Week 13

My visa was running out and needed to be extended. I had to go to town on Monday and arrange it all. However, due to a mix up with ICYE and some wrong information I was given, I could not complete it that day… so I decided to go and visit Jane at NCR office and then went to see the elephants again with June and Zanaya. As we got to the orphanage it started to rain a lot and neither of us had an umbrella. We had to wait for it to stop at least a little. Due to the rain the smaller elephants came back from the park earlier and were quite agitated. Nonetheless, we still had great time there. Because of the rain it was getting dark sooner and faster so we decided to leave earlier than usual to get back to town in good time… we managed to get a bus for very cheap fare so we were all quite happy. About 15 min into our journey the bus pulled out at the petrol station. Nobody said why and we just sat there for about 10 min… I thought we were getting petrol but soon we found out the the bus was not working properly and had to be fixed… nobody told us though how long it would take. When June looked out the window one of the mechanics told her that although we were there for 20 min already they have not started working on the bus yet and there were 3 cars in front of us… It wasn’t looking good and people started to get annoyed… June walked up to the front of the bus to find out whats going on and all of a sudden everyone followed and started getting off the bus. They all wanted to get their money back so they could catch another bus or a matatu and get to town. The conductor lady was not having that though. She argued with everyone and refused the refund. The mechanic did start to work on the bus though. We waited further 10 min and then started to move… It did not last very long – after about 5 metres we stopped again and were told that the bus would not be able to go anywhere… People were really angry by then – it is quite funny to listen to them argue in language I do not understand with an occasional English word thrown in… In the end we got half of our money back and had to walk for quite a while in the dark to get a matatu to town… probably not very safe for me – a mzungu (white person), June who is 18 and Zanaya, a 14 years old…
When we finally got to town and found a bus back home it started to rain and it took us absolute ages to get back home as the traffic was tremendous…

On Tuesday I went to Imani. When I arrived there I was asked to go to the Kenyatta Hospital to collect the abandoned babies from there. It was 7 of us going and we took the Imani bus… it was quite a lengthy process, it took ages and in the end, instead of bringing 10 babies with us we were only able to take 4 as someone at the hospital did not complete all of the paperwork… there were so many abandoned babies there though… all just lying there, naked and crying and not getting much attention at all… such a contrast to the babies that had parents and were on the other side of the room – they were all well looked after, dressed and their mothers coming to feed them… again, I got home really late as we didn’t leave the hospital until around 6pm and then were stuck in traffic again…

The following day I had to go to town again to get my visa… I managed to get it all done but again – very lengthy process, with fingerprints taken from all of my fingers etc… after I was done I met up with Wilson and his wife and we had lunch together :) then I met with Ena and we went to see the elephants. On the way back we were again joined by Steve – the keeper. If you had to travel in Nairobi after dark in remoter areas, you’d understand better why we were so happy to have company… Gladys – my friend, goes to university near by to where the orphanage is and she told me that one day she had to jump out from a moving matatu as they were trying to kidnap them – there was only 2 other people in the vehicle and the driver took a different route which is why they suspected that they were in danger… apparently it happens often… I guess I have been lucky so far… I am not writing this to worry anyone but I want you to realise that it is not easy living here, there are things happening every day and it is not a holiday for me. In fact I am in a great need of a holiday…

Things rarely go as planned here in Kenya – I am sure you realise what a trial that is for me… I love to plan and it takes a lot of energy to stay focused when people keep changing their mind.

Despite the money being stolen I still wanted to do sthg for the children which why I planned a day out for kids from Imani. As it was school holiday I wanted to take my class out for the whole day plus some other children – Imani have a big bus so I could take 35 children plus guardians… the plan was that we go on Wednesday but if you are reading this blog carefully you will notice that it did not happen – I was asked on Tuesday to change it for Friday… it took a bit of negotiating as I had 3 different places booked (elephant orphanage, giraffe centre and crocodile farm) but I managed to move it… then on Wednesday evening I was asked again to move it to Thursday which firstly was way too late too arrange and secondly very unprofessional. I hope you can imagine how frustrating it was for me – I was trying to do sthg nice for the kids and yet the management kept changing their mind. In the end we agreed that we leave the trip for Friday…

On Thursday it was Kate’s and Ena’s good bye lunch at Imani. We Went to Imani B for that which is located on the other side of Kayole. It was a really nice afternoon. After that I went back to Imani A to check which children are actually coming with me on the trip and was told that only 2 kids from my class are going to be there… instead I was told to take little babies – 2years old + !!! it was not what I had in mind at all and I was quite upset yet again that most of the children I wanted to take out were not allowed to come…

Despite all that I tried to stay open-minded and kept thinking that at least I can take some of the children out as they all will enjoy it… I was just wondering what the 2 years old would understand from that…

I arrived at Imani around 7.30 am on Friday morning to make sure everyone is ready for 9am. We left Kayole at around 9.15 am which is quite an achievement for Kenyan timing ;) on the way we picked up Kate and Ena whom I asked to help me look after the children on the day… We had a lot of fun that day… We spent the whole day out and I could see how much it benefited even the smaller children to be out and about. They were all scared of the elephants at first – especially when one of them went the wrong way and ended up in the middle of the children – they were screaming and running for their life… it was quite scary and at the same really hilarious… I could see they enjoyed Maalim much more since he is much closer to their size… We then went on to the giraffe centre… I could see kids really enjoying this experience – they watched a documentary and then were feeding the giraffes. We had picnic lunch there and they had their faces painted. From there we went to get ice-cream for everyone and then to Mamba Village to the crocodiles and ostriches. The braver ones got to touch and even hold a baby crocodile – I did too but was absolutely terrified… :) some of the kids also got a chance to ride a pony… it was a great day for all – they all looked really happy which was exactly what I wanted to achieve :)

From that children went back to Kayole whilst Kate, Ena and I went back to the elephants (only those that sponsor orphans are allowed to come in the evening – and now Kate and Ena are also sponsoring).

That evening the 3 of us went out to a cultural night at Carnivore with 2 of the keepers – Steve and Charles… it was a really good night – only 2nd time I was out since arriving in Kenya… we stayed the night (or whatever was left of it) at the hostel in town. It was less than £5 per person and we had to sleep in one bed (Ena, Kate and I that is…)

On Saturday we went to the market again – it was quite fun for me as I wasn’t really buying anything but I was helping Ena get better prices for what she wanted as I love bargaining and I know many people at market now too :)
After the market Ena and I went to stay the night with Jane (as Ena and Kate finished their volunteering they no longer could stay at the host family which made them kind of homeless; Kate was staying at another friend’s house and I asked Jane if Ena could come with me).

On Sunday we went to Don Bosco church again and after the mass we were selling the hot dogs again. :) We went back to Jane’s for lunch and then it was time to go back home as I promised Zack (my host brother) that we would go out that night to celebrate the fact that he just finished university and also it was the last weekend for Easterlina as she was flying back to the US on Tuesday… or so I thought…

It was a really great night – the 4 of us went out together for the 1st time (Zack, June, Easterlina and I). when we were on the bus on the way to town Esterlina told me that she is no longer going back to the US and she decided to stay in Kenya and look for a job. I didn’t believe it at first – it must have been a joke but later on I realised she was being serious… We were joined by 2 of Easterlina’s friends and had brilliant time. It wasn’t even a long night – we were home just after midnight. I really enjoyed it as after all the problems I have had it was nice to stop thinking about them for a while…

I have had a great time here but at the same time a lot of problems and stress that I would not want to bore you with… But it was a reason why I decided to take some time out and went to the coast following week…

Week 11 & 12

Week 11 & 12

I have survived the malaria but had to spend the entire week in bed. It was a terrible experience. My host family looked after me well though and I am so glad that I am staying with them. In fact, everyone that I have met in Kenya has been so great. I am very lucky to have so many friends here.

