My first stop was in Hong Kong and was to be a whole 8 hours. So with some advice from some locals and the information booth I decided to head out through passport control and explore Hong Kong city for a few hours. Once out of the departures area I realized I would need some local currency to purchase a train ticket and maybe some cheap tacky souvenirs.
The first ATM would not accept my card, the next told me that it was unrecognized and the one following that told me that the minimum I could withdraw was equivalent to $AUD500! So while shouting obscenities at my bank, who had ensured me that my card would work at any ATM, I finally succumbed to the realization that I would be in for a very long wait in the airport. I could not even go through customs back into the international lounge, as it was a good 6 hours still until my flight was to board so I obviously had no boarding pass.
So I picked a chair and sat down with my Ipod, only to realize that somewhere in transit my headphones had broken. I went shopping and found a lovely electrical store called “Nobles” and took a punt purchasing some new headphones on my previously dodgy credit card. Miraculously it worked.
That was when I noticed an internet café that could be utilized free of charge with the purchase of anything from the cafe. Somehow I walked away with a disgusting iced coffee and still had no idea how it happened. Could have sworn I double-checked to ensure that it was coffee-free, but their English does not appear to be as good as they say it is! But the brief time spent on the internet was worth it.
Next I stopped in Bangkok for a supposedly ‘brief’ fuelling stop, that should last no longer than an hour. By this time I had lost all meaning of time and was deliriously tired. Nearly three hours later we were finally in the air.
I was stuck beside a young man who was clearly quite ill, and he coughed and spluttered the whole way to Nairobi. Thankfully, about half way into the trip he covered his head with a blanket and that made life a little more bearable. However, I managed to stage the perfect pay-back when in the last hour of the trip I had to push my way past him and make runs for the bathroom as I was repeatedly hit with waves of my first ever air sickness. At one time I had to push in front of a mother and her child who were clearly desperate for the toilet. After taking one look at my face, they quickly decided that I was more in need than they were. When I finally emerged twenty minutes later, the poor things were still waiting and there was a queue of nearly ten people!
Mission In Action had organized for me to meet a man at the airport when I arrived in Nairobi. He was going to take me in his private vehicle to the ‘matatu stage’ where I could catch a stinky, crowded, unroadworthy minibus all the way to Nakuru where I would then call Ivan to meet me or get directions on how to reach the orphanage.
Unfortunately, by the time we landed in Nairobi I was already three hours late and could only hope that my driver was still waiting to meet me. I had to purchase a Visa to enter Kenya for the month, and encountered a minor setback when I discovered I could only pay in American Dollars. The plan was to go to the ATM to withdraw local currency and then to the travelers desk to exchange it into American Dollars.
It was here that I suffered my first major problem, the type you only see in movies. There was only one ATM in the whole terminal, and it didn’t accept my card. All the other ATMs were past the Visa checkpoint, and conveniently I had no money to purchase one. I tried my best to put myself in a Tom Hanks mood, and imagine myself on the set of “The Terminal”. That lasted approximately three and a half seconds and panic quickly ensued.
I must have tried everything. I messaged Paul as a bit of a joke and told him about the predicament I was in. I still thought that I would find a way out of the airport soon enough. Paul didn’t reply so I tried mum and asked her to ring the bank. They were essentially useless and gave me no ideas at all. It was at this time I remembered I still had some Australian Dollars on me and tried to exchange these for the American Dollars I needed to purchase the Visa.
Sadly, I didn’t even come up with half of the needed funds so I ditched that quickly. Then I found a seat and sulked for a while, and I think that was the first time I actually considered approaching one of the few mzungus (white people) in the airport and actually begging for money. I gave that idea up too as it wasn’t exactly a small amount I needed to get out of the airport.
After calming down somewhat I decided to pretend as though I was in Australia, which is not as silly as it seems. I realized that had I encountered this type of problem at home, I would have gone straight to my nearest branch. Disappointed that I hadn’t thought of this earlier I headed to the information desk and to ask where the local bank branch was within the airport. His answer went something like this: “Just go through the Visa checkpoint, and…..” I didn’t really pay any attention to the rest of what he said as there was very little use.
Mum and James were still texting me frantically, and even Paul had joined in at this stage, with useless advice from the bank. The bank advised me to call them reverse charge. This was an interesting suggestion because I don’t think they understood that I was in Kenya, not an outer eastern Melbourne suburb. Nevertheless, I located a payphone, only to realize that I didn’t have a single cent to make a call, and had no idea of the number to reverse call from Kenya!
I approached the Visa counter for the first time with my saddest, most scared and touristy looking face on and explained my situation. It didn’t work. The man told me to go to his manager’s office. There I waited an hour while all the locals (who arrived after me) were served before me, and the manager attended to some ‘very important business’. Finally I was able to ask her if she knew how to call reverse charges to Australia. I don’t think she realized I was still speaking English. Either that, or they don’t have reverse charge in Kenya.
It was at this time that I realized I had already been in the airport over an hour, and if I was lucky enough to find my luggage, I certainly wouldn’t find my driver still waiting. With images of myself running (to escape all the people that would surely be chasing me because I was a mzungu and must have money) broke and lost through the streets of Nairobi, I became a little depressed.
