Today I went to visit an AIDS hospital. It was so good to see everything the hospital was doing for the community, which is a township, but so sad to see how many people were dying of AIDS. About 70% of the people that come to that hospital have AIDS; but it's also a hospital for childbirth, burns, other sicknesses etc.
We saw some premature babies which were TINY!! She also took us past wards full of people that were dying of AIDS and there's nothing more that could be done for them.
I have heard some awful stories of people who will do anything to get government grants so they have money to buy food. They starve their own babies, or have babies and then abandon them. There are so many abandoned children here the situation is pretty desparate. They have a children's ward at the hospital and some of these kids are abandoned and will stay at the hospital until they're ready for adoption.
I would have loved to stay in the children's ward longer and play with the kids because some of them looked so sad. One little boy about 3 or 4 was sitting up in bed with a drip attached to him and he was just staring at everything around him the whole time. There were other kids that were well enough to be running around; they were so cheeky!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
God's Golden Acre
Today I visited an orphanage called God's Golden Acre. A lady showed us around and explained everything to us. We didn't get to meet any kids because they were in school so that was disappointing. But at least I am getting lots of information about different ministries here; makes me dream bigger for the future :)
I liked the Makaputu Childrn's Village better though. Clunken's dad drove us around the Valley of a Thousand Hills; I can't get over how beautiful it is, I love it so much! Apart from that there's not much else to say. Clunken's niece Erin is 1 and adorable! She loves me; I was kicking a ball around and making faces at her and she was screaming with laughter haha. It's been so cool living with her, it means I get to play with her all the time fun fun,
anyway tomorrow I am visiting an AIDS hospice. On Saturday one of Clunken's family friends who's 24 is taking me out for the day so that will be fun.
I am looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone again!
I liked the Makaputu Childrn's Village better though. Clunken's dad drove us around the Valley of a Thousand Hills; I can't get over how beautiful it is, I love it so much! Apart from that there's not much else to say. Clunken's niece Erin is 1 and adorable! She loves me; I was kicking a ball around and making faces at her and she was screaming with laughter haha. It's been so cool living with her, it means I get to play with her all the time fun fun,
anyway tomorrow I am visiting an AIDS hospice. On Saturday one of Clunken's family friends who's 24 is taking me out for the day so that will be fun.
I am looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone again!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
I made it to south africa!
I made it all the way from Nairobi to Johannesburg to Durban all by myself without getting lost or catching the terminating plane!!haha jks :) nah i made a new friend on the airport and followed her around the Joburg airport so I can't really take any credit for that...
Anyway, south africa is very different from Kenya. It's a bit isolating staying in a big house with so much security...huge fences and stuff. But apparently there are 100 murders and 30 rapes a day in south africa. So I guess security like this is very much needed.
Yesterday Clunken took us to the beach at Durban, just for a walk, it's very pretty. And hot here too! It's winter now, I can't imagine how hot it gets in summer.
Today I visited an orphanage called Makaputu Children's Village in a place called Valley of a Thousand Hills. It's so pretty the area!! But at the same time it's such a desparate situation there; more than 2 out of every 3 people are infected with HIV/AIDS. People are dying every day from AIDS and there are thousands of child-headed households. The guy who was giving us a tour of the orphanage pointed to a hill and said "See this big mounds of dirt piled up? That's a mass grave. About 4000 unidentified bodies have been buried there; they've died of AIDS." It was a reality shock.
The children's village is reaching out to the community in very effective ways and is making a great impact. It was so good to see what they were doing. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the kids because they were all in school (they go to local schools). But it was awesome to have a tour of the place and hear what they are doing.
Tomorrow there is a national strike across the country so we'll be staying at the house. On Thursday I go to another orphanage called God's Golden Acre. That's the one I read a book about so I'm very excited.
Apart from that there's nothing much else to write so I'll go and not waste internet time :)
Anyway, south africa is very different from Kenya. It's a bit isolating staying in a big house with so much security...huge fences and stuff. But apparently there are 100 murders and 30 rapes a day in south africa. So I guess security like this is very much needed.
Yesterday Clunken took us to the beach at Durban, just for a walk, it's very pretty. And hot here too! It's winter now, I can't imagine how hot it gets in summer.
