Rusinga Island

As December approaches, Ravi and I have been doing more and more research about Rusinga, and Kenya in general. We just wanted to share some of the more interesting things we've found with everyone -

Rusinga is a small island on the northeastern edge of Lake Victoria. The lake is shared by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, and the Kenyan border is the smallest of the three. It is the largest freshwater lake in Africa, the largest in the world except Lake Superior, and the source of the Nile. Rusinga is apparently a hotbed for paleontology, home to a plethora of Miocene and Pleistocene mammal fossils, including quite a few uncovered by Louis Leakey.

The folks at Lonely Planet say that Rusinga is "delightful. Tiny, languid and barely visited, it offers a glimpse of an older Africa; an Africa that moves to the gentle sway of the seasons rather than the ticking of a clock. Days easily merge into one here and hundreds of gentle adventures open up on the lightly wooded hills, along the soft sand beaches and in the smoky teashops. This is the sort of place where school children abandon their classes to come out and see you pass by, old women burst into song at your arrival and total strangers offer you a lift on the back of their bicycle." But this is certainly a romanticized, polished depiction of the island. What are things like for the locals?

As an island, Rusinga's economy is largely based on a substantial fishing industry. When the fishery is booming, things are wonderful - "Nearly everyone living on Rusinga plays a part in the fish supply chain that entails the catching, drying, storing, and selling of the fish," according to Kageno Worldwide. "However, when fishing is poor, the fishermen move on to other beaches, and the female residents and children endure long periods without income or food. During these periods, the females, some as young as 10 years old, are forced to prostitute themselves to the remaining fisherman in order to eat, turning the beach into an HIV/AIDS incubator where the alarming transmission rate is threatening to kill off the entire population." Rusinga has an HIV/AIDS rate of around 40%, compared with a national rate of around 6%. Kaswanga, a small village on Rusinga, is estimated by a local program to have a rate of 70-80%. If accurate, this percentage is the highest in the world.

Like much of Africa, Rusinga is largely neglected by the first world. The October 2006 post on the Friends of Rusinga site, which I encourage you all to read, concludes with an observation by a Nairobi shopkeeper - “There are many forgotten corners of Africa. A big step is for them to know that the rest of the world cares about them.” Even a small contribution can go a long way, so please consider helping to remind the children of Rusinga that the world cares about them this holiday season. The funds donated to our paypal account will be used in part to purchase school supplies and other items, and the remainder will go directly to Ezekiel Tito, the local organizer for Friends of Rusinga. Additionally, I encourage you all to check out the links below, and likewise consider contributing to those worthy causes.


http://www.ourchurch.com/member/k/kaswanga/
http://www.kageno.org/3-where-we-work/9-kenya

http://themeasuremag.com/articles/the-sorry-fame-of-rusinga-island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Victoria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusinga_Island