This last week has been crazy, busy, and sad. Two of the guys that work with the church that is partnered with Happy Life and come by the home often so therefore I have made good friends with wanted to show me their areas of town and where they live before I headed back. I had been to the general area of both their town as they are very close to HL but it was very cool to be really in it with people that know it well. Both of these guys are amazing people and these two afternoons were very humbling experiences for me. Both of the guys have lost more than one immediate family member and are living on their own now and making the most of what their life has given them. On Tuesday John took me to Githeri 45 which is his town. He showed me the church that works with HL and also where his grandmother lives who he grew up with. She lives in a compound where there are 5 or 6 one room homes. The place she lives in literally the size of my bedroom and it is her kitchen, bedroom, living room, etc. The water and toilet facilities are outside and all living in the compound share. When John was growing up him and her shared this room. She was a wonderful women and bless her heart spoke no English so he had to translate for us. On Thursday George took me to Kasarani to where he resides. He also lives in a one room home but it is the modern form as it is in an apartment complex above some shops and he has his own bathroom in there as well. Him and I had a great conversation about life and comparing Kenya to America. It was so refreshing to meet someone that loves his country and has no desire to move to America. He really appreciates what he has and doesn't desire a different life. Visiting both of these places reassured me at how wasteful and excessive we as Americans are. People always want bigger and 'better' when what they have is already more than they need. We need to appreciate the blessings we have in our life and be happy with what we have. The past two days at my house we have been without power because the city shut it off (still not sure why) but hey we're still living! Think about back home when the power goes off and immediately people call the company and keep pestering them until it goes back on which usually takes what, an hour? Sorry- I'll step off my soap box, again!
On Wednesday morning the little girl I live with, Glory who is 5, graduated from pre-unit in her school which is the last of the three pre-primary classes and therefore she will start primary school in January. They incorporated a graduation program for these students as well as the end of the year program with all students for parents and friends to come and see. Myself and another volunteer, Flo, went to this along with her mother and sister. The kids sang songs, recited bible verses, did skits, etc. It was really nice and I am glad we got to be a part of it. They even fed everyone lunch after and it was a lot of Kenyan food I love and really good! Flo and I being two of the only three mzungu there did our picture taken by people (including the main school photographer) who thought they were sly and we wouldn't notice- but we did!
As for Happy Life we have had a few rough days. Emma has now tested positive for malaria. A few others are running high fevers and will probably get checked out. When I got to HL Wednesday afternoon I received some very sad news. Rhema passed away early in the morning and Chris is now in the hospital with TB. The staff was all very upset this day and emotions were running high with everything. You can really tell these women treat these children as their own when you see how hurt they all were by these pieces of news. Please continue to keep these kiddies in your prayers as I do no feel the sickness are gone from them all yet.
Yesterday Nancy turned one year old so the other volunteers and I took all the older babies out and 'had a birthday party for her.' This really consisted of just play time out of the crib but hey it was fun to honor her birthday! This morning I helped to take 12 of the little babies to the clinic for their shots. Imagine this- 5 people and a driver taking 12 babies in the van to the clinic. It was a bit crazy and so would not be considered safe in America! To end on a happy note- Mark who is 4 or 5 is getting adopted! This makes me very happy because he is one that takes a little while to warm up to people and therefore has been over-looked by families in the past. I met his soon to be mother and aunt today and they seem lovely! Yay for another Kenyan family adopting!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
kids update
I cannot believe I am in my last week! Ah! It seems so crazy that I am leaving here in only a few days. I def have mixed emotions but am so thankful for all I have experienced here. But I am not writing to say good-bye yet- I'll post as least once more before I leave.
The past week has been good. I have actually been given the job of making the babies bottles in the mornings at the end of last week and over the weekend which I feel is a big privilege because normally its just the moms that do that. I think I did a pretty good job and didnt mess up anyones amounts which is good! A lot of the children have been getting mouth rashes though so we have switched from bottles to small cups which can be a bit challenging but they are getting the hang of it! With all the babies we have it can sometimes take 2 hours to do the feeding, bathing, and changing especially when there are no other volunteers.
