A sneak peak into the auction items!

Below is a list of some of the many auction items that will be available to bid on at this Friday's Silent Auction...

Friday the 12th / Downtown St. Paul University Club / 340 Cedar Street / 5:00-8:00pm / Auction runs from 6:00pm-8:00pm / Free Appetizers & Desserts, Cash Bar, Live Music!


Category #1 - “The Big Guns”

•Dakota Jazz Club – Spend an afternoon prepping a main course meal with one of Twin Cities top chefs - Jack Riebel. Learn cooking techniques and ask him any question you desire. Come back that evening and enjoy a complimentary meal (the one you prepared) and a live jazz show on a Saturday night! Item is for two people.
Value: $700.00 Starting Bid: $350.00

•5 night stay at a Beach Home on Rockaway Beach, Oregon (just seconds away from the beach!)
Value: $500.00 Starting Bid: $300.00

•50,000 Delta Frequent Flyer Miles – good for two roundtrip tickets anywhere in the continental US.
Value: $600.00 Starting Bid: $ 250.00

•A Power of Attorney, “Simple” Will & a Healthcare Directive for an individual or married couple.
Value: $600.00 Starting Bid: $ 325.00

•St. Paul Hotel – Deluxe Suite Accommodations for 2 people, also dinner for 2 up to $100.00 Value: $300 Starting Bid: $150.00


Category #2 – “What a steal!”

•100% Kashmir scarves bought in Kashmir, India
Value: $140.00 Starting Bid: $70.00

•Three World Cup Jerseys (USA/South Africa/Italy) bought at the World Cup
Value: $80.00 Starting Bid: $45.00

•Three Personal Training Sessions at Fit Studio located in St. Louis Park Value: $ 270.00 Starting Bid: $125.00

•A round of golf (9 or 18 holes) at the Town & Country Club with drinks provided after in the club house. Available up to 3 people.
Value: $400.00 Starting Bid: $200.00

•KGSA gear! – A great hoodie, t-shirt, coffee mug, and a SIGG water bottle. Value: $170.00 Starting Bid:$ 80.00

•Martha Stewart Package – Signed cookbooks - Cupcakes, and Fresh Flavor Fast,steel colander, ice cream scooper, whisk and can opener!
Value: $ Priceless Starting Bid: $50.00


Category #3 – Artwork/Crafts

•Kenyan ceramic beaded necklaces Value: $110.00 Starting Bid: $60.00

•Kenyan ceramic beaded earrings Value: $45.00 Starting Bid: $20.00

•Traditional Kenyan Massai blanket, with wooden bowl & tongs
Value: $ 100.00 Starting Bid: $50.00

•Soap stone coffee mugs and coffee Value: $70.00 Starting Bid: $40.00

•Photography from Ryan Sarafolean from travels in India, Kenya, and South Africa Value: $175.00 Starting Bid: $90.00


Category #4 – Gift Certificates

•Ordway - $70.00
•Caron Chiropractic – One hour massage
•Solo Vino - $25.00
•Billy’s on Grand - $25.00
•Punch Pizza - $25.00
•Brasa - $25.00
•Happy Gnome - $50.00
•Muddy Pig - $25.00
•Hell’s Kitchen - $25.00
•The Local - $40.00
•Dunn Bros - $30.00
•Common Roots - $25.00
•WA Frost - $100.00

a call to my grassroots family...

In a little more than a month, the KGSA Foundation (yes, we've changed our name and will be developing a separate website too for the US efforts) will be hosting our second annual silent auction to raise money for our new campaign - the Secure a Future Campaign, and we specifically need YOUR help if this year is going to be as successful as last year!

I am well aware that we all have limited time on our hands but take a look at what our needs are below and see what you can do. Please email me with suggestions, questions, and confirmations as to what you are willing to commit to. Your help is greatly appreciated and makes a huge difference in the lives of the girls attending KGSA, it truly does.


#1 - Get the word out!! The big thing is getting NEW people into the event this year, expanding our base of potential supporters. All I'm asking is that you call or email a few of your friends and make November 12th a date that you get together for something fun - an auction with live music, drinks, and appetizers all benefiting a good cause. I'm nervous about the turnout as the space is larger, so we gotta fill it up. Please do what you can to put this in your calendar and your friends and family's calendars too!!! Below is a drafted email with all the information you'll need. Change it if you want, I'm just trying to make it as easy as I can for you to spread the word.


#2 - AUCTION ITEMS!! We still need auction items, anything works! Do you have a craft, skill, connection to a local business, or an artist, a cabin you could auction off for a weekend, what can your work offer, something in storage you have never used and always wanted to get rid off that is cool, would you be willing to put together something? I'd like to get all the items together in my possession before November 1st so I can put together the bid sheets. Please let me know about this one as soon as possible so I can put you down on my check list.


#3 - Volunteer!! I will be needing around 6-8 volunteers this year to make this year run smoothly and your presence would be needed at different periods of the event. I'll need greeters, people to help with the sign-in and registration, the gift collection at the end, and people to help clear the auction items as the tables close. If you are interested in volunteering, please email me. I appreciate all the help I can get.

Below is the pre-drafted email, tweak it if you want it to sound like its coming from you...



Hey ( Dan Otieno! )

I just found out about this great event on the 12th of November and I thought it would be fun if we went together. A few years back my friend Ryan started his own non-profit, the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA) which financially supports a school in the slums of Kibera, Kenya providing free secondary education, athletic opportunities, and artistic programming to the young women living in the slums of Kibera. He is hosting a Silent Auction to raise funding for this new campaign they're kicking off. They're calling it the Secure a Future Campaign, where 100% of the money raised from this point, until next summer will go directly into income generating opportunities that will be established in Kenya. The whole idea is to generate enough profit through these activities to meet our operational costs for the school, decreasing the school's dependency on donor support in the future. There will be live music, drinks, and appetizers so it should be a fun Friday night! Are you interested?

It's on Friday, November 12th at the University Club - the Downtown location on the 14th floor from 5:00-9:00pm. The auction tables open up at 6:00pm.
The address is 340 Cedar Street, Saint Paul.

Let me know if you are free, it'd be great to see you there and it's a great cause to support too!




Thanks in advance for all of your help, I appreciate it!

-Ryan

Secure a Future for the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy!

It's been over 2 months now since I've been back in the states. While I was working with the administration in Kenya, our discussions kept coming back to the idea of financial sustainability and the steps that are necessary to take in order to get KGSA to a level where they can run the organization themselves.

What we have decided to do is begin a campaign, a Secure a Future Campaign (http://secureafuture.wordpress.com), where 100% of the money raised from this point, until next summer will go directly into income generating opportunities that will be established in Kenya. The whole idea is to generate enough profit through these activities to meet our operational costs for the school, decreasing the school's dependency on donor support in the future. We have quite a low overhead cost for what we are able to do and provide, and we are determined to make this a reality.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 over the course of this next year by identifying 100 individuals, or parties that are willing to donate $1,000 to our quest of sustainability.

