13 December 2012 - Extra Day in Njoro

Mama Jimmy - A great mother with huge patience.

The family group 

The following day I awoke in the wooden “shack” (4m x 3m) I was sharing with Elliott and Mwangi, we went to the kitchen (A wooden hut separate from the main house). 

A view if the shamba - the hut on the extreme left is the kitchen the blue door is the main house made of branches and mud but painted so it looks like rendered stone.

Chai was being prepared on a 3 stone stove. Later hot water for washing in a bowl in the courtyard. More chatting and a walk around the town before lunch. Then it was time to leave. Elliott and I said our goodbyes and were escorted by a procession of the family to the main matatu stage. There we waited with others for one with spare seats. One after another passed jammed with people. After over an hour we were still there sweltering in the mid afternoon sun. It was then we  were informed that a large technical college further down the road had closed that day and parents and family of each student had turned up to escort them home. /it was likely that there would not be a free matatu for the rest of the day. The decision was made to stay and extra night and travel in the morning. It is a 4-5 hour journey back to Kandara and to leave it any later this day would mean ill-advisedly travelling through challenging isolated areas at night.

This meant we had more time with the family which was great. 

Boys everywhere will play soldiers. Who need Toys r Us when you have maize plant stalks for your gun!!

Loving the water

The boys showed me where they swim in the river and then we went to the man square which earlier had been covered with maize drying in the sun on huge tarpaulins. Now they had been bagged up. Each bag weighed 90kg and was carried to the lorry by a group of men. Each would hoist a bag onto his shoulders and almost run with it to the truck then return for another. Typically they will carry 50 bags watch in an afternoon (that is a total of 4.5 tonnes in a couple of hours – a hell of a work out!!). The family I was with knew a couple of the chaps and it was suggested I have a go!! 90Kg!! They helped lift the bag onto one shoulder and then left me. I staggered to balance the weight and then tried a few steps.

90 Kg easily lifted by a local

A mzungu tries

And fails!! Ooops

My legs made five steps before beginning to complain and then my balance went and it was me or the bag!! The bag hit the floor and 90kg of maize burst over the floor!! Raucous laughter erupted from the professionals, the kids and a breathless Mzungu.  

Back home for another lesson in Chapati cooking. Each time I learn a new twist and regional variation. Hopefully, soon, I will be able to make them as good as the locals?

"Helping" make chapati :)

With a full stomach and a long tiring day we retired once more to the shack.

Early in the morning (Saturday) we headed back to Kandara.

Back in Kandara in the afternoon I quickly packed as I was a day behind and was due to travel to Nairobi that night and leave for England after the weekend with friends in the Capital. The most challenging bit of this is not the packing but saying goodbye to the staff and kids at the Orphanage. For some reason leaving before Christmas is always the hardest to do. I moved quickly round and managed to keep my composure (just – soft lad really!!). 2013 I will spend Christmas and New Year in Kandara. 

1st December - Goat for Dinner!

Following receipt of cash from a donor Kandara Children’s home purchased a goat. There was a request earlier for me to go and pick it up on my little 125 motorbike with Joseph the grounds man.  That would have meant Joseph the goat and me on the bike. I declined! It may have been fun but there are strict rules on bike usage from VSO. More importantly however it was raining on and off and the thought of riding 5km in wet very slippery clay mud was enough to result in me declining to help.

Whilst I have been to a number of feasts and ceremonies, I have so far managed to arrive after the slitting of the goats throat. I have on a number of occasions been offered the honour of performing the act!! So far I have declined as I am a bit soft and struggle to inflict pain on a living animal (happy to eat them just do not want to do the gory bit!). Anyway I decided this time to watch the act and see whether I felt I could do the deed next time.

So the kids gathered in and around the pen and 3 of the older boys tied the back legs of the goat. The legs were then hoisted in the air so the goat was suspended with its head towards a pan on the floor. One of the boys then started sawing away at its neck with a carving knife. Much squealing from the goat and cheering from the kids and the goat stopped twitching. The blood was drained away and the butchering started. 

To western people this may seem inhumane and barbaric but it is daily life here in Kenya. There are not many fridges etc so meat it killed at the time of needing it for cooking. At least it is fresh. All ages watch and in time begin to be allowed to partake with chickens first, then as they get older they move onto larger fare. That way by the time the boys have to fend for themselves they are well versed in slaughtering and butchering.

Having witnessed the slaughter I am not sure I could do it so I may stick to the eating bit!