The older babies that were all here in the summer are doing so well. They are at the stage where they are developing personalities and smiling and laughing and ah its so fun! Chris is sick again though and it breaks my heart! He tested positive for malaria yesterday but I am afraid that is not all that is wrong with him. Just when I thought he was turning around for the better he is back to sick again. Please keep him in your prayers. Lemmy also tested positive for malaria yesterday. Linus has improved well from his sickness last week but baby Wisdom is in the hospital and has been for a week now. One day I hear he is doing better and the next day I hear he is doing worse. I pray he makes a full recovery- he is so little! Rhema is also sick and went to see a specialist today because they arent sure what is wrong with her. Neema is fully over her chicken pox and has moved into the room with all the other older babies so that is exciting!
The older kids are doing well and the new boys are still adjusting. Some have picked up on the routine here better than others but the other older kids help them along. The little boy Andrew who also says 'how are you?' can never seem to find his shoes and no matter if I ask him in English or Swahili to find them he just looks at me blankly. Today he found different left shoes and just wore those- I guess thats better than nothing!
Some mornings when there is only a little time in between breakfast and lunch feedings and I cannot get all the babies out by myself I have been spending time with the two toddlers, Johnathan and Patience. Johnathan and I are still working diligently on walking and he is doing so well! He can do pretty well when I hold just one hand but today he did two steps without anyone holding on!! He is pulling himself up a lot and walking while holding onto things which is a huge improvement from a few months ago. Patience has this obsession with shoes in their room (a lot of random shoes are in the closet in there) and puts on ones clearly too big for her and tries to walk around. She will also carry as many as she can from one side to the other and then line them up. Its adorable!
We did get two new volunteers at the hostel this past weekend and they are working at Happy Life. I am so glad to have more people to come and love on my babies!! I wasn't really looking forward to new people in my last week but it has actually been nice. I took them around Nairboi yesterday afternoon and it made me appreciate the city and get to enjoy it once more before leaving and its kinda fun to show people around the place you've called home for the past few months.
The rest of the week will be busy with seeing friends, doing final things here in Nairobi, and giving the kiddies many more hugs. I am looking forward to these final memories to be made!
The past week has been good. I have actually been given the job of making the babies bottles in the mornings at the end of last week and over the weekend which I feel is a big privilege because normally its just the moms that do that. I think I did a pretty good job and didnt mess up anyones amounts which is good! A lot of the children have been getting mouth rashes though so we have switched from bottles to small cups which can be a bit challenging but they are getting the hang of it! With all the babies we have it can sometimes take 2 hours to do the feeding, bathing, and changing especially when there are no other volunteers.
The older babies that were all here in the summer are doing so well. They are at the stage where they are developing personalities and smiling and laughing and ah its so fun! Chris is sick again though and it breaks my heart! He tested positive for malaria yesterday but I am afraid that is not all that is wrong with him. Just when I thought he was turning around for the better he is back to sick again. Please keep him in your prayers. Lemmy also tested positive for malaria yesterday. Linus has improved well from his sickness last week but baby Wisdom is in the hospital and has been for a week now. One day I hear he is doing better and the next day I hear he is doing worse. I pray he makes a full recovery- he is so little! Rhema is also sick and went to see a specialist today because they arent sure what is wrong with her. Neema is fully over her chicken pox and has moved into the room with all the other older babies so that is exciting!
The older kids are doing well and the new boys are still adjusting. Some have picked up on the routine here better than others but the other older kids help them along. The little boy Andrew who also says 'how are you?' can never seem to find his shoes and no matter if I ask him in English or Swahili to find them he just looks at me blankly. Today he found different left shoes and just wore those- I guess thats better than nothing!
Some mornings when there is only a little time in between breakfast and lunch feedings and I cannot get all the babies out by myself I have been spending time with the two toddlers, Johnathan and Patience. Johnathan and I are still working diligently on walking and he is doing so well! He can do pretty well when I hold just one hand but today he did two steps without anyone holding on!! He is pulling himself up a lot and walking while holding onto things which is a huge improvement from a few months ago. Patience has this obsession with shoes in their room (a lot of random shoes are in the closet in there) and puts on ones clearly too big for her and tries to walk around. She will also carry as many as she can from one side to the other and then line them up. Its adorable!
We did get two new volunteers at the hostel this past weekend and they are working at Happy Life. I am so glad to have more people to come and love on my babies!! I wasn't really looking forward to new people in my last week but it has actually been nice. I took them around Nairboi yesterday afternoon and it made me appreciate the city and get to enjoy it once more before leaving and its kinda fun to show people around the place you've called home for the past few months.
