Hello out there!

2008-11-07T03:56:00.000-08:00

Anne safe from pollution

2008-11-07T03:52:00.000-08:00

Anne and her friends

2008-11-07T03:28:00.000-08:00

The chairman of Youth 2 youth

2008-11-07T02:08:00.000-08:00

Acrobstic action by Youth 2 youth

2008-11-07T02:03:00.000-08:00

Youth 2 youth flying circus!

2008-11-07T02:02:00.000-08:00

Youth 2 youth has lots of things in the air!

2008-11-07T01:52:00.001-08:00

Theatre of Youth 2 youth

2008-11-07T01:49:00.000-08:00

Anne & Staffans´s Diary

2008-11-02T06:28:00.000-08:00

Anne and Staffan in Nairobi

Thurs. Oct. 23 – Nov. 2
Day 0…Thursday
Off we went from Lund via Copenhagen and Amsterdam for a night flight to Nairobi.
It looked like we were carrying a lot of luggage for 9 days but 2 of th bags were full of toys for the Shangilia kids from supporters.

Day 1…Friday
6:30 a.m.….Jomo Kenyatta Airport…Methodist Guest House…SHANGILIA!!!
Yes, there we were, surrounded by the happy and welcoming children, staff and the director, Mr. Japheth Njenga.
For Anne it was an emotional “homecoming” and for Staffan a powerful “beginning”. For the kids it was WOW…new toys!

Day 2…Saturday
Morning:
Meeting with Staffan’s friend Eva Nordfjäll and Anna-Carin Carlsson. They both work with the Swedish “Save the Children” in Africa.
They took us to Karen Blixen’s house/museum in Karen, the village named after her.
We also met with their young friend Kepha who works with youths in the slums of Kibera. This is where all the violence broke out during the elections. A very impressive young man.

Afternoon:
“Getting to Know You”…an outing to a nearby park where we watched the children play soccer, climb and hang from trees….just be kids…free.

Day 3…Sunday
Morning:
Staffan went to mass with Eva and met some Dominican monks. One, who is 80, is running the half-marathon tomorrow.
Staffan and Anne agree that a change of life-style is needed when they return home.

Afternoon:
The Show!!
The children put on a performance for us.
A brass band, acrobats, singers, drummers, dancers, unicyclists…absolutely fantastic!

Day 4…Monday
Morning:
What a positive and interactive meeting we had with the Shangilia board! They were very interested in our work back home and in the proposed ForumSyd project. We exchanged lots of information and agreed to move on. * see Marilyn’s notes of the meeting.

Afternoon:
Photo session. We decided to take class and individual photos of the children. We found a shady leafy background outside the compound but every child had to be lifted over the barbed-wire fence! They loved it! This took almost 3 hours and left Staffan dizzy and a bit sun-struck. The kids were in the shade but we were in he sun!

Day 5…Tuesday
Morning:
Youth to Youth ( Y2Y) is a large and growing organization started by Shangilia to combat the negative forces in the Kangemi slum. This is, of course, HIV/aids, but also drugs, violence and sexual abuse. These young men and women are performers, social and health workers but also ordinary residents of Kangemi. Their common mission and goal is to improve their lives and that of their neighbors.

We met in the Community Center Hall, there were about 25 of them. Then…BAM! They literally came flying and spinning through the air. Then they put on some sketches that had us howling with laughter.
Two hours later we were on our way to becoming friends.
For Anne it was a very special happening. When she introduced herself she spoke of her first visit to Shangilia and how a young boy’s speech had touched her heart. Afterwards a young man came and sat with her and told her he remembered her and that he was that boy. His name is Samuel Mathunga.

Afternoon:
We needed to see some animals so we took an 2 hour ride through the Nairobi National Park. The traffic and petrol fumes there and back was horrendous and Anne was close to asphixiation.

Day 6…Wednesday
All day:
Staffan went off to the Rift Valley to get a feel of Africa outside Nairobi.
Anne recuperated from this n’ that and met with her friend Lizzy Kamau.

Day 7…Thursday
Morning:
Workshop with Y2Y.
Staffan conducted a communications workshop with the youth group that was much appreciated.
About 20 youths (ages 18-28) participated.
They are a very enthusiastic group and are excited about learning the Forum Theatre method as a tool in their struggle against HIV/aids.
We really look forward to working with them should our project proposal be approved.

*On Tuesday Anne bought a red Obama for President badge and since then everyone has been smiling and waving and giving her thumbs-up.
A new way to “make friends and influence people”.

Only one person, a boy at Shangilia, has said he is for McCain. “Because he is so handsome” he explained.
Hmm.

Day 8…Friday
Planning meeting for Forum-Theatre Project with director Njenga.

• We discussed and evaluated our work so far and assigned responsibility for the work to come.

• We agreed on dates for drafts and final date for the application to ForumSyd. The preliminary date for the first project workshops to be held in January 2010 and the length to be one month.

• What are the different responsibilities of Shangilia mtoto Afrika and Friends of Shangilia Sweden ?
• Who is in the project group? Members, coordinators?

Shangilia-on-Tour in Germany May-August 2009.

We discussed the possibility of 12 members of the Shangiilia Theatre coming from Germany to Sweden (Lund-Malmö) for one week during that period to
Perform at the White House (brf Djingis Khan), Stortorget , Sagohuset and the Cathedral.

Other subjects that were discussed were projects or cooperation concerning:
• Trainees
• Teaching methods
• A staff communications workshop

Afternoon:
Anne and Staffan went shopping for the first and only time and lost all control.
Evening:
We visited Shangilia for probably the last time this visit to say good-bye and buy lots of Shangilia t-shirts.
Anne put on a one-woman Halloween show for the kids.

Day 8…Saturday
Morning:
We needed time to rest and collect our thoughts.
We even took a dip in the hotel pool.
We ate bananas and drank cokes.
We thought of taking a walk but thought again.
.
Evening:
Staffan is a Catholic and we were invited to attend All Saints Day mass with the Dominican Brothers in their chapel in Karen. A beautiful mass with drumming and singing in Swahili.
Later there was a birthday party for the marathon-running priest, Father Maury.
Thirty “brothers”from all over Africa and us.

Day 9…Sunday
We went to the Nairobi Pentecostal Church with Anna-Carin from Save the Children. Very different from last night but just as charismatic and very African. A powerful experience!

NOW

Time to pack…pay our bills…say our thank-yous and good-byes, especially to our driver Daniel, … and fly on home.

See you all soon!

Anne Carlsvi & Staffan Gerdmar

One wheel race!

2008-10-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

Black and white together!

2008-10-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

Pyramid of Shangilia

2008-10-30T05:10:00.000-07:00

High communication

2008-10-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

One wheel jump!

2008-10-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

2 ½ high!

2008-10-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

Många barn!

2008-10-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Jambo Staffan!

2008-10-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hej kompis!

2008-10-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Vem är du?

2008-10-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Framtidshopp!

2008-10-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

Snart kvällsmat!

2008-10-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

Jambo! Var har du varit Anne?!?

2008-10-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Där är dom!

2008-10-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Var är barnen?!

2008-10-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Var är barnen?

2008-10-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

2008-10-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

The face of Shangilia! Detta var det vi mötte i Shangilia när vi efter 18 timmars resa var framme.