 Serena and Tim's Grandma's Kiswahili word of the week: kuku choma. Kuku choma: roasted chicken. One of Kisumu's specialties is their BBQ chicken- it is delicious! Every Tuesday night, I meet with friends from the CDC at a BBQ place in Kisumu. For $4 each, we eat as much salsa, ugali and roasted chicken we can handle. It is delicious! This was a strange week, filled with a lot of random events. I am finishing up a proposal for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, visited OGRA's Ring Road Nyalenda Slum Clinic, had a beautiful African dress finished, attended another wedding, watched the rain take over life in Kisumu, and have been steadily working away on my school deliverables to complete my master's degree. Please click "read more" to see the rest of this week's blog. Unfortunately, I have been spending more time sitting at my desk the last few weeks than I would like. OGRA Foundation has me working on a concept note to help Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) living in Nyando District. Nyando has over 15,000 orphans, constituting over 15% of the district's population. Many of these children's parents have died of AIDS, and many of the children are already infected with HIV. These children face a number of challenges, including finding a place to live, getting access to health care and education, as well as having their rights, including basic protection and inheritance rights, honored. Most orphans come from poor families, whose grandparents, aunts,and uncles are already stretched and can barely shelter, feed and clothe their own children, let alone add another. Currently, OGRA Foundation works with OVC in Ombeyi and also provides over 90 scholarships for OVC to attend secondary and tertiary schools. We want to end the vicious cycle of poverty that most OVC end up experiencing as adults due to poor health and lack of job skill training. On Friday, Peter took me to the Ring Road Clinic in the Nyalenda Slums. They have excellent programs and excellent staff. The compound consists of a number of buildings. The Ring Road compound began as a Church, whose congregation saw the need for OVC to receive care and education. Victor, the man that gave me a tour of the facilities, began as a volunteer at Ring Road, and is now an employee. He taught OVC for free, on weekdays, inside of the church. The compound has grown exponentially. It now contains a Level 2 health clinic, a school for OVC, a full kitchen, and the chapel, which still hosts church services every Sunday. It is doing great work in Nyalenda; OGRA Foundation is proud to be it's sponsor. This week, I had the opportunity to attend another Kenyan Wedding. My co-worker Tim, invited me to attend his aunt's wedding. It was quite the event. Because Tim's auntie lives in town, I was not able to see the exchange of cows, but did have the opportunity to see other farm animals over the course of the ceremony. Tim's family is 7th Day Adventist, and because the wedding was held on a Saturday (when 7th Day Adventist Churches hold their services), the wedding was held at a Catholic church. Kenyans love weddings. The grooms were handsomely dressed in grey suits with yellow buttercup vests and ties. The bridesmaids were all dressed in beautiful yellow satin dresses with brown sashes. The of cars were all decorated in pink and brown ribbons with balloons tied to the tires. The brides car also had a sash of red, pink, orange and white roses laid across hood. The best part of the the ceremony was the church procession. Kenyans know how to dance, and Kenyans know how to have a good time. Although it took 1/2 hour for the wedding party to enter the church- it was worth it! Each bridesmaid, groomsman, flower girl, ring-bearer, grandmother and grandfather danced down the aisle to traditional Luo music. It was entertaining to learn, halfway through the services, that we had some special guests: a woman in the row behind me brought two chickens in her handbag into the church. Later in the ceremony, after hearing some additional clucking, I learned that she was not the only person to bring chickens to a wedding. I assume that they were gifts for the Bride and Groom. The wedding nuptials were beautifully orated and right out of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (Colin Firth 1990's version). After the nuptials, was the entertainment. A group of women took to the stage, and the entire congregation stood up, sang, and danced to celebrate the bride and groom's new life together. After the song and dance, three men drug a goat down the aisle. In my confusion over the first goat, two additional goats appeared. I tried to ask Tim, my translator, about this ritual and could not get a straight answer. Regardless, it was a fun, sentimental, and entertaining ceremony, with lots of goodwill and cause for celebration! After the service, I caught a ride with one of Tim's friends, his grandmothers, and a few of his nieces, to the reception. The ride ended up being a wild goose chase. I never did make it to the reception, but heard it was a great party that went late into the night. At the wedding, I had an opportunity to wear my new African dress. I absolutely love it! The Sunday after the wedding, I fed my fabric addiction again, and headed to Kibuye Market. I have decided I want two more African dresses made before I return to the U.S. I picked up some beautiful turquoise/black/white fabric and some beautiful dark blue/black fabric. I dropped off the fabric to my Fundi this morning and hope to have them completed sometime next week. I will be posting pictures of them when they are complete. I am happy to say that I have only 2 more assignments left until I complete my masters degree! My plan is to lock myself in my apartment for 2 more weeks, and then I will be free! After those two weeks, I have fantastic plan to travel through East Africa. My college roommate Emily and I hope to travel through Tanzania in mid-May. In late May, my parents will be coming to Kisumu to volunteer with OGRA Foundation, and will then go on safari to Masai Mara. I am beginning to see the end of my time in Kenya, and am excited to return home to family and friends and driving my car down the PCH to get a giant burrito with extra guacamole. |  OGRA Foundation Ring Road Medical Clinic  OGRA Foundation Ring Road School for Orphans and Vulnerable Children- and their school garden  Serena and Victor, a Ring Road Employee  Serena and Peter, an OGRA Foundation Driver. OGRA Foundation Besties.  Victor, in the original Ring Road schoolhouse, that also serves as a church on Sundays.  A Ring Road schoolchild, helping make lunch in the kitchen  The Ring Road borehole, they use a chlorine system to clean the water.  The Bride's Ride  A Groomsman and Bridesmaid, Dancing Down the Aisle  Because, what is a wedding without a chicken in your purse?   Groomsman and Bridesmaid Dancing Down the Aisle  They know how to do it in Kenya  The Teenagers Dancing Down the Aisle  The FlowerGirl Dancing Down the Aisle   The Serene Bride and Her Parents   The Bridesmaids and Groomsmen welcoming and dancing with the Bride down the Aisle  The Chicken, getting a little feisty during the ceremony. (I think she was objecting to the marriage.)  The Bride and Groom exchanging rings  The Wedding Entertainment has Arrived!  The Entertainment Engaging the Wedding Guests  Because, what is a wedding without a goat?  Why have 1 goat, when you can have 3?  The Bride and Groom leaving the Church as Husband and Wife  Standing Outside of the Church after the Service. (Over 400 guests)  One of Tim's Nieces.  Another one of Tim's Nieces  Tim and his Grandmothers  Serena and Tim's Grandmothers  My new African Dress, made out of Ugandan Cotton.  My latest find at Kibuye  Kenyans LOVE our President (Grandma Obama lives 15 minutes outside of Kisumu)  Dress & Skirt Design  Pencil Skirt Design |
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