The rest of the week will be busy with seeing friends, doing final things here in Nairobi, and giving the kiddies many more hugs. I am looking forward to these final memories to be made!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
oh so much!
So much to catch up on! Sorry I have been slacking. I was actually sick this past week with a stomach infection so it put me out of commission for a few days! Almost all better now though. I did end up going to a clinic to see what was going on and ended up getting antibiotics which have helped a lot. The whole experience was interesting though because first it cost 50 shillings (about 75 cents) to see the doc and that was pretty much just a conversation- no blood pressure or temperature taken or anything you'd expect when you go in to get evaluated. I had a blood test done which was about 100 shillings (about a dollar and some change) and the lab tech pricked my fingers and put the blood right onto the little glass thing they put under the microscope. Anyways, so as much as I hate being sick it was still kinda cool to see how they do things in health care over here- not that I wanna experience it again!
As for Happy Life there is so much going on! It has been so good to be with the older kids. Its a bit different without the other girls around because most of the time I am the only one playing with them and therefore they all want me to see what they are doing at all times! They are all doing fantastically. There manners have improved so much too. Samwell and Emmanuel are now going to a new school (they were in preschool on site) and loving it.
Tuesday of last week was an eventful day to say the least. Elijah and Cyrus who were adopted when I was here over the summer came back to visit. It was so cute to see the kids reactions when they were all reuniting. Elijah was a bit quieter and seemed more out of his element then when he was here but that has to be expected. They still seem to remember everyone and the other kids looved seeing them! The US director and his wife, who were in town, planned a big lunch for everyone that worked there which was so nice. It included so many good Kenyan foods too- an no ugali! haha. We received 7 new kids that afternoon from a government home. It was only suppose to be 5 but they went to the courts behind HL back and made it 7! The littlest one is Max who was only 10 days old at the time! There were 5 boys all about 3 years old and speak no English so Andrew use to say "how are you?" about 17 times a day when he saw me, but that has stopped now thank goodness! Lastly, a little girl about 7 months old who has chicken pox! I cannot believe they brought her when she was still contagious. Her name was Niha (nee-ha) but it was thought to be a Muslim name and they wanted to change it to a Swahili name. I suggested Neema (nay-ma) which is a name I heard in Tanzania a lot and really liked and that is what they kept! Kinda an honor to name a child I think! Finally, to top off this crazy day we got a visit from Stuart and Gordon who are two Scottish men in their 40s here for work that the girls and I met randomly back in August and invited to visit the home. Turns out they have been back a few times and always bring some donations for the kids. They have talked up HL to friends interested in donations back home. And they have worked on a partnership with their company and HL and brought by a check for 500 pounds with plans to bring another next month! Who would have thought a random meeting would have turned into a great relationship for HL!
A few other exciting things happened last week after Tuesday as well. Nathaniel, who was adopted right after I had left, came back to visit. Everyone was so surprised at how big he has gotten- very chubby now!! Two of the new babies, Linus and Wisdom have been very sick with malaria. Each day myself and the social work took them down the road to the clinic to get checked up and given shots. Ow they did not like the shots! At the end of the week when I left Wisdom was doing so much better and Linus was still fighting but as I got back today it turns out they had to admit Wisdom to the hospital yesterday because he took a bad turn. These kids are sooo little and under three months old, breaks my heart! Please keep them in your prayers!
On Thursday afternoon I had taken the older girl, Loise, for an afternoon out instead of the afternoon nap. We went into town and had ice cream- which of course melted and made a mess but that is half the fun of eating ice cream when your 5 years old! We then walked to Uhuru Park for a boat road. They have peddle boats and even though Loise's legs were a bit too short she made it work! We had a wonderful day and in the middle of the time on the lake she looked at me and simply said 'today is good!' :) I did get a few interesting looks from people in town though and even asked if she was my son (her head is shaved like most kids here and I have to admit she looks like a boy sometimes)!! It really was a good day.
I will leave you with something for those of you back in Columbus- this past week I saw a Columbus Zoo shirt one someone and another guy wearing a Dublin Coffman shirt. Made me think of home :)
As for Happy Life there is so much going on! It has been so good to be with the older kids. Its a bit different without the other girls around because most of the time I am the only one playing with them and therefore they all want me to see what they are doing at all times! They are all doing fantastically. There manners have improved so much too. Samwell and Emmanuel are now going to a new school (they were in preschool on site) and loving it.
