Our very last day in Africa. No one wants to go home, except of course that we need more money. We’ve created life long friendships, experienced things that people only dream of, laughed, cried, got frustrated, been changed forever.
To celebrate, Hannah is going to get her hair braided one more time. It means a matutu and then a taxi to a place that she described to me as a market. It’s more like back to back botique shops with an open water way in between them. Everyone wants you to buy their goods and in the end, Liz and I grab a drink at a nearby hotel before settling in for a few hours watching these artists braid Hannahs hair.
We meet Pete and Ayube at a cafe afterwards. While we can’t save the world, we can fix up Job and his family’s roof. The bitumen cost all of $20 but it meant that they wouldn’t get soaked when it rained. Pete really wanted to replace the sheets of corrugated iron on Job’s shack but then the landlord would put up the rent. How mean can you get. Here’s this 14 year old boy who is looking after his 2 younger siblings, no income, is sponsored to go to school and every day wonders where his next meal will come from. Life is incredibly unfair on some people.
One last meal with the Aim’s. It’s a sad farewell but it’s never goodbye, just see you later. Now home to raise some money and change some lives. It’s not about the millions of people, not an endless see of faces who need help, but the individuals like Job. One person, one life.
For an overview – http://www.youtube.com/user/BeyondWater1#p/a/u/2/D0CFS6PnTTg
Jan 6
It’s hot and no one sleeps very much. The mozzies are back. I spent a lot of the night thinking about 3 particular kids living in the Kibera Slum. I’ll never forget the statement ‘No one ever chose to be born in a slum’. It’s probably one of the most impacting statements I’ve heard for a very long time. What can we do for these kids? You can’t take them out of the country even though everything inside of you wants to.
The airport is 5 minutes up the road and we find out at 6.30 in the morning that there’s been a change in plans and the plane doesn’t leave for 4 hours. Mind you, it could be worse, some people coming out of places like the Sudan and Nigeria have to be at the airport 7 hours ahead of their flight due to security checks. Nobody blinks at us, and once again we play cards.
We get back to Nairobi to find Hannah’s guitar fell out of its case and when a worker picked it up he dropped it and a huge hunk came out of it. I cannot believe that I’ve had it for 20 years, it’s travelled all over the world and in an internal flight it gets damaged.
Jan 5 – Tuesday
It’s our last full day in Rwanda. It’s been an interesting time that’s for sure. Kigali is so modern yet when you go a little deeper you get to see some of the cracks. For example, the city looks like it has it all together, yet you only have to drive a few minutes out of the CBD to see the roads are shockers and many places do not have electricity or water. I read in brochures that they are leaving the past behind and looking towards the future. It’s like you’re not even allowed to remember that there was a genocide. How can you ever forget seeing the atrocities? Can you ever have it erased from your memory that your neighbour whom you knew for years came hunting you down and hacked your parents in front of you? Or that you were raped by a soldier and now not only have a child because of this but are HIV positive. It takes people of courage to get over something like that. It’s an honour to partner with NGO’s who have proven themselves and are now seeing communities turn around and rebuild.
Even though we only have a few more hours here we make the most of it. Even though we’re tired and just want to sleep, we also may miss opportunities that present themselves. We meet Dr. Nicholas who, amongst many things, oversees the Village of Hope. This is a village for widows and orphans, about a 30 minute drive out of Kigali. It’s a good example of what can happen when someone takes the initiative to make a positive change in another persons life. These are some of the best quality houses that we’ve seen. These are women who work in a geranium cooperative about a 30 minute walk away. Their housing is provided free, they are employed and the kids go to school. We look at the best options for getting them a water supply. There’s no cheap answer and I am beginning to be burdened with all the work that is to be done back home to see the success of our projects. I think I may be bound to the office for months just to get projects going. Any volunteers?????
We meet a man called Benjamin who was suggested to us by our friend Margaret Aim. It’s been near impossible to talk on the phone because the lines are so bad, but Dr. Nicholas drops us off at the guest house to meet him and find out that his English isn’t crash hot. He speaks French really well. We don’t. But he has his friend James with him as our translator. If I think my work is tough I just need to think of these guys. Between them they look after 900 orphans in Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. Because it’s a relatively new work they haven’t set up the sponsorship side of things and we hope to mobilise some Aussies to take up the cause. Thanks to our generous board members, we are able to shout these guys lunch. We find out later that they have a one hour bus ride home to their families. That means they have also bussed in this morning hoping to see us. Our taxi takes 15 minutes. By the time they get home we will be on to our next meal. I like the attitude of these guys. They’re all about making a change in their communities. They see it as their duty and an honour to be able to look after orphans, stick up for the rights of women and provide a sanctuary for those who are abused. They’re not looking for a medal or a hand out, they’re here simply to share their story.
Jan 4 – Monday
There’s nothing more frustrating than calling and smsing someone who refuses to get back to you. Such was the issue I’ve had with getting a hold of someone to go and look at their potential project. If they really want our assistance there has to be a working together, not just us simply giving out. The good news is that not everyone has a ‘give me, give me’ attitude. Many people here in Rwanda have an attitude which says they are thinking more of others than themselves.
We are also finding that we’re not quite getting ripped off like in the first couple of days. We’ve dropped 4,000 franks ($8) in taxi fares per ride. Scored a great piece of material for only $16, which would easily cost $60 back home.
Tonight we visited the Hope Preschool and community church. I was trying to get some photos of kids collecting water but they were more interested in feeling our white arms. Apparently they think that our skin is on fire and want to touch it to see how hot it is.
Jan 3 – Sunday
Nakumatt is fast becoming our second home. It’s a bit like Big W. Before going there though we visited the Hope Preschool to see what their water needs are. We’re going back tomorrow night to get some video footage and photos. It seems a really well established nursery school but there is no water in this community at all. An Aussie NGO helped put a road in and there is some electricity in the area, but there is no clean water source anywhere.
Coffins at Genocide Memorial
A lot of shops are closed, being a Sunday, but we go to the Blues Cafe for lunch as it’s right next to an internet cafe. Bad choice. It took 45 minutes and a confrontation on my side before we got any food, and they weren’t even busy. Things in Rwanda are not cheap, we’re pretty much paying Sydney prices for goods and transport. It’s a lot more expensive than other countries we’ve visited. While we caught motor bikes into the city, we definitely get a car back. The bikes are good but I realised on the way in that it was a bit of a security risk considering we didn’t all have phones or money. Hannah’s driver ran out of petrol and she ended running to the gas station.
Language has been the biggest issue so far. We hear snippets of Swahili but the main languages spoken are Kinyarwanda and French – we speak neither. English is only just coming up now. That Swahili class in Sydney is looking pretty good right now.
There’s no TV here at the guest house, so we make up our own entertainment. In the 6 weeks we’ve been here, it’s the first time we break out the cards. I also conquer my grey hair by dyeing it back to brown, it feels good. Then it’s some home grown entertainment by Hannah. Who needs a TV when you have teenagers who act like clowns.
Jan 2 – Saturday
We head into the only bank in the city that takes a Mastercard, to find out that something is wrong with Hannah’s card. Back at an internet cafe we find out that she’s been banned from using internet banking and we have to call Australia, again. Not sure why but she had to reset her password. At least we have cash this time, not like in Uganda.
We head off to the Genocide Memorial. It’s hard to believe that there are thousands of bodies buried underneath us. We listen to the video’s and see the photographs. Looking at the city now it’s hard to believe that 15 years ago the country had 100 days where a million people were killed. Kigali has a million people living in it now. I try to imagine within a matter of weeks that not one person would be alive here and marvel at the progress of things. And yet there is so much work to be done.
Pete and Hannah don’t like museums, but we spend hours here. These are the stories of real men, women, boys and girls. It’s not Hollywood, it’s real people.
