Kangundo Memories and One for the Record Books...

There are always moments where we wish we could tell you "the rest of the story".  We often don't have time to fill you in on everything that happens, and I'm not sure you'd really want us to.  But here are a few...

Kangundo was beautiful.  They had experienced unusual rain earlier this year, which caused some havoc, but was also a welcome change from the usual drought.

Our Kangundo families are always so welcoming and thankful not only for the efforts we make to help ease their lives, but for what Miriam calls, the Ministry of Presence.  They really cannot fathom why anyone would take the time to come all the way from America to visit with them.

Inge and Ann outside the newly  constructed community center.  This is where our Kangundo families can meet in a safe space to work on their growing sewing business.  Ann and Inge worked with the mamas to create over 100 items to sell back at home: aprons, handbags, pillow covers, table runners, microwave potato bags, and fabric baskets.  They were busy! 

Boniface, pictured below, is the main tailor in the community and is excited to expand their sewing business to making school uniforms to sell in the near future. 

Judy was our photographer and also helped with the special needs "Olympics" our second afternoon, once all the family assessments were completed by Lisa and Violet (the special needs ministry leader in Kenya). 

 Wachira, our main driver and Kizimani ministry partner really bonded with a little boy during the special needs game time.  The boy glommed onto Wachira and wouldn't play with anyone else.  

 Just to give you an idea of how full we pack our van, here is Wachira trying to make it all fit. 

And if you are still reading this, here is the "one for the record books"... 

 Each afternoon when we returned from Kangundo to our guest house we would sit outside on the patio tables which were near the kitchen entrance and have chai and mandazi (our fav Kenyan dougnuts).  We would also pre-order our dinners.  As we were sitting there reviewing the menus, we began to hear some squawking behind us.  We turned just in time to see a hotel worker carrying three chickens by the neck into the kitchen.  We knew what that meant.  Cue much joking about local, fresh chicken. In no time there was no more squawking.  Shortly after THAT we noticed a cat scurrying across the parking lot carrying something in its mouth.  Debate ensued:  It's a mouse! It's a rat! It's a mouse! It's a rat!  NOOOO!  It's a chicken head!!!!!!

Kangundo Flower Class

This year, one of my roles was to teach an introduction to flower arranging to a small group of mamas in Kangundo and then they could teach others.  Our goal was to provide the mamas with enough knowledge to get them started in creating a floral business that could serve as a side enterprise for the new mortuary.  I was told there were a few more mamas interested and could I teach up to 10?  Of course!

When I arrived, my little band of flower mamas had grown to almost 30.  Of course. Oh boy. 

The first day we went over vocabulary, materials, proper flower care and preparation to make arrangements.  I prepared a notebook of examples and pictures of how to's.  I began by creating a large bouquet and then had them take turns helping with the more traditional Kenyan forms of placing flowers (mostly roses) around funeral heart and cross forms.  As the day progressed, they were soon realizing they could offer flowers for other events such as weddings, teas, and community gatherings.  I included demos of small bridal bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres.  As the day progressed, they were getting more and more excited about the possibilities.

This mama was especially proud of her boutonniere!

The other major idea I wanted to get across was that they could use their own local plants and flowers (and there are a lot) found all over their yards.  They had never considered this before.  We did a little "field" trip around Mama's yard and gleaned some interesting foliage and vines that I used in additional demos.  I showed them how to fashion a wreath from the vines and emphasized that whatever they could utilize from their yards would reduce their overhead costs when they began their business.  For homework, I asked them to bring in collections of greens and flowers from their yards for the next day's class.  

The next day they indeed brought some beautiful greens and field flowers and even "weeds" that we used in creating a large spray.  The pink and yellow spray below was made entirely from greens from their yards and a mixture of field flowers and purchased flowers.  They really became excited to see how this spray turned out with materials that were free!  They gained a new appreciation for the very plants they have everywhere.  With the leftover snippets of flowers and greens I showed them how to make a wreath of flowers using the vine wreaths we had made the day before.  

For our final activity I had them get into teams and make bouquets using all the remaining flowers.  They had a great time helping each other and showing off their bouquets.  

The large spray I gave to Mama to put in her living area for all to see.  

The wreath, heart, and cross forms I laid at the graves of Isaac (Mama's husband and step father to Miriam and her siblings), Catherine, and Fred (Miriam's siblings).  All three had passed away within the last two years (Isaac most recently).  It is his family farm that we visit each year and his land that was donated to build the medical clinic and the mamas community center that houses their growing sewing business.  

Christina was my "star" pupil and will give ongoing leadership to the mamas as they implement this economic venture that will help them provide much needed income for their families.  I want to thank my donors this year that contributed to Kizimani so we could provide the mamas with their initial supplies and materials.  Asante Sana!

Just Another Lunch?

When is lunch at a mall with friends not just another lunch?

 When it is...

