After our last blog on Saturday, we met Mike for a few hours for a beer and to watch the rugby 7s on TV, which was enjoyable after 3 weeks of football football, football!
The time came on Sunday to receive our Kenyan names from the ladies at the feeding centre, and also to be treated to a performance by the orphans there - this involved much enthusiastic singing, dancing and even poetry recitals! George is now 'Nanzala' which means “the season of hunger” and Jess now has the name 'Nyarotso' meaning “hope for the future”. It was a really lovely afternoon, although we were slightly embarrassed when made to get up and join the dancing!
On Monday we helped with some data entry and again at the feeding centre, before heading (on motorbike) to Shitoto Girls for an hours' lacrosse coaching in the afternoon. It was interesting to see how they didn't quite pick it up as fast as the Bumini Girls; it was slightly more hard work!
We were able to meet and greet some of the football teams involved in the SCI league on Tuesday, as we visited them doing their community work (pothole filling), which is compulsory for membership of the league. They're a really nice bunch of guys, although were a bit overly keen to have their photograph taken with us! It was an interesting journey back to the Shianda SAIPEH office, as George was driving the motorbike with me and another man on the back! In the afternoon we headed to Bulindo Secondary School, where lacrosse was introduced by Storm last year. It was so encouraging to see how the sports department have been so keenly keeping the sport going. They've taken the trouble to get the rules off the internet etc. Also, the girls apparently have been practising almost every evening, and all really enjoy it. In fact, when we left them after the session they all stayed behind to carry on practising!!
Wednesday involved a visit to the feeding centre, but the day was dominated by a visit by the Mumias DC, so everyone was very excited by that! Unfortunately for us, even though it was very nice to meet her, we had to listen to hours of speeches in Swahili - not the most exciting thing when you don’t speak the language!
We were met in Shianda by Victor, Fred’s cousin, on Thursday morning where he showed us his home. We're staying in a genuine mud hut with very rustic toilets and shower room! Certainly not what we're used to back in England! It was a day trip for the nursery school that he helps to run, so we accompanied them all to Kakamega to visit the annual West Kenya Agricultural Show. The kids seemed to enjoy it although Victor said it was not as exciting as usual - slightly more factual and educational than entertaining and fun stands! But we did meet a really funny/strange Herbal Doctor man who claimed to have found a herb that cures HIV. Needless to say, we found it difficult not to laugh at this, especially when he showed us the letter he'd sent to the government in which he referred to "HIB/AIDS". George said, "Isn't it HIV?!" He also showed us an article which claimed that World Aid organisations have been infecting Africans with HIV so that they could be seen to be curing them. Not very convincing and we shortly thanked him and left.
Today, Friday, we were able to return to the nursery and help out a bit, saying hi to the children again. Later today we're going to St Mary’s School to teach lacrosse; it will be interesting to see how it compares to Bulindo and St Marys has also had lacrosse introduced previously.
Goodbye for now!
Jess and George xxx
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Safari Park and SAIPEH
Last full day at Fran's was filled with a mini adveture safari into the local park. We off-roaded for a bit, needless to say a few wrong turns were took, but finally made it down to the edge of the lake where hundreds and hundreds of flamingoes were chilling. They are such beautiful creatures and we felt privileged to be able to see them in the wild. The sun was shining, the trees gave us shade so we hopped out and stayed a while just staring at the site...flamingoes, pink lake, sleeping warrior crater in the background - we have pictures! We drove around the other side over a battlefield of volcanic rock and on turning a corning we got a very...full frontal surprise. The Masaai were washing both clothing ans skin in the hot springs. Fran's cries of, "Oh dear, he's very naked." kept us amused. We left and drove up to a new safari lodge that was in the process of being built. No one was around, the houses were half done but beautiful. It seemed a sad place because it showed so much potential. We caught our first glimpse of wild baboons and zebras (which George got excited about in a moment of her inner tourist bursting out). We had to eat lunch in the car for fear of buffalo then headed into Nakuru for a lovely Chinese.
Fran lives in a beautiful place surrounded by a pletherer of things to do. She is admirably involved in her community, so much so we couldn't walk down a dusty track without her knowing at least one person to chat to! For Fran - Thank you, thank you, thank you, for having us, we had a lovely time. See you soon hopefully.
