Well here I am in my last week in Kenya. Now, what do I have to catch up on? Oh Christmas, that’s right. We were here in Kisumu for Christmas Eve, and we had our own Christmas miracle – Moses, one of the guys that helps to run the community centre and who has been giving us a hand on the site, was in a really bad matatu accident – he was up in the front with the driver and a lady, and we think they both died, the lady was crushed into the engine. I don’t know how the rest of the passengers were - matatus really are a death trap, the way they are driven and how overloaded they always are, but they are really the only way to get around from town to town. Moses came out of it with a concussion and a few scratches, which, considering he was right up the front, was a miracle. It obviously wasn’t his time to go. But it shook us all up a bit, my matatu ride into Kisumu that day was probably the worst I’ve had, two really close calls, but we are all safe and well and that’s all that matters. Christmas morning was all over the place and we didn’t really spend it together, which was disappointing, but the afternoon was really special. We left at lunchtime to head back out to Mutumbu and then to Rangala to the baby home. There are 37 kids there, ranging from a couple of weeks old to about 5 years old, and it was great to spend time with them and bring some love into their lives even if it was only for a couple of hours. And they just want to be held, especially the toddlers – I had one little girl, Patience, in my lap for ages and she just wanted to sit there and be cuddled. It’s not that they are neglected by the staff, but they are so understaffed that they only have time to really keep a loose eye on the kids and keep them fed and changed, but there isn’t much time for them to spend with the kids just to play and cuddle. We had a big Christmas dinner there as well, which was probably the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been here!
We had our final work day on the site on Monday, we each planted a tree which was nice, and we also planted some avocado and mango trees, and 100 cay apple plants – the kids from the centre are responsible for watering them so they will grow and can then be sold at the market and produce some income for the centre, which is great. The kids all came down to say goodbye and on Tuesday we had a big lunch and a final goodbye to the site – we had a few minutes to reflect on the work we’ve done there and how it looked when we started…..all of a sudden I was recalling how it looked at the beginning, just a shell of a structure with a half wall of bricks, then we spent all those days digging out the floor, then handing rock by rock to each other for the floor, partially filling the floor back in with dirt, mixing and shoveling the concrete, moving the dirt again to make the big veggie patch outside, digging the trench for the apple plants, Dan bursting the water pipe and a river of water running through out trench, digging the holes for our trees, re-digging the holes for our trees because they moved the original boundary line for the fence…..and all in the meantime, the local fundis completing the walls, the roof, the verandah, the windows…it was awesome to go through those memories one by one and I think we all felt a true sense of pride for the work that we’ve done and I know I’ll never forget it.
We were supposed to leave Mutumbu at 10am on Wednesday but our matatu was running late (didn’t come till 12pm!) so we had a bit of a soccer game with the local kids – it started with 2 of them versus 6 of us, which gives you some idea of their talent, seeing as they were still winning hands down! I have a great memory of me trying to chase down Aduece, possibly the most talented soccer player in all of Mutumbu and any surrounding village, and trying to kick the ball out from under his legs, with no success at all! Then we all joined in together and had a blast – it was a great way to finish. The kids all came out to say goodbye when the matatu finally arrived, and I was so sad to leave them all, and Fred and Judy and their kids…it was really hard and I told them all I’d be back in a few years to see how they are all doing!
I had a pretty massive night on New Years Eve, for the last part of the night we were at some random, stinky, falling-apart outside pub – but it is totally reflective of my whole experience, so it was pretty fitting! I had an awesome night, the best New Years I’ve had and I was so happy to spend it here in Kenya, with the group. So yesterday I was rather hungover and spent the day trying to recover! I’m now in Kisumu until Sunday, when we leave to travel the big long bumpy bus ride to Nairobi, then on the safari on Monday and Tuesday night. Back to Nairobi on Wednesday, stay that night and then I fly out on Thursday night. I can’t believe it’s been 5 weeks since I left home and that I only have one more week here – I don’t really feel ready to leave and I would love to stay for a few more weeks. But it’s been an amazing adventure and I’m so glad I decided to do it.
So happy new year! I’ll see you all very soon! xoxo
