With our first day in the country our schedule included a very light load. I felt that our day was a great way to see the country and people, especially all the different aspects.
The family we are staying with has connections to a local school that is next to a very small slum of 500 people. The land was green, and the people were so happy that it finally rained. We met a man who is training to be a pastor. He gave us a tour of the school. This school is for secondary education and is privately owned, which means that each student that attends must pay for the education.
There were a few different classroom sizes as well as a computer lab and a science lab. The pastor was very excited to show us all the progress that had been made on the school grounds. A few hundred feet away was the slum. From past trips that I have been on I would say this slum is very well kept. The family we are staying with also helps with some of the local projects in the slum. There latest project is making a septic tank that will be turned into bio fuel so people can fuel their homes. They recently just added electricity for people who could afford it. One of my favorite things about going to areas like this is seeing all the joy in the children. We have so many things back home in the states that we are blessed with and we struggle to find happiness. Watching these children play with nothing, and having so many smiles and laughs is very touching to my heart.
(My friend Allyson with some of the kids)
After our visit in the slum we went to the Village Market, which is kind of like an outdoor mall. From there we went and met with a man named Richard who will be leading our team to a village about 8 hours away this coming up weekend for a medical camp. Our meeting was so encouraging but also really made us face the reality of this world.
We think about malaria and HIV/AIDS being the biggest problems in all of Africa. Well in Kenya, yes you do have those issues. For instance, due to HIV/AIDS over half of the population is under age 16. But, what really got me, was hearing about how many babies die of diarrheal disease. 1 million babies, each year. Can you even wrap your mind around that? There is such a lack of education about what to do when your child has diarrhea, and the water quality is terrible, but so many forget the most important step, which is to boil it. As much of a downer that is, what turned out to be encouraging was a little story he told us.
A boy was walking along the beach after a tsunami trying to help the starfish that had been washed to shore. There were millions of starfish that were baking in the sun. So one by one the boy picked them and threw them back into the ocean. An older man came to the boy and asked him why he was wasting his time throwing them back into the sea because there were millions of them. The boy responded as he picked up another starfish "well I made a difference for this one".
And really that is all that matters. There are so many people here that I want to help. I wish I could find the cure for HIV/AIDS, or solve the worlds water problem, but I can't. However, I can make a difference in one persons life, and that is what I am looking forward to most :)
