Alright, I have been neglecting the blog, again. Here is a short summary of the last month or so here in Kenya. 

What I have done in the last month[ish]:

• Been really grateful when the Teacher’s Strike ended. The strike has such a harsh effect on the impoverished children of this nation and continues to happen year after year without progress. Seeing kids run the streets when they should be in class breaks my heart. 
• Got electrocuted for the first time.  It hurt. Kenyan electricity is janky. I thought I would never be able to let go of that plug.
• Renewed my visa for an additional 3 months, placing my return to the States at sometime in mid/late October.
• Booked a flight to Ethiopia. Can’t wait to travel outside of East Africa!
• Spent plenty of time playing with the Faraja babies. They are all growing up so much! They are as smart and healthy as ever.
• Got mugged for the first time.  That sucked, a substantial amount. 
• Drastically improved my Swahili. I am beginning to have full conversations without the use of English and it is one the best feelings I can imagine.
• Got pickpocketed on a bus. Even though I knew it was happening I just couldn’t figure out what was lost till it was too late. Thankfully it was mostly unimportant.
• Spent a week with the house to myself while my flatmates went to Uganda. 
• Endured a mighty chilly Kenyan winter. I am so grateful I am not withering away in the Texas heat. I have really had to work to stay warm, but I am never going to complain about a cup of hot coco in July!
• Got chased by a cow to my apartment gate. Equal parts funny and alarming.
• Spent an almost unreasonable amount of time cuddling with my Afri-Cat, Nala. 
• Got rear-ended by a matatatu while sitting in the boot of a car. Oww. Kenyan transportation is the bane of my existence. 
• Watched (via media) as the Arrivals Gate and Immigration areas burnt down at NBO. Guess I will never walk down those stairs to see friendly faces at the bottom again. 
• Said goodbye to Zach as he left the +254 with the promise of a speedy return.
• This video. Well Benjamin really did it. But this is just shameless promotion. If you have't watch it you should. 
• Watched as all my best friends fell into adorable inter-racial relationships and worked on my 3^rd Wheel Skills (and sometimes 5th Wheel and on a few occasions 7^th wheel)
• Welcomed the ever brilliant Joe to the #5/#7 Apartment Complex, now making it the #2/#5/#7. Our neighbors are really confused as to why white people just keep showing up to live here. 

     As I look at that list, I can't quite say I am missing July. It was probably the toughest Kenyan month I have ever had. I was continually coming dangerously close to real danger, and by the end of it I really just wanted to wrap myself in a bubble. My work load was not an easy one and every day seemed to come with a new challenge. However, I can also say that last month made me realize some really great things. That I am a hell of a lot stronger than I thought, for one. More importantly though, that this job means more to me than I ever knew could be possible. It is never easy, but it's worth every challenge we overcome. The kids I work with have faced more challenges than I will likely ever meet in my life, and they are often just a quarter of my age. They are so strong and so beautiful. They are my role models.
     I am so grateful to have met Ben & Liana last year and to have been welcomed into Longonot Education Initiative. Our organization is growing, and we are learning as we go. It's been such an interesting experience to spend these last three months as the person on the ground, but I am more than ready for Benjamin to return next week. Together I feel like we will be capable of  making some major changes, and I look forward to seeing where things go.

xx

72 Hours

It is Monday afternoon and I feel like I am finally recooperating from the last 4 days. This weekend was crazy!

Let’s start from the beginning, Fourth Of July. We started planning our Fourth of July party on Monday. The residents of the #7 (Sedona, Zach, & I) were all equally excited and equally nervous, as this was the first house party we had ever thrown. On Tuesday we sent out a few mass texts to all of our groups of friends inviting people over and reminding them to sport some red, white and blue for America. 

On Thursday afternoon we had a very American dinner downstairs with just the residents of the #5#7. It was very peaceful. We enjoyed some burgers, fries, and watermelon in an attempt at making our holiday as homey as possible. After dinner we came upstairs and people started arriving shortly after.

Our home went from empty to all seats full in about 20 minutes and people kept pouring in the doors. Nearly everyone was rockin’ some type of red or blue and all of our Kenyan friends had a ton of “Happy Independence Day” shout-outs.

After dark we rallied the group and headed outside for the main event of the night; fireworks in the football field behind our home. We were met by a handful of police to monitor the execution of the process and everyone was giddy with anticipation.  Many of our best friends had never seen fireworks before and when the first explosions lit of the sky the “ohhhs” and “awwws” were audible for miles. The whole process only lasted about four minutes and was unimpressive by American standards, however the thrill of sharing such an awesome experience made it so much more special. After things were done we re-grouped and watched and re-watched the event on several different cell phones. Everyone was so pumped up! 

