Water Web

Like water droplets glistening on the spider web in the morning sun, we have also been developing a network of individuals and organizations in the water field helping us prepare and to connect with others in Kenya. From colleagues in Colorado who assisted with preparing GIS mapping on our laptop, giving advice and lending low tech instruments such as a plopper (for measuring water levels), to far away folks at Church World Service in New York and Nairobi, at NASA and the UN, in the UK and in Wyoming, many have already contributed to our trip. Two groups that have been especially helpful are SUMAWA and Excellent Development. Check out the links to both.

SUMAWA stands for Sustained Management of Watersheds and is a comprehensive study of the Njoro River Basin (which drains into Lake Nakuru) involving scientists at the University of Wyoming and Egerton University in Njoro and many local stakeholders in the basin. Scott Miller (UW) contributed a vast amount of data and GIS mapping from the project for our trip. We will be meeting with SUMAWA staff in conjunction with staff from Farming Systems Kenya, our local Church World Service partner in the area.

Excellent Development is a small NGO from the UK which supports water development and conservation in the Machakos District east of Nairobi. Simon Maddrel from UK and Joshua Mukusya from Kenya have been involved in sand dam projects for many years. Thanks to Simon for providing valuable references on sand dams. We look forward to meeting Joshua on our trip.

Preparing to go

Preparing to go. The Lord is connecting us to all kinds of people who have all kinds of connections in Kenya. It's as if there was a spider web around us, but it was always in the shadow, so we never saw it. Now, the sun shines on the web and we see threads connecting us to all these people: the Sonners, the Samuels, Wanjiru Mukunga, the CROP folks, and more. I have a feeling the connections are only beginning. Exciting!

So far, we are carrying quilts, money, and a keyboard to Kenya. Wonder what we'll bring back from Kenya.

Ok, Ok, we haven't left yet. But in the interest of building excitement for our trip, we are going to use these few days to give you a little taste of Africa to get you ready, too.

But first, we want to thank everyone who has sent us off with prayers and will be praying for us on our trip. We are ready, thank you Lord!

Well, we are ready in the spiritual sense, anyway. Now, in the "are the bags packed and ready to go?" sense, we may have somewhat of a journey yet to travel. Maybe we should use this blog to make a list of things we have to take. Let's see, toothbrushes, check......sunblock, check......camera batteries, check.....Kiswahili-English Dictionary, check.

Oh wait! Caryn just found a phrase she says may come in handy if we get ourselves into a bit of a tight spot. She's practicing it now - sikujua yeye....sikujua yeye.....sikujua yeye..... Mmmm, what a curious phrase. It apparently translates "I don't know him".

Well, anyway, no time to figure that one out. We'll just have to keep on pack'n. We'll need to take some maps. Maps, you see, are an outward expression of what's called the Boddie gene (that, and short-sleeved plaid shirts) and are an essential part of any trip. So that you, our readers won't be left out, here is a map for you with a few of the places we'll be visiting marked on it.

We are one week away from arriving in Nairobi and have a lot of things to finish before we go. But, although we love the winter we have been having here in Colorado, we will not be too disappointed to leave the snow behind for a couple of weeks.