The real Me Collines hotel from the movie Hotel Rwanda
We come back to the guest house where we are staying and we hear from a staff member what it was like for him. He now has 12 children that he cares for, they are orphans. It’s the culture in Africa to take in kids that have no surviving family. They’re not shoved into an institution, they’re embraced into a family.
Jan 1 – Friday
What a great start to a year – breakfast with friends who’ve become family. Robin, Margaret, Yolanda and Odio, that’s our Kenyan family now. It’s going to be really hard to leave them but good to know that we’ll be back.
I madly try to get some washing dry before we head to Rwanda tonight. Margaret meantime is getting into sewing. But, there’s a power cut, a regular occurrence here. Robin is great with the kids, he treats them like his own. He feeds them peaches and ice cream for lunch and they’re stoked.
They take us to the club Robin belongs to so the girls can take a swim. We have a nanny nap by the pool. It’s a tough life but someone’s got to do it. I think it’s the first time my legs have seen the sun for months. It’s been long skirts all the way in Africa. Mind you, I’m quite surprised at the amount of skin I’ve seen around Africa.
The break is over and it’s into another meeting. Sometimes I dread returning to Australia because I know the work will be overwhelming, but then I relish the challenge. How exciting to see what can be done when people catch the vision.
The airport is a breeze. We are carrying the least amount of luggage ever. No sleeping bags or towels, few resources and no books. Sorry Rwanda, we’re only bringing the Creans. The flight is fantastic, although a little cold. It only takes an hour ten to get to Rwanda, much faster than the 2 hours the travel agent told us. Rwanda is also an hour behind Kenya in time which is good because we don’t get here until just after 10pm.
The guest house is only a few kilometres from the airport. It seems to be okay. The girls room is in another building but at this late hour, who cares. We have our own bathroom, and it has hot water. Small things make it worth having a party over, especially a flush toilet.
Not sure what tomorrow will bring but I’m glad we have no meetings on. It takes a while to find your feet in a new place. As Hannah points out, we’ve been to 3 countries in 24 hours. No wonder I’m tired.
Dec 31 – Thursday
Today is Lizzie’s 20th birthday. No time for celebrations though because we’re heading home to Kenya. Yep, it sure feels homely after being on the road for so long. Not that I regret it, but when you’ve had 3 sleepless nights, the quietness of the Aim’s house is really inviting. I just couldn’t sleep last night, too much going through my head, and the noise. The taxi picks us up at 7.30am as promised. This is twice now that the Regional Luxury bus service has been on time and I’m really impressed. Beats having to wait 90 minutes for a bus like in Kenya.
Typical roads
The ride to Kenya is like being 2 hours in a milk shake machine, no exaggeration. That’s only to the border, and then it’s another 4 hours off and on of shake, rattle and roll. It is so ironic that 20 metres away is a brand new smooth road, that the Masai walk on. I feel sorry for Hannah as she gets badly car sick. Liz on the other hand has a stomach of iron, such a blessing.
After 6 hours on the road, it takes nearly 30 minutes in a taxi to get around the city to get to Rwanda Air. Because of all the issues of not being able to get out more than $250 at a time and nobody taking MasterCard, we had to wait till we got back to Nairobi to get our tickets for Rwanda. Yep, you can book them online, but you’re meant to get an email confirming a seat and how to make payment. Nothing came through and the travel agent said that it was because the flight was full. Go figure. How hard would it be to create an automated thing that is emailed to you letting you know. Hence, we can’t get a flight out till late tomorrow. We scrapped together all the cash we had and made sure we had enough for dinner. The travel agent was moving at a snail pace and I was really aware that a whole group of people were waiting for us to put on a surprise dinner for Liz. I felt really bad as they’d been waiting for ages. No wonder I have grey hair!
We made it to the restaurant, albeit very late and we had to go in our grubby travel clothes, no time for changing. I really hate it how the locals dress better than me. My hair is continually tied back, seriously needs a dye and I’m wearing my daggy travel clothes. It’s a great night and Liz loves it. She always gets a rough deal with her birthday being on the 31st but Robin, Margaret, Yolanda and Odio go out of their way to make it special. They buy her a cool tee shirt that has Swahili on it, and get the staff to sing happy birthday. This is what family is about. For the first time in my life I have spare ribs and they’re pretty good I must say. Tonight is all you can eat spare ribs. We over eat.
The girls and I go to buy fireworks. It’s like being a kid again, as there are many fireworks we used to be able to buy in NZ. When we get back to the house, we celebrate with more food and then the letting off of fireworks. It’s the first time Odio has ever lit any, he’s crazy!
We don’t see in the new year, it’ll be there tomorrow. Hannah is the only one to stay awake. She plays on my iPhone to her hearts content, got to love wireless internet. It’s been a good decade, but I’m believing and hoping that the next one will be better.
Dec 30 – Wednesday
Our last full day in Arusha. We decide to do a few touristy things. First though we discover some other Aussie travellers. Like us, they’ve been going for about 5 ½ weeks. Unlike us, they started in South Africa and have made their way up. It was great swapping travel stories. They’ll be on the road for the next year, something I don’t envy. They tell us about how they had to get from Mozambique on a boat that was centimetres from tipping and being surrounded by hippos. We tell of the adventures in Northern Uganda.
Down town Arusha
We have the last of the medical gloves and pencils to get rid of. Ansell and Statedler would be proud to see their goods being used over here. We drop them off at Mike and Lyndell’s trust to be used for school and in HIV training sessions. It means Aussie goods are being used this month all over East Africa. Go the Aussies!
We get a driver for the day and he takes us to the only other worthy tourist site in Arusha, the Cultural Centre. I like it for a few reasons. Number one, it’s free and that’s a bonus. Number two, it has a great layout with carvings and statues just like you’re walking around a Masai village. And number three, the artwork inside the centre is mind blowing. Sure, the average price tag of $4,000 is staggering, but man, are there some great artists represented here. Inside the centre it goes up in a continual spiral with hundreds of pieces of art to view.
I decide that we shall go to the movies. Yep, what did you do in Africa, we went to the movies. I thought at first that we would be the only ones there, but about 10 others came in. The theatre was run by this little Indian man. There are heaps of Indians here, and they are smart business people. 2012 was a cheesy movie, but Hannah enjoyed it anyway.
We hit McMoody’s for the third time. It’s a takeoff of Maccas. The food doesn’t kill us and the banana smoothies are worth the 10 minute walk from the backpackers. Vincent, our host, has been generous to us every time and even when something isn’t on the menu, he still says it with a smile. Everyone wants to keep in contact with us. We have a rule that the only email address allowed to give out is the BeyondWater one, and yes, each person can be contacted on it. We’ve been through quite a few cards here. The girls have had marriage proposals, Pete has been asked numerous times for a job in Australia and I receive the wishlists from every organisation we visit.
Dec 29 – Tuesday
Nothing in life is simple. Sleep is something to be desired but not had this night. Around 2am, a bus load of Kenyans arrive at the backpackers. They don’t believe in being quiet. I’m not talking about a small amount of noise. I’m talking about kids yelling, showers going, what sounds like a party next door and endless talking. Remember there are only 2 volumes in Africa, loud and louder. In the end we tell them to shut up, what a waste of breath.
Then they start again a few hours later at a more decent hour. We’re stuffed and it’s not a good memory we want to have of Arusha. We give them the evil look at breakfast time.
It’s a bit of a limbo day. Yes, we make the decision to go to Rwanda after a quick call home to our directors, but we can’t return to Nairobi too early. Robin & Margaret have gone overboard in the area of hospitality but I don’t want to spoil the relationship by rocking up early.