Tuesday of last week was an eventful day to say the least. Elijah and Cyrus who were adopted when I was here over the summer came back to visit. It was so cute to see the kids reactions when they were all reuniting. Elijah was a bit quieter and seemed more out of his element then when he was here but that has to be expected. They still seem to remember everyone and the other kids looved seeing them! The US director and his wife, who were in town, planned a big lunch for everyone that worked there which was so nice. It included so many good Kenyan foods too- an no ugali! haha. We received 7 new kids that afternoon from a government home. It was only suppose to be 5 but they went to the courts behind HL back and made it 7! The littlest one is Max who was only 10 days old at the time! There were 5 boys all about 3 years old and speak no English so Andrew use to say "how are you?" about 17 times a day when he saw me, but that has stopped now thank goodness! Lastly, a little girl about 7 months old who has chicken pox! I cannot believe they brought her when she was still contagious. Her name was Niha (nee-ha) but it was thought to be a Muslim name and they wanted to change it to a Swahili name. I suggested Neema (nay-ma) which is a name I heard in Tanzania a lot and really liked and that is what they kept! Kinda an honor to name a child I think! Finally, to top off this crazy day we got a visit from Stuart and Gordon who are two Scottish men in their 40s here for work that the girls and I met randomly back in August and invited to visit the home. Turns out they have been back a few times and always bring some donations for the kids. They have talked up HL to friends interested in donations back home. And they have worked on a partnership with their company and HL and brought by a check for 500 pounds with plans to bring another next month! Who would have thought a random meeting would have turned into a great relationship for HL!
A few other exciting things happened last week after Tuesday as well. Nathaniel, who was adopted right after I had left, came back to visit. Everyone was so surprised at how big he has gotten- very chubby now!! Two of the new babies, Linus and Wisdom have been very sick with malaria. Each day myself and the social work took them down the road to the clinic to get checked up and given shots. Ow they did not like the shots! At the end of the week when I left Wisdom was doing so much better and Linus was still fighting but as I got back today it turns out they had to admit Wisdom to the hospital yesterday because he took a bad turn. These kids are sooo little and under three months old, breaks my heart! Please keep them in your prayers!
On Thursday afternoon I had taken the older girl, Loise, for an afternoon out instead of the afternoon nap. We went into town and had ice cream- which of course melted and made a mess but that is half the fun of eating ice cream when your 5 years old! We then walked to Uhuru Park for a boat road. They have peddle boats and even though Loise's legs were a bit too short she made it work! We had a wonderful day and in the middle of the time on the lake she looked at me and simply said 'today is good!' :) I did get a few interesting looks from people in town though and even asked if she was my son (her head is shaved like most kids here and I have to admit she looks like a boy sometimes)!! It really was a good day.
I will leave you with something for those of you back in Columbus- this past week I saw a Columbus Zoo shirt one someone and another guy wearing a Dublin Coffman shirt. Made me think of home :)
Monday, November 9, 2009
back in Kenya, back at Happy Life
Ah it feels so good to be back in Kenya. I think this place is my second home (wait thats NC so I guess third home! haha). The bus ride was not as enjoyable as the first time but I made it with no problems. I am back at the same house and it was a very happy reunion with the family. I am sleeping in a different room which after all the moving around this summer makes it that I have lived in 5 out of the 6 rooms at some point! I got to hang out with a few Kenyan friends over the weekend and spent some time back in Nairboi town. I still remember my ways around everywhere!
The taxi driver I use to use called me on Saturday remembering I said I would be back sometime in November and just wanted to check in with me. I was going to get on a matatu yesterday and heard my name called as one of the drivers on our route came to say hi. Then this morning the boda-boda driver I use to use honked his horn and waved to me as he drove by. It is so nice to be remembered by people that you thought would easily forget you as you only saw them a handful of times.
I was so happy to be back to make it to the fundraising walk at Happy Life on Saturday. It was wonderful to see all the women that work there and a few of the community volunteers I know as well. It warmed my heart so much to have the bigger kids yell my name when they saw me! I def missed these kids a ton! The walk went well- even though it was 12 km! haha. There was a good turnout and the US director and his wife are in town so it was nice to talk with them for most of the way.