In the aftermath of the fireworks display I got a phone call from the social worker at Faraja and he just said to me “Happy Fourth of July! At first we thought there were gunshots then I realized it was your Independence Day and rushed all the kids outside to watch!” I was so happy he was so intuitive and grateful my babies got to see such a magical thing.

We continued partying until about 3am when people started trickling out and we went to bed exhausted but happy with the turn out. When we woke up the next day and surveyed our home there was no doubts about it; Operation Kenyan Fourth of July had been a success.

The next day (Friday) brought about my first day of work at Reloaded. Reloaded is a place I have become very familiar with over the last seven months. It is so far from a place I would hang out at home, let alone work at, but it’s been my go-to spot on Saturday nights for a long time now. It is a bar/restaurant/night club combination. It has a few different areas for relaxing, eating, listening to a live band, or dancing while some of the hottest DJs in town lay down tracks. As I walked up the stairs I definitely thought to myself, “am I really working in a night club in Africa for $2 a night?” but it was too late to back out and as I met my boss she instructed me to start wiping down the tables for the night.

The first few hours consisted of wiping tables and stocking the bars for the evening. The staff and I walked around making ourselves look busy every time a manager came by. Since it was a Friday evening the beginning was so and I think I cornered all the tables in the main lounge about 20x each. It was about this point in the night that I realized some things are universal.  The service industry doesn’t change much even from 8000 miles away in a third world country. 

My first night was rough… the staff was not very welcoming. I was the new weird white girl who took up a 250 Ksh a night serving job and they could not figure me out. I had never worked overnight, and working off my hangover from Thursday’s event was still wearing me out. I was getting used to the prices of things and being as clutzy as I am was showing in all of my actions. I remember sitting at the well and thinking to myself, "I am completely weeded and there is no one who speaks enough English to bail me out right now." Come 2am (mid-rush) I was certain that I would not return the next day. However, as the night went on, and I’d had a Red Bull, the place slowly calmed down a bit and the staff saw that I had made it through my first shift, they started to warm up. One of the servers walked up to me and said, “that was your warm up, I hope you are ready for tomorrow night,” and before I could stop to think about it I told him “I’ll be here, I’m sure it can’t be harder than my job at home.” Several people around laughed out loud at the fact that an mzungu girl could possibly be a simple waitress in America and I knew then and there that Saturday night would be heaps better.

On Friday night I left the club at 4:30am and sat in my bed thinking “what the hell just happened?” I was absolutely beat I left a note for my roommates not to wake me up in the morning and passed out till 1pm the next day. When I finally got up I was so tired. I only had a few hours to sit and relax before it was time for Round 2.

On Saturday I showed up appropriately Kenyan Late. We started the shift out the same way, but people were much friendlier this time. At one point we were hanging out in the back of the bar and I got drug into a conversation talking trash about our boss. At that point I realized I was accepted in the group and I was so excited. Saturday’s shift went MUCH more smoothly, it was busier, I was more knowledgeable, and the staff was more helpful.  My friends came in and hung out for a while and I served up plenty of tequila shots and it was so fun to see faces I knew in the midst of all the chaos. By the time I was finally able to leave on Saturday, at 5:30am, the club was still in full swing I snuck past my manager and got into a taxi. I came home and cooked myself breakfast and my head finally hit the pillow just as the sun was coming up.

All-in-all it is an experience I am SO grateful that I had. Most people called me crazy, and I am not denying it. It was tough, but a cool thing to do for a weekend, at least. And thankfully I earned my $5 and about $1.50 in tips!

The following are comparison notes I made to myself while I worked about serving in Kenya that I feel like most of my service industry friends would appreciate:

• On average I consume 1-2 Red Bulls a week here, but as soon I was at work I realized my consumption went up to 3 per day. 
• Lots of people told me, "you walk so fast, you always look like you are in a rush," and I've been accused of the same thing at Reata countless times. I don't think the majority of people here could wrap their heads around the concept of 'prompt service.'
• Even in giant Kenyan nightclubs the servers still stand around the well and yell at the bartender to go faster, even though they are obviously trying their very best and the harassment does no good. 
• Wearing a name tag in the club two nights in a row may have sealed my fate of all the creepy men in the metroplex knowing my name from now on. 
• While the other servers were able to steal a break every now and again by hiding in dark corners, my skin glowed like neon in the dark room and I was constantly being called on. 
• I am grateful I don't have to "hustle" for tips in America, E.G. hiking prices on certain drinks to pocket the extra cash, telling customers we are out of change, ect. It was not something I was comfortable doing, but it was at least interesting to know how the servers earn their bread each night. 
• The staff will always stand around and complain about management and assume that they know how to fix all the problems in the restaurant. 
• The level of harassment for a white girl in uniform working at club full of skeezy drunk men isn't quite as bad as you would imagine it.... it is so much worse.

