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Blixen Ranch
"I once had a farm in Africa...." This is the well-known view looking out from the porch where Meryl Streep and Robert Redford stood, to the Ngong Hills. Hello Everyone!!!
We are back to Lili and Lew's place from some of our travels within Kenya and WHAT AN ADVENTURE IT HAS BEEN!!!!!
Well, I haven't blogged since the 22nd, although I know Cristelle has been been able to make a few posts. This last week had us travelling a lot throughout kenya so our blog opportunties are very sparse. We just returned from an educational trip in the Serengetti (Safari) and got a good snapshot of another aspect of the Kenyan economy. I will blog once here but add in comments about each of the days since I blogged last. I think I am repeating some of it, so sorry.
June 23rd, 2007:
Moraa came this morning at 9:00 AM to pick up up from the Fulton's place. We spent the morning trying to get some Canadian traveller's cheques cashed. Hmmmmmmm.......it is really a problem. You have to get to a Forex Bureau and then some will only cash US American Express cheque, not Canadian funds American Express cheques. I found that even some of the bank tellers did not know that traveller's cheques were like "cash" so there can be lots of hoops
Making New friends
Cristelle takes time out to feed her new friend. The tongue is much softer than you would think... to jump through. We went to our Kenyan host family's place and "checked in".
After that, we went with Moraa to meet with her dialogue group called NAFALE (National Forum for Alternative Leadership). They are a very advanced group in terms of their approach to politics and social change, believing that one must change oneself in order to change the world. Their approach is very philosophical and they explore ideas like "what is the nature of identity", "what is the source of opinion", and "what is the nature of mind", etc. Needless to say, it was a very interesting meeting for as we got to participate in the Socratic style of dialogue. Very invigorating!
From there we visited the Nyumbani Children's Home. This was an interesting site to visit as they only take HIV/AIDS children, and it was important to see how they were dealing with many aspects surrounding that. I believe Cristelle blogged some comments about this visit so I will not fill in too much more here.
Then it was time to visit Karen Blixen's ranch. It was so interesting for me to see this place again, and to show it to Cristelle for the
Warthog
It is amazing how you can get ugly and cute wrapped up in the same package! first time. I made Crstelle watch "Out of Africa" before she left for Kenya so she got the real sense of it all before she saw it in person. We stood on the same porch as Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, looking out at the Ngong Hills........."I once had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills....." (famous quote from Meryl Streep in the movie). By the way, "Ngong" is a Maasai word that meams "knuckles" and the hills look like the knuckles of a fist against the horizon (see image).
Following that, we went for a little lighter version of entertainment at the giraffe park. This was a real hoot! This is a sanctuary for a small group of giraffe. They have built a large platform about 10 feet high so that you climb up on and then you can feed the giraffe at their height. This will be a great place to bring the orphans of Kawangware sometime for an educational trip. At any rate, Cristelle got to feed the griaffe and, after some instruction, got to feed them directly from her mouth to their mouth. We have lots of film and photos of
Kids in the Hall
These are some of the kids in the class as we went through. These two girls were close friends and shared their texts and books together. that! She said the tongue was softer than she imagined, so you can make your own assumptions about how close she got to the giraffe. At the gift shop there, I discovered an excellent book on medicinal trees and shrubs of East Africa. It has everything from malaria cures to ringworm solutions, so I bought it for use in the orphanage.
This was a full day, and we made it back to the host family's place, had a geat meal, and turned in for the day.
June 24, 2007:
Our morning started early again with showers and breakfast, and Moraa picked us up again at 9:00 AM for the day's outings. We started out at the Nairobi museum, which was closed, but we availed ourselves of the snake park nearby instead. We then ran some more errands and ended up back at the Fulton's where we "checked in" our baggage again (we had intended to stay at the Utalii hotel but we have been getting along so well with the Fultons that we accepted their invitaiton to stay with them more and save some hotel fees).
That afternoon we made our way to the Village Marketplace
Widow's Homes
Here is a shot of the entrance to some of the widow's homes, with the open stream of sewer just out front. Kids play in the area all day long. (a sort of "touristy" mall) and found a nice little cafe to sit in. Cristelle and I then went over the contract with Moraa in minute detail. Moraa will be our "eyes and ears" here so the contract will define her role with us. We made sure that every paragraph was covered and understood, and she was very happy with it. Contract signing will be on the 3rd of June, the day before we leave.
Back to Fulton's for a good night's sleep!
