Children enjoying their pineapple

after which the cows enjoy the scraps.............

Bessie and Tyson, above,

and Brown, below.

(Bessie will be having her calf any time soon...)

Paula, This one is for you. Little Bernard is not a baby any more. Here he is "teaching" his classmates.

Take one step forward, take two steps back.

Did you used to play "Simon says"? Some days I feel life is like that. Evangeline, our patient with the huge tumor in her neck shown a couple of blogs back, came back from Nairobi without having done the scan. I had given her a check for the scan and cash for the bus. Just before reaching the hospital the bus was attacked by thugs who took everything and beat the people, causing some to be hospitalized. By the best of luck, some good soul said "don't beat her; she's sick". So she escaped being hurt, but they took all her documents. She had hidden the check deeper within her clothing, so they didn't get that. But here she is back sitting in front of me telling me that she must go and get the original documents. They can't do the scan without the written order so she's back to step 1. Monday she'll go back to the place that referred her (an hour's ride from here), and get new documents. Then she'll take the bus again to Nairobi and try once more. One day at a time!!!

John the Carpenter

John decided he'd have his carpentry students make model furniture so they could learn jointmaking and so that he'd have miniature samples to show potential customers. He started with beds. I can't wait to see the sofa sets......

TITUS TEACHING HIMSELF TO PAINT AND MAKE SIGNBOARDS

Titus, mentioned previously as a senior waiting for his government exam results, is teaching himself lettering and sketching. We're very pleased with his results, and it makes a little pocket money for him to buy shoes. Here Evans, whom he is playing Big Brother to, is assisting him. Having brought himself up, so to speak, Titus is in a good position to assist other orphans, and he is a great help to us as we place children in schools. He has helped Evans get all the necessary items for school (here most schools are boarding schools as kids can't afford public transport to go to and fro, and their homes don't have electricity for studying at night); and tomorrow he will act as his parent/guardian as he escorts him to his new school as a freshman.

ENDURANCE

There are many times in a day's work when you have to say: "Sorry I can't help." But this isn't one of them. Our friend here has had to put up with this "volleyball" in her neck for such a long time now. Needless to say, breathing is very difficult for her. She couldn't afford an x-ray which is of course a pre-requisite for any surgery or intervention, or even the transport to Nairobi. So early tomorrow she'll be on her way down to Nairobi Hospital for the x-ray and evaluation.

Nimrod

The results from Nimrod's tests came back and he still doesn't have enough haemoglobin for the surgery. So another month of "buildup" before another evaluation.

Samuel's sadness turned to joy....

Our little first-grader Samuel came in on Monday and was about to be scolded for being out of uniform when he told us his house had burned to the ground on Saturday. His "house" was a floorless room, rented for $5 a month, where he and his parents and younger brother and sister dwelt. All their possessions, which weren't much to begin with, went up in smoke. They were left with absolutely nothing. An uncle found Samuel some clothes so he could come to school. Teacher Jane then gave him a school uniform.
Today when I heard they were sleeping on bare earth, I sent Titus, our trusty helper (he just graduated from high school and is doing odd jobs for us while he waits to get his results) over to their place to check out the details. He went over to Riverside and got the full story. The two younger siblings were cooking on Saturday when the fire went out of control. Their parents were out seeking odd jobs so they could feed the children. Their neighbor also lost his house due to the fire.
Titus found the two younger siblings in another rented room and assessed what they had and needed. They had an aluminum cooking pot contributed by a neighbor. They had no clothes except what they had on their backs. There was no food in the room, and no other item was found in the room. And it was true---they were just sleeping on the cold ground. So we now sent Titus back to town to buy a foam mattress, blanket, small cooker, 5 plastic plates, 5 spoons and 5 cups all at 10 cents each, another cooking pot, a lamp, and a few other items, plus some shoes and a hat for Samuel. Samuel was just beaming. I think his parents will beam too when they get home this evening, and see that some help arrived while they were out doing odd jobs.

UPDATE ON NIMROD

Nimrod had his checkup at Nairobi Hospital yesterday. The doctor was very pleased with his progress ---- he feels Nimrod's body is now well built up and he is strong enough for surgery. I took his mother and him in to Cottage Hospital this morning as a few more tests were needed. He made his own little variety of sounds all the way in and I'm sure it won't be long before he starts talking. When they have these results, and if they are satisfied, they will set the date for the surgery. So hopefully, it will be sometime soon!!

DREAMS FULFILLED

There's been great excitement among the 8th grade graduates since the 29th of December when their national government exam results came out. Around 700,000 eighth graders countrywide took these exams. Only about half of them will get a place in high school this January, so there is great jubilation among those who did well. And sadly, a lot of tears for many. At home in the States, it's just assumed everybody can go to high school. Here it's a great treat and privilege, and parents struggle hard to get their kids in better grade schools to give them a better chance of making the cut. Here on our mission compound, Our Lady of Visitation Boarding Primary School is run by the diocesan fathers, i.e. the parish priests. It once again performed very well which is a great joy for the diocese, the administration, the students and staff. We gave our best performing St. Elizabeth School student a scholarship to do her upper primary at Our Lady of Visitation.
One of the reasons I built St Clare Technical School was to help some of those who cannot go on to high school. Sometimes after spending a year or two at the technical school, where they study English, and get good nutrition along with practical skills, we see that they really are able to do high school work, and then we find a way for them to attend.
This January we are giving a scholarship to one of our sewing girls who has been doing so very well, and just passed her government trade exams with us. Although she's already in her 20s, she's overjoyed to be able to follow her dream and go to high school. We are also giving a scholarship to a man in his late 20s, married and with children, who worked here as a security guard, to go to a teacher training college. He was eligible but was never able to afford it, but has long nurtured a dream of being a teacher.

REUBEN

Reuben passed away this morning, but at least not in the streets, but rather in a warm and loving situation with the best care possible from devoted nurses. He was found a few months ago by our local priest lying on a shop veranda here in town pleading for someone to help him and not let him die there like an animal. He was spending cold nights there on the cement where the air temperature goes down towards the freezing point. He was only in his early 20s, but his feet and ankles were extensive open decaying wounds. He had no known relatives and no friends to help him except for a few good samaritan sympathisers who collected some coins to help towards sending him to a hospital and a few "duka" owners who would give him some tea or "githere" (a mixture of maize and beans) that was left after their day's customers were finished. To help out we rented him a room to come home to and got him a bed, foam mattress, some blankets and towels, some food and other simple needs. However he couldn't stay in this new "home" long as after some initial treatment, his condition only continued to worsen. We then had him admitted at the nearby town's Cottage Hospital, known for its good diagnosis and treatment. After further treatment of the wounds, they started to heal, but the swelling just wouldn't go down.
It was determined there that he needed a heart scan as a heart problem seemed to be compounding his wound problems. He needed an ambulance to take him down to a hospital in the capital Nairobi as he was now on oxygen. It took quite some doing to set up for one to carry him and to get a nurse to accompany him. The results were discouraging as it showed a very enlarged heart. After some more weeks of treatment at Cottage Hospital, we took him over to the nearby Huruma Center, a hospice run by the Felician Sisters. There he was given the best care possible but we knew it was only palliative as there was nothing more could be done short of a heart-lung transplant. We tried to cheer his last days with visits and treats of bread and juice whenever Maina or Rose or I would go to visit. He passed away a few hours ago today January 3rd, 2010. At least he died with dignity and surrounded by helping and caring hands. We have arranged for him to be taken to the town mortuary today and tomorrow will buy a coffin and a grave and arrange for a proper burial service. He was abandoned in life but was not abandoned in death. May he rest in peace.