Last Days.

Ok, I'm going to try to write another post that is less depressing.

So when we left off I was on my way to the Kenyan sports bar/night club. We spent about 6 hours watching football (soccer) and then we headed over to Sportsmans Arms. This place was quite interesting. It is actually a hotel, but it has a small bar/dance club. There were about 30 people who were from the British military, and the rest were Kenyan. It was definitely an experience to people watch there! You would be amazed at the number of hookers that go to these places. I think I'll leave it at that!

Sunday I woke up early and headed out with Jenni and Jason to Ol Pojeta. This place was so nice! It is an old ranch owned by British settlers, but it has been converted to a conservatory for all sorts of animals! We saw Black Rhino, Elephant, Zebra, Wart Hog, Hippopotamus, Giraffe, all types of gazelle and antelope, baboons, Chimpanzee, and more that I am forgetting. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any lion since I've been in Africa. They are really difficult to see, and believe me I tried!

The best part of the day was when we stopped by the Chimpanzee center that was started by Jane Goodall! What a lady! The chimps are not naturally found in Eastern Kenya, so they have to be kept enclosed behind an electric fence. There were almost 40 chimps there, all of them rescued from poachers or handed over by families who had them as pets. These animals are incredible! We also went on a walk to look for hippos, and we found them! 3 adults and 2 babies. One of the babies jumped off the mom's back into the water, it was so cute!

The kitchen staff have had the week off so we have been trying to cook for ourselves. Trying is the key word here. It is difficult to cook without a refrigerator or lights when it is dark, and with only a propane stove and home made pans! 

Today might be the last day I can make it into town before I leave. I stopped at the orphanage this morning, and I plan on going back tomorrow to teach them some quick first aid. The Daraja girls get back on Wednesday (what a nice birthday present!) and then Thursday afternoon Jenni and Jason are driving with me out to Nairobi. Friday my plane leaves at 11:30 pm, so I will be spending all day in Nairobi. I am going to visit the Giraffe Center, and Kabira. Then I'm going to relax and prepare myself for the trip home! I land in New York saturday morning.

I really can't even begin to express my gratitude for everyone who has supported me while I have been here. This has been by far the best experience of my life, and I know it will be difficult to go home and resume my normal life. Once you have seen this kind of poverty, you can't forget it.

IMPORTANT!

So I came into town today to post a blog about my wonderful safari this weekend. But God had other plans.

On my way here I found out that my good friend Charles has suffered a horrible tragedy this weekend. His 5 month old daughter, Olivia, was dropped by a family friend and broke her femur. Charles is the science teacher at daraja, and he and his family life in the house right next to me. I have actually enjoyed waking up to Olivia's crying, and it is absolutely heartbreaking for me to find this out.

So I stopped at the hospital to visit her and Paris, the mother. They are at the Nanyuki general hospital, and I can't even begin to explain what that is like. I have worked and volunteered in hospitals for the past ten years, and I have never seen anything like this. Baby Olivia was lying on a twin size bed, her leg held "immobile" by a piece of cardboard and some gauze. I felt sick to my stomach seeing her this way. She was not hooked up to any IV's, only receiving pain medication every few hours. When we arrived she was sleeping, but she awoke to our quiet talking and her crying was absolutely crushing.

Every time this baby moves she will feel pain, a piece of cardboard is not enough to stop her leg from moving. A broken femur is life threatening, one of the biggest and thickest bones in your body.

I don't know why I'm relaying this to you. I'm not sure what I'm asking for but I felt compelled to try. I guess my hope would be to find a way to get Olivia into the Cottage hospital, a hospital that only white people and rich Kenyans can afford. I'm not even sure how much this would cost, but I am guessing close to $2,000.

So maybe there is a millionaire out their reading this. Or maybe there are enough people that if everyone donated $20 we could make this happen. My birthday is the Wednesday, if you were planning on giving me anything - maybe we can give it to Olivia.

If you are interested or have any ideas email me at mgaughra@gmail.com 

And if not please send out a prayer to whatever you believe in.

Where Did I Leave Off?

Sorry about that! I had to leave quickly!

So we went to on a Baboon walk on wednesday and went to a Maasi village. I will post pictures soon because you can't believe how close we were to the animals! We saw over twenty elephant, just hanging out in the bush! We actually got blocked in by them and had to make a lot of noise to scare them off just so we could get to the car!

Thursday we hung around campus. Rocky and Ashley from Mothers Fighting For Others stopped by Daraja. They are hoping to open an orphanage near by. 

Today has been slow, I have exactly one week left and I'm starting to panic. I'm trying to remain calm and enjoy my time left, but I just can't imagine what life will be like when I get back. We will see.

