#9

An energetic little girl who followed us around the market. She was incredibly friendly, but communicated only with growls and giggles. 

#8

Tonight we had a movie night with the Faraja kiddos. We brought tons of popcorn, cheese puffs and biscuits, all of the best movie fare. We popped in The Incredibles and the kids were hooked. They clamored over each other to get  a handful of snacks. It was so good to see all the kids in the living room at once. When ever something crazy appeared on the TV they would turn to each other and babble in Swahili as faster than I knew possible before refocusing their attention.  Whenever a funny bit came on the movie the room would erupt in laughter and it was a really wonderful sound. I love the way the kids take care of their siblings, and it was almost too sweet to bear when the babies crawled into the laps of the older kids and passed out before the movie was over. When we finally decided to leave the older boys deemed it too dangerous for a group of wazungu to walk home on their own and elected to escort us home. They are really a remarkable group of kids and I am so thankful for the time I get to spend with them. 

#7

Today I visited Dream Children's Home. It was a lovely place, and gave us plenty of inspiration for Faraja's future. 

Today one of the boys threw a rock at this dove, and hit it. Then children chopped it's head off and defeathered it for dinner. We learned that doves are also referred to as God's Chickens. The children were absolutely ecstatic. Technically this is a horrible picture, and if you know me then you know I would not normally post such a picture. But the kids went absolutely nuts over this catch, and I feel it would be an injustice not to show their accomplishment.

#6

Sunday Funday

Changing things up today! Since Kenyan music is one of my favorite parts of this place I decided to give you a sneak peek of one of our favorite songs.




Also, a friend sent me this blog and for anyone who has ever spent time in Africa it is likely to make you laugh out loud. If you haven't spent time in Africa it will give you another perspective of the things I am dealing with. http://whatshouldafricacallme.tumblr.com/

#5

Ngong Hills

Today I finally hiked the Ngong Hills! Well... about 3/7 of the hills, but I will take it. I never realized what hard work hiking is. The book Out Of Africa starts with the line "I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills..."  and for those of you who have seen the film the hills are seen several times as well. They are a really beautiful sight, and I have enjoyed gazing at them as I walk to work everyday since coming to Kenya.  I will post a picture of the hills themselves soon, but until then here is the view from the top.

#4

View from the top of the first hill

Windmills on top of the hill

A cow we met along the way

Day 3: Ngong's first major billboard. For the man who wants his junk to smell like strawberries while he protects against HIV and unwanted pregnancy. 

Way to keep it classy Ngong. 

Day 2: The prime minister of North Kajiado (the district of Kenya I am living in) passed away around three months ago, and the elections for the new PM are scheduled for September 17. This means that our town has become overrun with rallies occurring a few times a week. Before today they have just rallied and driven through the town and been done, but today it has been going on all day. As far as I can tell most people don't have strong support one way or the other (unless they are being paid) and it's a great opportunity to pile into a truck and make a lot of noise. 

Changes

It's official folks! My flight has been changed. I am grounded in Kenya until October 22, taking my supposed two month stay in Kenya to a nearly fourth month stay. Originally I had wanted to stay for three months, but since my lease is up in September that seemed like an unreasonable idea (and it might still be). However, when my trip started going so well and I saw my departure creeping up on me I started joking about just not leaving Kenya any time soon. Well, joking for a week turned into me thinking about it seriously, turned into me asking friends to help me handle my stateside affairs, turned into me doubling my second stay in Kenya. I am simply just not ready to leave yet, I feel like I am finally starting to be very productive at work, and growing to a very comfortable spot in the community. I am nervous about coming home broke and homeless, but honestly I could not be more excited.

On another note, I feel like I have really let some people (and myself) down by not blogging as often as I did during my first trip. Even while I am having the time of my life in Kenya, it has been hard to find the motivation to blog. I feel like many people get the impression that everyday is a big adventure here, and that could not be farther from the truth. I wake up and go to work. Then I come home have drinks at the local pub with friends, eat dinner, and hit the sack. My Kenyan life is really quite average.

