Michael J. Laney’s Kenyan Experience “First Impressions Are Overwhelming.”
Rev. Dr. Michael J. Laney
Week Seventeen- December 10, 2006 Nairobi, Kenya
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DAY 1 Monday- The Daystar car is broken down so we are shuttling
Roxie Bergfalk today. We are so thankful that the miracle mobile is running well.
However, I spotted a 30% off sale on tires and we need to replace three of them so I am
trying to contact my “auto repair broker” John to get the car serviced on Tuesday. Kenya
does not normally seem to have sales, so when you see them you had better move very
quickly. When I reach John at around 4:30 PM we contact the Pirelli dealer and get the
quote of $60 for an SR 13, which is high for US prices. Back home a tire this small
would run for about $45, here there is no competition.
Gayle Radnick contacts Leonora and Roxie Bergfalk and asks them if they would
like to go shopping and also make an APO run. Leonora joins them and I use the time to
grade applied media research project papers in my class. When Leonora returns a couple
of hours later, she has seven pieces of mail which were forwarded from Susie Battle and
Kathy Simmons.
Today Mikaela’s friend and our next door neighbor, Kylie Bergfalk is 17. I
decided to get her along with Coretta the Daystar liaison officer, a bouquet of white roses
with light pink tips. When I hit the flower street market my strategy is well rehearsed.
All the vendors see is the 100 KSH ($1.50) in my hand. That is all of the negotiating that
we are going to do. I select two very nice bouquets, and we deliver one to Kylie’s flat
and the other goes to Coretta to continue to ensure that our working relationship is
smooth. Everyone loves flowers and it is small price to pay for such good will (smile!)
Since Brad’s car is not back yet we take Roxie and our family in the miracle
mobile to celebrate at Maquaatt an Indian restaurant. James-Michael is waiting for us at
the YA YA center having had field hockey practice. We collect him and proceed to the
Indian restaurant. The atmosphere is low key, the food is pretty good, but the price could
have been better by Kenyan standards. The bill was slightly over 8,100 KSH ($115) OR
$12.77 per person, for a group of nine. While that’s pretty good for the US, you can
certainly do much better here in Kenya if you shop for the right restaurants, although
eating out in Kenya is not as inexpensive as some would think. This is why I prefer to
dine at “Mike’s Nairobi Place”-our home.
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DAY 2 Tuesday- The “auto repair broker,” Mr. John dropped by this
morning to take the miracle mobile in for scheduled routine maintenance and three new
tires. This will be a two day process. Today I am at Athi River. We are doing a makeup
class on the group presentations in COM 261 Introduction to Electronic Media because
the technology was not ready on time to get everyone done. When I got to the classroom,
the technology is not ready-so what else is new? I visited Samson again for the last time
this semester requesting status on the equipment. I heard the standard response, “Polly
Sana Professor, Polly Sana (I’m very sorry).” To maximize the time, I went straight into
the final exam review. We were missing 30 students today, who chose to use their “study
day” at 10:00 AM for other pursuits I imagine, such as sleeping! The presentations on
“TV New Programming in Kenya,” and “New Technology” were excellent and well
worth the wait, I was so proud of the students. This was my final class for the semester.
The final exam for this class is scheduled for Tuesday, December 19, at 10:00-12:00 AM.
When I got back to the office, my co-worker, Nancy Booker asked me if I
intended to go to the faculty meeting on Wednesday at Valley Road at 9:30 AM. I had
not received any correspondence on the meeting and indicated as such, but would be
happy to attend the meeting hosted by the Dean, School of the Arts. I told Nancy that
someone had deleted my name from the databases and that I was not receiving any
notification about meetings, which isn’t always a bad thing as much as they love to meet
around here (smile!)
DAY 3 Wednesday- The Faculty of Arts Board meeting was actually
scheduled for 9:00 AM. I showed up at 9:30 AM, their were only four people present!
The Acting Dean, Mrs. Purity Kiambi called the meeting to order at 10:00AM. By the
time the meeting actually was rolling we probably had about 15 people present out of 50
in the School of Arts. As noted in previous updates, attendance at faculty meetings here
is abysmal. Even the person, who told me to attend, was not in attendance! The meeting
was a setup for me in the sense that it was a curriculum committee type meeting that was
scheduled to run until 4:30 PM!! On the meeting’s agenda were curriculums for the BA
in Education, Swahili, and Theology. The Swahili BA was all in Swahili, so I decided it
that would be a good time to take a break and stretch my legs! I was amazed that a
Swahili program was actually passed without any permanent faculty teaching the
program. The entire faculty for Swahili is part-time lecturers. At one point in the
meeting the Dean asked for suggestions on how to discipline faculty who do not come to
the meetings. One faculty member reminder her that there was no stated requirement in
the Constitution or Handbook for them to attend, and that she was beating up the wrong
people since we were present. The air seemed to leave the room. We got through every
item on the agenda, even though we had to rush our lunch (very tasty) and we adjourned
at 4:30 PM. My back was killing me from sitting in those bad chairs in the room all day.