June 25, 2007:
We were off to Kawangware again this morning by 9:30 AM with Moraa. We had another soccer ball to give them, along with another skip rope. The kids have been going crazy with the soccer ball and it has changed play time enormously for them!!! What an enormous difference these small gifts can make to them. Thanks to Sandy and Marya, as well as "Cleats" in Edmonton, for these wonderful gifts!!!!!!!
This was a gruelling day in the Kawangware slum. Charles really put us through the paces. He took us from class to class to see the teachers in action. Cristelle had brought maple sugar candies for the kids and
The Great Attractor
One way to catch a child's attention is to show them their own image in the video camera display. she explained the concept of the candies to each class and then handed them out for them to try. There were a variety of facial expressions from shock to surprise, but all appreciated them (even the teachers). One interesting concept in teaching that we saw is that the teachers only teach one class for no longer than 10-15 minutes. Then they switch to another classroom. In this way the student get a new perspective every 10 minutes, and their minds stay alert and fresh.
Then came one of the highlights of the trip. Charles walked us through the slum to an area where some of the widowed mothers of some children live. This was a shattering experience and something that is enormously difficult to grasp in its entirety. These women are the most disenfranchised of the human family. Living in small one room dwellings, with an open river of sewage not more than 3 feet from their doorway, these poor women struggle to basically earn their daily food on less than a dollar a day income. We sat with each of the four women in turn as they told us their individual stories, stoic and resolute about their future.
Cristelle Receiving the Wreath
Cristelle had to bend down as far as she could to receive this gift of welcome from the smallest members. Our visit gave them enormous hope and encouragement to keep struggling onward. The smells of smoke and sewage mixed with sounds of crying children, goats, and chickens while the women poured out their lives to our video and audio recorders. It was absolutely heartbreaking to know that this story is duplicated millions of times throughout Africa. In the moment, one cannot help but feel ashamed of how much we have while they eke out the barest of existences. The recordings of these events will be forthcoming upon our return for everyone to listen and watch on our website.....
Charles then took us to the apartments they rent in order to house about 26 of the children. He showed us all of his books there with receipts, permits, licenses and other relevant paperwork. His operations are extremely transparent and the level of record keeping was quite impressive, even by western standards.
We ended our day by heading back to the Fulton's place with Lili. We stopped at the Village Marketplace again to pick up a few small items. While cristelle availed herself of the public washrooms, I stood around with my camera slung over my shoulder. Two police with
The New Land
This is a shot of the new land, which is presently planted with maize AK-47's came up gave me strict orders not to take any photos of the American housing compound that was being built nearby. "Not a problem, sir....." :-0
June 26, 2007:
Another BIG DAY!!
We were up at 5:00 Am to catch the plane with Lili and Lew out to Kisumu. The thirty minute flight was uneventful and Charles and Pius met us there with a taxi and driver to transport all of us out to Bumala. Our arrival was anticipated by all and Charles had arranged a large event for us.
It began with 90 excited children crowding our taxi van as we arrived. A throng of adults, children, locals, officials and scores more were milling around and observing our new presence. We were taken to a line up near the school office where we were greeted with more Christmas garland wreaths which were place around our necks by the youngest of the children who, I swear, were no taller than my knee caps. We had to bend down onto our knees to get low enough for these tiny children to decorate our shoulders and when we stood up again we towered over their heads
The Welcoming Troop of Dancers
These little dancers put on quite a show for us upon our arrival like decorated giants.
We were led to a group of seats out under an open walled shade tent that had been built for this event. The seats were in a row up front facing the audience and we were again seated like royalty in front of a large group of community members, town officals, inspectors, etc. Then each of the classes, in turn, came out in costume and danced, sang, waxwd poetic and generally welcomed us to their school. The last grade (class 2, 8-year olds) performed a great song and dance for us and we were completely overwhelmed by it. As the music raised to a fevered pitch with the community members looking on with much approval for what their young orphans were accomplishng, Cristelle, overcome with the enthusiasm of the children, jumped up and joined in the undulating frenzy of African dance. Soon after I passed the video equipment off to Charles and joined in as well (yes, you will all get to see Cristelle and I dance with the children in front of the community members!!). We danced for at least 5 minutes in the hot African afternoon with a clapping and cheering village supporting us.
