Each Day Another Miracle

"The Orphan Kids of Kakamega are the real heroes in the fight against HIV/Aids"

13/01 WEBUYE...funny how a day begins here in Kenya. Breakfast of banana, mango, passion fruit, pineapple with a sprinkle of corn flakes soaked in hot milk – then two eggs sunny side up a slice of toast and then the best chai, a version called mixed tea. Not quite that extravagant for our CES kids – but at least they are fed. Soon we crawl through town and down the highway past Malava Forest. Beautiful rolling hills dotted with shambas display careful use of the land. We slow down to avoid confronting a tractor head on carrying a load of sugar cane headed for Mumias. Breakfast for many orphaned children not in school is the same...a hunk of sugar cane. Hundreds of kids walking by themselves, many under the age of 10 years are chewing to extract the sugar. Immediate energy with zero nutritional value. Day in...day out.

You have to go far to see a school as beautiful as St Cecilia Girls SS. Its motto, Discipline Precedes Success is seen in the way girls carry themselves, how they attend to their studies and a high level of self confidence that is most extraordinary. A working farm, a play-field and a variety of different plant species create a great environment for learning. Each girl carries a cloth handbag matching a green and white school uniform. In it is soap, toothbrush and paste, sanitary pad, drying cloth and a plastic container for water. Self sufficient, these students are prepared. Washing hands with soap is routine, unlike most schools where sanitation and hygiene is a real issue.

CES Patron Malik Khaemba spoke to a girl who confided that she never knew her mother or father. A total orphan, she had been transferred to St Cecilia from Divine Providence Orphanage in Kakamega. Her ability to focus and perform on tests was hindering her progress. She broke down when describing how difficult it is to not know who you are or where you have come from. Total abandonment...that's where CES steps in. Principal Beatrice Ingonga cares for all her 900 students, especially those girls supported by CES Canada.
What a delight to spend time with Father Anthony Werunga of Barrie Ontario. Imagine finding out the day before leaving for Kenya that he too would be visiting family in Kitale. We connected and met at St Cecilia SS. Miracles like this happen too often to be mere coincidence.

St Cecilia Girls HS - Students take a tea break in Dining Hall

Kinang'eti Girls SS is situated in Malava District, right at the base of the Nandi Hills escarpment. A more peaceful place is hard to imagine.Opened in 2012, there are only two forms with 120 students. Each year will open up another form (grade). The entire school is the choir. They sang and created some movements that symbolized the opening up of the soul just as a flower blossoms. What a delight!

Each school shows appreciation...cup of tea or warm soda and biscuit. At the end a typical Kenyan meal with meat, vegetable, rice and ugali with lots of sauce. I refuse the spoon given...more fun to eat with your fingers, rolling it all up into a little ball and popping it in. Easy to end up wearing some of it though. Before and after we wash with warm water and soap...individually served with all respect given. What gracious people!

CES Meeting at Kimang'eti Girls HS

14/01 ESHITARI ...Tourism has been a top performer but in recent years it has slid to second place behind “TEA”. Tourism is not a big draw in this part of Kenya. Poverty surrounds every village and town. Agriculture is the main source of income and there is little reason for tourists to come to Kakamega. Muzungus show up primarily for development and humanitarian purposes. Tea grows around the Kakamega forest as well as southwest in the Kericho area. Miles of rolling hills display the dark green tea leaves to be singly handpicked. If you like tea you love Kenyan tea. Maybe that's why the Brits flocked here in the early to mid 20^th century.

Dining Hall and Kitchen area at Eshitari SS

Travel to Eshitari SS means rough roads, average speed 10km. Nearly one hour to see the first well dug donated through the Parry Sound/Muskoka chapter and Redeemer Church in Rosseau. A cup of cool water...nothing like it when pumped from the ground by a student at Eshitari. The kitchen/dining hall project needs work before two jeeko ovens are put in place. Yes, this project has been ongoing...three years now. Two things never jive here...the quotation given and the actual cost; and, the timeline anticipated and actual time elapsed. Progress is undefined and volunteerism is seldom understood as something to be valued. CES students may someday lead the way to change this way of thinking.

We leave Eshitari to visit Billy O'Wabechelli in Butere. Billy is a champion for the disabled and his campaign to include disabled youth in the school system is well known. Despite his struggles as a paraplegic he is open and positive. Kenyans struggle in many ways. Many suffer with the effects of polio and of course HIV. The latter is not in the open...but what you see is a huge industry in the funeral and casket making business. Imagine going to a funeral once a week and even then having to make decisions as to which one to attend. Productive living and employment is truly compromised! Incredibly sad to see politicians showing up for political reasons...o my, how Kenyans hurt.

