Last Sunday, Fr. David was the celebrant for the 7 am Mass here at Gekano and, yes, it did start at 7 am much to our delight!  Because Masses never start on time - the exception being when Fr. David is the celebrant – most people do not get to Mass until after it has started and this past Sunday was no different.  There weren’t many people in church shortly before Mass was to start so the seminarian came out and made an announcement in Ekegusii.  Obviously, it was something we didn’t understand, but, when we saw the people from the back pews – where we were – moving to the front, we knew what he meant.  By the end of Mass, the church was quite full.  The Sisters next door were for late for Mass arriving during the singing of the Gloria.  Since we had inside knowledge, we were there on time! 

On Tuesday and Thursday of this past week, we had a Wellness Seminar for the orphans (pre-school to high school) from Ichuni, Manga and one third of the orphans from Gekano.  The orphans from Ichuni and Manga were bused here since those locations are a considerable distance from the compound. Because there are over 450 orphans enrolled in the Bismarck Mission and we have to work around school breaks, it is not possible to do them all in two days, so they are split up.  The first time the seminars were ever conducted was last April and at that time, about 200 orphans from the Gekano area participated.  This is a project that we are fine tuning in hopes of addressing daily health issues and to be proactive in improving the health of our orphans.  Various screenings were done at the clinic next door and included:  blood pressure and temperature checks, weight, height, eyes, checking for chiggers and ringworm (two common afflictions in children), blood tests for anemia and diabetes (two diseases which are prevalent in Kenyans) as well as HIV testing.  In Kenya, when someone tests positive for HIV after confirmatory testing, they are given counseling and go to a clinic every month to receive the antiretroviral medications which are free.  The orphans were also given a deworming pill as studies have shown that deworming substantially improves the health and school participation of children who are treated.  A physician was on-site to examine the children and prescribe medications as needed. There were age-appropriate educational seminars on topics such as nutrition and hygiene, relationships, reproductive health, peer pressure, self-esteem, and decision making.  These seminars were led by alumni of the orphan education program – those who have finished their secondary school and are currently in post-secondary or are finished and working. After the screenings and educational seminars were conducted, the orphans were treated to snacks and received Ksh 500 which works out to be $4.05 with the current exchange rate.  The orphans didn’t know they would be receiving the money so when they were told at the end, they were excited!  The Bismarck Mission alumni that we met were quite impressive in how they conducted themselves - they truly wanted to be of assistance in whatever way they could to the orphans and that was very evident in the small discussion groups.  These alumni faced many challenges growing up and to some degree still do and therefore they could relate and give advice on certain matters to the orphans far better than any of us ever could.  Over the course of the two days, around 54 of the 167 orphans were prescribed medication for things such as ringworm, eye infections, H.pylori (common cause of stomach ulcers), dermatological issues, wounds that were infected, etc.  Because of the cost of medication, children may not be taken to the doctor but because of the different screenings performed, 54 of them are now getting the medication for the various afflictions they have.  Fr. David made the comment that the total cost of the medications for the orphans was around Ksh 12,000 which works out to be about $100.  In our minds that seems so inexpensive but in reality, many cannot afford these medications such as creams, antibiotics, eye drops, etc. that were prescribed. If not for the support from those back in the diocese and beyond, so many things would not be possible for these children and so we are grateful. 

Shamba update:  not much new there since the concrete that was poured last Saturday is still curing.  During the week, one of the guys that stays at the shamba, would spray water on the concrete three times a day to keep it from curing too fast.  It has been warm here with the temperatures reaching the upper 80’s a few days and little rain.  The mason fundis (skilled worker) continue to shape and form the stone that will be the outside wall of the Mission house and the fundis that are working on plastering the walls of the barn are close to being done.  On one of the days that we went to check on the progress, we got to see the two goats that Wes was babysitting here in the back yard at the Mission house a week ago.  The goats are much happier there and we are too!  Once we get to the new shamba, we will truly enjoy having what we’d call a small hobby farm.  Here, where the Mission house currently is, there is not much room for animals with the exception of a few chickens and a goat or two plus Kathy doesn’t care for having to watch where she steps when hanging laundry on the clothesline! 