Our 7 hour journey from Nakuru wasn't as bad as we had anticipated. It went quickly and smoothly and we arrived on time! shock horror!! We're sure that it wasn't wholey safe to be traveling at such speeds, on a mountain face with a 50 foot drop on one side - but it was thrilling, which is always good for the heart. Justin greeted us warmly into his home and we met his wife Linet, Violet and their children (all of whom we terrified, obviously). They'd set up a bedroom for us with 2 beds and an en suite. Living the high life! The power was in black out stage for now though so we whipped out the wind-up torches and ate by lantern!
Monday was introductions (and plenty of Kenya-style waiting) to the SAIPEH offices and what they do. Mainly they work on AIDS and HIV awareness and have loads of projects helping orphans, people who generally need help feeding themselves and also a brilliant scheme where by dairy cows and goats are donated to deserving families. In the mornings, everyday, we are meant to be teaching computer skills and helping with the data logging of projects running locally, however this week the power has been more often than not off, so a good chunk of our books have been devoured. But at the feeding programme or Day Care Centre, we were welcomed so warmly and all our efforts recieved with such excitment this made up for it. The 10 women who run it are so lovely and funny that we felt welcome immediately. We arrived by motorbike (George carrying Jess on the back! long story...can't wait to tell it! :P ) and that made them whoop and laugh for a good 10 minutes - they were so pleased to see women astride a bike, ezpecially white ones!
So far we have milked a cow, ground maize, picked beans and leaves, used a shamba in farming, swept and mopped in the typical double over fashion, and washed clothes by hand. We also help dish out the grub to the 20 odd children who rely on the programme to survive.
Lacrosse-wise. We have already introduced it to one school, St Therese Bumini, and met with the head of another. It was so much fun showing them lacrosse for the first time. They really enjoyed it and begged us to stay even though rain was seriously threatening to wipe away the field! We had to move location from the big field because there was no room to move as the ENTIRE rowdy school came out to watch. The girls picked it up so quickly and we can't wait to teach them more skills and get them playing a game. We're hoping to have a small tournament with the 4 schools we'll be teaching at the end of our stay. The bikes have been awesome fun. It's a joy to impart lax skills and we have pictures of us dressed up in kangas and headscarves!
We're enjoying our evenings sat in the kitchen helping preparing the family meals, and this morning we cooked pancakes for all, which they said they enjoyed...but of course they would - good or not! Tomorrow we're recieving full Kenyan names, because they want us to be fully part of their community, and we're told there'll be dancing...oh dear god!
Fran lives in a beautiful place surrounded by a pletherer of things to do. She is admirably involved in her community, so much so we couldn't walk down a dusty track without her knowing at least one person to chat to! For Fran - Thank you, thank you, thank you, for having us, we had a lovely time. See you soon hopefully.
Our 7 hour journey from Nakuru wasn't as bad as we had anticipated. It went quickly and smoothly and we arrived on time! shock horror!! We're sure that it wasn't wholey safe to be traveling at such speeds, on a mountain face with a 50 foot drop on one side - but it was thrilling, which is always good for the heart. Justin greeted us warmly into his home and we met his wife Linet, Violet and their children (all of whom we terrified, obviously). They'd set up a bedroom for us with 2 beds and an en suite. Living the high life! The power was in black out stage for now though so we whipped out the wind-up torches and ate by lantern!
Monday was introductions (and plenty of Kenya-style waiting) to the SAIPEH offices and what they do. Mainly they work on AIDS and HIV awareness and have loads of projects helping orphans, people who generally need help feeding themselves and also a brilliant scheme where by dairy cows and goats are donated to deserving families. In the mornings, everyday, we are meant to be teaching computer skills and helping with the data logging of projects running locally, however this week the power has been more often than not off, so a good chunk of our books have been devoured. But at the feeding programme or Day Care Centre, we were welcomed so warmly and all our efforts recieved with such excitment this made up for it. The 10 women who run it are so lovely and funny that we felt welcome immediately. We arrived by motorbike (George carrying Jess on the back! long story...can't wait to tell it! :P ) and that made them whoop and laugh for a good 10 minutes - they were so pleased to see women astride a bike, ezpecially white ones!
