It's a Long Road To Tiperary....

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We Finally Get to Meet Heather's Foster Child - Caroline

We were up early, at 6:00 am, and ready for a 7:00 am breakfast. The food did not really seem that appealing and we dined on croissants, black coffee and some eggs. Our driver, Danison, and the representative for Plan Canada (Agnes), arrived at 7:30am to brief us o our itinerary for the day. Agnes was an interesting person - short, round, and full of compassion for the children that she worked with. She carefully explained the protocols required in meeting with a Plan-sponsored child, and it was very clear that took great lengths to protect the children under their watch. In fact, I was quite impressed with their operations, although I only saw the aspects of it that thy wished to show me. Nevertheless, these were real people making a real difference under very difficult and remote conditions.

We started our journey on to Tharaka village. The vehicle was a sturdy Land Rover and I braced myself for a difficult ride into the out backs of Kenya. It began easily enough on the freshly paved road with Heather and I riding lightly in the back bench seats. The countryside was beautiful. However, 25 kilometers into the 125 kilometer trip the road changed into a kidney-busting spine-crushing rumble over dry creek beds, desolate road construction, dry wash-outs, rock trails, and primitive pathways. The dust was choking and we were now in the epicenter of the famed drought which was now hitting parts of Kenya. The landscape was stark in places, stripped bare by the relentless heat and burning winds. The Rover tumbled side to side - sometimes smashing our heads against the side in unison, banging an elbow against the window, or biting a tongue or lip. The ride was two hours….

We arrived at our destination and drove directly to the Plan Canada regional offices where we met John and received a new introduction, orientation and set of protocols for our meeting to follow with “Caroline”. We signed waivers and agreements and left the offices to make our way to the local market. Heather wanted o the buy some food for the family of Caroline as we would be visiting there with her once we picked her up from school. She purchased flour, maize, salt, vegetables, cooking oil, potatoes, tomato, onions and much more. Her $40 purchase would feed her family of 5 for 2-3 weeks, and meant a lot during this drought period.

As it turns out, Caroline’s family is only “slightly” better off than most people in the region because they have a few goats and chickens that supply eggs and milk for them. Unfortunately, we also found out that they slaughtered a goat in our honour and prepared it for a meal when we arrived. This is always difficult news for me to swallow as a vegetarian, especially when the live goat means so much more to their survival than mine! We’re happy that the food that we brought could make up for much more than what they had prepared for us.

Off we went from the market place tot eh boarding school where Caroline lived (she didn’t actually live with her parents, but stayed at the boarding school. The school had been helped significantly by Plan Canada and the Headmaster heaps praises on the workers for the contributions they had made. He informed us that Caroline was a very bright child and was at the top of her class in English. A teacher brought Caroline to the Headmaster’s office and we all met for the first time. It was a very impactful moment for Heather. They took to each other right away, just like sisters. Off we went in the Rover to visit the family of Caroline.

We arrived at the small family farm to be greeted by her mom and dad, the grandmother, and her sister and nephew of 5 or 6 years old. We spoke for an hour, exchanging gifts, questions, and new relations with one another. Heather gave scarves, towels, and Maple syrup to Caroline’s mother, who returned the gratitude with hand woven baskets for Heather, Heather’s mom, and myself, and hand woven hats for the both of us. Heather presented the food to them and they were very overwhelmed by the generosity, especially given the state of their poverty and hardship in the drought conditions. We enjoyed together a meal of rice and goat meat soup that had been prepared for us.

It was a wonderful experience, all in all, and we enjoyed the local ambience sitting in the yard with the animals drifting about between our sentences. A young calf quietly strode up to our outdoor gathering and hung around with his head resting on the food table like a pet dog (it appeared to be some variation of Brahma species and sort of looked like a Great Dane sitting there). On the other hand, the family dog laggered around nearby. It was a sickly looking thing with ribs sticking out, and would periodically start to gag. Some of the family members occasionally called out to the dog, “Hiturio, Hiturio.” We all know that man’s best friend is his dog. For those of us who know Heather, we know that a dog’s best friend is Heather. She felt sorry for the dog and instantly reached out to comfort it. “Hiturio, Hiturio,” she called. But the dog didn’t seem to respond well, even though she continued to call to the dog in increasing volume. “Hiturio, Hiturio!” she now exclaimed. “Isn’t that the dog’s name?” she inquired of our guests. “No,” responded Agnes. “Hiturio is the Swahili word for ‘Get away from here’!” We broke out into laughter as Heather realized that she had been shooing the poor creature away.

Our meeting ended much quicker than we had wanted, and time was our enemy today. Caroline needed to get back to classes so we said our goodbyes. Back at the school, the two sisters, Caroline and Heather, wished each other well.

Back in the Land Rover, we launched out of the valley and back onto the rib-cracking journey, which seemed even longer on the return trip.

We were back to the hotel after two hours, much earlier than what we had originally expected, and decided to just rest for the remaining part of the day. I had to catch up on some more business on the computer but Heather was able to do some laps in the pool.

We were exhausted and hit the sack early. This is the last night in Africa for Heather and she leaves late tomorrow night for her return trip to Canada. Jennifer, back in Nairobi, is on her way to the airport and leaving tonight. I will be staying on for 5 more days of work, and will then return myself.

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Comments

[Val]

Thanks
Hi bro just wanted to let you know Jennifer got home and is full of stories. Thanks for taking her with you. She can't wait to go back! Am in the process of looking at her pics and can't wait to see yours. Stay safe Val oh yeah, Bleach doesn't remove the red dust out of socks and runners. I guess thats a small price to pay huh?