~Written by Steven Hepburn, part of the Hope 2 Kenya Youth Team 2010.
On July 10th the team, minus Laura who was sick and had to stay at the compound, traveled to Veronica Home (A home for children who are HIV positive), our plan for the day was to mud the hut in the morning then paint the home in the afternoon. Our plans were switched around as soon as we got there, due to a lack of water to make the mud needed to construct the hut. Apparently their was a blockage some where in the water line, but the water was trickling out of the tap so the started collecting what they could and we began painting.
There were four rooms that needed to be painted: the main living room/hallway, a boy’s room, two girl’s rooms, and the house mother’s room. We got started right away painting the living room and hallway a flesh tone, the boys room a light green on the top half of the walls and a blue on the bottom, in the girls room we painted walls pink and purple. We didn’t finish the blue in the boys room as we had to let the green paint dry first, we couldn’t paint the house mothers room because it had only been primed that morning and needed to dry, the hallway needs a second coat, and we got all of the girls rooms done but one wall that had the furniture pushed up against it. But we are going to go back to finish the painting, and by the time we had done all of that painting the house aunt and mother had prepared a large-portioned lunch of beans, cabbage, and rice.
After we tried our best to eat everything on our plates, we started to begin mudding the hut. Cathy took the ceremonious first jump into the mud to squish it around and she made one mud ball and put it in place thus beginning our a long, hard job! But some how Cathy and Sandy escaped the work to go out and purchase furniture for the home. We all took turns either making mud balls in the pit or putting the mud in place on the huts wooden framing. Some of us were not so fond of the idea of getting in the mud pit to make the balls while the rest of us were very excited to get in the pit in our bare feet and squish the mud between our toes and attempt to make balls, when I asked somebody what the trick to making the balls was they said “be Kenyan”! Although we weren’t Kenyan we completed the hut in just over 2 hours, much to the surprise of our Kenyan taxi drivers.
We then played with the children from the home while waiting for our taxi’s to come and get us; we handed out suckers and bubbles to all of the children who had a blast with them! Although we all went back to the compound looking like oompa loompas, because we were all stained a wonderful shade of orange from the mud, this is definitely an experience we will all remember for a very long time!
And if you are interested in building your own mud hut here are some simple instructions:
1) Make mud and squish it between your toes.
2) Put mud in between sticks that are constructed to resemble a hut.
3) Keep piling mud between sticks until it looks like your finished.
4) Pray that the walls don’t fall down!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Visit to Kolongolo Village
Our team has arrived safely in Africa and yesterday was our first day out in the projects. The drive from Kitale to the village is about 23 kilometres which would take about 20 minutes in Canada. In Africa, though, everything is different. Our little matatu truck made it through the most amazing terrain. The road is a dirt road (red dirt) with many ruts. It had rained through the night, so the road was slippery and sloshy. It was amazing to see how well the driver negotiated the obstacles.
There are African people everywhere - absolutely everywhere. In Canada, when you drive down the roads, there aren't any people, unless you are in a city where the people are on the sidewalks. Here, there are people walking on the road, sitting beside the road, in the fields, with donkeys, cows, goats everywhere. Many, many people - people everywhere. They watch us with curious eyes as we drive by. White people are a curiosity.
From time to time, we meet a police check on the road. Here, the police will expect a bribe in order to allow the vehicle to pass. The Kenyan government and many of the churches are corrupt. Corrupt is a word that has a new meaning to me. The corruption is total and permeates every single facet of life. The beautiful corn fields that are everywhere, are off limits to the average African. If they go in to pick the corn, they are arrested. The owners don't want the Africans eating the corn.
As we go through some villages, I look at the "buildings". In Canada, they wouldn't even be called buildings - most of them wouldn't even qualify as shacks! And yet, housed in these buildings are stores, markets, restaurants and all other types of businesses. I saw a motorcycle repair shop and a bicycle repair shop.
The geography of this region is beautiful. Corn fields for miles and then beautiful hills in the distance.
When we arrived at the village, we went to the school which was built totally with funds from the people of North Bay. It is a relatively big building in a nice field surrounded by cornfields. The children were wonderful. They performed a couple of songs for us. One of the songs was called The Butterfly and the other was called The Elephant. It was obvious that we were considered very special guests. I felt very humbled as I am just an ordinary person like them, but they treated us like kings and queens. After the performance - we split up into our work groups. Cathy and I did some teacher training with the three teachers. Mercy, 19, Sarah, 22 and Gladys 27. They were so appreciative of our ideas and the supplies we took to them that it tore at my heart. Our student team members played games with the children while we worked with the teachers. Caren and Sandy handed out new clothes to all of the children. They were very excited. We also gave them all suckers. It was difficult to talk to the children as we don't know any Swahili, but there was much love in the air, so the words didn't matter too much. The children sat on Laura, Stephen, Sandra, Sarah and Emily. They touched their hair and their skin and it was obvious that they were very curious.
