

The Little Ones Left Behind:

• Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent to AIDS

• More than 13 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa has lost at least one parent to AIDS

•More than 3.5 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa have lost both parents to AIDS

•Experts predict that by the end of this decade there will be 44 million orphans in developing countries around the world due to AIDS

•In Kenya, there are over 1.79 million orphans

Learn more about AIDS orphans in Africa

Languages

The two official languages in Kenya are Kiswahili and English, but there are close to 100 different tribal languages also spoken.  The Lake Victoria region where CGA is located is almost exclusively inhabited by the Luo tribe.  The students attending CGA have grown up speaking primarily their Luo language (they call it “mother tongue”), but once they begin attending CGA they learn English and Kiswahili very quickly.  Because of this, all of the students at CGA are tri-lingual.  Here are the basics from their other two languages.

HELPFUL WORDS AND PHRASES IN KISWAHILI

Kiswahili is a very simple language but bears no resemblance to the romance languages so memorization is the way to learn.  If you pronounce every single letter, you can speak it!  And the accent is always on the second to the last syllable.  “E” is pronounced like “A”, and “I” is pronounced like “E”. 

Bwana Asifiwe! (Praise God!)

Jambo! (Hello!) Sana (extra emphasis)

Habari yako? (How are you? - singular)

Habari zenu? (How are you? – plural)

Nzuri sana (very well – always the answer to Habari?)

Karibu! (Welcome!) or Karibuni! (plural)

Kwaheri (Good bye)

Asante (Thank you) Sana (very much)

Yesu anakupenda (Jesus loves you)

Mungu akubariki (God bless you – singular)

Mungu awabariki (God bless you – plural, as in a church greeting)

Mzee (respectful name for an older man)

Mama (respectful name for an older woman – or one with children)

Duka (a small shop)

Chai (African tea – tea with milk and sugar)

Ugali (a staple African food – ground maize fixed like mashed potatoes)

Sukuma wiki (a fried or boiled vegetable like spinach, usually mixed with onions)

Choo (toilet) – or Loo (British term), or WC

Kanisa (church)

Shule (school)

Chakula (food)

Maji (water)

Mtoto (child)  watoto (children)

Haraka (hurry)

Pole pole (slowly) OR if only Pole (sorry) Sana (very)

Hakuna or La (no)

Ndiyo (yes)

Safari (vacation, trip)

Askari (guard or watchman)

Where is the bathroom?  Choo kiko wapi?

Come here please ….. Kuja hapa, tafadahli

How much is this?  ……   Hini bei gani?

I know only little Kiswahili …. Nina jua Kiswahili kidogo

There is none  (I don’t have any) …. Hakuna

I don’t know ….. Sijui (si-jew-ee)

What is your name? ….  Jina lako ni nani?

My name is ….  Jina langu ni …..(Mary, etc.)

What is this? ….  Hii ni nini?

HELPFUL WORDS AND PHRASES IN LUO (MOTHER TONGUE)

Jesu Paki! (Praise Jesus!)

Amosi! (How are you?)

Reply: Bear Ayena (I am very fine)

Ithinadi (How are you?)

Reply: Athimaber (I am fine)

Bear (good) Ma Bear (very good)

Ayaore (Good Morning)

Reply: Ayaore Ayena

Awimore (Good Afternoon)

Awimore Uruu (Good Afternoon to many)

Wathi (Let’s Go)

Bi (come)

Bikaa (come here)