Adventures in Kenya Series - Day 11 - Kwaheri, Kenya

I'm through secuturity at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport waiting for my flight to Paris that will connect with my flight to New York. I had thought that my last day was going to be relaxing and quiet, but like every other day on this trip, it was filled with pretty special moments.

We started by waking at 5:30, taking tea early, packing the van, and heading out on a game drive at 6:30.  The plan was to see as many animals as we could on the way out of the park while the morning light made for good pictures, and then hit the road for Nairobi.  Since it's only about a 2 1/2 hour drive, I had figured that we'd be in Nairobi by 10 or so.  Silly.  I should have learned by now that everything in Kenya takes at least twice as long as you anticipate. Pole Pole.

The game drive was amazing. We saw a few hyenas with a freshly killed ostrich carcass, and a baby rhino that was literally hours old.  We could still see the afterbirth hanging from the mother. A big gross, but very, very cool.  We saw lots of baboons, buffalo, zebra, and giraffes as well.  We didn't have any luck finding a leapard.

We passed out of the park gates around 8:30 and headed back to Nairobi.  About an hour into the drive, we stopped for a car wash since the van was filthy from driving on the paths in the park. Kenyan car washes are different than American car washes.  The car still ends up clean, but it's done by hand by guys with rags, and it took about 45 minutes.  We grabbed a quick snack and more tea before getting back on the road.

Jackson told me that he needed to stop to pick up potatoes for the Havilla school at a market on the way. When we stopped, we were immediately surrounded by a dozen or more vendors shaking their produce at us and banging on the windows. It took Jackson a while to figure out who had the best potatoes at the best price with everyone surrounding him like vultures. This is how it's done in Kenya. He, Livingstone, and I discussed the differences in the American produce purchasing experience when we got on the road 25 minutes later.

At the Great Rift Valley overlook we stopped for 2 minutes for a picture.  There were also a few souvineer shops there.  20 minutes later I was back on the road a few hundred Shillings lighter and loaded with some wood carvings I'm sure I don't need. The Shillings won't do much much more good than a zebra letter opener back home, so no harm done. Jackson got a free soda out of the deal for being the driver who stopped there while the Mzungu spent some money.

We hit a little traffic, and we finally go to the Cheery school around 1PM. When I walked into the school grounds, I was greeted with shouts of "Teacher Mike!" once again, and a few kids came running up to hug me.  That's a little humbling. I chatted with Director Jairus for a few minutes about ways we can continue our partnership in the future, and how the work I've done here over the past few weeks can be leveraged to help these children have the opportunity to overcome the abject poverty in which they are living.

After our chat, the older classes performed a few songs for me, and made me tear up by presenting me with Kenyan bracelets for my wife, my children, and me. I have mine on right now. It is a special memento of the time I had with these children.  Two students also wrote me letters of thanks that I will hold on to and cherish.

When it was time for me to leave, six or seven students held my hands, arms, shorts, and shirt as I walked down the rubbish, mud, and waste filled path to the van.  They didn't want to let me leave.  When I got in the van, several of them climbed into the back.  They wanted to come with me. It pained me to have to make them get out. With a sad heart, we drove away as I waved and blew them kisses.

From there, we drove to Havilla. I stopped into the classes I had worked with and asked them what they had learned this week.  They were also very happy to see me and to show off thier new knowledge.  The first graders told me about the English weather words they had learned in English class, and the second graders showed me the addition they were working on.  Before leaving, the school also sang me a song, the second grade performed a poem about the importance of education, and Head Teacher Domitilla presented me with a traditional Kenyan shirt.

When I left Havilla at 3PM I figured that I had a few hours to charge my electronics, take a shower, and relax before heading to the airport for my 11PM flight.  I chatted with Tracy and Ross from NGGE to catch up on the happenings of the week, and around 5PM I went on what was supposed to be a short walk with Ross.  He took me to an appartment building a few blocks away that overlooked the Kibera Slum, and then to a garden on the edge of the Slum.

