Well it has been too long since I posted an entry, my apologies.
Let's see. Ali is doing better. His complexion is changed from a pale yellowish brown to a darker more healthy brown. His hair is starting to change as well. We received news this week that his mother is soon to be released from the hospital, so after 4 months here, Ali and his brothers will be able to return home!
We were so excited last week when the rain started and we had water filling our tanks. After getting good rains for three days in a row, the tanks were full and things looked good. Then we found out that the heavy rain had washed out a section of the government pipe and the water source was cut off from us. We need a working well here. They had one installed two years ago and it worked poorly for about a week and then nothing. The company charged a large sum of money but had some changes of management and we were left with an unserviced well and no recourse. I have been able to locate a man in Nairobi with a charitable organization that may be able to help. Pray for favour and a good source of water. Hopefully we can save this well or get a new one. A sustainable water supply is more critical than most of us realize.
I am continually amazed at the view here. Behind us, towering over us every day is the incredible rock face of Mount Gogii and then like a horseshoe ridges and mountains halfway encircle us. On a clear day from the front of the house we can see the top of Kilimanjaro over the tops of the Mango trees and between the peaks of two nearer moutains( or hills as they call them here). The ground is sandy and red like PEI soil and relatively fertile if you cultivate it well. If you don't dig it well and mix in some compost the ground is hard packed/baked and doesn't really absorb the little rain we do get. There I go again talking about water. Hoping for water, planning for rain, planning how to make your stored water last is a constant preoccupation here.
The villagers of Bura are starting to get used to us here. They usually only see Mzungu's{white people} on tour buses driving by on the road on their way to Safari Lodges. There are less surprised looks and screaming toddlers hiding from us and many friendly greetings in both Swahili and English. Our Swahili is still poor but we have mastered 20 or more words/expressions and learn more almost daily. It is only the older people and the younger children that have little English skills and even they are very helpful despite our handicap.
Karen, Chelsey and I went for a walk in the orchard the other day, surveying the progress of the various fruit trees and Karen was complaining that something was prickly under her skirt. We never thought much of it at the time as we all had little hitch hikers on us in the form of some clingy seeds from some kind of weed. The next morning Karen found a scorpion in her dirty clothes. He was just small, 2-2 1/2 inches long, but we were surprised none the less. We just stepped on it and after the customary photo threw him outside. This environment has helped both Karen and Chelsey a great deal with their coping mechanisms around creepy crawly things.
The gardening is coming along well. We have about 10 raised beds so far and I hope to have another 10 or more by the end of next week. We have a nursery bed with seedlings for cabbage, turnip, cauliflower, beets, Swiss chard, onions and 2 varieties of tomato that should be ready to transplant next week. We have seeds for more beds and our compost pile is almost ready to use, in just 2 more weeks. We are so excited to see the growth, especially since the rain came last week.
Karen cooked us a traditional Kenyan dinner tonight consisting of fried goat meat, carrot soup, ugali and fresh papaya for dessert. It was very good and the third time in three days that we have eaten meat. We have had very little meat for the past few weeks and I personally have lost over 20 pounds. I don't know if it is the vegetarian-like diet or if it's just the heat and the work/exercise. Either way I'm not complaining, another 20 would be nice....
Chelsey got Malaria we figured out yesterday, but not to worry, we had the doctor come over (Free house call) and she started a three day treatment with antimalarial drugs yesterday and is feeling better already. They pretty much shrug Malaria off here as a fact off life, like the flu or a cold. If you get it, treat it. Sleep under nets, eliminate standing water( mosquito breeding grounds) and don't worry about it.
School is out for the December(summer) break and both the health inspector and the District Education Officer have given us lists of requirements for the next school year( begins January 3rd) so there will be plenty of work to do and funds needed if anyone out there is in a charitable Christmas mood. Really this work is like the story of the loaves and the fishes from the Bible; they have done a lot with very little and are to be commended. However if these were our kids we would be fundraising $500,000- $1 million and building them a nice facility with a well, hot and cold running water INSIDE the building, washers and dryers, Indoor toilets that flush and lockers and closets and nice metal bunk beds and......... You get the picture , or do you,... I really need to post some. We need a working well.
No comments:
Post a Comment