Reflections, Snippets and Out-takes 2018

Ever since the chicken head incident, whenever we drove past chickens for sale along the side of the road, we’d all say in unison, “Is it local?”  

I hit my 10,000 Fitbit steps almost daily as we drove bumpy roads around Kenya.  Usually by 10 a.m.  The day of our detours through the Mara I ended the day with 30K plus steps.  Ha! 

Our baby boomer/ “perennial” team learned to AirDrop pics together.  Whenever we were in close proximity we could be found heads down sending our favorite photos of the day to each other.  So bad, but we had fun coaching each other on iPhone tips of various kinds.  Our frequent refrain was, “We need to travel together more often!”

Little boy from the Rescue Center with new shoes, donated by Nike, brought by our team.

My biggest take away was the deepening realization of our privilege.  Our many travel mishaps occurred right after our visit to the rescue center and required us to pay additional money for new vans, hotel rooms, food, etc.  But unlike the children of the rescue center, or many of our friends throughout Kenya, who experience mishap and trauma everyday, year after year, we had resources.  We could go to an ATM, withdraw more shillings and fix our problems.  We could avoid being totally stranded without transportation or without a place to stay or without food to eat.  We were simply inconvenienced.  And that dear friends, is a privilege.

Waiting beside yet another broken down van the day of our outing to downtown Nairobi. 

Lunch at the Stanley Hotel in Nairobi.  We hired another van and had a great tour of the city. 

It was also a privilege to even go to Kenya.  Many, many thanks to all of you who supported me, prayed for me and helped fund our ministries in Kenya this year.  I will keep you posted on the progress the mamas are making in establishing a new flower business that we hope will help many of them rise above the grinding poverty they experience every day.  

Our small but mighty team of 8.  Had a wonderful lunch with Basilus and Esther from Eldo Jamii school. 

Good bye to Kenya 2018! Maasai Mara. 

One for the Record Books- A Day of Detours

We’ve been saying our team of 8 is small but mighty.  Mighty good at being flexible.  The short story is we survived our detours and hiccups and travel chaos and almost running out of money, but if you want to hear the rest of the story, keep reading.

After leaving Eldoret early Monday morning we headed to the Maasai Mara for two days of R&R and safari through Kenya’s largest and most famous game reserve.  Our route took us through some of the most beautiful winding scenery in Kenya, the Nandi Hills.  This is tea growing country. We passed hill after rolling hill filled with tea plantations and forests of eucalyptus as far as the eye could see. Tea is one of Kenya’s largest exports and a very labor- intensive venture.  We saw many workers weaving their way through rows of tea judiciously picking only the most tender, new leaves from the very tops of the plants and collecting them in large bags on their backs. 

About 2 ½ hours into our 7-hour trip, the van Wachira rented is beginning to run rough and sputter.  He pulled into a gas station in a town on the outskirts of Kisumu, where the van promptly died.  Right next to a mechanic standing there.  After some quick assessment by the mechanic, Miriam decided we should wait it out somewhere with more amenities while Wachira determined how or if the van could be fixed that day.

 Detour to Kisumu, one of Kenya's largest cities.  The mechanic helped us find another van to take us to the Acacia Premiere Hotel, an upscale spot with a roof top restaurant and a panoramic view of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake.  Poor us. I think we would all say our lunch at the Acacia was actually one of our highlights despite the fact that we were van-less and our plans very uncertain. 

In the meantime, poor Wachira stayed behind with the van and our luggage to haggle with the owner of the van who clearly had not kept it serviced properly.  After several assessments, it was determined that the engine block was actually cracked. No simple fix. The van was toast.  We later learned the owner had taped over a dashboard light that kept going on, so no one could see there was trouble brewing. 

Wachira was also trying to find another safari van, but with it being peak tourist season this was no simple task.  Things for Wachira were further complicated by the fact that he is from a tribe not exactly popular with the tribe who predominately make up this Kisumu region.  He was either getting the run around or being quoted ridiculous prices.  

