The surprise of the week is our hard working crew left
without any communication. They all
disappeared and are not answering their cell phones. It seems a man on a
motorbike made a visit while they were working. The conversation was short and
he left. They left too a day later! We’ve come to the conclusion that we must
have been a fill in job until their boss had work again.
We hired a new crew and their specialty is mason work which we
have a lot of it to do! I’m at the work
site from morning to night every day to make sure things go smoothly and
correctly. We don’t need any short cuts
and we want things “level!” The workers
have to be watched steady. Just when you
think they understand and you relax a bit they return to their old ways. I hear comments from the workers like; I’ve
never seen a mama like this, Mama Linda is very strict! Mazungu fundi! (White woman carpenter) How did you know that? Are you an engineer? One thing I’ve come to
notice, if you were to stay you could teach the mama’s how to be fundis/carpenters.
As we walk to the shop at corner for a soda there are cows
coming our way. It’s not unusual to
share the village road with cows or donkeys but this time we step into the
bushes. There is a mean black cow coming
our way that is known to chase people. When I see the look of terror on the face
of the mama walking with me I do exactly as I’m told. The cows take their time and walk down the
middle of the road while we stand still and quiet in the bushes.
We met with one of the village officials while we drank our
warm soda and we are informed at how pleased the leaders are with the school
that is being built. The hardships that the village people face make it
difficult for their children to go to school.
HIV has hit this area hard and many children have lost one or both
parents. Taito is divided into two
sections being section A and B. One
section is down by the main road and the other section is up in the hills where
we work. This section has 280 families
and most of them are very poor and uneducated.
This area represents many different tribes living in the
same area together. While at the
worksite the director of the school shares some of the tribal ways with me. He
tells me of a friend’s grandfather who had 72 “good wives.” The definition of a good wife means she stays
at home.
The man’s status in the village was determined by the number
of wives. Having many wives was
important as a man with many wives made a powerful leader. He looked strong to those within the village.
Having children was extremely important to the woman and the man. A woman with
a lot of children would not be liked by the other women as they would become
jealous and bitter enemies. Having a large number of wives and many children
was extremely important but going to school was not even a consideration.
When a wife has a child she does not stay with her husband
for two years. When it is time for the
husband to return to his wife the child will take food to his father. This is a
sign and an invitation for him to return.
In the period of being apart for two years he will marry another wife.
The director, from the Kisii tribe, is now a Christian but
as a child he was brought up to worship the mountains and the sun. When you had
a problem in your life it meant you had done something to upset your forefathers
and the problem would not go away unless you made them happy. This meant there
had to be a visit to the witch doctor. He tells of times when the witch doctor would
swing a dead chicken around his head to sanctify him. There were also times when his body was cut
with a razor and a mixture of herbs prescribed by the witch doctor would be
poured into the open wound.
He remembers an uncle that would kill an animal and put the
meat on his body. He would then walk a
long distance to please the gods. Then
the meat would be eaten.
He was the first in his family to accept Jesus into his
heart, later his brothers followed and his mother too! They now worship the creator and not
creation.
The hills are peppered with such beliefs and customs and
people are reluctant to let go of what their family and tribe has been doing
and believing for generations.
There over 42 tribes in Kenya and their languages, cultures
and beliefs are very different. Some
worship the sea while others worship the mountains, rivers, cows or Sycamore
trees.
The Caligen tribe worships the cows, Kikuyu mountains and Sycamore
trees, Luo ancestral spirits and they will spit toward the sunrise and sunset
when they pray. There are so many more tribes each with their own beliefs.
The days are extremely hot and the sun chases us around
until we find some shade. The umbrella that I carry with me becomes useful even
though it is not raining. The children have a break around 10 when they are
served porridge and then another around 1 when it is time for lunch. The few minutes we have to play toss brings a
lot of joy into their day.
After
running and being in the sun it feels good to sit on the ground and rest a
bit. They surround me and study me
intently. My hair is touched, my earrings are twisted round and round and then
someone gets brave. I sense fear as
someone quickly touches my leg and pulls away. When they look in their hand I
see a surprised look as my white skin did not wipe off!
The teacher holds the bell in her hand and rings it back and forth. It’s time to leave the playground and return to class. The children quickly respond and run toward the door but before they enter they make a turn and head out back to the latrine. Somewhere along the way the ringing of the bell has taken on a new meaning. To the children it means it is time for a latrine break instead of its time for class :)
Some of the children have missed a few days of school this
week because of a death in the hills. A young mama was giving birth to her
first child and died. Without the money for transportation and medical fees
children are usually delivered at home.
The classrooms are shaping up fast. The floors have been leveled and good soil
has been brought in. They have been
compressed by pounding them over and over again. A solution has been poured
into the soil to discourage the termites and then finally a layer of plastic
has been put down.
The first layer of
concrete has been poured and some of the walls are being plastered.
Others are doing the framing for the placement of the doors
and windows. We are excited to see each part of the building come together.
As
we set our window frames in place so that we can admire them we realize that
some of the windows open the wrong way.
There is also a problem with the doors as the iron frame does not have
the holes to permit the nails to go into the wooden frame. The doors and
windows that need to be corrected are tied on the back of a motorbike and sent
for repair. There are always little
surprises throughout the day that take more time and more patience.
It’s the dry season and our demand on the well has been too
much. The words “the well is dry” wasn’t what anyone wanted to hear in the
midst of pouring concrete.
The
neighbor’s punda/donkey comes to our rescue though and keeps the water coming
throughout the day. The river isn’t too far away and makes it possible for us
to finish.
Nehemiah 4:6…..the people worked with all their heart.
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