Fundraiser for Kenya Orphans
Many of you who are keeping up with us on our Blog have asked if there is any way you can help. We are so grateful to you for your generous offer and we wanted to let others know as well, that we are collecting funds to buy new school shoes for the kids we are working with here. If you could see the shoes these kids wear on a daily basis, it would break your heart. They are barely held together and in most cases do not fit. It is our wish to purchase new shoes here to give to them as a Christmas gift. Shoes cost about $10.00 per pair. We want to purchase 120 pairs.
Soroptimist International of Capitola-By-The-Sea (of which I am President) has agreed to collect donations on behalf of the orphans and send one lump sum to us here. We are asking that donations be made out/sent to:
SI Capitola-By-The-Sea, P.O. Box 576, Capitola, CA 95010 no later than Dec. 19. If you are able to give, please indicate on the check what the money is for. All donations are tax deductible, since we are able to have Soroptimist process the checks for us. Email us with any questions by clicking the little envelope at the end of this paragraph.
If you can help, thank you so much! If not, Hakuna Matata - no worries!
We miss you all!!

Yes, we were really this close!!

Sorry, we forgot to flip the photo.
It takes 10 minutes to load each photo,
and the first time didn't work (that means
we are 20+ minutes into loading this one)
so turn your head or your computer screen!

The school where we volunteer was having eighth grade exams a couple of weeks ago. The process is so secretive that they have guards and don't allow anyone but the headmasters and teachers of that grade on campus. It is to guard against cheating and leaking of information because all eighth graders in the whole country take the same tests. So we decided it was a good time for us to take a safari to Masai Mara. Two of the other volunteers we work with also went. Our fifth passenger was a young woman from the Netherlands who was working on a project for school in a town near Lake Victoria.
The journey took about 5-6 hours, most of that over horrendous roads. It is a miracle that vehicles manage to stay in one piece around here! The paved roads are sometimes worse than the dirt roads! Anyway, we arrived around 4:30 p.m. at the campground where we would be spending the next 3 nights. It is on Masai land and is run by the Masai. It was really a great campground and we were provided with tents and foam pads and blankets. They even had hot water for showers! The water was kept in a barrel under which a fire was lit each night. We were served excellent food and enjoyed lively conversations by the campfire at night. The Masai there were very well educated and spoke English very well. It was very interesting to get their perspectives on their country, especially since a major vote to change their constitution is coming up on Nov. 21. The country is very split on the issue. The 2 factions are known as the Oranges and the Bananas. We are rooting for the Banana team, which would approve the new constitution and give more rights to women and provide more social services for the citizens.
Anyway, back to the safari...
We went on 2 evening game drives, 1 all day, and one early morning. We saw so many animals! The lions were in abundance and lots of cubs as well. We had hoped to see all of the "Big 5" - lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and elephant, but the rhinos (there are only 20 in the whole park, which is many thousands of acres in size) and leopards remained elusive. We also saw ostrich, giraffe, antelopes and gazelles of all types, baboons, zebras, wildebeest, jackal, vultures, cheetah, and tons of hippos! The hippos were in the river and we got out of our van and were led by an armed ranger to go and see them. Apparently a tourist was recently killed by a hippo. We were right on the border of Kenya and Tanzania and could see where the Masai Mara joins the Serengeti Plain.
We also had the opportunity to visit a Masai village or "manyatta". We were given a tour by the chief of the villlage nearest our campground. It was fascinating to see how they live. We were treated to a dance by the men and another song and dance by the women. We were invited into the home of the chief, where we met one of his wives (they sometimes have up to 15!). The homes are made out of cow dung and mud. They have huge circular corrals for their livestock to protect them from lions. A Masai, complete with spear, protected our camp at night from wayward lions!

Class 6 at Pistis Academy
Their abstract art project in background.

We recently traveled to Bosco's hometown of Kericho, Kenya, the center of tea growing. It took us about 2 hours by "matatu", a small bus. We visited his primary school, which was found to be in deplorable condition - dirty, not maintained, broken windows, and the same desks that they had 40 years ago. It was very sad to see. The school, which once served about 600, now has over 1300 students. We also stopped by the Goan Institute, where Bosco's family spent their Sunday afternoons, enjoying time with their friends. It is now the offices of the local water department. They let us come in and take a look around. The building looked the same on the outside, but had been divided up into office spaces. We walked around the town, which now seemed so small to Bosco. We took a taxi to the Tea Hotel, a remnant from the British days. We enjoyed a wonderful buffet lunch in the garden, followed, of course, by tea. We walked around the grounds and found the last house that Bosco had lived in before leaving Kenya, as it backs up to the Tea Hotel property. It also seemed very small to Bosco, looking through the eyes of the now adult-size Bosco! There were also a couple of cows tending to the lawn. We got another taxi to take us out to the tea estate of Kerenga, where Bosco was born. After much searching, we did locate the house where Bosco was born. We walked through the gate and were greeted by the current resident, John. He saw the taxi driver, Bosco and myself walking towards his house and couldn't figure out what an African, an Indian and a mzungu (white person) could possibly be doing in his yard! He was very kind and welcomed us once we explained the circumstances. He invited us in to see the house, which brought back a lot of memories for Bosco. This house seemed especially small to the now, grown-up Bosco! We plan to return to Kericho next month to go in search of the other homes where Bosco had lived. At the hotel we were informed by the receptionist that another Indian man had been at the hotel earlier that day with his wife and visiting Kericho after a long absence. When we asked her the name of the man, it turned out to be someone that Bosco's sister, Patsy, had connections with (Rajiv Dixit)! Too bad we had missed him by just a few hours.
Things are going well at the school/orphanage. We are getting to know the children better and better. The 8th graders are having national exams this week. It is such a secretive event, that we are not allowed on campus at this time! We attended a ceremony last Friday to bless them and pray for the students' success on the exams. It was really nice and some of the students who have parents had their parents in attendance, as well. The teachers and principals and we, all spoke and gave encouraging words to the kids. The school was visited last week by an American woman and her husband, who currently live in Colorado. She is a full-time minister and was involved in starting this program. It was great to talk to her about her work. She is expanding her ministry in Kenya and other African countries. She was truly an inspiration to us and we wish her continued blessings in her work. She has a website for her ministry where you can see pictures of the school/orphanage (Pistis Academy - Christian Ministries to the Destitute). The web address is www.elishaministry.org
We have much more to tell you, but will write more later about our recent 4 day safari to Masai Mara!