That evening Dr. Levy Obonyo took me to the Adams Arcade Java House for tea. The
funny thing about our time at the Java House was each time I asked our waitress Rosslyn,
for something, she would come back and tell me it was out of stock. This was at 5:00
PM and the Java House stays open until 9:30 PM. I was beginning to feel like I was in a
restaurant in Cold War Berlin, were nothing is in stock, but everything is on the menu!
After a series of frustrating encounters I finally was able to secure my tea and three
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assorted bagels, I had to go without, ah, the sacrifices we make for our families! Levy
and I had a great time of sharing. At the end of the meeting he tasked me to provide a
library list of current textbooks for the courses that I taught so they could be purchased. I
promised him that I would deliver the list to his secretary Jean, when I went down to Athi
River on Friday for my final exam. We agreed that we needed to get together more often.
I also received his permission to be excused from my class as long as it was covered so
that I could take Leonora to Zanzibar for our 25th anniversary in January, to which he
agreed.
John promised to deliver the car today, but by 7:30 PM, I knew that “Kenyan
Time” had struck again!
DAY 4 Thursday – John showed up at 7:00 AM with the car and the bill-
ouch!! As the Lord would have it, a love offering was working its way to FHIM from
folks in our home church. A SHOUT OUT TO PASTOR RHONDA WESTFIELD, THE
SESSION, MEMBERSHIP, AND MRS. EDNA WHITE AT SAINT JAMES
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA, in Cleveland, TN! Your
love offering covered the expenses of the repair of the miracle mobile!
Leonora and I had to run some errands, so we hopped in the miracle mobile-oh,
no, the driver’s seat belt was now inoperable! I drove (cautiously) to the nearest Shell
service station. It is illegal to drive without a seatbelt in Kenya. The service manager at
Shell told me that it would have to be ordered and that it would cost over $50!! We ran
some errands with the car and I returned the car to service station. We had hoped to get
the part by lunch. It turned into an overnight affair!
Since Brad Bergfalk was out of town at the pastor’s conference, Roxie does not
drive, so the Daystar vehicle was available. I had negotiated with Grace the elementary
school librarian at Rosslyn Academy to purchase four fresh chickens. She was selling
them at the unbelievably low price (for Kenya) of $1.32 a pound. Typically chicken in
the market is $3.50 a pound. You may remember me telling you about the $50,
Thanksgiving Turkeys. Anyway, Grace was anxious for me to get these chickens and I
had to keep delaying because I had no transportation. I received two frantic emails today,
since I told her I would be at the school by 3:30 PM. She wanted to make sure I would
arrive before she left for the day at 4:00 PM. We had to be a Rosslyn to attend the Boys
Field Hockey Pot Luck Dinner. James-Michael is on the team and Leonora baked
chocolate cake for the event. The Daystar vehicle performed adequately and we arrived
in time to meet Grace and secure the four chickens, which were huge, tipping the scales
at four pounds or more. They looked wonderful and we are saving two for Christmas
dinner. The pot luck dinner allowed us to meet the parents and the coach had the parents
scrimmage against their children in this co-ed, very gentle game. Leonora and I provided
encouragement from the sidelines. During the game a vendor showed up selling field
hockey sticks. The boys huddled up with him. I didn’t have a clue as to what to look for
in a field hockey stick, but I knew that we had to buy one for James-Michael and I also
knew that I was not going to spend $100 on it, which was his opening price! James-
Michael introduced me to a young man, a freshman, who had played the game for nine
years. His questions were insightful and penetrating and he was forcing the vendor to
come down on his prices. I followed the young man’s lead, asked for his
recommendation for a stick for James-Michael. He recommended the Maharajah brand,
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and told the vendor that he paid 2,500 KSH ($35) for his. The vendor agreed to match
the price as long as we did not tell anyone else that he was giving us such a discount! I
paid for the stick with the promise that it would be delivered to James-Michael at noon on
Friday. James-Michael, picked the color and the length to fit his body and the deal was
clinched. Much of the food at the pot luck was pretty good; unfortunately sweets
outnumbered main courses almost 2:1. At 5:00 PM, I received a call from the service
station, the part had arrived and had been installed, and I could pick it up. Since the
closed at 5:00 PM and I was on the other side of town, I agreed to get the car in the
morning. The event broke up about 6:00 PM and we headed for home.
