Handprints and Hammer marks

Sorry I have been quiet, as they say here, but this last week has been busy. Let me catch you up on all our adventures. We visited two new schools to start the pad project. We started with Hobanaka Primary and Secondary schools, and over the course of 2afternoons we talked to around 430 girls and distributed pad kits to them all. I gave the first talk, and then the girls just jumped right in and did the next two talks. We did it in 3 groups since the biggest room they had only held about 150 girls. I don't think many people have a love affair with public speaking, and even though they are just teenage girls, their power seems to increase as their numbers do. I was so proud of Sarah and Caroline and how they spoke to the groups.

Dad and Anthony came with us to help haul the pads and see the schools. I assumed they would just wait outside while we gave the talks, so I gave them no warning of what happens when we visit schools sometimes. During our first talk I left them with Zach, one of the make teachers. As soon as they dropped the pads in the classroom, they walked outside to find an assembled group of boys. My best guess-about 90 of them. Zach introduced Dad and Anthony with this: "These are visitors from America who have come to talk to you and tell you very important things to help you in your future." I think they started out that epic talk with, "Ummmm........Okay." Even though I have come to expect such on-the-spot-off-the-cuff speaking requests, it still daunts me sometimes, especially when you walk out of an unlit class room into blinding sun and 90 expectant pairs of eyes. Poor dears. I think dad pulled out every motivational topic he had up his sleeves, and they were saved when Anthony finally found his voice and contributed, "Anyone wanna play futbol?" Then were a smashing hit from then on. They had us in giggle fits that evening in the retelling of their awkward tale. The next day there was a rugby game in progress, so they were saved from the on-demand speech, and I think Anthony and his rugby skills will soon become legend.

(Brian working on the shelves)

The house is coming along quite nicely, and the kids are doing their share as well. Even though it takes twice as long and looks half as nice, they've been helping paint and fix their home too. Vincent is quite a good painter actually, and the little munchkins were quickly delegated to other tasks that wouldn't leave lasting handprints and hammer marks on every exposed surface of the house.

(Vincent and Daniel working on the front door)

(Zed, Arnold, Naomi, and Brian with Miss Caroline)

 

Eddah has been arranging and rearranging the sewing kit my mom sent her. When she opened it up she whispered, "Wow, this is for me?" I think it may literally kill Arnold that there is a box of sharp, potentially dangerous, small objects and containers that he is not allowed to play with.....it now has a designated spot on the highest shelf in the house that is conveniently out of his reach.

Fret not, I have also been taking the group to do fun stuff, so it will never be said that traveling with Jess is all work and no play. We've hiked up the hill for sunrises, jumped back and for the between hemispheres, and played chess by candlelight (not so much for the romance of it, but because the power was out).

I will try my best to post one more time this trip to keep you up to date on our final adventures.

Jessie

 

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School Shoes and Street Food

This week we had several exciting goings on. Firstly and most epic; Zed had his first day of school. Ever. A little background on this little peach puff: he's about 8 yrs old, and came to stay with us last October. He did not have much nutrition or stimulation for those first 8 yrs, so when he came to us he was pretty delayed in the walking/talking/potty training areas, among other things. He's started to say quite a few words, he's learning Kiswahili, and his tutor gave us the green flag, so his first day was Monday. We picked up his school shoes and socks on Friday while we were in Kisumu and we showed them to him in the kitchen. He immediately abandoned his flip flops and stuck out his foot to try them on. I had a moment of panic that I had gotten the wrong size when 5 minutes later when we had only managed to wrangle him into one shoe. Jacky kept laughing when she was trying to explain to him in Kiswahili that he needed to point his toes into the shoe and wiggle and step down to get it on. I guess he has been a strictly slip-on shoe (or barefoot) kind of guy up until now. But there is a first time for everything, and now he loves his new kicks.

(Zed in his new shoes, photo bombed by Brian)

Tucked in amongst the hundreds of pounds of pads we brought, I had quite a little stash of books for the kiddos from my Aunt Mary (thank you!). I have been pulling them out gradually as to give them enough time to enjoy them. A newest novelty is a 3D book that came with glasses.

(Arnold being introduced to the wonderful world of 3D).

(Vinicent and Andrew-a neighbor boy-reading on the porch).

(Brian and Daniel. Despite multiple explanations of what the glasses were for, Daniel just liked to wear them to look around the room :).

(Naomi being adorable, per the usual).

My group is doing very well and getting lots done. They are also working with an HIV support group that makes crafts. They are helping them with quality control and marketing, as well as giving them new ideas and strategies to increase their sales. They already jumped right it, and they already had a plethora of new items as of this week.