Instead, we visit associates of theirs, Mike & Lyndell. They’re from Aussie and have been in Tanzania for 16 years. Their place overlooks bushland, it’s an oasis. What a difference from noisy Arusha. Even though they don’t know us from a bar of soap, they host us like old friends. Their daughter Kirsty has just returned from living in New Zealand for a number of years as a nurse. They take us for a walk around their property. Tanzania is so green and full of bush. We’re told that it’s unusual for it to be so green. There are plenty of mountains around the place, so when it rains, it rains. It doesn’t take too long for it to go from brown to green. Mike and Lyndell’s work is varied. They have 5 schools around northern Tanzania as well as training people in palliative care for HIV patients. Mike is into mentoring other community leaders. Their work takes them all over the area and I suspect our projects in Tanzania may also spread as we become familiar with the needs.
Wherever I go I always ask what the biggest challenges are for people coming out to serve here. For these guys it was that one of their kids got really sick, for a long time, and that they lost their business in Australia that was meant to support them long term. These are things we can’t even comprehend back in the comfort of home. People like Mike & Lyndell, Gemma, Robin & Margaret, David & Cathy, people who we’ve met. They’ve all made and will continue to make huge sacrifices. They’re not super heroes, just every day people wanting to make a change. They’re the suckers that put up their hands and say ‘Ill do it’.
I really want people in Australia to be proud of the work that Kiwi’s and Aussies are doing. I want them to know that their dollar is not being wasted, it’s saving lives. It means a kid can go to school. A mum doesn’t have to walk miles to get water. A dad doesn’t have to go begging for food just to feed his family. Dollars do count. Change does happen. Sure, it may take time, and we probably don’t get to hear all the stories, but somewhere there is a person representing your dollar, making it work. You might not get dividends or interest from your donation, but you can get satisfaction that there are people out there bringing change, hope and destiny to those who need it.
Dec 28 – Monday
We sleep well until 2am when some guy who has had way too much to drink, decides to throw up in the bathrooms situated right outside our door. He’s not quiet either, just the opposite. Sounds like his whole insides are coming out. Gross.
We venture outside to explore Arusha, it takes about 15minutes. I figure out that Arusha is a bit like Alice Springs. There’s not too much to do, it’s more like a stopping point to go onto somewhere else. In Aussie it would be Uluru, here, it’s Kilimanjaro or a safari. No lies, we’re stopped every few minutes by someone trying to sell us a safari. When you’ve seen a hippo, you’ve seen a hippo. The Crater is definitely one place I’d like to see next time, but on our shoe string budget there is no way we could afford the $160 each for it. We’ve learnt from trips past that you don’t have to see everything at once, we will be back. This is my third trip to Africa and I still haven’t been to Masai Mara, but next time it will be a priority.
We stop in and see the massive work of the School of St Jude. It’s huge. In fact, it’s a small community in itself. It’s only been going for 8 years and the work is amazing. Australian’s should be proud of themselves to be able to get such a work of excellence off the ground in a developing nation. We get to spend time with Gemma Sisia, the founder and get shown around by Sarah, their marketing manager. There’s buildings going up everywhere. A new dining hall is meant to be ready within 2 weeks and it looks nowhere near it, but Sarah assures us it will be. There’s a couple more boarding houses going up because of an additional class this year. I’m blown away that one individual (Gemma) has been able to mobilise people in another country to fund a school of 1300 students. Everything is supplied for them. These are the future leaders of this nation.
We hit a western looking pizza place for lunch. It’s quite up market here, being in the midst of heaps of UN offices. The girls hope to get to a movie, but it’s closed. We crack up laughing. New Moon, which has been and gone in Aussie is ‘coming soon’ here. They have some movies coming soon that we saw on the plane on the way over to Africa. You can go to the movies here for $4, pretty good I say.
Instead we head back to the backpackers to try and get access to the internet. The power is off.
We have a dilemma. Someone in Canada has been hacking into our personal bank account and withdrawn a couple of thousand dollars. It’s our bond money for our house when we return in a few weeks. We have to decide on whether we go to Rwanda or not. It’s a really hard one and we just can’t make a decision. I get around to emailing our Board of Directors. It’s always good to get others advice when you’re stuck. Personally, I’m ready to go home and so are the others. It’s been amazing here, but also really tough. Things like banking and transportation have really taken it out of us. The only day off has been when Hannah was sick and that was more of a catch up day. Mastercard is taken in some countries and Visa because of an additional class this year. I’m blown away that one individual (Gemma) has been able to mobilise people in another country to fund a school of 1300 students. Everything is supplied for them. These are the future leaders of this nation.
We hit a western looking pizza place for lunch. It’s quite up market here, being in the midst of heaps of UN offices. The girls hope to get to a movie, but it’s closed. We crack up laughing. New Moon, which has been and gone in Aussie is ‘coming soon’ here. They have some movies coming soon that we saw on the plane on the way over to Africa. You can go to the movies here for $4, pretty good I say.
Instead we head back to the backpackers to try and get access to the internet. The power is off.
We have a dilemma. Someone in Canada has been hacking into our personal bank account and withdrawn a couple of thousand dollars. It’s our bond money for our house when we return in a few weeks. We have to decide on whether we go to Rwanda or not. It’s a really hard one and we just can’t make a decision. I get around to emailing our Board of Directors. It’s always good to get others advice when you’re stuck. Personally, I’m ready to go home and so are the others. It’s been amazing here, but also really tough. Things like banking and transportation have really taken it out of us. The only day off has been when Hannah was sick and that was more of a catch up day. Mastercard is taken in some countries and Visa in others. You have to be prepared to wait for an hour in the bank to get a couple of hundred dollars out. Mobile phones don’t always work. Messages aren’t getting through to back home. The only news on TV is in Swahili and nothing about the outside world.
So we wait to hear on what we should do. This trip is about our work, certainly not a holiday and we want to represent our organisation the best we can.
Dec 27 – Sunday
We head off to catch the bus and it starts raining. It’s hard to believe that only a couple of hours from here you’d be wading through dust because of the drought. Thankfully Margaret drags herself out of bed and takes us to our pickup point. For once, the bus takes off on time, something we’re not used to. The bus is good, the road isn’t. Hannah still isn’t feeling too well but she sure looks better than yesterday.
We get ripped off at the border. The dodgy customs guy claims that Pete only gave him a $50 note, but we all know he gave a $100 bill. Pete says way too loudly, Africans are all rip offs, something you only say in your head. Maybe by the end of the trip he’ll learn to keep his temper in check, maybe. We meet another Aussie guy who just happens to be going to the School of St Jude as well. He’s going for a year, us for the day. He’s a bit overwhelmed by everything but in time he’ll learn the ropes of everything.
We arrive in Arusha 6 hours later. It’s raining. Let me rephrase that, it’s bucketing down. As with everywhere else, as soon as we step out of a bus we are surrounded by locals wanting to carry our bags and offer us a ride. We’ve got really good at saying ‘no thank you’ and sounding firm. Everyone presumes we’re Americans and therefore rich. Our taxi driver has a brother who works in Chatswood, 20 minutes from where we live. Apparently he’s a travel agent there.
The Arusha Backpackers is pretty good except that our room faces the main road and a 24 hour petrol station, the only one of its kind in town. Arusha is a town, definitely not a city. It’s hovered by Mt Meru. Think of the movie Dantes Peak and that’s what we have. Apparently Kilimanjaro is about 90 minutes drive away. The backpackers even has a restaurant at the top of it and an internet cafe. Or should I say 3 computers that are so slow on the internet it drives you crazy.
The showers are good and the toilets flush, mostly. How bad is it that we judge everything by whether it has a toilet and access to warm water, but such are the luxuries we live by.
Dec 25
Christmas is way different here than in Australia, or pretty much any other developed nation. We have no Christmas tree, the house is not decorated and we don’t rush in the morning to get to church. Instead we have bacon and eggs and we are getting ready to go and visit some kids who live in a slum. First though, Margaret brings out the presents, even though we said we wouldn’t do any. Pete is in the process of getting Margaret a new car battery but by the time we get home from our projects all the garages are closed. I feel bad because these guys have done nothing but give, give, give and I haven’t even the time to get them anything. The girls get some beautiful material for a wrap and we get chocolates, we are overwhelmed with it. We head out with the team to Kibera to visit some of the kids they’ve been working with over the years. We walk through open sewers, try not to slip on the clay and don’t breathe too deeply because the stench gets really bad sometimes.
