Referendum Day

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The schools are all closed now for a term break. The break came early due to a referendum vote today on changes to the Kenyan constitution. All Kenyans need time to vote either yes or no to the changes.
We’ve been asking about the changes so we have a bit of an understanding of the
importance of the referendum. Some of the changes include: decentralizing the
government and giving more power to local governments; making changes in the
accessibility of school particularly secondary school because recent numbers
have 1 million students finishing grade eight while there are only spaces for
200,000 Form 1(grade 9) students; availability of abortion for incest or rape; changes
in the ownership of land and the development of a local judiciary system.

We left the school and found that most of the local shops were closed to allow people to vote. Some of the group went on a boat tour of Lake Naivasha then continued on the Hell’s Gate Park while the group I was with
had a more leisurely day. We visited Elementeita Weavers and were fortunate to have a weaving demonstration on the large looms. We purchased some blankets and place mats to bring back to Canada.
We then stopped to see Sarah Higgins, a British Kenyan, who has lived in the

area for 45 years. Sarah has 45 acres around Lake Naivasha
which has many animals roaming around in. Coincidently we had tramped across
her property last week on a nature walk when a few of us took a boat trip. She
doesn’t mind the people walking on the property but apparently many people
leave garbage behind which she picks up in the evenings when she walks her
dogs. Sarah provides homes for injured birds particularly owls. We visited the
owlery where the birds live until they can be returned to the wild. Sarah has a
pelican, tortoises (one with the repaired shell) and many small birds. Sarah is
very involved in environmental concerns in the area and promotes sustainable
farming and land care.

In Naivasha we visited Life Beads Kenya which is “a project giving hope for a better life to disadvantaged women and former street children.” Minalym Nicklen’s project provides jobs for the people involved in
the project making jewelry and sewing to support the project’s expenses.
Minalym husband provides health care for the project members and their
families. This is an important part of the project as the members are HIV
positive and require medication.

I’m always amazed at the people you meet at home or traveling that work so hard to make a difference in other people’s lives.