UP WITH HOPE

Nathaniel, champion of the world

2012-01-25T21:36:00.000-08:00

I’ve got a new name to add to my ‘hero’ list, actually I’ve got a few.

The list isn’t that long, I’m not going to name those that are on it because people often get uncomfortable when you heap praises on them.

Ok, screw it, Nathaniel is my hero.

Kaka too.

I don’t care what you say about the level of hard work it takes to become a professional athlete, these guys should be on the cover of the Wheaties box. These guys should have their own trading cards. These guys should be the ones getting million dollar endorsement deals from Cheetah Power Surge.

It’s been almost three years since I left Kenya and to see how much has been done since then is a little overwhelming. It’s not just the physical change of the centres and everything going on inside, it’s the change in spirits and outlook of the youth that run them that makes the most impact.

The name of our project is Up With Hope, but that needs to be updated now because it’s not hope that we’re seeing with the guys and girls that we work with, but satisfaction, accomplishment and pride. Just ask Kaka about the new resource centre that has almost completed phase one of construction, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Not only have the groups grown leaps and bounds, but our own team has transformed into something completely different than what it was in 2009. Working with Nathaniel in the field, I find myself just staring dumbfounded on a regular basis, asking myself ‘who is this guy’?

Here’s a guy that decided to drop by Nairobi as an extension of his travels in the middle east in 2007, and subsequently stayed on for what because our first major project in Kibera. Then, as a full EYA member, he came back with Sean and me to expand the program to two more areas in 2009. After we finished that project and went back to Vancouver, he was the only one to take the call and go back to finish what we started.

It’s been over two years that he’s been living here and from the way he interacts with folks out here, you’d think it was twenty.

Not only is he speaking Swahili like a local (more accurately, Sheng, the ebonics of Swahili) but you can’t go to any part of town without somebody recognizing him and saying hello. It’s like walking around with a celebrity.

In the slums, he’s spared the usual ‘How are youuuuu mzungu’ that is the usual salute to foreigners taking a day trip to see what the majority of Kenyans live like. I’m sure still gets the stares/laughs reserved for outsiders, but those are heavily outnumbered by the amount of friendly greetings by name.

The easiest comparison is to the character from the book Shantaram. I don’t remember his name, but that’s Nathaniel, minus the part where he breaks out of jail, sells fake passports and runs guns through Afghanistan. Other than those details, he’s just like Shantaram.

I’m seriously indebted to Nathaniel, Kaka, Farouk and the rest of the guys that have done so much work that I can claim to be a part of. Their efforts day in and day out push everyone around them to work harder and strive for bigger things, and for that I salute them. I wish everyone back home could fly out here and see first hand what their buddy who was known more for skateboarding and trouble making is doing these days.

Guest Blogger - Ben Gough. Architect / Volunteer

2012-01-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

We have a new volunteer named Ben Gough who has been helping us the past couple weeks. Ben is visiting from England and is studying architecture so we have him on board to come up with some cool concepts for building around the centre. He is a great guy and everyone is enjoying his energy and ideas that he is bringing. Here is something that he wrote about his experiences in the centre.

My involvement with the Pequininos Centre happened completely by chance. I was taking a year out from my Architecture course and had planned to visit a friend in Nairobi. I had always wanted to be involved with a hands on building project that would provide real opportunities and directly affect the community.

Through talking to a friend at University, I found that there was an opportunity to lengthen my stay in Kenya through helping to build a Community Centre that she had designed, so I jumped at the opportunity. Three months later I found myself (literally) jumping on matatu’s, immunised against the word ‘mzungu’, learning how to plaster walls and enjoying the friendly nature of the Kenyan community.

Now, just one week in to my experience at the Pequininos centre, I have settled in with the crowd of friendly faces, and have drawn from the relentless enthusiasm of Isaac Kaka and Nathaniel Canuel. I have enjoyed observing the competent direction of Reuben as site manager and the hard work of too many people to name. As I walk past tyre-fueled stoves boiling mysterious pots scattered on the periphery of the dirt track, I notice something different every time. Small businesses serving the local community, selling brought-back-to-life mobile phones and radios, kids running about finding pleasure in a used tyre; It is the ultimate in recycling, reuse and ingenuity. Nearby, resonating sounds of construction emanating from within the building provide a soundtrack to scribbling ideas; chapati’s and chai from The Prestigious Food Joint’ provide the fuel.

I have to thank Katherine Hegab for suggesting the idea in the first place and to Issac Kaka and Nathaniel Canuel for welcoming me so fervently, for their hard work, enthusiasm, and for being great people to work with! I cannot wait for the the building completed, to see the scribbles translated into reality, and for the local community to begin enjoying it!

Here are some photos of our man Ben and the crew.

The Best Is Building

2012-01-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012 to all Up With Hopers.

My hope for 2012 is that UWH will be as successful and exciting as the previous years. The first phase of the new Pequininos Youth Centre is almost finished and it looks amazing. Actually I've never seen anything like it.

This is my fourth time constructing a centre run by youth since 2008. I feel very lucky about that. I was trying to figure out what attracts me to doing this kind of work and the reasons are endless. From forming life long friendships to staying in shape, building remains to be my one of my favourite jobs. I think the main reason is because it feels natural for me. It's what defines us as humans and sets us apart from the rest of animals on this planet.

At the end of the day, when I'm sitting down probing at my injuries, I look up and see the progress / development that's been accomplished for the day. There isn't anything I have done that can give me the feeling I get after a long days work in the sun with a shovel or hammer. Especially if followed by a couple of cold adult drinks.

While we put the finishing touches on the Pequininos Centre (I'll post pictures when it's done), I wanted to show some clips of our past projects to try and portray the kind of atmosphere that goes on while we build these things.

My hope for all is a happy 2012.

That's it for now. Gotta go and bang some hammers.

Signing out From

Buru Buru,

Eastlands,

Nairobi,

Kenya,

East Africa,

Planet Earth,

Milky way,

Peace.

Chit Chat with xL

2011-12-18T06:48:00.000-08:00

Levon Kendall, otherwise Big L otherwise xL, shadows your life at 2.09 meters or 6 foot 10 1/4. Size is important when you are an international Basketballer. Yes he is a big guy, but meet him and you'll see his spirit is humble and graceful like his lay-ups. Levon and I both grew up in East Vancouver, I watched him on the courts in elementary school as he and hung off the hoops with his Osh Kosh truckers hat and wallet chain dangling about. He was 10 years old then. Now he is 27 and our whole neighbourhood has watched him as he competes around the world and at home in the sport he was born to play. Although for Big L life isn't only about hanging out on the court. Levon has his own blog where he displays his talents as an artist / poet / photographer, writes about sustainable environmental projects, cooking and exploring his inner demons. This year Levon also started The Music Tree that promotes culture in communities and supports environmental grass root projects.

The reason I am interviewing Levon is because he and his family have been behind Up With Hope since day one. Without the unconditional support of the Kendall's, UWHs goals and dreams would have remained only as what kept me awake at night. This is UWHs attempt at gratitude

Sorry hermano, I am not a sports writer. Could you brief people on your rap sheet as a B ball player?
I'll just lay it out quick and dirty cause sports rap sheets are hard to make interesting even for sports writers.
-3 consecutive B.C. Provincial Championships. 5 years at the University of Pittsburgh. 4 NCAA Tournament appearances and 3 Sweet 16 finishes. 100 caps for the Canadian National Team. Including a bronze at U21 World Championships, as well as one appearance at the World Championships with the senior team.

Growing up in East Vancouver is a source of pride for a lot of us. Why do you think that is?
Cause East Van is the best! In all seriousness I think their are so many good things about East Vancouver that it's hard not to feel proud. The mix of cultures, the food, all the amazing people, the sense of 'neighbourhood', and all in the heart of the best city to live in in the world.

You are a socially and environmentally conscious human being, what inspires you to make positive change?

I could probably dig for a bunch of other reasons but I think the best way of describing this desire is that it feels natural and feels good to do. Probably being so fortunate and coming from a solid upbringing has made me want to make that a reality for other people as well. I grew up exploring mountains, rivers, lakes and the pacific ocean so I have a natural desire to help preserve those things. Having once tree planting 'hippy' parents also taught me a lot about respecting the environment and people in general.

Your ideologies are different than most athletes. You and I have discussed ways to make sure life is always enjoyed. Take a crack at explaining how we keep the west coast spirit alive where ever we go.
All we have is Now, but the past has made us what we are today. For me I don't know of any other way to be. I grew up in a laid back environment, surrounded by grounded people who taught me by example how to be happy. I've learned a lot, and seen a lot since living away from Vancouver the last ten years but those ideologies are so deeply engrained that they never change. Having good friends back home who aren't afraid to chop you down when you get a little big headed also helps too.

What is your vision for The Music Tree?
Well... lots of big ideas and possibilities for The Music Tree. In a nutshell I hope to create a global network of musicians and bands that can all work together to support grass root projects like Up With Hope. The satisfaction of giving is such a powerful emotion that I hope we can inspire people to really invest their energy into simple acts of generosity. And what better way to do it than through music.
Hopefully one day, The Music Tree will be a name people recognize around the world for throwing amazing block parties and concerts that support inspiring projects in their backyards as well as far away lands.

You told me you are opening a Basketball camp. Would you like to elaborate on that?
Myself and a couple ex teammates of mine and working on starting a camp in vancouver during the summers. It's a chance to share some of our knowledge and experience with kids in our hometown. Teaching is one of the best gifts to give and im hoping i can help some kids realize their dreams the same way I did. keep your eyes peeled for Evolution Basketball Camps this summer.

Your parents have also had a huge impact on Up With Hope. We are not the only youth they have assisted either. To me they are icons in our community. What can you tell us about Simon and Pauline Kendall?
Where to start?? I feel so lucky to have been raised by them. Parenting is no easy task and I give them all the credit for finding a balance between raising me and letting me learn on my own as well. It's a little scary how much like my dad I am. Luckily for me my dad is awesome. He's managed to provide enough for my family doing what he loves, playing music. He's inspired me to learn the piano and enjoy all that music has to offer. He's stoic, loving, smart and always there to support me and nudge me to do more. A legend on the organ and keyboards and a true rockstar.
My mom is the perfect ying to my dads yang. She's a jack of all trades and not your typical 'stay at home mom'. I always have a hard time telling people exactly what it is my mom does. Can't I just say a bit of everything? She's a real estate baron, artist, saleswoman, renovator, project manager, gardener.... to name a few. Known by my friends for her bluntness and pancakes, she has her edge but is one of the kindest and most helpful person ever. I have never seen her refuse a chance to help anyone no matter what the situation. Whether its financially, with love, a job, a second chance or anything in between.

Your amazing career as an athlete has taken you around the world and back. What's a favourite memory of discovering a new place or culture?
Thats an unfair question. It's far too hard to pick one. I've had so many good times tromping around random towns with my teammates, getting lost, chasing girls in foreign languages and generally having fun that I couldn't pick any one. This summer I got to see the Iguazu Falls in Brazil. Along with the Grand Canyon it was the most amazing thing in nature I have ever seen. The size and beauty of it was almost too much to comprehend. Things like that make it an easy choice to put my time and effort into improving our impact on mother nature.

Best part about coming back to Canada?
Food, friends and zeee french. ok well maybe food, family and friends. I still to this day get goosebumps flying into Vancouver and when that crisp clean air hits your nose I know everything is alright.

Stay tuned for when Levon makes a visit to UWH in Kenya sometime next year.

Also check out this video called "Living The Dream" That him and I made when we were hanging out in Greece a couple years ago.

POA ROWE

2011-12-09T04:07:00.001-08:00

2 posts in one day? Unbelievable.

I've been wanting to post this video online for a while.

POA ROWE is a video we made with the Mathare in Motion crew. Mathare in Motion is a group of youth who I have had the pleasure of teaching video production and how to cover stories in their communities sort of the way I am doing with this blog. They are a wonderful group of people and when Jeff Mohammed approached me to make this video I jumped at it.

Less than a month after shooting we had won an award for "Best Documentary" at the 2011 Slum Film Festival and was part of the "Official Selection" for the 2011 Kenya International Film Fest.

We shot it in one day for zero dollars during a sunny sunday afternoon, the chruches were all blasting gospel in full force and thats why we had to do voice overs for all the dialogue. In the video you hear some real Nairobi sheng language and this is one of my favourite things I have made.

Also here is something we did for Film Kenya

Optimus Prime Real Estate

2011-12-09T03:14:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is going to be the last day of work for a short time while we wait for the cement to dry. We expect to be slaughtering some juicy goats up on top of our new first floor within no time.

Crazy times when manning up is do or die. More on Bena later (The guy on the right)

For over two months members of the area have been helping tirelessly on this project. For those who have never had a chance to visit Nairobi or are unexperienced with youth groups, getting a building of this size funded for a group of youth in the ghetto is not really normal. That is why we would like to extend our gratitude to the CDF. Especially The MP of Starehe Honorable Dr. Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, K1, Bonfide Contractors and Mama Ice for keeping us from burning up everyday with your delicious popsicles.

I live for this work. Being outside in the sun, with your friends, sweating, yelling, getting massive blisters and singing "Rudolph the red nose reindeer". Throughout all of my experiences I feel like my skin is a thick sheet of alligator hide (although I seem to bleed out some ounces everyday on sharp metal and nails). As much as I wish my skin was the thickest, there are some who will always have double thick alligator skin than I do. Kaka and Bena are two examples of people who have that impenetrable spirit who can accomplish anything at anytime. To put it simply they are real soldiers.

Yesterday, we were unloading a machine from a truck. It is a very heavy machine that we will use tomorrow to lift the cement from the ground up to the the top floor. To unload it there has to be some wooden planks for the machine to roll down on. I was directly in front of the machine acting as a blocker so that it would come down straight and not fall off the side. We reached a third of the way down until I heard a very loud CRAK! One of the planks had snapped in half and now the machine is nosediving off the side where the wood broke. About 10 guys had hands on the machine and all the ones that were on the falling side flew back and knocked over about 20 stubbornly curious children.

Bena (Above) had his weight on the machine almost fell on his stomach. I watched the machine graze over his head as he just barely managed to pull out backwards with a corner of the machine taking a juicy piece of meat from his shoulder and arm.

So as much as I love this work, sometimes I get so angry inside because I wish we had safer conditions to be working in. If something happened to Bena I would have lost a brother and one of the very few people on this planet who aren't afraid of a few scratches to get the JOB DONE.

Transformers are real

The way things age.

2011-11-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

It's interesting how things age. When we opened up our centre in Mbotela in 2009, we built it so it would be used as a recycling facility. It still is a recycling facility (when enough plastics have accumulated to be processed) which helps generate income, but it seems like everyday there is some new creative business going on in inside. Today was no exception as guys came up with one of the most beautiful creations of different materials I have seen in a long time.

This is the idea have it lit up. What? Amazing...

We interrupt to show you Miriam. A very cute baby.

These guys came up with this for wedding decorations but I think these should be the next cool thing for clubs or something.

I couldn't be happier with how the centre has evolved since we started. It has turned into a vibrant creative centre (which by the way even has HIV testing and councilling on weekends)that grows vegetables and helps guys bring their ideas into reality.

