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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE December 9, 2006
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| November 26, 2006 |
Mombasa, Kenya – Our Village is Your Village |
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| How would life in this village compare to life in your town? |
What would it be like to leave behind urban life and live in a mud hut in an African village? A village with no running water, no electricity, and no cars—a village where coconut trees loom overhead rather than skyscrapers, where food is simmered slowly over an open fire rather than microwaved, and where everyone considers themselves part of one big family? Through a Village Homestay Experience organized by Peace Boat, participants had a chance to find out when the ship called in Kenya. |
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| Children in the village dance with Peace Boat participants |
People in the village of Kwamongo, located several hours outside of the city of Mombasa, warmly invited Peace Boat participants to experience life as they do. As soon as participants arrived in the village, hundreds of children came running out to meet them, eager to hold their hands and show them around. “Please relax and make yourself at home here. This is your village,” said one of the elders. “We'd like to share everything with you.” |
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| A villager leads participants on a mouse trapping expedition. “Mice taste like chicken,” he says |
During their homestay, participants had a chance to try coconut tree climbing, cassava harvesting, mouse trapping, maize grinding, and African cooking. After several hours of activity under the sun, most began to wilt, while their village guides showed little sign of fatigue. “I'm so used to air conditioning and driving everywhere,” puffed one participant. “Two of us working together couldn't manage to stir one big pot,” said another, “but the village women could it alone with ease. I really respect them.” And while it took a villager only seconds to scale a tall coconut tree, participants stopped in fear after only a few feet up the trunk. |
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| A participant shows off the coconut leaf glasses her young friend made for her |
“Coconut trees are very important to us—we use every part of them,” explained one of the villagers. Participants watched in awe as villagers deftly turned various parts of the trees into roof thatches, bed mats, poles, and even ceremonial wine. When given permission by their elder brothers to play with the coconut leaves, children in the village shrieked with happiness and immediately set about weaving pinwheels, bracelets, rings, and imitation glasses for the participants. “Children in Japan don't have the chance to play fully in nature like this—I envy these kids,” said one participant. |
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| Water is essential for growing maize in the village. The village is trying to maintain its genetically unmodified seeds |
Through the homestay experience, participants had a chance to hear what the villagers envied about the lives of others. “Food, clothing, and shelter—we are always worried about these three things,” said one villager. “Especially when there are droughts.” Water, too, is always a precious resource in the village. There is one tap with running water in the village, but villagers must pay for every cup of it. Those who can't afford it hike to a muddy river to gather water in buckets, and boil it for cooking. Some children in the village begged for the chance to just hold the sparkling clear water in the bottles of the participants. “I'm starting to realize the importance of water of this world,” said one overwhelmed participant. |
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| Two village boys relax with a participant |
Many villagers also have education woes. Even though school fees are minimal by urban standards, some parents make so little from farming that they can barely afford them. One young man, who spoke in eloquent English, said he would love to go to university and become a doctor, but had no way of affording the yearly $1,000 tuition. Many children in the village were desperate to own even a single pen or pencil.
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| Participants head back to the village after watching the sun rise over the Indian Ocean |
After their homestay at the village, participants started to think about what they could do to support the people in Kwamongo. They also left the village with a newfound awareness of the shortcomings and excesses of modern life. “We stepped into this village that is so full of warmth, energy, and humanity, and it made us realize how much we've lost our own sense of what it means to be human,” said one participant. “Through this village homestay, I hope we can learn how to get it back.” |
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