Hola!

Hi everyone!

Here I am again. Sorry I haven't write since last Wednesday. I'm in Barcelona right now but I'll try to explain how my lasts days in Kenya were.

On Thirsday morning I woke up early because I went with Mary to the hospital. She wanted me to take pictures there because she got a big parcel form US full of clothes for the new borns. We got there and we went to the matirnity ward with the clothes... We saw beds with two mothers and thier babies... they had to share then bed. And loads of women waiting outside with theirs babies waiting for the check-up...

I went home around 12pm to finish packing and around 1pm we head off to town but it started raining soooo bad... we had to take a taxi to the matatu stage but we were: Lucy, Samuel, Mary, Elizabeth, Liz and I... so 7 on the car with the driver... I went with Lucy to get the tea and she bought loads for me... I told her again I didn't want them to spend that money on me but she just looked at me and said "please"...

So I said goodbye to Mary and Elizabeth and I cried... We got to Nakuru and from there I took another Matatu to Nairobi.

On Friday we wnet to pick up a new volunteer. She's called Vicki and she's from Canada. She stayed for days in an orpahange in Nairobi and we went there to pick her up and to visit the orphanage.

On Saturday morning we woke up early because we had to head off to the airport... :( But something happened... I checked the paper I printed before going to Kenya with the flights times and I was in shock when I saw that the flihgt out was... on the 30th of April???? Ok, I started panicking and Samuel told me to go to the airport anyway. All the way to the airport I was thinking "I'm sure I checked it out before and I saw the 1st...". So when we got to the airport I went to ask to that women at the Virgin Atlantic Desk and when she saw my face she said "please, don't break down!"... We checked and my gflight was for the 1st of May as I supposed... She told me that they changed the day and they sent me an email. Apparently I checked my email, I saw that the flight was on the 1st of May and I forgot to print the new ticket so I had the old one which said that my flight was on the 30th of April...

When I calmed down I had to say goodbye to Samuel and Lucy and that was not easy... Samuel hug me and just walked away... I started crying and Lucy told me that for them I was not a volunteer, I was more than that and they will miss me a lot... Ok... I started crying more then... Then I walked in knowing that my time in Kenya was over :(

The flight from Nairobi to Heathrow was good, I had four seats just for me so I spent most of the way lying down and watching movies and reading "The River Between". In Heathrow I had to wait for two hours so it was't that bad but I felt weird seeing all those mzungus... and I felt weirder on the plane to Barcelona listening to all those mzungus talking in spanish...

My mother, my brother and my sister-in-law were waiting for me in Barcelona... The first thing I told them was "you are so white!".

Now, I'm in Barcelona. I still have no internet at home but I'll try to get once I'm back from Bilbao next week and I promise I'll upload those pictures I told you I was going to upload.

Next post... I'll explain how I'm settleing down here.

Thank you everyone for following my posts and for leaving comments or sending me emails. I think I'll keep writing this blog but just about things related to Chazon as Olivier suggested me :)

Well, I gotta go now, thank you everyone again and we'll keep in touch!

Wednesday

Here I am again!

Today I did something I didn't like... I packed :( Tomorrow morning I'm leaving Molo. The car is not working so we'll have to go by matatu and I'm carriyng two bags... Samuel and Lucy are coming with me though, we have to stop in Nakuru first and then off to Nairobi. Liz is in Molo too and tomorrow she's coming with us so we can stay at her place in Nairobi.

So today I didn't do much. I packed in the morning, I organised few things I wanted to leave here. Then Mary (Lucy's mum), Elizabeth (Lucy's aunt) and Liz (Lucy's sister) came home because we all were having lunch together. I forgot to say that also David (Sam and Lucy's son) and Brian (Susan's son) are here too because they have holidays at school so, counting Robert and Jemima we were 10 at home today.

We all had lunch together because today it was my last day... Then they surprised me with a cake they baked for me and it was delcious!

At night Robert slaughtered my chicken... I was supposed to watch it but... I can jump off a bridge (bungy jumping) and off an airplane (sky diving) but I'm not brave enough to watch someone slaughtering a chicken...

At night we ate it for dinner with delicious chapati that Ann cooked.

I told Lucy that tomorrow on the way to the matatu stage I want to stop and buy the tea I wanted to carry with me but she said that they wanted to buy it for me. That they tried to think about what they could give me as a present to say thank you for everything I've done but they didn't know and they don't have a lot of money right now. I told her that I don't want them to spend their money on me and she insisted that they wanted to buy it for me.

Lucy also says that Jemima is going to really notice that I'm not around anymore and she is sad for her because, actually, lately Jemima has been coming with me a lot, she wants me to hold her, she wants me to feed her and... after three months finally she is able to say my name (well... more or less...). I'll miss her too...

And that's all. I don't know if I'll be able to write again, maybe on Friday from Nairobi but I'm not sure because I want to meet another volunteer that is coming to Molo to spend one month.

As I said yesterday I'll try to upload pictures when I'm in Barcelona and, if I can't update the blog in Nairobi, I'll write another post from home explaining my lasts days in Kenya.

I can't believe this is coming to an end. I remember the day I arrived in Nairobi and how I struggled at the beginning. So many things have happened during these three months here. I can say that my three months here have been one of the most special, intens and amazing three months of my life.

But I'm starting a new adventure now, I'm going back to Spain after 6 years away... and I know it won't be easy. I'm sad because I'm leaving Kenya but I'm also excited of starting a new life and carry on with all the projects I have in mind.

The kids at the centre have fulfilled me with the energy I was lacking of during my lasts days in Ireland. I know that that energy will help me to start my new life in Spain but I know I will continue working with Chazon from the distance. I'm happy I came here. I'm happy I found Chazon. This is a real and genuine place to volunteer in. There are no NGO's or organitations behind, just Samuel and Lucy, two wonderful people I never thought I could come across. But they exist, they are not rich in money but they are rich in kindness. They love those kids and, I can guarantee, the kids love them... and how not to?!

From here I want to thank Samuel and Lucy for the amazing work they are doing and for letting me be part of it and part of their family.

Asante sana!

Tuesday

Today it's been a very interesting day.

We decided that we were going to go to the streets to look for street kids and to try to take some of them to the centre.

