Kate's Back!

Kate's back home again after an incredible fundraising trip to the US. She was supposed to arrive Wednesday night after leaving Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon. But her flight from New York to Amsterdam was delayed by a paperwork snafu and she ended up missing her connection to Nairobi. So she had an overnight flight to Amsterdam and then had to spend the day in the airport before flying out on Kenya Air at 9 pm for another overnight flight! She arrived back at Hekima Place at about 8:15 am, utterly exhausted after two overnight flights separated by almost 12 hours hanging around an airport. But in typical Kate fashion, she kept motoring on until she finally gave in to a nap about 2 pm. Everyone here, especially me, is thrilled to have her home. A lesser person would have collapsed long before!

Lockwood Ho!

If Life is what happens when you are planning something else, Hekima Place is Life! On Wednesday I had planned to go in the morning with Brendah, the newly hired social worker mum, to meet with Teresia and Bridget’s mother and the DCO (District Children’s Officer) in Ngong. But at the morning staff meeting, it became clear there would have to be a change of plans. One of the mums had left for the morning to take her own child back to school. We needed a mum to escort two girls to the bus stop that would get them back to Kambui school because they were first year students who hadn’t yet learned how to negotiate the route by public transit. And the five girls who were transferring schools to go to Lockwood needed a woman to accompany them for the check in process. Sophie didn’t need to be gone all day because she still had her real job (accounting) to do. If all this sounds confusing, it was! The upshot was that I ended up being the one to go with the five to Lockwood and Sophie was again pressed into service along with Brendah to meet with the DCO and Teresia and Bridget’s mom in Ngong.

The trip to Lockwood (near Nakuru) was an all-day affair as it is a 2 1/2 hour drive to the north under the best of conditions. The van was packed to the gills what with suitcases, five foot lockers, five foam mattresses and miscellaneous other stuff for each, plus the five girls and Brendah and Sophie in the back, me in front and Kinyua in the driver’s seat. Kinyua and I could barely hear the girls in the back of the van with all their stuff in between! We left about 10 am and I expected to be back to Hekima in time for dinner. Hah! We had to stop in Ngong to drop off Sophie and Brendah. Then we were further delayed because we had to purchase some last minute items the school required the girls to have, washcloths, sky-blue bed covers and two sky-blue pillow cases apiece. And one of the girls had yet to “clear” her previous school so that had to be taken care of in Nakuru.

Typical mud side street

In Ngong we turned down a mud side street and stopped before one of the myriad tiny storefronts. The first store we stopped at didn’t have the required bedcovers and pillow cases, but the proprietor was able to direct us to a tiny shop a few storefronts down that had them sandwiched in between all the other merchandise that was crammed into the small space. These little storefronts are the face of most commerce that takes place in Kenya.

Inside the tiny storefronts.

After the shopping was taken care of, our travels truly got under way. And it was quite a beautiful and interesting drive. Once we got past Nairobi, the highway to Nakuru was surprisingly good. For about 15 minutes the road followed along the very edge of the escarpment above the Great Rift Valley. From the road, there was an amazing view of the earth appearing to fall away steeply to the west revealing the immense vastness of the valley. At Hekima, we are right on the escarpment but the appearance is quite different because the Ngong Hills and other hills cut into the valley at jagged intervals making it a less dramatic visual transition.

Along the road and occasionally in the road, we saw troops of baboons and herds of zebras that didn’t appear to be associated with any wildlife preserve or park. In one place we laughed at what appeared to be a mixed herd of zebras, cows and goats.

We drove past beautiful Mt. Longonot, a volcano at the base of which a chasm has recently opened up causing concern that an eruption was impending. However, they have now decided it was just soft soil shifting because of the rains. Mt Longonot is near Devil’s Canyon where six teenagers on a church outing were recently and tragically killed in a flash flood. Beyond Longomont, there was a large lovely lake, Lake Naivashi, ringed by mountains and one of the few fresh water lakes in Kenya.

Nyama choma eateries

We were near Lake Naivashi about 1 pm when we decided we should stop for lunch since it was clear we wouldn’t get the girls to the school and checked in in time for them to have anything to eat. Judging by the number and type of ‘butcheries’ and eateries along the road, the area is apparently known for its nyama choma (literally roast meat). All the butcheries in Kenya have whole dressed carcasses hanging in the front window so you can see how fresh what you’re buying is. Although beef is now included in the designation, traditional nyama choma is grilled goat meat - and that’s what all the eateries appeared to be offering along with grilled chicken.

