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Karibu!This blog is about my 6 months in Kenya with the SIMPact program. I will be spending the 6 months working with Chonesus, a Christian organization in the Kibera slum of Nairobi.
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April 10 Africa will change your life"Africa will change your life," everyone said to me as I prepared to go to Kenya last year. As I take stock over my past 6 months in Nairobi, Kenya, here's some things that have changed:
- My skin is more chocolate in colour than when I left.
- My hair is certainly longer. - I'm less tolerant of the cold now. - I have a new appreciation of our traffic and emission laws, as well as the work the government puts in to maintain our roads. - Speaking of governments, I have a deeper understanding of bureaucratic red tape. - I got to see how beautiful an international community united by one purpose and goal can be. - I gained a more realistic sense of the ebb and flow of life. "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under the heaven. A time to be born and a time to die…A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4) - Tides have a much deeper meaning now. The ocean knows so much about life and how it works. I spent three days staring across the Indian Ocean. The blues, greens, and turquoise of the water just hold you captive and lure you to explore the world below. It was like my first time looking at Kibera. The glitter of the silver and brown rows of tin roofs draws you into the community within.
Once the tide receded, my friend and I hired Captain Juma and his Papa to take us out to the coral reef to snorkel. Who knew that underneath the blue and green surface lies a whole different world. There were so many fish swimming to and fro, pecking and hiding in the coral, and joining and dropping schools. Each day we would walk into Kibera with our Kenyan co-workers. Once inside, I was so enamored by the people that I didn't notice the tin roofs anymore.
We made nice looking footprints in the sand, but before we could stop and admire them, the waves came and washed them away. The particles of sand were swept into the water went wherever the wave took it. There is the same current washing over Kenya. People strive to make their prints in the sand only to be swept into the wave of life through unexpected pregnancies, debilitating illnesses, sudden deaths, ravaging fires, crippling divorces, joyous marriages, new births, new jobs, and lost jobs. It all seems so random, but then you remember that there is a force that controls the tides and the waves and all of this is part of a bigger plan.
So the wave of life has brought me back to Vancouver. I am enjoying resting amidst the sand on the beach before the next wave carries me off to who knows where. February 26 African versus Western generosityEveryone who comes to Africa is touched by African hospitality and generosity. The lengths Africans go to entertain guests and help each other is truly selfless. However, this past month, I have been amazed by Western generosity. I visited two orphanages and a VCT centre (place where people come voluntary for HIV testing, counseling, and treatment). The operation of each of these organizations are largely dependent on foreign donors or governments and on Western leadership.
I am reading a book called “African Friends and Money” by David Maranz and it provides the following insight into the difference between Western and African concept of generosity:
The difference between the African tendency to find micro solutions and the Western tendency to establish macro solutions is very apparent here in Kenya. Foreign aid and personnel are pumped into the numerous NGOs that seek to provide assistance through a program with policies, procedures, and a long-term vision. Westerners, like myself, are frustrated by the constant requests for help by Africans that look for an immediate solution. However, the African micro approach to problem solving allows them to share the one kilogram of flour they have with others rather than keeping and rationing it for tomorrow, whereas us Westerners have a pantry full of food to last for a week.
It is dangerous to generalize across all Africans and there are many who do plan for the future. One of the leaders in my Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class, Dominic, is one of the many exceptions. Dominic works with New Dawn to empower youth. He took me to visit the New Dawn Educational Centre (http://www.newdawnkenya.com/projects.htm) in Huruma slum. Huruma is one of the 40+ slums in Nairobi. I have come to learn that next to every estate (nice neighbourhood) there is at least one slum area. The estate and slum co-exist in a symbiotic relationship—the estates provide people in the slums with jobs and the people in the slums provide the estates with maids, househelpers, security guards, gardeners, cooks, etc. Although I can see how the estate and slum came to exist so close together, it is still a shocking sight. Imagine an area like the Downtown Eastside right next to the mansions along Southwest Marine drive.
Dominic’s church was bringing clothes and food into Huruma and was accosted by drunken youth as they entered the slum. They were so saddened to see the youth throwing their lives into alcohol and violence that they decided to work with New Dawn to establish a secondary school where the youth can be educated and can develop employment skills. The community in Huruma supported the project by giving them buildings to use for the school. Everyone in New Dawn asked people they knew to help teach and someone gave them a bit of money to start. In addition to the school, the Educational Centre also runs a reforestation program. The Nairobi City Council gave them a hectare of a nearby forest to reforest and manage. The Educational Centre celebrated its first anniversary on February 24th. It is difficult to imagine that the students that were sitting calmly in the classroom are the same ones that accosted people from Dominic’s church a year ago.
