Gigolos and tourists take chances at the Coast


A couple strolling hand-in-hand along a sandy beach in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa could have jumped straight off the pages of a cheesy romance novel, except for one major difference: the man is local and in his early twenties, while the woman, a tourist, is middle-aged.

The young men who trawl Kenya's seaside resorts for wealthy white tourists looking for more than just sun, sea and sand are known locally as "beach boys". Typically in their early to mid-twenties, many sport dreadlocks and skin-tight T-shirts that showcase their bulging biceps.

"I usually walk up to a mzungu mama [white woman] and ask what she's looking for; if she wants a guide, I can guide her, if she wants to jet ski or go on a boat ride, I can accompany her," Solomon*, a beach boy on Mombasa's north coast, told IRIN/PlusNews. "If she's looking for something more, I can also give it to her."

There are no official figures on the numbers of female sex tourists arriving in Kenya each year, but locals say the number seems to increase annually. In 2007, two million tourists visited Kenya; the largest numbers were from the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.

Many beach boys, in addition to speaking English and Swahili, the local language, speak fluent German and Italian, learned from years of dealing with tourists. A European language, Solomon says, gives you an advantage over the competition.

Most of his income comes from spending time with visiting tourists, who treat him to expensive meals, excursions and leave him with cash at the end of their stay.

"If I get a good one, I usually stay with her in her hotel and when she goes she can leave about 70,000 shillings [US $1,030], but sometimes less," he said. "We both have a good time - I get what I want and she gets what she wants."

''If I get a good one, I usually stay with her in her hotel and when she goes she can leave about 70,000 shillings[US$1,030] but sometimes less''
During peak tourist seasons, such as the summer, Solomon may have as many as five or six different sexual partners. He admits that many of the women he sleeps with are well over 60.

When it comes to the sexual relationship, it seems the use of condoms is the woman's call. "If she wants me to wear one, I do, but if not then I just do it without one," Solomon said. "In the beginning I usually use one, but then after a few days we stop."

Solomon has never been for an HIV test, and says he prefers to trust that the person he has sex with is HIV negative. "Most of the whites don't have HIV, it's very rare in their countries," he said.

According to Elizabeth Akinyi, chief executive officer of Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI), an NGO that works with sex workers in Mombasa, beach boys are not generally considered as sex workers, and therefore miss out on HIV prevention messages.

SOLWODI deals with female sex workers, and while Akinyi would be keen to include beach boys in the organisation's programmes, she says they lack resources.

Associations of people involved in tourism related activities, such as those selling crafts, offering water sports or camel rides, are sometimes organized enough to hold HIV training sessions, but people like Solomon, operating on their own, do not benefit from these messages.

"The community does not perceive beach boys in the same way as female sex workers, and nor do NGOs," she told IRIN/PlusNews. "But they should be considered for education, especially because of the HIV risks."


SOURCE :

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80562

A PORT TALBOT couple are launching an initiative to raise money for charity Samburu Maasai Wales Aid.

John and Margaret Walters, of Pontrhydyfen, will be introducing their latest project to raise funds for the Samburu tribe who have been deeply affected by the drought in Kenya.

Margaret's Diary is a 63-page book detailing Margaret and John's experiences since 2002.

Samburu Maasai Wales Aid was established in 2000 by the couple, who have been raising funds and public awareness about the plight of the Samburu Massai People of Africa.

The tribe are pastoralists with a close attachment to their livestock, which they live off. Meat from sheep, goats and milk from cattle are their principal foods, supplemented by the blood of living cattle.

The land they inhabit is mainly semi-arid and offers few opportunities for agriculture except around the hilly areas where maize, sorghum and wheat is now actively grown.

Mr Walters said: “We decided to release the book as a way of raising funds for a water borehole. It is hard work raising the funds to do what we want to do. So many people have followed us and supported us over the years, that we want to make them aware of this new book.”

The new initiative was launched at Neath MP Peter Hain’s constituency office.

Mr Hain said: “John and Margaret have been going out to Kenya for many years and helping the Samburu tribe by raising funds and providing them with clothing, books and equipment.

