Today marks 2 weeks since our arrival here in Nakuru. We are continuing to enjoy our volunteer experience at the school/orphanage. We are, however, beginning to get the feeling of being overwhelmed by the things that need to be done here to make this place a healthy environment for both learning and living. We have been told that moving the boys to their new dormitory space has alleviated much of the health complaints from the children. we gave some money to help rehabilitate the former dormitory for use by the pre-school/kindergarten classes during the day. It is better, but much still needs to be done to bring in joy and life and light.
The education system here is very different. The teachers only teach from the book so that kids can pass the national exams and score well, thus improving the status of the school. the teachers have nothing more than some beat-up text books and chalk to work with. It is a far cry from the advantages that teachersand students in the US have. At our school site, thankfully, a former volunteer installed a large section of grassy area in the play area. It is now finally useable and the kids are able to play on the grass, rather than only in the dust. It is strill very dirty, though and the classrooms are full of dirt and dust, especially in the lower grades. The school building is unfinished, however they have completed the roof since we have been here. There is also a water purification project that is nearing completion. A well was dug to a depth of 90 meters. The water here apparently has too much flouride in it, which can be toxic and they say it causes teeth to turn brown. It is common to see dark brown staining on the teeth of both young an old. The project was funded by a church group from Georgia who visited this past week. They have been supporting various projects since the program began as a lunch feeding program for orphans. They were happy to see so much progress in the past 2 years. There are so many little things that are needed, too. So many of the students run around in tattered uniforms and ill-fitting shoes. In some classes, just having a pencil for everyone is a challenge. And then, of course the pencils have to be sharpened and once one asks, the rest all clamour for theirs to be sharpened too. We are grateful to those of you who donated pencils and we are seeing that they get distributed to those in need.
Another volunteer arrived this week. She is a 21 year old college student from Canada. That brings the total of volunteers to 5, however we are losing Jan, from Australia, next week. She is also our housemate. Word has it that someone else is coming to take her place.
We are getting used to life here. We enjoy our 35 minute walk to school each morning. We are often trying to beat the rain when we make our trek home in the afternoon. Sometimes we make and sometimes we get drenched. It is nice to know, though that hot tea and cookies and a hot shower await us upon our return home. We have a wonderful cook/housekeeper named Lynette. She cooks wonderful dinners for us too and does our laundry - by hand, of course. We even have a TV which gets 5 channels!
Last weekend we took a trip up to the top of Menengai Crater (try Googling it), the mountain that serves as backdrop to Nakuru. It is an ancient volcano. The view from the top down into the crater is spectacular!
We didn't bring all the equipment to download a photo this time. You can reply directly from this blog by clicking on the small envelope below and to the right of this entry. Thanks to those who've replied. It is always good to hear from friends and family!

Bosco teaching 1st grade at Pistis Academy, the school connected to the orphanage. About 80% of these kids live at the orphange. Others come from the town.

Nakuru, Kenya

Oct. 2005

We have spent our first week here in Nakuru. First to fill you in on our European vacation prior to arrival here. We had five wonderful days in Amsterdam, although the weather was a bit cold and foggy. Our hotel was interesting - in an old building with entry on the street that opens to a staircase that is so steep, you cannot even see the top, as it curves a bit. Our carry on luggage from SFO had to be checked as it wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment and as a result our bags did not arrive in Amsterdam with us. They were delivered the next day - lucky for us - we did not have to carry then up that steep staircase! Toured 2 cities in Belgium - Ghent and Brugge - beautiful! Took a ride on a canal boat in Brugge. It is similar to Venice, but smaller.
Toured North and South Netherlands, visiting a cheese factory, a wooden shoe factory, windmills, a diamond polishing factory, a couple of picturesque seaport villages and one of the 2 remaining Delft pottery factories. We also visited Madurodam, a miniature version of the Netherlands with scale models of all the main buildings and attractions in an outdoor setting.