The Bumala Teachers
This is a shot of the Bumala teachers with Charles and Pius Several school inspectors, town administrators, and community representatives spoke about their appreciation for the work we are doing and it was clear by the end of the whole ceremony that we had made an enormous impression on them. It was also clear that their hopes and dreams for the orphans were heavily invested in us. Cristelle and I both gave a speech to the eager crowd indicating our commitment to helping the children and thanking them for their earnestness in working together with us. At the end it was clear that we were all uniting as one family to work toward helping the children. It was clear to me, as well, that we had developed an enormous amount of goodwill and currency with the community, and it will be important to live up to our commitments.
We also had a chance to walk a kilometer to where the new 2 acre plot of land is situated. It is all planted in maize (corn) at the moment but we get full possession in about 3 weeks from now. The entire community walked with us and we walked around the entire plot inspecting all the trees, slopes, rocks, soil and
The Bumala Soccer Team
The kids play with the new soccer ball donated by Sandy and Marya purchased at Cleats in Edmonton. everything else. I was pointing my hands and waving my arms in various poses as I discussed in an animated way the possibilities of placing a building here, or a latrine there, or a garden over there. Of course, most of the community members could not understand what I saying (many spoke Swahili) and I could see that they were studying me with some serious intent to see where I was heading with all this gesticulation. Finally, as I reached a conclusion in both my own mind and my verbal descriptions that this was going to be an excellent and "do-able" project, I smiled, nodded my head, and gave a two thumbs up to the awaiting spectators. At this show of approval, the crowd understood my cue and burst into applause with many nodding heads and smiles of great satisfaction!! For them, it was confirmation that the project for their orphans was going ahead.
This incredible day continued. We trooped back to the school where had a meeting with the teachers, as well as with several contractors who had gathered to provide us with quotes on building a new school. Eventually, after a long day, we prepared to end
The Cook
This fine lady cooks for the orphans, and does a GREAT job at it, I might add. Here she is cooking porridge in the morning for 90 children. our visit for the day. We gave two more soccer balls to the kids there and, once again, witnessed instant success!! They took the balls and gathered in a big circle with one of the teachers and began to toss the ball back and forth. Then we realized that they had no shoes and could not kick the ball back and forth! That will be the first thing on our list to get them in the coming months. Anyone who would like to commit some money toward that would be greatly appreciated!! A couple of hundred dollars would be a good start......but it will really cost more like $600 for good shoes all around.
The children loved the balls nevertheless, and they played relentlessly with them until the teachers had to tear them away from their games for more classes. I must say, and we have been having a lot of deep cnoversations about it here, the Kenyan children are 100 times more well-behaved than what we normally seem to see in Canada and the US. For one thing, they are so appreciative of their education. They sing songs (which we will post on our website soon) about their
Josephine
Here is Josephine teaching a class. She has been an enormous help to Charles from the beginning and is now the head matron of the school. education and how empowering it is for them. Also, you will find no ADHD ("Attention Deficit") children in our orphanage. They all sit intently in class and focus on every word the adults are saying. When you ask them to sit down, or enter a room, their full attention is on you. When you leave, they quietly help one another with school work. Yet their laughter and play is spontaneous and authentic. Finally, they have no TV so their attention is never broken up into 3 second sound bites. These children are a true pleasure to be with, to work with, and to share experience with.
Lili and Lew headed back to Nairobi at the end of the day, while Cristelle and I checked into the new hotel in Bumala. It is a very nice hotel if anyone ever wants to come to Bumala to work. :-) We were exhausted but had an oportunity to sit on the balcony overlooking the town and watch the sun set with a glass of wine. The smells and sounds assault you constantly, even as the day winds down. The ending of the day is very abrupt as the sun literally plunges below
The Bumala Kids in Class
The children are so respectful and naturally stand when you enter the room. Here they are during a normal study day in school. the horizon at exactly 6:30 pm (and rises just as quickly at sunset, 6:30 AM). We're are at the equator with exactly 12 hours of sun and 12 hours of dark.
June 27, 2007:
Wow, the days are passing by so quickly. They are full days, saturated with new experiences. The events are very intense and Africa is still so wild. The stories we tell here in this blog barely scratch the surface of the events that unfold throughout the day. As we drove from the airport at Kisumu to Bumala the other day, looking at the countryside, I could see just how wild and undeveloped Africa still is. Nairobi clings perilously to modernity, although its infrastructure barely resembles anything in the developed world. But the countryside is raw. As we drove down the rapidly degrading pot-holed highway I could see the small plots of land literally scooped and gouged out of the landscape. Despite the small fences of bramble bush around the acreages, you can see the wild vegetation swallowing up the outer edges of the properties, pentrating the fencing and menacing the civilization within. One could be assured that if one surrendered the battle to retain
Beatrice
Beatrice (center), one of our teachers, invited us to her home and told us of the challenges she faces. She was an enormous inspiration to us despite facing almost all of the challenges that can beset HIV widows. possession for even a few months the African landscape would swallow up any signs of progress and reclaim the land back from its inhabitants without leaving a trace.