We had lunch in Pastor Victor's mud hut. This was an experience in itself. We were served a feast of beef, rice, cabbage, chupatis, bottled water and fruit. The meal had been prepared by Caroline - a girl visiting from Uganda - over an open fire. When we arrived at the hut, one of the women washed our hands for us with a pitcher and a basin of warm water. I was reminded of the biblical scenes where it was common to wash your guests feet. Again, a most humbling experience.
The afternoon was spent painting the school and singing. We worked alongside some African men and sang as we painted and waited for the truck. When the truck arrived, we drove back to Kitale to a BBQ hosted by Transformed International. The guest list consisted of people from all over the world, many of whom live in Kitale permanently and work to help improve conditions for the African people. I met people from Sudan, England, Canada, United States, Holland, Israel, Uganda and Kenyan.
The members of our student team did the dishes. They are awesome!
All in all, it was a great first day to the projects. Now, it is time to get ready to go to Veronica House.
- written by Sally
There are African people everywhere - absolutely everywhere. In Canada, when you drive down the roads, there aren't any people, unless you are in a city where the people are on the sidewalks. Here, there are people walking on the road, sitting beside the road, in the fields, with donkeys, cows, goats everywhere. Many, many people - people everywhere. They watch us with curious eyes as we drive by. White people are a curiosity.
From time to time, we meet a police check on the road. Here, the police will expect a bribe in order to allow the vehicle to pass. The Kenyan government and many of the churches are corrupt. Corrupt is a word that has a new meaning to me. The corruption is total and permeates every single facet of life. The beautiful corn fields that are everywhere, are off limits to the average African. If they go in to pick the corn, they are arrested. The owners don't want the Africans eating the corn.
As we go through some villages, I look at the "buildings". In Canada, they wouldn't even be called buildings - most of them wouldn't even qualify as shacks! And yet, housed in these buildings are stores, markets, restaurants and all other types of businesses. I saw a motorcycle repair shop and a bicycle repair shop.
The geography of this region is beautiful. Corn fields for miles and then beautiful hills in the distance.
When we arrived at the village, we went to the school which was built totally with funds from the people of North Bay. It is a relatively big building in a nice field surrounded by cornfields. The children were wonderful. They performed a couple of songs for us. One of the songs was called The Butterfly and the other was called The Elephant. It was obvious that we were considered very special guests. I felt very humbled as I am just an ordinary person like them, but they treated us like kings and queens. After the performance - we split up into our work groups. Cathy and I did some teacher training with the three teachers. Mercy, 19, Sarah, 22 and Gladys 27. They were so appreciative of our ideas and the supplies we took to them that it tore at my heart. Our student team members played games with the children while we worked with the teachers. Caren and Sandy handed out new clothes to all of the children. They were very excited. We also gave them all suckers. It was difficult to talk to the children as we don't know any Swahili, but there was much love in the air, so the words didn't matter too much. The children sat on Laura, Stephen, Sandra, Sarah and Emily. They touched their hair and their skin and it was obvious that they were very curious.
We had lunch in Pastor Victor's mud hut. This was an experience in itself. We were served a feast of beef, rice, cabbage, chupatis, bottled water and fruit. The meal had been prepared by Caroline - a girl visiting from Uganda - over an open fire. When we arrived at the hut, one of the women washed our hands for us with a pitcher and a basin of warm water. I was reminded of the biblical scenes where it was common to wash your guests feet. Again, a most humbling experience.
The afternoon was spent painting the school and singing. We worked alongside some African men and sang as we painted and waited for the truck. When the truck arrived, we drove back to Kitale to a BBQ hosted by Transformed International. The guest list consisted of people from all over the world, many of whom live in Kitale permanently and work to help improve conditions for the African people. I met people from Sudan, England, Canada, United States, Holland, Israel, Uganda and Kenyan.
The members of our student team did the dishes. They are awesome!
All in all, it was a great first day to the projects. Now, it is time to get ready to go to Veronica House.
- written by Sally
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
We Leave Today
I woke up this morning early and realized that today we leave. I feel like I am going to my "other home." I always feel so comfortable when I am in Kenya and I am hopeful that our team feels good about being there as well. I pray for safety and ask folks to do the same for our team.
I am excited to meet with the folks of Transformed International (TI). This is the NGO that we work with in Kitale, Kenya. We stay on their compound and all of the projects that we do in that area go through this group. Daniel Lipparelli is a young American who started this NGO and he is about 30 but wise beyond his years. Sean and Meredith Steward are a young married couple from Ontario who work with Daniel and are amazing couple. Meredith wears her heart on her sleeve and any child who comes in contact with her loves her immediately and within seconds is snuggling on her lap. Anne is the Kenyan social worker employed by TI and she is a working dynamo. We are hoping to train a couple of young women as nurses to work in some of our projects and they would also report to TI I feel so blessed that we have such amazing people to work with when we are there
I am excited to meet with the folks of Transformed International (TI). This is the NGO that we work with in Kitale, Kenya. We stay on their compound and all of the projects that we do in that area go through this group. Daniel Lipparelli is a young American who started this NGO and he is about 30 but wise beyond his years. Sean and Meredith Steward are a young married couple from Ontario who work with Daniel and are amazing couple. Meredith wears her heart on her sleeve and any child who comes in contact with her loves her immediately and within seconds is snuggling on her lap. Anne is the Kenyan social worker employed by TI and she is a working dynamo. We are hoping to train a couple of young women as nurses to work in some of our projects and they would also report to TI I feel so blessed that we have such amazing people to work with when we are there
Friday, July 2, 2010
Few days to go
I am organized, finally for the next trip to Kenya. I have a few things left to do like getting medical packs strapped and handles added so we can carry them. We are carrying two medical packs which were generously donated by a North Bay couple. We will have to pay for the extra baggage but they are well worth taking since they contain medicines for children and will help the kids in our new orphanage.