We are holding a Silent Auction this November to kick-off the campaign and we would love to see you all there! Please spread this information to anyone you think would be interested in supporting our cause and the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy!


What: Silent Auction to kick-off the Secure a Future Campaign!

Where: University Club - Downtown
340 Cedar Street, 14th Floor, Saint Paul, MN

When: Friday, November 12th, 2010
5:00 - 9:00pm (first auction table opens at 6:00pm)

Hakuna Shida... not matata!

There's not much more to say that I haven't said before. I leave Kenya in five days, five very fast days. I feel incomplete, or at least the work here, and that is hard to walk away from. There has been so much momentum generated over the last few months and it's only natural to want to see these upcoming projects through. I do recognize that KGSA will always be growing, always implementing more programming, and I won't always be there for it. That's the way it should be though. We are really starting to get to a place where the organization is functioning as a complete unit. This was the first year we had volunteers outside of the University of Minnesota program and already they are organizing HIV/AIDS education seminars with the girls, they're setting up self defense classes, and creating a confidence building workshop for the students. These are all things that myself and the other directors would love to do but simply don't have the time for it, so watching our volunteers come in with SUCH PASSION is really exciting! This has been a year of firsts and I feel so grateful to have been able to experience it here on the ground next to Abdul and the girls. Thanks to everyone that supported me during this time, supported the school, or just read my blog and followed the work that is being done here. Much love and very excited to see you all.

World Cup madness

A few days ago Teka, the Principal of KGSA, and I took the girls to the local movie theater where they were showing the World Cup games. It was the last afternoon game in group play so we couldn't miss this opportunity as the night games are too late for the girls. I told Teka that all of the schools in South Africa had taken off the entire month, as well as schools in Argentina, so I thought it was at least fair to lobby for a half day. After all, it is the 1st World Cup in Africa. Teka agreed, and we were off! One hundred and eight girls and staff marched through Kibera toward Nakumatt's theater excited to see the Portugal Korea match. On our approach, I realized I forgot one small detail... how the hell we're we going to organize and control 100+ girls with 3 staff, including myself?

Luckily I had told the theater about our group the day before and they had the popcorn prepared and were setting them out before the game. What a site! This poor guy had to scoop over fifty bags of popcorn and try to somehow organize them for our arrival. It all worked out though. We got into the movie theater without any problems but as soon as the cameraman panned over Ronaldo before the game, the girls went wild! Okay, I get it... he's a good looking guy, but they went crazy! It was funny though, because I at times forget that these girls are just like any other teenage girl around the world. They are boy crazy! They face so many more challenges in life than normal, but they still have the same emotions, nerves, desires inside them as any girl.

THEN, Portugal scored their first goal. I digress for a minute. Now I had just come back from South Africa to watch some of the World Cup games. They have these things called Fan Parks set up all over the cities - basically a big park with beer gardens, food stands, and jersey stores all over. You're surrounded by people and it can get pretty wild in them if the right fans are there.

Now, returning to Portugal's first goal. You would think that there was actually a fire in the theater based on the decibel level that their screams reached. It was louder than any Fan Park in South Africa while only having 100 girls. They began jumping all over, screaming, running up and down the stairs (luckily no one else was in there thankfully) but we actually had the manager come in and tell us that the theater next to us could hear our screams and we needed to keep it down. It didn't really do anything unfortunately because Portugal went on to score another 6 goals and the madness followed just the same.

Needless to say, the girls had a blast and both Teka and I were extremely glad that we did this. Unfortunately I only have roughly two more weeks here with the school and girls. I have truly enjoyed these last 10 months and the opportunities that I've had to be here for this long. I know I'll be back, I'll continue the KGSA work in the states, but it's not the same. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to walk down to the school and see these girls whenever I want to. Convenience factor aside, Abdul, Teka, and these girls have become a second family to me and it will be hard being away from them. 'Til next time.

Random acts of kindness, national pride, and of course… vuvuzelas!

Quinn, Anni, and I flew down to Joberg, South Africa to experience the first and second round of group play at the World Cup and what an incredible week it turned out to be. Never did I think that I would go to a World Cup in my lifetime, mainly because I never really liked football, well, really I just didn’t stick with it as after I was nine years old and my self-given nickname “the wall” (I played goalie) never really panned out for me. But over the years of living and surrounding myself with football fanatics (Danny, Cory, and many more) and starting a non-profit with football at its core, one could say I grew to appreciate and love the game’s brilliance. Living in a country like Kenya where there is no national unity whatsoever, I have seen how the game of soccer can unity a people. If only for 90 minutes, crucial stoppage time, and redundant commercials, it is an important step for countries like Kenya and it’s incredible that a game has this ability. Many argue that a strategy for national unity in Kenya is actually to invest in their football team. I’ve talked with a few professors at the University of Nairobi about this point and there seems to be some weight to this suggestion. Anyways, back to the World Cup 2010…

Random Act of Kindness #1:

Quinn, Anni, Justine, and I are walking to the nearest shuttle service about an hour and a half before kick-off when suddenly cars from every angle are stopping and yelling at us, “Hey, you’re never gonna make it in time!” You would think that they might offer suggestions as to HOW TO MAKE IT on time, but no, they just drove off. We start to get a bit nervous, well by we I mean Quinn and I. Anni is playing it cool like she always does and Justine doesn’t think twice about it. “We’re fine,” the two of them keep telling us. Luckily for ALL of us, Quinn and I were wearing our respective Messi and Teves Argentina jerseys as we were heading to the Argentina Nigeria game when two middle-aged Argentineans in a car yelled, “WOOOHH, Argentina!!” We yelled back in excitement and this banter carried on for another minute or two (as they were stopped in traffic), when finally I asked if they could give us a ride to the stadium… initially declining the request, they must have seen the despair in our eyes as we were really not going to make it in time and they changed their mind telling the four of us to squeeze in the back seat. We sprinted through the streets weaving through cars and crammed in. We made it on time, seats were perfect, Messi was amazing. SUCCESS.


Random Act #2:

Quinn and I were navigating the public transportation mini buses on our way to the USA Slovenia game when we realized we had no idea where to get off for the Ellis Park Stadium. This woman sitting next to Quinn overheard us and told us she would take us, she said it was close to her house so it wouldn’t be a problem. We got off with her at the next stop and walked for about twenty minutes when I asked her where she lived. She said, “twenty minutes that way,” pointing in the complete opposite direction in which we were walking. We continued through the neighborhood – passing groups of children playing football in the streets as South African flags hung from banisters waving in the wind. Finally, thirty minutes later we arrived near the stadium, we thanked her and she went on her way.


