Here’s another of Guy’s photos. This little girl was one of several neighborhood children who came over to see us when we visited a soapstone craft shop near Kisii to buy souvenirs.
Many of the souvenirs available in Nairobi or on the way to the various safari parks are relatively expensive, but the soapstone place in Kisii produced its own pieces on-site, sold them at a very reasonable cost, and even boxed them up for safe transport.
Of course, when I complain about souvenirs in Kenya being expensive, I feel guilty about it. It seems stingy, given my standard of living and the standard of living of the people we were working with in Ndonyo. But I was on a limited budget during the trip, and so I had to try to shop wisely for gifts to bring back to family and friends. During our 2004 trip, we had a bad experience with high-pressure salespeople at one of the Maasai markets in Nairobi. It makes you wonder where some of that souvenir money is going; it doesn’t seem to be getting to the people who really need it.
But maybe that’s just the Ugly American in me talking and I should just shut up.