Tomorrow I'm going to the orphanage and Sunday we are going the the Jane Goodall chimp center!

Lots of Love!

Pole Sana!

Hi All!!

Pole Sana (very sorry) that I have not updated in like a week! We have been on vacation/safari and have not been in town to access the internet!

Let me give a short recap, I don't have much time but I will try to post again tomorrrow!

Friday of last week I went to the orphanage in the afternoon, and helped to prepare their dinner. Ugali is this chunky tasteless food that they eat with cabbage, and it was my job to make it. Basically you pour corn flour into water and stir it. I will post pictures of that when I can!

Saturday I woke up early and went to "Sunday School" at the orphanage. Yes, I realize the name is misleading. It is for all of the children in the town or Mara Moja, and they feed them lunch so basically 100 children show up. It was pretty incredible. Then we played some games and they sang for me, I have pictures of that as well!

Sunday I hiked to the top up the hill next to Daraja. By myself! It was amazing, you could see for miles! I did a lot of spiritual reading up there, you have no idea how hard it is not to feel some sort of presence here in Africa.

Monday we went on Safari! We went to a place called Solio, it is like a national park. I saw rhino, cape buffalo, giraffe, monkeys, wart hogs, all sorts of antelope, and other things I can't remember the names of! It was incredible to see these animals hanging out together, just chillin. 

Tuesday we went horse back riding to the Mau Mau caves. We had a dwarf guide, but that is a whole other story. Even though no one besides me had ever been on a horse, the guide decided we should gallop most of the way. Needless to say there was a lot of cursing and screaming going on. And now none of us can walk without wincing at the pain.

Wednesday we went to ilpole, a small town outside of here. I gotta run so I will pick up here next times!

LOVE TO ALL!

Pictures??

hopefully this works!

Best Days

I am just so grateful to be here. I don't have much else to post today, but I wanted to put in writing how lucky I am. This way I will never forget.

Guest Blogspot

Hi All!

This is a blog I wrote for Jason, it will be posted on the official Daraja Blog in a few days. Enjoy!

Since arriving in Africa, I have found that the most memorable experience have been unplanned. I knew when I got here that there would be a two week period when the girls would be away from Daraja. I had planned on volunteering at a clinic or hospital while they were gone. Medicine is my passion, so it seemed the logical place to go. It was not until I crossed paths with the “pants less boy” that I realized what it was I really needed to do here. I saw him standing at the Daraja rock. He was wearing a dirty sweater and no pants. That night I dreamt about children covered in bugs, I saw them every time I closed my eyes. I could not stop thinking about this child, so dirty, seemingly helpless. But to my surprise he screamed, “How are you” as we drove by.

I decided maybe I should try to volunteer at an orphanage. Someone mentioned that there was one only minutes from Daraja, so we made the calls and set up a time to meet. As Jenni and I walked up to the compound, we could see children running around. There were twenty-six children, between the ages of three and twenty-two. The orphanage is run by a man known as Pastor John. He and his wife take care of all the children, six who are his own. I was so impressed by his selflessness; I knew this was where I would want to spend my time.

The next morning I woke up early and tried to prepare myself. I was nervous to go alone, but I tried to remind myself that this was not about me. As I walked alone to Mara Moja Orphanage, I felt as if I was about to go on a first date. What if they didn’t like me? What if they didn’t want my help? My silly fears were squashed the moment I arrived.  The children came to greet me, and immediately put me to work. First I helped to wash the breakfast dishes. The cooking is done completely with fire, and most of the pots were black with soot. I scrubbed as hard as I could but it still took hours. Then they told me to hop up on a donkey so we could go fetch water from the river. I thought they were joking, but they were not. So I hopped up on that donkey and got on my way. I was shocked that these children were going to drink water directly from the river, but they insisted that their bodies had adapted.

The most memorable moment came when a three year old girl was examining my hands. She looks so confused, and I asked someone to tell me what she was saying in Swahili. She said “why are your hands so clean and I am so dirty”. My heart sank down to my stomach, but at that moment another little girl bent down to grab some dirt. She proceeded to take the dirt and rub it all over my legs. She took a step back to admire her work, and a huge smile spread across her face.

 I had originally planned on staying for two to three hours, but eight hours later I found myself rolling chapatti. I kept thinking that I could leave whenever I wanted. I could go back to my clean drinking water and warm bed, but these children had to stay. Everyday they worked this hard, so I told myself to suck it up. It is clear to me that my heart is no longer my own. I have given it to Africa, and I would never take it back.

 

And So It Goes...

