A Banner Day (written, then 'lost' last March!)

A Banner Day!!
Whether in the US, rural Kenya, or anywhere else, work is still work, teaching children is still teaching children! There are days when the teacher can see engaged, interested students learning new things, and then there are days when the teacher feels like nothing is getting through to the students' brains. This past Tuesday was one of those wonderful days!  It actually started brutally early...  At 3:40 AM, I got up to be a Skype participant in the women's growth group I've been part of for the past few years.  Whatever the content of the sharing, the connection with these women is special and meaningful.
Arriving at my classroom, there was Belinda, alone in the semi-dark, sweeping the classroom. The previous day we'd run out of time to have the kids sweep and tidy the classroom, so I'd asked that day's cleaing crew to arrive early the next morning to do their jobs. The kids on that crew didn't arrive early, but Belinda did. She's a girl with a bunch of rough edges, and a nonchalant demeanor, but I like her, and have been finding various ways to connect with her.  This gracious act of her service really warmed my heart, and made me thankful to God for this evidence that I was connecting with her!
Later, in science class, the topic of our plant study was the different parts of flowers.  This class of primarily squirmy, active boys (21 of them, plus 6 girls), was less than attentive, and didn't seem to care to know the answer to my question: "what is pollination?"  So I leaned over the podium and in a soft voice said, "It's plant sex".  After that you could have heard a pin drop, as they hung on my every word!!  That impromptu lecture was followed by some really excellent questions!  And then, at the end of the class 2 very bright students started asking me some questions I didn't understand, which ended up with them showing me a big newspaper article they'd brought in on growing plants!!  It was so gratifying to me to see how these students were thinking about what they were doing in class and making connections to things in the newspaper!!!   An hour later, at lunchtime, another student from that class came up to me, and offered to take the bucket of left-over banana peels to our garden to use as compost!!!  I was so happy to see these 2 examples of them connecting our book learning with real life!!!  And now we'll see how these kids do on their all-important Term 1 exams in 2 weeks, which will probably not have anything on it about compost or plant sex!!  [They didn't do as well as I'd hoped...  but then the exams are ridiculously hard in some ways. One of the questions required knowing what an anemometer was...  which I didn't even know!  It measures wind speed. Not only is it not in the Grade 5 science books, but so far, I haven't found it explained or pictured in any of the school's science books, all the way up to Grade 8!]

That day ended with my working with the Grade 8 students in "Math Club", teaching them how to  play Sudoku~~what fun!

A story in pictures: Palm Sunday...posted 2 months later :-(

Palm Sunday 2012

Starting my 1/2 hour motorbike ride up into the hills, to the 

tiny village of Gera, carrying my Bible, sermon notes and 

this palm branch from SEEK's beach. This transport reminded

me of the surfer who solved the parking problem at Waikiki  

by mounting brackets on his bicycle to carry his surfboard.

I love Palm Sunday, almost as much as Easter. And I'd been told that many churches here don't celebrate these 'high holidays". So I was delighted to be invited to preach at a small, remote village church on April 1, which happened to be Palm Sunday; that way I'd be able to guarantee my participation in a Palm Sunday celebration!! I really enjoyed my study of the different Gospel accounts while preparing the sermon. And then it was wonderful to infuse the service at the fledgling Gera Pentecostal Church with Palm Sunday elements.  
We were all a bit water-logged, as it was raining heavily at the beginning of the day, when I gathered this large palm branch from the SEEK beachfront.  Cutting the palms from the branch, everyone got at least 2 palms.  Then with the help of an excellent keyboardist, and a congregation used to singing and dancing, we waved the palms and sang the words from  Matthew chapter 21, verse 9:  "'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"  

The Gera church meets under this tree; a generator provides

power for the keyboard (at left). Note the huge speaker hung

on the tree! Fortunately the heavy, early morning rain stopped!

 

Even the little kids are participating, while also exploring the surrounding area....

After the service was over, this young boy rode by on this donkey.  The timing was too perfect; I had to ask him to stop so I could take his picture.  Meanwhile I thought: "I sure hope the donkey colt Jesus was sitting on was bigger than this one!!!"

Rainy Season in Nyanza Province, Kenya!

