Kenya Thursday - Friday 6/17-18/10

Thursday morning we were up and packed. We walked down the lane to the next plot to see our host’s, Rose, plants in her nursery and then packed up and drove for two hours back to Kisumu because Margaret had a meeting with the Arch Bishop. He welcomed us for tea and we chatted while they met. Margaret had to then met with the Provincial Director of Education. That meeting was not until later in the afternoon and was to be quick.

Margaret took us to one of the projects that they are working on, St. Clare’s Home of Hope. This is an orphanage that will replace an orphanage that has been condemned which serves 48 orphans due to AIDS. The only reason that they are handling such a small number is because of space. The new orphanage will house about 200 orphans with a dispensary, school, dorms, dining hall, staff housing and a convent for the Sisters who will run the operation. The convent and dispensary are almost finished and the well has been dug but the rest of the operation is some walls and foundations. This is one of the main focuses for the Sisters this year because the government will close the other orphanage by the end of the year. With enough money, this could all be finished in three months but money is a precious commodity in Kenya. The AIDS issue is huge here and they are making great strides but many parents are still dying and leaving children to be cared for.

We left St. Clare’s and dropped off Margaret and once again headed for Lake Victoria and Hippo point. Well the lake is just huge but the hippo’s were asleep under the water in the next bay but the view was splendid.

We kept checking in with Margaret but the Provincial Director of Education had not met with her yet. We went to the Sunset Hotel and I had a beer while others had chai. We hung out there in wonderful surroundings for 2 hours until Margaret called and said to come pick her up. We drove over and found out the director had refused to meet with her without the Arch Bishop and that was to happen tomorrow. We belonged in Narok for Prize-Giving Day at Sister Mary Stephen Koitoi secondary school.

Narok is a 5 hour drive from Kisumu. We had dinner with Margaret in a really "fine bar" (the only thing open at that time), dropped her off at the convent and headed out to Narok about 9:30. We arrive about 2:30 in Narok and were taken to a hotel where we crashed.

The next morning came too soon but we were up and at the secondary school by 9:00. This school had lots to be proud of. The prizes were academic awards. The school had achieved the distinction of being first in the district academically after only 4 years of being open.

Narok is in the heart of the Maasi Region and this school was named after the first Maasi Sister in the order. This is a big deal as the Maasi were reluctant to send their children to school away from the traditional upbringing. There were several traditionally dressed parents there and many others who carried the Maasi stick of rank even though they were not traditionally dressed.

The day started with Mass at 9:00 and by 11:00 the entertainment started with dancing. We did not realize the extent of the program. There was original poetry, songs, Maasi dancing, comedy sketch, and acrobatics all done by the students. About 1:30 the award presentations began. As honored guests Yvonne and I were asked to help congratulated the winners and hand out their gifts. Each student received school supplies and their parents were also given gifts for supporting their students. Gifts of school supplies are important because this is a poor area and students have to buy their own.

At about 3:00 the speeches began, all nine of them. Each speaker recognized that the day had been long and said at the beginning of their speech that they would be brief. I would hate to see the regular speech as we finished the speeches at 5:00.

Then we had dinner, climbed into the van and headed for Nairobi. We arrived in Nairobi about 9:30 and crashed. The next day Yvonne and I were to participate in the Sister's regional meeting. (Yvonne’s workshop on Spiritual Gifts and Stanley’s discussion about organizational and management theories to help their Congregation’s organizational renewal.)