Busy in Bumala

Africa » Kenya » Western Province
March 2nd 2011

Published: March 2nd 2011

Well, I’m almost a week behind in writing. It’s just been so much busier and fun than I anticipated, so it’s hard to sit down at the end of every day to write. I’m even farther behind in my personal journal. Oh well, I’ll have this to remember the important stuff. So where was I?? Wednesday??

Morning started out the same. But by about 10, a bunch of the grandmothers and mothers of our kids came by. The clowns had said that they would have liked to have had the chance to spend more time with the grandmothers on Sunday, so this was a way to make up for that, although it had already been planned. Todd said a few words and then we got to the task at hand – handing out a ton of stuff that Charles had bought and that the clowns had brought with them. Each grandmother (I think there were about 18 or so) got a water bucket, a wash basin, 2 cooking pots, a metal cup, and a blanket. Then each grandmother got to pick several items of clothing from the clowns. They had about 2 huge duffel bags full of clothing right from toddler size to adult. Everyone, both givers and receivers were moved to tears, and the grandmothers started singing a song to us. There were so many hugs and smiles. Then we all sat down for a lunch of beans and rice. Some more visiting and singing, a group photo, and the ladies were off with their new goodies. It was a perfect morning in the blazing sun.

Next, Meryl and I started on the yearbook photos. We started with the group shot of Baby Class. They are so timid and don’t understand English very well that it was easier to just pick them up and put them where we wanted them. So cute. Then we moved on to the individual pictures for Class One and Two. They went pretty fast, but we had to work around the clown’s rehearsals, and 2nd lunch, and everything else. There’s only one Meryl, and she had to take pictures of everything else that was going on as well as the class photos.

The other big project of the day was tie-dying with Wildman. The Form 1 and Tailoring students had the privilege of learning how to tie and dye white t-shirts. It was super interesting, and although it’s not really my style, us Edmontonians think we’ll have to have a tie-dying party when we get home. They had to sit for 24 hours, but when Wildman brought them back on Thursday morning, they were all super-cool.

So as we were finishing up for the day, the rains came. Almost everyone had left, and got caught in the rain, but I was trying to get the kids’ names ready for the rest of the yearbook photos, so I just stayed nice and dry at the school until the rain had stopped. I popped into the Form 1 class to get all their names and talked with some of them. They seem to be pretty happy to be living out at Bumala now instead of Kawangware, although I’m not sure how I’d feel living at school 24-7. They have extra classes on Saturday and then chores around the grounds on Sunday. There is entertainment and free time scheduled too, but most of their school nights consist of studying. Beth, the secondary school principal says their current marks are “fair” although they’ve only been in school a month and a half and they’ve had a huge adjustment with moving halfway across the country. I’d say they’re doing pretty well, and a lot of them have big dreams – one wants to be a pilot, one wants to be a lawyer, one wants to be a doctor, etc etc etc.
I had a quiet, solitary walk back to the hotel, and I took a bit of a different route so got to see a new area of Bumala (don’t worry Mom, I was still on the major road the whole time). Although it’s muddy and slippery, it’s so fresh and beautiful after a heavy rain. Another night of visiting, blog writing, blah blah blah.

Thursday – our last day in Bumala. Instead of going straight to the school at 9am, the clowns wanted to tootle around the village a little. We started as a group, but soon we were in little groups of 4-6 as some people stopped or were stopped by villagers. We tried some sugar cane and then handed a bunch out to kids that we saw. We talked to people, stopped to play with babies, blew up balloons, all kinds of things.

Meryl and I wanted to get through class pictures in the morning, as the kids’ variety show was scheduled for the afternoon and we still had facepainting, bracelets, and hockey to do. We were flying through them with no problems until we got half way through the last class, Form 1. Then out of the blue, Meryl’s camera quit working. When she took off the lens, a piece from inside literally fell into her hand. I was standing right there. So we had to grab Todd’s camera, Meryl had to hold it together and we finished the pictures. I give her credit as she only brought the one camera, she had so many plans for other photos for the rest of the trip and there was absolutely nothing she could do to fix it. And she kept her cool in front of the kids.

