So sorry for not updating this earlier. Things have been a bit all over the place, some days I feel I'm making progress and have something to write about... but then those are usually the days that I'm just too exhausted to write! There are now three of us volunteering at the children's home, which is making a huge difference. We organized a yard clean up afternoon for the older kids yesterday. Gave them all gloves and we all ran around for a couple hours picking up all the garbage in the yard. It went fairly smoothly, we didn't have enough gloves which caused a bit of a mess, but they were pretty well behaved (mostly because a teacher was helping us, we just have no control of the munchkins!). Picked up mad amounts of garbage, although it's clear that the kids weren't too sure about the difference between garbage to toys, the garbage can was full of sticks and rocks as well as junk. Then they all got there hands wiped with antibiotic cloths, and the teacher explained why its important to throw away the garbage, instead of eating it. We had seen one little girl sucking on an old milk bag, which gave us the initial idea for cleaning up the yard. As a treat we baked them rice crispy squares (chocolate, sugar, and a whole lotta love!). Unfortunately, the young ones found the garbage after we had left, and before it had been burned, and redistributed it throughout the yard. So I guess yesterday was just a practice run, but at least it gave the kids something productive to do for an afternoon! As well as picking up the garbage, we are going to re-paint the equipment, and fix the swing set.
Now that idea's are starting to take hold and turn into projects, the countdown to my departure seems to be coming too fast. There is a toddler at the home with a squint (one eye will focus, while the other will wander) and I'm hoping to get her assessed by an eye doctor. The question is whether to go the express tract, where you make an appointment, or to go through the general clinic, where you wait 5 or 6 hours with the hope of getting in, and she's not able to be booked for surgery until February. However, the express route is 7x as expensive. So suddenly, only a little more than a month left is just not enough! One of the other volunteers at the home, also named Jessie, is staying for six months though, so I can get her to bring the girl in for the surgery, if its needed.
I'm getting to know the children better, and I've spending lots of time with one little girl, baby Janet, who has rickets and whose legs are quite underdeveloped. So I've been taking her for 'walks' around the baby room, trying to get her to use the muscles as she is usually just sitting in her cot all day. She just lights up the moment I stick my head in the door. Moments like this are priceless for me. The days are exhausting, but it's a good kind of exhaustion. And I try to think, if the home is wearing me out, how must it feel for these children, who have to be there all day, every day? I can't even imagine. So even when they are being little devils, I remind myself that they have to act out in order to survive in such an environment. For them even bad attention, me getting cross because they've hit another child, is still attention.
So that's a little bit of what I've been up to. Hope all is well at home! Miss you and love you!
jessie
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Rains Have Finally Arrived!
I honestly never, ever, ever thought I would ever, ever say that. But after my trip to the Maasai Mara, seeing the dead cows on the side of the road, the acres of burnt ground from the wild fires and the dry river beds, I know how much this country needs it. However, the rains mean that the kids can't go outside to play, which turns the usual everyday madness into a full fledged riot. Colouring day turned into children eating pencil crayons, so, that was interesting. I suddenly had kids coming up to me with orange, blue and yellow mouths. As homework I now carry a Swahilli cheat sheet in my pocket which includes "that is very bad for you", "don't hit", "be nice", and "say sorry". There is a new volunteer, also named Jessie, working with me at the home and while we haven't been given the support to get any programs actually started but we're putting together some good ideas and are hoping to meet with the director tomorrow, if she shows up. The days are still intense, but I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable, learning the kids names and making friends at the home. One of my favorite times of day is my matatu ride home, Kenya's form of transportation. They are truly insane, pimped out nissan vans, complete with black lights, dirty rap and reggae music pounding, lowered, raised, even a few flat screen tvs... its an episode of "Pimp my Ride" that never ends. The drivers are mad, and they cram in as many people as possible. But I've met some of the nicest Kenyans on those rides, times when the entire matatu will refuse to let the driver drop me off in an unsafe place, its chaotic and insane and so beautiful and real... everything that I love about Kenya crammed into one little spot.
The safari at the Maasai Mara was brilliant, unbelievable to watch a herd of elephants cross the road in front of you. I thought they'd be so loud, but you couldn't even hear them walking. This last weekend I went to Lake Niavasha with some other volunteers. We rode our bikes around the park Hell's Gate, alongside giraffes and zebras and buffallos. It was so breathtaking. On the way there I had my most crowded matatu ride - 25 people crammed in the van. We stayed at a place called Fishermans Camp, in a really sweet cabin. We had a campfire one night and again it was really nice to be able to talk to different volunteers in different placements, find out about projects that they've started and the experiences they've had. Got to go on a boat tour and ride past herds of hippos swimming in the water (actually really scary - those things are seriously big!).
