Dreany Real Estate

Open House 140 Morland

May 18, 2012

Join me tomorrow for an open house at 140 Morland between 10:30 and noon.

This home has recent upgrades that include shingles, flooring, windows, kitchen, bath, electrical and plumbing. The property includes a garage and large private backyard. The home has a unique layout and is great for a single person or couple.

Join me for the open house or call for your personal tour of this unique home.

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Lasting Impressions of Kenya

January 17, 2012

Jan 15, 2012

Before writing this I wanted to wait until the visceral response had passed and I would be able to write a more reflected, intellectual response. So here I am, just over three months after returning from our three week journey to Kenya – ready to tell you what the trip meant to me. At this point I believe that the three week trip to Kenya was just the beginning of what is going to be a lifelong journey.

What I would describe as the tasks that we participated in was significantly different from the experiences that I had. I’ve never experienced anything as profound as what I experienced there.

The tasks we undertook while there were four food distributions, organizing the teaching of small business skills and funding startups for 39 widows and 1 widower, evaluating and funding (and not funding) micro-loan applications, purchasing a knitting and several sewing machines for small businesses, putting the finishing touches on a school for former street girls, organizing and starting a school in a remote village, supplying 10 computers to a youth group that teaches young people the skills necessary to be job-ready, buying arts and crafts from innumerous people and groups so that the profit made from selling them in Canada can be returned to them for future projects.

These are just some of the projects that I can remember right now. There was so much more, we worked very hard, from sun-up to sundown, from the time that we landed almost until the time we took off. And yet, overall, I would have to say that the trip was one of the most selfish things that I have ever done. As any volunteer would tell you, what you get from giving is so much more than what you give.

While I was in Kenya the most common emotions that I felt were of admiration and shame. Admiration for the people of Kenya and their culture; and shame, not of myself, but of our people and our culture.

While many people in Kenya live in abject poverty, and there seems a healthy realization of the reality of the situation, there is still in many an overarching sense of hope; of respect for both one’s self, each other and their country; and a strong will to do whatever each person can to improve the situation. Without the trappings of our culture, there is a greater sense of community. People know each other better, live more closely together and greet each other more personally. In many ways I imagine going there is much like time-warping back to the 50s and dropping onto Mayberry. I admire that, and I’ll explain why later.

After experiencing the way that people live in Kenya, and realizing how little one truly needs to live it is now contemptible to me the way that we live in our culture. Day after day we live a life of senseless and needless accumulation and consumption, all in the name of “need” when in reality we could all live with so much less. Our consumption is depleting the world of valuable resources – doing untold harm. If we redirected those resources to the betterment of the less privileged all of humanity would be better off. The impoverished for having more, us for having less.

Maybe then, we as a culture wouldn’t be as isolated. Isolated in our homes in front of our televisions or travelling cocooned in our cars. We seem to live isolated and in fear. In fear of each other, in fear of the world around us, afraid to let our kids go out and play. By having less I believe we would be more dependent on one another, know each other better. Then maybe our kids could play in the streets, with each other, instead of via text messages and online games. People could walk about with their heads up, saying hello to one another, instead of isolated by ear buds, heads down, mistaking text messages for conversations. Then maybe we too would be a people instead of a collection of individuals.

And that is what I admire about the Kenyan people – they are a people. Whatever they are in, they’re in it together. They have resilience beyond anything that we have having to survive so much hardship each and every day. Realizing their plight, making no apologies for it and working hard to improve it.

So what does all of that mean to me? Ada & I are taking steps to realign the way that we live our lives. We’re taking steps to reduce our overall consumption and diverting the resources to help the less privileged, both here and in Kenya. I know that even the smallest contribution here can equate to a life changing difference to someone there. After all “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”(Helen Keller 1880 – 1968)

My only fear – maybe then they’ll be more like us.

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Wise Words to Contemplate at Christmas

December 22, 2011

Desiderata – 1927

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy

Max Ehrmann 1827-1945

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Sandy’s Blog

October 2, 2011

Today was a great day. WE began with a early breakfast at our favourite place the Jave House. I ordered their special which was a waffle and it never came so I only had a Chai Tea Latte for breakfast. When I got back to Rosa Mystica I ate a granola bar and we were off at 9:30. Sammy, our favourite taxi driver picked us up and we were off to the Elephant Sanctuary. This is only open for 1 hour a day and other team members really need to talk about it because I have been there 7 times, However it is really awesome. Then we went to the Giraffe Centre and the team members really enjoyed seeing the giraffes’ up close and personal. Ada refused to kiss the giraffe but she did feed the giraffes’s from her hand. She is a neat and clean freak but we all lpve her to pieces.

