Trips outside of the orphanage (part I): The Safe House and The Street Boys of Gilgil

     

Our team at the safe house.

     Fiwagoh is located on a beautiful piece of land off of the main road between Nakuru and Nairobi (the capitol of Kenya) in a little town called Gilgil.  On this mission trip, five outings were planned and for each outing we took a few kids from Fiwagoh along with us. In the evenings we always debriefed and we included the kids that went with us in our team meeting. It was wonderful sharing the experience with the kids and very interesting to hear their responses at the end of the day.  Whenever we visited a site we always brought gifts of food, necessities, and/or $.

     The Safe House

            The Loving Hands Safe House is a rescue center for young vulnerable children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS located in Gilgil, Kenya.   On the visit our team took  many bags filled with flour, beans, soap and a few other things.  The bags were packaged in the morning before the trip and while team members were preparing the bags I observed Dennis, a former student of mine. teach grade 8 math.  He was awesome!!   When I returned to meet up with the team before our departure to the Safe House I found out one of our high school team members was ill. My friend Doneva decided to stay back with her in case she needed anything.  Not wanting Doneva to be by herself I stayed back as well, therefore I can not report many details of the trip, except for the teams response.  In the debriefing that evening, team members who traveled to the safe house were very emotional about what they saw and the stories they heard regarding some of the children. I felt a bit relieved not to have witnessed the painful stories, however I know I must not close my eyes, but realize the tragedies that occur and be a part of the change.  

Imani with some of the children at the safe house.

Children at the safe house.

     On a happier note, while Doneva and I stayed back we happened upon Ann, a senior who we first got to know in 2013 when Doneva and I teamed up to teach a few teenage girls how to sew.  Ann was one of our students and is now a seamstress for the orphanage.  She has the warmest smile and a beautiful voice (she is often one of the singers at Sabbath).  That morning we stopped into the tailoring room and discovered Ann and a few others cutting out “mattress raincoats” (vinyl pieces that protect the foam mattresses from accidents in the night). 

Déjà  Vu!  In 2013, our team made 100+ mattress raincoats and Doneva and I spent hours together sewing 200+ mattress pillowcases, used as sheets for the mattresses. Spending all that time with Doneva teaching the girls to sew and then sewing sheets caused us to become the dearest of  friends.  She lives in Houston, Texas and generally I only see her when I travel to Africa.  You will never meet a more kind or loving person.  

Photos from past years.

2013, Ann ironing the skirt she is making.

2013, mattress with raincoats

2013, more mattresses with raincoats

2013, Doneva and I sewing into the night to get sheets for every mattress.

2013, Jahari enjoying his new mattress.

Meeting the county chief 

     Our morning on this day began by meeting the Chief of the county, an area that includes Gilgil.  He is a high-level official and friend of Pastor Benson.  It was interesting listening to him explain the structure of Kenya’s government and his responsibilities.  He knows the struggles Kenya has, but loves what he does and wants to make a difference. He happily answered questions our team posed.  After the meeting we quickly departed for Gilgil as we were a couple of hours late from the time we were to meet the street boys.  We call it Kenya time.  One is rarely leaving or arriving at the time stated.

Team photo with the Chief.

Question:  What do red Chuck Taylors, loaves of bread, and male models have in common?

Answer:  The Street Boys of Gilgil, Kenya

The leader of the street boys is the young man in the baseball cap.

This is where we parked the van, an average street in Gilgil. While we were 
waiting to find out where we were to meet the boys the kids in our van from Fiwagoh 
noticed John Jenga walking across the street.  He is the brother of Ishmael, one of the boys that joined us on this trip.  I am not sure why John is no longer there.

