Finally! A new posting!

Hello All –

Happy Super Tuesday to all those in the US! I hope you voted. I started trying to write this Saturday, but things have evolved into quite a busy weekend and beginning of the week, so here I am Tuesday night trying to get it finished. I just don’t seem to be able to get a blog written and posted before things change a bit – or we don’t have working internet – or we don’t have electricity.

We had a town hall meeting today with the American Ambassador and members of the Embassy staff. It was a helpful update. They are very encouraged by the reports they are getting from Kofi Annan’s mediation efforts. The two agreements that have already been signed came more quickly than expected. Granted, they are now in the more seriously contested issues, but he felt that both sides will be open to negotiation and compromise eventually.

They spent quite a bit of time answering questions from the audience, and overall, they were frank, but optimistic. They gave us helpful information about Warden contacts. Being with so many Americans in Nairobi, our ward is actually quite a small area and the warden lives just behind us a few streets. The warden is the person who delivers emergency information via cell phone, although we all receive emails directly from the Embassy.

Their advice was to proceed with our work here and be aware of our surroundings, avoiding known areas of trouble – which we are already doing. They do not forsee our current situation of relative security in Nairobi to change any time soon. They did qualify that with the advice to stay away from the known trouble spots, including Kabera and other slum areas. For some in ministry, this is quite difficult because that is where all of their work is. However, for us, it does not pertain.

I know that it is hard to look at Kenya’s situation as having hope for some of those not as familiar with this country or the continent of Africa, but the reasons the Ambassador gave for optimism were encouraging to me, reminding me of the basic stability of the people. First, Kenya has a well established community of business people and civilians who have invested quite a bit in the basic democratic structure of this country. While it is obviously far from perfect, they are more established here than most countries. Second, Kenya has a very high literacy rate which makes citizen more likely to assess the situation at hand for themselves without blindly following leaders. Third, Kenya has the best media outlets in Africa that are dedicated to the free press and are free from intimidation from outside sources. Fourth, both sides have a tremendous amount to lose and gain in this process. Kibaki does not want to be viewed by the world as a leader who stole power, and Odinga does not want to have the legacy of tearing this country apart. Lastly, he said that from his personal conversations with all parties, he has come to the conclusion that they will work toward agreement.

The Ambassador also told us that the US is privately putting some pressure on individuals who they believe are involved in supporting violence. They have received spoken and written warnings that their visa status is to be reviewed if peace does not come soon. Many of these individuals have children who are living and working or going to school in the US, and many of them were educated in the US, so that is having a tremendous impact on them. It seems they have evidence pointing to certain individuals and their part in funding the violence. The positive about that disgusting bit of information is that intelligence is yielding valuable information for finding those responsible. Once the funding dries up, for many of these “bands of youth”, the violence will be discontinued. These wealthy individuals seem to be exploiting the large population of unemployed youth for their causes, so it appears that the “chaos” may just well be a paid show without true commitment to the causes.

We, of course, continue to watch what happens in our community and the country as a whole. We are thankful for the organization and communication we get from the Embassy. They have an policy that states we as private citizens receive the same information that Embassy employees and their families receive.

The last few days have been a bit busy, but it was topped off yesterday in the first three minutes of Mary Shea’s basketball game. She fell backwards onto her elbow and was in quite a lot of pain. We took her straight to the Children’s hospital where our pediatrician’s office is. Thankfully, he was just finishing up his day and was available to take a look. He sent us for a quick x-ray and then called the orthopedist to see us. The orthopedist waited for us even though he was also finished with his normal office hours. He said that she had a slight crack in her elbow and put her in a cast right then and there. He checked it this afternoon, and he expects her to be in a cast only two weeks. The timing was an absolute blessing as another Mom took Horace, Jr. home after his basketball game and we were only about 30 minutes later picking him up from their house on our way home (2 and ½ hours from injury to home). The bad news is that she will have to sit out of swim team for about three weeks. She is disappointed, but we are all thankful that it was not any more serious. Horace’s team won their game 22-10 with the second string mostly, so we did not even miss seeing him play very much. Mary Shea broke her arm last year, but it was simply a fall outside her classroom. She says that saying she hurt it in basketball is a much better story to tell. She is in MUCH better spirits tonight, and the pain is almost gone.

I feel like if I actually get this on the blog, it will be a miracle, so say a prayer of thanksgiving if you have been able to read it. Please continue to pray for peace and stability. Please also pray for Mary Shea’s arm.

Blessings,
Anne