Happy Monthiversary! (or, Taking a moment to reflect)

Yes, as of today it has been one month since I first arrived in Kenya! 

Some of the girls also tried to do my hair...which was...interesting

To be honest, it doesn’t really feel like it’s been that long, but the calendar doesn’t lie. The secondary school term just ended so all the students have left. Tomorrow will begin their two week break, which means that I’ll be doing things a bit differently while I wait impatiently for their return.

In honor of my monthiversary, I thought I would make this post a little more reflective on what my first month in Kenya has taught me. After all, I’m here to learn as much as I’m here to help.

First, I’ve come to realize that poverty isn’t as straight forward as I thought it was. Maybe I was expecting the poverty to look more obvious. The clearest indication is probably the food, but even that is somewhat influenced by culture. The students have their own plates that they put out on the school tables each day before lunch. Then, after class lets out, they break and go get their plates that have been filled with food by the cook. Usually lunch is kideri (corn and beans) or rice and beans. Sometimes a student will have their plate stolen by another kid, especially on rice days. The kids love rice.

The easy nature of theft here also demonstrates the poverty that people live with. You expect people to steal your things. Where in the U.S. I would comfortable leaving my computer sitting along in a classroom, here that would be as good as giving the darn thing away. Heck, when I’m in the library, I have to check to make sure students are not stealing the books when they leave.

One day when I was on library duty, Cecilia (one of the girls who lives in the hostel) warned me about two boys that were staring at my Kindle as they left the library. “Those are not good boys,” she told, glancing meaningfully down at my Kindle. “Be careful.” Then she repeated it one more time.

“Those are not good boys.”

One evening, the sisters were talking about one of the girls in the hostel named Rose. She attends the technical school and on Parents’ Day, she cheerfully grabbed me and informed me that, as she has no parents, I was to be her mother for the day. We joked with some of the other girls that I was adopted. I thought of that moment when the sisters began discussing Rose’s habit of stealing things from the girls in the hostel, how she had cut their skirts before (something that is a common problem at the schools here). Rose, my daughter for a day, is a thief. The other girls do not trust her. And Rose, with her indomitable spirit could be – and should have the opportunity to be – so much more.

As time goes on, I’m realizing that the poverty I was expecting to see exists here, but that it is not a passive poverty. It is active. There are people who have no soap to wash their clothes, no matches to light a fire, and little or no food depending on the day. Pencils are used until they are stubs and books are a luxury.

So what does that mean for me. I can’t fix a culture of poverty in six months, but I want to do something more active, more concrete, that will last past when I am gone. In order to accomplish this goal, I have asked the sisters what they need the most in carrying out their mission. In educating the youth, they hope to show them another way of living, give them an opportunity to (excuse the Hamilton lyrics), rise above their station.

What this means is next post, I will have some ideas to put forth as possible projects for the rest of my time in Kenya. This might mean fundraising, donations, or even sponsoring some students that work hard, but struggle to pay their school fees. I’ll be reaching out to different people for their opinions on what projects seem plausible, and then I hope that everyone who has been enjoying my blog so far will try to chip in as they can!

So Happy Monthiversary! There’s still a lot more to do!

Interesting Stories of the Week:

• The younger girls were out of school early on Tuesday which meant that they were very eager for a bit of a fashion show and photoshoot. Therefore, I got some great photos and can introduce y’all to some of the girls!

Left to right: Esther, Eunice, and Gloria

Left to right: Esther, Grace, Eunice, and Purity

Penina and Ann having a laugh

Sweet Jane with her bear

• While the younger girls were out of school, Sr. Shanty asked me to teach them how to color. By which, I means staying inside the lines and using (somewhat) appropriate color choices. I had to discipline one girl for not following the rules (also, sorry to all the teachers I ever had – disciplining kids is hard) so she wasn’t allowed to color, But hey, the girls did a pretty good job, don’t you think? 

The middle one is mine, but aren't they all great!

• Also, yesterday I went shopping in Thika (a town about forty minutes from Makuyu) with Sr. Shanty. This means that I now have a phone that actually works in Kenya (it was approximately $25) and I was able to splurge and get some potato chips, Oreos, and banana chips (which I wasn’t actually planning on getting, but Sr. Shanty insisted I had to try). I will eat ALL THE FOOD.

Kiswahili Phrase of the Day:

• Nahisinjaa – I am hungry. (…I use this phrase…often…)

Kwaheri!