I discovered that I have really developed a tolerance for bugs over the last few weeks. I noticed it last night while showering with a moth, a daddy long-legs spider, and countless smaller flying critters. I then realized that I didn't even flinch earlier that evening as I put a pot back in the kitchen cupboard, and a huge cockaroach crawled along the shelf. I do yoga with ants, tons of grass spiders, bees, and wasps. The kitchen boy at my first assignment at Janet Junior was playing with a giant locust one day. He fed it grass and carried it around... I actually liked it.
I went to Sunday Mass this morning at a Benedictine Monestary! I was amazed most by the choir of brothers that sang in Swahili to the accompaniment of drums, a tambourine, and various shakers. So joyous! The priest's sermon focused on tying the reading with the current political unrest in Kenya. Very interesting! Today I went with a small group to visit the African Impact Kenya hospital project, which mainly serves as a place for women, children, and expectant mothers. What an experience!! It's definitely not like our western hospitals. It's sanitary by Africa standards, but they definitely do things differently here. We took a short tour an got to see an operating room and also where mothers give birth. Ask me about the details of the rooms of you are interested later. A little shocking for me. We met a mother that a few of the volunteers had assisted with on her caesarean section. She had twins!! Abigail and Vincent!! I had to take a photo with my namesake! We also made name signs, handed out stickers, and sang and danced for some sick children in the pediatrics ward. It was truly a day I'll remember forever! I celebrated the kids learning their color words by giving them the rainbow loom "bangles"! They absolutely adored them!! Thanks AHA!! Wake-up at 7am: I like to have the kitchen to myself in the mornings, before all of the other volunteers get up. Next week we will have 10 new volunteers, so I might have to get up earlier! Depart for projects at 8-8:30am: (note: everyone runs on "Africa Time", so everyone is always late) There are several projects right now. BOC Children's Centre, Janet Junior Academy, Bethel Academy, and Mukeu (school for special needs) are all placements for teaching projects. Other volunteers work with medical projects at a hospital in Nairobi or New Life (for abandoned babies). Janet Junior: I work in the kitchen at Janet in the morning. By "kitchen", you can't imagine a kitchen as we know it. It is an approximate 6x12 tin shack, with a wood burning furnace under a double pot, wooden stovetop, and 3 wooden tables. Also, there is no power wht-so-ever at any of the schools. Everyone works by window light. I work with the 2 kitchen women helping set up all of the cups for porridge for about 300 students, chopping cabbage, grating carrots, and pouring the piping hot porridge into the cups. The kitchen supplies and kitchen utensils are very basic and old. I've decided to buy them a new grater for the carrots. After I help out in the kitchen, I assist in the handwashing of the students. This is done with 4 buckets of water set-up outside, and I lather-up their hands while they rinse in the buckets. Sometimes the older children help out. If all of the work is done before the van arrives, I get to play with the children at their recess. Bethel: My teaching placement is at Bethel from the late moring into the afternoon. I work with the PP2 class of 4 and 5 year olds, and they call me Teacher Abby. They each have so much personality and are so CUTE!! They are called by their Christian names during our class. We have our first lesson before lunch, which is an English lesson from a set curriculum. This week we are learning about "shopping". We begin the lesson with a "Hello" song, then pass out the name tags. When each student comes up to get their name, they are asked "How are you?" "What is your name?" and "How old are you?" We help them with their responses in English. We then sing a few nursery songs in English. Today I taught them "The Wheels on the Bus"! The lessons are planned by the volunteers the week before. Last Thursday, a group of us decided how we would teach "shopping", and made poster cards and worksheets. Everything is 100% made by the volunteers! We draw, color, and laminate. During the teaching of the lesson, we teach them the word in English and play several games. It's very helpful to have their regular teacher, Teacher Lucy, for Swahili translations. Only 1 class during the school day is taught in Swahili and the rest in English. Children also know their tribal language as well. Their school days are 8-9 hours long. We then break for lunch. I help serve tthe classes their lunches, but most children at Bethel bring their lunch from home. The "kitchen" at Bethel is also a tin shack outside, but they have a firepit instead of a stove. I sometimes eat the lunches they serve, but I get sick of cabbage everyday. After lunch we play! Their lunch and playtime is about an hour. The children at Bethel LOVE organized circle games! They have many Swahili songs and dances as well. They just put in the new swings, slide, and seesaw, and the children love them! I bought them 3 jumpropes at the store today, and I'll be givin them out to the kids tomorrow. Next week I'll be taking the soccer balls that were donated from AHA. The afternoon lesson is a free choice craft or lesson completely invented by the volunteers. I chose to teach them about colors, using a donation of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" from a volunteer last week. The book comes with masks that the kids love! Today we made crowns using the colors that we learned! Tomorrow we will play a color matching game outside, fly a kite, and play with bubbles that I bought at the store today. At the end of the lesson we sing a "Good-bye" song. Back at the Volunteer House: When our time at the projects are up, we head back to the house for either a group meeting, Swahili lesson, lesson planning, or a meeting with Charity from The Happy Africa Foundation. We also have volunteer house duties of either helping