Va Va VUMA!!!

Piggybacking off of my previous MacGyver story, I recently went to Vuma the other day. Vuma is the ‘Vu’ in the word ‘Vutakaka’. I don’t know if I ever explained that, but the EAC started the school of Vutakaka, and this is how it got its name:

Vu= Vuma

Ta= Takaungu (where I am living)

Ka= Kayanda

Ka= Kanumbunie (I made this spelling up)

These are the 4 villages that comprise of where the majority of the children live. It is also the 4 main villages that the EAC conducts community outreach programs. I’ll give a pencil to the first person that can find out how to correctly spell the 4^th village haha! Seriously, pencils are like candy here! The students are always in need of pencils, but the majority of the pencils here are sold without erasers, or rubbers as they call them here. I brought pencils (with erasers on them) from America and I’ll conduct little quiz sessions in class about geography or how to spell a certain word or if they remember how to spell my name…and they win pencils! All of the students LOVE it! Major props to all of my friends who are teachers because I don’t think I’ve ever been more exhausted than the days when a large chunk of the day is spent at the school! Phew!

Okay—so back to VUMA!

Mohamed and I bikes to Vuma, which is about a 45 minute bike ride and the furthest away village from Takaungu. We first went to the quarry where we spoke with the miners about HIV/AIDS and the importance of using condoms and to get tested regularly. Next month, the EAC is partnering with the clinic to provide HIV/AIDS testing and counseling to the people of Vuma. This activity has not been conducted since last July…and only 30 testing kits were available at the time so the majority of people, unfortunately, were not even tested. After passing out over 400 condoms, setting up camp in random locations to lecture about HIV/AIDS, and learning how to use a huge spike to cut the rocks into brick-shaped objects to be sold, Mohamed and I continued biking to the Vuma Cliffs.

The Vuma Cliffs were beautiful. I probably took 100 pictures here haha! These cliffs are located on the Indian Ocean. Many fisherman fish here by looking for fish from on top of the cliff and then they throw their handmade nets over the hill to catch them. They retrieve their nets by using a fishing pole! Super interesting to watch! And they catch everything from small fish to big fish! Also, when the wind is showing off, then the waves can splash ALL of the way up and over the cliffs. When this happens, the next day, the locals of Vuma come out and collect the salt off of the rocks that cumulates from the waves.

Oh, we didn’t go to the cliffs just to hang out haha! We went to speak to the fisherman about a project the EAC started and funded which was called the Seaweed Project. I bet you can guess what it was focused on, but for those that skip through my blog and only read the capitalized words, the project was all about the harvesting of SEAWEED! Collecting the seaweed is beneficial to the fishermen because it makes it easier for the fishermen to see the fish without SO much seaweed. Also, the seaweed can be sold to make food (yummy seaweed salad) or also to make jewelry, apparently. Very cool! So, we went to get an update on that project and also to discuss with the fisherman about STIs/STDs/HIV/AIDS. They also got oodles of condoms.

Everyone in Vuma was super nice and welcoming. I’m really looking forward to my next excursion there next month when we will be conducting the HIV/AIDS testing and counseling. What was great was that almost everyone we started talking to about the condoms we were handing out also asked us when we would be doing HIV/AIDS testing again. Both males and females were wanting to be tested and everyone said that they would tell others in their village once a specific date was picked for this event. Great to see the citizens of Vuma so wanting and willing to be tested!

Pictures explained:

1. Here is the quarry! It was one of the hottest days since I'd been here, but luckily the quarry is located SUPER close to the coast/Vuma cliffs/beach, so the wind was definitely welcomed!

2. Here is Mohamed and one of the quarry workers showing us how to work! You can see in this picture all of the brick-like things all stacked up behind them. These individuals do not work for a company, so their profit is dependent only on how many brick-like things they get out and then how many they sell. 

3. Here are the Vuma cliffs. This pictures doesn't do it justice. These cliffs were breathtaking! And these are where the fishermen dump their nets over to catch the fish.

4. Here is meeeee with the Vuma Cliffs! Yes, my hair is braided in the front...the girls in my house had a LOT of fun doing my hair haha! When they get their hair done, it stays for 2 weeks...mine lasted for 2 days. Also--I'm wearing PANTS!!! Whenever I go biking, I'm allowed to wear pants, and then when walking around the villages I put a skirt on over them. But, because we were kinda exploring on the coast, I was told that I didn't have to put the skirt on. Yay--I have LEGS lol! Oh, and shout out to my parents and sisters: look at the locket I'm wearing!

5. More of the Vuma Cliffs because...well, because I just wanted to. Isn't it SOO pretty?? Correct answer: yes!