Rough Day...It Happens!

Best news of the day...Becki and Jodi, my friends from Kenya Round One in July and August, arrived late Tuesday night.  They are hear to work their magic, along with Kylee and Kiara, on painting the remaining girls' rooms with inspiring phrases and beautiful decorative art.  They got to work immediately, completing three beautiful rooms in a flurry of artistic creativity.

The girls were just thrilled when they walked into their freshly painted rooms. "Wow, wow, wow!" in rapid succession!  And, of course, each girl just loved their room the best.  Becki, Jodi, Kylee and Kiara made sure each bed had a little something special for each special occupant.  :)

For me, it was a rough day.  My ankle was really bothering me...no doubt as a consequence of over use.  My job all day was to shoo the kids away from the rooms being painted...and it gets a bit depressing always being the "bad guy" and telling the kids "Inje!"  which means "Outside!"  I tried to imagine myself as my friend's mother...who used to send her 8 kids outside to play and lock the door!! (It's true!  I only have two children but I can certainly understand the urge to lock your kids out of the house every once in a while.  No offense intended to children everywhere.)

Plus, I like to be productive and useful.  And walking with my "stick" (my cuff crutch renamed by the kids) and shooing small, smiling girls from rooms that are rightfully theirs is not my idea of "productive and useful."  Though later in the day, Becki told me that keeping the girls out was VERY useful.  Apparently, earlier in the day when the enforcer (me) was not yet in position, there were small people running amok in the rooms...fingers in the paint, paint on the walls and each other... joyful chaos and a big mess ensued.  Two points for the Enforcer!  Inje!

Newton returned his first draft of his letter to me today.  (See?  I asked him to do it yesterday, and he returned it to me today!!  He's not a procrastinator, that's for sure.)  It needed a little bit of work...but the sentiment was all there.  My favorite line...at the end..."It is my hope you will find my interest sincere."  Love that boy.

Tish

Made with Love Monday

Disclaimer:

Gotta say...severely spraining your ankle so far from home can really put a damper on your day.  I'm a bit behind on my blog...so I'm going to catch up and publish a bunch of entries today.  Forgive me, traveling companions, if I put the wrong info on the wrong day!!  Doing the best I can...which, on some days, is clearly insufficient!

We stopped by the orphanage this morning...where Maddie tried her hand at making chapati with several critical on-lookers.  Oh, the pressure!  

The pan she is using is placed on a small wood-burning fire contained in a cyclinder...doesn't exactly have the temperature control of a Wolf or Thermador gas range.  I'm thinking that burned chapati on the pile was her first effort...and a valiant one considering the boisterous crowd and the cooking conditions!

Today we helped the Mighty Acorn kids with a project for their sponsors.  (If you are a sponsor, please skip this paragraph!) I helped two little girls, Metrine and Harriet, aged 2, with their projects.  It was tricky because they didn't really speak English and my Swahili is limited to the "How are you?", "What's your name?" variety. 

Harriet was very proud of her scribblings...and would tap me after each mark and give me the universal "Pretty good, huh?" look and then I would heap appropriate praise with my limited Swahili, "Kazi mizuri."  Good work.

Millecent and Isabelah were also at my table...they are good friends and can often be found together.  You may be able to notice in this photo that Isabelah has an eye condition that requires treatment, or it may lead to blindness.  Both sweet, fun-loving little girls.

Millecent, it turns out, is 13...not 10 as I was previously told.  Originally, I thought she was telling me she was 13 because my daughter Maria is 13...and I suspected she thought she had a better chance of being Maria's friend if they were the same age.  Nope.  She really is 13.  Apparently, it's quite difficult to get the correct age, spelling of one's name, and other details...I'm thinking documentation in Kitale is not quite as rigorous as at home.  The good news is the clothes I brought for Millecent were girls size 10, which fit her with some room to grow.

Barry Devlin and I also had a conversation, with Richard's blessing, with the high school students today about the possibility of going to college in America.  Barry talked about dreams versus goals and asked them each to write on a piece of paper what they would like to be "when they grow up."  It was a great way to start the conversation.  We have several doctors, pilots, engineers, teachers and lawyers in the crowd...that's good information!

