Closing thoughts

So it has been a month since I've left Kenya. Technology is a wonderful thing and I have been able to speak with Omari on a bi-weekly basis (it's quick though because I'm paying about $5/min). Facebook updates and messages have kept me in touch with other volunteers and to hear good news from Faraja.

There have been a range of emotions that have come over me throughout the past month. I've been angry, at the Kenyan government and the wastefulness of Americans. I've been upset that I couldn't do more or couldn't be there for some landmarks for Faraja (Kefa's first words, piped water being placed, a hike up to the wind turbines). There is something consistently calling me back as I try to get myself grounded in the states.

To say that words and pictures can't describe the experience I've had is very, very true. Though there are many people that I have spoken with, there is always the afterthought that I missed something; a story, a moment, a person.

Did I accomplish everything that I put into one of my earliest posts? Yes and no. But, I'm not really concerned about it. To have been in Kenya for over a month, travel from the highlands to the coast, in all methods of travel, was beautiful. The conversations, meals, images were all memorable.

Do I think I'll return? I hope so. I would like to go back to Faraja to see the children older. They may not remember me, but I will definitely remember them.

I am thankful for meeting so many wonderful people on my journeys through Kenya and hope to remain in touch as time goes by in the short and long term. Before I close off on my final post I'd like to leave you with two items:

1. The Faraja Kuku Project - We are almost 100% funded. Please consider a donation. (link)
   You'll get plenty of detail on what we've been able to accomplish so far.

2. BootsforAfrica.org - On my last weekend in Ngong we ran into a couple who spend their 2009 honeymoon in Kenya and chose to volunteer in 2010. Being from the UK, and being Wigan Athletic supporters (English Premier League), they brought donations of what us Americans would easily call soccer cleats. I'm running a donation drive through the Monroe-Woodbury soccer teams. If you, or someone you know, would like to donate used cleats please contact me for further details.

3. Some favorite photos

Alex and Michael

Amy walking to bible school

My "square"

Michael and Morra

Nothing but the clothes on my back

My sambas . . . cleaned . . . repaired . . . and with a new owner

So, I'll definitely have pictures about this day, but I decided to do something a bit rash. Noticing that there are very few males who volunteer (guys if you want to meet women from all over, volunteer abroad) I felt that quite possibly boys were neglected in gifts and meaningful items. Having worked with the older boys with the daily chores and the chicken coop I felt the need to give them something. So, I'm coming back with a belt (because with the weight loss I can't hold anything up, a pair of pants, and 2 shirts. Everything else I gave to the boys, from a watch, to a bookbag, collared shirts, pants, shorts, and tees. I even gave away my Sambas to one of the young soccer players. It'll be about a year before he'll fit properly into them but it was a sight to see Emmanuel polish the sneakers to a shine. My backpack it light, but will be full of some souvenirs later on.

Rojas . . . he'll grow into it

Time for a last meal with my ladies before Claire leaves at 6am and Lucy leaves around 11am tomorrow.

Gloria and I have a late, late flight tomorrow and will arrive around noon on Saturday. We'll have plenty of more things to write and stories to share...

What time has brought

In 5 weeks time we've accomplished the following at Faraja:

1. Established the orphanage on Fadhili's list of orphanages to be at. Not only have we had people transfer to the orphanage (Amy, Lauren, and How will replace us for the next month), but they even delivered three bags of toys and blankets for the children.

2. Made the chicken coop "sustainable". We went from under 20 eggs daily to over 70 eggs daily. The coop was sectioned off to guarantee fertilized eggs which go for 25ksh instead of 8ksh for un-fertilized. Omari is paying off a debt quickly and has been set up with Kiva.org to begin conversations to receive a micro-loan. (If this happens I will mass email all so we can fund the project)

3. Health and hygiene has improved. We moved the fire so the smoke is no longer affecting children, cleaned the house properly, and have been working with the kids about coughing and hygiene.

4. Plans are in place. We finally contacted the landlord and now understand that Faraja was penalized with no water and electricity because prior tenants had 2 years worth of back debt. Their payment history will be looked into and they may receive those amenities. Also, the landlord approved of a plan to draw water from the local farm to give free water to the orphanage. These are high hopes, but progress is something. Finally, How has been educated on the farming/garden project and will undertake it when the rainy season starts in September.

5. Education. I passed along the grouping plans to Amy, Lauren, and How and they will take time in the day to review with the children as they are on holiday until September.