We have al l developed these nose problems, but it is from the dust and pollution but we are taking lots of reactine and Halls. We then went to Mat Bronze, a great art gallery of bronze things and had lunch there. Our taxi driver Sammy is amazing and as Steve says drivinginKenya is civil insanity. Sammy manages to get us around and we are all still alive.

The best part of the day for me was the Maasai Market. It drove the team members crazy but I loved it. I did all the negotiating, which is really something for me. The rest of the team would say “Goto theold woman over there and she will get our prices for us.” It really was lots of fun but very exhausting.

We went and had a great dinner with wine and great conversation. It was nice to have one day realixing and not having to deal with what is really happening to the poor of Kenya. Tomorrow will be another day and we will handle it well. This really is an amazing team.

Sandy

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Maasai Women

September 29, 2011

Maasai Women

Today we drove out to Maasai Land (which is different from the Masa Mara). There is a group of women there that have a cooperative. It took them 10 years to convince the men of village to allow the women to form the group, and allow the women to run it themselves. There is 112 women in the cooperative. It was their Matriarch Agnes, and their business manager Catharine that we met with two mornings ago to make all of the arrangements.

First we drove by private van to Ngong where their shop is. It’s at this shop that they sell all of the bead work that they produce. This allows them to sustain themselves. With families it’s about 700 people. Their shop is quite nice, in a bustly part of the city. Ada, Kathy and Sandy bought a lot of stuff. I’ve been losing some weight so I needed a new belt. I bought a traditional Maasai design leather belt. If you see me wearing it in Canada, just say it’s cool! I don’t care to know otherwise.

From Ngong we drove out to Maasai Land. It was quite the drive. I’d heard that the roads were rough because it was going to be difficult getting someone to deliver the food for the distribution. We were is a van, probably used at one time for safaris, but it certainly wasn’t meant for this kind of driving. The ruts and washouts on this road were incredible. This was off-roading, and would have been fun except we weren’t in a jeep, and there wasn’t any mud, just dust.

The landscape for as far as the eye could see, and we could see far because we were on mountain roads, was parched. There didn’t seem to be any green anywhere. Sandy told us that what is usually lush green forest was cactus, dust and trees stripped bare of their leaves, either by the sun, or foraging livestock and giraffes.

We did see a group or family (not sure of the proper term) of giraffes foraging. They were off a little ways, but we certainly got a good impression of their size and the grace with which they move. The gentle giants of the desert.

The Maasai women greeted us one-by-one, the majority of them if full regalia. The blaze of colour and the wonderful song made for an oasis of joy in an otherwise desolate location. We were told that there was a small rain in April…nothing since. There’s no water in the dams or reservoirs. We made arrangements for water to be delivered.

The women greeted us with song and dance. Our friend Alistair recorded the event for us. After we return to Canada I will post the video. It was wonderful.

After the food distribution the women all sang again to us, a song of thanks and praise. They also presented each of us with a beautiful necklace. Each is a stylized dove, representing peace and love, beaded in traditional Maasai colors. Unless you see me at a Hope2Kenya presentation you won’t see me wearing it. If you do, tell me how cool it is. Sometimes it’s OK to lie.

It’s been a long day, we’re all going to be now…good night.

Steve

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Kibera

Kibera Nairobi

It’s late here now, at least late by our standards lately. Each day has been exhausting; emotionally and physically. This has been a day that words cannot describe. But I’ll try.

We started the day this morning at Java Joe’s; an American coffee house franchise. The décor is urban chic. The ceilings are probably 30’ high. It’s very nice. So there we sat, hooked up to the world via the internet, drinking our Americano Moccachino Double Double Latte Latte’s when in comes two ladies. Once is dressed in a very nice suit; Catherine. The other is the Masaai Matriarch, Agnes. She is dressed in the Masaai regalia, with the multi-layers of beaded necklaces and robes. They have been on the road since 5:30 to meet us to collect the money for the food distribution that we will be doing tomorrow. We will be feeding their groups families; about 120 families.

They need to pay in advance for the food. But there are other logistical issues. They haven’t told the families about the distribution. The ladies are afraid about security if the word gets out about what’s going on. They have told all of the families that there will be important visitors and that everyone must attend for a visit. The food will be a surprise.

