Easier Day

Today we had an easier day.  When I plan our schedule here, I try to put in some days where we only see one place or just drive to another city, in order to give our minds and spirits some time to process what we have seen.  Today we only saw Ongoro Orphanage.

After yesterday’s mud adventure, I was happy to see that the Ongoro area had not had rain recently, so we made good time there with no incidents.  Our host at Ongoro, Tobias Olweny greeted us warmly, and we toured his facility.  Ongoro opened in 2008, about a month before my first visit to Kenya, so I have been able to watch it mature.  The place looked great!  Subtle changes, like shrubs, a new cho (latrine) and other improvements, gave the impression that the place was becoming more of a home for it’s 90 residents.

Ongoro has piped water from a local NGO that set up a cooperative water district in this area.  Their static tanks are all linked to the main supply and were all brimming full.  Tobias had made the changes to the water filtering system that I had requested in May, so I was glad to see that.  In the kitchen, we found the widows hard at work on lunch.  They had figured out some good techniques for using the stoves to reduce smoke in the kitchen, so ventilation was not as much of a problem as at other sites.

Pam and Mbuvi set out to put suckers on all the orphan’s beds, and we were all pleased with the mosquito nets that Tobias had recently gotten from UNICEF.  All the buildings were very clean and tidy.  Even the chos here were very clean, and everyone commented on it.

The tailoring operation works well here, with their sales of clothing and uniforms to the community paying for a part time instructor for the widows and older girls.  Dorris ordered a dress, to be picked up on the road tomorrow, and Susie and Pam ordered skirts for Tobias to bring to us in Nairobi next week. 

We saw their posho (corn mill) and clinic, now easily accessible to the community, and then the school that Tobias owns across the street.  All of our primary school kids go here tuition free, paid for by the fees of other community students.  Tobias is able to keep the student-teacher ration very low by Kenyan standards at 25 to 1.

Pam did her now familiar presentation of aprons and gifts to the widows and that was really touching to see.  The ladies here have jelled into a large family and their easy familiarity with each other was obvious.  Even the newest widow seemed right at home.

We met the local orphans board and had lunch at Tobias’ house nearby.  As usual it was a big spread of food and a really great fruit salad for desert.  As we waved goodbye to Ongoro, we took our time going down the road, with our ladies hading our candy to the local kids we met along the way.  Someone saod that we were doing exactly what we warned our own kids about, taking candy from strangers, but things are different here. 

We got back to the Dados early, and have had a leisurely afternoon.  Jeff and Arnold returned from Dirubi with stories of working at Evans automotive shop in Sondu and breaking rocks with the masons at the training institute.  They were sorry they missed our big adventure in the mud; I know we could have used their help that day.

Tomorrow we will sleep in and have a leisurely drive to Eldoret, which will be our home base for the next few days while we see Kapsabet, Ngenymesut, Kipsinende, and our feeding stations among the Pokot people.  I may not blog tomorrow, unless something memorable happens, so pray for our safety on our drive, please.

Here are some more pictures:

29 Sept

Sometimes God says, “Slow down.”

We’ve been keeping up a pretty intense schedule, seeing two facilities a day and traveling three to four hours round trip to do it.  It’s tiring, and sometimes it feels like we are just scratching the surface.  Perhaps today, God decided that we needed to slow down.

On the way to Uriri Orphanage, we stopped in Rongo to drop off Michael and Doris with Hilton Merit, an old friend of theirs we just “happened” to run into yesterday.  They spent the day with him, seeing Sam’s Place, a new orphanage for deaf students nearby.  We sped off to Uriri, our orphanage in the heart of the sugar cane region. 

All the kids were there, unusual on this trip because of school, and they looked great.  All the Kenyan orphans I have met are very well behaved, and act like one big family.  I’m sure that they have interpersonal problems, like any family, but they always seem so happy and at ease after they have been in the home for a while.  We hung out with them for a while, saw the facility, and all the new things that Kenedy Chadi has been doing.