We went near the matatu stage were I usually meet the kids. We saw big boys sniffing glue and one kid. Samuel started talking with the big boys but Lucy talked to the kid. Samuel told the big boys that we were willing to take the kids to the school so if they had little brothers they should let them know so they could come to Chazon and they won't have the same life they are having. One of the big boys went to look for the kids that usually are around and after few minutes some of them came over.

Lucy talked to them and we realised that some wanted to go to school. There were four of them: Brian and his brother Geoffrey, Thomas and David Chege.

Brian took us to his house, there we met their mother. The house was extremely small. The mother told us that they had no job and that they couldn't take the kids to school because they have to pay 700 ksh to register them and then they have to buy the uniform, the notebooks, pencils, etc and they don't have the money. They are also not able to feed them so that's the reason the kids went to the streets and they slept there... Sam and Lucy told her that if they really wanted to go to school she should take them on Monday to Chazon to start, that they don't have to pay anything, the uniform, notebooks, pencils, etc are free of charge and they provide them with one meal and porridge in the morning. The only thing that they were asking for is that the kids are always clean and that she makes sure that they don't go to the streets and they don't sniff glue. She agreed.

Then Thomas took us to his house. He lives with his grandmother, there is no father and the mother left him. He told Lucy that he really wanted to go to school. When we got to his house the grandmother was not around so we took to the neighbour and she agreed that she will tell the grandmother to take Thomas to Chazon on Monday. I really liked Thomas, I noticed that he really wanted to go to school. His clothes were all ragged and dirty and he had no shoes. He had no english but he kept smiling at me and walking near me. His house was another small room. The grandmother also looks after another grandson because the father died...

We left them there and we were just left with David Chege. We talked to him and he really wanted to go to school but he said that his mother stays in Turi, another village near Molo, the father dies and he has 7 siblings. As we don't have the orphanage yet it's very difficult to take kids that have no guardians in Molo because even if he comes to Chazon then he has no place to stay at night. He told us that he was sleeping in the streets in Molo because Molo is a bigger town and the probability of getting food is bigger than in Turi.

Lucy had to go as she had a meeting with some women and as David was with us for the whole day we decided to go to a restaurant and buy chiken and chips for him. While he was eating Samuel told me that we could try something... He told David to go to Turi and to come back on Sunday with his mother so they can meet and talk. If he is willing to go to school and the mother agrees we could look for a guardian for him in Molo. He agreed.

Unfortunately I won't be here on Sunday or on Monday to see those kids going to Chazon but I'm happy we got to take four street kids off the streets. Well... we still have to wait until Monday to see if they are really interested but I hope they will be.

Tomorrow is my last day in Molo as I'm leaving on Thursday to Nairobi, I'll spend Friday there and on Saturday I'll leave.

I'll try to write again but I don't know if I'll have the time before leaving. Otherwise, I promise I'll upload pictures from Barcelona. I'd love you to see the kids I visited and the kids of the streets.

I'm not saying goodbye yet because I hope I'll find the time to write another post again.

So... tuonane baadaye!

Monday

Today it's Tuesday, but I want to explain but I did yesterday. I'll explain in another post what I've been doing today.

Yesterday Samuel, Lucy and I woke up early because we went to Nakuru.

On the way to the matatu stage we met again the street kids, when they saw me they run towards me very happy and asked me to buy bread for them. I realised that some of them were sniffing glue so I told them I was not buying bread for them because they know I don't like they sniff glue so they throw it away. I bought them bread... but I'm sure that after the bread they most likely went to get more glue...

We went to visit Melon in Nakuru, the other orphanage. Then we met Alfie and we went to see Chelsea to New Life, the orphanage were she is volunteering. New Life was opened by two danish and the facilities they have there are amazing. Chelsea showed us around and we got some ideas for our future orphanage... There was a women crisis centre too and Lucy loved it!

Then sam and Lucy had to go to do some personal stuff and I had lunch with Alfie and Chelsea. Then we wanted to go to the slums in Nakuru but it started raining and we couldn't.

We went to Chelsea's place and after cahtting I had to say goodbye. It was hard again. Chelsea and Alfie have been my only mzungu friends and the ones that could really understand me here. I'm very happy I met them and they came to Molo. Chelsea is leaving on Saturday too but Alfie still has some weeks left and he probably will spend one in Molo :)

When I got to Molo I was walking home and I saw two kids runing towards me. They were Philip and Vivian! They came and hug me and hold my hand. I was so happy to see them! I walked with them and with their mother few meters but then I had to take a different route and the kids didn't release my hands... They are so cute!

Sunday

I'm going to try not to write another long post, specially because I wrote one yesterday and I don't have that many thing to explain.

Today I went to church.

I wanted to go to Samuel and Lucy's church to say goodbye. Even though they are the Pastors of a Pentecostal church, they have been very respectful with me and very understanding when I told them that I'm not a religious person therefore I don't go to church.

Every Sunday they left me at home or in town, they headed to church and I headed to other places. But today I wanted to go because I know almost all the people of their church and I thought it was good to go to say goodbye.

But before I went to Joseph's church. His family belong to an African religion and I though it would be interesting to go and see what they do. And it actually was! Africans a veeeery religious and some of them don't understand that I'm not but they were very understanding too when I told them I wanted to be there as a cultural experience.

Their church is a very small room with no pictures or anything hanging on the walls. They don't have chairs, they sit on the floor, men on one side and women on the other side. They sing and dance very energetically clapping their hands and using drums. I said few words to all of them and then I went to Sam and Lucy's church. When they finished I was invited to say few words so I walked to the altar and I started talking. It was not easy. I had to say goodbye and I started crying a little bit again... Samuel finished the service with a beautiful speech. He said that it's not easy to say goodbye to someone you love and that for them I have become their first daughter.

Then we all walked to town and I carried Jemima the african way, hanging on my back.

We went to visit a woman that had a baby a week ago. We brought her a pacifier and a feeding bottle that I brought from Spain. They gave us a lot of food again... Poatoes with cabbages and chapati... I'm putting on so much weight just in this last week... On the way back home we met Erick that was going home. I was so happy to see him :)

Visiting my kids

As I said on my previous post... time really goes fast. Just 6 days to go now.

I've been very busy again... My schedule for this week is very tight.

