Hakuna matata!

Monday – 6/21/10

Today we visited two orphanages, Rabour and Bethzatha. At Rabour, we handed out food and shoes for the kids. Then we spent some time with the kids playing Frisbee, jump rope, and blowing bubbles. The kids also shared some songs with us and we got the chance to dance with the kids. This was a lot of fun and they were not afraid to show off their moves.

Bethzatha was a very nice facility, the kids were at school so we didn’t get to spend much time with them. However we met the caregivers and talked with their Chairman and they told us about the no-interest loans they offer to businesses in the community. The money for these loans comes from The Gemach Project, which helps organize and fund them. These no-interest loans are unique because applicants must qualify. This includes skill building with saving, keeping accurate records, economics, and general business. They use methods such as the 3 bags technique where they have 3 bags each a different color corresponding to what it represents. The black bag is savings, the red is loan repayment, and green is daily expenses. By learning and operating with this simple system, they are able to successfully run their finances.

We were lucky enough to see all sides of the project from the plan to it being put into effect. After we saw the plan and the layout we then met some of the people who took loans. They told us about their work place and what they were using the money for and then we got to go and visit there business and see the money in use. Bethzatha also just got a bore hole and will have an operational pump in a few weeks.

The Gemach Project

Tuesday – 6/22/10

Today we took a trip to Cherry Brierley Children’s Home. This is a very nice, well-funded children’s home. The director, Philemon, is a long-time friend of Scott and Jack. While we were at Cherry Brierley, we dug holes in front of the water tanks to catch all the dripping/splashing water used from the tanks to form a basin to catch the gray water. After we dug the holes, we helped the professionals use bricks to build the foundation for the basins. We helped mix concrete and did all the odd-jobs we could to help the masons.

Christina helping build the tank foundation

After all the hard work was done, we were able to watch The Lion King with the children. This was a great experience, as it always is. It’s very neat to see the kids’ reaction to the film, especially since there are many things they can relate to in the movie like the animals, the landscape, and even a little Swahili (yes, “hakuna matata” actually is Swahili and it actually means “no worries”).

Hakuna matata!

Wednesday-Saturday

These days served as travel days and safari. We traveled from Kisumu to Nairobi on Wednesday, then Nairobi to Tsavo on Thursday. In Tsavo we went on safari and spent some time with God and our team debriefing and enjoying the country. Of course, we saw many animals too.