The food will also be delivered by night. That’s to avoid anyone getting wind of what’s going on. The other problem will be hiring a truck to deliver the food that will be willing to travel the roads. Apparently the roads out there are quite bad. This boggles my mind. I can’t imagine how bad a road would need to be for them to be considered unacceptable to a driver here. This is a place where cars routinely need to drive on the road shoulders (either side) or weave both sides of the road, to avoid potholes. To say that the roads are too rough for many drivers is incredible. Really!

The ladies tell us that they will also need to buy chlorine for water purification. The people are getting their water from the same mud hole that the livestock is using. Not water hole; mud hole. Wow!

The women leave to make the necessary arrangements and we return to Rosa Mystica Spiritual Retreat (where we are staying while in Nairobi) to pick up the computers and other stuff that we will be taking into Kibera. We wait out front for Alistair to escort us.

Once Alistair arrives we decide that we will take public transportation into Kibera. We board a bus and then transfer to a Matatu. We’ve ridden in a number of Matatu’s by now, and they’ve all been pretty rattily and rickety but this one’s pretty rough, even by Matatu standards. After we get off we begin to walk along a street. It’s a street that we are walking on, but there aren’t’ any cars. Both sides are lined with vendors, and it just seems quite like a lot of the poverty that we have seen, except that we are walking down a street, but there are no cars.

Then we turn down an alley. The change is indescribable. Inner Kibera is a series of winding alleyways. It their configuration it’s reminiscent of old European cities. Close, narrow alleyways that wind and weave, up and down hills. But that’s as far as the similarities go. The alleys are clay mud, I think. They are so trodden that I’m not really sure that they aren’t rock. They are so uneven that you couldn’t possibly walk without watching the ground. But the unevenness isn’t the only hazard. There’s heaps of garbage everywhere, but the worst is the running sewage. The endless flow of water and sewage has forged tributaries in the clay. Just as small creeks lead to streams and eventually to rivers so does the flow of liquid in Kibera. There’s a river in the middle of Kibera that all the tributaries lead to that’s a mass of flowing sewage. I don’t care to imagine from where it comes, or goes.

We navigate the alleys, seemingly endlessly. Constantly conscious of whom we are and that we don’t belong. I’m trying to be as stone-faced as possible. I can’t help but feel that no expression would be appropriate. Alistair has advised us, and I completely agree, not to take pictures. Camera’s here attract a lot of attention. It’s also pretty evident that some people don’t appreciate us being there. He’s also told us to stay close together. Again, I agree. It’s too bad though, that we can’t take pictures. Just so people could see how other people live. Men outside a “butchery” cooking cow hooves over an open fire beside the alley. I can’t even imagine why…there’s isn’t any discernable meat on the hooves.

There are so many vignettes as we walk they can’t all be described here. I’m just overwhelmed by the crushing poverty, the absolute inhumanity of the situation. Because of the topography of the land, you can see how the roof-tops go on and on and on.

And yet, as we go through, there are people everywhere, going about their business, living their lives. Alistair lives in Kibera, and so do all of the people that we met there. This is their home. They go to their own places at night, and they get up in the morning and go to their jobs, just as we do. They’re all well turned out, clean and presentable. The only difference between them and us is that they accomplish the same things that we do, but without running water, toilets, showers, stoves, fridges, kitchens. Just a one room mud-hut (at best) or corrugated steel hovel (middle class) or sticks and discarded rags/bags (low end).

We twist and turn through the alleys. There’s no rhyme nor reason anything. Alleys lead off alleys, everything is the same color of reddish brown; the road, the walls, the wood and the rusted corrugated steel, Kibera brown – the color of poverty. And then suddenly in the midst of despair there’s a blaze of white, pure white. Like a beacon of light on a starless night a painted steel fence. Alistair knocks and the gate opens onto a bright beautiful compound. The steel walls of the compound painted in mutli-colored murals. There’s a slide, and swings. There’s a two-storey building (a real building) with classrooms. It’s an oasis of colour, light and sanity in an endless desert of despair. And yet within is the worst of all anquish. There are about 30 kids in this compound. Seven of them have tested positive for HIV. One little boy, in the oppressive heat was wearing a yellow parka. He’s HIV positive, yesterday his mother died, is father his gone. Yet still they smile, but somehow to me, it’s a defeated smile. They were so grateful for the supplies that we delivered. The children laughed and played with us, playing with bubbles, balls and knitted dolls. They had lunch while we were there, and all the children lined up for their meals. They were all so well behaved and orderly.