And a wicked place to stay in shape.

meanwhile...

2011-11-20T06:54:00.000-08:00

A month and a half later we have finally finished the massive foundation that took some serious skin off our knuckles. Still lot's more to do and everyone is doing their best to keep the chain strong and the spirits high.

It is going to be the best youth centre in all the lands.

Boom Boom goes the dynamite

2011-11-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

If you happened to miss one of the best parties in East Van this summer, here's a video of the Boom Booms 4th Block Party. All the money raised from the event went towards a new foundation called the Music Tree which decided to make Up With Hope their first beneficiary.

This is why I love East Van.

Back in Action

2011-10-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a little bit since my last post *cough* 29 months *cough*, and we've left all the blogging to Nathaniel for way too long now, so I thought I'd try to get back on this train with a quick post here to get the juices flowing again.

I'll leave the stories about the recycling centres and the projects that we are currently maintaining to Nathaniel, since he's the one on the ground there, and try to bring some attention to any and all issues related to the work that we have done and would like to do.

One of the things that has always impressed me in Kenya is how they have managed to adopt technology to fit their surroundings. Mobile phones are used in so many innovative ways that I would have never thought of.

For those of you that haven't been to Kenya or East Africa, you may not have heard of a thing called M-Pesa, which is a service provided by Safaricom (the local telecom). It's a simple but effective medium for money transfer which uses cell phones to text money to one another. Everyone and their dog has a cell phone in Kenya, but not everyone's got a bank account. Watching it in action is pretty remarkable, if you want to pay someone for a day's worth of work but don't want to carry cash on you? Text it. Need to borrow a few bucks from your friend but he's across town? Text it. Want to pay your utilities but don't want to wait in line? Text it. The part I like about it the most is the fact that all this money is being moved around without any banks being involved (asides from the Commercial Bank of Africa that acts as a float), they're occupying wall street without even knowing it ;) Here's a good article about it from the Economist.

Mobile Movement takes this concept to another level by not only providing funds through phones, but technical expertise and microcredit to individuals and groups that are trying to make a difference in their communities.

And finally, here is another simple but effective use of the cell phone: report cards. The people at Tusquee Systems, a Kenyan-based company, have come up with a method of texting students' exam scores, attendance, and other school-related information to parents. All I can say is that I'm glad that this was invented after I graduated from high school...

Although this has nothing to do with cell phones, today is apparently the day that the world hits the 7 billion marker, so I thought I'd leave this NPR video to illustrate how we've gotten to where we are.

Occupy Mlango Kubwa (These pics are for you Karis)

2011-10-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

Youth globally continue to express their dissatisfaction with the system that is making it more and more difficult to have any future prospects whether it be getting a decent education or paying rent. I am a big fan of anyone who chooses to speak up and raise shit against the minority of people who seem to make all the big (and destructive)decisions.

The feeling with the Pequi youth in Mlango Kubwa is very different than that of Wall Street or Syria. Together as youth we have proven that solidarity and determination is the only way forward.

The construction of the foundation has taken over three weeks (still not finished yet), The floor will be built on at least a couple pints of our blood, sweat and the echoes of our screaming matches and songs.

We are also working with a really great contracting company so there is no cutting corners and everything is running on time and silky smooth, much respect to Bonfide Contractors.

The cement we are using has extra bonding chemicals and has stripped all of our hands of its skin leaving a tender bloody surface. Not much we can do about it but to wrap them up in some bandages and keep going.

Big man Tyrese and OG Pequi member who keeps everyone in check. Him and I carry around the 100 kg stones for the foundation and it's super intense and fun.

Employing the young people of Mlango Kubwa and members of "Pequi" for the job has made the project so much more enjoyable.

Throwing in a picture of yours truly while I use one of my favourite power tools. So that's the update. Now I'm gonna bounce from this smelly ass cyber and get over to the site because I'm late.

It's a new dawn and the struggle goes on

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2011-10-20T01:35:00.000-07:00

Yo! The YOUTHS HAVE SPOKEN. Around the world people are demanding change. Up With Hope fully has it’s ear to the ground. One of the centres built by Up With Hope is undergoing construction in Mathare. The Pequininos Youth Resource Centre is currently being reconstructed by the CDF (Constituency Development Fund) of Starehe thanks to the Glorious MP Hon. Bishop Wanjiru. Also much praise to our amazing friends in London, the architects Katherine Hegab and Simon Tonks. The centres are used by the communities and organizations for outreach, dance groups, doing homework and most importantly, a place where idol youth can come to be a part of the community.

Building these things is the funnest thing ever. Wish we had some volunteers to come get dirty. I’ll try to get some photos up soon, but the construction is time consuming. 6 days a week, chain smoking, sweaty.

It has been a lot of work to get to this point and this is just the building.

BOOM BOOM BLOCK PARTY IV Music Tree Foundation Launch

2011-09-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

There are some really amazing people out there who never stop blowing my mind. The Boom Booms and Music Tree Foundation recently threw a giant block party with the proceeds going to Up With Hope. We would like to give our thanks to all the people who helped make this happen.

The Music Tree Foundation is helping keep culture alive in communities and supporting environmental grassroot projects. Very honoured to be a part of this.

http://musictree.tumblr.com

And can never say enough thanks to the Boom Booms , these guys know how to make it happen. Check out the sound!

www.theboombooms.ca

we r the weeners

2011-09-22T07:54:00.001-07:00

So we won best Documentary at the Slum Film Festival. It was really a big surge of encouragement to me and my crew. Big ups to Mathare in Motion!

Shooting movies in slums is #1 most stressful thing I do in my life. Within 2 minutes of setting up you have a crowd of 100 kids, grandmothers and drunks running around you, asking questions, trying to touch the equipment. It's really hard to not snap and sometimes I do. This little video I shot during the whole fest I think shows exactly how ridiculously hard it is trying to stay organized while shooting in one of the biggest slums on earth. It was a really great event and I hope it keeps going. This was the first ever Slum Film Fest (We think in the world, but we still can't figure that out).

Slum Film Festival 2011 .

Up With Hope in High Def

2011-09-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a little video I put together last week showing how Up With Hope gets down in Nairobi.

Untitled from Nat Canuel on Vimeo.

SLUM FILM FESTIVAL

2011-08-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

Mathare in Motion is volunteering for the first ever slum film festival being held in Mathare. We have even put in submissions.It's being put on by our friends over at Slum TV and the Spanish Embassy.

If you're in Nairobi you better not miss out it's gonna be a crazy week.

http://slumfilmfestival.org/2011/08/11/mathare-festival-screenings-performance-and-workshop-schedule/

Rest In Peace Andrew Macharia

2011-07-04T03:49:00.000-07:00

On June 29th our dear comrade passed away. “Macharia” was a not just my friend, he was my colleague, teacher and role model. He was also my neighbour. During walks I would pass by during the blazing noon sun to get some shade and catch up with who I knew as the “it guy” for recycling. Situated smack dab in the middle of the chaotic Eastlands of Nairobi is a little Shangri-La Macharia started back in the 1970s. A piece of fenced off land dedicated purely to the research and advancement of waste recycling. As soon as I sat under the tin roof, next to the massive boiling pot of rabbit stew, a strong sense of relief took over. “Who has to worry about garbage? The answers are all here” I used to think. There you could learn about almost every way to recycle waste. From plastic bags to goat shit you name it they were making money off of it. Rows and rows of huts filled with chickens, rabbits and goats processing all the organic waste from the locality. Young men busy getting dirty, working with one of the machines processing plastic, women outside looking after the growing vegetables. It was harmonious, and everything I want to be doing.

Macharia spent a lot of time gathering support for these types of programs. He was completely transparent with his business so others could replicate it, specifically youth. Together we trained hundreds of them on how to make money from abundant local resources surrounding them. Him and I attended tons of waste management meetings with city council, steering committees and international organizations.

I forget sometimes that Macharia had been doing it for 40 years. It’s not easy and I get frustrated at all the emerging obstacles, but then I remember the stories that Macharia had to go through to get where he did. He was an irreplaceable asset to society. Dedicated towards community growth and environmental conservation. Every neighborhood in the world needs a Macharia. Now with one less it is truly a tragedy.

Mungu aweke roho yake mahali pema peponi

The Volcano Tamers

2011-07-01T05:42:00.000-07:00

You’re young. What you’re wearing is what you own. You sleep on a piss soaked mattress tossed in a corner off the road. You live day to day. You’re hungry. You’re tired.

You’re one of the hundreds of young Kenyan men who do door to door garbage collection in the slums of Nairobi. In a place where time seems to cease as the rest of the world moves ahead, life is tough as bricks. Street boys have been dealt the worst cards and have no choice but to survive in the jungle sprawl of tin they call a slum. For the few that can take it, picking and sorting through people’s trash is the best way to keep their head high and put loot in their pockets. Where city council has no access or desire to pick garbage, the young people have sought the challenge. Groups of youth who decided that waiting for a job to find them wasn’t the best choice.

(Mwas and some others doing some loading)

Garbage collection is as physically demanding as working in a coal mine. Saying, “Young people are lazy” is idiotic. People who say that would get a run for their money if they met Mwas and others like him. Walking all day everyday with a rickety handcart getting work where they can. Their undernourished iron bodies carrying tonnes of putrid smelling waste, weaving around sharp corners full of muddy knee-deep holes. In fact keeping control of the garbage flow in Mathare, one of the many erupting slums in Nairobi, is a bit like taming a volcano. For the residents who can afford the meager fee, these volcano tamers show up once a week to collect their garbage. They pick through it (“resource recovery” it’s called in NGO talk), salvage the plastics, metal or anything that might have value. The garbage gets dumped onto a hill of waste where one day a front-end loader or just a few bare hands load it on a crusty truck where it’s transported to the overflowing city dump.

If it weren’t for these determined youth, these communities would feel a devastating deluge of garbage borne diseases. Already the open toilets’ slowly seeping into the rivers is causing endemics. Some of the youth have turned into self-taught environmentalists who try to extract every shilling out of what they get from the trash. Some throw all the compost in a pile, treating it and sell it back the people they took it from, so they can grow healthy vegetables. Some turn the compost into charcoal blocks that get sold as useful fuel to the thousands of people who fry anything they can sell. Some take the plastics and shred them, selling them back to the plastic industry. Some take out the paper and make sellable arts and crafts. It’s a mission to survive by any means necessary while keeping people out of a state of chaos. Who are these guys in everyday society? They are pariahs. The people who aren’t educated enough to be accepted as anything but a garbage boy. Sure people appreciate the work they do, but mostly people are too busy keeping their family above the water to start thinking about finding recognition for these helpers.

I found Mwas one morning sleeping in. I knew something was wrong.

“Niaje Mwas?” (What’s up?).

“Ona miguu zangu.” (Look at my feet.) He removed a dirty blanket from his legs. His feet looked like he had ran through a field of broken glass. His eyes were staring blankly at the wall. No work for Mwas today.

(Kaka and Mwas, two of the hardest working self taught environmentalists around.)

I personally love having people like Mwas around. Mwas is down to earth, and makes the young men who sit around all day complaining about the government not providing jobs look like breast-feeding kittens. In a country where unemployment is almost half the population, these heroes have a surplus of work.

(Mwas is currently serving a sentence in prison for possession of a certain herb)

Community Journalists

2011-06-10T03:53:00.001-07:00

Ok so this is a bit old but you could find it interesting. I'm still working with these people and it's a lot of fun. They have some new videos coming up that I am going to for sure share on here when I get them uploaded. The more I think about it the more I get excited about this project. The video team has made videos about issues in their neighborhoods which has helped tremendously with getting funding towards their communities. Mathare is basically off the radar when it comes to NGO's and outside support so it feels like we are accomplishing alot. The more I make videos as a form of raising awarness the more I see it as a powerful tool, because it always leads to something positive.

(you have to copy and paste this link I think)

www.mapkibera.org/blog/2011/02/09/guest-blogger-nathaniel-canuel-a-videographer/

By the way, there are videos they made if you scroll down this page.

Rude Boi Recyclers and National Youth Council

2011-05-31T02:41:00.002-07:00

So one of our best buddies was elected into the first ever Kenyan Nationa Youth Council. It will be a long time before anyone knows how it is going to turn out (especially since politicians have already half way burnt it to the ground) but it is a great that our own Mike Mkubwa was elected. I helped him a little bit on his campaign by making his poster for him. We wrote the content together and I would like to believe it helped him get elected.

Unfortunately environmental campaigns have yet to really attract a lot of attention on this planet. Our recycling endeavours are pressing on as usual. Although it's true we have recieved some incredible support from people all over the world and continue to do so, but when it comes time to really getting down and dirty people seem to really love only giving directions (and I'm not talking about needing unskilled volunteers). This is not going to be one of those ranting days. I'm feeling to good about everything going on to sound like a whimpy. We are still going strong and that's just how we do. We just keep writing proposal after proposal and such is life.

So apart from dealing with waste I like to make videos. I spent a few days with Kibera Big Man JACKYZEBRAZ. It's got some cool Kibera shots.

The women of STAKEN

2011-03-25T06:44:00.001-07:00

More awesome things I wanted to share with people on the intershed.

shred sweat hustle

2011-03-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

Something big has happened. I feel almost for the first time that these businesses have a solid future in recycling. Through our inexhaustable networking, we met a company that started to buy our shredded plastic. For three reasons it is a big deal.

Reason #1: They come to our centre to buy the plastic. Instead of us having to pay money to hire a truck and lug it over with a bunch of guys, sometimes not even being able to sell it.

Reason #2:They are Kenyans. They understand the dynamics of people in low income areas. Not other nationals who are extremely apprehensive about working with people from poor neighborhoods.

Reason #3:This business that started buying from us is as old as we are in the business, but they are a lot more succesful. The reason being is they had start up capital. In conclusion it proves that people with money to invest are finding Recycling to be a worthwhile endeavor.

The other day we accepted an invitation to follow our plastic after we had sold it to them and see how a larger recycling facility is operated.

I really love this part of the job. We have to seperate colours in order to sell for better money. I like to imagine sometimes we are selling magical spices.

This is some of our blue plastic laying out in the sun after it had been washed. This is a nice photo because the stuff in bags beside it is the final product on its way out to the market.

More magical spices.

Now the plastic is going into a heater where it gets melted and oozes into the machine

and comes out as coat hangers!!

Always nice to see a gender balanced work environment

In this photo there are 4 different examples of stuff they make with our plastic. The bowls are my fave, Kaka is liking it. and Of course all these things are recyclable. pretty cool? I think so.

STAKEN Haiwezi Kufa

The guys looking and asking and talking. Everyone there was so welcoming and answered all of our questions.

We spent about 3 hours at the visit. You can see the owner of the business Mrs Kariuki. She is really wonderful and we talked about everything in the industry for a long time.

Why didn't we do this earlier you may ask? Well this is the first time anyone has ever allowed us into their facility. It was a great feeling to have someone who is very successful but very understanding of the company's socio economic background and also very excited to work with us.

The walk home feeling inspired

These are some really solid guys. I mean the most solid I have ever met in my life.

It was an incredible experience to follow the cycle of our plastic. It has given us the motivation to continue thinking that one day we will be able to produce our own durable products and sell them back to the community. Instead of the cheap chinese crap that breaks after a day.