The idea of attending college in the US wasn't a promise...it was more the presentation of an opportunity.  We were just making it known that students with their background, good grades and good tests scores could possibly get scholarships to well-funded US universities.  We wanted to motivate them to do their best in school...that a college education can happen for them if they make it their priority.  It was amazing and inspiring to watch the light bulb click as they realized, "Hey...they are talking to me!"  

Newton Kioko just finished Form 4 (the equivalent of his senior year in high school).  He has taken the Kenyan college entrance exam and is waiting for his scores.  So attending a Kenyan university is an option for him.  Richard and Hellen tell me he is a good student...and I can see that in him.  When you ask him to do something, he is on it!!  I can imagine he is a diligent student who takes care of things today, not tomorrow.  Barry and I told we'll help him if he wants to take the SAT and ACT and try for entrance to a US university.  We told him it was all on him...he'd have to study for the test, take it, do well, etc.  We'd get him the resource books and pay his fees for the exam, but he is the one who has to make it happen.  He's shy but we could tell he was excited to try.  Makes me happy to see his face light up with possibility...that's really what this whole journey with the Mighty Acorn Foundation is about.  Possibility.  Lives transformed.  It's amazing.  (Thank you, David and Denise DeMarchis!!)

 

Okay...honestly...starting to wear out!  More on the adventures of Newton Kioko tomorrow!

Tish

  

Visit to the Nursing Home!

Well, you know, after a few days of hobbling on the bum ankle, it was time for a visit to the doctor for an xray.  

Jimmy's driver, Gabriel, drove me to the Cherangany Nursing Home...I know I just turned 49 but I'm not ready for this!  He explained that this was the clinic, not a depository for old folks like me.  

The bad news was...my camera battery was dead during my visit to the "nursing home."  I was too embarrassed to pull out the massive iPad in the hospital ward...which is such a shame because there were SO MANY great opportunities for photo blogging!!  Like the sign on the door of the bathroom (toilet) that said, "Please flash after using."  So I'm imagining people in trench coats emerging from the bathroom...well, you get the idea.  (For some reason, Kenyans often place an "a" where a "u" should be in written signage...not sure what that grammatical hick-up is all about.)

I checked in at the counter of with trusty Gabriel by my side...just in case the conversation went beyond "Habari ako?", "Mizuri sana" (How are you?  Very well.) or "Jambo", "Si jambo", "Assante" (Hi there.  Hi there back at you.  Thank you.)  But the young man at the counter was quite proficient in my language so we did just fine...I'm sure he asked a few more questions that the usual entry interview, but I was the only mzungu in the place so who could blame him.

I had a short wait on a bench with several other patients who, I must say, were very interested in my predicament.  A lot of pointing at the ankle and "Pole, pole" (Sorry, sorry.)  Especially young children pushed forward by their parents with some words of encouragement that included the word "mzungu" and  that I imagined translated to something like "Touch the white person for good luck" because the children came up and sort of petted my arm.  It was actually quite sweet.  They were shocked when I tossed out my entry-level Swahili.  It's so funny...their eyes get wide...something along the lines of "Why!  This white lady is speaking my lingo!!  Didn't expect that!"

The doctor was a lovely young woman.  She didn't think it was broken but we decided on an xray just to make sure.  I questioned her on the requirements to become a doctor in Kenya...NOT because I didn't trust her but because several of the kids in the orphanage dream of being a doctor.  She was a "clinical doctor" which requires three years of university (no medical school required!!).  A "medical doctor" studies for six years...again, no medical school, no night call, no poorly paid residency.  Hmmm...of course, my entire visit (two consultations with three doctors, and an xray) cost 1000Ksh or about $12.  Yikes!!  Can't imagine the clinical doctor or the medical doctor are building second homes in Mombassa!

The Kenyan x-ray experience was...wow! what to say?  Dangerous?!  Comical?!  Firstly, the 1952 George Jetson X-ray machine was a little freakly.  Not to mention the "Danger Radiation" sign and symbol next to the OPEN door where all sorts of people were milling about.  Oh!  And no such thing as a lead apron in Kenya.  Just hop up on the table, put your ankle on this decidely-non-digital plate, and let me step behind the wall while I ...buzzzzz...  blast you and everyone in the vacinity with radiation.  Yeah, I told my family..."Well, it's not broken but I may come home glowing."