By Good Friday I felt better so went to church and then met up with Kate – we went to see the elephants together and since it was Easter we bought some treats for the keepers (biscuits, crisps, juices etc) – they are all doing a fantastic job at the orphanage and it is so clear that they love what they do so we wanted to do sthg nice for them :)
I really love going to visit the elephant orphanage, by now I know most of the keepers and it is really nice to talk to them and to learn more about what they do and elephants in general.

We stayed the night at Kate’s friends’ house – a very cute little cottage; it was so peaceful there – such a nice change from the loudness of Nairobi… It was the first girly night I had had since coming to Kenya so I really enjoyed it. It was also good to get out the house and not too tiring (malaria really drained me and even small activities made me very tired).

After a very lazy morning on Saturday I set off to town again, wanted to go to the market for an hour or so and then I was invited to stay with Jane & her husband and spent Easter there. I had a really good time – I really enjoy my visits to Jane’s, she always makes me feel like I am at home. We went to church together Saturday night. On Sunday we went to Don Bosco church, we stayed there quite some time and I was helping Jane sell the hotdogs to raise money for the church.

We had such good time that I decided to stay until Monday, instead of Sunday as originally planned. I met Jane’s brothers, we had a bbq for lunch and went for dinner to her sister’s. I should mention that the food was really delicious ;)

When I got back on Monday, I met my other host sister – Easterlina, who came back home on Friday evening from the US, where she’s studying. I was planning to go to Imani that afternoon but was told by Maria that the children weren’t there so I decided to stay at home. We watched movies with June the whole afternoon :) It was very nice as I always miss them when I go somewhere and don’t come back home for the night… They really are becoming my second family and I am not sure how I am going to be able to say bye to them when my time in Kenya is up.

On Tuesday I finally went to Imani and it was so great to see my children. I missed them so much and it was an amazing feeling when Chip run to give me a big hug as soon as he noticed me coming through the gate. And others followed. I spend the entire afternoon with the children and we studied quite a lot as I stayed the night there so didn’t have to rush home. I love revising with my class and it makes me really happy when they come to me and ask if we can go and study together.

I forgot to mention that all babies from my group graduated to the next one and I had no babies to look after… We were expecting more babies to arrive from Kenyatta Hospital but it was taking a little longer than originally planned.
The next morning I carried on revising with few other children, amongst them Yan, one of my favourite kids. In Kenya there are school holiday through out April which is why I could spend so much time with my class… normally I would not see them until around 6pm…

That afternoon I went to see the elephants again – now that I am getting closer and closer to leaving this beautiful country I want to use every opportunity to go to the orphanage. Kate and Ena came with me and we were really lucky that day – when we arrived there was no other visitors and only 3 more were expected. That meant we had Maalim (the baby rhino) all to ourselves – we played with him, took turns to feed him and got lots of great photos. When we were leaving, Steve – one of the keepers – was also going to town so we all went together which was great for us as it was getting dark so it was much safer with male escort :)

I woke up on Thursday morning quite early feeling really sick – very similar way I felt that Saturday in town when I got sick with malaria. I wasn’t even able to get out of bed… It was very frustrating as I did not want to spend another day at home…

Unfortunately it wasn’t the only bad thing that happened that day. As I wasn’t feeling any better as the hours went by I decided I need to go to see a doctor again, I didn’t have any cash on me to pay for the appointment so had to go the ATM. Before I left the house I decided to check my account quickly as on two odd occasion my card was declided when I tried withdrawing money. When I logged in to my account I almost fainted as it was no only empty but heavily overdrawn and there were many transactions that I did not recognise… in total someone has taken over £2000 out of my account… I had no money left at all…

I cant really describe how I felt at the time, but when I finally calmed down I called the bank to let them know what happened. They stopped my card and told me that the only thing that they can do is to send me a new card to my home address along with some forms to fill in so they can investigate what happened. When I asked what I should do in the meantime whilst I am in Kenya, I was told that there is nothing that they can do…

The only nice thing that happened that day was that Gladys – a girl that also volunteers at Imani (she is from Nairobi though) – heard that I wasn’t well and she came to visit and make sure that I am ok :)

I called ICYE office in Kenya and they lent me some money so I could go to the doctor the next day, so on Friday morning I went to the clinic but I was told that it is probably just a fever… got some tablets and set off to town to report the incident to the police.
This was an experience in itself… My insurer requires that the incident is reported to the police within 24 hrs and the police in Kenya takes ages. As I couldn’t go there on Thursday as I was sick and didn’t have any money on me, I only had Friday afternoon. But there were many people at the station and I had to almost beg someone to take my statement without waiting for my turn. When I finally got to speak to someone they couldn’t understand what I was trying to tell them – it was like they did not believe me that the money was actually missing and were asking me how it was possible!!!

In the end they wrote the details down on the piece of paper, gave me the reference number and said that they would update the records in their book. So now I have no clue what they actually wrote but before I go home I need to get the copy of that – I guess it will be interesting to find out…

After that I went to see Jane and Wilson at NCR as they were really concerned about me and wanted to find out what exactly happened. They are really great friends.
As part of the money that was stolen (£1200) was what I collected for the project, it meant I wouldn’t be able to do what I planned. I spoke to ICYE in the UK about this and they agreed to lend me £500 which I wanted to use for the children from Imani on a day out that I promised them and for another children’s home as I wanted to do a party for them – there are 170 children there and that home doesn’t get much funding so I wanted to organise sthg fun so kids could enjoy it. The remaining £800 I wanted to use to buy new beds for the babies but now it will have to wait until I can get the money back from the bank (I really do hope that I can get it back).

I was so drained from all that happened that again I had no energy for anything and had to spend the whole weekend at home. I find it very frustrating as I hate doing nothing and it felt like I wasting time. I guess though it was pretty unlikely that all 16 weeks would go as I planned… It is just another challenge for me…

Week 9 & 10

Seems like I haven’t written anything in ages… since the week of my night shifts at Imani… It was quite an experience and I am glad I was working with Maria. Normally there is only 1 person on the night duty for the baby house. The 1st night went quite well, we followed the routine and the babies slept peacefully. We had few snacks (i.e. bread with jam and cookies) to keep us going.

When I went home in the morning and showered (it is unbelievable how much dust there is everywhere so showering often is a must). I then slept for about 6 hours and it was almost time to go to Imani again.

I did 5 night shifts and they all followed very similar pattern. The night shift runs from 6pm till 6.30am… as I was doing the class with older children each day until around 10pm, I was joining Maria just after she finished feeding the youngest group.

The routine was same every day – Maria would feed the little babies whilst I was doing the homework with the children and then we would feed the older group porridge, change the nappies and the bed sheets. Then around 1 hr break if the babies were sleeping. Then at 12.30am time to feed the youngest group again and also change nappies. Then tidy up, wash the cups and a little break until 4.30am… and again feeding the little babies… before finishing the shift we also need to boil 2 large pots of water for the day of making milk for youngest babies and also for the sugary water that is given to all babies… boiling of water is done in the kitchen outside on the wood fired stoves… it is not the most pleasant of jobs as it is still dark outside, very smoky in the “kitchen”, the pots are really large and dirty from the fire on the outside… we also wipe-wash all the babies and change their clothes to make them ready for the day…

I was quite lucky after my 1st night shift when I slept 6hrs during the day but not so lucky for the other 4 when I could not sleep longer than 1 or 2 hrs for some reason. You can just imagine how much coffee I drunk as a result…

After my nightshift on Thursday, on Friday morning, I went home only to pick up my backpack as I was going with Ena to Eldoret to visit Lewa Children’s Home – I met Phyllis, the founder of the home while I was still in London, in December last year. I have been donating money for that home for quite some time and wanted to see what it was like.

I met Ena in town and we set off to find transport for our trip. It was an experience in itself. As we arrived at the Easy Coach ticket office we found out that they only operate 2 runs a day to Eldoret – 1 in the morning that we missed and 1 in the evening that it wasn’t much good to us… we then decided to walk to another bus station where we previously saw busses to Eldoret.

