Down to Mkwiro

Yes, these first days have been a non-stop of trips, meetings, briefings, debriefings and adaptation to the new company and environment. And, of course, there have been a lot of new and interesting things going on, but I have lacked of time to sit down quietly and write about them. I am sorry for the lack of news.

Unfortunately, the battery of my personal laptop only lasts 15 minutes, and the working ones are always busy… hence, I depend on the generator to work, and it only does so at certain times of the day.

However, I can describe briefly my first impressions about Mkwiro. It’s a small village, located in Wasini island. You have to cross the channel that separates the island from the continent by boat, and finally arrive to the GVI base. It’s really cool and cosy, even if basic. Here we have drinking water for cooking and drinking, and marine water for cleaning and shower.

On the other hand, the base is completely immersed in the vegetation of the island, and populated by tons of millipedes and birds. Goats and monkeys passing through are also habitual. Moreover, the island is full of dense forests and occasional grass fields. However, the protagonists are the huge baobabs which are scattered all around!

As soon as possible I will upload some photos.

Arrival in Mombasa

After an exhausting daylong trip Madrid-Rome-Nairobi-Mombasa, I was welcomed late at night by a colleague working in the same NGO, and brought to the staff apartment in the center of the city. My lost baggage, missed somewhere in the Nairobi airport, was to arrive the day after, fortunately.

I have spent the first two days of my African adventure in Mombasa. This is an old city in an island the Indian coast, supposed so be about 1000 years old. Back in the 16^th century, its property alternated between Portugal and Oman, and later Portugal left its place to United Kingdom in the struggle in the beginning of the 19^th century, before the colonization. Nowadays, it’s still an important commercial port, and the second biggest city in Kenya (being Nairobi the most populated one).

Unluckily, I have not had opportunity to see the old town and fortress, as I was getting introduced to the work of GVI, and visiting their work in one of the small slums of the city, where they work with defavourised kids and doing community development. I may not have seen landmarks, but this is a glimpse of what most Africans live daily.

A new adventure: Kenya

This country, located in Eastern Africa, is my new destination. I had been in Madagascar before, but it’s more of something in between Africa and Asia: no dangerous animals, mixture of peoples of many origins, mixed cultures, peaceful… after that, I was looking forward to have a taste of continental Africa.

Some facts about this country:

- Located in the Equator, in the coast of the Indian Ocean

- Official languages: Swahili, English

- Surface: 580.370 square km

- Inhabitants: 41 million

- Capital: Nairobi

- Currency: Kenyan shilling

- Independence: 12 December 1963, from United Kingdom

The place I am going to work and live in is a village called Mkwiro, placed in Wasini Island. This island is located in front of Shimoni village, close to the border with Tanzania.

And why to move there? As most of you know, I am going to be working with an NGO called Global Vision International (www.gvi.co.uk ) like Science & Training Officer. Conditions were nice, the destination is attractive… so I decided to start this new adventure in Africa.

Introduction: from the Pole to the tropics

As an introduction to this blog, I would like to explain why I have decided to write it. Since two years ago, I have been traveling pretty a lot: first it came the Erasmus in Norway, and later Svaldbard and Brussels, passing through Madagascar, among many others.

During all this trips, I have made a lot of friends and met tons of people, apart from the friends I had back at home, in Spain. And keeping in touch with all of them has become unsustainable, if doing it via email. That’s the reason for this blog: a new adventure is coming, and connectivity will become though. Africa doesn’t make exceptions. I want to keep in touch with all of you, and I think this may be the most efficient way.

Hence, this blog is dedicated to all my friends! Enjoy it, folks!