The doctor...and two other doctors (who just stopped by to see the mzungu)...reviewed my x-ray and pronounced my ankle "not broken."  (Yippee!!)  The doctor then massaged my ankle, ouch!, and told me to have it massaged each night and morning. Now, honestly...who am I going to ask to massage my stinky, dirt stained foot twice a day?  Really?!   I'll have to handle that myself...wish me luck.

After that adventure, we headed back to orphanage...where I DID flash gang sings with my homie, Mike, and a few other little friends.  The kids were all very sweet and very protective...bringing me chairs, one for me, one for my foot...wherever I went.  :)  

And, I also discovered, on my way to the bathroom in the old orphange, a very happy chicken resting comfortably in a pile of clothes in the pantry. 

You know...I complain about cat fur around our house!!  Can you imagine feathers and chicken poop mixed in with your clothes?  This chicken was in the same spot later in the day so you know there were some droppings along side the socks and undies...and, who knows?, maybe even an egg!  Never a dull moment when traveling in Kenya.

So more on hopefully-college-bound Newton Kioko...I conferred with Ken Sparks, co-ordinator of all things in the universe, via email.  Ken is my new found friend from Colorado;  he and a group from his church were in Kitale this summer and were a HUGE (cannot make those letters big enough) help in painting the Mighty Acorn orphanage.  Anyway, another man on that trip, Gary, is headed to Kitale in the next week or so.  I, quick, requested of Ken that he send SAT and ACT study guides with Gary so that Newton could get to work on his preparations.  Ken also connected me with Newton's sponsors also Colorado...so they are now in the loop.  I talked to Richard and Hellen about getting Newton's transcripts, which they say they have in the orphanage's files.  And I also asked Newton to write a letter that I could share with US colleges to gauge interest.  I asked him to express his interest in attending a US university and to tell his story...we'll see what he comes up with!!  This is an opportunity with a lot of moving pieces so...one step at a time!

 

Tish

Dog Alarm

Even if you want to sleep in, you can't!!  In addition to fences, hedges, gates and watchmen for security, most homes have dogs.  The mangy, third-world, of unknown parentage variety.  The Karibuni has three dogs and we are seriously considering some poisoned meat.  If they aren't snarling at each other, they are barking viciously at the neighbor's dogs...who just happened to throw a casual bark through the fence. 

When we arrive at the gate, and the watchmen opens the gate...the dogs run out and off the property.  You have never seen five women beg a man so passionately: "Close the gate!  Close the gate!"  Anything to get rid of those dogs.  Needless to say, we woke to the "dog alarm" today.  Not pleasant.

The big house is coming along beautifully!!  Becki, Jodi, Kylee and Kiara worked wonders on four rooms today.  Talk about cranking it out!  They had a plan...that I believe Becki created at 2:30am in a fit of super sleepless creativity.  The girls are so thrilled...beyond belief.  And you can tell when a girl sees her newly decorated room for the first time...her eyes are just dancing with wonder and excitement.

Dragonflies and Daisies

Clouds and Flowers

Roses (which, by planned coincidence, decorate the walls of Rose's room!)

Planets and Stars

Ankle Update:  Still swollen but improving. After my massage by the doctor on Tuesday, I felt good.  So Wednesday I, of course!!!, overdid it.  This morning, with my first step out of bed, I started to cry and couldn't stop.  As I hobbled to the main house for breakfast, tears attractively streaming down my face, I came across Elvis.  Hmm...Elvis I would best describe as a very handsome house helper.  He cooks, he cleans, he serves meals, he does laundry, he holds babies, he fixes the Wifi, and, as I found out, he gives a very nice foot massage.  

He helped me to a seat on the porch and said, "I am going to give your foot a massage." You know, he had offered earlier to massage my foot.  (As you recall, the doctor suggested I have someone massage my foot morning and night.  But, really...how do you ask someone to massage your foot??)  I massaged my own foot on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning and night...but, you know, when you massage your own foot you really don't make it hurt.  You are sort of gentle on yourself...you never make yourself grimace.  But that is not the case with my friend, Elvis.  After a deep tissue massage, OUCH!, I was on my way.