Knowing of the need for affordable secondary education in Kenya, Dominic took what he learned from helping start the New Dawn Educational Centre and started another secondary school near his home. In Kenya, primary education is free, but not secondary school. Thus, many youths are not able to continue with secondary school because their families cannot afford the school fees. Dominic started the school with one student and not enough money for the rent of the building on January 9th. Now, there are 5 teachers, one administrator, 14 secondary school students, about 10 primary students, and about 10 nursery school students. The secondary school students pay 1000KES per month for tuition ($17 CAD), which gives the school a budget of 14, 000KES. The teachers are paid 2000 KES each, which leaves 4000KES extra per month. Dominic plans on investing the extra money so the school can give its graduates some seed money to start businesses in 3 years’ time. As the school grows, Dominic is looking for people to train to take it over so that he can go and start another school in another area.
I am amazed by Dominic’s ability to mobilize people and resources to respond to peoples’ needs. As we went to the different areas, he kept stopping to speak to good friends that he has worked with. I realized that the population of Nairobi is divided into two groups: those that are Dominic’s good friends and those that will be. He came to visit Chonesus one day and George told him that we are looking into how to keep our food bank stocked for HIV + people and a place to take the youth for a camp in April. The following week, Dominic took me to meet a lady at his church who cooks for some children in a slum area and is also willing to provide food for our HIV+ people. He is also checking into a place that he had used for a previous youth camp to see if we can get it for the same price. I am convicted by the difference between Dominic’s reaction to these requests and mine. For me, these requests are overwhelming and I cannot see how to meet them. Dominic responds to them with a “let’s see what we can do” attitude.
Dominic’s gift for mobilizing people and initiating projects run in his family. We went to visit his grandmother and her children feeding project. Dominic’s grandmother had mobilized 10 women in the community to find 4 needy children and together they cook lunch for these 40 children everyday. Through some donations and their own careful saving, the women have been able to feed the children for a year. There is a butchery that is up for sell and they are looking to purchase it and run it to help generate funds for the project. The grandma is also planning to turn her home into an orphanage. I also met Dominic’s cousin who records music with his friends and puts on dance parties as a business. Dominic’s family is part of the Kikuyu tribe of Kenya, which is stereotyped to be enterprising and good with money. This is certainly true of Dominic’s family.
To me the hope for Kenya lies in people like Dominic and his family who exhibit African generosity with future planning. It was refreshing to see projects that are not dependent on foreign aid and involvement. The money, ideas, time, and energy being invested in Kenya are reaching many people, but if the foreign pots ever dry up, it will be people like Dominic and his family that would continue to reach out to those in need. January 18 December, Serengeti Safari, Jumping into 2007December
December is an unruly month in Kenya, with good and bad mixing together to create unbelievable moments. There are more children playing and hanging around in the streets as the schools closed in late November. There is eager anticipation as people plan to go “upcountry” (anywhere outside of Nairobi where relatives live) to visit family. There are parties celebrating Christ’s birth, Santa Clauses dancing in the streets, and Christmas decorations filling the malls. There is also an increase in robberies and crimes as people scramble to have nice things, gifts, and food for Christmas. The newspapers also report of deathly road accidents almost daily as travel increases. The bus companies also capitalize on the increase in travel by raising fares 2 to 3 times the normal price at whim, leaving people stranded at bus stations who were not prepared for the fare hike. In the Chonesus tailoring class, the young female students were told to be on guard of men with holiday spirits that will promise them gifts and “promote” them into womanhood, only to leave them pregnant in the new year.
This unruly spirit also swept across our compound as well. So many surprises came our way over December that we had no choice but to “swallow the nuclear” (our Kenyan co-worker’s version of “bite the bullet”) and ride out the adventure, all the while holding onto God’s promise that “God causes everything to work for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28).