Today I visited an orphanage called Makaputu Children's Village in a place called Valley of a Thousand Hills. It's so pretty the area!! But at the same time it's such a desparate situation there; more than 2 out of every 3 people are infected with HIV/AIDS. People are dying every day from AIDS and there are thousands of child-headed households. The guy who was giving us a tour of the orphanage pointed to a hill and said "See this big mounds of dirt piled up? That's a mass grave. About 4000 unidentified bodies have been buried there; they've died of AIDS." It was a reality shock.
The children's village is reaching out to the community in very effective ways and is making a great impact. It was so good to see what they were doing. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the kids because they were all in school (they go to local schools). But it was awesome to have a tour of the place and hear what they are doing.
Tomorrow there is a national strike across the country so we'll be staying at the house. On Thursday I go to another orphanage called God's Golden Acre. That's the one I read a book about so I'm very excited.
Apart from that there's nothing much else to write so I'll go and not waste internet time :)
Friday, July 18, 2008
Goodbye Kenya :(
Today was my last day at Mercy Care centre :((( It was very sad, a lot of them were crying when I left and of course it was hugs all around. I am going to miss them so much. They all got me to write down my home and email address so they can write. They kept saying "greet everyone in Australia for us and tell them that we love them!"
I am back at the guest house now after staying a week with Patrick's family. I got a true taste of African life! I caught crazy matatus that play awesome loud african hip hop music, walked through crowds and traffic and car fumes and also through the slum a few times. I tasted Kenyan tea which is awesome. Tea back home is bad but this tea is so good. I also finally got to have mandazi! (african doughnuts, they taste amazing!). And of course I had ugali, which is the staple food in Kenya.
Yesterday I went with group of girls from Mercy Care to visit a 14 year old girl called Mercy who lives in Mathare. She has a daughter called Precious who is 6 weeks old and she was taking her to the clinic that day to get a vaccination so she wasn't in school. But we visited her at her home and brought her gifts. We talked for a while. They first talked in swahili but then took pity on me and talked in English! Mercy is one of the most amazing girls I have ever met in my life. She has an incredible amount of strength and dignity. She wants to greet everyone in Australia and tell you that she loves you! :) It was so cool to see how much the teachers and the girls encourage each other. Mercy Care has such a beautiful atmosphere and everyone is so supportive of each other.
I have photos and information on every child so I will be organising child sponsorship which is desparately needed at the school. Well my internet time is running out so I better go.
I am back at the guest house now after staying a week with Patrick's family. I got a true taste of African life! I caught crazy matatus that play awesome loud african hip hop music, walked through crowds and traffic and car fumes and also through the slum a few times. I tasted Kenyan tea which is awesome. Tea back home is bad but this tea is so good. I also finally got to have mandazi! (african doughnuts, they taste amazing!). And of course I had ugali, which is the staple food in Kenya.
Yesterday I went with group of girls from Mercy Care to visit a 14 year old girl called Mercy who lives in Mathare. She has a daughter called Precious who is 6 weeks old and she was taking her to the clinic that day to get a vaccination so she wasn't in school. But we visited her at her home and brought her gifts. We talked for a while. They first talked in swahili but then took pity on me and talked in English! Mercy is one of the most amazing girls I have ever met in my life. She has an incredible amount of strength and dignity. She wants to greet everyone in Australia and tell you that she loves you! :) It was so cool to see how much the teachers and the girls encourage each other. Mercy Care has such a beautiful atmosphere and everyone is so supportive of each other.
I have photos and information on every child so I will be organising child sponsorship which is desparately needed at the school. Well my internet time is running out so I better go.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Mercy Care
Hey, I haven't had much time to write but I am now staying with Patrick and Pamela in their apartment in Nairobi. I am getting a true taste of African life! The first morning I got up at 5:30am to catch a matatu (mini-bus) to mercy care. It was raining and extremely muddy. The matatu drivers are crazy and they crowd people in and play really loud music. The music was cool though my ears just hurt LOL. They drove a little bit through the slum; or rather slipped and slid and bumped along the roads. We got out and walked a little further to the school.