Unfortunately, the magic touch...even by a guy named Elvis...didn't completely solve my problems.  My ankle is again quite swollen and sore.  I tried to stay off it today, I really did!  But it's hard when 189 kids (approximately...hard to keep track!!) want to talk with you, play with you, hold your hand, help you walk, etc.  But we are setting up for my therapy right now...and I'm hoping for improvement tomorrow!

Tish

Not the Best Day Ever!

Well, it was still awesome.  But we had a few episodes which required us to push the pause button.

First...I lost my camera!!  "Misplaced" might be a better word.  So I was totally bummed because my blog wasn't going to have any pictures...and how boring would that be?  And then I remembered...I have two other photo taking devices with me....hello?!  iPad and iPhone.  At first, I thought, "I'll use my phone...but then I'll have to email myself the photos, then save them to my photo library...yadda yadda."  The technology required to make that work was getting a little overwhelming.  (Kiara explained hash tag titles to me today...that almost put me over the edge!)  Anyway...then I realized, if I take the photos with my iPad...they are already in my photo library.  Don't even need that "little wire", as Rose called it, to transfer the photos from the camera to the iPad.  Nifty!  But taking photos with an iPad is sort of a pain...you can't put it in your pocket and when you pull it out to take a picture, you are immediately surrounded by 189 kids who want to know if you have "Fruit Ninja" on your "giant phone".  Not good.

Prepare for some major excitement.  Or as Jenni says #theriskybusinesscontinues.  (Still don't really get the whole hash tag thing!  and, I think that's the right tag line...don't quote me!)

It's Jenni V!!   Driving Phillip's van!!   In Kitale!!   Left side of the road AND stick shift...very risky business!  And a most impressive display of driving under pressure.  I must say she did an excellent job...narrowly escaping several head-on collisions and only brushing Phillip, sitting in the left side passenger seat, with tree branches a few times.  Go Jenni!

We did attend church this morning.  It was the usual riotous event...quite enjoyable actually.  EXCEPT...while heading to our place of honor on the couches in the front row (everyone else is in plastic lawn chairs), a slight mishap occurred.  I was too busy looking at the kids to my left and stepped off the one step in the entire tent church.  Why is there one step across the mid-section of the church?  I ask you!  The ENTIRE congregation saw the mzungu's graceful fall to the ground, and her equally graceful attempt to stand up again on one good ankle and one ankle that had just experienced a painful popping sound.  Hmm....  The good news is I didn't have to stand up during church like all the able bodied people.  Hey!  Maybe I can get a special handicapped parking sticker for trips into Kitale.   (If you think they have handicapped spots in Kitale, we need to talk.)  So I spent my day limping around the orphanage on uneven, rutted dirt paths.  Not easy but at least I can walk.  :)

After church, we returned to the orphanage.  I gave my boys, Brian and Mike, a few gifts from the Kohl's sales rack...mostly new clothes and undies. (Hey!  Who doesn't need new undies?!)  Of course, the soccer ball and my old suitcase were the bigger hits.  They asked if they could have the suitcase and promised they would share it.  Since they have nowhere to put their personal items, having a suitcase to slide under their bed is a big deal.  I wrote in a previous blog this summer that all the kids' worldly possessions are usually neatly folded under their blankets at the foot of their bed...and usually consist of church clothes, school uniform, their bible and a few important-and-oh-so-valuable trinkets and treasures ranging from unique rocks to a drawing on a piece of cardboard box.  You get the idea.  Now Brian and Mike have a cavernous suitcase to store all their worldly goods. I wonder if they will draw a line down the middle to delineated their territory like my brother and I used to do when we shared a room.  :)  Those are some happy memories, Johnny!

Alright...bedtime.  We were informed by Karibuni proprietress, Teresa, that there is a water shortage and all the girls already went back to the room to take a shower.  I might be out of luck in the hot water (or even just water) department.  I begged them to take military showers and save me some water...I guess we'll find out if they are getting a Christmas card from me this year!

