8 July 2010

Well, I think we've made some progress, although not quite as much as we'd prefer. First, the good news. Underneath the 4200-liter tank, Mbithi and coworkers have built a bricked-in room that has been dubbed the "power house." The cement is drying, and Saturday we will be ready to complete the wiring of the panels and transfer the battery, inverter, and charge controller from the lounge to the power house. Meanwhile, we have been using them to run the television for the second semifinal World Cup match, to charge phones and computers, and to update the XOs (the one-laptop-per-child computers). A line has been marked out for a trench to lay wire up to the staff room (a run of about 160 yards), which will allow us to supply 240-V AC to the staff room. This will allow them to charge their phones and run other equipment there. In fact, the staff seem much more excited that the solar panels will be making a reliable source of "free" power available than water from the well.

This brings me to the latest chapter in the well saga. When the pipe went crashing to the bottom of the well, it took with it a two-foot-long pipe wrench that had been used to hold the pipe while the chain hoist was repositioned. At the time the rope broke, the pipe was not firmly attached to the pipe, but when the pipe started falling, it managed somehow to upend the wrench, which we are fairly certain fell business end down. As best we can tell, it would have become wedged between the pipe and the well casing, preventing the "rocket of reclamation" from tipping the top of the pipe away from the casing so that it can be caught by the funnel and guided down the pipe of the rocket. Hence, we decided that we needed to fish for the wrench before trying the rocket.

We had our favorite blacksmith in Wote make a hook to snag the jaw of the wrench. It was surmounted by a loop to which we could attach the heavy chain. Fishing with the chain is a real pain, however, because it is really heavy and tough to raise and lower. Ozzie recommended attaching the rope to the top of the hook, so that by pulling on the rope we only needed to raise the bottom few feet of chain. Using this method, we dropped the hook several meters past the top of the pipe and set about fishing. I suppose there's no need to drag you through all the tedium, but suffice it to say that we managed to hook the casing many times and something more mobile on occasion. On one such occasion, we used the chain hoist to raise the hook, which eventually caused the chain to go very taut. In fact, we pulled so hard that the hoist was locked and unable to release. Several of us took a turn at trying to free it; fortunately, Benson managed finally to do so. But the hook was now unstuck from whatever it was hauling and we had to go back to fishing.



When nothing further was getting caught, we hauled up the rope and chain and found that the hook had been bent and needed a little TLC to be back in position to catch the wrench. I bent it slightly in a couple of places, filed the end a bit, and went fishing again. I decided to drop the hook well below the place we expected the wrench to be, and managed to hook what felt like the wrench. It rose about a meter or two, and then got stuck. After a couple of down-up cycles, it became unstuck. Unfortunately, the hook no longer felt weighed down by the wrench. Others took up fishing and hooked it again, and plenty of us had a chance to feel the weight of the wrench on the rope. It rose past one coupling, we think, but eventually fell off. Subsequent fishing expeditions found nothing, no matter how deep we lowered the hook. So, at this point we think that the wrench has been lowered far from the top of the pipe and we are going to try the rocket on Saturday morning. (Tomorrow is given over to an awards ceremony for the Clay students at Kathonzweni.)

Once again, please keep your fingers crossed! It would be very satisfying to get the pipe up, pump on the well for awhile, and find out whether the water gets any less salty.

Ozzie's Post

Note: Please read Isabel’s last post before reading this one.

The first day we visited the orphanage, something was mentioned by the supporting leaders about finding a source of revenue. Currently the teachers are all volunteers. Nick, the principal, stated several times that the quality of teachers could be “improved” if they were paid, quite bluntly in front of the current teachers. Also they don’t like having to repeatedly beg for individual donations.

Instead they would like a business. There are several supporting village members who are willing to provide their time but currently don’t have many ways of providing assistance. Nick first mentioned that they were considering having the women make baskets, which I assumed was for sale at the local market. Of course, this would mean that their maximum profit margin would be about equal to that which the other local basket makers are willing to accept. This business seems so saturated that it seems to be practically a PCM (perfectly competitive market), which seemed like quite a difficult source for significant revenue. After we left for the hotel we pondered about other business ideas, but couldn’t come up with much. It’s quite a challenge coming up with valid products to market to a culture completely different from your own.

