Helping The Less Fortunate in Kenya
Accents, accents… we have a lot of trouble understanding the locals and vice versa. Last week I had a conversation with one of the girls in class six that went like this:
Your don’t have a shoelace in your shoe.
Miss Corinne, I have.
Well, is it in the dorm.
No, I have it.
Well, why isn’t it in your shoe?
It is Miss Corinne, but I need another one.
Good grief.
I read in the paper that the equinox was on the 20th of March, and that at exactly 1:28 (why not 12:00 I ask) the sun would be directly overhead. I was the only one excited about this phenomenon -not the girls or the science teachers! Well, eat your heart out groundhog, cause not even an elephant could see his shadow here on the equator. The article said that when the sun passes over the equator, it brings the rains. I made up my own shadow rule: If the elephant doesn’t see his shadow it will rain cats and dogs for 3 hours and the power will go out. True! So far we have had rain, but none in the North where it is badly needed and people are experiencing extreme drought and famine.
Just before we left I met a woman in Calgary who was involved in conservation projects in Kenya. She works for the Calgary Zoo. She gave me a contact for the William Holden Conservation Education Center, which does programs for children. I tried to call Michael, but alas, our conversation was not understood by either party! (See paragraph one.) I put the job onto the school head and we were fortunate enough to get a booking in March. This was a big deal for class six as most of them had never been to that area of the country. Apparently neither had the teachers, because there were seven of them who accompanied the trip.
Road Trip
Departure was set for 7:00am, and of course I was there with clipboards and assignments, Band-Aids and water bottles and markers to record names on bottles. At 7:10 we had three of the seven teachers and off we went. “What a Friend we have in Jesus” blared from the radio and the only white person on board was covering her ears. We picked up teachers along the way until the seats were full. Despite the advance notice to the driver about being prepared, we stopped for fuel only 40 minutes along. After resuming travel, all the girls had to pee. Pit stop in the elephant/baboon corridor.
Fortunately no casualties! All in all, despite the three hour ride on a bumpy, old school bus, it was a great day with a visit to the conservation center and also the animal rescue centre. We saw a leopard that was living there because his entire pride had been shot by farmers when he was six months old as well as many other animals that had been brought due to injury or habitat destruction. An ostrich with a gimped up foot followed us around and the guide kept putting corn kernels on people’s head and the ostrich would snatch them up. I was so tired on Thursday I couldn’t even go to school! Too old for those trips.
Return to the Nanyuki area
On Friday we returned to the Nanyuki area, this time by car. Rita, Irv and I went for the weekend to Sweetwaters Serena Tent Lodge for two nights. Today we are all wondering why none of us thought to spend a third night. It was luxurious and the term ‘tent’ is not the type you buy at MEC. Carpet covered concrete floor, bathroom equivalent to the Hyatt, king size bed, patio, thatch roof, and okay…Canvas walls! We took a guide for a couple of drives through the game reserve, but the best part was the watering hole right there in front of the main lodge and the tents.
Animals came during the day, at dusk and in the morning. On Friday night three giraffes came in the evening and how special it was to see them drink as they need to really spread their legs to lean down for water. Last night we emerged from our tent to go for dinner and the area was covered with herds of water buck and Cape buffalo. To top it off a herd of elephants sauntered in, large and small. A trio consisting of a mother, a teenager, and a baby lingered when the others left. The teenager kept rubbing the mother’s trunk as if to say, ‘What about me? Never mind this baby.” It was rather surreal in the lights from the lodge. We feel blessed for having this experience.
The Work Continues
The work continues here at OLOG children’s home. We have received some new girls including a stoic little thing who was abused by her father, mother in jail. She arrived with the social worker in the evening and greeted all of us mzungus (white people) before going to the dorms. She saw the other kids and told the social worker she would go now, and be with the other kids. Within a day or two she was in school and one of the group. Did I mention she is only 4!! Another three will arrive this week. They are living in the slum in Meru. The mother recently died and the father is not in the picture. Rita would never turn them away.
So, feel free to visit the website: www.actionforgodslove.org
And a big ‘asante sana’ to all who have donated. 100% of donations go directly to operation of the home and school.
This is the last week in Kenya for the Gerlings. We will travel to Nairobi next Sunday, then to Qatar on Tuesday. Somebody order up some warm weather when we get back to Canada.
We are always happy to hear from friends and family.
Kwaheri!
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