September 28, 2005
The following day, instead of attending the conference, Dawn tours TICH, meets the people and checks out the library. She is impressed with the school’s curriculum, the medical books in the library and with the education and experience of staff members. “Seeing TICH and meeting the people is worth the trip to Kisumu,” Dawn says.
As we walk home after work, we pass Dr. Sokwala a block from my house. She’s walking with her cousin who is a self-described ambassador the Neem tree. Every part of the Neem tree, bark and leaves and seeds, are used for such diverse things as candle wax and tummy soothers and to cure for malaria and skin rashes. This is the first time I’ve seen Dr. Sokwala since missing our lunch date and I tell her why I was thinking about leaving Kisumu. I want to tell her I’ve made the deicison to return to the U.S., but do not feel the roadside is the right place to deliver the news.
When I tell her about the robbery, she immediately says, “1994. It’s 10:00am and two men burst into my office. They have guns and force me onto the floor. One sits on my chest and chokes me until I pass out. When I wake up hours later, they’ve stolen money and drugs.”
“How horrible,” I say. Then she tells me how her, her husband and a female neighbor were walking in this neighborhood recently, taking a stroll as many people do on Sunday afternoons. Her husband commented on three guys walking toward them. Dr. Sokwala didn’t notice anything unusual about the men but listened to her husband. The three of them stopped in the driveway of a large house, as though they were about to enter. They waited for the three guys to pass and then decided to return home, not wanting to risk being robbed. As they walked home, Dr. Sokwala said they heard footsteps pounding toward them and turned to see the men raising large rocks overhead, to bash them. But the doctor and her husband and friend were able to fight them off.
When we reach my house, I tell Dawn this is how it’s been since I began telling people what happened. I hear at least two stories from each person about how they were robbed. Even Grace, the Ruprah’s housekeeper, was robbed. She told her story in Kiswahili with Raju translating. She was in her home in Nyalenda with two other female relatives when more than 20 men burst in with knives. One man grabbed Grace from behind and held a knife to her throat, demanding money. Grace told them she had no money but suggested they take her TV, which they did. Grace does not have a lot of money. She lives in a mud house in the slums, though she does have electricity. Maybe that’s why they think she has money. Also, she works for an Asian family, so they think she has access to lots of cash. Grace, like many other Luo’s I talk to, was robbed by her own people in her own neighborhood.
Tonny has lived in Nyalenda most of his life and because he’s completed college and has a good job at TICH, he’s improved his home, adding piped water and electricity. He says he is robbed regularly. He constantly hears doors being knocked in and robberies taking place. But he refuses to move away. He wants to stay and act as a role model for the children, so they can see that he is successful because he works hard. When they see him walk through the slums each morning, pushing his mountain bike while wearing dress slacks and a long-sleeved dress shirt, they’ll see that just because they live in Nyalenda doesn’t mean they can’t excel.
The more I talk to people about crime, the more I’m convinced living in Kisumu is much riskier than I was told. Even VSO doesn’t have a clear picture of the crime in the area.
Because I haven’t heard back from Chris at VSO about the date of my flight home, I haven’t said anything to the Ruprah’s about leaving. The rent has been paid for the entire month of October, though I’ll only be here half that time. It will be hard to tell Mrs. Ruprah, so I wait for the flight info from Chris in Nairobi.
As we walk home after work, we pass Dr. Sokwala a block from my house. She’s walking with her cousin who is a self-described ambassador the Neem tree. Every part of the Neem tree, bark and leaves and seeds, are used for such diverse things as candle wax and tummy soothers and to cure for malaria and skin rashes. This is the first time I’ve seen Dr. Sokwala since missing our lunch date and I tell her why I was thinking about leaving Kisumu. I want to tell her I’ve made the deicison to return to the U.S., but do not feel the roadside is the right place to deliver the news.
When I tell her about the robbery, she immediately says, “1994. It’s 10:00am and two men burst into my office. They have guns and force me onto the floor. One sits on my chest and chokes me until I pass out. When I wake up hours later, they’ve stolen money and drugs.”
“How horrible,” I say. Then she tells me how her, her husband and a female neighbor were walking in this neighborhood recently, taking a stroll as many people do on Sunday afternoons. Her husband commented on three guys walking toward them. Dr. Sokwala didn’t notice anything unusual about the men but listened to her husband. The three of them stopped in the driveway of a large house, as though they were about to enter. They waited for the three guys to pass and then decided to return home, not wanting to risk being robbed. As they walked home, Dr. Sokwala said they heard footsteps pounding toward them and turned to see the men raising large rocks overhead, to bash them. But the doctor and her husband and friend were able to fight them off.
When we reach my house, I tell Dawn this is how it’s been since I began telling people what happened. I hear at least two stories from each person about how they were robbed. Even Grace, the Ruprah’s housekeeper, was robbed. She told her story in Kiswahili with Raju translating. She was in her home in Nyalenda with two other female relatives when more than 20 men burst in with knives. One man grabbed Grace from behind and held a knife to her throat, demanding money. Grace told them she had no money but suggested they take her TV, which they did. Grace does not have a lot of money. She lives in a mud house in the slums, though she does have electricity. Maybe that’s why they think she has money. Also, she works for an Asian family, so they think she has access to lots of cash. Grace, like many other Luo’s I talk to, was robbed by her own people in her own neighborhood.
Tonny has lived in Nyalenda most of his life and because he’s completed college and has a good job at TICH, he’s improved his home, adding piped water and electricity. He says he is robbed regularly. He constantly hears doors being knocked in and robberies taking place. But he refuses to move away. He wants to stay and act as a role model for the children, so they can see that he is successful because he works hard. When they see him walk through the slums each morning, pushing his mountain bike while wearing dress slacks and a long-sleeved dress shirt, they’ll see that just because they live in Nyalenda doesn’t mean they can’t excel.
The more I talk to people about crime, the more I’m convinced living in Kisumu is much riskier than I was told. Even VSO doesn’t have a clear picture of the crime in the area.
Because I haven’t heard back from Chris at VSO about the date of my flight home, I haven’t said anything to the Ruprah’s about leaving. The rent has been paid for the entire month of October, though I’ll only be here half that time. It will be hard to tell Mrs. Ruprah, so I wait for the flight info from Chris in Nairobi.
posted by Cindi at 5:27 PM
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