I came to Kenya believing that I would have no trouble adjusting to whatever Kenya threw at me. I tend to be pretty flexible and don’t put a lot of value on showering in a shower, so really, what could Kenya throw at me that the Appalachian Mountains hadn’t already?
We are so proud of the “youths” from Indianapolis. They are doing an awesome job of representing Indiana and the Global Interfaith Partnership.
Our week has been full of varied, inspirational experiences.
On Friday night when I arrived at my first home stay, I found out that I would be preaching on Sunday at the Pentecostal Assemblies of God church. My previous preaching experiences I was told at least a week in advance (with apologies for the late notice). So I asked Mama Rose, the wonderful woman I am staying with, how long I should preach and she said, “Not long…30 minutes?” Now I am a good, traditional Methodist girl and good, traditional Methodist sermons never go longer than 15 minutes. So being expected to preach for 30 minutes with only a day to prepare obviously made me nervous.
You’ve seen the commercial. Smiling servers present mouth-watering pastas and savory soups while an announcer promises, “When you’re here, you’re family.” Such a statement captures the essence of my short experience in Kenya.
Try as we might to tune into the Kenyan culture, our own habits and ways of doing things often will surface unexpectedly. Certainly that was the case at our big tie-dye party yesterday afternoon!
I have run many races before and even a few against Kenyans (though they usually finish hours ahead of me.) I did not expect that in coming to Kenya to work with the Umoja Project, I would find myself competing in a Kenyan track meet. But yes, I recently had my international running debut.
This morning, we woke up bright and early for a boat ride around Hippo Point. The name is just what it sounds like. We got to see hippos!
In our efforts to understand better the needs and concerns of adolescent girls in rural western Kenya, we have conducted a number of “key informant interviews.” We have talked with female teachers and guardians, as well as primary and secondary school girls. Tomorrow we will meet with a group of women professionals, hopefully to begin sorting out how best to respond to all that we have learned this week.
Yesterday, our group gathered under St. Anna’s carport to begin the first step in tie-dying prep for Saturday’s seminar. Yes, we came to Kenya with enough dye to color the 120 GIS t-shirts we brought in tow. It turns out that tie-dye works on carport concrete just about as well as it does on white cotton t-shirts.
Of the 15 primary schools with which the Umoja Project works, Bar Andingo is one of the most involved. Since 2003, when free primary school education took effect in Kenya, the enrollment of the school has doubled as children from poorer homes entered school for the first time. Bar Andingo has struggled to absorb the influx of students — average class size is 80 students and basic resources like pens, paper and textbooks are often lacking.
