IDP and Mum

Mamma J as she is affectionately known here says to say she is having a ‘very different time and learning a hell of a lot – we live like millionaires in Australia’. She is everyone’s mamma, lastly mine!

We are LOVING IDP – we were only in Nairobi for 2 nights before coming back and we already don’t’ want to leave. It was 4 weeks on Friday before mum and I fly out. It was a wee shock to the system when I realised. I will have to make myself ready to leave. :-( We have alternated from staying in Kamua’s teeny cement house and camping outside – it’s been a tossup between the cool air outside or mice inside. :-) It’s also a world away from mum’s special ‘private’ room back in our home stay in Nairobi. Gee she’s been spoilt here!! Wandering the lanes of the camps, it reminds me of growing up in the country the way the kids entertain themselves here – especially the 3 we discovered playing amongst the hay stack, it absolutely frightened the pooper out of me walking by before seeing them.

Every day, Mum is getting better accustomed to the food, walking everywhere, people grabbing for her attention on the streets, stinking slums, the funky hairdos, kid’s yelling ‘how are you, how are you…’, bright clothing, nauseating toilets, risking her life on public transport and new volunteers every day. It makes me laugh every time I think of my friend, Heath, who warned me about how everyone passes on blind corners, barely going 2km faster than the vehicle they are passing with either a cliff or mountain either side should you be unlucky having to avoid collisions. It’s exactly how it happens!

Last Monday we had another Medical camp at IDP which was, again, very busy. The morning was HIV testing all the school children and the afternoon was treating and testing other camp members. The kids were strong, damn strong and boy can they scream! Unfortunately the rooms were not sound proof, so the screaming started even before they walked through the door. We had 6 testing stations and mum was busy consoling the kids, holding them down or dragging them in from outside. Having a mother figure helped a huge amount (that and the lollies!).

This visit we have started giving out the donated clothing and school gear. Mum couldn’t get over the fact that most of the students and teachers still use razor blades to sharpen their pencils, so to see the joy she brought when she took out the numerous pencil sharpeners and went between each child and either sharpened their pencils or hand to them a new one, was fantastic. Massive thanks to Jill Downs and Karoonda Newsagency for donating those. And to Mission Australia Maroochydore who, as a cheerio gift to me, gave various useful bits and pieces for the kids, including books and the posters and colour pencils shown in the picture, colouring in was the highlight of their week. Mum actually graded and commented on each coloured picture, the kids were wrapped. Thank you so much guys, miss you and see you soon! Oh my gosh, Mum also has a stack of clothes from a Carol and Kung, the yellow outfit I am giving young Julia is the only one we have given out so far. This week we will purchase a stack more clothes and shoes for kids and teenagers with the money donated by the Karoonda Lions Club (thank you!!!) and hand them out with all the other donated goods in equal parts to each of the camps. I CAN’T WAIT!!!!

They have a new volunteer orientation here every 2 weeks – on the 1st and 15th of every month. The last couple, I have been asked to stand up and talk about IDP – not a good idea, I bloody cried at the last one in front of 52 new starters. I felt like an idiot, but they were cool about it. On Thursday they have another intake and 74 new people are starting!!! I cannot believe the numbers, they are getting from people all around the world – not sure if I have it in me to talk again, if so, perhaps I’ll drag mum along – how can I not be stronger 4 months in….

I am so impressed with how mum has been coping with everything here, she really has taken everything in her stride, she is so strong and I love that she is here. Each day she can walk that little bit further; I am constantly scolded by locals for making her walk, sorry mum! There really are limited choices to transport out here. This morning we profiled more than 30 children and hearing mum struggle with the difficult surnames they have was funny.

On Sunday, Mum, Jane and I joined the local IDP families for church. It was a wonderful experience. Their mass is held under a large tree in the front of Eldoret Camp, to see them come together and celebrate life is wonderful. The faith these folk have is very powerful. Each mass last between 3 and 5 hours, there is a lot of singing and dancing which has the time passing quickly.

We have almost finalised a way in which people can donate, I can’t believe the work involved, I am glad mum is here to help. We have more than 300 children in school who need assistance, but through research with other people and organisations, we have decided to sponsor the school as a whole – something I will explain in more detail soon.

Above is a photo of the children we currently have at the Southern Cross Academy, we are very proud to boast that we are now in our 4th week of operation. We can only currently fit 270 students, so this weekend we are in a position where we can start building an additional 3 classrooms to accommodate the further 60 or so children currently missing out. Another very exciting step.