The construction they were doing on the building is almost done and they are certainly growing. They have added 14 new babies in the recent weeks! Most of them gave straight from the hospital at only a few days or weeks old. Some of them do have tragic stories as well though; such as Joy whose mother was insane and actually bit the child on the face multiple times that she now has many scars! Ah I cant imagine! Unfortunately there has been a bad string of malaria going through and a lot of them have been sick. Some of the babies are sooo tiny that it breaks my heart when I hold them. I am hoping they will get their nourishment up quickly and they all stay away from being sick! With all the new babies they have changed around cribs and even rooms kids are in but I think I got most of the new placements down today.
A few updates on kids...
Jennifer was returned to her mother. Turns out the father had taken the baby to the police station stating it was an abandoned baby and bribed them to give anyone looking for her the run-around. The mother spent 6 weeks trying to find her and ended up getting arrested after telling off the cops for giving her so many mis-leads. When she got out a few days later they told her where she really was and the mother came for her daughter, who is actually called Anita. Apparently it was an amazing reunion and Jennifer was instantly changed when she saw her mother again which is so good to hear because she was having such a rough time!
Naomi has been returned to family as well. The mother came to HL and asked about her baby. The mother's story is very strange and I will spare the whole story but tell you it involves stealing money, drugs, someone dieing, jail, prostitution, etc. Turns out Naomi has two other siblings that were sent to another orphanage when she came here after the mother got sent to prison. The staff at HL say that they will not realise the baby back into the mothers hands as she clearly is an unfit mother. The lady then sends the grandmother who neey wont let Naomi go home with her because thats not a decent income etc etc... The grandmother catches wind of all this and comes for the baby instead as she did not want her with the mother either. The grandmother is keeping the name Naomi so I have no idea what her real name was.
Nathaniel was the only baby to be adopted while I was gone. Chris is doing so much better and is not as sick anymore, eating without throwing up now! Johnathon now eats without fussing. Daniel can sit up. Matthew and Job have gotten so big. Ah they just all grew so much over the last two months! This afternoon I will get to spend more time with the older kids and am very happy about that. I know Samwell and Emmanuel are now going off site to another school but dont have much more of an update on any of them just yet.
Crazy to think I have only three short weeks left and will be headed back stateside at the end of the month!! I will def enjoy my time here though!
The taxi driver I use to use called me on Saturday remembering I said I would be back sometime in November and just wanted to check in with me. I was going to get on a matatu yesterday and heard my name called as one of the drivers on our route came to say hi. Then this morning the boda-boda driver I use to use honked his horn and waved to me as he drove by. It is so nice to be remembered by people that you thought would easily forget you as you only saw them a handful of times.
I was so happy to be back to make it to the fundraising walk at Happy Life on Saturday. It was wonderful to see all the women that work there and a few of the community volunteers I know as well. It warmed my heart so much to have the bigger kids yell my name when they saw me! I def missed these kids a ton! The walk went well- even though it was 12 km! haha. There was a good turnout and the US director and his wife are in town so it was nice to talk with them for most of the way.
The construction they were doing on the building is almost done and they are certainly growing. They have added 14 new babies in the recent weeks! Most of them gave straight from the hospital at only a few days or weeks old. Some of them do have tragic stories as well though; such as Joy whose mother was insane and actually bit the child on the face multiple times that she now has many scars! Ah I cant imagine! Unfortunately there has been a bad string of malaria going through and a lot of them have been sick. Some of the babies are sooo tiny that it breaks my heart when I hold them. I am hoping they will get their nourishment up quickly and they all stay away from being sick! With all the new babies they have changed around cribs and even rooms kids are in but I think I got most of the new placements down today.
A few updates on kids...
Jennifer was returned to her mother. Turns out the father had taken the baby to the police station stating it was an abandoned baby and bribed them to give anyone looking for her the run-around. The mother spent 6 weeks trying to find her and ended up getting arrested after telling off the cops for giving her so many mis-leads. When she got out a few days later they told her where she really was and the mother came for her daughter, who is actually called Anita. Apparently it was an amazing reunion and Jennifer was instantly changed when she saw her mother again which is so good to hear because she was having such a rough time!
Naomi has been returned to family as well. The mother came to HL and asked about her baby. The mother's story is very strange and I will spare the whole story but tell you it involves stealing money, drugs, someone dieing, jail, prostitution, etc. Turns out Naomi has two other siblings that were sent to another orphanage when she came here after the mother got sent to prison. The staff at HL say that they will not realise the baby back into the mothers hands as she clearly is an unfit mother. The lady then sends the grandmother who neey wont let Naomi go home with her because thats not a decent income etc etc... The grandmother catches wind of all this and comes for the baby instead as she did not want her with the mother either. The grandmother is keeping the name Naomi so I have no idea what her real name was.
