Christmas has come early...

Snowflakes hanging from the school tree, headteacher Rose dressed up as one of the wise Kings, well maybe Queen of Nanyuki Prep. Gifts from England were handed out to all the children - books, toys clothes and shoes - one of the oldest girls Ann received a pair of shoes so she has a second pair (other than her school shoes) which she can wear for church.
'Christmas lunch' was githeri (maize.and beans).

Rose at home...

We visited Rose and her grandmother (who remarked on how healthy I look!), in her home in the suburb (slum) of Bluegum (named after the eucalyptus trees).  They were very pleased to see us.  We had many peering eyes on us from the curious neighbours and chickens!  We gave Rose a letter and gift from her new english penpal (rafiki) Lilly and she has said that she will write back...

'Or_fun_age'

Today we have had great fun at the orphanage. Some of the children from here
attend Nanyuki Prep school. I held a make-up session with the girls. We made up games, relay races and frisbee.

At the end of the afternoon Rose turned up with a large holdall containing the football shirts and shorts we have gathered and brought over from the UK. Every child at the orphanage received a shirt - 61 in total. The shorts came in useful for the girls who require these for school.

I gave a pair of football boots to John - the orphanage's star player, whom I had promised I would bring a pair 12 months ago when I was last here. John was delighted and kept saying 'thank you' and 'asante sana'.

I was very touched and tearful when the children were prompted to give some speeches. They thanked me for 'everything' I have done for them and for coming back to them (as promised!). Kevin prompted me to say a few words in return....
I said 'Karibu', for it is my pleasure to do such things....

The Feeding Project

The children of Nanyuki prep school attend school each day during the
holidays to receive a meal - this may be the only meal of the day.

The food is prepared by Rose in an open-air kitchen! We helped with
todays preparations and we bought cabbage and beans for them. The beans needed
sorting to remove dust, twigs etc. After washing, the beans were placed
in a large pot on the fire to cook. Rose added salt to quicken the
cooking process and to soften the beans.

In another pot cabbage was shredded and onion added for flavour. Once
cooked the two were mixed together - here Kevin assisted using a very
large wooden spoon.

When all the food was ready two of the larger boys carried the pots to one of the
class rooms. The older girls then served the food equally, with rice onto
plates and a banana was then placed on top. They served the younger children
first and then themselves.

When all the food was eaten (and there is never anything left over) the chldren then
washed the dishes and pots.

We had some of the bean mix and it was delicious!..

New School Books...

Education is so important here in Kenya. At Nanyuki prep school
the children are divided into classes: Nursery (from 3yrs), pre-primary,
Standard 1 through to 6.

The school is a wooden structure 2ft off the ground and built in an L
shape.

They have some essential text books but need more so they at least have
one book to share between two children. With some of the money we
raised
we were able to buy all the needed books (about 130).

The subjects are: Maths, English, Kiswahili, Science and Social Studies.

The First Day...

We have had a lovely day visiting Nanyuki Prep School. Though it is school holidays, the children still come in as there is a feeding program in place. They are fed lunch - usually Ugali (maize) and milk, although this may be the only meal they could recieve for the whole day.

(Ugali)

During the day we did a number of activities with the children including a huge skipping race, however an amusing moment occured when one child took hold of the skipping rope handles and threw the rope behind to get ready to skip and accidently hooked another child pulling them together as she began to skip. Fortunately we managed to stop any real harm from forming, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the heat reading and chatting. We also paid a visit to the orphanage - they all remembered me from last year!

It had been a hot day but suddenly dark clouds began to gather so we quickly left as we were in an open-aired truck. Luckily enough we just made it back in time before the storm reached us....

Off to Kenya!

We are off with 5 heay suitcases mostly full of football shirts, toys, games, books for the orphanage.  We should arrive in Nairobi tomorrow morning to meet Rose.  Very excited!

Preparing to return to Kenya

I will soon be setting off to Kenya once again.  This time with my other half, Kevin.  We will be staying with (Mama) Rose (who put me up or put up with me last year!) and her family.  We have shared many emails throughout the year and are very excited to be meeting up again. 

After much fund-raising (including an auction and fete) we have more money than last year to take with us - so thankyou everyone who were involved in these activities and those who were kind in their donations.


Rose is determined to meet us at the airport and has informed me that we will stay at a b&b on the 'highway to Nanyuki'.  She will stay at her daughters' hostel nearby.  The following day we will travel the 200km to Nanyuki.

She also tells me that there are now 61 children at the orphange (ranging from 4 to 19 years).  We will also meet children from her school (ages 3 to 14 years) - who need to stay at school to be fed as there is no food at their homes.  I will find out more when I am there.

For more details on Nanyuki click on the link below:
wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanyuki