We are seventeen individuals traveling in three vans. One additional van had already been dispensed from Nairobi with over 24 large suitcases of donated goods.
Before the stop at the second clinic one of the vans coughed to a halt. The driver made some repairs but they proved to be temporary. Thirty minutes later we had more problems and the van was declared unusable.
Those of us in the van had to move, with our luggage, to one of the other vans. The vans are actually safari vehicles and while they will hold nine passengers, they were not designed to hold much luggage. We had already been on the road for over eight hours and the remaining three was spent being very cozy with our fellow passengers and our luggage.
No one complained. This was all part of the experience. After all it is Africa.
After reaching out hotel in Kitali, we toasted our arrival.
Thursday morning, March 22
Kisima Arrival
Looking back to the gates our three vans had just entered, all the children were there to wave us in.
By the time we were out of the vans they were in position to begin their official greeting. They were perfectly choreographed and rehearsed for their singing and dancing.
It wasn't long before many of us were joining in.
Following the welcome ceremonies which consisted of singing, dancing and poems, we were given a tour of the property.
The kitchen
The cook.
Some of the children from the nearby village attend school and they are served three meals a day along with the children of the orphanage.
With the cook is Martin Simiyu, founder of Kisima, with his young daughter.
Some of the classrooms.
The dorms where of special interest to me because Jerry, Galen, Joy and I funded their construction through our family foundation.
Here is the boy's dorm.
Both dorms.
Sarah and me in front of the girls' dorm.
After our tour we unloaded the vans and went to work.
One group used one of the classrooms to began sorting donated goods.
Pumping up the soccer balls we brought.
The nursing team set up their clinic in another classroom and immediately started seeing the children.
Cement was ordered from town and work was begun installing the playground equipment.
Even the solar energy company arrived to begin installing solar lighting for the classrooms and dorms.
Up to this point the school has only had power from a small generator that was not adequate for general lighting purposes.
Funds for solar lighting were raised by Denise and the installation was arranged by an individual originally from Kenya who now lives in Virginia but still has family and contacts in Nairobi. Having lights, as one can imagine, is a huge step.
First light bulb.
As the day progressed everyone was engaged in one activity or another. In the next post I shall include pictures of some of them.
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