First month!

It officially has been one month and I think it is time I let you guys read about my time in Kenya!

So, where do I start?…How about with my living situation.. Pungu Villa is located on Shelley Beach Road in Likoni, Mombasa, Kenya. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small kitchen, living room, and beautiful outside sitting area with an ocean view. Sometimes at the end of a long, hot, sticky, dusty day, I get back to Pungu and just sit outside, looking over the vast ocean, feeling the cool breeze, and thinking: "I miss the snow back in Ohio.."

As for the people living with me: Gabi and Wangari have been the best roommates. Gabi is the Director of the organization (Hatua Likoni) that brought me in. She has been here for over five years, usually spending nine months out of the year in Likoni and three months back in the states. Wangari is from Nairobi and started working with Hatua earlier this year. She leaves in April :(. As many of you know, one of my many downfalls is that I don't cook..don't have the patience for it. So, Gabi and Wangari cook for me and I clean the dishes.

When Gabi or Wangari are not available, I obviously have to eat out. I almost always have the same thing : chapati, maragwe or pojo, and mchicha or scuma ( kind of like pita, beans, and tasty greens). For dinner: Pilau ( rice and a couple pieces of meat), or my favorite, biriani (meat, rices, and some very good, spicy sauce). The food in Likoni is very cheap compared to the states, and cheap compared to many areas in Kenya as well. A typical lunch or dinner will cost me sixty to one hundred shillings. The US dollar is equivalent to ~76 shillings. You can do the math.

For the people who know me, after reading about my eating habits in Likoni, you may be asking: "Why am I eating meat?" For those who do not know, I have recently become a vegetarian (I have my reasons..). However, here in Likoni, every goat, cow, and chicken seem to be living a wonderful, happy life. They run around town like they own the place, crossing streets whenever they feel like slowing down traffic, or sometimes just playing and chasing after one another. At the end of an adventurous day, they all have an owner, and every goat, cow, and chicken will go back to their place of residence, even the chickens! So, I feel okay eating the cow or chicken because they have lived full, happy lives :).

Goats..cows..chickens, yes there are other animals here in Likoni as well. We have a family of monkeys that live right next-door . Wangari and I have started to name them: Lucy, Harry, Frank, and Tom. There are four more monkeys, however we have not come up with the right names for them yet. The other day Tom stole our bread and two days ago he literally was a foot away from me, as I hovered over our food, shielding it from his grasp! Also, there are green, blue, yellow, basically every color bird you can imagine that fly around Pungu. There are lizards with yellow or green heads and blue bodies. The baby lizards are pretty damn cute as well. I was told by a Kenyan friend that if a baby lizard jumps on you it is good luck..So far, I have had five baby lizards jump on me :). The other day I was sitting outside Pungu and a baby lizard jumped on my knee and just sat and stared at me for a couple minutes (obviously, I sat and stared right back). Gabi has been here for five years and not once has a baby lizard landed on her. So, I feel pretty special haha. People keep asking me if I have seen any lions..The answer is that I have not. I hope to see many more animals when I go on safari with my parents. They are visiting in April! Can't wait!

The animals here are amazing and so are the people. During the first week I was uncomfortable with all the staring. Lets just say I will never blend in here. But, I have gotten pretty used to it now. Whenever, I look up and people are looking at me I just say "Mambo" or "Jambo, Jambo" or "Habari gani?" and once I initiate the "Hello", or "How are you? in kiswahili, they respond and things feel more comfortable. Also, when I walk through the villages in Likoni the kids will usually yell and say, "Mzungu, mzungu, How are you?!" (mzungu= white man) I usually reply "nzuri, habari gani?" (Good, how are are you?) They respond with a smile saying, "nzuri."

SHORT STORY (about three weeks ago..):

- As I walk through Likoni with one of the coaches kids yell out, "Mzungu, How are you?"

- My usual reply: "Nzuri, habari gani?"

- There usual reply "nzuri." Then one of the kid yells out something I don't understand in kiswahili.

- I ask the coach what the girl said..He replies with a laugh saying that she said " Oh, he's not mzungu!"

Yes, I also have been making friends. The people at Hatua Likoni have been so welcoming and friendly.

-SHORT STORY (about two weeks ago..):

- I asked Biabu (one of my friends at Hatua Likoni) what her favorite color is…Her response: WHITE…

- Then I ask Pirsilla (another friend at Hatua) what her favorite color is..Her response…WHITE

The coaches I have worked with are incredible people. The kids at the orphanage, that I visit usually once or twice a day during the week, are so much fun. Last night, I had dinner (biriani!) and drinks at a friends house with a big group of people. We danced afterward for two hours to a reggae artist known as "Bafu Chafu", which means "Dirty Bathroom". Later, we went into town for an amazing night.

So, what have I been doing here besides chillen at the orphanage with the kids and having fun..?

The past month: Starting the Football League (L.C.F.L.) :

I have been volunteering in Likoni, Mombasa, Kenya over the past month and there has been only one problem. I will not name any names, but lately there has been a family of monkeys that try to steal my breakfast every morning! So far, one male has gotten away with a piece of bread, and yesterday that same monkey was literally a foot away from me as I hovered over my breakfast, protecting my meal (I also may have been screaming a little bit with my fellow roommate).

Besides the monkey problem, Kenya has been great! Hatua Likoni has brought me in as one of their own and has been what one could call my "home-base", providing me with the support I need to establish the Likoni Community Football League, or L.C.F.L. Over the past month I have met with dozens of coaches, trained boys and girls aging from twelve to eighteen years old (every weekend I visit and coach with four different clubs), and have quickly learned about the trials and tribulations each kid and parent have to endure here in Likoni.

