Moses had got back late last night from the funeral in Bungoma and hadn’t surfaced yet. I didn’t want to waste the morning, so I walked to the top of the small road outside the hotel and caught a boda boda into town.
Boda boda’s are fun and/or scary. It entirely depends on your driver.
The basic principle is a simple one. You take a bicycle, add a cushion onto the back and lo – you have a bicycle taxi.
They originated at the Kenya – Uganda border in Busia, a couple of hours drive from Kisumu, where a half mile stretch of road spanned the two border controls.
The paperwork required to operate vehicles in the no-mans land between the two was prohibitive, as anyone who has done paperwork in modern day Africa will surely testify. So there sprang up an opportunity for enterprising bicycle owners to ferry people Border-to-Border.
That’s the history lesson over.
Today’s bicycle taxi’s owe less to the colonial era and more to the 50cc engines of the Japanese. Pedal power has given way to petrol and the Kisumu’s busy streets are testament to their popularity.
Finding no bicycle available, I opted for the motorised boda boda and settled into the comfortable seat behind the driver. For just 50 bob (about 35p) in under 5 minutes we were in town, at Nakumatt Nyanza, one of a popular chain of supermarkets across Kenya.
I made my way through the busy plaza and crossed the street outside to the small shopping mall where the foreign exchange bureau is housed.
Half an hour later, after a quick walk around some of the shops to pick up a bottle of water and a newspaper I made my way down the main street to the cyber cafe and coffee house.
The iced coffee here is lovely. Rich icy bitter espresso topped with melting sweet vanilla ice cream. Just what 30 degrees demands.
As I sat reading the paper my phone buzzed a text message. It was from Moses “Am at Sunset”.
Great.
I have waited two days to see Moses and just as I come to town he shows up at the hotel!
He swiftly agreed to come over and meet me over a soda and soon we were catching up on the past few months since I last came. We made plans for the things we need to do over the next few days and the pople we need to see.
My phone buzzed again, it was Kennedy, inviting us to a meeting at 2:30 in his offices.
Kennedy Owiti is our lawyer in Kisumu. We seem to manage to keep him fairly busy, with land purchases, rent agreements and legal disputes,
He is also a really nice man and meeting with him is always a pleasure.
Moses and I made our way to his 7th floor offices overlooking the lake at the top of the main street. We needed to discuss our lease agreement.
Last year our landlady died. We have rented the rehabilitation centre in Kibos since 2004 and have never missed a rent payment. Unfortunately, as appears to often be the case in Kenya, the legal position is less than straight forward. Two parties are claiming the rights to the rent – the relatives of the deceased lady and the relatives of her previously deceased husband.
“I see your problem”, said Ken astutely, “It is like two elephants fighting - only the grass suffers”
I know how the grass feels.
“Is there any chance of you moving out and leaving them to resolve it?” Ken asked.
If you want to know the answer to that, you may have to read yesterday’s blog post.
Perhaps I need faith more urgently than I thought I did.
As we walked out of Ken’s office I noticed the signs for Kisumu’s university campus. My thoughts turned to our students, to those we support in college. I asked Moses which campus our students were at.
“Truphena is here in Kisumu” he said, “I will see if she is around”
Moses called Truphena, and we agreed to meet for a soda at Nakumat Mega, a large shopping mall 5 minutes drive away.
Truphena looked so well, as delighted to see us as we were to see her.
She is currently studying special needs education at college in Maseno with practical lessons in Kisumu. You only need to see her face to know how much she loves it.
Truphena’s journey has not always been an easy one. She has faced many challenges, has poor health and could easily give up. But her heart is big and her desire to help those less privileged shines through what she says and what she does.
It made me think that, perhaps the grass may suffer sometimes, but it always renews itself. It finds a way of standing tall after the storms, of reaching for the skies in spite of the trials that come its way.
The elephants may fight, but the grass wont suffer for long.
Excellent blog and well told, as was yesterdays. Plenty of frustrations but ultimately rewarding. Keep up the good work, I know you will keep the faith.
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