Nathaniel was the only baby to be adopted while I was gone. Chris is doing so much better and is not as sick anymore, eating without throwing up now! Johnathon now eats without fussing. Daniel can sit up. Matthew and Job have gotten so big. Ah they just all grew so much over the last two months! This afternoon I will get to spend more time with the older kids and am very happy about that. I know Samwell and Emmanuel are now going off site to another school but dont have much more of an update on any of them just yet.
Crazy to think I have only three short weeks left and will be headed back stateside at the end of the month!! I will def enjoy my time here though!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
good-bye Arusha
The past six weeks have gone by so quickly; I cannot belive my time in Arusha is over!! This has been a wonderful last week. I read with a lot of kids, created this alphabet game and played it wil children at that stage, worked with the baby class, tutored a few intermediate class kids, and created more teaching aids. It was def a good last week working with these kids. It just stunk to have two days of good-byes!
Wednesday was my last day at Kisongo. I was so touched by some of the teachers and how sad they were that I was leaving and one that I bonded with really well actually refused to say bye to me! The kids were all very cute in sayin bye. I even received a few letters from some of the boys which were just wonderful. Kids' writing is funny as it is but when they are writing in their second language they are even more fun to read.
Today was my last day with the kids at the Center. I was definitely closer to these children simply for spending more tie with them and the atmosphere being more of where they live and not just where they go to school. Trisha was very sweet and had all the kids draw me pictures/write notes so they kept delivering them to me all afternoon. The also all gathered and sang good-bye songs to me. Ah- it was so hard to leave these kids. I wish I could express better in words what things were like. It is just nice to know that as much as these kids have touched me and impacted me I have left something with them as well. One of the girls that barely talked to me when I started is one that said bye to me three or four times and ran after me at the gate to say bye again! Helena was being a litte pistol this morning not wanting to look at me and being pouty but then this afternoon she was attached to my hip like normal. I did not want to put her down and leave her! I decided to be her sponsor so even though in a few years she will forget about me because she is so young, she will always have a spot in my heart and I hope to come bck and she her as she grows up.
I will be leaving for Kenya in the morning and spending my last three weeks there. Happy Life is having a fundraising walk on Saturday so I am very excited to make it back for that and cannot wait to see all of those children again even though I know some of them have been returned to family members or adopted. I will update ya'll on them next week.
It is only appropriate that end my last Arusha post with telling you about food! Wednesday we went out with our only other Western friend, Diane, who works with Living Water. We had sodas at this lodge that you can sit and look out to a watering hole with zebras, elands, ostriches, peacocks, herons, etc. I have never seen an eland before nor much about them but one come up close to us so I got to pet it which was cool! We then went out to dinner to a real Tanzanian place and had chicken! It was real, good, tasety chicken! This mean also involved fries and salad and no utensils. It does not even phase me anymore to eat without utensils! It was also a power cut night so we spent most of the evening by the light of the month which I think helped becuase then I didnt realize how messy my fingers were getting!!
Wednesday was my last day at Kisongo. I was so touched by some of the teachers and how sad they were that I was leaving and one that I bonded with really well actually refused to say bye to me! The kids were all very cute in sayin bye. I even received a few letters from some of the boys which were just wonderful. Kids' writing is funny as it is but when they are writing in their second language they are even more fun to read.
Today was my last day with the kids at the Center. I was definitely closer to these children simply for spending more tie with them and the atmosphere being more of where they live and not just where they go to school. Trisha was very sweet and had all the kids draw me pictures/write notes so they kept delivering them to me all afternoon. The also all gathered and sang good-bye songs to me. Ah- it was so hard to leave these kids. I wish I could express better in words what things were like. It is just nice to know that as much as these kids have touched me and impacted me I have left something with them as well. One of the girls that barely talked to me when I started is one that said bye to me three or four times and ran after me at the gate to say bye again! Helena was being a litte pistol this morning not wanting to look at me and being pouty but then this afternoon she was attached to my hip like normal. I did not want to put her down and leave her! I decided to be her sponsor so even though in a few years she will forget about me because she is so young, she will always have a spot in my heart and I hope to come bck and she her as she grows up.
