Mshukuru Mungu kwa kila jambo - Farewell 2011

At the beach with my friend Mary

Thank God for everything - that was the message of the homily in yesterday's Mass which started the year end meeting for the Community Based Health Care Project I work with.  

Today is the last day of 2011.  I'm feeling good about 2012.  This year has had lots of high moments & certainly many challenges.  I was able to move from learning my job to learning how to serve the students better.  I am really grateful for those that supported me through the challenging moments - both those in Kenya and those abroad and at home.  It's been a year of growth. 

The Community Based Health Care Project staff have really made a huge difference in my work this year.  When I found out that a young man who had been working with me was involved in theft, it was one of the CBHC staff that went with me to investigate.  When I took my trip home for a month this summer, it was the CBHC staff who took care of the necessary things for the work I do - so it was fitting that I was sitting with them yesterday and feeling grateful to be part of that team.  The primary purpose of their project is health care for people living with HIV, so the education work I do is off-shoot, but everyone is always willing to help out with what I do.

I'm thankful for Christmas cookies....

And for my Mombasa Maryknoll family ... with our Christmas feast! Yea team!!!

And for a Christmas party that really felt like Christmas!

We had a end of the year party with the Reading Club students ... with a multiplication race!

The girls won ... hands down.  Way to go ladies!

After lunch of rice & beans, they made cards - Thanks to Jane for the supplies & Minh for carrying them to Kenya!

At our CBHC Year-end Meeting - we had team-building exercises on the beach

And it was REAL EXERCISE! We ran intervals mixed with push-ups, jumping jacks, etc.  I'm sore today!

Then we had competitions of filling buckets with broken bowls... 

 

we won, but not officially since we used sand to fill the hole....

Then passed a wet towel through our legs in the water... No one managed to fall over, but there was complaining of cheating on both sides.

Me & my supervisor - Sr. Veronica, who's in charge of CBHC and a fantastic person!

Then we had our "Secret Friend" gift exchange.  I was lucky enough to shop with the person who's name I had so I knew just what she wanted!

What I was given.  =)  Very Kenyan.

We had a cake, which is traditionally cut by multiple people.

And then, also by tradition, fed to the guest of honor.

Now I'm off to bring in the new year on the beach with friends.  I wish you all a very happy new year!

"I love my mom like sugar!"

Yesterday I met with my reading club members.  We were trying to close the office early (at 3 pm) for Christmas so I spontaneously decided that we would talk about Christmas before handing out the reading club prizes.  After realizing my first attempt at discussion was above my language level, I decided we'd talk about love. I had each child name someone that they loved SOOO much.  I was preparing to lead into how God loves us and Christmas is really all about this Love.  Most kids named their mom, but Hesborn's answer was so precious.  "I love my mom like sugar!"  It was sweet and pure and straight from the heart.


I have been ever so busy being busy this month - I've even been busy trying to figure out how not to be so busy.  Thanks to this little boy for reminding me that I, too, love my mom like sugar!  And that this holiday season I can remember all those that I love and how truly sweet life is.

To make Mombasa seem a little bit more like home - in spite of the 80-deg-80%-humidity weather - I've been making Christmas cookies, which is something I learned from my mother.  So it was fitting that I had to call my mom last night to get advice on the sugar in the cookies.

Wishing you all time with someone you love like sugar!
Merry Christmas

HIV = Hope is Vital

Hi.  It's a warm December evening in Mombasa and I'm enjoying our newly-hung Christmas lights and Christmas carols being sung by the voices inside my computer.  Tonight we remembered a cousin of my roommate who passed away this week from cancer.  We sat around our advent wreath and sang O Come O Come Emmanuel and shared stories.  It is good to remember how precious life is.  This time of advent is a time of waiting in hope for Christmas - for a new beginning in the new year - for new life to be born again within us - to believe in not only possibilities but also in miracles.