We arrive at the ‘house’ of Job. It’s more of a shack where the 3 kids live. Job is 14. We bring chis, biscuits cake and drink. As far as these kids are concerned it might be there only meal for the day or the next few days. They are so grateful not just that we bring them food, but that we are visiting their home. Mum died years ago and dad pays the rent but is not seen very often. With them are about 4 others who meet each fortnight with the leaders. One of the kids is Daniel a 3 year old. Pete takes to him and does everything to bring a smile on his face. After an hour he starts coming out of his shell. What would these kids be like if they were in a home with a mum and dad, have regular meals and not worry that they’ll be mugged on the way home?
It puts Christmas into perspective. I don’t walk away with a feeling of satisfaction that the kids have eaten or that we’ve given out food parcels to a number of families. However, I am grateful for the dedication of the leaders who work with these kids. As Robin says, I’m thankful for where I was born. These kids didn’t choose to be born in a slum, why shouldn’t they have the same opportunities as my kids.
I can’t save the world but I can mobilise others to join our quest. Christmas is about celebrating. So I choose to do what I can, so I get on Facebook and try to get 10 people to sponsor 10 kids at $40 a month for 2 years. There are hundreds of kids waiting to get sponsored onto the rehabilitation farm, just not enough sponsors to do so.
It kind of seems ironic that in the morning we are walking through a slum trying to avoid falling into rubbish and then in the afternoon sitting in a club feasting on a buffet. I asked Margaret Aim how she handled working in such poverty for the past 26 years. She said that you have to compartmentalise your life in developing nations. This is the area we work in, but this is where we live, this is where we help, this is where we are helped.
While the needs seem overwhelming, I have seen what sponsorship and donation can do, how it can change a life, forever. The world is too big to save, but a single life isn’t.
Dec 24
Change of plans. We were meant to take a group of street boys to the park for games. The rain means we will now go 10 in bowling instead. I haven’t played in years but for most of these guys, they’ve never even entered the mall where the bowling alley is. There are guards everywhere and there’s no way these guys would be allowed in.
I feel a bit sorry for these guys as they don’t have a clue who we are and they have to hang out with us. Their English is very limited and they’re facing a new challenge – how to bowl a ball. Yolanda works with Afrilift and she has come prepared with brand new socks for the boys. It’s natural to think that everyone would have socks – wrong. These kids are either orphans or are not connected with their families. They meet each week with 2 social workers, and when they are ready, are transferred to live at Osiligi Rehabilitation Farm. These guys are rough, raw and nothing like the boys I saw on the farm last month. It really showed me that if given a chance to grow and learn, then these boys can change and be given a positive future.
We travel with 2 German guys who work with the farm boys – Janis and David. Janis is well skilled at driving in Nairobi. I have never played a good a game of 10 pin as I did today, it was a miracle. We and the boys go for lunch of hamburger, fries and sodas. One guy refuses a soda and says he only drinks beer. Wasn’t going to happen here.
It’s hard to believe that it’s Christmas Eve. Sure, you see the odd Christmas tree or decoration but there’s nowhere near the commercialism that you see back home. There’s just not the money. However, where we had lunch is the area where there are a lot of employees from the United Nations and embassies. The mall seems an overkill in comparison to what is further in the city.
Tonight there are 8 of us for dinner. We’re having a Christmas meal with the German guys. I feel a bad that I haven’t even had a chance to go and buy gifts for Robin & Margaret. Nothing can express our appreciation of them but it’s such an honour to be here with them. Their kids are in the US and NZ and our kids are loving being here with them. This is what family is about.
Dec 23
Just because it’s the last day of camp does not mean a sleep in. But, the guy leaders are dragging their feet with only 3 hours of sleep, the girls give them a hard time. Each leaders meeting starts with a hot chocolate or coffee and some biscuits we’ve bought. Today we share about some of the things that have impacted us over this camp. I can’t help but shed a few more tears, I’m really going to miss these guys. Many times you want to whisk kids away from their situation but I tell these leaders that they must stay, they are an asset to their nation. Kenya needs them as they bring up a new generation of leaders. They may not realise it but they are world changers.
Pete speaks at the last meeting which was a bit of a tough one because everyone was so tired, but it was still a good one. Once again the bus doesn’t turn up. Apparently it was stopped by the police for some reason and had to turn back. The police will stop you for any reason and if you don’t have the cash to bribe them with then you’re in trouble. The problem for us is that we were all packed up, including the food but the cooks make the best of the situation with biscuits and juice.
Just as the rain starts, replacement matatus arrive. Now we have to haggle about the price because an extra matatu has to be ordered to take all the luggage, buckets and cooking equipment.
On the way back to Nairobi, which is about an hour on a normal day, it looks as though it has snowed. Sure, it’s only hail, but it looks as thick as snow. Wish I knew what the kids reaction was. The downpour is so heavy we can’t see in front of us but to pull over would be more dangerous. We make it back to Nairobi just in time to join the Afrilift Christmas Party.
We feel like gate crashers but they insist we join them. Julia is much better and heading to the airport tonight to return to Aussie. To see her off there is one more obligatory power cut, just as well we’re having a BBQ. Like malaria, bad driving and pot holes, power cuts are treated as a normal part of life here. You just get on with things and find the best way of making things possible.
The rain continues to pour down which makes me wonder how on earth we will get everything washed and dried before heading off to Tanzania on Boxing Day. Our room smells of the bonfire smoke from the clothes – yummy (not).
Dec 22
Today we have a surprise for the kids. We are taking them to Crescent Island on Lake Naivasha. The bus should be here at 8.15am. The kids are ready early. The bus never arrives. badi, the Camp Director organises matatu’s, mini vans. We really wanted to get them there early in the morning as it gets really hot in the middle of the day. We buy every kid a 1 litre bottle of water, you would not believe the smiles that come from it. Our ranger, Simon tells the kids to keep it quiet as they walk around the reserve, but since we’ve given each group a digital camera for the day, they are busy taking photos of each other.
The highlight is seeing a group of hippos close up. The kids whip off their shoes and head to the water to join the hippos, and get more photos taken. Many of the kids, as well as the cooks asked ‘what is this’ and we told them ‘sand’ and they thought it was amazing. The small joy of sand going through your fingers for the first time – priceless.
On the trip they also see a python, giraffes, wilderbeest and zebras. You can see where the lake has dried up a lot and how it has affected the wildlife. Simon talks on and on about what is happening with the environment and the kids are hanging off his words. They’re asking deep and meaningingful questions, they really want to know what is happening in their part of the world.
We see the other side of the island, where the water has receded a lot, the water looks red. This is not a good sign. It’s due to the drought but also deforestation and the amount of flower factories that are drawing water from the lake.
No one gets lunch because we left late and stayed much longer than intended. Thankfully we bought bananas and biscuits. Still, no complaining. I am so grateful to have spent this time with the kids.
Tonight, we have chappatis, my favourite. This is our last night at camp so we want to make it a really good one. The kids end up doing a dance competition and then after dinner (9pm) we head out to a bonfire. We went and bought the kids some fizzy drinks especially for this night. Margaret has spent hours making popcorn. We seem to take for granted even the smallest thing, like bread. For breakfast they have a cup of tea and a slice of bread, nothing on it. We found out that bread is a luxury for them, they normally don’t know when they will eat.
Hannah does a really good object lesson around the fire. On one side of a piece of paper we have to write all our fears and shame. On the other, we write our dreams. Then we throw the paper in the fire. It significies the end of our fears and our dreams going up to God. You would not believe how significant it is for many people.By 11pm I have to go to bed, but the kids are still going with their camp songs and dancing. Apparently some time after midnight it starts to rain and the kids head for bed. They’ve been talking about deep and meaningful things. We find out the boys stay up talking until 3am.
