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