Pictures!

Our last few days we've spent getting back in the groove here at the orphanage. Danny went on field work while I talked with the welder about our swingset and worked on a new napier grass field near the orphanage. Yesterday, July 9th, both Danny and I worked very hard with some others to fell a huge tree. After about 2 hours of cutting roots with machetes and a pick axe (that broke 3 times), we were able to pull it down. We also managed to make it to Don Bosco to tutor today in "maths" and ended up walking home with some of the kids along a path that took us by local farms and through high corn fields (normally, we just take the matatu home). Today, July 10th, we oversaw the construction beginings of our swingset that we've donated to the orphanage. It should be finished tomorrow and in full swing!

Danny showed the kids at Don Bosco how to play basketball after finding out that none of them knew how to play basketball or knew the rules

Digging the path of a new well

The beautiful view on our way to Naivasha (lots of tea leaves!)

A stop on our way to Naivasha was full of women trying to sell us their fresh pineapples

Lake Naivasha

Hell's Gate National Park

Hot Springs and the gorge at Hell's Gate

I became a Maasai warrior

Elephant orphanage at Nairobi National Park

Carnivore Restaurant: for $25 you can eat all the meat you want including exotic types such as ostrich and alligator (ostrich meat balls are great!)

Matatu traffic going into central Nairobi

Danny's fieldwork visit at a local school was intimidating at first...but, things lightened up

Some ladies in the microfinance program taking out loans for irrigation systems and goats

Washing up before dinner

Digging out and felling a huge tree for a new cow pen (don't worry, I have a video)

Me and one of the new baby bunnies

Naivasha, Hell's Gate, and Nairobi

Sorry for the gap in posts..John and I just returned from our weekend trip to Lake Naivasha, Hell’s Gate National Park, and Nairobi on Tuesday. We had a really good time, but are happy to be back at the orphanage. We left on Saturday after helping with the sponsored kids event here at the orphanage. For this, kids from around the area that are in the sponsors program came to write cards for their sponsors (in the States, UK, Australia, etc.). It was interesting to meet some of the other kids – many who of course don’t have as much exposure to the organization. We each helped a couple kids craft their letters in English (many of whom didn’t understand English at all).

Then, that afternoon we took a matatu to Thika (larger city nearby) and then transferred to Naivasha. The Thika matatu area was absolutely crazy. Right when we got off the matatu, we were harassed by random vendors and matatu drivers. Finally we pushed off to Naivasha. The ride was actually pretty pleasant, besides the normal couple close calls when our matatu would pass other cars in the other lane going around turns in what became a more and more mountainous terrain. John was in the front seat with our friend David and the driver. He thought this added to the excitement (don’t worry, Mom, I made him put on his seatbelt). I was in the middle seat with Amanda and had the joy of listening to Doug (rounding out the 5 in our group) talk to a veterinarian from Thika that was traveling home to his family in Naivasha. Over the 2 hour ride, they spoke of random subjects like eating meat, alcohol, farming, tea vs. coffee, and others. Doug’s a pretty fun loving guy so by the end of our ride we were buddy buddy with the people on the bus. We were offered pineapples and corn from our neighbors. At one point the matatu stopped and we were offered pineapples from about 20 women who surrounded the car. This area is more mountainous and the main crops are pineapple and tea leaves (some of the best in the world). The terrain was beautiful.

Soon we arrived in Naivasha town, where we were duped into thinking there wasn’t a matatu that would take us to the lake. So, we took a cab and arrived at Fisherman’s Camp on the lake. A British couple started this resort/campground on the lake about 20 years ago and it is now a local landmark. We arrived in time to take a sunset boat ride around the lake. There we came across a whole herd (I think they’re herds) of hippos. The things were enormous and we saw a few yawns from the hungry group. Hippos come out of the lake to graze at night and we caught a couple that had come out early for some food. Our guide also bought a fish from a local fisherman who were fishing with big sweeping nets (fishing is actually banned in the lake because fish are low but who’s going to stop a poor fisherman). He then used those to get a fish eagle to swoop by to grab the bait.

That night, we enjoyed the camp. There was a restaurant with western fare (pizzas, burgers, etc.) and a full bar. Our accommodations were really nice too. We had a cabin for the 5 of us…with showers and hot water! Also, while we were eating dinner out on the porch of the restaurant, hippos came up to graze in the grass around us. There are electric fences around the camp to keep a safe distance from the big guys, but we were able to get within 15 feet from a couple of them.