The next day we had some time to prepare for soccer and I began a conversation with Nick. He spent a while asking me about American politics and I struggled to remember enough to give him decent answers. For all the complaining we do about our own government, it’s still seen by many as a model of excellence. This went on for about forty minutes until he started explaining his own situation. Nick is a veterinarian who is able to sustain himself by leaving to do jobs a few times a week. Then he comes to class midday, teaches until the end of school time, and assists the kids until late in the night. I’m pretty sure there’s no time left in his schedule to sleep or eat meals or anything luxurious.

This is Nick.

Just joking, but the pictures of me talking with Nick are not as interesting.


This discussion transitioned into business. His main idea isn’t baskets; it’s poultry. Nick feels comfortable with the field and already has some experience. He has a plan: Create a 58,000 shilling structure that is 500 square feet large, fit it with 500 chickens bought at 72 shillings each, and feed them all for 1200 shillings a day. After five months the chickens should produce about 300 eggs per day, which sell at 10 shillings each. A year later their laying cycle will be over, so they will be sold off and replaced. Note that around 80 shillings are equal to a dollar.

The problem as I see it is the cost of feed per day. While future students may be able to help construct the structure and many chickens are already available by donation, it seems like a stretch to find an American donor willing to pay for five months of chicken feed. Even if the scheme succeeds it would only make about $23 per day (for 12 months after paying $15 a day for 5 months); a solid amount but a tough call for an entire orphanage.

I brought up the idea of opening an internet cafe. Nick was very receptive, recommending that internet cafes were very profitable, especially when they include printing services. We discussed the idea of charging for computer lessons, which could even be done before any internet connection is established. While I tried pushing it a little, Nick seemed very much against getting the children involved in the business, arguing that it would sacrifice from the schooling. About 20 minutes in he mentioned that the idea was actually discussed before with some of the orphanage’s sponsors. I then asked about setting up a small business charging cell phones. Again Nick was incredibly receptive, saying that he expects they would be able to get 20 customers a day paying 10 shillings. However, this seemed to me to be a fairly obvious idea and I’m sure Nick had considered it before. I wonder if in both cases Nick waited for me to state the obvious so that I would gain ownership of each idea. If so, it kind of worked.

Finally I introduced my final two ideas and they didn’t go as well. The first was to have a computer repairing service, which was quickly dismissed because there weren’t enough people locally who owned computers. Second was the idea to make dairy products. Nick said that in the region there is one producer who all the locals sell their milk to. However, it didn’t seem like many dairy products would sell outside of milk; yogurt and cheeses are both far from popular. These “failures” did make me satisfied with the knowledge that at least Nick did seem to be taking me seriously. I’ve read about Americans who proposed ideas to poor foreigners, who would praise each one no matter how impractical it would be. Those poor people weren’t used to expressing their own thoughts and would simply bow and praise the Westerners. Nick was much more confident than that; in fact, after seeing him give a math lecture I’d say that he was one of the most competent teachers and leaders I’ve ever met.

Soon the soccer game ended, which I was originally supposed to be in but had instead missed completely. After a while of some minor talk, we were brought to a final meeting with the elders. The main leaders thanked us, prayed for us, and thanked us some more; partially for coming to spend two days watching them do work and partially to convince us to come back with aid. The head expressed that the financially wealthy folks near by have never paid them any attention, while foreigners from the other side of the planet have come to stay and assist. He gave us responsibility over the establishment, and asked us many times to return. Eventually one of the mothers in charge handed us “all that she could afford to give”, which was a few bags with Obama pictures on them. They made clear that in addition to excitement and the possibility of aid, one of the main things we were providing was encouragement. Many of the volunteers, like Nick, had been contributing their best efforts for years into this project, and a little encouragement and blessing apparently provided a huge benefit.