As we got closer, we were approached by a man who just insisted that he would show us where to get the bus from and it did not matter that we weren’t interested. He walked with us and in some way it proved quite helpful as he kept telling others to leave us alone. However, as we got closer to the coaches for Eldoret it got quite manic as everyone started to fight about which coach we should get on and who should get the commission from our tickets (!!!). After a short debate we picked a coach that looked like it could make the whole journey, we purchased the tickets and picked our seats… then we realised that seatbelts were not working and with crazy drivers here it was quite an issue. Luckily, a very helpful man that sat behind us helped us to get them to work. We were all set; all we needed to do is to wait for the departure. It wasn’t long and we were moving. But here another problem arose – the coach seemed to have broken down (after moving sthg like 20m only!). We were all told to get off and move to another coach. We got to our seats and surprise surprise the seatbelts were not working… and this time we could not fix them. I asked if we could move to another seat but was told that they were reserved for staff… at the same time the coach was only half full, I’m not too sure what happened to the rest of the people but we had to wait for the coach to fill up again. And during that time there were many people trying to sell anything from hot sausages to padlocks coming into the coach and trying to pass one another… quite amusing actually but after over 1 hr also irritating…

I did manage to secure the “staff” seats for us though so we had working seatbelts in the end and a much better view :) We were finally on our way – it is about 300 km and the journey takes around 5 hrs but we had a stop half way at a petrol station which was good if you needed a toilet or a cold drink (as it was really hot) but then we stopped again in Nakuru to get more passengers and again – more people trying to sell us stuff. We even had 2 preachers on the coach (before and after Nakuru) – they got on, talk (or shouted rather) for around 20 min, collected some money and then got off waiting for another coach I believe… it wasn’t very pleasant as they both chose to stand next to us even though we could not understand a word of what they were saying… it gave me a headache but at least they did not ask us for money ;)

We reached Eldoret when it was already dark. Then we were delayed even further as there was a huge traffic jam – as it turned out we just missed the Kenyan president visiting Eldoret for an army parade of some sort…

We had to take a taxi (it is very unsafe to take a matatu after dark as you can get robbed or the whole vehicle could be kidnapped) and drive around the traffic in the fields; it was quite scary to be honest…

We arrived at Lewa home really late so only had time for supper and a brief chat with Phyllis but already we could see what amazing work she’s been doing there.

We originally planned to stay in Eldoret until Monday but loved the place so much that decided to add one extra day to our trip. We spent the whole time at the home with children apart from Saturday when we went with Phyllis to town to get some things for the children.

During our stay we played with the younger children and babies as the older group was still at boarding school. We saw the farm and on Monday morning went to the Kip Keino School. We were there during the assembly and then stayed for quite some time with the nursery class. The school and the home are run really efficiently – everything is so well organised and the children seem so happy. They all look well and there is a lot of focus on their education. Unlike at Imani, children at Lewa home don’t really do any chores but study and play a lot. At Imani for example, the children don’t start their homework until around 7.30pm and they don’t go to sleep until 10pm, whilst at Lewa they are in bed by 8pm to ensure that they get enough rest.

On Monday I did not feel too well so spent most of the day resting which was very frustrating for me as it seemed like such a waste of time…

On Tuesday morning we walked (or actually run most of the journey as the kids found it very funny… ;) with the nursery class to school and said our goodbyes to the children. It was time to go back to Nairobi… I missed my kids so much though that I was glad to be going back. I love them all now so much – there are so many characters in my class as well as in the baby house…

The journey back was much better as we took a smaller bus (a better version of matatu) so there was only one stop, no preachers and nobody selling stuff :)

I was back at Imani on Wednesday and that night I spent at Maria’s house in Kayole as I have not seen here for what seemed ages – we needed to catch up, there was a lot to talk about after my trip :)

The following day I did the morning shift and, as it was Kate’s birthday, we went to town for some b’day cake and coffee with girls. It was really nice to get together outside of work and chat a little. After we drank enough coffee we went to visit the elephants and Kate now also sponsors one :) it was a very good day and we were hoping to repeat it on Saturday.

On Friday when I came to Imani I found out that all of my babies were moved to the older group as we were expecting more babies to arrive from the hospital (between 10 – 15 babies)… I spent the afternoon revising maths and English with Chip. The rest of the children that I study with went to a birthday party.

Saturday morning I set out to go to the city where I was supposed to meet Kate, go to the market and then go to see the elephants with Ena as she also wanted to sponsor one… since the morning I wasn’t feeling too good though but I didn’t think too much of it… I arrived in the city and waited for Kate. We had a coffee but as were leaving I started to feel worse. I could barely walk up the stairs. I still thought it is just sthg minor but decided to go to the chemist to get some advice.

I then found out that I had all symptoms of malaria. I couldn’t even manage to stand there and listen to what the pharmacist was saying; luckily Kate was with me(if you are reading this Kate - thanks so much for taking care of me, I really appreciate it)... To cut the story short, I had to take a taxi (!) – I know, seems like such a luxury – to get home as I could not face a journey on a crazy matatu. I got home and had to stay in bed since… what a waste of time…!

I guess I shouldn’t have ignored the 30 mosquito bites on my leg after one of the night shifts at Imani… especially when I wasn’t feeling well in Eldoret… I think it was starting then but I just did not want to slow down… I was planning to go and get tested for malaria after I get back from Eldoret but I quickly forgot about it… there is always so much to do… well, it finally got me…

I do have anti-malaria tablets with me but they are like antibiotics and if you take them every day you must stay away from the sun which is quite impossible in Africa, where the sun is shining all the time! Therefore I have not been taking any... Also - there is very low risk of malaria in Nairobi... :)

If I live, you will have another update soon ;) only joking… ;)

Week 8

Last week was quite busy again whilst I was recovering from the trip to Nyeri. Straight away on Monday I was staying the night at Imani so I could do the class in the evening. This has become my favourite job – the children are just great and I love spending my time with them. They are all so different – some really quiet and few really cheeky :) When the kids from my class arrived home after school they all run to me to say hi and give me a hug which was quite amazing – it was actually great to see that they missed me (I hadn’t seen them since class on Wednesday the previous week).

I did the class again on Wednesday so on Thursday I could do the morning shift and have the afternoon free as I had many things planned. We went with Ena to town and met with Hope – another volunteer that used to come to Imani but now she started the university in Nairobi. We met at Java Coffee House which has become our favourite place to get a coffee and desserts :) it seems like we always have an excuse why we should go there and now even the waitresses recognise us :)

Then we went to see the elephants again – it seems like I cannot stay away from that place, have been there so many times already and still plan to go even more often as I don’t have that much time left here… I have no clue how I am going to go back to London and live this life behind…

The elephants we really cute and this time I even got a chance to feed the 3 year old rhino! Kimana is getting used to me now as well and comes close every time I visit which is great. I know most of the keepers now as well, it is now to be recognised when I go there :) We spent over an hour there and then was time to get a matatu to the Carnivore Restaurant when one of our friend (another volunteer) was performing with her boyfriend’s band. But before that we needed to walk back about 1 km to main road, change or clothes and clean ourselves up a bit from the dust… it was quite funny actually getting change in a toilet of national park and then having the guards looking at us strangely… ;)

It was a very nice evening during which we had a really nice dinner with lots of meat including crocodile and ostrich! To be completely honest I didn’t really like the crocodile meat – it was like a cross between salty chicken and fish, and quite chewy… but I had to try it :)
It was after 11pm when we left and we had to take a taxi as it is very unsafe to travel on public transport after dark, especially for 2 female “mzungus”… taxis are quite pricey in Nairobi but as we were sharing the cost it was still reasonable – and of course I bargained with the driver and managed to get slightly cheaper price :) Ena stayed the night at my host family.