On Thursday I went to visit Nancy. Nancy is in class 1, she's 7 years old but she looks like she is 4. She lives with her aunt as her mother died when she was 3 and they were abandoned by the father. She was not properly fed for some years so that's the reason she looks that young. The aunt has two other kids and, again, there is no father around... They live in a very small house made of wood with no electricity. The aunt had another sister that also passed away leaving John Njoroge, one of the pupils in class 7, orphan. John and Nancy are cousins and both orphans of different parents. John lives with his grandmother and he helps her in the small shop she has when he's not at school and that's where we found him on the way to Nancy's house.

Nancy is a sweet girl. She likes playing with me and she similes and laugh all the time but the situation for them is very difficult as the aunt has no job and she has other two kids... But even though they have nothing they always cook something for me. The day before, on Wednesday, I went to visit Damaris. She is one of the cooks at the centre and she kept telling me to go and visit her house and finally I went with Lucy. She has 4 kids, they live in a very small house with again no electricity and the husband has no job. Damaris is happy because she works at the centre but Samuel and Lucy can't offer her a big salary so she and her family try ti survive with the little she gets form the centre. Well, so we arrived to her house and she was cooking lunch for us. She gave me a big plate of lentils and another plate with chicken. I know they don't usually eat chicken but they got one because I was coming to visit them and, again, I can't refuse the meal even though maybe there is no chicken for the rest of the family.

At Nancy's place her aunt cooked a big plate of rice and potatoes.

The following day, Friday, I had to say goodbye to Erick, my kid. They are five: Peter the father, Lucy the mother, Loise the daughter, Manasseh the son and now Eric who they took from the streets. We went to visit them to their house. They live in a very small and dark house with no electricity. When their house was burned during the clashes they were given a tent to live in but luckily they found this small house where they live now. They had no jobs, two kids and they decided to look after Erick. People told them that they were crazy, that they should leave Erick in the streets... but they didn't. Now the mother bakes some cakes at home and the father tries to sell them to the shops to get some money but it's not easy...

I talked a lot with the father and I played with the kids and, obviously, we were offered loads of food again: cakes, chapati, potatoes and cabbages...

Then I had to say bye to them. Erick doesn't really speak English so I think he doesn't really understand what was going on. I said goodbye to him but I think he thought he was going to see me again soon... maybe it's better this way.

Then we went to see Sylvia. She is another mzungu and she has a nice house in Molo. She's friends with Lucy and Samuel and she's supporting a lot of people. She was very welcoming and I promised I will visit her again when I'll come back.

Today I went with Samuel and Lucy to Moses' and Mary's house. I talked about them in a previous post. They were abandoned by their mother for a week. When we got there the mother was not at home and Moses was in the forest looking for wood. So we found Mary with her sister Faith who is 9 years old and the brother Kelvin who is 5 and still doesn't go to school. They were at home alone and they didn't know if the mother was going to be back soon. We asked Faith who looked after them when the mother was gone and she said that Moses was the one looking after them, the problem is that when Moses, Faith and Mary were in school, kelvin was left alone for the whole day...

We asked them if they had anything to eat that morning and they said no. We asked if they had any food to eat and they said no so I went to the shop and I bought some bread. They eat it in 2 seconds, they were starving. We left and we didn't meet Moses because he was not back from the forest yet but we met the mother on the way back, we asked her about the older daughter that was not around. She told us she is in a boarding school in Meru because some relative is sponsoring her. Samuel asked her for the phone number of that relative to check that out...

Then on the way to town we stopped at David Maina's. This is another tough story. David, his brother Peter who is in class 5 and John Gichuki who was in class 7 (he went back to the streets) live with their grandmother. Their parents died because of AIDS. Then another son of the grandmother died too leaving three kids that the same grandmother is looking after too and, if that's not enough, another son had two kids, Nicholas and Jane both in class 1, but he went into drugs and left them with the grandmother. So, this grandmother looks after 8 kids all by herself. I met her today, I liked her so much. She is a hard worker. We couldn't comunicate because she doesn't speak english but I enjoyed looking at her talking and laughing with Samuel and Lucy. Guess what? Yes, they cooked loads of rice and potatoes for us.

When you see the kids at the centre you see them all with the same uniform and you don't really realise about their tough lives. You just hear the stories that Lucy tells you but when you visit them in their houses... That's tough. It's so frustrating to see the way the live and you can't help them all! It's so unfair ! They are just kids!

After visiting all those kids I really see the need of having that hotel and my mind just thinks for the whole day in how fundraising money to buy it.

Oh, by the way, there is this website www.idealistas.org about volunteering and there was a contest where volunteers could send their experiences as a volunteer. Ok, I sent mine, I talked about Chazon, about Samuel and Lucy, about Molo, about the kids and... yes! I won! I got an email today saying that they were choosing a winner for every country and my experience is going to represent Spain. They will publish it on their website. I understood that I was getting a prize too, money or material for the centre but I'm not sure though, I'll see what they tell me. It will be good for the centre!

I'm also getting loads of emails of people interested in coming to Chazon. I wrote about my experience in two websites and now people are very interested and they send emails inquiring. That's the way I have got two volunteers from Barcelona, they are coming in July :)

Farewell Chazon :'(

Today it's been a sad day.

Today I had to say goodbye to the kids at the centre because they have finished their tuition and they are not going back to school until the 4th of May (I won't be here).

So I went class by class saying goodbye. I started with class 7 and I finished with class 1. I did well with class 7 but when I got to class 6 and I saw this boy, David Maina crying... I could feel my eyes filling up with tears. David Maina is a very bright boy, he's always the number one at class and he's such a nice kid. His parents died because of AIDS and his aunt after the clashes so he lives with his siblings and orphan cousins with their grandmother. Four of them are at the centre, they were actually five before but one of the went back to the streets... When Pili arrived to Molo she brought clothes to donate and we gave them some of them as they are really in need.

So, I saw him crying and my heart broke. Then I went to class 5, class 4... and when I got to class 3 I was already crying. Lucy didn't want to come with me class by class because she said she didn't want to see the sad faces of the kids, and Samuel was busy working on the new latrines with Alfie. Some of the kids were asking me: "So you go back to Spain but after a week you come back?", "You go home because you miss your mum?", "So you are leaving us?" Some of them were looking down with sad faces. I've been the first one staying for so long with them but I know that other volunteers will come soon and they will show them new games and the kids will enjoy them.