We awoke at 7:00 AM, showered and had a quick breakfast. Charles and Pius came to meet us shortly after that and we set out for the day's adventure. We went to the school first and Charles took us to meet with Josephine, the head matron of the school. I must say that the five teachers at Bumala are some of the most dedicated people I have met, and they are a credit to both their profession and to the people of Kenya. Josephine is especially skilled and has worked with Charles from the start. She took us through all of the books and records of the Bumala school. This included the registration books and all of the papers needed for each child to confirm their orphan status. That includes the death certificates of the parent or parents plus burial certificates and lots of other similar things. This is to prove to the government that they just haven't taken the children out of someone's home. Josephine also had lesson plans for
Sole Possessions
During our trek through the countryside, we came upon a grandmother taking care of several children. This blanket was the sole possession of one child who used it to sleep outside at night on an old 1" thick foam mattress. every school day, for every class. We met with the school inspector yesterday and he mentioned that Charles runs one of the best schools around and we could easily see why that is so.
Then we toured each class to see the teachers at work with the children. These are wonderful teachers and they need all the support we can give them. They receive no wages as there simply isn't enough money yet, but they continue to work for free anyway and try to earn a living in other ways on the side.
Then the challenging part of the day began. We set out with a small group to visit many of the mothers in their own homes, to see the conditions that the children come from. The first stop was at Beatrice's home. Beatrice is actually one of the teachers in the school. She is attractive with a beaming face and playful smile. She has a real radiance about her and was always working hard to help the children. But it was difficult to listen to her story and see her situation. She lives in the home that her husband and her owned on her father-in-law's property,
The Home of Charles
Charles took us to his home in the countryside, about 10 minutes walk from Bumala. This is an excellent construction technique with a concrete floor, corragated steel roofing, and clay/mud walls (good for 15 years). If we add a few extra windows and use this construction technique we could build the entire school with dorms and a kitchen within our budget, and be up and running within approximately 3 months. although her husband died of AIDS about 5 years ago. Her father-in-law refuses to believe that his son brought the illness into the home and so, of course, blames her (the son was a real "loverboy"). She is HIV+, on anti-retroviral drugs, and tries to sell a few vegetables and such to earn enough to live on. Remember, she works full time at the school as a teacher for free -- real dedication. The father-in-law wants to kick her out ("make her disappear", as he termed it), so she is not sure what to do now. Her situation is hopeless, yet she continues to give so much to the kids. She says she is prepared to die, but doesn't know what will happen to her children if she does, and hopes that Charles will take them in as orphans if she goes. The one in her arms is sick with malaria. Another one, away for the day, needs a small operation. Very, very sad. We have the entire interview on video and will post it eventually for everyone to see. There are even more twists in the story, but it will be best to see it for yourselves. I wanted
The Sun Oven
"A watched pot never boils", and this is particularly true when using a sun oven. We tested it out using the sun to boils a pot of water. It took a little time but we got the oven up to 105 Celcius...hot enough to boil the water. to give her a hug and wondered when she last received one. In situations like this you immediately think of all the "stuff" you have at home that you could give her to make her life easier. There is just so much inequity in the world. Instead, I reach into my pocket and give her 500 Shillings (about $10). It will pay most of her rent this month and hopefully ease her burden slightly....
We carried on with our travels and eventually trekked about 20 kilometers in the hot African sun and visited about 8 places in the surrounding countryside. One house was over six kilometers away from Bumala and the boy who lives there with his mother walks that distance every morning and evening to be able to attend school.
The stories we encountered, one after another, covered all of the challenges that face these mothers and grandmothers (most of the men seem to die first becasue they are too proud to admit that they have AIDS, or brought it into the household). Interestingly, we met one grandmother who was actually quite successful. She had a cow and grew a variety of fruits and vegetables for sale.
