On Monday morning we toured the "Beacon of Hope Ministry Center" in western Nairobi. This is a remarkable clinic meeting the needs of HIV positive women and families affected by AIDS. Monday afternoon we began packing our bags for the return journey. Monday Night was our big closing celebration time with our hosts from Daystar University. We had a "Nyamachoma" which is Swahili for goat roast, or more generally a barbecue. We had a great time eating goat and pork, and other local treats like "Ugali" which is a mashed potato type substance made of boiled water and corn flour. Following the meal the two groups exchanged gifts and shared words of thanks and blessings. We also enjoyed a slide show of pictures from the past two weeks projects and adventures. The Vice Chancellor of the Athi River Campus, Dr. Godfrey M. Nguru and some of his staff also joined us for the celebration. He shared some brief words of appreciation, and looked forward to other opportunities for exchanges with William Jewell. To top the night of Chip mixed up an amazing batch of home made ice cream.
Tuesday morning we left the dorm at 5:30 am with all of our luggage packed for the 10:30 pm departure. Why did we leave so early you ask? Well, when you tour the Nairobi National Wildlife Reserve it is best to tour at dawn or d,usk to see the most animals. Here is a short list of animals we saw during our 3 hour tour: (6-9am) Warthog, Hartebeast, Thompson's Gazelle, Ostrich, Zebra, Baboons, Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Storks, Guinea Fowl, Giraffes, Velvet Monkeys, Antelope, Crocodile, and the coup de gras... the King of Beasts, A male lion (Simba) and his pride of about 8 females. We were about 10 feet from the big guy as he laid in the grass - Sorry photos next blog.
Our safari was a blast, following that adventure we visited a gift shop and then had an amazing wild meat lunch at a restaurant called "The Carnivore." It was kind of cool, after seeing all this wildlife we got to sample Ostrich, crocodile, and the staples of beef, pork and chicken. They would continually cycle through with swords of skewered meat, and cut some off on your plate. We dined there for a couple hours, and ate our fill of meats.
Ironically the next event on our schedule ws a brief tour of Nairobi's poorest slum area known as "The Kibara Slum." It is the second largest slum in Africa, and this overcrowded area is home to over 1 million people. Our guides were some remarkable young men and women that grew up in the slums and have returned to lead a futbol program for the children of the area. They currently coach over 300 teams and they hold tournaments at neighboring schools that are very well attended by the residents. It was very humbling and eye opening to tour the area. I think our repsonse to that experience will require an entire entry of its own.
Next we made one last souvenir stop in the downtown market area known as "Biashara Street." Once our final Shillings were spent, we stopped at a home nearby, some friends of Chip and Chari, to re pack our luggage, grab a snack, and clean up before our flight. Once that was done we made our way to the Nairobi airport for our return flight.
My Battery is nearly dead... Deo Fisus Labora - Jeff
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