I go back a few days to Thursday 27th January 2011, It's a must write about event and special connection, close to my heart!
My beautiful and talented friend, self taught photographer, Oliver Forbes held the launch of his exhibition, Fly from Nearby. A blog he has written and a project started October 2009, a reflection of himself and each day of his life for 365 days in photographic form.
As I write about this night I smile and am taking back to the feeling of excitement and emotion that came over me as I walked in. The talent displayed, work put in, atmosphere and energy he created was just incredible and hard to explain in words. Amazing creative people from all over Melbourne and other states came to show their love and support and filled the venue, 1000 Pound Bend.
We met at Virgin Blue, spent time together talking about life and beyond and formed a strong connection never which will never be forgotten. The 14th October 2010, the day before my 30th birthday, we had lunch together and I was made Day 364. This time, we share as an amazing transition period for both of us and acceleration on our true path. I am greatful and truly honored to be a part of his project and blog.
It may seem to be the end of 365 days but it's actually only the beginning :-)
Much love to you Oli
Peace x
Please check out his work at the link below;
http://flyfromnearby.tumblr.com/
Sunday, January 30, 2011
My return to life......
As I sit and contemplate my life to date, I realise the events and synchronocity that have taken place over the past 2 years have been "Out of this World". The connections formed, the chance meetings and the places I have been all bringing me to this turning point in my life.
Since returning from Africa I have upheld my commitment I made, helping the orphanage find sponsors for the children and families I have met and create awareness throughout my network. The love and support shown back home has been incredible and I thank my my family and friends for their positive thoughts and wishes.
I have completed various courses and shifted energetically, any blocks preventing me from moving forward have now been removed. My connection with myself, others, earth and spirit is One :-)
I'm really excited about 2011 and the positive change it will bring, not only with myself but the world that surrounds me.
So I start back now writing this blog about my life back in Melbourne, Australia as a Intuitive healer/medium and a part-time flight attendant. The challenges I face within myself and with society and of course the connections I form with the incredible people I meet along the way :-)
Peace x
Since returning from Africa I have upheld my commitment I made, helping the orphanage find sponsors for the children and families I have met and create awareness throughout my network. The love and support shown back home has been incredible and I thank my my family and friends for their positive thoughts and wishes.
I have completed various courses and shifted energetically, any blocks preventing me from moving forward have now been removed. My connection with myself, others, earth and spirit is One :-)
I'm really excited about 2011 and the positive change it will bring, not only with myself but the world that surrounds me.
So I start back now writing this blog about my life back in Melbourne, Australia as a Intuitive healer/medium and a part-time flight attendant. The challenges I face within myself and with society and of course the connections I form with the incredible people I meet along the way :-)
Peace x
Friday, October 1, 2010
Day 17 We say goodbye to the orhanage....... :-(
28th September 2010
As I write this final blog about the orphanage and my experience here, I begin to cry once more. It's our final morning here, we spend time gathering our things and reflecting on time here. During this one of the volunteers, Inga's eyes begin to roll into the back of her head and she is about to faint. Lucky enough in front of a first aid trained flight attendant, I lie her down immediately and raise her legs and colour returns to her face. She has been aching all over, had a headache and fever for the past couple of days. Everyone here is sick with either a cold, a severe virus or we later find out after a hospital trip Maleria. She will be well looked after here by everyone and with the good medication you can get here, I'm sure she will be better in no time.
The chidren are at school, we said our final goodbyes last night at dinner. It's just the workers and volunteers left. I have a spiritual connection with these people, the children and the land, and know I will be back in the near future. My work is not yet finished, I have made a committment to continue to help these beautiful people and create awareness throughout Australia in hope I will inspire others to follow in my footsteps.
Tears fill my eyes as I say goodbye to Martha, a beautiful soul who works here and helps so many people daily in her job and I have spent so much time with over the past weeks. And Kally another volunteer I formed a strong connection with, I will miss her a lot but know I will see her again soon.
We now leave on our 2hr trip back to Naorobi, where we end our trip to Africa with a 3 day Safari in Masaai Mara..........
As I write this final blog about the orphanage and my experience here, I begin to cry once more. It's our final morning here, we spend time gathering our things and reflecting on time here. During this one of the volunteers, Inga's eyes begin to roll into the back of her head and she is about to faint. Lucky enough in front of a first aid trained flight attendant, I lie her down immediately and raise her legs and colour returns to her face. She has been aching all over, had a headache and fever for the past couple of days. Everyone here is sick with either a cold, a severe virus or we later find out after a hospital trip Maleria. She will be well looked after here by everyone and with the good medication you can get here, I'm sure she will be better in no time.
The chidren are at school, we said our final goodbyes last night at dinner. It's just the workers and volunteers left. I have a spiritual connection with these people, the children and the land, and know I will be back in the near future. My work is not yet finished, I have made a committment to continue to help these beautiful people and create awareness throughout Australia in hope I will inspire others to follow in my footsteps.
Tears fill my eyes as I say goodbye to Martha, a beautiful soul who works here and helps so many people daily in her job and I have spent so much time with over the past weeks. And Kally another volunteer I formed a strong connection with, I will miss her a lot but know I will see her again soon.
We now leave on our 2hr trip back to Naorobi, where we end our trip to Africa with a 3 day Safari in Masaai Mara..........