“I am delighted to be able to help them launch their latest project.”

The book is on sale for £10 at various venues around Neath Port Talbot.


SOURCE :

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/port-talbot/2008/09/11/couple-s-aim-to-aid-african-tribe-91466-21710267/

UN Sounds Alarm As Hunger...

In Kenya, UNICEF said an estimated 1.3 million are affected by food insecurity, about 840,000 of these in the arid and semi-arid pastoralist areas and the others displaced during the violent political crisis early in the year. Over 95,000 children under the age of five and pregnant and breastfeeding women in the drought-ravaged areas of northern and eastern Kenya are malnourished.

THE world marks International Literacy Day on Monday.


Closer to home, the latest information from a survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Adult Education indicates that 7,8-million youth and adults are illiterate. That represents about one-third of the population — a sad testimony to the fact that the national educational programmes have not achieved the desired results.

In particular, it is discomfiting that the adult education programme that was launched with fanfare in 1979 has recorded a sharp decline in terms of enrolment. Worse, many children enrolling in formal schools drop out without acquiring desirable skills. Despite free primary education, more than a million eligible children are not in school.

The illiterates can hardly participate effectively in politics and social interactions. For Kenya, therefore, Monday is not a day for celebrations, but for rethinking and re-engineering the literacy programmes.

Economic growth, technological and political advancement cannot be achieved if one-third of the population wallows in ignorance.

POUR ECOUTER ** TO LISTEN :


http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/13/1811927/09%20The%20state%20of%20grace.wma



http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/13/1811927/01%20Tornero.wma

-- WHICH AIRLINES OPERATE FROM NAIROBI / JOMO KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT?


-- WHERE CAN I FLY FROM NAIROBI /JOMO KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT?


VOIR LIEN -- CHECK LINK :


http://www.weather2flights.com/airports/index.php?airport=NBO&agrp=1#where

Artist's work supports African women

Internationally renowned oil painter Nancy Howe of East Dorset has sold another painting in her series on the people of Northern Kenya. This will result in the creation of 20 new businesses for 100 pastoral women in Northern Kenya.

The program of job creation is the result of the collaboration between Nancy and the BOMA Fund called "Painting a Brighter Future for Kenyan Women." A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each painting supports the development of micro-enterprise businesses for women as a first step toward their pursuit of economic independence and empowerment.

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/entertainment/ci_10396863

Pour en savoir davantage :

http://www.nancyhowe.com/BOMA.html

http://www.nancyhowe.com/

http://www.bomafund.org/

Un article, sur un quartier de Nairobi, meconnu des touristes, mais qui ne manque ni de charme, ni d'attrait...une autre ambiance...

UN DE MES FAVORIS...The place is Garissa Lodge of Eastleigh, Nairobi.


AVEC ACCOMPAGNEMENT MUSICAL :


http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/13/1811927/somali%20music%20naf%20jaceyl%20hayaa%20%20hananwanag.mp3

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/13/1811927/somali%20songs%20-%20jarmad.mp3

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/13/1811927/Somali%20Slow.mp3


Why nobody dares touch the cash and gold in Eastleigh

.../...Welcome to Al Bushra, possibly one of the busiest points for jewellery trade and money changing. It is one of the many shopping malls in Eastleigh which, in barely two decades, has become Kenya’s busiest trading centre.../...

Source et article complet :

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/467668/-/item/0/-/v4ei1c/-/index.html

His story opens a window on the strains faced by this ancient tribe as it adjusts to modern life in East Africa's largest economy, whose Indian Ocean beaches lure thousands of tourists, including women seeking sex.

Maasai warriors, or moran, are a familiar sight on Kenya's beaches and in its renowned safari parks -- dressed in distinctive red robes and wearing beaded jewellery, they often act as guides or work in security.

But sometimes, the eager young men who flock to the coast hoping to make their fortunes -- some with dreams of marrying a white tourist -- have to go against their traditions..../...But for the morans in Mombasa, survival for now takes precedence over preserving their traditional ways...

SOURCE ET ARTICLE COMPLET :

http://www.feed24.com/go?item_id=113067828