Hamjambo,
I am sorry for not posting for almost a week. Unfortunately, the electricity has been out since Monday so we have to walk a couple of miles to charge our computers. Because the village’s water pump needs electricity to function, we have been without running water for several days. It has been hard to find bottled water in town, but today we finally found a store with water and stocked up. Stephen has been diagnosed with malaria, but I am glad to report that he is recovering well, and he has resumed his duties at Wema.
Our trip last weekend was incredible. On Friday we arrived in Kisumu and took a boat trip on Lake Victoria. We learned about the lake’s wildlife and saw many hippos. Early Saturday morning, we traveled five hours to Masai Mara, where we stayed for two days. I took four game drives, as our assigned tour guide was fantastic, and the wildlife was beautiful. I saw all of the big five animals: rhinos, leopards, lions, buffaloes, and elephants. I have amazing footage of a leopard walking among a group of gazelles (apparently leopards are rarely seen walking), and I taped a lion enjoying his kill and a couple honeymooning (that’s what the tour guide called it). I also have footage of a mother cheetah training her son how to fight and protect himself.
While I greatly enjoyed the trip, I am so happy to be back at Wema. Teresa and Stephen continue to be excellent hosts. Soon after we departed on our trip, Stephen called our car driver telling him that someone left an important belonging behind. He refused to open it after we asked him to on the phone because he was worried there was money or confidential information inside, and he did not want to violate our privacy. It turns out it was Laura’s purse, and she emptied the contents into another bag she brought. When our van broke down on the way back to Wema, Teresa and about ten members of her extended family walked over a mile in the dark to wait with us until the driver was able to fix his engine and drive us the remaining distance.
I love interacting with the students and orphans. I usually teach four classes in the morning: two math classes to middle school students and an English and science course to elementary school children. The middle school students have been trained extremely well, and I enjoy racing them to solve problems. Some are so clever that they discovered that they could write the correct answer their classmate obtained to practice problems without the correct work leading to it. Their teacher would give them full credit because the class is too large for him to spend enough time looking at their work. The students were shocked when I realized some of them were doing this. The twenty students I caught did not enjoy spending detention (a new program I instituted) with me that afternoon, but many have thanked me for forcing them to learn the material and being available after class to review topics with them. The hardest subject for me to teach is English because I sometimes assume that the younger students understand every word I say. It is a challenge remaining patient and calm throughout the lesson, but the teacher has helped me. After each class, the kids stand up and clap.
Every afternoon we meet with the orphans individually and in groups. While they initially were very resistant to us, many have opened up and enjoy giving us hugs. I am worried that they will become attached to us, but we have talked extensively with Teresa and Stephen, and we all believe that it is in the children’s best interest to make connections with us, as they have started interacting more with their teachers and classmates since we have been here. The saddest part for me is that many are smaller than their peers because they did not receive adequate food and nutrition before they arrived at Wema. It is heartbreaking learning about their histories. Many are AIDS orphans, but some lost their parents in the Mt. Elgon genocide that occurred three years ago.
I have to wrap up because I want to read books to the children, and they have been begging me all day.
Wako mwaminifu,
Alex
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