I really just can't put into proper words how similar it was to working in any place in America. It was one of the strangest experiences of my life, honestly. I decided I really quite enjoyed most of the staff, and I really enjoyed getting to work with dancehall, reggae, trance, and East African music alternately blaring in the background. However, having said all of that I have to admit it was very hard to be away from the Ngong Crew for 48 full hours. When I finally woke up on Sunday at two in the afternoon I felt like I had not seen them in a month. I still haven't decided if I will work again, but regardless I am sure to be back at Reloaded, either as a patron or server within the next month!

TOMS: One for One in Action

     What a great week for the LEI team! I am really grateful I got to be on the ground this week, and I have some brilliant news to present to you.

     Yesterday I made the trip to Longonot with Simon, Sedona, and Zach. We were headed to check on the school and document quite an interesting event... as it turns out from a phone call I received on Tuesday that  each child at Longonot was granted a pair of TOMS from the Kenyan Red Cross!! 

     In case you are unfamiliar with TOMS let me fill you in briefly, TOMS is an American based company that sells simple trendy canvas shoes, however for each pair sold they have promised to donate a similar pair to a child in need. “One for One” is the TOMS slogan, but as popular as the shoes are I’ve known many people to be skeptical of the company’s follow through initiative. Who can ever really be sure that a pair of shoes is donated to a needy child in a third world country? Well now, you can.

     I will never doubt them again after seeing all the children at Longonot proudly rockin' their new kicks. Many of the children had worn down or outgrown their shoes and some were even walking to school barefoot, so as you can imagine we are very grateful for this donation. They were so precious with their tiny shoes.

     In whole TOMS donated one million pairs of shoes to the Kenyan Red Cross and it was up to specific beneficiaries to request the donation [read about another of my favorite organisations success with TOMS here.] Thankfully, our very own Teacher Jane heard of this opportunity and spent the time to fill out the application for each child in our school and was granted her request! Now all the little ones at the Longonot Education Center have at least one solid pair of shoes and no one could be happier.

     In addition to the TOMS the teacher had some  more great news to tell us. Recently the children participated in a musical competition hosted by the Education Board of Kenya in a town up the road from Longonot. Our youngsters were stunning! They took 2^nd place in Best Western Style Song and Dance, and one of our little girls took 2^nd in Best English Solo. We are so proud!

      In other news we were able to get our first of the Street Boys back into school this week. Samson is happily attending Ngong Township in Year Four. Each time I see him he is all smiles and feels very grateful to have been given this opportunity. I have spoken with his teacher several times since taking him to school on Tuesday and she says he is adjusting well. It is a situation that Joseph and I will continue to monitor as we work to rehabilitate the rest of the boys and eventually get all back on the path to a proper education.

     On a more personal note I want to welcome the beautiful Sedona Keenan back to Kenya! She has returned to stay for the next 10 weeks and we are excited to share our projects and inspiration. I also want to say thank so you much to everyone who has helped LEI get where we are today, who has helped and kept up with our projects, and who has given me the personal motivation to get here and stay strong when there are challenges. I can't say how much these projects mean to me and I am so grateful everyday to work with all of my children.

x

Samson

     Meet Samson Wanjohi. He is one of the youngest street boys I have been working with for the last month and recently he had a pretty major request. After examining the situation with Joseph and talking to Samson about the implications and expectations of his request we have come to a conclusion... Samson is going back to school!

     Samson is fourteen years old and has been on the streets for some time now. Samson was the youngest child born into a family living in poverty, with little hope of support from his parents. Thankfully, he was able to enroll into school in Class One and held onto his one uniform as his most dear possession until it was torn to shreds and entirely out grown four years later. Without a proper school uniform Samson was forced to drop out in Class Four and without food or clothing at home he turned to the streets to beg. 

     Today Samson explained to me that he desires to return to school to study so that he can escape the slum life he has known since he was born. He also said that he would like to continue his schooling until he is able to obtain a proper job in order to help his mum financially. At this point in his life Samson desires to be a pilot, and says that he knows he will have to work hard in mathematics and English to help make this dream a reality.
     Being one of the youngest boys at the center I feel confident that he will adjust well to the changes he is about to take on. We talked seriously with Samson and explained that he will be expected to be in school daily and that we will be monitoring him carefully during the adjustment period. He told me, "You are so welcome to visit me, and to see my work, please come everyday." I was encouraged by his positive attitude and I am looking forward to seeing where he goes from here.

     On Monday our hopes are that we will be able to help Samson find a uniform and pay for his exam/activity fees for this term. We are also hoping to find a safe place for Samson to take lunch each day so that he is not going hungry in his nearly nine hour school day.

