Details of Kenya
July 6, 2011
Well I have arrived home safely and have readjusted to life in the USA (well at least to the time zone.) Week one in Kenya was an experience, it started off with Kristin and I arriving late but safely in Kenya. We were warmly welcomed by the Cassel family, their beautiful home, comfy beds and loving hugs were a welcome treat. We spent Monday catching up on sleep, and hugging and kissing giraffes (a huge highlight for me, as a giraffe is my absolute favorite animal).
Early Tuesday morning we picked up a very tired but excited Rachel, Peggy and Niall. We headed straight to the Massai Market. The talent that is displayed in the works there is like no other, so is the pushiness of the brokers. Wednesday we woke bright eyed and bushy tailed for a day with Charles. We headed first to the Pema School, a school that services over 100 preschool aged children for the Buru Buru slum. The Directors of the school have a wonderful vision, their students are consistently testing (with high marks) into primary school, enjoy coming to school, and they even work with a Medical clinic so that the students are able to get the healthcare they need.
We then headed to Kibera, the 2nd largest slum in the world, to St. Michaels school, where the 600 students attend school from 6am - 6 pm Monday – Saturday, partly because they want to learn the other part because they have nothing else to do or nowhere else to go. The Director there has great hopes for his students but struggles daily with the limited resources. We ended our day on a more hopeful note, by stopping at the Kiserian Sustainability Project. We were able to see their soon to be fish pond, their bore hole, and the new glass beads projects. Rachel, Peggy and Niall were a fantastic group to have with us, they asked so many wonderful questions and we were able to learn so much. We ended the day with a delicious meal and some quality team time.
Thursday started with a nice reminder that I was doing Kenya with a bunch of professional ballerina’s. They spent the morning showing their talent not only in dancing but also with teaching, when we headed to Ilbissil we left behind a very happy, energetic, dancing, group of children, young men, and construction workers. In the early afternoon we arrived in Ilbissil to a very warm, welcome from Pastor Kiroka. What a happy, loving and funny man he is and a phenomenal story teller (hopefully one day you will be privileged enough to hear one) We spent the afternoon seeing all of the ways our Bore hole and self-sustainability projects have positively impacted the area. Spent some time with the deaf students at the primary school, watched students walk ten feet for a drink (instead of to the river miles away) and meet some very grateful parents of our sponsor girls. That evening tired and dusty we were greeted by a friend in our toilet, a very large frog.
Friday we drove to Enkasurai primary School, Kujiado a very rural mountain area. We walked down the mountain to the river to gather water (dug from the river bed) with the school children, explained about freckles, sunglasses, and arm hair, played games with the youngest ones and taught the older children the timeless art of friendship bracelets. When we arrived back in Illbissil we were met by the mothers of our sponsor girls with bags full of beautiful hand beaded jewelry, key chains, decorations and headbands (check the website for purchase information), another self-sustainability project for the people of Ilbissil.
Spending time with the people of Ilbissil solidifies the importance of what we do and makes me that much more grateful for all of your support both financially and spiritually. As I head home the rest of the team spends the day with the sponsor girls, travels to Nakuru National Park and Pekot all the while looking for ways COME UNITY can partner with the people of Africa. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. I look forward to the stories they will have to share when they return on Saturday.
Jessica
Early Tuesday morning we picked up a very tired but excited Rachel, Peggy and Niall. We headed straight to the Massai Market. The talent that is displayed in the works there is like no other, so is the pushiness of the brokers. Wednesday we woke bright eyed and bushy tailed for a day with Charles. We headed first to the Pema School, a school that services over 100 preschool aged children for the Buru Buru slum. The Directors of the school have a wonderful vision, their students are consistently testing (with high marks) into primary school, enjoy coming to school, and they even work with a Medical clinic so that the students are able to get the healthcare they need.
We then headed to Kibera, the 2nd largest slum in the world, to St. Michaels school, where the 600 students attend school from 6am - 6 pm Monday – Saturday, partly because they want to learn the other part because they have nothing else to do or nowhere else to go. The Director there has great hopes for his students but struggles daily with the limited resources. We ended our day on a more hopeful note, by stopping at the Kiserian Sustainability Project. We were able to see their soon to be fish pond, their bore hole, and the new glass beads projects. Rachel, Peggy and Niall were a fantastic group to have with us, they asked so many wonderful questions and we were able to learn so much. We ended the day with a delicious meal and some quality team time.
Thursday started with a nice reminder that I was doing Kenya with a bunch of professional ballerina’s. They spent the morning showing their talent not only in dancing but also with teaching, when we headed to Ilbissil we left behind a very happy, energetic, dancing, group of children, young men, and construction workers. In the early afternoon we arrived in Ilbissil to a very warm, welcome from Pastor Kiroka. What a happy, loving and funny man he is and a phenomenal story teller (hopefully one day you will be privileged enough to hear one) We spent the afternoon seeing all of the ways our Bore hole and self-sustainability projects have positively impacted the area. Spent some time with the deaf students at the primary school, watched students walk ten feet for a drink (instead of to the river miles away) and meet some very grateful parents of our sponsor girls. That evening tired and dusty we were greeted by a friend in our toilet, a very large frog.
Friday we drove to Enkasurai primary School, Kujiado a very rural mountain area. We walked down the mountain to the river to gather water (dug from the river bed) with the school children, explained about freckles, sunglasses, and arm hair, played games with the youngest ones and taught the older children the timeless art of friendship bracelets. When we arrived back in Illbissil we were met by the mothers of our sponsor girls with bags full of beautiful hand beaded jewelry, key chains, decorations and headbands (check the website for purchase information), another self-sustainability project for the people of Ilbissil.
Spending time with the people of Ilbissil solidifies the importance of what we do and makes me that much more grateful for all of your support both financially and spiritually. As I head home the rest of the team spends the day with the sponsor girls, travels to Nakuru National Park and Pekot all the while looking for ways COME UNITY can partner with the people of Africa. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. I look forward to the stories they will have to share when they return on Saturday.
Jessica
Posted by kristin.