I spent last weekend in Nakuru with Susan, it was a good one. And then on Sunday I went back to Molo with Chelsea and Alfie. They spent two days with us and at the beginning I didn't know if they were going to like it here because they are more used to Nakuru, a bigger town where there are more mzungus but in fact... they loved it here. They were amazed with what Lucy and Samuel are doing. Chelsea is leaving the 1st of May too but Alfie said that he will come to spend a week here for sure, now he's going somewhere near mount Kenya but he has to spend his last two weeks in Nakuru and he wants to come here.

After saying goodbye to the kids we went to visit Philip and Vivian to their house, they are in nursery so they haven't been coming for tuition. I don't know if I told you about them... They are 3 or 4 years old and they were found abandoned in a cave. The man that found them decided to look after them even though they are extremely poor but now they both, the husband and the wife, have AIDS so no one is hiring them and they are quite weak. We went to their house. A house made of mud and no electricity and they offered us tea. I was happy to see Vivian and Philip, they are so cute! They gave me a big chicken as a present (a chicken alive) which I couldn't hold because I fear animals but Chelsea did it on my behalf. Samuel told me that among the luhyas (the tribe they belong to) giving a chicken as a present is a very precious gift, it's an honor so I really felt honored and touched. I would have loved them to keep the chicken so they have food but Lucy told me that I couldn't reject it and I understood. I really wish I can find someone to sponsor Vivian and Philip. And I also wish Sam and Lucy can buy that hotel so they have a house where the kids can stay because Vivian and Philip are very young kids and the parents are very sick so no one knows what is going to happen with them when the parents are gone...

Philip usually is very serious, Vivian is the one that talks and talks, but when we were leaving the house he hug me first and then he hold my hand and he walked out with me until we got in the matatu and then he ran behind the matatu saying goodbye while we were leaving...

Then we went to the matatu stage as Chelsea and Alfie were going back to Nakuru but we have decided that I'll go back to Nakuru one day next week so we can say goodbye. I cried again...

When I was coming back from the matatu stage with Lucy, I met this street kid. Every time that I walk near that area he comes to me and says that he's hungry. I bought him bread sometimes and I tried to find out about him but he doesn't speak English so today we found him again I bought bread and milk for him and Lucy talked to him. He told her that he's 12 and he left school in class 2 and he spends the day in the streets begging for food. He has some relatives but they don't look after him. Lucy asked him if he wanted to go to school and he said yes so he told him to go to Chazon in May so they can talk if he's really interested.

From tomorrow, I have just 9 days left here and I plan to visit Erick's, Moses's, etc... I'm going to have a busy 9 days left so time is going to fly... I know... even though... let's see if that volcano let me go back the day I have to go back.

Visiting my mzungu friends

Hiya!

My time here is coming to an end... And I'm so sad... I just have 15 days left here and the kids, my family here and I are starting to realize that I'm leaving soon and we don't want to talk about it.

Lucy says I'm so part of the family and I feel so comfortable here that I don't really feel like going back. I was even thinking of extending my time here but then my time to go will arrive at some stage and I'll find it difficult again and I will like to stay so I have decided that I'm leaving the 1st of May as it was planned.

I went yesterday to Nakuru to meet Chelsea and Alfie, my two mzungu friends. Chelsea is from California and she is volunteering in an orphanage in Nakuru and Alfie is form UK and he's volunteering in different orphanages as he is in a building program. We met at the safari and we decided to have a "safari reunion" yesterday so the three of us took the day off and we had lunch together.

It's good to meet other volunteers here so you can talk to someone about your experience, your fustrations, your achievements to someone that is doing the same you are doing and can understand you. Like me, Chelsea and Alfie came here alone and they struggled a lot at the beginning. Alfie is actually still struggling and I told him that I took between three weeks and a month to adapt here, that I was also not sure if I was going to make it here the three months by myself but I had to give me time and by now I'm so adapted that I don't want to leave. He is also quite disappointed with his program, he came with i-to-i and he's not happy at all so I have invited them to come for two days to Molo and they are coming on Sunday until Tuesday.
I'm going this Friday to Nakuru to spend the weekend at Susan's again, I'm looking forward to it cause last time I had such a good time!

Today I cooked Samosas. Ann has tought me and I have to say that they turned up quite well... they were so tasty! :) Ann is a very good cook and very good teacher. I don't know if I have told you about Ann before. She looks after Jemima when Sam and Lucy are at the centre. She used to work with them at the restaurant as a cook but when they decided to close it down they offered her to look after Jemima at home. She's such a nice woman. She does the laundry too and if she finds any coin in your pocket she leaves it your my bed so you can find it when I'm back from the centre. She never asked me for anything. Every morning when I wake up she is already at home and she always wishes me a good day with a big smile on her face when I leave to the centre.

Ann had such a difficult life. She is a single mother as the husband abandoned her. She has two kids at the centre, Sami in class 7 and Brian in nursery. Well, actually Brian is not her son, he's her grandson... Ann's daughter got pregnant when she was 14... Ann was the one looking after the baby. Then the daughter got a job as a housekeeper in Nairobi but the man of the family she worked for rapped her and she got pregnant again and... fired. Ann struggles a lot with money and everything she gets she spends it in Sami and Brian.

Ann has also a problem with her eyes, one of her eyes is completaly blind and the other one is weak... I took her to the doctor too, she got some drops and new glasses. We went to have food after visiting the doctor and I bought chiken with fries for her. She ate the fries and she asked the waiter to put the chiken in a bag to take it home with her telling me that she was full just with the fries and that she will eat the chicken for dinner at home. I looked at her, I smiled and I said "that's ok" knowing that she was bringing the chicken to Brian because she can't afford to buy chicken for him.

Oh, I didn't want this post to be a long one but when I start writing I can't stop...

Ok, that's all for today. Oh! I got two volunteers for July! I'm so happy! They are from Barcelona so I'll meet them when I'm back and they will stay for one month :)

Home sweet home!

Hi everyone!

Here I am, back in Molo after my holidays in Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Mombasa.

It was good to visit all those places but I'm very happy to be back in Molo. I told you I was going to spend two weeks in another orphanage in Nakuru, well... at the end I'm not going as the director of that orphanage is in hospital and it's not a good moment to receive volunteers... Although I'll go to visit the orphanage for a couple of days.