While it is delightful to be happy and play games and complement hard working establishments, ultimately we do want to work on projects for long term progress. For this one orphanage in particular, students from Harvey Mudd (or any other place) could be a huge help in helping to establish whatever businesses they ultimately decide on. On their business; hopefully the adults at the school will continue to think of new ideas outside the three mentioned to them. I’d like for them to begin with a list of at least ten before choosing. If you have any ideas, please post them to the comments of this blog, or email one of us.

Businesses aren’t the only thing to be worked on; the school also needs more buildings. Right now the few students who do live at the school stay on the property of the elderly couple who are lending it to them. The lack of space means that many of the other students have to live far away with distant relatives. The lack of a distinct residence makes it impossible to convince the government that the orphanage is legitimate, disqualifying them from getting government aid. The school community is already trying to establish materials for the new residence houses, but they could definitely use donations and assistance to complete the process.

Perhaps the biggest difficulty for us is finding things that we could write into grants. Most of the ones we would apply to would require for us (or other excited students) to do engineering work. These funds aren’t to be donated in mass, but instead used to complete a project that we would work on. For example, if we asked for $3,000 to purchase a freezer for a school it may be a challenge because it’s a one-time cost. However, if we asked for $3,000 to construct a cooling structure of some type it would be more reasonable because then it could provide us engineering experience.

I ask you, the reader, to think about ideas and keep this in mind. We need business ideas, and we need engineering ideas. Of course, if you are interested in donating a large sum for something in specific, we wouldn’t mind that either.

Isabel's Post: July 2nd

As Evann left off, we were on our way to the Thriving Talents ChildrenÕs Centre in Kisii, in the west of Kenya. We arrived at the orphanage in the early evening, and were met with a very warm welcome. As we approached the place, we heard cheering from behind the gates. The gates flew open and the kids ran up to the car singing a welcome song. They lined up and we were serenaded as we entered the gates and came to a large field. Music was playing from a boombox, and the artists and some teachers were dancing around.

They were soon joined by the students and we were quickly pulled into the mix. It was so much fun to dance with the students! The students grabbed our hands and we jumped around in small circles, playing a sort of dancing follow the leader.


After a few songs, the students put on a small show for us. In addition to many welcome speeches, thanking us continuously for coming, the girls sang and danced for us and a couple students recited poems.


After this wonderful ceremony and some more dancing, some students showed us their rooms. The living conditions were cramped, dark, and fairly dirty. The orphanage houses about 150 kids in a few small rooms packed with bunk beds. I found the story of this orphanage to be very touching -- it is the work and generosity of a few caring people. An elderly couple donated a large part of their property on which to build the orphanage and school, but when the money fell short for the construction, the couple agreed to allow the children to sleep with them in their home. In addition to their home, the couple seems to continuously give all that they have to help provide food for the children. The four school teachers are completely volunteer, and a collection of guardians (mostly grandparents of the children) try to help provide for the children as well.


We returned to the orphanage the following day. We watched and helped teach math and english classes in the morning, then played with the students in the afternoon. Ethan brought a frisbee, so we taught kids how to toss it around. Then the girls led Evann, Linda, and I on a walk to a nearby tea factory, while the boys engaged in a soccer match. Ryan was the big scorer with his hat-trick -- course maybe goalie Ethan was just going easy on his brother for his 15th birthday...

There seems to be a lot that ESW could do to help this orphanage. They are planning to build new dorms and classrooms and then try to become economically self-sustaining, which fits well with our goals as a club. Hopefully this visit is the start of another ESW partnership in Kenya. We discussed possible future projects for ESW at this school, which Ozzie will elaborate upon in the next post....


