Paint with a little panic!

Today was another amazing day! I crossed the tracks and into Kibera, same things going on of people selling charcoal, roasted corn, and clothing in these wooden and shack hut type structures. I walked to the paint shack and picked up today’s paint. I have been picking it up daily to ensure we use exactly what we need and have no waste since this is not like Home Depot where returns are accepted.  We carried the paint back to the school and met Mr. Mandela to get started. I wanted to do some touching up from yesterday before moving on to new areas of painting.  I repainted a wall and then realized, the kids were starting to come through here for lunch since the kitchen area was next to me and this wall. I decided to stand there as a buffer and remind the kids the paint is wet and please be careful not to push or shove since the paint will get on your hands and clothing. After about 20 minutes of guarding the wall, I asked Principal Peter if one of the high school boys could stand in for me while I moved to another wall since my paint pan would eventually dry up if I don't use it. He said he would send someone and he showed up! I left to go paint another wall and when I came back, there was a sign “Wet Paint” stuck to the wall of….. wet paint. I saw it as allowing me the opportunity to repaint that area again. Hmmm..... 

We did have a little excitement during the painting today….. I am painting next to an unattended classroom, a teacher is between two rooms. The teacher got one room busy with an activity then went to the other to get them going with something. The kids started to get rowdy of course as kids do when having fun so I eyed them to make sure nothing crazy was happening and they were just hopping around having fun, noise started to really rise high and the next thing I know, I hear a scream and crying, something happened. Needham went in there and came out carrying this little girl that was screaming like she was dying and it scared me half to death he put her down in front of me. Her foot was bloody and she couldn’t walk on it well. I asked what happened and she couldn’t talk she was so upset (that kind of cry where the kid doesn’t talk but scream and cry kinda thing) so i look and its a  HOLE in her foot size of a dime, gashed in her foot- it was deep too… so I went into the classroom paint brush in hand and asked who did it and all the students pointed to one and  other girl so I asked her to come with me and we had a discussion about how to treat others .  I poured water over the little girls wound to clear it out to at least see what we had on our hands…. it was pretty bad, I thought…. and no bandaids…. Peter said they don’t have any at all, nothing and it is one of their ongoing challenges…. Needham went down to the corner in Kibera to get some but they didn’t have any. Instead, he came back with gauze wrap but no tape, the corner hut did not have tape to sell. So, I wrapped it up to at least keep dirt and dust out of it and I decided she needed a tetnus shot. I asked Peter where to take her and he said the corner clinic. I asked his permission to leave with this child to do that and he said okay but the cook/helper  went with me due to language barrier since her English was not all that great. It cost ONE DOLLAR for the tetnus shot and then $2 to clean and dress it properly. WOW! But, that is a lot of money to anyone else. I am so glad it happened while I was there. I am taking her back to the clinic on Friday to the same clinic for a check and re-dress and new cleaning of it for the weekend since I won’t be seeing her over the weekend. 

This little girls name is Cyndi, and she is supposed to be under her Grandmothers care although it is a challenge so sometimes the lady teacher at the school takes her home with her family, along with Cyndi’s sister. 

This little girl is amazing to me because she is in school with a smile, eager to learn despite her circumstances. 

Off to Kenya and to Damside Preparatory School!

I crossed the tracks into Kibera and walked 20 minutes into toward the heart of the community to the small paint shop. It was just a shack with some building supplies. The merchant remembered me from yesterday and knew exactly what I wanted- Safaricom Green and Bermuda Blue! No negotiating needed with this guy anymore since Principal Mandela already paved the way on the paint prices and I can just show up and get the inside deal on my own now.

We carried 4 gallons 20 minutes through Kibera over the uneven terrain and finally made it to Damside Preparatory. The kids were still in their classes, but we could not wait any longer to get started since the rain clouds were due to roll in later. We wanted to try to wait so we can avoid the kids accidentally messing up the wet paint (which happened yesterday). I was busy painting a wall with my back turned to the compound center and the kids had dipped their fingers in the paint and decided to decorate Mr. Mandela’s water tower….. so…. we will be adding clean off to my list this week. I only had my back turned for what seemed like 15 minutes and the bottom area was all decorated with white base paint with some having designs on their faces… in only 15 minutes… goodness… kids are quick! (lesson learned!)

The older high school boys were dismissed from class early for our painting project and they were excited for the green and blue today. We were able to complete the outside wall today with both colors, the front door and begin the inside of the compound. We had some extra help today from my Maasai host brother, Josephat, who also brought/donated various colors of paint for small decorative things on the walls which was really kind of him!

Lots of people are very excited about this painting project with us and it has gained support from so many here in the local community! Those passing by have also stopped to give it a look and admire it!

Tomorrow, we continue the painting and hope to at least finish the bottom floor of the compound. This is where the detail painting begins as we paint the frame of doors and windows blue and the walls green. After the compound is completed, later in the week, we move on to paint the Acacia of Hope International logo and school name on the front wall. I think the lettering will be the most time consuming considering the wavy metal walls that are typical in Kibera. Until then.....

