Hi there! Claudia with Virginia here, trying to fill Bryan’s shoes and continue with the blog he’s been writing for years.

After an early wake-up on Wednesday, a drive to NYC’s Chinatown for the shuttle, a 2+-hour drive to JFK, and a 14+-hour flight to Nairobi, I finally made it to Kenya Thursday morning! I was greeted by Virginia, Wangari, and Kikey (Virginia’s son, who was our driver!). The only hassle I had was in TSA with a bottle of contact solution in my carry-on suitcase. It counts as medicine, and therefore I had to unload my perfectly packed, jenga-style bag on the table for all to see. Everything except for my hoodie and a dera (scarf) were gifts for Kenyans. You can imagine how frustrating this was.

We spent the rest of the day Thursday catching up. Virginia made Kenyan chicken stew, sukuma wiki, mokimo (mashed potatoes) and of course tea while I taught Wangari and Kikey some new card games—a desperate measure to stay awake. The jet lag is REAL! Afterwards we went on a long walk and just made it to about 9 pm when we all crashed with exhaustion.

Kikey and Wangari learning Memory card game

Friday we got to work! It was our day of paperwork, getting all the sponsors’ gifts and letters together from my tightly packed suitcase and prepping for the next 3 weeks. By the time I woke on Saturday, Virginia and Wangari already made chapatis and a beef stew to take to one of our girl’s parent meeting, where the whole class gets together with their parents for a school-run event. This event goes all day from 10 am to 7 pm. We definitely did NOT stay the whole time but left the food with our student and her baby. As usual there was much dancing at the school and it was well-attended by many different tribes.

It was a special day for us too as Ruth’s school is for pregnant and teen moms. Ruth’s class alone has about 170 girls in attendance. We appreciate the founders’ hearts and passion for supporting these girls who would otherwise be forgotten and really have no chance for a future or way of making up missed school. Of utmost importance too was the proportion of parents who attended; it was amazing to see the support and desire for their children to excel even with the challenges of being a young mom.

Baby Alvin held by Wangari, Virginia, Ruth

After leaving, and running into a comical cow traffic jam, we made it home just in time to have our Tuko Pamoja board meeting with the team. Every night after dinner Virginia and I have taken our regular walk through Embulbul, under the cover of dark, so we can be a bit incognito and avoid the calls of “mzungu”…which always makes us giggle. Mzungu is a name for a traveler or foreigner, someone who doesn’t fit in or simply a white person. The children are especially curious and often follow with shouts of “HI! HI! HI!” often asking for a gota (fist pump).

Today we met with 6 of our post-secondary students, including one of my sponsored kids and a few of Ginger and Bryan’s. We gave them some encouragement, talked about future plans and shared space with them. Two of them got a bit of a talking-to as they were 45 minutes late. #Kids

L to R, back row: Sarah, Abigael, Virginia, Anne, Ronald, Claudia, Kikey; Ian in front

We ended the day meeting up with another Kenyan organization called Mpenda Mazingira Initiative, run by a 20ish-year-old (though he seems more like 40 and impressively wise) named Abel. We discussed some ways we can support his efforts and advise him. Abel’s main focus was climate change until he saw a need for young men desiring mentorship and attention. They often get forgotten in this culture. He shares about trauma, responsibility, respect towards girls, and a drive to do better. Bryan, Virginia, and I had spoken to one of his boys’ groups back in the fall. The mood was heavy but well-attended. We look forward to more meetings with them to explore ways to proactively support and love them so they too don’t fall through the cracks. Drugs are a particular problem for the boys.

All of our bellies are full after a great day. We found a great new restaurant by our favorite butcher that had an offering for a “Philly Cheesesteak.” While it was nothing like my hometown jawn, it was pretty good and we enjoyed it immensely. Kikey drove the car home as we walked our dinner off. Now we listen to evening prayers from the nearby mosque as we settle for the day: both Virginia and I working on our computers and tying up loose ends (do they ever get truly tied up?) and Kikey nearby relaxing.

First Days

Olmaroroi