4 weeks I have been in kakuma
4 weeks of reflection, learning, observing, understanding, acceptance. I still feel like I arrived yesterday, because I’m still not used to the extreme climate this place is famous for. It’s getting better though, except for the nights. The nights are torturous.
I have met some wonderful people, both colleagues and friends. In this setting, the lines are blurred. The people you work with become your friends, your family. A colleague who also is a friend told me, the life is plastic here. The people who are your friends here may not necessarily be your friends in another setting, or life. I truly hope that is not true because we rely on each other here and the thought that this relationships and bonds formed may not be real is scary.
My favorite person right now, is a 74 year old American priest. But with his energy, you will never be able to tell that he’s 74. I don’t have that energy and I’m less than half his age. He’s pretty amazing. He has an American sense of humor that kills me every time he talks. Reminds me of my grandfather, he just says the first thing that comes to his mind. Calls it as he sees it. He is also a Jesuit priest so he’s pretty spiritual and wise and really smart. He has travelled a lot, and it’s always fascinating when he tells you his experiences.
Kakuma compound one reminds me of my upcountry village, where you HAVE to know your next door neighbor because you might need to borrow a cup of sugar. Everybody knows you and at some point, you will know everybody. There is a lovely little pub called catherine’s just a few meters away from the compound where people meet over the weekends to socialize and while away the time over interesting discussion (sometimes heated debates) about soccer matches or current affairs or the week that was. The ladies discuss their lives at home and the foods they will eat once they go for RnR. Kates equalizes everyone, when you are at kate’s you are not project director or programme manager or whatever title that has been bestowed. You are just a guy, or a girl, missing home and longing for the company of like people. Without catherine’s, life here would be slightly more of a hardship, and boring, like watching paint dry.
My job is interesting. I haven’t yet gotten into the thick of things, but I’m quickly getting there. My boss is awesome, my colleagues are really wonderful. I’ve taken up jogging (I should say a really brisk walk), something I have been meaning to do for the last three years. The food JRS is giving the staff is great. We eat goat, lots of it. With vegetables of course. There’s a little angel that makes my room pretty when I leave, and my clothes are washed and pressed. For sure this I cannot get at home. We take a lot of fluids, copious amounts of water. I can safely say, the amount of water I have consumed in kakuma is more than I have EVER done in my whole life. Never felt the need to hydrate, until kakuma.
Other than missing my family, life here hasn’t been too bad. Certainly not what I expected. I love the sense of community, the sense of family and sisterhood the JRS girls go out of their way to make you feel. It makes life bearable. And interesting.
muthoniee 