The one night a week we didnt have dinner cooked for us (I know we're spoiled), we decided to try our luck with some little local hotels (restaurants) and got to experience a little Kenyan street food. Samosas, chips, and sausages. They also got to try Peptang, a neon and slightly gelatinous version of ketchup. Per the usual, we had a lovely walk back home in the rain.

Much love,

Jessie

 

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Tuk-Tuks and Turpentine

The children's home is looking a hundred times better, and my group is settling in nicely here. The kids love Sarah, Caroline, and Anton-as he has been renamed per the children. We're about halfway done with the painting, and despite our best efforts Arnold has not made it through a day without sticking his hand in wet paint somewhere. He has the perpetual lingering smell of mischief and turpentine. Sweet boy.

(Dad and Anthony in a prolonged struggle with the door to make it shut completely without scraping the floor. Dad and Anthony won, but the door did not give up without a fight)

I taught them how to do laundry by hand this weekend, and they excelled in the art of scrubbing. The kids surrounded them and offered chattering advice in Swahili on their technique and thoroughness. Everything came out relatively clean-partly from the the scrubbing, partly from the sunshine.

Dad and I went to Kisumu earlier this week to run errands while the trio painted, and we took the 3 musketeers with us on Friday when we went back to get medical supplies for the hospital. I had planned on using some of my funding to get paint/outlets/new mosquito nets to spruce up the hospital wards, but when I arrived I was more distressed by the fact we only had one thermometer and 2 BP cuffs between 3 wards and 2 clinics..........So I decided to start there. That's why I like to keep my plans loose. Welcome to Kenya, where the plans be always a'changin ;)

(In the back of a tuk-tuk on the way to medical supply store).

I apologize for the lack of pics of the kiddos. More to come on the next post after I get them uploaded. We're in a 24 hr power outage right now, so we're trying to conserve battery life whenever possible until our electronic life blood source is restored.

Love love,

Jessie

 

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Strong and Fat

Oh my......this trip is already an adventure :). Firstly, I am traveling with my Faj, my little sister Sarah (the wildest and free-est of all the sisters), and her two good friends. The three of them haven't traveled much yet, so seeing them experience it for the first time is like watching a baby realizing they have hands. Pure delight.

The adventuring began in Amsterdam, where we had a 12-hour layover. Just enought time to explore the city with 45 minutes of sleep under our belts (how can you sleep on a plane when there is so much to do, like eat snacks and watch movies?!). Of course we climbed the I AMsterdam sign, wandered the canal streets, and sampled treats of a bitterballen nature. We may also have reenacted the wizard chess scene of Harry Potter at a park, narrowly missed a few bike-pedestrian collisions, and unintentionally left the guide (me) at a bus stop. It was all great fun.

On the flight to Nairobi I was given the greatest gift of all......3 seats to myself. Best sleep of my life. It gave my immune system a little time to pull itself together, since it dependably poops out on me right before every big trips like this. We arrived in Nairobi healthy and fresh as daisies, and ready to get to work. The ambulance that picked us up from the airport was literally packed to top with our 15 gigantic bags of mostly maxi pads. It was a quite tight sqeeze on the way to Maseno, but since you've gotta brace your knees against something on that ride, I prefer a bag of pads over a metal bar.

Truly the greatest joy of the trip so far has been introducing my watoto (children) to Sarah, and having Dad see them again after 5 yrs. As the ambulance lumbered into the yard, I had to look twice to make sure the kid running up to us was Zedekia. The shape of his face has changed since his little mouth isn't full of rotten teeth anymore. He's gained weight, he's significantly taller, and much to my relief, his adult teeth are already almost all the way in. He is talking a little and laughing a lot. He can run and climb the hill. I am beyond delighted. They are all taller and healthier, or as they say here, they are all strong and fat. (Fat means well-fed and well taken care of, so its not actually an outrageously offensive comment here-as it would be at home, although I find the term much less endearing when it is applied to me personally :).

(Naomi, Griffin, and Zedekia couldn't wait to get their hands on Sarah's long hair).

It took the kids about, oh.....30 seconds to warm up to this group. I think Sarah was running around with 2 children on her back within the first afternoon, and Caroline and Anthony had a child hanging on each arm as they toured the grounds. We know when school is out because there is suddenly 3-4 little heads peeking over our window sill, beckoning us to come "play chase" or jump rope. They've all been working and playing very hard. I don't know who was more worn out the last few days, my children or my college students :)

I will soon have some more pics of our progress on beautifying the children's home, but until then, enjoy a few more of our travel pics. More updates to come soon.

Jessie

 

 

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