It is different staying there by myself than with a team. But the kids are all amazing I love them so much and these two little girls wrote me a letter asking me to stay longer because i was their best friend! I have got to know the year 8 class so well. It's hilarious I am the centre of attention all the time and am bombarded with 50 different questions at once about Australia and my life. They all want to come back to Australia with me and want me to greet everyone in Australia. I have a few letters they wrote to give to Phil and Carla, Susannah Hudson, and brianna lewis. They were SO touched by the letters you all wrote! I won't be able to describe the look on their faces when they realized people in Australia cared about them.
They kept saying "we will miss u when you go! are you coming back next year?" man friday will be one sad day :( When another girl from the american team left last friday all the kids were crying! That's how much visitors mean to them; it gives them hope.
Yesterday I visited a girl's home. She is called Mercy and she is 14 and one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. She has been through so much but is so strong. I will tell you her story when I come home. She is going to tell her story on film on Thursday. It is an awful one but the way she has dealt with everything is so amazing. That can only be God and mercy care.
I got all of the kids to write about themselves on a piece of paper. On Thursday and Friday I will be taking pictures of every single one of them so I can organise sponsership and prayer partners. When I come back I have a lot to do! It's very exciting.
Got to go now back to Dorna Academy.
It is different staying there by myself than with a team. But the kids are all amazing I love them so much and these two little girls wrote me a letter asking me to stay longer because i was their best friend! I have got to know the year 8 class so well. It's hilarious I am the centre of attention all the time and am bombarded with 50 different questions at once about Australia and my life. They all want to come back to Australia with me and want me to greet everyone in Australia. I have a few letters they wrote to give to Phil and Carla, Susannah Hudson, and brianna lewis. They were SO touched by the letters you all wrote! I won't be able to describe the look on their faces when they realized people in Australia cared about them.
They kept saying "we will miss u when you go! are you coming back next year?" man friday will be one sad day :( When another girl from the american team left last friday all the kids were crying! That's how much visitors mean to them; it gives them hope.
Yesterday I visited a girl's home. She is called Mercy and she is 14 and one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. She has been through so much but is so strong. I will tell you her story when I come home. She is going to tell her story on film on Thursday. It is an awful one but the way she has dealt with everything is so amazing. That can only be God and mercy care.
I got all of the kids to write about themselves on a piece of paper. On Thursday and Friday I will be taking pictures of every single one of them so I can organise sponsership and prayer partners. When I come back I have a lot to do! It's very exciting.
Got to go now back to Dorna Academy.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Mercy Care
I am back at Mercy Care; these last few days have been a bit chaotic with the music competitions going on as well as taking kids to an animal orphanage so I haven't been able to do much filming. But today I went with the primary choir to film them at their music competition which was very cool. I saw some amazing performances!
Monday, July 7, 2008
pics
http://mccsummer2008.blogspot.com/
Follow that address up above and you will see lots of pics from the american team. There are many different blogs you can follow from there with more pics. If your smart with computers!
Follow that address up above and you will see lots of pics from the american team. There are many different blogs you can follow from there with more pics. If your smart with computers!
Massai Mara Safari
Over the weekend we went on a Massai Mara safari. We stayed at a place called Fig Tree Camp which is run mainly by the Massai people. I did not expect it to be this quality. I was bit awed when I first came; it was like a resort. It was the kind of place TV shows would come and film at to advertise tourist destinations! It was very hard at the same time being there after seeing so much poverty in the week.
We went on a few safaris and I saw every kind of animal you could imagine, especially LIONS! I was very excited to see lions! It was in the early morning sun too so it looked awesome.
We stayed in big tents with a wooden roof over the top right next to a creek. There were animals all around us; especially baboons. One morning I zipped my tent open and found myself staring at a huge baboon about a metre away. Er, hello...
Another time I suddenly heard all this screaming and shouting. Me and Clare raced outside to find that 4 baboons had managed to get into one of our team member's tent and steal a snickers bar and pour popcorn all over the floor. It was HILARIOUS to see the baboon up in a tree chewing away at a snickers bar! They shooed them away and the next while was spent laughing our heads off.