National Pride:

I never thought I had any first off. I mean I appreciate the fact that I was born in the United States, I have been afforded many opportunities that are not possible throughout the world - it’s a blessing in many ways, but let’s be honest, I’ve been known once or twice to criticize some of our domestic and international policies and priorities. It might have started with the election of Obama, to tell the truth though, it was the England USA match where my pride blossomed.

For those of you that didn’t watch this match, within 4 minutes England put in a goal which followed with these obnoxious England fans screaming and hollering, smirks all over their faces bragging that this game was over. They were beyond annoying and after 4 minutes they were already calling the game. Lot of game left we kept telling ourselves, lot of game… I forget what minute it happened in, but their goalie blocked a shot of ours but it slipped out of his control and slowly rolled into the goal. We were all stunned at what we just saw.

And then it happened…

American Pride surged through my body. My arms became giant American flags and I waved ‘em high and proud. I suddenly started jumping five feet in the air, continuously, out of control… screaming any word that came to my mind… yes, profanities included. I don’t think any of us expected it but we all went wild. A USA mosh-pit practically occurred with that goal. Chants of “USA all the way!” and “England sucks!” or other creative profanities with the word England interjected in there surrounded us. Quinn was running around out of control like a new puppy. It was too much fun so we just kept the pride going. I did at least. For the Slovenia game I got a USA jersey, borrowed a USA swim suit, painted the face and became “that” guy at the stadium - starting cheers, getting the crowd to stand up, taunting Slovenian’s, and taking hundreds of photos with other decked-out fans.

Vuvuzelas:

If you don’t know what they are, google it. They rock!

It’s no downtown Mpls. library, but one day I’m sure we’ll get there

Currently, my father and brother are here in Kenya visiting the school and seeing what I’ve been up to for the last 10 months. Along with them, they brought suitcases full of books from amazing aunts, friends, and the St. Thomas Moore and CDH libraries in Saint Paul. Before I go any further, I want to send out a special thanks to everyone that contributed to those suitcases. I saw first-hand the girls’ eyes light up with excitement as Harry Potter books continued to be pulled out from the suitcases like rabbits in a magic show.

By the way, the first book in the series already has a waiting list established.

We are still waiting for our large shipping container full of over 2,000 books through Books For Africa, the University of Minnesota, and Kenya School Libraries Program (KSLP). This will hopefully arrive sometime in September this year. Until then, Harry Potter and the 150 other books will absolutely suffice! Thank you again so much for the books everyone!

In other library news, our computers from Junior Achievements finally arrived and now we have 3 brand new computers, a printer, and a scanner in the library that the girls can use. It’s extremely exciting to see them finally have access to computers and internet at our own school where they can work on their assignments after class in a safe space, research facts for the journalism club and their magazine, express themselves and their voices through postings on their blog (http://kgsa.blogspot.com), and even have some fun with the games that are on the computer; which is actually my favorite thing to see as they all love to play chess!

Speaking of the Journalism Club, I know that many of you are wondering when the second issue will be out, as I had told you to expect it in June. Well we had a minor set back in production but it should hopefully be on our magcloud website - www.kiberagirls.magcloud.com within a few weeks. Keep checking!

Our first volunteer, Claire Raether, has started teaching an economics class and is implementing an HIV/AIDS education course throughout each of the grades. I was able to sit in on one of her classes and she has great enthusiasm and actually got some of the girls to say that economics is the best subject! If anyone can get high school girls to say that, it’s my guess she is doing a pretty good job. Our second volunteer from NYC just arrived a few days ago and is fitting in just great. Caroline will be working on computer trainings and typing exercises, exploring internet researching skills, and all the while she'll be doing a lot of filming as she is a film major from Columbia University.

In other news, if you didn’t get the monthly newsletter, the poetry performance last month went really well and we’ll be uploading video from it very soon. There was an artist there by the name of Pepe who works for MTV-Africa who was really impressed with the girls and their artistic talent and is trying to get us some air-time on MTV! Keep your fingers crossed. That’s it for now, hope all is well with everyone and I’ll be back stateside quite soon. I can’t believe these 10 months are wrapping up but I’ll be back July 8th so look out for more KGSA events upon my arrival.

Day 34 - Nepal Highlight

36 hours before the jump:

I wake up in a deep sweat... a nightmare - me jumping off a 160 meter bridge into a gorge. It happens over and over and over again in my head. I can't fall back asleep so I time the jump while thinking about it. Only seven seconds I tell myself. That's it, seven seconds. One, two, three... no,I'm counting to fast I realize. One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven. Recoil, then it's finished. That's it.

24 hours before:

On the drive to the gorge all I can think about is how can I get out of this without seeming weak? without seeming scared? What can I say when I get there? We finally arrive, but to get to our resort, we must cross THE BRIDGE, funny how they make you do that. I walk across and the wind is almost pulling me off of the wire bridge. Yes, just made of thick wire.

16 hours before:

More nightmares, more timing...

4 hours before:

We decide to do canyoning at the gorge, figured belaying down canyons would take my mind off of things... then we reach the final waterfall we're about to descend and you can see the bridge from there. The feeling of terror comes back.

15 minutes before:

I felt calm, probably because I was a bit delirious. Excited but super nervous. Kept telling myself High Adrenaline, Low Risk... High Adrenaline, Low Risk


During the Jump:

1st Second - Confusion - What is happening?
2nd Second - Recognition - Oh shit, I just jumped off this bridge!
3rd Second - Reaction - Screaming, lots of screaming
4th-7th Second - Blissed Out! Most amazing rush that anyone will ever feel

It was incredible and I did it once more, this time I did the swing where you are in a harness and you jump off and swing through the gorge. More of a free fall with this one, it's also the longest free fall canyon in the world. It was incredible and I highly recommend that you all do it.

Side note, but really exciting - Quinn and Dad come to Kenya in two days!!! Anni and I leave tomorrow and will meet them at the airport - super excited.

Day 31 - Nepal Highlight

I'm feeling much better now since the last post. Anni and I are enjoying Nepal and the city of Kathmandu. We checked out a few amazing stupas around here, which are buddhist statues in a sense that symbolize enlightenment. We are heading to Swayambhu Stupa tonight, which is one of the most important stupas in Nepal, possibly the world where there will be a candle light service with a minute of silence. Thousands of people come to the stupa to pray and meditate for peace. Tonight is special because it is the day that Buddha reached his enlightenment. We are very excited.

In other news, I signed up to bungy jump at the 3rd highest place in the world and will jump this Saturday morning!! So terrified, but very excited. Here is the place I'll jump, it's called The Last Resort, nice huh? www.thelastresort.com.np

I will be sure to let you all know how this goes, Anni and I will be there for 3 days, hiking around the Himalayas and watching me jump off a bridge. Trust me, I know how stupid it sounds, the more I think about it I think I'm actually going a bit crazy. Much love to you all, and I'll be seeing you all real soon!

