Friday, July 13, 2007
Angels, Pilau Feast, and Learning New Songs
I'm back now from my travels to Kenya and I'm just now able to access the blog as it was impossible while I was gone, despite my best efforts. Sometimes technology can be so frustrating in the developing world and we take the ease of communication here very for granted! Prior to visiting the Happy Children's Centre in Malindi on the coast I was in Nairobi working with a PSU professor to help develop a HIV/AIDS research project at Kenyatta University and plan a student trip for 2008. While that was an interesting opportunity, my real passion still is working directly with people, particularly kids, affected by HIV/AIDS and learning about their lives. The six days I spent with the Happy Children's Centre were intense because I tried to accomplish a lot with the resources and time I had. Bishop Daniel Mambo, the HCC board chairman and Sophie, also a board member, were absolutely invaluable and took time away from their regular work lives to be with me and help to accomplish everything. Last January they were enlisted by Jim to form a new board for HCC and they and the other board members are trying hard to help Zablon with the administrative duties of running an orphanage and school. The week I was there Zablon was teaching the Class 1 kids (like First Grade) because a teacher just quit, so his time has been stretched even thinner than before.
I was delighted to be able to teach the kids two American songs, which they learned quickly and with great zeal. Hopefully when Jim comes later this month he will hear "This Little Light of Mine" in English and Kiswahili (as translated by one of the teachers) and "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands". The kids particularly liked the part of the last song where the body gesture is the rocking of "the itty bitty babies"...it always made them laugh when we did that together. I took a lot of video of the children singing their own Kiswahili songs and I marvel how the teachers use music, movement and the joy of singing together to settle down the kids, work off their extra energy and teach them stories as well. Kenyan culture is very much an oral culture and much of what is learned is taught through music, poetry and singing, which is very important with such scarce material resources.
My goals for this trip were as follows:
1. Watercolor painting again with the children. I showed the kids and teachers examples of the cards I'd made and sold from their previous years' paintings, and that really inspired them. This year we worked on a theme that will be used for Christmas cards and the results were absolutely fantastic. Most of the kids painted angels or birds (or a combination) and these angels graced the walls of their classrooms and gave them a lot of color and cheer. Some of the angels are whimsical, some are powerful, some are guiding Mary or the shepherds and some are downright scary....really good guardians for this often frightening world we live in.The kids were very proud of their creations and several asked me the first day if we'd be painting again, so they obviously look forward to this activity each year. The younger kids painted butterflies, which were also wonderful. We painted for total of four days and about 270 kids got to paint this year. I took many, many photos and will be designing some wonderful cards to make the most of their beautiful artwork.
Angels and butterflies bring joy to all who see them!
I was delighted to be able to teach the kids two American songs, which they learned quickly and with great zeal. Hopefully when Jim comes later this month he will hear "This Little Light of Mine" in English and Kiswahili (as translated by one of the teachers) and "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands". The kids particularly liked the part of the last song where the body gesture is the rocking of "the itty bitty babies"...it always made them laugh when we did that together. I took a lot of video of the children singing their own Kiswahili songs and I marvel how the teachers use music, movement and the joy of singing together to settle down the kids, work off their extra energy and teach them stories as well. Kenyan culture is very much an oral culture and much of what is learned is taught through music, poetry and singing, which is very important with such scarce material resources.
My goals for this trip were as follows:
1. Watercolor painting again with the children. I showed the kids and teachers examples of the cards I'd made and sold from their previous years' paintings, and that really inspired them. This year we worked on a theme that will be used for Christmas cards and the results were absolutely fantastic. Most of the kids painted angels or birds (or a combination) and these angels graced the walls of their classrooms and gave them a lot of color and cheer. Some of the angels are whimsical, some are powerful, some are guiding Mary or the shepherds and some are downright scary....really good guardians for this often frightening world we live in.The kids were very proud of their creations and several asked me the first day if we'd be painting again, so they obviously look forward to this activity each year. The younger kids painted butterflies, which were also wonderful. We painted for total of four days and about 270 kids got to paint this year. I took many, many photos and will be designing some wonderful cards to make the most of their beautiful artwork.
Angels and butterflies bring joy to all who see them!
2. Provide a special high-protein meal for the children as requested by one of my donors as part of her 60th birthday celebration. This was a big effort that involved several cooks, an enormous pot and a lot of running around by Sophie to get the ingredients. The result was the most delicious goat pilau meal I've ever eaten and the children, particularly the teen boys, were talking about it for days. They also each got an egg, banana, juice and cookies. 
The cooks serving up goat pilau from a giant pot which is slow cooked with special spices and rice. A REAL treat!!!
This was the long line of HCC kids waiting to get their special meal.
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3. Provide some extra high protein food for future use. To this end I enlisted Sophie and Bishop Mambo's help again and we bought beans, maize, green grahams (like lentils), onions and oil. They have extra money to add eggs, fruit and veggies to the kids' diet this coming month. 
Extra stores of protein food purchased before I left on Tuesday.