In the meantime, we made our way after lunch to the mall next to the Acacia and hung out in the Java House, our favorite coffee chain.  All afternoon.  Some of us did a little detour shoe shopping (guess who?), some of us played cards, some of us caught up on email, etc.  

All of us waited and waited, getting updates from Wachira, as plan B, C, and D came and went.  Eventually it was clear we were not getting to the Mara that night and would have to miss our first night reservations.   Plan E was Wachira would abandon the van and catch a ride and bring our luggage to Kisumu.

As we waited and waited some more for Wachira in the hotel lobby, the Acacia concierge was beginning to notice our small but mighty team (we tend to stick out).  He offered to help us make new arrangements, knowing it would result in a “big fat tip” (Miriam’s words!).  The Acacia was all booked, but he found us an alternate/ detour hotel just around the corner with 9 rooms, and lined up a taxi van to take us there. That van driver was another story, with even more detours, but we survived. 

The concierge was also working on tracking down a new safari van to take us to the Mara the next day.  Eventually he did find us a good safari van (an even larger one!) with a decent driver, and the hotel was doable (despite the dogs barking all night), so he actually did earn his tip.  (It was likely he also earned tips from the hotel and van company too!) The discouraging thing was we were now double paying for vans and hotel rooms and paying tips left and right to “thank” people for helping us.  We were all pitching in and running out of money, and we had yet to pay $80 each for the Mara park entrance fee!  All of this was exhausting for Miriam who had to negotiate and re-negotiate every single detail with every single person to try to avoid being totally swindled.

The tip paying was not over, however. 

On our way to the Mara, our driver took us on several “shortcuts” (read detours) that added about two hours off-roading through very bumpy back roads, several of which were no more than washed out gullies.  At one particularly steep and rocky gully, several Maasai were blocking the way with a log and rope, extorting every safari driver with a 200 shilling “toll”.  Ugh.  We were done, done, done with paying extra for anything, but what could we do?  As soon as they were paid, the log was rolled to the side, but then quickly rolled back in the way of the next van.  Quite the little racket they had going.

Our accommodation for the night was actually a tent camp. All the main safari hotels had been booked long ago and we told Wachira we were up for the adventure.  He had been there many times before, was confident of the service, and had booked us the “better” tent cabins.  Well…because we had missed our previous night due to the van breaking down, we didn’t get the original tents Wachira had booked and paid for.  By this time, Wachira was done, done, done with things not going as planned. 

On the up side, the food was great and we just made it to a late afternoon safari, where we saw lots of giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, impalas, elephants, and Thompson gazelles.  The bonus was a pride of lions at the bottom of a riverbed ravine.  And of course the sunsets in Africa are just stunning.  The next morning on our way out of the Mara we again saw several giraffe and a few more herds of zebra and impalas.  We loved having Wachira along as our tour guide with his wealth of knowledge. 

We counted 17 giraffe in all from both sides of the road. 

Kissing zebra!

 Now here’s the kicker.  As it turns out, the tent camp had double booked our cabins.  Another large party had taken our 5 tents and if we had in fact showed up the night before, when we had planned to, we would have been in the middle of nowhere with no place to sleep.  Ha! 

Goodbye to the Mara! And yes we made it back to Nairobi safe and sound. 

Eldoret Rescue Center Day

Today was the most difficult day for our team emotionally and physically.  For a number of years, we have heard about the Rescue Center in Eldoret, and they have been asking if we might come for a day of ministry to their residents.  Well today was that day. We brought a variety of games and activities, shoes and clothing to share for over 120 children aged 3 to 22.  Let's just say the short story was semi controlled chaos.

Our plan was to divide everyone into 5 age groups to rotate through the various activities each led by a different member of our team.  That sort of worked, but clearly these kids were not used to staying in their assigned groups and we rapidly lost the timing between rotations since we were all starting and ending at different times.  At the end, I have no idea if we saw all the kids or not. 

I prepared an art class with some basic drawing instruction and various simple art therapy projects tailored to age groups.  Ingrid led a station of pedicures, Ann led a friendship bracelet station, Vasiliy and Doug taught chess and math games, and Lisa led field games.

