Howard's Ingenuity at Work

The Rafiki Village grounds workers have not had a working wheelbarrow to use on the 29 acres of this village. In the shop, Howard found 16 wheelbarrows, none of which could be used--broken axles, shredded tires, etc.  We think they may be remnants from when President Jomo Kenyatta, the first Kenyan President, lived here.  Howard kept looking for parts that could help him repair them.  Using very limited tools, he was able to fashion a couple of new axles from a found metal pipe and create some brackets.  Geoffrey took him to the welder in Mwiki village who welded it into Howard's design.
First photo is a "before" photo.  Next photo is "in process" photo.  A Rafiki Village worker is finishing up the installation of new axle. Stay tuned for the final results.  Howard is having the time of his life--serving God creating tools for these workers from scraps!

Rescuing Wild Animals

Our first outing on Saturday was to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  This group rescues baby elephants whose mothers have usually been killed by poachers.  Occasionally, a baby elephant has fallen into a well and can't get out.  The park ranger calls this group to rescue the baby.
There are 30 baby elephants in the "nursery".  We were able to see 26 of them, from 2 months to 5 years.  For the first 3 years they are bottle fed, up to 18 liters a day.  Generally, after 3 years, they are transferred to a transition phase in a national park.  The attendants there introduce them to several herds.  It takes 5 years, but eventually they are adopted by a wild herd.

Our next stop was the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi.  We were each handed a handful of pellets and encouraged to feed the giraffes.  Jessica, our housemate, agreed to put one in her mouth and feed it to the giraffe.  You could walk upstairs to a pavilion where you would be eye-to-eye with the giraffes.  They have very long thin black tongues!  This centre focuses on breeding Rothschild giraffes and restoring them to national parks in Kenya.

Howard's World of Orchard Irrigation in Kenya

In future years, Rafiki Village could supplement its food supply with fruit from the orchard.  Stephen, a USAID employee, has come to Rafiki with knowledge, skills, and the donation of a drip irrigation system for the 50 baby trees.  The trees were planted in honor of Kenya's 50th birthday as a nation!
Howard is managing this project and purchasing the PVC pipe to complete it.

Howard and Stephen looking over the trench and trees.

A trench today where yesterday there was just a string along the ground.

Strong gardeners have 1 1/2 of the 3 trenches dug.

Stephen's donation of the drip irrigation pieces

Stephen and Yeen-Lan, our village administrator

When he was l7, Stephen came to Kenya as a foreign exchange student.  This is his Kenyan mama, and below is his Kenyan grandfather, a retired school teacher--99  years old!

Grandpa says the secret to a long life is, "No beer!"

The Gardens at Rafiki Village

Tucked away in groves of trees or as borders in front of school buildings and residence halls, there are many flowers at the orphanage in Nairobi.  There are many blossoming trees in Kenya, also.  This is the dry season, so perhaps there aren't as many blooming trees as there might be after the rains.

What Are We Eating in Kenya?

Beans and potatoes

Spaghetti

Roasted chicken, ugali, spinach/kale

Beans, rice, orange

The quantities of food are generous and flavorful.  The children around me at a table eat the entire full serving.  Usually, I ask for a smaller portion. I am full before I come to the end.

The menu is determined by the kitchen staff and the village administrator.   They take into account the vegetables growing in the large garden.  The menu is approved by U.S. doctors after they determine the protein and other dietary requirements for the children.

Older boys and girls are served chai tea at dinner. Ugali is a Kenyan staple made from maize (corn).

The food is delivered to the table in large bowls and then served to each child by the Mama.  Each child helps clean up the table by stacking dishes, carrying them to the kitchen, gathering cloth napkins, silverware, and drinking glasses and returning them to the kitchen.  The little amount of garbage is collected in a bucket and saved.  A man who owns pigs comes by and picks up the garbage.

A Class Field Trip--Kenyan Style

Today's topic in science was Energy and the sources of energy.  After we discussed the sun and fossil fuels and electricity, I took the third graders for a walking field trip around the grounds of Rafiki Village.  No permission slips and no adult volunteers!  No emergency backpack!  All of those would have been required in my former classroom in California.

First stop:  the laundry drying on the clotheslines.  What kind of energy is this an example of?
Second stop:  Manor House, the location of the village generator, which powers the buildings when electric power goes out.  What is the source of energy for the generator?
Third stop:  Moriah House and Prudence House, residence halls for older boys and older girls.
What do you see on the roof?  What is the source of energy for the water heaters?

The third graders could answer all the questions.  How did you do?

The best part of this lesson was our introduction.  Our world consists of Matter and Energy, and the Lord God made it all!

A Visit to the Kenyan Countryside

Our Rafiki Village administrator, Yeen-Lan Lam, took us to Kiembethu Tea Farm about an hour from our village.  We were presented with cups of tea, and then Fiona, the tea farmer, explained how tea bushes grow, and are picked, and how the leaves are processed into tea.  Kenya is the world's largest exporter of black tea.

Only 2 leaves and a bud are picked from each branch of the tea bush.  The tea pickers return to the same bushes every few weeks.  The tea processors are very particular about the quality and condition of each leaf.  Tea pickers pick with both hands; otherwise they would not make enough money for their day's work.

Fiona, prepared a delightful English supper for us mostly from fruits and vegetables grown on the farm.

Her family built the neighborhood school and Anglican church in their early days in Kenya.

Inside the Classrooms of Rafiki School in Nairobi, Kenya

 

I thought you might like to see what a typical classroom looks like.  In the elementary school, grades 1-6, there is space for 18 students in each class.  Not all have that many.  The windows are always open, so a gentle breeze passes through, and I can poke my camera through the window somewhat discreetly.  The classrooms shown are first, second, and third grade.  In the bottom photo, our mini-missionary roommate and also student-teacher, Jessica,  is teaching her first-graders.

Rafiki School begins its new year

Much preparation went into the opening of school.  There are 96 students from the orphanage and 96 more from the nearby communities.  Every morning begins with this same ceremony of the Kenyan national anthem and prayer.  On M-W-F, we sing it in English, and on T-Th, we sing it in Ki-Swahili.
I am teaching science to 3rd graders 3 times a week and an Oral Language/Fluency/Expression class to the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades once a week.  Today I started a Book Club with the Mammas at the orphanage.  There is one caregiver (Mamma) for 10 boys or 10 girls in her cottage.  We started the book, Journey to Jo'Burg, today.  Its a brief novel about apartheid in South Africa.

First Day of School

Our Home at Rafiki Village

This is Wageni House, our home away from home in Kenya.  It has 5 side-by-side 1 or 2 bedroom 1 bathroom units.  We could actually have 14 people staying here, but there are only 3 of us right now.

Our living room and kitchen

It is summer in Nairobi.  The high temperatures are in the 80's F and the low temperatures are in the 60's F.  Nairobi is at 5500 ft elevation, so the temperatures are milder.  Because we are so near the equator, the hours of sunlight are always about 12 hours.  It seems strange to wake up at 5:30 or 6 AM and look outside--it is pitch dark!