Celebrations at Upendo: more wonders (of the cute variety)...

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Hey again! I may be going on a communication rampage now that I can, so hopefully am not boring you with all the photos. Had to share these ones though - am sure you'll see why.
Margaret, who works at the lab and who also provides a lot of support for the orphanage that Brigid works at, has her father and brother over from Australia to visit. So, to welcome them, the orphanage put on a shindig. The orphans, their guardians, the teachers and the Upendo mamas (women who support the orphanage both financially and practically) organised dinner and singing, and Margaret's brother performed a magic show which kept the kids thoroughly entertained. The kids performed some poems and songs they had learnt - from a 'welcome to Upendo' song to a poem about AIDS called 'That Merciless Disease' that talks about how it took away their parents (pretty hard not to be moved by that one!!!). The Mamas broke into song every time there was a break in proceedings, getting up and dancing (and usually trying to drag Brigid up to dance too). Margaret's family also planted trees in the orphanage gardens as it is an African belief that if you leave something somewhere, one day you will return.
'Twas a lovely evening, topped off by presents for all the kids and lots and lots of food. I took photos until my camera battery ran out. Here are some of them. Love, K x
PS George has just decreed that Caroline and I are no longer allowed to speak english in the lab. Just swahili. Hopefully this is not the point at which all my experiments go awry!

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Photos

Upendo Gathering group photo 3
Laughing at the magic show

Upendo guardians in Kangas
Bright wraps worn by women in Kenya

Comments

[Mark and Jaba]

Fantastic pictures!
Keep up the great blog! Hope to see you and Bridged in August!