Chandi is an entrepreneur at heart; he really knows how to make money for the orphanage, even having a dream of one day being self-sufficient.  Lately he has been dabbling in brick making and fish farming, with our help, and dong well so far.  Their sugar cane crushing operation yields a lot of money for the hoe, and the lorry we bought them is always busy.  Kenedy farms about 15 acres as well in cane, maize, beans and bananas. 

We went so fast at Uriri, we decided to head over to Nana Glasscock feeding station.  There seemed to be plenty of time so Kenedy climbed into our Land Cruiser and we set out.  After 30 minutes of dirt roads, we turned off onto a cart path that wound through some very rocky terrain, and narrow paths through the cane.  We were all marveling on how well the vehicle was performing, climbing over rocks and through small mud puddles with ease.

As we turner a corner near the feeding station we encountered a wet area beside a cane field that had been recently planted.  It was grass, and looked fine, but after a few yards it turned to a deep, black, wet mud.  Soon we were stuck.  We tried pushing; all the orphans and bystanders helped.  We tried putting things under the wheels, all to no avail.  Finally the neighbors all showed up, each with a team of oxen.  We hitched up six of them to the front of the vehicle, but they could not make it move.

Kenedy got on his cell and found a man with a tractor in Awino, the nearby town.  After about an hour he arrived and finally pulled us out.   I guess we had been going to fast and we needed to slow down.  After we got back on the road, we didn’t slow down of course, like all Americans we were in a hurry. 

While we were waiting, I realized that I was the one who was most worried and stressed over our schedule.  I was afraid of  missing our self imposed deadlines and not getting to do something I wanted to do.  The Kenyans were less worried, and not at all concerned about my schedule.  These things happen, just go with the flow.  Hakuna matata.

We picked up Michael and Doris, and still had time to shop for soapstone at Kisi.  We made dinner and got to interview the potential principal for the institute.  Everything got done, but I was not in control of it.  I guess God is trying to tell me something.  “Slow down.”

28 Sept

Ndhiwa and Tom Manning

Today our plans were to visit Ndhiwa Orphanage and if there was time, Tom Manning Orphange.  We made the hour and a half drive with no drama, save another minor “diversion”.  This one was short, however and it reminded me of how much better this road is compared to what it used to be.  Maureen said that when the orphanage at Ndhiwa was new, it took almost three hours to get there because the road was so bad.

At Ndhiwa, we were met by Alfayo Bodi, our worker for this area.  Alfayo has become one of our most trusted men here, overseeing four facilities with 372 lives at stake.  He takes his responsibilities seriously, always trying to do the right thing by his kids and the church.  He is my good friend and my family has come to love and respect him as well. 

Ndhiwa is big, housing 153 widows and orphans, and the feeding station here feeds 103 twice a day.  As usual, it was in great order.  The facility looked great, with details that my eye sees like schedules posted in the dorms for the kids and food budgets and consumption records in the storeroom.  We checked for mosquito nets, they were pretty good, and happy kids that are the sure sign of a well run orphanage.

There was one problem that we saw, and that was the platform supporting their water storage tank had collapsed, ruining the tank, and keeping the facility from having water pressure at their taps and showers.  Fortunately, donations this month have been good, and we will be able to fix it right away.  It will give us the opportunity to relocate our water filters and clean up the system some.

The widows greated us warmly, save for the grieving widow, Eunice Atieno Achar who lost her daughter Lavenda to throat cancer complicated by AIDS two weeks ago.  Lavenda was the girl who’s face captured my heart on my first trip here in 2008, and I have been grieving for her as well. 

As at the other sites we have visited, Pam Hicks has been showing special love to these women who God has redeemed, and who serve these kids so faithfully.  She and her friends have prepared embroidered aprons stuffed with gifts and notes for each of them.  She presents them in a heartfelt ceremony that really blesses the widows.  My Susie also has a special heart for our servant widows, hugging and touching them and kissing their faces.  These ladies have met her before, so they greeted her especially warmly.