Finally, the manager at Visa control suggested that she have a heavily armed security guard accompany me through the airport to the outside bank. So with his arm through mine, the security guard took hold of me and my passport and marched me to the counter at the bank. After initially declining to give me any money and telling me to go to the ATM, the teller finally gave in to my requests once I pointed out that surely there was a good reason as to why I had an armed security guard wrapped around my arm.
Back to Visa control, where I was certain I would be denied a Visa after my suspicious behaviour hanging around the checkpoint for so long. Although I am certain I was the only one that they photographed, I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t have trusted me either.
I don’t think I have ever run faster in my life. After sitting alone for over two hours, I don’t think my luggage would have been in anymore danger in that extra second or two it would have taken if I had just walked. Obviously I was just going along with the ‘suspicious behavior’ thing. After a panicked search which lasted all of one second, I decided that all my luggage had been stolen. On my way to report this, I came across one of my bags sitting very alone in the middle of nowhere. Nothing suspicious about that(!). Then I proceeded to try to enquire amongst staff as to how I could locate some lost baggage, when I happened to walk straight past my other piece of luggage! It was in a corner of the airport with about fifty other items of luggage all piled around it – either lost, confiscated or abandoned, each of those being very comforting thoughts(!).
You can imagine my surprise when I came out of the doors and saw a man holding a piece of paper with my name on it. I was almost hoping that he knew CPR, because I felt for sure I would drop dead from surprise. My first thought was to pity the man, because he must have been standing there like that for over six hours!
As Keffa, Martha’s cousin and my diver, went to bring the car to the front to collect me, another driver approached me offering to save my life. I was immediately confused and then thought that I must look a lot worse than I felt. However, he explained that he knew the man who I appeared to have hired as my driver, and assured me that he was most untrustworthy and a terrible fate would befall me should I get into the car with him. I told him that considering Keffa had waited over six hours for me, that he most probably was a decent sort of fellow. Luckily for me, after a big of tugging at my arm, the other driver left without saying another word.
Once I was finally in the car with Keffa, he informed me that in the time he was at the airport, all the contents from the boot of his car had been stolen. He said that most of the items could wait to be replaced, but that it was very unsafe to drive to Nakuru without a stereo. We would be stopping by his brother’s house to pick up one before heading out of Nairobi. I was slightly baffled, as I could not understand why a stereo was so important when we already had two perfectly good ones installed in the car. I kept trying to ask questions about this without sounding ignorant but managed to get no more information out of him.
We stopped at Keffa’s brother’s house, who I was told is a flight host for Kenya Airways, and hence lives in a very wealthy part of town. We had to go through about four security gates, each with armed guards, before we arrived at the house. Here, we discovered that we would have to continue in our search for the all important stereo, as his brother did not have one. Eventually we arrived at a tyre service centre. Keffa went in and came out with a spare tyre in his hands exclaiming that now that we finally had our spare we could be on our way to Nakuru. Who would have thought that with the Swahili accent, the words stereo and spare would sounds so similar?!
After all the hassle trying to get out of the airport, I asked Keffa to drive me all the way to the orphanage in Nakuru, three hours away. This cost me twice as much as it would have to actually purchase Kenya itself. Keffa woke me to stop at the Rift Valley lookout, where I was well and truly ripped off by some local that was wise enough to realize I looked jetlagged enough to not bother working out the exchange rate for whatever price he quoted me for his carvings. He was right. The only way I could talk myself into feeling okay about this, is by convincing myself that the store owner surely must be trustworthy and his family really was going to starve if I didn’t buy something from his store. Apparently in doing so, I would be the first person to purchase anything in days, therefore saving the lives of he and his family. Hmmmm, a likely story. Only one problem – I actually fell for it until it was too late!
After this stop, I managed to stay awake for the rest of the journey, and first became aware of the horrible state of most of the roads, and the horrible skills of most of the drivers. We passed a truck on its side in a ditch by the road, and Keffa explained that this is a very common occurrence. Later we passed a sign that said ‘zebra crossing’, which surprised me as I thought that this was a very American term. It also had a picture of a zebra on it, and this sense of humor surprised me even more. Less than five minutes later, we actually had to slow down and wait for a zebra to cross the road in front of us! In the next thirty kilometers, we saw a few baboons and warthogs actually waiting for a break in the traffic so they could safely cross the road. Who knew they could be so intelligent!?
Apparently at this stage Ivan thought I had fallen off the face of the planet, as I was over 6 hours late! However, he also thought I was a girl called Lauren, arriving from England! I finally arrived at Mission In Action’s Nakuru Baby Orphanage well into the afternoon and by that time I was ready to sleep for a year. Ivan, family, friends, locals, staff and pastors were deep into a prayer meeting for their sixteen year old daughter back in Australia who was undergoing a mastectomy to remove breast cancer that they had failed to catch in earlier operations. It was fair to say that I was well and truly ignored for the first hour, which was perfectly fine with me. All went well until they decided that they should close by forming a prayer circle while we all knelt on our knees and held hands. That went well for the first second until my legs cramped like they never have before. I am blaming it on the long flight, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. So, never one to make a scene, I interrupted the prayer to explain that I had to retreat to the comfort of my seat. Talk about embarrassing! I was then formally introduced to Martha, Ivan and the rest of the house staff. Emma, a volunteer from England would also be here for the duration of my stay. Two other Australian volunteers, Bec and Emma were also to stay another week.
