aquinoe.org

28 May 2010 22:42
Here I am now in Nairobi on my penultimate day in Kenya.

I had a short time at the school this morning and am pleased to say that a guy had come to mend the water pump.  He seemed to be making progress so hopefully the school will have running water again now.

There were some sad goodbyes this morning, but Rachel and Cindy came and saw me off at the airstrip, which was kind of them.  Josphat, who would have been there in normal circumstances had taken the bus to Nairobi in the early hours to register students for some examinations.  I heard this afternoon that the bus had been impounded by police some eighty or so miles from Nairobi and that the passengers had been forced to find other means of transport!

Fortunately for me, there were no more dramatic changes of flight plans, like Linda and Chris had to endure, although I did arrive a couple of hours early to be on the safe side.  One guy arrived with about five minutes to spare.  "Mm, cutting it a bit fine," I thought and, as chance would have it, I ended up sitting next to him at the back.  Apparently he'd received a phone call on his mobile just fifteen minutes previously to let him know the plane was about to leave and not, as was printed on his ticket, an hour later.  Interestingly, the later time was on my ticket and, if it hadn't been for seeing Linda and Chris off earlier in the week, I may well have missed the plane as the company did not know my mobile phone number..


Returning to Rachel, she had only ever seen an aeroplane far off in the sky so was very excited to come up to the airstrip to see me off and very impressed when the plane landed smoothly.

I met Cory and Maria, Josphat's daughters, this evening.and took them out for a meal, seeing some more of Nairobi in the process, including the Parliament buildings, where Kenyatta is buried.  It was lovely to see them both again.

I'm writing this late at night, just before bed and there is a terrible racket (loud music and people enjoying themselves on a Friday night!) from the bar opposite.  I'm wondering whether I shall get much sleep.

Jean

27 May 2010 22:58

A momentous day for the Aquinoe library as cataloguing was completed and the first books left the shelves in the hands of the enthusiastic Standard Eight pupils.  It'll take a while for the system to bed down and for the pupils to understand how it all works, but it was a real privilege to be there on the opening day.  Lucas, the librarian, is a softly spoken "gentle giant" and I think will nurture the project to greater things.

The physical surroundings are rather downbeat at the moment as the library is located in one of the very old classrooms, but it will be doubled in size over the weekend as one of the wooden "walls" will be taken down.. This will allow for a couple of new tables and for pupils to sit and read books and newspapers.  The eventual aim will be a completely new library building and hopefully, not too far into the future.

I was rather tickled today when the watchman/gatekeeper, Meshack, (left on the photograph) came to borrow a book so he could while away the time in his shelter beside the entrance to the school. 

On a sadder note, there are thirteen orphans at the school, many of the parents having been struck down by Aids/HIV.  Some of them have relatives who do their best to help, but others stay at the school during the holidays.  One of them, Maureen, has been a frequent visitor to the library, always with a smile on her face and usually wanting to help. 

The water pump broke down today which means that there is no piped water in the house or school and it has to be fetched from the well or further afield.  Hard work for the carriers. 

Jean