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Published: June 15th 2008
I don't know that I can say much more about my first full week in the clinic. It was challenging going to work in the slums everyday, but I'm looking forward to getting to work tomorrow. I attended the church service at the school this morning, and, for the first time, I didn't feel like an outsider. Certainly we stand out with our white skin, but there were many familier faces in the congregation and I began to see those around me as brothers and sisters in Christ. Maybe it's starting to feel like home?
To answer a few questions about the school and people I interact with. The children are being taught English so their fluency depends on their age. The main school teaches pre-school to 3rd or 4th grade levels. All the students are from the slums and are probably at least 2nd generation slum dwellers. Also, most of the people in the Mathari slums are Kikuyu, but we work with all sorts of tribes including Luo and Kikuyu.
Yesterday, our group had one of the essential cultural experiences of foreign travel (except India)...we attended a soccer match. Kenya played Zimbabwe in a World Cup qualifier/Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. The scoreline was 2-0 in favor of Kenya, but really the on field action was a side show. We arrived at the stadium 2 hours before kickoff and crowds were gathered trying to enter through the outer gates. Some people had tickets, some did not. The police were out with their shields and batons attempted to stem the tide of people. At one point in trying to force our way in the police started beating people back and the crowd scattered. Luckily noone was trampled. A few of our girls did get pushed around by the police and one had money taken from her back pocket.
Once we were safely in the stadium the atmosphere was electric. Just a few highlights. The PA announcer warned the fans to refrain from political chants, but the people still ridiculed Mugabe and the Zimbabwe regime. Also, they sang praises of Oliech (Kenya's star player), Odinga (Kenya's PM), and Obama. At one point a smoke bomb was shot into the stadium and landed in front of the terrace in which the PM was seated. No riot resulted, but the environment remained on the brink of anarchy. Our final experience in the stadium was tip toeing thru fluid outside the bathrooms as we exited. Turns out some men got impatient at halftime and began urinating the in women's bathroom. Except they chose to use the sink and walls. You can put two and two together. I thought the experience was great, and really never felt threatened. Honestly, Italiens scare me more. Happy Father's Day everyone. Grandpa, I'm praying for you and hope everyone is doing well.
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Michael, EJ and Yuri
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Prayers and life back home
Happy future father's day to you Brett (that is ambitious, I know). Went swimming in the fountains at Tower Grove Park yesterday. Little Yuri loves the water, and she said she can't wait to swim with you when you get back to the states. What an opportunity with the soccer game...I kind of close my eyes remembing the Paraguay/Brazil game and then multiply the experience by 10. We miss chatting about the Euro with you, but you have better things to do... How is the leadership role treating you? Love you, miss you, praying for you and your group.