Live From Africa!

Jambo everyone!

Now that we have internet we can update you on all that has happened!

The team arrived in Meru with little problems. The flight from Des Moines had a little delay but they met up with us at the Methodist Guest house in Nairobi Saturday morning, from there we traveled to Meru.

On Sunday we had the opportunity to attend church at Kaaga Methodist Church. It was an absolutely wonderful experience. They had two services one in english and the other Kemeru. Between services we visited with the congregation and just learned about eachother and had tea it was great fellowship. They made us lunch after the second service, everything was there best native food. That evening we were invited to Mubichis house for a barbeque, not the kind barbeque you might think. On the menu was Fresh barbeque chicken, goat, traditional cornbread, salad, mokimo, rice, and various other dishes, all was very good. While there we also had the pleasure of meeting another American named James. He has been studying in Kenya for the past several months for part of a program at his school. He is from Arizona and will not return until the end of the semester.

Monday:

We began our first day of work at Kaaga Primary School. Fridah gave us a tour of the school, and gave us neat information. Such as did you know King George II was hidden in Meru during WWII? It also costs $30 a year to attend the school since the government does not pay for it. Following the tour we began our work. Which has included putting in a new floor in a class room, painting the library, painting doors, tearing down old latrines, building new latrines, and constructing a new changing room for the boys. During our work we were frequently visited by the students. They were so happy to us and they were always wanting there picture to be taken and to shake our hands.

We had lunch at a bed & breakfast owned by a dutchman named Peter. It was literally an oasis, it was like an hour in paradise, the food (traditional Kenyan food) was great along with the company. We were able to visit two conservation sites this day the first of which was run by a group of approximately 20 older women who are growing trees in old folgers coffee bags side by side in large quantities and multiple varieties. They are attempting to help the environment by replacing all the trees that are being cut down in their community. They live almost exclusively off the land and help support each other by donating money to a general fund, most of which is given to support the oldest members of the group. Almost all are grandmothers and the oldest member we met was 120 years old. During our visit, Tad and Kevin were adopted and pulled into a tribal dance of celebration (look for photos on photobucket.com). Teranne, Ruth, Isabelle, Diane, and Gay were lucky enough to take part in the welcome dance and song where an older member of the tribe imitated us as Americans by dancing with a stick to her ear (imitating a cell phone). Their project only costs 50,000 shillings a year which is roughly $650. We were able to give them a contribution to help fund their efforts. They were very excited since the last funding they received was in 2004.

We visited a second conservations site that had broken off from the first and was comprised of younger members who were helping to support the older women who worked at the first conservation site. These younger members were able to show us banana, papaya, mango, avacado, and macadameia nut trees up close. We were also able to see (and smell) how the soil stays so fertile when we passed by the cows who "naturally" fertilize the conservation site. The women were happy to show us how the food was prepared over an open flame on a rock stove of sorts. These women also had a welcome dance and song and this time Tad walked away with flowers. He seems to be a favorite with the locals.

We limped back into the hotel for dinner around 7:15 and followed that up with a short devotional and song. Then it was off to bed. Our first day was exciting and packed with local experience.

Tuesday:

Our day began bright and early with our fearless leader waking at 3:30 with the sureity that it was actually 7:00. Everyone seems to be adjusting to jet lag a little differently. We ate breakfast and walked into Kaaga to the Primary school to resume our projects where we had left off the day before. Though we feel that we are working hard, nothing surprises us more than realizing that the people here work harder. Everyone who was present the day before was already present again and working harder than ever. The boys who are digging the pit latrines seem tireless as they raise 30 feet of dirt from a six by eight foot hole in the ground.

At noon, we headed next door from the primary school to visit the children and administration from the Kaaga School for the Mentally Challenged. We were able to tour the facility and see the water tank that was funded by money raised by Gay Abarr when the last team came in 2007. They have a beautiful plaque to commemorate the gift. We were also able to learn that the school houses 120 students and has only 17 teachers. The children were very excited to see us and had a song ready to perform for us. They were precious and at the end, Gay was able to see one of the children that her fundraising has helped to support. The tour of the school ended with a visit to the room where the children work to make things that they will sell locally. The school believes in training the children in arts that they can use to support themselves when they are older. We were able to purchase things in support of the school.

After lunch at the White Star Hotel, we returned to work and later had dinner together. We look forward to tomorrow and learning more about this fascinatinig community that seems to exist because of a fundamental practice of taking care of your neighbor. Though jaywalking and driving without seatbelts is considered normal here, we have found our hearts to be one with the people and look forward to learning all we can from them. In the end, we are not so very different.