It's quite sad I can't go to the other orphanage but, to be honest, I'm very happy to be here again and to see my kids. I missed them so much! And I'm also happy because they told me that the only ones that were going to go to tuition after the school closes were class 4, 5, 6 and 7 but at the end they decided to have class 1, 2 and 3 too so I'm actually seeing nearly all of the kids (except the ones in nursery).

I came back to Molo the 4th, after Pili left. On the 6th I took the three kids again to the doctor. Erick doesn't need glasses, he was given some drops to clear the conjunctivitis. Babu has to wear glasses and Joseph has to continue his treatment for three months. The doctor said that Joseph's eyes are improving and he actually got to read more letters on that board.

Pili brought some eye drops with her from Spain and I showed them to the doctor, Joseph can use one of them and Erick another one. Then for Babu, Pili brought some glasses so we could use the frame and at the end we just had to pay for the glass (we saved loads of money!)

When we got to Molo I walked home with Joseph and Erick and suddenly some street children came over to ask me for money (usually they spend that money to buy glue to sniff...), so obviously I didn't give them any money I prefer to give them bread or something to eat. Well, when the kids approached me, Erick run away and hide, he was so scared. When he was a street kid he got beaten by the other street kids many times. I went after him and he hold my hand and I told him not to worry anymore... I really felt it for him.

On Wednesday I arrived to the centre and when the kids saw me they starting calling my name out and they run towards me to hug me! They were very happy to see me and I was very happy to see them too! Tuition starts at 9am and finishes at 12:30pm and then we all walk home together... It's quite a long way, 3 km to town and one from town to home but I like walking with the kids around. Erick walks with me holding my hand during the 2 km.

And more good news! On Wednesday I decided to write about my experience here in two different websites. One is a forum for travellers and another one is a website were you can search for jobs or volunteering oportunities. Well... I have recieved 15 emails from different people telling me that they have read my post and checked the website and they love it and they would like to come to volunteer here! Samuel, Lucy and I are very happy! I feel so good knowing that poeple feel encoureged to come to Molo after reading my posts and after checking the website.

Tomorrow is Saturday and I'm cooking chapati with Lucy again, she says I'm becoming a real african woman. Booking a flight from Mombasa to Nairobi they charged me as a resident :) I like the feeling of knowing that I've already made this place and this country mine. I travel around as I am another kenyan. I go shopping in Molo and the people in the shops know me and greet me by my name.

Lucy says that she would love me to be here when the other volunteers come so I can show them around, I would also love it too but I think this is not going to be possible... I have to go back :(

Well, I'm already thinking about my last days here and I still have three weeks to go... I better enjoy them instead of feeling sad because this is coming to an end.

Oh, by the way, did you check this out? http://www.chazonafrica.org/onTheSTREET.html The stories and the photos are mine! (well, Daniel corrected the mistakes I had when I was writing the stories). He still has to upload some stories and pictures though. It was a tough day the one I was interviewing the kids and the guardians... At the end of the day, after listening to their stories I couldn't help but cry...

I was checking now the picture of Moses and Mary... The other day I was at the centre and at lunch time sometimes I give my plate to one of the kids that just have that meal a day and I gave it to Mary. Lucy looked at her and she asked her why her hair looked so bad and she told her that her mum left the house 3 days ago and they didn't know where she was. Lucy called Moses to ask him if that was true and he nodded looking down because of embarrassement. Lucy asked him if they had food at home and he said that they didn't eat breakfast nor dinner since Sunday... and that their little brother was left at home alone... We bought food for them after school and Lucy told us that the neighbours were going to look after them meanwhile... Some Sundays Moses shows up at Samuels and Lucy's. He doesn't say anything but when Samuel and Lucy see him they know that he's there because he didn't have anything to eat since Friday... Samuel always tell him not to go to the streets begging for food, that he has to go to their house if he's hungry but sometimes you can find him walking alone in the streets looking for food.

It's so sad. When we see these cases we wish we could have that hotel to turn it into an orphanage so the kids can stay there safely.

Moses is the first student in his class, he's so bright! I whish thing will go better for him and his family because he could be someone when he grows up.

One month left...

Jambo again!

Here we are in Ukunda, the town in Diani beach. It's so hot here. I just sweat and sweat and sweat...

Finally I rang Olivier yesterday to tell him that I was around and I was going to Diani and he invited us to his house. He is renting a house inside his friend's, Pepo, resort. We accept the invitation and the next morning the same taxi driver takes us there. The resort is just in front of the beach and it has a swimming pool... :) The house is very nice and I think I'm living in "Out of Africa" (Memorias de Africa) movie.

I like it here but it's so diffrenet from the reality I have been living in Molo. Diani is full of mzungus spending their holidays in the beach. Pepo has lived here for 25 years, he's from Barcelona and when he tells me about his life while we sit on one of the hamacs of the hotels looking at the turquoise Idian Ocean I think I'm in one of the Mikimoto's episodes of Afers Exteriors or of Espanoles por el Mundo. I'm happy because I got to see how the mzungus live in Kenya and it's so different of the african life.

Olivier is very nice to us. We are leaving Mombasa tomorrow though, we are going to Nairobi as Pili leaves on the 4th and then I'll go back to Molo, I'll take Joseph to the doctor again and then I'll spend two weeks in Nakuru.

Today is the 1st of April. I have one month left as I'll be back in Barcelona the 1st of May. I don't want to think about it... I don't want to go back... It's been very difficult at the beginning to adapt as the culture is very different but now I'm so used to everything and I like it so much! Life here is so different and, even though is not easy sometimes being a mzungu because the kenyans think you are rich and some of them keep bothering you asking for money or telling you to buy stuff from their shops... I love it here!

Oh, by the way, I didn't tell you that Pili was about to sell me for few cows to a Masai! She says the Masai like me, we don't know why, I think it's because I'm tall. But don't worry, I'm not going to become the second white Masai.

Well, time to go to the beach now... I'm literally melting here...

Sawa!

Melting in Mombasa...

Jambo!

Here I am in Mombasa with my friend Pili that arrived 9 days ago. It's so hot here and so humid. I arrived this morning by train after spending three days in the Masai Mara with the lions, zebras, giraffes, etc. I met more mzungus there... I'm used to see just black people around and now, when I see white people, I do exactly the same they do to me, I stare at them.