At the garden we met Peter, a Kibera resident who is empowering the youth of the slum by teaching them gardening, catfish raising, and other trades.  With the products they sell, young Kiberans are able to make some money while learning important skills and improving the community. We chatted for as long as I could, and then he walked back with Ross and I to Barnabas's house telling us about his passions. He agreed to connect with our students back home to tell them about his work via Skype, and I told him that I would have Livingstone connect with him to show him how to offer learning sessions through Skype in the Classroom.  He is the kind of passionate do-gooder that is perfect for inspiring youth to get involved in service projects.

At 7, I said my goodbyes and loaded into the van with Jackson to head to the airport.  We picked up Livingstone on the way (he had walked home to shower earlier), and set off.  Of course, we hit a traffic jam, and the ride that should have taken 30 minutes took 90. The traffic lights in town were turned off, at every intersection there was gridlock, and there were a few cars stopped in the road. Kenya.

And so now, with both great sadness at leaving and great anticipation at seeing my family, I wait for my plane.  In typical Kenyan fashion, it took forever to get to my gate.  I had to pass through 4 security checkpoints where I my bags were either checked by hand or scanned though a machine.  I'm very sure this is going to be a safe flight.

I'll try and get some sleep on the plane to Paris.  Over the next few days and weeks, I'll be posting some of the many (60+) videos I took during the trip as they get uploaded.

Kwaheri, Kenya.  I leave a little piece of my heart with you and take much more than souvineers with me as I leave.

Adventures in Kenya Series - A Few Videos from Kibera Schools

I have recorded a lot of videos so far using the GoPro camera, my DSLR, my point and shoot camera, and my iPhone. Since it's easy to upload from my iPhone to YouTube, here are a few videos from the trip so far. There are a lot more to come.  These are just the ones that I could upload easily.










I will post more videos as I can.

Adventures in Kenya Series - Day 5 - Project LINC

It's had to believe that I've only been here a few days. I've been so busy that it seems like months. Today was another day packed with awesome.

I started the day by walking to Havilla Childrens Center again with Livingstone. I used the GoPro camera and head mount that I have to record the walk to the school. I'll be posting that to YouTube along with many other videos when I get back home.  I had to bring extra camera equipments today because my mission today was to document everything I could as the water filters for which our Wallenpaupack students, the children in the Andover Middle School, and students in Trikala, Greece had spent the past few months raising money were installed and distributed. For more information, check out the Project LINC website.

Around 8:30, I started recording interviews of students and teachers about the water situation in Kibera, and how the filters will help them. Teacher Tyson told me about the Cholora outbreak in Kibera which has killed 7 people. One student shared a story of a friend who drank dirty water and ended up in the hospital.

At 9AM, Nancy and the Vestergaard team arrived.  All the students were gathered in the "courtyard" to learn how to use the Community Filters that were being installed at the school. There were 115 students crammed into a space about 8x20 feet. I set up the GoPro on a tripod in the back and recorded parts of the demonstration using the GoPro App on my iPhone. Hiding in a doorway to a classroom, I took the best photos I could without stepping on the "baby class" that was sitting in front of me. The kids also learned about the importance of using clean water to wash their hands, and how to use the LifeStraw Family Filters that 64 of them will be taking home. 

After the presentation, I took some pictures, recorded an interview between Nancy and Head Teacher Domitilla, and packed up all my equipment. The Vestergaard team was now headed to Cheery Children Education Center, and I asked them to give me a ride. 

When we got out of the car much deeper into Kibera near Cheery, I again attached my GoPro to record the walk.  I was determined today to document as much as possible, both for the project and because it's likely the last time I'll spend much time in Kibera this trip.  

It warmed my heart to be greeted with smiles, joy, and shouts of "Teacher Mike!" when I arrived. I took some pictures and video of stuedents learning in their classrooms and the schools as the Vestergaard team set up for the next demonstration.  The demonstration was basically the same here, but since we were deeper in the slum, you could sense a difference. The students at both schools need the filters, but the kids at Cheery NEED the filters. When you see the videos of the two areas, you will understand better. I took video with multiple cameras, took a ton of pictures, and tried to document as much of the process as possible. I've shot lots of good pictures in my life, but video is somewhat new to me, so I'm hoping I did a good job.  

