'Mission in Action'

This trip has had more challenges than I would like, of varying types. From having a flight cancelled and standing in a line for 6 hours at Abu Dhabi with 100's of other delayed passengers to obtain a boarding pass for a rescheduled flight, allergy to medication, learning how to be patient when there are no matstus(2 hours in a cloak room), waiting for a booked taxi that works on' Kenyan time', to little or no internet service, and obtaining ingredients for a project.

Coping with these inconveniences is helped by the warmth of the greetings one receives from the Kenyan people and the view from my hut at MIA.

Not normally an early riser, but as the sun is warming the sky with its rays, I have been motivated to enjoy the serenity of the dawn.

 One morning I was rewarded with the crescent moon and the morning star, looking towards the east over Nakuru.

The huts at Mia are mud huts on the exterior walls faced with cow manure slurry. Over time they deteriorate requiring resurfacing.

 Before

Ladies from the local village were employed over 4 days to work on all the accommodation huts.

The slurry was prepared in the wheel barrow then using their hands spread it over the old surface.

The white 'trim' is a white clay mix. 

The surface is very durable as these have been here for 7 years without repairs. The roof of grass is lined with plastic sheets on the rafters for water proofing.

The hut to the right is the back of the one I stayed in last year.

The bottom 'sill' on the huts is allowed to dry for a couple of weeks and the ladies return to patch up any cracks that have occurred during the drying out process.

As there is a wedding due on Easter Sunday, I have been given tasks to help spruce up the surroundings.  Refurbishing roman blinds in the kitchen and dining area downstairs of the main building as well as 3 upstairs : removing broken slats and cords, washing, replacing the cords and rehanging. I must say staff were very happy as some windows had no coverings to protect from the heat and provide some sense of security after dark.

Then onto hemming suit pants for some of the boys. All 100 children from the orphanage are participating in some way as Ivan is their 'Dad'. Organising new sets of clothes for each child has been a massive undertaking. The dressmakers in the school have made all the girl's dresses and a tailor in town providing individually measured shirts and trousers for the younger boys. Shoes, socks, ties, belts, then for the girls new shoes with little heels. This week has seen frantic activities in the salon as all the girls have new braided hairstyles in preparation.

Part of the preparation for a new style requires the removal of previous styles. Here I am with Purity helping to remove the tight knit plait with a tooth pick, a very time consuming task.

As you all know I just love getting into the kitchen and here is no different. Gina( a volunteer from US) and I volunteered to help Damaris the chef to cook Mandazis for breakfast. The dough is prepared the previous evening and the next morning cooking starts as soon after 6 am as possible in order to get through the 4 kgs of flour. The breakfast is served at 7 am.

Volunteering has many fascets when choosing to come to an orphanage. Providing  hugs of caring, sharing time with individuals, helping with homework, listening to stories, and generally helping with the running of the place with the carers. A group of return volunteers arrived with 120kgs of clothes for the children….. 

once the bags were sorted into piles of like items and sizing, children were called in small groups and issued with a new set of clothes.. what fun they had with trying sets on.

this is Duncan proudly showing his new set of clothes.

Later in the afternoon, Alanee compared a catwalk parade for the children. Walking down the lined pathway, bright smiles and strutting their stuff catwalk style, they provided entertainment for staff carers and onlookers alike. All these experiences add to building self confidence for the children who have come from such challenging backgrounds that finds them at MIA.

Kenyan birthday practices!

It was Margie's birthday recently. She runs the shop and is the gate keeper.

After many attempts to avoid her 'Bath' or dousing with a bucket of cold water she was cornered a few days ago. This then was a free-for -all. The only reason I remained dry was the I had in my possession a dress that the bride was wearing in the evening!!! ( I had been given the task of altering it).

They are not going to find out when my birthday is !! with all my water stories I best not be a spoiled sport!!

Along with all these activities at MIA(curtain making and gardening as well), I have travelled to Nairobi for a day, travelled to Kisii, Kenyenya and Kilgoris. 

It is wonderful to be back here and I thank all those who helped my ability to support people improve their lives in some small way by purchasing craft that I have made or who made cash donations for projects that I am undertaking. 

I have been here now 6 weeks, with many more to follow.

Easter has just been and no Easter eggs consumed, off to Dawn service in Nairobi on Friday.

Internet available many more stories to be had.