Report July 17th
Jambo friends,
We have just got back from Dadaab. We spent a wonderful 18 days there. Can you believe it-
there was no internet! There was no electricity in town. The shops could purchase power for
the generator from 7-9 at night. The cost was 500 KS a month.
It didn't take us long to set into a routine. Morning prayers for the town began at 4:45. Most of
my co-workers slept through it. They didn't even know there was another one at 3:00 A.M.
That's the advantage of not sleeping to well. When the crickets stopped chirping and the
roosters started crowing we knew it was time to get up.
We had breakfast on our patio as the children arrived for school. The early birds started to
arrive around 7:00. We waited until 7:45 before we would go out and play with them. They
loved skipping. We were so glad we had been given skipping ropes to take over to Dadaab.
After we listened to the children sing their national anthem and march to their classrooms we
headed to our projects. We completed all our projects-the tukal was finished, the two houses
were finished and the two classrooms were finished.
At 10:00 it was time for our break and recess. We had out tea and then got ready for more
skipping or other games. They really liked the Hokey Pokey.
After break I (Dianne) headed off to Standard 2 classroom with Jennifer. The others
continued to work on the projects. I wish had had more skills (or some skills) at teaching
primary students. The teachers were so eager to learn. I worked through the Canada Book
with them. They loved learning about the maple leaf and the beaver. We made sheep with all
the classes. Debbie taught them Maa Maa Black Sheep.
One funny thing was on the day it rained the children were singing Rain Rain Go Away!
Anab came every day to make us lunch-goat and pasta, goat and rice, goat and chapati.
That's the Dadaab diet.
Then it was time for a rest which we really looked forward to as the afternoons were very hot-
maybe 35 degrees. It was hot for us but winter for them.
At 3:00 were worked on our projects again, until 6:00. Then it was off to downtown Dadaab
for a well earned COLD soda.
Supper was usually chicken noodle soup or a sandwich or even just cheezies.
By 7:00 it was dark and the stars were out. At first there wasn't any moon so the stars were
brilliant. We sat on the Equator and saw the North Star in one direction and The Southern
Cross in the other. The falling stars were great until Glen mentioned something about
watching the garbage falling from space and completely ruined the mood.
At night we would also gather for a devotional time together. This was a really special time as
we shared answered prayer and events of the day. We were so thankful that all four of us
kept well and had lots of energy for the tasks. We were thankful for the safety in travel to and
from Dadaab and while in Dadaab. The roads are paths through the sand. We were thankful
for the great workers from CBM-Yatani, Andai and Irene. They were such an encouragement
to us. We grew to love and appreciate them.
Don't worry. I took lots of pictures. I have used up 2 2gb cards and have had to purchase
another one. I will delete lots before I show them to you.
We are now in Nairobi. Safe and Sound. We heard about the couple from Canada that were
not quite so fortunate. We had a day off and visited a sanctuary for orphaned elephants.
Then we were off to visited the giraffes. We did the giraffe sandwich and got kissed by the
giraffes. Glen wimped out of the kiss. We had a wonderful lunch at the Karen Blizen Garden
Restaurant. That blew the budget so we are now looking for another bank machine.
Today we painted a classroom in Eastleigh. We will return to Eastleigh to paint another room.
Then it is off to a Game Reserve and a visited with the Bannisters for debriefing before
returning home on Tuesday.
There is so much else to tell you but it will have to wait until we get home.