David Ahadi

I finally had the chance to visit the orphanage I spent a lot of time at my last trip, Hope Baby Centre. I had been missing the little ones so much while back in Canada. Most of the older kids remembered me and I spent the day playing and reading to them and also feeding them lunch. I was happy to see that they had taken in three new babies – Ruth, Eddie, and, David. Ruth Penda (Swahili meaning: love) is the happiest baby ever. She’s all smiles and full of energy. Eddie is a bit more laid back and calm, a chubby baby with a head full of hair. Both these babies were abandoned at Hope in the months following my departure. David only arrived yesterday after being discharged from the hospital and allowed to come to Hope. He was discovered abandoned last week by a group of local men in the evening near the orphanage in Kasarani. They took him to the police station and the officers brought him to Jane, the woman who runs Hope, who then took him to the hospital. When he was abandoned on the street he was only hours old, still having his umbilical cord and the clip attached to it. The mother must have been in the hospital then and only left suddenly to abandon her child since she could not abandon him willingly without punishment. He only now weighs just over four pounds. The meaning of his Swahili name- Ahadi, is promise. Jane says she chose this name to represent her promise to David that he will grow big and strong in her family - a promise I know that she will fulfill.

David wrapped in a blanket and hat my mom knit and sent along with me. My Oma also knit a couple baby blankets which will come in handy with all the little ones.

Ruth and I

Mobile Testing

Last Friday our Ray Consortium youth went to do a mobile testing at an area known as Cabanas here just outside Nairobi. We had picked this location since it considered to be an area that is identified as a “MARP” (most at risk population). This is due to the fact that in this location there is no services offered that deal with HIV education, testing, or counselling. Since none of these services are readily available to the residents we offer it during our afternoon testing. We set up three tents that would offer testing and counselling. At my tent we had one trained and certified counsellor and two mobilizers, Edna and I, who focus on talking to people to get them informed and interested in being tested. Together we mobilized around twenty residents to come get tested. We answer their questions, give them the facts, and even offer to watch their little ones while they receive the counselling. When I first arrived in Kenya I didn’t have the confidence to just approach strangers and initiate a conversation with them to try and persuade them to get tested. Now I feel confident in doing so and have grown to really enjoy our mobile testing days.

This week there hasn’t been too much going on at the center so I have had lots of time at home to catch up with my Kenyan family and spend time with my house sisters. Beautiful and Solome are two teenage girls who live with us. Josh and Anena, the woman who we rent the house from, are considered their “parents”. They took them out of an orphanage two years ago and decided to put the girls in school and allow them to live in the house they purchased in the compound where we now live. Over the two years Anena and Josh have had lots of volunteers come and live with them and the girls love the company. I have enjoyed getting to know the girls better and better, and even had the opportunity to visit Solome’s relatives up country in December. Also living with us is “Mama Salima”. Anena had hired her as house help, to cook and clean, and she has grown to be part of the family. She makes sure we are all well fed and always shows great concern if we are not eating enough. When I first arrived in Kenya and was growing accustomed to the food, she always told me that her goal with me was to teach me to eat like an African, so I could grow big and strong. I have been told several times since my return to Kenya that I have “grown big” or “grown fat”. At first I was quite offended, but after much discussion you come to realize that here, this is a compliment. Not only does Salima make the most amazing food, but she has grown to be a great friend, and shows protectiveness over each and every one of us, hence the name “Mama Salima”. All of us can’t imagine life in Mlolongo without her.

Kibera

Yesterday I visited Kibera, east Africa’s largest slum. It was by far the most life changing experience I’ve had here in Kenya. In the morning, my friend Rachel and I met up with Octo. Octo is a friend of ours who lives and works in Kibera. At 23, he has already managed to have a huge impact on his community, using his talent of performing to reach out to youth. His lyrics portray what life is like in the slums, where he has grown up for most of his life. Almost one million people live in Kibera, which has been nicknamed “chocolate city”. When you look upon Kibera from a distance usually then feeling you have is one of despair and sadness. Sure, poverty defines Kibera, but the feelings you have before you enter Kibera and the feelings you have after you visit change drastically. After three hours of walking with Octo throughout Kibera, visiting the different divisions of the large slum, and interacting with residents of Kibera, I felt like positivity and happiness was associated with Kibera as well. As Octo says you never have to leave Kibera for anything, everything is there for you. There is a government run school (although they still charge school fees and many can’t afford to send their children!), a medical clinic, and all different kinds of services. There is even a movie theatre, a small shack that plays movies on a small TV, charging 20 bob (about 25 cents) to watch a film. We visited a local bone jewellery shop and even hung out in his house for a while. He says that his house, which is about the size of my room at home is meant to be for 6 people. The people of Kibera, and especially the children, always seem to be joyful despite their circumstances. Although poverty and hardship have such a strong presence in Kibera and it’s a place where western standards of living simply do not exist people still manage to earn a living and to be a strong presence in the community and most especially within their families.