We have been so fortunate to meet these great people. I really feel as though it's the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

MATHARE IN MOTION

2011-03-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

So I have a job teaching Video and Editing to a class in Mathare (one of the places I work). It's thrilling and inspiring and I love it.
I was blown away at how sharp the learners are. They were asking me technical editing questions before I could even say "Here is the on button". Although some of the people have no computer experience, they have also come a long way. Here is the first round of videos they did. Although they are amateur, they will show you real problems real people face everyday. Mathare is one hell of a crazy place.

Caring for the community don't feed no belly

2011-03-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

Haven't been too motivated to write on here. I prefer to just be outside shredding away than doing some talking on here that maybe three people read.

Recycling in Nairobi is hard. I want to make a list of every single obstacle that has come our way since the beginning. It would be a book and I would call it "Recycling in Nairobi and 1,000,000 things that will get in your way." Best seller right there.

With some ok funding from Oxfam and private donors, we have been able to hire some old sex trade workers who help us go and buy plastic and then sort it while we shred the plastic. It's a pretty cool thing although the women are about as enthusiastic as an old shoe. We have come a ways since the start. We are constantly being asked to come and provide training to other people who are trying to do the same business or get visitors from all over the world who come to see what we do.

Is this recycling business going to make people rich? no. We are still struggling to get it profitable.

All I know is that people like Kaka, Farouk, and others like us are at the frontlines of trying to come up with innovative ideas to provide solutions for the problems that are affecting communities.

I recently realized the irony in the situation I am in. I am dedicating my life to trying to get people some stability in their lives, while I myself have an incredibly unstable life. It's funny but I think it actually makes things work well. I think I more than anyone in some organization who gets a nice cheque every month, undertsand the need for hard work and determination to make things work. If you want things to change in your community, the only one that will make it happen is yourself. The neighbourhoods I work in are not just a place I come to shred plastic. They are a place where I meet with other people who share the same mentality I do, LET'S DO SOMETHING.

I just feel that if most of these huge aid organizations were to spend a little more time on the ground, at least getting a feel for the dynamics of reality instead of what they learned for 4 years in a text book and then moved directly behind a desk, that a lot more could be accomplished. If people are interested in working in solidarity with people in poverty, they need to stop talking "At them" and talk "With them". I love when I meet someone from an organization who works in poverty alleviation or something but instantly upon looking at them you can tell they have probably never stepped foot on a bus, or used a hammer, or once only ate rice for dinner.

I don't know why I'm getting bitter today, I guess I have a lot on my mind. The truth is there is a lot I want to do and I just wish I had a million million dollars I could spend on sweet projects that I know would be so good. But some young dude from East Vancouver is not going to change a hell of a lot. What I know is that I have enough awesome people with me that together we will continue to try as much as possible to keep the fight alive.

Be Smart Group

2011-02-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

Here's another one. This was fun playing with all the designs and materials.

To be honest its so hot right now. Im in a cafe and not really thinking straight because it feels like my brain is being boiled from the inside. Sweet? I f**kin love the heat.

2011 brings the hype

2011-02-08T01:11:00.000-08:00

I'll tell you why I haven't written on here for a while. 2011 has already been more than I could have imagined.

I got a gig teaching video and editing for an organization called "Map Mathare". It has been a learning experience for me and the students that come from all walks of life. I will definitely post some of the stuff we have been making. Some of these people have no experience with computers and have managed to put something together that puts my first videos to shame (mind you I started when I was 9).

Obviously I haven't forgotten about recycling. The past few months we have been doing some local fundraising to get some money to increase our stock (plastic) which will leave us with a larger profit margin. That's the hope anyway. This industry's market fluctuates so often that it's difficult to say how much money you can make from grinding the plastic. The market moves up and down so much that you could just buy raw (unshredded) plastic and hold on to it for a while until the market went up enough that you could you just sell it unshredded and make a little profit.I'm not saying it's a good idea, I'm just saying it's possible.

We have been supported by Oxfam for part of their Urban Development project. It will give us a lot of room to breath when it comes to the business which means we won't have to sell plastic to pay bills. Imagine you load plastic onto a truck. You arrange a price with the driver. You drive your shredded plastic to the buyer. They refuse to buy the plastic. You move on to other buyers who also say they aren't buying. The truck driver keeps increasing the price. Finally you find a buyer who will give you a shit price. You have no money to pay for the electricity bills, the driver or the guys you brought along for the day to help carry the load. What do you do? obviously you need cash right away. That has been the biggest problem for us, among others.

Another generous donation was given by a woman in London who goes by the name of Mama Biashara.

I will post more later, when I'm not supposed to be working.

MANYGRO / NOW YOU KNOW

2011-01-13T05:19:00.000-08:00

I want to write the name of this youth group the way I pronounce it but I'll let you figure it out. Mathare No. 10 Youth Group. Have done some amazing things. I come home after filming things like this and just feel like I've been riding on top of a huge hawk all day. I get so insanely motivated from people like this. This is the kind of thing the news will never show. Progress and positivity in some of the poorest places in the world. Feel good about this planet, because now you know people like this exist!

green light on life

2010-12-20T08:10:00.000-08:00

It's not everyday you get to referee a woman's soccer game. I actually was forced to do it since I was prefectly happy sitting in the shade under a tree feeling like a bag of mucus (thats what I actually was) as I was suffering from the climax of my sinus infection. See the happiness on my face for more detail. Highlights included hysterical laughter everytime the woman on my right would jump up and slap the ball out of mid-air so dramatically as it passed her and also when I gave a red card to my friend Memory before the game had even started.

I'm not in Kenya right now. I'm somewhere else visiting family for christmas. But when I return I'll be back with a serious recycling, video making and overall get sh*t done attitude for 2011.

BROSIS GROUP

2010-11-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

I like my life because I get to meet amazing people doing amazing things. Meeting the people at BROSIS was no exception. Watch more incredible people and how they take control of their own communities.

Victorious Youth Group

2010-11-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

So I have talked about Mobile Movement on here a few times. www.mobilemovement.tv
anyways I'm doing videos highlighting the groups that are working with MM. Some of these people are amazing. Here is the first of many to come. I think filming the intro was the funnest part.

Armageddon for breakfast

2010-11-14T05:23:00.000-08:00

The feeling you get when you stand next to your friend and watch their house burn down is a bad one. Fires love slums. It's a perfect place for them to turn into an uncontrollable tower of sun heat, grabbing on to all the little shacks dry brittle wooden frames. And the Nairobi breeze that is salvation in the hot days is a fires best friend. I watched as one small electrical fire suddenly transformed in to a twisted inferno in the time of 20 minutes, engulfing massive plots of land sending entire families running up the hill with nothing but their mattress and a pile of clothes wrapped up in a bed sheet. Some people acted as though this was the millionth time they've had to deal with their places burning down, and some acted as if it was the apocalypse. We waited while the fire trucks got lost in the maze of Mathare's shanty town and when they did arrive, most of the residents had to take over the fire fighters jobs because they showed up drunk. I was told two children died but it's hard to know if it's true or not.

(A few minutes into the fire)

I handed my twenty-two year old friend Bernard a cigarette right after we watched everything he owned go up in smoke. He could barely light the smoke with his shaky hands. Bernard helps us in the recycling centre and is a jack of all trades. He dreams of being an electrician but can't afford the school. He used to have a job in a fish market until someone wanted their friend to get hired and told the boss that Bernard was stealing from the job.

I hope I never have to experience what it is like to lose everything in the flash of an eye. If I do, I will remember the strength of the people that day and how when the next day I saw them, things were being rebuilt and Bernard was running around laughing as usual.

The past few weeks have been extremely extreme for me. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection. I'll spare the details but thanks to the advice of my great mother back in Canada, I was left with no other option (besides going to a doctor, always a last resort for me) but to lie upside down while my friend poured hot salt water down my nose. It felt like a battery acid inside my brain but I was cured almost immediately which left me with a conundrum, do moms know everything?

The other events that transpired are not something I would want to write about on here because I know some people would never want to come here to read again. Not that they are things that I have done, rather more things I have seen that will be singed into my memory probably for as long as I will live. If you do like twisted stuff, drop me a line and I'll tell you a Rated R story.

Here are some other things I have learned this week.

Zambians are the coolest.

BBQ'd goat ribs are totally delicious.

If everyone yells and screams at a DJ, you can actually make him cry and go home.

Down Things Up Things

2010-11-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

For some reason I decided to go out and party friday night with a vicious cold. It was an amazing venue that I couldn't believe I had never been to before. "Carnivore" holds monthly concerts for all the different tribes and I was invited by a bunch of Luhyas for "Luhya Night" . I didn't want to miss out on some fun dancing so I went even though I had already started yawning nonstop around dinner time. 5 minutes after arriving at around midnight and being forced to go into the middle of the audience which was easily three thousand people all standing shoulder to shoulder dancing like mad (I like to stand on the side lines and enjoy space) I went to put my phone in the pouch that I wear around my neck because it was too full to not take the precaution and it had already been snatched. So basically I'm telling this story because I won't be posting photos on here for a while. The replacement phone I got takes horrible pictures.

These are the last photos I'll be able to upload. This is a project I worked on renovating Mama Stacey's restaurante. It was really fun and it has really brought a lot of color into the neighborhood. I've seen some crazy transformations happen in Mlango Kubwa since I started hanging out there. I told Kaka that soon it will turn into a place like East Vancouver, where it becomes so popular that the rent no longer is affordable for the people who grew up there. It still has a long way to go before that happens.
So here are some before and after photos I took while working with friends.

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Beware the barrenness of a busy life.

2010-10-22T01:59:00.000-07:00

Thought I would put more photos instead of text. I love having a camera on my phone because I hate carrying around alot of technology in my pocket. Even though the quality isn't top of the line, it's better than nothing and I know that most people who buy big expensive cameras never even print anything anyways so what is the point of having some monstrosity hanging around your neck? I love seeing tourists walking around holding their cameras white knuckled with their backpacks on their front and when I say love I mean makes me sick. Here are some flicks of stuff while just hanging around.

Hiding from the rain that felt like it was tearing off your skin.

African Pimp my ride. The posters of the guy on the vehicle is Mike Sonko, our new MP for Makadara which is the constituency we live in. He drives around in a hummer with gucci suits and gold rings on every finger. He is very generous with his money though, although no one really knows how he has so much of it.

We had a picnic under that tree, it was nice. Look at how the only place the light is touching is my beautiful friend.

The frontline soldiers in the battle against Nairobi dust. My face is perpetually exploding.

The world famous Kibera. Sometimes I can't believe it's my phone that takes these pictures.

Back Alley Gynos don't seem like the best idea. Bingo House girls on the other hand...

Click on the photo to see the wire that snapped and started shooting sparks everywhere while we were just standing there talking. You could hear this old drunk guy yelling "PROBLEM PROBLEM PROBLEM!" "NOMA NOMA NOMA!"

I like to stare at the roses in my garden and learning how to trim them so they turn like this.

I made 4 wheel barrows from stuff I saved from the Garbage

Paradise Lost under the water fall. I want to live here.

Taking Stacey for swimming. She can walk very fast now.

A sweet day for swimming

Kaka + Stacey 4 eva

Stacey Loves Water. She cried when we pulled her out. I on the other hand have some weird blood problem and can only jump in the water for one minute and then feel like I'm turning into ice. I have to lie on the hot cement while convulsing for a few minutes. This is why I live in Kenya because I hate cold with an intense passion.

Walking home with the buddies. That Yellow sickly looking cow named "beefy Bob" on the billboard freaks me out big time.

TUKO JUU 2 SANAAAA

2010-10-12T02:18:00.000-07:00

STAKEN Recycling Company was awarded the Number one Environmental Conservationists in Nairobi from the Ministry of Youth. Apart from this shiny trophy we don't get anything else, which doesn't suprise me but I still think it's a cool thing to be titled.

I'm not really crazy about the fact that I usually write about myself on here. Especially since I am now realizing that I don't even know most of the people that read this. This thing started out for our friends back home to keep up with what we are doing. But for those of you that read this who don't even know me and enjoy it and share it with other people, I don't think you realize how great that is.

So our businesses have taken a short break to look for ways of up scaling. This basically means looking for money so that we can buy and shred more plastic. We have locked in funding from OXFAM and they are going to be giving us a nice injection of cash to pump into the businesses so that we can pay bills, buy more plastic, and pay wages (Kaka and the workers have been volunteering since 2007!). Any money that the business has made since it started has just gone right back in to the company meaning that all the workers have sacrificed their wages to keep the business alive. I would like anyone to find a group of youth in Nairobi and tell them "Hey we have this idea but you have to put your blood and sweat into it and you won't get paid for years" and see how long they stick around... It's impossible.

For some reason I have been lucky enough to work with young people who have sacrificed so much for a business for nothing in return. I can't stress how fucking rare this is. And the craziest part is that they say their lives are boring when the business isn't running. I'd have to agree. Riding on top of trucks around the city, swimming around in mountains of plastic, long days in the centre throwing plastic around, welding, grinding, laughing, screaming is what makes this business the best thing in our lives.

Do you know where I can get a leg?

2010-10-06T02:17:00.000-07:00

I wouldn’t attend burials here if they were somber affairs. Burials have turned into a way for me to see a whole lot of the Kenyan countryside. Often when people pass away in Nairobi, the tradition is to bury them where their family originates. Usually in a beautiful valley on the lush knolls that spread across the country. The one I attended a few days ago was probably the most beautiful celebration of life I have ever been a part of. It was on the flat plains of Juja, attended by hundreds of family and friends who lost the 23 year old girl, sister of my good friend Steven. The crowd of hundreds around the grave sang beautiful gospel songs in their mother tongue. At one point I even found myself with a shovel filling the grave back up sharing turns with all the other men sweating under the hot sun. If I ever die, I hope people would celebrate that way.
Basically I’ll take whatever opportunities I can get to have a brake from the daily grind of dust and traffic jams in Nairobi. It’s such a nice way to really get to know what normal Kenyan life is like, because life in Nairobi is not anything remotely close to “Normal”. But I won’t even get started with how blown away I am by the peace and beauty that exists in rural Africa.

I got a call from Kaka on Saturday night who was in Nakuru town (a few hours north-west of Nairobi) as an exhibitor for World Habitat Day.

“Oh man you should just come here.”

It didn’t take much to convince me and I was on a bus the next morning. The night I was there, Kaka and I decided to see what Nakuru was about. We walked around with some old friends and found a smoky bar with one red light bulb (the main ingredient for a good dance party). We danced a hot little while getting to know the locals who were happy to have a white boy taking libations with them. Nakuru at night is a hot one.

I woke up with a nice little headache to a girl singing gospel songs at the top of her lungs followed by a banging on my door with her saying “Are you still here?” I realized everyone had already gone to the exhibition.
World Habitat day was like any Kenyan convention attended by mayors and MPs. The “VIPs” and MPs stay in a tent and don’t dare ever walk out under the sun alone to mingle with the mere citizens. They are quickly ushered in with their massive SUV’s and are just as quickly ushered out only after a symbolic walk around with their associates who ask ignorant questions to the groups who are told to stand upright while their presences are “graced”. MPs are like ghosts here. If you see one, it’s a supernatural experience. Meanwhile, the civil society groups on exhibit hold pissing matches to who has the most advanced and successful projects. It’s about as much fun as your second cousins graduation ceremony. The best image I witnessed was a big fat guy (and by the way he was white) smoking a long cigaro while beside him were a couple street kids begging the coordinators for ice cream. It was cartoonish.