The next morning we rented bikes from the camp and headed to Hell’s Gate National Park. This is one of the few parks in Kenya where they allow you to go in without a vehicle. Apparently, there are lions and leopards there, which we fortunately didn’t come across. We biked for about 20 miles through the park and saw zebras, water buffalo, gazelles, warthogs, and ostrich. It’s funny how boring a zebra gets when you’re surrounded by them for a few hours. Deep in the park is a gorge that formed from two tectonic plates pulling apart – the same ones that form the split of the Middle East from Africa. John and I hiked down into the gorge with a guide who turned out to be a Maasai warrior (the famed tribe in Africa that must kill a lion before becoming a man and wearing the colorful outfits). At the bottom of the gorge are some awesome hot springs that we got to experience. Evidently, Tomb Raider II was also filmed there (woo).

We then went on to Nairobi for the next 2 nights. Though we enjoyed the few western inspired restaurants and hot showers, Nairobi sucks big time. In a sentence, it’s a dirtier, less safe Harlem where you get singled out for being a mizungu (white person) without fail. However, as the veteran Kenyas we are now, we get along pretty well (it’s been fun to say we “work here” in Makuyu and see the reactions and corresponding leverage for bartering). So, we spent most of our time during the day outside Nairobi. There’s actually a National Park that was created around the outskirts of the city – originally to keep wild animals out of the city center. There they have an elephant and rhino orphanage that we went to one day. Really sweet. The zookeepers brought out about 20 elephants for feeding and to play around. They’d come right up to you and we got some good pictures (for a later post). Then the one baby rhino came out. It was like a puppy, prancing around and playing with a ball they had out there. To top it off, a few giraffe from the park (the orphanage is part of the larger park) came over to see what was going on.

After leaving Nairobi, we headed back to Makuyu. It has been good to be back and see the kids (and how happy they were to see us again). We’ve been busy making arrangements for our swingset and working on other things around the orphanage. We had a bit of a mix up with the welder, but today we made a deposit and we’re expecting him to be here tomorrow to start the work on the structure. Also, yesterday we had our first teaching session at the Don Bosco school. To our surprise, “tutoring” ended up being 20 kids that have been struggling in Math (or “Maths” here) for our help. We split them up and we both held a little class for 10 students. We both really enjoyed it. The kids were very well behaved and we hope benefited from the extra help. We will go back there tomorrow and Friday (in between our swingset).

That is all for now. We’ll have another update soon – with pictures. We miss you all, but are still really enjoying our experiences here.

Pictures and Our Trip to Thika

John:

So, we went to Thika by matatu (about 40 min.) to buy chains, seats, and other pieces for our swingset. We're building from scratch, so it's quite a fun project. We also shopped at a nice, big supermarket called "Tusky's" and ate cheeseburgers and chicken at a local restaurant. It was pretty good (and all under $5 for us combined)! On the matatu back, I got in with 50 lbs of chain and seats for the swings and realized the van was full but couldn't turn around and get situated. So, I ended up riding to the next stop (about 10 miles) while facing backwards, between two seats, no seat belt...and the matatu was moving at 70-80 mph with more than 14 people in it. Let's just say, if I wasn't already standing out as a white person (mozungo), I definitely stood out much more.

Some pictures from the past few days:

Daniel and Danny.

Danny and I with our best friends, Julius and Daniel.

A boy stands guard in front of his home.

Danny went to the "field" with Boniface and Yerka (Slovakia) to check up on sponsored kids that don't live at the orphanage.

For Ashley's 21st birthday, we had burgers. Yet, the burgers were 1/4 kilo each and we had to experiment a couple of times to get them down to the right size to cook.

Kids coming home from school.
When Johannes and Maria were leaving, all of the kids wanted to go to. So, they all squished into the van.

Danny and Jackline.We gave the girls our caps.

David (UK) found a huge beetle.

Burning trash. You have to make sure it burns or else the kids will go through it and eat anything or play with something.

Me eating Ugali (white block) with some beef stew. Most of the beef was chunks of cartiledge but it was okay (besides, it was only $1.30 each or so).

Nightly Routine

Danny:

John and I had our first night of "duty managers" at the orphanage tonight. As it's top of mind, I thought I could describe this in this post and give a general update. I've also heard "less writing, more pictures" and "let your brother write long, you keep it short" from friends, but I'm thinking I'll stick to my rambling style.

Duty managers are basically in charge of overseeing the nightly routine for the kids. Here's how it goes (starting a little before when they get home from school):

3 PM: Some of the "middle" kids get home at this time. These are the ones in lower primary school (our 1st to 4th grade or so).

4PM: Youngest kids get home. These are too young for primary school so they go to a nursery. These are all under 5 years old.

5 PM: Oldest kids get home (upper primary, no kids in secondary/high school). From here all the kids are put to work doing chores. The little ones will do a couple small tasks like making their beds, the middle ones will do stuff like sweep or wash the latrines (haven't gone there with you all yet). The oldest will do more substantial chores. The boys usually help on the shamba (farm) watering crops or pulling weeds or feeding the animals. Girls do laundry or help in the kitchen. The idea is that it is important for these kids to do normal chores. If this organization raises a group of kids that doesn't do the traditional chores in the area, they cannot grow to be self-sufficient members of the community. The schools also teach some home skills that help with this.