The long-awaited Rains have come!  A few showers a few weeks ahead of time began to soften up the parched, baked soil. Then the rains started in earnest! Interestingly, and very thankfully, most of the heavy rain often happens at night! Rarely is it raining at 7 AM when I head to school! Here's a photo I took one day as I walked to church. Not only was it slow-going due to the muddy "sidewalk", but whenever a motorbike came along, using the sidewalk because it was less muddy than the road, protocol demanded I get off the sidewalk, stepping into deeper mud, to allow him to pass!
I was grateful it was easy to wash the mud off my Chacos sandals! 

By early April, my Grade 5 students had finished preparing the soil of our garden.  We'd hauled in some well-composted soil for our "nursery bed".  Under the supervision of SEEK head gardener, we dug trenches, and then added nutrients by layering kitchen vegetable scraps, then manure, then ash, and finally leguminous clippings (to enrich the soil with nitrogen), before replacing the 'top' soil.  Here we are working (and playing!) hard to prepare the soil of our garden, and... aren't these kids SO  cute!!!

Above... the green container holds the recent compost we've collected

Adding our banana peels, and other vegetable scraps to the trench...

On the first day of the 2-week break between trimesters, most of my Grade 5 class were real troopers!!  They showed up at the garden for planting our garden!! We'd worked so hard to prepare for planting, making raised beds, which had started out as trenches the students eagerly dug, taking turns with heavy, sharply-pointed picks and spades! [For this job it helped that I had 20 preadolescent boys showing off their strength!]  On Planting Day different groups of students were in charge of planting different seeds. In our special 'nursery bed', full of well-composted soil, we planted tomatoes & kale.  Then beets, bush beans, cabbage, spinach and cilantro went into the raised beds. One student had brought in some watermelon seeds, so he and his buddies quickly prepared more beds for those seeds.  As we left on our 'holiday', we trusted God to do the real work of turning those seeds into plants. How wonderful it was to return 2 weeks later to see that everything (except the beets) had germinated well and was beautifully growing!


Then, how disappointing this week, to find that the goats had managed to burrow under the fence... their favorite food must have been the tender tomato leaves; all they left of the tomato plants were the stems!  We got those holes fixed, and then discovered smaller holes after the chickens apparently squeezed through... to munch on the new cabbage leaves; I hope I barricaded those holes well-enough to last the weekend.  Meanwhile, we've been needing to work hard carrying water to these seedlings, especially the kale we just transplanted.  This week in science class we've been gathering data on weather... including using a home-made rain gauge & wind sock.  Only one day was there any measurable rain, and that was less than 1 cm, so we are, indeed, ready for more rain to fall!!! 

PS-Deja Vu

My first item of business this morning was to go to the American Embassy. I wanted to 'register' my presence in Kenya (re: safety), I wanted contact with Americans, and I wanted to get leads on places in Nairobi to buy American items and food.  Most of the taxi ride from the guesthouse where I am staying to the American Embassy was along curvy streets that follow terrain of large tree-filled gullies. I commented to the driver that this was very reminiscent of "Rock Creek Parkway" in Washington DC. Then I got teary-eyed and sentimental as I thought about how I was now heading to the American Embassy, but that if I were in DC, on Rock Creek Parkway, I'd be heading to "Embassy Row", the section of Massachusetts Avenue where we would exit from the parkway.   

Once at the Embassy, I was surprised at the strength of my emotions; I choked up as I thought about how I was once again "standing on American soil" (at least, that's my understanding of Embassy legalities). I'd been away from "my" country for almost 4 months, which is only a part of my year away, but it is longer than I'd ever been out of the country before. I was graciously seen by "Jennifer", who was very helpful with specific leads for Nairobi as well as the coast.  It was, indeed, a renewing day, "feasting" on western civilization!

My excursion into Civilization

23 April 2012-- my granddaughter, Margaret’s 1st Birthday!

written from the outdoor section of “Artcaffe”, Nairobi, surrounded by big trees. While I know I’m not in America, this feels quite similar!  Today’s ‘Art’ is Bob Dylan’s 1960s recordings on an excellent sound-system, and I’m indulging in good facsimiles of my American favorites: lasagne, merlot, green salad (!!), a cappuccino cheesecake, and drinking a wonderful mocha!!  Plus, the restroom is so pleasant, and attractive... it could be in a chic US or French restaurant!

