Sorry again for our long silence on the blog – don’t know where the time has gone. Here in Kosele, Christmas came and went without any commercialisation. Having spent two Christmases here, we may find it hard to adjust back to Western excesses and
indulgences!
There was a special Christmas meal for children and staff in the Home – chicken and beef being a real treat where the diet is mostly vegetarian. ‘Sodas’ (Coke, Fanta or Sprite) are always a welcome treat as well.
The church was full on Christmas Day and then people were able to go home and cook with the rice, beans and oil that had been given out to church and community members on Christmas Eve. Also, after the service everyone had a soda and biscuits and sweets. All of these were bought, thanks to the kind donations of our church in Paisley and friends of Hope and Kindness in England. In previous years, a meal has been cooked for 200-300 people, which has been a lot of work for a few people. This year people were in their own homes and because of the amount of food given out I believe many more people benefitted.
We had hoped to go away for a couple of nights between Christmas and New Year but because of events here that was not possible. We may manage to do this by the end of this month.
Six of us were involved in delivering a two-day training seminar on Farming God’s Way last week to a group of people from the church and community. This was repeated for another group this week. The trainees appeared enthusiastic and we are hoping that most of them will put the things they have learned into practice on their own land, and that this will be a small beginning for a transformation of farming in this area, lifting people out of poverty and dependency.
Here it is extremely hot and sticky just now. The rains have totally stopped. Planting will start again towards the end of February – so more rain will be appreciated then. There has been a lot of illness recently in the Home and amongst our neighbours – mostly a mild form of malaria but a few young children have been very ill and we have had to take them to get medical attention quickly.
Last weekend, Ian went to Nyahururu with Kennedy (one of our church leaders) to speak at a one-day Elim regional conference there. It involved most of the day travelling there by matatu (mini-bus) on Friday and the same coming back on Sunday. Ian thought it went alright but it can be hard to tell when everything is being translated. Nyaharuru is very close to the equator but because it is over 7800 feet above sea level, they found it much cooler than here.
The group for young mothers that we started recently has been going well. This week we are learning about dental hygiene, and next week a heavier subject – family planning! One of the young women, whose husband died last year, has had a new baby son. However, one of the twins, the little girl, who was the more severely affected by malnutrition, became very ill and died. The death of a child is never easy – this is the third child we have known here who has died.
The school has started back again and the new Agricultural College has opened. The five pupils who scored highest in their KCPE exams are going away to High School and the others will do the agricultural course – a mixture of academic and practical work - for 2 years and then sit International GCSEs.
All wildlife i.e. termites and bees have now been exterminated from the house. Occasionally we have a visiting frog or cockroach and last night we had a lizard but it didn’t stay long! The new buildings are nearing completion and the children can look forward to moving into their bright spacious classrooms at the end of January.
One of our neighbours and church members came last week looking for help – a “twister” wind had lifted the whole roof off her house and dropped it some 25m away. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the results with my own eyes, as there had been no wind here. We managed to find some “community assistance” funds to help her get it reconstructed.
It is less than six weeks until we return to the UK. We are hoping that the worst of the winter will be over by then! We’re looking forward to seeing family and friends again and catching up with everyone, having a rest, and reacquainting ourselves with some of the food we like – cheese, chicken bhoona and ice cream to name a few!
