Safari kwa Kisumu!! - Journey to Kisumu!!

OCTOBER 11 - 15

Kisumu was a great mix of both incredibly boring and extremely exciting and life-changing. I'll try to do a day-by-day update, although I'm not guaranteeing that I won't leave things out.

MONDAY, September 11

The drive to Kisumu was just about as long as it was to get to Mombasa – we left Nairobi at around 8:30am, made a couple of stops and got there around 5:00pm. We also stopped at a beautiful viewpoint just an hour or so out of Nairobi to take some pictures.

Isn't that a beautiful view?

TUESDAY, September 12

Today we went to visit TEMAK (Teenage Mothers of Kenya - don't ask me how the abbreviation works). It's this center that was started by a woman in ______. It provides training for teenage women who have children in different fields such as textiles, beauty and hair, and computer training. It has a cafeteria and a place where their children can go to school while they're at work. This facility also has a medical center, where treatment is free to women in the program, and a "cafeteria," where the food is prepared by different women each day - kind of like living in a little co-op. It's a really great NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) in Kenya, which helps a lot of women. Here are some pictures from that morning:

Mims (Mimansa), Amelia and some little kid at TEMAK

Bleak look at the medical center at TEMAK

Megan, Amelia and Mimansa

The center itself

In the afternoon we went to a FISH MARKET on Lake Victoria. It was very smelly but I kind of loved it. There we learned all about the process fishermen go through to get the fish, and then what the women do to cook them. Honestly I didn't really pay that much attention; I was too occupied by all the awesome things going on around me! I've always been a visual person - so listening to some guy talk about fishing wasn't a top priority. First we went to a table with a bunch of dead fish on it.

Smelly fish

THEN he pulled out this monstrous fish that was STILL ALIVE and can live outside of water for two weeks. It was absolutely huge. And it has these huge nasty looking teeth inside its mouth. He would poke at its face until it opened its mouth and snapped it shut, trying to grab a piece of man-meat. It was pretty freaky. I wish I had've thout to get a video of this fish - it was unbelievable.

Then we walked around and were told how the women gutted the fish and got them prepared for eating.

Stray dog that was hanging around - stray animals are all over the place! There's a street in Nairobi where they sell PUPPIES and BABY BUNNIES. (Mom and Dad - if I buy one for myself for my birthday, will you let me keep it?)

Woman gutting a fish

People mining coal, which is imported from Uganda.

Emily and Amelia

Really friendly guy who wanted his picture taken...and then wanted us to pay him for it. He may or may not have been a little intoxicated. (He was.)

FINALLY we got to take a boat ride! The boat was super janky and we actually crashed into another boat and Emily and Mimansa almost got impaled by a giant metal rod. But we all survived. And after that little mishap we sailed along Lake Victoria. It was really awesome. I'm glad we didn't get eaten by crocodiles.

Megan and I - Ready for the boat adventure!

Saskia and Zach make funny faces while we're on Lake Victoria

Then we went home and went to bed.

WEDNESDAY, September 13

Wednesday morning we went to the YWCA of Kisumu. It wasn’t really interesting, but we learned a lot.

Lillian and I wore our pretty dresses today! I bought mine from a store TEMAK owns and runs, which means all the profit goes directly to their cause, which I thought was cool. And it's TYE DYE

In the afternoon we went and met the YWCA Theatre Group of Kisumu. They performed a little for us and then made us do a short made-up skit which was simultaneously humiliating and super fun. We met this group at a church, which was absolutely beautiful.

After that we went to visit Mama Sarah!!! Obama’s paternal grandmother!! She lives about an hour and a half outside of Kisumu in this tiny little village. We talked with her for a while, and then pet her cow who was very friendly, unlike most cows I’ve met in the city.

"Obama's Cow"

Then we went home and went to bed.

THURSDAY, September 14

Today was a “work-day” for us. We went to the Agwara School and helped them build a foundation for a new classroom. As soon as we got out of the van we were pummeled by a large group of school-children! They were so excited to see us and we felt the same. First we watched a couple different groups of kids do dances/songs for us. It was super awesome!

Secondary School Kids dance and sing for us

Primary aged girls do a dance while wearing beautiful kangas

Then we moved a bunch of rocks and dirt into this little squared off area. It was very tiring, but very fun as well. And it was awesome and amazing to get to hang out with all these kids for so long! One of then, named Maro, only spoke Luo. She looked about five or six and so hadn’t started learning Kiswahili yet. But she told Lillian that she wanted to come to America with Mimansa…tonight. Lillian asked how her mom felt about it, and Maro lied and said that her mom was fine with it. She was the absolute cutest! We all wanted to take her home. It was a great day and it was hard to leave!!

They loved us!!

Zach and I were playing "Mom and Dad." We've decided to live in Kenya, and adopt these children as our own. Sorry, Mom.

Dorkus and I! She was so sweet. (And is Maro's sister!)

Me and Maro!! I love her so much.

The cutest child in all of Kenya.

Goodbye hug...

And a goodbye swing!!

FRIDAY, September 15

Today we got up at 7:30, ate breakfast and went home. It was a very long week, but very fun and enriching in every way!

Love you all!!