Pictures from the Ngong Hills and beyond!

 Making our way down the Ngong Hills

With a herd of giraffe at the bottom of the Ngong Hills

In the natural hot spring at Lake Maghadi

Flamingos at Lake Natron

Group shot with our guide in the Shompole Conservation Area 

 My Lion King impression!

 With some kids at the local Masai village

High fives!

#ibmcsc #kenya4

Ngong Hills, Lake Maghadi, Lake Natron and Shompole Conservation Area

This weekend we did some more exploring of this amazing country we are in; but in an alternative way!

We left at 6am on Saturday morning to meet our guides in Nairobi. After meeting up we headed to the Ngong Hills, just south of Nairobi for a hike. It took a total of 3 hours and the views we had were spectacular. After hiking to the top of the hills, we spotted a giraffe who would be on our route to meet the safari vans. Luckily when we got down to his level, he was still there.... along with another 30 or so ranging from babies to fully grown males and females. We ended up surrounded by giraffes that were closer than I ever thought I would get to them in the wild! It was truly amazing!

After meeting up with our transport, we headed further south to Olorgesailie. This is an excavation site where early human tools have been found. It is part of a larger project in many countries in Kenya, unearthing the story of early humans and all of our ancestors. It is a fascinating story and you can read more here:

Olorgesailie Excavation

Next we headed to Lake Maghadi. This is a natural salt lake and has an entire township built around a factory for extracting the soda from the water. It was a British company but has recently been sold to Tata. It is very weird to see a whole town dedicated to one thing but it does provide housing, schooling and heath care town, which is a lot more than some other Kenyan towns.

Further on in the lake is a hot spring so we stopped off there and went for dip. It was really hot and left our skin feeling smooth and refreshed. It was getting late at this point so we headed to our camp for the night. We stayed in a Masai village where the local woman's group has build a small house and some outside straw-roofed huts. It was very warm so I stayed outside and we watched the moon rise over the mountains. It was very cool and a privilege to stay there.

Sunday morning started at 5.30. We headed to the Shompole Conservation Area. Not a lot of tourist go here (we didn't see any) but it is the home to a really expensive hotel called Shompole Lodge which has been visited by the very rich in the world. It is so remote that you have to fly to its private air strip! Lake Natron is mainly in Tanzania but a small part of it pokes into southern Kenya so we headed to see that. Our guide then took us on a walk around the outside of the lake where we saw hundreds of thousands of Flamingos. Again we were the only people there; including our guide there was a total of 6 people around the lake.

After this we headed home (it was a long drive!) to Machakos. Photos will follow!

We are all shattered heading into our last work week but also very excited to deliver our reports to the clients.

RA

#ibmcsc #kenya4

The Newest LFC fan

There is a new LFC fan among us and she is from state side!

On the trip I brought a Liverpool scarf to tell a story about my home city and the football club I support. The intention was to then have a quiz, with the winner keeping the scarf. However, that plan changed when I recruited my Kenya 4 team mate to support Liverpool.

In exchange I have to support her collage basketball team the Duke Blue Devils. Pretty fair I would say!! Below are the pictures from the scarf handing over ceremony.

So all LFC fans out there, please welcome, the newest LFC fan, Marissa Meehan!

 The Handover

Marissa; excited to be part of the LFC family

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An Elephant Named Sities

On Saturday, some of us visited the elephant orphanage in Nairobi. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was set up in the 70's to honour David and his commitment to the conservation of endangered wildlife. One of it's projects is to rescue orphaned African Elephants, raise them and release them back into the wild when they are old enough to look after themselves.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Website

Me in Sities' stable; the keepers sleep in here every night

For one hour each day, the trust permits the public to visit the sanctuary in Nairobi National Park. There you can see the elephants and hear about the work that the charity does. The guys explained that baby elephants need their mothers milk for 3 years and cannot survive in the wild without them. So they bring them to Nairobi and look after them until they are 3-4 years old. The elephants live in the park in the wild but are fed by the keepers and are brought into the stables every night at 5pm for their protection. As they need milk every few hours, each elephant has a keeper sleeping with them in the stable! When the elephants are old enough to be released, they are taken to a national park in Kenya to integrate into a herd. However, this does not happen immediately; it takes between 5 and 9 years for them to be fully accepted and so still need some care from the trust.

