Hi there... this is my first blog so go easy on me!!
Happy Christmas everyone!!! I hope you had a great time!!
I have been in Africa for a week now and it has been mad!! So let me start at the beginning... I hope you are sitting comfortably because I think this is going to be a long one!!
First impressions of Nairobi are a little mixed, well not really... I didn't like it one bit! I was a little intimidated to be honest, I think being on my own didn't help. I had a taxi waiting for me at the airport which was great, and he was lovely as all the Africian people have been that I have met so far. The main road into Nairobi was unbelievable with no road markings and pot holes literally all over the place. i think they drive on the same side as us at home but to be honest i really couldn't be sure!! There were people everywhere on the side of the road, selling, buying or just milling around! The hostel was a little rough, I was in a female dorm but there were only 2 other Africian women there. I got there at about 3ish and I didn't leave the dorm all day! Lets just say it was an experience and not one that I will be repeating in a hurry!!
Early Thursday morning I made my way back to the airport to fly to Kisumu. The plane was tiny, 12 rows of 3! Margaret you would have loved it! It was a bumpy journey for an hour but it didn't stop me catching a few Z's!
I arrived at Kisumu airport and it is so cute, the only word to describe it!! It is blue and yellow and has a little fence around it!! I don't know if you can go inside the airport but I didn't, there is just a sign that says 'wait here for your bags'. I got picked up by George one of the staff at my project in Kisumu. He took me to a hotel (considerably nicer than the hostel in Nairobi!!) where I stayed for the day, chilled out by the pool waiting for my project to start on the Friday. The weather in Kisumu is lovely, about 36-38 but with a really nice breeze, it rained last night but not for long and the sun is shining again today!
I had an orientation in Kisumu on Friday, from the car it looked a bit scary! The roads are really poor much worse than Nairobi, some of them are just dirt roads. Again, lots of people on the streets and it is really noisy with lots of new smells, some good some not so good!! But once we got out the car and started walking around I fell in love with the place. Everyone is really friendly and wants to talk to you, they shout 'white' to get our attention. Religion is a big part of life here, they are Christian which means they think anyone with white skin is a missionary and that we have been sent by God to help them so they all love us! This works for me!
Kisumu is the 3rd largest city in Kenya, but it is not even a quarter of the size of Nairobi. There is just one main street, a couple of hotels dotted around and 2 shopping centres and that is it!! But it is great and you can get anything you need here.
The orphanage is about a 2 minute drive from town in a car, it consists of a big house with small houses in the back yard where the children live. There is a gate into the orphange that is guarded by a Masi Warrior, which is very cool!! The flat were the volunteers and workers live is upstairs in the big house. At the minute there are 2 other volunteers who are a couple from the US, Judy and Bennett. They are both 22 and we get on really well, they are good fun. The other workers have either lived in the orphanage all their lives or have worked there for many years. There is a primary school next to the orphanage which are 8 little out-houses around a square, they are tiny and fit over 40 children in each. Because of Christmas the school is not open at the minute.
John and Phobe run the orphange and have dedicated their lives to the children of Kisumu. What they do for the whole community is mind blowing! They started taking in children 13 years ago when 2 of thier babies died. They were from a really poor part of town and had nothing but that didn't stop them taking in 6 children and it has just grown from then. Phobe took me round when I arrived and it was so sad, but no one is sad here! The older children are great, they are laughing all the time and just love to play! They love to hold your hand which is nice. The people at the orphanage work so hard but do not really have time to just sit with the children and play with them or cuddle them, so thats where we come in!! It was sad to see the little babies and toddlers, they were inside and just sitting on the concrete floors with not much to stimulate them. All the children are looked after so well here, but not compared to the children at home. I think if the orphanage is an improvement on where they have come from I dread to think!!
There was an incident on my first day which I think was a taster of things to come... There was a young girl of about 12 and her brother of about 4 really crying and shouting at the police station (which is a tin shack next to the orphanage) with about 5 older boys. Phobe stopped to ask the girl what had happened and she said her and her young brother stole the older boys food so they had started to beat them up. They were all taken to the police station and the police man was sending them away to sort it out themselves. The older boys were threatening to really hurt the brother and sister when they got them back home and the girl was absolutely terrified. All over some fruit! Phobe took the girl and her brother into the orphanage and got one of the other workers to look after them. The other worker was to take them back home and help them sort out the problem with the other boys when they had calmed down!
I am starting to get used to the mad things that happen here, I have already had so many experiences which I will share with you soon, but I am loving it here. But thats all for now folks... there is still loads I need to tell you but Judy, Bennett and I are going to a hotel for the dinner to celebrate christmas in a little bit of style!
Merry Christmas xxx