Daffodils and Tulips

The forecast for rain prompted me to visit Filoli Estates before the daffodils were gone.  As always, the daffodils were magnificent.  A few tulips were out as well as camellias and clematis.

Rafiki Village Mamas

Each Rafiki Village mama lives in a 4 bedroom cottage with 10 boys or 10 girls.  The ages range from 5 to 12.  These native Kenyan women love the children, nurture and discipline them, and care for the cottage as if it were their own home.  The mamas meet each week for Bible Study and a parent-training seminar led by Julie, the Rafiki staff missionary. The mamas are on duty 24/7 for their Rafiki children, but every two weeks, they get 2 days off.  Most mamas go and visit their own biological families nearby.  Each evening at Rafiki Village, the mama gathers her children in the living room for singing hymns and reading out of student Bibles.  They pray for each other and also for needs of the entire village.  Howard and I have visited several cottages for evening devotions and have been moved to tears by these kids and their mamas!  Their hearts are full and so tender!

Right now, in Kenya, there are 6 cottages.  The older students--junior high and senior high age--live in residence halls.  There are 20 boys who live with a married couple and their own 2 sons.  The 13 girls live in a residence hall with 2 matrons.  In the residence halls, the students are learning to be more independent, in preparation for their graduation from secondary school.

I have had the privilege of conducting a Book Club with these ladies every Wednesday during the time I have been here.  It has been great getting to know them better by reading together.

Karen Blixen and Out of Africa

Our Saturday outing began at the Nairobi National Museum.  We saw prehistoric skulls found in northwest Kenya, birds, mammals, and butterflies, and history displays.  Then we visited the Snake Park!

The snakes in Kenya either constrict you to death or poison you to death with venom.  Very few on display were "harmless"!

Then we drove to the Karen Blixen Museum where we learned her life story and toured her house.  The movie rights to Out of Africa restricted me from taking any photos of the interior.

Did you know she wrote 9 books?  She loved Kenya, and Kenyans loved her! She gave large parties, but she could not grow coffee on her large coffee estate.  If only she had know that her acidic soil needed lime, she would have been successful at coffee farming.  She painted some of the Kenyan natives who worked for her, entertained the Prince of Wales (Edward), and wrote books in 3 languages!

the only remaining coffee plant--the beans should be plump and red, not dried and black.

Phaustine was our personal tour guide--she was lots of fun!  This is a replica of the coffee roasting machine on the estate.  The coffee was then sent to Europe for more processing and then sent back to Kenya to be sold.

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.