Feb 2013 - KICC Tower and Nairobi Safari Park

My final weekend before “re-locating” to Tanzania for the elections, I visited Nairobi to see a Kenyan friend. They had arranged for us to go up the KICC tower in the Central Business District. http://www.kicc.co.ke/index.php/about-the-building This gives you an amazing view of the Nairobi panorama. This is on my top 10 list of things to do in Nairobi. It is about 200 shilings for nationals and around 400 for others (from memory!!). Luckily there is a lift to the top almost 30 storeys up. Also we had the privilege of being on our own up there to enjoy the view. The photo is a 360 degree panorama that will be too small as it appears on here but if you blow it up you will get the idea. Anyone wanting the full resolution version let me know.

After a quick lunch we then jumped on a Matatu for the Nairobi Safari Park where there is a safari walk. http://www.kws.org/parks/education/nairobi_safariwalk.html  It is a little zoo like but you get a good view of the animals – see the leopard below!! And it is a nice relaxing stroll and place to chill out. Again, recommended. If you are a resident remember your ID! I did not and had to pay 1800 kenya shillings rather than around 200 to 400. Another good and recommended day trip in Nairobi. 

February 2013 - Security Meeting

With the forthcoming elections 4^th March in Kenya and the troubles in the last ones in 2007/8 there were inevitable concerns about security risks to volunteers etc. There had been a number of meetings to put plans in place for every eventuality. I was involved as one of the regional volunteer representatives. The latest meeting was following the decision to relocate us to Tanzania as a precautionary measure from 2^nd March for a week or so. This also allowed the office to close and the staff to concentrate on their families etc. There is a lot written about the 2007/08 election violence so any google search will find many commentaries. There is also a very good documentary on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUUcjWC6rG8 not easy viewing but the personal interviews and viewpoints give a very intimate and emotional perspective on the impact of the events on real people not just a headline about a far of country.

There were many views amongst the volunteers about this decision. Most agreed it was the right thing to do, but a small number thought it was an over-reaction. My perspective was: Yes there is unlikely to be any trouble in the village where I live but, other volunteers are less fortunate. Also last time the staff at VSO had to try and extract volunteers from high risk areas after the trouble started, meanwhile a number had family members unaccounted for. The most important thing for me was to let the Kenyans focus on their families. We were praying for peace but planning for the worst. If it turned out in hindsight to be an over-reaction then that was OK. Better that than the other way around!

13/9/2012 – Photoshoot - Nairobi

I am to help at the Unite the People concert in Kisumu later this month and today went to Nairobi to do a photo shoot with some of the acts. The original plan was that the photos would be taken in the Stanley Hotel. I foolishly presumed this had been cleared by the organiser with the hotel – oops! With 5 minutes before the arrival of the artists we had not venue!! My first photo shoot and I was not stressed honest!! I left Simon the organiser to wait for them whilst I nipped out to find a quiet back street location (not easy in bustling Nairobi! Luckily I came across a hoarded area where a building had been demolished and persuaded the security guard to let us use it. That way we were safe from being mobbed by the public and had a cool backdrop.  Here are a couple of shots and a link to my flickr account for the rest . What do you think?  http://www.flickr.com/photos/westfield21/sets/72157631950298049/

DNA

The "Unite the People" pose with me stood on top of a rickety old site toilet

Simon the Organiser