Maize Party and New Mum

I have acquired a new skill!  I now know how to remove kernels of corn (maize) from the cob by hand! First let me tell you about Kenyan maize - it is not like our corn, but more like a cross between U.S. hominy and field corn. It is very chewy and not sweet. It is used (at least at Hekima Place) mainly in a dish called githeri. Githeri is a vegetarian dish loved by many in Kenya, so much so that they’ll eat it twice a day for days in a row. It is based on maize, tomatoes, beans and onions. I haven’t detected any spices other than salt (but then I haven’t detected spices other than salt in any Kenyan dishes). I like it fine, but just not twice a day for multiple days.

The occasion for my learning this significant new skill was the recent maize harvest from the shamba. We now have two really large bags full of maize that will go bad if not shucked, de-kerneled and cooked right away. When that happens, there is a ‘Maize Party’ at Hekima Place - which is really like an old fashioned corn huskin’ party except that you also have to get the kernels off the cob. So all the girls were called in this afternoon for a Maize Party. Everyone sat around the courtyard of the dining hall shuckin’ maize and removing kernels. I already knew how to shuck, so that’s mostly what I did. Until the end, when all the shuckin’ was done and all that remained was to tend to the last few cobs that needed de-kerneling. I tried on my own, with the result that I mashed a lot of kernels. So I asked the mums to explain the technique. Turns out, what you have to do is use thumb and thumbnail to remove a few rows of kernels from the bottom of the cob, then clear a 3-kernel wide channel up the cob. Once that is done, you can use your thumb to push the kernels sideways into the open channel and they pop right off! Don’t you feel enlightened? Githeri, anyone?

After the Maize Party, the new hire, Mum Brendah arrived to finalize things and discuss her duties and the contract. I will miss Mum Lucy, but today I feel even more comfortable than after her interview that Brendah will work out really well. I took her around to introduce her to the girls and other resident mums, and she seemed to fit right in. One of the girls who came to us from the Kibera slum (where Brendah has been working/volunteering) spotted her and ran over to give her a big hug. The babies all seemed to be instantly happy to attach themselves to her and the other mums welcomed her warmly. She has a very immediate and easy rapport with all the girls she spoke with. Kids know.

Greetings from Blessing

I tried to upload this photo on the last post, but couldn't get it to load. So here it is as a separate entry.

Babies and Girls Nite Out

 We were all so excited today - Blessing, the new 7 month old baby who came to us two weeks ago limp as a dishrag and weighing only 9 pounds, was strong enough  to sit up, play with a rattle, wave and smile at everyone. She has come so far in such a short period of time. 

The other exciting news is that Emma, Hekima's first college graduate, and her husband Eric had a baby boy. Eric called Kate today to tell her about it. And it was so sweet - they named the baby after Kate's late husband, Fletcher. Emma works for an insurance company and Eric is a civil engineer in Mombassa.

Wednesday, Kate and I enjoyed a girls’ afternoon out. We went into Karen to run some errands, got those done and stopped at Janet  Mathenge’s house to have her sign some checks for us. Janet has a beautiful home in Karen. She is, as I have probably mentioned, a member of the Hekima Board of Trustees as well as president of the Karen Rotary, and a great help to us. we got there, she surprised me with a “Welcome to Africa” gift basket full of goodies to eat and drink as well as some carvings, a cute little Maasai key ring and a Maasai blanket.  I was overwhelmed – thaWhen t was so sweet of her.  I need to get a nice card to thank her.

After leaving Janet’s place, Kate took me to the Kazuri bead factory. Kazuri employs local women who make ceramic beads and from them necklaces, bracelets and earrings. In addition to the ceramic beads, they make wonderful pottery .The factory store also sells purses and locally made sculpture. We were disappointed that, though the store stayed open until 6 pm, the factory itself shut down for the day at 4:30, so I didn’t get to see the process of making the beads or pottery. But we could still shop! Kate bought a gift for a friend and a purse. I bought a bag of loose beads for my own jewelry making and a cup and saucer as a gift for Kate’s morning coffee.

We were hungry and the traffic was bad, so we decided not to fight our way back through it to try to make it to Hekima Place in time for dinner. We stopped at Osteria Karen (an Italian restaurant) for dinner. I hadn’t had any fish since I’d arrived in Kenya, so I ordered red snapper and Kate got tilapia. All the eateries that cater to Westerners have lovely outdoor garden seating areas, so we ate outside and watched ibises feed on the lawn and children play in a swimming pool while their parents enjoyed dinner.  My snapper was delicious, especially accompanied by a glass of wine, and Kate enjoyed her tilapia.

When we did get back to Hekima, dinner was over and Kinyua was doing the tutoring duties, so Kate and I had the evening free. Kinyua is the man in charge of education around here, among other duties. He is a former teacher, and keeps track of how all the girls are doing, visits the secondary school girls, checks out potential boarding schools, tutors, etc.  Since we have been without an assistant director, Kinyua has taken on additional responsibilities and is a very great help to Kate. Anyhow, Kate and I went over to Karibu guest house, settled down on the couch with her doggies and enjoyed watching a movie, “American President”, while munching on chocolate and macadamia nuts.