Ryan and David 

     The street boys are exactly that, boys that live on the street and get by doing whatever it takes to survive, even if it means stealing.  In a way they are like a gang or perhaps the orphans in Oliver Twist.  They have a plan, a leader, they work together to help meet each others needs in order to obtain money for food, clothing….   Their ages range from 4-20+ years old approximately.  They are on the streets either because they left their home due to abuse, or they have no family, or the family that they have cannot provide for them, or their family kicked them out.  My friend Duncan said the reason they are only boys and no girls is because in Kenya families don't adopt boys.  They fear the boys may harm them.

     As we approached the boys, I thought they looked like many others we have seen in Kenya.  They all appeared clean and some were very attractive, they could have been models on a magazine cover. I asked a lady who volunteers to help them, how it happens that they appear so well kept and she said the organization she volunteers for helps to pay for haircuts and clothing for the boys.  

     We gathered around the boys and handed them boxes and bags filled with loaves of bread, bananas, and many quarts of milk.  Some (even the little ones)  finished an entire loaf of bread, banana, and quart of milk within the first few minutes we were there.  The leader made sure food was saved back for the few that were not there.  Those boys were out collecting bags of scrap metal to be traded in for cash.  While they ate Ryan, our team leader, spoke to them and had David, one of the seniors at Fiwagoh translate.  He asked how we could be of help.  He spoke to them about Jesus and then we prayed for them.  Tears ran down my cheek as I looked at the youngest ones.  

The four standing are from Fiwagoh.  This trip was uncomfortable for them.

This lady volunteers to help these boys.  She has three boys of her own  
yet she finds time to pour her heart out for the street boys.

Notice the faces on the team members.

Allison and Milka

     Pastor Benson is always trying to help the homeless on the street. I have seen him purchase food for a boy when he sees he is alone.  You see Pastor Benson became a street boy at the age of nine along with two of his younger brothers whom he took care of.  Anyway Pastor Benson had arranged this meeting with the street boys in the large field  in Gilgil.  It was our hope that we might find a way  to help them, to reach out and show them the love of Jesus and let them know they are loved.   

    After the meeting we collected the garbage, but left the bags.  Their leader said they can use them as blankets. We began walking back to our van and one of the young ones followed us asking for shoes.  He was barefoot.  Allison, one of our team leaders who is passionate for the orphans and fearless when it comes to helping, asked our driver if he would take her into the store so she could buy some shoes for the boy.  So the driver, Allison, and the boy went into the store near our van.  We waited in the van and after about 10 minutes they came out with the boy, a huge smile, and red Chuck Taylor look-a-likes on his feet.  What a day.

The boy in the middle is the one that received red tennies from Allison.

The following adventures outside of Fiwagoh will be on future posts.  

•      Saint Ann’s Baby and Children’s Home
•      The special needs school
•      The slums

If you would like to read Pastor Benson’s story follow the link below.

http://thefiwagohorphanageministries.org/the-history-of-the-founders-and-location-of-the-home/

Peace and Joy, 

Krees (kris)

What did our days look like at the orphanage?

     Good question.  We took several trips outside of Fiwagoh (these will be discussed on future blogs).  When the team traveled to observe another organization in the area we always brought things to share with them, so preparations before hand had to be made: shopping, sorting, bagging,… On shopping days the team leader, Ryan, and a few others, would leave for Nakuru between 9:00 and 11:00 AM and return somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00 PM. The rest of us that stayed back rotated between various activities:  observing teachers and/or teaching in some of the classrooms, working in the gardens, helping in the dorms, assisting Mama Grace in the kitchen, helping with laundry (using tubs and buckets as there are no machines), popping and bagging popcorn to feed 300+, working in the clinic to help administer medicine, and just hanging out with some of the kids reading, walking, and exploring. I always opted to stay at Fiwagoh so I didn’t have to enter the shopping mayhem and loved all the various opportunities I was exposed to at Fiwagoh.  Below are some photos of these activities.

Hanging out with kids.

Cole and Jameson reading to Joy and Anita.

Coloring while older kids went on nature walk.

Reading always draws a crowd.