I am hoping that the students will be blogging about their experiences so keep an eye on this site for all the latest about what we will be doing.
The people of North Bay and area have been so generous with their money, donations of supplies, knitting and sewing skills and I want to express a sincere thank you to everyone for all their help. The team goes over and does the work that needs to be done, but the entire community helps in so many different ways.
Thanks to evryone for all your help and generosity in bringing hope to the children of Kenya.
I am hoping that the students will be blogging about their experiences so keep an eye on this site for all the latest about what we will be doing.
The people of North Bay and area have been so generous with their money, donations of supplies, knitting and sewing skills and I want to express a sincere thank you to everyone for all their help. The team goes over and does the work that needs to be done, but the entire community helps in so many different ways.
Thanks to evryone for all your help and generosity in bringing hope to the children of Kenya.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sandy's Triathlon
I have just completed my first triathlon to raise funds for Kenya. I raised $3245.00 and had a great time training and finishing the tri. I had to learn to really swim well. I had taken lessons 4 years ago but this past winter I worked hard so that I could complete the 1000 meters at the North Bay Tri. I trained hard on my bike, but I am not so big and strong, but managed to do the 32 kilometers in a good time for me. I was so excited when I finished the bike ride that I knew I could complete the 8.2 km run so I ran walked it and was grinning from ear to ear when I finished.\
This whole fundraising experience would not have been possible without the help of several people: my training partner Brenda Lalonde, my swimming buddies Brenda Walsh and Cathy Rennie, the person who always makes you feel like you can conquer anything Viola Burke and my husband Gerry who supports everything that I do.
The money raised will go a long way in helping the children in Kenya.
This whole fundraising experience would not have been possible without the help of several people: my training partner Brenda Lalonde, my swimming buddies Brenda Walsh and Cathy Rennie, the person who always makes you feel like you can conquer anything Viola Burke and my husband Gerry who supports everything that I do.
The money raised will go a long way in helping the children in Kenya.
Getting ready
Today team members were at my home and we packed our 18 bags. It was quite exciting to fit everything we want to take with us to Kenya into our large black hockey type bags. Our team is great and the youth going on this trip are incredible. Steven Hepburn just got back from being one of a few students selected from across Canada to be at the G8 and G20 summits. He had a great experience and I know that he added something by being there. He is an amazing young man and will be a great asset to our team. Sarah Schroeder, Sandra Brownlee and Laura Chute are quite remarkable young women who have contributed something to their community and school. Emily Duggan, in her Masters program at Emmanuelle College in Toronto, is our youth leader and is a young woman who has a level head on her shoulders and is a great role model for the youth that are on the trip.
I think they are excited about the trip and maybe a bit aprehensive since everything is unknown to them. I am sure they will all be great ambassadors for the Hope2Kenya team and for our town of North Bay.
I think they are excited about the trip and maybe a bit aprehensive since everything is unknown to them. I am sure they will all be great ambassadors for the Hope2Kenya team and for our town of North Bay.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Leaving in Two weeks
Out Hope2Kenya team is getting ready to leave on July 6th. Unfortunately we are now down to 9 members since Debbie Jones had to drop out due to an accident that she had. She was our teacher trainer and we will miss her.
Wonderful things have continued to happen for Hope2Kenya. Many people in our area have felt called to help in many different ways. A group from Living Fit in North Bay began making Tippi/Izzy dolls for us. These are hand knit tiny dolls that we can take with us to hand out to children. Most of the children in Kenya do not have toys and these will be wonderful for the kids to have. Several other women picked up the idea from their Living Fit friends and we are now taking over 200 dolls with us.
I spoke to a small knitting group and they and their friends have made over 40 sweaters for young children.
People have donated money and school supplies and medical supplies and the list goes on. I am so grateful for all of the individuals and groups who have contributed to us in some way.
FJ McElligott in Mattawa is one of the smallest high schools in the Near North District School Board with only 125 students. Under the direction of teacher Chris Davies this school raised $2120.00 for our team. This money will be used to help complete a school in Kolongolo Village.
Our Fashion show and luncheon held at the Ram's Head Restaurant in Callander yielded $700.00 for our fund and the whole luncheon was great fun. Joyce's Fashions and lia sophia jewellery came together to create a wonderful array of outfits.
Our plans are now in place for the work we will do in Kenya. The youth that are going are incredible young people and are excited about what they can contribute.
It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks brings before we go.
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