Off to Paint the School!

Today was a terrific day! I went to Damside Preparatory and met with the Principal, Peter. Crossing the tracks into Kibera…. again. I was so happy to take that step over and in!!!! The smells of charcoal burning, people cooking mandazi’s to sell for 10 shillings and the sounds of wheel barrels moving and people negotiating…. I am home! I navigated through the very tight walk ways, mostly mud in a market type aisle where merchants were on either side. After dodging a few loose chickens, of all things, a DUCK waddled over and bit my leg. It brought both myself and the locals some laughter in Kibera at the moment. I continued through the narrow path until I made it to the road way and took a right! There was the school just ahead, you cannot miss the hot pink painted structure. I went upstairs and found Peter sitting in his office looking at paperwork. We exchanged greetings and caught up on the last 12 weeks we have not seen one another. I stepped into one of the classrooms as soon as I spotted one of the sponsored girls. I felt bad since there were 20 names floating in my head and trying to match faces with names again was a challenge at first (still working on it). She immediately smiled and waived at me and I did not want to be a further disturbance to her class or the school which….. I was. The kids came out of the classrooms to say “hi, how are you?” and shake my hand.

Myself and my fellow team mate James walked up the street and closer toward the heart of Kibera with the Peter to get the paint. I decided that it was best to get the daily amount needed rather than a large quantity and be left with unused paint. We placed our order for today and this paint shop had to have it brought in by a picki picki driver from the sister store location on the other side of Kibera. 30 minutes later, we had our paint and we were walking back to the school. We made the 20 minute trek back with paint and smiles, ready to begin.

We started with the outer wall and had to finish scraping the paint or else the new paint would not stick. While we worked on the outer walls with the base coat (white) (we needed a base coat bc the current paint and designs would have bled through the new paint and it would not have worked otherwise), the high school boys were released early from their class and they scraped the entire inside compound. We were able to make use of other buckets to pour the base coat paint into several so each of us could begin painting our section given. The whole school was scraped and base coated today!!!!! TEAM WORK AT ITS BEST!!!  We could not begin the school painting with the new colors just yet because we had to allow this coat to dry.

When it came time to reach the top floor of the school for the base coat, I was wondering how we would do it. We had no ladder. So what did the high school boys do? They pulled out the one they started to make by
hand and went to get the thick tree branches and nailed them in as steps on the ladder and up they went to the second floor. Safe? Um, no. But… I had to remember that THIS IS AFRICA! Everything is used, nothing wasted and nothing is turned into something! So they MADE the ladder to get the job done. Their problem solving skills are amazing to me. They didn’t complain or get twisted about having no ladder to get to the top, they made a way!         

An unexpected stop in Burundi

We made it Washington DC with enough time to spare! The airlines were kind enough to issue extra bags to Acacia of Hope International to carry the supplies and things for the girls at no extra charge. I spent a great deal of time weighing the bags, making sure each weighed no more than 50 pounds since on previous trips, they would weigh them and enforce their 50 pound limit, even when only 51 pounds and it meant leaving something of donations behind. This time...... they did not even weigh them at all. Makes me wish I would have packed even more in them now, beyond the 50 pound limit.... 

We arrived in Brussels, Belgium for the 2 hour lay over and upon getting to the next gate, they announced a stop in Burundi on the way to Kenya. Burundi is a place with serious security issues and unrest, and a place where it is advised you just do not go unless essential local business.This was not a published stop when we got the tickets, nor was it noted anywhere on the ticket print out- it was a shock to all passengers. But..... there we were sitting in Burundi and several trucks drove up the side of the plane and surrounded the front and sides from what I could see out of my window. I wanted to step off the plane and have a look but when I approached the door that was open, allowing inspectors on board, I was told not deplane due to it being a security risk. I was not even permitted to go down the steps and have a quick look or put both feet on the ground in Burundi. I kindly asked the man with the AK 47 if he would at least walk with me inside to get my passport stamped. (I was thinking, of these 300 passengers, why would he want to do this with me). He actually said yes, but with a rule, I stay, only he goes with the passport. I thought two seconds of it and then gave it to him and sure enough, 10 minutes later, he came back with my passport, the crew allowed him to board and he brought it to me with the Republique du Burundi stamp for 7/17/2015!! I got a stamp! He explained that with elections in two weeks, everything is a serious security risk and they are urging non citizens to leave the country at this time, which is why he wouldn't let me deplane. (And why Brussell's air was stopping here is a question that was never answered by the airline- nobody boarded, three deplaned so how did they know about the stop to then book the flight if it was unpublished?) 

We took off to Kenya and landed two hours later. Here came the most nerving part of the trip.... getting through customs with all of these donation bags without being stopped or at least without being taxed if stopped. So, my husband and I do what we always do and split up in customs so that way, if one of us gets nailed, the other might make it through with some of the donations we had... better to have some than none. I made it through and it was as if they did not even see me..... then a few minutes later, out comes Needham, same thing- unbothered! God is good! 

The donations for the girls made it safely with us and they sit, neatly stacked ready to be delivered to them this week.