Hello All!

FYI, I did have to ride home with the goat meat this weekend. I didn't eat it. I am the worst kind of meat eater, the kind that can't handle knowing where the meat comes from. I wish I could be a vegetarian, but I really do love meat!

So the girls were gone all weekend, it was SO quiet. I don't like it at all! I stayed up at Jenni ad Jason's because lower campus was so quiet! Yesterday Jenni did a lot of cooking, we had Crepes, beef stew, and Chapati. Soooo good!

Today I am in town trying to find a place to volunteer for the next few weeks. I'm thinking of looking into some orphanages. Yesterday I was driving past the "Daraja Rock" and there was a little boy (maybe 2?) standing next to it. He had on a dirty sweater and no pants. Totally naked from the waist down. Though the mental image might be amusing, it was devastating. I couldn't stop thinking about him. The poverty here is just so unlike anything you could even imagine. When the girls left to go home, one of them asked me for 250 shillings, thats about 3 dollars. It would last her until she came back in two and a half weeks. 

But I keep on trucking. I know that it feels like it is never enough, but there are 6 boys waiting outside the cafe i am at. They are waiting for me to finish so I can buy them water and bread. I just keep telling myself "be useful". It might never be enough, but i'll keep on trying!

10 People and a Goat.

So I just came into town in a car full of ten people and one goat. 3 Americans, 7 Kenyans including a baby without a car seat and an old Maasi Chief dressed in full traditional clothing. And then there was the goat, tied up on its way to become dinner. I'm going to be really uncomfortable if we have a bag of meat in the car on the way home...

So today the girls went home. It was really sad, they were all crying. I will see them for a few days when they get back before I head back to the US. In the mean time, I am going to try to get into a clinic or the red cross to help out a bit. The 24-30 we are going on safari, but I'm pretty free until then. Ideally I would get into the Nanyuki Children's Home, but I'm not sure what there feelings are about white people coming to hang out.

The past few days have been fun. Wednesday was the last day of exams for the girls. Thursday I taught a big first aid class, we reviewed CPR and I let them listen to their hearts and lungs with my stethoscope. Some girls even tried taking my blood pressure, my arms were pretty sore after 15 girls squeezed them with a blood pressure cuff.

Thursday night we had a bon fire which was really fun. They sang and we played games, I have tons of pictures and videos but it is nearly impossible to upload them on dial up connection. I will keep trying. 

Friday the girls just hung out, and I was able to hand out all of the donated clothes. They were so happy!! (Thanks Suzanne!) Last night we watched Harry Potter 2, and had a little dance party. I woke up early this morning to say goodbye to the girls, and now here I am. Tonight the staff and volunteers are going to dinner and dancing, we will see how that goes!

The girls don't come back until my birthday (September 2nd). Expect lots of posts about the locals and animals until then. I'll work on getting some pictures up!

The Darker Side.

Ok, so I just typed this whole blog and then the internet cut out and I lost it. Maybe that is a sign that I was being to harsh! I'll try again...

So I went to the market today to buy jeans for the girls. We had a wonderful donation of clothes from Suzanne Bartlett's daughter, but I wanted to pick up some more pants so we would have enough for everyone!

I was warned that I would be charged the "wazungu" (white person) price. They said it would be at least double. So I asked Teacher Victoria to come with me hoping that having a Kenyan friend along would help. I was able to get 14 pairs of jeans for $20! Not to bad! Victoria warned me that sometimes it wouldn't matter that she was with me. She said if you are seen with a white person some people won't even sell to you.

So we went to find some towels to use as rags at the school. We found one place but they wanted to charge her double the Kenyan price, so we kept looking. Some people wouldn't even acknowledge us. It sucked! So I went and sat in the car while she finished shopping. Hide the Wazungu I guess.

It made me so sad. Racism sucks. I am so lucky to have lived my whole life without having to feel this, but it caught me off guard. I realize that Kenya has a not so nice past with the British Military, but I'm not British! I am white though, and that's all that matters. They assume I have lots of money, little do they know I quit my job and have spent all my money here supported their homeless children. 

I guess I just needed to vent. I just about lost it when a little girl, maybe 5, came up to me in the market and said "Wazungu, what are you doing?" 

Ok, now that I'm done venting, I can get back to loving Kenya. I guess this just shows that there is still so much work to be done. 

Africa Happens...

So I know I posted yesterday, but I came into town today just so I could tell everyone this story...