Yesterday I toured the Kenya Port - the gateway of goods to East Africa - with some of my students.  I was most amazed not by the tons of goods, types of ships, 2400 cars per ship, etc, but by my students.  We have been accompanying a group of 18 in career counseling for the past four months.  I struggle to know how best to help them, but this is one new mechanism we've tried.  If only we could translate their intelligent questions into an education system that honors differences in learning styles, their self-reflection into skills that help them succeed academically, their hopes into an economy that offers opportunities for young people without connections or top notch grades.

Since the tour ended earlier than expected, we managed to fit in a trip to Fort Jesus, a testament to the 16th century Portuguese presence and power in Mombasa.  On it, the students found the painting below.  Hope is vital.

Wishing you all hope.

Reading - Kusoma

The Reading Club has officially started - we even had our first "prize-giving" on Friday, where we awarded pens, "fashion" math sets, pencil sharpers & super-cool rulers for all students who had participated.  When it came to assigning "points," things were a bit chaotic as we are still learning together about expectations. But the most important part is that the kids are reading! 

I had the 12 students who joined the club this week meet me on Friday afternoon in what turned out to be our first reading club meeting.  Each student shared about what they had been reading.  I was impressed by their honesty.  One student shared that he had been given a biology assignment and had been neglecting it so that he could get more "points" in the reading club.  Another said that he didn't really enjoy reading stories, he'd rather work on his class subjects.  Due to the pressure on students for academic performance, we are giving points for subject review & I'm finding that many of the students are choosing to do classwork over reading fiction.  It's interesting to see what books the students choose.  One of the favorite series has been about a boy named Akimbo who lives in Africa and has harrowing adventures with wild animals. 

My office has been fully converted into a library/study room with an average of 9 students filling every chair & bench we have.  I've resorted to meeting guardians and students outside on a bench. I know one of the draws for students is the free lunch we're offering for students who stay and study for 3 hours or more.  For about 30 cents each, I can provide the student with two chapatis (similar to tortillas) and a serving of beans.  I had one single mother explaining that she didn't have food at home, so I invited her younger children to come study, too.  For overflow, I've bought clipboards.  The church has plenty of shady spots outside and a number of benches we can borrow if needed. We'll see what happens!

I have a high school in New Jersey that's going to be exchanging stories with our students.  I hope to catch up with the mountains (at least it seems that way on a Sunday night) of work ahead of me and share some of my students' writing with you and with them.  Stay tuned ...

The not-so-serious side of the reading club

Alex has taken on the Harry Potter series

During our photo shoot to promote the reading club, we had "serious" and "joker" shots.

And some of my weekend excitement - making a cake without an oven ... nor a recipe!

Step 1. Prepare charcoal "jiko" & heat up sand in a big pot.
Step 2. Mix well margarine & sugar (when i asked- its about 1/4 container of margarine & 12 spoons of sugar)
Step 3. Add 4-6 eggs, then add flour to desired consistency.
Step 4. Consult others, then decide to mix in a little milk.
Step 5. Add batter to smaller pan, put inside bigger pan of hot sand.
Step 6. Cover and put charcoal on top,too.
Step 7. Check cake, adjust charcoal since top is done more than bottom.
Step 8. Cool cake while enjoying lunch with friends.
Step 9. Eat cake.

Pamoja - Together

Me & Minh after a long day watching the wildlife at Masai Mara National Reserve

Hello.  Meeting new people is one of the blessings of my experience with Maryknoll.  Strangers that pass through or old connections that appear again.  Today I heard a few words I want to share with you.

"They were there with me - while I was converting and cooking - they were right there with me."

It was in reference to a junior high home ec teacher and a math teacher.   These words struck me as so relevant to the many people who are with me in my journey.  Maybe it's you who are reading my words miles away.  Words you said years ago, part of your presence that stays with me, something I learned from you.  Being far from loved ones doesn't always make them disappear.  

