Faraja Update

Here is a quick update for everyone at home. Not a lot has been going on lately, for the most part I am just living my normal life with day to day activities just like you... only Kenyan style. Since my last blog post I have gone to Out Reach, however I feel like I did the best job of detailing it last year and you can read the whole experience here. I also went to Longonot on Tuesday to see the school the L.E.I. is working with and I was so blown away! They have done such a good job. The kids there were so precious and were so excited about everything. I am really happy I went to check it out!

Lately work has been a lot of fun. The kids are starting to warm up to me again and they really are just the goofiest kids I know. Everyday when they get home from David walks up and lays in my lap, Terisia runs past me giggling for reasons unknown to anyone but her, and Kepha walks up and tells me about his day unknowing that I unfortunately understand none of it. They are so smart and so silly it astounds me that I  could wait as long as I did to return.

The other day I went to work around lunch time and served the kids heaps of tasty ugali and beans. After everyone had eaten lunch Pheobe started to wash the dishes by herself. Cleaning up after your 30 brothers and sisters without being told? That's just how these kids are. Since I didn't have much else to do at the time I elected to help her out. We washed all of the lunch dishes in some five gallon buckets filled with water in the backyard and between the two of us it took really no time at all. While washing she asked me, "Portia, can we go on a trip again?" I was so touched to know that she remembers our adventure to the monkey park last year and promised to take them again next month. After dishes were done I wondered off to go play with the younger boys, but before I could make it too far Pheobe said "Portia... now we do shoes" and looked very confused as to where I could have got the impression that I was done. Obviously, I could not tell her no, so I picked up some shoes and followed her to the washing bin. We scrubbed the caked on red dirt off all the boys shoes placed them all under the owner's respective beds. "Now we do the girls," she said, and we repeated the process again. After the shoes were all cleaned I started to make my way off again and again Peobe called after me, "Portia, we clean the couches, come I show you." So we went to the sitting room and she showed me how to take all the pillows off the couch and then essentially beat the couch clean. I think this was the best part about of  our cleaning spree. After we beat the couches clean I was started to get fairly tired, but in the spirit of being helpful I asked Pheobe "What next?"  "Now we mop, come I show you." So we mopped... which I really don't like. It consists of bending over at the waist and rubbing the floor with a filthy towel. The kids gathered around me to tell me what a great job I was doing (they were clearly just being kind). When we were finished mopping and my back was killing me Pheobe hopped up and said, "Portia come, you have tea now." She took me to the living room and told me to sit. She brought me tea and demanded that I drink it in the most hospitable way possible. She stood next to me and encouraged me to drink every few minutes and when I was done she said, "Now we fold clothes... come.." "You'll show me." I finished. We scooped clothes off the lines all over the backyard and she piled and piled clothes into my arms until they were practically covering my field of vision, and then we folded them and put them in each individuals area of the very packed wardrobe.

I know this isn't the most adrenaline filled or thrilling post I have ever made. But I want to show you a day in the lives of these kids. They are the most helpful, self-motivating kids that I could possibly imagine. These are Pheobe's everyday chores. "I love cleaning," she told me at one point. They make due with what ever they get, and honestly when they are all working together they are able to turn chores into the best game around.

On Thursday, I woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning when it was still quite cold and quite dark. I grabbed the breakfast that I prepared the night before and hoofed it to Faraja. When I got there the older girls were awake helping Mum warm water for chai and wake the babies up for washing. I hopped in washing the dishes and scrubbed dishes while other people ran around doing morning chores. After all the younger kids were awake and had been bathed, dishes were clean, and chai had been prepared we served breakfast for the kids. It was so nice to see them get a chance to eat some eggs and fruit for a change! I know the hope of Faraja is that the kids will be able to eat fruit and meats every day, but it's just not realistic at the time and when I am able to help out for even one meal it is such a great feeling. After dinner the children all dispersed into their separate groups for chores. Some boys did laundry, some kids did more dishes and some kids tended to the goats. As for me, I decided to scrub the windows on the front porch... which after Ester came to help turned into scrubbing the entire porch, the walls, the windows, and the floor. Which isn't so bad because this red dirt coats everything and the porch was filthy. When my hands were raw from cleaning solution and my arms were quite tired I went to the back to work on something I have been meaning to do for a while; extending the water trench. The water situation in the backyard is unbearable, there is mud everywhere from the washing and I figured if I extended the trench to the faucet maybe the water would flow to the trench more easily. This was a good idea, but I don't remember the last time I had to use a shovel. I dug and fought with the dirt. I used the shovel to pick rocks out of the mud and try and arrange them in some fashion to keep the water contained. After I was relatively pleased with my efforts I put the shovel up and spent some more time with the kids.

That's pretty much all I have to say about Faraja right now. I am still working very hard to raise funds for the Water Project so if you have any ideas on how to help out please get in touch with me, my email address is Portia.duke@gmail.com and I would love to hear from you.


Also, I am painting Faraja on Monday and I will have some before and after pics for you soon! I hope everyone is well!
xx