We also had a tour of a Massai village which was heaps interesting. They performed traditional songs and dances for us and showed us inside their homes and showed us how to make a fire and taught us about their culture and life. We also had breakfast out in the bush. It was really hot. I have just come back to the guest house from an extremely bumpy and dusty 6 hour drive. You kind of get used to the close calls we have on the road now; these drivers are amazing!
I am exhausted but looking forward to filming at Mercy Care this week. Thanks for all the messages! Hope you are all having a fun holiday :)
We went on a few safaris and I saw every kind of animal you could imagine, especially LIONS! I was very excited to see lions! It was in the early morning sun too so it looked awesome.
We stayed in big tents with a wooden roof over the top right next to a creek. There were animals all around us; especially baboons. One morning I zipped my tent open and found myself staring at a huge baboon about a metre away. Er, hello...
Another time I suddenly heard all this screaming and shouting. Me and Clare raced outside to find that 4 baboons had managed to get into one of our team member's tent and steal a snickers bar and pour popcorn all over the floor. It was HILARIOUS to see the baboon up in a tree chewing away at a snickers bar! They shooed them away and the next while was spent laughing our heads off.
We also had a tour of a Massai village which was heaps interesting. They performed traditional songs and dances for us and showed us inside their homes and showed us how to make a fire and taught us about their culture and life. We also had breakfast out in the bush. It was really hot. I have just come back to the guest house from an extremely bumpy and dusty 6 hour drive. You kind of get used to the close calls we have on the road now; these drivers are amazing!
I am exhausted but looking forward to filming at Mercy Care this week. Thanks for all the messages! Hope you are all having a fun holiday :)
Mercy Care sports day
On Friday Mercy Care had their annual sports day. They had it at a big oval near the slum. We arrived and the atmosphere was electric; the kids were very excited and everyone wanted me to be on their team; bit of rivalry going on there LOL
I competed in two races; the 200m and the 100m. In both races I came third!! I couldn't believe it since I never run. I recieved a ribbon which I will be very proud to show you all when I get home. I got to stand on the podium too that was pretty cool :)
I LOVE hanging with these kids. They are incredibly fun and I feel like I am getting to know them so well. They all have such character! I coudn't believe how fast and long some of them could run. It was a pretty hot day too.
We walked back to the school with them afterward; and walked through part of the slum to get there. You can never get used to the overwhelming poverty. One girl pointed out her home to me. They have been through so much but they totally inspire me with the way they view life and their sense of fun. I am so looking forward to being with them the next two weeks.
I competed in two races; the 200m and the 100m. In both races I came third!! I couldn't believe it since I never run. I recieved a ribbon which I will be very proud to show you all when I get home. I got to stand on the podium too that was pretty cool :)
I LOVE hanging with these kids. They are incredibly fun and I feel like I am getting to know them so well. They all have such character! I coudn't believe how fast and long some of them could run. It was a pretty hot day too.
We walked back to the school with them afterward; and walked through part of the slum to get there. You can never get used to the overwhelming poverty. One girl pointed out her home to me. They have been through so much but they totally inspire me with the way they view life and their sense of fun. I am so looking forward to being with them the next two weeks.
Hip hop in africa
Hey everyone,
Sorry to not post in a while; I haven't had the internet connection and have been really busy. Anyway, the day after I rested i felt so much better and the next day I went to Mercy care centre and started talking to the older girls and guys. I felt like I got to know them very well and played sport with them. I talked with some of the year 8 kids and they started talking to me about the riots that happened; which was very powerful. They showed me some areas that had been burnt and told me what happened. This next week I will be filming the children's stories and some of them will talk about the violence. It is awful to hear what they have been through but their attitude towards life amazes me. I was walking through the slum with some of the girls and one girl pointed out her home, which was a tiny shack. She also showed me areas where homes had been burnt. And then she said something I will never forget, "We are proud to live here. We are just happy we have life.We just take life as it comes." I was blown away!!
I taught some of the older girls hip hop! It was a crack up! Well first we put on music and started a dance party out in the streets; all the little baby class was grooving away, oh it made my day! And the older girls were SO excited to learn it was awesome; I pulled out some of my cool moves. They were very impressed :P They are also very impressed by my soccer skills :P
I have some exciting news that some of the children receieved the letters that people from CCH sent them a while ago. Some of them will write letters back which I will deliver. They were very thankful!
