Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Another amazing day!

I started out with us picking up Marcelyne Rembo at the Maseno Station.  Marcelyne is a young girl that we sponsored in high school; paying her tuition and supporting her with supplies, uniforms etc.  She was enrolled at Huma Secondary School and was about to be thrown out when Noelle Shinali contacted me.  She was a special case, and Noelle had never asked me for anything.  “Kindly, if you can assist her…” was all she said.  That was enough.  Four years later, that shy little girl is now a vibrant young woman who graduated with an A- (a very rare occurance in these parts).  Now she has colleges asking her to attend and offering full scholarships.  It’s a wonderful story that continues to exceed expectations. 

Anyway, Marcelyne jumped in the car to join us for our ride to Kakamega.  Job pointed out that her mother was on the other side of the road waving.  “Simama,” I said, “Stop!”  I got out and met her in the middle of the street with a big hug.  She is a lovely woman of very, VERY meager means and sacrifices everything for her children’s education.  She doesn’t know much English, and her Kiswahili is not as strong as her Doluo.  I said I would see her later this afternoon, “Wabioneri!” and she smiled and waved goodbye.

The ride to Kakamega was pretty.  We made a slight detour to stop and see our friend Suchi.  He’s a representative from Reach the Children and they help facilitate our wire transfers.  We were anxiously waiting the arrival of the money to begin building at Agulu Primary School.  Suchi has an eternal and contagious smile so our discussions are always enjoyable as well as being productive.  We talked about the Sanitary Pad projects that both of us are involved in and we’ll soon be exchanging notes to see what parts work the best for both of us.  We discussed our other projects before saying goodbye.  Suchi said that rather than handing us a check, he would wire the money directly into the school’s account.  That will be recorded no later than tomorrow.  Wonderful!

The road to Kakamega

We got back on the road and drove to the Golf Hotel in Kakamega where Noelle was waiting in the back courtyard at a table for 4… right next to the pool.  I would have loved to jump in, but it looked like an orphanage had access to the water (and I was fully clothed).  Noelle waved as we approached. She’s always happy to see us, and getting to see Marcelyne made it that much more special.  We sat down and ordered milkshakes before talking about Marcelyne.  We couldn’t really talk on the 1 hour car ride because of the noise of the car coupled with the wind through the windows.  The road went from being nice and smooth asphalt to horribly rippled and bumpy dirt.  It was easier to listen and watch her speak this way.  She’s very well spoken and has an incredible drive to succeed.  She talked about the goals that lie before her and I have no doubt that she’ll achieve all of them. 
Noelle then gave us an update on her work.  She is a community development specialist, and is committed to helping poor children in her country.  She’s trying to get a job with the United Nations… she applies at every opportunity but can’t seem to get her foot in the door.  She’s a college graduate, incredibly well spoken and like Marcelyne, has an incredible drive.  I’d hire her in a heartbeat, but it wouldn’t be enough work for her.

Anyway, we had a lot of laughs before ordering lunch.  The laughter continued, and lunch was fabulous.  Everyone commented on how big the pieces of chicken were.  They were “US” sized, and delicious.  Just so you are aware, the shakes were not. 

   I told Marcelyne and Noelle that I had computers for both of them.  Marcelyne eyes got wide and smiled immediately.  We decided she’ll need one for college so she may as well get used to using one beforehand.  We dropped Noelle’s computer at her home and headed back to Maseno.  Saw a lot of interesting things on the way… here are a couple.

We returned Marcelyne to her mother in Maseno, and that was where Noelle disembarked, too.  And yes, if you’re keeping track, the three of them were sandwiched in the back seat of a little Toyota for over an hour.  Karibu Kenya.  They’re used to it… there’s less room in a Matatu.  Kenya is not a place for you if you need personal space that extends beyond the hair on your arms.  More hugs from everyone and we were off to Agulu.

This was awesome!  There were members of the school board, teachers and of course the Headmistress, there waiting for us when we arrived. The fundis had already removed the roof on both room, so only the walls remained. It was amazing to see how bad these classrooms were.  With the sunlight streaming in, even a blind man could tell they were terrible.  I walked into the first one and realized that it was the first time I was able to stand up straight inside.  I could see right over the lintel.  One of the teachers came to join me and said, “Are you ready to push?”  “Ndiyo!” I said.  We all put two hands on the wall and I counted off, “Moja (moh-jah), mbile (ehm-bee-lay), tatu (tah-too), push!”  It crumbled to pieces as it fell through the air.  The air, by the way, was blowing directly at us as the wall hit the ground.  We were instantly standing in a cloud of mud and dung dust.  Yes, I said, “dung dust,” and let me tell you, that stuff gets everywhere.  Yes, I said, “everywhere!”  I’ll be showering tonight.

We then went to the next room.  This wall was a little taller, and after the, “moja, mbile, tatu,” this wall decided to fight back a bit.  We had to rock before it finally gave way, but gave way it did.  Just like it’s predecessor, it hit the ground with a loud thud and shattered into a million pieces.  Mother nature was kind enough to turn the wind around for this one, so I was spared getting in my mouth a second time.