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Day 16 Our last day out in the comminity.....:-(
27th September 2010
Today we are off to Mathini, to see the progress on the construction of the house being built for the family of 9 and help out. We leave at 7.30am it's two Matatu rides an hour and a half in total, at least a 6 km walk up and down mountains and crossing rocky rivers and the hottest day we have encountered yet. First though we walk to visit a local school in Mathini. Erin & Jenny, two of my friends from Australia sponsor her and I have bought a letter and a gift from them. Elise and I have also bought her clothes and will take photo's of her to show the girls. We arrive and all of the children in the school are so excited, they come running out of class screaming and jumping all over us, word spreads fast through the school we are here. Most of them haven't ever seen white people before and some are a little hesitant to approach. We are directed to Mercy's classroom and she is extremely overwhelmed and a little shy. We read the letter to her and Martha translates for us. She is very thankful for her visit and smiles sweetly as we wave goodbye.
We make our way to the Mathini construction site where Felix (the german volunteer) is over seeing the project. On our way we collect and carry wood up the mountain so they can make a start on the windows. The view up here is amazing, something that would be worth millions back home. We sit and enjoy the views for a while, catch our breath and re hydrate, before heading back to the orphanage for our last night with the children.
We spend the evening hanging out with the kids and the volunteers, doing our regular school night routine.
I'm start to feel a little sad as I pack my bags and prepare to say goodbye..........
Today we are off to Mathini, to see the progress on the construction of the house being built for the family of 9 and help out. We leave at 7.30am it's two Matatu rides an hour and a half in total, at least a 6 km walk up and down mountains and crossing rocky rivers and the hottest day we have encountered yet. First though we walk to visit a local school in Mathini. Erin & Jenny, two of my friends from Australia sponsor her and I have bought a letter and a gift from them. Elise and I have also bought her clothes and will take photo's of her to show the girls. We arrive and all of the children in the school are so excited, they come running out of class screaming and jumping all over us, word spreads fast through the school we are here. Most of them haven't ever seen white people before and some are a little hesitant to approach. We are directed to Mercy's classroom and she is extremely overwhelmed and a little shy. We read the letter to her and Martha translates for us. She is very thankful for her visit and smiles sweetly as we wave goodbye.
We make our way to the Mathini construction site where Felix (the german volunteer) is over seeing the project. On our way we collect and carry wood up the mountain so they can make a start on the windows. The view up here is amazing, something that would be worth millions back home. We sit and enjoy the views for a while, catch our breath and re hydrate, before heading back to the orphanage for our last night with the children.
We spend the evening hanging out with the kids and the volunteers, doing our regular school night routine.
I'm start to feel a little sad as I pack my bags and prepare to say goodbye..........
Day 14 & 15 The weekend chaos.....
25th/26th September 2010
It's a beautiful sunshiney Saturday and we are off to Naoribi, some of the volunteers are taking the kids to swimming and the rest of us are heading to the Markets. I look forward to the 2 hr bus rides, it's an opportunity to chill, escape and listen some tunes.
Sunday morning and we are up and getting the children ready, I put on the cleanist clothes I can find, wash my hair and make myself look" African" presentable (still covered in red dirt) and head to church. Church here apparently lasts for at least 6 hrs so Im not sure how long I will last considering it will all be in Swahili. We arrive at the little shed in the middle of an open field and try to go in un-noticed, which is hard since we are the only white people (mazugu's). As per usual with 35 kids to get ready we are late, we stop the church and everyone stares. We are welcomed however, today is a special day, a baby will be christened and a sacrifice is made. A woman stands, takes the microphone and begins to sing, one by one everyone follows. Eventually they bought in the drums and everyone began to dance at the front of the church including myself. We dance for sometime enjoying the sounds that echo the room, the vibration of the drum and the harmony of the vocals. The music came to an end and the woman went into a trance where, she channelled messages from a higher power. After she had finished the baby was brought in and a chicken to sacrifice. After saying our prayers "African style" we snuck out the back door, not before the precher called out, stopped the church and brought us back in. He blessed and thanked us for coming and we headed back to the orphanage for luinch. Beans and Rice :-)
We buy the children some gifts at the local town, help out the children for the rest of the day with their daily chores and plan our final day helping out in the community.
It's a beautiful sunshiney Saturday and we are off to Naoribi, some of the volunteers are taking the kids to swimming and the rest of us are heading to the Markets. I look forward to the 2 hr bus rides, it's an opportunity to chill, escape and listen some tunes.
Sunday morning and we are up and getting the children ready, I put on the cleanist clothes I can find, wash my hair and make myself look" African" presentable (still covered in red dirt) and head to church. Church here apparently lasts for at least 6 hrs so Im not sure how long I will last considering it will all be in Swahili. We arrive at the little shed in the middle of an open field and try to go in un-noticed, which is hard since we are the only white people (mazugu's). As per usual with 35 kids to get ready we are late, we stop the church and everyone stares. We are welcomed however, today is a special day, a baby will be christened and a sacrifice is made. A woman stands, takes the microphone and begins to sing, one by one everyone follows. Eventually they bought in the drums and everyone began to dance at the front of the church including myself. We dance for sometime enjoying the sounds that echo the room, the vibration of the drum and the harmony of the vocals. The music came to an end and the woman went into a trance where, she channelled messages from a higher power. After she had finished the baby was brought in and a chicken to sacrifice. After saying our prayers "African style" we snuck out the back door, not before the precher called out, stopped the church and brought us back in. He blessed and thanked us for coming and we headed back to the orphanage for luinch. Beans and Rice :-)
We buy the children some gifts at the local town, help out the children for the rest of the day with their daily chores and plan our final day helping out in the community.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Day 13 Returning to a family in need.....