Day 25 - Now in Nepal

To catch you all up from the last entry, Anni and I were on our way to see the Taj Mahal and then to the city Varanasi - the holiest city in all of India. It is a belief here that if you die here, your karma can finally rest, the cycle is done. Well I wish I could tell you that Varanasi was a great experience, I really do because I was excited about touring the city, but all I saw was the inside of a hospital and plenty of saline bags pouring into me.

All is well, I was seriously dehydrated and felt like I was on the verge of a heat stroke... but I stayed over night and got "juiced-up" on saline and other antibiotics and Anni and I caught our train the next day to Delhi and flew out to Nepal.

In spite of all of this, I was able to see the Taj Mahal and that was truly remarkable. Thanks to you Mookie, we made it a priority and it was well worth it. I didn't know much about it but it was built in honor of the Emperor Shahjahan's second wife. She died giving birth to her 14th child (anyone see a problem yet?) and he was so distraught that he built this incredibly lavish tomb in honor of her and his love for her.

Who knows what Anni and I will do in Nepal... we were thinking of doing a trek through the Himalayas but with our weakened immune systems right now, we don't know how much we really want to push it. I'm thinking though that I might do the highest bungy jump in Asia. I figure my immune system can't really prevent me from doing that.

That's it for now, will write more soon.

Day 14 - India Highlight

A lot has happened since the last update as internet connection has been unreliable. Pangong's water was rich in its color and breath taking its expansiveness. We skipped rocks at its shore and sat and listened to the surrounding silence. Perfect.

We visited two incredible Buddhist palaces - Shey, and Thiksey and took a cab to one of the stupas in a near mountain. Stupas are buddhist structures meant to symbolize enlightenment. Architectectually they are stunning.

We left Leh and arrived in Delhi where we are staying at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI). This is where his holiness, the 17th Karmapa stays. He is the lineage holder for the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism that I've been practicing over the years. Basically the Dalai Lama of a different sect of Buddhism. I met with him today. Stoic. Strong. Calm. Wise.

We will be here for two more days. I'm using this time to meditate a lot at the gompa here and read and recharge. We are planning on seeing the Taj Mahal in the next few days and then off to Varanasi for a few nights. I will keep you all posted.

Karmapa Chenno

India Highlight- Day 9

We are bound by mountains,
Prayer flags are strung from light posts to window-sills,
using wind as a courier sending wishes to those in mind, while
monks whisper mantras with each thumbprint pressing bead after bead.


Anni and I are in Ladakh now, a part of Kashmir. We are surrounded by the Himalayas and a strong Tibetan Buddhist community. Very quiet and peaceful here, and the view is incredible. There was a 7 day meditation called Puja, a meditation for peace, that just finished up here and we were able to view the final celebration. Easily a thousand Monks took to the street in a loud chant and ended at the local monastery where there was a larger festival celebrating the end of Puja.

Tomorrow we are off for a three trek to one of the largest Lakes in Asia, Lake Pangong. It is the third highest mountain pass in the world reaching almost 18,000 feet, it is known as the Chang La Mountain pass. That's it for now, will write more when we return.

India Highlight - Day 6

Dreams blur with midnight trains motioning us to sleep. You keep appearing in dresses, shades of chili powders and turmerics season your shadows, while I'm tap-dancing in the heat praying for it to rain.

Last day in Udaipur and it shaped out to be an adventure. Anni and I started the day off with a 4 hour cooking class. The class was in V.J.'s home about 20 minutes outside of the cities and we learned 10 Indian dishes. We made curries, masalas, chapati, parathas and a special Indian dessert called Halva. We were running late at this point, in between picking up my tailored kashmir suits, final packing, and trying to figure out what our hotel manager did with our laundry and it was suddenly 5:00pm. Our train leaves at 5:20, and we were 20 minutes away from the station.

We ran through the street searching for a cab. Every other minute in the last 4 days there were always two outside, none today. We kept running with travel packs slung over shoulders and laundry in hand, we hailed down a cab and were on our way. 5:15pm.

We pull up to the station thinking that we had already missed the train and it was 5:30 at this point, we casually strolled up to the station and saw through the crowd what looked to be our train. We scrambled to get through, people were walking in all directions and I lost sight of Anni for a moment. We made it through alive, running toward the train and suddenly it started to take off.

We start yelling "9288, 9288?" trying to confirm that this is indeed our train to delhi and it is. People all around are cheering us on, "Run, get on" and a huge rush comes over us. We are moving with the train inches from the door and Anni gets her hand on the door, pulls herself up quickly just in time so that I can jump on. We made it.

So now we are in Delhi, flying out to Kashmir tomorrow morning to meet Anni's friend for a week. I'll send another update as soon as I can. Below is a great yogurt curry recipe that would go great with a tofu or a chicken for you meat eaters.

1 cup yogurt
1 cup water
mix together
1 tablespoon yellow lentil powder (dry lentils and blend works fine)
1/2 tablespoon red chili powder
1/4 tablespoon corriander
pinch or turmeric
1/4 tablespoon of garam masala
1/4 tablespoon salt
mix together

Separate bowl
2 tablespoons oil over medium heat
1/4 tablespoon mustard seeds
1/4 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons chopped onions
mix first bowl into this with splash of water
1/4 tablespoon garlic paste
10-12 minutes to desired thickness.

India Highlight - Day 2

Anni and I are in Udaipur. It's quiet and colorful. The streets, narrow and curve like hips do. The cloth, radiant. Rickshaw drivers surround you like mosquitoes while their engine sounds are strangely meditative. The heat, cleansing.

We walked the streets for hours getting lost in the bazaar, stopping only for water breaks, serious window shopping, and two games of chess against a shop owner... he dominated both matches unfortunately. We later found out that the film James Bond: Octopussy was filmed here and every night at 7:30pm in the bars and restaurants they show the film. So Anni and I did what anyone of you would have done... we grabbed beers, Indian food, and enjoyed the evening with some Octopussy.

It's just one of those days...

When everything around you seems to be falling into place.

I'm not going to try and pretend that there are days, weeks even, that I wonder to myself what am I doing here? Is my time here truly beneficial to the school. But there are days, weeks even, where I don't doubt my decision to come for this duration of time. These past few weeks have been a perfect balance between work and a bit of play and it all started with our first fundraiser at Dass Ethiopian which was a huge success. Yesterday i was able to attend the 1st of 8 poetry workshops with Imani that the money from the fundraiser went towards and the girls had an incredible time. It was really great for them to get outside of Kibera and see what else is out there in the world, what are other possibilities for them besides the limited world they see everyday. For two hours Imani took them through a series of writing prompts and set the tone for the next 7 sessions. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend anymore of the sessions due to travel plans but it will be fun to come back and see the growth that has happened. Luckily I'll be back in time to see the final performance in Nairobi and can support them there.