Last stop is Kilimo Girls HS. They are digging a well by hand and finding means to grow crops to reduce the cost of feeding 210 students. Twelve orphaned girls will attend secondary school this year. Each one tells us how grateful she is. Another attribute of Kenyans...always thankful - accepting their fate in life with dignity and grace.

15/01 BUNGOMA ... 85 km one way to a town much larger than Kakamega. A busy center for commercial trade, we are now close to the Uganda border in the lee of Mount Elgon. We are on our way to St Jude Napara Girls SS. The journey takes a full two hours. A funny thing happened on the way. A police officer waves at us as we drive by. Speed limits are 80km/hr and I know for certain our careful driver was not speeding. It's easy to take off and ignore the hand signal and furthermore it's impossible for an officer on foot to chase down a motor vehicle. Besides, there is no radar and thus no proof of speeding. Good citizen Malik Khaemba stopped, backed up to the officer. Out of nowhere came a senior sergeant, complete with high ranking uniform and a fancy stick under his arm. After preliminary greetings, “pole sana” sorry from Malik and a brief look at muzungu had us once again down the Bungoma-Uganda Hwy. Documentation was not required. I was waiting for the inevitable cash transaction but it never materialized. I think the police were a little bored that day or maybe they were just checking people going to and from Uganda. Malik's response was, “I must be careful not to exceed the speed limit...I have valuable cargo here with me.”

The value of a District school is immense. Bright students who have the marks to attend a National or Provincial school simply drop out. School fees are too high. CES can help a school like St Jude Girls, pay the much lower school fees and at the same time feed and clothe the students. Their secondary education ensured.

Washing and Drinking Water at Well

(less than half rural schools have this facility)

National statistics are shocking...of the estimated 1.3 million students enrolled in Primary Class 1 in 2005, only 840,000 sat for the KCPE. That's over 200,000 dropouts...what a waste. That does not include the orphans who never pass the gates of a public school. An estimated 240,000 Primary school grads will be forced to repeat Standard 8 this year because they cannot pay school fees at the secondary level. It's either drop out or repeat to get a better grade...and then what? There's nothing more tragic than a young mind that's not growing. What pales in comparison is trying to write this blog enduring the third blackout in the past two hours. This happens daily...no point complaining.

16/01 KAKAMEGA...deeply moved by two stories out of our visit to Bushiri SS. We meet Form 4 student Lucy Isalako and Richard Omrunga, Form 3. Both are orphaned and without CES would have no hope of attending school. Meet retired Principal Rispah Aruma, Ibinzo SS. Then there's Richard Kubondo, Principal of Bushiri SS.

Principal Richard and student Richard to his left with Bushiri SS students

Scene 1: Principal Richard goes to timber shop in Kakamega to buy wood to build grain shed at school. There he meets young Richard. Principal asks why one so young is not in school. Details emerge that young Richard has a high mark in KCPE but for lack of fees (and shoes) cannot attend any school. Principal asks Richard to come to school with an adult/guardian. Next day student is enrolled and he receives one of Principals's shoes. Young Richard states, “Principal found me on the street and now is acting as my parent.” Life is good.

Lucy and Madame Aruma

Scene 2: Madame Aruma has four children she supports. Lucy is now the 5^th. Her father dies 10 years ago, mother abandons Lucy because there is quarrelling over land ownership. She raises her own school fees by working as a maid for an entire year. No one knows she is destitute because she simply pays the fees to the school burser. Yr 1 complete. Still living alone, fending for herself and walking 7km each way to school. Yr 2 drops out for 7 months and again comes back with fees. This time it all comes to light. Madame Aruma hears about Lucy, takes her in to her place and finds a way for CES to connect with Principal Richard. Walking distance now reduced to 5km each way. With school fees not an issue, Lucy now in Form 4 achieving very well. Life is good.

Saw a motto on a school bus today in town: “Restless Pursuit of Excellence” ... wonder if they borrowed from Toyota but made a typo. Each day in Kakamega is an adventure...oh yes, the power just came back on! And Tom...you are still the most popular muzungu ever to walk these dusty roads! I just drop your name and I am deemed to be OK. Asante sana.