The well oiled cutting board/dinner plate

Kinyua pulled the van into the parking area of one he had previously visited and asked everyone what they wanted to order. Four of the girls ordered the grilled chicken and Kinyua, one of the girls and I decided to share goat. I had’t yet had the chance to try traditional nyama choma so this was my opportunity to eat the genuine article. I figured the goat was fresh and freshly grilled so that was ok - it was the way it was served that put me off. A butcher brought out a whole grilled hind quarter and proceeded to hack the meat off with a large old butchers knife onto an ancient and none too clean looking wooden cutting board. I could almost see the bacteria swarming all over it. Did I mention the intestines? Uh, never mind. We were left to eat the meat with our fingers from the cutting board as a common serving dish. Greasy French fries and a fresh tomato/onion dish accompanied the meat. In spite of my hunger and joy in eating unusual things, I might have given it a pass but I knew that waiting for me back at Karibu House there was Cipro (wonder antibiotic; good for almost anything bacterial that ails your intestinal tract; beloved of all travelers to third world countries) and Sherry, a nurse experienced with this stuff. So I made the calculated decision that I would survive the experience, come whatever. The goat was extremely tasty, if a bit gristly and, if I tried really hard to ignore the cutting board, I quite enjoyed it. Now I can add nyama choma to the list of exotic gastronomic delights I’ve experienced and survived in my lifetime. So far, I’ve luckily not needed Sherry’s ministrations or the Cipro.

Inside a Kenyan butcherie

Following lunch, we got the one cleared from her school and all five checked in and moved into their dormitories at Lockwood. By the time all was done that needed doing and Kenyua and I climbed back in the van for the return drive to Hekima Place, it was 5 pm and it had started to rain. We finally arrived back here by 8:30 pm, having fielded phone calls from Sophie, Mum Evy and Mum Helen worrying about where we were.

This entry is already far too long, so you’ll just have to learn about Lockwood and the entire Kenyan secondary school experience in the next entry.

Back to School!

Morning view from Karibu porch

It was a beautiful morning in the Ngong Hills, in spite of the fact that it had rained off and on all day yesterday and most of the night. Yesterday, Sherry washed clothes and tried to get them dry in between rain showers. Finally she gave up and Dave rigged a clothes line from the Karibu House hall into their bathroom. So they enjoyed a movie last night with a background of wet clothes hanging from the inside clothesline.

Off to school!

Waiting to board the bus in uniforms and gum boots

Today was also the first day of the new term for the girls. They were all up early and ready to go. There are too many of them to all go in the bus at once so they went in two busloads, one leaving at 6:45 and the second at 7:00 am. Everyone was carefully pressed and polished for their first day. But the effect was somewhat ruined by the gum boots they all wore in case the bus couldn’t make it down the road to the school and they would have to walk part of the way. Sherry, Avril and I were all out there to take pictures and wave farewell to send them on their way.

I had to take four of the girls to a clinic in Karen this the morning and expected to be back here by lunch. So before we left, I ran two loads of laundry, expecting to get them on the line to dry by 1 pm. However, as these things are wont to do, the simple trip to a clinic in Karen morphed into a multitude of errands to make the most efficient use of the expensive petrol as possible. So in addition to the clinic run, there were payment checks to be delivered, money to be deposited in the bank, a secondary girl to be delivered to a spot where she could get a matatu to her school, picking up of one of our girls who starting a law internship and delivering her to the hostel where she will be living, supplies to be picked up on the way. It became clear that we would not be back to Hekima for lunch, so I bought lunch for the clinic girls and Kinyua.

Mudflow on Ngong Road

On the way, I took some photos of the mud that has engulfed the town of Ngong. Water flooding over the road is scary, but mud flows are even scarier. One evening our accountant was returning home and two cars ahead of her were washed away in the mud. She was terrified it would happen to her! Due to lack of resource management on the part of the government and stripping the trees from the hills for firewood, there's nothing to prevent erosion or divert the mud once it starts flowing. The government has paid contractors to plant trees in the hills, which sounds good in theory. But what happens is they plant trees and put a fence around them, collect the money and that's the end of it. The contractor has his money and takes no more responsibility for the little trees. The locals cut the fences to let their herds in to graze, no one waters the saplings during the dry season and they mostly die. So there are many fenced areas up in the hills with only grass and scrub growing in them. Still nothing to revent erosion.

Humphreys relaxing amid indoor laundry

After all was said and done, we got back here barely before 4 pm. By then, the sunny day had turned cloudy and rain threatened. I tried to hang my laundry on the line, but as the sky got darker and darker, I gave up and gathered everything off the line and brought it inside. So tonite my laundry is decorating Karibu House as the Humphrey’s did last night. I hope it is all dry by tomorrow morning, but I’m not holding my breath!