Kerewa Ldama (It's HOT)

Sunday, January 06, 2013

We are sitting under the shade structure trying to avoid the blistering heat that has crept upon this afternoon. A small group of us are relaxing and enjoying a little down time while the rest of the group are in Umoja beading with the women and children. This morning, Wes, Karina, Nicole, Courtney, Kristin, Karen, Isaya, Dominic, Robert, and Henry traveled up the Kalama Ridge for a hike. The sun was hot, but getting to the top of the ridge and looking down at the beautiful landscape made the journey completely worth it. Dominic has a mind full of knowledge and explained many different plants to us during the hike. Karina drew pictures of the plants and flowers while Nicole took pictures on her camera so that the group can remember what the uses and remedies are for each plant. Fadzai, Logan, and Cori went to the local Catholic Church with Apin this morning, and it was a new experience that they valued very much even though they couldn’t understand anything that was said because it was spoken in Swahili. Even though they were the only Mzungus (otherwise known as white or foreign person) in the church, they were welcomed with open hearts from the natives. The rest of the group went on a morning game drive through Samburu National Reserve and miraculously saw a leopard sitting in the tree about 30 yards away! Seeing leopards, lions, and cheetahs are very uncommon but they got lucky this morning. During each game drive that we take, we bring along about four of the Samburu children because they rarely get the opportunity to see the wildlife in the Reserve. The children sing songs and try to teach us on the way there and back and it is amazing to watch the children respond when they see the animals, some for the first time. As the group takes more game drives, we have been able to step away from our cameras and taking pictures, and enjoy the experience for what it really is. The reserve is a beautiful place, and seeing the animals in their home environment is almost unexplainable.

Tomorrow and Tuesday begin the journey for the Secondary Students heading back to school, and we are sad to have to say goodbye to them. The students have helped make our trip the most that it can be and they have truly made us feel like we are family and friends that they have known forever. We wish them luck with their travels across Kenya, and we know they will do great things with the education they are receiving.

As the days go on, we miss everyone from home more and more, but this journey has been more valuable than any of us could ask for. We have a short five days left in Kenya, and we are going to use every minute of the time left to take away as much as we can from this amazing place. We have many activities planned for the rest of the trip including teaching in one of the schools since they start back tomorrow, hiking Ololokwe, building a shade structure for Unity Village, going to a lodge in Samburu National Reserve to be tourists and swim, and continue making bonds with the women and children from the villages.

From Wes: Happy birthday Ivy!!!!! I hope twenty feels great and I love you! Talk with you when I get home.

We hope everyone from home is doing well, we send our love.