End of a year

Rarely do children living at orphanages get to experience anything beyond the walls of the compound they are living on. It is amazing that so many children and adults alike who live here do not get to experience the natural beauty this country has to offer. Two weeks ago the children at Robert Henry had a chance to see a fraction of the reason so many tourists come to Kenya. We took the kids to Uhuru (independence) Park in the middle of Nairobi. They were dressed in their nicest outfits which unfortunately most were dirty before we got to the park because of the mud and in the enthusiasm to get onto the bus some of the children's clothes were stepped on. When we got to the park the children were in awe of their surroundings. They lined themselves up against the barbed wire fence and just stared at the boats in the middle of the pond. Chris had bought some jump ropes and they were all taking turns jumping. There was a man walking through the park face painting and offered to paint all of the children. Afterward he blew up balloons and made each of them a balloon hat. It was a lovely day and gave the children and the staff a much needed break from the routine of the compound.

The next day I went to Cheryl's and was very surprised when the kids told me that they were having dance lessons later in the afternoon. There is a woman from the community who comes and is teaching the children different types of dance. For about two hours, eight of us were dancing together learning how to salsa and mambo. The children had also been rehearsing for the Christmas play which they performed for us.

The following few days we were doing work trying to figure out all the rules to run a registered children's home. There is a head officer who Chris and Cyprian have been dealing with since last year and they were told by her in 2008 that in order for her to just look at their paper work she would need 150,000 shillings ($2,000). When we went in there last week to get the packet of information she said she did not have it and started to yell at Cyprian who then was yelling back at her. She did not like that and had Cyprian detained by the officers in the next building. Chris and I then had to talk to the officers and explain to them what had happened. The head officer, Margret, was then brought in to tell her side of the story but instead was just being argumentative. Chris and I were told back to the office at 3 because she had a meeting to go to and would be back then. We came back at 4 and she was still not there after we waited for a half hour. The funny thing is that the office is required to have these packets at all times for anyone in the community to come in and get, it should not be a process. This is how most things work over here which is why it takes so long to do simple tasks.

Last Sunday I picked Kelly up at the airport. (She came with me here last summer) After she got situated at Dan's house where she is staying we went to Cheryl's so she could see some of the children again. For most of the afternoon we stayed there and played with the kids. Kelly brought balloons and stickers which the kids were more than happy to take off of her hands. On Wednesday I told some of the older boys I would take then to use the internet just so they would have something to do for a few hours. When I got to Cheryl's there were black clouds overhead and there was thunder in the distance. One of the older boys I was going to take, Bigvai, told me that it would not start raining until later in the evening so we could still go use the computers. Ten minutes later it started to rain. At first it was just a light rain but then it became a thunderous downpour which was only accentuated by the fact that all the building have tin roofs. The rain did not last very long but there were such high winds that trees were uprooted and fell on houses and cars. One of the trees around Nairobi fell on a city bus killing one person.

Since we did not get to use the computers that day I told them I would take the the next day. We walked about five minutes down the road to a small compound with a few cafes, and internet browsing place and a small playground. The internet cafe was not open because it was Christmas Eve so we bought some chips (fries) and sat down at the picnic tables to eat. They were playing on the playground for a while and then on our way back we stopped for a soda. Since all the sodas come in glass bottles you usually drink it outside the shop and return the bottle to be used again. You can get plastic bottles but they are more expensive and most shops on the side of the road do not carry them. The kids asked me to spend the night there but I couldn't that night but I told them one day next week I would. Later in the evening Chris, Joseph (our friend who found us a place to live, made us our beds and desk and has a truck), and I went our for a Christmas Eve dinner to a place called Mother Land. It is right on the main road next to Prestige. We had roasted goat with ugali and a mixture of tomatoes, avocado, onions and spicy peppers. There is nothing comparable to these places back home. The meat gets delivered fresh daily and even though it has been there all day it sells and cooks so quickly that there is not much of a problem with disease. There are so many of those places around and they are very cheap. For 1 kg of goat it costs about $4 and with the extra side dishes each one is between 50 cents to a dollar for a plate which is all you need for up to four people. As much as I miss food back at home, when I am home I miss places like this over here.

On Christmas we walked up to Prestige to meet Cyprian for lunch. His mother lives in Tanzania and sent him some money to take us out for lunch on Christmas. Kelly got Chinese food, Chris and I got Thai, and Cyprian got chicken and chips. Afterward I made my way down to Cheryl's to spend some Christmas time with them. The hall was decorated with lights and a tree and there were tables pushed together so everyone could eat together. They received some food donations so there was chicken, potatoes in a tomato sauce, and chipati (similar to a tortilla but a bit sweeter). Also as a treat there was soda for everyone. They would not let me leave until I had eaten something even though I told them I had eaten just a few hours before. After everyone was finished Bigvai and another older boy Rodgers walked me to Junction where I pick up my matatu to go home. It is nice when they offer to walk me to the stage because I get left alone and people don't seem to try to come up and talk to me as much. When I arrived back home Cyprian was still here and stayed for a little while until it started to get dark. The family whose compound we live on invited us up for dinner at about 8:30pm. Grace, who is a few years older than us, cooked all day. She barbecued chicken and cooked in the the oven. It was so tender and delicious. She also cooked sliced potatoes with sauteed onions, sliced tomatoes and onions with cilantro and spicy peppers, and mashed potatoes with peas and maize. It was all very tasty. Overall Christmas was less stressful and just as relaxing.