  

With that, we entered the office and sat down.  I opened my pack and began removing items.  First was the pencils, pens and crayons, then came the lollipops (which got huge applause – we should be spokespeople for Dum-Dums) and finally, some of the t-shirts left over from our 5k.  I brought one for each of them, and even grabbed an XL for a particular teacher who always greets me with a big hug and a smile.  After he put it on, he sat down, and the tears rolled down his face.  These people are truly wonderful.  We talked for a bit about the project.  I let them know that funds were also being   

sent to install gutters and a tank behind the ECD (Early Childhood Development) classrooms (kindergarten).  The water from the roof has begun to erode the land behind the building, and it’s bringing the revine closer to the base of the school.  Redirecting the water to a tank should resolve the situation… as well as help providing some potable water.  Before I could leave, there had to be a prayer, so I got one… and it was a long one!  Even so, it was very nice.  The key requests were, “safari njema” (safe journey) and “come back to see us.”  I shook everyone’s hand again as they walked us to our car.

As you might have guessed, the clouds were starting to rumble so we hurried over to Mbaka Oromo to see Susan and Emmah.  Much to my disappointment, Susan was nowhere to be found.  Their grandmother Esther was working in her shamba (garden) so she came over to greet me.  Emmah soon emerged from one of the huts, as did her younger brother Danton.  Their mom came from another field, waving and smiling as she approached.  We wanted to try and stay ahead of the rain, so we made this a pretty quick stop.  Pencils and pens for the Susan and Emmah, as well as two bags of sweets.  She was very happy, and she usually is.  She laughed as I showed her pictures of her and Susan from the day before.  These girls hold a special place in the hearts of Andrea and Karen, so they hold a special place in mine, too.  I feel bad that we didn’t see Susan, so I may try to sneak back before we leave for the airport tomorrow morning.  We’ll play that one by ear.  At this point, I’m just hoping that there’s hot water when I wake up.

Sam's youngest son, Moses

Susan and Emmah live just past Sammy’s home, so we stopped to say, “goodbye” one last time.  All the boys were in Maseno with the exception of Moses.  Moses looks like a smaller version of Ben, and he too shares his fathers sharp features.  I fooled around with him for a bit because this was the first time I got to spend time with him.  When I was here the other day, he was taking exams in school.  That’s all behind him now.  His mom Carolyne came out to say hi carrying some white cloth.  Job said, “She has something for you.”  She reached out her hands and said (in perfect English) “These were Sam’s church clothes when he played the drum.  We want you to have them.”  I thought I was done with the tears, but apparently not.  I said that to her as I held the white garment in my hands.  The red stictched “Israel C.A.” (Israel Church of Africa) stood out and I immediately went back to days when I saw him playing for the church.  I had to remove my glasses because I could now no longer see.  I apologized, but they said, “Sorry” first.  I once again thanked them profusely as we headed back to the car.  It was another quiet ride back.

It started to sprinkle when we got back to the Peacock.  We were expecting John Anguso and Dan Otieno at about 6pm, so that gave me close to an hour to get this entry started.  45 minutes into typing, it started to get very windy, then cooler, then wet!  It was really blowing hard for a little while, so I retreated for some better cover than just a patio umbrella.  I sat on the veranda under cover, but then had to move into the main building because of the horizontal rain.  I sat inside the restaurant section on a very uncomfortable sofa while Job and I ate salt & pepper pistachios.  These were a big hit, and I will definitely be bringing them back with me next time.

John and Dan didn’t arrive until closer to 7:15.  I took John back to my room, away from the loud music and louder weather, so that we could call Andrea.  She wanted to say “Hi,” to John and the 7 hour time difference makes it difficult.  Today worked out perfectly because they were passing by on their way back home.  We talked on the phone for a little, but it kept cutting out so we tried FaceTime.  HUGE SUCCESS.  There aren’t many Kenyans that get to FaceTime with people they know back in America.  Even fewer of them are 70 years old.  John absolutely loved it, and so did Andrea.  After awhile, Job came back and said, “What are you guys doing?”  Once he saw her on the computer it was, “Hi mum! Let me go back and bring Dan.”  They both came back entering the room with big smiles.  Dan yelled, “Hello,” and moved around behind John trying to figure out the camera.  John was still doing the same.  It was a great experience to be able to watch these two talk to Andrea.  They had a wonderful time.  Andrea introduced them to our dog Sox, showed them our back yard (proving that we have a forest back there… although there are no leaves on them right now), as well as our kitchen and family room.  They loved it.  It was almost like taking them to America.  We finally had to hang up, but they talked about it for the next hour.  I can guarantee that they’ll be talking about it for months.

We went outside and had dinner as we talked about Mbaka Oromo and Sam’s family.  Although it was perfect for me, John was getting quite cold so Dan piled everyone into his car to head back home.  I walked them to their car to see them off.  One last handshake and “oriti” (oh-rhee-tee, “goodbye” in Doluo) and they were off.  John was the last one to get in the car, and before he closed the door I said, “Wabi wuneri.” (wah-bee-woo-nairy, “see you soon”).  He smiled and waved as they pulled throught he gate in the rain.

I went back to my room and started to pack while I uploaded the pictures that are scattered on this page.  I’m ready to be head home.  The planes won’t be able to fly fast enough for me.  I’ll see you tomorrow in Nairobi.

Another child proving
the point I made
yesterday.

This is Sammy's compound.  The two houses on the left
are his son's Mickey and Antoni.  Sam's home is behind the
trees to the right, and the end of the path.