Bon Voyage Kate!

Kate left for the US Wednesday night and everyone, mums, girls, dogs had to come out to hug her and wish her farewell and safe travels. You’d have thought she was leaving permanently, not for just 5 weeks! She was sad to be going without at least a brief visit with all the boarding school girls, most of whom weren’t back yet. But five of them had already made it home before she left. So I, the five boarding school girls who were back and both puppies accompanied Kate to the airport for a fond send-off.

Thursday for the first time I was “in charge”. My first official act was to take two of the boarding school girls to the doctor at Nairobi Women’s Hospital in Rongai, down the road from Kiserian. Mr. Kinyua drove us there on his way to a meeting at one of the schools. His meeting was supposed to be at 9 am, but the girls didn’t even make it out to the car until about 9:50. On our way to the hospital, we dropped one of the mums off at a shop in Kiserian where they make sofas. Kate wanted 4 extra sofas for the houses because, with all the boarding school girls here, there’s not enough seating in any of them. She later reported that two or three of the sofas will be ready by Saturday, and that for about $100 each.

Kinyua dropped the three of us off at the hospital and the girls signed in as new patients, having never been there before. The registration form they had to complete was interesting because these girls are orphans. They had to list a “next of kin” and ended up listing me, relationship, their “mum”. That was a bit of a strange feeling for me! Anyhow, it wasn’t long before they each saw the doctor. Then, before any lab tests could be done or prescriptions doled out, I first had to pay. One of the girls has digestive issues and got a prescription for Nexium. To get the prescription, we turned in the sliip at the pharmacy where they wrote the price down. Then it was back to the cashier to pay before they would fill the prescription. The other girl needed lab tests to finalize the doctor’s diagnosis. So we waited while the specimens were collected and while the lab work was done. Finally she went back with test results in hand to see the doctor again. Finally several prescriptions were issued. Total cash paid for doctors, lab tests and prescriptions, about $60.

We were done by noon with the doctors, so I called Mr. Kinyua to learn that, although he was more than an hour late for his meeting at the school, it had just barely started. It’s known here as “Africa time”. So he suggested we take a matatu back to Kiserian where he would call and have someone from Hekima Place drive down and pick us up.

A matatu is sort of an 14 person van that runs like a bus along a certain route and into which typically 17-20 people are squeezed. My prior observations of them is that the drivers are crazy aggressive driving heavily loaded on these really bad roads. And this was my first experience actually riding in a matatu. The first one we saw looked to be full and drove off without us. The second appeared to be equally full, but stopped and we were waved inside. There were two people operating this matatu, a driver and a guy who directed passengers on and off and took the fares. He directed the girls to squeeze into the back. I was waved into the already occupied passenger seat in the front where the man who was sitting there holding a child accommodatingly moved toward the middle so I could share his seat. He got out before very long, but others got in, so I shared the seat the entire way to Kiserian. When folks wanted to get off, they banged on the roof of the van - and people were constantly getting on and off. After a couple of stops, we picked up three traditionally dressed Maasai men who were duly crammed into the back. Not long afterwards, the van stopped for apparent mechanical issues and we had to vacate the front seat. The seat as folded up and the guts of the van exposed, whereupon the driver and fare-taker guy proceeded to pull pieces of something that looked like a fan belt out of the engine area and toss them on the side of the road. While I was standing by the side of the road waiting for this operation to be completed, the three Maasai stared holes in me in a not particularly friendly fashion - I guess old Mazingu (white) ladies don’t often ride matatus with them. I would have loved to whip my camera out and take a photo of them, but was afraid I wouldn’t survive the experience! When the guys running the matatu were satisfied that they had all the belt pieces, they folded the seat back down, we got back in, and off we went. Apparently that belt was nothing essential! Before we arrived in Kiserian, the fare guy tapped me on the shoulder to pay for the ride - about $1.10 for the three of us.

We got into Kiserian and then walked from where the matatu let us off to the KCB (whatever that is) where we found the Hekima van and Mum Elizabeth. She then drove us back to Hekima Place since there aren’t regular matatus routes along the road to Hekima. Thank goodness the girls were with me. I had no idea how to get to KCB from where we got out of the van. Not to mention having no idea of how to negotiate travel by matatu!

