Coming 'home' again: Kenya forty years later

Editors' note: This is another guest blog, authored by Bill Korol (my dad). We writes about his thoughts and emotions around returning to the large road project he worked on for 2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya. Returning to this project was a peak experience for him, my mom, my aunts and us, truly unforgettable. Take it away Dad!

I left Nairobi in the late fall of 1975 when my two years as a Peace Corps volunteer had ended. I made a promise to myself to return someday to Kenya to see the finished road project and to share some of the wonders of this beautiful country with my family. My job in Kenya was the construction of a paved road from Machakos to Kitui through the Kamba region, southeast of Nairobi. The project consisted of three stages, the mountainous area directly outside Machakos, approximately 10 kms; the rolling hills area from the mountains to the Athi River, approximately 50 kms; and the flatter section from the Athi River to the town of Kitui, approximately 40 kilometers. I worked mostly on the rolling hills section of the road with some involvement in the mountainous section. The final, flatter phase of the project was not built until after I had left.

Athi River

Thinking back my life in Kenya was split between the work week and the weekends. During the week I lived in a large construction camp with 600 National Youth Service trainees outside the village of Masii. The project was well stocked with bulldozers, dump trucks, graders, and other construction equipment. I shared my home in Masii with Jim Pawela, another Peace Corps volunteer from Buffalo, NY. It was a comfortable ranch style building with running hot and cold water, screens (unusual for Kenya at the time) and electricity during the evening hours. After visiting Madagascar with Muriel I realized my life was not a typical Peace Corps experience. The nearby village of Masii consisted of a dozen simple concrete block or mud huts surrounding a square where local vegetables were sold and where villagers congregated. The town had no electricity and one kerosene fired refrigerator in a small store.

Every weekend I drove to Nairobi in either a government issued International pickup truck, my 1956 VW bug (until the engine seized) or my Honda 175 motorcycle. In Nairobi I stayed with friends, played all night Battleship games, shopped for food for the rest of the week, did banking and conducted other business.

Returning to Kenya was something I have wanted to do for the past thirty-eight years, but it wasn't until Wilson and Muriel asked us to join them in their African adventures that it became a reality. Our first stop in Kenya was Nairobi. Since 1975 Kenya’s population has more than tripled and Nairobi has not benefitted from this. The picturesque roundabouts along Uhuru Highway worked well in light traffic but now turn into huge bottlenecks in heavy traffic. The Ngong suburbs where I used to visit friends living in country homes has high rise apartments and major shopping malls. I did not enjoy driving in Nairobi, but once downtown and out of the car the city still had a comfortable, familiar feel. My favorite bar has changed owners and been remodeled, my favorite ice cream stand is still in business and serving some of the finest ice cream in Africa and the streets are still lined with small, independently owned shops. The Hotel Intercontinental, a modern high rise luxury place in my memory, is now dwarfed by the high rise office towers surrounding it.

Bill @ Snow Cream in Nairobi

The peaceful and scenic road I used to travel every week between Nairobi and Mackakos has grown from two lanes to six. Where I used to routinely see giraffe, gazelles and antelope along the way now office buildings, cement factories, steel plants and housing developments line the road. The traffic is heavy and crazy.

Arriving in Machakos, the starting point for my road project, I realize there has been considerable growth of this small city in the past four decades but its character remains the same. We eat lunch in the New Banana Popular Hotel where the food is delicious and inexpensive. The old sports club where I occasionally played golf and racquetball is still in business. The people greet us with typical Kenyan charm and a smile.

It is not until I leave Machakos and actually start driving on the road I helped build that I realize what it means to return to Kenya. Memories flood my brain and I start crying with pent up emotions, delight in seeing a project I worked on not only serving its function but also being maintained and improved. It is a project that continues to improve the lives of the people who live in the vast area served by the road. The mountain section of the road melds into the rolling hill section and looks much like it did when I left. There are occasional potholes that go down to the original crushed stone underlayment and the gravel shoulders have ruts and holes created by runoff. Still the road is highly serviceable and I feel proud that it has lasted as well as it has.

Dad in the mountainous section of C97

A Matatu in action near Masaii

The original road, still functioning after nearly 40 years

Arriving in Masii, the town I lived near, I am stunned by the changes – the sleepy little village now has a six story building, multiple hotels, electricity and paved streets. People line the road selling wares and waiting for matatus to take them to their homes or to other towns. There are few signs of our large construction camp that once dominated this area.

Masii

From the Masii to the Athi River the road improves markedly with new layers of asphalt and paved shoulders. The surrounding countryside is spectacularly beautiful, more beautiful than I had remembered. There is an air of prosperity in the hills with neat farmyards, tin roofed homes and many small fields planted in maize, tomatoes and mango trees. The Athi River is now crossed by a multi-section bridge high above its flowing waters. This bridge was not built until after I left the road project. From the bridge the old river crossing can be seen along the river bed. I remember when water levels were high buses would come from each direction and travelers would get out, put their belongings on their head and wade across the river to embark on the bus that had come from the opposite direction. Now the bridge assures a swift and dependable crossing of the river in all weather conditions.

The original bridge across the Athi

What an improvement!

It is wonderful to see something I had worked on so long ago still in use and helping the people of Kenya. I have a feeling of deep contentment and satisfaction.