In addition to organizing the workshops with Imani, that grant that I've been working on is finally finished! We are applying for additional funding from a current partner that would allow us to get our first government qualified teacher at the school which would help provide more structure and experience into KGSA which in turn would drastically benefit the girls' educational opportunities. We also are putting in a request for funding that would be allow Richard Teka - our current head master, to go to accounting school (his dream) as he wants to manage the micro credit program at KGSA. Tomorrow afternoon, Abdul, Teka and I have a meeting with the Directors from Stichting 4 Life where we'll discuss the grant and gauge their interest. Keep us in your thoughts!!

Also, the 2nd issue of Shedders is coming along great and is almost finished. The girls have done, yet again, an incredible job with their articles and finding new and exciting things for you all to read about so keep your eyes out for the next issue! I can't begin to describe how amazing it has been to work this close for 7 months with the Journalism girls. I've really been able to develop great relationships with them as they've felt safe enough to share their lives with me and in return I open up more to them. They definitely have made a space in my heart...

But now, it's off to India and Nepal for a while. It's been a bit stressful planning this one from a far as the train systems in India are insane to understand but it looks like Anni and I will spend 5 days in udaipur, then a week in Kashmir, down to Delhi for a few days, over to Varanasi for 4 days, then fly into Kathmandu and hike through the Himalayas. We're both super excited about it, and it will be great to see Anni again for such a long time. The distance is wearing on us both a bit but it's reassuring to know that we are in the home stretch of this all.

I'll try and do some blogging along the way in India and stay in touch but I'll be back in Nairobi on the 1st of June and I'm sure I'll blast out a blog right away when I get back. I hope this reaches you all well, much love and blessings...

-Ryan

Poetry + Ethiopian Food = Great Night

Last night, with the help from Imani and Slam Africa, KGSA had its first fundraiser in Kenya to help fund a series of poetry workshops for a group of KGSA students which will be led by Imani herself. Between the 80,000 shillings that we raised, an incredible line-up of performances, over 150 people in attendance, and the injera and dorowot, it was a successful night! I was overwhelmed with the amount of support last night, and once again, was reminded why I feel so drawn to the artist community... in Minneapolis, Madison, Nairobi, everywhere. We are indeed changing the world we live in.

Two of the KGSA students - Salma, and Claire, came to the event and performed as well. They were able to get outside of Kibera and see other communities that support the school and that support them. Their performances were both received with huge applauses and several people shouted, "We want more!" Salma told me that after she heard that, she was starting to write another piece for later that night.

Not only did people love their poems, but two graduate school students studying journalism wanted to interview them and write an article about the school and the girls. This made their night! In addition, we were approached by a graffiti artist that was interested in setting up a project with the school and two individuals from US AID approached me about certain grants that are in the works over the next year and they would like to work with the school. We saw last night how art brings people together, it inspired, it creates hope, and it continues to grow and strengthen.

I still get stuck sometimes with events like this thinking about where we were 4 years ago and how I never thought that KGSA would be this established and bringing our girls to Westlands for performances. But here we are rocking the mic, spreading awareness, making change.



Information on the workshops & performance:

There will be a series of 8 writing workshops leading up to a final performance in June of this year. Imani will be holding her final show in Kenya and the girls will open for her at this performance. In addition, we are trying to film a documentary on this entire process so if you know anyone that is willing to contribute financially to such a project, please contact myself or Imani via email, any support is greatly appreciated.

Ryan Sarafolean: rmsarafolean@gmail.com
Imani Woomera: imani.woomera@gmail.com



Below is a poem that Claire performed at the fundraiser. Enjoy!

We tend to plan for our future everyday,
Desperately we strive to pave the way,
We save every little bit of time we can find
And to the people who can help achieve we are kind

If there is anything we want so bad, we are willing to fight
For a future filled with happiness and so bright
I really hate though to fill everyone’s heart with sorrow
But remember dear, our future is not tomorrow

It is not rudeness indiscipline or fame that will get us ahead
But the number of times we read our books, that is what will make our future
Our future imaginably great
So! Let us wake up and take control of our lives

Tomorrow is not the future you should be planning for,
But the day you will be enjoying your success
The day you will be remembering your toilings, hardships at home, and school

Remember dears, if you do good, you do good to yourself
And if you do bad, you do bad to yourself
Falling down does not make you a failure
But staying down makes you a failure
Watch out!

Words for Thought...

A few days I got a call from Anni saying that a friend of hers on the Island had just died. He died of AIDS - unfortunately something all to common for the people of Mfangano Island. With Mfangano's AIDS rate hovering around 30% attacking a population of 19,000, death is a frequent occurrence. The mourning is brief and people carry on. It's difficult to stomach how different death is perceived over the world due to access to healthcare, poverty, isolation, and education. Coming from a culture where death is seen as a tragedy, as something incredibly unfortunate, you feel guilty as your instincts are to really mourn and feel sad for the individual and family. In the states, when someone dies, we carry that death with us for weeks, months, even years and it's seen as okay to do so. Here, the reality of death is so prominent that the thought of taking time for each death to really mourn for someone is unrealistic when you don't know how much time you yourself even have.

We can't feel guilty though, as I really believe that guilt is the least productive emotion that we have inside of us. Yes, we are from different places, experiencing different realities, and we naturally react in different ways. This is not to say one way is better or one is of more importance, but the fact that someone losing their life is a common occurrence is a problem and we need to act upon that. That is what Anni is doing, though it's hard to feel like you are doing anything at a time like this, Organic Health Response is creating an incredible force of a VCT Clinic and Community Center to address the HIV epidemic on the Island. Though tragedies occur in the states, we are so removed from the rate at which they occur in other countries in the world. It's frustrating, to say the least, to be here and see this happen to people you know and to actually doubt that this will ever get to a manageable level. But one has to choose between hope or pessimism, and for now I'm holding out that hope will prevail in time.

To lighten this blog up a bit, the two photos attached are from the science laboratory at the school. We finally got the financial support to purchase lab equipment for our students. The photos are from the Form 3's taking practice exams - which is a first for KGSA as well. We have never had the funding to buy practice exams but thanks to many of your continual contributions to the school, we've been able to allocate funding for this!

This next week we've got our first Kenyan fundraiser for the 8-week poetry workshop with Imani that I organized and I'm working on finishing this grant proposal for a government-qualified teacher. Hopefully we can keep this momentum rolling. I miss and love you all...

-Ryan

What exactly do you do Ryan?

It’s been a week now since Anni and I got back from Ethiopia and it feels great to be back in Kenya. The last couple of days in Ethiopia Anni and I were getting a bit anxious from away from our respective organizations a bit too long but she is now back on the Island working on an event for Earth day (April 22nd) and I’m back at the school working on a few different projects and coordinating our first volunteer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten emails asking me “Ryan, what the hell are you actually doing there anyways?” Well, below is my month of April.

As I mentioned earlier, KGSA has it’s first volunteer unaffiliated with the University of Minnesota’s study abroad program! Her name is Claire and she recently graduated from the University of San Francisco. She will be with us for 3 months and will be doing work on the Micro Finance program and identifying an afterschool club that she’s interested in working with and coordinating a project.