DAY 5 Friday- Final Exams for COM 408Q International Broadcasting at
Athi River. The exam was set for 2:00 PM. I decided to catch the regularly scheduled
10:30AM bus to Athi River to give myself plenty of time. What I was unaware of is that
Daystar changes their bus schedule during final exams, they just don’t tell you! Nothing
is posted anywhere. Everyone who speaks Swahili of course knows because this is an
oral society and the bulk of information is passed in this manner. Of course, I don’t
speak Swahili so, when I showed up at 10:25 AM to catch the 10:30 AM bus, I was
informed that I had missed it; didn’t I know that it left at 10:00 AM during exams? Polly
Sana (So, Sorry!) I was clearly steamed! I asked when the next bus was scheduled to
depart for Athi River and I was told not until 1:00 PM. I contacted our department
secretary, Jean and asked her to invigilate as they describe it here, or (proctor) my exam
for me until I arrived. I expected that the 1:00 PM bus would get in at 2:30 PM, so she
would only have to cover about 30 minutes, and she agreed. I huge crowd was present
for the 1:00 PM bus, which did not show up until 1:40 PM! The crowd surged towards
the bus and the only thing that saved me from being trampled was my height over many
of the shorter Kenyan women. I was seated beside a faculty member in the Commerce
Department (Business) who was very much interested in Barack Obama and US politics,
US media, US Churches, and morals in the United States. It made for a pleasant ride and
passed the time. However, for some reason our bus driver decided to take several “short
cuts” that I had not witnessed in four months of riding on this route that resulted in us
getting to Athi River at 3:20 PM!! I had clearly missed my estimate and Jean had called
twice to find out where I was. The delay ruined my plan of having the students do
different essay questions to reduce cheating. Since I was not there and she was a fill in, I
told her to let them chose from the two on the sheet. Along the way, I saw a family of
five reticulated giraffe’s, a herd of camels grazing (domesticated), wildebeests, zebras,
and a large number of impalas and Thomson Gazelles. The wildlife was absolutely
breathtaking today, I felt like I was back at Amboseli! When we got off the bus, I was
exhausted, sweaty, hot and sticky. I ran to the room where the exam was being given. At
Daystar, like many places, student final exams are given in a different classroom from
their normal assigned room. Kenya’s educational system is modeled on the British
system, and seems to be extremely suspicious of everyone when it comes to
examinations. I have never observed such security measures in my professional teaching
career. First off, I had to submit my final exam with answer key, in September, four
weeks into the semester for approval by the examination office, which handles all
photocopying of exams. All exams reside with the examination office and must be signed
for no later than 30 minutes prior to the posted exam time. The invigilator must present
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identification to receive their exam they will administer. Outside of the exam hall,
students must leave everything. Hence litter abounded as the wind caught student
notebooks and backpack’s and loose papers. Students must present their student ID as
well as their exam permit. Once inside they must sign an examination roster sheet in two
places. Upon completion of the examination, they must sign out in two places with their
signature witnessed by the invigilator. The invigilator must submit their excess exams
and materials to the examination office. The exam was scheduled to run until 4:00 PM
and there were still about 15 students in the room. I was getting a bit concerned because
the bus was scheduled for 3:45 PM and the last bus from Athi River was 5:30 PM, getting
into Nairobi at close to 7:00 PM. I silently prayed that everyone would finish so that I we
could all catch the 3:45 PM bus! I know that sounds terrible, driven by a bus schedule,
but that is what I and many of the faculty who are commuters have been reduced to here.
You have absolutely no time for student contact because you rush from the bus to the
class and from the classroom to the bus. It is common knowledge that many classes are
terminated before the scheduled time to ensure the lecturer can catch the bus back to
Valley Road-Nairobi campus. I chose not to say a word and allowed the students the
time the needed. The Lord was kind to me, the last student finished at 3:40 PM. I bolted
out of the room towards the examination office, which was locked! So I left my excess
materials with Jean and sprinted the remaining 300 yards to the bus. Dripping with
perspiration I made it in time. I plopped down the front seat, and tried to catch my breath
as the bus pulled out headed for Nairobi. All of that effort to get to Athi River for 20
minutes worth of work! What a way to make a living, no wonder they call this ministry!