Despite the mayhem, there were a number of meaningful moments and connections with students, all of whom have suffered significant trauma.  These children have been abandoned and brought to the center by police, or rescued from abusive home situations or from the street.  It is likely 80% of them have been abused (in multiple ways).

This little white board has come with me every trip to Kenya.  And of course I started with the basics of line, and then let them practice making patterns and designs. We then moved on to creating our main project using a simple art therapy prompt.

 Fortunately I had access to two classroom spaces and our friend Joseph from Nairobi to help me.  One room was for the watercolor stations where the kids added color to their drawings.  We discussed different kinds of feelings and emotions and thought of colors we associated with those.  This was completely an individual choice.  Some students associated yellow with happy and some said it was an angry color.  They chose how to paint their drawings, adding colors that represented the emotions they most felt. 

Proud of our work! One of the caregivers, Jayne,  who attended this group and helped translate, really got the benefit of using art to help children express their emotions and find some relief.  She promised to continue with some of the ideas I shared.  We left most of the remaining art supplies that I collected from my teacher buddies in Sherwood for them to use in the future.

The rescue center is actually a fairly large compound with several building.  It is mostly funded by a British charity and has several Kenyan partnerships that help bring children there.  Some children are able to return to their families after some intervention.  Some find placement with relatives, foster care or on rare occasion are adopted.  Many, if not most, spend their whole lives there.

Kids lined up in small groups outside the room where we were dispensing shoes and clothing. 

All smiles with Inge after getting new shoes.

Matching shoes to over 120 kids was a time consuming and often arduous task.  Fortunately we had lots of extra help.  Miriam's friend Emma and her two daughters were invaluable.  Lindsey Chamberlains parents and their friends were also here from Oregon visiting the Chamberlain's new baby and they also joined us!  Turned out Vasiliy used to work with their friend Jack and his wife Mary is a former elementary teacher whom I had met years ago at math trainings.  It really is getting to be a small world when you can reconnect with people half way around the globe. 

Saying goodbye.  Always hard to do.  We were spent after seeing so many needy children.

Jamii School

Our time at Jamii was full of re-connecting with old friends  and making new friends.  Since Kangundo and the mortuary dedication was our main focus this year, we had to shorten our time here to just the one day. 

And because it was a Saturday, more than half the students didn't come.  So, we adjusted our plans, shifted materials as needed between classrooms and created a number of "home-made" instruments.

Lance Chamberlain, our resident missionary on assignment to Jamii to implement a music curriculum, was on hand to help lead the kids in songs and making "joyful noises" with their instruments. 

After lunch we gathered with the staff to present our gifts to them.  We brought student recorder flutes for Lance to use in the music program, coat hooks for each classroom to help keep student belongings organized and off the often muddy floors, and personal gifts to the teachers. 

The ladies received scarves and jewelry and the men received caps and ties.  These teachers have so little in general so just knowing we thought of them and brought a little gift was very much appreciated.

Many of the teachers are new as several have left for higher paying jobs or were lured away by other schools.  Despite the hardships at Jamii, it is known for good teaching and a nurturing environment.  Its main dilemma is that the directors Basilus and Esther have such huge hearts and committed themselves years ago to educating students from the slum where they live, regardless of student ability to pay school fees.  This just doesn't happen anywhere else.  The teachers are generally just as committed, and while most students do pay tuition, the result is still lower wages than at most other schools.  Sometimes that burden is just too much for teachers and their families and they need to go elsewhere.
  

Teacher Irene is new this year and teachers Class 2.  I was lucky to be with her and just loved her smile and presence with the students.  She was fabulous.  Later Lance said he'd hoped I would meet Irene because he has been so impressed with her as well and thought I would connect with her.  Yep. 

Travel Day to Eldoret

Travel day to Eldoret is always a big adventure. We had to take two vans.  One for passengers, and one for all the luggage and supplies we were bringing to Jamii School and the Rescue Center. 