Before leaving Molo, Pili and I organised a "gincama" with the kids at school (some activities that take place all at the same time played by different groups...). They had so much fun. At the end there was a ceremony were the kids danced and sang for us.

The mzungus I met in the safari were very nice and as some of them are staying in Nakuru, because thy are volunteering too, we exchanged numbers and we'll meet up again.

After the safari we went to Nairobi to take the night traing to Mombasa. There we met three guys from Barcelona and it was nice to spend the whole trip talking in catalan.

Once we arrived to Mombasa we took a taxi that took us to the hostel we booked. The taxi driver told us that this hostel is not very good and that he knows better places. We think that he just wants our money but when I tell him we are from Spain he tells me that a friend of him is from Spain and he has a hotel in Diani. I asked him the name and he tells me Olivier!!! I met Olivier in Ireland before coming to Kenya. He was working in VMware Switzerland I think and he left VMware to come to Kenya. I can't believe it and the taxi driver calls him and it's true!

After checking the hostel we decide to go to Diani then but the owner of the hostel tells us that she is going to charge us one night so we decide to spend the night here and tomorrow the taxi driver will take us to Diani with Olivier.

I got an email from the pharmaceutical company in Barcelona ad they are going to send us the eye medications to Molo for free!!! The courier is paying for the expenses! I can't believe it! I'm so happy.

We have put some stories of the kids on the website. I did the interviews and took the pictures, Daniel did the rest (the hard work obviously). have a look at it! http://www.chazonafrica.org/onTheSTREET.html

Well, I gotta go now.

Tuonane!

Erick

Sasa! It's been a while I wanted to update the blog but I didn't find the time. I've been very busy again and I wanted to finish some stuff I was doing before Pili arrived.

She is here. She arrived last Saturday. I went to Nairobi to pick her up, we spent the night at Elizabeth's place and then on Sunday we went to Molo. She is spending just four days in Molo and then on Friday we go to Masai Mara, lake Nakuru and Mombasa. She'll go back to Spain on the 4th of April and then I'll go to another orphanage in Nakuru for two weeks and after that I'll spend my last two weeks in Molo. I don't even want to think about my last day here... Next week the centre closes for the Easter holidays for a month and the kids in nursery, class 1, class 2 and class 3 won't go back until May (I won't be here), so tomorrow it will be the last day I spend with them at the centre... :'( The upper classes will keep going to the centre so I'll see them. We are having a party tomorrow at the centre because of the launching of the website so Pili and I have organised loads of different games and activities for the kids.

During the last two weeks in Molo I'll go to visit the kids to their houses but, there are so many that I don't think I'll get to see all of them.

But there is one in particular I will go to visit for sure and that is Erick (the one in the picture with me). I have decided that I'm going to sponsor him once I'm back in Spain. I just felt in love with him. He's such a nice kid and he always tries to be near me.

In 2007 when the clashes arrived in Molo, Erick's mother and brothers run away leaving him behind. He was 5 at that time and he had to sleep in the streets and eat whatever he could find. He used to sleep near a church until the Pastor of the church saw him and started feeding him and finally, after a lot of difficulties, he and his wife adopted him. The Pastor also had two kids that became friends with Erick but they struggled a lot economically and Samuel and Lucy decided to take him in the centre even though the whole family is still struggling a lot.

Everyday Erick comes to say hi to me and when I play with the kids he's always there near me and holding my hand. He says thank you to me every time that I help him in class and he's very obedient and polite. He's become very found of me and I'm also very found of him.

With Lucy and Samuel we are trying to organise the sponsoring of a kid and the international donations... Sponsoring a child will be just 15 euros per month and some extra money once a year to buy the uniform of the kid. There is another option of giving a monthly donation of 15 euros a month that will go to the centre for food, text books, etc. And there is also the option of giving a one time donation. We are still organising it but... if you ever thought of sponsoring a child or giving a donation to a NGO... think about us! :)

As you see everything is going well here. Sometimes it's tough but I really enjoy playing with the kids at the centre. Today Pili and I played with bubbles and the kids went crazy.

Lucy's family have accepted me in their tribe, I'm a kikuyu and they gave me a kikuyu name: Njoki. Pili today got hers: Wanjiru.

And that's all for today. I hope there is still people following my blog as I don't see the same amount of posts I had with the first ones...

Well, time to go to sleep here.

Lala salama!
Kwaheri!

I took the kids to the eye clinic in Nakuru

Habari!

Today I took the kids to the eye clinic in Nakuru. When we went to the doctor in Molo he told me to take two of them to the eye clinic. Erick and Joseph. This time I'm also taking Babu (I didn't take him the first time because his eyes look fine but I realized that he struggles a lot to know what's written on the blackboard so I think that he must need glasses.

I'm not worried about Erick, he doesn't look that bad either. He says that his eyes are soar sometimes but not itchy so the doctor in Molo told me to take him to Nakuru too just in case and because he doesn't know what's wrong with him.

We went to Nakuru then and it was a looong and tiring day.

We got to Nakuru around 9:30 am and in the hospital we took a while to find the eye department... We waited there for a while. They made the three kids read those letters on a board that go smaller every line. I realized that the three of them had problems to read the small ones but Joseph couldn't even read the second line...

Then the doctor visited them and he said that Babu and Erick must need glasses but they have to come back next month for the results. When they saw Joseph... they were more worried.

They tried to check his eyes with a machine but they said that the infection he has is so sever that the machine couldn't read them. So he has to use two different kind of drops to clear the infection first and next month we go back with him again. The doctor say he has no trachoma but he has a very bad infection that started with an allergy and if it doesn't get treated he can go blind.

I went to the pharmacy to buy the drops and I understand why his family can't pay the treatment... I paid 850 ksh (8 euros) and that's extremely expensive for a Kenyan! His family can't afford it!

Anyway, we'll go to the doctor next month. Let's see what they say...

We went to have lunch and we went to one of these restaurants that they call "hotel". I ordered chicken for everyone. Lucy told me that those kids very rarely eat chicken. They were very happy, Erick nearly ate the bones! I also bought them ice-cream, they deserved it as they did so well in the doctor!

