Roast Meat and Rescue Girls

Per the usual, we wrapped up our time here with a trip to the Maasai land. In a transportation combination of an ambulance, a bus, and a car, we got there after a mere 8 hours. We spent a night in Narok, which is really the last town before the savannah starts and the paved roads end. Since we had a little more time than I usually do, we took the evening to explore Narok a little bit. We found a cute little hotel (restaurant) that had a second floor balcony that allowed us to overlook the street without being spotted as "mzungu!" From our fly on the wall position, we watched the street activity as the sun went down.

Right when we arrived we stopped to grab some food since we were famished. I've eaten in Narok several times with big groups of students, but we asked my friends Tony to take us to his favorite place because I wanted to see the difference. I had to introduce the girls to the local specialty here, Nyama choma, or roast meat-specifically goat. Like any good meat-based eatery, this one was attached to a butchery. You actually had to walk through this one to get to the seating though, so I was lucky these girls were nurses and no stranger to innards and unpleasant smells ;).

(Every true Kenyan restaurant has a hand washing station, which is good since they are also your utensils;)

We bought the meat by the kilo, and the waitress brought it out on a slab of wood and cut it into manageable pieces for us. It was, of course, fantastic. We complemented our meal with the tradional ugali and sacumawiki, so it was a completely utensil-free meal. And no celebration is complete without room temperature soa in glass bottles. Liz is particularily addicted to Stoney, a spicy, nosing-tingling ginger ale, so she got her daily fix ;)

The next day we visited Masikonde Primary School and gave pads to the 7th and 8th grade girls. Not to brag, but my chalkboard illustration of a uterus and Fallopian tubes is getting pretty good. We had a good chat with the principal and made plans to come back on our next trip and supply the high school as well.

Next came our trek off the beaten path out to the Mara. Its all dirt roads from there on out, but even those were being "improved but not finished yet", so there were large rocks laid across the road every 50 years or so, to "encourage" motorists to use what I would describe as "car paths" through the bush along the side of the road. Yup. That drive took a little longer than usual :)

(55 pad kits y'all-woohoo!)

We stopped at two more schools to distribute pads. We dropped in on one school unannounced, because we had extra supplies. We walked through the school yard and saw a good number of teenage girls, which was perfect because we had over 50 pad kits to distribute. I was surprised to find then, that there were only 12 girls in their grades 6-8. I asked if they also had high school classes. No. Finally I asked why there were so many older girls outside if there were only 12 in class. "Oh, those are the Class One rescue girls"-which means first grade. It turns out the Maasai are one of the most traditional tribes, and one of the last to embrace the education of girls. If families can't afford to educate all their children, the girls are still the ones stay home, which means they are often expected to get married at age 13-14ish. Now that education is more available on the Mara, some girls run away to go to school. This leaves the burden of housing them, feeding them, and covering their school fees up to the schools themselves, which is where the girls usually run to.

I have always asked the schools for their number of girls in grades 6 and above, but I think I will have to change that, at least on the Mara. When we asked them to gather all the teenage girls that had hit puberty, the number jumped to 55. Wow.

We spent our last day exploring the Mara, enjoying the lovely sunshine. No matter how long my life is, I will never get tired of this endless expanse of sky and wild land. Wind tangled hair and sunburned cheeks are such a necessary therapy, I wish it for everyone. I have seen few things as beautiful as these magnificent animals freely roaming, golden lion eyes, and the blazing sunsets that end these days. I wish it for everyone.

#thishappyblessedlife

Jessie

 

Posted with Blogsy