This past weekend (Oct. 4 and 5) we had our first overnight
excursion for the program. We loaded our van, with our favorite driver Evans,
early Saturday and made our way to Kitui County, where we would be visiting
Nyumbani Village. Some brief background on Nyumbani, before I delve into the
weekend of excitement and amazement.
Nyumbani Village is a one-thousand acre plot of land that
was donated from the Government. It is a community of 100 “grandmas” and 1000 children.
The children are all orphans, many of whom have been impacted by the HIV/AIDS
epidemic, and the “grandmas” are older individuals who have lost children or
grandchildren. At Nyumbani these children are then paired with the
“grandmothers” and given homes. These grandmothers serve was the role models,
and parents to these children and these children are able to help the
grandmothers around the house with chores and other thing. Each group has a
need and that need is met by the other group. Truly a sustainable way of
living. Beyond the home piece of Nyumbani, there are also schools including a
primary, secondary, and high school as well as a technical school where
students are taught trades. During their teaching they use these skills to
create items to be used around the village, or assist in creating pieces for a
new structure. Nyumbani also collects rainwater, and is utilizing solar power,
has a huge farm, and the women there craft (I bought two gorgeous hand-made
baskets and the money goes right to the women who made them, I also bought
honey-yum). They also feature a health clinic which is free to community
members and low cost to those from the surrounding area. This community is
dedicated to sustainable living and better the community around them.
Now, back to the drive. This was our first real time leaving
Nairobi, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Although we hit traffic at first (at
which point motorists started using the shoulder, then the side of the road to
pass), it opened up not too long after. There is a link to pictures at the
bottom of this blog, and you’ll see the first bit being blue. This is not only
because it was especially cloudy, but because I couldn’t help myself from
capturing scenes out the window. From the mountains in the distant, to the
beautiful clouds, to the villages we passed everything was absolutely gorgeous.
The four-and-a-half hours flew by, and we knew we were close when we exited the
road onto nothing but dirt. I, being the cool kid that I am, sat in the back of
the bus and I think I got more airtime on those bumps then I have in my entire
life combined. We arrived at Nyumbani and were greeted with a huge number of
stares and waves – a van of wazungus (mzunugu is the term for a white person,
wazungu is plural) pulling up something was definitely happening. We arrived
and met Maggie, the Volunteer Coordinator who is spending the year at Nyumbani
with Princeton in Africa. We then jumped right into lunch, which was absolutely
delicious. It was rice, and a bean type stew, with greens. So, so, so, so good.
My type of food too. We were then shown to our arrangements for the night:
gorgeous little rooms (brand new, we were the first group to stay there) with
showers and toilets (pit-latrines). We tossed our bags down, lathered up in
sunscreen, and were off for our tour.
We toured around Nyumbani, visiting clusters of homes,
meeting the residents, and then seeing the schools, the greenhouses and the
clinic. When we stopped at the clinic I asked a few questions (any doctors
[no], is there a dispensary here [yes], where does there water come from etc.).
This is when I was given my newest nickname! Victor said I should come and be
the doctor and everyone will ask to see Dr. Peter Wyatt. Dr. Peter Wyatt, I
kind of like the way that sounds! It was incredibly interesting to see this
local health facility, a type of facility we learn so much about in Community
Health. Once our tour was over (and we were thoroughly tired, from the walking
and the sun) we rested briefly then decided we wanted to get out and meet more
of the kids. We made our way towards the main field, and thanks to Sarah Snead
we had a Frisbee! We jumped right in and started playing. Before long, there
were many kids playing and just having a good time. They enjoyed holding our
hands, playing with our cameras, and just hanging out with us. Now, this
scenery was even more breathtaking.
As we are sitting there looking over the field, we see
people playing soccer and Frisbee (the faces are indistinguishable because of
the rolling dust), a few trees, and a sunset with mountains on each side. This
was truly a breathtaking view, and an incredibly special moment. A piece of
scenery I will never forget.
We enjoyed a delicious dinner, amazing conversation, then
grabbed some wood and headed back to our accommodations to start a bit of a
bon-fire. The fire got going and so did we. We all circled up and did “roses,
thrones, and buds”, something good, something bad, and something we were
looking forward to. It was great to hear everyone and have a bit of sharing
time before our fire was extinguished. Although we were all pretty tired we
could help but stay up star-gazing. The moon and stars were like nothing I’d
ever seen. We were miles and miles and miles from the nearest city and nothing
nearby us created significant light pollution. It was absolutely stunning.
Eventually, we headed to bed, I wrestled with shutting the
generator off (well actually Victor finally got it), closed our mosquito nets
and dozed off.
The next morning, Sunday, I awoke earlier than others tossed
on some clothes and went for an early morning walk. This walk was again,
absolutely stellar. It was nearly silent out, no cars, no people, just the
sounds of the birds, the wind, and the rain. Although a bicycle rode by, it was
one of the most peaceful moments of my life.
We eventually worked our way to breakfast, where we chowed
down on some mandazi’s (I’m seriously digging this food!) and then a cohort of
us trekked over to Sunday mass. Mass was conducted in primarily the local
language, but there were bits of English. The music was great, there dancing
was fun, and the large auditorium quickly became standing-room only as nearly
all of Nyumbani was there.
One of the most touching, and admittedly emotional, moments
for me was offering. A few of us walked up to contribute, then I looked around.
Everyone was contributing. Every person in the building walked up and placed
something in the offering basket. Everyone. It was absolutely incredible. This
community, living in what we would consider poverty, was rich in spirit and
gave everything they could back to their
community and church. It was so amazing to see.
After about 2.5 hours we ducked out of the service, rejoined
our group for a little Frisbee and then an early lunch. We waited for the keys
(although Victor ended up breaking the lock) to the basket room and honey room
where we all picked up a few things as both souvenirs and things we can use
here!
This weekend was truly incredible in so many ways, and I
can’t help but be grateful that it fell so close to my birthday. As if these
memory’s weren’t strong enough, this weekend just topped it off.
Pictures: Click Here
Pictures: Click Here
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