On Wednesday and Saturday, Kathy went with Lilian while Emma went with Wes to conduct more home visits in the Biticha area for the Water with Blessings program.  On Wednesday, we were able to get to the homes of 17 mamas while on Saturday we visited 19 of them.  Most of the women will receive a water drum for using and cleaning the filter properly while a few will be disappointed when they find out their neighbor received one but they didn’t.  If they are not using and/or taking care of the filter properly, they do not receive a water drum.  The women were very welcoming even though we were never invited!  Hospitality is very important to these people and even when you just show up at their shamba they still say Karibu over and over – Karibu means welcome (welcome to my home).  Most of the women were out working in their shamba picking tea or tilling the ground with their jembe (large hoe).  We like to take pictures of them with their bucket and filter along with any family members that are around and they almost always oblige.  A couple of the women that Kathy and Lilian visited insisted on changing into some better clothes along with taking off the rubber boots they had on since they had been out in the shamba!  One of the mamas even scolded Lilian for not calling her to let her know we were coming as she felt her house was a mess – it wasn’t.  At two of the places Kathy and Lilian visited, the families wanted us to eat but we politely declined which worked for the first one but not the second.  The bwana (master) of the house was home eating and insisted that we eat and would not take no for an answer.  We didn’t want to be rude but we needed to be on our way as we had more mamas to visit.  We realized we weren’t going to win the battle, so we accepted.  One dish of githeri (mixture of beans and maize) with three spoons was brought out and set before us to share which made Kathy quite nervous as she didn’t want to eat out of the same plate with two other people.  Therefore, she quickly picked up a spoon before anyone else and took one large spoonful and left it at that.  You don’t want to be rude but at the same time, eating out of the same dish or drinking from the same cup is not appealing nor smart, at least in our eyes, though we see it happen a lot and they think nothing of it.  When Kathy brought the spoonful of githeri up to her mouth, she realized it was cold.  The daughter-in-law who made it apologized and said she didn’t have time to cook it which again made Kathy very nervous when she heard it was not cooked.  Because the liquid in the mixture was water and not knowing where the water came from, Kathy got that uneasy feeling.  It is hard as you don’t want to be ungrateful - they are giving of the little they have.  You don’t want to chance getting sick if you can help it and with uncooked food, the chances of getting sick are greater.  Finally, we tend to decline because it is hard to eat when we see children staring at us who have not eaten yet.  We would rather they eat than us – they look like they need to eat while we don’t.  Because we come unannounced, they weren’t expecting to have extra mouths join them for lunch.  They usually make enough to eat in one sitting so there are no leftovers since they do not have refrigerators.  To date, after having been on many home visits, Wes has seen one refrigerator during a home visit while Kathy has never seen one though she did see a stove.  Having a large appliance such as a refrigerator or stove is something most cannot afford though when visiting with Lilian one day, she mentioned that if people could afford them, they still might not buy one because a fair amount of them think that refrigerated food causes cancer.  She asked us if that was true and we told her we have never heard such a thing.  It comes down to people educating themselves through reputable sources of information.  Lilian then went on to ask us about genetically modified food products (GMOs) since this is a topic currently being debated in Kenya.  In October of 2022, the newly elected Government of Kenya lifted a decades long ban on the cultivation and importation of GMOs.  There are split opinions with the politicians and other groups clashing with scientists over the safety of consuming GMO foods.  This debate is taking place at the same time the worst drought in almost 40 years is affecting East Africa.  We have no doubt the conversations will continue.

We made a supply run to Kisii this week to buy more buckets and blankets for the Water with Blessings program.  We bought thirty buckets and two bales of blankets – each bale has thirty blankets.  The challenge when we go to purchase these items as well as the water drums is that the store has no parking lot out back – you have to park along the street in front of the store provided you can find any parking.  The store we go to has about 20 feet roped off for a vehicle to park but most days we go it is not available.  We have gotten to the point where we call first and if no space available, we don’t stop until there is.  About a month ago when picking up nine water drums, the owner of the store directed Wes to park in such a way that it would block the traffic going both ways - this is a main street in the town and therefore very busy.  Wes told the guy no numerous times but the owner insisted so Wes did park the vehicle as the owner wanted though he was not happy about it.  It didn’t take long for two of the traffic police to show up on the driver’s side and give Wes a hard time – these were the same kind of guys that stopped Kathy some time back.  Wes, already not being happy, didn’t take any grief from them.  One of the guys made the comment that “you can’t park here” and Wes told him to go talk to the owner since he was the one who told him to.  The traffic police then got a little testy and said to Wes, “you think you make your own rules” and again Wes just told him to go and talk to the owner.  Kathy was not privy to the whole conversation since she was out helping to load water drums in the vehicle but once she got in the vehicle, she knew Wes was not happy.  As soon as Kathy got in the vehicle, Wes drove off even though the traffic police were still harping at him through his window - Wes really didn’t care while Kathy was a little nervous. No one followed us so we made our get away and left town! 

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:

https://stjparish.com/photoalbums/kenya-1-8-23