The Bucket Brigade Strikes Again

Bucket Brigade Meets Obama Grandma in Kenya:  National Training for Environmental Justice Communities Underway

 Members of the Global Bucket Brigade Network traveled to Ancestral home of Obama family in Kenya today to meet Sara Obama, the grandmother of President Barak Obama in their family homestead.

 Denny Larson of Global Community Monitor, Shweta Nayaran of India CEM and Maurice Odhiambo of RECONCILE met Mrs. Obama and introduced the family to their work to empower polluted communities to monitor their environment and work to clean up pollution.

When Mrs. Obama was told about the current work in Webuye to identify the threat of air pollution from the PAN Paper Mill, she joked: "You're telling us the air is killing us, great!  Don't translate that to them, ha!"

The Obama home has a security fence but there were no metal detectors or searches conducted.  "Can anyone imagine the home of the Grandmother of the President of the United States not surrounded by legions of guns, guards and 'homeland security' in our own country?" remarked Larson of GCM.  "It is a testament to the Kenyan people that such a shrine to humility and honesty can thrive.  In America, we could only hope for the same, some day"

 Four days of workshops and meetings are planned with communities and resource groups from around Kenya to implement the three year program, funded in part by Courtney's Fund.

 Stay tuned for more details!