4. Have all the residential orphans receive a medical exam. Bishop Mambo introduced me to a wonderful local pediatrician and epidemiologist named Dr. Jeremiah Kiponda. "Dr. Jeremy" spent two solid days examining all the orphans who live at HCC. He charged a minimal fee to come to the HCC and he took some samples when needed for lab tests done off site at the hospital. We used one of the classrooms as an exam room and the teacher Madam Antoninia helped him with the kids because she has worked with them the longest besides Zablon. Dr. Jeremy brought one of his colleagues to help with the orphans' exams on the second day because it took so long to do everyone and some of the cases were tricky. Between the two of them they were able to provide a medical history for each child and prescribe and provide medicines. There are several kids with serious ongoing health problems that will need constant monitoring and one child needs surgery right away. I wasn't able to provide money for the surgery, but I was able to give Dr. Jeremy enough money for all the other prescriptions and extra funds so that any further care that is required this next month or two is handled. The surgery will cost about $150-160 and can be arranged by Dr. Jeremy. Zablon now has a doctor "on call" who knows the kids and can see them if anything comes up, which is a really important.
I felt extremely lucky to find a local doctor as knowledgeable and generous as Dr. Jeremy and I feel much better about the children's overall medical care now.
I felt extremely lucky to find a local doctor as knowledgeable and generous as Dr. Jeremy and I feel much better about the children's overall medical care now.Dr. Jeremy examines one of the orphans in the classroom/exam room.
5. Start a library/resource center for the HCC school. In the letters that the HCC kids sent to the Glencoe High School kids, the HCC kids talked about needing books. With the donations I received I was able to provide 60 books, most of which were in English, but I also bought Kiswahili books while I was in Kenya. There are now Kiswahili books for each grade and the teachers really appreciated having this new resource. While in the States I looked very hard to find books about Kenya for children and I was surprised to find quite a few. The English books I purchased were selected carefully to be culturally appropriate or books that could be used by the teachers and students as resources. I bought an atlas, dictionary, a children's Bible and several science books. I wanted to be able to provide a good bookcase for the new library, but in the end that proved to be too costly, so I found a big plastic tub to protect books from the humidity and other elements. Teachers and students alike poured over the books and I think this will be the source of a lot of enjoyment for years to come. Those of you who would like to add to the books, please let me know as I can provide an address where to send them and list of what books they already have.
The HCC kids study a beautiful English book called "Angels Watching Over Me" adapted from the African American spiritual and has lovely drawings.
6. Provide soccer balls, games and learning enrichment activities and supplies. I brought with me several soccer balls, which were a big hit of course. I also brought several games including matching card games, Scrabble, chess, checkers and the teachers were very intrigued because most had never played these games before. They spent time learning to play games themselves and clearly they, too, are thirsty for simulation. It was my observation that the kids are badly needing things to do and don't have equipment to play on or even the most basic of toys or games. I really hope the teachers will employ the games and books to provide children "quiet time" on rainy days (which was almost every day while I was in Malindi). In addition, I brought school supplies like pencils, scissors, foam stickers, crayons, colored pencils, glue, construction paper, colored tissue and stencils. One Sunday afternoon those children who weren't painting angels with me were working feverishly with construction paper and stencils and had an absolutely wonderful free-form art day with Sophie and Mr. Mangi, one of the teachers.
Sophie and teacher Madam Antonina learn to play Scrabble.
7. Purchase more mosquito nets for the HCC residential orphans. In 2005 and 2006 I had purchased over 50 nets for the HCC orphans to sleep under to protect them from malaria. In the hot, sticky climate the nights are full of mosquitoes. I was bitten to death while I was there and I can only imagine how much the mosquitoes love the tender skin of the kids! But I was discouraged this time to see the old nets out on the bushes drying, perhaps getting torn and being left to the elements. Fortunately a donor gave me funds to buy new nets and through Dr. Jeremy and the local hospital I was able to purchase very sturdy, treated nets at a subsidized rate. There is a public health program made available by U.S. aid money and the nets are quite cheap, so I was really pleased to leave Zablon with 40 big new mosquito nets and rope by which to hang them.
8. Spend time with HCC board leadership and talk about next steps. I met with all of the HCC leadership on the day of the pilau feast (the HCC board and the teachers were invited to this event), but most of my time was spent with Bishop Mambo and Sophie. I was tremendously impressed with Bishop Mambo's wisdom, diplomacy, generosity and kindness. He lives about 50 minutes away from Malindi and it wasn't easy for him to join us each day. We had some very long, good and frank talks about the future of HCC. I think the financial issues that HCC has struggled with this past year have weighed heavily on both of them and Zablon. While there would not have been an HCC without Zablon's leadership, care for the kids and tireless efforts, his administration abilities are not all that they need to be for the size that HCC has become. Bishop Mambo, Sophie and I talked in length about ways in which the HCC board can aid in this process and I helped to provide some administrative tools and support, which they requested. I bought some simple things like a filing system and office supplies that we take for granted in the U.S. and are surprisingly expensive in Kenya. At the next board meeting on July 14th, Bishop Mambo plans to open the discussion for new administrative procedures and oversight. The HCC board hopefully will help Zablon more with his administrative duties and also help make financial planning and follow-through easier and more transparent. Long term sustainability has yet to be achieved. In September the day scholars' families will be asked to pay school fees for the students that don't live at HCC and that should help finances a lot. Ideally Bishop Mambo, Jim and I would like to see the residential orphans placed in community homes so that they get more individual care. But that may be a way off yet as there is a lot that will need to transpire for that to happen. Jim will be going to Kenya in at the end of July and perhaps more discussion will happen about how the HCC board can support that sort of transition.
