Home Visits, part 3

After Felicita, our second child home visit was to Samson’s home.

Above is Samson’s mother speaking with Virginia. Their home and her kids are in the background, along with a few other area kids. We didn’t go inside their home. It appears to be two rooms. And there is the kitchen in a separate space through the door on the left.

Samson’s mother has no work. I’m not sure if there is a father in their lives.

Below, Samson on the right, next to his brother. With two neighbors on the left.

And below, the whole family.

Our next stop was at Peter’s home. Below, Virginia and Claudia enter, with Peter’s dad following.

Peter lives with his dad and step-mom. His mother left and his dad remarried. 

The house is two rooms. They do have a small solar panel, enough for lights and a TV. Plus a small TV antenna on the roof. I find it a bit surprising to see TV’s in some of the houses. But it makes sense. People need the distraction, and it can serve as a window on the world.

Below, Peter’s dad.

Peter, below.

The family.

Below is Purity, walking into her home. 

We didn’t go inside. I suspect it is the typical two rooms. One is a sitting room and the other is a bedroom.

The home and land don’t belong to Purity’s family. This is a danger, in that there is no protection from being evicted and having no place to go.

Purity is a very sweet girl. As we were talking with the family, I put my arm around her and she just leaned into me. 

That smile!!

Purity lives with her mom and three siblings. They have a few animals, and her brother was herding when we got there. Her mother does whatever work she can find, if any.

Our last stop was with Precious. We had about a half-mile walk to get to her home from the nearest navigable road. That little girl can walk! She was leaving us in the dust. But she does this walk to and from school every day, and not just the stretch we were on. She probably has a 2- to 3-km walk each way, on the worst roads imaginable.

We finally arrived at her home. She lives with her aunt and cousin. Her father was paralyzed in an accident and lives with his mom. After the accident, Precious’s mom left. We were told it was because of the husband’s disability. Precious moved in with her father’s sister. 

Below is Precious at the door of her home.

Claudia outside the home.

By Maasai tradition, a post-circumcision male can’t sleep in the same home as a female, unless he is married. It sounded like Precious’s cousin, whom we didn’t meet, is old enough to be sleeping elsewhere, but they have nowhere for him to go. So he sleeps on the couch.

For many of these children, there are no toys in the household. Pretty regularly, when a sponsor gives a child a toy, we hear it’s the first toy they have ever had. While in Precious’s home, I spotted this Barbie on the couch below.

These home visits can be hard. They are often pretty emotional. It’s a mix between the joy and gratitude of the mothers, as well as the extreme conditions in which these wonderful people are living. The stories are often hard. We often tear up on the visits. Such as when I saw Barbie. It’s part of what we do.

We have to keep reminding ourselves, and our sponsors, that yes, the stories are hard to hear. But we are hearing them because we there to help. We can be part of the solution. 

Helping the kids succeed in school, through fee payment and food sponsorship, can help break the cycle of poverty. 

In the process, we are helping to reduce teen pregnancy in the area and child marriages. 

Precious and her auntie.