Here, life for kids is very different. Most kids go to school at 7 AM and do not leave the school grounds until 6:30 PM, or possibly even as late as 8 PM. Also, they usually have a half day of school on Saturdays. The only "somewhat structured" activity outside of school is FOOTBALL (soccer). Although these kids spend so much time in school, they still have time to play football AND with the little time they have, they still perform at a very high level.

The kids here are very talented, yet the only organization or structure they have is during practice on saturday and sundays. Right now, teams who train every weekend may play only one match a month. Teams may play three to four games during a month if and when a tournament is held, which may occur once a year. With this is mind, the coaches and I have made up our minds to start a community league here in Likoni.

The coaches here have been great. To organize the league I have mostly been working with:

-Burning, who is known as one of the best goalkeepers in Likoni.

-Swaleh, who has played professionally in Europe.

-Nicolas, who has come up with great ideas for the league.

-Jumaa, who grew up with Swaleh and was a teammates with Swaleh's as well.

-Kevin and Martin: who have given there time to speak to me about the league and have allowed me to come train their teams in Likoni.

-AND more….

Our goal is to start the L.C.F.L. by the first weekend in April. The league will start small, with a U-16 boys league, a U-14 boys league, and hopefully a U-18 girls league. The main purpose of the league will be to allow the kids to have a game to play every sunday. So far we have found three pitches, in an area of LIkoni called Dimbwini, that are side-by-side-by-side. Here, the matches will take place every Sunday at 10 AM, 2 PM, and 4 PM. This means three games on a pitch, nine total games, eighteen total teams, and about 324 total players. Our goal is to have ten teams for U-16 Boys, and eight teams for U-14 Boys. We are working on another pitch for the girls, but as of right now there is only two or three girls teams in the area that regularly train.

A league with 18-22 teams does not even come close to the number of teams that can participate in Likoni. However, we hope that the community will see a well-run, well-organized, and disciplined league. My vision is that once the community sees this, they will support the league, and the L.C.F.L. will grow. Parents and friends will know to come to Dimbwini every Sunday and watch competitive league matches. Businesses in Likoni will surround the fields to sell water and food during the day, and eventually the league will grow to U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, and possibly U-18 for both boys and girls.

The three pitches in Dimbwini need a little work. Two of them don't have goals, all three pitches need goal nets, flags, marking powder, and a small fence for the fans to stand behind ( watching a match in Likoni is incredible..the fans stand right on top of the field, and when a fight or argument happens during the match, some fans will run right onto the field and start fighting as well). Also, the coaches need to be provided with first aid training and first aid kits. Right now I am asking my family and friends from home to donate five to ten dollars to the L.C.F.L. This small donation will allow for a smooth and easy start to the league. My hope is to receive around 1500 US Dollars.

I have spent only a month in Likoni, Mombasa, and I truly believe that a league here in Likoni will strengthen the community as a whole. In Likoni the passion for football (soccer) is unbelievable, there just needs to be a place to put it, and that place is the L.C.F.L.

If you read my blog and want to donate that would be wonderful!

How to Donate:

1. Go to : http://www.hatualikoni.org/hatua/

2. Click on Donate

3. Scroll Down and Click on Other

4. For Purpose, Write : Football...Put in Donation amount.

5. Click: Update Total

6. If don't have PayPal account. Go to: Don't have a PayPal account and click Continue.

7. Credit Card Information

Other Ways to Donate

By Mail:
Please make your check payable to FCNY- Hatua Likoni, and mail it to: 121 6th Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Include "football" in the memo.

If you have any questions and want to know more about what I am doing here in Likoni, Mombasa, Kenya, or just want an update with the L.C.F.L. you can email me at : blevey88@gmail.com, or follow me here on my blog. Also, I would like to thank the many people who have already donated soccer jerseys and equipment (MADISON, WI and COLUMBUS, OH..Thank you!).

This week:

-Burning, Swaleh, Nicolas and I met with the Dimbwini coaches to make final decisions about the three pitches. The meeting went very well. All the coaches seem to be in this together. They all want to provide support in any way they can..It is for the kids!

-I went to town to make a visit to the Red Cross. I met with a very nice man named Abdallah, who is in charge of setting up training in First Aid. Unfortunately I found out that the cost for training is 1000 shillings per person. Hopefully, the donations will cover this as well. What I am hoping is that most, if not all the coaches, and possibly one or two players from every team will be trained in First Aid by the time the league starts. Also, we are planning on buying three to four Universal First Aid Kits for the league.

-I am still gathering the list of clubs and teams that will be invited to the league. Hopefully we will have all teams picked by this sunday, so I can invite each coach to a meeting the following sunday.

-Working on the Dimbwini fields! This will take a lot of man power and time.

As usual, this coming Saturday and Sunday I will train all four teams again.

-8 am Saturday-Tuscom Boys : U16, U12

-4 pm Saturday- Mtongwe Boys : U16, U14

-6:30 am Sunday- Lysa Boys : U14

-5 pm Sunday - All Saints Boys and Girls :Ages range from 12-18 years old

The usual :

Learning more words in kiswahili(very slowly)…hanging out at a community orphanage. Working out with Zinga, the boxer, in the morning.

Last:

Putting together this blog, a letter for donations, and Facebook group for the donations. Please DONATE!!