One of my favourite parts of the ceremony (apart from the woman who walked around fraudulently billing each table for decorations subsequently disappearing, leaving a very confused and angry decorator) was when I was sitting on the grass and a man came up to me on a wheelchair. We talked for a couple minutes and then he very casually asked me if I could get him an artificial limb.

Either way it was nice to get out of Nairobi. And the whole trip cost me 20 dollars, because that’s how I roll.

Marching band music is so good for headaches in the am.

Kaka and friends at the exhibition table.

This thing was really interesting. You could pour in dirty water into the pot and it filtered the water then dripping into the blue bucket.

World Habitat Day 2010

I know this isn't a very good picture, but I just wanted to show what it looks like as the MP's and "VIPs" stay in the shade completely segregated as normal people walk around under the sun.

Books

2010-09-28T04:26:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time finding books that keep me intrigued. One thing I love is finding a really good book. It's difficult sifting through all the Dan Browns and Danielle Steeles out there. Basically this is a call to anyone who has any attachment to Kenya or Africa to read this book.

Even if you don't know anything about Kenya, this is one of the best books that adequately describes the sometimes indescribable chaos of Nairobi and Kenya. Not only that but it is one of the most compelling stories about corruption to the highest degree, implicating the President with fatcs and records. It's the largest story of uncovering and publicizing political corruption in African history. This book was banned in Kenya when it was released and has recently started trickling into the country. I'm really happy I got my hands on a copy.

A conversation with a low level hustler

2010-09-20T00:24:00.000-07:00

Setting: Uhuru Park, a large city park where people go to sleep, pray, and talk. I was sitting under a tree reading on a hot day.

“Oohh Hello my friend!” said as a thin twenty something year old boy walked up to me enthusiastically.

“Yeah Hi” I replied not so keenly, wanting to continue reading.

“So how do you see Kenya? What are you doing here?“ This is the lamest and most common greeting of degenerate hustlers trying to chitchat with tourists.

“It’s fine. I’m reading here.” This is apparently an invitation for him to sit down next to me.

“I see I see. My friend. I want to talk. To you. About something.” I could see he was nervous.

“Tell me.” I knew I wasn’t going to get rid of him until I indulged him.

“You really look like nice guy. I want to trust you. Can I trust you?” He said looking at my eyes. He looked like the antithesis of trust. His face was really sweaty. You could almost hear the sun roaring.

“It’s arguable.” You can say whatever you want and they just keep going. It’s like talking to a recorded message.

“I have something very really so special. I want to show you.” At this point he reaches into his pocket with two hands and fumbles about anxiously trying to open a little Velcro pouch. His shaky hands empty the contents of the pouch out into one hand where I see he has collected some things that are supposed to look like diamonds, but look more like broken glass.

“Are you seeing this?”

“Keep talking.” I knew this was going to be good.

“You really are nice man. So I want you to see this. Diamonds. Real. So nice man. I am lucky and I finded them. This is worth much money. I know. But my brother I have a very big problem.”
He was struggling so hard to get through his new repertoire. Either that or he was overly dehydrated. It was probably both.

“My problem. Big one. My brother in Cairo. I have to see him now. Today. Or tomorrow. I can not leave with diamonds. And here no one I can trust. But you looks like such nice man.”

After this was the part where he was supposed to tell me that in his desperate situation he wants to trust me and leave me with the “diamonds” while he goes to Cairo and pick them up when he returns back to Nairobi. Only after I give him some cash, negotiated at a crap price, thinking I’m going to make a killing cashing in the diamonds. But I wanted to get back to my book so I decided to cut in.

“Look. You’re young. You’re obviously new. You need to practice your lines first. Say them over and over. Then put those rocks in something that looks classy. And if you are doing this you need to be wearing nice clothes.”

Long pause. The sweaty face breathing heavily.

“Yes.”

“I’m reading.”

“Sorry sorry sorry” Most hustlers to swear up and down their problem is real as are their diamonds, gold, counterfeit money, etc. With out any persistance the haggard boy got up and walked away leaving me in the shade.

I got hustled once, in a different African country (not naming names). I lost 10 dollhairs. I bought a bottle of scotch off of a junkie. It looked like scotch anyways.

I looked across the park from under the tree where one can see the parliament buildings. That’s where the real hustlers are.

It's called I dont feel like writing anything so I'm gonna dump some random photos from my cell phone on here

2010-09-06T05:58:00.000-07:00

Posting in Kariobangi

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Setting up the nets for the day when we slaughtered the defending champions SONG'ENI FC

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Campaigning for Mama Na Kazi Wanjiru. She is so good just to add.

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DON'T BOTHER ME

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Taking a break from a day of shopping to put foods in our belly's

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This man has 9 lives, I saw him take the sharp edge of a shovel to the head.

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Rehearsing for KAMIKAZE

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Excersizement before the curtains draw

Lobel in the Global

2010-08-31T04:13:00.000-07:00

My days off days like today are seldom, but they always are full of reflection, Al Jazeera and running around half naked in my backyard under the sun juggling the football. If I do have an off day I usually spend it at my favourite Somali café reading the news and sharing stories with friends. In any case I haven’t written for a while so this is gonna be a long one. Take a deeeep breath.

Often people ask how long I’ll stay in Kenya, to which I have no answer. Nairobi has not only become home but a great place for me to grow into someone I never could have imagined. My wish is to stay here, but our lives are always on the edge of change and something so small could turn this life of mine in any direction. One thing that I love about life is its uncertainty; you can do as much as possible to live the way you want but still the future remains uncertain. I do miss my loved ones back home (you know who you are), but I can’t leave the life I have here just to have them back in my arms. My largest inspiration (my step father) Adel has moved back to Egypt and I can’t describe the pleasure I get from knowing that we are no longer a world apart. Although we are still divided by the Sahara desert, which isn’t the smallest distance. I’ll be hopping on the first camel out as soon as I have enough funds.

The truth is that I do love Nairobi but one has to look beyond all the horrible traits it’s stigmatized for. Nairobi is a festering pot of grease but it’s the ingredients that make me love it. I would love to know about another city that has a huge economy rich with Islamic culture, rastafari, and of course traditional Africa and where at one minute you can be smoking a joint in the slum and the next be in a massive air-conditioned mall. Lately Kaka, Peter and I have been showing up at the Ex Pat parties to raid the beer. I don’t have a lot to say about the Ex Pat community here but I will say they know how to throw nice big expensive parties. My favourite part is the spreads. I love it when Kaka and Peter stare at me curiously as I eat like I’ve been a POW for the past 6 months, inhaling massive chunks of humus and other exotic dishes they’ve never seen, and that I long for on days when local stew just isn’t hitting the spot. I yell across the room at them with my mouth full and face covered with nacho dip “DIG IN GUYS!!” (Yes my party etiquette has room for improvement) and then they slowly put a small morsel on their tongue as they look at me as if they’re about to be poisoned. I remember last year when Justin and I were at a UN dinner function for youth graduating from a entrepreneurial program. They were serving shrimps on the side of the dish to the youth who were all from the slums, who eat Boiled meat and Ugali everyday of their life. They all left the shrimp untouched so Justin and I frantically ran around the party picking the shrimps off of the empty dishes trying to eat them all before they were taken away. One of my old friends Sammy from Kibera asked in a very serious tone “Nathaniel… You are eating the snake?” Needless to say Nairobi isn’t known for its food and some times this is very difficult for me.

Last weekend I was given a role in a play by a group of friends from the “Galaxy Players” a local group of professional and amateur actors that put on plays for schools and communities and who I have mentioned a number of times on this blog. We competed in a AIDS awareness themed drama festival and took second place. I actually don’t like acting and much prefer to be behind the scenes but it was still a nice experience being on stage with a group of very talented people in front of a full auditorium. I had the opportunity to act alongside the beautiful Leah Okumu who took the award for best actress and piece of my heart. I have just been informed that we are performing again next Saturday at a different venue and I can’t decide how to feel about that.

One of my least favourite things beside plain boiled chicken is being idle. On a day like today when the only time I left the house was to buy a cigarette, I feel like I missed something. I will never be able to live alone. If there is a night when no one is here or we don’t have visitors (which is almost never, my home is a preschool by day and a rehearsal space by night), I actually feel sad. Working on the Up With Hope stuff can’t fill everyday so I take part in anything that sparks my interest, hoping to meet interesting people and for new experiences.

Thanks again for checking in on this random blog. Get tuned in, spaced out and enjoy life.

The Mlango Soldierz

Bob Marley and checking facebook

Mlango Kubwa Highrises

Fixing flat tires on highways in Kenya is pretty much asking for death

My best friend Stacey

Momma Stacey. Kaka and I painted the menu.

Remembering John Kibe

2010-08-27T04:09:00.000-07:00

This is a burial we did in Central Kenya. The plains you see in the beginning are the tea plantations which are a massive cash crop for Kenya. I shot this on a flip camera so it's so shaky because I have perpetual turbulence hands. I know anyone who has watched my movies who knows how to make movies has notcied I don't own a tripod. I do now and that problem will not be existing anymore.

URBAN YOUTH FUND STORIES 2009

2010-08-20T03:34:00.000-07:00

I just finished a contract with UN-HABITAT to do this movie. Thought maybe you might enjoy it. It highlights one of the recycling centres "M.Y.U.G Integrated Recycling Centre" that Up With Hope started. I have been making movies since I was 9 years old with Sean Ross and friends in the back yards and alleys of east van, so this has been a big step for me.

MOMBASA RAHA

2010-08-06T02:57:00.000-07:00

Mombasa is a 100% wow place. I want to buy a house there and become old and wrinkly under the sun.

While we worked just about everyday we were there, we did manage to have a stupendous amount of fun.

One of the highlights was working with BIGSHIP Youth Group, who took us on a wonderful tour of their area. They have only been a youth group for 1 year and have accomplished more than what most youth groups can get done in 10. Instead of the usual boring sitting around in a circle talking, they took us on a trek down to the water where they swim, catch fish and are currently working on a tree planting program. They are the exact definition of people who know how to give and take from the land on which they live. I really look forward to working with them in the future.

Mombasa has the best Swahili ever and my favourite is meeting Swahili people who have lived all their lives in Italy. I wish I could do an impression but you can't hear me.

Bamburi Beach

This is the BIGSHIP beach. This is not a tourist destination, it is only used by the locals and that little boat you see in the water has been carrying residents who live in the hills on the side for 50 years. The residents are the original tribes from Mombasa.

BIGSHIP group member and fisherman extraordinaire.

Needless to say I was feeling overwhelmed to have been welcomed into such an amazing place.

The nightlife is Mombasa is something else, but I don't think it has anything to do with the real Mombasa. I'd rather sit on the beach all day and night than go to a noisy discotheque.

(and by the way these photos were taken on my cellular phone)

Can't live with out'em.

2010-07-26T01:10:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning is the beginning of our STAKEN holiday. Although it is for work, we are traveling to Mombasa A.K.A Paradise A.K.A Pirate Negotiating Point. I somehow convinced a local organization to fund us to go and meet other youth doing the same thing we are. Work will definitely happen but I know it's going to be a memorable fiesta. PEACE OUT NAIROBI.

This theme is giving big love to the strong women out there.

Down By The Riverrr

2010-07-17T01:54:00.000-07:00

I have made a conscious decision with this blog to not bore everyone with constant updates about our recycling businesses. I do on the other hand, know that people are generally interested in what it is here at Up With Hope that we do

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/comfortvschange/2010/03/07/hope-addresses-waste-management-issues-kenya-through-three-east

I think I should take a couple seconds to tell people where we have come since we started in 2007. I'd first like to thank all the people who have helped share this blog with their friends, family and colleagues. If you are reading this and I don't know you, you're my new friend. Feel free to say hi.

We currently have two operational recycling centres in Nairobi. It has been an absolutely mind blowing experience working with everyone in Nairobi trying to get these businesses off the ground. There have been so many obstacles in our way that have made things no easier for us, and at times I laugh at myself for working so hard to get a business going that I will never financially benefit from. That laughter doesn't last very long once I think about how much I have learned since we started this project. Yesterday Kaka told me that if it hadn't been for me they would have given up already and that I have really given them moral, basically making my whole life worth while.

From racist cartels and a corrupt city council we have worked with a lot of odds against us. Up With Hope is not a large organization by any means, the project was initiated by a bunch of broke guys who started off knowing absolutely nothing about development work, which looking back on is really screwed up, but funnily enough we had the right formula and both centres have now been selected as beneficiaries for funding by UN-HABITAT and OXFAM as well as other support from local and international NGO's. We new we had the right formula when we tried to tackle joblessness and environment in the same punch.

I am confident that if I left tomorrow the businesses would keep running with out me. The question is, do I want to? The answer is hell no. It's too much fun grinding, welding, sorting, sweating, bleeding and all sorts of hedonistic things. We say here with this job "You have to love this work". We've had a lot of volunteers come and go, they don't really enjoy wading in trash. I have a huge vision with the people I work with and I want to work with them to attain it. The groups I am working with are some of the best people I've ever met and when we started this project my biggest fear was that the businesses would never go anywhere. Thanks to the scrupulous selection of the people we work with I know that our work will never go to waste. RECYCLING IS GREAT.

By the way Up With Hope is always accepting donations. We can always buy more plastic!

Today's theme is life by the river.

Glue and BOOZE

2010-07-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

Now here is a little compilation of the people who make Nairobi Nairobi. Glue kids and drunks can be frustrating and annoying but they can also be the funniest people to listen to.

One thing about les glue boyz that I laugh about is that they can sleep anywhere at anytime. Usually during rush hour you see some sleeping right beside a busy road lying face down in the grass. At night time you can see them converging to Nairobi's massive round-abouts which are full of lush plants while they create massive bonfires. As much as I would like to walk over with some weiners and marshmellows I think my presence would make them a little confused.

I remember when a local glue kid came up to me high as hell and asked me to help him since his head a massive laceration that was gushing blood. There was no way I was going to touch it but I told him to wash it. I saw him a few minutes later when he returned after washing the cut with some sewage water. There wasn't a whole lot I could do. I didn't see him for a while after that which worried me since he was a nice guy. Thankfully, he did show up one day walking around carrying a bag of banana peels singing a kikuyu song.

Do your homework and eat your greens

2010-06-28T05:11:00.000-07:00

oh my gosh things have been frantic lately I forgot about this thing.

I'm going to start sharing some nice photographs from where I am working, taken by locals.

Today's theme is "EDUCATION" because it's so very important.

Wonderful children who make me so happy.

2010-06-14T03:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a little bit of insight into my life in the preschool.

Anyways...
I just spent the weekend in the western part of Kenya called Kisumu right on lake Victoria. I went with Kaka and Farouk and was coordinated by an NGO called "Pamoja Trust". We went to assist some youth groups who are starting up a waste collection business. The challenges involved in starting a garbage collection business can have so many obstacles, so we provided some advice and moral support for the poised youth group. Kaka and Farouk are the experts in Kenya basically on community based organizations who are doing garbage collection. They've seen it all and know how to fix problems that would usually cripple a group. It was really fun meeting the group and Kisumu is an incredible place. Such nice fish to eat.