I had a very amazing day :)
Sorry to not post in a while; I haven't had the internet connection and have been really busy. Anyway, the day after I rested i felt so much better and the next day I went to Mercy care centre and started talking to the older girls and guys. I felt like I got to know them very well and played sport with them. I talked with some of the year 8 kids and they started talking to me about the riots that happened; which was very powerful. They showed me some areas that had been burnt and told me what happened. This next week I will be filming the children's stories and some of them will talk about the violence. It is awful to hear what they have been through but their attitude towards life amazes me. I was walking through the slum with some of the girls and one girl pointed out her home, which was a tiny shack. She also showed me areas where homes had been burnt. And then she said something I will never forget, "We are proud to live here. We are just happy we have life.We just take life as it comes." I was blown away!!
I taught some of the older girls hip hop! It was a crack up! Well first we put on music and started a dance party out in the streets; all the little baby class was grooving away, oh it made my day! And the older girls were SO excited to learn it was awesome; I pulled out some of my cool moves. They were very impressed :P They are also very impressed by my soccer skills :P
I have some exciting news that some of the children receieved the letters that people from CCH sent them a while ago. Some of them will write letters back which I will deliver. They were very thankful!
I had a very amazing day :)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
First Day at mercy care centre
Our first day at mercy care was amazing.
The bus went on a different route than last time I came. From this route you could see a lot more of the slum and the poverty. I can honestly say I did not realize it was this bad. Last time I came we stayed on the other side of the valley and I don't think you can see as much from there.
Here it was very confronting. Masses and masses of shacks made out of scrap material and dirt. Piles of rubbish by the side of the road; people absolutely everywhere. It's horrible to think that just a few months ago there were riots here and the children at mercy care saw and heard people being killed.
We received THE most AMAZING welcome at mercy care!! I can honestly say it was one of the most happiest moments of my life! As the bus came toward the school, the children were lined up along both sides of the road and they started singing and clapping and dancing like crazy! You should have heard them sing; the joy and excitement on their faces was indescribable! They danced along the road as the bus parked at the school and formed a full circle around us. We walked out of the bus a bit overwhelmed by the welcome and they led us inside the school. The teachers remembered me from last time and made me feel very welcome :)
We handed out T-shirts to the kids and I went outside to meet them. Soo many of them everywhere; it was so good to shake their hands and ask what their names were and introduce myself. They are as adorable as ever!
Later that day they put on a performance for us; doing some items they performed in the local music competitions (they did amazingly well in those competitions and are competing at the next level). The confidence they have amazes me.
I began to feel really light-headed. It got so bad I had to lie on a sheet on the ground inside mercy care centre with a cool towel on my forehead. I was like that the rest of the afternoon; unable to do anything except lie there. I lay on the back seat of the bus on the way back to the guest house and fell asleep in my bed when we got there. Today I woke up feeling a little bit better but unable to go to Mercy Care Centre today :( It is the most frustrating thing in the world having to sit here knowing everyone else is at the school. So pray I get better!! There is no way I am missing out again tomorrow!! :((
The bus went on a different route than last time I came. From this route you could see a lot more of the slum and the poverty. I can honestly say I did not realize it was this bad. Last time I came we stayed on the other side of the valley and I don't think you can see as much from there.
Here it was very confronting. Masses and masses of shacks made out of scrap material and dirt. Piles of rubbish by the side of the road; people absolutely everywhere. It's horrible to think that just a few months ago there were riots here and the children at mercy care saw and heard people being killed.
We received THE most AMAZING welcome at mercy care!! I can honestly say it was one of the most happiest moments of my life! As the bus came toward the school, the children were lined up along both sides of the road and they started singing and clapping and dancing like crazy! You should have heard them sing; the joy and excitement on their faces was indescribable! They danced along the road as the bus parked at the school and formed a full circle around us. We walked out of the bus a bit overwhelmed by the welcome and they led us inside the school. The teachers remembered me from last time and made me feel very welcome :)
We handed out T-shirts to the kids and I went outside to meet them. Soo many of them everywhere; it was so good to shake their hands and ask what their names were and introduce myself. They are as adorable as ever!