So things are getting better, I've started mending the childrens clothing, so ripped and torn, and putting elastics in the waists so that the pants aren't falling down. It keeps me busy in the evenings and while I'm helping with the laundry and its nice to be able to see a result of my work, even if its small. There still a lot of really sad and unfair moments but there are also little victories, comforting a child whose been pushed down or teased, and that lone can make a day worth it. Day by day, theres just no other way to go about it here.
Love you all, hope things are good at home, I'm thinking of you lots.
Jessie
The safari at the Maasai Mara was brilliant, unbelievable to watch a herd of elephants cross the road in front of you. I thought they'd be so loud, but you couldn't even hear them walking. This last weekend I went to Lake Niavasha with some other volunteers. We rode our bikes around the park Hell's Gate, alongside giraffes and zebras and buffallos. It was so breathtaking. On the way there I had my most crowded matatu ride - 25 people crammed in the van. We stayed at a place called Fishermans Camp, in a really sweet cabin. We had a campfire one night and again it was really nice to be able to talk to different volunteers in different placements, find out about projects that they've started and the experiences they've had. Got to go on a boat tour and ride past herds of hippos swimming in the water (actually really scary - those things are seriously big!).
So things are getting better, I've started mending the childrens clothing, so ripped and torn, and putting elastics in the waists so that the pants aren't falling down. It keeps me busy in the evenings and while I'm helping with the laundry and its nice to be able to see a result of my work, even if its small. There still a lot of really sad and unfair moments but there are also little victories, comforting a child whose been pushed down or teased, and that lone can make a day worth it. Day by day, theres just no other way to go about it here.
Love you all, hope things are good at home, I'm thinking of you lots.
Jessie
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Maasai Mara Safrizzle
Haven't got time to write a post, but I did upload my pics of the safari - you can see them on my facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152039&id=512614187&l=f6fb6543d2
love, j
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152039&id=512614187&l=f6fb6543d2
love, j
Sunday, October 11, 2009
you won't be here long enough to change anything, except perhaps the way you think
We were told this at our orientation last weekend, and now that I'm at my placement I see how true it is. I'm staying at the volunteer dorms nearby, about a 20 minute walk from the childrens home itself. The volunteer dorms are in quite an affluent neighborhood, and the contrast in living conditions that I pass in those 20 minutes is shocking. The houses and gardens are grand, walled in and protected by security. By the time you reach the childrens home you are walking through a dustbowl, skinny cows grazing on the side of the road.
Its been a pretty tough week, with seeing the kids and the home itself. The home is a government run transitional house, the only one in Kenya for children under 6. So kids come here from all over the country if they have been orphaned, abused, or lost. Many of the lost children were separated from their parents in the violence surrounding the 2007 elections, its very hard to know whether the parents are still in Kenya, or even alive. The home has a maximum of 50 children, and its current population is 92. Children are only supposed to stay for a maximum of 6 months, until a permanent home can be found, but this maximum is often passed as well.
The home is incredibly underfunded. I've been helping with the laundry in the mornings, which has given me a chance to talk with the staff to find out more about their situation. They work long hours and are paid next to nothing, 7 days a week and holidays, all with the hope that they will be able to continue to pay their own childrens school fees. One of the workers supports his family who continue to live on the homestead, and he only gets to see them every couple of months.
The hardest part has been working with the children. They only speak Swahilli, as only those who can attend school are able to learn english. The home is so very dirty, and there has been an outbreak of chicken pox recently, and the scabs are quickly infected. Many of the children literally cry all day. Its hard to watch a child cry and then observe the workers not comforting them, but I'm trying to remember that often times the workers know more about the situation than I do. Case in point is little Denny, two months old, who I've been spending alot of time with, comforting him when he cries and holding him. Now he won't fall asleep without being rocked and is alot more fussy and when the other children see the attention he receives they cry to receive it as well. So it is all very overwhelming, the children shouldn't have to go without love because of a lack of funding, but that seems to be the case. There are no other volunteers at the placement, and I don't think the director wants me to spend too much time with the children, to keep them from becoming attached. So there are alot of moments when i feel quite useless.
At the end of the week things had started to improve, the workers are starting to trust me more around the children, so hopefully in the next week I can suggest starting a project for the kids. Currently, the workers suggest I simply "play" with them, but with 90 kids jumping, pulling and scratching at me its more than i can handle and the situation quickly deteriorates into the kids fighting each other for attention, punching and kicking and crying. So I need to figure out something that will have a bit of structure and focus. Perhaps splitting the children into groups and taking one group each afternoon and starting an arts or reading class with them. Over the weekend I spoke with other volunteers, so I feel a bit more optimistic than I did in the middle of last week.