There’s so much more to tell. About the Youth Centre where we delivered the 5 laptops donated by our Rotary Club. And the co-op of HIV positive widows, where we met in their mud hut. 10 people in a 10×10 “room”. Breakfast is here now. As is always the case while we are here, there’s no time.

Later, Steve

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Sandy’s Blog

September 28, 2011

The internet in Kenya is something else. Yesterday we went to visit Veronica Home, the orphanage for children with HIV that we built last year. There are now 10 children there plus the houseparent’s 5children and it is wonderful to see. That project is finished but will continue to flourish and expand when needed. He Neema girls Vocational school is coming to completion. We painted what we could but ran out of paint. Of course Steve did all the high parts while we did the lower parts of the walls. We have purchased everything the school needs to run, and once the floor is in then the equipment will be moved in. It is a great feeling to build a vocational school for at risk girls.

The team is great and handling all the many experiences well even Steve managed long Matatu ride with his knees under his chin. He has taken some absolutely amazing photos that really depict the life here.

We seem to be bringing food everywhere we go. Today we head to the Kaibeiyo and the woman Iknow there, Mama Sally, asked us to bring food to feed 15 families. It wasn’t on our list, but we were able to do what was needed. and hope these families eat for a while.

I always feel so blessed when I am here and know that I am where I am supposed to be. I love this country and the people and their ability to see good in most everything and always their hope. They see hope everywhere in spite of the hardships they are suffering.

A friend of mine here, Sammy Sany, has a running team that we help support and he told me his mom wasn’t well. She went to the public hospital and got no relief so I told him to take her to a private hospital which he did. They gave her a shot of cortisone in her knee and some medication and she will go back in 9 days for a follow up. The reason I am telling you this is because it cost me $3000 Kenyan shillings and that includes the taxi ride there and back. That equals about $30.00. I visited with her yesterday and she was almost in tears because she was finally pain free. I took Cathy and Ada with me and she had her whole family there to greet us. Of course they served us Chai tea. It is those kinds of experiences that make coming here worthwhile.

There is so much to write about each day and so much that we are thankful for each day so keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go off on another adventure.

Sandy

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Kathy’s Blog

Because we’ve had so much difficulty with communication here, oll of our Hope2Kenya blogs will be posted here.

Here’s Kathy’s from a few days ago.

Tuesday Sept. 20, 2011

Today the team was involved in two food distributions. In Malie Saba 137 bags of maize and beans were given to 137 widows who care for many children in their families. The women sang and dance as a welcoming to the group. After the speech from the local councilman the food was given out, as well as blankets and sleeping mats. When one woman was given a sleeping mat by Ada she kissed the mat and with teary eyes thanked Ada. All the women were very grateful and came up to us to shake hands and give thanks.

The children who came with their mothers, were wide eyed but smiled when given a sweet sucker. This was very touching for Sandy and Steve was able to capture their expressions in several photos After the food distribution we went into the school on the property to distribute more suckers but in one classroom there were one hundred and fifty children and they overwhelmed Sandy as the teachers did not have them sit or line up when the suckers were handed out. As a former teacher the lack of resources and simple wooden desks in a bare classroom made an impact.

When Steve took his camera out, he attracted all the children like a Pied Piper. They were fascinated by the camera and wanted their pictures taken.

In the afternoon we walked down the hill from the Transformed International complex to the Shimo Le Tewa slum . In this place 178 bags of maize and beans were distributed .

Kathy

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Java Joe”s

Between poor internet connections and time, I haven’t been able to keep up with writing.

Right now we are at Java Joe’s in Nairobi with a Masaai Matriarch arranging food distribution. She’s in full regalia telling us about the children drinking from the same mudholes as the cows, and the need for chlorine to clean the water. The dichotomy between the traditional Masaai dress and Java Joe’s, a fully Americanized franchise is incredible. Us drinkin double americano latte’s and their families not having clean water to drink. It’s just bizzare.

The food we will be distributing will be delivered in the night so people won’t know. We have to find a truck that will deliver over the rough roads. If the locals are calling the roads rough I can;t imagine what, short of a camel, will be needed.

Toaday we are going into the Kibera slum. On the way into Nairobi we passed a slum. The stench driving past was overwhelming. I don’t know…

Later,

Steve

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