Thriving Talents ChildrenÕs Centre, Kisii
IsabelÕs Post

1 July 2010: Evann’s Post

Before leaving for the Mara, we attempted to push the apron of annoyance further down the well so as to better reach the pipe.  Despite some hesitation from Isabel (always the skeptic), we decided the best course of action was to use the rods that were previously attached to the hand pump to move it.  Despite some more concern from Isabel, we used a pipe vice that had been broken by Benson as well as a slightly faulty locking hook for our hoist.  We were able to get all 19 rods down the well, but retrieving them was another story.  As predicted, the hinge on the hook bent, allowing the rods to slip and caused Isabel and Rob to grab for the rods.  Though the rods were saved from the same fate as the pipe, pump, and skirt, Isabel injured herself when her hand hit the broken pipe vice.  The well gained another item: one jaw of the vice.  Peter rigged a temporary way for the vice to hold the rods, using a pipe and some crowbar, and we were able to get all rods out safely.   A few days later, we drove to the Nairobi to pick up Linda, Ethan, and Ryan.  In typical Kenya fashion, we arrived at the airport fifteen minutes after their arrival, but two hours before we collected them.  For dinner that night, we visited the Carnivore!  The restaurant had a very Disney Jungle River Cruise feel, with all servers wearing zebra-print aprons.  Sauces, salads, and fried potatoes were placed to the table, while all meat was served individually, mostly off of large skewers.  The choices of meat were: beef, pork, chicken liver, boar heart, chicken, turkey, crocodile, and ostrich!  I dared only the final four.  Upon receiving crocodile, I found (as a piece hit the floor) that house cats roamed below us in search of lost bits!  The following morning, we drove to the Mara West resort.  We saw various animals on our way, but I found the most impressive to be the zebra that were wandering around what would be our rooms.  The view from the grounds was phenomenal!  Most buildings were designed traditionally, being circular with thatched roofs.  However, the rooms were actually tents underneath, well-furnished and complete with electricity.  The bathrooms were even more beautiful, with two six-star toilets (sit-down, flushing, and clean with toilet paper), two tiled showers with hot water, and four sinks.  Peter and Linda were taken to a very swanky cabin, which had a personal bathroom and a deck over-looking the valley below!    The next day we drove to a primary boarding school near the park.  The faculty and students welcomed us warmly.  The girls were especially eager to show Isabel, Linda, and me their home.  The girls that greeted me first, Francesca and Mary, loved my long hair - since most children we’ve met have shaved heads to allow for easy lice removal.  The dorms were very cramped, with five bunk-beds per (Mudd double-sized) room and two children per bed.  The school has won many regional awards, their most-prized for their English program.  Since the school’s opening in the 1980’s, the number of girls in grade 8 climbed from one to eight, significant in that girls are often kept at home or take nanny jobs.  The school is also noticing younger and younger children entering their program.  This is impressive considering that grade is not related to age, and some people are still in primary school upon turning 20.  We also met the youngest fourth grade student at the school, who was eight and adorable!   That afternoon, we went out to the park.  I found the most memorable sighting of that day to be of a group of three female elephants and one baby.  He was so cute!  We also saw gazelle, topi, water buck, giraffes, zebras, water buffalo, baboons, monkeys and impala.  The third day at the Mara, we got up early and went out directly after breakfast.  We saw so many amazing things!  We saw two giraffes fighting, which consists mostly neck-slapping and looks as if it’s in slow-motion.  We were nearly charged by a mother elephant after we attempted to cutoff a rather large herd - we were within 10 feet of her, and got fantastic pictures!  We almost ran over a mating-pair of lions, resting in the grass on the side of the road.  We followed these two until the male was just too tired to keep walking.  Fun Fact: Lion mating-pairs mate 45-65 times a day for two weeks, without hunting.  We followed other safari groups to a small group of cheetahs and, after the ranger left, went off the road to be right next to them.  We then witnessed wildebeest (in the largest herd of anything I’d ever seen) crossing a crocodile-infested river.  Since the wildebeest have terrible eyesight, they follow the easy-to-see zebra.  The wildebeest crossed the river only when the zebra did and stopped when the zebra realized there were three crocodiles waiting for dinner.  Lucky for me, we didn’t see any wildebeest get eaten, but we heard excited screams from other vans of tourists around us.  The crossing was very impressive!  The mother wildebeest would reach the other side and realize that their children were not with them, so a quarter of the herd was going back to the river.  It was crazy!  On the drive back, there was rain and lightning, so Rob, Ethan, and I stood up with our hands and heads out of the roof the whole way back.  Our guide, Mark, drove extra fast just for us!  :)  The next day, we left for Kisii...

