My first week in Kenya

Hello everyone,

Life in kenya is full of wonderful people dealing with challenges with hope and hard work and vision for the future. Nairobi was exhausting, frenetic, polluted, and stimulating! People everywhere trying to get somewhere through traffic unlike anything I have every seen. I was hosted by a wonderful family who picked me up from the airport, fed me (wonderful food), and took me around Nairobi on Mutatas just like a local. Crossing the street is a unique experience that I wouldn't try on my own. For two hours I went with Njoki ( one of my hosts) to a home for abanded babies. We changed them and fed them and played with them. What incredible work. The attitude is hopeful and many of the babies are adopted mostly by Kenyans and some by foreigners. Many of the babies are HIV+ and are more difficult to place.

My 8 hour bus ride to Kitale was quite an experience, being the only non-Kenyan. We stopped once for a toilet break. Imagine! The country side was beautiful. At one point we slowed down for zebras crossing the road.

Now, I have been living with the people of Common Ground in a hut built for Village Volunteers for 4 days. This is one of the programs we at Pangea have sponsored. The program is an amazing story mostly because of the energy and vision of the director, Joshua Manchinga. The beauty of the story is the understanding of the interconnectidness of school, community and the environment. The center piece is the PathFinder school. It is a private school for anyone in the surrounding community. Most of the children are very poor and dealing with extreme challenges of family life, and long distances to walk to school. Joshua works hard to find sponsors for the children to allow them to come to the school. After being open for only 4 years there are 298 students in grades K through 7. They will add 8th grade next year. The school is unique in that the children are taught the importance of working within their community. They are taught from very early grades the principles of bio-intensive farming and are taught to go out to the adult community and teach so that families can be self-sustaining on a small plot of land. The children are intent learners and know how fortunate they are to be able to attend school - especially the girls. Pangea is sponsoring 14 children who would otherwise not be able to attend school at all. Tomorrow I will be able to talk with them and learn their stories directly from them. The Common Ground program also makes connections between people and supports creation of such community groups as the Masaba Widows Group. These women have been widowed, many from HIV/AIDS, all have young children, and as women many were left with nothing after their husbands died. These women, now are supporting each other by using bio-intensive farming, and engaging in microenterprises such as tailoring, brick making, and farming. They are energetic, welcoming, creative, hopeful and even joyful in their lives. I wish everyone could meet them! Today I will meet other community groups benefitting from the Common Ground Program. Pangea has also provided support for the microenterprises of the Masaba Widows. We can feel very assured that this support for both the children and the Widows is being well used!

Joshua felt so strongly that he wanted to meet the whole group traveling from Pangea that he is going to travel with me to Kisumu to meet for an hour or so with all 4 of us.

Take care everyone. When power is up and connections are good and I am in Kitale again I will update this post.

Asante sana,

Sydney