    If you are interested in donating to help with Samson's uniform, textbooks, lunch, or school fees please let me know, or donate directly at: http://www.longonoteducation.org/donate.html

Also, if anyone is interested in sending letters/cards to The Boys please feel free to send them to my PO Box with a note on the envelope and I will be sure they get to the center and you get a response! The boys would really love it!

Street Boy Rescue Initiative

Collecting plastic bottles to sell for minimal profit. 

Alright y’all! I’ve been speaking of a “new project” for about a month now but not giving much insight as to what that is… well the time is here!

It all started one night at Savannah. We were sitting around our picnic table enjoying the sunset. I was thinking how grateful I was to be able to enjoy time with so many incredible people from all over the world. We talked of many things; our projects, the highs and lows of Kenya, and the cultural differences from our respective homes. Eventually the conversation turned to projects we hope to start one day and without hesitation my roommate and brilliant work partner, Benjamin, mentioned that he would like to start a program to help the street boys in Ngong. He explained his hopes briefly and shortly the conversation was dropped and we headed to watch the Barcelona V Bayern Munich game.

At this point maybe I should give a bit of background on The Boys. There has been a group of about 15 boys who hang out at the edge of Marthare (Ngong’s roughest slum) and have been huffing glue and causing a ruckus for a long time now. Their “thuggish” attitudes towards the community have caused them to have an overwhelming social stigma. They have been branded as petty thieves and a general social disruption with little hope of reintegration into proper society.

With my generally forgiving, and striving to see the best in everyone nature I had hope for the boys. With each hassling call and every spotting of a glue bottle I would hope that there would be a time where they on their way to getting clean and had pride and hope in themselves.

Glue.

For a few days after that night at Savannah the conversation weighed on my mind. The thought of a rehabilitation center for these boys was something that really appealed to me. Is this something we are just going to mention once and then let it slip away? I pondered and pondered this, until one night over dinner I looked at Ben and just said “why not?” Why are we just talking about it? What’s stopping us? We considered the prospect of actually starting this program within the next year. We decided on a game plan, and mapped out a few first steps to take to make this vision a reality.

Our vision is to start a small home where the boys could come and take a meal a day and have a place to clean their clothes, and perhaps a few beds to give them a place to rest. We will not force them to be there, but will not allow glue to into the center; this way if they want to get clean and get sober they will have a healthy environment in which to do so.

Step one to making this a reality, we decided, was to get some photos/video of the boys and get to know some of their stories. This way we could see what their biggest problems were and how we could help. So one day, the week before Benjamin left we headed down to Mathare... At first the boys just hassled us for food and money, but after we started asking questions about their lives they really started to participate. After about an hour of photos and talking a man walked up and the boys went wild. “This is our Street Father!” they shouted. “He coaches us and cares for us!” they said.

The man introduced himself to us as Joseph, and told us these boys were his mentees. He explained that he has been informally looking after the boys for about a year now and that he has high hopes for them all. Then the most miraculous thing happened… The man began to explain a project he hoped to start. A project word for word like the one Ben and I spoke of. He said he wanted a place where the boys could rest and take a meal and get clean without pressure. The boys gathered around while he spoke and Benjamin and I listened with matching shocked and giddy expressions. This man wanted exactly what we did, he has the contacts, and the knowledge; all he was lacking was support.

The Boys do incredible acrobatics! 

We listened to the man’s hopes and watched the way the boys admired him, and before we left them we asked Joseph if we could take him to lunch to speak more about our plans. He said he would love to meet, but told us he wasn’t coming to lunch without his boys. We could hardly say no to that and made plans to see him the following Saturday afternoon.

When we met on Saturday Joseph had 16 very hungry boys with him and we went to a small café and enjoyed a simple but hearty lunch. It was our first time really getting to know the boys and it was such a pleasure. They were gracious and just as curious about us as we were of them. After lunch we decided to have a proper meeting with Joseph and were headed to his office to sit and talk. Along the way we ran into two other people and Joseph greeted them warmly. He explained to us that he had met them in the course of the week and that they too shared our vision. They explained to us that they wanted to start a feeding program for the boys. We had a small meeting and all shared our ideas, and by the end of that very day we’d managed to find a small room for the boys to sleep in and the other two people had agreed to provide one meal a day. Once again Ben and I came home and sat in our living room in complete shock. Things are pretty much never easy in Kenya, but this project was/is just falling into place so easily.

I met with Joseph by happen stance walking through Ngong one day, and he expressed to me, “Portia, I worry about the boys, they only have one set of clothes each and winter is coming. This should be our next goal.” Within mere hours a friend and fellow volunteer from another children’s home texted me and said “We have some big bags of clothes, you know anyone who needs them?” That’s how this whole project has been. It’s been miracle after miracle. I am lacking words to express how strongly I feel that this project is going to be a success.