Dec 21
Gotta love waking up at 6am to get ready for a leaders meeting, especially since it’s in our room. The door to the toilet doesn’t close properly and the cold shower is a shocker. But at least we have water, for now. It’s going to be a full on day, with me speaking this morning, small groups for discussion and then team building activities and then more sports in the afternoon.
If there’s no rest for the wicked, then we are very bad people! These kids are absolutely amazing. There’s no sign of whinging when we’re out in the hot sun and they haven’t had a break for a drink. They embrace everything we throw at them. They may be young in years but they have experienced things many adults in Australia haven’t and wouldn’t want to. Most are orphans, have completed primary school, and have the biggest smiles. I want to give them an opportunity to smile more.
We set up an obstacle course outside. There are 4 teams all wanting to be the camp champions. Wherever I go in the world kids are all the same. They have dreams, aspirations, hopes, want to get a good education, job and some money to help out their family.
We have 2 dedicated women who are cooking for all of us. No, they don’t have a stove but are working over an open fire. You would not believe the size of the meals these kids eat, they are huge. It’s only when you realise that for some of these kids they are used to having one meal, one a good day, so they eat while they can. There’s only the quick and the hungry in Africa.
I’d love to be able to get some of these kids into a recording studio, the voices are exceptional. They lead the group in singing, no instruments or sound system. They love Hannah playing her guitar and she is forced to also sing in front of everyone. I see Hannah as more confident in front of a group and hope she keeps it up when she gets home. Liz is loving hanging out with the younger kids. Sport is her strength so she is taking in any opportunity given.
Dec 20
Both Monica and Jules won’t be coming to camp. To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement. Jules is so close to going home and I really wanted her to leave on a high. We hope that by Tuesday they can come to camp. There’s 47 kids waiting for us and I try to put my own frustrations aside. It takes 3 days to get over malaria but for some they can bounce back within hours. We make sure that the ‘sickies’ have all they need and we head off. Hannah goes on the bus with the kids and we arrive in Naivasha just after them.
It’s a private secondary school we’re staying at. Trust me, it’s nothing like Aussie ones. There are smashed windows, toilets don’t always flush and there is no hot water. Pete, Margaret and I score a little room for ourselves. It also doubles as a leaders meeting room. We discover that we are taking all the activities and speaking at the main meetings. With the 4 of us it will be a challenge.
These kids belong to a program called Riziki (provision). They come from a slum and for most, this is the first time in the country. I look at all our baggage and then there’s. Sure, we have resources and stuff, they don’t even have a sheet for the mattress. Margaret has bought each one a sheet, they are happy. Some haven’t brought a blanket and will be a bit cold as it’s not as warm as Nairobi. No one complains. The Riziki kids are sponsored by generous donors in New Zealand and Australia. There are hundreds of kids lining up for sponsorship, just not enough sponsors. We have to do something about that.
These kids get to go to school, have a uniform, wear shoes, have a future. That’s what sponsorship does, it gives hope.
This camp has happened because of Millie Trinick from Sydney. Millie came last year to Kenya and then returned to Sydney and hosted a fundraiser. That fundraiser has enabled these kids to take a break from their unsafe and uncertain world to simply enjoy life.
Dec 19
It’s nice not to travel anywhere today. It’s a catchup of washing and making sure we have everything for the cam. It also means going shopping for resources. But first, we take a walk through Kiberia. It’s Africa’s 2nd biggest slum. One million people without running water, electicity or toilets. A home is just a windowless hut where up to 7 people live. We walk through open sewers which stink to high heaven. There’s people everywhere and the ground gets slippery in places.
Our job this morning is to take food items to needy families. It means carrying a really heavy sack full of soap, flour, rice, sugar, beans, onions and oil. This is a Christmas gift that is gladly received. We get to go with some young people who live here and attend a youth group. I couldn’t live here that’s for sure. The stories I hear are heart breakers. An HIV positive single parent with 6 kids. Who will look after them when she dies, one is only a few months old. The last family I see doesn’t have a mum. A 14 year old girls is looking after her 12 and 9 year old sisters. The 12 year old has a knee injury and can’t earn any extra money. What will the future hold for her?
Then I hear from Badi, one of the social workers in the area. He is from here but has moved out of Kibera to show the young people that they can seek a better life than what they already has. He doesn’t ask me for anything, I’m firing the questions his way. Does he get tired and frustrated – yep, but he never gives up hope. He’s awesome. The word awesome is thrown around easily in Sydney, everything is ‘awesome’. Here though, I use it to tell them how exceptional they are.
I know it sounds ironic, but we go from the slum to an American Cafe for a coffee and lunch. Margaret warns us not to have anything with salad as it’s dodgy. I go for fish and chips.
Jules starts coughing and it gets worse during the day. We get home late in the afternoon and she crashes on the couch. Robin thinks we better take her to get tested for Malaria. Malaki is the cutest almost 2 year old who lives here. He points at Jules and says ‘toto’ which means ‘baby’ because she is asleep like his little sister.
Pete, Robin and Jules head off to the hospital. They return at 12.30am and Jules is hungry. The doctors gave her a panadol drip, malaria tablets and antibiotics for the cough. She doesn’t have a chest infection which is great. That’s 2 team members down and it’s a huge blow.
Dec 18
We spend a small part of the morning with the team from Favour of God Ministries before the 6 hour trip to Entebbe Airport. Poor Monica is a bit out of it and sleeps most of the way. We get to stop and see the Nile River at these most awesome water falls. We have to ask the police if it’s okay to take photos first. We’re allowed to take photos of anything except the bridge. Pretty much like Australia.
The trip is monotonous except for the new road where they’ve decided to put in lots of speed bumps. Not just a few. We go over 88 of them in about 6 minutes. Apparently it’s to slow traffic and help spread out the new coating. Logic would say put a thicker coat on the road and it will last longer.
Hannah’s busting to go to the toilet so we get to stop at a honey centre. The honey in Uganda is the best in the world according to our driver Fred. He even reckons it can cure cancer. We buy him some but can’t take it on the plane as it is full of bees wax and doesn’t have a sealable lid.
It seems to take forever to get through Kampala to the airport. Actually, it only takes us an hour to get out of a car jam but I’m confident we’ll get to the airport on time, and we do.
Yep, all is good. the flight is on time, we’re on time. That is, until we go through customs and an attendant tells us that the plane is waiting for the 6 of us and 2 other Aussies. Seems as though the travel agent has the totally wrong time on our tickets, by about 90 minutes. If we had actually stopped during the day for food, we would’ve totally missed our flight. We were starving as breakfast was a piece of bread at 7.30 that morning.
Good news though, we get a salad bun on the plane. I said to Pete ‘I bet they’ll get to us and they will run out’. I’ve got to stop doing this type of thing. It’s happened so many times, a broken windscreen, power cuts and food shortages. It’s like I’m speaking it into being. So now I keep saying ‘I wonder where that million dollars is’. We literally get off the ground and 40 minutes later we’re in another country.
We’re back at the Afrilift compound, 90 minutes early, ready to have a day of preparation for the camp on Sunday. Monica is a right off, the rest of us have a really late dinner.
Dec 17
Guess what, Hannah’s sponsored child turned up again. They were waiting for some food to be delivered that the agent had told them would be there. We go shopping with the Childcare person and deliver it, along with a brand new dress for Auma. Her smile is worth getting ripped off for. Sure, she was grateful for the food and presents, but the dress was the one thing she was hoping for. We end up getting a tour of the school and other facilities CKS has in town. I pass an elderly lady who is a skeleton, only hours away from dying of AIDS. There’s some triplets and twins and plenty of orphans whose mother has died or is too sick to care for them.