We were given a couple of days of rest after the youth camp. When we returned the following Wednesday, George said that the children were demanding a camp too and asked if we can put on a 2-day camp that Friday and Saturday. My jaw dropped and I sat there in disbelief. How in the world were we going to put together a 2-day camp with 2 days of preparation? It had taken us a month to plan the week-long youth camp. We talked and planned and decided that a 2-day camp was not possible, but we could put together a half-day Christmas party, using the plans that we were putting together for a Christmas party that we were hosting at an orphanage the following week.
The Chonesus Children Christmas party ended up being a really wonderful time. I was amazed by how everyone pitched in with a “can-do” attitude and ashamed by my own disbelief that such a party can be done in so short a time. Each person on the team offered what he/she could. One person had a craft idea, another had a story idea, and a third had game idea. Out of these bits and pieces that each person offered, God put together a wonderful Christmas party.
I saw the same thing happen at our Christmas party at the orphanage the following week. At first, these parties seemed like heavy burdens, but I was humbled by how light the work was when each person pitched in. In addition to the delight of being part of an amazing team, the time with the children was also very precious. I can still picture how they covered themselves with glitter in the craft, ran with all their might in the games, and shouted “It’s party time!” during storytime.
The team of people I work with are the other Christians that I live with on the compound and the Kenyans working for SIM and Chonesus. They have made my time in Kenya so abundantly rich through their support, care, wisdom, humor, and talents. Being an only child and used to a quiet house and my own space, I was apprehensive at how I would fare sharing a house with 5 other girls. Now, I am apprehensive about how I will fare without them. In December, we put up decorations, made cookies, sang Christmas carols, rearranged our living room, and watched movies. It was all very homey.
Together we got through a wave of bugs that infected our bodies, computers, homes, and cars in November and December. All of us took turns being ill and being mommies to the ones in bed. We were also frustrated by viruses infecting our computers and the fickle internet. The couple that coordinates the short-term program also had a series of car and home troubles. One night, we said enough is enough and got together to pray. Psalm 27 was the basis of our prayer. As we prayed, God assured us that even though we are being attacked, we can be confident that we will see the Lord’s goodness while we are here in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:2-3, 13). After our prayer time, we sang Christmas carols and laughed at how different countries sing different songs. We topped off the night with a treat—candle-roasted marshmallows.
As our projects closed for the holidays and most of Nairobians went upcountry, we were left to entertain ourselves. Since we enjoyed our Christmas carol session so much, we decided to go caroling at the Christian hospital one of my housemates works at. It certainly was the first time the hospital had a group in to sing to the patients. There was some confusion in the beginning over where and how we were going to sing; I feared that we might disturb the work of the hospital. My fears were dispelled when we went to sing in the different wards and the Bishop, church staff, nurses, visiting family members, and patients sang along with us too. It was a jolly good time.
Christmas day brought a mix of emotions. In the morning we learned that one missionary passed away from malaria, leaving behind a wife who had just had surgery and a young child. We then had a festive Christmas meal with our Coordinator and the family of a short-termer visiting from Germany. We enjoyed the wonderful food and each other’s company. However, the short-term Coordinator, who had made all the fabulous food, had a really bad cold. Despite having come from different countries, we found that we all share a love for animals during game time and revealed the chickens, turtles, lions, giraffes, gold fish, and snails within us.
Serengeti Safari
After Christmas, three of us joined the exodus out of Nairobi and went on a safari to the Serengeti. A couple leaders in my Monday night Bible study had found a tour company offering a good deal to travel to Serengeti so we tagged along. We were looking forward to seeing all the African game (including the big 5), the red African sunset, the Serengeti plains, the Kenyan and Tanzanian countryside, and Mount Kilimanjaro. Although we did see most of this, the trip was much more adventurous than we had expected.
We assembled in downtown Nairobi with 35 other eager Kenyan travelers. After some last minute changes to the vehicles the 38 of us left Nairobi in a big truck and safarivan. Because we left later than scheduled, we stayed the first night in Kisii, Western Kenya, instead of a border town. The group in the truck was an entertaining group, but my childhood habit of sleeping in cars to avoid motion sickness kicked in and I slept through their antics to the amazement of all. My housemates were in a safarivan and had a quieter ride, except that their driver was hired last minute to cover for the mix-up in vehicles and drove as if they were in a race to Kisii and then hurried back to Nairobi.
