I arrived safely in Nairobi
last Sunday; and the next three days I went on an amazing safari. The first day
we drove about seven hours to get to the Masai Mara Reserve. We settled into
camp; which were tents you could stand in with real beds. The tent was also
connected to a personal bathroom with a flushable toilet and hot water
shower. The camp had a dining hall
where we ate our morning & evening buffet style meals. They also had a small
bar where you could get a variety of drinks. The evening we got there we went
on about a 2-hour safari drive. We
rode around in vans where the tops were raised so that you could stand up to
take pictures. The first evening we saw lots of different types of gazelles,
impalas, topi, and other deer like animals that I can’t remember the names.
There were so many all over the park. There is no reason for lions and cheetahs
to go hungry. Also lots of African buffalos and zebras. The next day was a full day about 9
hours riding around the reserve. We saw a herd of about 11 giraffes eating on
the trees, about 10 different herds of elephants that had approx 10, sometimes
less to the herd. The safari van
drives ran interference between a lion that was trying to get a cheetah’s cubs.
All the drivers drove around the lion and tried to make it go a different way.
We also saw at least 10 hippos in the river and a crocodile. Then on our way
home, we saw a family of lions that had just killed an African buffalo. Papa
lion was trying to open the stomach for the family to eat but the buffalo’s
skin was very tough. We watched for about 20 minutes and he still hadn’t opened
it. But by the next morning, only the carcass was left. The lions were still in
the area lying around. They must have eaten on it all night long. While we were
there, a herd of buffalo started arriving around the carcass, sniffing around
it. They started getting mad, snorting and grunting. More kept arriving. When
there were about 20 of them there, they starting stampeding the lions and the
lions ran away. It was really amazing to witness. It was like I was in a
documentary. It was so incredible to ride around and see all the animals. The
animals really paid no attention to us at all. Most the time, it was like we
weren’t even there; except for one cheetah was sitting very upright and proud
and he was just watching us watching him.
Only one catastrophe while I was on my safari, I lost most of my
pictures. Aaaahhh!! Somehow I accidentally reformatted my card. I am trying not
to be too upset about it since it is only pictures. The most important thing is
that I am safe, healthy, and having a wonderful time. Hopefully, some of my
fellow safarians will email me some of theirs. Until then, I will just put a
few that I have on the blog and can update later if I get more.
Thursday and Friday I
volunteered at New Life Home Orphanage
http://www.newlifehometrust.org/index.html It is an orphanage for 0 to 3 year olds
who have been abandoned. It is very nice and homey. They also have a special
intensive care unit for preemies. I mainly spent my time with the crawlers;
playing and feeding. There are 14 of them and they are all so cute. Friday I
was there all day so I got to help with three different feedings (lunch, snack,
dinner). After they eat their food then they have a bottle. There is no chance of them going
hungry! I probably fed and gave bottles to about 8 babies that day. And got spit-up all over me a few
times. They are very well taken care of and there are always a lot of
volunteers. Anyone can come in to help whenever they want. Most of the
volunteers are Kenyan; which is quite different than Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, it
is not common for local people to volunteer.
Sunday and Monday we went to
Nakuru to visit Mission in Action orphanage http://www.missioninaction.com.au/home.htm Nakuru is about a three-hour matatu
ride from Nairobi. They have about 43 children who range in age from about a
year to probably 10. I spent most
of my time with the toddlers and a little bit with the school aged children. Of
course, they all loved patty-cake. Actually, I think the older ones enjoyed it
the most. Once they learned my name; which did not take long, I kept hearing
Tracy, Tracy, Tracy pronounced in a variety of ways. That first night when I
was trying to go to sleep, that’s all I could hear. One evening we joined their worship time that they have in
the evening before bed. They sang songs and one of the little girls read a
bible story. Then they played a game “Who am I” and acted out a person from a
bible story. It was so cute! I
also had the chance to go with the other volunteers to deliver food out into a
near-by village. We handed out lollipops to the children who looked at us
wide-eyed. It went fairly well until the end when it got a little rowdy over
some soccer balls. At the end, they wanted more things and got a little
aggressive.
I have found out that the
reason there are so many orphans and abandoned babies is because there is no official
way to hand your child over to the government if you can not care for them. It
is illegal to give your child away. So, henceforth, if a family cannot care for
a child they abandon them. Also, a lot of babies are abandoned in the hospitals
either when they are born or when they have been brought in due to sickness.
The baby & mother have to stay in the hospital until the bill is paid. If
it gets to the point, that the mother cannot ever pay the bill then she has no
choice to leave her baby and disappear. The baby will stay in the hospital
until it can be adopted or placed in an orphanage. Sometimes the babies could
be there a year or longer. All circumstances are different. Also, for people to
adopt in Kenya they have to stay six months before they can take their child
home. Things seem to be very difficult here. Just in Nairobi, there are appox.
500 orphanages and children in the hospitals that can’t be placed. The
orphanages that I have been to have been nice and the children are well taken
care of, but the nannies don’t seem to elude the warmth and love for the
children that I saw happen in Ethiopia.
Tammi is also doing a blog. I
found it interesting to read her blog also. You can also find out more about her organization. It is
just amazing what she is trying to do. She has so much heart and just wants to
open her home to these babies who have no where to go. I think she will be a
huge success and a blessing to these babies. http://tokenyaforever.org/ If anyone wants to support a good
cause, I would highly recommend this one.
Nairobi is a big bustling
city. It is very westernized. They have several big shopping malls with food
courts and cinemas and name-brand stores. I actually forgot I was in Africa.
The traffic here is horrendous. It takes soo long to get somewhere. The food
here is really good; so much better than Ethiopia. I even was able to get some
tacos at the mall. Kenya seems to me to be a lot more vibrant of a country than
Ethiopia. The way the people talk, the local music, and the clothes they wear
are so much more alive and vibrant. Ethiopia seemed more reverent and modest.