The Sugar Cane Stop
Here Cristelle enjoys chewing on some raw sugar cane. The sweetness is incredible, and it is all-natural unprocessed sugar. A good pick-me-up after a 20 kilometer walk. She had a palm oil tree that she acquired though a program with the FAO, as well as pineapple, papaya, and much more. She was very please with the work we were doing and had been given so much hope from our arrival to their poor district. As a show of respect and support, she gave us a chicken, an egg, two pineapples and a papaya. I was stunned by the generosity that she showed and it was just another example of how generous the human spirit can be despite the presence of hardship and poverty. We took our chicken and fruit, and continued on our excursion through the forests and fields. Another gave us a bag of bananas, although most had absolutely nothing. We gave each of the widows some small amount of cash in appreciation for them sharing their stories with us.
Eventually we ended up at Charles' house. It was a wonderful little "banda" which is the term used to describe a mud/clay house with thatched roof. This is the common construction of the region in which everyone lives. However, Charles had built his himself and the 22' X 28' structure had a concrete floor and
The Jungle
Can anyone spell paradise? corragated metal roofing. It was very clean and pleasant to rest in after such a long trek. The entire building cost him about 70,000 Shillings to build, which is about $1400 Canadian. Charles' wife, Veronica, made us a meal of cooked sweet potatos and ground nuts (which tasted very similar to peanuts), with boiled milk. She also cut up one of the pineapples as a treat for us. We set the chicken free to join the others in his yard until we are able to set up something at the new school. I was very impressed with Charles' house and couldn't stop admiring his handy work.
We returned to Bumala, picked up our bags from the hotel, said our goodbyes to everyone at the school, and set out by taxi to the Kakamega Forest and the Rondo Retreat. Charles and Pius came with us and took us first to his mother's place. It was constructed the same was as Charles' home yet was painted inside with brilliant African designs. We then went into their sugar cane field. One individual brought a machete and hacked down a large stalk of cane. He then cut it into foot-long brackets which were
The Bus!
Here comes the mini bus with 40 children and five adults inside. We could hear them singing as they drove up the road and the children were going crazy with happiness! distributed to us raw. We were shown how to strip the fibrous bark of the cane off and then chew the inner pulp to release a burst of sweet sugar juice into our mouths. Amazing! We took the remaining sectins of cane and continued on our journey.
The roads were incredibly rough and the trip of 80 or so odd kilometers took us about 2 hours. They dropped us at the retreat and then they went back to the town of Kakamega to stay themselves. Cristelle and I took some time to process our day's adventures and all of the stories we had encountered and then ended another day, exhausted.
June 28, 2007:
We woke up at the Rondo Retreat to find ourselves in the middle of paradise!! We had arrived the previous night in the pitch of dark in a rain storm so could not really view the landscape. The Rondo Retreat is situated in the middle of the easternmost isolated oasis of remaining Congolese rainforest. It is what we in the west would refer to as JUNGLE!
We had a morning shower and breakfast, and officially checked in. After haggling with the front
Riding With the Kids in the Bus
"One of these things, is not like the other.....one of these things doesn't belong....can you guess which thing is not like the other...before I finsh my song...." (for those of you who remember Sesame Street) desk over costs, we went for a walk through the rainforest on a prepared trail. It was very impressive and I think the pictures and video will prove that.
We then walked down the main road towards Kakamega. This was a special day becasue we surprised the kids of Bumala school with a field day trip to the rainforest! We organised with Charles to rent a bus and buy some food for the day for the kids. It was quite a sight to see the brightly colored bus coming clomping down the bumpy road with a choir of 40 kids hanging out of the windows singing school songs!!! We greeted everyone then set out to the Kakamega Environmental Education Program (KEEP). This is a wonderful educational program that has a tree nursery, a butterfly hatching nursery, and educational walks through the forest. The kids were absolutely beside themselves. Our guide took them through the nurseries and carefully explained every aspect of the work they do there. After an hour or so of this we walked up to a picnic area and served them the lunch we had secured for them. We then herded the troop back to the main
The Crying Stone
This stone stands about 150 feet tall and you can see where the water runs out from the top. It is an interesting phenomenon. office where the program staff had set up a TV and VCR to view a few educational videos. This was quite an experience for the children as some had never ridden on a bus before, some had never seen a TV or VCR, and some had never even been out of Bumala. You can imagine the impression that this journey made on them. The children were so easy to be with and they all tried to hold hands with us as we walked from location to location.
Cristelle presented them with a small stuffed animal in the shape of a beaver with a mounted police hat on it. It is a cute little furry thing. Well, they immediately adopted it as their school mascot!! They then had to figure out a name for it, and came up with "Mercy Cristelle". I should mention here that this is a strong tradition here to name your children after someone you wish to honor. Therefore, the mascot was a cinch to be named Mercy Cristelle. To help you understand this further, Charles named his most recent 3-month old child "Fulton", after Lew Fulton. We were told to expect that, upon birth, at
Sunset in the Kakamega Forest.
