The roads in Kenya are enough of trial. Making a road trip can make you love or hate the place forever...or both. There were a couple of things on the agenda on this trip. First was to check up on a feeding program for street kids in Kericho. Second was to buy some art for resale in the US to help cover administrative expenses for the orphanage. And third was to give me a chance to walk in the woods.
Our choice for a hotel in Kericho was about $10 a night. No TV but for that price and as little as there is to watch I couldn't complain. What did take a little getting used to was a toilet with no toilet seat. Sure enough nature called and I had to perch as best I could. I guess as long as you know what's coming it's not so bad.
Breakfast included inviting 20 or so homeless boys to join us. The place actually came through with enough food quite efficiently which would have to qualify as a miracle in these parts. Something very biblical about the poor being invited to feast. It was Bev, my hostess, at her best.
The art part consisted of visiting a home where teen moms are put to work making crafts and clothes where they can take care of their kids. Infants can hang out. Young children have a nursery school next door. The crafts themselves were quite impressive. If transporting things wasn't such a nuisance there were many more things I thought worth bringing back. We also visited a place that combined physical therapy and craft making for Cerebral Palsy patients. Only one patient so far as I could tell and it was way out in the sticks.
After a much nicer stay in Kakamega I took a foray into a forest park with Chris, a Princeton student who speaks very good swahili. (My swahili only produces laughter and confusion). Although both of us are used to hiking independently, having a guide was the way to go and we took a 2-hour loop through the park. Mostly it was all about the trees and some local education programs but we saw some cool monkeys around the main compound. Altogether, it was interesting but I was quite happy to return to the orphanage, my home away from home.