Tish

I'm in a Gang...with Teenage Boys!!

Two posts in one day?!  Are you kidding me?

After our visit to the slums today, we came back to the Karibuni to relax.  Rose was my shadow as I sat in the common area and worked on my blog.  She had a tough time understanding the concept.  The conversation was something like..."So you type it here, and your friends can see it in America??"  Well, yeah.  "And you can move a picture from your camera through this wire to this little computer?  And then put the picture in the story??"  Uh...yeah.  I can understand why this is hard to believe for her.  Jenni was trying to explain Instagram to me today and I had many of the same befuddles comments.  :)

Our group (plus Rose, happy after some snacks!! and Mr. Wonderful, Phillip) posed for a photo on the steps of the Karibuni this afternoon before returning to the orphanage.

And just in case you are worried about my safety...

Here is one of two or three guards with scary guns that patrole the Karibuni.  Of course, they are sitting in plastic lawn chairs under the shade of a tree at the moment...not exactly "at the ready" to combat a kidnapper or thief!  And though he may look like he's drinking a beer, he's not.  I checked.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the orphanage.  When we arrived, the kids were in this massive group of concentric circles doing their devotions...which basically involves singing, clapping, dancing and one child reading a bible verse and explaining it to the rest of the crowd.  

Needless to say, the bible reading portion can be quite entertaining depending on the age of the reader.  You can see the new orphanage in the background.  Wow...it looks great...really.  Makes me happy to see it occupied with running children with happy faces.

Back to the crowd of children!  My homies...apparently any boy between the age of 13 and 16 who like to wear sunglasses at dusk...insisted on a photo with me. And, of course, they chose the Seed's Children's Home bus as the scenic background.  In other photos, we were flashing gang signs...but really, the sight of a 49-year-old woman flashing a gang sign with a bunch of teenagers wasn't something I wanted to share. 

The boys are (front row) Andrew and my man Mike, (back row) Kevin, the big Amos, Abuid, Brian, the 49-year-old who shouldn't be flashing gang signs, and Laban.  All wonderful boys...love each one.

The rest of the evening I visited with any child who grabbed my attention.  It's tricky to give everyone attention but I did my best!  I gave special delivery hugs to little Brian for Denise D. and to Anna for Deanna A.  I did run away to a "secret place"...if that's possible in an orphanage with 189 children...pretty sure every "secret place" has been discovered.  But, anyway, Millecent, Jackie, Cathrine and I found a "secret place" to talk for a few minutes.  

Jackie and Cathrine, as I mentioned, are sponsored by my sisters...so I included them in all my wanderings with Millecent.  Now, I know for a fact that my sisters sent them each an outfit which I think must be reserved for church...because Cathrine was wearing a pajama nightie and a sweatshirt all day and Jackie was in a yellow t-shirt, too large green sweater and long green (different green than the sweater, by the way) satin skirt with ruffles.  I'm thinking some play clothes are in order!!  I might have something in my pile of goodies for each of them.  But church is tomorrow...so I'll check on those outfits!!

So.  Church.  Tomorrow.  Hold on to your seat!!  If you have read this blog before, you know church is a wild time.  And, surprisingly, I'm actually sort of looking forward to it!  I mean, it's a bit crazy but I can appreciate it.  I just wish it weren't so dang long!!  Two hours at a minimum...that's a long time to maintain the energy required for one of Pastor Richard's services.  But, with all the dancin', wavin' of hands and energetic prayin', any and all churchgoers are bound to expend quite a few calories.  I think I'll have an extra piece of cake tonight!

Good night from Kitale!

Tish

 

  

Karibu!

We have arrived in Kitale...last night after the much-promised chaotic ride from Eldoret.  The traffic was atrocious...worse than LA on a bad day.  And six lanes of traffic in each direction is NOT what is happening in Kenya, FYI.  Wonderful Phillip, our driver from the last trip, met us at the airport.  And, honestly, once you see him, it's just an amazing sense of relief.  Phillip is here...we're all good.

