News from Kenya - #9

Journal Entry 9-Day 15,16

April 12, 2010 Monday 10.30AM

Yesterday, Sunday, Paul came to “pick me” to go to his village, Usoma, for 10AM Mass. They have Mass in the various villages once/month. One of the priests from Kibuye Church travels to the villages if there are enough people to make it worthwhile.

The Church in Usoma is constructed the same as the village houses, a wooden frame made from tree branches filled in with mud mixed with cow dung. It has an iron roof and a rocky mud floor. There are long benches to sit on. The altar is a regular table. When we arrived at 10AM no one was around. The priest had not arrived yet.

Shadrack Ouko, age 17, is sponsored by the CME choir at St. Joes and lives very close to the Usoma church. We walked over to meet with him before the Mass. He is in form 4, his last year of high school. He improved from last year on his first term report scoring an overall average of B-. He still has E’s in math and chemistry. He has to walk an hour and a half to get to school. He leaves about 5.00 AM. He has a long day of classes and has football (soccer) practice every day from 4 to 6PM. He usually gets home about 8 PM. He requested help with lunch money because lunch is not provided for the children in day school. He often has nothing to eat all day until he gets home at 8PM. I encouraged him to eat something in the morning before he leaves. He said there is nothing prepared because it is so early. They do not have snacks or juice he can just grab and go. They usually have porridge for breakfast and that requires making a fire and preparing it.

He said it would cost about 1000-1500KS/month (15-20dollars) for him to buy some ugali and kale for lunch at the local “hotels”- (very small restaurants made of iron sheets that are common). We will give him something toward that but cannot promise him ongoing support because there are too many other very pressing needs to respond to. He also requested new shoes, workbooks for school, and a backpack so his books don’t get wet on his long walk to school. He stated his eyes burn all the time as he studies by the light of a small kerosene lantern. He showed me the lantern. I could not believe it. It is so tiny - simply a tin container smaller than a tuna fish can and about the same height. It has an open wick. We bought him a larger kerosene lantern with a glass cover. It cost about $5. We gave him 3000KS (40 dollars) for the shoes, books and backpack. He lives in Paul’s village so he will show Paul the items after he buys them. We will try to buy him a bicycle and that will cut his travel time in half. The roads in his village are mud, very bumpy and full of holes so he cannot bike very fast. I met Shadrack’s grandmothers and some of his other relatives. Their house like most of the villagers in Usoma has been rebuilt because of the airport expansion. They therefore have a good house with plaster over the mud and cow dung walls and a real floor instead of the usual mud floor.

The Priest finally arrived about 11:45AM. The church was filled to overflowing. They brought a chair for me to sit in and that was very nice.

The Priest is Father Charles. He is rather young, maybe 40 or so. He is a local Kenyan. He welcomed me at the beginning of Mass and stated he had been to the USA when the Pope was in Toronto in 2002. He stayed in Rochester for a short while. I told him I was from Buffalo and he had been there. He invited me to come up and address the congregation. Paul translated and I told them a little about my church at home and what I was doing in Kenya.

Fr. Charles also informed the villagers that the diocese had assigned them a catechist. It was a big cause for celebration because Usoma village had been requesting one for a long time. He will live right in the village and instruct people, especially the children, in preparation for Baptism, first communion and confirmation. He will also meet with couples to prepare them for marriage. He came to the Mass and was met by the villagers for the first time. They were very welcoming clapping and ululating. They had a special collection for him so he can purchase cement and supplies to build a house to live in. The people will all help him build the house next to the church. In the meantime he will rent a place nearby.

The Mass finally began at 12.00 noon and ended at 2 PM. I am still getting used to “Kenyan time”. We took a Tuk Tuk back to the flat and I had some peanut butter and bread for lunch with some juice.

Paul and I talked for a while and then we both fell asleep in the living room chairs. We walked over to a nearby restaurant for supper.

I didn’t write anything about Saturday, April 10^th. It was a quiet restful day- needed after the hectic schedule in Buburi. I was alone at the flat most of the day. I did some reading, praying and thinking. I worked some on forms we are trying to develop to use for reports with FIOH-Kenya.

Paul came over about 4 PM and we went to Kiboko Bay for dinner. It is also know as hippo point. He had never been there before. It is a resort on Lake Victoria with a nice restaurant. It is frequented by mwzungu’s (white people) as well as locals. I have been there each time I’ve come and it is very nice. We watched the sunset over the water and had a nice dinner. It is more expensive than the little local restaurants we usually go to but our dinners including banana boats (splits) for dessert came to about 20 dollars-still quite reasonable. It was a nice relaxing Saturday.

The weather has been very hot (mid 90’s) without very much rain.

End of Journal Entry 9