24th September 2010
Another bag of clothes packed and we are off to a family we visitied yesterday. A widow who is HIV positive who has 4 children, her husband died of Aids 2 years ago. When we arrive we sit down and chat for a while I have a few questions for her and Martha translates. We establish how long she has known she has had HIV and if the children have been tested. She found out before giving birth to the first child and advises us she hasn't breast fed any of the children and they are negative. She is quite weak and unable to go out and work in the fields to support her children but has 4 years experience in selling fruit in a stand in Thika and would like to set up her own business. We work out how much this will cost 5000 shillings ($55 aus) and speak with Martha about us helping her and if she would check up on her each week while we are gone her progress. Martha agrees, so we make our way to the local town and purchase some food supplies for them. We purchase 50kg rice, 50kg of Maize (corn), 50kg beans, 30 bars of washing soap, hire a few motorbike taxi's and return to the house. The mother is extremely overwelmed and thanks us, her eyes filled with tears and our's, much the same. We hand over the money and explain Martha will be keeping an eye on her progress, she is very greatful and seems excited to start her business. We say goodbye and hope this is the beginning of a better life for these children.
We head back to the orphanage, lunch (beans and rice) have been saved for us and the children have returned from school. With the beautiful breeze blowing, I lay in the hammock amonst the trees and listen to some tunes. Before long I am sharing my music and the hammock with 2 of the children, we just lay there peacefully while the sun goes down.
While the children do their homework, Kally and I have some time to ourselves. Kally (also a vocalist) and I listen to some tunes and have a little vocal jam. Soon, one by one we are surrounded by children, they sit quitely in amazement and we all share a beautiful moment........
Another bag of clothes packed and we are off to a family we visitied yesterday. A widow who is HIV positive who has 4 children, her husband died of Aids 2 years ago. When we arrive we sit down and chat for a while I have a few questions for her and Martha translates. We establish how long she has known she has had HIV and if the children have been tested. She found out before giving birth to the first child and advises us she hasn't breast fed any of the children and they are negative. She is quite weak and unable to go out and work in the fields to support her children but has 4 years experience in selling fruit in a stand in Thika and would like to set up her own business. We work out how much this will cost 5000 shillings ($55 aus) and speak with Martha about us helping her and if she would check up on her each week while we are gone her progress. Martha agrees, so we make our way to the local town and purchase some food supplies for them. We purchase 50kg rice, 50kg of Maize (corn), 50kg beans, 30 bars of washing soap, hire a few motorbike taxi's and return to the house. The mother is extremely overwelmed and thanks us, her eyes filled with tears and our's, much the same. We hand over the money and explain Martha will be keeping an eye on her progress, she is very greatful and seems excited to start her business. We say goodbye and hope this is the beginning of a better life for these children.
We head back to the orphanage, lunch (beans and rice) have been saved for us and the children have returned from school. With the beautiful breeze blowing, I lay in the hammock amonst the trees and listen to some tunes. Before long I am sharing my music and the hammock with 2 of the children, we just lay there peacefully while the sun goes down.
While the children do their homework, Kally and I have some time to ourselves. Kally (also a vocalist) and I listen to some tunes and have a little vocal jam. Soon, one by one we are surrounded by children, they sit quitely in amazement and we all share a beautiful moment........
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Day 12 Visiting more families......
23rd September 2010
Up early to make further preparations and discuss our plan for today. We are visiting a few more families it will take approximately 1 hr to get there a Matatu ride and a 30min walk. We are taking a large bag of baby clothes, some food, a bottle and some formula.
We arrive at the first family to find the 22yr old mother has returned to her 2 week yrd old baby. I was handed the baby, she was so tiny hadn't been fed much since she was born and looked quite malnourished. I feel the tears in my eyes start to flow as I watch this poor little innocent soul so peaceful in my arms. It is hard to hand her back as I know her life ahead is so grim. We sit with the mother for a while trying to establish what had happened, why she dumped her baby and what he problem is between her and the father. We unfortunately were unable to establish the full story but we at least were able to bring clothes and explain and give her formula. She is greatful we came and we leave with the plan to check up on them in a couple of days.
The next family we visit is a single mother who has 4 children and is HIV positive. We don't have much time to spend here but we will come back tomorrow and take some notes and try to work out how we can help this family and what the best thing is to do. We are concerned for the baby who is being breast fed when the mother has HIV. We tell them we will come back tomorrow and work out a plan which will hopefully make a difference to these people's lives and the future of this baby.
Our last stop is the grandmother of 2 children who were staying in the orphanage. There mother has some time ago now and the children don't want to stay at the orphanage or go to school. We have come to establish why they don't want to come back because the grandmother is unable to care for them. Simon won't tell us why he doesn't want to come back to the orphanage. He is quite disobedient and while we are there I witness the grandmother beat him with a stick really hard, I feel my heart rate pick up and get ready to intervene but Simon runs away and cowers in the corner. I stand up, turn to Martha to translate and forcefully ask her to explain what her reason is for doing what she did. Martha asks her to explain and then explains to me Simon is running away from school, threw away his school books and giving her a hard time and she is too old to take anymore misbehaving from him. We decide to leave and work out tonight the best thing to do with these children we think maybe Simon needs to realise how good he has it at the orphanage and that a couple of weeks there he will decide to come back where he is fed, loved and cared for.