When the movie was done, Kate went back to her place and logged onto email to see if the woman to whom we offered the resident mum/social worker job had responded yet.  The next thing I knew, Kate was at my door in her bathrobe to tell me that, hallelujah, praise the Lord, Brendah accepted the job and will be coming back out here to finalize. That was a wonderful note to end the day on!

So I proceeded to do some emails and went to bed happy. Kate, not so much. Apparently there was a problem with her tilapia – she hadn’t eaten some of it because it was undercooked but evidently she didn’t set enough aside.  All the warnings in restaurants caution about eating undercooked seafood, and this must have been what the warnings are about. Kate was up every hour on the hour being sick at both ends. Fortunately, by the end of the day Thursday she was better, but what an awful way to spend a night!

Working Farm and New Mum Search

Hekima Place is not just a home for girls, it is also a working farm, complete with animals, both adult and their offspring. We have two registered Herford milk cows, Lulu and Hilda named for the donors’ mothers at the donors’ request (the mothers are safely in heaven and don’t know there are two big old milk cows named for them here in Kenya). Between them, they have two babies born in the past 5 months. Sunrise is a heifer, born at dawn. Nicodemus is a boy calf, born at night. Nicodemus will be sold to a relative of one of the Hekima Place employees, destined not to be steak, but to sire future generations. Sunrise will stay on here to be a third milk producer for the girls.

Billy Goat and Judy Goat also had a baby. Nobody at Hekima Place drinks goat milk or makes goat cheese, so Billy and Judy’s only function is to produce more little Billys and Judys for the girls’ Sunday dinners.  Judy bore a female kid (VERY CUTE!), born a week after I arrived here. This girl kid will not end up on the dinner table but will be going to live elsewhere.  A neighbor wants her for her herd of milking goats (don’t know about the cheese) and will trade us a boy kid for her that ultimately will end up being a Sunday dinner (nyama choma!).

Kate has tentative future plans to get some chickens, but for now our eggs and chickens come from the market in Kiserian.  The hope is that ultimately Hekima Place will be completely self-sustaining with regards to vegetables, milk and meat. There’s a start on a fruit orchard, too.

One of the resident mums, Mum Lucy, is leaving us. She had begun a masters degree program before she took the job here and thought she could do both and still finish her degree.  However, it is not working out for her – the two days off per week is not proving to be enough time for her to finish her thesis. Mum Lucy is a very sweet gentle soul, and I, for one, will really miss her. In addition to being a resident mum, Lucy also performs the duties of social worker. Kenyan law requires that orphanages like Hekima Place employ a social worker/counselor for the girls. So we need to hire a resident mum who, in addition to being a loving mum to the girls is also qualified to serve as the social worker.

Kate had quite a few resumes already from people who have come to Hekima Place looking for jobs over the past two years.  I reviewed all the ones in the file and between Kate and me we selected four to interview. Kate interviewed one woman on Saturday and both of us interviewed the other three on Monday. Kate really liked the one she met with on Saturday, but she is 60 years old and we want someone who will stay with the girls for several years (the retirement age in Kenya is 55).  Two other women were good, but one seemed perfect, even having the social work training and considerable experience counseling children in the Kibera slum of Nairobi. Kate offered her the job via email on Tuesday and we’re waiting to hear back. Please pray for us that we get someone wonderful.

Nyama Choma Festival - Pics

Nyama Choma Festival

 I have photos, buit am having difficulty publishing this. I'll try to do photos separately.

 This afternoon, we took 17 of the girls (grades 4 – 6) to the 1^st annual Nyama Choma Festival.  Nyama Chomo is traditionally a grilled goat item, but it has expanded to include beef and chicken. This event was a fundraiser for the Karen Rotary, of which Kate is a member. Janet Mathengi, member of the Hekima Board of Trustees and President of the Karen Rotary, was in charge of the Festival. The proceeds are to be used for fighting malaria. Kate had bought tickets for everyone, but that only got us in the door.  We gave the girls money to spend to buy nyama choma for lunch and treats. Kate gave them instructions to spend all the money we’d given them because she wanted to support the Rotary. And they really enjoyed spending it! I did my part – in addition to my lunch, I bought a bottle of nice red South African wine and a Maasai carving of an ibis that is common in the area. The carving is going to be a problem to get home. It is carved from olive wood, very dense, about 15 inches tall, a foot across, and weighs probably3- 4 pounds. That wouldn’t be a problem, but my personal suitcase was close to the 50 pound limit already. Maybe I’ll just have to leave some clothes here.

The girls had a great time. They ate lunch, then more sugar than they’ve probably had in the past year. They had their faces painted and danced on the bandstand. They participated (with much urging) in a contest I can only describe as a ‘strutting’ competition. The highlight of the day was a performance by the local rock sensation, Jua Cali. He was supposed to be on at 3:30 but that have been ‘Africa time’, because he didn’t appear until about 4:30. When he did show up, he got all the kids up on stage with him dancing – quite the entertainer! He invited one of our girls to sing with him, but she was too shy. After his performance he posed with the girls for a photo. They were thrilled! And we barely made it back to Hekima Place for dinner.