Exciting news! Maggie, the girl we sponsor at Hekima Place, returned yesterday afternoon from boarding school and she and I had a nice reunion. She is at Excell School located on the other side of Nairobi from us. It is great to have the chance to catch up on all her activities and aspirations. Excell is near the airport and has one of the few programs in the country in aviation. Maggie thinks she wants ultimately to go into aviation management.

Random Scenes in the Vicinity of Hekima Place

Maasai at Crossroad Center, Karen

Maasai craft market at Crossroads Center, Karen

Maasai woman at Crossroad Center, Karen

Today’s entry will be a lot of photos and not much text. I thought you might be interested in the environs of Hekima Place. First of all, we live in Maasai land. Some dress in western garb, some in traditional clothing, and some in both western and traditional at the same time. Here is a photo of a couple of Maasai men at the Crossroads shopping center in Karen. The next photo is of the Maasai craft market at Crossroads. Notice the woman hiding her face. Maasai don’t like having their photo taken (some will accept money to be photographed) as they feel their image belongs to only them. There’s third image of a Maasai woman in traditional dress walking through the parking lot at Crossroads.

Cattle herded down the main street in Kiserian

Methodist goats?

It’s a pastoral economy here, so when you drive through the towns, you see lots of animals, including goats and cattle. The Maasai are traditionally herders and the number of cattle a man has determines his wealth (and how many wives he can marry). Donkeys are common beasts of burden, and you see them everywhere, either grazing beside the road, walking across streets, but mostly pulling loaded carts. This one has a cart of ‘jerry cans’ for water.

Charcoal kiosk in Kiserian

Fuel is expensive, so, as in Haiti, charcoal is a major source of energy for cooking. Here is a photo of a charcoal stand in town. It is interesting how they display their charcoal by stacking it up into little towers.



 The day before yesterday, I went out on my porch and found a large moth clinging to the rock of the outside wall. It was really pretty, so I took a photo. Later it spread it’s wings to reveal the back wings which were even more beautiful and colorful. I think it must have just come out of the cocoon, because it didn’t seem to be able to fly and didn’t fly away until late in the day. I was watching when it did, and, as it rose in the sky, a bird dived at it twice, but it kept on flying and the bird seemed to give up. Perhaps the large eye spots scared the bird away.

Anyone know what the name of this moth is?

Whup Whup bird

Every morning, I wake up to the calls of a large pigeon-like bird that perches on the peak of my roof. I have come to call it the “Whup Whup” bird because that’s it’s call. “Whup, whup, whup, whup, whup, whup, whup, whup, whup, whup, whup, whup,” starting softly, then getting louder and louder and finally trailing off.

Raven in chef's apron? or French Maid?

Another bird common on the Hekima property is a raven that looks like it has a white chef’s apron on, even to the white strap going all the way around the neck. Kate says she thinks it looks more like it’s wearing a French maid’s outfit. You decide.

Little Dogs and DOOM!

I tried many times yesterday and today to upload a movie clip of the dancing and singing at the Palm Sunday service, but it never did work. I am not happy with Blogger! You all have missed a treat.

It rained off and on all night last night and half the day today. Whooo Whoo! Maybe things will green up around here. Certainly this is one day we didn't have to spend time watering plants.

Kate has two terrier mix dogs who will be staying with me while she is in the U.S. Their names are Rafiki (friend in Kiswahili) and Zawadi (gift in Kiswahili) and they are sisters. Rafiki and Zawadi do their best to guard the property, but, although they bark at anyone or vehicle they don’t recognize, they’re both cute as can be and I don’t think they’d ever bite anyone. Once they have done their duty and let you know that they are in charge here, they are very friendly. They are so alike, but so different. They are about the same height and both have sweet brown eyes and wavy medium length blonde coats. Zawadi’s ears are floppy and her tail is only slightly curled. Rafiki has very expressive ears that perk up when she is interested in something and a tail tightly curled over her back. Zawadi is a bit pudgy and has been known to eat the best bits out of her sister’s food dish. Rafiki is less interested and more picky about food and thus the trimmer pup of the two sisters. Both like tummy rubs and back scratches, but Zawadi is more likely to be at your feet asking for a tummy rub while Rafiki is out chasing away more scary intruders. When they’re not sleeping on Kate’s couch or easy chairs, they have the run of the property. They are very good company and I am happy they will be sharing the Karibu house with me while Mum Kate is away!

