Water Blogged

Westridge School For Girls Kenya Trip 2018

We were up early today for a 7am breakfast.  Our luggage was loaded and we headed to Kathungu Village.  Kathungu Village is the location of the first H2O for Life project.  Founder, Patty Hall, was asked by a community member to assist the community to fund a sand dam that would provide water year round for the village. A strong friendship has developed and many H2O for Life visitors have visited the home of Christopher Mutuku, his family and the community area. Kathugu is only about 70 miles from Nairobi, but it is a 2.5 hour drive. The good roads are busy, and the village roads are dusty, bumpy and slow.

After a bumpy ride we arrived at Kathungu School.  We were greeted warmly by the younger students and enthusiastic teachers.  The upper classes were at a district wide sports day, so many students were gone for the day.  The students and teachers participating in the sports day walk 4-5 miles to a neighboring school to join in the district event.

The Kathungu children entertained us with songs and dancing, and the Westridge girls also sang songs and led the students in a Westridge School chant.

Our next stop was a visit to Iliwani Pre-School.  The children were a bit shy, but they warmed up to us quickly. The pre-schoolers walk to school- often alone and for 20 -30 minutes. They are learning the English alphabet and simple math skills.  Much of their class time is spent repeating lessons, songs, dancing and playing.  A good pre-school program! H2O for Life provided toilets for the school last year.

Once we finally arrived at Christopher’s house, we were treated to a lunch with local fruit, and sandwiches.  The girls learned how to use a pour flush toilet, the “cho” (outside toilet) and were assigned to bedrooms or the option of staying overnight in tents. Six of the girls stayed outside in the tents.  The weather was dry and warm. There were many local women helping to prepare lunch for 14 of us, and they were also excited to meet “the Muzungu’s” (foreigners- translated literally to mean: “someone who roams around aimlessly”) That pretty much summed us up!

Following lunch, we began a trek around the village.  We started with a visit to the river, the life-blood of the community, and followed trails through local farms, gardens and family household areas. The girls jumped over rocks, crossed over the tops of dams along the river, climbed trees and planted beans with a local farmer. We saw cows, goats, dogs, cats, chickens and lots of children peeking out at us.  We hiked for 3 hours and were ready to sit in Christopher’s welcoming courtyard.

When we returned from our hike, Christopher’s home area was filled with children, women and men.  All of them were curious to meet us and learn more about us.  We also were excited to learn about them as well.  There was a 2 month-old baby, and year old twins that were in high demand to hold. There was also an assortment of primary school students that wanted to use our cameras and look at our phones.  (We had no cell reception, but they loved the photos). The ladies, who we named the Kathungy Women’s Choir, sang several traditional songs to us and their harmony and dancing was a delight.

Christopher has added a solar panel to his home so that he has electricity that powers lights in each room.  The power is used sparingly but was welcome as it was really dark! We all needed to keep our flashlights (torches) close by.

Our dinner was a Kenyan Feast.  We were treated to Ugali and Sukumawiki- a traditional dish served almost daily in most rural households in Kenya. Ugali is made of corn flour and water- it is boiled and stirred until it takes on a solid consistency that can be cut with a knife. The Sukumawiki is a spinach like plant cooked with spices.  It is a very inexpensive meal and often as the main meal of the day. Githeri is another local dish and is a combination of maize and beans. We also were served chapatti, potatoes, pumpkin, chicken, rice and delicious mangos and bananas. Everything is cooked in a small kitchen adjacent to the living area of the house.  There is a 3-stone fire and a jiko (small grate over charcoal) and one small burner powered by kerosene.  The kitchens are usually separate from the house in case of fire. We were offered tea along with our meal.

Following dinner, we sat outside and marveled at the beautiful sky.  With very little ambient light, the stars were amazing. Author Mary Ann Radmacher stated:“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” I believe this is true!

The night would not be complete without engaging in a rousing game of left, right, center with the adults and children.  The winners of the games could choose a prize such as finger-nail polish, lotion, chapstick, Kenya shillings, candy and pens.  (Anything our group was willing to donate!) The candy and shillings were hits with the kids. Finally, around 10 pm we rolled into our beds…

At 5 am, the roosters started crowing and the dogs started barking. It was time for the village to start stirring. The primary school students had eaten and were off to school by 7 am. Our group had a delicious breakfast of eggs, more chapati, and fruit.

By 9 am, we were packed and ready to head to Amboseli Park for a safari adventure.

We gave lots of hugs to the community members that we had gotten to know. They provided us with a unique opportunity to see life in a rural village.

I think the girls will remember their time in the village forever.