Now, three weeks later, the boys are happily staying at the center and eating once a day. The boys have dramatically cut down the use of glue, and I am so humbled to say I’ve only caught 3 bottles in the last three weeks. I have been visiting the center about three times a week to spend time with the boys and get to know them better. They have even started giving me Kiswahili lessons!! I am so much enjoying getting to learn from these boys, and I have to say they are great teachers! Every single time I leave them I feel rejuvenated and full of hope. I am grateful to say I can see the hope building in the center too. They want so badly to show their self-worth that they are making some big changes in their lifestyles.

The Boys on our first day of Kiswahili lessons

Our next step is to begin informal teaching at the center. We’ve acquired a large black board and would like the boys to start having lessons about two hours each day in basic school subjects as well as life-skills. We are hoping to get some books for the center to give the boys something to do in the day so that they are less likely to wander out and back onto the streets. In the long term we would like to help these boys find sponsors and either make it back into form school or perhaps technical schools for skills like carpentry or electrical engineering.

I am so excited to be around for the initiation of this project and cannot wait to see where it goes. They are incredible boys and I am so grateful to get to know each of them. Our areas of stress right now are as follows, if you have any interest in helping out please feel free to contact me directly or donate here.

• Underwear [$1.20*] (many of the boys have none at the moment)
• Washing basins [$2] (now that they have a few clothes they need to be able to wash them!)
• Laundry detergent [$1]
• Books [$2-4]
• Stationary [$.50-4] (Exercise books, chalk, pens)
• Food [$25] (the approximate cost of a meal including meat!)

*Prices estimated.

Teachers.

Thank you all so much for reading this! This project is very dear to my heart and I am so thrilled to keep everyone updated in the coming months. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me as always!

Portia
xx

Work Week/Wild Weekend

    As I sit in my apartment by myself for the first time I can only let out a hefty sigh. The last week has been so overwhelming! It was filled with lots of work and lots of play, all of which has left me exhausted.

     First off let me say if you've never heard me complain about making the trip to Nairobi you are lucky, it is about one of my least favorite things to have to do. However, I can say that I made the trip four times this week and each one was better than the last and for that I am mighty thankful.

     Last Monday Ben and I headed into Nairobi to have a meeting with Omari about some Faraja work. The meeting, like every meeting here in Kenya, lasted about 5 hours. In the end though it was productive and positive we came back to Ngong that night feeling tired, but really pleased with the outcome of the day.
     On Tuesday we headed back into town to run a bunch of errands. Going to Nairobi to stand in lines to pay bills and pick up packages seemed like a miserably daunting task. We lucked out however and had an almost effortless second trip into town for the week.
     Thankfully my workload on Wednesday was minimal. I savored not having to leave Ngong for the day and Ben worked diligently preparing LEI's taxes for the last year. He did plenty of tedious work and I made my contribution by making sure we had hot cups of tea at all times.
     With Thursday came another trip into town with some friends, and then a little farther; from Nairobi we caught a matatu to Longonot to check on the school that LEI built in early 2012. The trip to the school was really nice. The school has been open for just about one full year now and things are running so smoothly. It was so encouraging! We were honored to be invited to have lunch in the teachers home and it was such a lovely meal. From Longonot we moved on to Maai Mahiu were we relaxed for a while before catching a matatu back to Ngong. The journey is a long one (about 2.5 hours) and I wasn't looking forward to it, but with good company the trip was made so much more bearable.
     On Friday day we had an extremely gracious and productive meeting with a few members of the community about an up and coming project to help the street kids in Ngong. The meeting was so very helpful, with support just coming from every direction. I will be very excited to talk in more detail about this project once we have some more details hammered out!!
     Friday night on the other hand was all party and no stress of work! I was so grateful to have the week behind us! That evening we all headed to Savannah to have a “farewell” party for Ben. The night was filled with so many good people and drinks and choma; pretty much the standard fare of any good party here in the +254! At about 1am after the party had been in full swing for quite some time someone decided it was a great idea to make a round of pinky promises that we would all get tattoos in Nairobi the next day and we enjoyed a hearty laugh on the subject unknowing what the morning after would bring. We sat around the bonfire until the early morning hours chatting amicably and laughing about our shared experiences reveling in the beauty of the night.