I'm in Nairobi for a week and I'm hoping to catch up on communicating with friends & family.  So don't be surprised to hear from me more than once!  The past weeks have been a whirlwind -  preparing for a board meeting, reviewing new cases, putting the wheels in motion for activities during the December school holidays, evaluating this year's experiences, making plans for next year and the best part - a surprise visit from a fellow missioner from Bolivia.

I hope to write more this week about some of these moments.  We shall see if it comes to fruition.

Minh with the Kindergarten class at Star of the Sea Nursery School. Minh's curiosity was a real blessing, as we entered into various corners (and classrooms) that I usually pass by during my day-to-day life.  These children wave at me as I go into the office, so it was nice to pay them an official visit and hear their English skills and songs!

Thanks to all of you who are here with me.  Tuko pamajo.  We're together in spirit.

Even the dust can be a blessing

It's been raining.  Raining, raining, raining. Almost 9 1/2 inches in the last 5 days. Such rain means different things to different people.  In general, rain is considered a blessing here.  Now streets are flooded, some roads too muddy to pass, and some children cannot cross streams to go to school.  All within 30 minutes of beachfront resorts. It's a paradox living in a tourist area.

I slid down our cement stairs in the rain on Tuesday and am now nursing a swollen elbow with frozen peas, grateful I didn't break anything.  It made for a rough start this morning, but today was a day I came home reminded how blessed I am to be here.  The day started with a meeting comparing notes with a women's group fighting AIDS in which a school teacher shared stories you wouldn't want to believe are true.  As I commiserated that some of the situations of my students are similar, another woman turned to me and asked what I was doing to help them.  I told her I often ask myself that same question.  A few hours later and 10 miles away, I visited the home of a child who has been out of school for almost a year.

It's muddy and they live halfway down a hill towards the ocean inlet, where the ships wait for their turn at the port.  We jumped over puddles and crevasses filled with rubbish that has no other place to be.  We walked on the grass so we wouldn't slide down the hill until we reached their half-finished house.  They had been paying $12/month per rent, but with five children to feed and no reliable work, it's better not have to pay rent.  I checked the "homework" the children had been doing at home and encouraged them to study more, enthralled with them as much as they were with me.  To be a visitor can be such a gift.  To be welcomed and loved just for coming and caring.  It's not that simple, but some moments are to be taken and savored for what they are. 

Outside the house was a line of containers catching rain water.  I started to refuse when my hostess started cleaning my shoes before I left, knowing that I would be trudging through mud and puddles on my way home.  She insisted, saying even the leaving the dust behind can be a blessing.  After my shoes were clean, she then insisted I clean my feet as well before going. I dirtied one bucket of water by putting my foot in it & then after trying to balance myself on the other one and scoop water to rinse my foot, she proceeded to clean my feet as well.  Humbling.

I hope her daughter will go to school tomorrow.  She promised she could manage to pay the entrance "interview fee", as I paid for the required admission fee - which I was told includes a desk, the compulsory school badges, tie, report book, and firewood, etc.  Partnering with parents to meet the requirements for "free" primary education is a challenge and a gift.

Niko. I'm here.

Peter, one of our students, asked me to take photos of his work to help him advertise.  There's lots to think about on this wall.

Niko.  Kenyan Swahili isn't always linguistically pure, and "Niko" is one of those words used much more liberally than the specific meaning of I'm around a general place.  It can mean: I'm present, I'm here, I'm around, I'm not going anywhere, I'm just here, or even on the phone - I'm somewhere that I'd rather not say specifically where.

Niko.  This morning it started with a sigh.  Too much to do, etc.

October has been a month of plans - transitioning out of 2011 and looking towards 2012.  The school year starts in January.  We have 30 students - a project record! - taking National exams in November.  9 finish primary school, 12 will complete secondary school and 9 others finish a vocational program,  either in mechanics, tailoring or hairdressing.  I'm working on finances, doing home visits for new cases, and trying to find better ways to support these kids in the uphill struggle they face.  Saturdays have been focused lately on organizing counseling sessions for students that aren't doing so well and catching up on everything not yet done.

