Olorgasaille, Maasailand, and Kawangware (additional pics)

Sept. 18- Olorgasaille and Maasailand

This weekend we took a day trip out to Olorgasaille, where the Leakeys had found prehistoric hand tools from over 780,000 years ago. It was way out of the city, down potholed dirt/dust roads- definitely an adventure. 

After exploring the prehistoric tools and animal bones, we went to Maasailand for lunch. We were welcomed by the village chief, Joseph. He took us into the bush where we were suddenly within feet of herds of wild giraffe. It was breath-taking, especially to watch them run.

He also showed us where the young men go for one month to eat and be men in the bush before going out on a leopard hunt. This is the entire AU Abroad group in front of the cave-like Acacia tree where the men go, with Chief Joseph:

After this he lead us back to his compound where his wife and relatives had made us lunch: peas, mashed potatoes, and chapatti. It was delicious, and such an incredible experience to talk and laugh with the Maasai women.

laughing at the baby chicks at our feet, eating up the leftovers from our meals (behind us is the haunting outhouse)

After we ate the women and men performed some welcoming dances. 

When the women went up Joseph came over to where I was standing and asked if I’d like to join them. Of course I said yes! Don’t I fit in? ;)

The place was beautiful, although very hot and dry. We met with a few foreign aid workers from different organizations (including a guy from Austria and his American wife, two documentary makers from London, and a man from Spain) who discussed their various projects, including building a new school, using solar energy, and implementing drip irrigation to encourage agriculture as a source of livelihood and income instead of relying on livestock like cows that require tons of water, which is extremely scarce.

visiting the Maasai elementary school

At the end of the day Joseph thanked us for visiting him and asked me if I’d like to return. He said I’d be welcome to stay in his home if I get a chance! Here is his home, which the women built:

Sept. 20- Kawangware

I’m interning with World Hope, a religious organization with US affiliates that works with the community in the Kawangware slum. I’ve been a little concerned with my role there simply because no one seems to know what to do with me. The first day I went I literally sat in a dark office from 9am-4pm, waiting for a task (I was asked to edit papers for about five minutes in the morning, but then that was it). After lunch my supervisor came in to see how I was doing, but besides that I had little interaction with the organization as a whole. I really like the guys I work with, though, so I’m staying optimistic!

In the office I’m supposed to be assisting the social workers with the students being sponsored by Americans (who send money for tuition). That should be great because it’ll allow me to interact with the children and do home visits throughout the slum. I’ll be there Wednesdays. On Mondays the office is closed, so I’m supposed to be helping out at the school, World Hope Academy, situated behind the office/church compound. So today I got there at 9am, and surprise surprise, no one was there. So I headed over to the school and began working with Elizabeth, one of the social workers. The headmaster got wind of a white person walking around and made me come into the office and wait for a few hours until he received official word that I was supposed ot be there—apparently no one had told him I was coming each week. Eventually everything was settled, so around noon I was allowed to meet th students. I went to each classroom (one for each grade from K-8) and then handled a first and econd grade art class: finger painting!

This is the beautiful school- apparently it's about the collapse and doesn't meet safety standards, so they're trying to build a new one. 

This is behind the school, in the slum Kawangware. Right behind the school is a huge sludge river, composed of human waste, trash, and chemicals. The water lines for drinking also pass through here. You can smell it everywhere you go, especially when it's hot outside.

The school was closed last week (When I began my internship) because they're building a wall between the school and the river, so children don't fall in during recess. There are no plans to cover or remove the  waste, and their septic system flows into there as well. 

I had lunch and recess with the little kids, which was really fun (they loved jumping down to the ground during Ring Around the Rosy).  They received their lunch of US-donated porridge (nutrient-infused rice with mashed up soy beans) and I ate my PB&J. They then spent a good 20 minutes fighting over who got to seal and unseal my ziplock bag, and about twenty minutes after that touching and braiding my hair.

I had a really fun time with the kids; before that, the highlight of my day had been finding an American-style toilet (compared to the Kenyan hole-in-the-ground). 

Sorry for the huge entry- it's been an eventful week!

Maasai Chief Joseph and me, watching the giraffes in his backyard