One Month Update

These are some highlights from my last month. I now have a new modem and can connect a little better to the internet.

Masai Mara

Once again my team of Americans, Canadians and Japanese voyaged to the far reaches of the Masai Mara reserve to camp and chase animals.

I managed to spot some lions and cheetahs this time. The Mara is one of the most spectacular parks when it comes to viewing animals.

A lioness even walked under the bumper of our van. I decided to stay in the van. We stumbled upon a family of cheetahs one morning but were quickly crowded out by 50 safari vans full of camera wielding tourists.

Sweet Water

This is one of my favorite game parks that sits just west of Mt. Kenya. Our

group of eight secured some great rates at the tented camps outside a

popular watering hole for giraffes.

I somehow convinced the owner of a 2008 Land Rover Defender to let me take the wheel for a day. The Defender is a cross between a Hummer and a Land Cruiser. Nothing gets in its way.

We drove it across rivers and pounded through thick forests in pursuit of elephants and rhinos.

Horse Races

Nairobi is home to some nice race tracks seemingly left over from the

British colonial days. The Ngong road Raceway came complete with a golf

driving range in the middle of the track. I look forward to attending the Kenya Derby on April 5th.

Ngong Hills

The outdoors of Nairobi are what Karen Blixen made famous in that

book/movie "Out of Africa." My two friends, Kerry and Eline, from

Doctors Without Boarders, joined a human rights lawyer and me to explore this vast region. We climbed the seven hills shadowing Nairobi. We even hired an armed guard in case we had to fend off the bandits, rogue buffalo or lions.

Mungiki Protests

The national underground quasi-mafia group decided to stage a protest

the day I was to visit two of Nairobi’s worst slums. None of our clients showed up for the meeting and we could not understand why. We later discovered that the Mungiki had not only frightened people into their homes, but they had effectively shut down most public transportation for the day with some death threats.

Goat Eating Party

Our chief accountant is getting married in April and he invited me to their “goat eating” party. I have developed quite an appetite for tender goat meat and now prefer it over lamb. The “party” was more of a fundraiser and roast for the bride and groom to be.

Fly fishing with the Hippos

A few brave souls came with me on a treacherous fishing expedition to the hippo invested Lake Naivasha. Hippos kill more people each year in the continent of Africa than any other animal. Juvenile giraffes lined the banks and watched us as we casted for prize black bass. We did not catch a single fish and managed to get the boat stuck a few times but we made it through with no hippo attacks.

Fishing Video

Work

While my blog may not indicate this… each week I work myself to exhaustion trying to make sense of a complicated business with a dizzying financial model. It is extremely challenging and fascinating work. I would like to think it is having an impact on the rural poor of Kenya.

Most of my time last month was taken up with entertaining some visitors

from the Grassroots Business Fund. I had a nice time showing Vinay

and Rafi some of the daily joys and challenges I face in Kenya (like

the internet connection). We ate kilos of Nyama Choma (Kenyan grilled

tender meat) and drank our fill of Tusker beer in remote places like

Kitui and Nkubu.

I visited another village bank in Itoleca and was hailed as Obama’s cousin and offered a boiled goat brain. My favorite town is now located in the lush hillsides of Meru in the northeast part of Kenya. Vinay and I were out with our field staff tagging our client’s cows for an insurance company. We tagged close to 20 cows in two days. I learned all about dairy cow breeds and their corresponding daily milk yields. A Kshs 120,000 ($1,500) Austin Heifer can produce as much as 50 liters of milk a day! This is some serious business.

Mt. Kenya Climb

I successfully reached the 16,355 foot peak of Mt. Kenya. Our stellar team of eight Americans, two Kenyans and one Canadian climbed for three days across spectacular terrain to reach the peak.

The air was thin and the chill wind cut through us like glass, but we managed to prevail against all of Mother Nature's forces. The landscape reminded me of Patagonia, with a dash of the Utah Canyonlands, but populated with trees and plants from a Dr. Seuss book.

In following with standard protocol, our expedition hired five porters to carry gear and cook the food. I had lugged my frame pack and camping equipment all the way to Kenya and, to the porter's surprise, I was not about to let someone else carry my stuff. We hiked to two campsites before our final ascent. The campsites consisted of crude huts that were packed with bunk beds. Nevertheless, they managed to keep the cold at bay.