Cedric

Sunday always seems to be a kind of family and friends day at the Mzungu Oasis. People always stay over from Saturday and we wake up to lots of company. It was great to see other volunteers that are still working and living in Kenya. One thing I love about our house is we do not have any kind of electronics other than our laptops. Most mornings and evenings are spent reading or talking with one another. However, we do have a small TV that hasn’t worked for at least five years. Our neighbour who is shifting, “moving”, to another compound outside of Nairobi thought we might like his VCR and his collection of old movies. By the time we gathered around his trunk of his car we discovered his small collection actually was around 100 videos. Now our living room looks like a video store…

Sunday afternoon I went to see one our youth Lynda’s new baby son, Cedric. Just under a month old, I was happy to see she had delivered a perfect, healthy son. Our volunteers ended up finding her a much safer place to live, a compound in Mlolongo where she can work at the store front that is attached to her house. Her house had about the space equilivant to maybe three times the space of my closet. But it works for them, and she is so happy and optimistic about her new life with her son. Younger than me, Lynda at age nineteen, continues to work actively with the centre as well as caring for her newborn son and taking care of the storefront. She shows incredible strength and on top of that is always happy and in great spirits. She is someone I have come to truly admire.

Arrived!

I have arrived in Kenya safe and sound! After a long day of travelling solo I managed to arrive all in one piece here in Kenya following stop overs in Montreal and Zurich. I was greeted at the airport by my friend Josh who is the one running the HIV testing centre through grants and my friend Ken. It was great to see familiar faces after a long day of anxiety over flight times, luggage, and visa requirements. Arriving at the house was so exciting, seeing everyone- my house sister Beautiful, Salima, the other volunteers, our old cat Beatrice, and a new kitten named Sammy. It seemed less intimidating this time arriving in in Kenya since I’m returning to familiar surroundings in what would seem to most as such an unfamiliar place. I am looking forwards to this week coming up and getting back into the swing of things here in Kenya. Not taking into account the jetlag and overall exhaustion everything else I hope with come much easier than last time. Today I took my time to wake up and get ready and slowly headed in Mlolongo to the centre to say hello to everyone. Walking there I felt so happy to be back in Kenya despite the heat and exhaustion. It was great to be back interacting with the locals and also to visit our youth group at the centre. Now back at the house I finally have a chance to catch up on emails and unpack my suitcase. More to come! Kwaheri!

On my way.

The months following my return to Canada from Kenya the first time around seemed to drag on. Although the holidays were such an exciting time for me and I was ecstatic to be reunited with my family and just as pleased to return to my own bed, hot showers, television, and a what now seems like unlimited selection of food, a longing to return to Kenya always remained. After the euphoria of being reunited with my family and friends and re-adjusting to life back home in Canada I knew that all I wanted to do was to return to Kenya. I am very fortunate to have parents who not only allow me to take a year off from my studies and travel half way across the world to live in Africa (not to mention twice in one year) but also show unconditional love, support, and interest in my travels.

I am so excited to be returning to Africa after what seems like three long months. This time around I feel as if I can jump right back into life in Mlolongo, Kenya with ease. There are many things that I want to continue from my time spent there in the fall such as: participating with the centre and working at Hope baby orphanage. However, I am anxious to try to get involved with new things as well such as a friends library project in Kibera, one of east Africa’s largest slums, and also to travel more within Kenya and to learn to more Swahili .

A little background information… The centre my friend received funding for to set up in Mlolongo is an ongoing 2 year project. The main objective and motivation behind the creation of the Si Siri (there’s no secret) project is to provide accessible education and support for HIV. Through the centre we do mobile testing in orphanages, schools, and MARPS (most at risk populations), support groups, in school educations, community outreaches, and activities with youth in the community. The orphanage we spend our weekends volunteering at is called Hope Baby center. You can find out more here: www.futurehopeandbabycentre.org. I am beyond excited to be reunited with all the little ones and looking forward to meeting two new additions to Hope Baby Centre.

That’s all for now folks. Ill update more once I get settled in Kenya. Here are some pictures from the fall... Kwaheri!