Upon returning to the guest house, we find Monica has a cough and is all stuffed up. We’re ready to go and visit Pastors David & Catherine Livingstone who have been providing programs for us while here. They are dedicated and we love spending time with them. David is a visionary and along with all the other projects, will bring long term benefit to Northern Uganda. We wish we had an endless bank account, but he’s not asking for it. David sees, along with other fine leaders that they need help developing the next generation. They need leadership and infrastructure, not a cheque. This man has spent the last 10 days away from his family, training other leaders in East Africa. He returned to Kitgum at 11.30pm the night before and here he is offering to take us to Gulu, just to save us money and so we can spend time talking. What a man!
We do lots of talking and also see some of his projects. One is a radio station that has an audience of a million people, just a small one he says. We return, Monica is has quite a chesty cough but seems to be doing okay.
Catherine Livingstone is an amazing host. I will miss her very much. I won’t have much of a heart when I return to Australia as I am leaving a piece of it wherever I go.
The trip to Gulu is fast. David has a wicked sense of humour. I can tell that times have been tough for him, he’s looking a lot older than when I saw him last year.
We farewell our dear friend and the girls start the long process of taking our Julia’s braids. She does not want to look like a frizz top when she arrives home on Christmas Day. Pete and I head to town to get some money out of the bank. On our return we find Monica wrapped up in a blanket shivering and the doctor has been called. Instantly I know it’s malaria and the doctor confirms it. It’s common here and the drugs are on hand from the doctor. Rachel, our wonderful house mum takes care of Monica, trying to keep her temperature down. It’s a new thing for the kids, Lizzie is quite concerned, but it’s routine here. Throughout the night, the girls unwind Jules hair. They’ve been going for 5 ½ hours and it’s not quite finished. Then there’s the putting of the egg in the hair. Jules hasn’t washed it for over 3 weeks, that’s the point of having it braided. The girls sleep in the lounge because Monica can’t stand the noise. It’s all an adventure. We couldn’t come to Africa without malaria, diahorrea or bus stories. How boring would that be?
Dec 16
The day of the seminar. I travel on the back of the ute with 15 others. My butt will never be the same again. The locals think it’s hilarious with these 4 muzungu’s packed in with Acholi people. It’s all girls and the singing is amazing. For the whole 40 minutes, through potholes and puddles, the singing and waving to those walking, continues. We find this huge building in a community called Kitgum Matidi. There’s about 250 adults and 60 kids who’ve been waiting for a couple of hours for us. Pete speaks on forgiveness, me on rebuilding, Monica on looking after your body and then everyone on 2 keys to successful living. In between each speaker is vibrant singing. We use interpreters and although English is taught in schools, the main language is Acholi. Monica picks up the language really well, just like we did with Swahili. I know that in a few days I’ll be in another country with another language and just stick with English. There’s a special handshake that I’ve got down to pat, it’s very cool. People have walked for hours to get here and we want to honour them for that. I give out lollypops to the kids at the end. I think I almost created world war 3. Some of the boys are really sneaky and manage to get more than one. The little ones were pummelled and had to be rescued. One thing I really noticed is the lack of children’s workers represented.
I stood up in the back of the ute on the return trip to Kitgum. Probably the smartest move since being here because there were about 25 people packed in. I can say I haven’t been that close to a group of people for a really long time. Think of a super packed mosh pit. Liz and Pete went back on the motorbikes and had a blast. Wish they had videoed us.
We returned to find Hannah’s sponsored child was waiting for us. Pete and Han went to visit the family and we all got out to dinner very late. One problem, at 8pm, there’s nothing available. We walked all around town and ended up at this place that had 10 year old music video’s playing. I decided I could not be bothered having anything to eat. Jules was going for her 2 minute noodles and the others risked the beef and rice. We returned to the guest house and was entertained until 4.30am the next morning by the loudest music from up the road. Loud music is a big thing here. It’s only worth playing if it’s loud.
Dec 15
We split into 2 teams. Pete and I head out on the motorbikes to remote communities to look at 3 potential water projects. The girls are going to Pastor Catherine to look at some nursery schools and other work that is happening in places. I’m glad I wore my sunglasses as the roads are really dusty. I love being on a bike. People want to go back home but how can they when there is no water. I time the distance to the closest hand ump. Most of them at 15 minutes away on a motorbike that is going 40km/hr. They don’t have motorbikes. We have to decide which projects are the most needy. How do you decide between life and death for a community? The needs are huge. They all ask for a water supply, medical centre, school, church. Some need mosquito nets and gardening tools. We don’t make any promises, yet they hold out for hope.
It’s a long day, but the kids are pumped. They got to travel with the chickens on the back of a ute. That’s our dinner. Meals on wheels.
Things have been really tough for these people. Some were kidnapped by rebels, some with cuts from machetes, others beaten and left for dead. I see on the wall of the compound bullet holes and try to imagine what it would’ve looked like with hundreds of people packed into it, fearing for their lives.
Dec 14
Today we head off to Kitgum, a 2 hour drive. However, there’s a crack in the team. When a person comes to a developing nation it takes about a week for a reality check, where you realise all your supports of banking, internet, friends and family are gone. I call it a turning point rather than a break down. It’s when we say you have to ‘suck it in’. It’s a real mind spin coming to a developing nation, there’s so many challenges here and even though you think you will be okay, you have a mini break down.
We have adopted a saying ‘and once again, we wait’. Which is what we have to do when catching buses. Godfrey, our new best friend waits patiently with us. It costs us a whopping 10,000 shillings each, that’s like $12.
Pete and I end up at the back of the bus with about 4 other people in the row. Yep, the chickens have just been taken off our seats, what remains is the smell. There’s no window to be spoken of, except the one in the row before me. When it starts to rain, the window is shut. I reckon I’ve lost about 1kg on this trip.
Yep, the further north you get, the less infrastructure there is. The roads are rough, the towns are rough. 3 years ago, this was still a war zone, yet it’s hard to believe it now.
Pastor Joseph meets us. Without him we would’ve been stuffed. The other contact I’d previously had didn’t even bother to turn up. It costs us 10,000 shillings to get to the guest house that we discover is just up the road from the bus park. It’s very plain accommodation but there is a shower and a flush toilet and we have our own room again. We are soon to discover that there is only cold water here. They’ve never bothered to attach the hot water even though they have solar panels. Some of us head off to have a soda with Joseph to discuss what is going to happen. We discover that on Wednesday we are taking a 6 hour seminar. TIA (this is Africa).
We sort out the meltdown. I’m really glad as I never want to send anyone home and I don’t want them to hate the trip.
Joseph suggested another guest house for dinner. We’re all talking about the food we miss and are looking forward to getting back to, eventually. It’s hard to believe that in a week Jules will be returning to Aussie.
It’s an unusual dinner, but typical here. Rice, chicken (sort of), this green stuff and beans.
Dec 13
We were given short notice but today we are going to 2 different churches for work. Pete is preaching at Bridge Builders C3 and I’m taking the children’s ministry at another church. I have no idea what we’re walking into so we go prepared for anything. I take Hannah and Liz with me. We catch the end of the English service and then get told that the kids meet outside under the marquee. We compete with the singing of the Acholi service. There’s no sound system, overhead projector, or any resources. We have Hope, who is Pastor Martin’s wife for interpretation. She is amazing and brings the kids into line with just a few words. After a couple of hours the main service has not finished. I’m not sure whether we’re meant to keep going or not. We end with the puppets and the kids go crazy. They’ve not seen them before. One thing I’ll never forget is seeing the whole 36 kids from the House of Hope, plus the 4 mammas, and the driver get into one van to go to a meeting.
In the afternoon we meet Pastor Gabrielle and his team who are working out in remote areas and need us to have a look at potential water projects. People are leaving the IDP camps and trying to return to there homelands, but there’s no water, so why come back. The dry season is about 5 months of the year, so water tanks are no good, only deep bore wells will work here.
We head back to the kids home for football but then are back at Pastor Gabrielle’s for supper. We meet all these people from different areas and the girls get to purchase necklaces that some of the women’s co-operative make. We find out they’ve been waiting all night for us. Man these people know how to work.