...your first time eating out away from your shanty house in a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi,

...the only meal you are likely to have that day,

...your chance to meet the very people from halfway across the world, whom you have only heard about, who have helped save the life of your child.

 That's when. 

One of the earliest ministries of Kizimani began with our director Miriam's late sister Catherine who helped a desperate woman escape years of domestic violence. The story of Achieng is sadly all too common. Achieng is a long-time friend of Kizimani and has frequently assisted our teams, serving food and translating.

Achieng with team members Ann, Ingrid, and me.

Since then we have helped several other women and their children who have come to our attention. This year’s team had the privilege of meeting 3 of these women who have suffered terrible abuse and abandonment, Martha, Caroline, and Rachel (their names have been changed.)

Martha was the second mother to be supported by Kizimani. We learned about her from team member, Claudia, who met Martha in 2009. Martha had left her husband, who had been physically abusive, when her two children were very young. With a little support, she was able to escape her situation, and ironically find employment at a children’s center. She was able to provide for herself and her two children, although meagerly. While able to give them food and shelter, she was unable to afford school fees for both children. Through Kizimani she was able to receive educational support for her children who are now both in high school.

Kizimani has helped support school fees for Martha's children.

Caroline was introduced to Kizimani through her work as a CNA when she met Nellie who helps manage the Kizimani work in Kenya. Caroline shared that she was frequently beaten and abused by her husband. After one such night of being beaten, Caroline still managed to get herself to work, but upon returning home from work, she discovered her husband had abandoned them for another woman and had completely emptied their house, right down to all the dishes and utensils. She and her children were now destitute.  Kizimani has helped provide school fees for her son in high school, which allows Caroline to have a little more money available to feed herself and her children. Caroline has been able to find work off and on, but again, can usually only provide one or two meals a day for her and her children.

Caroline and her two children.

The third family we met was Rachel and her husband Dan. Yes, her husband! He was very appreciative of Kizimani and kept thanking us over and over and blessing us for all we have done. It wasn’t until later we learned the rest of the story from Miriam. 

Rachel was previously married and had two children with a very abusive man. She finally had the strength to leave him and return home to her family with the children. Some time later she met Dan. Not only did Dan marry Rachel, he completely accepted her children (and introduced them to us as his own son and daughter). This simply does not happen in this culture. He is a remarkable man. 

Dan and Rachel also have two little girls together and the youngest, baby Nancy is almost 2 years old. She stole everyone’s heart with her huge eyes, cherub cheeks and coy little smiles. However as we learned later, it is miraculous she was even there. Baby Nancy almost did not survive her first few months of life. With unemployment close to 50% in Kenya, Dan and Rachel struggle to feed their family even one meal a day. After baby Nancy was born, her mother was getting so little food she could not produce enough milk to feed her. By the time Nellie heard about their plight, baby Nancy was close to death. With a little assistance from Kizimani and instruction in nutrition from Nellie, the story of baby Nancy has a very different ending.

We then understood why Dan was so grateful and made such an effort to thank us for caring for people in Kenya we have never met. He told us he prays for us every day and asks God to bless Kizimani and our people in all we do.

Judy was the lucky one to get to hold Baby Nancy.  So thankful she is doing so well now.

Kangundo Dedication Day

Our first full day was spent in Kangundo for the dedication celebration of the new mortuary that Kizimani is helping to build.  The main structure is complete...enough to have a community celebration!  Why celebrate a mortuary? It is service that has been sorely lacking for this impoverished community, which has forced them to incur exorbitant costs of using facilities a long ways away.  The mortuary will actually complement our medical clinic, providing revenue to support medical salaries and spawn many micro enterprises and jobs to support our Kizimani families.

The celebration started with the whole community dancing and singing to welcome our team and begin the dedication. Being greeted so warmly by the mamas always overwhelms us and brings us to tears.

Mama Monica who has spearheaded our efforts in Kenya, blesses the community and the Kizimani team during the celebration. 

The mortuary on the hill with the community looking on during the dedication.

One of the micro enterprises that has developed is a catering business.  The catering mamas fed us a huge lunch after the dedication and have already begun catering for funerals around the area.  They were so proud of their uniforms and the opportunities they have to provide for their families now. 

After the dedication and lunch, our team visited two of our mamas who are unable to travel to our food distribution event.  Mama Naomi was so grateful to receive her food distribution (she had not eaten the night before.)  

Mama Naomi was so encouraged by our visit and thrilled to see Claudia whom had connected with her several years ago.  We also learned of several other needs Mama Naomi has that Kizimani could address in the future.  Having our Kenya community workers Paul and Colette in Kangundo to monitor family needs and make ongoing assessments has been invaluable to addressing needs sooner than later.

After visiting the mamas, our team briefly visited our medical clinic to check in with our clinical officer Anita and show the clinic to new team members.  It was an incredibly full and emotional day for our team.  And of course we left Kangundo much later than we should have and experienced the dreaded Nairobi Friday evening rush hour traffic jams!