Kosimbo Women's Clinic

In June and July a team from Global Footsteps visited a volunteer run health clinic in a rural part of the Kisumu region of Western Kenya. The clinic was set up by a widow, Margaret Kawala, who wanted to make access to basic medical care easier for widows and orphans in her remote home village. Kosimbo volunteers managed to build a very basic medical centre, dig a borehole to gain access to fresh water, while also contributing to the building and running of the local school. When our team visited the project seemed to be operating well. But the need for more work and resources was clear. The health clinic needs to be open more often, the school needs books, pencils, uniforms, teachers and computers and more boreholes are needed so that people don't have to walk miles to fetch the dirty water of Lake Victoria.

Since July conditions have become more difficult for Kosimbo and life has become harder for the people of the village as a result. Crucial funds from the Kisumu Rural Community Development Fund have been diverted to other projects. Because of this and some other more troubling, deeper, cultural reasons Mrs Kawala has found it increasingly difficult to keep the project alive. She recently sent me the following email:

morgan,

how are you. i have not been myself for the last four months and was almost giving up on kosimbo widows group.
it has taken me a while to realise that this project was started with a purpose of helping the widows and our orphans.
It also took me time to realise that very few people appreciate a person interested in development and especially if the person is a woman and a widow . But this has given me the courage to be a stronger person and work hard for kosimbo to be able to improve the lives of the widows, ophans and needy in our community.
since i have not communicated for sometime, im not sure of the plans you have for kosimbo. i will give you an update after your reply.

thank you

margaret

On December 12th Global Footsteps is screening a documentary made during the June/July Global Venture. The Kosimbo project is featured and we will be giving a fuller update on the latest developments. You can get a sneak preview on youtube

Kosimbo is crying out for help and support, but more than anything it needs recognition. Kosimbo is in many ways a pioneering project and of huge value not only to those directly benefiting from its services, but also as an example for other villages to follow. Please send messages of support to Margeret and her team via: kosimbo@yahoo.com

Global Footsteps is an inter-cultural linking and sustainability charity. We very much encourage anyone who would like to travel to Kisumu to volunteer with the Kosimbo project. Whatever your skill set there will be huge amounts of things you can contribute.

Please email us on globalfootstep@googlemail.com for more details. Projects like Kosimbo need support from partners in the richer parts of the world, please offer what you can even if it is only kind words.

1st (proper) Global Footsteps Book Club meeting - 22nd October 2009

Justine chaired our first (proper) book club meeting, below she describes

what happened!

"....sexually explicit language and imagery, deep dark thoughts,

suicide, grief, mental illness, political angst.... just some of the

things discussed during GF's first book group meeting - not in a

getting to know you session with it's new members you'll be happy to

hear but in relation to the first book read by the group and up for

discussion.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami is a deliciously discussable book as

we found out! Murakami is a Japanese author who has written many other

books that have quite a dream like quality to them. NW is essentially

about mental illness, the Beatles and is set in 1960's Tokyo covering

the highs of lows of student life For a full review please see

http://www.murakami.ch/about_hm/bookreviews/bookreview_norwegian_wood.

html There were mixed views in the group but it had seemed to have

successfully sucked all of us in as there were some quite strong

opinions expressed as we shared our thoughts, and the evening turned

into a most enjoyable one with some new friends made..

Here are some quotes from the book, which are typical of Murakami's

poetic prose:-

"You were so nice to me when I was having my problems, but now that

you're having yours, it seems there's not a thing I can do for you.

You're all locked up in that little world of yours, and when I try

knocking on the door, you just sort of look up for a second and go

right back inside."

"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can

only think what everyone else is thinking."

"There is absolutely nothing to be gained from sleeping with one

strange woman after another. It just tires you out and makes you

disgusted with yourself."

"Only the dead stay seventeen forever."

"Life doesn't require ideals. It requires standards of action."

"A gentleman is someone who does not what he wants to do but what he

should do."

"Of course life frightens me sometimes. I don't happen to take that as

the premise for everything else though. I'm going to give it hundred

percent and go as far as I can. I'll take what I want and leave what I

don't want. That's how I intend to live my life, and it things go bad,

I'll stop and reconsider at that point. If you think about it, an

unfair society is a society that makes it possible for you to exploit

your abilities to the limit."

"Don't feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes do that."

"Letters are just pieces of paper. ... Burn them, and what stays in

your heart will stay, keep them, and what vanishes will vanish."

They are also making it into a film for autumn 2010 http://www.

slashfilm.com/2009/05/14/rinko-kikuchi-starring-in-film-adaptation-of-

haruki-murakamis-norwegian-wood/ and if you want to know more about the

author look at http://www.randomhouse.com/features/murakami/site.php?

id=

Looking forward to the next meeting on 3rd Dec where we will be

reading the Great Gatsby. See you there!

'Feel' by Joshua Sanger

'Feel'

The rush kicks in.

Sound of step.

Leaves fall passed my eyes flowing rythem and wonder.

Measure life not by experience. Not by achievement. Certainly not by status.

By love.

Can you say you love?

Kissed by the most raw of moments.

I love.

From the front line of Climate Change

In July Global Footsteps visited Kariandusi Primary School in Kenya. Karianduri is a school on the margins, located in the Rift Valley it suffers severely from drought which brings many other problems. I received a message from their headteacher, Aman Echakari together with some recent newspaper clippings. Very sobering stuff:

It has been many months of ravaging and devastating drought with dry bones and skulls attesting to the magnitude and severity of the drought, scores of people have been left hopeless, desperate and in a state of despondency ! Areas once inhabited have since been forsaken, deserted and left desolate! The bare grounds that once flourished with bounteous life and splendour has quickly turned into ominous plains of death.

Climate change is set to significantly and permanently change and alter the course of life for many parts of the world! Consequently many people will be forced out of their original homelands due to extreme weather conditions characterized by prolonged drought, famine, erratic rains, flooding, and rising water levels in the sea due to global warming.

As the stiff competition for the scarce and wildlife are set for a bloody confrontation and encounters! Cross-border conflicts are gaining momentum each day. Communities especially the pastoralist are up in arms against each other to protect and to exercise absolute control over water holes and grazing grounds. This like any other conflict has and will continue claiming lives and causing massive destruction of property thus subjecting and confining many in abject poverty. We are at the edge of being edged out by the rapidly expanding deserts and at the high risk of being swept into the ocean by the violent and turbulent floods.

We must act with urgency and move with speed to free our planet from the devastating effects of climate change. Our leaders must come down from their ivory tower of parochial politics and get intouch with the harsh reality facing those who have been devasted by the effects of climate change. They must listen to the cry of wailing women whose children have been swept away by floods! They must be moved by pictures of malnourished and starving children in Turkana Kenya. They must be TOUCHED by images of dead human bodies who had to die in conflict over scarce resources! They must be moved by pictures of women in Africa who have to walk for kilometers in search for water. Who have to risk their lives just for water!

As a school, we’ve started campaigns to sensitize the community on mitigation, measures to combat climate change. We are using public for a to create awareness. We’ve started a fish pond to teach local alternative source of income. We,re harvesting rain water and using it in tree planting. We are starting a tree nursery that will enable the community access seedlings at affordable price.

Thanks: WE MUST NEVER GIVE UP.

If you want to get some money to Aman's school please contact globalfootstep@googlemail.com and we will ensure it gets there.