Kenya Dig It?

Me with my family in our common area, where we eat all our meals, have devotions, practice dancing and singing, and do homework. See if you can pick me out of the group; I’ll give you a hint – I’m not African and I have braids in my hair. I took them out for a couple days and the kids told me over and over that I looked like George of the Jungle.

Welcome to the land of Obama! I have been here for about a week now and am finally adjusted to the time zone, I hope. I am 11 hours ahead of the Pacific time zone, and 9 ahead of the Central time zone I called home in Belize. It has been an adventurous first week and it looks to be more of the same from here on out. To my surprise and delight, I was picked up at the Eldoret airstrip by my very good friend, Kigen, whom I went to college with and whose father is the director of the Empowering Lives International training center in Ilula, which is on the same property as the children’s home I am interning at. Kigen drove me to my new home, where I met with his family and some of the other ELI staff, and where I also got my first solid meal in a couple days. The next day I was introduced to my new family, consisting of two parents, Mr. and Mrs. David Kosgey, and 26 children between the ages of two and fifteen. At first the kids were understandably a bit shy and timid, even though they have had decent exposure to white people (Mzungus) here, but after our first afternoon of playing together they were so excited to be with me. They all want to touch my hair and skin, look at my watch and bracelets, and hold my hand whenever we go anywhere. In the past week, I have played basketball, volleyball, and football (soccer), and gone running with them. I have also shared nearly every meal with them and participated in nightly devotions and daily chores. Breakfast here consists of a couple slices of plain bread and chai (a delicious weak black tea with milk and sugar), lunch is usually rice and either beans or lentils, and dinner is ugali (basically cooked maize; I would compare it to the plain filling of a tamale) and either cabbage or sakuma wiki (a local leafy green vegetable). Occasionally milk is served with dinner, but otherwise no beverage is ever taken with meals, or really throughout the day. Getting used to this has been a great challenge to me, as I am used to drinking nearly a gallon of water daily and eating a great variety of foods and snacking at will. The kids really are teaching me a lot about responsibility, as well as about a faith that keeps them smiling and dreaming despite very difficult circumstances.



My home for the next ten weeks. It is a delightful little hut with a grass roof. There doesn’t seem to be enough room to do much entertaining, but I do have a comfortable bed, electricity, and a shelf to unpack my clothes and books onto. This is the first time in months I have been able to unpack my bags and call a place my own. I love it!


All of the 91 children in the four connected children’s homes here have neither of their biological parents living, and some of them have even come here from living completely on their own with siblings or distant relatives. That is a situation that is unfathomable for most Americans, but it is unfortunately fairly common in Kenya, and most of the rest of Africa. Where they have come from and what they have been through nearly brings me to tears when I think about it. But where they are now and the direction of their lives, especially in light of their pasts, leaves me with a huge smile on my face and in my heart. They all have visions for their lives now, and they see a realistic path to getting there. Kids have told me they want to be astronauts, teachers, members of parliament, musicians, athletes, and parents just like theirs. There are four sets of parents, each with roughly 24 children to take care of. These people may have the biggest hearts of any people I have ever met. I thought they would act more as caretakers with their children, but as I have seen them interact, I have realized that they are literally mothers and fathers, in the truest sense of words, to these kids. The kids here know no other parents, and they now live in a loving home with about 90 brothers and sisters. For me to explain it in words is essentially impossible, so I will just leave it at that.


Me doing some tilling of the huge garden we have here in preparation for the coming rains. I try to get one or two beds tilled each morning while the kids are at school, and then they help me on Saturdays. Once the rains come we will plant all kinds of vegetables that I hope I will get to eat before I leave.


Outside of playing with the kids and spending time getting to know the numerous staff, I have also already gone on an outreach mission to the Baringo District, particularly the village of Ossen. This place is much more isolated from Western culture and aid than is Ilula, and for many of the people, mainly the younger ones, I was their introduction to Mzungus. Can you believe that? They had never seen one of us in person! I felt like I was in a parade every time I was taken somewhere in a vehicle; kids essentially lined the streets and stared, pointed, waved, and yelled, “Mzungu!” Then as soon as I got out of the vehicle and greeted them in Swahili, they literally ran away and screamed. Some brave ones came forward for the standard Kenyan handshake, but most kept their distance from me for a few minutes. I have learned enough Swahili at this point to say hello and ask them how they are doing, what their names are, and where they are from, and then to give them all the same information about myself. Just as people in Central America did, they laugh at my name and my way of speaking. I was also informed while on this outreach that in Kenyan culture only women braid their hair, so everyone I have met since arriving has been very curious as to why in the world I would braid my hair if I am a man. I just tell them that every man in America braids his hair. The purpose of this outreach was to, well to reach out to alcoholics in villages. You see, alcoholism is a very serious problem in developing areas, and Kenya is no exception. There was a group of alcoholics here at the training center when I first arrived that were just finishing their treatment, and I got to spend some time with them to hear their stories and exchange personal questions with them. I was really touched by their courage and their heart for positive change, not only for themselves, but for others in their villages who have the same struggle. At the outreach meetings, I was twice called upon by Mr. Teimuge, Kigen’s father, to give my testimony in front of hundreds of very attentive Kenyans. In comparison with all of their lives, I felt that my own comfortable life could offer no insight or encouragement, but somehow it did. They were so touched and encouraged that an American would want to leave his home to come get to know them. I was thanked up and down by all the elders of the church and village, and all the others that attended. It was truly one of the most touching experiences of my life. I want to try to convey to you all that no matter where you come from or what path your life has taken, you can be a light to someone else, so please listen to, and share with others whenever you get the opportunity.


Mr. Laban Rono, director of the Ilula children’s home, speaking to the congregation at the church in Ossen. This is one of the groups that I spoke to, with a translator, of course.

This week will be a normal week, if that even exists in my life anymore. I will be working with the staff to set up some sort of standard weekly schedule where I will split my time between playing with the kids, helping in the primary school that is also on the grounds, helping the parents in their daily responsibilities, discussing administration of programs with the staff, and helping prepare and plant the gardens. I also will be starting an early morning running program for the kids who are interested and an afterschool strength and agility training program for those who are serious about pursuing sports in high school. To involve everyone in athletics, I will be setting up an Olympics Day for the last weekend I am here. This will be a fun day of competition in many different events for all the children, which will give them a chance to discover which sports or skills they are good at or enjoy. There is a lot to do while I am here, but I am taking it one day at a time and feeling myself settle in a bit more each day. The feeling of isolation has been a challenge, as I am really the only Mzungu for miles and I again didn’t know a soul when I arrived, since Kigen returned back to his home in Nairobi, but all of the people here have been so welcoming and wonderful to me. The kids are teaching me two or three phrases in Swahili each night at dinner, which is helping me to communicate with them better and making all of us more comfortable with each other. Thank you all for your support and interest in my journey, it means more than you know. Please be good to yourselves and everyone around you, and let your life shine for someone else this week.


As you probably know by now, I am completely obsessed with sunrises and sunsets. These are some of my brothers and sisters as we cleaned up the area around our home before dinner last night. They see this every night, so they think it’s ridiculous that I want to take a photo of it; well, they basically think everything I do and say is ridiculous.