Me, Kaka and Farouk found a big screen projector to watch the opening ceremony of world cup and the first few games. I didn't know what to expect to be in Africa for the world cup but it's turned out to be a lot crazier than I thought it would be. The feeling is definitely heavy.

I wish I owned a digital camera to post photos on here. But all I have is an old film camera that I have to develop and then scan to post photos. So I'll try to do some from Kisumu.

Le Weekend

2010-05-31T02:21:00.000-07:00

I don't really know what to write.

My days have been different the past little while. We are waiting for a welding machine so we can start work again on the shredding. We want to maintain the machine ourselves instead of paying for a welder to do it each time.

My situation with university here is actually hilarious. The school has shut down indefinitely due to students rioting. The classes were supposed to start tomorrow when June starts, but I still don't know if I'm accepted because of all this phony balony that I don't even want to bore you with.

At least we have the weekend...

2 goats 1 knife

2010-05-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

Weekend Recap?

I Went and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Galaxy Players. A local acting group who put on plays and shows for the kids and community. They are a very lively and fun bunch. We went to a shwanky dinner at the church where people made speeches and ate lots of food. That all finished around 1 am and then we brought everyone to our house and preceeded to grill the second goat of the evening. Our second meal was at 4 am. Then we played truth or dare until 7 am. All of the guys did a striptease for each girl, it was hilarious. I Woke up at 3pm and then Kaka came over where I showed him the recycling video he is in that you can watch below. Then him and a bunch of us went to my favourite place to dance and we got juicy. We were supposed to go to the coast this weekend but it didn't happen so this was a way of consoling ourselves.

On the left touching his chin is Titi. He is our storyteller and he comes over almost everynight and tells me a story while I cook dinner. He actually does it for a living and performs all over the country. He has some of the best African folk tales ever. My favourite line from him is "Nathaniel the police were scaring me so much that I was almost urinating on myself"

Chicos
Guapas

I'm stuck in this shitty cyber cafe because the rain is so heavy right now. They have Whitney Houston blasting on the speakers and the cyber employee is blasting backstreet boys "show me the meaning of being lonely" from his computer. I really need to get internet at home...

Recycling in Nairobi

2010-05-13T04:23:00.000-07:00

Stacy, Momma Stacy and Queen

2010-05-11T01:58:00.000-07:00

The last week has had some interesting developments.

One of the best parts of last week was a meeting attended by myself, Kaka and some other members of Mathare Environmental Youth group with the M.P. of the Starehe Constituency Honorable Bishop Margaret Wanjiru. The past few months we've been working on ideas for building a multi-story resource centre. I received a call from Kaka on Thursday and he told me if we didn't have a proposal tomorrow for the Constituency Development Fund we would never get any money. I raced to Mlango Kubwa (where the recycling centre and community hall that we built is) and proceeded to spend the next 7 hours throwing together an emergency proposal pulling all kinds of numbers out of my arse. We are proposing to build it on top of the existing foundation that we built a year ago.

The next morning was the meeting and it seemed from the nice M.P's attitude that she will be allocating a very healthy sum of money for us to construct a community hall with another floor on top that has computer resource centre, and another room for children to come and study, do homework or choose a nice book from the library we are going to put together. It will be a milestone for Mlango Kubwa which has absolutely nothing for idle children who spend their off time throwing dirt in each others face's. Needless to say I'm really excited to be a part of it and look forward to seeing it progress but not looking forward to all the bureaucratic bullshit that will come along with it. 10 years ago or even less, more like 5 years ago, Mlango Kubwa was in a ditch, run by the Mungiki (a tribal gangster sect) who would tax people for walking and if anyone refused to pay, usually they received a machete to the neck. Yesterday Kenya power and lighting put in some floodlights on the main market road. This means hopefully the thieves won't be coming around. Usually around midnight thugs come and hide in the dark corners waiting for their victims, usually hitting them with a machete even before asking for any money.

So on a more personal note, yesterday I had a plane ticket home. I didn't get on the plane. I have applied at the University of Nairobi and I'm still waiting to hear back from them if I have been accepted yet. I applied in mid March and because I am a Canadian they have dragged me through the mud in their childish (again for lack of a better term) bureaucracy trying to figure out if I am qualified to learn at their University. It's been so painful trying to deal with them and when I told them I needed to know before May 10th they didn't even blink. The acceptance list was released mid April!

So anyways, it looks like I'll be planting my roots in this city a little deeper. I don't mind at all, I'm way more preoccupied in Nairobi than I am in Vancouver. Actually there are a number of reasons why like Nairobi so much.

1. I'm not subjected to looking at androgynous men wearing purses.
2. I can make 20 dollars last so much longer.
3. The dance floor isn't covered by a pool table surrounded by mopes.

I'll stop there before I get insulting...

Here are ma ladies. Mama Stacy's cafe where I eat every day and watch Stacy grow. The girl at the end of the clip is the seven year old Queen and she isn't related but she helps out at the cafe chopping veggies and doing errands. She has no parents and Mama Stacy took her in. LOOK AT HOW BEAUTIFUL STACY IS!!!!!

P.s. I didn't shoot this, that's why the lighting is all wrong.

El Elohe Community Garden

2010-05-07T03:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a video I made for www.mobilemovement.tv who I have been doing some work with.
One of my favourite groups on Mobile Movement is "Be Smart". There is a member named Harrison who is an amazing tailor and so far I have had him make me 4 different pairs of pants.

Anyways these guys at El Elohe are my neighbors and it's been really cool seeing this garden turn into something they can make money from.

Plastic Indian Mafia African Four Leaf Clover

2010-04-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

Since this weekend I didn't have any big excursion ( although I did cook 26 cheeseburgers for my room mate Patrick's birthday, filmed a two and a half hour play in Swahili and found my very first four leaf clover!), I thought maybe it would be a good idea to talk a little bit about work. I think from the way I have been posting on this blogedeedoo that we are always taking it easy and livin it up (well maybe we are living it up but we are definitely not taking it easy).

Since I started working here a little over three months ago, we calculated that for these centres to make profit, they need to be buying and selling about 4 tons of plastic a month. I'm willing to bet none of you actually have the slightest clue what 4 tons of plastic looks like, so let me tell you it's enough to fill your house.

(Farouk, who is a muscle machine and one of the strongest and hardest working people I've ever met in my life. He runs one of the centres.)

Trying to acquire 4 tons of plastic is enough work. Finding a youth group who has collected enough to make it worth our while for us to rent a truck and go and pick it up, or to buy from some crooked middle man who has stuffed metal inside of the plastic (to add weight), so when we put it in the machine it brakes and we have to hire someone to come and fix it. Loading the plastic into the truck is a gruesome job. If the plastic has been out in the rain you will be sure to get some of the funkiest smells East Africa has to offer and you will be covered up and down in the juice of garbagio all the while surrounded by rats whose homes you are destroying.

(Some of the recycling team posing for a group shot. Or more like an album cover)

Once you have enough plastic in the centre you need to shred it as fast as you can. Sometimes it takes a while to get that done since everyone has a crazy schedule or there is no electricity (sometimes for days on end) or people say they want to listen to the soccer game and can't hear it with the machine running. The days of shredding in the centre are hard work. The air is hot and stagnant. When the machine is running it's like a marathon trying to get as much done as possible, running around like a worker ant sweating to sweet hell.

The biggest problem we've been having is infiltrating the buying market. It has come to our knowledge that this plastic market is run by a racist Indian mafia. Until I came, these companies refused to buy from youth from slums. Once they saw me they opened their doors. They operate in the dark corners of Nairobi's industrial area with out any licenses from city council or signs on their doors. Trying to set up a buy with them is sketchy affair. Most of them refuse to do any cash transaction with Africans and say none of them aren't trustworthy. These guys make me so fucking sick it's ridiculous. So they have been giving us shit prices for the plastic which has been really hurting the businesses financially. Of course we are persevering and hoping if we can hook on to one buyer to trust us and build a relationship, then they can start to give better prices. Unless anyone has any better ideas.

(Nairobi's biggest G's Patto Buddah and Kaka)

I'm so impressed with the guys I've been working with. They work so hard and have so much dedication it really touches me. It drives me to work even harder and I think we fuel off of each other. We really enjoy working with one another and that I think is such a crucial element to having a successful business. No one is ordering anyone around ( except for the other NGO's who like to show up once every few weeks to try and tell us what to do and then disappear once again) and everyone works equally as hard.

We always say to each other "You have to love this work" because if you don't you won't last day working here. We've had volunteers come and go, most only can handle one day in the centre. The hard work has it's high points, like riding all over Nairobi on top of a truck in the hot sun with the wind in your face, or getting to know everyone in one of the most vibrant communities on this planet. I don't want to sound like Deepak Chopra or whoever but I really love my life.

This is Kaka and Stacy. I think I've mentioned Stacy on here before. She is the daughter of my dreams. Her mom calls me Baba Stacy 2 (Father of Stacy #2)

Photos courtesy of Rob Chursinoff. Thanks Rob.

2010-04-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning lying in bed, staring at my cellphone ringing for the 6th time in twenty minutes, optioning whether or not to ignore it like all the other calls before. I had gotten home well after the sun had come to say hello. It's Kaka calling...
"We are going to Machakos, our soccer team has a game, leaving in one hour. Want to come? Meet us at 11."

Of course I couldn't say no, and with in an hour I'd had my coffee and sandwich and was packing into a car too small to fit the 6 of us well sized men. The rest of the team were in a larger van they had rented.

Our driver was a guy my age who drove like he had gotten his licsence the day before. Eevrytime a car passed he put on the brakes and wiggled the steering wheel. I put all my focus on the breathtaking country side.

Eventually we turned off the main road to go towards the field heading down a next to non existent road in between two mountains.
"They made a field here?" guys were asking. I couldn't imagine it myself.

A few hours after leaving Nairobi and many times to stop to ask for directions later we finally arrived in a village called Tawa. The whole village was at the game. I stumbled out of the car and couldn't believe my eyes. The pitch was perched on top of a hill underneath a huge lush mountain over looking the hilly horizon, by far the most beautiful spot for a field I'd ever seen. I stand around for a while watching the game lying around on the grass. Even the field's grass hadn't been cut and was knee high(apparently the school sells the grass to farmers for their cows to graze).

The next thing I know I'm having a jersey and boots thrown at me while being told I have no choice. I have to play.

I gear up and run on the pitch with the entire village watching (about 400 people). They all brake into hysteria. I heard everyone telling eachother "the white man is playing!". The kids had never seen a white person before. It was too much. I played my heart out or else I would have looked like a joke.

I don't even remember the score, i think we lost, but everyone had such a blast that no one even talked about the fact that we lost.

Even the way home was eventful when their van got a flat tire along the main highway in Kenya. No one was complaining during that either.
"It's always fun with us isn't it Nathaniel?" my friend Sigara asks.

They are organizing another trip to a different village. I'm being asked to join.

I dont have a camera right now so I couldn't take any pictures. But I have another video of me during my favorite past time and some photos of a typical day at work. Sorting, weighing and loading the truck with plastic.

Hands up 4 the real warriorz

2010-04-11T02:58:00.000-07:00

It was a normal blistering saturday afternoon, feeling exceptionally tired after dancing til the stars had gone to bed the night before. I was at the centre in Mathare early to work with the team. After a couple of hours of sweating and swearing I heard a sound nearing by that sounded too familiar. It was the unmistakable sound of the earth rattling matatu (the local buses, decked out with widescreen TV's and huge sound systems) nearing the centre, blasting dancehall with bass that was trembling the corrugated tin roofed and walled shacks all around it as it passed. This one was particularly special, Bubble gum pink and blue with airbrushed portraits of Aaliyah, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé with a stencil of “Baby Phat” written all over. Every matatu has a name on the windshield and this one was dubbed "PHAT".

"We are going to a memorial. It is one year today that my best friend was murdered by the police." Kaka told me.

I had been here at that time last year and remembered it.

"You should come. We are going up country." Said Kaka

He didn't have to ask me twice. If one spends too much time in this city with out seeing nature one can go batshit crazy (especially a Canadian). I jumped on the bus and was shown to the VIP section, the very back seat left window,which is always my favourite place to sit on a bus. All the girls and guys who are mostly around my age and who I have come to know and befriend crammed on board and in a few minutes we were off.

I thought it was going to be a sombre affair. A time for reflection and mourning. As soon as we hit the main highway, that notion was quickly dismissed. The driver put the pedal down and the music up. The bass felt like we were inside a battleship engine room. All the windows were open and everyone was dancing. Libations were flowing and the bright sun illuminated the smoke filled the bus. I kept my eye on the scenery we were passing outside. Kenya is beautiful and green and lush. Every half an hour someone would lean over and tell me the name of the village we were passing through. The best part was as we passed through the entire villages stopped in their tracks to gawk at the colorful monster blasting music, racing through their only road. The kids especially loved it. All of them stopping from their chores to dance to the music as it passed. Even a group of naked boys swimming in the river started running after the bus.

We stopped about 6 times to refill on water and other liquids. For me it was a little bit embarrassing sometimes when we would stop in a place with the music blasting profain language about body parts a while guys would started running around with their shirts off, smoking, in front old men and women who looked on in complete contemptuousness. We only stopped long enough for the dust to start settling before we were ripping down the road again leaving everyone behind covered in a thin layer of road.

After a few hours of driving and back country roads, idling down steep hills and knocking an old man and woman off a motorcycle and into a ditch (the roads are too thin) we finally arrived.

Everyone had donated money to buy a nice tombstone and it was brought over to be cemented in to the already existing tomb fabricated on the hillside of the families farm over looking the amazing Kenyan horizon. The drunken men argued for a good part of an hour as to how to install it. I walked around, sat on the grass and hid in the shade trying to inhale as much fresh country air as possible for most of the time. The village drunk took a liking to me and he practiced his broken english and I my broken Swahili.

" I want to walk behind you." He said.

"Pamoja" (as one) I answered.

The cementing had been done and everyone took out their phone cameras and took group shots of the family and friends. I was made to stand in the photos and I wasn't totally crazy about that idea but one friend from Mathare named Ibrahim said "You are one of us". I was touched. The date on the tombstone was 1985-2009. The same year I was born. It was emotional reflecting on the life these guys have to endure.

People paid their respects and a pastor said some prayers to another soldier lost to the streets.

This is Karanja, who most of the time is collecting garbage from residences in Mathare. Meaning most of the time he is covered head to toe in garbage juice. He is hard as nails and on this day is looking particularly Mick Jaggerish.

Mathare Youth.
Beautiful countryside

The sun started to go down and so we all crowded back on the party bus and made our way back to the noisy city to make it in time for the Barcelona vs Real Madrid game.

Jesus it was nice to leave the city.

Plant the herbz

2010-04-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have some neighbors who are in a Youth Group named El elohe. I've been helping set up a community garden with them. They've wanted to plant some local plants and vegetables to sell so they can earn some money. The tank and irrigation was a grant from a different organization called Mobile Movement I did the installation of the tank and pipes so they could save ton of cash the company was trying to charge for the install. It was a fun day and I look forward to eating some tasty greens from the crops.

