Getting to know Kenya

and some running too!

Feb 10, 2025

Last night after I finished writing my Substack post, I headed over to Camilla and Markus’s home here in Iten. The couple and their three children, Chebet, Kiplagat and Chelimo (yes, they do have Kenyan names) have a permanent home in Sweden but have been coming here, every year, for 10 years. They come for anything between two and six months and live in a local neighbourhood. The kids go to the local school and the family is fully integrated with the Kenyan way of life. A chance meeting with them when visiting Shoe4Africa led to them inviting me for a wonderful feast last night I heard all about the work they’ve done in the time they’ve spent here in Kenya (a total of 31 months).

I’ll be honest, I was a little anxious leaving after 630pm, with only a map pin and possibly dodgy signal to help me find their home on the red dusty roads. It would be dark soon and as I have the worst sense of direction — I didn’t want to get lost. Camilla shared a picture of their front door and I strode out the door — and out of my once again, comfort zone to find them. After a brief false start — I went to the wrong door — I was soon at the house, greeted by a bundle of children, locals and, of course, Camilla and Markus.

The family’s rented home is hidden behind a gate that houses, their house, Mama GoGo’s house and nearby neighbours. Mama Gogo, or Grace, is one of 13, and mother of four. She leads the cooks who were busy preparing a whole heap of food —chapati, potatoes, peas, rice, vegetable samosas, and a chicken who had been walking about the yard earlier that day.

The kids were playing and there was comfortable chaos and a warm welcome. Markus showed me the new building that Mama GoGo’s husband is building. It will have three rooms and a veranda with a kitchen area and can be used to house runners coming to train at Iten. We stood on the roof and admired the view of the mountains.

Next, I was given a tour of the homes. They are basic, dark houses, and suit their rural setting, with big comfy chairs and couches, and all the necessities for a cosy family home… There are no mod cons but these are homes bustling with life and energy, kids running in their bare feet, big pots of wholesome food and constant chatter.

I was treated to a pre-dinner dance by the children, reminiscent of my children, who as part of a gang of 10 cousins would put on a show for us adults. Chebet who’s blonde hair is braided and who speaks English with a strong Kenyan accent took centre stage, a master of the Kenyan moves.

By 830pm I was of course flagging… Thankfully, I didn’t have to navigate the pitch-black paths and roads home and was given a lift by one of the family.

I was grateful for an extra hour in bed and met Emmanuel at 7 am for a 12K run. I was sure I’d be exhausted as I’d found it hard to get up but it turned out to be my fastest run so far and I think I finally may be adapting to altitude.

After working for a few hours I joined Camilla and Markus at the kids’ school. The family have raised money to pay for a new building housing a specialist computer room, with 10 computers. They’ve also tiled the floors in the toilets, an upgrade, even though the toilet is still just a hole in the ground. The couple also work with women in Eldoret who’ve been diagnosed with HIV, supporting them with work, where they make and design clothes for the couple’s Swedish fabric and design store.

The kids and the new building on the right

In a previous life, Markus worked in finance, which he said was good, but he’s chosen this life, with a little less money, but a lot of purpose.

I would love to write more about this amazing couple, and others I’m hearing about from Emmanuel and the people I meet along the way. They are all doing that one small thing, an incremental change, every day, to help the children and community of Iten.

But for now, the ‘she runs’ me has won over the ‘she writes’ me. A fuse has blown and my power has gone in the room so I’m charging my laptop on my portable charger – my body’s power battery is also running low. As I’m in the home of the champions, two runs are the order of the day, which means as well as running like the Kenyans, it’s time for me to sleep like them!