That being said I think it is important for me to do better with my blogging, and considering I have exactly two months from today left I plan to post a photo a day until I leave. I feel like this will help people see what my day to day life is like, and also motivate me to write more often. Other than blogging, I hope to start taking my work at the orphanage more seriously, and also studying up on my Swahili each day. I have a feeling the next two months are going to be extremely rewarding and I am ready to get started!

In conclusion, I would like to post my first picture of this series, a picture of my home in Kenya.

Monkey Park: Round 2

Thursday afternoon we left work to the sound of the kids saying "Tomorrow we will go on the trip?" and "Monkey park tomorrow?!"  "Yes, monkey park kesho (tomorrow), I will see you bright and early." I told them.

Mama Moraa doing what she does best

On Friday morning I woke up with the newest Faraja volunteers (two Californian girls named Alicia and Amanda) and cooked up some veggies and minced meat to add to the spaghetti sauce that we had bought at Nakumatt. This turned out to add just enough flavor and heartiness to the canned sauce to really make the spaghetti stand out. We sauteed some peppers, onion, a touch of garlic and some egg plant and mixed it all into the sauce along with the meat (a rarity for the children) and when we got to Faraja we poured it over the pasta and the kids ate it right up. I was kind of nervous about serving the children spaghetti since it is not something they are used to, but everyone seemed to really love it. Even Mama Moraa said we were great cooks! After the children had their share of lunch we loaded onto the bus and headed for the monkey park.

Before we even made it off the block the bus was filled with church songs being belted out by all of the children, and the younger boys were bouncing in their seats. Watching the excitement grow was such a wonderful feeling, and when I managed to sneak a glance at the other volunteers our expressions all said the same thing, "how cool is this?"

After getting a wee bit lost on the way to the monkey park, we finally arrived and the kids were ready to go. We passed out some peanuts to each child and reminded them "feed them one at a time, and don't eat them!" Both requests were moot, and we accepted this as we handed out the 3kgs of peanuts. Watching the kids run around with these huge smiles marked on their faces is simply the best feeling in the world. I know I have already experienced this joy once, but I could do it every day and it would never get old. I could stand completely still and close my eyes, and all around me I heard laughter and squeals of joy. Everywhere I turned there were kids running, kids with monkeys climbing on their heads, kids yelling at their each other "Look here!" When the kids are at the compound they are busy, they are doing chores, doing homework, or taking care of smaller siblings. It's so easy for everyone involved to forget that they are just children. Worrying about feeding the kids, and making sure that they have a roof over their head is the most important thing, of course, but just once in a while for everyone to unwind and have a good time is so important. These kids deserve a childhood, just like everyone else (and if I am being biased probably a little more.)

When they had just about exhausted all the playing with monkeys they could handle we went on a small walk through the park. It was a trail through the forest area near by, and it was very pretty. I looked at all the greenery around me and thought to myself "Wow, this looks like something you would see in Africa." Which was followed by the thought "I still can't believe I am actually in Africa." Even now the thought shocks me, Kenya feels so normal to me that I can't imagine it being the big foreign continent so far from where I grew up. These kids and this place has become my second home and I could not be more thrilled to have the privileged of living here while I can.

This week we have started some home improvements on the house that the Faraja gang is living in. We started by painting the study room, and are working to make the environment more child friendly. We are going to decorate the room with learning materials and mount the black board as well. This way future volunteers will have a nice area to have lessons with the children if they feel inclined, and the children will also have a nice place to study. 

Things have been going really well at Faraja this week. The kids are out of school and it has been so nice to get to spend extra time with them. Everyday they seem to amaze me more. Since Ben (from LEI) got here last week we have been doing quite a lot of planning and we have quite a list of things we are hoping to work on in the upcoming months. At the moment my main focus is preparing updated profiles on all of the children as well as taking some cohesive head shots in order to work with LEI on starting a sponsorship program for the children.  I am really excited about doing this because it will help me get to know each child a little more personally. We are also hoping to paint Faraja soon and make a small covered area so when it rains the outside kitchen is not effected. These are just a few of the things we are working on, and I can't wait to really get the ball rolling. I am in also planning a small field day type get together for the kids that I would like to take place before I leave. I know this was a short update so I will make it up to you in photos.