HCC board with Kirsten.
HCC board and teachers, all incredibly dedicated individuals.
In general I was pleased to see there were substantial improvements to the school and home for the HCC orphans. The work that the Italians completed earlier this year has made a big difference in how the school functions and the learning environment for the kids. For one thing, there are floors in the buildings and almost all the classrooms have desks. There are blackboards, a well for water (non-drinkable) and more order to the day than I remembered. However, the toilets are STILL not completed (although they are much farther along) and I have to admit that was a source of disappointment and irritation for me. I'm not sure that they are designed in such a way that they will even function properly when they are completed. The sanitation situation for both the toilets and the daily cooking is not tenable, but it was beyond my financial and time constraints to make changes to what is currently in operation during the time of my visit. 
While the residential orphans now don't have the long walk to school they used to, they are sleeping in the classrooms on mattresses that are very much worse for wear. It isn't ideal and there is a lot that they need in terms of basic living comforts.
While the residential orphans now don't have the long walk to school they used to, they are sleeping in the classrooms on mattresses that are very much worse for wear. It isn't ideal and there is a lot that they need in terms of basic living comforts.The toilets still need a water tank, more plumbing and pump to make them functional.
The children themselves look physically healthier than last year and better nourished, although I think psychologically the strain of living in an orphanage shows on some of the children's faces. It can't be easy for them to be in such a big group and I think they crave individual attention. I remembered many of them and they were so shyly pleased to have me call them by name this year. They are wonderful children despite all they have been through, and are so helpful and anxious to please and be noticed.
I was cheered to see that little Neema (singing on the right in the dress in the photo) was much improved in health this year and that one boy, who had awful ringworm all over his face last year, smiled brightly, his face clear of ringworm this year.
The children themselves look physically healthier than last year and better nourished, although I think psychologically the strain of living in an orphanage shows on some of the children's faces. It can't be easy for them to be in such a big group and I think they crave individual attention. I remembered many of them and they were so shyly pleased to have me call them by name this year. They are wonderful children despite all they have been through, and are so helpful and anxious to please and be noticed.
I was cheered to see that little Neema (singing on the right in the dress in the photo) was much improved in health this year and that one boy, who had awful ringworm all over his face last year, smiled brightly, his face clear of ringworm this year. There are now are over 400 kids attending school at the HCC but most of them are "day scholars" and don't live there. The core group of orphans living at the HCC is 93 according to Zablon and this number has been reduced from previous years. I asked for a roster of the names of the orphans before I left Oregon, but somehow between the time I left and the time I reached Malindi the roster had changed. This is one of those administrative things that I hope the HCC board will help Zablon tackle and keep organized.
There are many challenges facing the HCC orphans and their caretakers. I admire the dedication of the teachers and Zablon tremendously and they work for very little money and few other rewards. I tried my best to help with some of that this visit, but in the end, there are limits to what funds from outside can do and some of what needs to happen has to be decided by the HCC leadership. It was with a heavy heart and some long faces that I left. While I hope to return, perhaps again next summer, it is a long and expensive journey for me. But I felt very good about the work we did together, and I know that the children felt the care that each of you sent with me via your funds and gifts to enhance their lives. It was a window of joy in their lives and mine, and I feel very blessed by the time I had with them. As I left via tuk-tuk in the rain, one little boy slipped me a wonderful angel he had drawn that morning on a scrap of paper. Indeed, I felt the presence and support of angels all around us the whole time I spent at the Happy Children's Centre and I know that they watch over the kids, as they do us all.
There are many challenges facing the HCC orphans and their caretakers. I admire the dedication of the teachers and Zablon tremendously and they work for very little money and few other rewards. I tried my best to help with some of that this visit, but in the end, there are limits to what funds from outside can do and some of what needs to happen has to be decided by the HCC leadership. It was with a heavy heart and some long faces that I left. While I hope to return, perhaps again next summer, it is a long and expensive journey for me. But I felt very good about the work we did together, and I know that the children felt the care that each of you sent with me via your funds and gifts to enhance their lives. It was a window of joy in their lives and mine, and I feel very blessed by the time I had with them. As I left via tuk-tuk in the rain, one little boy slipped me a wonderful angel he had drawn that morning on a scrap of paper. Indeed, I felt the presence and support of angels all around us the whole time I spent at the Happy Children's Centre and I know that they watch over the kids, as they do us all.
Thanks for your interest, prayers and support. Light and peace to all.
~Namaste~ Mama Kirsten
# posted by Kirsten's Updates about the H.C.C. in Kenya @ 12:10 PM 