So far we have milked a cow, ground maize, picked beans and leaves, used a shamba in farming, swept and mopped in the typical double over fashion, and washed clothes by hand. We also help dish out the grub to the 20 odd children who rely on the programme to survive.
Lacrosse-wise. We have already introduced it to one school, St Therese Bumini, and met with the head of another. It was so much fun showing them lacrosse for the first time. They really enjoyed it and begged us to stay even though rain was seriously threatening to wipe away the field! We had to move location from the big field because there was no room to move as the ENTIRE rowdy school came out to watch. The girls picked it up so quickly and we can't wait to teach them more skills and get them playing a game. We're hoping to have a small tournament with the 4 schools we'll be teaching at the end of our stay. The bikes have been awesome fun. It's a joy to impart lax skills and we have pictures of us dressed up in kangas and headscarves!
We're enjoying our evenings sat in the kitchen helping preparing the family meals, and this morning we cooked pancakes for all, which they said they enjoyed...but of course they would - good or not! Tomorrow we're recieving full Kenyan names, because they want us to be fully part of their community, and we're told there'll be dancing...oh dear god!
Saturday, 16 May 2009
More Thoughts and Experiences
Monday to Wednesday we spent at the Kiungururia Primary School. There we had full on nursery time - very cute. Our main job was to play with the children, which included games such as racing, football, skipping, grandmother's footsteps, hide and seek. What was particularly endearing was how they congratulated each other and received praise through song. When congratulated, they would place their hands on their hips, wiggle and chant "Thank you, thank you children, I love you too!", followed by a bow. We were impressed by the energy and creativity of the teacher and how she used so few resources to create such fun. At the school, the headmistress warned us that often classes were difficult to teach due to the fact that many of them would not have eaten breakfast. This was quite a shock, as the statement was delivered in such a matter-of-fact way.
On Wednesday mid-morning, we headed down the dusty track to the local feeding programme which caters for around 60 children from that same school. Many of them are orphans, living with other family members and whom, without this initiative, would not have any lunch at all. We helped the ladies there sort out the rice and beans - this involved going through them by hand and picking out the bad bits - a painstakingly slow process! We also helped serving the food, and it was lovely to see how grateful the children really are. We then were invited to have our own bowl of beans and maize, and a cup of millet porridge. The latter, George had to slyly change over cups as it made her want to gag! The porridge was made in a small, tin room where the intense woodsmoke stung your eyes, and which contributed to the "tobacco" taste of the porridge.
Thursday began with a matatu ride to Gilgil with Moses the caretaker. We were then presented with three motorbikes and three expectant riders. George said "Oh. You want us to get on?" And off we went, it was actually really fun! At Saidia, the orphanage, we were warmly received and given a tour of the home. However, when we were introduced to the babies, our concentration was distracted and we literally spent about 2 hours holding a baby each and planning how to escape with them. All the children have such sad stories, but the home is such a wonderful place for them now to be living in. For example, George's baby was left on a road and Jess' in a church. We couldn't resist another visit on Friday, where we had the opportunity to meet Jill, an 80 year old woman who was one of the key founders of the organisation. She's a white, straight-talking, Kenyan who you wouldn't want to mess with. Respect for her was immediate. So far, we've really enjoyed seeing the variety of standards of education offered; we were also introduced to the nursery and its children at the home. We particularly enjoyed teaching them the hokey kokey and having our hair played with! Jill took us along to the feeding program in the Gilgil slums. This was an eye opener. On the drive through we saw human faeces everywhere, working prostitutes a mere door away and a severe lack of any sort of quality of life. Our spirits, however, were lifted somewhat when we were shown the children feeding centre there - a really safe environment ofering food and education to the local kids. As a little aside, something we have noticed is the fact that, for many, our skin colour = wealth, and the mentality that it's rightfully theirs. It's frustrating, as we see that there are major problems, often due to the government, but at the same time we're here to give our time to help. But what we consider to be good, human values, are totally lost here, on many people. Saying this, we've met a huge number of good, honest people, many of whom haven't had the best start in life. Mumias on Sunday, watch this space.... Kwaheri! George and Jess xx
On Wednesday mid-morning, we headed down the dusty track to the local feeding programme which caters for around 60 children from that same school. Many of them are orphans, living with other family members and whom, without this initiative, would not have any lunch at all. We helped the ladies there sort out the rice and beans - this involved going through them by hand and picking out the bad bits - a painstakingly slow process! We also helped serving the food, and it was lovely to see how grateful the children really are. We then were invited to have our own bowl of beans and maize, and a cup of millet porridge. The latter, George had to slyly change over cups as it made her want to gag! The porridge was made in a small, tin room where the intense woodsmoke stung your eyes, and which contributed to the "tobacco" taste of the porridge.
