Baby Steve Has More Hair Than My Dad

I’m back at school after spending five full days in Kisumu, Lwanda, and Matongo. I traveled with my good friend and roommate, Raija. Her family stays in Kisumu and in a rural area called Matongo, so I spent a lot of time with her at her home. I also visited Martin and Syprose and baby Stephen Otieno Arogo. Four of their other six kids are living at home at this time, so it was nice to see them too, especially because we are the same age. Steve and Syprose both seem to be doing well. Martin and Syprose are happy parents! They would sometimes call Steve “Lora’s Dad” in Swahili and tell me to greet my “dad.” At home in Lwanda, I spent lots of time talking with George and his new wife Lizzy. I got to spend an afternoon with a good friend of mine called Patrick. It was a relaxing week, filled with lots of laughter and chapati. Raija and I carried back with us sweet potates, avocados, pineapples, and matoke (green bananas, PICTURED ABOVE), which are very cheap and plentiful on that side of Kenya. Fortunetly for me, all of those are my favorite foods, and I don’t know what I’ll do in the U.S. when I have to pay $1.50 for an avocado that I can buy in Kenya for 10 cents.

Here on campus, I washed my clothes this morning, then prepared a nice lunch of rice, vegetables, and green grams (they’re like lentils). I’ll go to soccer this afternoon, and spend time with friends in the evening.

Not Just Another Number 58

Last week Monday I accompanied Jessica and Elijah on a child visit of a six-year-old orphaned boy. I shared with you about our last child analysis far in the mountains; however this visit was almost too much for my heart to handle. I’ll try to describe the situation to the best of my ability.

This child also lives in a beautiful rural area about an hour from Machakos. We arrived at his home, where he stays alone with his grandmother. We came to find out that this boy’s grandmother gave birth to seven children out of wedlock, something very counterculture. All of her children died (likely from AIDS), except one who is alive with a couple kids. The last one to die was this boy’s mother. She had three children, two of who survived her. After the mother’s death, this boy’s older (and only) sister, who was just starting high school, began to spend nights with different men, which resulted in pregnancy. The girl abused the grandmother and even sold her only cow before abandoning her brother and moving to Nairobi.

Arriving at their brick home, the first thing I noticed was the smell of animals: dogs and chickens. The home had a lot of maize stored inside all. The grandmother, looking quite fragile and old, was seated on a sack of maize eating chapati and drinking chai. She had few teeth, no use of her fingers and could barely talk. She said that she was born normal, but suffered from severe malaria, which would cause her to frequently die for a day and then come back to life. I myself could barely understand what she meant, but apparently this sickness caused the disabling of her fingers and tongue. She can barely communicate verbally. She is unable to do almost anything, including cooking. Thankfully, a neighbor (I believe she is actually her only granddaughter from her one living child) who is in high school comes everyday to bring them food. She is the only person providing for this boy and his grandmother, meaning they are completely dependent on her for survival.

To make matters worse, we asked the boy what he owned and about school. He had two usable notebooks for school and a ripped sweater, which is one part of the required uniform. When Jessica asked if he had a pencil, he said yes and returned with a pencil smaller than my pinkie finger. He didn’t have shoes. What made this boy’s vulnerability so real to me was that he is ranked number 58 out of 65 students in his first grade class. In the six tested subject areas, he achieved between 10 and 32 percent in each. This was no surprise considering his conditions. Who is there to help him with school work?

Jessica and Elijah asked that he be tested for HIV/AIDS, a request, which made the grandmother uncomfortable. This boy is very needy and I hope that we can support him from his home for a while and then take him into the Center. However, I don’t know what will happen with him. We have to go back for another assessment after some time. He has the right to an environment that is not only livable, but also healthy. I can’t describe the sick feeling I had inside of me after leaving this child visit. I can’t allow myself to forget that he is still there as I write this, just like millions of other orphans.

Baby Steve

Nowadays, the joy in my heart comes from my little brothers and sisters at Exodus. I spent Sunday evening and Monday at the Home this past weekend. On Sunday, there was a lot of rain, but when I finally reached the centre the kids were so excited to see me. I came in the gate and saw Baraka. He grabbed me by the arm led me inside where all the kids were quietly studying. He stuck his head in the door and said in a soft voice, “Lora’s here.” Immediately all the kids screamed and ran over to mob me! We spent some time around home and then all 25 of us trekked through the mud about 2 kilometers to the “kinyozi” or salon. Can you imagine what we looked like walking down the dirt road? Quite a lively crew… twenty-three kids between ages 4 and 15. It was a fun time though. I am so impressed with the discipline and good manners of each and every child at the Home. There is something about those kids that gives me the driving desire to give them all of my heart and all of the love and affection I could ever offer. Somehow at the end of the day when I think my heart is empty because I gave away everything, I find that it is still full and overflowing with love and satisfaction. As I get to know the kids and their stories, I am moved. Many of them are traumatized and have a lot of pain that requires more healing time; yet they are able to love others, work hard, and carry hope for the future. They are an amazing group of kids and they’re probably all that I’ll be blogging about from now on.

