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