Field Day: Rongo & Molly's School

We spent most of the day interviewing farmers and getting their opinions about our topics. So with our interviews -- there can sometimes be a big language barrier. And it's both beautiful and super scary. People around me are talking (probably about me....haha) and I have no clue what they are saying! Kenyans tend to be very engaged in conversation so there is a lot of drama and emphasis when they speak, especially with hand gestures. Swahili is also not easy to learn, folks! I know asanta sana, jambo, and...that's about it. I always try to speak to the farmers and for some reason, my Spanish memory has improved while I've been here! It's the only foreign language I "know" and I try to speak it when speaking to Swahili-speaking farmers, oops! "La casa es bonita," but they don't know what that means! I do want to try and learn at least a bit of the language and not be so bound to English. While it is nice to have English as a backup and to have Matilda as a translator, it's difficult to have a sincere conversation or to get the feedback that I need. Some of the farmers today knew English and that makes the interviews shorter and helps me get more feedback.The questionnaire is intended be a guide for a conversation with the farmers. It's not meant to feel like a quiz or like there is a right or wrong answer. One farmer, who could read English rather well but didn't have much proficiency with speaking, wanted to read he questionnaire and tended to ignore me asking the questions. Matilda later told me that when they read the questionnaire, respondents tend to alter their responses to what is provided. Which makes sense. I could be totally off in my mind on a test question, but if I'm given multiple choice options it's going to change my response. That was interesting insight that I hadn't really considered. The fact that icipe is more interested in raw, genuine answers from these farmers, than about solely collecting data, encourages me to be a raw, genuine example of myself to them and to share my stories and my love in whatever context. (Especially to their cats!)One instance that stuck out to me was Molly! M o double l y. She was excited with how similar our names were and was very kind and thoughtful. A few of the farmers have had guest books that we sign and put our information in; hopefully one will reach out to me!Here's a picture of sweet Molly! Molly knows a lot about aflatoxin and has been formally trained on knowing how dangerous it is, but, sadly, she was one of the only farmers who had heard of and fully understood aflatoxin. She kept reiterated that it KILLS people and she couldn't understand why others weren't knowledgeable or taking it seriously. She owns a school that is adjacent to her farm. Her heart for helping others was obvious in the short time that I had got to know her.Of course, with a school being so close by, Holly had to take advantage of it! I was scared at first to approach the "wall" enclosing the campus but I mustered the courage and walked closer. Dozens of kids waved frantically, screamed and ran to the fence side. They extended their arms and wanted me to touch them.I've never held as many hands as I did today. Matilda informed that they've likely never seen a white person before as this region isn't a tourist destination or home to any safaris. It was so weird to be popular solely because of my skin tone, but I'm glad to have caused so much excitement for the children.One thing that saddened me was the quality of their school grounds. I commend the kids for coming to school and for obtaining an education, but I can see how it would be hard. Rusty metal encloses the structure, the playground is dirt with a few broken swings, and the building is small and made of clay/mud.  BUT despite those conditions, which I've noticed that the children seemingly do not care about, they  still are anxious as ever to learn and find their own ways to have fun. I'll be making a post in the near future about the education system here in Kenya soon...but the kids here at Mbita Point International School come as early as 6AM and many leave at 5-7PM.Meeting the children was fun and it was sad to leave. They waved as we left and yelled "bye" as loud as they could! At the beginning I was skeptical about Kenya. It's next to Somalia (pirates, people), in Africa (malaria), takes almost two days of plane rides to arrive, and I don't know anyone who has been here before. I'm so glad that God and the World Food Prize worked to bring Kenya to me and me to it. I just hope that I can make an impact here. Whether it's educating farmers about aflatoxin, the chance to encourage one shy girl to value her education, or by being a daughter to Matilda and helping her see what a difference she has made on all of the interns, I want to leave it better than it was when I first arrived. Below are some more photos from our various locations today. The thing that I am standing on works similar to a bike and pumps water to the plants. I loved being able to contribute to their farming...even if in such a small way! The tarp area is a water reservoir at one of the farms.The two groups of people are me interviewing farmers with the guidance of Matilda. The lady in the white dress had a beautiful green rosary on and had left to church to come visit with me! I tried to hurry so that she could make it back to church! The homes in the last photo are just to show an example of what some of the housing structures have looked like -- they are all so different!