the boy who cried hyena...

Today was terrific. Professor Niepold and Linda, a Nyanya Project volunteer from NC, and former nurse/pastor, have been here for two days now. We've had two full and wonderful days. It's wonderful to finally meet the grandmothers that I have seen in so many pictures and heard so much about. On Wednesday morning we woke up early and headed to Amani Aju, an organization which trains grandmothers in craft skills, and where four of our grandmothers are currently being trained.


 The crafts produced by the organization are extremely sophiscated and high quality-- really beautiful. One of our 4 grandmothers, Josephina, passed away so we met with her sister and paid our respects. Josephina was HIV positive, but it was a bad case of cholera which killed her. It was a very emotional meeting- especially discussing the fate of the four grandchildren whom she left behind.

Our next stop was to a secondary school, which is the equivalent to our high school to meet with a headmistress there to get her advice about some issues at our preschool center. She was wonderful and very informative... she invited me to come stay with her family in Western Kenya- if only I had more time! I have had three moments where I have honestly considered extending my stay, but I know that if I do I'll just keep pushing it back and I should leave on a great note. I am honestly in love with Kenya- the lifestyle, the people I have met, and the EXTREMELY relaxed vibe- everything runs in "Africa time". 

Our day yesterday ended early, we kept MM and Linda's jetlag into account. After dinner last night MM and I ended up chatting during which the power went out for 30 minutes. It is wonderful to have her hear. I told her last night that she is like an onion... her stories and past seem to slowly unravel and it's wonderful because she constantly seizes to blow me away with her life experiences. Most of all her practice of Buddhism is quite amazing.

Today we woke up and went to the Nyanya Project Preschool Center where we were met by many eager and welcoming children. I can't explain the feeling of watching MM reconnect with all the grandmothers and adorable children. They sang and danced for us and Elizabeth, the teacher taught a short lesson. 


The kids loved the toys I brought and were so excited the whole time. The center is wonderful- it is painted in bright colors, has running water and a working bathroom. The children are fed extremely well. There are 40 excited and happy children in the preschool center. 

We had a few meetings with the grandmothers and we introduced the four original grandmothers who we trained to the four "new" grandmothers that we are going to start training this month. It was beautiful to see the  bond that they were forming with each other. They all went around and talked about how their lives have been changed and how wonderful it was to see their grandchildren healthy and getting a great education. 15 percent of the children in the center are HIV positive. Not as much as I had assumed but clearly many of the parents were infected after they were born. 

MM decided that she wanted to meet Sho Sho (my grandma from Kaputiei) so to Kaputiei we went! It was wonderful to watch Sho Sho and MM talk. As we drove into the village I had a sensation of returning home, it was really wonderful to be back there. Sho Sho's strength and wisdom are extremely in line with the Nyanya Project's objectives... she's a grandma taking care of 12 grandchildren, owns four businesses and 12 years ago she was begging on the street. Truly remarkable woman. We discussed a possible partnership in the future- very exciting stuff. It's wonderful to see these two worlds collide.

MM asked Sho Sho to tell us a story that she tells to her grandchildren and she told us about the boy who cries hyena! Just a minor African twist to our story... I am practically falling asleep as I write this and we have an early morning flight to Mwanza, Tanzania so I will say goodnight but will write tomorrow when we get to our "Treehouse" bed and breakfast on Lake Victoria.