Last night I slept up at Jenni and Jason's house (we watched the Interpreter and I didn't want to walk home alone!) So it's 3 am. I'm sleeping on their futon when I hear one of the dogs come in. Tusker. It was very dark, no electricity has that effect. I hear him drop something next to my bed and walk away. Uh oh. I knew this had to be bad, and thought about just ignoring it. I reach for my flash light and take a deep breath before I shine the light on the floor. There it is. A goat leg. FROM THE KNEE DOWN. WITH FUR. AND A HOOF. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

So I wake Jason up - "tusker left a goat leg on the floor and I can't sleep".

Only in Africa : ) 

Ten Poems To Change Your Life

and this is one of them...

The Journey

By Mary Oliver

 

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice –

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankels.

“Mend my life!”

each voice cried.

But you didn’t stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do –

determined to save

the only life you could save.

 

Burnin' Down The House...

Good Morning!

So it has been a while since I have been able to get internet. Let's rewind...

So last Thursday I was planning on going horse back riding at Mount Kenya Safari Club. Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did! The car over heated, we were running late, and when we got there they didn't have our reservation! So much for that!

Friday we went to a restaurant for lunch - Trout Tree. Basically it is what it sounds like! It is set in a giant tree and all they serve is trout! They have pools full of fish that you look over, and they basically take the fish out and cook it right there. Not sure how I felt about that :)

After lunch we went to the equator! There are a bunch of shops there to buy souvenirs. It is TERRIFYING! Imagine the ladies selling bags in China town except WAY more pushy. And they yell at you. So I spent too much money and came close to having a panic attack, they don't quite understand personal space! When we got back to campus I hung out with the girls during their game night. They were dancing and singing and really enjoying themselves. I decided to go home and read before bed, ad it was a good thing I did! When I walked in the door I smelt something funny. I thought "maybe they are burning garbage?" But I looked up and saw that my curtains were on fire! They were leaning against a light bulb when the electricity went on, and they were ON FIRE! I pulled them down and jumped on top of them to put out the fire. I didn't have any water to throw on it! Thank God I got there when I did, a few more minutes and my roof (made entirely out of dried twigs) would have burst into flames. Very lucky! There are no firemen here to come help out.

So I spent the weekend at Jenni and Jasons, my house smelled like burnt plastic! Pretty much just relaxed and read Twilight. This is the girls last week of finals, and I will be teaching First Aid every night. They are excited! These girls are amazing, they read the whole CPR book I gave them and they ask questions every day! Besides teaching the classes, I have been working hard in the kitchen. YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT! I have been chopping and washing for hours a day! 

We are starting to plan our safari (safari pretty much means "trip", not necessarily driving around looking at lions). We are going to go camping and on a camel safari. Yes, riding camels. AMAZING!

Well folks, that is all for now! I'll try to get into town on Wednesday to update! I know some of you asked for the address - here it is: 

Maggie Gaughran C/O Daraja Academy

PO Box 1507 Nanyuki Kenya 10400 

Getting Settled...

Hi All!

So I'm feeling like I'm finally settling in here. The girls have warmed up to me - they are painfully shy! That is, when they aren't singing or dancing! There are a few experiences I've had over the past few days that I wanted to share:

WISH Class: So WISH stands for Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope. The class is lead by Jenni, and she asked that I share a little bit about myself and the struggles I have faced in my life. She also had two other volunteers and the female teachers share their stories. The girls were so accepting, they really are so wonderful! 

Physics: So I sat in on the girls physics class this week, and it was very different from any classes I've taken in the US! These girls are FIRED UP about learning. No matter the question, every hand is raised. They snap their fingers and say "TEACHER, TEACHER" to get called on. And they know all the answers! These girls spend ALL of their time studying. They are in class from 8 am to 3:30 pm, and then they have free time (which they use to study). They have dinner and then two hours of study hall. I helped lead a study hall session last night because they were preparing for their Physics final this morning. They are amazing to watch. It made me realize how much I have taken my education for granted. These girls work so hard, they know they have been given the chance of a life time.

MS Dorms: I spent most of yesterday morning helping to prepare for the arrival of 18 Danish students. They are coming to volunteer all around East Africa, but they use Daraja as their base. I ended up making 18 beds, along with a man named James. He told me about his life here, he is Masi. He explained that he is 40 years old, has two wives and eight children. The Masi are polygamists, so this is typical. He explained that his first wife was picked by his parents, and the second was his choice. His oldest son is 21 and his youngest is 1. Can you imagine!

Street Boys: The hardest thing for me so far has been seeing the "street boys" in Nanyuki. They are YOUNG and homeless, and they beg for money. The worst part is that because they are embarrassed to beg, most of them huff glue to get high. We saw a boy, Benjamin, who was ten years old and obviously high. He wanted 20 shillings to watch our car while we shopped. It was heart breaking, mostly because I knew there was nothing that could change his situation. Even the homeless in the US have resources, shelters and programs set up by the government to help them. Here there is nothing.

