Re: JUNE 2011 KENYA TEAM JUNE 28 2011

Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 9:59 AM

CHRIS ESPADAL JUNE 2011 KENYA TEAM  JUNE 28 2011

6-29 - It's cool in Kisumu in the mornings. This is a surprise to most of us, but the winds from Lake Victoria keep a slight chill in the air. Children are off  by 6:15 am walking to school in their uniforms. Birds of some unknown origin call loudly  back and forth while roosters try in earnest to wake the day. Chickens appear in the yard, mosquitos retreat the coming sun, and we are off to live another day. Devin got to see her dad at work today. During health inspections, Dr. Jeff was the center of attention at Orongo Orphanage. Anna worked the other line of children with skill and love that amazed the rest of the team. The children stood patiently in line while they waited for their check-ups. At Migosi Orphanage Justine organized the effort, surprising no one, with Rachael at her side. Mary taught school and Jill engaged the children in games that cast wide smiles accross their faces. We found that HIV had taken many of these children's parents and that many had the disease themselves. We learned that in Kenya the phrase "Living Positive" was not a new Nike slogan or some new age affirmation, but what it is called when a child lives infected with this dreaded disease. We heard children's songs like "rain rain go away" but also ones like "Aids is a very bad disease" showing that this plague had gone so far as to infect a child's nursery rhyme. But we also heard the children sing a song that said, "Things are already getting better", and that sort of hope is part what makes this place so special and this day so good.

After our visits to the orphanges, we visited both boys and girls classrooms at Orongo Highschool answering questions ranging from the existence of dinosuars to how HIV is contracted by newborns. We tried to explain snow and how movies are made along with a multitude of other questions that left us wishing we were smarter. After class Heidi was the first to recieve what quickly became a flurry of marriage proposals. On the ride home, Dr. Jeff and Justine made a roadside "house call" before we sat down to dinner and called it a day. Along the way we met people like Florence, the director of Orongo Orphange, whose faith left us humbled and George whose crafts we are sure some of you will enjoy. Our prayers are with them as we hope yours are with us. This place is really too big for words. Words were not meant to stretch that far. But from them, we hope you can feel at least a little bit of what is in our hearts. Until next time...