Advocate reporter Laura Tester accompanied A Better World on its 20th anniversary trip to Kenya. The Lacombe-based charitable organization spent 14 days in the African country working on a variety of projects.
The chanting voice begins at 5 a.m. when the sun has yet to rise over the Indian Ocean.
Muslims are beckoned to prayer by an unidentified voice over a loud speaker from one of two dozen mosques on Kenyan’s island of Lamu, home to 22,000 people.
Four more calls to prayer are issued through the day at this tourist destination — a place of mixed contrasts with opulent homes for the French and other foreigners along the sandy white beaches, while villagers ride donkeys through the narrow streets.
Ninety per cent of this island, dating back to the 1300s, are followers of Islam, believing Allah (God) revealed his direct word for mankind to Muhammad (c.570-632) and other prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
This is a much different Kenya from the mainland, where the vast majority are Christians, with 45 per cent regarding themselves as protestant and 33 per cent as Catholic.
Muslim women are seen walking the stone streets in bui-buis, or black cloaks, and head coverings called hijabs. This week, while A Better World volunteers were in town, Muslims took part in Eid, a Muslim celebration where new clothes are worn and children go doorknocking for small monetary gifts.
Eric Rajah, co-founder of Central Alberta-based A Better World, is cognizant of the importance of Islam on this island where tourism, the construction of dhow boats and agriculture drive the economy. More than 10 years ago, he visited Lamu for some rest and relaxation after touring projects on the mainland.
He noticed the islanders took “hakunamatata,” the Swahili word for “no problem,” to the highest level with their laid-back lifestyle. They also took their Islamic faith and culture seriously.
“When we come to this island, generally the people think that we are Christians,” said Rajah. “We have to understand their religion and respect it. Since we’re a humanitarian organization, we don’t look at religion. Our focus is need and that’s where it starts.”
A Better World has been involved in a number of projects over the years in Lamu, but has since concentrated its efforts on the Lamu Special School for the Mentally Handicapped. A total of 86 children live on the school grounds that recently saw the building of a perimeter fence, financed by Red Deer builder Gord Bontje through A Better World.
Lamu leaders explained the fence was really needed because some of the children, with various disabilities, were running away and getting lost. A Better World has also financed a number of other projects, including new sports equipment and repairs to the water line. Large capital projects are a formidable challenge because everything must be transported by boat.
Fortunately, labour is cheap, Rajah said.
A Better World also financed health aid, including an operation for a boy with clubbed feet. Five children were sent to the coastal city of Mombasa for eye surgeries. Sixteen children were properly assessed for epilepsy.
Catherine Clenette, from Ponoka, and her sister Anne, from Calgary, spent six months working with school staff and helped implement various projects, including furnishing the classrooms and dining room.
Omari Khelef, chairman of the school’s board of governors, said the Kenyan government is the primary funder for the school, but because of A Better World’s work there, other donors have stepped up.
He’s also impressed with how A Better World recognizes this is a Muslim-dominated area.
“We are open to any changes, as long as those changes don’t interfere with our faith,” Khelef said.
Khelef emphasized the Muslim faith and culture is not as restrictive as what’s personified in the Western world.
The school children who are Muslim visit the local mosque on Fridays. A Christian minister organizes Sunday church services at the school on Sundays.
“We really hope the assistance (from A Better World) will continue,” said Khelef, adding a boys dormitory is another priority.
A medical team from A Better World spent several hours tending to the children with the highest need. Other volunteers sang and played with the children in the courtyard.
Keith Clouten, a retired academic librarian from Lacombe, said he’d like to see more books pertaining to African culture within the school’s small library. Nairobi, Kenya’s largest city at more than 2.9 million people, is Africa’s centre of book publishing, so the potential is there to acquire these kinds of books, he added.
Apart from the school, an eight-member medical team also visited another island off Lamu where they treated 195 people. While they had initial trepidation about whether they might be approached by Somalian pirates, the main challenges proved to be a boat with a small gas tank. They ran out of fuel several times on the way there and back.
The 20th anniversary trip of A Better World came to an end on Tuesday, with more than 40 volunteers taking part from British Columbia to Ontario. Major donors came to assess and evaluate whether their projects have been effective and what more could be done in the future.
Rajah said the programs are working in communities, but he made one exception in a remote area of the Masai Mara, a large game reserve in southwestern Kenya. A Better World financed a water tank for a school, but five months later it was still sitting outside and had not been installed.
Despite this disappointment, Rajah felt the organization was making a positive difference in Kenya, 20 years after the first project.
“We are empowering the community to take leadership and we’re giving them the tools to succeed,” Rajah said. “We’re following it up in a very rigorous way, so there’s accountability on all sides.”
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com