My Kenya Cast of Characters

If my life were a play, then it would probably be an ironic comedy… or a musical. Either way, this scene has an excellent cast of characters, and they deserve a highlight in the program:

Dr. Rita Lugogo – When I grow up, I want to be as awesome as Rita. She is the in-country director for CHOICE Humanitarian and was my host for the first two weeks. Born in Italy and raised in the US, yet she is as local as any Kenyan. She came here during her master’s program as a Peace Corps volunteer and met her husband. Since then, she has gotten her doctorate, raised three kids, and done a lot for the development of Kenya. She runs CHOICE operations and is director for Yehu Microfinance. She barely clears five foot tall, but doesn’t take any crap from anybody. She basically rocks.

Lowry Redd – Investor from Woods Cross who owns an engineering firm in SLC. Instead of retiring he decided to focus on international development projects. He has done a lot for the dairy, as they had shut down in like May, and he was able to come in and shake things up and get some important things done. He was only here for the first couple weeks that I was here, but we got along really well. He likes classic rock and has a major sweet tooth.

Catherine and Clayton Holding – A sister and a brother from Salt Lake, 19 and 17, respectively. Their parents gave them an expedition for Christmas last year, but they wanted to do more than just a week, so they stay at Ritas and help with any projects that they can. They will be here a total of 8 weeks.

Candy – Intern from California. She acts as the mother of the group, as we are all just younger than her daughter. She’s really nice, but doesn’t like Psych… no one’s perfect.

Eric – Is awesome. He’s essentially who I’m training to take over financials when I leave. He is on the management team and helps with marketing and sales too. He’s about Britt’s age and he and his wife are about to adopt a baby. He served a mission in South Africa. He teaches me things like that taco means buttcheeck in Swahili and occasionally makes fun of my American accent.

Masai – How to describe Masai… Well he is the animal husbandry expert for the dairy, borrowed from CDA. His biggest job right now is to find more milk for us to buy. But he is also a dabbler in many things and has traveled to many countries over Africa and southern Asia teaching agricultural practices and advising. He even has a group here from Afghanistan for a few weeks. Aside from being awesome in that way, Masai is also a delightfully extroverted guy. Long rides through the bush are made entertaining as he regales you with stories of what it will be like when he is president of Kenya and about why God loves him the most. 

Bernard – Manager of the dairy operations. I’m sure he eats and sleeps occasionally, but I’ve never seen it. He is always fixing one thing or another at all hours of the day. The place definitely wouldn’t run without him.

Beatrice – The only woman working at the dairy. She is great. Her English isn’t great, but she always checks up on me and makes sure I have seconds at dinner every night.

Peter and Josephine Mangali – The owners of the house I stay in. (She is Beatrice’s sister) They are super nice and welcoming and concerned about me. They always make sure I’m okay and I have everything I need. Also, her laugh is awesome and can be heard anywhere in the house.

Margaret, Catherine, and Aisha – The house girls. They cook and clean for us. They are cute and nice and think I’m hilarious whenever I speak Swahili. They also like to borrow my American movies and watch them whenever they can.