I hope this post finds you all happy and healthy……..something we’ve learned here that we take for granted for sure. It’s been another amazing week here in Kenya. Andrea Bratis is now safely home and boy do the kids at Ronesa miss her! Deb Gardner and our husbands have joined me on this leg of this trip and it was a wonderful week working with the students at our school and visiting Maasai people in their Manyatas.(similar to a compound where many family members have their own bomas, but live all together). We were humbled every time we visited a family and discouraged because there wasn’t enough time to fulfill all the invitations. Our favorite visit was with our good friend Simon who helps me organize our goats/chickens program. Simon and his family invited us to their home and to try to put into words what the experience was like is impossible. They prepared quite the feast for us and all I can say is that real teachers DO eat goat!! His family even gave us soda and it took one of them an entire day to go into Ngong just to get our drinks. They are the most generous/giving people I’ve ever known.
The first picture above is when we delivered 2 goats and 3 chickens to our friend Lorena. She is a grandmother who is raising her 3 grandchildren on her own as both the parents died recently of Aids/HIV. Lexi Dunham is a former student of mine from Shaffer and she raised $350 this year in our Power of One program. She wanted to donate her earnings to this program and Lexi……..I hope the smiles reflected in the picture give you just a glimpse of the difference you’ve made in the lives of many. You’ve given the gift that keeps on giving for these beautiful people here! Way to go Lexi!
Of course we had an amazing time with our students at Ronesa and I think you can see how much they are enjoying the supplies (once we taught them that you don’t lick the markers or try to eat the glue sticks:>) our school at home donated to them. Just to be given a piece of paper with an activity on it is something they rarely ever see. Titus, Naishupie, and Mercy couldn’t stop smiling! We quickly put our husbands to work at the school doing odds and ends, but even they couldn’t resist these amazing 50 children! We received a new student this week at Ronesa. His blind grandmother and uncle came to see us to plead with us to let Shadrack come to school. Of course there was no need to even ask once we learned of their situation. Shadrack is from a polygimist family and like many, is neglected and has health issues. We had the priviledge of teaching him how to hold a pencil, kick a soccer ball, and even smile beneath that timid exterior. He’s never been to school, doesn’t speak anything but the Ma language, and was pretty scared on his first day as you can see from the picture. We immediately took him and fitted him for a brand new uniform and again………..the picture says it all. The pride these kids have in wearing a uniform to school somehow gives them purpose and says to them that they matter!! My amazing school at home donated hundreds of dollars for uniforms this year and I can hardly wait to pass them out at our Shaffer/Ronesa Celebration on July 12th.
Another home we visited was the grandmother of one of our students Mishel, 4 years old. You can see from the photo how hard she works making jewelry. She is one of 4 wives to a maasai “man,” and is horribly neglected. She shared with me how hard it is to raise Mishel and her other 4 children with only the income a few beads provide. Mishel is the daughter of her eldest child Monica, a 7th grade student whom she quickly sent away to a boarding school because the father was forcing her marry so that he could get some more cows/goats. Yea, I know hard to swallow that one! Fortunately she is allowed to stay at the boarding school without paying her full fees and she hopes one day 15 year old her daughter can come home to be with them. Stories like these are numerous but herein lies the importance of education! When Maasai children are educated here they are taught over and over again to stop these practices and while change is slow, we are encouraged to see that it is at least moving in the right direction. You have to daily check your Western values at the door in order to embrace a society where daughters are a commodity, expected to endure circumcision and arranged marriages where they are often the 3rd or 4th wife. BUT, what we see with the educated girls is a fierce determination to stand up for themselves and refuse these practices even when it comes with a high price. There are currently 26 girls at the local SafeHouse who have done just that. A Safehouse is a government approved (term used very lightly) where girls can come to escape their fathers and whom are protected so that they can continue their education. These girls danced for us at church on Sunday it was tough to withhold the tears knowing the cost and the risk these brave girls have taken. They are my heroes!!
We all came down to Niarobi yesterday, with a few stomach issues, but after a good night sleep, and the comforts of running water and electricity, we are good to go now. We laugh at how George’s home in the slums actually becomes an inviting place after being in Maasailand. Too funny! We leave today for our next adventure…….SAFARI! We will spend 3 amazing days viewing the wild animals and just as exciting is staying in the tents where we can shower EVERY day!! :>) I’m exaggerating a bit, as it’s actually very liberating, and not that tough to go without our comforts we so easily take for granted at home. Hair is actually much more manageable ladies when it hasn’t been washed every day!?
As you can imagine the stories are endless, but for fear of losing the internet I’d better close for now.
I hope you are are doing well and thanks for taking the time to read about the amazing people of Africa! We are so fortunate to be here!
Love, hugs, and blessings,
Julie
