The Boys Dorm & Kibera
The Boys Dorm -or- I hope having a bed to yourself is worth your foreskin
This last Saturday we moved the first ten boys into the newly finished boys dormitory. John Felix, Lukas, Peter, PK, Mugo, Ben, Juma, Aaron, Morgan, and Joshua made the shift in a mad flurry of clothes, toys, and wooden objects crudely put together with nails, string, or anything they could find. It was a bittersweet event, mostly for Tammi and I. We had always hoped that there would be a place for us at the House of Hope as dorm parents, but it appears that's not in God's plan for us. But Patricia is now the head of the boys dorm, which she deserves, because she does work her butt off everyday (you may remember the expose' in our last newsletter---she washes the clothes by hand everyday. We did finally get the washer everyone is always talking about, but we think it slows her down, so she doesn't use it much), and now she has a room to herself.
Due to the boys moving in we had a large party! You know what that means? MEAT! Two kilograms of it to be exact. Crazy! We ate nyama choma (roasted meat), rice, and Tammi's favorite, a carrot and cabbage dish. The kids got fat, we got tired, overall, an exciting evening.
But to "cut" to the chase: the twenty oldest boys, this month, as a rite of passage, will be circumsized. Yes, you heard me, circumcision. I am slated to help talk to the boys about this. What do I say? "Well boys, the same thing happened to me when I was eight days old, I am pretty sure it will be about the same as when you are thirteen..." It happens the day after school lets out. Merry Christmas, boys, it is better to give than to receive...
No, there will be no pictures of this event.
---
Kibera
Today we went to visit our friends, the nuns, in Karen. Sister Rose took us to their school, which is on the edge of one of the largest slums in Nairobi, known as Kibera (you may have seen it in the film The Constant Gardener). She showed the school then walked us arond the outskirts of the slum. It was surreal. We didn't really know what to expect. Well we expected squalor, you know, weeping and gnashing of teeth, kind of thing, but no, there was none of that. For being called slums it really seemed like a community of well below average homes/shacks. We know this is just the perception of a well-off white person who only walked around the still green edge of an otherwise brown and grey "slum". We saw families going about their daily routine, and didn't feel sorry for them, because that would not help them. They seemed to have their own joy that we (those who live in permanent housing) could never understand. I know that it has to be a hard life there, I am in no way doubting that. It was an experience. I hope to go back.
There will be no pictures this week as we are in the Nakumatt. Hopefully next week you will see the boys dorm, kibera, and volleyball with the nuns...sorry!
It is also my fault that there is nothing from Tammi this week, sorry X 2.
Bye!
This last Saturday we moved the first ten boys into the newly finished boys dormitory. John Felix, Lukas, Peter, PK, Mugo, Ben, Juma, Aaron, Morgan, and Joshua made the shift in a mad flurry of clothes, toys, and wooden objects crudely put together with nails, string, or anything they could find. It was a bittersweet event, mostly for Tammi and I. We had always hoped that there would be a place for us at the House of Hope as dorm parents, but it appears that's not in God's plan for us. But Patricia is now the head of the boys dorm, which she deserves, because she does work her butt off everyday (you may remember the expose' in our last newsletter---she washes the clothes by hand everyday. We did finally get the washer everyone is always talking about, but we think it slows her down, so she doesn't use it much), and now she has a room to herself.
Due to the boys moving in we had a large party! You know what that means? MEAT! Two kilograms of it to be exact. Crazy! We ate nyama choma (roasted meat), rice, and Tammi's favorite, a carrot and cabbage dish. The kids got fat, we got tired, overall, an exciting evening.
But to "cut" to the chase: the twenty oldest boys, this month, as a rite of passage, will be circumsized. Yes, you heard me, circumcision. I am slated to help talk to the boys about this. What do I say? "Well boys, the same thing happened to me when I was eight days old, I am pretty sure it will be about the same as when you are thirteen..." It happens the day after school lets out. Merry Christmas, boys, it is better to give than to receive...
No, there will be no pictures of this event.
---
Kibera
Today we went to visit our friends, the nuns, in Karen. Sister Rose took us to their school, which is on the edge of one of the largest slums in Nairobi, known as Kibera (you may have seen it in the film The Constant Gardener). She showed the school then walked us arond the outskirts of the slum. It was surreal. We didn't really know what to expect. Well we expected squalor, you know, weeping and gnashing of teeth, kind of thing, but no, there was none of that. For being called slums it really seemed like a community of well below average homes/shacks. We know this is just the perception of a well-off white person who only walked around the still green edge of an otherwise brown and grey "slum". We saw families going about their daily routine, and didn't feel sorry for them, because that would not help them. They seemed to have their own joy that we (those who live in permanent housing) could never understand. I know that it has to be a hard life there, I am in no way doubting that. It was an experience. I hope to go back.
There will be no pictures this week as we are in the Nakumatt. Hopefully next week you will see the boys dorm, kibera, and volleyball with the nuns...sorry!
It is also my fault that there is nothing from Tammi this week, sorry X 2.
Bye!
posted by Michael & Tammi at 5:09 AM
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