You should see the kids with mum – they see her from a mile away and race to meet her to be the first to hold her hand and if she sits down, they literally jump all over her. With a bit of luck this will cure her of wanting more grandchildren for a while! :-) Last night we toasted marshmallow’s with a few of the kids, they were very hesitant at first, but it was a massive hit – they’ve never had anything like it and to see their faces eating the squishy sweets cold was also fascinating. As a thank you, their mother (having known we had already eaten dinner) served us another full meal of rice – it’s considered a privilege to have Mzungu visitors, so they also do what they can to have you in their home as long as possible. It’s rude not to accept or finish good food, so we stuffed ourselves and rolled out almost an hour later. We shared the living room with a goat, chicken and log or empty tin to sit on.

We have been watching most of the soccer games in the local little pub which has been brilliant and even shouted a round of soft drinks when Ghana was playing - it was incredibly well received and cost me less than $10AUD. Although the locals didnt' seem to mind, Jane and I felt uncomfortable having a drink, when we knew they couldn't afford it. I have also cooked most of our meals on their tiny gas stove which has been fun - there is no electricity here, so it's either done by brail or head torch - I love Kenya! Even though I've been here some time and have a pretty tough stomach, I was a little concerned that the rice I served was brown from the water - I boiled it well. :-)

On the weekend, mum was part of a new group who visited one of the poorest tent camps of IDP. They sat in a plastic home that housed 12 family members. It was a great experience and she still cannot comprehend where they sit, let alone cook and sleep in a tiny 3 x 4 metre space. She then handed out food to the families while I sat with the mothers shelling peas and beans. With each visit, I greet the families members sitting outside their tents and have noticed their handshakes change. I adore the fact we are becoming familiar.

I look forward to posting another update soon - hopefully from mum! :-)

Mum is finally here......

Well she’s here, my mum is here!! The first 3 days have been brilliant!

I simply cannot believe the amount of stuff mum managed to bring and it’s all perfect! Thank you from every part of my heart to those of you from the tiny town Karoonda (and surrounding areas) who found the spare clothes and money to donate, it will make a very big difference to the IDP families. I can’t wait to take her with them and give it all out! It makes me both excited and emotional just thinking about it! I promise to take plenty of photos.

The 'taxi' that took me to the airport to collect mum was the first host family I stayed with in Kenya and they now have a 2 month old girl, Anna. Mum held her the whole way home - so in love. The African babies are so incredibly gorgeous, you find every excuse not to put them down.

The video is of a snippet of mum’s first 30 min in Kenya in the taxi ride from the airport. She just witnessed the fine art in which the Kenya people cram into the back of Ute’s or mini Lorries to save themselves a 20 cent Matatu ride. They were literally running after the moving vehicle and launching themselves onto the back. Watching her experiencing such new, random things was absolutely hilarious, I’m still in stitches reliving it!!! Mum had her mouth open the entire taxi ride. Simple things I take for granted now like women carrying things on their heads, masses of people jammed in the back of a utes, no seatbelts, babies in the front seats on their mothers laps, locals selling things from peanuts to pillows and even love birds in between the traffic jams and Muslim families dressed full kit – this really is a culture shock for her!!! It seriously had me re-appreciating the life I have been immersed in for more than 3 months now.

Fellow volunteers and locals remind me every hour what a courageous thing mum has done in uprooting her comfortable life to join me here for what I am sure will be a life changing experience. It absolutely means the world to me, thank you so very much mum!

I am learning to chill out a bit, but I feel sooooo protective. I swear I will be kicking the arse of anyone who tries to rip her off or come near her in the slums! I’m also terrified Dad would kill me! :-)

I am both surprised and impressed by the way mum has been handling everything so far, especially the driving!! You literally risk your life every time you step into a vehicle or even cross or walk alongside the roads. There are next to no road rules here!

Since arriving, we’ve basically been exploring the streets of Kawangware (the slum in which we live) and sampling the local foods of Kenya – yummo!

Oooohhh, Mum just made her famous scones and once again has them branded ‘the best scones in the world!’ We ate them straight out of the oven and smothered them in jam and whipped cream – sensational!

Tomorrow we are heading for the camps, starting with a medical camp for the school kids – we are concentrating on testing them all for HIV as a priority. We have a further 16 volunteers joining us which is excellent as we will be busy testing more than 200 children.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, the day before mum arrived, I not only saw my third baby being born, but I actually helped deliver it - the mother was having trouble delivering her child beyond the head so I pushed on her tummy and felt, heard and saw it come out - incredible!

Must shoot but will update again soon – so much to write about.

Mum's almost here.....

