Kelly Campbell reports from Tanzania and Kenya

Here are some quickie reports Kelly Campbell of The Village Experience sent back while on her trip to Tanzania and Kenya. Read about her plans here. With so much stuff she was delivering to Kenya crammed into her luggage, Kelly couldn't bring her computer with her. So expect more pictures after she returns on Dec. 17, and lots of opportunities for us to hear about ways to become engaged in Kenya initiatives. You can see Kelly discuss some of this in a discussion hosted by the Mid-North Shepherd Center:

http://www.tvwebcity.com/?videoID=574#

Here are Kelly's on-the-fly reports:

4 December (from Tanzania):

Today The Village Experience participated in the first ever Traveler's Philanthropy Conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, Wangari Maathai, gave the opening speech urging people and companies to be responsible as they travel the world.

Topics such as Voluntourism, Wildlife Conservation, Fair Trade and Micro-financing, Sustainable Development, and the tourism industry's role in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention were addressed by experts in the field. The Village Experience will be presenting their business model tomorrow in a presentation entitled "moving forward by giving back..."

The Village Experience is excited to leave Saturday to begin a week long trip through Kenya. Projects in Eldoret, Nakuru, Nairobi, and Mbita will be further developed and funds and donations from the Indianapolis community will be distributed in time for the holiday season. Stay tuned to hear more about The Village Experience journey through Africa!

9 December (from Kenya):

Entry 1:
Yesterday began a journey to what felt like the ends of the earth. A plane ride, bus trip, ferry ride, and matatu finally had me arrive at my destination: Mbita. Mbita is a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria. It doesn't look far from Nairobi on a map, but it took a good 6 hours of intense travel to find this hidden gem. I came to Mbita to learn about an orphans and widows program and find out ways that we could help empower the community. After conversations with some of the widows, we discovered several that already had skills in basket weaving and soap making. The Village Experience is going to help this project set up a handicraft center and teach the women to become self sufficient. We will continue to tell their story and try to generate funding so that the orphans may have a stable school to attend and a feeding program in place.

Entry 2:
Today I arrived in Eldoret after a long journey from Mbita. I spent most of the day learning about small business projects and trying to get an idea of what a successful model looks like. Many things I would never think of seem to be working and empowering the people of Eldoret: chicken farms, commodities stores, passion fruit production, and chappati vendors. The Village Experience is excited to begin working in Eldoret to further develop and support these efforts.
In the evening, I met with people from Eldoret involved in community projects-all of them with a link to Indiana. I met with the team from Imani Workshops to talk about their fair trade products and ways to further market and improve the program so that more women may eventually be employed. The team from the new Harambee Center on Philanthropy at Moi University were in attendance as well. Dr. Some explained this new initiative and the vision it has for the future. We also discussed street kids issues, the new mother and child hospital, the hospice center, and Neema orphanage to name a few. The upcoming trip to Eldoret in May 2009 will be an excellent venue for the new Cities Pamoja Partnership to flourish and for all those involved in Eldoret to learn about each others projects and deepen community relationships.

11 December (from Kenya):

As I leave Eldoret and head towards Nakuru, I'm left thinking about all the wonderful connections made in just 2 short days. As a representative of Cities Pamoja, I explored relationships with Moi University, the new Harambee Center on Philanthropy, street kids organizations Koinonia and Xstreet, Neema Childrens Home, Imani Workshops, Family Preservation Initiative, and many more. We have decided to dedicate an entire day in our May itinerary to exploring Cities Pamoja and conducting the first joint meeting of committees from both Eldoret and Indianapolis. This will be an exciting addition to our trip!

The Village Experience worked alongside women from Imani Workshops on this trip to develop a new line of jewelry for our company. The collaboration was a lot of fun and was a great learning experience for both parties. We will meet with the Indianapolis focus group and talk about launching this line soon.

Koinonia is a Kenyan ngo that The Village Experience and others in the community are trying to revitalize. The number of street children in Eldoret has drastically increased in the past year due to political conflict and we want to empower this organization to respond to their needs. If you are interested in learning more, please contact me at kelly@experiencethevillage.com. With a little jump start from the community we can help create the infrastructure this ngo needs.

13 December (from Kenya):

Once again I have been welcomed to Nakuru with open arms by all of our partners and supporters. I am visiting established projects here that The Village Experience supports, and I am helping to develop new initiatives - especially those that empower women.