6PM: We ring the bell for the kids to get cleaned up for dinner. This is quite a sight. All the middle kids fill up buckets and wash their feet. I'm not sure if John or I mentioned it yet, but your feet get dirty very quickly here. Nothing is paved and there is an orangeish dirt clay everywhere that stains your feet and your clothes. It reminds me of the Vandy softball fields (for the few of you that get that reference). Anyways, then all the older kids wash their feet and help the younger ones. It has a certain Last Supper aura to it all.

6:30: By 6:30 all kids have made their way to the dining room. We check off their names and have them wash their hands, and write on the board who has homework. John and I fumbled over the order of this, but oh well. Then we said prayer. I'm still trying to memorize this one, but it's a pretty cute ordeal. They all say this prayer in English with their hands folded (fingers pointing up style) and eyes closed tight. Then, dinner is served.

7:00: Finish dinner. Teeth brushing time. Brushing teeth is like pulling teeth for these kids. There is a board with numbers on it where all the tooth brushes lie. Most kids put the brush in their mouth and that's that. One of these nights John and I are going to hold a little teeth brushing instruction. Tonight was Julius' birthday, so we all sang happy birthday to him at this time. He just turned 5, but has the appetite of Matthew Meiners at Waldo pizza buffet. He ate his food, finished my food, brushed his teeth, ate the candy I gave him for his bday (my bad on the timing), and then I saw him later finishing another kid's plate. Wow.

7:30: One hour of homework. The little kids usually fall asleep in your lap at this point, and the older ones finish any assignments or read a book. This is one area where our kids really have an advantage over other kids in the area. As it gets dark here at 6:30 or so, most kids have no lights and can't do homework anymore. Taking into account that most walk an hour to and from school and have chores to do to help the family when they get home, you can see the difficulties associated with studies. We have a lit hall with 10 international tutors. It helps quite a bit.

8:30: We say a final prayer holding hands (also don't have this one down yet). We hug each child goodnight and send them to bed.

So, that's the routine. Other updates:

- 3 new volunteers joined us today. One girl from Germany. A middle aged woman from Spain, and her friend. This guy is 28, grew up in Rwanda, was orphaned at the age of 5, adopted by a Belgium couple (with his brother and sister), and now lives in Spain. He wanted to return to Africa to find out about his roots and help other orphans. I was walking with Boniface when he first arrived, and Boniface said it was the first black volunteer. I think the kids have begun to associate the volunteers with white people, so it'll be cool to see how they take to him. They should be able to identify with him closely. His friend (not his girlfriend) doesn't speak a lick of English (or Kikuyu obviously), so it's been tough for her to communicate. John's excited because he gets to use his Spanish as her translator now.

- This weekend we're going on a trip with a few of the volunteers here (Amanda - US, David - UK, and Doug - US). We'll go to Lake Navasha by matatu, stay in a camp there. Lake Navasha is known for a multitude of flamingos and hippos. That night we'll try to take a boat ride at sunset. Then the next day we'll rent bikes and ride around Hell's Gate National Park. We should be able to see Zebras, Giraffes, and other animals there. Then we'll head to Nairobi, get some good food, go to a nursery for giraffes, and shop in the markets there.

- Early the following week, we've planned a safari to Masii Mara with 2 girls from Colorado. Masaii Mara is the Kenyan side of the Serengeti and is home to the great wildebeast migration - probably the best place to safari in the world. Needless to say, we're looking forward to that.

- John and I have decided to sponsor the start of a playground here for the kids, with a swingset. We drew out a design and got in touch with a local welder here. He has done some other work on the orphanage and came highly recommended. Anyways, he came here once to go over what we wanted, then came back with his proposal. Of course, John and I had NO idea what that should cost. Luckily, we had Jeroga, who runs the farm, come negotiate with us. We had to keep a serious face while they argued for 15 minutes and took the labor down from about $70 to $60. It's crazy how cheap things are here. With the raw materials, it'll cost more, but we feel like we're giving something tangible to the kids at a pretty small cost. Tomorrow we have to go into Thika (a city of 650,000) about 40 minutes from here to double check prices at a hardware store to be sure we aren't getting ripped off. This should be an adventure. We plan to keep looking for opportunities like these. Please email us if you'd like to help donate something to the kids. Other ideas: rooster (yes, a rooster) to provide more chickens, other items for the playgound, a bull (similar to the rooster), rolling cart.

- Saturday all the sponsored kids (58) are coming from the surrounding villages for food and other gifts. It should be really interesting.

Ok, well I'm done rambling for the night. I'll try to post again before our trip (maybe at least some pictures); otherwise, we'll tell about our travels afterwards. I've also been learning a lot about the states of Education, Health Care, and Politics in Kenya, so I'd like to post more about those sometime soon also.