Home Visits - Kuwatembelea watu nyumbani

These past few weeks I've been doing many home visits.

We are preparing for our annual board meeting where we will discuss how many new children we can assist next year. We already have 44 new families looking for assistance - most of them for secondary school, as that is when school becomes out of reach for many. The average we've paid for a student to enter a public high school this year was almost $200, including school fees, uniform, and basic reference books. Most of our clients live in simple mud homes or are struggling to pay rent of $10 to $20 per month and put food on the table.

Since many things are still new to me, including this process, I am struggling to get as much information as I can to help the board in what will be a very challenging discussion - which ones we will be able to support, and which we will put on a waiting list until we get additional funds, and which ones we believe can manage without our support.

This visits give me much to think about - from the conversations about shared responsibility, the hope of not giving false impressions or making promises that cannot be kept, attempting to understand the situation, the struggle to find the right words in Swahili and not to forget to ask one of the many questions I have.

The larger HIV-support program I work with, CBHC, Community Based Health Care, had visitors this past week from a donor organization. As I was working with the social workers who accompany me on the home visits, I was surprised and disappointed by the arrogance and unprofessional behavior I saw from the visitors. It made me wonder how I can be a better guest when I visit people in their homes.

I didn't have anyone come trick-or-treating this Halloween, since it isn't celebrated here. In honor of the festivities back home, I thought I'd post my first recipe from Mombasa. Sorry it doesn't include chocolate. Cashew nuts are grown here along the coast of Kenya.

Cashew Nutty Green Beans by Mary

Ingredients

fresh green beans, 1-2 cups, cleaned, ends trimmed

fresh ginger, about ½ inch square after peeled

onions, 2 medium size or 1 large

sherry or red wine, if you have it, 1 Tbsp

soy sauce, 2 Tbsp

sugar, 1 tsp

oil, 2 Tbsp

water

unsalted cashew nuts, 1/3 cup or more if you like them

honey, about one big spoonful

Directions

1. Clean the green beans so they are ready to go.

2. Chop the onions into thin rings or small pieces.

3. Chop the ginger into small pieces. If you have a garlic press, you can use it, too.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onions, and stir. After a few minutes, add the ginger.

5. Mix the soy sauce, sherry/wine, and sugar in a bowl.

6. Add the green beans to the onions and saute. After a couple minutes, add the soy sauce mixture.

7. If the onions, etc, seem to be sticking to the pan, add a little water and cover to allow the green beans to get to desired texture. I like them a little crunchy.

8. In a separate pan, heat the cashew nuts until they start to brown. No oil is needed, but keep stirring them or shaking the pan. Add the honey to cover the nuts and continue to stir until they are well-covered.

9. Add the cashew nuts to the beans and serve.

Enjoy a piece of Halloween candy for me!