Kapsabet, and a Lecture

On the way to Kapsabet this morning, I saw something that I've only seen in movies. Metal milk cans, set out on the road for home delivery. It reminded me how far we Americans have come, and makes a good allegory for the differences between Kenya and the U.S.

Remember your American history, say 1900; that's the level of development of their infrastructure (roads, etc). Now add a million cars and trucks overnight.

Imagine U.S. culture in the 1950's; that's culture here. Now add HIV/AIDS overnight.

Imagine how many people in America had telephone service to their home in the 1930's; that's where they are. Now add cell phones and the internet overnight.

What we forget is that in the United States, we transplanted a thousand-year-old (British) culture to a new continent, protected from outside influence by two great oceans. We shared a common language with our founding culture and internally. We were able to grow with almost unlimited land and resources. Most importantly, all of that happened way before you and I were born. Kenya has none of those advantages. They are playing catch-up for 150 years of lost history.

Casual observers of Africa may have a feeling of superiority, but try to remember we're ahead mostly because we had a head start. Lecture over, now on to Kapsabet!

Kapsabet was the third orphanage that we opened, and has been expanded several times. It now houses and cares for 112 orphans and 11 widows and operates a food-only program for 91 more. So it's big. As a result of it's age, it's programs are more developed and mature.

They have a nice clinic that serves the residents and the community. Their nurse, Ruth, has a two-year certificate and seems very competent. The pharmacy was well stocked and she knew what everything was for. I was pretty impressed.

John Defore and Cherie spent a lot of time with the widows. Like Ngenymesut, they were generally happy and satisfied with what they had. They were very forthcoming and shared their concerns and thanks freely. Because there are more of them, they are able to share duties more and are moving toward a rotating day off for each of them.

One of my key goals for this trip was to evaluate each site's water systems and test their water for dangerous pathogens. A nice Odessa businessman we met last month gave me a test kit and I am putting it to use. Here in Kapsabet, their water comes from a protected spring, that feeds a 3,000 liter tank downstream. The water is then lifted by electric pump (recently purchased) to a 10,000 liter holding tank near the kitchen.

They were having a little trouble with the pump today, so they were hauling water the African way, up the hill on the heads of women, in five gallon buckets. I dare you to try this. I know they'll get this pump working soon. This is still a good system, way better in quality than many places.

We got to spend some time with the local Orphans Board. This is a small group of adults from the church that volunteer at and provide local leadership for the orphanage. The asked for a few things that we are not able to provide, and thanked us for our generosity toward their community.

The kids here were beautiful and happy. We had a great time playing games with them and asking them questions in the dining hall. They are so happy to be cared for; they can all remember when it was not so. It reminded me of a new Christian, how happy and relieved they are to be freed from their bondage. How quickly we forget.

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