I have some lofty goals for December - a new community service project, reading clubs, maybe even a soccer team, meeting guardians & former students and offering free tutoring ... We'll see which of those pan out.  In the midst of all of this, I need to remember to be present to the moment.

Some highlights of moments from today:

• Going to the eye doctor with Anna (Thank you Lions Club!)
• Driving two of the teens part of the way home & listening as they negotiate splitting a loaf of bread, which they promptly devoured.  No exaggeration.
• Telling one of the boys that I want to be proud of him and knowing he understood what I meant.
• Getting community service ideas from the students, especially when they want to help "the needy", which makes me want to both laugh and cry since some of them don't have enough to eat themselves.
• Feeling both that I'm missing home and yet wanting to help these kids who stories draw me out of myself.

Niko now becomes a prayer.  Here i am.

Ever had one of those days?

Some of our students in computer training yesterday courtesy of East African Computer Recycling.

Today was not what I planned.  I was hoping for a day to do what I wanted, to be refreshed, ready for another week. 

Instead I received a phone call that donated food is to be distributed tomorrow morning and could I please (except here the word please is typically not used) contact all my guardians to come to the Changamwe Catholic Church at 9 am, bringing their national identity card and a gunny sack large enough for at least 15 kg of maize (corn).

10 hours later... success!  I have reached 72 families, in some form, with this news.  Most were by text message.  Most of the families now have a mobile phone.  The battery may not be charged and they most likely don't have credit on it to make a phone call, but there is no cost to receive phone calls or text messages. 

I don't have contact numbers for about 30 of the families who don't have phone numbers.  So... it then becomes an exercise in networking!  I am so grateful for the community volunteers I work with.  Eight of them have already started tracing down these families for me.  Others I contact through family members, neighbors who have a phone, the school secretary, class teacher, area social worker ... you get the idea.

Tonight I'm turning off my phone ringer, knowing I can call them back in the morning. One common practice is to "flash" someone ... where you call them quickly and hang up before they answer.  They'll see a missed call and (hopefully) call you back,  paying for the phone call instead of you!  Until we get the food distributed, I'll be calling back every single "flash" - just in case it's a good Samaritan trying to help someone reach me

I've been still catching up from the hectic schedule of August - forgetting who I meant to email back, books I was to buy, people awaiting feedback from me, etc.  I've been trying to be present in the moment, but today required letting go of my own plans and ideas of what I need.

All of these phone calls and text messages are already reaping new connections (besides a tired thumb!) and the blessings of being part of a chain of assistance.  The corn that will be given out tomorrow was donated by the Japanese government, produced in Malawi, announced with great fanfare about a month ago by a senior government official, released on Friday to the Catholic Archdiocese for distribution and tomorrow, needy families will be able to enjoy it.

I also hope to put together a guardian newsletter to hand out with updates on the library, career counseling and our hope to start a reading club during the December holiday.  It's rare that I will meet so many guardians in a two-day period so I hope to soak up every opportunity I can.  

Yesterday I had three event going on at once.  I should learn not to overbook!  Here's our make-up Career Counseling Session 1.   Stay tuned for Session 2 - next weekend.

The lost is found

Purity, our library volunteer, reading during the August holiday.

 

This August has been a month of discovery and beginnings. It is one of the three school holiday months so I see much more of the children I support. This August was non-stop action. In June we learned the project I lead was awarded a grant to start a library and to provide some of the children with career counseling - both of which kicked off this month, in addition to our annual "Adventures Unlimited" workshop for the younger orphans. Due to bus fare being out of reach of most of the students, we set up libraries in two locations. We were also provided with a recycled computer for the students to learn computer skills. And in the midst of all the preparations, I continue to learn about life and language and the challenges these children face. It's been a bit overwhelming.

