It's been a busy week and I hadn't gotten back in town til now. There's a lot to tell and I hope I remember it all. Tuesday there was an outreach at Chekorani. It's out in the Masai land and we bring food and provide medicine to people far out from the towns. After repairing a flat tire on our matatu we finally headed out along the dirt road. The countryside again was beautiful and everyone comes out of their mud homes to see the mzugus. We were the last matatu to arrive and the U.K. med students had already started their seminar on nutrition so we helped prepare the food. The women here are so talented with cooking anywhere. They just set up a fire pit and began peeling and chopping. You have to peel potatoes with a knife which I wasn't too horrible at. The rice also has little brown bits you have to pick out so you put it on wicker trays and I learned to shake it so that the bits are easier to pick out. The women are so generous in teaching me things when I know they can do it faster and better. I then helped cut oranges and avocados. After the children were done with the seminar a few of us went to play with them. The children here seem to not really like frisbee or any other throwing games. They always close their eyes right when the frisbee gets near. So instead I painted the girls' nails with nailpolish we had gotten in town. The younger boys like to have them painted as well. After painting about 30 girls' nails I went to see how the cooking was going. The women then wanted me to paint their nails too! It was great fun and all of them wanted two colors (paint the nail and then a stripe across). They were very thankful and it was great fun. Then it was time to dish up the meals. We first fed the men (35), then women (100), then the children (75). So over 200 people! We started the assembly line and you have to be careful with the portions so as not to run out. The dispensary (medicine) started after eating and then I headed home in the afternoon while others stayed with the dispensary. We weren't sure how to get home because we didn't bring any of the staff with us but we managed ok.

On Weds, I met with Mama Gemma to further discuss projects along with a volunteer, Carolyn who is a special ed teacher in Alaska. We are going to try to move some of the disabled children to Malika and hire a caregiver just for them and have an OT train her. We are also really getting a move on trying to hire an OT or recruit an OT student. Mama Gemma also told us that long-term she would like a respite care center on Mt. Kili. There are at least 75 registered children with disabilities on the mountain and probably a lot more. Oftentimes the women are abandoned because of this child and therefore leave the child when they go to work. The respite center would be Mon thru Fri so that the women could work but the children could go home on the weekends. This is a long-term project that I think I may really try to implement. We decided to put some of Jess T's money towards new desks. I may also help fund the start of building a new preschool. It is amazing how far money goes here. The average wage per month is US $100 and most make considerably less.

One Thurs Carolyn and I and one of LIA preschool teachers, Gloria, took 3 LIA children to a special day for disabled children at a local school. It was funded by 3 ladies--I think they may have been German. They arrived in the middle and we didnt get much chance to talk to them. The whole day though was quite an experience. The children that normally attend that school sat around while the children played a few games. The "normal" kids would laugh at the special needs children everytime they feel down and such. Even the teachers and administrative people laughed--I think Carolyn and I were the only two not laughing. I was glad she was there so that we could talk about it later. They fed us twice and there were longer speeches than games. The children wore outfits that were addidas and other name brands. I couldnt help but wonder how much these women had given and where the money went. But I won't ever really know the answer to that.

Friday about 10 of us went on a disability outreach. Everyone wanted to go but it seemed kind of inappropriate for 10 mzugus to go see disabled kids on the mountain...but it turned out ok I suppose. We went to 4 families' homes. One home, Mama Gemma wanted to pay her respects to a family whose disabled daughter had died while she was in England. Then we went and saw three other children--one was at the hospital though. One home was very loving and the grandparents ("Bebe" & "Babu") took care of the child along with many other children. (the mother had abandoned this child). The other home the mother is the only provider and she is having difficulty making ends meet. LIA helps her grow maize and harvest it to provide her with a means of support.

Today, Saturday, Laura and I and two staff took 3 children on the matatu to get vaccinations. The matatu was crowded and we had to crawl over people to get to seats, each of us with a carrying a child (2weeks to 2 months old). The needles they used were huge for babies! It was quite an experience but the staff appreciated the help. Laura is from the UK and has become a great friend here-but she is leaving on Tues...

Oh and I almost forgot, I had to move in with the remaining American girls--so there were 5 of us to a room and no working bathroom! So the American boys left their door open so there were 7 sharing one bathroom. Reminded me of college! It's sort of nice to have roommates though to talk to and such.

Today, I finally bought some "brown bread" (whole wheat) which is a lot more expensive. But all they serve anywhere here is white bread and white rice so you are always hungry. I bought apples too because we don't get much fruit here either. I miss turkey sandwiches on whole wheat the most!

Hope everyone enjoys the 4th of July! We are going to celebrate here somehow=)!