We say goodbye and head back to the orphanage, we need to make it back in time to say goodbye to Nate, an American volunteer who has been there for about 6 weeks and is leaving to go back home.
It's a sad time for everyone when a volunteer leaves, we have all formed a bond and become close.
Byeeeee Nate :-(
Up early to make further preparations and discuss our plan for today. We are visiting a few more families it will take approximately 1 hr to get there a Matatu ride and a 30min walk. We are taking a large bag of baby clothes, some food, a bottle and some formula.
We arrive at the first family to find the 22yr old mother has returned to her 2 week yrd old baby. I was handed the baby, she was so tiny hadn't been fed much since she was born and looked quite malnourished. I feel the tears in my eyes start to flow as I watch this poor little innocent soul so peaceful in my arms. It is hard to hand her back as I know her life ahead is so grim. We sit with the mother for a while trying to establish what had happened, why she dumped her baby and what he problem is between her and the father. We unfortunately were unable to establish the full story but we at least were able to bring clothes and explain and give her formula. She is greatful we came and we leave with the plan to check up on them in a couple of days.
The next family we visit is a single mother who has 4 children and is HIV positive. We don't have much time to spend here but we will come back tomorrow and take some notes and try to work out how we can help this family and what the best thing is to do. We are concerned for the baby who is being breast fed when the mother has HIV. We tell them we will come back tomorrow and work out a plan which will hopefully make a difference to these people's lives and the future of this baby.
Our last stop is the grandmother of 2 children who were staying in the orphanage. There mother has some time ago now and the children don't want to stay at the orphanage or go to school. We have come to establish why they don't want to come back because the grandmother is unable to care for them. Simon won't tell us why he doesn't want to come back to the orphanage. He is quite disobedient and while we are there I witness the grandmother beat him with a stick really hard, I feel my heart rate pick up and get ready to intervene but Simon runs away and cowers in the corner. I stand up, turn to Martha to translate and forcefully ask her to explain what her reason is for doing what she did. Martha asks her to explain and then explains to me Simon is running away from school, threw away his school books and giving her a hard time and she is too old to take anymore misbehaving from him. We decide to leave and work out tonight the best thing to do with these children we think maybe Simon needs to realise how good he has it at the orphanage and that a couple of weeks there he will decide to come back where he is fed, loved and cared for.
We say goodbye and head back to the orphanage, we need to make it back in time to say goodbye to Nate, an American volunteer who has been there for about 6 weeks and is leaving to go back home.
It's a sad time for everyone when a volunteer leaves, we have all formed a bond and become close.
Byeeeee Nate :-(
Day 11 In the kitchen....Master chef style :-)
Wednesday 22rd September 2010
Elise and I are up and ready for our kitchen duty day. Grace is the cook and she is excited to have us help. Basically all our morning consists of is soughting good beans from bad beans and there is massive buckets which takes us hours to sought. Then we help out with the lunch dishes and prepare the spinach for dinner that has been picked fresh from the garden. There are about 50 mouths to feed so you could imagine the size of the pot we are using. We prepare the beans to ensure we aren't eating any rocks or beans with wholes in them from insects. It's a long process but with an ipod handy can be quite medatative.
After lunch a few volunteers arrive back and tell us about a family they have visited today who have a 2 week yrd old baby that has been dumped by it's mother. They have no money and no milk to feed the baby and the impression they got is they don't really care if the child dies. The volunteers pay the farmer nearby to supply a weeks worth for milk for the baby so it can survive in hope the mother returns if not we will have to rescue the baby and bring her to the orphanage. We make plans to visit tomorrow and we travel to the nearest supermarket and buy formula to take there for the baby, just in case. We also get together a big bag of baby clothes we have to take to them.
We hope the mother returns so we are able to chat to her and for that poor little baby.......
Looks like we have another long, emotional but rewarding day ahead of us :-)
Elise and I are up and ready for our kitchen duty day. Grace is the cook and she is excited to have us help. Basically all our morning consists of is soughting good beans from bad beans and there is massive buckets which takes us hours to sought. Then we help out with the lunch dishes and prepare the spinach for dinner that has been picked fresh from the garden. There are about 50 mouths to feed so you could imagine the size of the pot we are using. We prepare the beans to ensure we aren't eating any rocks or beans with wholes in them from insects. It's a long process but with an ipod handy can be quite medatative.
After lunch a few volunteers arrive back and tell us about a family they have visited today who have a 2 week yrd old baby that has been dumped by it's mother. They have no money and no milk to feed the baby and the impression they got is they don't really care if the child dies. The volunteers pay the farmer nearby to supply a weeks worth for milk for the baby so it can survive in hope the mother returns if not we will have to rescue the baby and bring her to the orphanage. We make plans to visit tomorrow and we travel to the nearest supermarket and buy formula to take there for the baby, just in case. We also get together a big bag of baby clothes we have to take to them.
We hope the mother returns so we are able to chat to her and for that poor little baby.......
Looks like we have another long, emotional but rewarding day ahead of us :-)
Day 10 Getting down and dirty......