And that's all. Now we have to wait until next month. It's unbelievable how some things are so expensive here. Robert, Lucy's cousin, just finished his secondary school and he passed his exams with a grade that allows him to go to college or university. He wants to study nursing. Well, the public nursing college in Kenya costs around 60.000 ksh per semestre! (1200 euros per year!!!). He really wants to study this and he is a very good boy but his mother doesn't even know how she's going to pay for it. That's a lot of money! The salaries here are very low. A teacher earns around 4000 ksh a month (40 euros...), how a person with that salary can pay a college or a university!!! As Lucy told me just the wealthy ones can afford it and they are the ones that go to college or university and then you can have a very bright kid that comes from a poor family that really wants to study but he can't because it's impossible for him or his family to pay the fees. It's so unfair!!!

I'm staying this week at Mary's (Lucy's mum). She wanted me to spend one week with her and Elizabeth (Robert's mum). They are so nice. They are feeding me a lot. I tell them that they want to eat me at the end of my three months because I'm actually putting on weight! I eat a lot of potatoes and I'm not used to eat that many potatoes... I hope I will fit in the dress I already have for the wedding I have in May...

Oh, as you saw on the previous blog... the website for the centre is live! It was launched last week and we are all sooooo happy! Daniel (another American volunteer that was here last summer) did a great job. Check it out please: www.chazonafrica.org

There are still few things to work in but it's nearly done! Click on " Volunteer" :)

I'm going to Nairobi on Sunday as my friend Pili is coming!!!! She'll stay 4 days in Molo and then we'll go to explore the country! Then on the 4th I'll go back to work in Molo or maybe I'll go to another orphanage for two weeks in Nakuru and then I'll go back to Molo.

Well, enough for today. Hope you are all fine! Half of my time here is gone... time flies!

Mooore pics! :)

With teacher Duncan at Tayari school

Cooking chapati with Lucy

With Joseph, Ann and Jemima

Inside the cave in Nakuru

At the crater in Nakuru with Susan

Quick and short post...

Please, check this out:

www.chazonafrica.org

Jordi, Marta... do you recognize yourselves in some of the pics???

Daniel, you are the best!!!

:)

And it keeps raining...

Ok, I know that for an African the rain is good and they are happy when it rains but... for a person that has lived for 5 years and a half in a country where it rains everyday (Ireland) I would like to have hot and sunny days...
Lately it's been raining every day here in Molo and it's quite chilly... It specially rains in the evenings then in the mornings it's all muddy and we are also having these blackouts... this is Africa!
I took the kids to the doctor here in Molo. The doctor gave me, again, the same eye-drops but he also saw that there were some severe cases and he told me that I had to take the kids to the eye clinic in Nakuru. I'm going to try to take them next week.
I have also contacted a pharmaceutical company in Barcelona and they are willing to send me some medications for the kids free of charge! But I really need to take Joseph to the doctor. He is not at the centre but his two sisters are. He is my neighbor and I always find him every day waiting for me to arrive home after school so he can play with me. We usually draw together or we make airplanes, ships or hats with papers. He is 7 years old and his eyes look pretty bad... The doctor told me to take him to Nakuru . I hope I can help him, he's such a nice kid... but his family can't afford to take him to the doctor...
We had the match today. Well, actually, the matches... We were 30 for Chazon, 15 boys and 15 girls, and we were supposed to play against Molo Academy but they didn't show up so we play against the other school, Tayari that it was the school that was hosting the games. As I was saying we were 30 for Chazon... ok... so we get to Tayari school and I'm surprised to see that there are more than 2000 pupils in the primary section... Public schools in Kenya are overcrowded. Some of the classes in Tayari school have 90 pupils... I can't imagine how the teachers can mark the exams and homework...
So, we talk to the teachers and they tell us that we have to play netball, volleyball and soccer... when we were just prepared for football... Anyway, we play all the games and we didn't win any. Imagine 2000 kids supporting and cheering their school and for us just 30... But our kids tried and they were not bad. The Tayari teams were much taller than us.
The teachers of Tayari school were very nice though. They encouraged our kids and celebrated the only goal that our boys scored.
We have more games on Friday. There's going to be a team with kids from Tayari and Chazon school and we'll play against other schools.
It has been actually a very good day. I saw some very good players from both schools and it's good that the kids interact in this kind of activities.
So, this is all for today!
Oh, by the way, I know that it's snowing a lot in Barcelona... Hope you are having a happy Christmas in March! :)

Some pictures

Playing with the kids

Playing with the parachute

Porridge time!

With Jemima, Lucy and Samuel's daugther

Wild zebras on the way from Nairobi to Molo

Weekend in Nakuru

Ok ok! Sorry for the delay in updating the blog... I've been busy and as I said the connection here is not that good so you have to be patience. I'm doing things the african way... african pace... :)

Last Friday I went to Nakuru to spend the weekend with Susan, Lucy's siter. It was a very good weekend. We went to visit the Menengai crater and one cave. The view from the crater was amazing but the cave left me breathless. It was a very deep and big cave where people go to pray and they stay there for weeks no eating. I found it fascinating, I can't really explain how it was. I wish I could upload pictures but it takes ages here and then the laptop freezes...

On Monday I went to Susan school. She is a kiswahili teacher in a secondary school in a very remote area. I went to one of her classes and the student asked me loads of questions about my country. I had a very good time there with them. When we walked out to take the matatu to go back to Nakuru all the kids of the primary school nearby saw me and placed themselves around me staring at me and touching me. Susan told me that likely they never saw a mzungu (white person) and they found it fascinating.

For me it's weird thinking that the pupils at Susan school were going to go home that day and the first thing they would tell their parents is that a white person visited the school today and they could ask her questions. It makes me feel weird but I don't mind answering their questions because I can travel and see other worlds but they can't because they can't afford it and asking me questions is the way for them to travel and knowing about other cultures and countries.

I contacted one clinic in Nakuru that treats the Trachoma. I called them and at the beginning they were avoiding me but I insisted and I got to talk to this Bob who told me that first I have to take the kids of the school to the hospital in Molo and once the doctors can confirm that they have trachoma I can call him again for the treatment. Virginia, the american volunteer, told me that the only thing that the doctors in Molo do is giving them eye-drops saying that they have an allergy. So, this time I'm going to go myself with the kids and I'll be very pushy! Wish me luck! Then I'll take them to Nakuru.

