The Road to Kisii

It is amazing how the picture of Kenya changes depending on what part you are traveling through. So far during my stay in Kenya I have seen a desert like landscape with lots of dirt/dust, flat roads, and cacti and trees sparsely populating the land. Small villages consisting of mud houses surrounded by a fence made of sticks can be seen every few miles along the road.

The Road to Kisii, however, is completely different…so different, in fact, that you feel as though you are in a different country. As we left Narok for Kisii, the desert-like landscape began to change into fields of Wheat and Maize. Kenya is one of the largest producers of wheat and maize in Africa. It is the harvest season for wheat so large tarps of drying wheat lay along the road. Trucks arrive at night to collect the bags of wheat.

Past the fields of wheat and maize individual family farms begin to divide the countryside. Unlike the openness of the Mara, these plots of land are divided and fenced in. The houses are made of bricks instead of mud and some even have two stories. The land becomes lush and green with many trees and plants growing everywhere. I almost felt like I had entered a tropical country. The road became very hilly as we drove deeper into the Kisii Region. Looking out over the countryside I could see many divided farms covering the land. The most interesting part of their farming is their mastery of planting on hills. Every part of the hill was covered with a different section of plants. The Kisii Region is a large producer of fruits and vegetables. Bananas, pineapples, sugar cane, green peppers, potatoes, tea, and carrots (to name a few) are grown here and then sent to neighboring towns to be sold at market days. The Kisii pineapple that I have eaten here is the best pineapple I have ever eaten. I wish I could bring some home with me when I leave!

As we drove through the hills along our very bumpy dirt path, I could hear people yelling “Mzungu! Mzungu!” For many of the children we past this was probably the first time they had come into contact with a mzungu (white person). They all stopped and stared in bewilderment as we went past. I guess this is a little like how it would be if I was a celebrity.

The best part of our journey to Kisii was when we stopped to give a soccer ball to a group of kids playing soccer. I have never seen so much excitement as a soccer ball fell out of the sky and onto their field. They ran around the field yelling and cheering over their “gift from God”. It brought tears to my eyes as I watched them celebrate. I don’t think I will ever forget that sight and I know that those kids will never forget it either.