MCoH with A Better World in Nakuru
From Ted Grant:
Well, we had an interesting Sunday (Mar 2nd) getting to Halifax. The snow storm just broke in time for Karen, Greg and I to get to there with not too much time to spare. With the half ton truck loaded to the hilt with 16 bags, 2 wheelchairs and the occasional white out, it was an adventurous trip. The adventure really began when we tried to convince the not so cooperative Air Canada lady to allow an extra 7 bags. A bit in vain as they allowed one extra per person which still left 3 very full overweight bags, which we had no choice but to pay for.
We were picked up at the airport in Nairobi early (6:30) Tuesday morning by our very friendly and familiar driver, Benson. He is great and was very glad to see us. We then went to meet Anne Josiah for a couple of hours, who is the regional director for our partnering organization, Christian Childcare International. At 1:00 we met with the team of volunteers , comprised of four nurses, a teacher, social worker, two pharmacists and a university student, from Mikinduri. They asked us to say hi to you the teams who have travelled to Mikinduri they all send their love. It is great to be able to team up with some people from Mikinduri, for such a great cause. I am so proud of them.
We arrived in Nakuru around 5 pm, after a three hour drive, very jet lagged. After the introduction with Ray Loxdale and the rest of his “A Better World†team members, we ate and gladly went to bed. There are two nurses here from Alberta. One has been here for 3-4 weeks and the other came to Nakuru with us. They are terrific people and we are already getting along quite well working together. It is amazing how organized the camp is considering there is approx 13,000 people. The closest thing I can think of to describe the literally thousands of tents, is to think back to the Boy Scout Jambouree which was held at Rocky Point a few years ago.
A Better World, which is the organization Ray belongs to, has done some incredible work in the past month and a half and has welcomed us wonderfully. Our first visit to the camp was this morning. Wow! What an emotionally overwhelming experience. There is an area which is actually an agrena, which houses aprox 3000 people living in make shift huts with roofs made of feed bags and only very meagre belongings. We spoke with mothers who escaped with literally only the clothes on their backs. It is very difficult to even relate. There are many children everywhere, very dirty and hardly dressed. We were asked by Ray to let the people know that we cared about them, which wasn’t hard for us to do. It is amazing to have a small child take you by the hand and walk along with you quietly. Your hearts just breaks for them and you feel so helpless.
It took us approx 3.5 hrs to tour the complete camp. We met all the organizers and management people from various organizations. I’m telling you, seeing what we saw today certainly tugged at each and every one of our hearts and that is an understatement. After returning to our hotel from the camp, we had a meeting to organize our resourses both human and material. Then before supper we organized the supplies we brought which were very much needed, as they were running low on baby clothing and blankets. They couldn’t believe how much we had collected in such a short time. We just said, hey, that’s PEI.
We have our time organized for tomorrow with everyone having their own jobs to do. It is going to be very hard work along with it being very, very hot and dusty, but that’s why we came. We know that we will be donating the funds to build the desks for the more than 500 students who attend the make shift classrooms that have been set up in tents, as well as organizing and overseeing the young vocational workers who will be building them. As well we will be starting our badly needed vision clinics. On sat, Greg and I will be overseeing the construction of some fuel efficient stoves.
We will try to write a blog every night, but time is at a premium.
In closing all I can truly say is that we see lots of evidence of the tenacity of the human spirit. It is such an honor and privilege to be able to be with these destitute people in their toughest hours.
Last but not least — to put all of you at home at ease — is that the political unrest is almost at a nil. There are no signs of unrest except for the still existing refugee camps. They have security here at our hotel but everything is quite quiet. The same rules are to be followed as they were in Mikinduri such as no walking at night and just be cautious so to all our loved ones at home. Don’t worry! Just miss us.
Better get to bed now.
Ted, Karen and Greg