Just another day in Kuria

Today started and ended with a bang.

This morning I left to travel to Mabera for my final day of orphan recruitment. It was a typical situation; my friend Robi and I crammed into the back seat of a Nissan station wagon (the favored public transport vehicle for Kuria’s unpaved, windy and pothole-ridden roads) along with two other people, while two passengers shared the front seat, and the driver shared his own seat with his 7th passenger, whose lap he reached across to shift gears.

About one kilometer outside Kehancha, a huge truck came barreling around a blind curve, and to avoid a sideswipe, our driver veered off into a ditch with a violent crash, leaving us tipped dangerously up on one side. I encouraged Robi to get out of the car ASAP. Fortunately, the car was easily pushed out of the ditch and back onto the road, with one flat tire and my punctuality in Mabera being the main casualties.


After the tire was changed we arrived in Mabera where I spent my final day cruising the Kurian countryside on motorbike (aka piki piki in these parts) to visit with 3 more children. This trip concludes orphan recruitment in Kuria and I will now sort through many pages of notes, numerous photos and attempt to select 12 children for recommendation to SOTENI. Twelve is a woefully small number and my hope is that I will be able to recruit additional donors to sponsor more of the children I’ve met, all of whom would be overjoyed with some extra help.



It was a long day and we arrived back in Kehancha for lunch after 5pm. After some ugali, skuma and danga (small fish), I went outside for my daily bucket shower. I am in a new homestay due to some petty theft at my old place, and at this house the bathing area is outside, along with the pit latrines. I love the outdoor shower because you can see over the top of the door to the sky, and today I was able to observe a terrific thunderstorm rolling in as I washed. The lighting was incredible and the sky was black in a matter of minutes.

It’s still pouring outside and I am thankful for the roof over my head. I am also grateful for the meal I will take in about an hour, and the big bowl of bananas, papayas, and pineapples grown right here on the shamba that I’ll have for dessert. If nothing else, today reminded me how lucky I am!