Poor but Generous

Kenya is home to many amazing animals.  For most of us, a zoo is likely to be the only place they will be seen, and never living together in harmony, as is the case most of the time here. We won’t forget the animals we saw, but the memory of what we found to be most unique about Kenya is that of the amazing people we have been so blessed to meet. Some we are lucky enough to even to call friends now.  To be sure, an honor we will cherish forever. Thanks to FR. JB’s many connections, we had the rare opportunity to access people and areas “off limits” or more commonly “overlooked” by Americans. Our audiences with the Arch Bishop, the Prison warden and the head of the Kenyan Police
College will be memorable. Spending time walking amongst the prisoners, shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye with them, many sentenced to life, all forced to exist on the wrong side of the bars, presented an opportunity to reach out and let them know that although they made a mistake, and not the first for most, that they were still human beings.  Our last several days were spent just as we had hoped….. with the school children, the adults suffering from aids, leprosy and previously abandoned and, of course, the children born into this world with aids. It’s hard to put into words the feelings we experienced constantly while in the midst of these precious souls. Tears were forever on the verge of spilling over as we interacted with these loving people. We were successful in holding back “most of the time”, it was too hard to explain to a child why we were “sad”, but even as I write this now, I can’t help but feel the same tug of the heart as I reflect back on those moments together. The most amazing realization is that in the midst of such desperate, severely challenging conditions, almost no one seemed “hopeless”. Maybe the daily struggle to simply survive leaves no time for feeling hopeless.     The young school children were so excited to be visited by the two fat white guys from “Amerika”. Ok, they didn’t call us fat, but standing next to them, we sure felt that they must be thinking we were both solely responsible for creating world hunger by the food intake required to maintain our girth. Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m paranoid. But they were so skinny…..   They were so intrigued with everything different about us, even the hair on our arms. We were amazed with how educated they were in spite of the truly third-world conditions of their classrooms.   No lights, no electricity, dirt floors, chalk boards created by painting them on the walls…… but still producing such well mannered, smart kids.  We provided “sweets and biscuits” to those answering our questions correctly  and significantly underestimated the supply we should have brought along.  And kids so excited to be learning. It was only a couple of years ago that education from Preschool through 12th grade became “free”. Previously only those capable of paying tuition could attend, and this eliminated all but a very few. Getting a chance to go to school was, in their eyes, a ticket to a better life. And they were not going to fail.    Our visits with the adults suffering from aids and leprosy produced stories that underscore the innate desire so many have to help one another. Many of these patients had been left for dead throughout the sea of slums, unable to care for their very basic needs, let alone work. Many a story was recited whereby their very existence was credited to children who took the time to care for these adults as they lay by the roadside and in alleys, and living off the food scraps delivered daily by the children. Ultimately they were found and transported to the “hospice” to be cared for, many actually recovering. Where they go once released is another story, but at least they have a second chance. Again, the purity of simply being happy to be alive continued to be awe inspiring. One man, suffering from leprosy, having lost all his toes, many of his fingers, parts of his ears and face, was just so happy to just be there. I never once saw his face without his almost toothless smile.  Although he couldn’t speak any English, I felt such a peace and joy just being in his presence. Most moving of all has to be the time spent with the children struggling to overcome the curse of being born into this world with AIDS.  Such precious, loving, loveable children. When feeling healthy, so playful.        Quite a stark reminder of their plight though, was the contrast between those “healthy” at the moment, and those experiencing the wrath of the AIDS virus in full bloom. We felt helpless, unable to provide any real relief, other than to try and put smiles on as many little faces as we could. Fortunately many of these children were unaware of the reality of their condition, other than they didn’t feel well a lot of the time. We won’t forget the time we were able to spend together, definitely nowhere near as much time as we wished for, but all in all, truly a blessing we will forever be grateful to have experienced. To look in the sparkling eye of a child, see the ear to ear grin in spite of the fact that their expected life span is counted in months rather than years, well, it puts into perspective any complaint we might ever have. Pray for them.   The “Little Flower Institute”  was originally one of our main destinations when we started this trip. This school provides an opportunity for young “women” (and 2 men) to get technical training in a variety of trades and hopefully find an alternative to a life on the streets. What an amazing place. The devoted 7 teachers,  making up the “faculty”, possess such a “gift” for connecting with the students. Still a mystery is how in spite of substandard conditions, they can continuously produce a student body surpassing the national standard for test scores.  Their dedication is evident in so many ways, none as great as their commitment to continue in spite of frequent months of no pay, and needing to personally fund student needs. This “Institute” is part of the local Diocese, but is required to be self-sustaining. Students are required to pay to attend, but once accepted, are not turned away due to lack of ability to pay. And many cannot pay. The annual tuition, which includes room and board and books is a whopping USD $500. For many, it might as well be $5 million. We were constantly touched by the generosity of these talented educators. Annually there is discussion by the Diocese as to whether the “Little Flowers” should be closed for fear of financially being unable to continue to remain self-sustaining, hence the common requirement for teachers to forego pay, even though they all earn only about USD $100 a month. Our intention is to try and find a way to provide funding to ensure the teachers get paid, the students unable to pay have access to “scholarship money”, and the infrastructure can be upgraded in any of the numerous ways long overdue. More on that later……. There is hope though.  There has to be. Heck, if these kids, adults, patients, students can continuously maintain their hopeful view of their future, who are we to think any differently? They will continue to strive to survive. Maybe with a little help from Amerikans, a people they so want to know, living in a land so magical in their minds, we can slightly increase their odds. It really wouldn’t take much. A month’s salary for a teacher, a semester’s tuition for a student….. while almost painless for most of us, would actually significantly change lives over here. Please think about it.  

OK, got to go get water.