Narok is beautiful. The journey there, for those who enjoy driving, and are patient drivers, is quite something. Endless winding roads overlooking deep valleys, chilling thoughts of rolling uncontrollably to the valleys, vast tracts of virgin land, trains of tourist vans heading to the Mara, and the odd monkey and gazelle that could care less about qualitative research, and contribution to knowledge. Even less caring are the herds of cattle lovingly shepherded by young men and older women along the road.

I loved the three hour dive to Narok. I drove leisurely, soaking in the beauty of Narok, and careful not to awake the  NTSA speed cameras. I did not want my mood spoilt, and it was certainly not the time of the month I was feeling like pleading my innocence.

Narok is a busy town. It is a town that sleeps late. It is a politically awake town and I overheard many  vivacious discussions on politics. Even though it is a predominantly Maasai area, there are many other communities, but a particularly interesting population of Gikuyu as a result of intermarriage. Many Maasais can speak or at least understand Gikuyu. Jane speaks both Maa and Gikuyu. I was later to impressively learn that three quarters of the members of the Chama speak both languages fluently.

Jane, the chair lady, was my contact and I had been in many phone conversations with her on her Chama and the questions the members were asking about this outsider who wanted to come to them. And she reminded me the first lesson: Chamas are fiercely protective of who they are because they  deal with sensitive matters: financial, leadership, individual and sometimes difficult personalities, disagreements, and benefits that may otherwise jeopardise the sacred confidentiality and privacy of members.

Chamas are a family- a community. I persuaded Jane that I only wanted to observe how communication helps them navigate the Chama …how communication is the Chama… She nearly made me swear by a confidentiality clause. I later learnt that even members are not allowed to discuss Chama matters they are not sure of outside the Chama meeting,  if they did not attend the meeting. They argue that this weeds out gossip and grapevine, and attribute the strength of their Chama to formality of communication.

Weeks earlier, Jane made me answer a difficult question, “what’s in it for us as a Chama.” You see I had not thought about that. I am a scholar and perhaps expected understanding that scholars need grounds to study, and because they are coming to learn, they are welcome. I was wrong. Because the Chama has meaningful business to run, it must also be a gatekeeper for this business so that it’s not a single lane highway. It is also a learning Chama, and there must be some form of benefit if it has to allow anyone in its business. I had to think of something that I would do, beyond the cliche “share my findings with you.”

When I was about half an hour away, from Narok town, where we had agreed to meet, I called Jane and let her know of my whereabouts. She threw in a twist: “Now, you will come and pick me up from my school. So that you see Narok. I will give you clear directions and you must follow them, otherwise you will get lost.” I laughed and encouraged her to bring the directions on!

Stunningly huge wheat and maize plantations , 3 wrong turns, many kilometers off proper roads, and a random co-driver/tour guide I picked up vettedbyJaneonphone  later, I parked in the middle of Jane’s School.

There is nothing to show you where you are headed. At one point Jane asked if I could see the maize plantation on my right, and when I said yes, she encouraged me to drive on. 4 kilometers later, I came to a seasonal river, where obviously no vehicle, and certainly not my small resilient Mazda Verisa, had traversed.

Jane introduced me to her favourite class- the baby class, her standard 8 pupils who she was desperately trying to prepare for the National exams .

Beautiful… comely Children, who worked hard and the teachers who cared enough to make do with the little they had. Everyday people…extraordinary hearts…making the best of life.

I picked up Jane, and together with my tour guide, and a teacher who suddenly had an emergency to attend to, we drove off to Narok town, where I was to conduct my 1st  in depth interview and meet the Chama.

A few questions bothered my mind:

Given that Narok was largely a farming and herding neighborhood, how had it communicatively influenced the Chama I was going to meet?