I will be leaving for Kenya in the morning and spending my last three weeks there. Happy Life is having a fundraising walk on Saturday so I am very excited to make it back for that and cannot wait to see all of those children again even though I know some of them have been returned to family members or adopted. I will update ya'll on them next week.
It is only appropriate that end my last Arusha post with telling you about food! Wednesday we went out with our only other Western friend, Diane, who works with Living Water. We had sodas at this lodge that you can sit and look out to a watering hole with zebras, elands, ostriches, peacocks, herons, etc. I have never seen an eland before nor much about them but one come up close to us so I got to pet it which was cool! We then went out to dinner to a real Tanzanian place and had chicken! It was real, good, tasety chicken! This mean also involved fries and salad and no utensils. It does not even phase me anymore to eat without utensils! It was also a power cut night so we spent most of the evening by the light of the month which I think helped becuase then I didnt realize how messy my fingers were getting!!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
more reading, Rwanda, recommendations, chip stealing
Our reading program is going fantastically!! There were a few kids that we had trouble getting interested in the beginning and they were the kids that needed it the most. This week, however, they are the ones coming up to us first asking if they can read with us. Joseph, Eunice, and Winafrida are all about 7 r 8 and had no reading skills so we started with the flashcards. Each day Joseph gets more than the previous and gets so excited about it! Eunice sounds out every letter in the word which doesnt always work with the English language so its sometimes a challenge but she never gets discouraged. Winafrida has been my favorite with this process. She never wanted to work one-on-one and now is not only doing the flashcards but bringing up books to just sit and listen to me read to everyone. I think she is falling in love with reading! It is such a reward to work with her because you can see her mouth move into the word and know that her brain is just clicking away figuring out the word and then she has an 'ah-ha' moment and gets it. The one thing I have to remember when working with any of these kids is that they are learning to read in their second language so sometimes they pronounce words differently but its not because they dont know the word its because of their accent or whatever.
I do have to share with ya'll about my favorite little girl here. Here name is Helena and she is about 5 years old. I dont obviously remember what I was like at that age but I think I must have been a lot like her and thats why I love her so much! She is always happy and laughing and loving. Even if she does something she isnt suppose to and you say her name ready to correct her she gets this little smile on her face and starts to laugh because shes knows excatly what she did. She is also one that asks me to read to her everyday and even know she cant read yet she takes in so much from the book. When I read something she will point out on the page where it is or ask questions pertaining to the story. I wish ya'll could meet this girl and have one of her hugs!!
We also worked with the baby class one-on-one this week with their flashcards. We also had a meeting with all the teachers at Ngulelo which I think seemed useful but should have been facilitated weeks ago! At Kisongo this week I sat in on a few civic classes and assisted with the review of their monthly test. I also was asked by a teacher if I could 'teach English' to a child that just wasn't getting it. Well 'English' is a big topic and it took a while in conversation before I could get her to be specific on something to teach him because I cant just 'teach English' to a child in one class period! We also did some read alouds and coloring as well as one-on-one reading with the younger classes.
On Wednesday morning this week we went to see the United Nations International Crime Tribunal for Rwanda. Arusha is the capital of East Africa and therefore where the UN has set up the courts to prosecute the offenders of the Rwandan genocide that occured back in 1993. Yes, they are still prosecuting over 15 years later! It is crazy to think and also frustrating. A few of the offenders are still at large and actually one of the big names was found within the last month in Uganda. Those that have been in custody are staying in a compound which isnt excatly like prision and getting their trials drawn out over many years before they do end up getting convicted and sent to prision (all in different prisions across the world actually) and then spend the rest of their lives there because the UN doesnt do the death penalty. Anyways- the trial we got to watch a little bit of was for a guy that was the secretary general of the party that was in power back in 1993. The witness that was testifying that morning had a protection order on him so he was behind a curtain and we could not see him but we could see the defendant which was a bit strange, I must say, knowing what he did and having the court so easily stating the deaths and rapes of many people. Ah. Anyways- it was an interseting thing to experience.
This leads me to some recommendations I want to make to ya'll. While here I have read a few good books and seen a few good movies I think you should check out. There are two movies about the Rwandan genocide that are worth seeing- Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April. I also read a great book that took place in Kenya around the time of their independance from Britian called Blood Sisters and is about three friends growing up in that time. Lastly, I am about to finish a book called What is the What. It is about one of the Lost Boys of the Sudan from when their second civil war started back in the 80s.