Yesterday I spent 9 hours in land travel...  from the shores of Lake Victoria to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. I started out in the predawn dark on a motorbike, slipping and sliding through the MUD, created by the previous night’s rain the night; we then needed to abandon the motorbike to walk, Hezron carrying my suitcase. 20 minutes late, we met up with my coworker, Lillian and some others, for a taxi ride to Homo Bay.  With four of us squished into the front seat, the driver actually did an excellent job periodically maneuvering through mud (not unlike driving in deep snow). Fortunately, we got to Homa Bay in time for my ‘upscale’ bus, on which I actually had a reserved seat, complete with arm rests. During the 7-hour journey, I’m guessing we climbed around 1000 feet in elevation, across the western third of Kenya.

Though upscale, this bus had little wiggle-room, so I was unable to unearth my camera from my backpack. I did get some wonderful mental pictures of the landscape. I wish I'd been able to photograph a wonderful image, a challenge to Kenyan unity, the juxtaposition of contrasting worlds and cultures: at a small rural market, a man in a suit and tie was walking by a Masai man, who was wearing the stunning, traditional blanket, tending his cow.

When the bus was not jerking, or climbing hairpin turns, I was able to read. Thanks to my Kindle, I’m able to somewhat keep up with the monthly reading list of my Oak Park Book Group. This month’s selection is Nickel and Dimed by Barbara E... a book I’ve been wanting to read for some time. I’m enjoying her account of immersing herself in the ‘culture’ of the low-wage worker of the US. While there are significant differences, here are a number of parallels between her venture and my life in Kenya, where I, too, am trying to immerse myself another culture, though not for scientific or literary purposes.  Here’s what comes to mind: 

**  B.E.:  At the end of her first chapter she writes: I had gone into this venture in the spirit of science, to test a mathematical proposition, but somewhere along the line, in the tunnel vision imposed by long shifts and relentless concentration, it became a test of myself, and clearly I have failed.

     J.L.:  A week ago I felt, for the first time, similar to Barbara Ehrenreich, that I had perhaps failed in my venture.  Not that my efforts hadn’t been beneficial (they have), but that maybe I was cracking up, and would need to bail out and go back to the US early.  Life in Mbita is NOT easy...  there’s a lot of hardship and stress, even for a privileged American like me; add to that the loneliness  and isolation from almost 4 months living as the only mzungu within a mile, along with various frustrations and cross-cultural mis-communications, such as being uninformed of changes in school schedules and plans. Last Sunday I spent hours trying to plan travel, for my vacations and to return home, with no success: neither phone nor internet provided specific times, costs and routes or boarding locations for transportation. [It’s not easy to plan travel in Kenya, because it is usually done by travel agents for westerners. One place I wanted to visit was the beaches of eastern Kenya, on the Indian Ocean; it seems that most Kenyans never even get to Nairobi, much less to the beach... this spring the principal of CGA, older than I, went there for a meeting, for the very first time in his life!]  When I finally gave up on making plans, I decided to treat myself to a movie rental from Amazon... but that didn’t work either... I discovered that they don’t rent to overseas locations!  So I resorted to pulling out the last-remaining, and least-enticing, DVD I’d brought with me, but it ended up being too old for my computer to ‘read’!!  I felt like the last straw I was holding onto had snapped, and that my sanity was also about to snap, that I would need to head home for good.  Fortunately, I was able to pray, have a good night’s sleep, and wake up to a good, new day. The day after that I was able to connect by Skype with my “women’s group” from church, and then Nancy & Don, missionaries who started SEEK and CGA, finally arrived. So, I’m thinking that my safety valves are in place and I will make it until the end of the school year next November! 

And... now I’m here in Nairobi, indulging in my favorite foods in the most “American” section of town... evidence of my success in persistent travel planning!

**  Another parallel, which I’d quote from B.L. if I could find it, is true of both of us in our cross-cultural situations:  we each do our best to immerse ourselves in this 'other' culture, but the big difference between us and the locals is that we each have the safety-net of knowing that we both have the option of bailing out; we have 'privileges' that they don’t have: ethnicity ( for me, nationality), education, job opportunities, good health and medical coverage, as well as financial resources. 

It's time for me to post this, then get to the stores in this American section of town to search for kitchen supplies that I haven't found anywhere else!  [ Note: I didn't find measuring spoons, cups, cookie sheets or pancake syrup here either... the American woman I spoke with in the store said she brought those from the US.]

PS. The "Palm Sunday" posting I've intended to get up for a month crashed; I'll try again...

