August 12th: Today, the able children of the Kadesh family came by our guesthouse on the way to church to pick us up. The children attend the neighbourhood Lakeview African Gospel Church – a very beautiful building. We, as visitors, were even invited at the end of the service for tea. Afterwards, we walked back to the Kadesh home for lunch, outdoor activities and also quieter indoor ones. In the later afternoon, a physical therapist (who works at the special school two of the children attend) came by to do exercises with the special needs children of the family. Also during the later part of the afternoon, we worked through the babies’ care, so we will be able to do this part of the care taking for the next days we are here in Nakuru, as the baby caregiver is away with family for a short time.
Photo: A view of Lake Nakuru on the horizon while walking home from the neighbourhood church.
August 13th: Today started with meeting with Lawrence (the ABW driver) and Regina plus her husband, Stephen. We were planning to go out to their new property, but first we had to stop by the Kadesh home for an hour, so some business could be dealt with and workers supervised. We headed out mid-morning to the new Kadesh property, which is about 40kms from Nakuru, around the other side of the lake. It is very nice land, where a new home will be build, as well as space for keeping animals and growing vegetables. It’s quite rural, but there are some schools just up the road, and a nearby small town. We returned to the Kadesh family home for lunch with Lawrence before he left (to return Wednesday morning to take us to Nairobi). Then the afternoon was spent with the children, primarily focused on caring for the two babies, both under one year of age.
Photo: Regina, Celena, Kiri and Stephen on the new Kadesh land, where their home will soon be built.
August 14th: Today was spent completely with the children of the Kadesh family. Caring for the babies, playing with the children and meeting more family members. At lunch one of Stephen and Regina’s own daughters, Angie, came by. She is a social worker and their manager. In the evening, we were also joined for dinner by Stephen and Regina as well as members of a family who adopted a child some years ago from the Kadesh family; they are still close friends. It was a wonderful Kenyan dinner for our last night in Nakuru, before our packing begins to leave early tomorrow morning for Nairobi.
Photo: Many of the Kadesh family children with their ‘aunt’, Angie.
August 15th: Today, we left Nakuru early in the morning, and drove through the Great Rift Valley to Nairobi. We stopped for a bit of souvenir shopping before ending our journey at the airport, with time to spare to rest, catch up on our last reporting for this trip, and get a good night of sleep before getting up before the African sunrise tomorrow for our flight out of Kenya. We are so grateful for all that we have learned on our trip and all the people who have welcomed us and impacted our lives. We also want to thank everyone with A Better World Canada, both in Kenya and at home, for all the time and effort they put into making this trip a reality for us. Asante!
Photo: Kiri and Celena at the edge of the Great Rift Valley, right where the journey started!