Ok..... so I woke up this morning thinking I would go to the garden for a relaxing day, connect with mother earth and water some plants...WRONG! Today end up being hard farming work, knee deep in mud, we fertilized the whole plantation, manually hoed the ground ready to plant more tomatoes and spinach. Then we planted the seeds and watered by hand. It may not sound like much but it has to be the only day where the sun was directly on us and about 30 degrees and we got really dirty......
After a hard 5hrs in the sun we come to Kenol for lunch and a cold drink with Kally, stock up on the luxury's....chocolate and chill out for the afternoon reading a book until the children come home from school. Then it's all go from there... it's love, play time and homework :-)
After a hard 5hrs in the sun we come to Kenol for lunch and a cold drink with Kally, stock up on the luxury's....chocolate and chill out for the afternoon reading a book until the children come home from school. Then it's all go from there... it's love, play time and homework :-)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Day 9 Mathini, out in the community
20th September 2010
Walking shoes are on and our bags packed. We have soughted through clothes to take to the family’s we will visit today. First we walk the children to school, it’s Susans first day at school Kally one of the volunteers has sponsored her and bought her school uniform. We take her there to pay her fee’s and speak with the principle. The fee’s for a term and uniform total 1400 shillings ($15AUS approx), it’s very little for us but so much for Susan and these children, their education a major part of their future and their outcome.
We then make our way to Mathini and hitch a ride for a $1 each some of the way down a dirt road, we would normally need to catch a Matatu but are lucky enough to find a ride. We are carrying large heavy bags of clothes and some banana’s and we trek up and down hills and across a rocky river for 2hrs to reach these families. With us is Martha who will translate and assist us in distributing supplies.
The first family we arrive at is a Mother who’s roof has fallen down, she has 4 children her parents live there also. She doesn’t know who the fathers are of her children. Martha explains to us she faints several times per week for half an hour each time and men rape her while she is unconscious. She says this is some sought of disease. I try to establish why she faints and what exactly is wrong and also how these men know when she is unconscious to come and rape her. To me this doesn’t add up and I ask a lot of questions which are translated, I thought if this happening then someone must be advising these men when she faints etc. We finally establish a better story its hard for us to understand the translation, it seems though she is prostituting herself. These men promising to feed her children and give her money and then not doing as they say most of the time. We give her some clothes for her children, food supplies and 2000 shillings which will feed them for the next couple of weeks.
We move on to the next family, a mother lives here alone with her 7 children. They live in a 4sq metre hut, where they cook, eat and sleep. The father lives and works in Naorobi, he visits once every 2 months and brings nothing. He might occasionally bring them food to last one day. The mother goes out to work and earns 100 shillings ($1.30) per day for farming, this doesn’t even feed one meal for the whole family. This was a harsh reality for us, when it rains the family curl up in the corner together the rain pours in through the roof and wets all of their clothes and bedding. They sleep on 2 single beds that barely fit in the room. One child sleeps while we take pictures and discuss what we can do to help. We sit outside with the mother while Martha translates, we give her clothes, $5000 shillings ($60AUS) and food we have bought. Elise and I break down when we hand her our donations, it’s a very emotional time for us. It’s the first time I have cried and I’m sure not the last. This woman, so sweet and so greatful. I can see in her eyes, her beautiful soul and her happiness for what we have given.
We then trek up another mountain to find Felix and check out the construction work that has began today. The family of 9 were found by some past volunteers and the project was started to build them a new house. These people were living one room with no roof. Kally brings the family a 50kg bag of beans and a 50kg bag of maize (corn) this should feed the family for some time. Felix and other volunteers will spend the week here building and we will continue with community work around the area. It’s now 3pm we are all exhausted so we start our 3hr journey back to the orphanage. Where we will all have a cold bucket shower, eat our beans and maize for dinner and get the children ready for bed J Home sweet home!!
Day 8 Can't wait to see the kids......
19th September 2010
Woken this time by the sounds of the Local church, it's Sunday morning and the whole of Nekuru is in church singing and chanting at 5.30am. Well I guess it's time to get up, we have our last hot shower and make our way to buffet breakfast for our last real meal, at least for the next week. It's back to the orphanage by monoline (the bus we have our own seat on) and I sit next to an American who I begin chatting to. Turns out he is originally from Mobassa, the place we had talked about visiting on the weekend and he offers us a ride which will only take 7hrs instead of 12. Mobassa is well known for lush beaches and beautiful seafood, we have been told it's paradise and I consider his offer on the way to Nairobi. He offers us a lift back the orpahange, usually a 3hr drive on the Matatu instead by car and lunch in a town along the way. We accept and he kindly drives us back home.
We arrive back, the kids excited to see us and us to see them. We meet a few other German volunteers who have arrived back from Mobassa. Felix is planning his trip back to Mathini tomorrow to start the construction of the house they are building and we make plans to go with him and visit needy families in the community that surrounds Mathini.
We all get aquainted and have dinner together with the children, brush all their teeth, say their prayers and put them to bed. I realize how much I have missed the children and make the decision not to go to Mombassa, as our time here is limited.
As promised I give Saskia, one of the German volunteers a healing and make a list of supplies to take to Mathini tomorrow.
