All Quiet in the Night Kibera

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Fortunately, last night turned out to be more calm than anticipated. This was for two reasons. First: Raila the opposition leader spoke to the people in the slums and asked them not to continue the fighting. But, what might have had a bigger impact is that the police did not allow the burials to take place. There are still vows of revenge once they can burry their dead. Raila has committed to twice a week riots until the current government steps down. This is extremely unlikely to happen so the hope is that it ends peacefully.

But, in the meantime I will share some positive parts of my time here.

I spent an early morning driving over the Rift Valley to visit Hell's Gate National park with was the inspiration for the Lion King. It got this name from a deadly volcano eruption in the early 1900s. Dangerous animals like lions and elephants don't live in this area so you are permitted to bike ride through the park. Not only did it have beautiful views, but having zebras and giraffes run across your path was great fun.

After about a 15 mile ride I hiked along the canyon ridge and canyon floor to Hell's Kitchen. I have a guide from the Maasi Tribe who shared a lot of interesting information about their culture. They call it Hell's Kitchen because it looks like a caldron due to geothermal hot springs.

I have also had an opportunity to spend more time with the ladies in the skills training program. They gave a mid term update on their progress in the program thus far. I am amazed at how far they have come in just 2.5 months. Most of the gals in tailoring had never used a sewing machine before and now they came make a men's dress shirt and trousers. They ladies in graphic design went from never using Illustrator to making professional looking posters and flyers. I am working with Lydia to construct a financial literacy course that we will teach to both the staff and the students. We will focus on personal budgeting, saving, and how to run a small business.

Here is a link to photos: https://www.icloud.com/photos/#0a2I0UMvOrx-1NLMkTsGAOa_w

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