Otherwise life has been fun and stressful as usual. I went out for a friends birthday party two nights ago and danced until 3 and then got up for work at 630 am, so I got home after work and slept 13 hours. I wish I had photos of the night scene here, by far my favourite place to party in the world.

The group also has chickens which is income generating.

It's always fun when the whole neighborhood is staring at you, watching your every move, although I'm used to it by now.
This picture doesn't do the colour of the soil justice. The red dirt is such an amazing colour in real life.

Uko Iko Yako Taco

2010-03-26T04:37:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day in a while that I have had to be by myself. Its only for three hours but I will enjoy it alot. This morning I went to a seminar hosted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. It hosted all the youth groups in Nairobi doing waste management. I wasn't invited but since all the youth groups I'm working with were, I decided JICA didn't have a choice and were going have to let me attend. It was a very typical seminar but the best part was at the end they gave me money (when organizations hold seminars for people in slums they have to pay them to come, to provide for the day 's food and transportation). I didn't want to take the money but they insisted! This adds to the theory that white people can waltz into anything here. I've crashed many seminars and conferences for free lunch or dinner.

I've been working long hours everyday in the centres. Shredding plastic is a heavy duty job. My wrists are all jagged from picking up sharp broken plastic and my back hurts from hours and hours of taking a machete to big heavy plastic pieces before they go into the shredder. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining, I live for this. I feel that it's important to show the guys that I'm as commited to this project as they are, and if I'm gonna work my ass off so are they. My hope is that that energy rubs off on them so that they can keep the speed going when I stop showing up as much. I can definitely see an improvement since I started showing up every morning trying to get as much done in a day as possible. I know this thing would have gone down the drain a long time ago if we were the type of organization that points fingers and dictates what is supposed to be happening.

Working everyday all day in these places is crazy. The guys I'm working with aren't just co workers any more, we have developed great friendships and even hang out outside the recycling centres. After working so long on this stuff I can't imagine doing anything else. That poses another huge question that I ask myself everyday. What's next for Up With Hope?

I wish I could post some photos, but I'm sitting in a hole in the wall cyber right now and that procedure seems impossible.

Life In The Slums

2010-03-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Rob and Up With Hope spend some time in Kibera and Mathare, the informal settlements, a.k.a. slums, of Nairobi.
Don’t be scared. The setting may be shocking but the people are welcoming. True survivors.
Check the video out:

Whatta do with 10 bob*

2010-03-17T03:25:00.000-07:00

My favourite money here is the 10 shilling coin. I love it so much I have it on a necklace around my neck. 10 Kenyan shillings is the equivalent of about 12-14 cents CND but can get you so many things. This is why I love the 10 bob. Here is a list of things you can buy with the nice looking coin.

1 mango
2 mandazi (fried bread A.K.A Banik)
1 chapati
1 cup of chai
2 cigarettes
2 avocados
1 Juicy fruit gum
1 bus ride into town (only some hours of the day in some places)
1 big slice of pineapple
4 tomatoes
2 peppers
1 joint (Bob Marley)
10 tasty little candies
1 egg

*Prices are subject to where you are and who you know.

I want to add that the person who wrote the post below this is my homeboy Patrick Ominde who deserves his own profile article himself. He has taught me the ins and outs of this city. The most recent knowledge he passed on to me was that; when you're in town, and you have to pee, instead of paying 5 shillings to visit one of the many piss soaked public toilets that dont have soap or running water, go and use the exquisite toilet in the Hilton, situated in the heart of the city. It has instant hot water taps and is ultra clean. You have to go through a security check but it's well worth it.

its 6 degrees of separation....

2010-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have never contributed to a blog, nor written.This is my first attempt. I have to start however by denying bragging rights to one Nathaniel, a workaholic married to environmental work who has piled tons and tons of pressure on me to contribute on this blog. I have done this out of my volition. I cannot allow him to score 100% here..99% is good enough already! Who would have imagined that some dude from the west would come over here and strike such a tight working relationship with local youth? Is there reason to continue believing that good work ethics is not transferable amongst people with different provenance? Even when they share sense of purpose? Justin,Nathaniel and Sean came by and worked with young people here for almost a year. The result is, people like KAKA, with renewed sense of purpose and confidence are taking the reigns of community service to a whole new level! What this guy has achieved in his few years as a youth and community worker puts to shame many politicians and public figures from a round the city! If kenya has to rebuild itself from the ashes of 2007 post elections violence, then young people like kaka need to be supported and encouraged to aim higher in public service sector. I can hear the murmurs from a distance encouraging him to get into politics....He moved a huge mound of garbage from his neighborhood....he could be the broom to sweep the dirt from the political field......we have a swahili saying; Mgema a kisifiwa, tembo hulitia maji! It roughly translate to.. if you praise the brewer for a nice brew, he will be tempted to add water! enough of Kaka.

Let me end this by saying that it has not been easy, it is not easy and it wont be easy. To move things this far needs a certain kind of spirit, a spirit that i have seen from the Up with hope dudes and folks at Environmental youth a alliance. I guess its your turn!

Kenyan scarp yards are my favorite place in the rain

2010-03-08T03:03:00.000-08:00

Here is the business we deal with buying plastics. I'll give you a quick step by step.

1. Go and visit the many scrap yards of Nairobi and see what they have for sale. If they are selling plastics at a good price your in business.
2. Get as many people who are part of the centre mobilized and tell them to meet early morning at the yard. Start filling up bags with the plastic, try to sing songs to make it more fun. The pile you're looking at is about 5 tonnes. This day we were buying 1 ton. I'd like to add how grueling this work is, you get covered in garbage water and all kinds of shit flying at your face.

3. Take a break usually around 1 pm and have some lunch at one of the millions of restaurants that look like this. Usually meat stew with ugali. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugali

4. After you weigh each bag, start to fill the truck you have rented for the day.

5. Putting the plastic in the truck is not easy. Each bag weighs about 70 kgs (150 pounds)

6. Get on the truck and get the plastic to the centre. This is always my favourite part of the day.

It seems like I'm spending a lot of time in these scrap yards. So much that I am becoming desensitized and actually picking through the garbage for valuables like everyone else I work with. My favourite things to find are coat hangers and I just found a nice potato peeler.

2010 Indestructible

2010-03-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

It took me 2 years of being waste deep in garbage, coming home followed by flies covered in black grime, until I bought a pair of overalls. Today I went to Gikomba Market (the largest open air market in all of East Africa, thats the satellite image off google maps above) and bought some second hand overalls for 600 KSH (8 dollars CND). I think anyone who likes second hand clothes would love Gikomba. Nairobi is the capital of "pre-loved" clothes in all of Africa, it's where all the merchants come from all over the continent to buy in bulk and bring back home to sell. I generally hate shopping anywhere else but in Nairobi, there is such amazing stuff here. Does your city have a market for second hand Italian leather shoes? The large majority of it is donated, so when you first come here you see someone wearing a Canucks hat or jersey or even the Grizzlies and you say "holy guacamole" but then after a while you see so much weird clothes on guys the novelty wears off. All I have to say is guys here have some of the best styles I've ever seen in my life.

Gikomba would be a lot more fun if it wasn't such a hassle to bargain with everyone. Being a white man in a poor shanty African market doesn't exactly mean you'll get the best price and obviously price tags aren't anywhere in sight. Fortunately my bargaining skills are ultra pro and I know what stuff costs before I go to buy it. I heard of a white woman getting hustled into paying 10,000 KSH (144 dollars CND) to buy a "special" samosa with "magical" herbs inside.

I went to one of our centres and tried out my new overalls by spending a few hours sorting plastics getting them ready for shredding. Quick little fact about recycling is that when you sort plastics by colour you can sell them for more money.

Anyways I refuse to buy gloves. There is a reason why soap and nail cutters were invented.

Profile: Kaka (umoja ni nguvu ya mskini)

2010-02-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

I would like to introduce to you Kaka. You should consider yourself lucky if you ever get to meet him. I figure the majority of the people reading this won’t ever meet him, so I decided to write about Kaka, my colleague and friend.

Kaka, who’s real name is Isaac but is known through out his community as Kaka (Swahili for brother), is a community leader, entrepreneur and an athlete. He has lived his whole life in the Mathare slums, home to what people say is now almost one million. He has endured more than any of us could ever imagine and in the environment he lives in you can be almost certain there will be a lot more to go through.

Mathare is not your usual community. Police show up in droves to beat women and children. Thieves are dealt with by the community, usually stoned to death, and the machete is something every grown man knows how to use. Five years ago Mathare was run by a tribal sect of gangsters (Mungiki) who made it difficult to breath with out paying for it. The police came in and rounded up the Mungiki, to a near by forest and executed hundreds of them.

Kaka is the one guy who has been working day and night in the recycling centre we built. Through this I’ve learned a lot about Kaka’s life and has made me learn an unbelievable amount about my own.

Both of Kaka’s best friends were murdered by the police for petty crimes a couple years ago. He tells me that the pain stays the same and never goes away. He has even seen police execute people as they lie face down in the dirt. I can see there is a raging inferno inside of him from all thats happened. The part that I love the most about him is that he takes the fire and rage and puts it into his ambition to make life better for the people of his community. I can honestly say that I’m nowhere near as strong as he is since my life has been like a duvet blanket compared to his. If half the stuff that’s happened to him ever happened to me I would snap and go awol. That’s not to say Kaka doesn’t ever let people know he is not on any terms one to be messed with. He has God inside of him and believes people are good so everyone should be loved and respected, that’s until they start robbing in his neighborhood.

Kaka has achieved a lot in his short life, he’s been a part of a street theater group to raise awareness about HIV, he started doing garbage collection in his community, and now he runs a recycling centre and a community hall, employs street kids, mobilizes criminals to put down their guns and puts them to work, the list goes on.

Kaka is what I consider to be a true leader. He tells me “Umoja ni nguvu ya mskini“ Togetherness is the weapon of the poor. The rest of the community who loves him wants him to run for area councillor, but he hates politicians and politics. It’s the unfortunate story for most of the world, the real leaders who believe they can get more accomplished on the ground than with the corrupt government.

Ring around the rosie pocket full of shredded plastic

2010-02-20T02:39:00.000-08:00

Today I was supposed to wake up and go to work at 730. I didn't. I stayed in bed and listened to music. When I woke up and heard the thunderous rain beating against the corugated tin roofs I got on my cell phone and started texting that today was a no go for me today. I think I'm allowed. It's saturday and I don't know the last time I spent the day just collecting my thoughts by myself. During nights I have enough energy to cook something, drink tea and watch Al Jazeera (if it wasn't here I would explode). I've inhaled enough black smoke and carried around enough plastic for one week.

The last two weeks or so I have been "marketing" the centres. This is not your usual business meeting where you can call ahead and schedule appoinments for a meet and greet. It's no use calling companies to ask if they buy our stuff because they need samples of our plastic and that's if they understand what you are talking about, therefor I have been walking around Nairobi's massive industrial area with a bag of this shredded plastic asking any company that seems to deal with plastic products if they buy it. Most of the time dealing with apathetic secretaries who just give a blank stare. It's definetely been the shittiest part of this job so far. Walking down long dusty roads besides huge semi trucks blowing smoke and dust in your face for hours under the hot sun only to find the place your looking for is back the other way where you started (almost makes me wish I could drive). Thankfully my efforts were fruitful and yesterday we sold over a ton of shredded plastic to some plastic processing company. I rode on top of the pick up truck (check the video below this) piled with plastic facing forward riding it like it was a horse drawn carriage getting the wind in the face driving all around Nairobi, and that is my reward for the hard work.

So I added two writers on this blog. One is Up With Hope volunteer Rob Chursinoff ( in the video) and the other is Patrick Ominde A.K.A the man behind it all, and now my roomate after two years of working together. He hasn't written anything yet but I will force him to do something.

I don't take a lot of photos but I thought this was a nice one, look at the nice passion fruit hanging.
Patrick serving me up some Nyama Choma

Industrial Zone Hangin'

2010-02-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

Remember that time we were waiting to sell 1 tonne of plastic?

How To Stop Being So Canadian In Kenya

2010-02-10T04:45:00.000-08:00

"Me and the rest of this city of 4 million play a dangerous game of Frogger, with traffic who WILL NOT STOP FOR ANY REASON other than they've already hit you."

I've now been in Kenya for two weeks. On my first sleep deprived day here, I was thrown into the chaos of Nairobi traffic, I was shown what life consists of in the impoverished communities (slums), and I was introduced to a new take on what passes for clean. Needless to say, I've had to adjust my privileged North American standards very rapidly.
Aiding in this effort has been my colleague Nathaniel, a fellow Canadian in Up With Hope, who, having been here many times before, has demonstrated what it takes to get down with the people.

1. I've had to adjust my internal thermometer. Kenyans are warm and polite. No more can I do what people do in Vancouver, where we run into our friends on the street and feel it okay to utter a mere "what's up?" with our hands still firmly in our pockets. When introduced to strangers like myself, Kenyans take my hand, introduce themselves and welcome me warmly. The other day I was lost. A young lady was kind enough to walk out of her way with me to the area I needed to go to. And she stayed there until my friends showed up. Apparently this is the norm here.

2. Back in Canada I sometimes feel claustrophobic if more than four people stand closer than three feet to me for more than two minutes. I consider this an affront to my individuality and personal freedom. That's why I drive everywhere. Here I ride in buses, known as Mutatus, that seat 10 but somehow squeeze in 20, that blast hip-hop out of crackling, over-taxed speakers, and at times reek of vomit, and always of body odour and diesel smoke. I rarely take a taxi. If I need a break I stay home or I choose to walk, some times for miles.

3. If I did drive here I wouldn't wait patiently for a red light to turn green at 2am when it's obvious there are no vehicles or pedestrians around like everyone does back home. In Nairobi there are a handful of street lights that are rarely obeyed in the first place. Me and the rest of this city of 4 million play a dangerous game of Frogger, with traffic that WILL NOT STOP FOR ANY REASON other than they've already hit you. At times one can be fooled into thinking there's a flow to this game, mostly though, negotiating traffic means you are one step closer to death. The way they drive is one of the few gripes I have with Kenyans.

4. I ask myself. What is ice hockey? Because I watch soccer now.

5. I've had one beer a week so far. You want Budweiser or Molson? Too bad. Sure there's Heineken but I'll stick with the Kenyan pisswater known as Tusker.

6. Back home I deliberate over whether I should spend $150 on a pair of Levis or $300 on organic cotton Loomstate jeans. In Kenya, the average annual income is less than $500.

7. I fall into option paralysis in a Canadian supermarket, and that's just in the cheese aisle. In Nairobi I settle for, and enjoy the one kind of cheese most abundant here–marginally flavourful cheddar.

8. Not that I ate fast food back home, but if I did I would probably go through withdrawl here. Kenya has no American fast food chains whatsoever. Chapatis, beans and rice bitches!

9. I fret when it rains too much in Vancouver, while lack of abundant water means weekly shortages, yellow lawns and death to thousands of Kenyans.