I arrived at Valley Road at almost 5:45 PM. My beautiful whole Red Snapper,
which had been marinating all day, was ready. I prepared a lovely spicy tomato sauce,
found in The Joy of Cooking. We invited the Roxie and Lars Bergfalk to join us, as Brad
was out of town running a pastor’s conference up north, and Kylie and Brandon were
spending time with friends. I had never cooked a whole Red Snapper, because of the
expense. Here the fish is very reasonably priced and the flavor of this salt water fish is
absolutely wonderful, succulent and firm flesh. We dined like royalty!!
DAY 6 Saturday. It seems as if almost every Saturday is an early morning here
with the children’s activities calendar driving Leonora and my agenda, today was no
exception. James-Michael had a Boys Scout meeting out at International School Kenya
(ISK) at 9:00AM. ISK is about 50 KM from our flat, so once we got him dropped off,
we decided to transact as much business as we could on the west side and not come back
to Nairobi until after his meeting. We used the time to travel to Village Mall Nakumatt
and shop for the room fans that Grandma Celestine Laney had purchased for her
grandchildren. We were blessed to find three very nice floor fans, multi-speed, for
$117.00. At Nakumatt, like most department stores in Kenya, assembly is free. While
Nakumatt is Kenya’s answer to Wal-Mart, they beat the retail giant hands down in almost
every single area of customer care. Because labor costs are so low in Kenya, and
unemployment is so high, you will find store clerks almost tripping over themselves to be
of assistance. Anyway, the young man assembled the fans, made sure they worked and
walked the considerable distance to the parking lot to help me load them in the miracle
mobile. He had to disassemble the heads to get all three in the car, but he was not
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deterred and cheerfully thanked me for shopping at Nakumatt. Oh, and by the way, you
do not tip these folks for this type of service, its part of their job!! The fans have come in
handy because summer almost here and its getting very warm at night with no breeze.
On our way back to ISK to pick up James-Michael the traffic was typical Nairobi
gridlock! The hawkers were having a field day as they had a captive audience. One
young man was selling a seven-piece set of stainless steel Solingen, German cutlery. I
was stunned, I had never seen a hawker selling professional knives and I needed a cleaver
because I had left mine two back in the States. He wanted 5,900KSH ($85) which was an
excellent price, as this set usually retails for about $200.00. A single meat cleaver in
Kenya retails for 3500 KSH ($50). I simply did not have the money. As we passed him I
asked Leonora how much money we had between the two of us. If I saw him again, I
was going to make him a cash offer! We picked up James-Michael and enjoyed the
beautiful coffee and banana plantation that surround ISK and the Westlands. As we
wound back down the mountain and into the city center I spotted the same young hawker,
in the city center, although the traffic was still gridlocked in the northbound lane, he had
been unable to move his high priced merchandise. I got his attention, and he remembered
me from before. I offered him 4,000KSH ($57) and a few loose shillings, flashed the
cash, and the knives moved from the hands of an unappreciative rank amateur into the
loving care of a professional!! When I got them home I gently washed them, dried and
lovingly caressed this exquisite set of professional German cutlery that is standard
equipment in the best chef’s kitchens of the world. It had now been adopted by the
Laney’s-amen!
With our surplus from Grandma Celeste’s largess, we decided to take James-
Michael to the latest James Bond 007 feature film, Casino Royale 007, playing at Prestige
Plaza up the street. Mikaela was on babysitting detail with Kendall and Nathaniel Rowe
while Dr. JuLisa and Bill attended a wedding. The film was 380 KSH or $5.50,
Cleveland prices. The theater however was clean enough to eat off the floor. The seats
were assigned to you, like in a live theatre and were new and clean, and the audience,
unlike many at Premier in Cleveland, was quite, and turned off their cell phones before
the feature began! We really enjoyed the film and James-Michael was really excited
about our date together-so thanks again and a BIG SHOUT OUT TO GRANDMA
CELESTINE LANEY!!
Two major stories dominated the news headlines in Kenya today: “Kibaki to earn
more than Bush and Blair-Pay increase for President draws sharp reactions from
Kenyans,” and in health news, “Experts link Malaria to spread of AIDS.”