Dec 12
Godfrey is our driver. Think of Martin Lawrence, and that’s Godfrey. He is hilarious. He goes out of his way to make us at home. Pastor Martin, from Favour of God shows us around the many works they have going on. In 3 years it has grown huge. What we get to see is the land for the House of Hope, where presently there are 36 children cared for. When the housing gets built, they will cater for 400. This is a self sustaining work. Locals are trained and invested in. The intensive work with the children through care and schooling is raising a new generation of leaders. We can’t wait to meet the kids but first we are going to a wedding. Yep, a real African wedding.
The church is across the road but the singing starts way before we get there. I feel so scruffy, but apparently we look okay. Nothing like throwing on a bit of makeup and African jewellery. It’s a real party, and the reception hasn’t even started. Then the rain comes down. Or should I say, it pours down. Everyone moves their chairs in as there is no glass on the windows. We head to the reception but are expected at the children’s home. I feel sorry for the bridal party as it continues to bucket down, but it doesn’t stop the reception, which is held outside. There are 3 marquees and all the entertainment is in the centre. If it happened in Aussie, no way would there have been a choir of kids performing while it poured down. But there is such joy here, the weather doesn’t rule. It’s tradition that the wife kneels down in front of the husband to feed him the cake. It takes a big man to do this to his new wife, which we saw. The crowd goes wild.
We head to the House of Hope and play football (soccer) with the kids. They’re not sure what to expect from these whities. We get invited into their worship session, which continues for at least an hour. I’m not talking about kids with their arms folded looking at the wall. Wait until you see the video, it’s crazy. Kids on drums, kids dancing, kids crying out to God for their nation. It’s very humbling. Here I was with games and puppets, but this is not what the kids need. They need something that is going to change their life. We promise to come back tomorrow.
Dec 11
Today we are meant to fly to Gulu. Big problem though. Some wally in Canada has hacked into my bank account and stolen a large sum of money. Thus, the police have closed any access to my account except by internet, go figure. After about $300 worth of frustrating calls, I discover, they’ve closed the wrong account. They needlessly blocked my Mastercard. Thus, we can only get to Gulu by bus. At least we had enough cash to pay the accommodation bill and the bus. We get clever and start transferring funds to another team members account.
The plan was that the bus was meant to leave at 11am but didn’t actually leave until around 1pm. A 4 hour bus trip turned into about 5 1/2 . As we got closer to Gulu, I was trying to imagine what it must have been like when the LRA were running through the bush. There’s been 3 years of peace and looking at it, it’s hard to believe that there were a million people displaced from their homes for 20 years.
We pass by the most amazing waterfalls and I hope we get to stop on the way back. We arrive late in Gulu but the team from favour of God are still there to meet us. Rachel, is our house maid, but we see her as our house mum. She cooks and cleans and makes sure we’re taken care of. What a beautiful spirit she has. After days of travel this place is a real haven. Pete and I even have a separate room from the girls. All meals are provided for and we don’t even have to do the dishes.
Dec 10
Lizzie has been looking forward for months to visiting the Busabala Road Health Clinic. We read a book called ‘Mama Jude’ about Judy Steel from South Australia who worked tirelessly with Dr. Edward to get a well equipped hospital happening in Kampala. Everything is offered here free, from physiotherapy to counselling. The centre is right smack in the middle of a very poor area. I am amazed at the quality of the place and the commitment of staff. We meet a man who was hit by a vehicle and broke his back. For 5 years he didn’t go out of his home until Mama Jude found him and brought him to the centre. Nothing can be done by his paralysis except to strengthen his body and ensure he is well cared for. We watched in wonder as he showed us his routine of physio. It was incredible. We also saw a girl who was 12 years old who’d had meningitis and is now paralysed. She looked frightened and I don’t blame her. We went through each department and then was welcomed by the adult literacy group who entertained us with dance, drama and speeches. This centre is worth supporting and all Aussies who’ve contributed should be confident that their money and donations have been well invested. We look at the water source for the community. It’s atrocious. 70% of the sicknesses treated at the hospital are from the water supply. If we can assist with this, we are doing a lot. The answer is so simple but there just aren’t enough funds here to fix it. We see kids and adults in filthy water with jerry cans, carrying the only supply of water home. It is really gross.
This day has been a reality check for the girls. It’s not like on the movies or TV, this is real life and death.
Dec 9
Today we go to see the land where the United Future Foundation are going to build a primary school. David Everett, from Sydney is picking us up. He and co-founder, Annabelle, have a great vision to build a school not far from the airport. It’s about an hour’s drive from the centre. There’s no paved roads here. Julia has her head out the window, trying not to throw up. This is the joy of taking malaria tablets and not eating a large meal with it. The food here is great, especially the fruit. We meet with the LC (local council) who determines whether the school will go ahead. I feel sorry for David as this is a new LC, not one who he has been dealing with all this time. It’s a bit like starting again. We head off to look at the land. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I truly believe there is a huge need here and with the partnership of Australian’s, it’s very possible. David has to wait to see another person so we head off for lunch at some form of a cafe. We get the choice of matoka (sweet potato) and fish soup or matoka and fish soup. Guess what we had!
We give up waiting and start to head home. It’s great to have another Aussie here who understands our jokes and we can share in his frustrations of waiting for endless hours to get a stamp on a piece of paper.
Dec 8
What do you do when you’re in a foreign country, Australia is 8 hours ahead of you and you can’t contact a team member who was meant to arrive 12 hours ago? You freak out. By 7am, I’ve tracked Monica down. Guess what, she was staying 400 metres from us at another guest house. Always pays to read the instructions by the team leader on where we are staying, and also take your phone as instructed. Now I had to find her Compassion team who were meant to pick her up. Calls to Australia are building up. In usual African time, they turn up 2 hours later than arranged. All is good.Pete and I kick the kids off to the Sanyu Babies Home. They are working with the team with 46 babies under the age of 3. There are horrific stories of babies being abandoned in latrines and plastic bags on the side of the road. These are the most wonderful babies and the staff here are dedicated to the job. This place, like others, is totally reliant on donations.
Meanwhile, Pete and I try and get the admin side of things done. The internet at the business centre is beyond slow, it’s going backwards. After getting nowhere we head into the city with Liz. I wish we had been able to hail down a taxi, or remembered how little we would pay for a motorbike. We traipse around the city trying to find a bank to get money from. The system is down at Barclays, and it’s not just us who’ve been abandoned with no cash, there’s quite a few of us. Someone says that Citibank takes Mastercard. We walk like forever, to find them closed, and no, they only take VISA.
We keep walking to find an external CD drive as mine got smashed a week before we leave Sydney. Since we’re halfway home, we keep going. Liz looses the plot as she’s hot, tired and there are so many people around it gets overwhelming.
Ice cream is the answer. We are home. How ironic. For once I have plenty of money in my bank account, but can’t get to it. It’s a bit like what we’re up to. There is water in this country but thousands of people can’t get access to it. That’s what BeyondWater is about.
Dec 7
Was waiting for Monica, our last team member to arrive from Sydney. Seem to be having issues with both the internet and banking. Patrick and Eva who run the Naimrembe Resource Centre are the most generous people. They happily help us adjust to life here. It’s a head spin to think we are in another country. The money is all new for us to handle, quite a different exchange rate than in Kenya. Found the Barclays Bank, which according to everyone is the only place to get money out of Mastercard. It seems an eternity to be told that we can only get out 500,000 shillings each day. We can’t use the ATM. This is VISA country people, not something they tell you about in the Lonely Planet books.
Found the Oasis Mall. Kampala is set out quite well and there are 2 huge malls as well as plenty of shops to choose from. Motorbikes, or boda bodas, are the way to travel. After getting resources for childrens programmes, we are forced to pay a whopping 20,000 shillings back to the centre. We don’t have any other choice though. It’s really hot and it would take at least an hour to walk home. As soon as we said we were looking at water projects he was really impressed. People think we’re rich because we’re white. If they only knew the truth!!
