-Robert ((a social worker and assistant coordinator; AKA the comedian)) has just finished exams and is very happy. He has been going to college night classes to continue his education from the diploma/degree he has already earned. He still has his loans to pay off, and he keeps asking for prayers for his family ((they live in Tanzania ((that is where he is from))), but overall, Robert is doing well. He is the comical one of the group and always keeps us laughing.
-Peter ((project coordinator; AKA the boss)) is doing well too. He just completed his rural home at Homa Bay, which is a huge dream come true and answer to prayer. His wife recently returned to work after being on maternity leave with their youngest born ((in December)) John Mark. Peter’s other kids, Emmanuel and Juliet, are both doing well in school and health, and they are looking forward to their exams being finished soon and enjoying a short break in about two weeks. Peter himself is actually starting more school in April, and we could really be in prayer for him as the whole process starts.
-Prisca ((the accountant AKA meek but most zealous woman I have met)) has fully recovered from typhoid and is in very good spirits. She loves singing, and throughout the day in the office, she graces our ears with her beautiful voice. She was recently married in December and is adjusting well and enjoying married life. Her next big plans include making an investment in farming for her future family. She is starting to save whatever money she can in order to be ready for the planting season next year. ((She really wanted to plant this year, but she didn’t have the financial capability at the time of planting season, which actually turned out to be a blessing because the rains have refused to come leaving the seed to dry up and die)).
-Carolyn ((a local volunteer social worker)) has not been back since the day she found out the bad news about her college education being revoked. As far as I know, she has had to start all over again…that could use some major prayers!
-Mary ((a volunteer social worker; AKA my best friend)) is getting along. Times have been a little rough. Her older brother died a few weeks ago, and we went to his funeral last weekend. Her sister, who she has been living with, is moving back to their rural home, so Mary is trying to move in with another sister in town. On top of these things, I recently discovered that Mary’s college education has been put on hold due to a few things. Her exams have been put on hold for now. Time is of the essence, and I can tell she is a little worried about it. She tries to keep relying on God’s provision, but I can tell it is a weight she is carrying. So prayers for her please.
-Bethany ((another USA intern like me; AKA the newbie
-And finally there is me. I was a little sick last week, but I’m almost fully recovered. I am absolutely loving life and everyone I meet. I can’t believe my time is coming to an end. Peter keeps joking around with ways to keep me here. The time really has flown by!
Things in the office are good; they aren’t as ripe for the writing of a country music song as they were last time I wrote about the office, but we always welcome prayers!!! Please be praying.
Outside of the office, we have gotten to go into the field a little. I have started to revisit some places I have been before, and it has been an exciting process actually knowing a little more each time I go. With Bethany’s arrival, we have been making more visits in the truck rather than the motorbike. One day it was Peter, Robert, Bethany and I, and we headed out to Chiga, the remote village where Evans, Elvis, and Lillian Adhiambo live and go to school (the place Robert and I visited on the motorbike two weeks prior). As I have mentioned before, the roads are no good for driving. Even though there were repairs going on, it took the truck about an hour to navigate its way through. On the way out, we stopped at Ayaro Primary School where Eugene Okoth and Carolynn Awino go to school. We met in the office with the headmaster for a while, before she sent for the two kids. Both children seem to be doing well in school. Eugene is in Class 2 and is ranked 12th out of 52 students, while Carolynn is in Class 4, ranking in the 50’s out of 81 students. Carolynn has a hearing problem in her ears, so learning comes at a bit more tedious task than others. The teacher had no complaints about the children themselves, only that Carolynn had not paid her mid-term examine fees. The headmaster talked with Peter about making sure that any money given to the children for school fees goes straight to the school because if given to the guardian, you never know where the many will end up. This is normally LCW’s policy, but I think the headmaster just wanted to make sure everyone was working from the same standpoint. On other observations, both Eugene and Carolynn were missing their socks, and their uniforms were not in very good order. They were clean, for the most part, but they had holes and were coming apart at the seams. Nonetheless, the children were in good spirits with smiles here and there, and they did not have anything negative to report.