Later that afternoon, we did a biscuit run in the local village. We drive down the roads beeping our horn and all the children come running to receive their two or three (or twenty!) biscuits that we pass out through the windows. Ivan does this occasionally just to remind the villagers that Mission In Action is here to serve them also. Some of the kids were very greedy and would try everything from changing clothes to rubbing dirt on their faces so we wouldn’t recognize them and they would get another helping of biscuits. Amazingly, the village appears quite small but apparently over 7,000 families live there. And some families can have ten people in them!
The next few days were spent settling into my little hut, getting to know the routine and the forty kids, and overcoming jetlag. Towards the end of the week, I went into Nakuru with Emma, a volunteer from England. She showed me around the town and we were accosted my locals screaming ‘mzungu, mzungu!’ as they tried to sell us over-priced souvenirs. Every time I tell them I am from Australia they yell “Aaahhh Skippy, Skippy” and make funny kangaroo actions and noises! Oddly, most of them also mention the surf brand ‘Billabong’ and then say “Get it?! A bong, haha!”
On my first weekend here, Lisa, a Candaian volunteer from France joined us for a few days. We arranged to head into town to visit the Manangai Crater, which is famous for its spectacular views. We went with Alex, Ben and Rachel, some Americans who were working at International Humanities Foundation, an overcrowded, poorly managed orphanage in Nakuru. The same organization also runs a successful orphanage in Thailand. Also accompanying us were past volunteers, Bec and Emma who were now staying in town with a lovely lady, Eunice. She offered to drive us up for free and even managed to get us in to the park for the locals price rather than the tourists. So we saved a bundle even after we gave Eunice a little towards petrol. The basic rule in Kenya seems to be to multiply the price by four as soon as you see a mzungu approaching.
The road up to the crater lookout was quite steep, and the condition of the road was indescribable! Some of the holes and ruts were metres deep! We thought that Eunice’s old matatu was bound to shake apart, however we arrived at the top in one piece. Just. The view was amazing, and we were on this tiny little plateau, unable to see any possible way down. A few locals approached us offering to take us on a small guided tour for a small fee, and after ensuring that it wouldn’t go for longer than an hour and it wasn’t too steep, we agreed to set off.
The descent was lovely and took us through some lovely gently sloping pastures where we came across many cattle and donkeys. At this stage we still had no idea where we were going. We had a suspicion we were headed to the bottom of the crater, but rationality told us that this was not possible. About half way down, poor Eunice had had enough and was struggling at the rear of the field. The guide informed us that we were indeed heading to the bottom of the crater and back to the top again and ensured us that there was only another forty minutes left of the hike. We didn’t see how this was possible seeing as we had already been walking over an hour and hadn’t even got to the bottom yet! But the view was amazing and we were loving meeting some of the locals that traversed these tiny tracks every day, collecting wood to make charcoal or to build huts.
The descent became much steeper in the final stages, and once we began our ascent Rachel and I encountered a slight problem. As we were not expecting this harsh type of hike, Rachel had worn thongs and I had worn the most pathetic pair of slip ons ever. Rachel was slipping backwards out of hers, and I was developing some killer blisters. So we agreed to complete the rest of the hike bare foot, in true Kenya style!
The ascent was amazing. It was so steep that we literally had to crawl on our hands and knees. About half way up it started pouring with rain and we were quickly drenched. At this point, our guide returned to the rear of the field to accompany Eunice, who was now nearly an hour behind us and still struggling but continually joking all the while. Without our guide we were left to find our own way to the top and once we made it we realized we had taken over three hours to complete the journey. Eunice was another hour behind. Had we been warned of the harsh nature of the hike before we set off, we all agreed we would have declined the guide’s offer. However, having completed it was an amazing feeling of accomplishment. We caught a little tuk tuk home, which is a small vehicle with three wheels that steers like a motorbike. They are licensed to carry three people but at times we saw up to ten people crammed in! It was such a bumpy and slow ride up the road to the orphanage, that the other girls vowed never again to get in one. Secretly I loved it though!
In my second week I was still waking at 4:30 every morning as the roosters began their noisy morning ritual, sometimes from the outside windowsill of my bedroom. Two Masai men worked as security on the property every night and later in the week Ivan told us he had to head into town to post bail for them as they had been arrested for illegally selling ‘herbs’ on the street!
Later in the same week, Emma and I went with one of the staff to the Nakuru General Hospital to take Zippy in for her AIDS checkup. She is on an Anti Retroviral Treatment program and goes in once every few months to check her dosage and progression of her illness. While we were there we also visited the maternity ward to see an abandoned baby that Mission In Action were thinking of taking in. He had no name so we temporarily named him Noah, however we later discovered that he is undergoing treatment for meningococcal disease. Ivan and Martha are waiting to hear the outcome of the two-week treatment before deciding on whether or not to accept him. Emma and I took Zippy to SweetMart for a treat before heading home in a taxi. It was nice to be in town with Zippy, as we weren’t accosted by so many locals!
