We were up early to go into Nairobi to, once more, go to the fabric sellers and buy another piece of fabric. This time it was not so intimidating as we knew what to expect. Then into the truck and off to Mount Kenya. This is really not the time of year to view the summit but we had ½ of Nairobi praying for the clouds to clear so we had hope that we would be able to see the top of this glorious mountain. This trip was planned so that we would completely encircle the mountain which would mean that we would drive completely different climates, cultures, and flora. We left Nairobi and went to the west side of Mt. Kenya and stopped for tea in Nanyuki and then on to a Benedictine Monastery where the one of the priests had developed a way of talking about the Bible from an African perspective. He called this “African Bible on the Ground” because he developed the grounds of the monastery as a walking meditation with stations that discussed how the bible and traditional African values are consistent with each other. This was a big change for the Roman Catholic church as up until then (after Vatican II) traditional African life was considered pagan. We were not allowed to take pictures but it was a wonderful discussion of the bible.
Then back into the truck and on to Isiolo our northern most stop and what Sister Pauline calls the end of Kenya. We had driven around to the back of Mt Kenya without seeing the mountain, through a rain storm and then out into the desert. It looked like what you would find out in the Mohave but much larger. We were introduced to another type of transportation. It was the desert Matatu (bus). This is a lorry (truck) that transports animals (goats, cows, camels) with a board put across the top above the animals so that humans can sit up there for the trip across the desert to the Ethiopian border several hundred miles away. (See picture this truck was on it's way out of town and we are told not really loaded with people yet.). We stayed at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, with the wind blowing a gale.
Then up in the morning for 7:00 am mass and breakfast with the parish priest as the bishop was not in residence. We were on the road by 9:00. Sister Pauline was disappointed as we had not seen camels in town as that is a common experience. Then lo and behold there on the side of the road as we leave Isiolo there was a herd of camels. We stopped for pictures and Sister Pauline convinced us to leave the truck and walk out into the desert to get a closer look. She assured us that all camels were domesticated and herded and there would not be a problem as there would be a herder with them. She found the herder and asked in yet another Kenyan language if we could photograph the camels. He was positive and showed us around his herd. There were about 50 camels and 20 2 year old babies that were corralled using thorn bushes. The babies were being separated from the mothers so that he could milk the mothers. (Camel’s milk is a staple food source out here.) This was a special treat.
Back in the truck and what should we see but Mt. Kenya peaking out of the clouds. We got a picture and as you can guess we did not see the mountain for the rest of the day. The weather and the clouds were just not on our side. We are supposed to come in September and October to be guaranteed a clear view of Mt Kenya.
We continued on around to the east side of the mountain to Meru and St. Irene’s school for blind girls which is one of two vocational schools for the blind in Kenya. This vocational school teaches machine knitting, sewing, hair dressing and bread baking so that these girls can leave the school and have a job. Sister Pauline met one of her former students who is blind and is teaching there. It was quite a reunion. She found a sweater that fit her and matched her religious dress and bought it. These young women were confident and capable of navigating their environment. It is a testament to the work that the Sisters are doing with these students.
Back in the truck and off to Igoji and the St. Lucy’s School for the Blind. This school is not a vocational school but a boarding school for nursery through high school. This school was built for the express purpose of getting blind Kenyan boys and girls out of their homes and into the educational system. When a family has a blind child (and these often have other disabilities) they hide them in their homes. That way the child does not get an education and is not able to fend for themselves. When the Sisters are notified that there is a blind child they contact the parents and invite the child to live at the school and receive an education. Many of these students move forward into universities and into productive careers due to the work of this school. We met 40 preschoolers who sang to us. Then we were taken on a tour of the rest of the school. We think we remember that there were 300 kids in the whole school. The teacher student ratio is about 8-1. While we were there we met the first group of Americans that we had seen in the whole 5 weeks. They were donating their time to bring books for the school library, doctors for eye examinations, and school supplies. They were connected with American Friends of Kenya an NGO.
The Sisters made lunch for us and then we were back on the road to Nairobi and arrived back at Assisi House about 8:00 where we had dinner but wouldn’t you know the power was off again. We got a report on the plumbing and it seems to be moving along.
We repacked into one suitcase so we could leave early the next morning for our first real (7 hour) bus drive to Mombasa.
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