Africa in the Right of Way

One of the things that's different about Kenya is the proximity of everything to the road. In America we are used to this concept of the right-of-way. It's that 30 feet or so beside the road where nothing can be placed. It's also all that empty space under power lines.

In Kenya the population density is very high, so all space, especially space near a road, is very valuable and is treated like a common. As a result, you can find all varieties of commerce being conducted in the right of way. In the Picassa Web Album to the right you'll find some examples. Note especially the Best Buy employee (on vacation?) and the funeral director's stand. It's just one of those things that makes Kenya unique.

Today we ventured from our palatial estates at the Mash Park Hotel in Kisii, to visit both the oldest and the newest orphanages, Dirubi and Mahana (also called Lee McGraw after Wanda's son who died as a child.) They are about 7 kilometers apart. These are two of the orphanages that our kids worked at this summer.

Dirubi is a big orphanage. It was the first to be established with 45 kids and part time caregivers in three small buildings near the mud walled church building. This is Tomas' home town and these are his people. In addition to the 120 kids and 11 widows, they also have two guards that watch over the place and a nurse.

Tomas is very good at coming up with ways to earn money to offset the orphanage costs. They have added a posho mill, a small community store, and a clinic. Their clinic is very successful. After we gave them some initial money to build the clinic room, they have been able to expand it twice with profits made from treating the community. They also provide low-cost health care to the widows and orphans.

The orphanage at Mahana, which we call Lee McGraw after Wanda and Jack McGraw's son who died as a child, is brand new. They are still doing finish work in some buildings, but it is operational. Tomas' has learned a lot in building Dirubi, and it shows. The kids here were happy but still a little disoriented, given they have only been there three months. We ate with them and gave the some soccer balls, which are always heartily appreciated.

At both places John continued his interviews with the widows. He really wants to be satisfied that there are enough of them to care for the kids, and that their quality of life is as rewarding as we can make it. I continued my facility inspections and water testing with John Cherry, and Cherie loved on as many kids as possible. We're getting good at this orphanage visitin'. Tomorrow, we go to Ongoro.

Thanks for reading this blog. It helps me process the day to write these reports, and I hope they are of some comfort to our families who are living without us as we do this work. I really feel we make a difference in the lives of these people not just with our money, but with our presence and encouragement. We're bringing the Kingdom of Heaven a step closer with every child we save.