Some news from my OTHER family (the Arogo's): Syprose delivered her seventh child last night, a baby boy. She named him Steve after my dad! Martin sent me a text last night saying that if they have a girl, she'll be named Lora, and if a boy then he'll be named after my father. What a blessing! I didn't know what to say, but I didn't feel worthy to be named after! So, congrats, dad... Martin and Syprose don't even know you, but they respect you so much to name their child after you! I'll head home to Kisumu to visit in about a week and a half.

photos above: my friends at Exodus and the view from my dorm room window (in the self catering dorm I moved into)

Hiking Boots

I’m quite busy these days so I’ve decided to take the day off to catch up on some things and relax. I’d like to share with you about my recent days at Exodus with Elijah and Jessica. I really appreciate them and I am so thankful that they allow me to accompany them wherever they go. This is how an internship should be: completely involved.

Today Elijah and Jessica (at Exodus) are traveling to a place called Kiboko. Kiboko means hippopotamus in Swahili, but they aren’t going there for hippos; they’re going for land. I went with them last week to Kiboko because they’ve leased an acre of land indefinitely to grow crops and raise money for the Center. It is quite far from the Center, but the acre will have irrigation and the soil is good for farming. We are going to raise watermelons (maintained by a garden keeper, not Exodus), which can be sold for up to about 65 cents in Nairobi. Hopefully, one season will yield between $1000 and $3000 profit. I’m excited about this new source of sustainable and practical income for the Exodus because it is vital for the school fee demands.

On Friday, we traveled far again, but this time it was for what we call a child situation analysis. Exodus has many orphans on their waiting list for support or to live in the Center, however currently the Home cannot accommodate any more boarders. We went to visit the home and school of a girl who has been waiting for a year. We talked with the girl, the principal of her school, and her aunt who is the present guardian. We recorded information about the girl’s situation and her needs. We had to “hike” to the home located in beautiful, but steep hills (or mountains? who knows), under the hot afternoon sun. As we walked with the girl to her home, I was thinking about how hiking boots would be more appropriate for the terrain than my Converse All-Stars, but then I looked down and noticed that the girl didn’t even have shoes. I was satisfied to see that the girl at least had a home to stay in, but we came to know that beyond this shelter, the things inside, and food, the girl’s aunt is able to provide little else.

Something that really hit me about the reality of orphans is that they are completely vulnerable. The survival and well-being is left completely in the hands of whichever relative or neighbor is willing or able to take care of her. I tried to imagine being in such an inconsistent environment, where I am dependent on people who have no obligation to my well-being, as parents would. Sometimes family members want nothing to do with the orphans left behind and they chase them away, such as this girl’s other uncle did. There is no such thing as foster care, so when orphans are left, family members usually take care of the helpless and hopeless children. This is the best situation for orphans usually; however in some cases this is not possible and such children end up in children’s homes or on the streets.

All Is Good!

Good afternoon from sunny and hot Kenya!

This week has been going really well and I just wanted to share a bit about my internship with you… Last Monday I went to my internship at Exodus for the first time. My journey to get there involves various modes of transportation. First, I pay about seventy cents for a ride to the main road from campus on a motorbike. Riding a motorbike is certainly a thrilling experience especially when you can see wildebeest in the distance. I’d prefer driving it myself though! Once I reach the main road I stand on the road waiting for a matatu that is heading to Machakos. Sometimes this can take a while, so I have to take any matatu heading in the same direction and then get off at the Machakos junction where I get a second matatu to Machakos (off from the main road). This costs about one dollar. Upon reaching Machakos I take a smaller matatu to another area close to Exodus, where I get out and walk down the road until I finally reach the Centre. What a journey! It’s worth it though and I prefer it to Nairobi because there are no traffic jams. The area is rural, green, and beautiful. Somehow on that side of the mountain they get more rain than the side of the mountain that Athi lies on.

Elijah is the former Daystar student who started Exodus. I guess you could say he is my supervisor for this “internship.” I basically get to shadow him and whatever he does each day. He works with another woman named Jessica and there are two women who take care of meals and other household needs for the children at the home. On Monday, we went to the Centre, which is basically two rented flats with about three rooms each. There is one room for boys and one for girls. The girls are about twenty and they sleep three per bed. I met all the kids from the center who study at the primary school right next to the home. Elijah and I spent some time talking about the mission and vision of centre, the struggles, and about the kids. I was really impressed with how hard he works to make ends meet for these orphans. Even while he was attending Daystar he was taking care of six orphans. On Wednesday, we met with Josephine from an organization called Solution for Nature and Enterprise Programme (SNEP). I was really interested in learning about the organization as they have organized 92 groups (of mostly women) around Kenya who are committed to economic empowerment. The approach to this development has been extremely successful. Simply put, the groups are “group banks.” One group can have up to 40 members, where each member contributes any amount of money each month to the group bank. Those who need loans (to start a business, pay school fees, ect…) are able to take one out with an interest of just 1.5%. They can also take advance with a 10% interest. What is so encouraging about this program is that the groups keep all of the generated interest, rather than large banks taking their money. Also there is lots of accountability and support as members of the group take out money to start a small business, such as raising poultry. This Monday I worked at SNEP helping Josephine to set up some excel charts on the computer they just bought. They have been collecting an analyzing data by hand and want to start using the computer to assist with such tedious work. Josephine knows very little about computers and I had to remember how to use a program I haven’t touched since high school. Computer knowledge is very helpful and needed for the success of non-profits. I was happy that I had something to offer.