We left Ayaro in good standing with the headmaster and headed out to Orenge Primary School. The difference in this school environment and atmosphere compared to Ayaro is striking. It is only about 30 minutes more of a drive, but it is like entering a whole other world. Ayaro had pretty nice facilities. The administration building was made of cement, and they were in the process of building more classrooms made of cement blocks. The rest of the classrooms were made of the mud-like substance, but the walls looked nice and the roof was still intact. They even had some equipment for the children to play on and with. However, Orenge Primary was made almost entirely of the mudlike substance, and as we pulled up in the truck, there were community members ((those parents and guardians who couldn’t afford to pay school fees came to work on the school to compensate the costs)) working to repair the walls because a lot of the walls had been washed away with recent rain. The roof was made of pieced together tin, but they are doing their best to give their students a good environment for learning. ((For example, the school did manage to have one building made of cement block, but instead of using it for administration, they used it for classrooms for the older children)). The school had been over run with an insect of some type that is causing students to be sick and break out with bites. They were trying to clean it out, but still again, it was very difficult! But the teachers were in good spirits about their students. The headmaster invited us into the office, and he was able to greet me by name. I had only met him once, but he remembered me. I thought that was amazing; he made me feel very welcome and allowed us to go into two of the classrooms. We first went into a Class 5 room. The children greeted us with huge smiles. We got to sit in their desks with them, and the teachers were joking around that we were new students entering the school. The kids got a kick out of this, and there were giggles all over. Evans and Elvis are in Class 5, so we were hoping to see them in there, but unfortunately, they were missing. No one really knew why, but later Elvis showed up and said his guardian had sent him on an errand to help repair the house with cow dung. (We went to check up on this and Evans a little bit later). We also went into the Class 4 classroom and saw Lillian Adhiambo. We sat with them for a bit and took some pictures. The headmaster kept boasting about the students being very bright and working very hard. It was encouraging to see the care of the teachers for the children.
After taking a few more pictures and talking a little longer with the headmaster, we went with Lillian to see her guardian. We went down the road a bit, and found her aunt walking along the road. We met her at he home, and she greeted us with prayer. We found out that her aunt had been at the school earlier that day helping repair the walls because she was not able to pay the school fees. We also learned that she was out scavenging for vegetables in order to have something for her family to eat today. Apparently, Lillian moves back and forth between her uncle’s house and this aunt, depending on who is in the best position to care for her that week. Even though their situation is desperate, it is somewhat encouraging to see two relatives work so hard to care for Lillian. It is rare where two younger adults are willing to care for one who is not their own. Additionally, despite the situation looking so gloom, the aunt welcomed us and bid us farewell with prayer. She truly calls on God to be her provider. We didn’t stay too long at Lillian’s home because we wanted to make a quick stop by both Elvis Okoth’s home and Evan’s home.
We went to Evan’s first. As I mentioned before, he was not at school earlier. Come to find out, he was home sick. It didn’t seem to be anything too serious because he was able to come and sit with us for a while, but apparently he was not feeling well. Doris, his guardian, welcomed us warmly, and was happy to meet Bethany. She allowed us to eat a piece of sugar cane, and then she presented us with a chicken to take home. She was very happy to see me again and remembered who I was. Her home was busy with activity today, as she carried around a little child and had two more running around. There were two younger girls also there, who I think were helping around the house. I was not sure if all these children were staying in Doris’ home, but they felt comfortable around the place. There was nothing negative to report from the guardian or the child, so we said goodbye to them and went to Elvis’s home. We met his guardian, Consolata, sitting out in the yard. That morning they redid the inside of the house by affirming it with cow dung, which is why Elvis missed the first half of school. We sat for a while with her in chairs she had brought for us to relax under the trees. We had fun taking pictures again, and she was delighted to see me and meet Bethany for the first time. Consolata walked us back to the truck, holding my hand the whole way and talking to me about something I couldn’t understand. But it felt good to be so comfortable with her ,just to listen and hold hands as we walked. She said goodbye, and I think we will see her at fellowship on Saturday.
I really love going into the field and visiting with all the children and their guardians. Orenge School out in the Chiga village has quickly captured a special part of me. It is definitely on my “tops” list of most favorite places I’ve ever visited.
Sorry this one was a long one, but I hope you’ve enjoyed this glance into my family here in Kenya. As always, please be praying- for everyone in the office, for Ayaro and Orenge school, and for Kenya in general. Faith, hope and love…but the greatest of these is love.
it is always interesting to follow your journey -- sounds like you would really enjoy being a social worker.......
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