6. Incentives matter. My deal with the water merchant working and our replacements are fine with continuing "the deal". 220ksh for 220L of water is more than fair and will allow more work to be done at the orphanage.

Tomorrow will be a VERY difficult day. It's our last, don't really want to talk about it.

I will also update with images and video so please check back when I put some posts on FB. See you around . . .

Its not the end. Its just the begining.

 Omari and Emmanuel figure
out Twister

I can't believe tomorrow is our last day with the kids. Its heartbreaking. Its to the point where they all hug and kiss us when we arrive and leave. They push each other out of the way to hold our hands for walks...walks they have done for years alone. I have to muster up all the strength I have to not cry in front of them.

This trip has been extremely mentally and physically draining but equally rewarding. I am forever changed by my experience here.

Mary is all smiles

I know in my heart that I will return and I plan to begin some projects for Faraja from home. Its going to be so hard waking up and not seeing their beautiful little faces around me but knowing we will meet again someday will get me through it.

Handing out gifts on the last day

One of the boys asked me if I could tell Father Christmas about him and the other children at the orphanage. Just today we received at least fifty gifts for the children and will be distributing them tomorrow. God works in mysterious ways...tomorrow will be Christmas in August at Faraja.

To my friends and family back home hugs and kisses!

Out of the coffin and into the fire

   So, after a safari weekend and feeling a bit unwell last Tuesday I came down with a nasty bit of something Wednesday night. Thursday morning I was in a local private hospital and for the equivalent of $25 I was consulted, blood tested, and treated for . . . malaria. Oh, I know there are pills for that, was taking them. And have only two . . . TWO . . . mosquito bites on my body. Leave to one of those buggers to give me malaria.
    A shot larger than a tetanus needle in the bum and some medication from Novartus in good ol' Suffern, NY and yesterday was the first day I felt 100%. Nasty.
    Today was the children's last day of school and as Gloria mentioned in her post we're prepping for some reinforcement time in the mornings for the students. The grading system is interesting in Kenya. Students are ranked according to their class and also grade. Each grade is broken down into an North, East, South, and West where classes can range from 40 - 50+ students. Granted this is a public school, but I'm sure a union would flip at these numbers. In analyzing their strengths and weaknesses we hope to provide a little reinforcement over our last two weeks.
     The firepit idea has officially ceased for now. I have the specs drawn up, but with the lack of contact with the landlord we don't want to do work that will get them kicked out of the house. The chicken coop project is a go. Omari's chickens are now up to 70+ eggs daily and we're going to create a separate room to isolate the cock and and few hens to guarantee some fertilized eggs.
     Time is flying by unfortunately and there's definitely a need to have it slow down and stop.

A Typical Sunday Dinner with the Family

On Sunday night Marc, Claire and I prepared a traditional Italian dinner for our host family and twelve other volunteers. It reminded me of the dinners I would share with my family back home. We prepared garlic crostini, and pasta bolognese. Everyone loved it and had seconds.It was the first time some of our host family had ever eaten pasta. I never knew I could make sauce and boil pasta on a propane tank. Another trick I've learned here. We all sat together in the family room laughing, eating and then watched a movie together. It felt like we were all one big happy family.

At Faraja the children are finished with school and received their report cards today. Marc is dividing them up by ability and we will each take a different group and work on reinforcing the math and reading skills they have learned during the school year. Some of the children are severely delayed and cannot receive the extra help and services they would benefit from. They are lucky to even be able to attend school. We are hoping to work with the more delayed children more intensively over the next two weeks and that the new volunteers will continue our efforts when we leave.

Top to bottom, left to right:
Marc, Amy, Claire, Lucy, Hou, Lauren, Gloria

A warm welcome to Lauren, who joined us from Canada today and Lucy who is joining us from England.

I've set Momma Morra up on Facebook and taught her how to utilize it for networking. We also have a Faraja page set up. Please contact her if you are interested in volunteering or sending in kind donations.

Miss and love.

M stands for

Monday
Marc
Makes it over
Malaria

more to follow . . .

The private hospital that delivered one hell of a shot of 

quinine

Outreach Weekend.

Claire and I decided to spend the past two days working with the slum children of Mukuru and participated in a food project to assist in feeding the families at local Internally Displaced Persons camps. We also took on the physical challenge known as Hells Gate (hardest hike of my life) and discovered the literal meaning of pot shots.

