Update at Tumaini!

Habari asubuhi!  This is one of the ways to say good morning in Swahili.  Things are very busy and moving fast here at Tumaini.  I feel like I am going to blink my eyes and it’s going to be time for me to go home.  So here is an update on my Kenyan life!

My 6^th graders have been working very hard this week writing pen pal letters to AMS 6^th graders (thanks to the help of Mrs. Elizabeth Mills!) asking questions about the U.S. and telling about life in Kenya.  While revising the letters I found some of the things the children said quite entertaining.  For example, “We have corruption in Kenya.  Do you have corruption in America?”  Children in Kenya have been taught over and over that polygamy is wrong in hopes that it will prevent it from happening in the future.  So some children proudly wrote, “I live with my mom and dad.  We have a monogamous family.”  I kindly ask them to include a different fact instead, so that Mrs. Mills is not stuck explaining polygamy and monogamy to American 12 year olds.  Another fact that some kids mentioned was if they have a permanent roof on their home (instead of grass).  They are very proud of this, and it will show kids at home how nice they have it.  A very bright boy named Kevin informed his pen pal about the famine and told how there was a hotline, “Kenyans for Kenya” and if they wanted to help all they had to do was text 111111 on their phones!

Eline and I have started painting the classrooms and as with everything I do in life I am very slow and would bet I will be painting until the day I fly home.  I am also still waiting to help build the cowshed out of mud (it takes a while for things to happen in Kenya), but I will let you know when that happens!

On Thursday Eline and I travelled to Kisumu because we had to renew our visas.  Kisumu is located on Lake Victoria and is known for their very tasty tilapia.  After leaving the immigration office we walked down to the lake where everyone is hustling you to sit at their “restaurant.”  We chose one and then were told to pick out our fish.  Literally there is just a bunch of different size dead fish sitting on a slab of wood.  After picking you sit down and wait for your fish to be cooked.  When it comes out it looks the exact same.  Head, fins, bones, and all!  Not only did I eat it, but it was delicious!

There is an orphan living in our community who graduated high school in 2007 but hasn’t had enough money to pay her tuition and can’t receive her diploma.  Rose said the fact that four years later she is still trying and hasn’t gotten pregnant (that’s what girls do if they don’t have goals or money) means she is a very determined, good girl.  The community had a fundraiser for her and was able to raise enough to pay her tuition and get her started in college!

Eline leaves in 2 weeks and I am going to be lost.  Aside from when I teach English which is around an hour a day, we spend every moment of everyday together.  We sleep in the same room and even shower at the same time and can talk between our stalls.  Both of us are in complete shock that after all this time not only have we not strangled each other, but we actually still like each other!  We even have plans to do future projects together!

Rose and I are trying to update the website, which is comical.  Rose is still learning how to do things on the computer and I am the American who wishes I lived in the time before computers existed.  So far we have mostly just been staring at it deciding what needs to change.  Rose has asked a man from town to come help us, so we should be making progress soon!

All is going well with the feeding program.  I think I am getting muscles in my arms from transferring the maize into the small bags.  We had a young boy who travelled to us from a different community looking for food for him and his grandmother.  We were happy to help him.  I want to thank everybody again for all your contributions, it has really meant a lot to these people.