First Full Week

On Monday I went to Cheryl’s to talk to one of the new coordinators to hear about the new projects they are working on. Every year I come back there has been more classrooms being built. Since I left last year they have finished building the classroom for grade seven and have built a hall so the kids have somewhere to eat and do other activities. There were some other volunteers there so we took them to a field down the road to play at. When talking to one of the older kids at Cheryl’s he asked how old I was and I said almost 23 and he shook his head saying no, no, you look like you are 18 or maybe 19.

Chris and I moved into a new house on Tuesday. Because of the drought we still do not have consistent water but the family said that they would fetch us water during the day when we are working so we have some at night. Since we are not going to have a fridge we are going to have to buy food to cook with each evening. We have yet to buy a cooker so we are trying to eat at the local cafes around where you can get a full meal for just about a dollar with a soda. We ate goat Wednesday with Cyprian for lunch. I don’t think the faint of heart should go into the butcher shops. No refrigeration in the shops so there isn’t very much sanitation at all. But it is still tasty.

the front gate and Keith the dog

another gate

The bathroom and shower

Our room. It looks better now because we finally have sheets and things are more organized.

I have some sad news to report. In order to have all the documentation to become a registered children's home in Kenya the organization has to own property so that the government knows they aren’t doing anything illegal such as child trafficking. The problem with that is, at the moment Robert Henry (the children’s home Chris started with Cyprian two years ago) is renting the units from someone. Next week someone from the Child Services of Kenya is planning on stopping by to see the deed for the property. If they do not see a deed they can close the center right away and the children will be dispersed to other centers around. Cyprian's friend may be donating some land to them but it is 12 hours away and does not seem likely. This is very worrisome to Cyprian and Chris because this can mean that all of the work they have been doing in the past two years will have gone to waste.

I am going to be working with one of the women who live at Robert Henry, Jackie, to start work on the profiles for the children. They have received new kids who do not have any information and the kids who have been there need to be updated. On Monday we are going to be taking the kids to Uhuru Park in the center of Nairobi for the day just so they can get out of the compound and experience other things. On Tuesday and Wednesday a VCT testing and counseling service will be coming to test all the children for HIV. Some of the children we know are positive but they are all going to be retested to be certain.

It has not rained here for some time now but last night there was a massive thunderstorm last night. We could feel the ground shaking every time there was a clap of thunder. There were buckets outside to catch the rain and this morning they were both full.

It does not feel like it is almost Christmas because I’m not used to warm Decembers. The only time it does feel like Christmas is when I go to one of the more westernized shopping centers because they are all decorated and have lights and sings saying Merry Christmas. In one of the shopping centers, Yaya they even had someone dressed as Santa and the people who worked there dressed as elves.

Playing with the children at Robert Henry

Just Like Home

After 24 hours of traveling, I finally made it to Nairobi. After getting my visa and finally getting both pieces of luggage I found Chris and Joseph waiting to pick me up. Because of the traffic in the mornings they had to leave at 5 in the morning to get to the airport by 9. Getting into the car and driving through town was just like I remembered. People were crossing the street in front of us without looking and we had to zigzag through the chaos of Nairobi traffic. It didn’t feel like I was somewhere strange halfway around the world, it felt like I was home.

After dropping my bags off at the house Chris and I went to Yaya Center which is a mall down the road. Walking in we could hear Christmas music and as we turned the corner there was a group of people singing Christmas carols and it was all decorated for the holidays. It is very strange knowing that just down the road there is one of the world’s biggest slums. Kenya is in the process of developing but just for the upper and middle class. I cannot even imagine how the people in the slums must feel with so much developing around them and nothing is being done for them.

We made our way up the road and caught a matatu (public transportation) and took it to Cheryl’s Children’s Home where I had been teaching both years when I was here. When we made it to a shortcut to get to the orphanage there was a new cement wall and a metal door with a lock. We knocked but no one came and we couldn’t see anyone so we turned around and went another way. It turns out that the field where they were growing some food and where the kids had some space to play was government owned and they took it away from the orphanage. There is now a cement block wall cutting off the field from the rest of the land. It is disappointing that the government took away the only place where kids who have nothing were able play and run around with each other. Now there is nowhere for them to get there energy out and to enjoy being outside. Since I left last year there has been a new hall built where the kids can eat and have class. They also were fortunate enough to have been able to build a class 7 classroom which will start in January. Some of the kids have already left to visit their families in the upcountry and will not be back until after Christmas for the start of the new term. When I walked through the gate the first person I saw was Sam, the director of Cheryl’s. He was quite surprised to see me as I didn’t tell them I was coming back. I saw Rose, of the teachers next and she said her son Jeff who I had in class just asked if I was coming just the other day. There were some new children I didn’t recognize but there were still some of the original kids around. Rachel saw me when I first got there and ran up to give me a big hug and so did Mercy. I was so surprised to see how much they have grown. I went into Sam’s office to talk to him and he was telling me all about the new things that have been going on in the last year. I am going back on Monday to have a meeting with him to see what needs to be done.

The VCT counseling course I was planning on taking to counsel people who have just found out they have HIV/AIDS is very expensive which I didn’t know until I got here. It costs about $600-700 dollars so I don’t think I will be taking that anytime soon. Hopefully one day If I find a job over here I will be able to afford it.

On Saturday I woke late and took a walk to the shops down the road. Later on Chris, Lenew (the older child of the family we are staying with) and I went down to the pool for a swim. It was nice to do something with Lenew because there really isn’t anywhere for him to play in the apartment complex and his parent are usually working late and don’t take him out to do things.