Saturday, 26 September 2009

WEEK ONE

IN YOUR OWN TIME – After the dramas of arriving here on Sunday and the extraordinary cremation of David’s dad, this week has mainly been a time of adjusting and preparing myself for the work ahead at Cheryls. I popped in on Monday to say hi to Samuel and see what the plan was, hoping that I would infact be given chance to rest after the long journey and also busy time leading up to the move. David and Juliet had encouraged me not to start work until the following week. I wasn’t sure about this, but I did know in my heart some time off would be good. The temptation is to rush in and get cracking, but actually I’m going to be here for a long time, and as the great leader Bill Hybels has said, ‘Pace yourself for the long haul’. Good advice! So a brief catch up with Samuel and we agreed I would start on Monday. This also has given me chance to focus on housing, car, etc etc etc. I managed to have a quick look around Cheryls though, see the progress on the current building work, and also this gave Juliet a chance to see the project. Need some office furniture for my office (hmmmmm that will be wierd my own little room, with no other colleagues around to have some banter with).

HOME SWEET HOME – The plan originally was for me to look at some houses on the Monday, but throughout the busy weekend David had to start thinking about what to do with his father’s house, now he had passed away. In many ways this decision seems to have happened all so fast, and I wasn;t sure if he would really want to go ahead with it, but as the week as progressed I think we have all come to realise how amazing God’s timing is and right this decision is. So the plan is I will move into David’s dad’s house which is near the Ya Ya centre for those who know Nairobi. Not too far from Cheryls, bit more in the city, but shouldn’t be too bad. For those who have eaten at the Italian restaurant OSTERIA, its literally just round the corner. David will eventually sell the house in the next 6 – 12 months, but at least this get me started. There is another guest cottage on the plot, so I will have neighbours and there is all the security staff etc needed. The house needs some work done to it, so the painters etc are in over the next 7 – 10 days working on it and hopefully I can move in then. The house has 3 bedrooms, so housing volunteers will not be a problem, there is a garden and i can use a lot of the furniture already there, just need to pick up a few new items such as cooker, double bed and fridge. David and Juliet have been stars by moving so fast on this, but they are happy, they will have a friend staying there which means they can come round any time, this house has been in David’s family for I think well over 40 years. It is fantastic how this has worked out.

DODGEMS – Wow, driving in Nairobi is CRAZZZZZY! This has been the thing I have been most nervous about. But the other night Juliet asked me to drive, which was great, she was forcing me to get on the saddle and just have a go. It is difficult and there are some seriously tricky places to drive, joining the main highway is a pure adrenaline rush in itself, who needs drugs or extreme sports, just drive in Nairobi!! The other great bit I have to drive through is ‘Death Junction’, you can figure out for yourself why its called that. It is just a small cross roads, but basically its everyman for himself. The good news is I should hopefully collect a car soon, at the start of the week which I purchased from a Canadian couple who have left Kenya. The car is a Nissan terrano, it has low mileage for its age, which is why David has suggested it. I have never bought a car before that I haven;t even seen. I’ll use it for a bit and see how it goes, it maybe that after a while I trade it in and pick up something else, but at least it gets me started. Really hope its reliable!!!

HOW MANY COUNTRIES? – The great thing about David and Juliet is that they know lots of people, and this week has been particularly busy for them seeing friends etc, especially talking about David’s dad etc. I have met so many people, almost every night and it has been both great and strange. I have realised living in Nairobi I will be mixing almost across the full range of society, from the poorest in the slums, to hard working Kenyans, to middle class Kenyans, to NGO workers and volunteers, to middle class muzungu’s (Whites) to the embassy workers and rich muzungu’s. Its strange, we went to an Ethopian restaurant the other night, a whole new experience in itself (raw mince beef?) and there I was sat next to a guy called Mario who is the security advisor for Save the Children, he goes into the hell holes and checks out if it safe to send people, places like Somalia, Darfur etc... “I work in about 22 countries at the moment” and then across the table the Australian girl pipes up “well I work currently in 32 countries, but currently I’m covering all of Africa until we fill the other staff position”. Hmmmmmmmm. This girl works at the Australian embassy, but as there are only 2 in Africa, she covers a big area. So the comparisons start between the two and eventually the question is asked that I am now expecting and dreading: “Kieren, what do you do?”. Small fries.....

CONNECTIONS – Coming to work at Cheryls I always expected I would be targeting help from overseas, what didn’t occur to me was that I would end up being connected with significant and rich muzungus in Nairobi. Almost every person I have met this week is very interested in Cheryls and wants to get involved in some way, whether its bringing a group of teenagers from the ISK school to do some voluntary work, or people having friends from overseas pop over and help, or a, Ethopian Womens Charity group doing a fundraiser for us to help out as well as getting help from the local German school (that was David’s hairdress, yes thats right and Ethopian lady married to a German). It has been fantastic. So as my ‘week off’ progessed I actually managed to do some significant work and make connections. Trust is a big factor when it comes to charity work, there are many scams, many dodgy projects, and I now realise that simply the colour of my skin brings some credibility to Cheryls, which in many ways is totally wrong, but lets use it and make the most of it!

PEACE – It has been a hectic and stressful week, particularly for David and Juliet. It has been great to be able to support David through this difficult time, but I know I have found it draining at times and I know he has. Having to tell everyone, repeat the same story over and over again, recounting the cremation and reminiscing. We cleared out David’s house on Thursday and that was hard. So this weekend we have all come up to Naivasha for a rest. Its about 2 hours from Nairobi and we are staying in David and Juliets friends house. It is like a mansion!!!! Beautiful. As we arrived last night we sat on the verandah and watched the giraffes, dick dicks, hippos, impalas all in the garden area and drinking out of the water hole just a few feet away. It was perfect after a vusy week. This morning we walked down to the lake at 6:30am, the colours were amazing and we saw plenty of flamingos and Zebras. I think we all needed this time and it is so precious. You really appreciate how fortunate we are to be in such an amazing place. BUT the work starts on Monday and as I try to relax today I am aware of what lies ahead. I do feel anxious at times, nervous, full of questions. How will I fit in with the staff, what will my working week look like, where do I start there is so much to do, will I manage to battle my way across from David and Juliets house on the other side of town without coming a cropper at Death junction.....hmmmmm, relax.... relax.....

2 comments:

  1. Kieren
    Just amazed at your first few days in Kenya! Will have you and David and Juliet in our prayers. Do rest and be ready for that new start on Monday.
    With our love, the Sturrocks

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  2. It's so fascinating reading your blog. It just sounds like a whirl of activity! Will think about Death Junction to stop me getting frustrated at the Gogarburn tramworks every morning! Have a good first week, hope things begin to take some shape and praying for good relationships with your colleagues. xxx

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