Masai Mara Wonderland

Well, we are back in Kampala from our journey to Kenya. I have been dying to take Jimbo to Kenya since I studied there in 2003, and we finally made it. And it was just as amazing as expected! We arrived in Nairobi early Monday morning and had a full day in the city. We spent an hour with 19 baby elephants at the David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage, fed Rothschild giraffes at the giraffe sanctuary, ate at the famous Carnivore (though of course I took no part in the carnivorous feasting), and spent the afternoon in Nairobi National Park soaking in the view and spotting wildlife. The next morning we drove 6 hours to the Masai Mara and spent the next four nights in the park, going on game drives and hanging in the nearby Masai villages. We slept to the sounds of lions, hyenas, and the occassional hippo. Needless to say, I loved it and Jimbo loved it just as much. The Mara is just a magical place and we had a fabulous time taking it all in. Here are a few pics from the trip.

Arriving in the Mara.

Cheetah - "Sheeba". First game drive.

The big boy.

Dinner time.

Really grubbin' on the Topek.

  Leopard. And a lot of tourists...way too many, poor leopard.

The Majestic Mara.

Hippo Pool.

  I spy...a giraffe.

Someone looks afraid. Kissing giraffes at the giraffe sanctuary in Nairobi. He didn't try this in the bush.

Jimbo's new favorite. The Cameleon.

Mollie and the Masai women.

What do you think TD? Jimbo looks pretty good as a Masai Warrior.

Cooking in Africa

It has been brought to my attention that we have not been such good bloggers lately. Maybe because we are heading towards the end of our trip, maybe because we have become seriously tired of slow internet cafes and have been trying  to get out of them as quickly as possible, or maybe we have gotten lazy. I don’t know, but we apologize. Just because you haven’t heard from us does not mean that we haven’t been having amazing experiences and making huge accomplishments for hope school, kamba, and having fun times with our friends here in Uganda.

Cooking here in Uganda has been one of the harder adjustments for me to make.  Charcoal and kerosene stoves, no refrigerator, no cutting boards, only the bare essentials of cutlery, I’m telling you, fixing a meal here is not so easy.  But somehow I have managed to figure it out and I have actually come to enjoy the challenge of making new dishes and creating new meals for our menu.  

So last Sunday, our very good friend Annett invited us over for an African dinner cooking lesson.  Jimbo and I shopped and bargained for foods we wanted to learn how to cook in the crazy Owino market in Kampala, and headed over to Annett’s around 3pm. 

The stoves were already warming up when we arrived and we were greeted by annet’s fiancé, niece, cousin, and sister.  Annet has become a very close friend to both jimbo and myself and we have fallen in love with her fiancé, family, and friends so it was a wonderful surprise to have them join the party.  That is just the way it is in Africa, people just show up to your house for a visit and it is something that people look forward to everyday. Really, everyday they hope that someone may just stop by.  I don’t think it works like that in the u.s.  But here it is even rude not to drop by your friends homes for visits at least once a week.

So grace, annet’s fiancé, taught jimbo how to make juice. Jimbo diligently squeezed oranges, passion fruits, and another fruit similar to tangerines, while I sat outside with the girls and learned how to use banana leaves to cook.  We sat on a mat outside and cut and peeled vegetables. We told stories of our childhoods and they laughed at how differently we grew up.  They laughed at me when I went to fill the jerry can, saying ‘do you ever fill jerry cans in the u.s.’ and I explained that half of Americans probably don’t even know what jerry cans are. Africans know how to fetch water as soon as they are old enough to walk. For hours we cooked and simply enjoyed each other’s company. 

(Millet)

The menu consisted of – pumpkin, sweet potatoes, nakate greens, rice, cow peas, millet, g’nut sauce, avocados, and juice. It was the absolute best meal that we have had since we have been here, probably because of the company, but we actually really enjoyed the food.  And millet has become my new favorite.  I think it is because you get to eat it with your hands…no you HAVE to eat it with your hands.  And I love that I am allowed to eat with my hands…..sorry mom.  Anyway, it was a perfect day and we wanted to share the pics with you so you could get a better understanding of the normal parts of life, like cooking, are over here.

Magic

This is Vasco. He is a refugee from the Congo who has recently been displaced from the devastating effects of over two decades of civil war. He is a new student at Hope Primary, and he has come to school a week early, prepared, and excited that here at Hope he can have some peace and stability to learn like the rest of us.

Vasco and all the other students that are starting to return are amazed at the changes that have been made over the holiday. I have said before that the generosity that has been shown through Mollie and me from back home acts like magic here. You can't really explain how it happens. We can simply thank God together that he has listened to the prayers of this community.

 Water Tank and Connection $500! Cement Floors $775!
New classrooms $6000!

Helping our fellow man...Priceless.

"I can't imagine what a difficult yet rewarding experience this has been. You are so lucky to be a part of such progress. There is nothing greater than serving your fellow man. Congratulations on choices well made. I hope you continue to grow personally and together. May God bless you and continue to open your eyes to the realities of our world. I hope 2010 brings countless new opportunities to better our world."
-This is for all of us.Thank you McConnell.

Big Changes

Do you remember this photo?

We took this picture when we first arrived. We were shocked to see with our own eyes the conditions in which children were having to learn. This really was where the P6 and P7 children were getting their education! Well....

 We have done away with temporary, deplorable learning facilities here at Hope. We are moving forward with permanence and stability so that these children can have a better chance at succeeding in their pursuit of a better life.

We broke ground a week ago Tuesday. We have been through 9 piles of sand, nearly 10,000 bricks, and 9 days of very hard labor. The energy is buzzing around Ndejje.
"What is happening at Hope," they are all asking. 

 

 By this time next week our men should be almost finished framing the roof. We are hoping that the three classrooms will be ready just two weeks after the school term begins. It is hard to believe. Generosity acts like magic. No one can hardly imagine that P5, 6, 7 will actually have their own classrooms.

 

Education is a gift. I can't say that I have always felt as strongly as I do now about this sentiment. Being here and talking with the people that struggle everday year after year to put their children through school has given me a new level of appreciation for the education that I was able to receive.
 So here we are together making a change in the way children learn.

We can promise you that we had no idea what was in store for us before we left on this adventure. Having the opportunity to affect this type of change in a world full of need has profoundly influenced the direction of our lives.Without the incredible generosity that you all have contributed to this project, not one of these amazing improvements would have been accomplished. We are full of gratitude for granting us the privilege to play this role. Together we can pray that with these improvements, Hope's children will also improve their chances for success in a very difficult world.