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!