On a lighter note, "Mad Cow" aka Karen (named after my fabulous Aunt Karen), ate Jenny's shirt off the clothes line yesterday! It was hysterical!  I have been helping out in the kitchen, mostly chopping vegetables. I warned the girls that even though it might look bad - it still tastes good!

Tomorrow some of us are headed to Mt Kenya to go horse back riding! YEAH! They take you around the base and you can see lots of wild life up close. We are gonna eat lunch at some fish place, so we will see how that goes!

Love and miss you all!

When We Last Left Our World Traveler…

I was begging for a quick and painless death. Now I feel much better, and the real fun has started! Turns out I had altitude sickness, pretty much feels like your body is going to explode.

Anyway, after I stopped feeling sorry for myself I started going to study hall with the girls at night. They are SO smart, it is hard to find ways to help them! Most of them asked for help in math to which I had to say “Sorry, I’m totally useless.” I was able to help them a little with physics, and let them teach me math.
Friday night the girls put on a play called “Hope” I would love to post the video, but I’m not sure if this terrible internet connection will allow that! The play was about a girl who went off to secondary school (high school) and became pregnant after spending the night with a “sugar daddy” hahaha. The girls were great – so much energy!
Saturday Jason and Jenny’s friends from home arrived (Kelly and Anthony). They are both teachers in Brooklyn, and the girls were happy to learn that Kelly is a math teacher! Saturday I had my first two CPR classes. I was really nervous, so I went armed with my Swahili dictionary (thanks SJ) and a prayer that they wouldn’t hate me!
THEY WERE AMAZING! When I asked who wanted to be a nurse or a doctor, 23 of the 26 girls raised their hands. I talked for a little while about my experience, and then started in on the good stuff. They know all about the human body from Biology, but I needed to explain so of the English terminology (Cardio, Pulmonary, Belly Button!) During the first class we went through Adult CPR and Choking and they TOTALLY got it.
Saturday night was Carr’s last night here (another volunteer who is a theater major from USD) so we had a little party at Jason and Jenny’s. Before the party started we needed to go into Naibo (a SMALL “town” just 5 minutes from the school) and we picked up some soda for me ☺ On the drive in we were lucky enough to see some Baboon, they are so cute! When we got there, it was pretty obvious that they weren’t used to having many white people randomly stopping by. But this is where I had my first real AFRICA experience. There was a little boy, maybe 2, standing next to our car while I waited for Jason. I knelt down to his level and stuck out my hand. “High five?” but he looked scared. His sister, however, came running up and slapped my hand. Within minutes I had at least 15 children slapping my hand and giggling when I pulled it back saying “TOO SLOW!” they were amazing. The girls grabbed my hands and stared at my blue nail polish screaming “CUTEX!!!” which is apparently what they call it. Let me tell you, I could leave Africa after that and be totally content!
Sunday I had two more CPR classes. But first, Jason suggested I sit in on the girls “Spiritual Readings”. This is pretty much a student lead church service. WOW! These girls are pretty fired up about God! They sang and danced and read from the Bible, I was blown away. After, I prepared for my CPR class and brought along a little surprise that my mom had sent me with. CUTEX! I finished up Child and Infant CPR and choking, then told them I had a surprise. I explained that my mom had sent this with me, and hoped that they would use it to relax and enjoy themselves. They were so excited! Each girl picked her own bottle, and they were painting their nails within minutes!
Other news: Saturday I went for a hike and found a newborn baby lamb! He is all black and Jason and I named him Doc after our grandfather. Later that day I was walking up to Jason and Jenny’s when I saw their dog eating a baby lamb. No worries, it wasn’t Doc! I walk home in the dark (with a flashlight) by myself most nights. It is about a five-ten minute walk through the woods, which would normally terrify me. But here in Kenya, I am totally aware and humbled by this fact. If there was an animal lurking in the trees, there is really not much I could do if it wanted to attack me. This might seem morbid, but to me it is reassuring! I am totally at the mercy of Mother Africa.
This morning I woke up early to try to make it in time for flag. Monday mornings the “rangers” (like girl scouts) put up the flag and sing the national anthem. It was really nice. Today we are in Nanyuki, enjoying chocolate croissants and bottles of Coke, and obviously internet! The girls have finals this week and next, and I will be continuing CPR classes as well as first aid for those who want it. Later in the week I should be holding a class for the staff, though some don’t speak English so that should be interesting…