    On Saturday morning we woke with a few too many headaches and a shared thirst for a glass of cold water. Even in our condition it only took about 30 minutes for someone to mention the pinky promises and we all gave a hesitant glance at each other before someone piped up, “So, are we really going to do this?” In Kenya it seems, even your craziest ideas are generally good ideas… so off to Nairobi we went.
     Fueled by adrenaline, we arrived at the tattoo parlor to discover it hiding at the back of a small cyber café. To say the shop was small is a vast understatement; the five of us could hardly fit inside at one time. Still not believing that we were all really going through with this we one by one stepped up to the needle and got our most precious souvenirs yet. My tattoo says “endelea kuota” (Keep Dreaming in Swahili) wrapping about the stars I already had on my left shoulder. I've been wanting  this tattoo for a long time and it has a lot of significance to my time spent here in Kenya and my life as a whole. I even had to draw parts of the tattoo myself and that was scary! I am so very pleased with the outcome and don’t regret a thing! On a humorous note I got to watch a good friend of mine get “sawa sawa” tattooed on the inside of his lip in what the ladies present could only describe as one of the manliest events we had ever witnessed. 

    Sunday and Monday were spent helping Ben to prepare for his journey home; tons of tiny errands to run, a few last minute meetings, and lots training on my behalf. Ben had an ample to-do list and we tired ourselves out working to make sure nearly everything got checked off. Come Sunday evening at 7:30 the best of Ngong’s company piled into a taxi to see Ben off. The ride to the airport was bitter/sweet. Seeing Ben leave the country was so hard, but I am thrilled for the great work he is going to do for our projects over the summer and have full confidence that he will be successful!
   That brings us to today, and I can tell you honestly that I didn't do a whole lot. I sat in my apartment and let the realization that I am now living alone in Africa wash over me. Every time someone asks me about “my apartment” my stomach twists in knots with fear and excitement.  I am so grateful for the experiences that life keeps throwing my way and I can only believe this is going to one of the best ones yet! xx

  

PS: I would like to mention one thrilling thing that happened today! I GOT MY FIRST LETTER! I've been checking and checking my mailbox to no avail and plenty of sad sighs, but when I turned that key today I was so excited to find a letter from none other than my incredible boyfriend. It was definitely the highlight of my day and I would like more thrills like that one so... send me mail. Thanks!! 

Portia Duke
PO BOX 1069-00208
Ngong Hills, Kenya

Blogging on the roof

It is currently 5:10pm on Saturday and I am sitting on the roof top of my apartments. To say that my day has been lazy would be a giant understatement. It’s one of those days where you keep the curtains drawn and PJs on all day (even now) and if you do anything watching a movie is about the extent of it.

However, those of you who know me know that I can only have so much of a lazy day before I get antsy and have to change the scenery… so to the roof I came. This is only the second time I’ve been up here, but I can already see that it’s going to be a regular hangout for the next few months. It’s such a good spot to relax with a cup of tea and a good book. You can see most of the town and as I am typing this I can see the Faraja kids walking home for the evening (they got a big kick out of seeing me on the roof). The weather right now is absolutely beautiful; I am hoping that rainy season is finally passing as well.

Webcam snap shots of the view

I really don’t have a ton to say in this blog post, it seems to get harder to write these things after a while. I know living in Kenya seems so exciting to most people, but I reiterate for me it is simply daily life at this point. However I am going to work hard to keep updating. 

Even though I have already been here for two weeks now I feel like I am still adjusting to my new life here. This may be my third visit to this town, but living on your own (as wazungu) in Kenya is nothing like living in a homestay. There isn’t six other volunteers living with me, and there isn’t a host-mum to cook and explain things I don’t understand. I know that soon I will have quite a few updates about my life-style here and hopefully a photo tour of my home.

The Faraja kids had a church camp kind of event that they attended most days this week and will return to school for the new term on the sixth of May. They are all doing really well, happier and healthier than I have ever seen them.   They are such a great bunch and I am consistently reminded how blessed I have been to have them in my life.

I am also going to be doing more work with Living Positive Kenya this time around. Ben is returning to the states next week to begin fundraising for a new class for the daycare center and we will also be looking for sponsors for a few children of the women in the support group soon.

As always please stayed tuned for the latest updates on our projects and my crazy Kenyan life, and don’t forget to check out the LEI website for updates as well.

If anyone has any interesting blog ideas or questions about anything I do here please feel free to email me at Portia.duke@gmail.com I’ve tried to stop blogging before, but everyone protested, so help me out! What do you want to know?
And last but not least… let’s not forget that I have a PO Box and am eagerly awaiting mail from anyone/everyone. Have you sent that letter yet?

Portia Duke
PO BOX 1069-00208
Ngong Hills, Kenya

Kitten Rescue

The first day I returned to Faraja there were two kittens lying just outside the dining hall. They were both skin and bones and they were barely breathing, but after several enquiries the kids and staff assured me they were okay. When I returned to work on Monday I only saw one kitten; a little orange ball of fur so tiny so weak that when one of the toddlers accidently stepped on his tail he didn’t even have the will to retaliate.
I left Faraja so sad to hear about the passing of the other kitten and couldn’t get the orange one off my mind all day. I told Ben about the situation and he said that only a week before I got here the kittens had all been fine. We agreed to bring the kitten to our apartment and try and nurse him back to health.

