Flashback - 4/16/10 - Bonding Over Bowel Movements

A handful of kids have tested positive for amoebas (parasites). I am pretty certain the amoeba is the cause of the high fevers and upset stomachs. My favorite nurse at Don Bosco, Sister Agnes, recommended we test every child for parasites. I immediately envisioned all 35 kids making the four mile trek to the hospital with me and the other volunteers in tow. The villagers have enough reason to stare at us Mzungos (white person), they don't need a parade. But I figured the humiliation would be worth it to keep the kids safe from disease. If only that was the way things turned out. Sister Agnes handed over 35 containers for us to collect the stool samples ourselves and bring it back the next day. OH KINYESHI! (OH SHIT!)

Bright and early the next day we rang the bell and the kids came running. They were so excited because they thought we were calling them to play a game. Well I guess if you call shitting in a cup a game, let's play!

The rules of the game:
1. Take a piece of newspaper and plastic bag
2. Go find a quiet place to shit on the newspaper
3. Carefully wrap the shit in the newspaper and place in the plastic bag
4. The first one done wins a prize!

I have never seen so many people shit on call. It has to be the way they sit. They squat so low, their butts almost touch the ground which allows for gravity to suck the "kinyeshi" out.

The winner if the game was Little Joyce. Not only did she finish first, she had the best presentation. She had carefully pooped in the middle of the newspaper, folded it into a perfect square, placed it in the plastic bag and tied a knot. When she handed it to me she said "For you". You can see her winners glow in the picture. And that is how you bond over bowel movements.

GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

Flashback - 4/16/10 - Hell on Earth

After dinner Zach, the Watoto Wa Baraka orphanage manager, and I had a conversation about the hardships some of the kids went through to get to Watoto Wa Baraka. The more I get to know the staff and the orphanage, the more I realize the significant impact it will have on these children's lives. Watoto Wa Baraka litterally saved some of the kids from death. Each child has a story as to how they got to Watoto Wa Baraka. They are all heartbreaking, but one in particular rattled my faith.

In 2008 the country was in the middle of a tribal and political warfare. More than 200 people of the Kikuyu tribe took shelter in a local church expecting the enemy would not attack in God's home. Unfortunately, they were dead wrong, literally. One woman that was burned to death was a single mom raising an 11 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. Thank God the kids were not in the area during the attack, but they suffered the consequences severely. For more than three days the two children waited for their mother to come home. They were left to fend for themselves and eventually ran out resources, food and shelter. These two children were one of the first to call Watoto Wa Baraka home.

The girl turned 14 this year, and is a leader at Watoto Wa Baraka. She settles the kids down after dinner so they can read bible scripture, she studies while the other kids play, she takes care of the younger kids and out of the all the kids in the orphanage she has the biggest smile and the most intoxicating laugh.

As you read the story think about all the petty things our government fights over. All the verbal attacks from Democrats to Republicans and from Republicans to Democrats, and now the Tea Party. No matter how bad Jon Stewart or Glenn Beck think things are, they just simply are not.



GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

80 children massacred in church fire

Flashback - 04/15/2010 - Dog Bites

Today Priscilla and I took a trip to a private hospital, Don Bosco, to help one of the sponsored girls, Mary. Mary was bitten by a rabid dog on her leg three days ago (April 12) and hasn't received any medical attention. The reason she has not been to the hospital is not because her mother is neglectful, but because they don't have money to pay for the immunizations. The good news is that Watoto Wa Baraka pays for the sponsored kids medical needs. Mary and her mother walked five miles (10 miles round trip) to the hospital, and have to make that hike four more times over the next two weeks to complete the immunization. I am not a doctor, but I am certain walking 10 miles to and from a hospital with the excruciating pain and numbness in your leg from a dog bite is no walk in the park.

Makes you appreciate the things we take for granted, like immunization shots.

GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

Flashback - 04/16/2010 - Shaking Hands, Kissing Babies

Erick and I spent five hours in the field today visiting some of the kids sponsored by Watoto Wa Baraka. It was hot, treacherous, and fun! All the kids we pass along the way run behind yelling "Mzungo!Mzungo!Mzungo! How are you?" Then they run up smiling and giggling to touch my hand. It is delightful to see pure bliss from a simple wave, hand shake and respond to their greeting in Swahili "Haburi Yako! Jina langu ni Tracy. Jina yako ni?" (How are you? My name is Tracy. What is your name?). Once we get past the formalities, we hold hands and skip down the path as far as they can go.

Have you skipped with anyone today?

GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

Flashback - 04/15//2010 - Cerebral Palsy in a Third World Country

We went to Nairobi today to visit Erick's cousins, Mary and Peter. It took three different matutu's and a "private" bus ride to get to their home. The highlight of the bus ride was listening to Jay Z's classic hip-hop rap smash hit "Big Pimpin".

Peter and Mary have a 10 year old daughter, Immaculate, with Cerebral Palsy. Because of Immaculate they have started a movement to fight the stigma of children with Cerebral Palsy in Kenya. In Kenya it is perceived as a shameful thing to have a child with a deformity or illness like Cerebral Palsy. More often than not, kids are abandoned and left to die. Even if their parents do keep them, the child has very solitary life. They are kept under lock and key and treated as if they were an animal. Peter and Mary have gone against the grain with Immaculate and take her everywhere. Their mission is to educate the public about CP, provide services and medical help to the families, and give the children a chance to live a normal life.

Peter wanted us to learn more about the difficulties of having a child with CP in a third world country. So he took us to visit a family with TWO kids with Cerebral Palsy. They live in the Nairobi slums in a one room apartment on the seventh floor. Can you imagine?!? That means they have to carry their 75lbs children up and down seven flights of stairs everyday. Think of that the next time you take an elevator to the second floor of a building carrying only your laptop.

When we walked in to their apartment the mother, Susan, was holding her 8 year old son, Paul, and hand feeding him. Paul doesn't have control of his esophagus, and therefore spits up more food than he consumes.

The other son, Alex, is 6 years old and is a bit more mobile than Paul. He is able to pull himself up to the window and look out at the neighbors. It probably took Alex 10 minutes to get positioned just right, but he was so happy once he was able to look out that window. He filled the whole room with his joyful laugh.

The entire visit I kept thinking how much they must sacrifice for their kids to be in a loving home. The part that I still can't wrap my head around is that they really don't have anything, so they are sacrificing more than what they have.

Both of these families actions and love for those in need, including their own family, reconfirms my belief that God created us to serve, therefore we must.

Think back over the last week. What have you sacrificed for someone else?

GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

Flashback - 04/13/2010 - How to make coffee in Kenya Orphanage

Flashback - 04/13/2010 - Not so much

The guy volunteer just arrived. I am pretty certain we aren't soul mates. There is nothing wrong with him, just not my type, nor am I his. He did make me coffee, which I haven't had since arriving at Watoto Wa Baraka. He took the beans right off the coffee tree, dried and roasted them, and then used a mortar and pestle to grind the beans. I don't know maybe coffee making skills is enough to build a long lasting relationship :) See YouTube Video blog.

GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

Flashback - 04/13/2010 - Match made in a Kenyan Village??

OMG! I just found out a guy volunteer is coming today! YAY!!! How romantic would it be to meet my husband at an orphanage in Kenya?? Our love story would be movie material, or at least get us on Oprah :)

I am not ashamed to say I said a little prayer to God about this. I wonder if God likes cheesy romantic love stories like I do?


GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.