We flew to Vienna, where we were met by Bosco's cousin, Iona and her husband Dave. We stayed with them and they showed us all the beautiful sights in and around Vienna. They were wonderful and gracious hosts and so kind to us! We visited cathedrals and palaces, and open air markets and had many wonderful meals out together. We spent one evening with Iona and Dave and their Danish friends, Mo and Aino, in one of the wine districts in Vienna where we drank "sturm", wine made from the most recent harvest, which tastes more like juice, but packs a punch! We dined at a "heuringer" or wine tavern. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed. One of the highlights was attending "The Merry Widow" operetta at the Volks Opera theater. We also enjoyed a full day trip along the Danube, visiting the village of Durnstein, unchanged for centuries. We had a lovely meal with traditional pumpkin soup - delicious! We continued on the visit a Benedictine Abbey - absolutely gorgeous! We are so grateful to Iona and Dave for their wonderful hospitality. It was so great visiting with them - me for the first time and Bosco after 15 years!

We flew to Nairobi and were met by a representative from ELI, Peter, and our host Ruth Wabutu. We got through customs with the help of an angel who told us to say we just had clothes, even though our two 70 lb bags were full of things for the orphanage. They didn't even ask us to open them!! The next day Peter took us around to the places Bosco was hoping to visit, including his high school, Nairobi School and the Goan Estate, where his aunt and uncle had lived, previously. We met with a friend and former neighbor there named Illa. She welcomed us with open arms into her home. Her son, Chris, who we had also hoped to see, was not there, unfortunately. Bosco had recently made contact with a former classmate from Nairobi School whom we also met with. He was so happy and surprised to see Bosco after 30 years! He has invited us back to have dinner with his family before we leave Kenya.

Our trip to Nakuru was by "matatu" or mini-bus. Basically a regular size van outfitted to seat 14 passengers - a little cramped to say the least! It took us 3 1/2 hours to get to Nakuru and the last 2 hours were on a road that was so bad it defies description! We finally arrived at our new "home" absolutely exhausted! Ruth and her 4 year old daughter Stacey are our hosts. There is also a woman named Lynette who does most of the cooking and care of the house. So far the food has been great and the accomodations comfortable, for the most part. The water pressure kinda comes and goes and you must give a 30 minute warning if you want hot water.

Last Sunday Peter took us to Lake Nakuru National Park ,which is just about 5 minutes from our house. We spent about 2 1/2 hours on a game drive there. It was really fantastic! We saw SO MANY animals! The shoreline of the lake appears pink from a distance due to the millions of flamingos found there. We also saw monkeys, a hyena, maribou storks, Cape buffalo, rhinos, giraffes, zebra, eland, gazelles, impala, baboons, and warthogs. There were many baby animals too!

We finally got to the orphange/school on Monday. The kids were so excited to see us. They stand up and clap when we enter the classrooms. We now have our teaching schedules and both Bosco and I have 13 class periods each per week. Bosco is teaching Math and English and P.E. and I am teaching English, Creative Arts and P.E. We also fill in when other teachers are absent.
There are currently 3 other volunteers there besides us. One is from Australia and she lives with us, too. The other 2 are college students - one from Kentucky and one from Canada.
The needs are many. It is hard to imagine how the regular teachers cope without any supplies and in extremely dusty/dirty classrooms. The compound is surrounded by dirt which gets tracked in by the kids. It is a lesson in futility to try and keep it clean. We swept one classroom one day and by the next day it was full of dirt again. The kids are great and very smart. From about 3 rd grade and up they speak English pretty well. When we were given a tour of the facilities, we were shown the boys dormitory. It was appalling. 80 boys crammed into a room constructed with mud walls and very little ventilation. They have begun construction of a new dormitory, but it is far from completion. It occurred to me that they do have a nice dining hall/classroom that was being under-utilized. I suggested to the director that they could move the boys into this room, which is about 3 times the size of the current dorm. It would give them much more space and room to breathe. The director had also told me that some of the children sleeping in the dorm had been very sick - some with meningitis and tuberculosis. Thankfully, she took my suggestion to her school committee and they agreed that it was a good idea to move the boys. Within 2 days the move took place and it is so much better!! It is a good feeling that already our presence here has had a positive impact on the children.

That's it for now. We plan to do a weekly update on Saturdays, as the computer station is a half hour walk from our house. I am going to attempt to download some photos now, so I hope it works!!

Hello Friends and Family, We arrived in Nakuru last night! We are living with a wonderful woman named Ruth and her 4 year old daughter, Stacy. We are being given an orientation to the city today and will make our first vist to the orphanage. We will also make a visit to Lake Nakuru National Park (10 minutes from here) and hopefully see some of the African animals.
Will write more later. Much love to all!!