Our dinner at Kombo Mwero’s home was nothing short of delightful. He is a gracious host and genuine gentleman. He has lived in Nairobi for 35+ years, but decided to construct a home on one of the hills overlooking our area in 2009. Mr. Mwero comes from a family where his father had three wives, so the roots are spread wide in our area, and Mwero is a common name. This particular Mwero ended up in Nairobi almost by mistake, and ended up making it in a major way. The invitation to join him for dinner was a treat for our entire group and the food prepared was very appetizing. We brought my iPad and a mini-projector system that Burt brought along and showed the new Koins for Kenya movie “Purity.” It’s a wonderful story documenting the first girl ever from our service area to achieve the number one position in our secondary school, and go onto university, where she continues to excel.
The African guests, as well as the help from the kitchen, and a few neighbor kids all watched in a trance. The story unfolded in front of them, seeing one of their own on the big screen, filled with wisdom beyond her years, inspiring all who looked upon her. Tears were shed at the moving account of this phenomenal girl, and an enthusiastic applause erupted at the conclusion.
Steve Quesenberry and I decided to ride motorcycles up to Majengo since the van was so cramped. Now that the evening was over, the reverse trip was in order. Our new motorcycles were shipped to the village from the U.S. because they are sporty and built for rough terrain. However, a small oversight is that these performance bikes don’t have headlights, and as pitch black as things get here, they are day-only bikes. We rode in front of the van on the way home, using the headlights as our guide, dodging potholes and washed out areas as we moseyed along. Q’s bike suddenly sputtered, then died in the middle of the road. He was out of gas. I pulled aside with Q, sending everyone else back to the Koins Center with our driver to get some fuel and drop the group off. Q and I stood silently under a tangible blanket of thick darkness, laughing at our ironic situation while absorbing the stunning beauty that the stars provided us. We sang some rock and roll tunes, chuckled more, and waited for our rescuers, hoping they would take their time.
The groundbreaking for the new school at Miyani is going to be a popular event. That community has not enjoyed a groundbreaking since we constructed the Sean Michels School for our special needs kids over 4 years ago.
A load of lumber arrived for desk-making, and bags of cement for more blocks. With classrooms going up in Bofu and Miyani, and a new office at the KCC, our crews will be heavily engaged until the end of summer, and everyone wins when that happens.
Since schools are now on their break the Koins Center is a focal point for the university students. Throughout the day these stellar young adults will drop by to visit Steve and I, to our complete delight. We have watched these spectacular kids from their latter days in grade school, and now to see them obtaining university degrees is as rewarding as anything I have experienced in our work here. Shy girls have blossomed into self-assured women of substance and culture. Boys from the bush, with little social sophistication, returning home as refined intellectuals is stimulating to the soul. It truly stirs the emotion as these young men and women vocalize their appreciation for Koins and their respective sponsors. A young Muslim girl named Furaha (foo-rah-hah, meaning happiness) stopped by today to pay her respects. She said something very prophetic while being interviewed by Burt Matthews. He asked her what she would be doing if she didn’t receive a Koins scholarship, and she replied quite succinctly, “I’d be working in the fields.” Then she continued talking about her sponsor, stating “With Bill Hardy I have no limit. Without him, I have no possibilities.”
Hundreds of villagers showed up for the ground-breaking at Miyani, and similar to Bofu, when the dirt began flying, all we could do was stand back in bewilderment at the effort put forth to get this project started. There was hardly room to move in the trenches, as men and women alike wielded their tools, chipping away at the baked soil. Chatter abounds and laughter is plentiful as our superstars prepare the ground for footings and foundation. In less than an hour, the job is complete with the construction ball back in our court to begin the pouring of cement……by hand, of course.
Five of our university students arrived shortly after dinner to pay their respects. Moses, Sherrill, and a couple others also passed by since we are the center of attention. Burt pulled out his mobile projector and we showed the Purity movie on the outside wall of the KCC. More convened, and the Koins Theater entertained for the next 90 minutes between the Purity movie and episodes from the series “Earth.” We lacked only popcorn.
It’s only 25 miles to Mombasa and the rain has really caused them problems. Although we’ve not been completely dry, we need the water badly and all we have had is hot, gusting wind. I was told that the same winds that pulled pieces of thatch roof from our village huts knocked down a series of tall billboards along the road to Mombasa. Our sturdy roof rattled vigorously, but withstood the blustery assault. Every day without rain has serious impact on all of our activities, so everyone is pleading to the heavens in unison.
Mama Mishi smiles without reservation and loves to laugh aloud. She is an industrious lady who farms the typical staples, but has also found that raising a certain type of tree used in the making of telephone poles provides extra cash every few years. She has been exploring additional methods to provide for her abundant family of 8, even asking me for ideas. I noticed she had raised three beautiful turkeys, which are expensive here, and asked why this could not be a revenue source. She didn’t have the required knowledge to get serious about it, nor the resources to provide the protection and feed to raise proper broods. I invited her to the KCC to meet with our poultry experts and be my partner in this enterprise. Her face exhibited the excitement of this notion. Patrick outlined the required tools, supplies, and numbers of birds that would be required to get serious about this business. Mama Mishi and I agreed who would be responsible for each line item. Her items required significant sweat and preparation, while mine was only funding. Within a few a week we’ll have our initial flock within the confines of our turkey farm, so put your Thanksgiving order in now. Mama Mishi plans to pay the medical bills for her 15 month old who suffers from Down’s Syndrome with her share of the proceeds. I plan on eating turkey when I’m staying at the KCC. It’s a great partnership.
The drill arrived to the excitement of everyone in our group and in the village. Within 5 feet of piercing the surface, we found a layer of solid, inflexible rock. The first meter and a half went like butter, but the next 10 inches required the rest of the day of unrelenting gnashing by the diamond-tipped drill.
The Tuttle’s and Scott’s both came to the village today from LDS Humanitarian. The Scott’s have visited our area on several occasions, while the Tuttles had only heard about us. We showed them our facilities, discussed our activities, and even watched the drill in action together. The church is looking carefully at the drill to see if it’s something they want to be involved in, so this was a great opportunity to see it working in such a rural setting, with the driving force being the local villagers who make it work.
The Redd’s also came today from Mariakani where they are establishing a dairy, of all things. The concept is great, and we’ll do anything we can to help them, so hopefully they can find a way to get the necessary momentum to create a replicable business that maybe we can imitate.
My partner in crime, Steve Littlefield, departed shortly after the rest of the crew, the difference being is that he is headed for the states. He has worked diligently to establish new protocols and reporting for our financials, handing over the reins to Leah for this massive obligation. Safari njema, rafiki yangu.
Burt, Spence, Scott, Jake and I all went for a late afternoon run together. I cannot imagine what 5 alabaster-skinned guys looked like to the villagers we passed as we clomped along the uneven pathways towards Vikolani. We ran to the spot where our Youth Expedition will be located, then down to the watering hole where they will fetch their bathing water. On well-worn trails we traversed some freshly plowed fields as the sun began to set. Our pace quickened as we realized darkness would be upon us soon. As we passed through Mnyenzeni we saw a perfect setting for a village movie. After dinner the painted wall of a fallen house became the town’s one and only theater, featuring the Lion King. There was no advertisement, no advance notice. The movie was set up, and the play button was pushed. Within minutes we had over 50 kids seated all around watching the film in total amazement. When mothers came looking for their children, the recognizable groans from disappointed kids could be heard. We were major contributors to their delinquency tonight, so we’ll begin our next movie a little earlier. What a fantastic evening to watch a movie under the stars, especially when the patrons had never seen a movie before.
BVL
