Last Sunday, we attended the 7 am Mass with Fr. David at an Outstation called Kenyamware.  We like going to the Outstations as there seems to be less chaos and the setting is much more intimate than here at Gekano where upwards of 800 or more people can attend.  Kenyamware is a newly established center and the people are in the process of building a church.  Therefore, we had Mass in a small building made of mbati (tin) sheets, boards nailed to tree posts and the temperature was such that we could see our breath!  Some of the people and small children were dressed in many layers as if it were winter – even Wes had two jackets on!  After Mass, we headed back to Gekano where Fr. David had the 9 am Mass.  We decided to go for a walk since it was a beautiful morning and it was cool.  We did meet Amos and he was quite happy to get a tom-tom. 

Monday was laundry day along with a few other odd jobs around the house while on Tuesday we weeded the flower beds, gave a few more shrubs a haircut and transplanted some of the flowers to other areas.  Kathy also decided to clean and scrub the floors.  Fr. David left on Monday afternoon for Germany for a two-week vacation and in his absence, we carry on with the work we normally do. 

Our front porch tends to be fairly busy with people seeking help for various reasons but this past week it was exceptionally busy.  With school back in session, we had a number of students coming and asking for fees for Term 1 though Term 2 started a week ago.  If Term 1 is not paid in full, you can’t start Term 2.  This includes tuition, lunch fees, remedial fees, fees for exams, paper, and a variety of other fees the schools seem to come up with.   The Mission cannot help these children unless they are orphans and enrolled in the Bismarck Mission program.  Since the Mission cannot help them, we will sometimes give of our personal money if we feel it is warranted.  Most often it is warranted but we have also learned to ask a lot more questions and demand things like a fee schedule, to see their report card, receipts, etc.  We want to be sure they are truly enrolled in a school and to see how they are doing.  During the week, we had a number of students come from the same school asking for lunch money and various other fees – we were starting to think that the young lady in Form 3, to whom we gave Ksh 2500 ($18) on Monday to put towards her lunch fees, had put out an advertisement to come to the Bismarck Mission!  A young man from this same school came to the door on Friday morning asking for Ksh 5600 ($42) for past due and current lunch fees.  Wes asked the boy to come back with a fee schedule and something that shows what he owes plus a report card from Term 1 of this year and then we would see about helping.  He did come back later and proceeded to hand Wes a Term 2 report card from last year.  For every subject, his letter grade was an E which is equivalent to an F.  Wes told him he needed to bring his Term 1 Report Card which he would have just received last month…the young man never came back.  We are not sure but our guess is that he may not even be in school.  We had another young man in Form 3 - again from that same school - who had come to the Mission earlier in the week asking for food for his family as his father was sick and no mother.   We do know that his father really was sick as he came asking for money for his medical bill at the clinic next door.  As we started to ask questions of this young man, he told us that he can’t go to school because he has school fees to pay and therefore looks for odd jobs to pay off his fees.  He did make it seem like he wanted to be in school.  A day or so later, we had seen this same young man on one of our early morning walks.  He almost immediately told us that he went to a place where they were hiring workers for the day but by the time he walked there, and all the openings were filled.  As we stood there and talked to him, we told him we would consider helping to pay his lunch fees if he brought us a fee schedule and receipt showing the balance he owed.  We told him he needs to be in school so that he can get an education and have a future.  He never did come with a fee schedule so our guess is that he doesn’t want to go to school – he would rather try to find work.  It is hard to see students of any age out walking during the day when they should be in school.  According to Lilian and Emma, the most likely reason they are out walking the roads is because they were sent home and told to not come back until they have money for fees. 