10. I have a hot shower once a day even when I haven't broken a sweat back in Canada. In Nairobi I choose to bath with lukewarm water scooped by a juice jug from a basin every other day.

11. I wouldn't buy Haagen-Dazs ice cream or double douchie lattes even if they were available. I don't have wine with my dinner, nor do I head out to spend $40 on a meal because I'm feeling too lazy to cook. If I've spent $5 on a meal out for myself and a much less fortunate Kenyan friend, I've splurged. Usually I eat one main meal a day.

12. If I'm in a garbage-strewn and poop-smelling slum and someone offers me a bite of their food, I take it.

13. No one, including myself, wears gloves here when performing our recycling jobs in which we wade through mountains of trash. As a result I've stopped chewing my nails.

The list goes on and on and sometimes when I think of what I've complained about back in Vancouver, I feel ashamed.

But. The one thing I have not yet compromised is the consumption of water. I still buy it in bottles. However, I have been brushing my teeth with tap water.
No runny bum as of yet. Wish me luck.

Kill da Rat

2010-02-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

For the past month I have been living in a preschool. We eat dinner at children's tables in the classroom. When I wake up I hear kids blood-curdling shrieks as they seperate from their mothers each day.

My job is awsome. In order for me to resolve some of the issues surrounding the centres I have been visiting some of the youth group leaders to talk one on one with them. This means visiting the slums all over Nairobi. I am invited into their tiny tin shanties and treated like an foreign diplomat while they cook some food and serve me tea. Most often having to yell over the reggae that is playing loud with the single dim light bulb hanging in the middle of the room flickering at every bass beat. Its so hot in tin shacks by the end of the meeting you have unbuttoned your whole shirt and are lying down sweating like a dog.

One of my favourite episodes that happened was a time when I was helping a youth group pick up some plastic for the centre. When we arrived in the back part of a house we stood looking at the pile of plastic bottles and jerry cans. As we were talking we noticed the plastic was moving on its own. All of the sudden the owner of the house yells "ITS A RAT.KILL ITTTTTT!" We isntantly start kicking through the plastic pile, bottles flying, I get a glimpse of this rat which was more like a mutated cat. It's by far the biggest rat I've ever seen, and it was running around the back yard frantically trying to save it's own life as we were kicking up an down after getting a glimpse of it here! then there! then over here! The diseased creature takes a right and runs out the back gate with three of us behind this racing rodent the size of Oprah's thigh. Now I find myself in the middle of a thriving slum market chasing this thing with two other guys, one of them manages to get close enough while running to give it a big kick, but he misses and his shoe goes flying up in the air 50 feet across moving at 60 kmh and hitting a very very old woman as she was bending down to look at a pair of slippers she was thinking of buying. The woman has no idea what happened. The rat keeps running full speed and now we're chasing it alongside a big cement wall. I'll never forget the image of the three of us running after this monstrosity down the dirt path, it's legs working on overtime. We finally caught up to it and before I could do anything, the two guys started kicking it all over the market, at one point one of them kicked it so hard, it went streaming through the air and just about decapitated a man sitting on a rock selling cigarrettes but luckily he put his hands up and blocked the flying rat from hitting his face. After a few solid kicks, we had vanquished the disease spreading vile vermin.

OK I have to go to work I'll post some more stuff later.

Taking a break in the shade
I carried this thing with a couple hundred pounds of plastic for 5 kilometers in the hot sun
Edwin while we were building a chicken coop

Building a chicken coop

Edwin chopping up plastic before it gets shredded. Look at the mountain.

Adversus Solem ne Loquitor (Do not argue with the sun)

2009-12-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

So that was a long break since the last post, and there has been a lot of action since. The Up With Hope project was presented at the 11th annual Global Leadership Forum in Istanbul to delegates from all over the world and had an amazing reception.

The Up With Hope support group is constantly growing and continues to be the backbone of this organization. With out people's support and belief in our cause we would never have been able to have accomplished all of our goals and more.

I'll be in Nairobi within a few weeks to continue relations with the groups who have been working endlessly in the centres since we left.

I'm excited to see what 2010 is going to bring Up With Hope. I will definetily be updating this often when I am back in the hot, noisy, sleepless and amazing metropolis of Nairobi.

we is da human beans

2009-06-27T05:20:00.000-07:00

WOW WOW WOwee. Yesterday from dawn to this mornings sunrise was one long hot party day. You know those days that start so early and alcohol consumption begins long before sunset, the hot sun beating down on you while one drink is as easily slurped as the next, and the next, going on well into the early morning hours. Well that was the kind of day we had. And it was more fun than driving backwards down a highway.

The launch went great. We had nothing to do with organizing it, which we were elated about. A massive crowd swarmed in as the area MP came to grace us with his honorable presence. Giving a long-winded twenty-minute speech. Old women danced and sang. Drunken people yelled about being hungry, it was your typical Kenyan ceremony in everyway. People gave us lots of love and it was nice.

Then we made our crew walk to our place where we cooked 25 kilos of beef for 60 people. It was so great to have the people over who we have spent so much time with in their crazy neighborhoods. We had people from all over Nairobi, and my bedroom was the grimiest, sweatiest, and smokiest of them all. At one point a 40-year-old haggard man was passed out on my bed. What was even better was for a while there was no electricity as well as no running water (we more often than not don’t have a drip of running water in the house). So we celebrated the launch of the business and our soon departure from this wonderful and insane city.

This was the massive crowd who showed up with the MP. The video I took of it is one of the best things I have seen in Kenya.

Listening to many speeches in Swahili is always the most fun

Justin taking one for the team and thanking the community, I wasn't too into the Microphone

The area MP having a very Kenyan speech. Some how he managed to turn the direction of waste management into Politics. Its a constant campaign.
The unveiling of the centre also came with a long list of equipment that was supplied by the CDF for the groups we were working with who are doing garbage collection.
Here is a few of the people who we have been working with in the past 3 months. There is Mathare people and Makadara people here.
We are demonstrating our amazing plastic shredding technique with the new machine we bought for the centre.
Not everything is business.

FAREWELL TO THE AUSTRIAN, CONGOLESE AND CANADIANS

2009-06-25T07:39:00.001-07:00

BIG PARTY TOMORROW, IN SOUTH B,

bought the store out of KENYA KING and its going to be a big smash debaucherous evening with people from all over Nairobi and this PLANET CALLED "EARTH". Everyone Welcome! starts at around 4 pm. Right after the Recycling centre launch in Makadara, Mbotela.

Here is a video that was shot deep in the jungle of Pookaroo by the famous Dutch explorer/Dr. Von Fartenhammer. The heinous Teeto tribe is one of the last tribes on earth who still likes to eat little children. It was passed on to us by a colleague.

Nancy Drew! (What did she draw?)

2009-06-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

Today was not ordinary. We had a special clean up around the Recycling centre in Makadara before the big shebang launch we are having on friday. This mean't picking up all the garbage that was lying around, cutting the grass, etc. Today was the first day and hopefully the only day where I had to sort through the garbage and separate the plastics (bare hands).The plastics that have been festering in garbage for weeks and covered in odd colours and slimes. The smell was exactly how Justin described it "pure baby poo". Here are some photos from today. The actual pictures are amazing, I scrunch them down so I can put them on here fast and easy and they look like garbage, but you get the idea.

Yesterday we went to an international rugby competition. The sun was roasting. We drank so many beers and never peed. I laughed the entire 7 hours I was there. Drunken Kenyans are some of the funniest people you will ever meet. And bar none the best hecklers on this planet. Every white woman who passed infront of the bleachers was named "Nancy Drew" and everyone took the chance to scream it out as every white chicked walked by. I cried of laughing when one guy said "What did she draw?"

GET IT? GET IT?

Final Days in Nairobi

2009-06-20T02:45:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to add to the last post, That the last few weeks have come together even better than expected, as both Management/Operational structures are now complete for both Waste Management centre’s. Both networks have appointed board of representatives, have named chairs and secretaries and are on the verge of hiring the Manager, accountant and the laborers. We finished our involvement with both businesses this past Friday and are now both firmly in the hands of the youth within the networks. We plan to attend both their meetings at the beginning of this coming week to ensure that management is in place, laborers have been hired and everything is running smoothly, otherwise both businesses are set to go, and should begin bringing plastics to centre during the week. The one centre in Mathare is fully equipped with their plastics shredding machine in place and running, while Makadara should have there’s completed and hooked up by the end of the week.

We are having a launch for the project in Makadara on Friday at which point the machine should be in place and the equipment that the Local government has pledged to buy in support of the program should hopefully be ready to go. So as of Friday, conveniently our last day, we hope that both businesses are fully equipped with a building, a machine, the equipment, the training and the ability to fully run a waste management centre.

After the launch were having a BBQ at our place in the afternoon and have invited everyone we’ve worked with, in the past three months, plus all of our other friends, which should be a lot of fun.

I must add we're extremely pleased just how well everything turned out; it really couldn’t have gone any better than it has and just want to thank all of you who have supported this project, as it couldn’t have been possible without you.

the yuts are great

2009-06-16T04:44:00.001-07:00

The blogging activity has been low. But the Hope has been uping more and more everyday. We have two more weeks in Nairobi. We are working as hard as humanly possible to achieve everything we came to do. If someone told me before we came here that everything would go as smooth as it has, I would have laughed in their face, thinking "I should punch that person in the face for being so stupid". The past two and a half months have gone so well and everything is wrapping up to look like we accomplished what we came to do. I don't know if it's a product of our organizing or the help from others that has made this project go so well.

We have tried to do everything with these youth groups so that when it's time for us to leave, they know everything they need to do to succesfully run a recycling centre. We have done everything we came here to do, now the success lies in the hands of these groups who will have to work very hard to make it all work.

I have met some incredibly inspiring people in the time I have been here. People my age and older and even younger. I can't ever try to describe life in the slums, but the resiliance and strength of the people who inspire me from these neighborhoods are teaching me as much as we are teaching them.

On the 29th we fly to Bombay. This will be awesome. We have been trying to do some fun stuff when we aren't working here, we recently climbed a dormant volcano, which was a lot of fun. And I myself enjoy the nightlife of this town, maybe a little more than others but I try to go party every chance I get. To be honest, it's nice to go out and see stuff once and a while, but I don't have any vibe to go and see lions or anything like that in Kenya. I love working where I work and if we go away I miss it.

THE SEARCH FOR MORE SOSA

2009-06-05T01:45:00.000-07:00

The search for more sosa begins and ends in Nairobi. The video depicts our daily life while living in this sleepless Metropolis. Our lives consist of walking everywhere, taking buses during the most savage traffic jams you can ever Imagine. Meetings in obscure places like under a tree or outside a building that have the loudest drum circle ever playing. Spending a lot of time in the complicated neighborhoods where the streets turn to ankle high mud after a bout of rain. And where parties are banging till the early sun.

getting blogged

2009-05-30T03:46:00.001-07:00

Now that the construction of both centres has finished, we have been working with the different youth groups on how the centres will be governed. Some of these meetings are really hilarious as some of the discussions that can go on and on about wether or not the employees should be provided tea during the shifts or wether or not they should start at 830 or 9. We are attempting to set these centres up as a recycling co-operative within the community. All the youth groups in the constituency of Makadara will work to keep the centre running. On tuesday the business simulation training will start. This is where people selected from the 14 youth groups are given business training which will ultimately teach them on how to succesfully run the centre as a proper business. Im super excited to see where this is going and have a really good feeling about it.

The days have been a lot slower since the construction stopped. No more 12-13 hour days. I'm happy to not have to wake up at 530 every morning but I definetely miss spending everyday in the crazy neighborhoods. To celebrate the completion I bought myself a bottle of Jameson.

Here are some photos of us hanging out with friends in Kibera.

The man next to me in this photo is one of my biggest heroes. Jacob a.k.a Rasta is one cool cat.

Celine Dion and Plastic Fires

2009-05-23T02:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of construction in Mathare. There are a few more things to finish up but yesterday was the last day that we would be working with the full crew. Friday was a full 13 hour day that really knocked me out. By the end of the day Sean and I were hustling ultra hard to get the last bit of cement poured while about 100 community members made of babies to old men and women surrounded us staring and giving us orders. Sean and I were at wits end. As random locals were yelling out to us that we missed a spot Sean would yell "I DONT WANT ANY MORE PEANUT GALLERY!"

and I would follow up with "SHUT UP! WE DON'T CARE! WHO ARE YOU?!".

It was more than insane. We are always calm and collected until random people start surrounding us trying to tell us things we don't know.

It was a race to finish that we didnt win. We spent friday from dawn till dusk building but we have to go back soon at the beginning of this week to finish up some of the walls and put in some steps. The past five weeks, waking up at 530 with the hour and half commute plus 12 hour days have taken their toll. Sleeping in, waking up and making a huge breakfast with sausage hashbrowns, eggs and coffee was a beautiful thing today.

Here are the photos from the Mathare construction. Ill post the finished product when its done. I'm seriously sad the building is over. I grew really attached to the crew.

Dem Hafe Geta Beatin

2009-05-21T03:01:00.001-07:00

For the past two and a half weeks, we have been working close to twelve-hour days in Mathare, trying to finish the construction. It is an hour and a half commute from our house to the site and the same going home. Traffic in Nairobi is disgusting. The city is over populated and during rush hour you can count on spending two hours on the bus to get anywhere. It’s so hot you have to open a window, but with every other car idling on the road waiting to move forward, you can literally see the exhaust fumes filling up the bus. That mixed with the garbage fires that are constantly burning all over the city, make for a supreme headache. I can often loose my temper on the bus as well. I hate it when the drivers are wheeling around like a bat out of hell during the hours when school kids are walking to or from school in their nice uniforms often having to jump out of the way of these gas guzzling beasts.

There is never a dull moment in Mathare. The community is vibrant and together. I could write a dozen stories of the things we’ve seen over the past few weeks but that would get tedious. One thing that really stands out in Mathare is the community justice that I have witnessed a few times now. On Tuesday there was an accused thief who was placed on a step and surrounded by angered residents. The accused pleaded and cried, denying any responsibility in the crime. A few men started beating him with there fists until a few other men came with a gigantic wooden club that looked like it was made for what it was about to be used for. The men took turns smashing the living daylight out of the screaming man. The noise of each smack against the skin rung out and I could see the eyes of the criminal which looked terrified and tortured. After more interrogation and a few more slaps to the face the man limped away. Some of the workers on the site told me that usually these people are killed if they don’t admit to the crime. But they can also be banished from the area. I was told that if someone is a victim of a robbery, instead of going to the police, they go to a local youth group and request justice. It’s not hat hard to get a group of idle youth to go beat on a scummy criminal. The police just take the criminals money and send him on his way. My favourite part of the whole thing was when the police walked up to the situation and inquired why they were beating the man. The locals answered indignantly that he was a thief. The police shrugged and kept walking at a slow pace.

The centre and youth hall that we are building is awesome. It’s been my favourite project yet. I think the reason for that is that Sean and I have been way more hands on with the building. Him and I did the entire two cement floors of the hall and centre and they look so good. Honestly we are proud of ourselves. I wish I could post photos of it right now but I need the photos from Sean’s camera and he is at work.