“President Kibaki’s new salary is more than what leaders of the world’s richest
nations earn. At 3.2 million KSH a month, the Head of State’s new pay is higher than
American President George Bush’s monthly salary of 2.64 million KSH, and British
premier Tony Blair’s 2.35 million KSH. And although President Bush takes home less
salary, his country’s annual budget stands at about 157 trillion KSH. On the other hand,
Kenya’s annual budget stands at about 500 billion KSH, part of which is funded by
donors. President Kibaki’s huge pay package was the subject of a Press conference
yesterday that was addressed by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the
Kenya Human Rights Commission. The two organizations were reacting to the Thursday
move by Parliament to award President Kibaki a hefty pay raise of about 180 percent—
from 700,000 KSH a month to 2 million KSH. This is in addition to other allowances
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amounting to 1.2 million, his total earnings at 3.2 million KSH. Previously, his total pay
stood at 1.9 million KSH. Also lined up for a pay raise were Cabinet ministers, the
Speaker, Deputy Speaker and chief whips. Ministers of Parliament are also set to get a
severance allowance of 1.5 million KSH at the end of their parliamentary term. Said
Mrs. Monica Mbaru of ICJ: “An MP can now earn 850,000 KSH every month in salary,
allowances, travel and sitting allowances, in addition to other perks.” An MP is also
entitled to a car grant of 3.3 million KSH and an interest free loan of 8 million KSH to
buy a home. “We call on all voters to challenge their MPs whether they will say no to
these increases and we stand to count on them to do so,” she added. Officials of the two
organizations said the pay rise was not justified since most MPs were known to skip
House sessions, were not transparent and could not be held accountable for their deeds.
The move by the MPs was unacceptable and dishonest especially when most Kenyans live
on less than 100 KSH ($1.40) a day, Mrs. Mbaru said. The officials also said it was
unfair for the Government to deny lecturers at public universities a pay raise, and award
big salaries to the President and themselves.” (Saturday Nation, December 9, 2006, pp.
1, 4).
In health news: “Experts link malaria to spread of AIDS.” “A new scientific
report says that malaria may be fuelling the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya. The report,
published in a science magazine, says that because malaria can increase the amount of
HIV in an infected person’s blood almost tenfold, the virus is therefore easier to transmit
to a partner. A study carried out in the lakeside town of Kisumu and published in the
current US journal, Science, says the way the two diseases interact has accelerated the
spread of the disease in the region. The research found that when people with AIDS
contract malaria, it causes a surge of HIV virus in their blood, making them more likely
to infect a partner. The study shows that when HIV positive people are attacked by
malaria, their body immune system weakens significantly, creating the right environment
for the HIV virus to replicate. “This results in an increase in the viral load—the amount
of HIV virus in the body. Studies have shown that the higher the viral load, the easier a
person is able to transmit the virus to another person if they are having unprotected sex,”
it says. According to the researchers, five per cent of HIV infections can be linked to
increased viral load caused by malaria. They also believe that 10 percent of adult
malaria cases are linked to HIV. The further weakening of the body defense system of an
HIV-positive person by malaria parasite is also known to intensify their progression
towards AIDS. Such development is likely to result in more deaths among the infected
people, if they are not on a responsive treatment regime. The findings are likely to ring
alarm bells in 16 districts known to be malaria endemic. They are in Coast, Western,
Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces. The study findings are likely to send shivers down the
spine of policy makers, those living with the virus and their families. It is also a double
blow to sub-Saharan Africa region in general and Kenya in particular because of the
high AIDS prevalence rates as well as malaria episodes. Approximately 90 percent of
the malaria cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa where the burden of HIV is also high,
Yet, while malaria is one of the most important diseases in the world, its role as an HIV
co-infection has perhaps been under-appreciated. Recent studies have shown that the
two diseases can have a number of harmful interactions. For example, pregnant women
with HIV are at a greatly increased risk of malaria—even if they were previously immune
to the organism. HIV also increases the risk of malaria crossing the placenta and
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affecting the fetus. Conversely, the risk of HIV transmission to the child is increased
when there is placental malaria. It is estimated that more than 24.7 million HIV positive
people live in this region. (Reported by Paul Redfern, Arthur Okwemba and Gatonye
Gathura, Daily Nation, Saturday, December, 9, 2006, pp. 1, 2).”