In addition to seeing a number of students come for school fees this week, there were also a lot of people seeking money to pay for medical conditions such as tooth extractions, medications for brucellosis, asthma, stitches because the panga (machete) gashed the ankle, etc.  The Mission does have a fund for Community Support which covers these types of things provided the issues are valid.  If monies are given, the person is to return with a receipt and if not, they are not considered for future help.  An official receipt is asked for to make sure the money was spent on medical, school fees, etc., and not something else.  Thank goodness for the Community Support fund as it helps to pay for things that maybe cost Ksh 2000 to 3000 ($15-20) but they cannot afford.  Medical requests can be a little easier to make a decision about since they usually bring a medical card/book which we know is from the clinic showing the diagnosis, treatment plan, medications prescribed, etc. plus the amount it will cost.  If they don’t bring anything, we ask them to return with something as we just don’t hand out money.  We did have an elderly lady who came wanting help – she was coughing a lot and sounded like she needed to get some medication.  As Kathy visited with her, the lady opened her medical book up to February and March showing the amount owed.  Kathy told her we could help with the problem she had gone to the clinic for that day for but not for the previous months.  She was a little disappointed but also very grateful for any help given.  Because there was no amount written in for the costs of the medications listed, we had to send her back to the clinic to have them write the amount in.  We felt bad making her walk back to the clinic as she already seemed short of breath but again, we don’t hand out money without knowing an amount.  We had another woman come who had two pages filled with diagnoses and medications which she said she needed.  On the second page, was a list of 13 items and at the bottom in a hand written note by the “doctor” it said, “should consider using the above food supplements and immune boosters so that she will be healed”.  We happened to be outside trimming shrubs and working in the flower gardens when this woman came.  When Kathy saw the 13 items, she had Wes get out his phone and add them up.  The total came to Ksh 55,100 ($400)!  Kathy proceeded to tell the mama that the Mission could not cover the items.  In addition, the paperwork she had with her seemed suspicious to us as it was a place we have never heard of and there was no address or a physician listed in the heading of the sheet.  We told her she can come back in a few weeks to discuss it with Fr. David since we will not give her that kind of money.  She was very disappointed though we are sure she will return again.  It is hard to say no – sometimes your heart says one thing while your head says another and that can be a challenge. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, we conducted Water with Blessings trainings at Karantini.  We trained 15 women on Wednesday and the day went smoothly.  When we arrived on Thursday, there were 26 women there instead of 15.  Word must have spread to the surrounding neighborhood plus it probably didn’t help that we were right next to a major dirt road that goes through the village when training the day before.  We had attracted a large audience on Wednesday when carrying the 15 brightly colored yellow buckets into the church.  On Thursday, the mamas came thinking that they could just show up and get a bucket but that is not how it works.  It took some time to sort out the mamas who were supposed to be there and those who weren’t and some weren’t very happy.  It may be that we come back to this area in the future but for that day, we could train only 15.  We didn’t have many children on the first day of training but on the second, we had quite a few including some very rambunctious little boys!  Shortly after we get to a training, Kathy will take stock of the little ones and take them either a biscuit or lollipop depending on their age before we start.  Kathy approached a mama and her small child that was dressed in an off-white fur trimmed coat with a black bow on the back, camouflage pants, orange shoes, and the head of the child was shaved which made it hard to surmise if the child was a boy or a girl.  Kathy made the mistake of looking at the clothing and assuming that the child was a girl when in fact it was a boy…we know what happens when you assume!  When Kathy said, msichana maridadi (beautiful girl), the mother quickly corrected Kathy to let her know the child was a boy.  Kathy apologized and later when asking Lilian about it she said they dress their children in the clothes they have regardless if it is boy or girl…color and style are not a big deal.  Lilian further made the remark, “you put on whatever you have - if you worry about the color, your child will go naked”!  At one point, two of the boys were fighting over a blanket and taking the other one’s lollipop away…kids are the same everywhere.  The three boys that were there were also quite curious and would try to get up close to the bucket the clean water was being filtered into.  One of them would sneak up to the filter that was dangling above the pail and try to push it to give it a swing…he was a little stinker but could also melt your heart with his big smile. 

On Saturday at Manga and Gekano (Mission Saturday), Wes took over Fr. David’s job of calling the students letters to come forward so he could visit with them and check their report cards before receiving their stipend and ration of maize.  On Saturday afternoon, Wes let Zack wash the car and Hilux so he could make some money.  Zack has been coming frequently to ask for money for shoes so Wes thought he could earn it.  Towards the end when Zack was close to having the last vehicle washed, the little ones who had come to get “sweets” went through the back yard and seeing the buckets of water, decided they needed to help, though Zack didn’t really need their help.  They had fun putting sabuni (soap) on their hands and using their hands to wash the vehicle.  It was fun until the soap bottle was empty!  They did have some very clean hands though! 

The temperatures ranged this past week from a low of 57 degrees at night to a high of 86 degrees during the day.  We received around 1.30 inches of rain though we could use more.  When trying to pull weeds from the flower beds, it was tough.  Though we may get a lot of rain, the soil doesn’t hold it very well and within a few days after receiving rain, the ground dries out and gets hard. 

Shamba update:  The workers continue to build the enclosure for the steps leading to the roof.  On the second level deck, they have made a 2-foot wall on which a metal railing will set.  To our surprise, all the rooms, with the exception of the downstairs kitchen and dining area as well as the steps, have been cleaned of the cement that fell onto the floors when plastering the walls and ceilings.  We thought it would take a few weeks to get that task done but they did almost all of it within a week. 

Please know that we keep you in our prayers and ask that you keep us, the Mission, and those we serve in yours.  Mungu Akubariki!

See photos from this week in the album section by clicking on the link below.  Note:  If unable to view the photos using the link below, you can still view them by going to St. Joseph’s Parish website and scrolling down to the section titled Kenya Mission – photo album.  The website:  www.stjparish.com


https://stjparish.com/photoalbums/kenya-5-21-23