Thursday began with a matatu ride to Gilgil with Moses the caretaker. We were then presented with three motorbikes and three expectant riders. George said "Oh. You want us to get on?" And off we went, it was actually really fun! At Saidia, the orphanage, we were warmly received and given a tour of the home. However, when we were introduced to the babies, our concentration was distracted and we literally spent about 2 hours holding a baby each and planning how to escape with them. All the children have such sad stories, but the home is such a wonderful place for them now to be living in. For example, George's baby was left on a road and Jess' in a church. We couldn't resist another visit on Friday, where we had the opportunity to meet Jill, an 80 year old woman who was one of the key founders of the organisation. She's a white, straight-talking, Kenyan who you wouldn't want to mess with. Respect for her was immediate. So far, we've really enjoyed seeing the variety of standards of education offered; we were also introduced to the nursery and its children at the home. We particularly enjoyed teaching them the hokey kokey and having our hair played with! Jill took us along to the feeding program in the Gilgil slums. This was an eye opener. On the drive through we saw human faeces everywhere, working prostitutes a mere door away and a severe lack of any sort of quality of life. Our spirits, however, were lifted somewhat when we were shown the children feeding centre there - a really safe environment ofering food and education to the local kids. As a little aside, something we have noticed is the fact that, for many, our skin colour = wealth, and the mentality that it's rightfully theirs. It's frustrating, as we see that there are major problems, often due to the government, but at the same time we're here to give our time to help. But what we consider to be good, human values, are totally lost here, on many people. Saying this, we've met a huge number of good, honest people, many of whom haven't had the best start in life. Mumias on Sunday, watch this space.... Kwaheri! George and Jess xx
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Kariandusi Primary School and an AIDS Orphanage
Hello! Sorry it's been a while, keep getting postponed! so here's instalment no. 3
Follow this link for more photos:
http://www.sportingchanceinternational.org.uk/Gallery%20files/Nakuru1.html
The teachers were all lovely and after a chat with the friendly head master we found out that the school held more than 450 students and 17 teachers...only 11 of which were employed by the government, the rest were former students or are funded by the parents. The government policy is that there should be no more than 50 students in a classroom, but if that was the case in this school a good majority would simply be standing outside! The teachers do such an admirable job though, and they are all so passionate and driven about improving the system; especially the head, he has plans for a tree nursery, making more classrooms, getting the kids reading every day and opening the library to them. It's just so hard when all the government do at the moment is pay for the equipment; paper, pens, text books. Some schools are still teaching under trees!
Tricky to prioritise we're sure you understand. We were set to work drawing and colouring in posters for the classrooms - we've never coloured in this many maps EVER! But they were really happy with them so for most of the week we have been comissioned various works of art, at times we felt like signing them! We taught our lessons which we had been given to prepare, George had science and Jess had maths. We both think that our teaching may need a tad of fine-tuning.
One day we took in our cameras and we've never seen such a comotion over trying to get into a picture...we're used to people running away or hiding their faces! And they giggle...every picture we showed them of themselves they just laughed and laughed. One of the break times we went into the playground and tried chatting to a couple of girls but before long we were surrounded on all sides as if we had something interesting to show! In the end we decided to channel the energy into the largest game of "duck, duck, goose!" that the world has ever beheld. When I say that I let some of them win...those kids are fast, plus they're used to the gradient...well that's our excuse!!
Follow this link for more photos:
http://www.sportingchanceinternational.org.uk/Gallery%20files/Nakuru1.html
To get to the school that we were going to be working in for the next week we had to go on, what we can only refer to as, a hike! Across the high speed highway at risk of our lives then up the other side of the volcanic mountain. We saw the red gates and flashes of red jumpers before we saw the school. the gate was huge, but didn't fully open as the ground hadn't been levelled yet! Our first glimpse of the "playground" was a bit of a shock, it has also not been levelled off so the kids were playing a very skilled game of football, and others were running up and down the hill like crazy people! It's a huge space and these children were covering it in seconds...now we know why Kenya is renowned for its runners!
