Another very busy week here in Eregi. It's hard to believe I've been in Kenya for over a month now.
As I mentioned in my first update, I have been working with a group of girls in a pilot program called I am an Entrepreneur. The
14 girls in the program are in Form 4 (the equivalent of senior year of high school). The main goal of the program is to give the girls the skills and experience they need to start their own businesses. The girls have participated in entrepreneurial field programs and even been set up with short internships (quite a foreign concept here). They are also 
learning other skills, from how to set realistic goals to public speaking.**
I have been teaching the girls a variety of different things. Last week, they learned about e-mail, positive thinking and visualization, and some of the basic yoga I picked up in India. I really love working with the entrepreneur girls. They continually impress me with their confidence and determination.
During one of our lessons last week, the power was out so we couldn’t go ahead with the scheduled computer training. Instead, we sat in a circle in
the dark, practicing the interviews I am going to film to put up on the program website. Each girl talked about her hobbies, defining characteristics, dream career, strengths, and weaknesses. Then, because we had extra time, the girls started sharing their talents. Two girls sang songs in Kiswahili that they had written. It was a very special experience.
On Saturday, I celebrated my birthday, Kenyan style. The birthday cake that I made out of chocolate chip cookies was a big success (worth having to go all the way to Kakamega for chocolate and walk an hour to a house with an oven). It was
great celebrating surrounded by all my Kenyan friends and family.I went along with my family to a four hour Palm Sunday church service. The service started in a field. Along with a couple thousand people, we made our way up to the church in a parade of sorts, everyone dancing, singing, and shaking their palm fronds. I really
like going to church here. The services are colorful and lively. Sundays in the village are also fun because after church, nearly everyone is out and about. When I’m walking around with 
Kizito, we stop many times along the way to chat with the friends and acquaintances we run in to. People get all dressed up, the little girls in their fancy second hand party frocks. Market stands selling vegetables and household items are set up along the main road.Yesterday, a Norwegian guy I met on the airplane from Nairobi showed me around Kisumu. I visited the slum school and the center for street children where he works. Lunch was
extremely fresh tilapia, in a tin shack right on the edge of Lake Victoria. While I enjoyed visiting the city, seeing Kisumu also made me really appreciate the fact that I am living in a village.I hope this update finds you all well.
Good luck to all my 2010 friends out there waiting on word from colleges. I'm crossing my fingers for you! It is kind of crazy for
me to think that my future roomate will be finding out that they have been accepted to Princeton tomorrow.Thanks for reading!
Love,
Emmoliese
** (after writing this update, I realized that it is extremely long and that not all of you are necessarily interested in specifics of the Kenyan school system...so only continue reading if you want more details)
In most Kenyan schools, all of Form 4 is spent preparing for the KCSE, a two month long exam that determines what and where a student studies after secondary school. For example, students who score a C+ usually attend teachers college. Because KCSE results don’t come out for a few months after the school year ends, students have no other choice than to take a gap year. Many wind up waiting at least two years while they figure out how to pay for college. Unfortunately, many students are idle during this long break and wind up getting into trouble. A big part of the I am an Entrepreneur program is to prepare the girls for success after secondary school.
This week, I interviewed five girls who had finished secondary school in the last three years.
I am trying to get a better idea of the challenges faced by girls once they graduate. The results of the research I am doing will be used to improve the I am an Entrepreneur program. Talking to girls my age was really interesting. It is kind of mind boggling to think about the difference in the opportunities that they have and those that I have.Pictures:
1) Neighborhood kids
2) With the Entrepreneur girls after I taught them a bit of yoga
3) Birkenstock tan! Not. It has been raining like crazy all week and the streets have turned to complete mud.
4) Diana helping me buy a kilo of beef for my birthday celebration. No refrigerators here. I'm kind of curious as to how long the meet is usually hanging.
5) Happy Birthday!
6) Saumu and Kizito on my birthday. Love the matching shits!
7) Very busy Sunday vegetable market after church
8) Fresh tilapia in a tin shack next to Lake Victoria
8) Diana and I
9) The 14 Entrepreneur girls
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