I purchased some multivitamins, whole milk, and a syringe. Then we went to Faraja to pick up the kitten. When we got to Faraja we found the kitten barely breathing curled up next to a fire the chef had been cooking on. The Faraja staff laughed as we told them our plans to rescue the kitten. The kids looked sad to see their cat go, but were hopeful for a full recovery. As we left the compound our groundskeeper, Elkanah, told us “he is a fighter, he will make it!” I wrapped him in an old tshirt and hugged him close as we walked back home.

Night one was not looking good, the kitten was so weak he would hardly drink the warm milk and vitamins we prepared for him. It was so sad to force feed him each bit of milk. It just dribbled down his little kitten chin with very little actually being swallowed. When he looked too tired to try anymore activity for the night. I nestled him into a shoe box and we heated up a bottle of water for him to snuggle against.

I woke up the next day nervous to check the box. I pulled the rags from over his body and he didn't move but he was breathing more steadily than before. After a morning feeding we tucked him back in and went to work. 

By that evening the kitten had a name (Oliver) and had started to respond to touch and was showing an interest in eating even though he couldn't quite get it down. We continued his feeding and kept his water bottle warm and hoped for the best.

The next morning Oliver had made some big improvements he was responding to touch and trying to play with our hands when we moved him around. He learned to suckle at the milk and in turn he had a hearty breakfast. When we returned in the evening he was much more energetic and on the last check before bed something major happened… Oliver made it out of his box all on his own! His steps were clumsy and his head was a little too heavy and he seemed to be very confused.  He did not seem quite right in the head and that was a scary thought. He took about five steps and ran right into a wall before he lay down and decided that was enough adventure for one night. Again we tucked him in and went to bed, but this time I felt much more hopeful about Oliver’s future. 

The next day I woke up and went to check on the kitty to find the best surprise! He had made it our of his box and crawled half way into my suitcase before deciding he was just too tired for more. I woke him up and pulled him into the center of the room and much to my surprise he started to walk around, only something wasn't quite right. He was walking like a drunk and running into everything in his path. It appeared that his legs weren't quite cooperating with his brain. We ventured to give him some proper catfood and he went crazy. He ate and ate. But he was still walking funny and couldn't seem to find his food if we didn't show him where it was. He just kept walking through the bowl of food and pacing around the walls of the room. He was still so weak that every once in a while he would get tired and fall asleep mid-step. However, with careful observation that day it became apparent that as much as we hated to admit it Oliver was definitely blind. I was excited for the little kitty to be gaining strength at such a rapid rate, but it was a giant blow to realize that Oliver would be so handicapped due to his lack of sight. We cared for him as normal for the rest of the day and by the time I got ready for bed he had worked up a voice and meowed all through the night.

This morning when we woke up Oliver was more active than we've ever seen him. He was running all around the room and just wanted snuggles. Ben gave him a bath and fed him again, then we let him have a nap to keep his energy up. This afternoon has brought some great miracles for little Oliver! He still has a tummy full of food and eats whenever he gets a chance and has been cuddling and snuggling while I type these paragraphs. And the very best news of all is that he has regained his sight!! Little orange Oliver can definitely follow my hand movements this afternoon and there was no way he could do that yesterday. He has finally been allowed to roam the house and he is a little adventurer. Until this afternoon Nala (our grown cat) was very afraid of the tiny new invader, but as now they are curled in a chair peacefully napping together!

It’s been a big day for everyone involved in Oliver’s adventure from the brink of death and I am so happy the kitten was such a trooper. There is no doubt in my mind that he will make a fully recovery and now the biggest issue is trying to decide if we’ll be able to return him to Faraja…. Or if we may just have gained a friendly new furry face around the apartment! 

Back in the +254!