Intense joy, then grief: 2 significant cultural experiences for me as well as the whole CGA community

The Class 8 Graduation on January 27 was an extraordinary day!  It didn't have the high-tech spectacular elements that accompany many US events, but the joy that pervaded the day and the whole school was palpable!  Classes were cancelled that day, and the whole school community, many of whom had been working on preparations, were eager to rejoice and celebrate with the graduates!!  Current students performed entertaining and meaningful poetry, songs and dances; the dining hall was transformed into a fancy auditorium, as students and staff had worked together blowing up balloons, hanging crepe paper, and making badges for our 'distinguished' guests. The day culminated with a special meal, which included the freshest chicken imaginable (see photos below)!  
(In case you're confused, as I was, about a graduation ceremony being held at the beginning of the school year, here's the reason: After completing Grade 8 (end of November), the students take a huge national exam, covering all that they have learned in their 8 years of primary school; the scores aren't released until January, confirming who has graduated; the scores are then used to apply for admission to the selective boarding schools. Those students anxiously wait to see if they are admitted to their choice schools...like college applications in the US.) 


Why such celebration? 
* Graduating from Grade 8 in poor, rural Mbita is truly a big deal, perhaps a bigger deal (& less common) than high school graduation in the US;
* Graduating from Grade 8 is similar to US high school graduation in that most graduates apply to go on for further education... sometimes to a local school, but often going some distance away, to a boarding school where they live in a dorm.


Furthermore....  
* Most of the CGA graduates have lost one or both parents, and are very fortunate to be able to attend CGA!!
* They came to CGA speaking only the Dhuluo language; the adults they live with do not speak English, yet these orphans have been taught and then tested on rigorous national exams in  English; they also know Kiswahili well!  How many of us can easily enter a conversation in any of three different languages!!! Imagine having been schooled in a language that you speak only at school, that your family does not even know! I am so impressed with how well these Grade 8 graduates have done, especially given all the obstacles they have had to face along the way!!

I honor these graduates, and all those who have taught and supported them along the way!!  CGA continues to be 'family' to these students... helping them with their high school applications, then often paying their fees for their 4 years of high school!!


Pictures will continue telling the story....

These dancers patiently and eagerly await the time for their performance for the graduates and audience.

Each student was met by a parent or guardian who presented the Primary School Graduation certificate, along with a Bible.


To the left is Lillian, with her daughter. She is the staff member who provides ongoing contact, care and support to each orphan family.

                                                The graduates listen to the speakers

Then came the 'banquet'...  Early in the morning the chickens were brought, feather plucked off (see photo), and cooked, along with beef and other traditional African foods!

Celebration followed by grief...  

2 days later a Grade One child, Jack, died.  He had Sickle Cell Anemia, which results in childhood death (except now in the US there are enough interventions that some are now living into adulthood). This very sad occasion gave me the opportunity to further participate in, and learn about the Luo culture.  The wake, funeral service and burial all happen at the family home. The Luo culture dictates where the family homes are to be built in relationship to one another, and where the grave for each person is to be placed.  The designated place for Jack's grave was on left side of his home (when facing it). When I arrived, Jack's body was in the house, where his mother was intermittently wailing very loudly. The grave was being dug in the heat of the day, as people took turns breaking up the rocks to dig it.

Chairs had been brought for the wake/service... when I arrived this group of men had been joined by cows; I sat in the adjoining group of chairs.

Little Jack, in his custom-made coffin, paid for by CGA

The service was long...  in addition to the Pastor, siblings and friends speaking, both of Jack's parents spoke at length.
Then we gathered around the coffin to sing and pray.

                                                         The finality of the burial

Changing to a more mundane subject....  Jane, the nature-lover, is experiencing another side of nature...  

* In the evenings occasional swarms of insects invade my home, my book, even my face and nose, attracted by the lights! The solution: turn off the lights, and light a candle, or read by 1 dim flashlight or some-such.

* The insect problem seemed to begin after the bats, who'd taken refuge in my house, were evicted.  Previously, when I'd been awakened in the night by loud banging, I'd thought it was monkeys playing on my roof...  I'm glad I didn't know then that it was the bats inside, trying to get out for their nightly feeding!!

* It's taken the bats a while to learn to not come back to my house in the morning, for their day of sleep...  a number of times while I was having my early morning breakfast and devotions on my front porch, they flew up to me, then left!  But one day I arrived home from school to find one bat soundly sleeping on the ceiling of my porch.... see photo!

Another day I arrived home to find these quickly-growing baby goats (whom I'd seen as infants only weeks earlier) enjoying my porch.... "How cute!" I thought.  But then I decided that I didn't want them to eat any books that I leave on my table...  and I certainly didn't want to add cleaning up their messes to my jobs, so I firmly shooed them away!!