Evann's Update

Before leaving for the Mara, we attempted to push the apron of annoyance further down the well so as to better reach the pipe. Despite some hesitation from Isabel (always the skeptic), we decided the best course of action was to use the rods that were previously attached to the hand pump to move it. Despite some more concern from Isabel, we used a pipe vice that had been broken by Benson as well as a slightly faulty locking hook for our hoist. We were able to get all 19 rods down the well, but retrieving them was another story. As predicted, the hinge on the hook bent, allowing the rods to slip and caused Isabel and Rob to grab for the rods. Though the rods were saved from the same fate as the pipe, pump, and skirt, Isabel injured herself when her hand hit the broken pipe vice. The well gained another item: one jaw of the vice. Peter rigged a temporary way for the vice to hold the rods, using a pipe and some crowbar, and we were able to get all rods out safely.



A few days later, we drove to the Nairobi to pick up Linda, Ethan, and Ryan. In typical Kenya fashion, we arrived at the airport fifteen minutes after their arrival, but two hours before we collected them. For dinner that night, we visited the Carnivore! The restaurant had a very Disney Jungle River Cruise feel, with all servers wearing zebra-print aprons. Sauces, salads, and fried potatoes were placed to the table, while all meat was served individually, mostly off of large skewers. The choices of meat were: beef, pork, chicken liver, boar heart, chicken, turkey, crocodile, and ostrich! I dared only the final four. Upon receiving crocodile, I found (as a piece hit the floor) that house cats roamed below us in search of lost bits!



The following morning, we drove to the Mara West resort. We saw various animals on our way, but I found the most impressive to be the zebra that were wandering around what would be our rooms. The view from the grounds was phenomenal! Most buildings were designed traditionally, being circular with thatched roofs. However, the rooms were actually tents underneath, well-furnished and complete with electricity. The bathrooms were even more beautiful, with two six-star toilets (sit-down, flushing, and clean with toilet paper), two tiled showers with hot water, and four sinks. Peter and Linda were taken to a very swanky cabin, which had a personal bathroom and a deck over-looking the valley below!

The next day we drove to a primary boarding school near the park. The faculty and students welcomed us warmly. The girls were especially eager to show Isabel, Linda, and me their home. The girls that greeted me first, Francesca and Mary, loved my long hair - since most children we’ve met have shaved heads to allow for easy lice removal.

The dorms were very cramped, with five bunk-beds per (Mudd double-sized) room and two children per bed. The school has won many regional awards, their most-prized for their English program. Since the school’s opening in the 1980’s, the number of girls in grade 8 climbed from one to eight, significant in that girls are often kept at home or take nanny jobs. The school is also noticing younger and younger children entering their program. This is impressive considering that grade is not related to age, and some people are still in primary school upon turning 20. We also met the youngest fourth grade student at the school, who was eight and adorable! (You can see a little of the school here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtwTmTEGvfQ )

That afternoon, we went out to the park. I found the most memorable sighting of that day to be of a group of three female elephants and one baby. He was so cute! We also saw gazelle, topi, water buck, giraffes, zebras, water buffalo, baboons, monkeys and impala.