Last week Wednesday (After meeting at SNEP) Elijah and I traveled about 45 minutes by matatu to one of the boy’s (from the home) new boarding high school. Elijah was stressed out because this week he had to come up with the money to send three of the kids to boarding high school. He has negotiated with the two schools about bringing payments through out the semester since he doesn’t have the total sum. For the girls, the school gave him an extension. At the boy’s school (he’s called Philip), Elijah was running into some trouble so he traveled there to negotiate a bit. They didn’t allow Philip to be admitted without more money. Philip is one of the first boys that Elijah cared for and he was actually chased out of his home after being stabbed by his aunt. As a total orphan, Elijah found him on the street and Philip has grown into a very mature young man. He is such a dreamer and a very caring boy. He’ll even talk about future plans for the centre and helping more kids. Moved by the character of this new friend of mine, I couldn’t bear to see him denied from high school because of something out of his control: fees. Since I was recently given a donation I decided to share some of that for Philip’s fees, as I realized the money was never mine in the first place. If anyone is able to sponsor the rest of Philip’s fees or the other two girls please don’t hesitate to contact me for more information. These kids should not be denied the opportunity of education, which many people take for granted.

On Saturday I visited the children’s home again. I just can’t stay away! I don’t get to see the kids during the week, unless I spend the night (which I’ll be doing tomorrow). Leaving the Home on Saturday, I felt so blessed. The kids are so special, respectful, loving, fun, and alive for Jesus. I really enjoyed spending time with them. I can't describe what it feels like to work with orphans. My heart feels heavy for their pain while at the same time I feel so much love for them. I see hope in the kids and their futures.

Other sides notes... back at school: We finally have a soccer coach!!! He coaches a premier team in Nairobi and I think he’ll really boost our team moral. Also, I was finally able to move into my room at the self-catering dorm. I even have a hot shower now!!! We have a great view to the west from the fourth floor. Another highlight is that Mary Odhiambo, my best bud, came to Nairobi on Thursday night to visit an eye specialist and get a diagnosis for her very painful condition. I stayed with her in town and I also visited the same eye doctor because I had an infection in my eye.


Grace and peace. Praise God for this internship opportunity.

Oh and pictured above are some kids at the home!

Exodus

Hi again,

I just wanted to briefly share with all of you that I finally have an internship placement! Tomorrow I am heading to "Exodus" in Machakos. There is a children's home and they have many other projects, such as a women's economic empowerment project. The organization was actually started as a children's home by a Daystar student in 2002 and it has grown since then. I'll let you know more details later. I'm really exited and praying that this placement is a valuable experience.

Another highlight this week was receiving a monetary donation in the mail. It came at a very critical time, especially as I will be paying transportation costs to my internship and buying a plane tickets home soon. Thank you to the donor(s).

Other than that, classes are going well, soccer continues (with leg pains again), and the guitar is still on my lap.

Peace and Love.

I Better Be Worth A Lion Or Two

This past weekend I went to a (friend’s) Kikuyu wedding. (Kikuyus are the most populous tribe in Kenya). I have only been to one wedding in the States, so I didn’t really know what to expect, especially being here in Kenya. The ceremony itself was actually not too different from an American wedding other than the language difference. Flowers, worship, bridesmaids, groomsman, music, pastor, kissing, rings, honeymoon ect… were all a part of the ceremony. The cultural traditions surrounding marriage and the family were what made the wedding distinctively African, Kenyan, and Kikuyu. Bride price and dowry are an important part of marriage and my Kenyan friends were surprised when I told them that we don’t have such in the U.S. Most Westerners, like myself, misunderstand this tradition. Fortunately I have some close friends who I can talk to openly about marriage, polygny, divorce, bride price, ect… Bride price always seemed to me like putting a price tag on a woman. I couldn’t quite comprehend how a woman could value eight cows, an animal that people eat. I usually joke that my family better get a lion, an elephant, some camels, and a variety of other animals if I marry a Kenyan man, cause I’m certainly not worth cows. But there is more behind this custom. Yes, in some ways a woman is “bought” from her family. However, traditionally, it is as though a newlywed woman is being adopted into her husband’s family. She takes on the name and in rural areas a home is build for the couple on the husband’s family’s land. The dowry (the amount paid or animals/products given on wedding day or before) and the bride price (the amount that can be paid after the wedding day) are a gift for the parents and other family members who have spent X amount of years raising the woman, feeding her (hopefully) and educating her (hopefully) and now “see her off” into another family. Dowry and bride price are a way for the man to show that he is able and willing to provide for his wife, who was once provided for by the parents and other relatives. It is a somewhat complex custom, so I just accept it as different, not good or bad.