So by lunch we were done the pictures, it was hot and muggy, the clowns were going strong, but Whitney, Kristina, Kamal and I wanted to do something a little quieter and low key. So we brought out facepaints and thread for bracelets. Soon we were surrounded by kids. Meryl and Heather came to join us and we served as many kids as we could until about 2:30. Then we discovered that Todd and Godfrey, one of the teachers for the older kids, were teaching some of the Form 1 students how to play hockey. They picked up the basics pretty quick, but we soon had to shut it down for the variety show. Godfrey promised to “keep hockey alive in Kenya” though so we’ll have to test their skills on the next trip.

The variety show ran smoothly and as cute as expected. The Baby and Nursery classes showed off their picture frames and drawings, Class 1 did a song and poem, Classes 2 and 3 had a couple of energetic songs and dances, Class 4 sang a song with puppets, Classes 5 and 6 learned a new song about dreams. They were all fantastic, considering they’d only had about 4 hours to learn and practice their routines. In the end, all the children were winners and received some candy.

We were getting near the end of the day. All of the teachers and visitors gathered in the staff room. Todd, Marissa and Wildman said some words to the teachers about how inspiring they are – how they can care for and teach these children with the minimum of resources, how they go above and beyond to be great role models for these children and are dependable and reliable to be there for the children for any situation – as teachers, as counsellors, as caregivers. I didn’t get to spend as much time as I did last time just sitting and hanging out with the kids, but when I did have a free hand or moment, there was always a little kid holding onto me. I saw it with all the visitors. These kids just want some attention and care, just a hug or cuddle, that they may not be able to get at home. The teachers have a very tough job to satisfy all these needs while still maintaining respect and authority. They are doing a great job and it’s so moving to see the progress of the children under their care.

The waterworks were flowing freely as we started to say our goodbyes. There was song and dance and we tried to stay positive, but none of us wanted to leave. It had only been 5 days and we were all so tired, some of us were sick, but the school had made us feel so welcome and at home. After we’d made the rounds in the staff lounge, it was time for the kids. They gathered in assembly around the flag pole and we went around giving high fives and hand shakes to every kid. But then it still took another good 45 minutes of blowing bubbles and singing and hugs before we got all the clowns and visitors on their way down the road. And even then, we were followed all the way to the hotel by a mass of students from our school and the neighboring Bumala school.

Josephine, Charles and Beth came down to the hotel for one final meal with us. We also got to see Raphael, one of the waiters that was at the Western Ambience Hotel in 2009. He’s now partnered with a teacher and they are going around with an amazing treatment for jiggers, a small parasite that infects the feet and legs of humans and can result in the person being unable to walk at all. It was a very busy night, but we had plans to leave at 7am.
Friday – back to “civilization”. The bus was loaded and we were ready to head out by a little after 7am. Most of the journey was quiet and uneventful. We made good time, ate lunch on the bus, traffic wasn’t as heavy. Heather wasn’t feeling very good – stomach issues. Everyone was sad to leave Bumala, but anxious to get home or onto the next leg of their journey.

The clowns are, of course, pranksters, and they wanted to play a joke on the Italian-only speaking clowns, Graziella, Chiara and Elena. So when were about 2 hours out of Nairobi, Todd got a ‘call’ on the cell advising them that their flight that night to Italy had been canceled. Marissa translated that they either had to ride the bus for another 8 hours to Mombasa to catch a plane or stay in Nairobi for 2 extra days. I couldn’t see Elena’s reaction, but Chiara was devastated. She wanted to go home so badly. Graziella had left almost everything she had at the school – clothes, toiletries, etc. She wasn’t sure how she’d make it through 2 days with only one set of clothes and a bikini. The other clowns were having a hard time keeping a straight face. Finally, they gave in and Todd got another ‘call’ saying it had been a mistake and all was fine. I have never seen anyone as relieved as Chiara, but she wasn’t going to believe it until she was on the plane. Marissa then told them it had all been a joke, and everyone had a good laugh. Good thing clowns have a good sense of humor, otherwise there would have been a lot of hard feelings on that plane ride home.
So we made it back to Nairobi with time to spare. A bunch went to do some last minute bartering at the local curio shops. We had a last supper as a group, and then at about 9, we said our goodbyes to Marissa, Marco, Elena, Graziella, Chiara and Daye. Wildman, Silvia and Gian-Luca were leaving around 5am the next morning, so we said good bye to them as well. Our group was now half the size.

So that's the rest of the week in Bumala. I'll get working on the 'vacation' part of the trip right away......maybe tomorrow 😊

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