The sweet smells and the feeling of the warm, mild air kissing our skin the evening we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya more than made up for the long journey; indeed, coming from Wisconsin in the middle of winter it felt as if we had arrived in paradise.  The night we arrived was the first day of the New Year and Mark and his friends took us to a restaurant for a late-night snack where the locals were celebrating the night with music and dance. This was our first taste of Kenyan culture, but would be far from our last.

The next morning we piled into our van and headed to the rural area of Western Kenya.  Here we spent the next two days helping to facilitate The Jirani Camp.  We stayed at the Spring Park Hotel along with the Jirani children who had traveled from all over the country for the camp. We had fun helping the children respond to letters from Madison first-grade pen pals, singing songs, acting out a skit about peace, tie dying t-shirts, and running around the yard playing crazy games.  The night before the children left, we goofed around with them taking silly pictures, playing mad games of four square, and just sitting down to talk with them.

The children had to get home to prepare for the new school year, but we stayed behind to work in the community for the next two days. Half of us ventured deep along the rutted dirt road to paint the altar and construct a fence around the rural church where our group had experienced a very powerful service the day before.  The church members and area children entertained us with their lively spirits and we greatly enjoyed their hospitality.  The other half of the group worked at Agathe Academy to paint and lay stone for the school’s new gate and to construct a fence around a compost pit. Here we saw the bare-walled classrooms and wooden desks where some of the Jirani children would soon be sitting for their first day of school.  For lunch, we walked through the hustle and bustle of the town’s market to arrive at Patrick’s house, a member of the Jirani Advisory Committee.
The next day was the start of the primary school year and we attended a ceremony at Agathe Academy in recognition of the newly constructed gate.  Then, after finishing up the remaining work at the church, we piled back into the van and returned to Nairobi.  We spent the next day in Nairobi petting a cheetah, kissing giraffes, and learning about traditional tribal customs—fascinating!

Before the sun rose, we were off to Mombasa.  The long drive was offset by several sightings of zebras, baboons, warthogs, and gazelle.  The warm air blew our hair as we coasted on the Likoni Ferry to reach the South Coast, where we spent a day relaxing on the white beaches of the Indian Ocean and trying to get close to the monkeys that danced on the roofs of our cottages. It was beautiful, but we were anxious to get back to visit a women’s self-help group in the Kibagare slums of Nairobi the following day.

We stopped at a supermarket in Nairobi to purchase some basics to take to the group. Before entering the slums, we stopped for local fare where we were served family style and ate with our hands! As we made our way to the home of one of the women in the group, the children of the slums called to us and waved, some even holding our hands.  Once we arrived, we talked to the women about their work and purchased many of the wares they made to support themselves.

Our last night in Kenya was spent dancing to a live band with some of the locals—our trip had come full circle!

-Kali Rabas