On Saturday I was going to the city again – I really like Saturdays because of the maasai market :) but first I met up with Kate and Ena – at Java House of course ;) this time I was actually quite healthy and had fruit salad and strawberry juice instead of my usual cake and coffee ;) then it was time for the market – I spent over 2 hrs there and bought quite few nice things. I had t make sure I visit all my “friends” and buy sthg from there – it is quite funny that even at the market people also recognise me, but in the other hand I am there at least every 2 weeks (and I am white) so they had time to remember me :)

I met with Wilson and his family at around 3.30pm and we went to the National Park for a Safari walk – we saw a leopard, lions, a cheetah, a rhino, baby hippos, hyenas and other African animals – it was a really nice way of spending the afternoon. Then we went to see the elephants – yes, I went to see them again just 2 days after my last visit. I think kids really enjoyed it though as they had never been there before.

On the way to Wilson’s house we had a surprise stopover for dinner which was a lovely end to the day.

I stayed the night at Wilson’s house and the next morning we went to church together. But a church as I know it – it was a Baptist church and we stayed there 3 hrs… (!) I guess it was yet another experience for me :)

After lunch it was time for me to go to Kayole and do the class with the kids. I was also starting the week of night shifts which might sound quite daunting but in fact I asked to do it as it will unable me to do the classes every day. I just come in the evening, do the class, then the night shift with babies and then go home to sleep… and of course I will be working with Maria which makes it all much nicer and easier :) I wouldn’t really want to do it with anyone else…

So wish me luck – I have never worked through the night before :)

Week 7

Last week didn’t start too well for me as on Monday my little Mary was returned to her mother. As you might think this is a really good turn of events, I am not too sure about this. Mainly because that meant that she was going back to live in a slum… there is also a selfish reason behind my sadness – she was my favourite baby in Imani, I could spend all my time playing with her and looking after her, everyone knew that looking after Mary should be left to me. What made the situation even more difficult was how quickly it happened – one minute I was feeding her and getting her ready to sleep and the next minute I had to get her ready to leave the home… it all happened so fast… I knew that she would be going back home one day but it was not supposed to happen so soon. I was very sad that night… and the day after… and still miss her a lot. Hopefully I will get a chance to go and see her with the social worker before my time in Kenya is up.

I arrived back at Imani on Tuesday afternoon to find out that 2 of my babies – Ben and Michelle – were moved to older group. So within 24 hrs I lost 3 babies… :( there are now 8 babies in my group. It seems so few, even though there were 8 babies when I first arrived at Imani. I got used to having a larger group.

As per my routine, I stayed the night at Imani on Tuesday and did the class – the children were so great, we have really bonded now and I love spending time with them. We always have a lot of fun, even though they are doing their homework.

As a volunteer, I am entitled to 2 days off per month. This week I decided to use the 2 days I had from February for a trip to Nyeri (about 2 hrs away from Nairobi) to visit another children’s home. I went with another volunteer from Imani – Ena.

The journey takes about 2 hrs by matatu and is quite cheap - around £2 each way... Before reaching our destination we had a brief stopover at the "banana people" as we called it with Ena. It was a very strange experience - we stopped without prior warning by the roadside and very quickly we were approached by many people carrying lots of bananas and other fruits trying to sell them to the travelers. But what was so unusual about it was the fact that they started opening the windows of the van and completely covered the vehicle - it was really dark inside and all you could see were the hands with bananas clawing their way inside the van... very strange indeed ;)


We arrived in Nyeri on Thursday afternoon and were met by Nina – the lady from Norway who started the home few years ago. We then found out that the home isn’t actually located in Nyeri but around 30 km away, in a very rural area. Before travelling to the home we had some lunch at s local café (it was the first time that I had Kenyan food in a café – normally I eat at home or Imani). It was very nice and cost £0.90 including a drink… ;)
After lunch we went to the used clothes market and helped Nina choose clothes for the children.

Because of all the shopping we had to take a taxi to the home (you cannot really use matatus if you are carrying a lot of things). On the way we were told that the home is in very rural area and that you cannot even access it by car. We were therefore dropped off in the middle of the field where the children from the home met us and completed last part of the journey on foot (around 15 minutes walk).

Everything about this home was different. There were only 19 children, the living conditions completely different to what we have in Nairobi (you cannot even compare it to what it is like in the UK), there was no electricity and the generator was only switched on for about 90 minutes every day ( from 7pm to 8.30pm – just enough time to pump the water to the tank). As you guessed there was no TV or radio, not even a fridge.

The first night there was quite challenging – we were staying in a wooden hut (not sure how to describe it exactly) that apart from two bunk beds and chest of drawers had nothing else in it. And it was triple bunk beds – therefore it felt quite claustrophobic - we were joking that it felt like going to sleep in a cave ;)
We were given a materace and 2 blankets each so we thought we’d use one blanket as a pillow and one to cover ourselves. Very soon, as the night approached, we were forced to change our mind – we realised that it was going to be quite cold. We decided to also put on socks and a jumper. Despite all this, I woke up around 1am completely frozen… it was very hard to go back to sleep, I could not warm up…

The following morning we got up early hoping to get a good view of Mount Kenya and the sunrise but unfortunately it was very cloudy. After breakfast we were asked to assist with the classes for the 6 youngest children who get schooled within the home as the teacher had to go to the hospital with one of the boys. I really enjoyed this part, I think children did too. We did some maths and English exercises. In a break we played football. We finished the class when it was time for lunch.

By that time it was really nice and warm, so we decided to have a shower. But – there was no hot water! Actually the water was freezing cold as it was pumped from deep under ground. So having a shower was a whole new experience for me (I am quite lucky to have hot water at home therefore the only place where I have experience the cold shower was Malindi but it was so hot there that it was actually pleasant :) and the water was heated by the sun whilst in the tank that it wasn’t really that cold).

In the evening we gave the children the presents that we brought with us – the sweets, crisps, crayons, pens, pencils and drawing paper. They were drawing and singing for us – it was really lovely – everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves, we even danced a little :)

Then it was time to switch off the generator and go to sleep… another cold night. We did learn from the previous night and this time I put on 3 pairs of socks, trousers over my pyjamas, 2 tops and a jumper… and guess what? I was still freezing at night! But despite the coldness, the nights were great – the sky was beautiful, there were so many stars! And it was so peaceful and quiet – such a change from Nairobi.


On Saturday morning we left early to go to Aberdare National Park. It was a great day. As soon as we entered the park we saw quite few buffalos. But we really wanted to find the elephants. We spent most of the morning listening out for the sounds of the crashed branches but we only heard it from quite far coming from the bamboo forest – we saw none. We then decided to drive and see the waterfalls first and carry on our search for the elephants afterwards.

We first saw the Chania fall – it was really beautiful and although the water at the bottom of it was freezing cold I really wished I had my swimsuit with me – it would have been great to stand under it. It was so pretty there that it took us quite a while to leave.

We then drove to the Karura Falls. On the way we saw a couple of bushbacks and waterbucks as well as the warthogs. The Karura Falls were amazing but you can only view it from the top – it has 3 parts but they are no accessible… From there we could also see the Gura Falls – the views around were just spectacular.

On the way back we carried on our quest to find the elephants. But it was harder than we expected. We also got a puncture so had to change a wheel in the middle of the park. Luckily there were no lions nearby… ;)

We drove for quite a while and during that time we saw the yellow baboon, the wild pig and the black and white monkey. The some more baboon and finally we spotted the elephant! It was only one but he posed so well for us to take photos ;) it was standing just by the road and we even got out the car to see it better – the elephant didn’t seem to mind :) we were very happy – finally we found the elephant in the wild! After the elephant decided to wonder off into the bushes, we went to the viewpoint to take few last photos before returning to the home. But when we arrived there, we saw a lonely buffalo resting in the middle of the camping area so there was no chance to get the photos of the view; instead, we got out the car very slowly (I know, it probably wasn’t very advisable move but we couldn’t resist) and took the photos of the buffalo instead :)

We were going back home very happy but before we even left the park we got another puncture! So I guess it was not a good day for our driver… but to be completely honest, I think it was totally his fault as he was driving very fast despite the rocks on the road. And even when we were driving with punctured wheel, he did not slow down…

When we returned home we played with the children before they went to sleep. Then we got ready for another freezing night. I put on one extra long sleeve top and slept with my hood on – it was a little better this time.