The following day Emma and I took baby Joyce into the doctor in town for a checkup. The day I arrived at Mission In Action, Joyce had just returned from three days in hospital undergoing treatment for malaria, meningococcal and anemia. At the doctors she had another blood test and the doctor informed us that Joyce was free of Malaria and on her way to making a recovery, however she was still extremely fragile and sick. She is eight months old but smaller than our babies who are not yet even two months. When in public in Kenya, babies must be completely covered, as the locals are very superstitious and believe that if they are uncovered even a little bit that a witch can cast a spell on them.
It’s hard to imagine that Joyce will ever make a full recovery, but then we look at Purity who is now a healthy eighteen months, and once in the same condition as Joyce is now, and realize there is still hope. On the way home, we past a man who appeared to have been hit by a truck while riding his motorbike. The man clearly had a broken leg and other injuries. Just as we stopped to offer to drive him to hospital, another car pulled over to offer assistance and we went on our way.
That same night we took in a little two-month old baby for temporary custody. He was abandoned at a supermarket and Mission In Action were going to look after him until his mother was found. As we didn’t know his name, we called him James. The next day we were informed that his mother had been arrested and was to appear in court that afternoon. We were to bring James in also for the hearing. I was carrying James into the courtroom and was directed to sit with him on the front bench beside the mother. The mother took one look at him and then turned away and didn’t look at him again. It was clear she didn’t want him and I just couldn’t believe that she didn’t cry and try to snatch him back from me. He was her son and had been missing for three days.
The mother had handed her baby to a stranger in the supermarket, explaining the she needed to use the bathroom and would return shortly. The lady waited five hours with James, and then took him to the local police station. The mother originally said she had passed out in the bathroom and awoke in the hospital to find her son missing but later pleaded guilty to the charge of abandonment. We then had to go across the road to the high court to present our case for temporary custody. Mission In Action was granted temporary custody and we should have an answer on whether or not James will be returned to his mother in the next fortnight. During the course of the hearing, we discovered his real name is Moses, but as there are already two Moses’ at the orphanage, we decided to continue calling him James.
Lauren, a South African volunteer from England, joined us for a month and we took her to town on the Thursday to show her around. I was feeling very unwell and faint, and although I was very excited as this was our first opportunity to eat lunch in town, I couldn’t manage a bite. After returning home I was quite sick and spent the majority of the night with my head in the toilet bowl.
Ivan mixed me a disgusting Kenyan concoction of charcoal. It was served in warm water and was so thick you almost had to chew it. It took me a while to get started and after many protests on my behalf and assurances from Ivan, I was feeling a bit more safe about drinking it. I had this image in my head of actual charcoal sticks being crushed to make this drink and made a comment of this effect to Ivan. Ivan laughed and told me it was in a powdered form manufactured in America. Then I took a closer look to see what the chewy bits were, and nearly dropped the whole thing in disgust. Stuck to the side of the mug were two small dead cockroach-looking bugs. That set off another episode of vomiting! Ivan ensured me that he didn’t know how they got in there, and I didn’t drink the rest.
Emma left early Friday morning for Eldoret for the weekend to visit a pastor and his family that her church in England sponsored. They had a program that worked with street kids rehabilitating them back into the community. I spent most of the day in bed regaining some energy and trying to get up the courage to eat. I also didn’t want to spend too much time with the kids incase I had a bug.
Later in the afternoon we went for a short drive to see the new village maternity ward that Ivan helped to build in conjunction with an organization called Reach Out To Humanity. It was finished over a year ago but hasn’t opened as there was no power until last week. The next step is to connect the water pump to electricity so the place will be ready to open. There is a general practice at the front of the same property that has been opened a little longer, and hence a few ladies in labor have turned up over the last year and two babies have already been unofficially delivered in the new maternity ward.
Saturday morning I headed into town to attend Martha’s church with Ivan, Lauren, Martha, Diana, Joshua, Isaac, Bonnie, Antony and Martha’s niece and nephew Tracy and Benjamin. The whole service was in Kiswahili and Lauren and I had to stand up and announce where we were from, where we were staying and what our names were. After the service everyone rushed to meet us and we didn’t get out of there for a long time afterwards!
Over the weekend we realized a few of the kids had large swollen glands, and once Ivan’s daughter Rachel came down with it too, we realized they all had mumps. There were four or five that ended up with mumps and we had to mash their food (including Rachel’s!) so they could eat with minimal pain! Other than that we just had to try to steer clear to avoid contracting the disease ourselves!
On the Saturday night the news channels were filled with news of a petrol tanker that had overturned just twenty kilometers up the road from the orphanage. This is not an altogether uncommon occurrence, however as this was a petrol tanker, the local communities began rushing in by the bus load to siphon free fuel from the disabled tanker. The danger they were willing to put themselves in just to save a few dollars just shows the level of poverty that exists in some areas of Kenya.
The police arrived to try to encourage everyone to leave the scene due to the danger of explosion. Unfortunately, as the police are quite corrupt they quickly realized that they could make a quick buck by charging for people to collect fuel. Most people willingly obliged, as it was still much cheaper. However, one local became quite disgruntled and deliberately lit a cigarette, saying to the police officer that he would drop it in the fuel if he wasn’t allowed to take fuel for free. At this stage, many people who heard the accident ran for their lives, and most managed to escape with them. What happened next is obvious. Over one hundred and ten people died in the explosion, including five police officers. One hundred and eighteen people were taken to hospital with serious injuries from burns or flying debris. The incident has been declared a national disaster, only days after a fire broke out in a Nairobi shopping centre killing ten people and destroying the surrounding building also.