Lucy with school children in KCC

Mukuru (KCC) is a slum located in Navasha. Until volunteer outreach the children were without a school in walking distance. Children in their teens could not read or write. Volunteers were able to build a school and employ teachers so that these children have an opportunity to learn. It was nice to see the efforts of volunteers paying off. The school is at full capacity and there is a wait list for children in the slum to attend. I went to find the children who weren't attending. I found many of them home caring for younger brothers and sisters and some orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS and alcoholism. The hope is that we can expand the school and set up a day care type center so that these care taker children can have access to education and so that the children wait listed can also have the same opportunities. The children want to learn.

Internally Displaced Persons are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border. After the 2007 elections it is estimated that up to 400,000 people in Kenya lost loved ones, were separated from their families and were forcibly moved off of their property. We visited some of the families impacted by the violence and provided them with food rations.

When we first arrived at IDP camp a woman in her eighties hugged and kissed me so hard I almost lost my breath. This hug was in response to my giving her a ration of flour, rice and cooking fat. If not for these donated rations she would have no food for the next two weeks. As it is the families at IDP have only one meal a day. Up to ten people are sharing a tent which by American standards could fit no more than four people for a weekend of camping. One of the families I spoke with had a photograph hanging on the tent of them in their former home with their father who was killed in front of them during a post election riot. I could not even imagine how they have survived such tragedy. I thank them for allowing me to hear their story.

Claire climbing in Hell's Gate

Hells Gate was a nice opportunity to challenge myself physically after the emotional challenges of the weekend. I would place Hells Gate at a more difficult level than the Grand Canyon. It was definitely challenging for me and it felt amazing to finish it. I wish I had time to hike it again before heading back to the states. On your drive to the trail heads there are zebras, giraffes and buffalo all around you.

On a final note, you haven't lived until you pee and poop in a hole in the ground. I'm becoming an expert. Much love.

Fusball - the beautiful game

Soccer at a nearby field

     I've been under the weather for the past few days and while Gloria and Claire traveled to work at an IDP camp this weekend I stayed in Ngong. This afternoon my illness began to clear up and I ventured out with Issac to the nearby soccer field.
     There are no language barriers in soccer. A hand signal for directional plays, hands to the chest for a "me, me, me" action and hands down palms up to ask for the ball placed at your foot. The warm ups are always the same, I made a fool out of myself and then made a fool of others. As the day went on respect and communication between players grew. A "budda" (brother) or "wewe" to get attention and "cuja" (come) to get a player to continue dribbling.
    At 4 the children were on the field for practice, but as time passed the elder boys, and men coming home from work joined the frey for a very fast paced game. As more people arrived they easily stepped into warm-ups and the game, no conversations needed. Though I did not participate in the later game I hope once I'm back to health I can.
    And no matter where you go there seems to always be the same confrontations. In example the prima donna striker who dish out some tough blows but will complain when they receive a strong tackle from a no-nonsense defender who hates prima donnas.
    All you need is a ball and a place to play. This is why soccer is a global game a beautiful game.

Those three simple words . . .

Obediah and Kefa

Today, two of the children said "I love you" to me. While you can hear these three words from your parents, your spouse, lover or a friend there is something indescribably powerful when a child says it to you. It makes it that much harder to think about leaving Faraja. Which is why I know that this experience is going to develop into a life long commitment. While I've always thought about the possibility of being a mother to biological children I now know in my heart that I am meant to take care of children that are already here. My sons and daughters are already living.

A bedroom at Faraja. One room has 13 girls, the other 13 boys

I never thought I would be able to cook for 32 children but thanks to cooking lessons with Omari, I'm able to do it and enjoy every minute of it! The kids give my bean soup great reviews. We had a chapati making party today and even got the kids involved. Chapati is similar to pita and we make it from water, wheat flour and salt. We make the dough and then slice it, roll it and fry it. Preparing, cooking and eating food together is an essential component to our Faraja family. Ester, a beautiful eight year old girl, who was responsible to roll out the dough for me, and I had a little food fight and laughed so hard we found ourselves on the floor covered in flour. We cleaned up before anyone noticed;)

Ester, Morra's youngest child

Momma is always trying to feed us but many times we make up excuses since we know food is low. Yesterday, she followed me down the hill with eggs telling me to take them and eat them so that I keep up my strength. Food pushers are universal, I used to think only Italian grandmas behaved that way.

I am teaching the kids how to make pizza next week, if Momma gives me the ok, of course. They tell me they have never had it but have heard of it and really want to taste it.