On Sunday we finally got the morning we hoped for – without too many clouds, with beautiful sunrise and good view of Mount Kenya so we run to the fields to take some photos. We then packed and tried to work out what was the best way of getting back to Nairobi – we did not want to pay for the taxi to get to Nyeri, it was 3 times the price of ticket from Nyeri to Nairobi… so we thought we get a taxi to nearby village and try to get the Nairobi matatu from there but it seemed all taxi drivers Nina had numbers for were at the church. So we had to wait… but then Nina suggested that we walk to another village nearby and get the matatu to Nyeri and then another one from there to Nairobi. She asked some old man to show us the way as he was going towards that village and we set off – it was just after 11am. We were told it would take about 20 minutes to walk there… so we walked and walked, and walked… and we were still in the middle of fields with nothing else around us… we asked the man how much longer we needed to go and he said “about 20 minutes”! but we already walked for about 20 minuets… we then realised that Kenyan 20 minuets could range from 20 to maybe 90 minutes… ;) so we carried on our walk (in the full sun, with the backpacks!). in the meantime the man reached his destination – so he pointed in which direction we should carry on and left us to it… so we walked and walked, and walked… and finally we reached sthg that looked like the “shopping centre” Nina was talking about – it was a little village with a church and few tiny kiosks… we were totally exhausted but were told by the locals that the matatus haven’t passed that way yet so we haven’t missed any – we just needed to wait. So we waited for quite a while attracting quite a bit of attention – especially from the children – we were the only 2 “mzungus” (white people) there… some adults were asking whether we were lost ;) then the matatu came but it was going the opposite way. However, after talking with the conductor we were told it was better if we went with them rather than waiting for them to come back as it might be full then… we were also told that the round would take about half an hour – so we decided to get on. 2hrs later we finally were back at the same spot finally on our way to Nyeri (the matatu went round and round neighbouring villages trying to find more people that wanted to go to Nyeri). We were so fed up by then… we finally reached Nyeri at 4 pm (it took us 5 hrs!!!), we got some food, found a matatu for Nairobi and shortly were on our way… luckily there wasn’t any traffic really and within 2.5 hrs we were in Nairobi – totally shuttered. When I finally got the bus to Doonholm (where I am staying with my host family), I could barely move… I arrived at home at 7.30pm, had some food and went to sleep as the following day it was time for afternoon shift at Imani, my class and overnight stay there… so I had to recharge my batteries really fast!

It was a great week though but I hope I don’t have to do the 6km walk in the full sun again :)

Week 6

It has been an interesting week in Kenya. It started really well; I spent the whole Saturday (28th of Feb) with my host-sister – June. We went to Nairobi and had really great time at the Maasai Market (I have become an expert at bargaining) – I really love this place, you can find so many interesting things here and all so cheap if you know how to haggle :)
We got few nice things – mainly beads (earrings, necklaces etc…)
After the market and a little rest over a cup of coffee and a huge ice-cream :) we went to visit the elephants. And it was a really great experience again as this time I actually got to hug Kimana (the one that I sponsor) and Ndii (who shares the pen with Kimana). We also saw again the little baby Rhino which was 2 months old (every time I see him, he looks bigger – you wouldn’t believe how much it changes just within 2 weeks…). We actually had some time to play with him and stroke him which he definitely enjoyed :)
I already cannot wait for the next visit in a couple of weeks.

Also on Saturday my host brother Zanaya – came back from boarding school for half term. However – the half term in Kenya is only 3 days…

On Sunday, as usual, I went to Imani to do the homework with children. Unfortunately I was told that they weren’t there as they went to Imani B. so instead I played with my little Mary and the other children. After that I went to visit Maria before she needed to leave to come to Imani for the night shift.

On Monday I did my usual afrternoon shift but this time I also did the class in the evening. As Maria was doing the night shifts whole week I could not stay at her house and instead slept at Imani. But I didn’t go to sleep until after 1am - I did the homework with older children until 9.30pm and then was helping to feed and change the babies. There normally is only one person on the night shift at the baby house and therefore a lot of work as 2 groups of children need to be fed at night – the 11 that I work with and the slightly older group in which are also around 10 babies.

The next morning I needed to be up before 6.30am to do the morning shift but because the children get up at 5am at Imani, this was also the time I woke up.
That day the doctor came to Imani so I took Mary to see him as she wasn’t well. As I have been spending a lot of time with her, I was able to give the doctor a lot of information about how she was in the previous days. She was then given some antibiotics and need to have some test done.
After Imani I went with Maria to see a friend, who is a taylor and promised to make me an African dress :) from there we (Maria and I) went to Nairobi for coffee and cake :)
We very rarely get time together outside work so it was very nice for both of us even though we didn’t have much time at all as Maria had to get back to Kayole in time for her night shift… :)

I went to work on Wednesday for the afternoon shift again, after having spent the whole morning hand-washing my clothes – if you can believe that ;) This time I was supposed to do the class, stay the night at Imani and leave early on Thursday morning (around 7 am when it is not dark anymore) and get ready for my trip to Nyeri (to visit another home) that day. However, when I was almost finished with the class, I got the txt msg from my host-mum Jane saying that there will be a Mungiki strike the following day and that I should check with Faith or Maria before leaving home as it might be too dangerous to travel. I didn’t really have a clue what “Mungiki” was but straight away I spoke to Faith about it and she confirmed with the police that there was a strike planned for Thursday and therefore it will not be safe in Kayole. As it was already after 10pm I could not go back home so had to stay there until it was safe to travel back home. It was quite clear that the trip would have to be postponed to at least Friday. Indeed, the volunteers were warned not to come to work on Thursday in case of trouble in Kayole. But I was already there…! I just hoped for the best and carried on working with Maria feeding babies. That night I spent with my little Mary – she was so sweet and slept well despite of not being too well. I went to sleep really late that night again – and I didn’t sleep well as I was checking on Mary to make sure she was ok. I don’t think I got more than 4 hours sleep. And was up again at 6am.

Kayole seemed so quiet – there were no matatus as they were fearing the Mungiki. I guess now I should probably explain what Mungiki is…
According to Wikipedia “Mungiki is a politico-religious group and a banned criminal organization in Kenya. The name means "A united people" or "multitude" in the Kikuyu language.[2] The religion, which apparently originated in the late 1980s, is secretive and bears some similarity to mystery religions. Specifics of their origin and doctrines are unclear. What is clear is that they favor a return to indigenous African traditions and reject Westernisation and all trappings of colonialism. This includes rejection of Christianity, and the practice by the Mungiki of forced female genital cutting. The ideology of the group is characterised by revolutionary rhetoric, Kikuyu traditions, and a disdain for Kenyan modernization, which is seen as immoral corruption.[3] Mungiki is often referred to as Kenya’s Cosa Nostra, Yakuza, or Kenyan Mafia due to its organization.”

From what I was told, when there is a Mungiki strike they mainly attack the matatus as it is an easy way to paralyse Nairobi and other cities as people are fearing to take the matatus and therefore are unable to get to work.
As I wrote in my previous blog – the matatus are very loud, they tend to use their horn a lot and these are much louder than in normal cars. When I stay in Kayole with Maria I cannot sleep from around 4am when they start appearing on the streets collecting people who need to get to Nairobi and other places…
But on Thursday it was very quiet – no matatu noise at all, I think the last time I heard any was around 3.30am… I was wondering how I was gonna get home.

I stayed at Imani until about 11am and then was dropped home by Faith as she was going to the hospital in Nairobi (Doonholm where I am staying is on the way).