After the demonstration, we again recorded a few interviews with students and teachers.  One students shared a story of a cousin who was hospitalized from drinking contaminated water, and the costs of the resulting hospital visit caused great hardship for the family.  She was very greatful to have a filter to bring home to her family.  

Around 1:30, when Nancy left with her team, I started making sure that everything was set for the 7 school, 3 continent Skype that was scheduled for 3:15, in which all the students who raised money for filters were going to meet all the students who received filters. It was hard to make any progress, though, because the students kept begging me to do other things. During the students' lunch time, I showed a few kids some math games they could play with the bag of random kinds of dice that I brought to the school. They LOVED playing with the dice, and for many of them it was the first time they had ever seen them. I had to show many of them how to roll the dice when their turn came.  We practiced multiplication and math facts through dice games.  

I told them to take the dice back to their classrooms, and to play on their own now that they knew how.  They were excited to hear that I was leaving the dice for them and not taking them with me when I left. Then, one of the 4th grade students brought me a lunch of ugali, eggs, and kale, which was very tasty.  I really do like Kenyan food. 

Where lunch is prepared at Cheery

When I finished my lunch and tried to get back to work, a few second graders came in to the office and begged me to come teach them math.  So, I went next door to their classroom and taught a math lesson for them. 

Finally, close to 3PM I had to get away to set things up for the call. Since Friday is classroom cleaning day, many of the student desks were brought to Cheery's "courtyard" and Jairus, the director's, laptop was put on a stand for the students to see. Even though I had brought them a projector for Skype calls yesterday, they need to get an adapter to be able to use it. 

At 3:15 the call started, and once we got the microphone muting squared away, each school took turns having a representative share their part of the Project LINC story.  It was great for all the students involved to see how connected they were. I ended the call by sharing how much I've come to love and appreciate the students at Cheery and Havilla that I've worked with over the past 3 days, how sad I am to be leaving them, and how the kids in Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Greece could not be helping a more incredible group of students. 

After school, Jairus again walked me back toward Barnabas's house.  We took a different route this time - staying along main roads in Kibera instead of walking by the train tracks.  I wore the GoPro again to get video footage. During the first part of the walk it was very dusty, and we coughed as dust kicked up from a passing truck.  About halfway back, it started to rain.  By the end of the walk, I was slipping on mud. 

Along the walk, Jairus took me to his youngest son's school. Since I had met his son once before on a Skpye call, his boy had asked if Jairus could bring me by the school to meet him.  When I got to the school and met him, he was very shy and didn't know what to say to me. As we left, I chucked with Jairus about how I could see my son Michael, who is almost the same age, doing something similar.

I said goodbye to Jairus near the busy road that Barnabas lives on, and thanked him for letting me work with his students over the past few days and for helping me understand life here in Kibera a little better. After meeting on Skype many times, it was great to meet he and his wife Emmily in person and to work with them for a few days.

The rest of the walk was uneventful and wet as I walked past the shops and vendors selling everything you could imagine.  I saw a shop that sold some nice looking African earings and would have liked to stop, but it was raining pretty hard and I had a backpack full of electronics, so I didn't.

When I got into the house, Livingstone was there waiting to talk to me about plans for the rest of the trip.  He had stayed at Havilla this morning to facilitate the Skype call there.  As we were sitting at the table, a class from Florida Skyped him and asked to learn how to count in Swahili.  I joined him on the call, which was fun. 

Tomorrow I have a morning flight to the Masai Mara reserve, where I will be relaxing on safari for a few days.  I'll be staying at the Mara Intrepids Tented Camp, going on several game drives, and taking lots of pictures. I fly back to Nairobi on Sunday night before heading out to rural western Kenya very early on Monday. I may combine the next two days into one blog post.