to prep dinner or washing pots and pans after dinner. There is only wifi in the main lodge house at Brackenhurst, so most of us treck down there for an hour or so each evening. There is also some time for a quick yoga practice or walk/run through the tea fields. We all relatively eat dinner together and watch a movie, play a game, or read at night. Most days I'm exhausted and head to bed about 9pm! Sometimes we stop in Limuru town after our projects if we need to get money, or something from the supermarket (very basic items only available) or the fruit and veg market (like a farmer's market, but again very basic). Thursdays we have special event nights. Tomorrow we Americans are hosting a 4th of July dinner! Next week I'll be hosting a yoga event to raise money for Happy Africa! Weekends: We are free on the weekends to travel or relax at Brackenhurst. This weekend I'll be going on safari at the Maasai Mara!! Wake-up at 7am: I like to have the kitchen to myself in the mornings, before all of the other volunteers get up. Next week we will have 10 new volunteers, so I might have to get up earlier! Depart for projects at 8-8:30am: (note: everyone runs on "Africa Time", so everyone is always late) There are several projects right now. BOC Children's Centre, Janet Junior Academy, Bethel Academy, and Mukeu (school for special needs) are all placements for teaching projects. Other volunteers work with medical projects at a hospital in Nairobi or New Life (for abandoned babies). Janet Junior: I work in the kitchen at Janet in the morning. By "kitchen", you can't imagine a kitchen as we know it. It is an approximate 6x12 tin shack, with a wood burning furnace under a double pot, wooden stovetop, and 3 wooden tables. Also, there is no power wht-so-ever at any of the schools. Everyone works by window light. I work with the 2 kitchen women helping set up all of the cups for porridge for about 300 students, chopping cabbage, grating carrots, and pouring the piping hot porridge into the cups. The kitchen supplies and kitchen utensils are very basic and old. I've decided to buy them a new grater for the carrots. After I help out in the kitchen, I assist in the handwashing of the students. This is done with 4 buckets of water set-up outside, and I lather-up their hands while they rinse in the buckets. Sometimes the older children help out. If all of the work is done before the van arrives, I get to play with the children at their recess. Bethel: My teaching placement is at Bethel from the late moring into the afternoon. I work with the PP2 class of 4 and 5 year olds, and they call me Teacher Abby. They each have so much personality and are so CUTE!! They are called by their Christian names during our class. We have our first lesson before lunch, which is an English lesson from a set curriculum. This week we are learning about "shopping". We begin the lesson with a "Hello" song, then pass out the name tags. When each student comes up to get their name, they are asked "How are you?" "What is your name?" and "How old are you?" We help them with their responses in English. We then sing a few nursery songs in English. Today I taught them "The Wheels on the Bus"! The lessons are planned by the volunteers the week before. Last Thursday, a group of us decided how we would teach "shopping", and made poster cards and worksheets. Everything is 100% made by the volunteers! We draw, color, and laminate. During the teaching of the lesson, we teach them the word in English and play several games. It's very helpful to have their regular teacher, Teacher Lucy, for Swahili translations. Only 1 class during the school day is taught in Swahili and the rest in English. Children also know their tribal language as well. Their school days are 8-9 hours long. We then break for lunch. I help serve tthe classes their lunches, but most children at Bethel bring their lunch from home. The "kitchen" at Bethel is also a tin shack outside, but they have a firepit instead of a stove. I sometimes eat the lunches they serve, but I get sick of cabbage everyday. After lunch we play! Their lunch and playtime is about an hour. The children at Bethel LOVE organized circle games! They have many Swahili songs and dances as well. They just put in the new swings, slide, and seesaw, and the children love them! I bought them 3 jumpropes at the store today, and I'll be givin them out to the kids tomorrow. Next week I'll be taking the soccer balls that were donated from AHA. The afternoon lesson is a free choice craft or lesson completely invented by the volunteers. I chose to teach them about colors, using a donation of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" from a volunteer last week. The book comes with masks that the kids love! Today we made crowns using the colors that we learned! Tomorrow we will play a color matching game outside, fly a kite, and play with bubbles that I bought at the store today. At the end of the lesson we sing a "Good-bye" song. Back at the Volunteer House: When our time at the projects are up, we head back to the house for either a group meeting, Swahili lesson, lesson planning, or a meeting with Charity from The Happy Africa Foundation. We also have volunteer house duties of either helping to prep dinner or washing pots and pans after dinner. There is only wifi in the main lodge house at Brackenhurst, so most of us treck down there for an hour or so each evening. There is also some time for a quick yoga practice or walk/run through the tea fields. We all relatively eat dinner together and watch a movie, play a game, or read at night. Most days I'm exhausted and head to bed about 9pm! Sometimes we stop in Limuru town after our projects if we need to get money, or something from the supermarket (very basic items only available) or the fruit and veg market (like a farmer's market, but again very basic). Thursdays we have special event nights. Tomorrow we Americans are hosting a 4th of July dinner! Next week I'll be hosting a yoga event to raise money for Happy Africa! Weekends: We are free on the weekends to travel or relax at Brackenhurst. This weekend I'll be going on safari at the Maasai Mara!! |