I am back!!! I can hardly believe it still. I left DFW on Thursday at about 6pm and arrived at NBO Friday at 9pm to the best welcome home committee I could ask for! Ben, Tom, Sam, and Hassan, four of my best friends here, were waiting at the arrivals gate with signs that said “Karibu tena Portia!”(welcome back Portia) Having a sign at the airport is kind of a dream of mine and it was so exciting to see! It was so good to see so many friendly faces as soon as I stepped off the plane. “Hope you’re ready to go out tonight!” they greeted me, and I was immediately grateful I had been able to sleep on the plane.
                We piled into the too small taxi and headed towards Ngong. On the ride home we caught up and chatted about all the things that had changed in the last six months and how exciting it was to be back so soon. When the taxi pulled up to our apartments the gentlemen carried my luggage upstairs, I was mighty nervous as they opened the front door to my new home. Ben showed me around and I decided that I was quite pleased with the apartment. It is definitely going to be an adjustment living in Kenya as a mzungu, but it is one I am excited to experience. I washed up a bit and changed from my airplane clothes and we headed to Friends, one of our favorite pubs in town. Being all caught up in the time changes and traveling I had forgotten it was a Friday night, so when we got to Friends most of the patrons were in full weekend mode. After sitting down at a table we ordered drinks and nyama choma. That first sip of Kingfisher combined with the African beats coming from the dance floor made me feel like I had never left the country. It was nice to sit around the table drinking and talking about Football (soccer) and the inconveniences of the rainy season, so unlike my conversations at home, but still familiar all the same. After we had exhausted our time at Friends and I had grown too weary to stay out any longer we returned home and I fell into an exhausted sleep with the music on and our company still lively in the other room.

                My first full day back in Kenya was one for the books! I slept in slightly and when I woke up Ben and lounged about the living room planning for the party we would have later that evening. After a (hot!) shower and some coffee I headed to Faraja to see my kids for the first time in many months. I was so anxious as I walked down the road towards the children’s home. Would they remember me? Would things be different? About half way through the quarter mile walk a car pulled up next me and rolled down his window. “Karibu Kenya” the man said, among a few other friendly seeming things in Kiswahili that left me quite confused. I smiled at the man and started to walk away when the car door opened. Out stepped three women with very big smiles on their faces and it took my brain a few seconds to register that standing before me was Mum Moraa, Becky and Aruse. After about three confused blinks I broke into a fit of laughter and launched myself into a series of enormous hugs. Turns out the women had been on their way to town, but upon coming across me they thanked the driver and we walked back to Faraja together. After walking about another 30 yards I saw a small girl pop out of the gate at Faraja. She turned yelled something in Kiswahili towards the home and then took off running in my direction. I met her half way and picked Nancy up in the biggest hug I've probably ever received. Soon as I put her down I looked up to see more and more kids piling out of the compound squealing with delight. For the next five minutes my world was one of pure happiness as kids jumped and climbed all over me. There was so many hugs and so many people saying my name at once. I didn’t know I could possibly hold five kids at once, but the kids made sure it happened as we clamored back through the gate.
                It was such a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that the kids remembered me. Even the youngest babies who could not talk the last time I was hear were giggling and saying “Poosha! Poosha! Mimi tena!” (Portia pick me up again!) I walked around the compound and greeted every child with a hug, the older kids were especially kind in their greetings and I was so grateful to be welcomed back. Taking in the changes around the home filled me with hope! Things are moving in the right direction and Faraja has come so far in the last year. I will have plenty to write about on this subject very soon!
                After I left Faraja I headed to the juice shop, which if you've heard me say much about Kenya than you know this juice shop is one of my favorite things here. Soon as I walked in Justus and Phillip’s eyes lit up and there was plenty more hugging. I had a mango/passion juice and it was delicious! Every drop tasted like happiness and glee. After chatting about the recent elections and the success of the shop it was time for me to go and Justus informed me my juice was on the house for the day. It was a pleasant reunion and just typing about it makes me thirsty for more.
                Next on the agenda for the evening was to get the house party ready. We stocked up on booze and meat and brought out all the chairs we had. By 11pm our conservatively sized apartment was quite full and out liquor stock was depleting fast. The music was up loud and there was meat on the grill. It was about that time that our power went out. Ben popped his head out our front door and when he came back he said to me, “it’s only our apartment, I think we’re being too loud.” He went downstairs to talk to the security guard and after a carefully placed 100Ksh ($1.25) bribe our power was back on. About thirty minutes later the size of our party had doubled. Cards were dealt, toasts were made, and the bass was booming, everyone was having a great time. At about 2am our electricity was cut again, this time with the promise that our music would not return. Thankfully this didn't ruin the mood and things continued until about 4am. After plenty of nyama choma , 5 bottles of whiskey, 2 bottles of vodka, and 3 boxes of wine it was safe to say that we were pretty well spent. People trickled out one by one until there was finally enough space to sleep.
                I can’t fathom what more I could have wanted from my first 24 hours back in Ngong. This place has been my second home for a long while now, but it can still be nerve wracking to return after an absence. Just walking around town so many people have recognized me and given me a simple welcome back that I really feel like I never left. I am happy to be back on my streets with the good and the bad of this town and I am excited to see where the next six months takes me!

Also, I just got a PO BOX this morning I am I really very excited about it. I would really love to have some mail while I am here so if you're interested in sending a letter my way I would certainly return the favor!

Portia Duke
PO BOX 1069-00208
Ngong Hills, Kenya

Thanks!