The third day at the Mara, we got up early and went out directly after breakfast. We saw so many amazing things! We saw two giraffes fighting, which consists mostly neck-slapping and looks as if it’s in slow-motion. We were nearly charged by a mother elephant after we attempted to cutoff a rather large herd - we were within 10 feet of her, and got fantastic pictures! We almost ran over a mating-pair of lions, resting in the grass on the side of the road. We followed these two until the male was just too tired to keep walking. Fun Fact: Lion mating-pairs mate 45-65 times a day for two weeks, without hunting. We followed other safari groups to a small group of cheetahs and, after the ranger left, went off the road to be right next to them. We then witnessed wildebeest (in the largest herd of anything I’d ever seen) crossing a crocodile-infested river. Since the wildebeest have terrible eyesight, they follow the easy-to-see zebra. The wildebeest crossed the river only when the zebra did and stopped when the zebra realized there were three crocodiles waiting for dinner. Lucky for me, we didn’t see any wildebeest get eaten, but we heard excited screams from other vans of tourists around us. The crossing was very impressive! The mother wildebeest would reach the other side and realize that their children were not with them, so a quarter of the herd was going back to the river. It was crazy! On the drive back, there was rain and lightning, so Rob, Ethan, and I stood up with our hands and heads out of the roof the whole way back. Our guide, Mark, drove extra fast just for us! :)


(It is impossible to find one single photo to summarize the entire safari from the thousands of great pictures that were taken. So instead here's a picture of the camera that took many of them, which should be a decent substitute.)

The next day, we left for Kisii...

Rob's Update

Since Peter has talked a lot about the challenges we’ve experienced with the pump, I thought it might be nice to talk a bit about the other activities in which we’ve engaged at the school. As I learned last time, one of the most important and rewarding components of this partnership is the interaction we get to have with the students. The first form this took was through sports the first weekday we were there. Last time I was here, I taught the students a little bit about baseball, though it was a difficult game to teach in an hour. At the request of some of the teachers, I collected some equipment and came back with enough gloves to equip a team and so Peter and I tried again to teach the game. The kids loved to hit and laugh at their friends who missed the ball, but had some trouble understanding what an out is and where to run after they had hit the ball. It seems as though we need more time with them to truly teach the game. While this went on, Isabel and Evann taught jump rope to many of the girls. I had no idea until we got here that Isabel had participated in competitive jump rope, so this was something about which she was passionate, and the students enjoyed it immensely. They were good at skipping rope and even turning double dutch to rhymes about the Obama family and others. However, the biggest hit of the day was Ozzie teaching soprano saxophone. We had been welcomed with song and dance earlier in the day, and Ozzie then had introduced them to the horn. Now, he got to teach a large group of students who all wanted to play the new instrument. They were getting the hang of making a sound, and hopefully he and I can teach them more throughout the trip.



Since the first day, we have also gotten to teach other things to the children. The next afternoon, Evann and I taught some students about graphing calculators. They had never seen the devices before and were fascinated when they plotted figures from their textbooks and saw the same shapes crawl across the screen in their hands. It is amazing how quickly these students catch on and how appreciative they are of chances to learn something new. They have a true passion for learning and understand the importance of having an opportunity to go to school. While we did this, Isabel and Peter taught basic computer skills on the One-Laptop-Per-Child computers we brought. The kids loved these new toys but still have a lot to learn!

Since then, the highlights of our interactions have been a physics lesson given by Peter on optics and lenses, Ozzie’s daily saxophone lessons, and a few soccer and volleyball matches between us and the students. Peter was a big hit in physics and looks forward to giving more lessons in the future. We didn’t fare as well on the field as all of us realized that our talents in American football, baseball, jump rope, and other sports didn’t make us automatically skilled in the others--the students defeated us handily in each. But maybe in 6 weeks we’ll be better!


I have to say that the whole trip one of the things that has impressed me the most is how much the school has changed in the short year and a half since my last visit. It is much closer to being complete and self-sustaining than the last time I was here. The pump down at the river has provided enough water that the school has lush fields with ripening tomatoes, cabbages, and other fruits and vegetables. They are harvesting and selling these products regularly and beginning to have some cash flow to pay for the school expenses. The assembly hall is now almost complete (it was only walls when last I was here) and they hope that this will generate more revenue as well as provide a space for assemblies and graduations. At the rate the school has grown since I was here, I hope that it soon will be much closer to its goal of economic sustainability. The community really supports the project and has already given us a great deal of help on our project, so it would be nice to see it be a success. I am very hopeful that the HMC groups that travel here in the future will see the same amount of improvement that I have witnessed, and that soon the school will be self-sustaining.