Over a year ago when we started advertising for volunteers on our website, I never really gave it too much thought. I thought that we might get one or two requests here and there, but during these last few months, we’ve had over 15 requests for volunteering at KGSA. Ask my dad if you don’t believe me, he has to email me all of these forms and keep track of them. As a small non-profit, we simply cannot manage 15 volunteers and have had to turn many people down. Claire will be here until June and we have one more lined up from June through August.

Last night as she arrived at Jomo Kenyatta airport, I sat back and just laughed. We have gotten to the point where someone found KGSA on-line and thought it looked like a great place to volunteer, contacted us, and made it happen. I honestly never thought that we would be in charge of people’s volunteer experiences, but here we are.

In addition to coordinating Claire’s stay here, I just finished organizing an 8 week writing workshop for a group of students to work with the poet Imani. She has lived here in Kenya for the last few years, but has done a lot of work in the states. I met her a few years ago at a show at the Walker and I reconnected with her here. She’ll be doing a series of writing workshops, and performance workshops with our girls, all leading up to a final performance in two month. On April 15th we are holding a fundraiser where Imani, a few Kenyan poets, two of our girls and I will perform in order to raise money for the workshops. I’m working now to advertise this event, and working with the two girls on their pieces.

I’m also working with our Journalism Club as they have started working on their 2nd issue. They are hoping to have it out in May sometime. We just had a great meeting yesterday and their first drafts of articles are due in to the editor tomorrow. I’ll work directly with Asha, our editor, on revising the pieces and offering suggestions/critiques.

Lastly, well not lastly because there are always more things to do, but lastly on my priorities, Abdul, Teka and I have been discussing a larger change at KGSA regarding the management structure. Many of you may know that none of our teachers are government qualified. They all come from Kibera and are in need of jobs. To this point, we’ve hired people based on their high school scores in the subjects being taught. Though they are doing an incredible job, we have begun discussions about what it would look like if we were to hire a government qualified teacher to be the “head teacher” and restructure the school accordingly. They would be in charge of weekly meetings, teacher trainings, observing the current teaching strategies and offering alternatives etc. They would serve in a sense as the principal. We would then promote Teka to Programs Manager, allowing him the proper time to deal with the accounting, coordinating after school programs, handling our lunch program, and responding to our financial partners. We are in the midst of figuring this all out, and hopefully we can move on this before I leave for the states.

So those are a few of the things that I’ll be focusing on this month. Hope that answers some of your questions as to what exactly I do here. It changes every week as new things come up and prospective partners contact us, etc. I basically take the pressure off of Abdul and Teka’s shoulders any way possible.

Hope everyone is doing well in the States, and has a great Easter weekend!

Love and Blessings,

-Ryan

13 Months of Sunshine

Nearly two months ago, Anni and I sat down to plan out what she calls our ‘first trip together' to Ethiopia. Personally, I count Kenya as a trip in itself, but in her defense, we are not doing Kenya together. Nonetheless, it was quite exciting for the both of us to visit another region in Africa – the Horn of Africa. As we looked into where to go in Ethiopia, it was clear to see that Anni had done her research and I was indeed getting roped into the “Historical Route” of Ethiopia. Dating a history major, I should have suspected. It wouldn’t have been the route I necessarily would have been drawn to (with all the churches on the list n’ all) but having done it, I wouldn’t have changed it as it was incredibly fascinating. Also just a fun fact, Ethiopia is one of the only African countries to have escaped European colonialism, so we were excited to compare the difference in cultures too.

We begin…

We had a packed itinerary, packed backpacks, and I packed a 7 year old Lonely Planet book on Ethiopia, which I found out later was the reason why none of the hostels and restaurants I was reading about existed any longer. Ha!

We arrived in Addis Ababa only to wake up at 3 a.m. the next morning to catch a “cozy” van heading to Bahar Dar (12 hours away) that should have seated 10, but took 14 people, how nice of them. Finally though, after hours of feeling like a chicken caged in a coop, we arrived in Bahar Dar where we rented bikes and cycled throughout the city, visited the Blue Nile Falls, and checked out the Island Monasteries... ahh yes, the first of many churches… here are the names of the monasteries we visited if you are interested in learning more. Debre Maryam, Dega Estefanos, & Kebran Gabriel. They were built between the 12th-14th century and have incredible mural paintings inside as you can see from the pictures.

The best was when Anni and I were walking around the main market in Bahar Dar when all of a sudden we started coughing profusely, we then noticed that everyone else was coughing and sneezing all around us. The coughing turned into this deafening thunder all around us and then we realized that we were walking amongst the hundreds of thousands of chilies that were being dried out… red chilies everywhere! It was hilarious!

From there we went to Gonder, also called Africa’s Camelot. We visited several castles including Emperor Fasilidas’ Palace which was build in the 1600’s and is still standing strong, even after the Brits bombed it! There too, were more churches.

Finally though, we were heading to the SIMIEN MOUNTAINS where we spent 4 incredible days hiking around incredible landscape and wildlife. Anni’s highlight was seeing 3 Ethiopian Wolves – which are incredibly rare and endemic to Ethiopia. My highlight was being 5 feet away from a male Gelada Primate in his habitat. We came upon this family of about 150 geladas, they are fairly use to humans so they weren’t threatened so I just sat down maybe 25 feet away from him and he slowly approached me until he was right in front of me, posing for the camera. It was quite a rush. (Photo of him above) Oh, and we also climbed the second highest peak at 4,436 meters above sea level!

From the Simiens, we traveled to Lalibela – the most tourist city of them all... It’s considered one of the holiest sites in all of Africa as King Lalibela traveled to Jerusalem for 11 years with the intention of coming back and building his people their own mini-Jerusalem in Ethiopia. More Churches! Woo hoo!!! King Lalibela came back claiming he had a vision from God telling him to build 10 churches. He built all of them deep within the ground and many are connected by underground tunnels. They are stunning! A funny story about all of this is that at the time, St. George complained to King Lalibela that there wasn’t a church being built in his name, so Lalibela built him the most incredible one of all… so there are now 11 churches. St. George’s Church is built in the shape of a cross and is the most famous one of all. (also in the photos) I figured that this is where it all began, children from the village watched as St. George complained and threw tantrums after tantrums and actually got not only what he wanted, but the best gift of them all. The word spread, kids tried it out on their respective parents, and it worked for the most part! So now, thanks to St. George, children all over the world turn to tantrums when in need.