DAY 7 Sunday- We ministered today in Mathare Valley slums at the Redeemed
Gospel Church-The Mother Church. Mikaela and James-Michael requested to attend
church with the Bergfalks at Nairobi Baptist Church, across the street. They were getting
anxious about having to return to Mathare. I guess if you dwell on it, the sensory
overload can be numbing and the experience a bit frightening. We were told that pastors
and evangelist will not go into this section of the slums out of fear and revulsion for the
conditions under which the people are forced to live. When I am down their I make sure
that I wear my clerical collar and speak to the people. They always speak back and
smile. It was a beautiful day, even in Mathare, security forces were present and the
Mungiki and Taliban have gone underground for now. The children were looking much
better this time around, I noticed their faces were washed and their hair was combed.
Many of them had on clean clothing. I only saw one little one, about age five who had
pus running from his eyes, head lice, and a runny nose. Another little boy about four was
squatting on the ground less than five feet from the church entrance, relieving himself, no
sanitation, privacy, or toilet paper. This is everyday life in Mathare Valley village II and
I was so glad that FHIM was there to partner with Redeemed Gospel Church to try and
improve the lives of the people in this section of the slum.
During the testimony service a young man testified how he had been a car
hijacker less than three weeks ago. He had come to the church to rob it, but had left his
gun with his friend. He met Pastor Joel, who led him to Christ. This guy came to rob the
church, and walked away- a new believer in Christ! The young man’s friend used the
same gun in an armed robbery that same day and was killed! We had special prayer for
that young man, who is now in Mathare Valley with his mother. Because the altar area
was too small to pray for the people desiring prayer, we walked the entire length of the
church, each row and laid hands on the people and prayed for them. It was a wonderful
service. After the service pastor Joel and Sister Madeline refreshed us with soft drinks
and scones. Sister Madeline asked me if I knew how to slaughter a goat. I told her that I
did not. She said that they would like to have us as guests in their home during the
Christmas holidays (December 23) and slaughter a goat in our honor. Pastor Joel is very
adroit at butchering goats I was told. While I begged off slaughtering the hapless goat, I
offered to bring the seasonings for roasting him!! This church and their entire leadership
team have embraced Leonora and I, as well as FHIM completely. Their reaction to us,
one of appreciation and gratitude versus the typical reaction that we encounter back in the
USA is markedly different. What a refreshing change! The people allow you to actually
minister to them here!! They are even saying to us, “Dr. Michael and Sister Leonora, you
are our bishop, you are one of us!” We are looking forward to the Christmas fellowship,
I’m afraid the goat hasn’t a clue!
In town talk of the President’s pay raise continues to cause a huge stir. Daniel our
driver from Redeemed Gospel Church was furious about it. It is still playing in the
newspapers, see the story below:
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UK Media Alarmed by Kibaki Pay. “President Kibaki’s 300 percent pay rise has
been met with astonishment in the UK media. President Kibaki, who will now earn more
than British Prime Minister Tony Blair or US President George Bush, comes from “an
extremely wealthy family,” the Guardian newspaper notes. While 60% of Kenya’s
population lives on less than US$1 a day, the London-based newspaper said, however,
that the pay rise was hardly surprising given that “Kenyan MPs have become notorious
in recent years for awarding themselves huge increases. This came, the Guardian noted,
“despite being pilloried in the press for passing a few bills and having a poor attendance
record in Parliament.” The BBC noted that Mr. Kibaki had “come to power in 2002
promising to end decades of corruption and improve the living standard of Kenyans.”
But it said most ordinary people earned a pittance.” (Sunday Nation, December 10,
2006, p. 7)
After church we rushed home to get ready to attend the Boy Scout Court of Honor
out in Westlands at the International School-Kenya. James-Michael was on the food
committee so we had to get their by 3:30 PM. The grounds of ISK were huge, but not
well groomed like they are at Rosslyn Academy. ISK, which represents a chain of
International Schools across the globe, is also not Christian, but is extremely well funded.
Tuition costs easily exceed that of Lee University and most Christian universities in the
Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). As we loitered in the lobby
observing the art gallery, we were reminded of some of the work that we saw at the
Pompidou Center in Paris-ugh!!
Art notwithstanding, we were very proud of James-Michael when he went on
stage to get his rank of Tenderfoot award. Tenderfoot is the second level of rank in Boy
Scouts. The mother’s were asked to join their son’s on stage so that the boys could “pin”
their Mom’s with an insignia of their new rank. A large potluck dinner followed later. It
was a full day and the Lord had blessed us with safe travel back home-something one
does not take for granted in Kenya!
We remain, optimistic for the future and feel honored to represent FHIM, and you
our family and friends with the love of Christ. Thanks for your prayers and your support.
More to come next week!
In the Grip of His Grace,
Dr. Michael J. Laney
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