Sunday morning the school kids have karate class at the orphanage, and it’s great to watch! A Kenyan Sensai comes from the town to teach them. After karate all the kids went from a walk and Joshua and Bonnie started chanting a slogan that they must have picked up in school or town. We could not stop laughing as they yelled “Mzungu, promote me, I’m hungry!” again and again!
Joyce began looking quite sickly at the start of the week. She wasn’t eating very well and could not keep all her food down. She had a very high temperature and was very stiff with muscle spasms. She is very weak so we decided it was better not to expose her to the germs and other diseases at the hospitals, and are treating her at home for the time being.
Mission In Action is taking over another orphanage, as at the moment is being poorly managed. Ivan was approached by the current sponsors of this orphanage and asked to take it over with full funding provided. Apparently the funds the sponsors were providing were not being used for legitimate purposes. The existing facilities are in a horrible state so Ivan is renting a new place, currently owned by ROHI, an organization run by an American couple, Denny and Susan. The new orphanage caters for children from four to sixteen years of age, and is about twenty minutes on the other side of Nakuru, right near the crater. We visited the new place, and it is surprisingly lovely! We set it up with kitchen items that we purchased that morning on a big shop. The kids will make the transition to the new home in the middle of February.
We have a favourite place to eat and drink in Nakuru, called Sweet Mart. Apparently, there has been notification for over a year that they were closing ‘soon’ for renovations. Sadly, this week when we arrived, it had finally closed. My new favourite place to eat is Guava, which beautiful fresh juices and lovely food. Unfortunately, Ivan has had a disagreement with the owner, as she also runs an orphanage, and he is no longer welcome there. So most of the time we go to Gilani’s, which is very similar to Sweet Mart.
We heard on the radio that a cargo train carrying highly explosive cooking oil had derailed just out of Nakuru, and again everyone was rushing to see what they could help themselves to. Apparently, the locals had forgotten all about the tragedy that occurred little more than a week ago with the fuel tanker. There were so many bodies and parts at the original explosion site, that the government opted for a mass burial with a memorial plaque.
Later in the week we took Alex to the doctor’s as he had quite a nasty cough and was struggling to breathe at times. Fortunately, with some antibiotics he has improved finally. I also braved the markets and bought some local jewellery and postcards to write for family when I get home. There is little point in posting them here as is quite expensive and can take up to six weeks to arrive in Australia!
Finally Friday arrived, a day I had been waiting for since booking our trip to the Masai Mara. Lauren came too, however Emma had been in the first week she arrived so she stayed back at the orphanage for the weekend. Rachel from International Humanities Foundation joined us once again, and three other Americans staying with ROHI also came, Reba, Chorissa and Kirstin.
We set off early in our Matatu with Rufus, our driver and guide that we hired for the whole weekend. It was a rough five hour journey and the road (if you can call it that!) was so full of holes that I think we were nearly swallowed on many occasions. By the time we arrived we were tired, hungry, and dusty but keen to get into the park and see some animals. Our campsite, Camp Sidai, was right outside one of the park gates. We were staying in canvas tents that were erected under metal roofs. The back of the tent had an adjoining ensuite built from brick. Lauren and I shared and it became quite a personal experience, but more on that later!
I must say we are quite spoilt at our orphanage with our predominately Western food. The stories from other volunteers at other places make us appreciate how lovely our food is! At International Humanities Foundation every volunteer even has Typhoid! Here at Masai Mara, the food took a little getting used to, and we really couldn’t drink the water provided as we knew it wasn’t treated properly. After arriving and settling in, we had lunch and then a few hours to rest before heading into the park for a dusk safari.
As soon as we were through the gates, we saw a herd of giraffe grazing is an area of trees. We were so excited, even though compared to all the animals we would later see, they were very far away! A few minutes later Rufus spotted his friend racing at top speed through an open area. We followed and discovered that he was chasing a leopard and we too followed until it disappeared into the bushes. Sadly, that was our only brief sighting on our whole trip.
The next day we set out bright and early, and it was then I noticed that my camera was running low on batteries very quickly. So I stopped all the unnecessary reviewing of every photo I took, and did everything I could to conserve the remaining battery power. The campsite actually had power for three hours a night, but I hadn’t expected this and didn’t bring my charger. Fortunately, my video camera had a spare battery and would certainly last the length of the trip.
Saturday was by far the best day, and we spent a good nine hours in the park! We saw so many animals, most of them so close we could literally have reached out and touched them! I have taken some amazing photos and can’t wait to get them home on my computer to see them properly. We saw lions mating, giraffes eating from tall trees, elephants eating from ant hills, hyenas running, zebras constantly grazing everywhere, gazelles leaping like excited children on trampolines, huge herds of buffalo and even crazy African sausage trees, the fruit of which are used to make traditional Kenyan beer.
