Days 13-17

Hello all!

Thank you for all of your comments, we'll pass them on to the youth (Sue, Christine just checked her email). This will be our last post before we arrive in Toronto. The flight number for London to Toronto is British Airways flight 0097 and it will be departing Monday at 5:30pm (GST) and arriving at 8:40pm (EST) at Terminal 3 at Pearson Airport - please pick up your children / loved ones from the airport and check the flight on the net for any delays at: http://www.ba.com/

Now for an update! We did very little of the construction work in our last day (Friday) as we had reached the highly technical roofing process and Andrew had so much to show us in the area. We visited a child-headed household due to HIV/AIDS and visited a grandmother who had lost all of her children and was caring for about 10 (it is bad luck to count your children here for fear of losing one so no one gives you an actual number) and her co-wife who was also an aging grandmother caring for roughly 6 kids. Sadly, the grandmothers thought that their adult children had died due to a curse on their land and they were still unaware of how HIV/AIDS had impacted them. Later that day we had a closing ceremonies with the teachers, students and members of the congregation. It was hoped that the new classroom was a representation of a new relationship between our two congregations!

On Saturday, we have to thank David for his idea to fly from Kisumu to Nairobi. None of us were looking forward to 12+ hours on a bus bumping down the terrible Kenyan roads and the flight took about 40 minutes!! It gave us an extra day on our itinerary, which we promptly spent with the Huruma youth team whom we have all grown very fond of. They gave another street performance in Eastlands community using traditional dance, acrobatics and an HIV/AIDS awareness-raising puppet show. Afterwards, we took the team out for dinner and it was truly a joyous and bitter-sweet occasion. We had all gotten to know each other so well over the last two weeks and the two youth groups had bonded very tightly - it was the longest goodbye I have ever witnessed, with lots of pictures and the exchange of gifts (t-shirts and Kenyan crafts) and email addresses - what an amazing youth group!

Sunday (today), we hit the morning service at St Andrew's again and the sermon was done by a preacher from North Carolina. There were a surprising number of youth missions from the USA so we were blessed with a guest minister that reminded us of sermons from the South. Afterwards, Andrew arranged a visit with the Director of the National Office for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS, we had plenty of time to discuss what his office is doing and he answered all of our questions and provided us with lots of stats on the prevalence of HIV and issues such as polygamy and women's rights came to the forefront of our discussion - we learned a lot, thanks Andrew for arranging it! From there, we went to the Obara's for lunch and met the entire Obara family. The children are delightful, just like their parents, and they cooked us a very delicious meal and we shared stories and exchanged gifts and thanked Andrew and Leonora for their hospitality over the last two weeks. How blessed we were to have two great hosts in the Obaras and NCCK. Next we visited an animal centre were the youth were able to feed giraffes!! Finally, we had dinner and thanked James from NCCK for all of his hard work - he is a kind and generous soul whom we would like to have the honour of hosting in Canada one day!

Happy 30th Birthday to my wife, Stephanie!! Love to you and Colin, I'll see you soon!

We'll see you all on Monday (we have a long day ahead of us travelling with the sun), but we'll be home tomorrow - see you then!!

DAYS 10 - 12 Bondo/Usenge

Construction is well underway!! Once the artisans figured out what to do with 12 pairs of willing but unskilled hands, progress has been impressive, at least according to our hosts. Tuesday and Wednesday we laid 12 rows of brick and were half way up the window line when we finished yesterday. We have all learned new skills, including brick laying, curing, filling with mortar. And we have also been shoveling sand, drawing water from the well and moving the wheelbarrow full of cement mortar. It is amazing what is being done with some pretty basic tools - shovels, trowels, a plum bob and a long length of cord is about it! In between we have been enjoying the children at the school. All the youth have taken turns sitting in on classes when they are being taught in English, and we even took charge of one phys. ed. class - apparently "duck, duck, goose" translates very well into Swahili :-)

Today, however, was a well-earned day of rest. We were taken on a boat tour on Lake Victoria to Mageta Island, where we were hosted at a division of the church where we are doing the school build. We were greeted in song, treated to a double feast by Charles our amazing chef who prepared a brunch and lunch, and included some comfort foods like french toast and pasta, as well as local delicacies like Nile perch. We played cards and visited under the shade of 2 sails stretched under the trees, and then proceeded in a "parade" of about 50 members of the local congregation back to the boat, again with singing all the way.

Once again, there is a soccer game this evening against the local primary school - it has become a daily event that both groups are enjoying.

While we enjoyed our day of leisure, the artisans kept on and the walls are now up to the lintel level, so tomorrow we will be building the roof frame, and hope to buy them the materials to complete the roof after we leave Saturday morning. There will also be some small closing ceremonies and farewells tomorrow. It has been great to spend time immersed in a small community and to feel that we are really doing something special with them and for them.
We should be able to update again on Saturday when we get back to Limuru and the internet is a bit more accessible.

DAYS 7-9 Heading West!