The next day, a new van driver came and was a much better driver and the tour organizer joined the caravan in his own 4x4. We crossed the Tanzanian border and waited a couple of hours for the tour organizer to catch up. Because of our late start the first day and the delay at the border we did not reach the Serengeti that day as planned. As we drove to our campsite we passed by several flooded rivers and plains from all the rain that week (very unusual for this time of year). That night, the driver told us that we needed to take a detour to get into Serengeti because the road to the park gate was flooded, but promised us that we would get to the Serengeti the next day.
We awoke on Day 3 thankful for a dry night and eager to get to Serengeti and see some animals, but the detour was much longer than we had expected. We didn’t reach the park gates until 4pm. Along this long drive, we learned that the roads in Tanzania are much better than Kenya (paved with no potholes!), and that the Tanzanian countryside is very green (due to rain) and filled with little villages with shambas (gardens) and cattle. We also learned how to take bathroom breaks in the countryside. Everytime we stopped by the road, the guys would hop off the truck and find spots along the bushes on one side of the road, while the girls went to hide themselves on the other side of the road.
I was disappointed that we reached Serengeti so late on day 3 and would only be spending one night there. After traveling for 3 days, I had expected to be able to spend more than one day in the park. However, these disappointments melted quickly away with the sightings of elephants as soon as we entered the park! Along the way to the campsite, we saw giraffes, buffalos, warthogs, baboons, and many many gazelles. We arrived at the campsite late and put our tents up in the dusk. Of all the other safari groups we passed and saw, I found it interesting that we were the only group comprised mostly of Africans.
We awoke on Day 4 to a light rainfall and scrambled to get ready for an early game drive. By the time all 38 of us were ready many other groups had already left. However, not more than 5 minutes after leaving the campsite, we saw giraffes! It made me wonder if we had any animal visitors during the night. Soon after passing the giraffes, we passed other groups that were heading back to the campsite. The drivers were telling us that all the rain this week had flooded the roads. Since the rain was coming down steadily by this time, we went back to the campsite to pack up the tents. Part of me was glad to get out of the rain, but the other part of me was disappointed to be leaving Serengeti already.
It was still a long drive out of the park and along the way we saw the shadow of a leopard in a tree and elephants. We stopped at a lookout point for lunch and were amazed by the Serengeti plains that spread out before us. After lunch we were eager to be on our way, but needed to wait again for the tour organizer. After a couple hours we started to worry because the park gates closed at 4pm and we could not get in contact with the tour organizer. At 3pm, we decided to pull our money together to exit the Serengeti and enter into Ngorongoro Conservation Park and then reclaim the money from the tour organizer at night in Karatu.
As we drove through the last bit of the Serengeti, we saw lions, wildebeest, zebras, and more gazelles. There were so many wildebeest roaming around and crossing the road haphazardly that we would cause a stampede as we drove by. With all the rain, the roads were really muddy and sometimes flooded. At one point we stopped to look at some landrovers stuck out in the plain. Then out of the blue another safarivan drove out around us out to the plains as well. We thought they were going to help the cars that were stuck, but they just passed them and went back to the road. That other driver then got out of his van and into our van and drove us around. Once we stopped, we saw that a section of the road had eroded and the cars were driving onto the plains to get around it. Soon after this we came to a river. A couple cars were stopped already and people were staring at the water wondering how to get across. We all got out of the van and held our breath as it plunged into the water and successfully “swam” to the other side. We then all piled into the truck and crossed the river. Although, we did not see as many animals as I had expected, we had quite the adventure in Serengeti.
We drove through Ngorongoro mostly in the dark, but from what I was able to see, it is quite a contrast to the Serengeti. Serengeti was very flat, while Ngorongoro was mountainous. The main attraction in Ngorongoro is a volcano, but it was too dark when we passed by to see it.
We reached Karatu at around 8pm and still had not heard from the tour organizer. All of us were tired and no one knew where we were supposed to be staying and did not want to pay extra money for accommodations that should have been covered by the price we paid for the tour. To make the situation worse, the driver of the truck said that tour organizer had taken the fuel money and used it to pay for the Serengeti entrance fee. Given that we had not heard from the tour organizer, the driver was told by his boss (the tour organizer had rented the truck and driver from a different company) to go back to Nairobi the next day and leave the truck and us in Tanzania. After much discussion and negotiation, we decided to pay for the fuel costs and convinced the truck driver to drive us back to Nairobi the next day (a day early). My housemates and I were very grateful to be in a group of Kenyans who knew what to do. The group was in disbelief that the organizer would just leave us; many of them had gone on other safaris with the same organizer and were threatening to sue when we got back to Nairobi. For the three of us wazungus, it was just a shock to have another trip gone wrong.