Paul, our Kenyan guide, was a professional marathoner from the famous Kalenjin tribe of Kenya. The Kalenjins produce a vast majority of the top Kenyan runners and Olympic medal winners. Paul completes a marathon in about 2hrs 20min and had little trouble hiking the mountain. The rest of our team included three Americans from Georgia. Their accents brought back good memories of my days in Nashville.

Other than the occasional fat Rock Hyrax, we saw very little wildlife. On our hike to the bottom, our guide noticed Jaguar prints and trailing hoof prints of the deer-like Dikdik. An angry bull elephant knocked an enormous tree down just as we turned a corner, but stomped away before I could get a picture. Climbing Mt. Kenya has given me the confidence to climb Kilimanjaro or maybe something in the Himalayas.

Back in action

So sorry to all of you for the delay in posting! I did not realize that people were actually reading this.

After my break in the bitter cold of Colorado, I am now back in Africa. The same beautiful weather. Plenty of poverty to alleviate. And the same long days of work under the whip of the Grassroots Business Fund. I managed to watch the US Inauguration ceremonies from a crowded bar (it was late at night here). The Kenyans were running in the streets waiving big American flags in celebration. Other highlights for me include joining an ultimate Frisbee league and taking official Swahili lessons

The K-Rep director and I attended another FSA launch ceremony this weekend in a village outside Nairobi called Kasikeu. Once again I was greeted with celebrity status and called “Obama” by the all locals. The K-Rep Bank employees think I give them good PR… I feel like a mascot.

I included a few videos from the entertainment and ribbon cutting ceremony. As much as I tried to avoid giving another speech, a group of old women demanded that I say a few words. Somehow my Swahili has progressed to the point where I was able to tell everyone what country I was from, where I work, and that Barak Obama wishes them all the very best.

Aleke, the district officer and ONato

Signing the official register

One exciting initiative I am working on is a partnership with my company and an online lending group called Kiva.org. This arrangement could deliver some new loan capital to all of our FSAs. Check back in a few months and hopefully you will be able to loan as little as $25 to all these friendly villages from my pictures.

Ribbon Cutting


Some local dances




Aleke Dondo from K-Rep motivates the crowd

Skiing in Kenya

Not really skiing in Africa. These pictures are from Colorado.

I survived several months in “Nairobbery” with out any incidents of theft but the first weekend in the US, my skis were stolen. Fortunately, the thief was apprehended when he tried to sell my skis to a shop outside of town. Not too wise.

Other highlights of my vacation included a bout with E. coli (always fun) and a weekend of extreme skiing in the deep snow of Silverton, CO.

It is about time for me to leave this -5 degree weather and return to the sunshine of Kenya.

Amboseli

Friday was Kenya’s Independence Day. The Kenyans call it Jamhuri day. My compatriots Craig and Crystal invited me yet again to chase down some wildlife in Amboseli, Kenya’s most pastoral game park at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The cloud-shrouded, 19,340 ft peak (which I hope to climb in August), gives the park a majestic backdrop.

This time we decided to take our tents and camp for two nights in the park. The park is much more exciting when you give the animals a chance to eat you at night.

Just five minutes after passing the west gate of the park, our car was immediately surrounded by a family of seven elephants. Normally dangerous, the Amboseli elephants are comfortable around cars and can even be a little too friendly.

We dropped into the posh Serena Amboseli Lodge a few times for some lunch or coffee on the picturesque veranda.

The rest of the time we spent driving through the rough back roads of the park in search of lions and cheetahs. No cheetahs this time but we made friends with plenty elephants, hippos, zebra, hyenas and a few lazy lions. The real thrill came when we returned to our electric-fenced campsite for a night of rest. Monkeys ransacked our site each day but fortunately never made it into our padlocked tents. The terrifying nocturnal roars and cries were chilling enough to keep anyone from sleeping for a few days. Craig and Crystal bought local produce and cooked some gourmet dinners for me over the campfire each night.

The local Masai people are indigenous to Amboseli and recently regained ownership of its management. As a result, the stick wielding, shawl wrapped Masai often came politely come through our campsite. They seemed pleased just to be speaking and even invited us to see their villages (for a hefty fee). The Masai still drink cow’s blood and kill lions so I decided to stay on friendly terms with all of them.

In the next few weeks I will be in the US for Christmas and not posting much.

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=nat.robinson&target=ALBUM&id=5281229889379200817&authkey=d-y5AjaHVrU&feat=email