Für unsere letzte Reise nach Kenia standen diverse Punkte auf unserer Pendenzenliste. Schulbesuche, neue Schulen anschauen, Wünsche und Sorgen von den Kindern anhören, Familienbesuche abstatten und letztendlich auch unser neues Projekt, ein Jugendhaus zu erstellen. Wir waren froh, dass uns unsere Freunde Giusi und Oriana uns auf dieser Reise begleitet haben. Unsere Besuche sind immer eine grosse Herausforderung und wir sind immer dankbar, wenn wir dabei unterstützt werden.
For this trip to Kenya we had some points pending to discuss and work out. Visiting and looking at new schools, listening to the children’s wishes, paying family visits and also organize various things for our new project: building a Youth Centre. We were glad that our friends Giusi and Oriana accompanied us on this trip. Our visits are always a big challenge and we are always grateful if we are supported by donors.
Fully loaded we flew to Nairobi on January 26th. On the next day Caroline's cooks had already prepared the meals for our kids at Bishop Nambuki primary school. After having said Hello to Caroline’s family we drove to the school where we ate played, sang and danced with the kids. The children are growing and are not as shy as they used to be a few years ago. They start joking around and some of them even dare to express a wish or share a little concern. It is just wonderful to see the development of these children.
Even if it was dry season, we were faced with very heavy rainfall during almost our entire stay. In the Bishop Nambuki school we were only able to stay inside. The heavy rain during the night made it difficult for us to travel to our children from secondary school. We had to make big detours since the streets are not paved most of the times. Our first stop was in Matiliku Boy's school. After Primary school all of our boys will attend Matiliku High School. On this day we were only allowed to visit the school so we had no chance in seeing our boys. For us Europeans it is sometimes difficult to understand these strict rules and guidelines.
The same day, we attended one of our girls' secondary schools at Marie Mount School. We can see that this school has a different level of the boy’s High School. Therefore, we have decided that we will no longer transfer girls to Marie Mount High School. Mercy will graduate this year and we are figuring out whether we want Catherine to be transfered to another school. It takes a lot of time for us to make such changings as Kenyans are very strict with their guidelines. The two girls didn't speak much, but they seemed all in all very happy.
Since all secondary schools are far away from Caroline's house, we spent two nights in a Hotel.
At 11:00 we could finally meet our boys: Felix, Muthie, Mutiso, Isaac (Giusi's and Oriana's godchild) and Cornelius. We brought them soft drinks and sweets. We wanted to take the Boys out of the school premises but it was not possible. It is hard for us sometimes since we are used to our European ways. But Africa is not Europe and the rules are strict even if we don’t or can’t understand them sometimes. We spent three intense hours with our boys. Some of them have also opened up and entrusted us their needs and wishes.
After having spent intense hours with the boys it was time for us to pay the high school girls a visit in St. Theresa High School. This school corresponds to the level of the boys' school. Gender equality level of education is very important to us, so we were excited about the new St. Teresa secondary school. At the moment Zipporah and Yvonne study there since the beginning of January. After a tour of the school we were able to spend some time with the two girls.
On the way back to Kyevaluki we visited Kennedy. Since he is already 19 years old, he decided to go to a Technical School. The Mumbuni Technical Training College enables him to acquire basic mechanical knowledge and practical experience for driving a bus. It was very exciting to have a look on a mixed girls / boys college. After two intensive days we drove back to Kyevaluki, where Caroline's family spoiled us with a delicious dinner.
31. January 2020
We had this day for our additional project: Planning the youth center. In the morning we met a construction manager called Jones. He is a family friend of Caroline and has already constructed various buildings. He showed us some of his work. He also took us to a place where we saw workers sharpening natural stones for USD 5 / a day.
We dedicated this day to Caroline's family. We visited her sister, who invited us for lunch. It was intense since she lost her husband in June. So we cried but also laughed together.
2. February 2020
Nach dem Mittagessen hat sich unsere Reise bereits dem Ende zugewendet. Wir sind immer sehr dankbar über die Gastfreundschaft von Caroline und ihrer Familie. Stets werden wir verwöhnt mit Mahlzeiten, die von Herzen hergerichtet werden und Schlafmöglichkeiten, die uns zur Verfügung gestellt werden und Chapati die dutzendweise für die Heimreise von Herzen vorbereitet werden. Jedesmal fällt es uns schwer, Kyevaluki zu verlassen, denn sie machen es möglich, dass wir uns Zuhause fühlen. Asante sana.
On the last day we went to the usual church visit and ceremony. Sundays are still celebrated in Kenya. People wear the most beautiful dress, you don’t go to work and focus on your family. In church Kenyans are all about being together, praying, singing, dancing and hoping. It is all about being happy. After the mass we were able to give a few presents such as clothes and pens to the people that were in church.
Unseren Rückflug haben wir dann am Sonntag abend angetreten und jeder von uns wird diese Reise in seinen Gedanken nie vergessen, denn jedes Mal lernst du etwas Neues dazu und bist zumindest für eine zeitlang dankbar, für alles was du im Leben erleben darfst.
On the flight back we revaluated the trip and realized once again how precious life is. Every time we fly back from Africa we have learned something new. It makes us appreciate what we have even more than ever!