Friday, July 11, 2008
Day 28 in Kenya
I spent the whole day at . In the morning, I helped clean the kitchen in Baraka and cut veggies (yuck… onions) for cooking. I took pictures, visited the shamba, and got a wheelbarrow ride. Miriam told me that I was heavy and had eaten too many chapatis the night before.
Hekima Place
Karen
Center, where I went to the ATM and also said goodbye to Lisa. Later, I said goodbye to Sr. Uche. We picked up the Karen C girls, and I gave them cookies. Mum Gladys let me finish interviewing her before dinner. We ate supper (githeri). I invited Baraka girls to Amani to dance and listen to music while Maisha watched a movie (”Herbie”).
Ann gave me her CRE notebook today with a letter slipped in it! It was really cool, and I was so happy, because she said she enjoyed our talk last night. She also sat next to me toward the end of supper and helped me finish my githeri. What a sweetheart. She and some other girls listened to my MP3 player and danced. She is getting really good at the “Bop to the Top” dance and singing, too. She even came out of her shell a bit and was dancing it in the open when her peers were in the room.
Mum Gladys let me finish my interview with her today. She shared with me her hopes for —that it will be a place that continues to ensure safety, a home, and primarily education. She explained that educating a girl is an important step in educating society. In addition, staff attempt to do this holistically, making sure the girls have their needs met, including spiritually. They attend their respect religious services—Catholic, Pentecostal, and Anglican (the Anglican Church of Kenya, or ACK). Mum Gladys added that almost all of the children have been mistreated before. As of July 2008, there are 48 girls (including Emma), three uncles, and eleven mums, as well as little Johnny. Emma is in college, but she has not been able to raise enough money for the tuition and may have to take a break (200,000 Kenyan shillings per year?).
Hekima Place
When I asked what I can do, as well as friends and family back in the , Gladys affirmed that help can be given in many ways, several of them not relating to financial assistance. The girls have big sisters who write to them. Visits and friendship are important. They also have sponsors, who do not necessarily write letters, but who support them financially. Many church financial sponsors support as a whole. Individuals and groups have chosen to sponsor big projects, such as the most useful borehole recently put in. (I can speak as a visitor that it truly has made an incredible difference there.) Finally, there are two boards—one in the
United States, to support
Hekima Place
U.S. and one in
Kenya. The Kenyan board serves as the advisory board. The
U.S. board “runs this place,” as Gladys explained, dealing with the financial upkeep and sustainability of this home for girls, averaging about $11,000 per month this year.
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