Jambo, everyone, sorry this update has been delayed, but as suspected, internet access has been a bit more limited. On Saturday, we headed out with some of the Huruma gang and climbed Mt. Longonot, a passive volcano en route to Nakuru. Quite a strenuous climb (at least for the non-teenagers) but a fabulous view across the Rift Valley from the top, as well as down into the crater. Our legs then stiffened up for the next 8 hours as we bumped (and I do mean bumped!) our way to Nakuru. We stopped in Navaisha for lunch (hot dogs and drinkable yogurt fresh from a local farm) and arrived in time for a late dinner. We once again stayed at an NCCK facility in Nakuru.

Sunday morning was a really early start - left the conference centre at 6:15am to go on safari at Lake Nakuru National Park. What a treat, and well worth the early start to see the animals still up and around. We saw: waterbocks, rhinos, a giraffe family, Thompson's and Grant's gazelles, impalas, water buffalo, zebras, monkeys, baboons, crested cranes, hyenas, warthogs and 1/3 of the world's population of flamingoes - the water was pink as the sun rose! We were just breathless with the wonder of seeing all these animals in their natural habitat and we will have some wonderful photos to share.

Then we headed west to Kisumu on Lake Victoria - we picked up Charles, who is going to be our personal chef in Usenge!! and we went grocery shopping in Kisumu. En route we passed some beautiful tea plantations and then had our first views of the lake. We arrived in Usenge about 5pm and dropped off the chef and the food, and then headed 20 minutes back east to Bondo, which is where we are staying this week at the Switel hotel. Again, the accommodation is quite good, with double rooms once again and private baths.

This morning (Monday) we went to the school for impressive opening ceremonies for our building project. The students performed for us and we all shook about 100 tiny hands, there were speeches from the church and school dignitaries. Then we walked into town and ordered the building supplies (bricks, cement, sand, etc) and we'll be ready to start building first thing tomorrow morning. They also took us on a quick tour of Osieko Beach, a fishing village that is the furthest point west in Kenya - we could see the islands belonging to Uganda across the water. Everyone is doing well, and it is finally hot here on the coast, so we're much more serious about sunscreen and bugspray!

Kesho (we'll write again soon!)

DAY 6 - Maasai

Wow, what a day yesterday! We started at the Maasai Ostrich Ranch, where we toured the commercial farm of 2600 ostriches ranging from 3 weeks to 13 years. Then we all RODE ostriches (yes, even Christine conquered her fear of birds), seated on canvas "saddles" and in the good hands of 3 guides. Boy, ostriches can move! Then we had a delicious lunch of marinated ostrich (much like flank steak in appearance, texture and taste) and fries.

From there we visited a Maasai homestead. We were greeted by a traditional Maasai song from a women's group, wearing their beautiful beadwork, and then we met the herdsman, who introduced us to one of his 2 wives, and we were able to enter their homes (dark and tiny - everyone had to crouch almost double to go in). We learned about aspects of their culture, such as poligamy, marriage of 13 year old girls to 60 year old men, sharing of wives with visitors and the fact that women own nothing and are often left for long stretches of time to fend for themselves and their children while the men roam with the flocks to find pasture. Priscilla, our local host, has established a rescue centre for girls who wish to escape this path, and has also established the women's network who greeted us, helping them to create beadwork for sale so that they can purchase animals and items of their own to sustain them when their husbands are away. Every other day, this family walks 5km each way to the nearest bore hole for water. This herdsman is also considered very progressive because he has educated 3 of his daughters, and has then allowed them to choose their own husbands.

Last night we packed and this morning we are off to Nakuru, with a stop along the way at Mt. Longonot for a hike up this extinct volcano. A heads up, now that we are leaving Limuru, internet access is going to become more sporadic, and may be dial up, so photos are unlikely. We will still try to post entries, but I don't think we will be able to manage daily updates as we have done to date. Kwaheri! (Good bye in Swahili)

Day 5 - Animal Orphanage and Nature Walk

Today has been a bit more of a tourist day, though we started very formally with an opportunity (through Andrew Obara's connections) to meet with James Waweru, the Provincial Commissioner, or representative of the President in Nairobi region (the most senior civil servant). We had a chance to ask him some questions about the accomplishments of his government over the last 4 years, and a photo op (we'll get the pictures posted soon). From there, we once again hooked up with the Huruma youth for a trip to Nairobi National Park to visit the Animal Orphanage and follow the nature walk. Highlights included several of our gang joining the gamekeeper for a chance to pet a cheetah, and a giraffe sighting in the nature walk. We enjoyed a taste of home with a joint pizza lunch, and had hoped to follow that with a visit with the Executive Director of the National AIDS Council, but unfortunately he was held up in Nakuru and we couldn't meet him, though we did gather some interesting literature on the initiatives being undertaken here in Kenya to fight the epidemic. A bit of shopping and some internet time and then we head back to Jumuaia for dinner. Bye for now - hoping to log more tomorrow!