The teachers were all lovely and after a chat with the friendly head master we found out that the school held more than 450 students and 17 teachers...only 11 of which were employed by the government, the rest were former students or are funded by the parents. The government policy is that there should be no more than 50 students in a classroom, but if that was the case in this school a good majority would simply be standing outside! The teachers do such an admirable job though, and they are all so passionate and driven about improving the system; especially the head, he has plans for a tree nursery, making more classrooms, getting the kids reading every day and opening the library to them. It's just so hard when all the government do at the moment is pay for the equipment; paper, pens, text books. Some schools are still teaching under trees!Tricky to prioritise we're sure you understand. We were set to work drawing and colouring in posters for the classrooms - we've never coloured in this many maps EVER! But they were really happy with them so for most of the week we have been comissioned various works of art, at times we felt like signing them! We taught our lessons which we had been given to prepare, George had science and Jess had maths. We both think that our teaching may need a tad of fine-tuning.One day we took in our cameras and we've never seen such a comotion over trying to get into a picture...we're used to people running away or hiding their faces! And they giggle...every picture we showed them of themselves they just laughed and laughed. One of the break times we went into the playground and tried chatting to a couple of girls but before long we were surrounded on all sides as if we had something interesting to show! In the end we decided to channel the energy into the largest game of "duck, duck, goose!" that the world has ever beheld. When I say that I let some of them win...those kids are fast, plus they're used to the gradient...well that's our excuse!!Next week we're painting the classrooms, but today we're not going in...we have to attend a sports awards evening and make an effort - we've already got so used to not looking presentable! But we managed to squeeze in a visit to the hospital and aids orphanage which are funded by the catholic church. They're very clean and well run. The hospital is private so people have to pay for everything, even a consultation. The aids orphanage is a fantastic environment. It's heartbreaking that children no older than one have such problems this early in life, it's not fair. But if it has to happen then St Therese House of Hope is a warm and supportive environment to be. Good facilities and good routines. The lovely nun that showed us around was smiley and engrossed in the project. So far it's a eye-opening and fascinating experience.
Kwaheri x
Monday, 4 May 2009
First Impressions
Day 1 -Friday 1st May
We were greeted with a warm welcome from Fred as we arrived in Nairobi airport, after a long and sleepless flight. But our first experience of Kenyan roads was… interesting! Miskak said “you’ve been complaining about the highways…” when we replied that we were simply commenting he said “well…prepare for a lot of comments!” We arrived and met Fred’s lovely family and enjoyed a satisfying breakfast before crashing on the bed for a kip! We woke up in time for a Kenya feast with the whole family…plus a few extras that had wandered in, and enjoyed a luxurious warm shower to freshen up. The afternoon was spent relaxing, meeting friends and a long discussion on British politics! It was sweltering hot inside and out but we whipped out the “Guess Who” and “Snakes and ladders” and introduced 2 very eager kids to them! We played until the light faded and were then employed in the kitchen - Working as a team we created some spectacular chipati! The food again was some of Esther’s best so on a full belly we tucked in our mozzy net and slept as soon as our heads hit the pillow.
Day 2 - Saturday 2nd May
Up for a breakfast of eggs, sausages, bread and jam, we gathered our stuff together ready for Mike when he came. To fill the time we took 2 lacrosse sticks outside and taught a very good, fast learning pupil to play! Although the stick towered twice as high as Marvel, Fred’s daughter, she picked the skills up remarkably quickly and glowed when we mentioned that it took some kids hours to get. After some good byes we clambered into the back of a car and started along those Kenyan roads. We had to change cars at one point and from there we headed into Nairobi proper, to visit Fred in his office at Daystar Uni. And here we are…writing from the SCI laptop getting ready to buy some water, a sim card and then head off to Fran Kaime's home looking out over Lake Elimentaita. Here we begin to work at a nursery school and orphanage.
