September 8 – Whimsical and famous ant sculpture from Pimbi Gallery
Those who know me well will understand that I occasionally enjoy retail therapy. Friends Anna and Greg had introduced us to several wonderful craft and art shops, with products many notches above what is typically found on the streets or on safari. Last weekend, we drove onto the Pimbi Gallery, aka Warthog Gallery, property to enter a sculpture and painting world covering the garden and house. The paintings were colorful “African modern” for lack of a better term. But I fell in love with the sculptures that are whimsical, metal, many with rusted finishes, and all made with recycled vehicle and building hardware. They ranged from warthogs, birds, other small animals, to tables with long-legged frogs as legs, camels’ heads holding up shelves, and life-size people and beasts.
While we were ambling, the artist drove up in a pickup truck with a larger-than-life-size, shiny, silver gorilla, sitting down with his knuckles on the ground. Kioko told us that it was about to fly off to the Italian company which had commissioned it. One of his elephants is featured at a major Nairobi roundabout. He began talking to us about his art and how his “standard, silly-looking animals” sustained the subject he loved most: people and fantastical creatures at work and play. He showed us the sculpture of a female ant, looking like a women’s lib protester. Apparently, Coca Cola Africa commissioned him to create several to use in an animated regional ad for Diet Coke. The ants were protesting “diet” because they loved the sugar in the real Coke.
I asked if it was for sale, figuring anything displayed, is. He said that he knew he had the right to reproduce them but had to contact Coca Cola to see if they were OK with his selling off their samples he made for them. Also, he needed to decide the pricing. We also talked about his wanting to sell his art in the U.S., having started with a contact in Princeton, NJ but without much progress.
We exchanged emails this past week (this was unusual in itself), when I suggested that he create a CD portfolio that I might show some people here and in the U.S. Rick and I just picked up my diet-Coke ant protester as well as the CD. Kioko invited me to come back to pick out more sculptures for his portfolio, which I will do. Not only is he a talented artist, but a savvy businessman and living example of what TechnoServe is trying to catalyze. With his permission, I’ll post a few of his pictures on my website, and take anyone who comes Nairobi to visit Pimbi Gallery.
September 1— How many days and people does it take to get WW a “dependent’s” visa?
Apparently many more than any aggie joke with light bulbs. We fully accept that the pace of change, accomplishment, and way of life is slow in Africa—except for all the drivers who act like testosterone-poisoned 17-year old boys. And we definitely recognize that government agencies globally move at a much slower pace than their private sector counterparts.
Oddly, Kenyans are reputed by their fellow Africans to be aggressive and entrepreneurial. But when it comes to approval of any formally “registered” and/or an approved process or item, slow becomes glacial--before any melting. The implications of that lack of movement is that hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars are wasted by anyone trying to move through that process or create that item. Particularly non-black Africans or worse, ex-pats.
Our best /worst example is our attempt to obtain a work permit and visa for Rick as a TechnoServe Kenya contract employee then a dependent’s visa as his wife. The over-riding problems consist of:
- No one tells us/maybe even knows all the necessary documents needed for us to have with us.
- If they tell us they need one or two documents, there are always more needed whenever the first round is submitted—all sequentially.
- The Kenyan Immigration Agency, the U.S. Embassy, and TechnoServe don’t have a list of all the requirements.
TechnoServe tried to submit all the paperwork for Rick, but he had to call/fax/email both MIT and Harvard to get copies of his transcripts, proof of attendance for primary and secondary schools, and other items. No one knew or told us ahead of time to have these items with us. Rick finally received his work permit and entry visa in July, 5 months after he arrived.
However, this meant that I still paid $50 per entry into Kenya during all of our business and pleasure trips. TechnoServe started the dependent’s process for me in March. In May after minimal progress forward for me and a Canadian colleague who has moved here from Uganda, they hired an “enabler” who is not a lawyer but supposedly understands and can expedite the arcane processes. No progress was made in June while I was in the U.S. because my passport was with me. Since my return to Kenya, my passport has spent a lot of time with the enabler and in obscure offices inside Kenyan immigration. 3 weeks ago, all of a sudden after all other requirements were met--as we were about to fly to Uganda for 10 days--we were told that our marriage certificate was required for me to receive the dependent’s pass. Logically we had locked such an important document in our safe deposit in California where only Rick and I can sign in. So our enabler said that for only $75 he could have a lawyer create an affidavit where we’d swear to our marriage, putting in as many facts as we could provide.
Tuesday Sept. 4th, we received the affidavit, paid the lawyer, and went to the U.S. Embassy to swear “that what we were about to sign was true” even though this consulate member didn’t know us from Adam. Even he asked, “Are you sure you have everything???” I suggested that he request from the Kenya government, then post on the U.S. Embassy website, a list of all documents ex-pats might possibly need to get a visa. He laughed, said, “good luck,” and walked away shaking his head.
Our enabler rushed off to the Immigration Office to find it closed. With my daily nagging, finally he came back Friday afternoon to have me sign yet another form and take my passport with him “for the final time.” He knows we are leaving Friday morning for Ethiopia, so I can only hope that we’ll have my passport back by then.
A TNS colleague who shall remain nameless but is extremely knowledgeable said that it would have been shorter and simpler to: 1) pay $50 – 100 to the 1st govt. official and/or 2) just pay $50 per entry and leave it at that.
Now it is a matter of principles, dammit. But it is also very clear that T.i.A., This is Africa or C’est L’Afrique…