In mid-December we had planned a trip with one of our Kenyan co-workers to visit his family in a village near Lake Victoria. The week before we were supposed to go, our co-worker’s brother passed away. We then made arrangements to go with another co-worker who lives in the same area, but needed to get the bus tickets from the first co-worker; he was nowhere to be found. Our supervisor went to the bus company to enquire after the tickets and was told that no tickets were ever bought in our names. We were incredibly disappointed over this incident. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a blessing to not travel that weekend so that we had extra time to prepare for the Christmas party at the orphanage.
We awoke with better spirits on the last day of our Serengeti safari, knowing that we would be home that night. This stretch of the Tanzanian countryside reminded me of the rolling hills of Scotland. We also saw Mount Kilimanjaro on the way home. I have seen many mountains in my life, from the Rockies to the Andes, but Mount Kilimanjaro is BIG!
Jumping into 2007
We made it home in time to “jump” into 2007 with our friends from my Bible study class. Since we saw less animals than expected on our safari, we made our own balloon animals to make up the difference. We had a snail, fish, sausage dog, giraffe, rabbit ears, and dinosaur. Although it is the start of a new year, I feel as though I am just in the middle of a year. For me the new year started when I came here to Kenya. However, January does mark the half-way point of my time here. My experience here is teaching me the importance of an united community. In Kibera, neighbours help each other cook, watch the children, and take care of each others’ houses when the inhabitants are away. The members of the HIV/AIDS support group keep each other alive by sharing whatever little they have, praying with each other, and helping those who are bed-ridden. On the compound, the support, prayer, and care of everyone have gotten each of us through sickness, difficulties, and major disappointments. The team-environment has also enabled us to tackle projects that I did not think possible. In BSF, all the leaders and class members hold each other accountable as we study the Bible and apply what we are learning into our lives. On the Serengeti safari, I felt safe with the group even though we were stranded in Tanzania. Together, we sought for the wrongs to be amended; the tour organizer has agreed to refund us 40% of what we paid.
Chonesus re-opened on January 3rd and we went in eager to leave the unruly spirit in 2006 and resume our work again. The first day we spent assessing how things went in 2006 and what changes to make for 2007. At the end of the session, we were told that three people were suspended from the project for awhile because they had mismanaged the project’s resources. One person was the person who had disappeared with our bus tickets in December; we had expected this. However, we were not prepared to hear the names of the other two people and it shocked us to our core. We had built really good relationships with these two people and they had played a big part in helping us feel comfortable in Kibera. When I first arrived, they showed me that Kibera is not a place to be pitied, but a place full of laughter and full of people feeling “young young” (full of life, like when a child is running through a sprinkler fully enjoying the moment).
As we placed this situation before God, He comforted me with the promise that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance and he chose them to become like his son” (Romans 8:28-29a). I knew that the two people do love God and that somehow God will work this situation to teach the two them and us lessons that will make us more like Christ.
In the meantime, the work continues and I am thankful that some of the youth we worked with at the youth camp have stepped up to take on more responsibilities. One of our HIV + clients has also joined the home-based care team as well. The new additions on the team have brought new ideas are helping us to continue going forward.
There is much to look forward to this year. Chonesus secured enough funds to purchase the new building over the break! THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the project. We are planning to begin renovations and move in February. The new space will house a new health clinic, a bigger space for the expanding tailoring class, classrooms for literacy, and a large meeting hall for the youth.
My focus for the upcoming months will be on HIV/AIDS (home visitations and support group), Literacy, and BSF. I will also participate in the youth meetings and assist with the IT needs on the compound as time allows. I also plan on visiting other HIV/AIDS ministries here to get a bigger perspective of the fight against AIDS in Kenya.
May the new year give you all new beginnings. December 10 Youth & Diani BeachYOUTH CONFERENCE
This past week, December 4-8, was our Life Changing Youth Conference. What a week it has been! Our schedule for the week was as follows:
8:30 - 9:00am: Chai
9:00 - 9:15am: Devotion and Prayer
9:15 - 10:15am: Small Groups
10:15 - 10:45am: Praise and Worship
10:45 - 11:45am: Speaker on Change in Family Relations, Relationship with God, Personal Life, Time, and Future
11:45am - 1:00pm: Lunch and Games
1:00 - 1:30pm: Praise and Worship
1:30 - 2:30pm: Health Teaching (HIV/AIDS, Personal Hygenie, Adolescent Body Changes, and Drugs)
2:30 - 3:30pm - Group Presentations
3:30 - 4:00pm - Wrap-up
Our theme verse was Psalm 32:8 "The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.'" We certainly felt God's guidance this week.