Ahhhh – I just spoke to my mum and she is at the South African International airport due to board in less than 2 hours en route to Nairobi!! I am suuupppppeeeeerrrrrr excited to see her. The anticipation of her arrival has made me realise just how much I have missed my own family.

I love you all so much and will keep you posted on our movements, perhaps even have mum post an update too! These picture have been alternating on my desktop and with me everywhere I go, you are all forever close to my heart. The calender you gave me Sheryl and Danny has done the rounds and everyone loves it, especaially the kids.

Mighty big smooches and cuddles, especailly to Evan and Toby (and Alexis).
XXX

Back in Kenya

Where to start…. It’s great to be back! I arrived on Wednesday morning and spent the day catching up with other volunteers and visiting Fremo’s clinic – they have opened another branch!! It is small and a little isolated but in a perfect location for the locals. Even after its first week of opening, it has already proved to be a success. In the last 4 days, we have also celebrated 2 of the staff’s birthdays – Doctor John and Doctor Tony – Jane decorated a cake for them and they absolutely loved it. Birthday’s in Kenya are rarely celebrated (many do not know their date of birth), so they were definitely in high spirits.

Thursday was spent preparing for a visit to the IDP camps – Jane, Izzo and I have been working on the website and forms to profile each of the 270 school children ready for sponsorship. Thursday night we went out for Ethiopian food I have come to like very much and Friday morning, a bunch of 12 new volunteers and us left early to the IDP camps.

Jane and I were dropped off first at the IDP camps and the others went on to start their ‘outreach weekend’ with a visit to KCC – they were to join us the following day when feeding the families. Jane and I were the first to see the school in full action – after months of hard work building the school and preparing the families, it was overwhelming to see the children in school, on chairs with desks, a blackboard with chalk and with brilliant, qualified teachers teaching classes in English. The hard work and dedication of each individual volunteer over the past 3 months is staggering – I just wish each of them were here to witness the extraordinary impact and the delight on the kids faces in person. Moments like watching the school in full swing and knowing I had an impact is simply indescribable. To be part of something that will change the lives of so many and prepare them for a bright future means so very much.

During their break (they don’t’ have lunch yet, but we hope to implement that soon) they played seesaw on this massive flimsy piece of wood, 16 children squeezed onto it at once and had a brilliant time! How it didn’t break, I will never know! I can’t wait to experience moments like this with mum.

On Friday morning we spoke to about 35 children with the help of a translator where we asked them a bunch of questions. We managed to get information pertaining to what they want to be when they grow up but the basic stuff like their date of birth and family history they did not know. We then decided to ask their parents (via the children) to visit the school the next morning (Saturday) to speak to us direct. With that, we had the afternoon free so we decided to visit a few of the families ourselves starting in the less fortunate camp. We found being in their environment and speaking to them as a family in their home allowed them open up a little easier. It also allowed me to have one on one quality time with the families I have seen many times now, but I found it terribly disturbing learing the massive impact the post election violence in 2007 had on each of them.

On the way back from visiting the families, we stopped by the local little pub to watch the South Africa v Mexico game. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible. When they scored, chairs went flying and drinks were knocked over in the rush to the front of the screen to see the replay. Talk about the African pride! It was a brilliant experience.

That night Jane and I stayed with a local in the 3rd camp. It was absolutely wonderful, we woke up to the sound of birds and children laughing and playing in the distance. The air was so fresh and clean it reminded me of visiting my parents in the country. At night, there were so many stars I had almost forgotten just how beautiful they are. We were invited to a couple of homes; I had also forgotten how simple life could be and how few possessions we really need to be happy. In Monica’s home she had a kid (baby goat) roaming the main room – until about the age of 5 months they can die from the cold or be eaten by hunting dogs. They are a very precious animal here. Jane also milked the kid's mum – it was absolutely hilarious listening to her eeeww’s and ‘gross’ remarks, damn it I should have had a camera! What a cack!

Starting at 8am Saturday morning, we had a massive and incredibly successful day meeting with the families and gaining full profiling information on the children. Some parents still had difficulty remembering things like their children’s birthdays but we managed. I am so happy to be doing what I am doing but it makes me absolutely sick to the core at some stories I heard – I am willing to share them if you want to know, but find it inappropriate and disrespectful to write about it in here.

We ended up profiling over 200 children with their families, some families waited over 4 hours to see us. I heard more horrifying stories I could ever have imagined possible, I have a better understanding now how so many of these people have become so hardened. Listening to their tragic accounts and holding back my emotion is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I also better identify now why some children do not talk or still have nightmares, almost 3 years on.

We hope to have our first group of 30 children's profiles ready to send to people within the next week. They will outline how each child can be sponsored if you would like to do that. I also hope to have information regarding other forms of donations - like to the land project, water project or mill project to name few.