Often the challenges seem so big. Perseverance has new meaning for me now, and not from my own personal trials, but the ones I see before these children. Educational systems, lacking infrastructure and little probability of employment after school. That's the big picture. The daily picture has more to do with getting soap, kerosene for a lamp to study at night, and enough to eat. I wonder if I'm like a person at the sidelines of a marathon, handing out a glass of water to keep the runner going until the finish line. I've been asking myself the question about how to better serve the children. 

In the midst of all these activities, there has been a number of moments that have reminded me to have hope. Here's a few of  them:

• Watching the two young men who are training to be teachers, as they tutored our students who are behind in their classes.
• Seeing the enthusiasm as one of them offered to mentor a struggling teenager.
• Listening to the children read aloud.
• Seeing new interest in reading.
• The commitment of 4 Community Based Health Care Project counselors to listening to the struggles of the children and encouraging them.
• Finding the lost! Three children who had been "lost" to us showed up this month at various activities we had.
• Three of our high school students brought their grades up from D average to C average this past term.

Two of our "lost boys" who appeared again this past month.  Gotta love those smiles.

I had the honor of visiting this family - a great-grandmother of 88 yrs who's doing what she can to raise this little 4-yr-old!

The local Catholic primary school had an impressive festival with singing & dancing.

One of those moments ... I was looking for a new perspective & saw little shoots growing out of an ancient Baobob tree that had been cut back - and we thought left for dead.  Yay for new signs of life!

Katana, far right, listening to the concerns of some of our Form 2 (Sophomore) boys.

The Mombasa trio have become a quartet!  Welcome back Coralis!

How do you say octopus in Swahili?

Today I met an octopus fisherman. I am at the St. Margaret Mary Cottage for a three night-vacation with my friends John & Cindy. We were out this morning at low tide, wandering through tide pools, trying to avoid stepping on prickly sea urchins nor threatening sea life more than necessary. I had to marvel at all the little creatures around me - colors, shapes, creatures different than I've seen before. It was if I was within a Dr. Seuss book.

There is a coral reef along the coast, and in some places the surface beneath our feet would give way, like walking on a thick mat. I hope the soft coral is forgiving as it was hard to avoid as we made our way out from the shore.

There were two men busy prodding in the deeper pools so I asked them what they were looking for. The reply was "Njoo!" Come! and so I went. I found out what he was fishing for as he successfully caught it and threw it to me. A slimy, slithery octopus. I was not graceful nor grateful, screaming and jumping back. He had no trouble capturing it again and holding it for all of us to touch it, as its ink ran down his arms. Later he came back with a gift for me of a big shiny shell, a refreshing change from the many salesman who wander the beaches.

The multitude of life that surrounded me - as I watch the sand come alive - brought me a sense of awe. What appears dead or lifeless scurries away or grips the earth as I try to move it. Fragile, resilient, beautiful, iridescent or camouflaged. A moment to realize the Divine.

May you be so blessed today.
Mary

New Beginnings

Today I said farewell to a student that is starting college this fall. I've been able to help coordinate the donation for some of her university fees as well as help her get some of the things she'll need. I felt as if she was my own daughter, sending her off to school and trying to think of what she might need. I asked her to select a few snacks for the overnight bus trip to Nairobi tomorrow. When I asked which ones she liked, it was humbling to hear she'd never had store-bought chips before.

Tonight as I joined my roommates for prayer and reflection, I sat before a candle reading love love love love on it. I had been searching for what to tell this young woman who is starting a chapter that will forever change her life.

I also thought of how much this student has affected me, certainly due to how bright and honest she is - the kind of person who you want the best for - and perhaps from the memories of my time in college, but also knowing how this opportunity will change the future of her family. She has the chance that her mother and late elder sister didn't. She won't be limited to washing clothes, selling vegetables, or braiding hair like so many other women who weren't able to finish primary school. She won't be a story of a teenager pregnant too early who entered a relationship knowing she would get enough food to eat or be able to pay for simple things like soap.

