Friday's Favorites - one day early...cause I'm a day ahead :-)

The joys of living in Kenya.  Sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating.  I often feel like I am living out my greatest dream.  And other times, I feel like I am living a nightmare.

Thursday was definitely not a dream....not the good kind anyway.

I decided to make Fridays a day to share some "favorites" of my life in Kenya.  Maybe favorite pictures, favorite signs, favorite foods, favorite stories.  I don't even know yet.  But today, I will share some "favorites" from yesterday's home inspection for registration as a Children's Cheritable Institution.

Actually, these are not the good kind of favorites, more like "seriously?" kind of favorites.  Let me  just say that it was not a fun experience! Dealing with Kenyan governmental officials is more on the nightmare side of things!  And dealing with Kenyans who are not open to thinking outside of the only box they have ever worked with is even worse. (Disclaimer: not all Kenyans are this way!)

So, the inspection committee came to Haven of Hope Baby Center and these are  their recommendations and reasons we are not up to standard.....

1.) The kitchen workers' aprons are not white.  They do have them.

Me: "Must they be white?"

Them: "Yes, of course. Otherwise, how would you know if they are clean? 

Ummm....wash them, maybe??  I didn't say that, but my confused look led him to say:

Them: "If they are black as your shirt they could be dirty for one year."

Huh????
By the way, no one I have talked to has heard of that rule.  In fact, the Children's Officer who was part of the committee even questioned that.



2.) The store is incomplete.  -  A "store" is a big walk-in pantry.  I also have a small walk-in pantry that most women in America would die for.  I was having shelving installed in the store which was completed this morning.  It was empty, other than the three layers of shelving lining the walls and a ladder the worker had used.  

Them: "You don't have a store."

Me: "Yes, it is here. We just had shelving installed. They completed it this morning."

Them: "Then where is your food."

Me: "Here." (As the staff member opens the walk-in small pantry revealing shelves full of food.)

Them: "That is not a store. That is a cupboard." (It is the one bigger than most American pantries.)

Me: "But it is storing our food."

Them: "But you do not have a store."

Me: "Yes, it is here." (pointing back to the big store)

Them: "But it is not complete."

Me: "It is. You can see."

Them: "I can see that there is no food in it.  Therefore, it is not a store.  It is incomplete."

Nevermind the fact that we have the room full of shelves and another pantry full of food!!!  

3.) No mosquito nets over the beds. We have them, in the closet.  I showed him. But we don't have mosquitoes yet, so we are not using nets.  Believe me, I would notice if had mosquitoes.  I HATE them!

Me: "Here they are, but there are no mosquitoes now so we are not using them."

Them: "How do you know there are no mosquitoes now?"

Me: "Because we all live in the same space and none of us have seen any.  It is still too cold. When we have them, the nets are ready to be used."

Them: As they all laugh...."How do you know when they will come?"

Me: "When we see them, we can begin using the nets." 

Them: "How will you know when they are coming?  Will they call and tell you, or will they announce themselves? Do you have a special relationship with mosquitoes that causes them to tell you before they come?"

Seriously???  I am not dumb, blind or deaf.  I WILL hear them! And, for the record, the mosquitoes in Nairobi area do not carry malaria because of the high altitude.



4.) The ventilation is inadequate.  Most Kenyan homes and buildings have little cut-outs into the concrete over the windows for ventilation.  They are just little holes, sometimes with designs.  My house was built by an amazing man who was a fore thinker, by Kenyan standards.  This house is designed very well.  Rather than open cut-outs, the windows are equipped with little vents at the top that are covered with screens and have an slanted overlay.  I pointed them out to the people and explained the function of them.  Well, they obviously had never seen them, so they must not be good enough.  You know, we can't introduce an advanced way of thinking or doing something.

Me: "These were specially designed and put in for the purpose of ventilation."

Them: "They are not proper vents."

Me: a confused look

Them: "They must be cut out above the windows."

Me: "They are here at the top of the windows."

Them: "They must be here, above the curtain area, otherwise how would the air pass through for proper ventilation?"

(Umm, hello??? Are curtains solid objects that obstruct airflow???)

Me: "These allow air through the screens without allowing insects to enter into the house."

Them: "But they are not proper ventilation. The people inside can suffocate without ventilation."  
Did you hear a word I said???

5.) No separate men's and women's pit latrines.  Huh???? 

Me: "We have indoor flushing toilets." 

Them: "But what if the country has a water shortage?"  (Which it does now and has for many months.)

Me: "We have a borehole (a huge, long-term deep well) and we pump water into one of our three tanks."

Them: "What if you and I both need to use the latrine? We cannot use the same one."

Me: Again..."We have indoor toilets. 5 of them." (my unspoken thought: "Why not? That's what we do in the village?")

Them: "You cannot have only one pit latrine."

What the heck????  Do they want to remain a third world country forever???


I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Friday's Favorites.  I enjoy sharing my life with you, but I did not enjoy this experience.  Maybe next Friday's Favorite will be something we can all enjoy.