The orphaned baby elephants

The hour we spent there was amazing! The elephants were so playful and friendly and we even got to touch them. The story and the experience was inspiring. The trust does great work in the name of a great man and it is all about the animals, not a tourist attraction. Some of the stories are awful and the main reason for the baby's being orphaned is still poaching for the ivory of the mother. Quite shocking in this age.

Sities

So on the way out I decided to adopt one of the baby elephants to help with her care. Her name is Sities and she is nearly 2 years old. She was born in January 2010 and was rescued as a 7 week old calf when she walked into Mgeno Ranch in  Tsavo Conservation Area. Her mother had been killed by poachers for her tusks.

Sities' Story

Google Maps Tsavo Conservation Area

I hope to continue my support of the project in the years to come; it is very worthwhile.

RA


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Masai Mara weekend and Nairobi traffic hell!

It's been a crazy start to the week so this is the first chance that I have had to write about the weekend just gone.

On Friday, the 12 of us boarded 2 Safari Vehicles in Machakos and headed to Masai Mara for what would turn out to be a weekend I will never forget. It took 9 hours to get there over smooth roads, bumpy roads and roads that can hardly even be called roads.

On the way, we stopped at a viewing point at the Rift Valley; it was awe inspiring. It was so beautiful there are no words to describe it. I had to take a moment to take it all in.

We arrived in total darkness at approx 8pm and after being shown to our tents (which were huge with beds in!) we cracked a tusker or 2 and tucked into dinner.The 9 hours of travelling frustration soon melted away!

The next 2 days were surreal. We started early both days 6.30-7am and headed into the park to see if we could find any animals. We were not disappointed!! There were elephants, zebras, antelope, vultures, lions, wart hogs, mongooses or mongeese whatever the plural is, hippos, crocodiles, wilder beasts, buffalo and many many more including birds that I couldn't even name! Basically it was the whole cast of Lion King and a few extra friends!

On Sunday, before we left, we visited a traditional Masai Village. They welcomed us with a dance and surrounded me chanting, screaming and jumping... it was more than a little scary! We got to go inside a house, were shown how they make fire and guided through how they live. It was very interesting and a little eye opening. After that we headed home over the same smooth, bumpy and non-existent roads but this time it took a mere 6  hours!

For this week my sub team have been heading into Nairobi every day. The city is great and the meetings have been really informative but the traffic is hell. I have been to Bangalore and this is worse! For a 50 minute journey it has regularly taken 2 1/2 hours and on a couple of occasions over 3 hours. Tomorrow I get to work from the hotel in Machakos which will be a good change.

We have an interesting weekend planned. Friday we visit a local University where we will discuss everything from IBM, soft skills on how to pass interviews to democracy. Saturday we are splitting into groups and I will be heading to Nairobi to visit an elephant orphanage, giraffe centre and the national park which is located in the city - the only one in the world I believe. Sunday we will all be back together to hike in the hills around Machakos and get a better look at the town we have been calling home.

Sorry it was a long one, I promise they will be more frequent and shorter from now on!

RA

#ibmcsc #kenya4

Some more Safari pictures

 Me with a Masai Warrior trying on a head dress made from a lion  

 Me at the Rift Valley on the way to Masai-Mara

 Me with Marissa, Camy and Kunle drinking Tuska around the camp fire

 A Masai lady at the entrance to the park

 A male lion; just out of shot the elephants are pushing the lions away from their territory

 A lazy hippo next to the Mara River

 Four lions just relaxing

The sun sets over the Masai-Mara

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An African Elephant

Too tired to write a complete blog entry but here is a picture of an African Elephant from the Maasai Mara!

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Welcome to Machakos

Arriving in the town of Machakos from Nairobi was an experience. The drive was, thankfully, uneventful, and getting to see more of this country was a privilege. The town is a lot smaller than the metropolis of Nairobi and is typical of African towns (according to Kunle!). The people were friendly, especially the kids who just wanted to high five us all the time!

The District Commissioner welcomed us in his office and talked about the history of the town. It was the first administration centre for the British Colony in East Africa, before it moved to Nairobi as that is where the railway was. He showed us the board which has the names of every DC since the start. I was surprised to see British names after independence still running the town but he explained that the British stayed behind to help hand over and many of them stayed permanently; some still have family in Kenya today!

I thought that there would have been an anti-British feeling but it was quite the opposite. The Kenyans and the British really get on here and integrate with each other. That was a proud moment for me personally.