We obviously did not go to Nyeri on Thursday which was just as well as I wasn’t even packed :) but the plan was to go the following morning. So I got home and tried to rest a bit – so many nights of very little sleep made me feel really light-headed… but before trying to have a nap we decided to go for a walk with June to get some fruits. When I got home I finally went to sleep for about 2 hours. Then it was time to pack for the trip. I went to sleep still very tired and set my alarm for 6.30am…

I left home around 7.45 am on Friday and after a short delay due to heavy traffic got a matatu to Nairobi. However, on the way I got a msg from ICYE office that we should not go to work or town again as the strike wasn’t over… as I was on the way to Nairobi already, and so was Ena – the girl I was going with, I decided to get to town first and then decide what to do.

When I got to Nairobi and met up with Ena and her friend, after a lot of deliberation and advice from 3 different people we decided to postpone the trip to the following week. But as we were in Nairobi already we wanted to visit Kate – another volunteer, who had been in hospital the whole week. I left my bag at NCR office (thank you Jane :) and we set off. But before we went to the hospital we’d gone to Java House for breakfast (we had amazing banana pancakes and some fresh juice to keep it healthy ;)

As I didn’t go to Nyeri, and it looked like I’d have weekend at home, I was invited to Wilson’s daughter’s birthday party on Saturday – she was turning 4 :)

I got home totally exhausted and surprised everyone as they thought that by that time I was already enjoying my time in Nyeri :)

The next morning – on Saturday – I left home really early again and set off for Nairobi. I was supposed to meet Wilson at 10am and had quite few things to do, one of them was to visit the Maasai market. But first I need to find a present for Lynn which I managed to do quite quickly. I then set off to another shop in which I saw a really lovely African dress in my first week in Kenya – I could not stop thinking about it since then and therefore finally decided to buy. It was a pleasant surprise when I found out that the dress was reduced in price!
From there I set off for the Maasai Market, which I now love so much. Can you believe that some of the people there actually recignise me now and I need to stop for a little chat?? :)
I bought a few things and luckily Wilson was running a little late so I didn’t need to rush my favourite activity – the bargaining :)

When I met with Wilson we set of for the party. It was a joint party for 3 children from the Bible club and as you can imagine – there were many children, just under 30 I think… the party was in a very nice place, with a swimming pool, so the kids had a great time :) the Birthday Girl - Lynn seemed to have really enjoyed herself :)

We got to Wilson’s house in the evening. I didn’t even plan to spend the night there and had no change of clothes but Beatrice was so nice and she arranged for everything that I needed (it is quite amazing how lovely everyone is to me – I feel at home no matter where I am). We had a very nice dinner and shortly after that I went to sleep. The following morning, yet again, I needed to be up early as I had to get back home by 9.30am.

When I got home, I only had time for a shower and the lady that was picking me up at 10am was there. We were going to visit the home which she started many years ago from her own house. It is called “Motherly Care” and based in Ruai – you can visit their web site http://www.motherlycare.org/

As soon as we got there I could see that they do not get as much funding as Imani – everything is much simpler there… the children don’t even have a dining room and have to eat ouside. The sleeping facilities are not great either as all of the children need to share beds, 2 or 3 in one bed… the classrooms need painting, the kitchen could do with a gas stove (at the moment there are only 2 wood fired “things” – like a placement where u put a large pot with a fire underneath…), they need to built another floor on one of the buildings and also recently they managed to purchase some more land next to the home so now need a lot of money to build more facilities. The children are schooled within the home due to big difference in ages and also normally when the child arrives at home, no matter what age, they wouldn’t have been going to school. So the education needs to start from the basic, i.e. teaching to read and write…

Despite all those difficulties though the children seem really happy and well looked after. They were singing for us and it was so nice to see so many smiling faces.

I now want to think of some ways how I can help them. They are quite far from where I live and I could not get there on public transport. I don’t want to spend at least another day or two there to learn how the home is run in more detail.

Straight from Ruai I went to Kayole for my usual Sunday class at Imani. Now the children are used to me it just gets better and better. Can you believe that they are actually asking me to give them some extra work if they have no homework to do?? Seems like my students are really enjoying doing maths exercises :)

Again – I came back home so tired, but also very happy that I managed to do everything I planned for the day :) I love spending my time with children and really enjoy the classes, especially on Sundays.

Lets hope my trip to Nyeri will not have to be postponed again :)

Week 5

After a slight delay here is my update from week 5 in Kenya.
In this blog I would like to give you a better insight on driving and public transport in Kenya…

As I mentioned before the main way of travelling in Kenya is on MATATU. There are many different types of matatu – they vary in size an style. The three main ones are:
• Plain 14-seater mini-vans
• Completely covered by graffiti mini-vans
• The big matatus that can fit around 30 people, also covered in graffiti

They all share few characteristics though – all of them play very loud music, they come and go as they please, change the route without any warning (even if you ask before boarding if they go the route you need, it might change anyway), they have very loud conductors and crazy drivers. It is very common for the matatu to drive on the side of the road (what would have been a hard shoulder but in Kenya is just dust…) just to get ahead of the traffic – yes, I have learned that Kenyans do not like to sit in traffic. Very often to get extra few shillings for the additional traveller, the conductor gives up his seat and hangs on the side of the vehicle! Or they tell u to take their seat which is just next to the sliding door of the van but when its time to move they also try to fit on that seat whilst trying to get the door closed… I guess is one of those experiences that you have to see to fully understand the craziness of it :) I have got used to them though and have no problems travelling on the matatu. I did however once ended up in Nairobi instead of Doonholm where I am staying – it was my 2nd trip on my own back from Imani and the matatu driver decided to change the route. At that time I didn’t know my route very well at all so I did not notice that we were going a different way and by the time I realised I was nowhere near home it was already too late to get off so I stayed until the end and came back on the same vehicle. I did speak to the driver though who did actually seem quite sorry for making me come all the way to Nairobi but at least he didn’t charge me for the travelling back to Doonholm :) it was very interesting experience and I was lucky that it happened during the day not after the afternoon shift as I would have to travel after dark and it is not safe… since that incident I have learnt exactly where I need to get off the matatu depending on which route they take – sometimes it just means that I have to walk much further… and here it is where you might get really surprised – I have actually been doing quite a lot of walking ;)

The other thing about getting around in Kenya, especially in Nairobi, is the amount of traffic – each day in Nairobi there are 3 million people… and the driving habbits are unbelievable. For example, I do not know why there are traffic lights here – nobody ever looks at them – people drive as they please whether the light is green or red so it is quite a mission trying to cross the road when you are walking.
There are actually very often policemen at the junctions directing the traffic – and on most of roundabouts – and even they don’t follow the traffic lights.

I am really wondering how I managed to survive all this time unhurt :)

Week 4

Its been 1 month now since I left home and I have really settled here now :) my host family is so welcoming and lovely – they make me feel like I am really at home. My host mum – Jane says that I am like a Kenyan now :) I eat everything that they make and I am getting darker and darker every day (mostly my face and arms… ;) We get along really well and can spend hours talking – I no longer sleep as much as I used to – there is far too many things to do and I don’t want to waste my time here sleeping…

I have worked out quite a nice routine for myself:
On Mondays I go to Imani for 12.30 and work until 6.30pm (it gets dark around 7pm and it takes me about an hour to get home which is why I cannot stay longer – it is not safe for me to travel home after dark… and also the matatus – you never really know which route they are going to take – even if you ask them they tend to change their mind and sometimes I have to walk quite a distance to get home… but sometimes I get lucky and the matatu goes past my house… its like a lottery! ;)

On Tuesdays I also go for the afternoon shift but I don’t come back home for the night. I stay to work with older children and help them with homework until around 9pm after which time I walk with my “sister” Maria to her home where I spend the night. I really like to do that as I enjoy working with older children and when we get to Maria’s we also have some time to talk :)

On Wednesdays we have an early start as Maria needs to be at Imani by 6.30am so we get up at 5.30 (it is really dark outside until about 6.45am…) but to be honest I normally cannot sleep from about 4am as the matatus are already on the road making A LOT of noise and also some of the people that cannot afford public transport leave their homes around 4.30am to walk on foot all the way to Nairobi to get to work for 7am…
I stay at Imani until around 2.30pm, sometimes longer… then go home to spend some time with my host sister June – who is just great :) actually June now also started to volunteer at Imani so very often we travel to Kayole together for the afternoon shift.