We had our first experience of ugali - much to our dismay there were no knives and forks so we ate with Fred in the traditional way, with our hands! After meeting the SCI team, we set off with Mike in a mutatu (a kenyan minibus) on the road to Nakuru. Despite the crazy Kenyan driving, it was a comfortable journey with much Kenyan scenery to admire along the way.
After church we grabbed an extremely crowded mutatu with Mike and Fran, which incredibly kept adding to its numbersw whenever it saw fit, and headed to Nakuru. Here we are after a nice lunch, getting accustomed to the prehistorically slow pace of the internet here.
We were greeted with a warm welcome from Fred as we arrived in Nairobi airport, after a long and sleepless flight. But our first experience of Kenyan roads was… interesting! Miskak said “you’ve been complaining about the highways…” when we replied that we were simply commenting he said “well…prepare for a lot of comments!” We arrived and met Fred’s lovely family and enjoyed a satisfying breakfast before crashing on the bed for a kip! We woke up in time for a Kenya feast with the whole family…plus a few extras that had wandered in, and enjoyed a luxurious warm shower to freshen up. The afternoon was spent relaxing, meeting friends and a long discussion on British politics! It was sweltering hot inside and out but we whipped out the “Guess Who” and “Snakes and ladders” and introduced 2 very eager kids to them! We played until the light faded and were then employed in the kitchen - Working as a team we created some spectacular chipati! The food again was some of Esther’s best so on a full belly we tucked in our mozzy net and slept as soon as our heads hit the pillow.
Day 2 - Saturday 2nd May
Up for a breakfast of eggs, sausages, bread and jam, we gathered our stuff together ready for Mike when he came. To fill the time we took 2 lacrosse sticks outside and taught a very good, fast learning pupil to play! Although the stick towered twice as high as Marvel, Fred’s daughter, she picked the skills up remarkably quickly and glowed when we mentioned that it took some kids hours to get. After some good byes we clambered into the back of a car and started along those Kenyan roads. We had to change cars at one point and from there we headed into Nairobi proper, to visit Fred in his office at Daystar Uni. And here we are…writing from the SCI laptop getting ready to buy some water, a sim card and then head off to Fran Kaime's home looking out over Lake Elimentaita. Here we begin to work at a nursery school and orphanage.
We had our first experience of ugali - much to our dismay there were no knives and forks so we ate with Fred in the traditional way, with our hands! After meeting the SCI team, we set off with Mike in a mutatu (a kenyan minibus) on the road to Nakuru. Despite the crazy Kenyan driving, it was a comfortable journey with much Kenyan scenery to admire along the way.
We arrived at Fran's house just before dusk, where we went with Mike for a walk along the beautiful Lake. Neither of us have ever stayed in a house with such amazing views! There, we met Fran's son Michael and his millions of dogs, all of various shapes and sizes...
Day 3 - Sunday 3rd May
After church we grabbed an extremely crowded mutatu with Mike and Fran, which incredibly kept adding to its numbersw whenever it saw fit, and headed to Nakuru. Here we are after a nice lunch, getting accustomed to the prehistorically slow pace of the internet here.
Thoughts Before Leaving
My name is Jess Davies, I’m 19 yrs old and I live near Andover, in Hampshire. I was at the Godolphin School in Salisbury (with George) for 5 years, but am now on a gap year and going to study economics at Durham University in October. At school I partook in many sports teams, including netball, hockey and tennis.
I’m now so excited about the trip, only about 11 days to go until we’ll be in Kenya! We had a lovely meal with George’s and my families, Storm, Alan and Lesley (from SCI)last week. It was so nice to chat about what to expect in Kenya and receive many more tips and advice for our time there. It seems like only yesterday that George was suggesting the idea, but that must have been back in October some time, can’t believe it’s come around so quickly! But I think we’re both feeling pretty much prepared for it all now and are just counting down the days until we get on that plane…
I’m now so excited about the trip, only about 11 days to go until we’ll be in Kenya! We had a lovely meal with George’s and my families, Storm, Alan and Lesley (from SCI)last week. It was so nice to chat about what to expect in Kenya and receive many more tips and advice for our time there. It seems like only yesterday that George was suggesting the idea, but that must have been back in October some time, can’t believe it’s come around so quickly! But I think we’re both feeling pretty much prepared for it all now and are just counting down the days until we get on that plane…
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