Monica still hasn’t arrived and I’m getting worried. I SMS her dad and call her. No reply. I was going to walk up the road to the business centre where the internet is at 8pm but was too stuffed. I wondered if she had gone up there instead because their names are similar.
Thus, I wasted my time trying to sleep as I was thinking about what on earth I was going to do if I couldn’t find her.
Our new family
Nov 25
An early start for everyone as we head out of Nairobi to visit my Compassion child. All us females have to wear a skirt. It’s okay around Nairobi to wear jeans but it’s unacceptable around the Masai. We’re pretty pumped as we walk up the road with hundreds of other people on their way to work. Jim and Timothy meet us. I hit the ATM machine just to ensure we have enough cash. ATM’s only let you take out $200 at a time and it’s not like you’re in the middle of nowhere and they take Mastercard. Just like Sydney, the biggest problem is getting out of the city. Nairobi is lovely and green. Again this morning, while it was dark, the rain came down for a few minutes. As we drive out there are beautiful green trees overhanging the road, but it’s the traffic that slows us down. Whenever there’s a clear spot, the foot hits the gas until we come to a sudden halt. We stop off in Karen to buy food for the visit, but the guys think it’s a good idea to have a coffee. Pete buys them breakfast as it took them an hour just to get to where they had to pick us up.
Some of the roads we travelled on
In spots the road is pretty good. Sometimes, it’s just like Morgan Road in Oxford Falls. We pick up the person who oversees the Compassion program at the school we are visiting. We drive through dry riverbeds, places where there should be a road, but its been washed away.
We get to the school and hundreds of smiling faces greet us. They’re wondering if we are their sponsor. The tears arrive, again. We meet Lemayian, who at the age of 11, is about the size of an 8 year old. He’s very shy and probably feels like he’s on show and tell. Introductions proceed, all very formal. By the end of the day, we’re all close friends and swap email addresses.
We have mroning tea. Chai is served which is basically tea, milk and sugar boiled together over an open fire. Once again we head to have a look around, but the girls and I hit the latrines at first. The video will be posted soon.
The family's water supply. They walk 3km to fill it up.
We head to Lemayians home. It’s a couple of small huts, a garden and plenty of kids. There’s 10 just in his family. Dad is nowhere to be seen but Mum is very honoured that we are there. We go inside their hut which is about 3×3 metres. That place is where they eat, sleep, cook. It’s totally dark and really warm.
Outside we give gifts and thanks. They bring us gifts, necklaces they’ve made. Pete gets a special stick that is only given to kings and leaders. He loves it, customs may not. Then they sing us a song. We are so blessed. Hannah really wanted to get Lemayian a soccer ball on the way, it was the very thing that brought a smile on his face. A soccer game ensued and it was awesome. Every sponsor needs to go and visit their family.
We have stayed much longer than what we should’ve but after a teary prayer by Peter we hit the van for the ride home.
Everyone is on a high. To me, this beats everything so far. My small $40 a month is making a huge difference in the life of not just one child, but his whole family. Thanks to organisations like Compassion, lives are being saved and changed. The kids don’t complain about having to come to school 6 days of the week. They don’t whinge that they have to walk 5km every day, whether there is a drought on or floods. They certainly don’t mind being there at 8am and not leaving until 5pm.
Today was a great day. Tomorrow, more adventures await. It’s going to be awesome.
Nov 24
How hard can it be to buy a sleeping bag? In Nairobi, very hard. Things that we take for granted in Australia, can be a task and a half to find elsewhere.
Firstly though, a visit to the Australian High Commission. I met Ms Lisa Filapetto 2 years ago, but then she was coming to my venue. Today, it was all on her turf. I was hoping to get a photo of her with our group, but no go. Not only did we have all our bags scanned we had to hand over all mobile phones and cameras. The security lady’s eyes just about popped out of her head when everyone started piling their stuff on her desk. It reminded me of the Pirates of the Carribbean when the main character pulls weapons from alsorts of places on her body.
Lisa is a great person and we should be proud that we have such fine people representing our country. We were actually asked to submit a proposal to get some funding for projects. There was good strong Kenyan coffee and Lisa encouraged the young people to travel and make their lives count for something.
Next was the massive hunt for some sleeping bags and soccer balls. Managed to find a couple of bags and eventually 3 soccer balls after searching high and low. It seems that everyone wants to charge more than the top price just because we were tourists. Thankfully we had our host Ayube with us and I wasn’t about to be ripped off.
After what seemed endless hours, we got home for lunch at 2.30pm and then at 3.30 we had our first introduction to matutu’s. These are the mini vans used like our buses, except you have someone hanging out the door waving at people and gracefully leaping in and out as people leave the van. Liz kept cracking up, Pete made new friends and the rest of us just made sure our heads didn’t smash merclessly against the side of the van.
While Hannah and Julia went with Ayube to look at the shops and have a coffee, Pete, Liz and I met with an organisation called ‘Healthy Environment Foundation’ and went through our work. Then, people I’d made friends with a couple of years ago through a learning centre I was working with, came and had a drink with us at the Hilton. The hilight for me was to see a man called Peter, who a few years ago lost his daughter and was so distrught that he couldn’t make it to his university graduation. Today he looked so much stronger and healthier.
Back to the matatu for the trip home took about an hour because the traffice in Nairobi is a shocker. I don’t think we’ll complain about Sydney traffic ever again. Pete liked to inform everyone many times ‘this would never happen back home.’ I’d like to have taken photos but I’d be worried about smashing my camera against the window every time we hit a pothole.
Dinner was toast as we were all too exhuasted to eat. Pete’s falling asleep by 7.30pm, tonight the rest of us are in bed by 8.30pm. The couple from the Congo came and met with us to share more about their work. They are heroes.
Nov 23
After 27 hours of travel the team of Pete, Shaz, Liz, Han & Jules finally arrived in Nairobi. It was a lot cooler than the 43 degrees we left in Sydney. By the time the plane landed the 3 girls were hyped up but it didn’t take them long to see the reality of life here. Maasi farmers have had to bring their cows into town because of the severe drought. There’s armed guards a plenty and people walking everywhere. We arrived in time to see school finish so there were hundreds of kids filling the streets. I’ve told Hannah that she can’t bring any back in her baggage.
We had dinner with the team of Afrilift and an induction to what life is like here. Also met a couple who work with at risk kids in the Congo. I am in deep admiration of those who are willing to sacrifice everything and make a life commitment to working in developing nations. The team is looking forward to what the next few months will bring, how we will grow and the amazing people we’ll meet.
On November 22nd, 5 people will be leaving Sydney to head to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. In Uganda, they will be joined by a 6th person. Most will not return to Australia until the middle of January 2010.
Team members are:
- Sharon Crean (team leader, 41, works for BeyondWater)
- Pete Crean (46, manages logistics for projects and the only male)
- Monica Nazloomian (25, physiotherapist and musician)
- Lizzie Crean (20, overseeing sports)
- Julia Rutherfurd (18, video presenter throughout the trip)
- Hannah Crean (18, musician and co-producer of video footage)
There is a threefold reason for this trip:
- To look at potential and present water projects.
- To gather photographs and video footage to use back home.
- To assist with humanitarian groups through schools, medical centres, remote communities, youth and childrens programs.
Keep an eye out for this page which they’ll be using for regular updates on their adventures.
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Hi Guys you are amazing – look forward to the updates
go for it guys!!
I like what you are doing in providing water to school and good sanitation. how can one become a parter with beyond waters so that he be responsible for identifying and implementing projects as you source for funding
Love all the updates, very interesting and informative. Sounds like a life-changing experience. You are awesome!!!
This can be a I adore many of the articles which have been written, and especially the comments posted! I’ll come back!