For months before our trip, our team took opportunities to get together to study and prepare. Let’s just say that in some ways these were virtual meetings since 3 teammates were on the East Coast (Julia, Meg and Clare) and one was in SoCal at school until a few weeks before the trip (Ana). But … Continued
Madam Dorcas As one of my last days at Achungo winds down, I walk home with Venezyl and Madam Nancy Odhiambo (the younger teacher Nancy) to visit Madam Dorcas, who is at home with a 3-week-old baby she has inherited from her brother-in-law’s wife who apparently died in childbirth. Madam Dorcas was … Continued
As if I needed it, I got further acknowledgement of the various and real benefits of the model that Michael created in Achungo. I finished reading a book called “The Urban Halo” by Craig Greenfield about his experience helping HIV/AIDS orphans in Cambodia. Craig did a lot of research (UNICEF, UNAIDS, USAID, Yale University … Continued
I awake early (5 a.m.), as usual, and to all the usual sounds: roosters crowing nearby, dogs barking in the hotel yard, a TV blaring somewhere, trucks and cars and cycles loudly driving past on the road that is a few steps away, all manner of horn honking near and far, loud speakers blaring from … Continued
“Can I help with some more teaching?” Mr. Richard is glad to oblige and gives me my teaching schedule. I’ll teach 3 classes plus help with PE for Grades 1& 2. Woops, looks like I’ve already hung out too long with the other teachers in the Teachers’ Lounge and missed my first period. No problem, … Continued
Today Michael and I have planned a trip to nearby Homa Bay, mostly to check out the market (their market day is Wednesday). I want to survey nearby markets for a couple of reasons. First, to help me understand some of Achungo’s costs; and secondly, to learn about possible opportunities for us to earn some … Continued
Pardon the sarcastic political reference in the title, but today was focused on the classroom experience which is certainly core to Achungo. I sat in on a number of the classes with the purpose of understanding what the teachers and the students are experiencing and what their potential needs are. Appropriately enough, I started in … Continued
It’s Monday – school day and I get to spend my first full day at the school! School day begins at 7:45-ish with an assembly around the flagpole – children cluster in their class groups and are very orderly. First up is inspection by the teacher-in-charge: · Does everyone have clean necks? · Socks on … Continued
Today, Michael takes me to his home church to attend services. He has attended here since he was small. We drive up the gravel drive to Kager Vision Center and into a grassy compound with a sizable brick chapel (maybe seating for 150 about 90 attending), a stucco and rock community center building and a … Continued
Today Michael takes me to his village, Kager, to view the Achungo farm plots. The farming now takes up a lot of Michael’s time and is our key to moving toward some level of self-sufficiency. The current Samaritan’s Purse funding (the only funded project going on right now) provides for the costs for these plots … Continued
Although I actually just got back from my 20-day trip to Achungo as of this writing, I couldn’t blog while there. I had virtually no internet access. There’s no wifi — a few times I borrowed someone’s laptop with their 3G internet service (Safaricom!) So I now recreate those 20 days, Day 1 being Oct. … Continued