On the way from Nairobi to Kitale, a distance of 295 miles
Farther along...
O.K., Barb and I didn't see this but Bill, Pat, Pastor John, and Lilian who came several days later by car did.
Oh, my, the rainy season + rural roads--a bad combination!
Just when we didn't think the road could get any narrower...
It took four guys to push us out.
Made it!
Four classrooms plus storeroom/office. Two years ago Kisima consisted of three mud classrooms. There was no water source and the children sat on the dirt floor for their lessons. It is thanks to friends, Shiloh Methodist Church in Kokomo IN and Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Loudon TN that so much progress has been made.
Here I'm standing near the classrooms looking toward the latrines, the chicken coop under construction, and the cowshed. Taking a photo the other direction is Barb Nylen, long-time friend and former back door neighbor from Kokomo IN.
Third graders. All classes stood and greeted us in unison when we walked in.
Happy second graders
The other half of the second graders
The preschool class is held in one of the old mud classrooms.
The teachers: Roselyne Oschemo, Martha Walucho, Hellen Mandu, Lawrence Egesa, and Elizabeth Wekesa. In the back row are Margaret N. Barasa (Martin's wife), Martin B. Simiyu, and Enos Domie Atony.
Margaret
Enos, Principal and English teacher
Lawrence teaches math and Swahili
Barb entertains some of the kids.
Healthy kale garden. Each of the classes is responsible for a patch of garden.
The big-leafed plant is arrowroot.
Here Joseph is pumping water from the well to fill the water tank. He is also in charge of feeding and milking the cows.
The kitchen
Dish-drying rack
Two of the three old mud classrooms are being used as dormitories for the orphans. The mats, the few mattresses, and the blankets and folded or rolled up every morning.
The storeroom
Martin's daughter, Selina, and I are in the office.
Barb and...Barb
Me and Alexis
Barb enjoying her nappier grass
Cindy. Or is it Jeannette?
If that was Cindy, this is Jeannette. Or vice versa. :)
Pretty sure this one is Ron.
The goats are oblivious to all the attention.
Think the chickens are nervous being so close to the kitchen?
Day watchman, Patrick, and Spike, fierce (?) watchpuppy
Martin, Margaret, Selina, Barb, and I go on a tour--first to the two acres of maize grown in rented fields down the road.
This is actually the two-acre plot. In the previous photo we were standing by the neighbor's maize. This plot is ready for hoeing. In two weeks more hoeing will be done followed by an application of fertilizer. Beans are grown under the maize.
In front of Martin and Margaret are Martin's mother who lives next door, and Martin and Margaret's children: Selina, Hillary, and Emmanuel.
We're near Martin's house looking across the river at Kisima which you can just barely see in the background.
Martin grows some nappier grass to feed the cows.
Joseph has cut a load of nappier grass.
This spring which is about 100 yds. from Martin's house is the only source of water for a 1.5-mile radius. Here a neighbor girl fills her water container (previously a cooking oil jug)...
...and carries it home.
The spring is also the water source for the fish ponds. The first batch of tilapia are nearly ready for harvesting.
A fairly big one and a not-so-big one
Sunday morning and all the children gather in one of the classrooms for a church service led by Margaret.
Enjoying ugali for lunch. Ugali is maize flour and water cooked down until it's very stiff.
On Monday we went to Bungoma, the nearest town with a Rotary Club. There we met with Rev. Silvanus Alwanga Malaho, the Charter President of the club, about sponsoring a grant for Kisima. The Vienna VA Rotary sponsored a grant of $1000. If The Bungoma Rotary will also sponsor a grant it will be matched by Rotary International.
Preschoolers wash their hands before having their morning tea.
Barb and I made peanut butter sandwiches for the children.
Lunch: githeri (maize and beans) and half an orange.
More laundry being done.
A group drove up from Nairobi to visit Kisima for a day. L. to R. are the Assistant Chief (local government representative) Jerald Nabwana, Martin, me, Bill Kring from Kokomo IN, Pastor John Andirah from Bright Star School in Nairobi, Pat Boe from Kokomo, Lilian from Bright Star, and Margaret.
First and second graders waiting for the welcome ceremony to begin. It looks like one boy decided to take a nap.
Third and fourth graders perform a lively dance.
Lilian joins in.
Third and fourth graders perfectly recite a poem thanking us for our interest and support and for giving them a chance at a future.
Bill Kring gets a tour of the grounds, the maize fields, and the fish ponds. Pastor John is a long-time friend of Martin's and has visited before.
Pastor John and Bill Kring relaxing in Martin and Margaret's living room.
Improvising...
Lined up for a turn at jumping rope.
The jump ropes that I brought (donated by a church member) were one-person jump ropes. I demonstrated...
and Martin gave it a try. He's just a little tall for a junior jump rope.
It's amazing how much fun you can have with a beach ball.
New soccer balls with money from church and new shirts courtesy of Two Tunics, a charity in Milwaukee WI that takes overstocks from manufacturers and distributes them.
The fourth graders are very happy to get some new textbooks with money from our church.
The first graders got some new textbooks also.
I thought our grandson Ben would like to see this photo of a little girl wearing his t-shirt.
Teaching the kids to treat Spike gently
Reading "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters"
Barb and I take a turn at twirling a jump rope.
Getting ready to say good-bye. A photo with Emmanuel, Hillary, and Selina.
Saying good-bye
Martin and I met with the village elder and some of the villagers. Everyone I met expressed appreciation and gratitude for the school. There are six other schools in the area but none take orphans. Without Kisima the orphans would be truly forgotten children.
The contrast between the lively, happy children at Kisima and the listless, downcast, and ragged children we saw while driving around really brought home what a blessing Kisima is.
We never saw any other children playing. Martin said all they could think about was when their next meal would be. They had to have been full of parasites as well.
This little fellow is probably older than he looks.
We saw lots of other schools around, almost always connected to a church. There are six other schools in the Kisima area. However, none of them take orphans. Everyone we talked to expressed their appreciation for what Kisima does for the orphans.
On the way back to Kitale
A brick kiln
Taking a break from hoeing weeds
Strip mall?
That's sugar cane on the bicycle.
One of several options for transportation
Busy road coming into Kitale
This was where we bought several mattresses--as many as we could get in our taxi.
That's a seat for carrying a passenger on the back of the bicycle--the cheapest "taxi" option.
The downtown market
The universal way to carry a baby or toddler
Downtown Kitale
Yikes
Double yikes
Our driver, his wife, and darling baby
Home away from home--the living room at Karibuni Lodge
The back of the house
Poinsettia!
Our digs
Reading in bed
Barb and the resident donkey
Theresa, the owner, and Caleb, who was staying there for several months
The Lutheran church back in Nairobi
The choir loft
