August 1, 2006 Update
May 15 | June 15 | July 1 | July 15 | August 15 | September 1 | September 15 | October | November | December
The weeks have sped by – we’ve done so many things! On Farmers’ Day, we learned how napier grass, bananas, maize, beans, giant spinach, cabbage and much more can be grown on small plots – with help from chemical companies. One Sunday afternoon, two young Canadian women (here on a Community Development Project) and students from Kimathi Polytechnic College visited. This relationship, we hope, will encourage some Tumaini students to learn a trade at Kimathi. In Nairobi, we met Sabina Wangia. She and her husband received their Masters and PHD degrees from University of Alberta – and now in September, their son Mark, will attend University of Pennsylvania. In Voi, we visited Coast Institute of Technology, where two young Tumaini women are studying catering and tourism – and where in September, three others will start their training. In Mombasa, we walked through narrow alleys of the old Arab section – and we watched handicapped men and women of Bombolulu make jewelry, leather bags and cushion covers, placemats and napkins with fabrics that they had screen printed. We also saw men making the tricycles which these folks get around on. In Shela, on Lamu Island, we spent four days in Paradise (almost). We slept well in our “La La Salama” room in “Bahari” (By the Sea) Guest House. We heard the call for Muslim prayers at 5 am, listened to water lapping below our balcony, watched the sun rise and listened to birds chirping. We walked on sandy beach, swam in the warm Indian ocean, got a bit of tan (and some sunburn too), and sailed in an old wooden dhow (with a new Yamaha outboard motor). We observed comings and goings of fisher folk, and listened to chatter in Kiswahili. We ate lots of seafood and coconut rice. We said “Jambo“ to men in white robes, and chic young women veiled in black -- and said “No” politely to the men hustling water taxi trips. And we stepped aside for the donkeys bearing heavy burdens of sand and coral blocks for the restoration projects going on for wealthy Europeans and Americans. We are blessed. God is good – All the time.
Farmers' Day
Kimathi Visitors
Sabina and Marilyn
Sailing on a Dhow