I also went on Safari this weekend, which was brilliant, but i'll have to save that post for another time. I hope all is well with everyone. Thank you so much for the comments, its so nice to hear about what is happening at home! I'm getting more comfortable getting around so hopefully I'll be able to get myself onto the computer again soon to post some pictures.
Love! jessie
Its been a pretty tough week, with seeing the kids and the home itself. The home is a government run transitional house, the only one in Kenya for children under 6. So kids come here from all over the country if they have been orphaned, abused, or lost. Many of the lost children were separated from their parents in the violence surrounding the 2007 elections, its very hard to know whether the parents are still in Kenya, or even alive. The home has a maximum of 50 children, and its current population is 92. Children are only supposed to stay for a maximum of 6 months, until a permanent home can be found, but this maximum is often passed as well.
The home is incredibly underfunded. I've been helping with the laundry in the mornings, which has given me a chance to talk with the staff to find out more about their situation. They work long hours and are paid next to nothing, 7 days a week and holidays, all with the hope that they will be able to continue to pay their own childrens school fees. One of the workers supports his family who continue to live on the homestead, and he only gets to see them every couple of months.
The hardest part has been working with the children. They only speak Swahilli, as only those who can attend school are able to learn english. The home is so very dirty, and there has been an outbreak of chicken pox recently, and the scabs are quickly infected. Many of the children literally cry all day. Its hard to watch a child cry and then observe the workers not comforting them, but I'm trying to remember that often times the workers know more about the situation than I do. Case in point is little Denny, two months old, who I've been spending alot of time with, comforting him when he cries and holding him. Now he won't fall asleep without being rocked and is alot more fussy and when the other children see the attention he receives they cry to receive it as well. So it is all very overwhelming, the children shouldn't have to go without love because of a lack of funding, but that seems to be the case. There are no other volunteers at the placement, and I don't think the director wants me to spend too much time with the children, to keep them from becoming attached. So there are alot of moments when i feel quite useless.
At the end of the week things had started to improve, the workers are starting to trust me more around the children, so hopefully in the next week I can suggest starting a project for the kids. Currently, the workers suggest I simply "play" with them, but with 90 kids jumping, pulling and scratching at me its more than i can handle and the situation quickly deteriorates into the kids fighting each other for attention, punching and kicking and crying. So I need to figure out something that will have a bit of structure and focus. Perhaps splitting the children into groups and taking one group each afternoon and starting an arts or reading class with them. Over the weekend I spoke with other volunteers, so I feel a bit more optimistic than I did in the middle of last week.
I also went on Safari this weekend, which was brilliant, but i'll have to save that post for another time. I hope all is well with everyone. Thank you so much for the comments, its so nice to hear about what is happening at home! I'm getting more comfortable getting around so hopefully I'll be able to get myself onto the computer again soon to post some pictures.
Love! jessie
Friday, October 2, 2009
Arrived!
I made it to Kenya on Wednesday night, had no trouble getting through the airport and someone was waiting for me as soon as I left the arrivals area, just as promised. I was brought to my orientation accomidation in Nairobi, where "mama africa" was very kind and helped settle me in. My roommate for the moment is Canadian as well, although from the other coast - its so nice to have someone to share all the experiences with. And we've made plans to go on Safari and to the coast on our weekends!
Today was our last day of orientation, we went to the Nairobi National Park and the animal shelter - and yes, I most certainly did get to pet a grown cheetah! They were sitting munching on some bones while we came in, and I just hoped and hoped that they wouldn't get bored and look for something bigger! But they purred, just like I hoped they would... and it was a pretty amazing experience. I also got to hold a baby cheetah, which was pretty outstanding, and I had a baby monkey eat out of my hand while it sat on my head! My camera died before any of this (not having much luck with camera's this trip!) but the other girls got lots of pics.
Now I'm off to my project, I don't start working till monday so I will have the weekend to get orientated and settle in. Hope all is well... I'll keep you updated and post some pictures when I get the chance!
Love, Jessie
Today was our last day of orientation, we went to the Nairobi National Park and the animal shelter - and yes, I most certainly did get to pet a grown cheetah! They were sitting munching on some bones while we came in, and I just hoped and hoped that they wouldn't get bored and look for something bigger! But they purred, just like I hoped they would... and it was a pretty amazing experience. I also got to hold a baby cheetah, which was pretty outstanding, and I had a baby monkey eat out of my hand while it sat on my head! My camera died before any of this (not having much luck with camera's this trip!) but the other girls got lots of pics.
Now I'm off to my project, I don't start working till monday so I will have the weekend to get orientated and settle in. Hope all is well... I'll keep you updated and post some pictures when I get the chance!
Love, Jessie
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