After this we went for a walk around Machakos Town to get to know the place a bit better. The town itself is vibrant and there is always a buzz about.... even in the pitch dark of night as we were walking back to the hotel! Right in the centre there is a shanty town nicknamed 'California'. We were taken for walk through it by our host, Alex. It was a very humbling experience. We have all seen this situation on TV but to witness it in person and to meet some of the people was something else. I thought we might be harassed or hated for gorping at them but again I was proved wrong. The people were so welcoming and happy to see us. From the sights we saw, the people there are honest, hard-working and joyful. They really just need to be given a chance.

In 'California' there was a spare parts shop and it was called 'Liverpool Auto Parts'! I couldn't believe it!! The club badge was proudly displayed next to the name. It was a very weird experience but a nice one too. I will post a picture when I get a chance.

Tomorrow we leave at lunch time to go to Masai-Mara on Safari for the weekend. I can't begin to describe how excited I am!

RA

#ibmcsc #kenya4

One Blue Tribe!

Jambo!

Today we leave Nairobi for our base location for work which is a town called Machakos. The first 4 days have been a whirlwind of activity; visiting all the clients, starting our research, getting to know one another and sapling the local cuisine and beer! Nairobi is a beautiful city with friendly people and buzz that is inescapable - even if the traffic is a nightmare!

We are going to be welcomed by the District Commissioner (DC) into Machakos, as I believe it is a pretty big deal that we are here. IBM are even talking to the preses to brief them on our activities! I am looking forward to getting to and exploring what Machakos has to offer but it already has a lot to live up to!

Each of our sub teams now has a Swahili name:

Team 1 = Simba (Lion)
Team 2 = Duma (Cheetah) <---------- MY TEAM
Team 3 = Twiga (Giraffe)

Collectively we are known as "One Blue Tribe"!


P.S. In something totally unrelated, on the way home last night there was a man standing in the middle of the road in the traffic jam trying to sell a box of kittens!

#ibmcsc #kenya4

Samosa's and Sausages

It was quite a surreal moment when we were all sitting in the board room of the Ministry for Higher Education, Science and Technology eating Sausages and Samosa's while drinking tea and casually chatting the Deputy Permanent Secretary!

RA

#kenya4 #ibmcsc

First 2 days!

Well it has been a crazy first 2 days here in Kenya!

I arrived in Nairobi early on Saturday morning. As I was coming in to land there was a rainbow over a lush green landscape; it was not was I was expecting but it was beautiful. After checking in, a sleep and a saga trying to get my luggage back (which was lost during my connection in Doha!) I met my team for the first time. It’s amazing; we are from all over the world but we all clicked and it’s like we had known each other for years. Our hosts, Alex and Muriuki, treated us to a fantastic welcome meal accompanied by a couple of local beers. Tusker beer is up there with the best!

On Sunday, my sub team met our client KAM, after an introduction to the programme. We had to meet them on Sunday as they are away all week. We were supposed to meet them at their offices and give a presentation but the caretaker had forgotten that there was a meeting and most of the place was locked. We managed to get a room that just had enough room for us all to sit around and have chat about the project. They were very positive about us being there and the meeting went better than expected. Well done team!

For dinner, we headed into the city centre of Nairobi to a local place called Ronalo’s. The local food was interesting and the people were friendly. The live band were amazing and after a couple of beers, dancing and the band playing ‘No Woman, No Cry’ especially for us we headed back to the hotel for an early night.

The next few days will be busy before we head to Machakos. If the first few days are anything to go by, this trip is going to be awesome!

RA

Welcome to Kenya 4!

Hi and welcome to my Kenya blog!

In just over 1 week, I will be departing my every day job in England for a 4 week assignment in Kenya as part of IBM's Corporate Service Corps (CSC). The CSC is a leadership program that takes IBMers from all over the world and sends them to developing countries to consult on various issues governments and local businesses have.

Post-assignment we are staying on in Kenya for 1 week to explore the country even further.

This blog is to keep you up-to-date with the assignment and the adventures my team and I have. I will be posting some pictures and stories so please keep coming back!

The team I am traveling with are the 4th team to visit Kenya and so we are known as 'Kenya4'.

In my team there are 12 of us from 11 countries and we are split into 3 sub-teams of 4. My sub-team has been tasked with helping the Kenya Association of Manufactures (KAM). We are currently developing a statement of work with KAM but our basic task is to improve the Value Proposition to their members so they can increase their membership and work more closely with the government.

That's it for now, more when I arrive in Kenya!

RA