On Location: Mbita, Kenya, East Africa!

The school
Christ's Gift Academy (CGA) has about 270 students, from pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. There are about 100 full orphans and about 100 who have lost one parent; the rest of the students are from the community, some of whom are staff children.  I have been very impressed with how much more than just a school CGA is; it is like family for these orphans! On Saturdays, teachers have special tutoring classes for those students who need extra help. Many of the orphans are housed with relatives who were already barely making ends meet, yet still took in these orphans. Therefore, for many of the students, the 2 meals they receive at CGA each day are all they have to eat for that day. In addition to feeding and educating them, the school provides a full uniform for each: shoes and socks as well as their dress or shorts and shirt, along with an attractive green sweater. 

In addition, CGA's commitment to these children does not end at 8th grade graduation! For those who pass the national 8th grade exam, staff members help them apply to high schools, and CGA contributes to or pays the full fee for them to continue their high school education. I find this exceptional commitment to be so worthwhile!  To me, this is what Corbett & Fikkert are talking about when they advocate that the task of helping the economically impoverished involves empowering them to gain the skills and corresponding jobs so they can work to earn sufficient money to support themselves and their dependents.  It is wonderfully exciting to me to now be part of the education of these orphans...  helping them along that road to equip them for sustainable employment.  Several different graduates of CGA, who have completed high school, have returned to CGA, and are now volunteering their time to this school, their "family"!  What great validation of the exceptional work the staff at CGA have been doing over the years!

  A typical classroom; all students, female as well as male, are to keep their heads shaved. I have learned to look to see if the child is wearing a dress to determine that it's a girl! 

(Aren't they so cute!!!) The following photos are from the Assembly on Friday morning, 13 January. Each Monday and Friday starts with a whole-school assembly.

I call this the "Color Guard" (what it was called years ago when I was a Brownie and a Girl Scout). The boys (or girls) have practiced hard to assemble, change formations and march to the flag pole to raise the flag.  This is something I have not seen in the US for many years, but I see it as an important cultural event here, to help build a sense of commitment to the country of Kenya.  Building national identity is important for many African countries, where tribalism not only is more important than nationalism, but causes much election and governmental corruption as well as strife and bloodshed.  Therefore, I think activities which build loyalty to country contribute to reducing tribal conflicts.

Beyond the students and the flag, you can see Lake Victoria...  CGA has a beautiful view and also receives a gently cooling breeze from the lake in some spots.  

My Life Here

It was 2 weeks ago today that I arrived here; the next morning the Kenyan students started a new school year, and I started my work at CGA, teaching English (4th grade) and science (5th grade)!  Whew! Today, due to some staff being absent, I also taught Bible and Social Studies classes.
I have been warmly welcomed by many Africans, and 3 Americans who have been in Mbita for about 7 years.  I'm so impressed with the fluency the Americans (Joe, Jessie & JP) have in speaking the native Dhuluo language!
I'm living in a well-built stone house, with rustic timber built-ins, a hot plate, solar electricity and indoor plumbing (chlorinated water from Lake Victoria). With my love of nature, I  love spending time on my little front porch. Sometimes it's like being in a bird sanctuary; the other morning I saw a small gazelle called a Dik Dik in my front yard!  Through the leaves I see Lake Victoria; I fall asleep & waken to the rhythmic sound of breaking waves (200 feet away). I greatly value this lovely setting, for peace and renewal during this exhausting time of acclimatization... getting my body and brain adjusted to the climate, setting, and very new-to-me school setting, procedures, styles, etc. I am also learning to speak, listen and spell British-Kenyan English. There are also so many names and faces to get to know, here at SEEK, as well as at the school. I am beginning to adjust to the very dim natural light in my 4th grade classroom (no electricity) and learn those students' names; until recently, all the faces seemed to be in shadow, and therefore all looked alike!

An observation: pre-dawn sounds
In the cities (Nairobi and Kisumu), while it is still dark outside, plaintive music calls faithful followers of Islam to prayer; here in rural Mbita, instead of the call to prayer, I hear roosters crowing, goats bleating, and a symphony of bird songs.

Photos below:

1. the beach near my home, with volcanic islands across the water

2. a 2-hour old baby goat I saw on my way home from school; it's just learning to stand.

3. My home...  see the front porch on the right

4. Mary Obado and I are cutting papaya for our dessert (my kitchen)

5. My first dinner guests: Mary and Hezron