DAY 4 - Mully's Christian Family

Yesterday was a long bus day (3 hours each way) but a fascinating trip to Mully's Christian Family, south-east of Nairobi, near Thika at Mutuu. Charles Mulli was a successful businessman whose car was stolen by a group of street youth in Nairobi, resulting in his feeling called to help such youth. The organization, which rehabilitates street youth and other young people at risk, has grown into 5 sites that currently serve over 1600 youth in both formal and vocational education. We toured the home in the morning, including a sophisticated computer managed green bean farm, the products of which they export to Europe as a revenue source, in addition to growing vegetables for the children themselves. We had a box lunch under the trees and heard the stories of 4 youth who had been "saved" by "Daddy" Mulli - very moving experiences. To end the afternoon, we attended a concert by a number of groups of the children (in Swahili) and then had to reciprocate with a performance of our own! David conducted a sing-a-long of "I've Got Peace Like a River", including actions, which seemed to be well-received. We had a number of the Huruma group along with us once again - they actually train youth at the home in both dance and acrobatics twice a week. During the long bus ride home, they taught us 2 songs in Swahili, so we'll have some performance material when we get back as well!

Day 3 - Huruma

Hello, everyone! We are catching up on two days of blogging - first up is yesterday.

We went back to the NCCK centre at Huruma to join with our friends in a community clean-up. They do this once a month to try and improve their own community. We weren't sure what to expect, but when the face masks were passed out, it gave us a pretty good idea. We spent the morning cleaning some of the main drainage ditches that serve the entire area. Without garbage pickup and in an area with up to 10 people sharing a single room for living quarters, the results can be quite overwhelming, but our combined groups worked hard for several hours and realized what a big job it is. We spent some time after with the Huruma group playing some games and sharing some food.

We then proceeded to the local Masai market, where we enjoyed some shopping time. It is a large group of craftspeople and merchants who set-up thir stalls on the side of a hill in Central Nairobi. It was crowded, noisy and a lot of fun! The Huruma gang came with us to assist in the bargaining for the best prices - often getting us down to 20% of the asking price. The day was capped off by a massive soccer game between our group and the Huruma gang, and then a mixed squad. Other than a broken window (!), the game was full of fun and some amazing playing by both groups, including an incredible final goal by (you guessed it) Alex. Our groups have really bonded in a short time and we look forward to spending more time with them this week.

More to come tomorrow - bye for now!

Day 2: Eastlands and Kibera

Entry By: Darryl H.

Jambo Sana! (a very big hello from Kenya)

We began today with a trip to the head office of the National Council of Churches in Kenya. There we met with our global partners, shared greetings and stories from home and had an international bible study for about 30 minutes. From there we spent the rest of the day with the Huruma youth team and watched them peform in the Eastlands community. This team has a diverse set of dramatic performances that they use to inform their community about HIV/AIDS and civics education to help the citizens get the the most out of a government that has a habit of promising much and delivering little.

After a fast food lunch (that was a little slower than North American standards), we proceeded to the Kibera community, the largest slum in Eastern Africa. We met up with Leonora Obara, who works with in this community with those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. We divided into three groups and spent some time visiting with families living with HIV/AIDS in this very poor community and hearing their stories and struggles. It was a very humbling reminder of the adversity humans can face, and how people overcome it with hope and spirit.

Tomorrow brings more enriching experiences - and a little shopping!

Day 1: St. Andrew's and The Huruma Youth Team

Journal Entry by: Christine S.

Our day started of with a late mass at St. Anderew's presbyterian church. The service was very different from the services we are used to. it was brilliant! It was a youth service and it was attended by approximately 150 people most of whom are below twenty years old. It was very musical and incredibly interactive. We found ourselves singing and clapping along with the service. They had a portiong of the service dedicated to members of the community presenting songs and interesting dances. We greatly enjoyed it.

The resort that we are staying at is beautiful! The country itself is beatiful! All the people here are beautiful!! We are welcome with such open arms! Most of us can't believe at how nice everybody is! We feel incradibly welcomed and respected.

Later on we were privileged enough to be visited by the Huruma group for a cultural presentation. The group called themselves Nzumari African Arts, they were incredible! the dancing! the music! the acrobatics!! we were all really pleased to hear that we will be spending more time with this group next week! yay!

We have also develeped a love of group frisbisee and football. Although our frisbee playing was put to an end when Griffin broke our frisbee with his rolling body! therefore we have resorted to football, a worse sport, but it's fun! Alex made the play of the game with a interception runback for the game-tying touchdown - nice play Alex! All in all, our trip has started off magnificently and we can't wait to experience more!! we love this country !!

We Have Arrived!!

Hi to everyone from all of us!

It is sunday morning and we are en route to church. We are all very well and very excited for the days to come!! This country is beautiful, the landscape and the people. We were given a warm welcome at the airport by the Obara's. Andrew and James will be accompanying us throughout our travelling endevors! We won't be purchasing a cell phone because James has a cell phone (found on the itinerary) should you need to contact us for emergencies. His phone will be on all the time. Our internet access appears to be limited so the frequency of our updates may be every few days or so. Have a wonderful time at home and don't worry because we are in good hands!!!

Lots of love,
The Runnymede Youth Outreach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!