After listening to presentations at the Travelers Philanthropy Conference and then listening to those living in the actual villages, I have come to the conclusion that "trade not aid" is indeed very true. If we could get everyone interested in giving back to contribute to small business projects, handicraft initiatives, and income generating ideas, we could make a huge impact on a community and empower them to sustain themselves. This is an idea I will be promoting through The Village Experience and throughout my travels.

If anyone is interested in getting involved, TVE will be starting 2 handicraft centers in Mbita and Nakuru and running a street kids project in Eldoret focused on enterprise and skills training. We could use some help in collecting the initial capital - join us in "moving forward by giving back."

Check this blog for more about Kelly's trip when she gets back.

Be part of Kelly Campbell's trip to Kenya

Kelly Campbell of The Village Experience will be leaving November 30 for an East African trip that us with many, many opportunities to become engaged in Kenya and beyond. Like a couple of dozen other Hoosiers, Kelly was in Kenya with Ambassadors for Children last December when the country went up in post-electoral ethnic and tribal flames. She expects different this year:

This will be an amazing trip - the last time I was in Kenya, people were fighting in the streets and divided. This time, people will be celebrating in the streets and united because of the election of one of their own to the US presidency. I am so excited to see the country go through this transition and want to show them how much we truly support them and think about them.

Says Kelly about her upcoming trip:

I'll be in Tanzania the first week presenting our business model at a Traveler's Philanthropy Conference hosted by the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Washington, DC. After that, I'm headed to Kenya to visit Kazuri Beads in Nairobi, the 3 orphanges in Nakuru, the women's project, Eldoret, and Mbita.

Expect frequent updates on http://indyafrica.blogspot.com/ from Kelly during her trip. In the meantime, she is collecting crucial stuff to take with her to the groups she is working with in Kenya.

I will be able to take one extra bag and would love some help in collecting donations and money. Here is a breakdown of what they have requested:

Children's Discovery Center (Nakuru) - underwear for boys and girls and "wrappers" for the girls. Wrappers are like robes - something they can wear while doing chores and laundry. I would think Walmart or Kmart or some place like that would have cheap, basic underwear in all sizes. Most of the kids here are 8 and above. I will also try to pay school fees for Mary and Susan for their final year of high school.

Children's Discovery Center in Nakuru

"The 2 girls are Mary and Susan - extremely bright twins finishing out high school. I paid for them to go to a good school last year and want to make sure they have the funds to get through their last year."

Moi Children's Center (Nakuru) - they mostly need food. I would need monetary donations to purchase food in the city and deliver it to them like we did last time. $200 would buy quite a bit.

Saida Children's Home (Nakuru) - I would like to donate exercise books to this orphanage.

Due to lack of space, I would probably need monetary donations to purchase them there.

Women's Project (Nakuru) - $10 per woman will give them access to sanitary pads for an entire year. This project is being subsidized by the Ministry of Health and Joseph from Lake Nakuru Lodge is taking me to see the village. The women stay indoors for the entire length of their period as no pads are available. This project would give them the freedom to move about and be productive even when they are having their period.

Koinonia Street Rehabilitation Center (Eldoret) - There are a few families here that I will visit to see what the pressing needs are - most likely the children will need school fees paid and/or school supplies.

I can buy these in the market in Eldoret. I usually pay rent for a family of 10 whose head of household is 14 years old. It's only $100 for the year.
Dayspring Children's Center (Mbita) - A local church has donated money to this group so that I can purchase food and clothing for the orphans and widows, so I think we are set here.

A big lesson for all of us is how little it takes to make a big difference in the lives of people. How small (from American points of view) are enormous obstacles.

More from Kelly on details of contributing to her initiatives:

I don't have non-profit status, so keep the receipts for anything you purchase and I can issue you a letter to attach to it confirming your donation. If anyone is interested in donating a decent amount of money and wants a tax-exempt form, I can probably facilitate this through Joseph's organization in Nakuru. Remember, I only get one extra suitcase, but I can make it a big one! I can easily take photos, letters, etc from anyone interested. Please email me or call me if you can help and I can arrange to pick up any donations up until I leave.

You can reach Kelly at 917-862-9236 or email her at kescampb@yahoo.com. Visit The Village Experience website at www.experiencethevillage.com. It looks like Kelly is setting up humani-tourist trips to Kenya after Christmas and next summer. You can talk to Kelly (and Charlie Wiles) at a discussion of the political and moral implications of Hoosiers working around the world to solve problems on November 19: www.provocate.org/archives/840.