I took the day off work today because last night after work I had a malaria scare. I took a nap and could barely move out of bed. I’m feeling better today but I didn’t have enough energy to get to Mathare. I am very doubtful that I have anything worse than a small stomach bug. I’m not surprised considering the things I eat and ingest.

Getting your shillings worth.

2009-05-16T02:36:00.000-07:00

So here is the video I promised yesterday. I'm suprised I got it done when I did, but honestly I love editing these things so working on them is no chore at all. Here I have tried to show how exactly construction works over here, especially on a grass roots level. Most structures in poor neighborhoods are thrown together with whatever one can find and are usually comprised of scrap wood, old metal and mud.

The centre is not much to look at, but try to remember that the structure itself doesn't have to be amazing, after all it's for garbage. This is also to show how you go about building something without any electricty whatsoever. We are now doing it for a third time in Mathare and I don't even think about it anymore. Before I used to think "this would be so much easier with a drill" or "why can't I just have a skill saw" but now I can use a hand saw like nobodies business and never really think about how much easier everything is back home. Another really positive aspect to these centres being built is the lack of garbage being produced. As most of us know, construction sites produce infinite amounts of waste, as where here, the only garbage we make is the bags the cement comes in, and even then the youth groups use them as heavy duty garbage bags. We use every inch of material and nothing goes to waste. I love it. That was my biggest peev working on sites at home, was the amount of shit that I had to throw out. Check it out.

no more cow stomach please

2009-05-15T00:22:00.000-07:00

The project in Mathare is by far our biggest one to date. Not only are we constructing a recycling centre, we are renovating the connecting youth hall, and by renovating it, I mean tearing it down and rebuilding it. The size of it was a little intimidating at first, especially when we started tearing everything down. Now as we have been working on it for the past week, everything is taking shape and everyone is feeling good.

The site we are building on is my favourite so far. It is situated in a core area where there is lots of human traffic and surrounded by apartment blocks. All day long we are watched by mothers doing laundry, selling vegetables and taking their kids for walks. By vagabonds and street kids with glue bottles hanging from their mouths and by people my age and older with no work in sight and nothing better to do than to sit in the shade and stare. Kids are constantly running around playing, often with just a tire or a piece of string pulled from a garbage heap and stopping every now and then to watch. As much as the people of Mathare like to watch us, I like to watch them. I feel as though my understanding of poverty is something that has no limit. I’ve been in this country for some time and still I find myself astonished at some of the conditions people have to live through. Mathare’s condition disturbing and the garbage is similarly overwhelming than that of Kibera’s. The smell we work in everyday can sometimes bring a tear to your eye

The crew of people we have working are vibrant and hard working. In Makadara we hired two females and can honestly say were very disappointed by their effort. In Mathare we have three females and they are all fantastic. One woman, Joyce is a powerhouse and is more hard working than many men on the crew. It’s really strange having to give orders to people. Sometimes the language barrier is a major headache but I try hard to make sure that everyone knows I’m their friend, because after all I’m in their hood and none of this would be happening if it weren’t for them.

Today was especially brutal. Sean and I dug a trench for about 6 hours in a place which not only used to be a dumping site but a place for pooing. As I was sweating all over my body under the intense sun, hurling the pick into the “dirt”, the soil would fly back and hit me in the face, at one point I licked my lips and the taste I felt on my tongue was the same taste as the smell I had been smelling all morning.

We hire a lunch spot across the way for the crew everyday and usually it is very enjoyable. Except for today. Sean and I were equally dying of hunger but much to our chagrin the daily special was “Matumbo” or what we would call cow stomach. Our hunger presided and we went for it. I’m not sure what was worse, the smell of the dish or the taste. The scent was like a rotten petting zoo and the taste was like a chewy garbage soaked piece of leather. Never again.

Our days are long and hard, waking up at 530 and usually arriving home at six or seven, with an hour and a half commute each way. That’s when Sean’s alarm clock isn’t waking us up at 3 am so we think its time for work, up until we’re making coffee and I look at my phone and see the real time. We slave all day throwing rocks, dirt and cement around and our hands are sore from the skin being shaved down. When we’re done, my body is fatigued and aching, we are covered in dirt, feces and sweat. but I can’t say that at the end of the day I have ever felt a better feeling.

I should be posting a new video soon and some photos of the construction in Mathare. For now here are some photos of the youth centre we pulled down and what garbage collection looks like in the slums.

Long Week. Longer Weekend.

2009-05-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

Finished up with all of the major construction in Makadara on Thursday. Everyone was completely exhausted by the end of the whole thing. Luckily it was labour day weekend here in Kenya so the workers got to enjoy their wages and get some rest while we went for a much needed mini vacation on the coast.

We were invited to join a group of other foreigners working in Kenya that had rented an amazing villa on Dianni Beach. There was a pretty great crew of NGO workers, private sector people, volunteers and the lot. Everyone was doing some kind of incredible work and they were all a blast. We basically spent the entire time swimming in gorgeous water, eating ridiculously good food, going on catamaran trips and enjoying the odd beverage or two. It seemed a bit surreal going from piles of garbage in the slums to a beach vacation, but hey, it’s not against the rules to have some care free fun now and then!

Now that we’re rested up Nathaniel and Sean are going to be moving their efforts over to Mathare for about two weeks to renovate the existing structure and convert it into a youth centre/ waste management centre. We’re still not 100% on the plan yet, but it looks like we’ll be using part of the area to store plastics and other recyclable from collections, the rest of the building will be upgraded to a community hall where the group uses the space to show soccer matches for a small fee and also rents it out for functions.

I’m going to continue to work with the Kibera group from last year at developing their door to door garbage collection business. Myself and some members from the NGO WorldBike have been working with the guys and girls from Kibera to make a solid business plan for the group to use as a guiding tool. The plan is almost done, next step is to do a pilot phase to see what works in reality and what doesn’t. We’ve made some good progress and the group has learned quite a deal about marketing, financial forecasts, staffing and all the other fun stuff you need to know when running a real business. It’s pretty awesome to keep working with these guys and see all of the familiar faces.

Time’s flying over here, we’re a third done already.

Il faut bouger bouger.

"DONT TOUCH THAT F*$KING HAMMER!"

2009-04-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

We have one day left of building in Makadara. I am seriously pooped. The sun has been merciless of late so I was very thankful to get the roof on today so we could work under the shade. I think the combination of an extremely tight schedule and the simmering heat has made Sean and I a little impatient and at times angry. As much as I love the work, it is so frustrating trying to get things done when you have five fifteen year old's from the neighborhood, hovering around you trying to pull the hammer out of your hand or trying to tell you what to do. These kids are basically idle all day, everyday so they are with us from start to finnish, but I had to put an end to their involvement when the work started to get technical. We have hired skilled workers and we have the local stragglers. The stragglers will pick up any tool at any time and just start banging at something, this has caused me a few out bursts where the locals heard many four letter words yelled in their direction. This isn't to say that we are groing strong relationships with this crew. There are some really cool dudes we are working with and once again I am so grateful that we were able to work in this area and meet these solid people.

Today we had a visit from the Executive Director of Environment from Nairobi. I think this is the end of us working completely under the radar like we have up till now. When we were working in Kibera, there was not one peep from the city council because no one cares about that place. Now that we are somewhere else, people are raising all kinds of stinks and we are trying to roll with it as we keep working. It was silly for us to assume that we could just walk into a neighborhood and start building a massive centre with out getting caught. We tried at least..

Tomorrow after work we are heading to the coast for some heavy RnR in Mombasa. Friday here is Labour day so we will have a nice 3 day relaxation period and then back to work on monday. Now Im going to go home, make some tasty burritos, have a beer and PASS OUT.

Ill post some video or photos soon.

Moving Forward

2009-04-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

The end of our first week of Construction in the Makadara Constituency came to a close on Friday, with the successful completion of the first step of the waste management centre. After a lot of hard work put in by a number of ambitious youth, the weeks work was completed on schedule and only slightly over budget, which we can’t be more pleased about. It was more difficult getting the guys to stop for lunch then it was to get them to work, which is always nice. The Materials needed for next week’s work are already on site, and we are hopeful that the walls will be up and the roof on by the end of this coming week. Below are a few photos showing the completion of the foundation.

Next week is also the beginning of the waste Management training that will see about 60 youth, divided into three groups over the next three weeks, trained on waste management techniques such as plastics sorting and processing, briquette making, and composting.

We have also continued working closely with our friends in Kibera, trying to build on what we have already accomplished with them there, and are hopeful that things will continue to move forward

The other side of working over here

2009-04-23T04:46:00.000-07:00

As the construction in Makadara moves along well there have been some unfortunate incidents in the past week.

We have learned that three youth that were supposed to be a part of our program in Mathare died last week. Initially we were told that they had been in a car accident during a weekend trip out of town, later we received news that they were actually killed by police after a case of mistaken identity. This is disgusting but all too common. The police here are a pretty pathetic bunch of people, they make the VPD look like a group of angels.

Corruption in Nairobi is insane, personally I've been seeing a lot more of it this time around than last year. It's everywhere, there's nothing you can't pay your way through. The politicians are the worst, the majority of the time they are fat men in suits that walk around with an arrogant smile on their faces.

In the case of the youth that were murdered, they were apparently mistaken for gang members and killed. The criminal justice system is a joke here, which shouldn't really come as a surprise but when you see it first hand it is sobering. This information is second hand, so we don't know the full story yet, but it doesn't sound like a stretch.

On top of this story, we are now getting people who have been popping out of nowhere to start bugging the makadara youth groups for bribes. I won't name names, but people who should be happy that something is even being in their neighbourhoods are now taking the opportunity to attempt to fill their pockets. Officials, elders, and others are telling the youth group members that they want a piece of the pie. These folk see white people in their neighbourhoods working with the youth groups and now think that they have millions of dollars. There's been threats that if they don't get something they will incite the neighbourhoods against the groups, luckily we are working with groups that have lived their whole lives in these areas and are respected by their peers. Farouk and Michael, who are the leaders of the Kamaliza group have done an amazing job of dealing with all of the chaos surrounding this project.

I don't mean to sound too negative here, but this is the reality of Kenya. I should also say that there are good politicians and police that are trying to make this place better, but unfortunately they seem to be the minority. This wouldn't be a real project if there weren't any bumps in the road.

In the mean time we move forward and try to create a positive change, don't have any other options.

DIG IN

2009-04-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

After too many meetings than I care to remember, we are finally doing what we set out to do. It is very rewarding now to be here, seeing this project evolve. The past two days has been a milestone in our group’s efforts. Yesterday the Chief of the Makadera constituency came and gave the site the official opening. It was a symbolic gesture that was mainly for him to brag about his involvement in the community. The application process for the construction went well and the selected youth are keen and extremely hard working. We have accomplished in two days time what took six days in Kibera (mind that the ground in Kibera is much worse). I also have eight blisters on my left hand. It looks like leprosy.

The sun is ridiculously savage here. As much as we want to be able to be working as hard as the rest of the guys on the site, we do not have the skin for it. We can only go for so long before it feels like our skin is cracking to pieces. So we spend as long as we can, doing what needs to be done until we have to run to the cool shade like vampires. It has also been raining. Yesterday I left my only pair of shoes (suede) outside and got they were soaked. So this morning I had to walk to work in flip-flops. Our walk doesn’t include pavement and goes through the slum outside our flat. After it rains the paths are nothing but black sewage mud mixed with garbage. My feet kept sticking in the mud and the sandals kept breaking so I would have to pick the decrepit things up and fix them. By the middle of the day my feet were black up to my ankles. Thanks to Sean, he went and bought me a pair of rubber boots.

The community we are in (Makadera) is not as visually provoking as Kibera but is still as affected by unemployment and other issues. The thing I like about working here is that the garbage isn’t absolutely everywhere already. This is really a great preventative measure to avoid a totally polluted neighborhood. As in some other slums, the garbage seems unsurpassable. The youth are excited about this opportunity that has been brought to them. I don’t have a single doubt that these groups are going to work their hardest to make this project work. After all, this project’s success doesn’t lie in our hands but in the group’s. We are simply providing them with a small service, should they choose to exploit it, is entirely up to them.

Be sure that now that we are on the ground getting things done, we’ll be posting a lot more. And we want peoples input!

A little nini

2009-04-13T05:24:00.000-07:00

Wow I cannot believe I actually got this video up. I won't get into detail about the difficulties of internet usage here, but getting this little video I made online was no simple task. I made a montage of some stuff while doing field work and other shots around town, just to try to portray the diversity of Nairobi.
It's not very difficult to pull out your camera and get some amazing shots here, there is always something going on. Luckily here (unlike Vancouver) there is an abundance of colour and noise which always makes filming and taking pictures fun, as long as you aren't flashing your gear too hard. I just don't know how often I am going to be able to go to these lengths to get video on here.

Put Your Hands Up For Nairobi... I Love This City!

2009-04-11T03:04:00.000-07:00

We just had our big kickoff meeting on Friday and it was huge success. We had over 35 representatives of youth groups from around the city of Nairobi attending the presentation held at the Nairobi YMCA.

For those of you that don’t know about the project; we (Sean McHugh, Nathaniel Canuel and Justin Sekiguchi of the Environmental Youth Alliance) are starting a waste management program that empowers community-based youth groups in their garbage collections and recycling. We started our project last year with the Soweto Youth Group based in the slum of Kibera to build a waste management centre and we have now expanded the program to two more slums: Mathare and Makadara.

This year we have invited all of the youth groups from the Mathare and Makadara constituencies to participate in the program and to create a network that allows them to share resources, knowledge and markets. We will be building a waste management centre in each area and it will be shared by the various groups that serve that region. Construction will be followed by business and marketing development workshops to help the groups improve their existing services.

Yesterday’s turnout was over 35 heads of each group which represent somewhere around 600-700 youth. The presentation was given by EYA manager Melanda Schmid. The room was full of youth that have been doing door to door garbage collection for years and combined have an enormous amount of experience and knowledge. The overall reaction to the program was very positive and having all of the different groups in one room was an amazing sight.

During the discussion portion of the meeting we had asked the audience various questions to learn about their experiences with waste collection, when we asked the groups to tell us about problems they had encountered we heard a variety of issues that can impede groups from doing the collection (such as non-payment from customers, interference by politicians, hazardous working environment, etc…). The moment that things really started to change was when groups began to share various techniques that they had used to overcome the issues other groups were having, the answers to these youths’ problems were sitting right beside them.

So from here we will be designing the finer details of our project with the inputs from the groups and start the implementation as early as this week. There is still lots of work that needs to be done but we are excited to see how all of this unfolds and anticipate many twists and turns in the next three months.

Stay tuned…

Up With Hope Blog

2009-04-11T03:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome everybody to the Up With Hope blog. We’ve set up this site to keep everyone up to date with the progress of the project and to share some stories from the daily life of a group of Canadians living and working in Nairobi. We’ll be uploading stories, pictures and video of our three months that we have to implement a waste management program. Stay tuned, we will try to update the site on a weekly basis (pending our access to the internet).

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the sponsors/donors that made this possible, it is your faith in the program that has made this a reality.

Green Workplace, Ruth Fluevog and Fluevog Shoes, Fine Art Framing, Pascale and Dominiek Lepoutre, Bernadette Phan, all those that attended the Up With Hope art show and anyone else that has supported Up With Hope in any other way.