DOOM! That’s the name of the bugspray Kate has on hand to do battle with the ants and other bugs that dare to come inside. It has been dry and the ants (tiny little guys) are coming in from every opening. Kate thinks it’s mainly for water, though it probably is as much for food. Everyone tries to stay conscious of the need for cleanliness so as not to attract them. But Friday night before Palm Sunday as we were preparing for doing the Friday night Lenten Stations of the Cross (yes, in spite of the fact that every girl goes to worship in the faith of her parents, we are still very Catholic around here), Kate noticed a very large number of ants moving in a thin line around the room along the bottom of the walls. So she went for the Doom. She was having trouble spraying it, so I took over. As I sprayed all around the dining room, I noticed my index finger was getting very cold as some of the spray bubbled up around the spray button, but I didn’t think much of it. When I was done spraying, I went to wash my hands and looked at my icy cold finger. I saw what I thought was foam on my finger, but when I went to wash it off, I realized it was frozen flesh! It thawed out quickly and painfully under the stream of water, but now I have a large freezer burn blister on the end of my index finger! At least it didn’t turn black and fall off! They must be using a refrigerant like freon as a propellant which would be illegal in the US.

Palm Sunday

Just to let you know, IT’S RAINING!!!!! The first time in the 3+ weeks I’ve been here! Maybe some of those long deep gashes in the earth will now close up! It’s been raining off and on, but mostly on for the past 2 1/2 hours, accompanied by some thunder and lightning. I hope it keeps up for quite a while. The earth is so terribly thirsty here.

Today is Palm Sunday, and we observed this special day of the Christian calendar in style. Father Jim came to Hekima Place to celebrate by leading mass in Dominica dining hall. We had no palm fronds, but we did have large stalks of grasses that we waved in a procession around the compound singing “When the Saints Go Marching In”. Inside the hall, Father Jim led us in a shared reading of Mark’s Gospel story of the events leading up to Easter. Communion was celebrated with dancing and singing in Kiswahili. Dance is common in African worship services and I love it! It was a beautiful service - thanks Father Jim!

After lunch, Kate went on a first visit to see little Johnny since he went to live with his adoptive family. He is being adopted by the family of a Cabinet Minister of Special Programs in the Kenyan government. Johnny is the only little boy who has ever lived at Hekima Place with all these girls. Kate took with her some of the Johnny’s best friends and Mum Evey, the mum of his house at Hekima. He now lives in fine style and attends one of the most exclusive private schools in Kenya. Kate reported at dinner that the visit went well. The concern was that seeing his Hekima Mum and friends would make him so sad he’d cry when they left. He did rush into Mum Evey’s arms and cry, but after the all-afternoon visit, he was ok when they left. More visits will follow.

Also after lunch, Blessing’s little Mom and Auntie showed up to visit her. We have been unsure if we would ever see them again, so it was a joyous occasion that they came. They were blown away by the changes in her (as we all have been) in the past two weeks. Hopefully these visits will be regular events and Blessing will grow up knowing not only that she is loved by everyone here at Hekima, but also her mom and auntie. And that in not too many years her mom will be in a position to take care of Blessing herself.

After everything settled down, the girls wanted to go to visit friends at the Good Hope Orphanage, the one affiliated with the school they all attend. Kate insisted they couldn’t go without adults accompanying them, so Mum Lucy, Kinyua, and I hiked down there with them. When we got there, we three adults settled into chairs in the large gathering room on the first floor of the building. Before long all the kids from both orphanages converged in the room and we realized there would be a movie shown on the flat screen TV installed on the wall. I expected a kid appropriate movie of some sort, but what it turned out to be was “The Help”. Of course there’s no overt sex or nudity or foul language, but it tackles such difficult adult topics I couldn’t imagine why they chose that movie to show. I suppose the good thing about the whole situation was that the kids were all making so much noise you couldn’t hear the dialogue. And, though there were sub-titles, I doubt the kids were paying enough attention to read them. We left before the movie was over in order to get back to Hekima in time for dinner. It was just weird - I can’t think of many more inappropriate movies to show to kids in an orphanage in Africa.