Matthew August 14th

Hello,

My trip started rough as I threw up before passing through security at the airport. A security officer said he could transfer me to a later flight if I wasn’t feeling well. Luckily, I felt better and was able to get on the flight where I spent time reading Harry Potter 7 and watching Life of Pi and Argo. While waiting in line at Customs at the Nairobi Airport, a conversation began with a man from Kenya who lived in Rwanda. He just jumped in on a comment he heard from us about a rosary necklace. The friendly aura of Kenya had made its first appearance. As we left the airport, we watched in horror as it was quickly swallowed up in flames, the heat of the fire beating against my face.

Just kidding. No one freak out. We found out about the fire four days after we arrived in Kitale. We did, however, meet Alfred, who is a different kind of madness in himself. He drove us from Nairobi to Kitale and I regret that I did not appreciate his presence while driving. I, myself, was too wrapped up in the world of Hogwarts as I attempted to finish the book. After meeting him around our compound a couple times, he is super friendly and understands English very well, allowing him to make clever jokes and poke fun at us.

In the first couple days of our tenure, we went for a walk with Aaron and Manu, two gentlemen who help with our camp. I spent most of the time talking with Aaron, asking questions about the area and the struggles and the schools. We saw a lot of homes, some made of mud, some made of tin sheets, and some nicer ones made of Brick. Most of the roads consist of a red clay. We saw one of the schools along the road. It had a soccer field in front of it where I was told the kids participate in soccer tournaments to keep them busy when they are not in school. I love tournaments so that made me happy.

At the beginning of the walk, I was addressed by an older man who told me he was hungry and that he had two daughters and that he had come from another area. After I had been listening for a bit, Aaron came over, heard the story, and instructed the man to go to the compound of the Daughters of Charity for assistance. Aaron told me about how the man expected that I could fix all his problems because I am white. Aaron then proceeded to tell me how that the man’s food struggles were common in Kitale. Not just the hunger of himself and his children, but the cause of his hunger. The man had been drunk and Aaron said that many families struggle because one or both parents spend money on alcohol when they need to feed their families. It seems alcohol universally has the potential to destroy homes. Aaron told me that many adults get into brewing alcohol to make quick money. Another surprising thing I learned from him is that most adults in Kitale have cell phones. I had no idea that phenomenon was worldwide. I guess we all feel the desire to be connected. They use their phones to get on Facebook as well.

Another interesting aspect of the walk was how many eyes consistently follow us. This is what being a celebrity feels like. Except we didn’t do anything to earn it. Kids constantly yell out, “How are you?” and we respond, “Fine”. We are the only white people that I have seen, besides Sister Karen, in the area so we stick out, heavily.

At the camp with the kids, I began at the outdoor rotation with the kids where we played blob tag, ran relays, and shot on “basketball hoops” that consisted of an eight foot post leading up to a rim. I’m really glad they have a form of basketball for my sanity’s sake. I realized I did not like being the outdoor station as much as I thought I would. Aaron was my partner and he was really awesome but I thought it would be better for me inside and Dom said he wanted to try outside so we switched. Greatest decision. Dom says he communicates much better with the kids out there and I love trying to learn the language and teach with what I have. I read them a book in English and we picked out key words that they had to repeat to practice English. The next day we taught math which was awesome and we used plastic straws to practice simple addition and subtraction. It was really great. The last day of the week we just watched the Lion King which still has a strong impact on me. Beautiful film.

This past weekend, on Saturday, we walked with several of the camp helpers through the town market area of Kitale where people were selling various clothes, food, and timber. We ended up at a museum where we saw snakes, crocodiles, and traditional Kenyan huts. It was getting late in the day and starting to rain so we quickly picked up some food (spicy fries) and caught a cab back to the compound. While walking toward the cabs in the city, some boys came up to us saying they were hungry and put their hands out. They followed us toward the cabs and were persistent. We eventually fit seven of us in a cab and were promptly told, “f*** you”, by one of the boys. Aaron told us about a policy that was put in place that forced the children off the streets and into homes for a while but many of the kids ran away and returned to the streets. They were addicted to the freedom of that life. It feels safe to say, though, that a majority of the kids like school and learning and take advantage of it.

Finally, last Sunday, we went to the home of one of the cooks for the Daughters. Her name is Beatrice. She always has a huge smile and is very kind to us when we thank her for the food she made for us. She’s an unbelievable cook. At her house, we met her husband Benjamin and her son William. The beginning of the event involved obsessing over William but the end of the event involved us asking questions to Benjamin. Benjamin had an idea for helping his community which involved helping people with two major problems: alcohol and pornography. He discussed how both were very detrimental to the families and community in general. I asked him to send me a seven page paper he wrote about his thoughts and a program he is starting. I look forward to reading about it.

These people are amazing and overall fantastically kind. They have taught me many simple phrases and counting in Swahili and they make me feel very welcome in their community. I hope I can show this kind of welcoming to everyone I meet in my life and accept into my home.