Woken this time by the sounds of the Local church, it's Sunday morning and the whole of Nekuru is in church singing and chanting at 5.30am. Well I guess it's time to get up, we have our last hot shower and make our way to buffet breakfast for our last real meal, at least for the next week. It's back to the orphanage by monoline (the bus we have our own seat on) and I sit next to an American who I begin chatting to. Turns out he is originally from Mobassa, the place we had talked about visiting on the weekend and he offers us a ride which will only take 7hrs instead of 12. Mobassa is well known for lush beaches and beautiful seafood, we have been told it's paradise and I consider his offer on the way to Nairobi. He offers us a lift back the orpahange, usually a 3hr drive on the Matatu instead by car and lunch in a town along the way. We accept and he kindly drives us back home.
We arrive back, the kids excited to see us and us to see them. We meet a few other German volunteers who have arrived back from Mobassa. Felix is planning his trip back to Mathini tomorrow to start the construction of the house they are building and we make plans to go with him and visit needy families in the community that surrounds Mathini.
We all get aquainted and have dinner together with the children, brush all their teeth, say their prayers and put them to bed. I realize how much I have missed the children and make the decision not to go to Mombassa, as our time here is limited.
As promised I give Saskia, one of the German volunteers a healing and make a list of supplies to take to Mathini tomorrow.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Day 7 It just gets better.......
18th September 2010
This place never stops, 24hrs a day NOISE people yelling, people partying and roadworks. So not much sleep for us and it's a big day ahead. We have breakfast and make our way downstairs to meet our driver, my sunglasses were not in there case I realise I had dreamt this last night they had been stolen and I was buying new ones, I knew then they were gone but everyone insisted I go upstairs and look. As I dreamt, no sunglasses anywhere they must have been stolen from my chest where they were tucked into my top. It's all good though we are about to see some amazing animals in their natural habitat and I'm sure the smile will be back on my face :-)
We then spend the next 6 hrs game driving around Lake Nekuru where we see monkey's, rhino's, buffalo, zebra's and pink flamingo's. The lake is so peaceful with the most amazing views I have ever seen from the lookout and below the mountains. We are blessed with the most beautiful day of sunshine, the air so crisp and a little mist lingers over the lake. I sat for a while soaking up the sun's rays and the surroundings, so greatful for this opportunity to connect with nature and mother earth.
On our way out we are stopped by another driver, our attention bought to the tree where a male lion stands proud, glaring at us we are so close we are able to see the reflection in his eyes. This is an unbelievable to our drive we leave excited to show the children our photo's and for our Safari at the end of our trip. I realise I miss the children and look forward to getting back to see them.
This place never stops, 24hrs a day NOISE people yelling, people partying and roadworks. So not much sleep for us and it's a big day ahead. We have breakfast and make our way downstairs to meet our driver, my sunglasses were not in there case I realise I had dreamt this last night they had been stolen and I was buying new ones, I knew then they were gone but everyone insisted I go upstairs and look. As I dreamt, no sunglasses anywhere they must have been stolen from my chest where they were tucked into my top. It's all good though we are about to see some amazing animals in their natural habitat and I'm sure the smile will be back on my face :-)
We then spend the next 6 hrs game driving around Lake Nekuru where we see monkey's, rhino's, buffalo, zebra's and pink flamingo's. The lake is so peaceful with the most amazing views I have ever seen from the lookout and below the mountains. We are blessed with the most beautiful day of sunshine, the air so crisp and a little mist lingers over the lake. I sat for a while soaking up the sun's rays and the surroundings, so greatful for this opportunity to connect with nature and mother earth.
On our way out we are stopped by another driver, our attention bought to the tree where a male lion stands proud, glaring at us we are so close we are able to see the reflection in his eyes. This is an unbelievable to our drive we leave excited to show the children our photo's and for our Safari at the end of our trip. I realise I miss the children and look forward to getting back to see them.
Day 6 Oh My God....I can't believe I saw a Zebra :-)
17th September 2010
I awaken once again to the sound of pigs and covered in red dirt. Today is an exciting day for us, there is a hot shower awaiting us at the end and we can hardly wait.
After breakfast and seeing the children off to school, we pack and set off to Lake Nekuru for the weekend. Lake Nekuru is famous for Pink Flamingo's and beautiful scenery. We catch the Matatu to Naorobi which takes us almost 3 hrs, a journey that should only take just over 1hr. Everything here happens in African time (very slow) so they stop for 15mins at a time and have a chat while you sit there patiently passing out with 25 people crammed into a bus that fits 14. We decide after this experience we would travel to Lake Nekuru by the monoline, which is the same as the Matatu but you purchase 1 seat you don't have to share.We are then pulled over and each of us searched before leaving Naorobi for weapons etc by the Police, then we are on our way and get comfortable for our 3hr trip.
And then....OH MY GOD I see 6 Zebras on the side of the road just grazing, I actually couldn't believe it, it was very unexpected. I turned to the others and said with excitement "Oh my God, We are actually in Africa!!" They were the most beautiful animals I had ever seen with my own eyes, I couldn't wait to see more at the park tomorrow. It began pouring with rain and the temperature dropped the view of the mountains and Lake Nekuru still breath taking, so misty and green.
We arrive at the hotel, anxious to know whether the hot water is working. Often we are disappointed alot of places aren't what they seem, the Lonley Planet sometimes tells lies.But we are lucky this time and you will be glad to know we have a long awaited "hot" shower before having a look around the town centre. Apparently Nekuru is the most up and coming cosmopolitan city in Kenya. As we are leaving a feeling of maybe we should keep our stuff with us and not in the hotel comes over me. So I keep my possessions close by and safe hoping this is just a feeling......