After a great lunch in Alfayo’s new house, we set out for Manning Orphanage, about 40 minutes away.  Manning is newer and smaller, but Alfayo’s eye for detail was present here as well.  Some of the kids who have half-day schooling were there to meet us, so Mbuvi and the others had a great time with them.  Manning is at the Ototo Church of Christ on Alfayo’s father’s land that he donated to the church.

Along our way home, we passed scores of kids going home from school and I was again struck at how friendly they are.  They don’t see white people very often at all, but their reaction to us is always positive and friendly.  The kids chase after us, waving and shouting “How are you?” in the cutest British accents.  I was also struck with how most of the people in this area live.  As you drive along a back road in Kenya, it’s like being in the back yards of hundreds of people.  Life happens all around you.  We saw a mother bathing her kids in the muddy water by the side of the road.  Further down was a small boy carrying a sack of maize on his head, his family’s dinner for several days.  We saw a small child crying alone on an embankment, his shirt tattered and torn.  Where will his salvation come from?  Will it come at all?  Nothing motivates me quite like that.

Tomorrow, Uriri.

27 Sept

Dirubi and the VTI

This morning we enjoyed a good breakfast buffet at theDados, and set out for the Dirubi Orphanage and the Vocational Training Institute (VTI).  It takes about and hour and a half to get there from Kisii, and Francis really shines as a driver on the bad roads of this remote area of Kenya.  Jeff and Arnold were fully packed, as we were leaving them there to work on the automotive shop.

We arrived about 9:30 and Thomas proudly gave us a tour of our first orphanage at Dirubi.  There were a few changes from my last trip, notably some decorative fencing and improved ventilation windows in the kitchens.  The old clinic has been transformed into a library with quiet study rooms for the students, and the new clinic is looking really fine.

Then we went across the road to the construction site for the VTI.  To say that they have been busy is the understatement of the century.  There were easily fifty masons hard at work with diggers, rock breakers, concrete men, and water women swarming like ants all over the four-acre site.

Construction began on 18 June and today they have six classroom buildings and one widows dorm complete, two more classrooms with walls up, the administration building has walls, and three girls dorms are at the foundation stage.  The Great Hall, (dining hall just doesn't describe it) has its footers laid and foundation walls being built, and the girl's bathhouse foundation is started. The west septic tank is being dug and the plumbers start tomorrow on its structure and the drains for the bathhouse.  The progress is truly amazing!

We met with Thomas and discussed a few changes, some questions that they had for the architect (me), and final fitting out for the automotive shop.  Jeff and Arnold met the two candidates for automotive instructor and settled on one of them as the best choice.  His name is Evans and he owns a shop in Sondu.  He trained one of our orphans a couple of years ago that is now a successful mechanic on Kisumu.  Notably missing was our choice for principal, it seems he doesn't want the job as bad as he did in May, so we will be meeting with another man Wednesday evening at our hotel.  Please pray that he works out, because its past time to get the teachers lined up and furnishings purchased and installed.

After a great lunch prepared by the women of the Dirubi church, Susie and most of the team went up to see the Melanie Feeding Station at the Lee McGraw Orphanage.  Jeff, Albert, and I looked at the VTI some more and made plans for their week here at the site.  They will be staying at Thomas' house in Sondu so I know that they will be in good hands.

While we waited for the others to return, I walked to the top of the site and pondered all that had been done and all that was left to do.  I said a prayer for the workers and for our plans and thanked God for all he has done here.  He really does use broken people to do amazing things.  This facility will give job skills to orphans, those whose lives might otherwise have been lost, and allow them to be the salt and light of his kingdom to the next generation of Kenyans.  Truly, the meek shall inherit the earth!

On the way home, we stopped at Sondu, where it was market day.  A traveling carnival ride had been set up there, the kind with chairs on long, swinging chains that spin around and swing way out.  We stopped to take a picture of it, but that wasn't enough for Pam Hicks and Francis Mbuvi.  They jumped out and ran to join the riders on the shaky structure.  Susie went to take pictures and Doris went to see up close.  I hung back with a video camera to capture the disaster, er, uh, I mean, fun!