We had brought a packed lunch and stopped at the Mara River, which is part of the Lake Victoria catchment. This was the first place we were allowed out of our vehicle (except when nature called, which was a risk in itself!) and we were able to take a tour of the river’s edge with an armed guard. Due to the hippopotamus and crocodiles that live in the river, not to mention the lions that prowl the area, it is too dangerous to walk around unaccompanied. We saw huge groups of hippos resting under the water’s surface and they sometimes surfaced to warn others of approaching danger or communicate for other reasons. Their greatest danger are the crocodiles that also live in the river and regularly eat the young hippos.
There were many blue bottomed Velvet Monkeys that lived there, as they figured that all the tourists come with their lunch, which is an easy meal for them. They were literally everywhere and I opted for the safer option of eating in the van. Unfortunately, I left the window open and literally without even being seen, a monkey jumped through and took my banana! So much for the ‘protection’ of the van!
After lunch we jumped back in the Matatu for a few minutes and drove to the Tanzania border, where the Masai Mara park became the Savanna. We crossed the border quickly and of course took the mandatory photos! By this stage it was late afternoon and we headed back to the campsite to prepare for our visit to the local Masai tribe.
As soon as we arrived we were greeted by some of the villagers and the men performed a welcome dance, with their famous vocals and jumping! It was certainly a sight! Later, the women also welcomed us with a dance, and we were able to join in. We then were shown how they make fire the traditional way, with two sticks and some dry grass. We then broke up into pairs and were assigned to a man, who took us into their mud home. The women build the homes from mud and cow dung, and they move every nine years as the homes are devastated by termites. The huts were so small and the kitchens consisted of a small fire in the middle, and the beds were small sticks covered with cow hide.
The men in the tribe can have more than one wife, so often it is only the wife and kids living in their hut if the husband is staying with his other family elsewhere in the village. Each village stems from one grandfather, and the tribe we visited had one hundred and sixty people, in about twenty families. The men of the family all stay in the village, but they must marry from other villages to prevent incest. Then, the wife will move into the village of her husband.
At the end of our guided tour, we went to see the goods that the villagers make for sale. They sell jewellery, carvings and cloths to both tourists and other villagers. The women were absolutely crazy and for some reason I was the one they picked to try to force their sales on. Perhaps they had heard of my first encounter with a local store! They literally swarmed me and I had women and girls putting their jewellery up my skirt, down my shirt, in my hair, in my mouth, any way to get me to take it so they could charge me. In the end I walked away with five beaded bracelets for an absolute bargain.
That night we had rice and lentils for dinner, and although I had been feeling a little off since lunch, I think that was the final straw. I spent most of the night on the toilet. The way the tents are set up, there is not much privacy, and poor Lauren nearly experienced the whole thing with me! By Sunday morning I was feeling much better but vowed not to eat another thing until we got back to the orphanage, and managed to stick to that. My stomach was most grateful!
That morning we headed out very early for a sunrise safari, and saw some lions and giraffes and that was about it. We stopped at the gift store to browse on our way out. We saw nearly every animal, except a rhinoceros and cheetah. We were also hoping to see a kill, but apparently it’s a pretty rare sighting so maybe next time! If we had seen everything, we would have no excuse to come back another year!
The trip home was very hot and dusty as we followed Rufus’ friend so we couldn’t open the windows for fear of choking on all the dust! We arrived home in the mid afternoon, and Ivan had taken the older kids on an outing into town, as it was Josh and Karl’s birthday, and also Ivan’s last day before heading to Australia with Purity to visit Mary and Sarah for a month. It was great to be back and have some proper food and a nice shower.
I received messages from Paul and mum today about the bushfires and heat wave in Victoria. On Saturday it was 47 degrees in Melbourne and many people have died from the heat, but even more in the bushfires that have devastated Marysville and Kinglake. Even parts of Healesville were evacuated, and the town is still under threat, especially if the wind changes.
Poor baby Joyce was not well over the weekend, and by Monday morning her whole body was swollen, and her body was contorted as she was racked with muscle spasms and cramps. She wasn’t crying and couldn’t cough properly so we rushed her to the doctor suspecting that she too, had succumbed to the mumps. However, it was an infection that was apparent in her blood but so far they have been unable to tell where it is coming from. She will have to be taken to the hospital twice a day for injections for the next five days and we will see how she goes from there. Unfortunately she is so unwell and weak, so she is taking this mystery illness very hard. Hopefully she comes out okay.
I received an email from Sarah Eaton in the Australian office today, confirming that I could sponsor baby James monthly. I am very excited because he is the most gorgeous boy. There is quite a waiting list for sponsors apparently, however Sarah gave me preference as I was here when he came, and was involved in his court proceedings. We still haven’t heard whether he will be staying here long-term or not, as the court is still deciding.
As horrible as it sounds, I hope he is not reunited with his mother, as she clearly does not care about him, which is sadly too common here. Ivan says that one of the reasons this occurs is that the mother breastfeeds, and when her nipples crack it becomes too painful to continue doing so. As most can’t afford formula they stop breastfeeding, and when the baby becomes upset, they abandon it. We are not sure if this is what happened to James, however Ivan is fighting to have him stay at Mission In Action by pointing out that next time James is abandoned, he may be killed and eaten by dogs, or taken by another person who is not thoughtful enough to take him to the police.
