Greetings friends and family,
We are still in Nairobi and enjoying our time here. Each day is full since we are part of a Presbyterian's Young Adult Volunteer program. We are "Young at Heart" Volunteers. I will review our activities for the last few days.
On Wednesday, Marcia and I took a cab to the Elephant Orphanage that was highlighted in the IMAX Movie "Born to Be Wild." It is only open one hour, 11 am to noon. That is when they bring the orphaned young elephants into a viewing area where they play in a large mud pit and dirt pile. There are two age groups: 3 and less and 4 to 8. Most of these elephants were orphaned because poachers killed its mother. There were some from other natural causes as well. Trainers work with these elephants until they are 8 or so and then taken back to where they were found, if possible. Trainers stay with them until they are finally accepted by another family of elephants. Very interesting.
In the afternoon, we met the 5 other young adults at the New Life Home which is for orphaned or abandoned children/babies. I believe there are five such places located in central Kenya. I'm sure there are other church sponsored facilities similar to this that do similar care activities until the youngsters are adopted. Marcia and I and another couple decided to work with the 9-12 month old babies. We helped entertain them and feed them and hold them. It was a little difficult for me since I'm not much of a baby person but after a while it was fun playing "horsey" and "so big" with these kids. They all had great smiles. Afterwards we met at Phyllis Byrd's home for debriefing and discussion and dinner. Phyllis recently had back surgery so isn't able to attend many of these sessions with us but she is well aware of all that goes on.
Yesterday was very unique. We went to Kibera, the largest slum in Africa and maybe the world. Over 1.2 million people live in this area. Obviously we only hit one small, narrow street. We went to a small church school to see what tries to happen in the way of education. First of all, we may all think we know the characteristics of a slum. Movies such as "Slumdog Millionaire" may paint some idea of slum conditions visually, but until you walk the streets and smell the conditions, it is hard to describe. I've tried to come up with descriptive words. The conditions are almost disgusting and yet people survive. We went to this one church school where 200 students attend. There must be 100's of other schools similar. We feed them cooked beans and rice. And then we went to a session where a few students recited poetry and a group performed a rhythmic dance which, I understand, helps them memorize certain facts. They were singing in Swahili so I don't know what was being said but they sure had the dance steps and recitation down pat. All of this takes place in one room maybe 12' x 30'. We learned that there aren't any public schools in the slum areas. Government funds don't make it there. We learned that the teacher (I believe there are 8 plus the "bishop") may get $30 per month pay. There was a section where orphaned children could actually live. Rooms for 4 were not much larger than 10 x10 feet. Again, conditions which are just hard to describe...Afterwards we met at Phyllis' home for dinner, debriefing and discussion. It was a difficult time to share what we experienced and wondered how can this cycle of poverty ever stop. Where is the justice part of these conditions. We all agreed that education is the only means to get a few children to have hope for something better. All these kids had beautiful smiles. Reminded me again of how everything is relative.
Today, Marcia and I are going to a displaced peoples area (homeless) to see what is happening there.
Vacation? We had a wonderful time visiting Ethiopia and the wildlife areas of Kenya. Now we are experiencing some of the major social and justice issues of an undeveloped nation. Though, Kenya is pretty well-off compared to others from what I understand. What a finale this week has been in our lives.
Until next time.
Phil and Marcia
We are still in Nairobi and enjoying our time here. Each day is full since we are part of a Presbyterian's Young Adult Volunteer program. We are "Young at Heart" Volunteers. I will review our activities for the last few days.
On Wednesday, Marcia and I took a cab to the Elephant Orphanage that was highlighted in the IMAX Movie "Born to Be Wild." It is only open one hour, 11 am to noon. That is when they bring the orphaned young elephants into a viewing area where they play in a large mud pit and dirt pile. There are two age groups: 3 and less and 4 to 8. Most of these elephants were orphaned because poachers killed its mother. There were some from other natural causes as well. Trainers work with these elephants until they are 8 or so and then taken back to where they were found, if possible. Trainers stay with them until they are finally accepted by another family of elephants. Very interesting.
In the afternoon, we met the 5 other young adults at the New Life Home which is for orphaned or abandoned children/babies. I believe there are five such places located in central Kenya. I'm sure there are other church sponsored facilities similar to this that do similar care activities until the youngsters are adopted. Marcia and I and another couple decided to work with the 9-12 month old babies. We helped entertain them and feed them and hold them. It was a little difficult for me since I'm not much of a baby person but after a while it was fun playing "horsey" and "so big" with these kids. They all had great smiles. Afterwards we met at Phyllis Byrd's home for debriefing and discussion and dinner. Phyllis recently had back surgery so isn't able to attend many of these sessions with us but she is well aware of all that goes on.
Yesterday was very unique. We went to Kibera, the largest slum in Africa and maybe the world. Over 1.2 million people live in this area. Obviously we only hit one small, narrow street. We went to a small church school to see what tries to happen in the way of education. First of all, we may all think we know the characteristics of a slum. Movies such as "Slumdog Millionaire" may paint some idea of slum conditions visually, but until you walk the streets and smell the conditions, it is hard to describe. I've tried to come up with descriptive words. The conditions are almost disgusting and yet people survive. We went to this one church school where 200 students attend. There must be 100's of other schools similar. We feed them cooked beans and rice. And then we went to a session where a few students recited poetry and a group performed a rhythmic dance which, I understand, helps them memorize certain facts. They were singing in Swahili so I don't know what was being said but they sure had the dance steps and recitation down pat. All of this takes place in one room maybe 12' x 30'. We learned that there aren't any public schools in the slum areas. Government funds don't make it there. We learned that the teacher (I believe there are 8 plus the "bishop") may get $30 per month pay. There was a section where orphaned children could actually live. Rooms for 4 were not much larger than 10 x10 feet. Again, conditions which are just hard to describe...Afterwards we met at Phyllis' home for dinner, debriefing and discussion. It was a difficult time to share what we experienced and wondered how can this cycle of poverty ever stop. Where is the justice part of these conditions. We all agreed that education is the only means to get a few children to have hope for something better. All these kids had beautiful smiles. Reminded me again of how everything is relative.
Today, Marcia and I are going to a displaced peoples area (homeless) to see what is happening there.
Vacation? We had a wonderful time visiting Ethiopia and the wildlife areas of Kenya. Now we are experiencing some of the major social and justice issues of an undeveloped nation. Though, Kenya is pretty well-off compared to others from what I understand. What a finale this week has been in our lives.
Until next time.
Phil and Marcia
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