Earlier this week, Lebaus and I continued in our effort to place our newest graduates from vocational training back at home in their rural villages. In taking Winstone and Samson home, we had to travel by car about 2 hours west, and then take a ferry across Lake Victoria to reach Rusinga Island and the town of Mbita.
Winstone and Samson wait patiently for our trip to begin.
The trip from Kisumu to Mbita. The blue line is travel by car; the red line is travel by ferry.
Here's a video of the pick-up point for the ferry at Luanda K'Otieno.
The Barack Obama Boat?
Fishermen on Lake Victoria
Our Ferry
Lebaus, Winstone, and Samson
A fishing boat on the lake.
A panoramic view of the lake.
A passenger ferry . . . looked a little rickety to me!
Our arrival point in Mbita.
A Napoleon Dynamite fan?
Kenyans are very well dressed. These two look like they are headed to church!
Upon arrival on Rusinga Island, we quickly determined that Winstone had no idea where his home was on the island. So, Lebaus decided that the best idea would be to go to the local chief's office on the island to inquire about Winstone's family. Now, a chief is a very important part of Kenyan society. In Kisumu, there are a large number of chiefs, but in the rural areas, there is usually one chief for a large area. In all of Rusinga Island, there are only two chiefs. Anyway, the chief knew Winstone's grandfather and was able to take us to Winstone's family's land. It was a pretty rough road, but we finally made it!
While visiting the chief on East Rusinga, we ran into Samson's uncle who was very happy to see Samson.
Winstone's aunt was very excited to see Winstone. The last time she saw him, he was only a toddler.
This quick video shows some of the discussion we had with Winstone's family.
Downtown Rusinga Island.
Samson and his older brother. Both of Samson's parents are deceased, so we are trying to convince Samson to stay with his brother in Rusinga, as opposed to his sister in Kisumu. There are a lot more corrupting influences for a young man in Kisumu.
In case you couldn't tell by now . . . I like fishing boats.
The cutest baby on the ferry.
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