I can hardly believe that mum will be flying to Kenya in just 3 days!! Wow that’s crept up super quickly, we have so much we can do starting with a free medical camp at IDP on Monday – very excited about that!!

More to come........

Fabulous Greece - Mykonos and Rafina

Greece has to be one of the friendliest countries I have ever visited for various reasons I need not go into as my aim is to keep this entry short. I am in Cairo Airport and board for Nairobi in about 2 hours (woohoo). I am super excited to see everyone again!!

From Santorini, I went to Mykonos where I spent 3 nights. I managed to be there for a day of rain which is rare. They generally only get half a dozen days of rain in a year. It is a very dry island. Most rooves leaked and the entire town had minimal shelter – it was comical watching people (including myself) struggle to get from one street to the next.

The town of Mykonos is predominately based at sea level, and although it didn’t boast the steep cliffs where homes were perched overlooking the sea, it had the most beautiful confusing maze of streets I have ever seen. The bright greens, blue, yellow and red doors, stairwells and rooves made it incredibly easy for a keen photographer to get mesmerised and dreadfully lost. I forgot the time completely and went astray the afternoon I was due to leave the island. It was the last ferry of day and I found myself running with 17.5kg of luggage to the bus hailing it down as the last form of transport to take me to the ferry and en route to Syros.

I made it, just, and got off the ferry less than an hour later where I spent 6 hours exploring the island of Syros. I then got on the overnight ferry to Athens.

I was told to expect the island of Mykonos to be out of control with parties and gay folk. There was quite a bit of both, but not a lot. It is the quiet season and few groups were about. Can’t say I was disappointed though, it was nice to get some sleep at night! The place where I stayed was a camping ground that also had shacks with dorm beds (which flooded when it rained – 2 rooms that I know of were evacuated). It was right on the edge of a beautiful beach, which, on my second day, I found out, was a nudist beach! I was comfortable by the pool. It was beautiful. One of the highlights for me was visiting the ‘little Venice’ that sits on the edge of Mykonos town. The windmills and homes were interesting and fun to look through.

Syros was like a small city, nice for a look, but not necessarily a place I would revisit. Athens on the other hand was incredible. I only allowed myself 1 night after my visit to the islands to catch up with Mynda again, the lady I met in Cairo on the way to Athens. Definitely not enough time! I spent the morning I arrived visiting the Acropolis and surrounding sights, then caught a bus to Rafina – another port where she lives. Wow, what a place! Her home overlooks the bay and it’s the cutest town with the most incredibly friendly people. We caught up for a long lazy lunch on the water with wine. Mynda then called a few of her friends and we met up at their local café and had a few beers. The mood was grand and a few more people decided to rock up so I grabbed my 1 litre bottle of duty free Triple strength Smirnoff Vodka and we moved from the café to house of Frank Kelly – a famous dancer/choreographer of Greece, now retired. His son, Steven Kelly (who I also met and who is also a dancer/choreographer) is absolutely massive here with ‘Dancing with The Stars Greece’. We went into Frank’s (now Steve’s) dance studio (a little tipsy) and stumbled a few turns. Absolutely brilliant night – definitely the best on my travels so far! If it’s not already up by the time you read this, I will shortly be uploading a video of a few of the people I met that night – the older gentleman with glasses and raising his glass is Frank. Mynda is holding the puppy, Billy is the first guy holding up the bottles, Christos is the young spunk in the blue and Pablos is fluanting his belly!

Mynda and I then straightened ourselves up and made it back to the house just as her husband was arriving home from a late night at work (around 11.15pm) As for Frank and the others, they were so incredibly hospitable. We hit it off immediately. They were so gracious; especially her husband who gratefully ordered us a double cheese pizza and garlic bread at midnight then proceeded to stay up until 2am on their balcony talking. And I thought I could talk – he is a machine and I will definitely take them up on the offer of visiting again!! Thank you so much – I am already looking forward to it.

Then we come to today. I have had the best day!!! About 2 hours ago, I received an emial from Cathy from MA saying that herself and a group of other African Drummers she buskers with, raised more than $100 for the IDP people of Kenya on Sunday - I am still speechless and THANK YOU doesn't sound like enough. I am over the moon and so will the families be that you have helped!!! Mwahh a thousand times over Cath!