Here is a sample of the evening sky in Africa. The colors are incredible. least a few children in the area will be saddled with the names of Todd and Cristelle....... :-)
After the mascot naming ceremony was complete, we loaded everyone up no the bus to head home. I was in the van with Charles and Pius, and cristelle got onto the bus with the children to sing songs with them. We had to drive the 20 kilometers back to Kakamega with them to fuel them up, and take an extra excursion ourselves. However, we ran into trouble as we began our road trip. This, unfortunately, is a problem that can sometimes be encountered in Kenya. The bus driver saw an opportunity to extort a few extra thousand Shillings out of us by refusing to drive the children back without us first making an additional payment to him. Charles and Pius got out of the van and had a "negotiation" with the driver. It was a real test of wills and we had a lot at stake (a bus load of 40 orphans 80 kilometers from home!!), but Charles refused to pay. They got back into the van with me and off we went, but as we got a mile down the
Naming the Mascot
The children chose the name of "Mercy Cristelle" for the mascot. This was a particularly bright little girl that Cristelle and I both saw much potential. road we noticed that there was no bus behind us. We pulled over and waited for about 4 minutes until finally we saw him coming up behind us. We let him pass us and then continued on. But the problem was not yet over. A mile further down the road he pulled over again. The common problem here in Kenya is that some indivduals see the white visitor from the west and assume that there is money to be made. Charles and Pius had to get out once again to engage in a "bargaining session", although this time the bus driver got way more than what he bargained for. Charles absolutely tore a strip off of this fellow and shamed him almost to tears right there on the road. The driver sulked back to his seat and, deeply humbled, continued on with the journey.
I have seen Charles come to our rescue on more than one occassion, although I haven't communicated that in such vivid terms to our volunteers and donors. We have mostly seen the fire of Charles' love and passion for the welfare of the children as it works out in all the things he has done for them in building the school, rescuing them from horrible circumstances within the slum, feeding them, and so much more. But he is EQUALLY FIERCE in his protection over their safety and in protecting the support that we provide him in terms of financing, etc. I honestly can't think of a more honest and trustworthy man to work with than Charles, and he has proven that many times over to me, and now to Cristelle as well. I can't say enough about how grateful we are to be working closely with him and Pius.
We said our goodbyes to the children and then Cristelle, Charles, Pius and I went down the road a way to see the "Crying Stone". This is an amazing natural phenomenon involving a large stone about 150 tall, with another smaller stone on top from which water runs periodically. I will tell you the legend attached to it another time, but I will show a picture so you can see what I am referring to.
We got back to the Rondo Retreat at supper time and said goodbye to Charles and Pius so that they could make their way back to Kakamega. Cristelle and I had more long conversations about the day's event and finally nodded off for the evening.
June 29th, 2007
This is largely a travel day. We headed out early from the Rondo Retreat and drove to Kisumu for our flight back to Nairobi. We arrived back in Nairobi about 11:00 AM and were picked up by Moraa.
We went to the Villagw Marketplace again as the Maasai Market was there that day (the Maasai tribe comes in and sell their wares to the public). We purchased a large load of items to be used in the silent auction this year. We have some great items!!!
We then checked into the Utalii hotel and met with a contact who is a Master's student in psychology involved in counselling HIV/AIDS vicitims in Nairobi. We talked about the possibility of developing some sort of pilot program in counselling with the orphans. It was a very positive meeting and alot got accomplished. We finished with another meeting and supper with Moraa, and headed to bed. I had some laundry to do so I gathered together a few clothes from both myself and Cristelle and washed them in the tub while she blogged about it. :-)
June 30th, 2007:
The next few days were an adventure on the Serengetti. We needed time to sort through all of the activities and informaiton we had received so far, as well as discuss what the next steps were, so we headed off on Safari!
We left at 7:00 am in the morning and drove for 5 hours over very rough roads and arrived there to start our first Safari of an action packed three days.
I am going to leave the storytelling to Cristelle on this one now as it was a very exciting journey and I am pooping out (we returned today, very tired, and it is 1:00 AM in the morning as I write this).
Bye for now,
Todd
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Peter Kiriakopoulos
non-member comment
Great Stuff!
I love the pics! Especially the one of "Mercy Cristelle". Puts a smile on my face every time!