From Lalibela, we went and hung out in Addis for the week… and drank a lot… of Ethiopian coffee. Speaking from the perspective of a true coffee lover, they have some of the best coffee ever. We took part in a coffee ceremony and saw the entire process from roasting the beans, to grinding them to the actual cup of coffee. We are so removed from the whole process of a simple cup of coffee so it was nice to be present for it all. For most of the week we just sat and read in coffee houses. I have started to really move into the role of my mother's son as I am falling in love with reading. I've been plowing through books as of recently and my new thing is to read a book by an author of every country that I travel to, or a book on the country. If anyone is interested in a good book that tells the story beginning on the eve of the revolution of 1974 in Ethiopia, you should check out 'Beneath the Lions Gaze', also another book is 'The Emperor' which is about Haile Selasie and his dictatorship. Right now, I'm reading 'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga, as I get ready for India.

Lastly, the city of Addis is really safe, and unlike Nairobi, you can walk around at night and not feel threatened. It was a beautiful city, music shouting all around from each window you walked past, lights were strung across the streets at night, and the music scene in Addis is wicked! (That was for you Boston) Great jazz scene, and Azmari scene. Azmari is a style of music / comedic performance where a griot-like musician is playing a stringed instrument and telling jokes, singing songs, talking about politics etc. It’s all in Amharic but it’s still fun to be there watching it go down. That was Ethiopia in a blog-shell.

I'm back in Nairobi now and there is a lot of work to be done with the school. Abdul and I are polishing out roles and responsibilities for certain staff and administration now and working on a 3 year plan for the school and the non-profit. I'll be spearheading the Journalism Club meetings for this month and getting their next issue ready for May/June. On top of that, you might have caught it above, I'm getting ready for my travels to India. Anni and I are leaving April 27th or so, so we have a busy month now getting ready before our next travels. I already feel I'm in the home stretch of this journey, which is both an exciting feeling and scary. I'm incredibly excited to see you all, but the thought of leaving Kenya is hard to even imagine.

I hope you are all doing well, keep sending me the updates as I love reading about what is happening back at home. Oh and if anyone has a connection to Joe Mauer these days, KGSA could sure use it!

Much love,

-Ryan

Photos from Mfangano

Mfangano Island

I was lucky enough to spend some time on Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria the past couple weeks and it was an incredible experience. I was able to see what Anni has been up to the past 5 months, and share in her excitement of the development of the Organic Health Response's new building - the Ekialo Kiona Center - a VCT Clinic / Community Center that a friend of mine, Mookie Tierney helped design. The story of Organic Health Response is fit for a fairy tale - hence why I'm going to tell it to you. This comes straight off of their website. www.OrganicHealthResponse.org Check em out!

When he was thirteen years old, Richard Magerenge’s mother died on Mfangano of a mysterious wasting illness. Some said she was bewitched, others said she was afflicted with a condition known for generations among the Suba as chira.

When Richard’s father died two years later, whispers in the village included new Swahili terms: UKIMWI (“AIDS”) or virusi (“the virus”). Richard managed to find his way through high school, and later jumped at the chance to complete a training workshop in Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT). With his new VCT certificate, Richard was able to “sneak” onto the computers of an international development organization on the mainland. He started “surfing the net.”

Navigating the web, Richard was attracted to a series of websites regarding the Organic Agriculture movement in the US. He was excited to realize that the cultivation techniques these websites described were not radically different from the techniques his family had been using for generations, long before the introduction of industrial chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Richard began talking to his uncle, a farmer named Joel Oguta, and convinced him to fully convert their farm. On Mfangano, Joel’s grandfather had been respected as the first farmer to plant mango trees; Joel agreed with Richard to try and plant a new kind of seed. After three hard years of work, they registered their organic farm at Kitawi beach on the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms website (www.wwoof.org).

In 2006, Adam Sewall and Lauren Friedman, two students at Evergreen College in Washington, came across Richard’s online post. They were impressed by Richard and Joel’s passion, and decided that Mfangano Island was the right place to realize a long-held vision for a “sustainable life.” They emptied their bank accounts, dropped out of school, filled two backpacks, and joined Richard and Joel on Mfangano Island to start an experimental farm.

Six months later, while working in Kenya, an Oxford medical anthropology student named Chas Salmen crossed paths with Adam and Lauren at a bus stop in Homa Bay. After visiting their farm on Mfangano, Chas decided to make the Suba the focus of his ethnographic fieldwork on the roots of HIV/AIDS in Western Kenya.

Like Lauren and Adam, Chas was hooked on Mfangano. He returned with an Oxford colleague named Malini Daniel, president of a student-run non-profit called STRIDE, to conduct a community health needs assessment. This time, Richard and Joel approached them with an interesting idea. Joel wanted to donate a piece of his land to build a solar-powered Internet library to coordinate HIV testing services and teach about sustainable agriculture.

The Organic Health Response was born…


Amazing, right?

So for the few weeks that I was there, I worked on Joel's farm. We harvested, weeded, transplanted, weeded, watered, and did some more weeding. I like to call the Island "A paradise short of a refrigerator," because as great as it was, wow did it get hot. A few days it was 104... in the shade! Sorry I guess I shouldn't complain to those experiencing winter huh? Anyways, It was a great break from my Nairobi city life and I really took to gardening. So dad, Lori, whomever, look out when I get back because you'll be getting calls from me for assistance! Mom would have really loved the Island too... except for the no running water/flushing toilet thing, she would have been in her own little paradise. I guess maybe she's there now... I thought of her a lot there as there are so many exotic birds, butterflies, and wildlife all over.

In another update, because of Kenyan immigration policy, Anni and I must leave East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) after 6 months if we wish to stay because we are not technically with a job or organization that can sponsor us. So, we are using that as an excuse to travel! We found some cheap tickets to Ethiopia and are leaving Thursday morning until the 22nd of March. We're flying into Addis and will stay there for a few days, then we are off to the Simien Mountains for some trekking. I still can't believe that it's been 6 months already... I'll be seeing you all soon!

with love and blessings,

-Ryan

With the last remaining light that the evening had offered up,
seven boys formed a familiar circle passing the ball back n’ forth.
With only plastic bags tied tightly together, they tried to see how long they could keep it off the ground,

I counted up to thirteen.

They juggled next to a trash fire to steal a little more light,
and as the smoke encircled the boys like a stadium,
it looked as though it was protecting them from the rest of the world, for just a moment.

From where I was standing, I could see that three of them were wearing shoes,
two were sportin’ Roma’s. One was missing laces.
The other had an old pair of adidas that was barely recognizable,
as the white leather & three stripes stitched firmly on the outsides (a shoe I am all too familiar with) were stained in mud,
while three others juggled in sandels two sizes too large and were holding on to their lives with just a toe strap.

Then there was the boy I couldn’t take my eyes from.

He had nothing but his bare feet to work with,
but he hit the ball clean,
and with each touch his smile grew a bit wider.
Watching him control its every movement the way a conductor does a symphony,
I couldn’t help but think this was how the game is suppose to be played...

With friends in bare feet,
playing against emerging city lights competing for the stars positions,
trying to convince the sun to set a bit later.

I gave him a head–nod and walked away while he
put on a show to anyone willing to watch,
using nothing but plastic bags and some rope.