Over the past week I have spent a few hours a day on Ivan’s computer, trying to rid it of all the viruses that it had contracted over the last five years. Everything in the computer was clogged with duplicate files (a result of the virus) and it had corrupted all his memory cards, and now even mine after I put it in the computer a few times to transfer some photos. Eventually I realized that Windows would need reinstalling, so we had to buy a copy and have a lady come and install it. Finally the computer is working, and my memory cards are virus-free. This is the first day I haven’t gone back to my hut for a few hours rest and I am exhausted after sitting at the computer all day.
Ivan and Purity left for Australia late Monday evening, and I was surprisingly sad to see them go. Ivan was very stressed about leaving the kids, and many of them are quite upset with both ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ both gone. I will surely miss Purity, however Ivan is planning a trip to Melbourne to visit family so hopefully I can catch up with them again there.
The news today was full of live coverage for the mass burial of last week’s oil tanker disaster. The people that died at the hospital will be buried in the yard there, but those that died at the scene are being buried on the roadside as a reminder to everyone of what can happen when such risks are taken just to save a few dollars. Hopefully Kenya never sees another disaster such as this. Sadly, most families don’t have the resources to ensure a proper burial or even a casket for their loved ones.
As much as I am enjoying my time here and will miss Ivan, Martha and the kids, I can’t wait to get back home. I hope that in the next year or two I am able to come back here. I am also excited about going home to our new job with the kids at Jasper Road.
One unexpected positive that has arisen during my time here, is that my nails have grown at astonishing speed and for the first time in my life I am actually clipping them because I need to! So with the help of a bit of deterrent polish every few days, my time in Kenya will have me returning home almost unrecognizable!
A bout of ringworm is going round in the kids and Emma has even got a couple. We are all being extra clean lately to avoid contracting it. I have a nasty bite on my neck that I contracted at the Masai Mara, and I only hope it doesn’t turn out to be ringworm too! We are generally quite hygienic here anyway as we always wear gloves when changing the babies, as we aren’t sure which ones have the HIV virus until they are about three. Most of them test positive until this stage, as they are still carrying it from their mothers, however once they reach three it can work itself out of their bodies and they can test negative, as was the case with Joshua!
Tuesday morning Emma and I went to the Ngala School for the Deaf. A lovely man called Oliver showed us around, and we thought that was a little funny, as the lunch hall scene could have been straight from the film “Oliver Twist”! Emma and I spent some time in separate classes, and I was with the top class, Year 9. I was surprised at how much I understood, and the level to which I was surprisingly able to communicate with them. Kenyan Sign Language has some similarities to American Sign Language, and even to Auslan! I had little trouble explaining my name, why I was visiting, where I was from and even was invited to translate some of the English sentences on the board into Auslan! The kids loved that, and enjoyed copying them back. They even showed me some of their signs, my favourite of which was their sign for ‘Australia’ which resembled a kangaroo hopping!
We then had a tour of the school workshops including woodwork, textiles and computer. I got my camera out to take some quick shots and was immediately swarmed with younger students wanting their picture taken. I took a few and tried to move on only to realize that those who had missed out were crying! So twenty minutes later I finally managed to join Emma and Oliver back on our tour.
I met John, the librarian, and when I return home I will see whether we have an old copy of an Auslan dictionary to send over for the students in the library.
After lunch we left the school to spend the day in town. I braved the market and after some heavy bargaining walked away with a knee-high Masai couple for our new house at Jasper Road! After some time at the internet café we headed home with Martha as she finished at university for the night.
Upon returning to the orphanage, I went into the babies room to check on Joyce, only to find her in the middle of a nasty convulsion. Once the fit passed, her body was so wrought with spasms that she couldn’t straighten out, and she wasn’t staying awake or able to focus her eyes. I rushed to get Martha and we took her straight to hospital, which is not an easy task in Kenya! The first hospital said they didn’t currently have any doctors in, the second said due to a change in management they weren’t admitting babies, and the third finally accepted us.
Joyce’s usual doctor was not available so she saw another, an he said it appeared to be epilepsy. However, that did not explain the constant muscle spasms and stiffness that Joyce suffers. He suggested we take her to Nairobi in the next few days for a CT, as he suspected that she may have Cerebral Palsy. Another suggestion was Rickets. Hopefully, Joyce’s condition is no more than side effects of the strong drugs she is on for her chest infection.
I spent much of that night on the toilet again, also with a bit of a temperature that cleared by morning. Unfortunately, that was the only thing that cleared and I spent most of the day in bed, as standing always seemed to result in a quick rush to the bathroom! Clearly there are certain Kenyan foods that do not agree with me! I watched the international news and saw the fires for the first time. Most of the staff ended up watching and couldn’t believe that is the area I live in. Apparently, over 300 people have died in the fires now. Healesville is still at risk, however this is diminishing as the fire front moves on and the temperature lowers.
Thursday morning we received news that James’ mother had been awarded supervised custody of her son again. She was allowed to take him back, provided she checked into the police station with him, every second day. However, should any problems arise, or if she fails to meet her police visits, she will be arrested and James will be returned to Mission In Action again. It was very sad to see him go, especially as I was looking forward to sponsoring him! We dropped him off at the children’s department to meet his mother, and she had no interest in him again. We had to physically put her son in her lap and walk away before she would touch him. We are all secretly hoping that James returns to us here. We also found out that his real name is not Moses, but rather John, and an error had been made on the original report.
