First full day here (and I mean FULL!) Visited an amazing women's cooperative here in Nairobi called Amani Yaa Juu, where Kenyan women, as well as refugee women from a number of surrounding countries, come to learn a variety of handcrafts which are then sold in the lovely shop. I could have spent many $$$$, but restrained myself and bought only a few items I absolutely loved.
Then we met with three grandmothers: Magdalene, Beatrice, and Margaret. Magdalene works with TNP, a liason between grandmothers and projects; Beatrice is one of the grandmothers working at the pre-school center; and Margaret is the sister of one of our grandmothers who recently died (or as they say here, "passed away". The word in Swahili for "died" is considered rather harsh, meaning that the death was painful and difficult, and is reserved for accidental or unexected death.) The direct cause of Juliana's passing was cholera, which causes severe, unrelenting diarrhea. As she was HIV positive and had been on ARVs (anti-retroviral drugs) for a number of years, her immune system was quite depleted and she was unable to cope with the assault on her body. Cholera...a bit hard to get one's mind around in this day and age, isn't it? Seems to belong in Medieval days...but here it is, in 2010.
Margaret, at age 37, has two children of her own, is caring for four other orphans in her home, and will now be responsible for the four granddaughters of Juliana (with the help of Beatrice, who was Juliana's best friend)- and she is also HIV-positive. It boggles the mind! We were able to give her a small finanacial gift, for which she was most grateful, thanking both us and God profusely. But school uniforms, fees, and supplies come to about $350 per year and at least seven of the children in her care are school-age. All I could think of as I heard her story is how much complaining we in the U.S. have been doing during the ecnomic downturn about our finances...oh, my...I think I will be ashamed to ever complain about money again. And Margaret's story is only one of so, so, so many here in Africa.
Our driver/translator is Julius and what we'd do without him I am not at all sure. Driving here in Nairobi is an absolute fright! Red lights seem to be "suggestions", if anyone notices them at all, as vehicles zig and zag everywhere, cutting in and out of traffic. I am certain that the word "merge" is not part of the driving vocabulary, either...in fact the predominate driving mentality seems to be of the kamikaze sort. Can't begin to say how many times I expected to hear the squeal of brakes and the crunching of fenders but with Julius at the wheel, we got everywhere quite safely, though I wonder if my white hair isn't a bit whiter! or at least standing up on end- though with my spiy hairdo, who could tell?
Maddie, the Wake Forest student who has been interning with Mary Martin throughout this past semester, has been having an amazing experience here, living with several families out in the countryside, and learning about life first-hand. She and I have decided that, based on some of the research she has been doing, we will eschew a couple of the pricier hotels which were tentatively booked, and instead stay at two hostel-type places, one in Mwanza, Tanzania, the other in Kigali, Rwanda. Makes me quite happy to do this, both in terms of saving money and in living nearer the people I hope to get to know a bit better.
Funny thing...though my last trip to this continent was ten years ago, it has felt a bit like coming home for me...odd, isn't it, since my "home" is so very far away...and yet something here draws my heart in a way I cannot yet explain but can only feel. 'Til next time...
