monday afternoon

We are actually on our way to Arusha and it’s Thursday morning, so I hope I can get you all caught up on our adventure to date. And hopefully I won’t have too many typos as the road can be bumpy at times.

After greeting the new Kili climbers and having lunch, we were off for a nice walk to school so we could meet the children. The walk to school is always so beautiful. I love the lush countryside, the river, the farms and the forest. And I am happy to report, there is now a bridge – a fallen tree – to cross the river. On my last visit, the only option to cross was to navigate slippery rocks in the river, and needless to say my foot would always slip off and go into the chilly river. This time I stayed dry – the tree is so much easier, but still a little challenging when it is wet out.

As a side note – Njabini is in the foothills of the Aberdare Mountains – an isolated volcanic range – and because of this, the land is rich and fertile.

One of the many farms and cabbage fields along our route.

The Lush Countryside

The new Bridge

The Forest

When we arrived at school the teachers and children came out to greet us. They all gathered in front of the school and welcomed us with a song. Their voices are so beautiful and their smiles are so magical – both always fill my heart with joy. After our amazing welcome, the children toured each of us around the school grounds. We saw classrooms, the shamba or garden, the kitchen and the athletic fields. Next on the agenda – a very competitive game of football. It was fun, but these children have gotten so good since I last played with them! Francis, Peter, and Alex – to name a few – are so good now – I grew up playing soccer, but I was schooled in football today. Final Score: 0-0.  Before you knew it, it was time to walk back to the house.

The Flying Kites School

Our Amazing Welcome

My Tour Guides in their Classroom

My Tour Guides Group Photo

Steve with his Tour Guides on top of the School.

Soon after we arrived back home, we had dinner, then had our nightly family meeting. Family meeting is led by one of the children – they begin reading a book, then ask the family – What they are grateful for?  Did they see anyone do anything nice? What they may have learned that day? and we finish with questions or comments. But as we had some new visitors – we finished by asking them into the center of the room, then the children and volunteers – danced around them singing our welcoming song.And The meeting concludes when the leader proclaims we are D – O – N – E, Done.

Since many had traveled a bit to join us in Njabini – it was an early night. I decided to hang out with the other volunteers and work on this blog.

So next on my agenda Tuesday – and what a day Tuesday was…..