Miriam says the trip should take 4-5 hours.  We reminded Miriam that last time we went in 2016 it took over 6 hours.  This time it took almost 8 hours.  There is even more traffic than I remember.  The good news is that this is one of the most beautiful drives as we descend into the Rift Valley, drive across it part of it and then climb up the other side.  Our altitude tops out at 9,500 ft.  

 Along the way we pass through many towns and villages lined with people selling their wares and vegetables.  This area of Kenya is a huge food producer of carrots, potatos, peas, tomatos, cabbage, and spinach. 

 On the valley floor we see lots of acacia trees, but at higher altitudes there are lush forests of conifers and eucalyptus trees.  This is also the day we drive past the equator.  It's not every day you can say you were in both the South and North Hemispheres in one day!

 The closer we got to Eldoret the more menacing the clouds grew.  We drove through some torrential down pours, but when we arrived at our guest house the rain had dissipated and we didn't have to unpack the vans in the rain.  Yay!

New Dawn Senior Class Outing

Today we took the senior class of New Dawn Academy on a cultural outing to the Nairobi Giraffe Center.  Typical school children visit this park as part of their regular education, but the students from New Dawn have not had the same opportunities.  They first heard a brief lecture about the different giraffes found in Kenya and then learned about the conservation efforts being promoted by the park.  The highlight of course was feeding the giraffes!  

Joyce is a student many of us have connected with before during our past Healing Arts camps.  She will be graduating this December!  

 The team also got a tour of the grounds to learn about recycling efforts and new solar panels being employed at the center.

 We had lunch with all the seniors back at our guest house and then gave out little care packages that we had prepared for them.

To hear the story of New Dawn and especially the story of Rapson, the boy in the middle with the red bag, see the link below.  Just a warning, get your tissue out.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13yr-_8gs2kFpy95Dv01c2H4m_akkDf3n/view?usp=sharing

Vasiliy really bonded with Rapson and brought his story to our attention. 

Good bye from New Dawn Seniors.  Many thanks for a great day!

Kangundo Memories and One for the Record Books...

There are always moments where we wish we could tell you "the rest of the story".  We often don't have time to fill you in on everything that happens, and I'm not sure you'd really want us to.  But here are a few...

Kangundo was beautiful.  They had experienced unusual rain earlier this year, which caused some havoc, but was also a welcome change from the usual drought.

Our Kangundo families are always so welcoming and thankful not only for the efforts we make to help ease their lives, but for what Miriam calls, the Ministry of Presence.  They really cannot fathom why anyone would take the time to come all the way from America to visit with them.

Inge and Ann outside the newly  constructed community center.  This is where our Kangundo families can meet in a safe space to work on their growing sewing business.  Ann and Inge worked with the mamas to create over 100 items to sell back at home: aprons, handbags, pillow covers, table runners, microwave potato bags, and fabric baskets.  They were busy! 

Boniface, pictured below, is the main tailor in the community and is excited to expand their sewing business to making school uniforms to sell in the near future. 

Judy was our photographer and also helped with the special needs "Olympics" our second afternoon, once all the family assessments were completed by Lisa and Violet (the special needs ministry leader in Kenya). 

 Wachira, our main driver and Kizimani ministry partner really bonded with a little boy during the special needs game time.  The boy glommed onto Wachira and wouldn't play with anyone else.  

 Just to give you an idea of how full we pack our van, here is Wachira trying to make it all fit. 

And if you are still reading this, here is the "one for the record books"... 

 Each afternoon when we returned from Kangundo to our guest house we would sit outside on the patio tables which were near the kitchen entrance and have chai and mandazi (our fav Kenyan dougnuts).  We would also pre-order our dinners.  As we were sitting there reviewing the menus, we began to hear some squawking behind us.  We turned just in time to see a hotel worker carrying three chickens by the neck into the kitchen.  We knew what that meant.  Cue much joking about local, fresh chicken. In no time there was no more squawking.  Shortly after THAT we noticed a cat scurrying across the parking lot carrying something in its mouth.  Debate ensued:  It's a mouse! It's a rat! It's a mouse! It's a rat!  NOOOO!  It's a chicken head!!!!!!