Saturday in Nakuru

Another day in Nakuru.  We woke up to another beautiful day and as the day wore on, it became a little hot and very dusty. (OK....very hot)  We went and spent the day at the Virginia Home.  Everyday as we drive in to the Home, we drive through the area of town that is the slums.  All the little children in the community come out of their homes and wave and scream, "How are you? How are you?"  They are so cute.  The streets are filled with people walking to work and to school.  Also, they are lined with animals; cows, sheep, dogs, cats, goats.  The animals are just roaming the streets and eating yet noone bothers them.  What strikes me as so interesting is that the children as small as 3 or 4 walk the streets by themselves.  They know where to go and noone bothers them. 

The children at the Virginia Home are always eager to greet us as we enter the gates.  Every single child as soon as you leave the van rushes up to give you a huge hug and greeting.  Even the older teenagers greet like this.  I have been sitting with a group of teenagers about 14-17 yrs old.  They ask lots of questions and have been eagerly (sometimes to eager) giving me Swahili lessons.  I am learning many words but the language is so different from ours that I have a hard time remembering them.  They laugh endlessly at my Texas pronunciations.  They were teaching me to say "I want food"  and my pronunciation came out as "I want frogs".  They thought that was hilarious.   I have been asked if I have cows and why don't I,  what does an airplane look like, what I like to eat, and many, many questions about our weddings. 

Several children have won my heart but one in particular is special.  His name is Paul and he was dropped off at the orphanage by his grandmother  just over a year ago.  He was mal-nourished, sickly and had burns and cuts all over him.  The director thought he might have aids and took him immediately to the hospital but they said he was fine and healthy.  So after a year of eating, being taken care of and being part of a community, he has been thriving.  He speaks no English but wants to be loved so badly.  I learned to say "I love you" and when we left I gave him a big hug and said that and he just grinned from ear to ear.

Also, at the Home they have  cows, chickens, rabbits and sheep.  All the children take care of them and even the kids outside of the Home come and feed the animals daily.  Attached you will see a picture of one of the boys who sat and petted a calf and the calf just layed down with his head on William's lap and fell asleep.  They use these animals for milk, eggs, and then meat.  It sad for me but for them it is a way of life.  They told me that at Christmas they will slaughter the oldest cow (who is 21 years old) and have a big celebration for the whole community with it.  They are very excited.