In spite of the daily challenges that come before me, the things big and small that I struggle with, this new beginning gives me hope. I am grateful for being able to part of it.


And the candle reminded me that it is my belief in love that brought me here - a love that can overcome all else. The words sound too easy - but I hope to start fresh tomorrow.

With prayers for all those entering into new beginnings, Mary

I didn't think you'd come

My title comes from the words of one of my students today when I met him at his school. He's in Form 4, the last year of secondary school. It's an intense year for students since they spend most of the year preparing for the national exam that will take place in late October to mid-November. They won't find out their results until next February or March, to know whether they will be one of the lucky few to get government sponsorship to attend the university.

I had just seen him (let's say his name is Zach) on Saturday, when he brought his younger brother to our workshop for students in primary school. I was surprised to see him, since he's one of the students who is difficult to trace. His story is not too uncommon for a middle child of three boys who were orphaned by AIDS. His two brothers live with two different uncles in two different areas. Zach has stayed in the family home to make sure that it remains theirs. Land rights are not respected, particularly in an urban area, where traditional mud houses like his get knocked down when someone comes in with money to build something new.

He told me on Saturday that he's hoping to bring his younger brother "home" to live with him next year. Both he and his older brother are finishing secondary school this year and they want to live together in the simple home built by their parents - which I understand & admire, knowing that they will struggle to find casual labor jobs to put food on the table.

In the meantime, I told him today - it's game time. Now is the only chance he has to improve his results. He was inconsistent in going to school last year - which isn't uncommon for kids left on their own. As a result, he's far behind in his math skills and performing poorly in other subjects, in spite of being bright. We have a volunteer tutor set up to meet with him on Saturday & I'm not sure how much ground can be made up, but I want to encourage him as much as I can.

From what he said to me today, I wonder how many other adults have let him down. I know I'll never know his whole story, but today was a good reminder of the importance of just showing up.

Speaking of showing up ... we had a few new neighbors drop by our kitchen window

Busted! We realized that it wasn't the neighborhood crows that took a loaf of bread from the kitchen a few weeks back and left the bag outside.
The getaway ... down the drainpipe ...

and down the alley ...

... to the coconut tree. We had quite the stare down. I outlasted them, possibly because they were more entertaining to watch than I was.

Siku Njema - A Good Day

Today was a good day. I was able to be part of something good. My part was being a connection and a driver.

In the past month, I've been a part of a number of different things, besides my usual work leading an education project for kids. I've met two different groups of visitors from various countries - some only here for a few days. Sometimes even these brief connections with people can be ever so meaningful.

Today I was able to help a young man get a wheelchair - his first ever. If he's on a smooth surface, he can maneuver himself around, set his brakes or get going again. He's stronger with one hand than the other, so he'll take some time figuring out how to really get going. Even when he's being pushed around, the dignity of being able to sit upright and watch the world, rather than being carried like a child swaddled on his mother's back reminds me of why I am here, to listen, to help where I can, and to celebrate the joys in life that come in spite of the struggles.

One group of visitors came to help construct a house. I was able to pitch in for one day & got my first experience of local construction by hand! We literally passed globs of mud from one person to the next into the house, then packed it between rocks for the walls, then sealed the wall by throwing mud at it.

Preparing the mud - right next to the house.

The house

One of the volunteers showing us how it's done. Rocks, then add mud.

Due to my height, I was assigned the top part of the wall

One other treat in the past month was going to a nearby national park with coworkers. We stayed at a lodge right at the edge of the park with a waterhole, where the elephants and other animals came for a drink. It was amazing.

Surreal!

Yes, that is an elephant dropping!

Waterfalls are always a favorite spot of mine.

I also celebrated being another year older and know how very blessed I have been. Thanks to all of you for being part of my life.