Saturday

Well Saturday was the big outing.  Kristoffer drove us to By Grace Orphanage on the other side of Nairobi.  What a trip.  You could tell you were getting into the poorer section long  before we actually reached the orphanage.  We even saw a herd of cattle walking along the side of the road with everyone else.  Kristoffer said it was illegal to take cattle into the city!!!!  

When we got to the orphanage, we parked on the street in front.  We had to cross a kind of cement moat - there was a cement plank for us to clear.  The first thing that hit me was the smell.  The next thing was the flies!  We went through very narrow halls, and up some stairs.  They were having classes for the older kids.  Most of them had uniforms on.  We met with the head teacher, Robert - Kristoffer asked him how his students did in the national exams.  He said they did well, as expected.  There was at least one who would be able to go to the university with his grades.  This man taught math and physics (couldn't believe they were teaching physics).  Most of the teachers are volunteers.  We went into several classes and you could hear the kids laugh after we left (funny looking white people).  These classrooms are the places where all the children sleep. 

For those of you who don't know what By Grace is or how Lisa and Kristoffer got involved with them,  let me explain.  Two women run the orphanage, Salome, who started taking in street chilldren in her own home, and Jane who is educated and tries to get donations to help run the place.  There are about 250 who live there and another 50 who come to eat!.  These women came to the World Food Program trying to get food for the students.  It is a process that Kristoffer has been trying to help them with.  The major block is that the WFP has money to feed children in preschool and primary school.  No money for the older kids.  They have to figure out how to separate the groups and feed them.  What I mean by feed them is a dish made from maize meal (ground corn flour) cooked in water (it is something like the consistency of mashed potatoes).   Salome is a very Christian lady, matter of fact about the most Christian person I've met (gives Patsy Gurry competition).  When we met with her, she thanked God, because she knew he had sent us.  We had a contribution from friends before we left, and one contribution of our own.

We were taken up to the top of the building, 3 stories, and that is where the kitchen is!  It was a roof that had a room with some kind of stove that was being heated by wood, with two big containers with the maize.  There was another large container which heated the water.  It was filthy and I mean I've never seen anything like it.  There was an area where the kids had some kind of storage for their personal things.  So what they used for sleeping, I assumed was in there.  The older kids had on uniforms because they had class.  The younger kids had on all kinds of things.  I thought the boys clothes were a little better than the rags the girls had on.  I hope the pictures post well because you can see exactly what I mean.  This was the time I wish I had won the lottery - because they have been able to buy land to build a real orphanage, but have not been able to raise the funds to clear and build on it.    I'm wondering if Oprah's Angel Network would help them out.  I guess there are a lot of places like this one.  These children are mostly orphaned because their parents died of AIDS.  You could not come away without thinking they were the poorest of the poor.  I know we have problems back home, but there is some kind of safety network (foodstamps, etc).  There is nothing here, but corruption.  We have no idea how very lucky we are.

On the way back, we took Jane somewhere near downtown Nairobi, where she was getting a matatu into the downtown for a meeting.  She took us a back way, which she thought would be quicker - it wasn't.  The traffic was terriblel!!!!!  We went by the real slums, it was very upsetting to me.  So much poverty.

Then Saturday night we went to a different part of Nairobi.  To the very lovely home of the Country Director of the WFP (he is the head of the organization here and Kristoffer's most superior boss.  He doesn't actually interact with him that much.).  Very interesting people.  He is German and his wife in from Uganda.  He has been with the WFP for a very long time and has lived all over the world.  He had invited some of the younger members of his staff that he doesn't meet with often.  There was a couple from Japan, he studied at the Kennedy School at Harvard, they are going to a new post in Malawi.  They have a pretty little 2 year old daughter.  Then there was a Danish couple - those of you who heard the story of the guy who had his arm chewed on by the baboons will be happy to know he is doing fine.  His wife is now terrified of all animals.  There were two women from Canada - one who is stationed in Malawi and one who is here and I think her husband is working in Sudan.  All had different stories.  The hosts were so interesting to talk to.  

What a day it was.  I'll tell more about the traffic and driving here at another time.  I've probably bored you to death!

We are having some technical difficulties getting the pictures to do a slideshow this evening...but Lisa will try again tomorrow and hopefully you can see what I'm writing about.