Sisters

Digging

Acrobatics 

The boy's grasshopper farm

Kibera

Today I visited the second largest slum in the world, Kibera. Before I ever set foot on Kenyan soil a visit to Kibera was an experience I wanted to make sure that I had. Somehow the experience has eluded me.. until today that is.

Even having been to slums before, Kibera was quite a shock. I have heard horror stories about Kibera, about the size, the spaces so tight you have to turn sideways to fit through them, the danger and filth. However, upon arriving there I found that it was nothing like I was expecting. There were really bad things that I had not prepared myself for, but at the same time there were some really nice things about the place that I found astonishing. Before I give my personal interpretation of the place though, let me give you some facts...

Kibera is known for being the largest slum in Africa, and the second largest in the world. The population is a very argued point considering it is nearly impossible to tally all of the residents at any one time. Estimates are between 800,000 and 3,000,000. Obviously there is a huge difference in these numbers, and as far as I can tell the most accurate number is somewhere around one million. One million people living in poverty in 2.5 km (1.5 square miles) of land. The homes in Kibera are built mostly from mud and timber, also constructed sometimes with concrete in the mix and finished with tin roofs. Built on 10x10 plots the homes are densely packed into the area with an average occupancy of five. The electricity in Kibera is shotty at best (and generally stolen) with some areas having no access to electricity at all. Running water in Kibera is nonexistent, and this means no sewage to speak of. There is a trench that runs freely next to the homes, eating places, and schools filled waste of every type. The toilets are privately owned by landlords (before you continue reading please read that statement again. And then once more). And if you hope to use one then you must be willing to cough up about 5 cents for each time you potty. That's right, you pay to use a toilet in an area where most people can't afford food. Due to this unfortunate situation the people of Kibera have invented something called, "flying toilets." Curious? Basically, you do your business in a bag, and then toss it out the window into the street. Hygienic, no?  I think it is also important to mention that until recently the Kenyan government refused to recognize the slum and it's many inhabitants sitting on their doorsteps, a mere 5 miles outside of Nairobi center.

With the lack of sanitation, the flying toilets, and filthy water running under your feet at all times you can imagine the disease that runs rampant through the community. Outbreaks of cholera and typhoid are common place, and stagnant water breeds malaria carrying mosquitoes. In an area so tightly packed the diseases spread like wild fire, leaving many children not to see their 5th birthdays. The positive HIV rate in Kibera is a shocking 20% and since prostitution is one of the easiest forms for many young women to make a buck this too spreads easily. The going rate on a lay in Kibera is just 10 shillings (cheaper than an apple), and due to copious cases of prostitution and rape the majority of pregnancies in the slum are unwanted, leading to dangerous abortion acts.

Now that I have given you some facts to mull over I will let you know a little more about my experience. As I said before, I have always wanted to visit the area., and I am so happy I did. I found some of the sights horrifying, but I also found some of them quite hopeful. As we walked through the streets with our guides (you can't fathom the maze this place can be) we were talked to by everyone; some welcoming us with a smile and a friendly "karibu" and others shaking fists and asking why we kept coming here. The main roads were large enough for a group of 6 to walk down and lined with food shops and people selling CDs just like any other part of the country, only their conditions were not as lucky as everyone else's. The smaller alley ways of the area were slippery  under my feet and a fall would have resulted in me either grabbing for a sharp and rusty tin roof or falling into the questionable substances. The allies, lined with people's homes, were so small we had to walk in a single file line and were able to reach out and touch a front door on opposite sides with each hand. Being this close together does nothing if not build a tight sense of community and it was tangible as we made our way around. For most of the residents this is the only life they have ever known, being born and raised in Kibera has made it their home. At the rate the slum is going it will take hundreds of years for the people to disperse into other established areas of Kenya, and while this is heartbreaking I feel like the residents of Kibera would rather be in it together than elsewhere without people who have lived the plight they have.