Thursdays are very similar to Tuesdays as I also stay longer to do the class and spend the night at Maria’s which in turn means the early start on Fridays :)

Saturdays at the moment I have kept for myself so I can get a chance to go to Nairobi either to go to see my elephant, to look around the Maasai Market etc…

I have now also started to go to Imani on Sundays now – only for 2-3 hours in the afternoon to again spend some time with older children revising – mainly maths but I also check their English homework… I really like the Sundays’ afternoons. The mornings are normally spent at home with my host family as my host brother comes home from university for weekends and we all love to talk.

Last week my routine was quite disrupted though, as on Wednesday night I went to visit the Imani home in Malindi. We went on the night coach – around 9 hours journey, out of which 2 hrs were very rough and bumpy as that part of the road wasn’t built so it felt as though my back was about to break and my head snap off my neck… we survived it however and arrived at Imani Malindi around 5am – it was still so dark but the children were already up starting their day…
The weather in Malindi is really different from what I am used to in Nairobi – it is very hot and humid most of the time…
After some sleep I went to see what the place was like. I really like it, to me it looked like a little private village – Malindi home is much smaller than Imani A in Nairobi where I work. There are less than 60 children there and all are at least 3 years old… This home is used in December as a holiday retreat for children from Nairobi home during school holidays – each year a different group from Nairobi comes for a vacation there.

After lunch we took about 20 children to the beach (it was the middle age group). It was sooo much fun. The ocean was great, the water really warm and the kids loved the waves. Not all of them went in the water though – some preferred to play and make ugali (one of Kenyan dishes :) out of sand :)

On Friday I went with Maria to buy the return tickets and had a chance to see the town. To be completely honest, I didn’t like it too much… Malindi is quite a small place and because of many tourists visiting during holiday season, really overpriced… what I really liked about it though was the weather (I love it when it’s hot :) and the ocean so near by.
In the evening we took 2 of the little children out for dinner with the adults – they were all dressed up and looked really sweet.

On Saturday we got a chance to go to the beach for a very short while before it was time to catch the coach back to Nairobi… the time in Malidi went by so fast even though the life there seemed so much more relaxed than around Nairobi.

We returned to Nairobi around 5am in the morning but as it was still dark and it was Sunday so not too many people on the streets, it was not safe to leave the coach and therefore we had to sit there until 6am. It was still dark outside but by that time more people were awake and much safer to walk to get a matatu back home…

I came back home totally exhausted and went straight to sleep. However by 4pm I was already at Imani as I had some teaching to do and I really did not want to miss out on my favourite activity :)

You can vie my photos from Malindi by following this link - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90611&id=583008664&l=60b7c

When I got to Imani I was told that little Susan from y group is in the hospital.

In the evening I was very drained – didn’t get back home until 8pm but still wanted to spend some time with June and her mum telling them about my time in Malindi – I am really lucky that I am staying with such great people and that they love to talk as much as I do! ;)

The sad news is that yesterday I found out that one of the twins I told you about in my previous blog, died in the hospital…

Just before I finish this week’s update I wanted to ask you again for the clothes for the babies – we really do need them here and I can assure you, the kids will appreciate it very much.
Please help me to help the children of Imani. Thank you all for supporting me so far…

Week 3

Another baby arrived at the weekend – little baby Matthew :) he is less than 1 month old… now my group has 11 babies – work is getting more challenging every week… however, I seem to be enjoying it more with every day passing by…
On Tuesday morning we had two more babies brought – twins, two tine boys who were less than 1 day old – they were found tied in paper bag and dumped in a stream… can you believe this?!! They were taken to the hospital straight away and haven’t come back yet… they seem to be doing ok for the moment though… so as you can see my little group is growing rapidly…

Tuesday night I stayed again to help older children with their homework and again – really enjoyed it, I was helping them with maths :) it was a long day as I didn’t get to Maria’s home until 9.30pm… (when I stay to do the class I don’t go back to my host family as it is too late for me to travel on the matatu on my own, not safe at all… so I stay with my lovely friend Maria :) and we had to be up again the following morning at 5.30..

I also finally got a chance to speak to Faith – the lady that started the home – and I think that rather than buying the washing machines as I originally planned, I will use the money which you helped me to raise to buy new beds for my group – we have already run out of them because of so many babies arriving and those that we have are really worn out… I asked Faith to look for the suitable cots and then we can go and purchase it together… I also offered to help with any office work they might need…

After the class and my conversation with Faith I could not stop thinking about what else I can do to help… I woke up at 4.30am with head full of thoughts, one of them being that children don’t get enough time to study… I was told by Maria that classes at school are really over-subscribed and teachers don’t have enough time to spend with pupils. At the home the children only get about 1 or 2 hrs every evening to do their homework – this is not enough as they are falling behind with the material and are now confusing multiplying with dividing and subtracting… I spoke to Faith on Wednesday and offered to help at the weekends – it looks like I will be able to do sthg on Sundays :) I am really looking forward to that :)

On Wednesday I had to go back to the dentist to finish off my tooth… but before I had a chance to do that I have managed to hit my head on the cupboard door that someone left wide open… (since I arrived at Imani I kept closing it saying that one day someone would hurt themselves on it! It turned out to be me!)
Luckily I didn’t injure my eye but I have a cut just above it and it’s a bit swollen… the good news is that now everyone is really vigilant about closing that door!!!

After the dentist I went again to visit my friends at NCR :) everyone there is so lovely :) and Jane, my saviour, was waiting for me with some sandwiches! Which was absolutely amazing as it was 3pm already and I haven’t had a chance to eat anything all day…

On my way back home that day I saw sthg that made me laugh a lot and I wish I had my camera with me… along the road that the bus goes there is sthg like a market – lots of stalls and tiny shops… but one shop must have been one of a kind – it was a petrol pump! Surrounded by the metal bars and only the end of the pipe just hanging outside… if I go that way again I will try to take a picture, I have never seen anything like that before… ;)

I really feel at home here, my host family is really nice. Everyone I meet is just lovely… I can see already that when the time comes, it will be very difficult to say goodbye…

I now stay longer 2 evenings a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays to do the homework with the children… these are my favourite days of the week as I get to stay with Maria and we have couple of hours to talk before going to sleep. It is almost impossible any other time as the babies take all our attention.
I am getting really attached to my little Mary and I have no idea how I will be able to leave her here when my 16 weeks are up… I really want to take her home with me…

There is sthg that I would like to ask you for… all the clothes at the home that we have for babies are what we receive from people – there is no money to buy it… what we have is getting really worn out… if you have any spare baby clothes at home that you no longer need than please let me know… Vik will be coming here in 3 months and he could bring it with him… anything helps, really…
Please don’t forget that my justgiving site is still open so if you happen to have some spare cash, you can still donate… there are so many things that the money could be used for… i.e. school supplies, fruits etc… I can assure you – it will be used wisely…

Week 2

The time seems to be flying… cannot believe that I have been here for over 2 weeks now… as you have probably seen from the photo links, my group of babies has expanded and its 10 of them now :) Little Freda was found in a bar and Obama (!) finally came back from the hospital. Michelle has been poorly most of the week but seems to be doing better now… on Wednesday we went to the clinic with older children again to get more “plumpy nut” and to check on the progress… there was little improvement… hopefully we will get better news this week...

