Being Taira.........Visiting Orphanages

Hurahhhhhh! No Rain For 5 days!

Finally I get to wash my runners. Grace was very dismayed at the state of my foot wear. But I saw no point in giving them a real good clean until just before I left, as the rains made it impossible to keep them clean anyway; and besides I have been hiking nearly every day for the past 5 days, so they needed to be dry.

I have been fortunate enough to take some time and visit several other orphanages to see what their operations are like. There are a lot of orphanages here......and a lot of churches! Some of orphanages have early education classes right on site but not all. As soon as the kids are about 6 years old then they begin formal education. Either in a public school or a private one. Moshila, who has been my guide told me that when he was young you had to pass a written exam but even more important you had to be able to take your right arm and reach up over your head and touch your ear......I am not joking! Even if you had passed the written exam but could not perform this gymnastic feat you were not allowed to begin your formal education! Today however the written exam is the standard to begin school. Many of the places we visited had only a handful of little ones as everyone else was away at school in and around Ngong. But it was interesting to see the way each place runs their facility.

Our first stop was at a Day Care that actually takes kids from the slum. What is so unique about this program is the Director, Caroline, is very progressive for a Kenyan. Even though the kids come from the slum the parents are required not only to pay a small fee but also volunteer twice a month! The beauty of the program is that the board is made of the very same parents so if someone doesn't come with their 5 Ksh then it is the other parents who chase after them. The program is only one year old but already the parents have organized to bring in a teacher to start a preschool with the 3 to 5 year olds. This was their choice and they have come up with the funds to pay the teacher. This is such a needed program for the slum parents as most to these little kids would be locked in their houses for hours or left with an older sibling (like a 6 year old) while the parents tended their stalls in the market. Not only are the parents getting their children cared for they are also learning valuable skills about parenting. They have even started a parenting group to help teach the parents about washing and feeding their kids (some kids are fed maybe once a day and bathing is any body's guess but I can tell you some of these kids really smell) and even about discipline - here beatings are the norm. I was so impressed with the program and Caroline that I have introduced her to Sidai and Moshila so they might better be able to help each other.

We visited Brydges on Wednesday which has three separate residences. One for boys, one for girls and one for older girls that have missed out on formal education and are in need of skills to help them. Had I known I would have went to this last centre as they were doing their beauty culture class and I could have had a pedicure and manicure. However I was treated to another test project the girls dorm has been working on.....home made yogurt. It was really, really good! They don't retail any of their items to the general public yet; products are really just available to staff and visitors, with the whole idea of teaching the kids a skill, not creating child labour. They also make jewelry and some crochet work. While the boys are learning the more familiar trades such as wood shop and simple mechanics.

On Thursday we took a long trek out of town to Shelter.....located near the edge of the Rift Valley. The winds there could rival those in southern Alberta. Being very isolated they are one of the places that has a small two room school house. They also cater to the young Masai children in the area. The older kids are bussed out to public schools in Ngong. This day in particular the kids were expecting some donors who were going to be building them a large school house; so they were practicing a few songs to welcome their guests. Moshila and I got to be the test audience. And you can't help but get up and dance to their rhythmic chants. Afterwards they peppered me with questions about where I came from and wanted to know if I could stay over night. Before we headed back to Ngong Moshila suggested we trek a little farther as were just a 30 minutes walk from the edge of the rift valley. Even the volunteers who were working there said I shouldn't pass it up. So we climbed a few rolling hills to finally come to the huge open expanse of the Rift Valley.

It was quite spectacular and there was even a Masai women tending sheep with three young children. As I pulled out my camera to get some shots of the valley the Masai women began to question Moshila on my motives; not just for being on her hill but being in Kenya in general. "Are you here to see the fighting! What do you want.....to see the how poor we are!" It is a good thing that Moshila can speak Masai. Since the fighting a lot of people are wary of visitors. She walked towards us, her big stick stamping the ground, the three children hiding behind her. But Moshila told her "Momma, I brought her here to show her the Rift Valley.....how big it is! That's all." She calmed down immediately and asked if I would like to take a picture of her kids....on the condition that Moshila brings her a copy. When I gestured for her to get in the picture she did what all women do....she touched her clothes and her and her face the familiar gestures that say "I am not really dressed for a photo." I told Moshila to tell her she looked beautiful and that was all the convincing she needed to join the kids for a photo. When they looked at themselves in the screen they all laughed. We left promising to get her a copy of the photos.

I am just now beginning to understand the complexities of the being an orphan in Kenya. It is not poverty that they have to overcome so much as the lack of community to help and share........and more importantly the desire to help themselves!