Later that day they put on a performance for us; doing some items they performed in the local music competitions (they did amazingly well in those competitions and are competing at the next level). The confidence they have amazes me.
I began to feel really light-headed. It got so bad I had to lie on a sheet on the ground inside mercy care centre with a cool towel on my forehead. I was like that the rest of the afternoon; unable to do anything except lie there. I lay on the back seat of the bus on the way back to the guest house and fell asleep in my bed when we got there. Today I woke up feeling a little bit better but unable to go to Mercy Care Centre today :( It is the most frustrating thing in the world having to sit here knowing everyone else is at the school. So pray I get better!! There is no way I am missing out again tomorrow!! :((
Finally in Kenya!
Hey everyone,
I am finally here!!
It was a very exciting and thrilling plane trip (not). We flew south towards the south pole and then east over the north part of the south pole. The cool thing was I saw massive ice bergs, like massive massive ones. I'm sure the penguins were hidden down there somewhere too :) Apart from that it was a matter of playing a bad version of tetris, thrashing clare in yennef and moving restlessly around my seat.
We arrived in Johannesburg and there was such a beautiful sunset! But we ended up in not such a beautiful queue :( There were about 8 flights that had come in at the same time and they all formed one queue. So if you can imagine what that is like in a stuffy airport when my body thinks it's 2 in the morning...
Clunken's cousin met us and drove us back to her house for the night. She hosted us SO well sigh. I got a pretty good sleep and we drove back to the airport in the morning to fly up to Nairobi. On the way we passed Alexandria, the second biggest township in south africa. 3 million people live there, it's pretty sad, but it doesn't look nearly as bad as the slums in Nairobi.
We flew over zimbabwe, Malawi (Lake Malawai) and Tanzania. At the Nairobi airport we waited 3 hours to be picked up and finally caught a taxi. Wayne met us at the airport and we were waiting to be picked up but our lift didn't come. So we had our first full Kenyan experience on the roads; that was pretty interesting haha :) It's just a matter of forming your own lanes, barging in within millimetres of other cars and beeping your horn endlessly. We almost crashed into a matatu (mini-van) that veered out in front of us from a side road. Our taxi driver yelled at him and he yelled back, "are you nuts?? Now that I've passed you can go!!"
hmmm...
well we finally got to the guest house and met the rest of the american team and crashed into bed.
I am finally here!!
It was a very exciting and thrilling plane trip (not). We flew south towards the south pole and then east over the north part of the south pole. The cool thing was I saw massive ice bergs, like massive massive ones. I'm sure the penguins were hidden down there somewhere too :) Apart from that it was a matter of playing a bad version of tetris, thrashing clare in yennef and moving restlessly around my seat.
We arrived in Johannesburg and there was such a beautiful sunset! But we ended up in not such a beautiful queue :( There were about 8 flights that had come in at the same time and they all formed one queue. So if you can imagine what that is like in a stuffy airport when my body thinks it's 2 in the morning...
Clunken's cousin met us and drove us back to her house for the night. She hosted us SO well sigh. I got a pretty good sleep and we drove back to the airport in the morning to fly up to Nairobi. On the way we passed Alexandria, the second biggest township in south africa. 3 million people live there, it's pretty sad, but it doesn't look nearly as bad as the slums in Nairobi.
We flew over zimbabwe, Malawi (Lake Malawai) and Tanzania. At the Nairobi airport we waited 3 hours to be picked up and finally caught a taxi. Wayne met us at the airport and we were waiting to be picked up but our lift didn't come. So we had our first full Kenyan experience on the roads; that was pretty interesting haha :) It's just a matter of forming your own lanes, barging in within millimetres of other cars and beeping your horn endlessly. We almost crashed into a matatu (mini-van) that veered out in front of us from a side road. Our taxi driver yelled at him and he yelled back, "are you nuts?? Now that I've passed you can go!!"
hmmm...
well we finally got to the guest house and met the rest of the american team and crashed into bed.
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