June 13 post

June 13 Post

Today I straddled the northern and southern hemisphere.  We went to the Equator, which is one hour north of Nyeri.  A man demonstrated when in the Northern Hemisphere water empties from a hole in the bottom of a container clockwise, in the Southern Hemisphere counter-clockwise, and at the Equator no spinning at all.  We purchased a few gifts from vendors, but it was extremely stressful – they kept pressuring and didn’t give us space. 

We enjoyed lunch at a café owned by a Brit Nanyuki.  There is a British Base in this town, and the soldiers some of the women talked to were in training and then going to Afghanistan.  I had lasagna, and it was delicious.

After lunch, we visited The Lily Pond, a beautiful art gallery, café, and grounds with a Lily Pond.  It was also owned by a Brit.  It was nice to see another part of Kenya.  There was beautiful scenery and homes on our travels today.

On Sunday, we attended services at the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Africa.  This church is in the slum area of Nyeri, which is the size of large hillside and where 50,000 people live and 75% are children.  Jeffrey, a social worker from the CYEC, invited us to the service and we enjoyed the wonderful singing from both youth and adults.  At the service, a visiting evangelist said his sermon in English and it was interpreted in Swahili.  The church leaders invited us to a traditional African lunch.  He and others have been working in the slum area to try to provide a community of support and to help provide avenues for income.  Sixty percent of the children at the Center are from the slums. 

We then visited the JKUAT show grounds, which is comparable to our Ag Progress Day grounds and experimental gardens/plots.  I say coffee, arrowroot, and cassava plants.  There are banana plants everywhere.  We when back into town to visit Mamma Njeri at her home and purchased handmade jewelry from her and her children.

Sam has been our guide or “babysitter” for the past week and has done a great job leading us to the best placed to visit and purchase goods.  I will miss him and the staff who have been so good to us this past week.  We could not have been treated better. 

Several days ago, we met Caroline, a PSU student, who is staying for a few more weeks to work with the Center.  She has been accompanying us and has been great to be around.   I admire her and the K-States student’s maturity, dedication, and passion.

We are leaving the Center tomorrow and plan to stop at a coffee plantation and nutribusiness (we are purchasing cereal which will be brought back to the Center as a donation from us) on our way to Nairobi.  We are dining at Carnivore, a very famous restaurant, and sightseeing on Wed.  I am so excited to go on the safari on Thurs. and Fri.  Three of the women are leaving late Fri. night, and Andrea, Robin, and I are staying in Nairobi until late Sun. night.  On our way home, we will stop in Brussels for two days. 

Depending on time and availability of internet, this may be my last post.  This past week has provided an experience I never thought I would have had.  It is hard to capture the lessons learned and what this has meant to me in a blog.  As I arrive home and throughout the months and years ahead, I am sure the experiences I’ve had will provide me a different outlook on life.  I do appreciate so much the good like I have.  When I called my mom and dad yesterday, I thanked them for giving me such a good life.

I also need to thank the children at the Center who greeted us with smiles all the time and provided the background sounds I have gotten so used, too.  I will NEVER forget these beautiful children.  They will be forever in my heart, mind, and soul.

Kwaheri (goodbye) from Nyeri.