A Justified Journey

Ninafuraha chungu nzima!!! This phrase is a local expression I have acquired from one of our TAs on this trip (Usuf.) I had the opportunity of sitting next to him for a 7 hour drive through bumpy dirt roads as we slowly made our way from Queen Elizabeth to Lake Nabugabo, a freshwater lake separated from Lake Victoria just by a small patch of land. This site is another of the Chapman’s regular sites for conducting their studies as Colin focuses on the local Vervet Monkey populations while Lauren seeks to analyze the local swamp and lake ecology, which in many ways is similar to that of Lake Victoria, but on a much reduced scale. But I will get to all this later. As I was saying I got the opportunity to get to know my TA and he has unofficially become my Swahili tutor. I’ve written pages upon pages of grammar and phrases of Swahili in my journal and spend my nights before going to bed trying to study what I wrote earlier that day. He is even teaching me sheng, a slang language used by youths here which is a mix of Swahili and English. The phrase I started with is a colloquialism which literally translates to “I am a pot full of happiness!”(ninafuraha chungu nzima) Using the grammar rules that he taught me, I then try to create my own sentences and bring them to him to correct. These linguistic concoctions frequently draw chuckles from my three Kenyan TAs. In exchange, I am trying to teach him some Spanish. Usuf works for the Kenyan Wildlife Authority and took a sabbatical to join this program for the second year in a row. After his travels with us, he will take the position of second in command at a nature reserve on the Kenyan coast. Lucky bum, he’s going to have a beachfront house on the Indian Ocean!

His knowledge of Kenyan plants, mammals and birds seems unmatched and he is a wealth of information regarding the current Kenyan political situation. The impression I have gotten here is that people in Kenya are far more involved in terms of interest in their politics, which is a stark contrast from the masses in Canada and the US who get riled up demanding for more accountability in government whenever a major headline hits, but end up being indifferent and ignorant on the issues. I guess it has to do with a sense of pride in Kenya at their ability to transition between governments peacefully ever since their independence. They were even able to change governments from an autocractic government to an elected one, and are now attempting to reform their constitution to prevent future presidents from becoming dictators again by providing parliament and their prime ministers with more powers.

The roads between our destinations are never very long, but due to their terrible conditions it usually takes us an hour to cover a max of 40 km. Most “highways” are not differentiable from back country roads except for their wideness. When there is a paved road, it is they are generally closed off for maintenance! Thus we usually spend between 5-10 hours bumping along. Since we are riding in the back of refurbished trucks now fitted with seats, all the sides are open and dust from the road pours in! We get off the trucks looking like we’ve picked up nice tans, only to have them wash off once we step into the shower. One of our destinations, Lake Nabugabo, is a lakeside paradise. We are able to bathe and swim here because the low calcium levels in the lake do not permit bilharzias snails, which carry the parasite schistosomiasis, to create their shells. Thus they are vulnerable and die off before they can infect anyone. Thus, we can enjoy swimming in this parasite-free lake in the morning, between classes and right before sunset! Our tents overlook this beautiful lake and there is a troop of Vervets which frequently come around at dinner time to steal food from our hands and plates when we are not aware!

The geography class got the opportunity to talk to some of the local farmers and fishermen to try to find out the sorts of challenges they were facing. They were very patient with us and answered all of our questions, but when we were done asking questions, they came at us with a few difficult questions of their own. They wondered what we were going to do with this information now that we know the problems that they face. They asked us how we would help them. This is frequently posed to us during our excursions and like every other time before, we cannot provide them with a satisfactory answer. The idea that we are not representative from an NGO or aid organization is difficult for many to understand considering the nature of many of our questions. Even though we explain tot them that we are just students and have no influence or power to speak of at this point in our careers is very difficult for many people to understand. Why should we come and gather information if we aren’t going to help these people with it they ask. I wish I could express my own frustrations at my inability to make an immediate large-scale difference and my feeling of impotence as we are gathering data for what seems to be only for the sake of gathering data. Every time my class and I enter a different village, we can see all these things that people don’t have the resources to fix for themselves and we start trying to think of solutions, based on the ideas expressed by the people here. Dr. John told us that some of the groups from previous years have identified a few small-scale projects that they fund-raised for and then sent funds back with professors who helped communities implement these projects. Perhaps we can do something similar for a few communities in order to feel like we have contributed something at the end of this trip rather than just take information for our own self-advancement.

On the back of one of the seats on the bus the message “Safari ya Haki” is scrawled upon it, which translates to “a justified journey.” I don’t know why this phrase has stuck with me so much, but I find that I regularly think about its meaning and how it fits in with the purpose of this trip. I came here wanting to know that I would come back a different, hopefully better person, that the people I would meet here would have a lasting impact on the way I experienced and lived my life. That the things I would witness here would alter the way I see things back home or when I would read the news. I never want to become bitter or disillusioned, I can only wish that I can maintain some hope throughout my travels in life. I admit that I am an idealist, something that I have been accused of being many a time throughout my life, but damn, it almost seems necessary if I ever want to make a contribution and not become cynical.

Amani my friends.