Ok.. let me go back... this morning was spent drinking tea and eating left over pizza on their balcony (with the amazing view!) then we made our way to the bus station for me to get to the airport. The schedule said 11.30am, so we meandered down when a couple of guys in a Saab (I think – very nice car anyway) flagged us down. Mynda wandered over there (I thought she knew them), they offered us a ride to the station so we jumped in. Less than 5min later we were there, just as the bus was leaving (schedule changed to 11.15am) – oh boy!! The guys overheard me talking to the station master who said I had missed the bus and they offered to drive me to the airport (about 40min away). I said, thanks but no thanks (freaking out about how much a taxi would cost) and they wouldn’t hear of it, so we jumped back in and took the best taxi ride ever (figure of speech they refused to take any money) and sang and swayed to Michael Jackson the whole way. Unbelievable gentleman (and random strangers evidently).

I can honestly say that Mynda is someone l will now be in touch with and remain friends with forever. It was a blast, albeit brief. X

Only 9 more sleeps until mum comes!!!!
:-)

Greece - Santorini Island

Holly mother of sunshine this place is like a postcard. I couldn’t wait until the end of my stay here to post an update. I am currently on Santorini Island. I took an overnight ferry from Athens on Sunday night and arrived around 5.30 in the morning.

The drive up along the steep unprotected edge of the cliff form the ferry was mesmerising. It reminded me of parts of the Cinque Terre walk and scary drive in Northern Italy.

I am excited about Santorini Island and excited about my accommodation. I’m in a room on my own, it has 4 beds, TV, balcony, ensuite and fully equipped kitchen. In another room is a Swiss lady named Gigi and a Korean lady by the name of Mia.

On Tuesday, Mia and I hired a 4 wheeler for 24 hours and spent the whole day wandering around the island. The morning was checking out the view from the light house and Red Beach. Around lunch we were heading towards the capital Fira when our 4 wheeler broke (the accelerator come loose) so we waited around for a new bike (tough with the views we had), then made our way straight to Oia on the tip of the island.

It was in Oia where we grabbed a bunch of photos of the Greece I expected. The Greece I have seen in books and brochures. Nothing beats experiencing beauty like this first hand! The colours are amazing, especially the blues and rustics. We then found a sandwich, opened our local bottle of wine given to us in a gorgeous gesture from our friend Gigi (thank you so much again) and sat on a ledge watching the sunset. Even though it was a little cloudy, it was so very beautiful. I spent the last bit of the sun closing my eyes and thought of all the brilliant things in life I am grateful for.

Wednesday Mia took our new friend Laura for a drive to a local lookout where you can see the whole island. On the way up, they stopped to make way for a truck backing out of a drive way. The driver didn't see them and if they hadn’t jumped off the bike and waved to get the truckies attention, he would have backed right over them! When returning the bike, they befriended a lovely guy by the name of Kevin. They went out for lunch and when they got back, we all jumped into Kevin’s hire car and spent the afternoon/evening in Fira.

So many people have said Oia is the place to be for sunset, but I am partial to Fira. In Oia the sun sets into the ocean and in Fira it sets behind the volcanic Island. About 2 hours before sunset, the 4 of us found this amazing restaurant hanging over the side of a cliff. It was in the middle of town and boasted the perfect view! We each ordered a drink and shared a generous platter of meat, cheese, olives and bread. It was a spectacular sunsets. Santorini was everything I had hoped and more!

As I am writing this, I am listening to U2 on the famous black beach of Perssian on Santorini Island. As in the photo, it is literally black sand and the sea bed is all rock, not the stuff that jabs into your feet, but the slippery surface that has everyone in fits of laughter watching unexpected people walk in and fall on their arse. It seriously is fun entertainment. And the burnt bodies – OMG! A group of about 30 Europeans (mainly English) arrived here about 15 min ago and they are so red raw you can almost feel their pain.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Cath from work for and another traveller I have met by the name of Laura. You have both inspired me to continue putting my energy towards my sponsorship proposal for the IDP people of Kenya. I received an email from Cath asking me to put something together including photos and a blurb of what I have been doing to show people. And Laura was asking me about what I did in Kenya, loved hearing about it, felt my passion and donated 100 Euros to the IDP project!! Ahh, I was speechless. She is 21, from Canada with a heart the size of Mexico. When she handed me the money she said ‘this is only 1 luxury day’s travel for me, I can afford that’ I almost farted trying to hold my tears and excitement in!!! I am so overwhelmed, thank you so much Laura. Generally I have no trouble raising money for a good cause, but it has never been so close to my heart and I am finding it unbelievably difficult. I’m scared of failing to get my message across and it not being successful. In saying this, I promise information on projects I have been working on will be available very soon.

I have absolutely loved Santorini but have decided to keep moving and make my way to Mykonos tomorrow.

Only 14 mores sleeps until mum arrives!!!
X