I purchase some beautifully hand painted cards off a local and a young begger about 17 asks me for money for food. I hand the money to the man selling me the cards and then Matthew does the same only for the begger to snatch the money from the man with the cards. I tell him it's not his and he needs to give it back, then a fight breaks out in the street and the money is returned to the man selling the cards. We make a break on our way to get money we are followed by the begger and warned by people on the street. Fortunately he is just a kid and has no weapons on him I figure since he didn't use them in the fight and after some time he appears to give up. This feeling still remains.....
We purchase some supplies from the supermarket and return to the hotel for dinner and an early night. We had earlier organised a driver for the National Park, an early morning game drive. Sweet dreams......or are they??
I awaken once again to the sound of pigs and covered in red dirt. Today is an exciting day for us, there is a hot shower awaiting us at the end and we can hardly wait.
After breakfast and seeing the children off to school, we pack and set off to Lake Nekuru for the weekend. Lake Nekuru is famous for Pink Flamingo's and beautiful scenery. We catch the Matatu to Naorobi which takes us almost 3 hrs, a journey that should only take just over 1hr. Everything here happens in African time (very slow) so they stop for 15mins at a time and have a chat while you sit there patiently passing out with 25 people crammed into a bus that fits 14. We decide after this experience we would travel to Lake Nekuru by the monoline, which is the same as the Matatu but you purchase 1 seat you don't have to share.We are then pulled over and each of us searched before leaving Naorobi for weapons etc by the Police, then we are on our way and get comfortable for our 3hr trip.
And then....OH MY GOD I see 6 Zebras on the side of the road just grazing, I actually couldn't believe it, it was very unexpected. I turned to the others and said with excitement "Oh my God, We are actually in Africa!!" They were the most beautiful animals I had ever seen with my own eyes, I couldn't wait to see more at the park tomorrow. It began pouring with rain and the temperature dropped the view of the mountains and Lake Nekuru still breath taking, so misty and green.
We arrive at the hotel, anxious to know whether the hot water is working. Often we are disappointed alot of places aren't what they seem, the Lonley Planet sometimes tells lies.But we are lucky this time and you will be glad to know we have a long awaited "hot" shower before having a look around the town centre. Apparently Nekuru is the most up and coming cosmopolitan city in Kenya. As we are leaving a feeling of maybe we should keep our stuff with us and not in the hotel comes over me. So I keep my possessions close by and safe hoping this is just a feeling......
I purchase some beautifully hand painted cards off a local and a young begger about 17 asks me for money for food. I hand the money to the man selling me the cards and then Matthew does the same only for the begger to snatch the money from the man with the cards. I tell him it's not his and he needs to give it back, then a fight breaks out in the street and the money is returned to the man selling the cards. We make a break on our way to get money we are followed by the begger and warned by people on the street. Fortunately he is just a kid and has no weapons on him I figure since he didn't use them in the fight and after some time he appears to give up. This feeling still remains.....
We purchase some supplies from the supermarket and return to the hotel for dinner and an early night. We had earlier organised a driver for the National Park, an early morning game drive. Sweet dreams......or are they??
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Day 5 Hanging out with the kids
16th September 2010
Morning!! 6am, late to bed and a not so great sleep. Have breakfast and help get the children ready for school we then plan our day and week to follow. Kally and I have decided we will spend the start of the day planning our visit to Mathini a place past volunteers found approx a few hours in travel mostly walking, where a family of 9 are live in a houe with no roof, the children have one shirt each and no food. We will sort through donations we have and take some to these people along with supplies.....rice and beans etc we will somehow carry. There is a mountain we need to climb so this will limit the amount of supplies we are able to take. We will try to arrange a donkey to take some of it part of the way and the rest of the way we will carry. This will be our hardest day yet.
The 2 American boys have started the project of building them a house and construction should be underway when we arrive. They have been waiting for the bricks to dry and everything seems to be going to plan.
Our day today also spent planning our trip to Lake Nakuru for some of our free time we have on the weekend. Can't wait to see the Flamingo's and we have heard from the others they have HOT showers. Very excited 5 days and still no shower :-(
Back to the Orphanage for dinner...rice, ugali and beans. Hang out & play with the children, feed them, say their prayers and sing songs, before the brushing teeth check list. The kids really make my day, they are just beautiful :-)
Morning!! 6am, late to bed and a not so great sleep. Have breakfast and help get the children ready for school we then plan our day and week to follow. Kally and I have decided we will spend the start of the day planning our visit to Mathini a place past volunteers found approx a few hours in travel mostly walking, where a family of 9 are live in a houe with no roof, the children have one shirt each and no food. We will sort through donations we have and take some to these people along with supplies.....rice and beans etc we will somehow carry. There is a mountain we need to climb so this will limit the amount of supplies we are able to take. We will try to arrange a donkey to take some of it part of the way and the rest of the way we will carry. This will be our hardest day yet.
The 2 American boys have started the project of building them a house and construction should be underway when we arrive. They have been waiting for the bricks to dry and everything seems to be going to plan.
Our day today also spent planning our trip to Lake Nakuru for some of our free time we have on the weekend. Can't wait to see the Flamingo's and we have heard from the others they have HOT showers. Very excited 5 days and still no shower :-(
Back to the Orphanage for dinner...rice, ugali and beans. Hang out & play with the children, feed them, say their prayers and sing songs, before the brushing teeth check list. The kids really make my day, they are just beautiful :-)
Day 4 Visiting the local school
I awake to the sounds of the squealing pigs, each morning this sound....my alarm! But this time it's different, one of our girls has given birth to 6 little piglets right outside our window. This is a happy event for the children in the orphanage, distracted from their normal morning routine of breakfast and getting ready for school.