Last Sunday I went on a little trip to Hell’s Gate National Park with 7 other volunteers. It was a very nice day, we drove around the park and saw many zebras and antelopes… we also went for a walk in the gorge. It took us over 2 hours and involved a lot of climbing… Yes, I think Kenya is having a positive effect on me – I am actually walking a lot these days ;)

I am more confident now taking the matatus, although I have ended up in Nairobi once instead of Doonholm where I am staying, as very often the driver changes the route and I did not recognise the place i needed to get off… luckily it was during the day so I arrived home after about 2 hours :) This weekend I also experienced a terrible journey to Nairobi, which took me over 2 hours instead of 20 min it was supposed to take… it was due to very heavy traffic, a matatu accident and also the bus (on which I was travelling) hitting a car on the roundabout…

I have already been to a dentist here (part of my tooth broke off on Thursday), which wasn’t bad at all actually… quite expensive though so I am glad I have the insurance…
I also visited the NCR office again after the visit to the dentist. Everyone is really nice and very welcoming. I should be going there again on Wednesday after my next dentist appointment :)

This weekend I went to visit the Giraffe Centre in Langata – it was a brilliant day out, we spent almost 5 hours there feeding and admiring the giraffes. Around 4.30pm I was joined by Jane (from NCR) and her niece and nephew. We travelled together to the David Sheldrick’s Wildlife Trust to visit the elephant orphanage – I have finally met my little Kimana :) It was so great to see him and to stroke him. We went there in the afternoon when the orphanage is closed to general public, only those that foster elephants are invited which meant that there was only a handful of people there… we also saw a 1 month old baby rhino – it was sooo tiny…
I spent the Saturday night at Jane’s as it is not very easy to get back to where I live from the orphanage… we had a great time with kids and went to church together on Sunday morning. Jane and her husband are really lovely and made me feel like I was at home… I am already looking forward to meeting them again :)

photos :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85410&l=1142d&id=583008664

photos from the weekend - Great Rift Valley - Hells Gate National Park

Week 1

1 week gone already... i am finally online :)
i arrived in Nairobi on Saturday morning and straight away faced the first challenge as there was nobody to collect me from the airport... luckily i had the contact details for the ICYE in Kenya and after over an hour wait, I was on my way :)
I spent Saturday and Sunday at YMCA in Nairobi. On Saturday I decided to go for a walk in the city and, as expected, I got lost ;) luckily after a little while I managed to find my way back to the hostel and was in my room just before it got dark outside (in Nairobi it gets dark around 7pm). The two nights I spent at YMCA were actually really terrifying for me, as I was on my own in foreign country and unfamiliar surroundings . I survived though :)
On Sunday I had my orientation mtg with Kerubo (the lady from ICYE in Kenya) and then went out for lunch with Wilson and his family – Wilson works at NCR in Kenya, he has been very nice and helpful :)on Monday, before going to Kayole, I visited the NCR office and finally met Jane (the office manager) in person. Jane was very helpful before I even left London, telling me what I should pack with me :)
I arrived at Imani on Monday afternoon and it was quite an experience… I was assigned to the baby house and to the group of the youngest, currently 8 orphans (3 boys – David, Antony and Ben, and 5 girls – Grace, Mary, Jessica, Susan and Michelle). There is pretty strict routine that needs to be followed and not too much time to actually play with the children, which is quite a shame… we have a choice of 2 shifts a day, starting either at 6.30am or 12.30 pm… I had quite a busy week as on some days I actually covered both shifts and worked whole day, which is very exhausting… the baby house is spread across 3 floors and although my group is located on 1st floor, there are very frequent trips to the roof to collect dry nappies… we also take babies outside, on the ground floor so there is a lot of going up and down the stairs…

As the host family was not ready when I arrived, after the 2 nights at the hostel, I spent the following 4 living with Maria – the girl that was brought up at the home and who now is 25 and works at the home 7 days a week at least 12 hours a day… she lives in Kayole, where the home is located. The area is really rough and I was absolutely terrified when I was there the first night, especially that we had a power cut from about 8pm on the first evening and the following morning I had to have a wash at 5.30 in the dark without running water, as the water only comes in Kayole on Thursdays and Saturdays… and even then – its cold showers only…
Maria has been a great host though and we have already become really good friends. She has been looking after me the whole week, even when she had to go to another home and I was staying at her flat on my own…

On Thursday we took 8 of the older boys to the local clinic for the check up and it was the first time that I saw the “plumpy nut” distributed and the arm bands used to establish how malnourished the babies were (as I support Unicef, I have heard of both and even had 1 of each sent to me, but it was so overwhelming to see it being used). It was even more overwhelming to realize that the babies we carried to the clinic and thought that they were about 1 year old, were actually all more than 2 years old and severely malnourished… they did not want to even stand up, never mind walk, didn’t really talk… and really wanted to just cling onto to you when you picked them up… it was almost heartbreaking when you had to put them down and move on to care for the others… in that group there are 16 babies and just 2 people taking care of them…

Since Friday I am staying with the host family who are really lovely. I have a host mum – Jane, sister June and a brother Zanaya… Jane has 2 other children but they are studying and are away from home. Zanaya is goingt o boarding school on Monday. There is also another girl staying here – Janet, who is Jane’s relative.
The flat is really small and I am sharing a room with June and Janet but it’s all good as the girls are really nice.
Today June was showing me how to use the public transport to get to Nairobi as I was meeting up with the other volunteers and I can tell you the journey was an experience in itself. They drive here like lunatics… especially the “Matatu” drivers (the small 8 people mini-buses who are actually legally allowed to transport 14 people(!!!)
I went to the Massai market and it was really nice – loads of beautiful things but I have resisted the temptation… :)
We also saw the remains of the supermarket that burnt down on Wednesday – it was very tragic, many people were trapped and died and many are still missing. I was there last Saturday so it was very upsetting for me to find out what happened just 4 days later…

I haven’t yet decided how to spend the extra money that you have helped me to raise, still observing and trying to work out whats needed the most. From next week I will start doing few late evenings so I can help older children with their homework… I will also try to meet with Faith – the lady that started the home over 20 years ago… I can already see that they could do with couple of washing machines (there is constant supply of water at the home, unlike in the rest of Kayole) as currently all washing is done by hand and it takes all day every day to ensure that there is a constant supply of clean nappies and clothes for babies…

I don’t have many photos from the home as we are not supposed to take any but I will try to get the permission so you can see what it is like here…

I will try to write another update soon.

Thanks for visiting my page,
Liliana :)

Contact details

UK mobile number - 07543 616047
personal email address - lil2110@hotmail.com
Local mobile number - coming soon... :)

please keep in touch :)

Big "Thank you" to all that supported me - you are just amazing :)

before the trip

I have finally found enough courage to do what I have wanted for many years - volunteer in Kenya!
I have been accepted in a project through ICYE to work for 16 weeks at Imani Children's Home in Kayole (about 20 min drive from Nairobi). I am very excited about this opportunity and hope to make a difference in many children's lives...

In Nairobi, Kenya it is estimated that there are over 60,000 children living on the streets. Most of these children go to the streets to escape poverty or battering at home or perhaps they were orphaned due to AIDS. Once on the street and with the introduction of freedom from responsibility and addictive substances such as glue and marijuana, children become forgotten members of society and lose hope for a brighter future.

Imani Rehabilitation Agency was established to cater for the needs of such children. More than anything else the founder, FaithWanjiru a devoted Christian, wanted to provide these children with love and hope for the future.

Volunteer tasks & Role

• Taking care of children aged 0 to 3 years e.g. nursing the babies, and helping in preparing their food.
• Teaching at the nursery school. The subjects taught will include English (that is helping the children to read and write in English), and basic mathematics. Other subjects on the school curriculum can also be taught depending on the qualifications and skills of the volunteer.
• Assist the teachers in organising extra curricular activities such as sport and drama
  

My planned departure date is 23rd January and although it might seem like a long time ahead, I have a £2500 min target to raise (which I would really love to exceed)... I hope that you will be able to support my efforts. I have taken unpaid leave to do this project so as you can see this isn't a holiday and any amount that you can spare will be greatly appreciated.

I will keep you updated once in Kenya on the progress made...

Thank you for taking time to read this - I really count on your support.

Warm Regards,
Liliana

http://www.justgiving.com/lilianavandyk