Monday - The four of us that are involved with the conference were dreading the week to come and all the work that needed to be done. We were apprehensive over how all the details would come together. We prayed together before we set off and arrived to find that there was already many youth at the church. We scrambled to set up a table for registration and things were pretty chaotic as we made nametags for everyone that was there. Despite the chaos, excitement was in the air. Once everyone settled down, we began the program and divided the youth into small groups to get to know each other more. The most memorable part of the day for me was the time of praise and worship. I wish all of you could be here to experience the praise and worship. We were united with a spirit of joy, gratefulness, freedom, and community. Any apprenhension and worry we had about the camp were carried away through song and dance.
Tuesday - We arrived to find the registration table already set up and that Arthur, a youth leader, and a couple of the youth had a good handle at getting the nametags sorted and given out. I was so impressed that the youth were taking charge of the youth camp and not relying on us muzungus to do it all. Tuesday was a very long and loud day. We had rented sound equipment and they really enjoyed using the mics.
Wednesday - Our ears were very grateful that there was no electricity on Wednesday. We had regular schedule in the morning and then took the 100+ youth across Kibera to Uhuru Garden for games. Getting to Uhuru Garden was quite the adventure. We carefully stepped through some of the remaining mud puddles, then took big leaps between small rocks to get across a river, and then ran for our lives across a busy freeway. I am grateful that everyone made it to the Garden in one piece. At the Garden, we planned to have the 8 small groups rotate through 8 game stations. Explaining game stations was much more difficult than we had anticipated and the Kenyan staff along with the youth did not quite catch on. Groups just went where and when they pleased. It was chaotic, but the youth had fun and that is the most important thing at the end of the day.
Thursday - The electricity was back on, but the Kenyans learned that the mic does not be turned to the max in order for people to hear. Up until Thursday, the youth in my small group were pretty shy about sharing. On Wednesday, I had them write down questions on paper and I tried by best to answer their questions on Thursday. This sparked a good discussion. I was encouraged by the questions they were asking. They were really thinking through some difficult issues. We had talked about family relations, our relationship with God, HIV/AIDS, and personal hygenie.
Friday - The conference ended on a triumphant note. Over 50 youth began a new relationship with God! The youth also presented presentations that they had prepared. There was a rap group, a couple of singers, and a drama. What talent exists in Kibera! At the end of the conference, they played Swahili music and everyone danced together. Again, I wish all of you could have been there. Words and pictures cannot capture the spirit of the place. Many of the youth are already looking forward to the next youth camp.
Although the camp has finished, there is still much work to be done to support the youth as they continue on with life. December is a dangerous time with many people traveling and stealing to buy new things for Christmas. It is also a time when boys solicit girls and get them pregnant. We are planning to start a girls' group in the new year. Today at church, they also announced that they will be starting a youth choir. I am very excited by this news; the talent here is incredible!
DIANI BEACH
After school ended in November, I went with a roommate to Diani Beach, on the coast of Kenya for a few days. It was refreshing to be outside of Nairobi. We stayed at a budget hotel that rents self-catering cottages on the beachfront. Our stretch of beach was away from the major resorts so it was almost like having our own beach, but we did have to live with ants and cockroaches. We spent most of our time walking along the beach, picking shells, and swimming in the warm ocean (yes, warm ocean! I couldn't believe it!). You know the pictures of tropical islands with white sand, turquoise water, and palm trees; well, that was exactly what Diani Beach is like.
The weather was nice. It poured the morning we arrived and during our second night, but was dry the rest of the time there. It was hot and humid, what I thought African temperatures would be like.
Along the beach were many beach boys that would try to get us to hire them to take us out snorkeling. Our last morning there, we got a good price with one of the beach boys and he took us out on a outrigger boat to the coral reef. It was cloudy that day so there were not many people out snorkeling. We saw A LOT of fish. It is neat to swim amongst fish. Sometimes, it seemed like I was part of the school. When I was just floating in the water, some of the fish would be curious and swim right towards me and then veer off when they realized that I wasn't a fish. I swam with Zebra fish, Nemo (Clown fish), Gill (Moorish Idol), and many other fish that I can't identify. I wish I had a an underwater camera.