Imani and Lisa showing they can swing (jump) with the Africans.

Doneva and Lori spending special time with the girls down at the field.

Gardening

     Since my first visit in 2012 the gardens have grown and grown.  They have a few  adults that work in the garden as well as some of the seniors.  They are vegan at Fiwagoh and use all their produce for the orphanage.  Left over food is sold to locals and given to those in need.  Some of the plants they grow are sukuma wiki (kale), avocados (200 can be harvested in one day), Papaya, beans, peas, mangos, bananas, cassava, pumpkin, many types of squash, watermelon, sunflowers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, maze, green onions carrots, spinach, black night shade, lettuce, red onions, and much more. Some of the seniors built green houses several years ago and in them you will find green peppers and tomatoes.

 

Pastor Benson gives a garden tour on our first full day at Fiwagoh. You can't see him because he is a very small man, however he has a HUGE heart for the orphan.

Duncan, Lori, Ashley, and Doneva helping out in the gardens.

 

Everyone gets in on the action.  This little one is threshing the beans.

I learned there are both male and female papaya trees.  This is a male tree.

After working in the gardens the kids rush to take all the stickers off of Lori's skirt.

Working in the kitchen

Winnie and Mama Grace in the kitchen, always smiling.

Preparing the bananas.

Winnie, Duncan Senior, and Joseph preparing a wonderful meal for the team.

Visiting the classrooms 

Lucy is teaching the class Swahili.  She was a senior in high school in 2015.
I was fortunate to teach her and Dennis, who were the first graduates from Fiwagoh's
school.  She is an amazing teacher!! 

Taking notes in Swahili.

This is the nicest chalkboard they have.  In the high school rooms the chalkboard is half this size.  My goal is to get new  and improved chalkboards in all the classrooms.

I know these faces.  Happy Dance!!

Did I mention the kids LOVE to a have their pictures taken.

The structure in the background represents the elementary school  classrooms.  The have baby classes and kindergarten through grade 8.  After they complete grade eight they must take a state test and pass in order to move on to high school.  Pass or not, all that finished grade 8 take a year off and work at the orphanage. It gives them a chance to experience different duties and perhaps determine what they want to  do when they are out of school.

Laundry

     We use buckets and soap (sometimes it is shampoo if the soap runs out).  Rinse bucket, wash bucket, rinse bucket, and then squeeze as much water out of the piece as possible and hang it on the line.  I don't have many photos of the process, however this first one shows the amazing view we have from the dorm.

Clinic

     Records have to be maintained on every child whenever they are treated at the clinic.  Eunice, who also teaches, reports to the clinic every morning at 6:00 am and again in the afternoon to help the kids.  Team members would also show up to update the records or to help administer meds. Some of the kids have HIV and need to report to the clinic twice a day for meds.  When we arrived at Fiwagoh we noticed many kids had ringworm and needed medical attention ASAP.  This  was the first trip to Fiwagoh where none of our team members had a medical background.  The closest person to that was Jessica, a college student.  Both of her parents are doctors and were a part of our medical team that traveled to Fiwagoh in 2014.  Jessica is an amazing young lady that put her heart and soul into everything she did on this trip.  She contacted her parents to find out what would be best as far as treating the kids and the team obtained the necessary medicine.  By the time we left they were all looking much better.  

Jessica.

The line for the clinic.  It seems never ending.

     I hope this gives you a glimpse of what we did when we were not on a special assignment.  I will finish this post with the picture below.  When you bring out photos, or worse yet, photos on your phone, you get swarmed.  It gets worse as the time to leave nears.  I believe I didn't take as many photos because it is overwhelming.  However, they just want to see themselves (there are no mirrors at Fiwagoh).  They want to see our families, they want to see America or anything on our phone they haven't seen before.  They love to make movies using our phones, especially slow-motion movies.  

This is a mild swarm:)

Peace and Joy, 
krees (kris)