Thursday Travels - Kiria Day Two

Day two in Kiria started with us dividing into teams and visiting homes.  We were going to learn how to make a few Kenyan dishes and see what life is like on a daily basis.

This is the kitchen in the home I visited.  It is a separate building from the house.  The building is pretty small and the smell of smoke and heat from the fire can be a bit overwhelming at times.  Thankfully, they didn't get offended if we needed to step out and get some fresh air! 

Peeling potatoes for Mukimo.  I got a bit sunburned the first day in the village!

Members of the team...Ariel, Auntie and Amy

Mercy, the village coordinator for 410 Bridge is showing us around the property.  Each person has a wonderful garden and therefore the village is not hungry.

Amy and Ariel making Chapati...a flat dough like Naan or pita.

The men and C from our team are all talking...you can see the wood C tried to chop in the yard.  It looks more like a tornado came through!

We ended up back at the school for a closing ceremony where we were each given a Leso, which is a piece of fabric you wear as a wrap when cooking.  The women showed us how to tie them on.  This fabric could then be taken off and used as a blanket, or you could make it into a bundle for carrying groceries, etc...very useful to have.

Our trip is coming to an end...we have one more place to visit next week...Mercy House.  I have posted about this organization before and was very excited to see it in action and meet the residents.

Thursday Travels - Ark Children's Home

We spent the next two mornings and afternoons at the Ark Children's Home.  This home is run by Carol and she is the most wonderful woman you will meet.  She started with 4 girls and now there are 41 children at the home.  While we were there, two more were brought in by the police.  The children come from a variety of backgrounds, but receive food and love at the Ark.

Carol - or Mama Carol as she likes to be called!

Some of the kids welcoming us to their home.

I believe this was the dogs house... 

Their water tank...

They grow their own vegetables to provide food for the kids.  One of our projects was helping them fence in a plot of land to be able to move the garden and free up this land so the kids can play.

They have about 100 chickens now that they sell for money.  They also eat a lot of the eggs and sell some of them as well. 

There is a school right down the road from the home that is also run by the Ark.  Soccer is a must!

After playing with the kids for a while, it was time to get to work.  We walked to the new plot of land to help get a fence put up.  There were several men hired as day laborers there already digging the holes for the fence posts.  I believe they were getting $4 a hole.

I didn't mention that the plot of land was down a steep and long hill.  We get down to the bottom and were told we needed to go back to the top and carry down the fence posts!  Sheila and I walked slowly and managed to only have to carry one post!

Here I am with Lucy.  She came to where we were working and I was so happy to see her again.  I first met her in 2014 on my first trip!!

We carried water to the holes so the concrete could be added.

The next day, I was in the room with food poisoning, so I missed out on the activities.  Auntie and the group helped carry more water and started putting up the chain link fence.  Later, they went back to the Ark and put together boxes for each of the children to have when they returned from school.  The boxes contained tooth brushes and tooth paste, feminine products for the older girls, deodorant, and a handmade card and laminated scripture card for each child. I know these items were appreciated!