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Published: November 10th 2008
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A better night’s sleep, shower and then more note writing outside beneath the clear sky. Another cooked breakfast and Andy is looking much better - Chip has a bug now! The rest of us got the kit together and waited for the bus to take us to Nakuru Boys School. Davis is returning from Nairobi after taking Rich D who will, by now, be at the airport.
The bus is parked at the back of the RVSC but there is no driver in sight. It is already 9.30am and we should be on our way. We eventually manage to track down the driver (John) and he asks us to where we want to go. Then, before we have even left the security gate at RVSC he stops three times to ask for directions! We turned left out of the club and drove through some very poor areas with many people stopping to stare at us as they broke away from their daily chores, shopping and purposeful wanderings along the road. We drove past many more stalls and top-up centres, over progressively more bumpy tracks before arriving at Menengai Primary School. ”No John. This school is for tomorrow!” More directions are
ascertained and we are directed down a very steep slope with the worst conditioned track that we have yet to experience. The ruts, channels and stones provide a much more challenging route than even the Lake Nakuru Park tracks! We emerge at the bottom unscathed and to another school. Again, not the right one! Frustration is now building and we follow, in desperation, a bicycle through yet more back streets of a really poor area to Nakuru Primary School. The gates are opened and hoards of children descend from the various buildings to welcome us. The teachers are bewildered as we are not expected - wrong school again! We tried to make telephone contact with Martin, Rajab, Davis and Chip but with little joy. 55 minutes after departing RVSC we are back driving past the Twisters Bar! Up to the main Nairobi road and out towards Greensteds and Nakuru Secondary School. We arrive at this school, which looks a little more promising, and Andy disappears inside for a long time to meet the admin staff. Unsure as to whether or not this was a good sign, we waited in expectation. It was the right school but they were not prepared
for us. As it was already 11.15am we agreed that we would leave and return to RVSC. We left the minibus in the carpark and walked a couple of blocks to SweetMart; a small café that had been recommended by Davis. It was quite clean inside and the prices looked good. We ate an assortment of pizzas, breads and pies. Moses (another one from the market) had tracked me down and I settled up with him for the things I had bought yesterday.
Back at RVSC and John was ready with the bus. We returned to the school and set up the equipment. Simon was leading the session and we majored on bowling and front-foot drive. I had a good group of 28 boys in brown school uniform but, after a while, they did, at least take the blazer and jumpers off! Some of the boys and a little previous knowledge and showed ability in the field. The field was in a reasonably good state although the grass was a little long. I had to move the cows off the area first and then we had to avoid the cowpats!
After school we went to the Arap Moi
Orphanage which is where Lucy (a friend of Chip’s) helps out as a volunteer a couple of times a week. They have just over one hundred children between the ages of two and eleven. There are some older ones too. The children all live in the basic accommodation available within the large dormitories and bunk beds. When we arrived there were some other schoolchildren there amusing the younger ones by singing and dancing with them. We joined in and were giving them ‘High Fives’, bouncing and catching balls and lifting them up whilst watching others rolling around and play fighting on the ground. A bit later they went to wash their hands in the large buckets of rainwater before lining up to collect their measured plates of maize and beans. I was struck by one three-year old boy who, after collecting his plate, placed it on the ground as he sat in a doorway and then covered his eyes whilst he prayed and then crossed himself. The children ate with their fingers before washing the plates and hands in the same water. Lucy showed us around. They were quite proud of the new laundry area which had been constructed by placing three enamelled baths end to end with some spacious drying areas. As we left, some of the older girls were busy washing clothes by hand in buckets just with soap. Outside the children were busy amusing themselves playing with a ball, some simple climbing apparatus and even using an old tyre propped up t a slight angle was acting as a springboard so that they could show off their somersaults and cartwheels! Others were simply walking around barefoot. Nevertheless, they all appeared to be happy and, I guess, their life is certainly better than it would be outside the walls and gate.
Back at RVSC we had a shower and changed before walking to an Ethiopian restaurant. The spiced meats and vegetable were served on a large pancake and we had smaller “wrapped bandage” looking things to unroll, tear off and envelope the meats within. Very tasty and worth finding another one! We wandered back to the club at about 10pm. Again, no streetlights and the streets were much more deserted.
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