When the children leave for school we prepare ourselves to visit another school nearby. When we arrive we sit and chat with the principle who's office consists of a desk in a small old tin shed a dirt covered notebook and a chair with a broken leg. He allocates us a classroom and we discuss what we will teach the children and he gives us exams to mark. The classrooms each a small tin shed consist of a couple of benches and a bench seat with the roof of the shed falling off and a blackboard with one peice of chalk. The children are happy, laughing and extremely excited to see the Mazungu's (white poeple). In this town and the surrounding one's we are the only white people, and to some of these children the first they have seen!! We spend time with them teaching them english and about our country, also learning from these beautiful children appreciation for the education we have received.
We then make our way to the nearest town with internet access to make contact with the rest of the world and our families and a shop with the luxury supplies of home, deodorant, soap, bread and the all important CHOCOLATE!!! Unfortunately you have to be lucky though as power supplies in Africa are limited and often have power cuts that last for hours. We meet up with some other volunteers at a restaurant owned by a British man, so it’s chillout time where the boys can have a well deserved local beer for $1 and we can use a “Real” lavatory J
I catch a motorcycle back to the Orphanage carrying 3 people to meet with Kally finally, a volunteer who has been on Safari for the last few days. Kally is from Alaska, we have been chatting for the last month leading up to our trip and are both excited to meet. She is the beautiful person I expected, we spend a few hours catching up on stories and amazing photo’s from her Safari. I also meet a few other volunteers who have been away Josh and Nate. At the orphanage now there is 3 Germans, 3 Americans, 2 Australians (that’s us) and Bristish guy. With no power at the orphanage we meet in darkness and use a torch to get more acquainted.
It's lights at 11pm for another big day tomorrow.......
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Day 3 Out in the Community
14th September 2010
After an hour trek, mountain and rock climbing we arrive at a local hut where we have bought back a 16 year old girl back to her family where she had ran away from a few days ago. She had been beaten by her grandmother who is an alcoholic, so we come to have a chat and see if we can come to an agreement with the family and the child. The girl hasn't spoken much since she arrived at the orphanage, sadness in her eyes...scared to go back and face the person who has harmed her. After numerous hours we pack a bag for her and return back to the orphanage unable to leave her there we couldn't guarentee she would be safe. She will stay at orphanage now until another suitable place is found for her.
I spend the rest of the day with the children, an orphan named Susan who has violent outbursts and moments of silence and sadness which last for hours. She has been raped by 4 different men whom her mother was married to, her story horrific and extremely sad. She enjoys the love and attention we give her :-)
And well dinner for us and the Orphans Ugali and beans...mmmmm!! And once again no shower, we only have a bucket and very little water supplies so bathing happens every few days and the toilet.....a hole in the ground............ahhhh the luxury's of life African style :-)
After an hour trek, mountain and rock climbing we arrive at a local hut where we have bought back a 16 year old girl back to her family where she had ran away from a few days ago. She had been beaten by her grandmother who is an alcoholic, so we come to have a chat and see if we can come to an agreement with the family and the child. The girl hasn't spoken much since she arrived at the orphanage, sadness in her eyes...scared to go back and face the person who has harmed her. After numerous hours we pack a bag for her and return back to the orphanage unable to leave her there we couldn't guarentee she would be safe. She will stay at orphanage now until another suitable place is found for her.
I spend the rest of the day with the children, an orphan named Susan who has violent outbursts and moments of silence and sadness which last for hours. She has been raped by 4 different men whom her mother was married to, her story horrific and extremely sad. She enjoys the love and attention we give her :-)
And well dinner for us and the Orphans Ugali and beans...mmmmm!! And once again no shower, we only have a bucket and very little water supplies so bathing happens every few days and the toilet.....a hole in the ground............ahhhh the luxury's of life African style :-)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Day 2 No More Airports Please.......
12th September 2010
Morning Johberg....Ok so who said Africa was Hot??!! Wearing winter clothes still we re pack, eat an amazing buffet breakfast and make our way to the airport to find out our flight has been cancelled :-( All good though just another 5hrs sitting in an airport, lol!! We arrive in Nairobi finally with our driver Stanley awaiting our arrival (the sweetest man in the world) and to our hotel Silver Springs for a well deserved sleep........Airports/Planes/Hotels and FOOD...thats us so far :-)
Morning Johberg....Ok so who said Africa was Hot??!! Wearing winter clothes still we re pack, eat an amazing buffet breakfast and make our way to the airport to find out our flight has been cancelled :-( All good though just another 5hrs sitting in an airport, lol!! We arrive in Nairobi finally with our driver Stanley awaiting our arrival (the sweetest man in the world) and to our hotel Silver Springs for a well deserved sleep........Airports/Planes/Hotels and FOOD...thats us so far :-)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Day 1- VA Flight 105
And so our journey begins......we arrive safe in Johberg after a 15hr 30min flight from Melbourne, Australia. The many people we encounter on this flight all come with positive words of encouragement and excitment for us. Its hard to believe at this point that I am actually in Africa. It's dinner and early to bed for us before we make our way back to the airport to continue on our way.....
Saturday, August 14, 2010
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