I spent the rest of the afternoon in town with Lauren shopping at the market for gifts and other souvenirs to take home. My favourite is a Masai couple for our new house. They are nearly waist-high, and covered in traditional jewellery. I spent much of the evening carefully wrapping them in newspaper and cardboard, so they would survive the trip home. I’m hoping to get all the wood and stone carvings in with hand luggage so they are safer, however there are a lot so I don’t like my chances!
Later in the evening we watched a movie and Asnith (one of the carers who also offers beauty services through the salon) gave me a much-needed pedicure! I had become known for my ‘African feet’ but now they are looking much better! Sadly, the next day I went to town again and my shoes broke, leaving me to walk around barefoot for three hours! I had people yelling at me “Hey sister, what you doing? You crazy!” It was pretty funny but I had noticed that the only people that didn’t wear shoes were the street boys, so I can understand the funny looks!
I did some final market shopping with Emma, and then some food shopping for the orphanage and we got a taxi home. The taxi driver informed us that he had just received a message from a friend saying another fuel tanker had tipped over in exactly the same place as the previous one. People were running over the mass grave of the last victims, to rush and collect fuel that was spilling from the tanker. Clearly, all the publicity and urging people to stay clear of events like this is not being effective. As far as I know, there was no disaster this time, and the tanker didn’t explode.
When we got home we heard that Joyce had been admitted to hospital as she was not eating and was too drowsy. So she is spending at least one night in hospital on a drip to try to re-hydrate her. I hope she is home before I leave. She was in hospital the day I got here, and it would be a shame if she were the day I left also.
That same day Leona and Mary joined us. They were orphans living at Ralph’s orphanage down the road. He and Ivan were friends in Australia and came out together to start two orphanages. Ivan helped Ralph set his up as he didn’t have the money. Unfortunately, things turned sour when Ralph refused to pay back the money and started charging Ivan rent for the use of his land, that was purchased with Ivan’s money anyway. So they are not on speaking terms.
There was a disagreement regarding the two girls, and Ralph found out that they sometimes visited Ivan so he told them they weren’t welcome anymore. This was about two years ago and now the girls are sixteen and eighteen. Ivan helped them find a boarding school and pay their fees, and they return here to visit for a weekend every month or two.
Mission In Action is currently in the process of taking over the new orphanage on the other side of town, and this week they have run into a bit of trouble. The old place is due to be closed by the children’s department next week, and the children will be moved then also. The man that is running the place until next week, finally decided to put up a fight. He has gone into the community and bribed people with food and money, including the government, to tell lies about how wonderfully he is running the place and he has them all rallied against Mission In Action. The man even sent Ivan an email ‘condemning him in the name of our Lord’ and all other sorts of horrible things. Unfortunately, people here are very corrupt, even the government and police. It could e a very long process now as this goes through the court system. Hopefully though, the sponsors and Ivan have enough proof, as these children really are being treated awfully.
Friday night Martha informed us that the outside laundry actually has a steam room, and she had started the fire and it was ready to jump in. Who would have thought that an orphanage in the middle of Kenya would have a steam room!? It was so hot in there, the fire really did its job. We would spend a few minutes in, then have a cold shower and repeated this a few times. Anisha also made a body scrub from rice and tomatoes that worked a treat! What a lovely way to spend my second last night!
Saturday happened to be Valentine’s Day, which seems to be bigger here than anywhere I have ever heard of! I spent much of the day packing and by the afternoon my bags were ready, and everything was wrapped in newspaper, cardboard and tape to survive the trip home. To celebrate Valentine’s Day we headed out to the Chinese restaurant for dinner with Martha, Rachel, Anisha and also Lilian, Martha’s sister. It was a great way to spend my last night saying goodbye.
Joyce was due home from hospital Sunday morning, but sadly didn’t make it. She is doing much better and off the drip bottle-feeding again, but still very weak so under observation for another day. Considering I didn’t get to say goodbye, I will have to return soon!
The time came to say to all the kids and staff and then Lauren, Emma and I all took one pack each of mine, and we walked to the end of the road to catch a matatu into town. It was certainly a long hike with my pack! Unfortunately the power was off all over town for the day so we couldn’t get to the internet but the girls had planned to go to the pool at the Merica Hotel for a few hours so I sat at the pool with them until it was time to catch my matatu to Nairobi. We were meant to leave at 4:00pm, but by the time we drove the town searching for people to fill the vacant streets, it was already 5:30pm! As Ivan always says, “TIK!” (This is Kenya!). By the time I arrived in Nairobi it was well and truly dark, but fortunately Hezron, my driver, was waiting to take me to the Seventh Day Adventist Guest House for the night.
I spent a bit of time watching TV and then had a very deep night’s sleep to prepare myself for the long journey in the morning. Hezron arrived at 6:00am to take me to the airport and this time I had no troubles there! I did a bit of duty-free shopping and then ran into one of Luke’s classmates from Luther and tennis – Dean Lusk! How random! He was heading home from a missionary trip.
The flight home was uneventful and it was nice to have a short stop-over in Honk Kong this time! Two days after leaving Nairobi, I was finally getting ready to head through Customs at Melbourne, which I was a little worried about with all my wood. However, they didn’t even take a second look so I ran all the way to the gate. It was great to be home finally!