The workers loaded our riders and a dozen or so more and prepared to start the equipment.  Apparently there was some critical electrical component missing, so they were using a bucket of water with a crude copper switch arrangement to start the machine.  VERY SCARY!  Everything went well, however and our riders and witness came back excited and beaming. 

We finished up back here at the Dados with another fine buffet and are now preparing for bed.  Tomorrow we will be at Ndhiwa to see my friend Alfayo Bodi.  Here are some pics of todays fun:

26 Sept 2011

On The Road Again…

Today was a driving day.  We left Kamulu bright and early to pick up our lost bag at the airport.  This bag was one that belonged to Susie and me, but we tagged it as Jeff Roland’s because we were one over.  So after visiting the Security Duty Officer and getting a pass to enter the baggage area, Jeff went back to retrieve it.  He had to pass through a metal detector and it went off, so he turned to me and emptied his pockets: a leatherman, some change and three pocketknives!  He retrieved that bag and we were on our way.

Seems like now would be a good time to introduce my fellow travelers.  Susie and I are accompanied by Jeff Roland, automotive expert, GCR member, and all around great guy, and Arnold Assusie,  who is the automotive instructor at the Village of Hope Technical Training School that Jeff Roland help established in Ghanna, West Africa.  Also with us are Pam Hicks, from GCR, and Michale and Dorris Fortson.  The Forstons were missionaries in Tanzania years ago, and now are looking to return and spend their retirement years serving orphans in East Africa.  They are touring the area, looking at established orphanages, and listening to God about where they should next serve.

Our only goal for today was to reach Kisii before dark, and we made it.  Ut was a beautiful, clear day.  Temperatures were in the 70’s with scattered clouds, so viewing at the Rift Valley overlook was spectacular.  Check out this amazing panorama!

After fighting of the hawkers there, we continued on.  We stopped at the Delemere, our favorite roadside eatery, for samosas and ndazi.  It was 11:15, so the Americans were calling it lunch and the Africans were calling it “tea”.  We rolled on through Nakuru and headed for Kerico when we encountered a “diversion” , that’s “detour” for the Americans.  Turned out to be an hour detour onto a very bad road, while they worked on a section of the B1 motorway that couldn’t have been nearly as bad as the diversion was!  The views along the diversion were really great, however.  That delay put a squash on any plans for a “real” lunch at Kericho, so we stopped for fuel and more snacks and finished up our long drive to the Dados Hotel in Kisii.  We arrived well before dark; we even had time for a quick trip to the Nakumat, and sat down for dinner at 7pm.  Maureen had thought ahead and ordered a buffet for us that was really good.  No “spoons of hope” for you fellow Dados veterans.

25 Sept 2011

So here we are!  Tomorrow, we will head over to the Dirubi orphanage, see it and the training center that is under construction, and leave Jeff and Arnold to see what trouble they can cause.  They have together already done what we are trying to do, so I am counting on their expertise to help select an instructor and equip the shop.  More tomorrow!

Travel Days

It’s easy to forget how tiring all of this travel can be.  I’m writing this on Saturday night, after a whirlwind three days that has left us all very tired.  Our travel was uneventful, until we got to London and our plane had mechanical problems that BA was never able to resolve.  They gave us a new plane, but by the time we departed, we were 5 hours late.  This put us into Nairobi at 3:30AM local time, and the one lost bag out of the 12 we checked had us arriving at Kamulu at 6am. 

We decided to change our plans and stay in Nairobi for today and get some errands run that we needed to do anyway.  We hoped that would give us some rest time, but Nairobi traffic never cooperates. We made it back to Kamulu at 7pm, and we have been sorting baggage, and packing for our 8am departure tomorrow to Kisii.  So here we are.  Everyone is in bed, except me.

I feel like this post is incoherent, but I cant seem to fix it.  Fatigue is like that.  I’ll wrap it up here and post again tomorrow.