The Karibuni Lodge surprisingly welcomed me with open arms.  (During my last visit Teresa, the proprietress, was annoyed with me for not wanting to sleep in a mouse and arachnid infested shack...well, our relationship was a bit bumpy.)  Actually, I'm sort of joking.  Teresa is really wonderful.  And she is caring for a new baby...which brings the grand total of boys in her house to three.  So let's give her some cred for that!  The new baby is Adam and was left on the doorstep.  The mother was supposed to pick him up last Saturday but didn't show...which Teresa said is really hard on her because she prepares herself to say "goodbye" to him every day.  :(

We had a late night dinner at the Karibuni but most importantly, we celebrated Kylee's 21st birthday with some cake and a Tusker!  There was some very merry singing of "Happy Birthday" late into the evening.  :)

Our first stop today was the orphanage.  Richard and Hellen came by the Karibuni and told us the kids were "jumpy" so we had to go to the orphanage as the first order of business or there would likely be a mutiny.  189 mutinous children does not sound like something I want to experience.

Here they all are...in a less mutinous mood...singing and dancing songs of welcome.  I cried when I saw some of my special friends.  (No surprise to anyone who knows me well.)

We reviewed all the progress in the orphanage...it's beautiful.  Everyone's beds were neatly made; personal items tucked under their folded blankets.  Church shoes stacked in the corner.  I toured more than one bed...let me tell you...and tried to make a fuss over each one.  "Come see my bed!!"

I found my girl, Millecent, when I first arrived!  She is the 10 year old that our family sponsors.  She's so shy...and so cute!!  I think she hardly wants to admit that we are a pair, yet she's at my side all the time.  I toured her bed...of course.  Photo op!  She's a sweet child...I'm hoping she'll look me in the eye soon! :)

I asked her to find Jackie (as I am informed she prefers to be called) and Cathrine, who are the sisters sponsored by my sisters, Janet and Jeanne.  I gave them both hugs and explained who I was...they seemed a bit confused by the crazy mzungu but I think they understood.  We had to leave quickly for a trip to the slums so I didn't get their photo, but I promise I will do that later today.

One of Jenni's many projects is to photograph and video the family of Rose at their home in the slums.  (This is the "new" Rose as opposed to the "old" Rose...who has lived at the orphanage longer and is quite lovely in her own right.)  Rose has 6 siblings, I believe, and the Mighty Acorn Foundation wants to tell their family's story to a broader audience.  So we spent an hour or so in the slums, with Jenni taking photos assisted by Kiara and Kylee.  The rest of us, of course, were swarmed by children...so precious.

Here are a few of my favorites.  Everyone wants their picture taken!! "Picha, picha!" 

And I thought this photo was interesting because it shows the corn cobs drying out in front of their home.  Corn cobs are used to fuel the cooking fire...no wood burning stoves here!  It started to rain just before we left so the six wazungu present (along with the rest of the crowd) started scooping corn into buckets and on to old cement sacks to get the "fuel" inside before it became useless.

So a friend requested a review of the happenings here in Kitale...so here is the quick summary.  The organization is called Seeds Children's Home...and it began in a very humble way.  A Kenyan couple, Pastor Richard and Hellen Makani, began about 10 years ago by feeding others at a newly formed feeding center.  They progressed to feeding more and more people and eventually opened the school in 2007.  The school currently educates about 350 children from age three through fifth grade.  They also feed an additional 50 children two meals per day six days per weeks...so that's 400 kids two meals per day six days a week.  That's a lot of rice and beans, let me tell you!

The orphanage was started in June 2011, and, with the addition of the Mighty Acorn House, now houses 189 children...with room for more.  The Seeds organization is supported by many groups.   There are churches in Colorado, Florida, Texas and a group called Chicks for Children in Arkansas that all support the work of Richard and Hellen.  The Mighty Acorn Foundation built the new orphanage (Mighty Acorn House) and has found sponsors for all its residents.  It's an amazing thing to see children's lives transformed by a safe home, full bellies and loving arms.  You can check out www.mightyacornfoundation.org for more information...if you like!  More children will be available for sponsorship soon.  :)  (HINT!)  

My friend, the "new" Rose (age 14, next year she'll be in 7th grade, favorite color: pink, best friend: Purity...what else do you need to know?) has been sitting next to me very patiently but now she needs a snack.  Time to go!

Tish