Hey all, I know I promised this a lot earlier but it's been a bit of a hectic trip thus far and the internet connections in Africa (in the main) would make you want to tear your hair out so figured I'd wait a while and spend a bit of time on it! Where do I start.....suppose Nairobi is best! Was picked up off the plane by Chipo, amazing Kenyan friend who runs Mafinikio (www.mafanikio.com), a charity which works with a number of schools and water projects throughout Kenya. Chipo invited me to stay with her, her cute kids Cephas and Charlene and her home help, the very sweet Damaris, for a week! These kids are up at about 5am to get ready for school and aren`t back until late in the evening. Their only day off is Sunday. Education is really promoted here and the children are so eager to learn. It shows though - most people I met had amazing English! Gave Damaris a night off and cooked cottage pie for the family and some friends one evening - seemed to go down well - thanks for the recipe Mum! :-) Had a few nice days wandering through the city - actually quite liked it - and got a personal tour of Jamia mosque by Salim, Chipo's friend. It's the second biggest mosque in East Africa - just pipped to the post by one in Kampala, Uganda which was build by Gaddafi. Took in the City Market - the meat section is particularly interesting with fish and carcasses strewn everywhwere, flies hanging about and the stench of the lot. Decided after much deliberation to pay a visit to Kibera Slums - this is where part of the movie The Constant Gardener was filmed. Unfortunately luck was not on my side and I had the dreaded ' Nairobbery' experience - the t*** took my ipod, wallet and phone. Luckily Freddy, the guy who was to give me the tour - such a sweetheart - helped me get to a police station and gave me money to get back to Chipo's place. Not a nice experience but to be honest, if that's the worst that happens I'll be ok. By the sounds of it, I was one of the lucky ones - many robberies are actually violent muggings here. Have had it with bureaucracy at this stage with all the card cancellations, insurance and money issues - actually don't know which is worse, the Irish or Kenyan banking systems! Anyway, all is well in the world again! Also met up with Lisa, a friend of Louise (a former colleague at KPMG) for food and a comedy gig (Jane Bussman re Uganda - most of which was over my head as hadn't got to the history of Uganda bit in the Lonely Planet at that stage :-)). Was a lovely evening and really nice to meet up with some more friendly faces and hang out with a glass of wine. Chipo brought me out to the projects which she runs through Mafanikio. Visited a number of schools literally out in the middle of nowhere. Took two matatus (basically really overcrowded hiace vans which serve as transport) and my first of many motorbike rides up through the hills on seriously dusty roads - all the rivers have dried up and it hasn`t rained in ages so there are serious drought issues! Mafanikio assists with the feeding of the children at the school (a mixture of ugali/maize and beans is eaten most days). The children are beautiful and so so friendly although I arrived at one school and I was literally the FIRST white person they have ever seen. Seriously - what a strange experience for both them and me?! They ran away from me and hid in their classrooms and when I went in to each room to say hello I was greeted with a 'Good Morning, Sir', with just a few remembering the `Mam' bit. They went mad when I went anywhere near them, giggling and staring. What a crazy experience. I also visited a school which our fundraising efforts three years ago helped to fund the plastering of. I don`t know how Chipo finds these projects but they are most definitely worthwhile and I`m now going to have a little of an 'Eat Pray Love' moment and ask you to consider throwing some cash their way if you are donating to charity this year. Bank details are below and are paid to Gra Charity which is the Irish affiliate. If anyone is considering volunteering in the near future you should also think about this one. Account Name: Growth Reaching Africa Account Number: 24242050 Sort Code: 93-10-47 Bank: AIB Also paid a visit to Mombasa on the coast - lovely city and had a good feel to it although it was boiling hot. Myself, Chipo and Amy (a lovely girl from Dublin who was volunteering in one of the schools) took a night bus there and hit for Mkwiro, a village on Wasini Island. The trip from Mombasa took 2 boats & 2 matatus - about 4.5 hours travel time. Here Mafanikio are looking for funding for a water project as they are currently surviving on rainwater (and there isn`t much of that) and have to make trips to the mainland when this runs out. A desalination plant is planned which will give the 3,000 strong population access to clean water which will be available from community pumps - no such thing at plumbing directly to your kitchen sink here! The people are lovely here. We get a tour of the island and have lunch and chai with the village council - even attend a council meeting. The next day we toured Mombasa city - lots of lovely buildings along the waterfront including Fort Jesus. The experience however is marred by the stench of rubbish. There is no awareness whatsoever of waste management and rats and birds are regularly seen crawling from rubbish piled in heaps along the road. There is not particular to Mombasa and is seen all over Kenya which is a pity! I spent about a week in Kenya with Chipo and the gang but was later to revisit with Dee on way to Uganda from Tanzania. Despite Nairobbery, really enjoyed the Kenya experience. It's a beautiful country and well worth a visit!