60 days, 9 books, 2 illnesses, 1 mystery rash on the face, 4 bunk beds, and a myriad of smiles, laughs and tears. It is time to leave Kenya.
Since last I wrote I was able to obtain a partial refund from the Fadhili Community. The group does not usually give out refunds for people leaving early, but because I was going home for family reasons I was able to be refunded the 15,000ksh that would be payed to the host family for my accommodations for a month. Never for one moment did I think that this money was mine to keep. Since I am leaving early and cannot physically be here to do good works, I decided the money should stay and benefit those that I was working with. So, on Thursday I went out with the director of the Unity WEEP Center and one of the ladies and purchased 9,000ksh worth of fabric. This bought us five rolls of material. Two rolls of plaid fabric (one brown and one purple) 36 inches wide with a roll holding 30 meters of fabric and three rolls of solid color fabric (plain white, light blue and sky blue) 45 inches wide with 27 1/2 meters in a roll. All of this fabric will be used to make school uniforms. One of the biggest ways women at the center make money is by selling these school uniforms, since all school children are required to wear uniforms here. With this fabric, the women will now make nearly 100% profit when selling them next month. The remaining 6,000ksh is sitting in my purse in front of me right now. In an hour I will be meeting with a friend Eva (one of the school teachers from my teaching days in Kitengela)to purchase a 5ft by 3ft table for the teachers of the Noonkopir Township Primary School. The table will cost 4,300 and I will use the remaining money to buy 3-4 chairs for it. I am so happy that this money is going to be going to good use! The teachers at the school badly needed a table to sit at and grade papers while not in class. Now they will have one!
Yesterday, I said my good-byes to the women at the Unity WEEP Center. And although I rarely cry when saying good-bye, I found my self tearing up as they prayed for me and my travels. The women were so grateful for the work that I have done there over the last 5 weeks. We sat and ate lunch together (chapati- my favorite, that I helped make!) and talked. Lois looked at me and told me
how much she appreciated how I taught her how to write her name. Everlyne stood
and talked about our house visits together and the story of the wet bottom. (Ok, quick recap. While doing home visits in Kibera I sat on someones couch to discover it was a bit damp. The roofs commonly leak and it had rained a lot the night before. I didn't want to draw attention to that fact so sat their and felt the water soaking through my dress. When it was time to leave I jumped up, said farewell and walked out towards our next home. 200ft away from the house a woman stopped Everlyne and told her in kswahili that my bottom was soaked! True enough, my entire backside was wet, turning the color of my dress a dark orange! Everlyne handed me her shall, which I wrapped around my waist and we continued on un-phased! ) They flooded me with presents for not only me, but my entire family. I kept thinking, "I don't deserve this!I don't deserve this!" I will never EVER forget these women. They are beautiful, funny, loving and have been through more than I can imagine. One of their smiles could make me happy on the saddest of days.
And now it's time to depart. My flight leaves at 3am Monday morning. I'll fly through Istanbul and Chicago and after about 23 hrs of travel will arrive back in California. I want to thank you, readers of this blog, for all of your support. While writing the blog sometimes seemed like a chore, at the end of the day I have really enjoyed it. I hope that I have written clearly enough that you have a genuine glimpse of what life was like for me during my time in Kenya. And while you have never, and probably will never, meet these women, I ask that your thoughts and your prayers drift to these single mother friends of mine living in the largest slum in Africa with HIV.
Beatrice - Helen - Silvia - Beatrice
Lillian - Everlyn - Invioleta
Night - Margret
Lois
Much love, Kris