I leave you this week with a comical story about a walk home this week. On Friday there was ugali for lunch at Kisongo which I have now stopped trying to eat because it just makes me sick and I find it awful... but anyways. One our way home we stopped to get some chips (french fries) at a little restaurant/bar on the road leading from the main road to our house. We got very excited about these and put up with a guy proposing to me while we waited for them! We were disappointed to find they were actually cold and tasted pretty bad but oh well we were hungry! When we made the final turn up to our house these two high school chicks came toward us with their hand stretched our saying hi. When one got close to Trish she ripped the chips out of her hand! Trish throw the remaining bit in the girls face and we continued to walk appauled at what just happened. The girl walked back toward us asking (in Kisawhili) for my juice! I neglected to give it to her though. Turns out there is a crazy girl around here that has mugged a volunteer before and threw rocks at her! At least we only lost the last bit of our cold chips.
I do have to share with ya'll about my favorite little girl here. Here name is Helena and she is about 5 years old. I dont obviously remember what I was like at that age but I think I must have been a lot like her and thats why I love her so much! She is always happy and laughing and loving. Even if she does something she isnt suppose to and you say her name ready to correct her she gets this little smile on her face and starts to laugh because shes knows excatly what she did. She is also one that asks me to read to her everyday and even know she cant read yet she takes in so much from the book. When I read something she will point out on the page where it is or ask questions pertaining to the story. I wish ya'll could meet this girl and have one of her hugs!!
We also worked with the baby class one-on-one this week with their flashcards. We also had a meeting with all the teachers at Ngulelo which I think seemed useful but should have been facilitated weeks ago! At Kisongo this week I sat in on a few civic classes and assisted with the review of their monthly test. I also was asked by a teacher if I could 'teach English' to a child that just wasn't getting it. Well 'English' is a big topic and it took a while in conversation before I could get her to be specific on something to teach him because I cant just 'teach English' to a child in one class period! We also did some read alouds and coloring as well as one-on-one reading with the younger classes.
On Wednesday morning this week we went to see the United Nations International Crime Tribunal for Rwanda. Arusha is the capital of East Africa and therefore where the UN has set up the courts to prosecute the offenders of the Rwandan genocide that occured back in 1993. Yes, they are still prosecuting over 15 years later! It is crazy to think and also frustrating. A few of the offenders are still at large and actually one of the big names was found within the last month in Uganda. Those that have been in custody are staying in a compound which isnt excatly like prision and getting their trials drawn out over many years before they do end up getting convicted and sent to prision (all in different prisions across the world actually) and then spend the rest of their lives there because the UN doesnt do the death penalty. Anyways- the trial we got to watch a little bit of was for a guy that was the secretary general of the party that was in power back in 1993. The witness that was testifying that morning had a protection order on him so he was behind a curtain and we could not see him but we could see the defendant which was a bit strange, I must say, knowing what he did and having the court so easily stating the deaths and rapes of many people. Ah. Anyways- it was an interseting thing to experience.
This leads me to some recommendations I want to make to ya'll. While here I have read a few good books and seen a few good movies I think you should check out. There are two movies about the Rwandan genocide that are worth seeing- Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April. I also read a great book that took place in Kenya around the time of their independance from Britian called Blood Sisters and is about three friends growing up in that time. Lastly, I am about to finish a book called What is the What. It is about one of the Lost Boys of the Sudan from when their second civil war started back in the 80s.
I leave you this week with a comical story about a walk home this week. On Friday there was ugali for lunch at Kisongo which I have now stopped trying to eat because it just makes me sick and I find it awful... but anyways. One our way home we stopped to get some chips (french fries) at a little restaurant/bar on the road leading from the main road to our house. We got very excited about these and put up with a guy proposing to me while we waited for them! We were disappointed to find they were actually cold and tasted pretty bad but oh well we were hungry! When we made the final turn up to our house these two high school chicks came toward us with their hand stretched our saying hi. When one got close to Trish she ripped the chips out of her hand! Trish throw the remaining bit in the girls face and we continued to walk appauled at what just happened. The girl walked back toward us asking (in Kisawhili) for my juice! I neglected to give it to her though. Turns out there is a crazy girl around here that has mugged a volunteer before and threw rocks at her! At least we only lost the last bit of our cold chips.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
