Kisumu town (what is left of it)

I had visited Kisumu once two years ago, and stayed with my friend Salome. So, we decided to pay her a visit again. I had forgotten how far she lived from Kisumu town itself- about 40km away, which took about an hour to cover with public transit- first a matatu, then a taxi or motorbike. The extra time is taken in waiting for the taxi to fill. I really didn't want to ride the motorcycle taxis without a helmet on steep, poorly constructed roads, so I was very thankful that there was a taxi available both when we came and left.

Interestingly, I found out that Salome, her family, and most of the community there is all the same subtribe of Luhya, and all spoke their dialect almost exclusively in the home and street. That meant I had no idea what was going on. I didn't remember this from the first time I was here... maybe that meant I have become much more accustomed to understanding everything now than I was before.
Mike and I shared the single bed in her son's old bedroom of a fairly fancy house (compared to what I had been seeing around Kitale!). The walls of the room were cement and pitted by numerous things being hung on them. Apart from the bed there was only enough room for a chair to sit and us to stand far below the high iron-sheet roof.

Salome and her husband are around the same age as our parents and began constructing their house when our parents started constructing theirs, about 25 years ago. Some differences are: While our parents are thinking of renovating different parts of the house or re-doing carpeting, decks etc, Salome and her husband still haven't finished simple things like ceilings and roofing, and only just got electricity last year. Also, while our Canadian houses have kitchen, bathroom, and everything else in one building, Salome has her kitchen and toilets in separate mud and stick huts outside (although the room for taking bucket baths is inside). Salome has a rainwater catchment system to harvest water from her roof, and has a revolving totally open door policy which seems to be used every day by various members of her extended family. She is an aunt to everyone and a great host and friend. Her biggest worry at the moment is finding sponsors or some way to pay for her youngest two children to attend university/ college which they have applied and been accepted to.

Here is the terraced farmland around her house.
The day after the farm show we went to the city proper to see Lake Victoria. Now this city has great potential to really develop the waterfront somehow, but at the moment, unless you are staying at the fancy hotel across the bay or have membership to a swanky golf course, you are left with this view, and a row of fish and food stands behind you, full of staff and empty of patrons.

Vehicles of all description roll right up to the lake front to wash off... cars, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and even a petrol transport truck. When Mike saw that one he vowed not to eat any of the fish from the fish stands they were trying to sell us.
This was also the local bathing hole for a pack of street boys, who stripped right down, went for a swim, soaped up and rinsed off while their newly washed clothes dried in the sun.
Salome, Mike and I met up with Aggrey, another friend who lived in the city. I had met both Salome and Aggrey at ICM two years ago as they were finishing up their studies. Aggrey has three girls (age 7-11), and now, big grin, a baby son. He is a pastor downtown Kisumu and has the aftermath the post-election violence to deal with among his congregation. A really hard job, to say the least!

A few shots of burned buildings, gnawing reminders of the violence that rocked the city and held its people captive and fearing for their lives for several months early this year. The people of Kisumu did the unthinkable thing of also burning down the main grain store for the city, which combined with rising grain prices world-wide has made prices quite high for the region.

One of the most disturbing things for me, as a practicing Christian, was to see a string of burned out buildings interspersed by seemingly untouched churches... I wondered, were the young men who grew up in those churches part of the looters and burners, or did they come to the aid of the people who were being attacked? The answer is not obvious, though I shudder to think it is more likely the first thing than the second.

... for a bit of comic relief, we were delighted to see Spiderman make an appearance! Too cool! He had his own band too, who were all advertising a new local radio station.