I'm back today from Nakuru, so tomorrow I'll go back to the centre to see my kids... I don't see them since Friday! You know, these kids eat everyday the same. Every single day ugali and some vegetables or rice and vegetables, and they don't complain. I'm eating the same they eat and I'm struggling by now... A kid in Spain or Ireland would complain but these kids don't. They don't eat meat, or fish, or eggs and for most of them the food that they have at the centre is the only one that they have for the whole day. But they don't complain. Sometimes I find it hard seeing how some kids run barefoot when I'm playing games with them. But they don't complain. I love seeing them having fun and laughing and smiling when I play with them. Sometimes they want to feel my hair or my skin and I let them do it because if that's what makes them happy for at least few minutes, I'm happy too.

Things are tough here and sometimes is not easy for me but when I'm with the kids and I see they are happy because I'm around I forget about the rest and I keep going!

Busy busy busy!

Hi again!

It's been a while since my last post but I've been very busy here and the internet connection is not very good...

I'm all settled down by now. I go to the centre every day and I play with the kids, with the little ones I have problems with the communication because they don't speak english but the teachers are helping me a lot. They are very nice. Lucy, Zippy, Jeff, Yvonne, Martha, Miriam, Jen and Duncan.

Aina, moltes gracies pel paracaigudes, els hi encanta! Estic esgotada de tant jugar, ja penjare fotos!

I'm the only white person in Molo and everyone is looking at me. It's a little bit uncomfortable because they don't just look, they stare and point at me. I'm getting used to it though but I found it difficult... The streets have no pavement and everything is all dusty.

At the centre the kids have just one main meal of ugali and vegetables and they have a cup of porridge in the morning and another one before they leave. There are 180 kids in the centre, at the moment there are no rooms for them to spend the night in so they spend the night with guardians. Lucy and Samuel want to buy an old hotel that is not in use anymore to use it as an orphanage but they need funds...

There is another american volunteer here right now, she is a nurse and she told me there is a lot of kids with trachoma around that will go blind if they don't get the treatment. The treatment is just one gram dose of azithromycin but here it's very difficult to find it...

Well, I gotta leave, I'm running out of battery and there is no electricity at the centre...

Hope you are all well!

My first day at the Chazon Children Centre

Hi everyone!
I think I have more time today to write so I'm going to try to explain what I've been doing so far.
Ok... where do I start? I got to Nairobi the 1st of February at 9am, getting the visa was quick but not waiting for my bags that were the last ones coming out...
Victor, Lucy's cousin, and Kamau, Lucy's step brother, were waiting for me and we went to Elizabeth's house, Lucy's sister, to leave all my stuff. Then I spent the whole day in Nairobi with Victor.
To be honest, I found Nairobi very chaotic... loads of people and cars everywhere. You have to be brave to cross the roads because the cars don't stop! I bought a SIM card with Safaricom network: 00254715215343
Then we went back to Elizabeth's house and had dinner with her. Elizabeth and Victor are very nice. I didn't get to spend that much time with Elizabeth because she works as a secretary in a school and after that she goes to college. She's a hardworker! So I just saw her at dinner time. Victor was very helpful, we talked a lot and I asked him loads of questions about Africa and he was curious too about our lives in Spain and Ireland and he asked me questions too.
I spent the night in Nairobi at Elizabeth's place and the next morning Samuel came to pick me up from Molo. On the way to Molo I got to see wild zebras!!! The trip took about 4 hours and finally... I got to Molo!
I met Lucy, she was very welcoming! I'm staying in Samuel and Lucy's house, they are accommodating the house for the volunteers. Lucy told me that in one week we'll have a proper bathroom but... meanwhile... I have to use the letrine and have showers using a bucket :)
Lucy and Samuel have a lovely and beautiful baby called Jamima, she's 1 year old and she keeps climbing the chairs and tables... I think we are going to be good friends!

Today I had an orientation with Lucy, we talked a lot and she explained me how they started the centre. Lucy and Samuel had a restaurant in Molo and they saw that loads of the kids of the streets went in begging for food. They gave them food but they wanted to help them more, so they sold the restaurant and created the centre. With a lot of help of the volunteers that have been coming they are getting more organised and getting more facilities for the centre. I have to say that Lucy and Samuel are my heroes! They work a lot everyday just to give food and education to these kids, they sold their lands and their business just for these kids.

It's been my first day at the CCC today but I just went to know the centre, the teachers and the kids. I went with Lucy after the orientation that we had in the morning. When I arrived to the centre the kids were outside playing. They all run towards me and they all wanted to shake my hand. Then they went to their classes and I went class by class introducing myself and saying hi. The ages go from 3 to 14 and they are a total of 180 kids, the little ones don't speak english... they are starting to learn.

Tomorrow I'm going to Nakuru with Lucy to buy some text books.

I'm still settling down. I still can't explain how I felt when I saw the centre, the kids and everything Samuel and Lucy are doing for them. I was so moved while Lucy was showing me everything and telling me some stories of the kids and knowing what they are doing for them that I was nearly crying...

I gotta go now. I hope I can update this soon!

Take care!!!

Habari!

Hi!
This is just a short message to say that everything is fine. I'm in Molo already and enjoying it so far! I have no time now to write but I will tomorrow if I can even though the connection is quite slow.
I have to say that this is amazing and the people are extremely friendly.

Kisses for everyone!!!

Hola!
Escribo un corto mensaje solo para decir que estoy bien. Que ya he llegado a Molo y que de momento estoy disfrutando mucho! No tengo tiempo para escribir ahora pero lo intentare manana aunque la conexion va bastante lenta.
Todo esto es increible y que la gente es muy simpatica.

Un beso para todos!

Slán!

Hello everyone!

After five years and a half I just left Ireland for good. It was not easy to say goodbye as I'm leaving loads of good friends behind. But I can also say that I'm taking a big amount of nice memories with me.

These five years and a half in Ireland have been great but now it's time to start creating new memories in one of the countries of the motherland: Kenya!

I'll be leaving Barcelona the 31st of January and I'll be arriving in Nairobi the 1st of February. I'm going to spend three months volunteering in the Chazon Children Centre in Molo working with orphan kids. I'm really looking forward to it!

http://chazonchildrencentre.blogspot.com/

I'm creating this blog in order to keep everyone updated of my life in Kenya but I don't know what kind of internet connection I'll have over there so... I don't promise I'll be updating this very often... :)

I hope you enjoy this blog the same way I'll enjoy my three months in Africa and, please, leave comments! I'll be very happy to read them!

Take care!