It's all about who you know

I've been feeling a bit stressed recently, mostly from overworking myself. I can't seem to slow down even on a Sunday here and I think a lot of it has to do with not knowing how many days I'll have free of commitment to work on KGSA matters. I've been thinking a lot about how will I proceed with all of this once I'm back in the states... and I honestly don't know to tell you all the truth. I have said to many of you that my thought is to work at a coffee house, or serve tables for a year so that I could work on KGSA in the down time. Live cheaply, find a job that I don't have to take home with me, find fulfillment in KGSA.

It sounds great, but then again I don't know how long I would even want to do that for. I know that I have too much of a commitment and connection to the school now to turn my back on them, or to lessen my "load" so to speak, but as I keep thinking of all of this, I can't help but wish for a "Thomas White" in my life. I just finished reading Mountains beyond Mountains, the story of Paul Farmer and his amazing journey through Haiti and working to improve the health conditions of the poor. In the book, he miraculously gets contacted by a ridiculously wealthy guy named Thomas White who decides to throw money at the Partners in Health for years to come. Now I'm not saying that Paul Farmer didn't deserve it, or work like crazy for it. All I'm saying is that I would love to stumble upon a Thomas White of my own so I could not have to worry about how I am going to keep this going while home in the states.


On that note though, and relating to the title of this blog, about a week ago I had a meeting with the Minnesota Studies of International Development (MSID) directors, which is the program that i went abroad on 4 years ago, and the legal team of the U of M, and the Vice President of the U of M systems. They all came to Kenya to see some of the programs and the Kenyan Directors took them to KGSA.

They were incredibly impressed with the school and how it started, Abdul and his vision and passion, and myself and the other MSID students that were still involved and trying to work towards its sustainability. We took them up to the library where they noticed that we did not have any books still. They asked what our plan was and we informed them that we were partnering with Books 4 Africa but that we were waiting on them to raise the last $6,000 to fill up their shipment throughout other Kenyan provinces. They Vice President looked over at me, and I quote, said "You said $6,000 you need? Let me get back to the states and make a few calls, send a few emails and we'll get you that money. You'll get those books a lot sooner than you thought." Woah! Was this happening?!? Did I find a Thomas White, was he standing right in our library committing to $6,000? This couldn't be. I was still in a bit of a shock as we walked down to the laboratory, still trying to catch my breathe when I heard him talking with Abdul inquiring about the lab equipment, he didn't see any in the room. It was because there was no equipment in the room, it was too damn expensive for us to get at this point... Was he about to do it again? He couldn't... he wouldn't... would he? I continued talking to someone next to me, unaware of what I was saying as I was just trying to blend in, easy drop with skill as I call it, and that's when I heard him say those beautiful words. "Would it just be cheaper for us to send money instead of us buying the equipment?" YES! YES, YES IT WOULD I screamed in my head, but all the while I kept my cool. Pretending not to hear a word. They were in a hurry though at this point, so we exchanged emails, thanked them for coming, and as they walked off Abdul and I started to hit each other in the chest in excitement... we were about to burst, trying to wait for them to round the corner before I would perform the biggest air kicks I'd ever done in my life. They got in their car and drove out of Kibera as Abdul and I leapt in the air laughing loudly.

So who knows what will happen when I return I guess. I just made friends with 11 administrators, directors, and a vice president from the University of Minnesota who all want to see KGSA grow and succeed. Maybe KGSA will find a Thomas White after all.

Some of you may have already seen this, but I wanted to share this with everyone as it is pretty remarkable.

About a month ago, a professor from the University of Denver contacted me about KGSA and wondered what he could do to help. He is a big soccer fan and saw our website and was very impressed. He was coming to Kenya with several graduate students and was hoping to get a tour of Kibera and the school. We met and showed them around and both Teka and I talked with them about the school and how they could support KGSA from the US. Just a few days ago I received this email below and was brought to tears. I guess you can never really count youth out of anything, no matter how young they are! Here are two students that come from two countries that are experiencing some of the most serious human rights violations and they are taking time to focus on what we are doing here in Kibera... unbelievable.

On a side note, many of you have been asking to see photos from Cairo and an update on Egypt. It will be included after the email below...





Dear Abdul and Ryan,
We are Isha and Atung from the Westwood Bridge Project in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. We are writing you with the assistance of our group leader, Kelsey Hopson, who is an intern and a student affiliated with Phil Tedeschi at the University of Denver.

I, Atung immigrated from Sudan when I was four. I am eleven years old now and I am in the 6th grade. I, Isha, am from Somalia, but I was born in Kenya. I moved to the United States when I was nine years old. I am fourteen years old now and I am in the seventh grade. I am going to skip grades right to college- I hope (joke...don't forget to laugh). I, Isha have a single mom and I have four brothers here and I have three sisters in Kenya. My dad lives in New York. I have an older brother (he's annoying and bossy) and I am the only girl in my family in the United States. I, Atung, have a mom and a dad, two brothers, and one sister. I am the oldest in my family. Mubarak is the second oldest, Ticjok is the third oldest, Phoug is the youngest.

We are writing because we want to help you guys with your life and your school. We are going to raise some money for you in our Roots and Shoots group for school and soccer supplies. We are going to try our best to make as much as we can. Even though we are young, we hope we can be a lot of help because we got a lot of energy and we're always there for people when they need help. We are really proud of your school and your soccer team for not giving up even though you can't make your own choices in Kibera always.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Isha and Atung- The Roots and Shoots Girls




Cairo Update:

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Cairo, Egypt to visit my dad for my 25th birthday and it was absolutely fantastic and was so great to see the pops. Did anyone know that Cairo had 18 million people in the city??? Way too many people, way to little of a city to hold them, way too many cars, way too little roads. You’d think that with this many people and cars you really wouldn’t have to worry about crazy cab drivers because there would be no space. Ahh, but that’s where you would be wrong. Getting into a cab here is worse than airplane turbulence, rollercoaster’s, and bumper-car’s all put together. Basically what I’m saying is Grandma stay put; don’t even think of traveling here.

We did the obvious sight seeing of the Great Pyramids and those are simply incredible. Really does take your breathe away as you stand at the base of one of them. I never have been a big conspiracy theorist but the one about the aliens building the pyramids started to make a bit more sense this last week. No joke…

We took a boat, or feluka, on the Nile at sunset, we visited the famous market and bargained for hours, ate the most deliciously seasoned grilled chicken that both my dad and I will say was the best we’ve ever had, toured a beautiful mosque, and drank average bottles of red wine… while overlooking the Nile River, and smoked huca… that’s right, smoked huca with my father! All n’ all it was a great birthday celebration but it really nice to be back in Nairobi and working again. I’ll send more on what’s happening at KGSA soon as there is a lot going on as usual. African Cup is tomorrow night so Abdul and I are making plans! Look out Egypt, cause Ghana’s gonna rock your world!

Much love,

-Ryan