We spent two evenings at a restaurant on the beach eating with our feet on the sand, under the stars, listening to the waves, and being entertained by sand crabs and people trying to catch the sand crabs. Amongst the stars was Orion's Belt. Seeing the familiar 3 stars reminded me that although I am half a world away, we are all under the same sky.
November 20 No more school!November 9th was the last day of classes before exams. As a student, I always looked forward to the end of school, but what I didn't know was that teachers do too! My short stint as a teacher here has further confirmed that teaching is not my calling. The students are nice and I enjoyed talking with them, but teaching is a whole different story.
To keep me busy, I was invited to go with the other literacy teachers to attend the launch of one of Chonesus' partners, Partners in Literacy Ministeries (PALM) on November 11th. I spent much of that week preparing posters and a brochure for us to hand out at the launch and was happy that we were able to put the posters up in the front entrance! Because it rained early on the 11th, not very many people came to the launch, but amongst the guests were the Director and staff from Kenyan Ministry of Adult Education.
In the beginning, I wasn't sure about how I would do with the literacy classes, but I'm glad to be part of them because it gave me the opportunity to be at the launch. PALM is working with Chonesus to begin a new income-generation project. People who are involved in PALM often would like to visit a Kibera literacy class and instead of just visiting a literacy class, PALM thought it would be good to set up a walking tour through Kibera. We are currently working out the details of this walking tour, but if all goes well, we may run the first tour before Christmas.
I was quite stressed over creating the display because I only had a week and a half and kept running into complications. I included some pictures of Chonesus on the display, but the printing place didn't get the pictures done until Friday afternoon when they said that it would be done on Wednesday. Friday morning, I woke up quite alarmed of all the things that needed to be done. Becky and I were supposed to plan a lesson for the HIV/AIDS support group that afternoon, but just didn't have enough hours in the week to do so. Becky also had a lot on her plate and we started in the day dreading what was to come. We had a Chonesus staff prayer meeting in the morning and then a lady came to inform us that Michael, one of our HIV/AIDS clients, has been very sick and asked us to go and visit him. We went to see Michael. He was has been bed-ridden for the past few weeks and was now getting better, but was very sad and missing his former way of life. Before getting HIV, Michael and his wife, Mary Angela both had good jobs; Michael in the government and his wife as a teacher. They lived in a nice home outside of Kibera with comfortable furniture, electricity, and plumbing. All of this is gone now. Both Michael and Mary Angela have lost their jobs because of their status and have had to sell their nice things in order to rent a one-room mud house in Kibera. We encouraged them to think that this is not the end of life. Instead of looking back at the life they had, they should look forward to a better life with God. Their present circumstances are temporarily and they will one day be living with God where there will be no more pain or sorrows (Rev 21:4).
The visit also encouraged us very much. As we listened to each other share with Michael, the words also gave us a new perspective on our situation. We went into it with heavy hearts and left with hearts full of thanksgiving. There was still much to do that day, but we were now thankful for them rather than dreading them. Walking back to Chonesus, we decided that we would have a time of thanksgiving during the HIV/AIDS support group. When it came time for the support group to meet, the ones who arrived early started to sing even before we told them we wanted to have a time of thanksgiving! We couldn't believe what we were seeing and hearing. The people usually just come in and sit quietly until the meeting began. Although we were stressed over not having planned anything for the support group in the morning, we saw then that it was good thing we hadn't so that we would be able to join in on this spontaneous time of rejoicing. This was the best day that I've had in Kenya so far.
With all the youth finishing exams next week, we are now also planning a week long youth conference the first week of December. We are planning to have the youth around from 8:30am - 4:00pm with teaching, games, and group activities. Our theme is "Change" and plan to give lessons on how the youth can change their lives through a relationship with God in the morning and then talk about health issues in the afternoon.
In the midst of all this planning, I have managed to get some stomach problems that has kept me in bed for the past 2 days. I'm not sure of the exact source of the problem; I had suspected some lettuce that I ate on Wednesday, but no one else got sick. Nevertheless, I will be staying away from lettuce now. I am getting better so there's no need to worry. |
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