bye bye “cyber” & some closing thoughts October 1, 2009

One thing I will not miss about Kenya?…. having to trek to the “Cyber” to use the internet! This will probably be my last post before I fly home over the weekend and I just wanted to quickly type out a few closing thoughts.

I’ve come to realize that I’ll do most of the emotional unpacking from this trip AFTER I get home and not necessarily sort it all out right now while I’m here. Someone told me before I left, to spend every moment of my time here living and serving to the max, experiencing it all….There will be plenty of time to work through it when I’m home. And he was exactly right!

I can’t begin to elaborate on all of the things I’ve discovered by living in this African culture and seeing all of the sad and often horrific things I’ve seen. But a few things I’ve learned:

1) I am blessed and I have everything I need.

I packed for a three week trip in a hiking pack. I rotate the same tanks and cargos throughout my work week. I don’t worry about make-up, my wardrobe back home, my social life, my silly blackberry…. I’m away from it all and it’s been completely refreshing! In America, we have so much more than we need. Even those of us in our mid-twenties like me who find themselves complaining that we never have enough money… Lord help me that I NEVER think those thoughts again! There is such beauty in a simpler life and living on exactly what you need. The rest just gets in the way.

2) “Don’t do nothing just because you can’t do everything.”

Such a simple thought but I’ve been guilty of this mindset when I think about volunteering and serving. I read this quote in a book while here in Kenya and it struck me with how applicable it is to my life right now. Here I am working in such extreme poverty and seemingly hopeless situations every day, and it’s natural to feel overwhelmed and not know where to begin! Day 1 at the IDP camps I almost had a panic attack after first being exposed to that people group and how they’re suffering, starving, and battling to keep their families alive.

All God asks of us is to do SOMETHING. Help in SOME small way. And it doesn’t always have to be across the world in Kenya. There is need everywhere, it’s all around us, so just do something! Imagine what our communities would look like, the cities we call home transforming simply because everyone pitched in a little.

3) “Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead.“

Those are lyrics from a Brooke Fraser song that Lynds had me listen to last night when we were journaling. Again, it’s just a simple thought but rings true to me after this trip. Now that I’ve seen these things, the IDP camps and the Kibera slum, I’m responsible. You can’t play the apathetic card when you’ve been exposed to something like this. The “Yes We Kenya” team is brewing up some big ideas for how to partner with these projects when we get home to chicago, so stay tuned for how you can be involved!

Sorry that was a bit long-winded…. next up, home to the lovely US of A : )

Cheers,

LF

The Adventures of Nancy and Maureen September 30, 2009

Jambo!

Soooo no one warned us that having names such as  “Lauren” and “Lyndsay” would be such a huge party-foul here in Kenya. Weeks into our trip, we both gave up trying to correct everyone… thus surrendering to “Nancy” (Lyndsay) and “Maureen” (Lauren) . Haha!

We’re wrapping up our final week in Kenya and it’s time for more pics. We’ve packed a TON of stuff into the final week. Over the weekend we grabbed brunch at Java (the local Mizungu hang), visited the Yia Yia Market, and strolled through Nairobi City Center.  A few pics…

strolling the City Center in Nairobi

Monday morning it was back to work and we took the day to visit the Jamii School and Brosis, another school in a neighboring slum.  Lynds and I were back at our project, Siloam Academy, for Tuesday and today (Wed) which was our last day at that site.  We made LEAPS of progress with the kids we were tutoring and part of me wishes we were here just a bit longer to catch them up to speed with the rest of their class. As much as I’m going to miss these Kenyan kiddos, I will NOT miss my morning garbage stroll through the mud paths and having to hop unidentified slush puddles.

I realized that I haven’t posted any pics of Kibera slum, so here’s a visual:

my sweet Oleasa

tutor time

i know I shouldn't play favorites with the kids, but.... COME ON!

a peak into the orphanage section at Siloam

Stay tuned for a final update tomorrow…. thanks for the prayers and encouragement from back home!

Cheers,

LPF

It’s the Fi-nal Count-down! September 29, 2009

I’m hearing the theme song from Arrested Development in my head right now….Gob Bluth, anyone?  If you’ve never seen that show, I highly recommend you get on that…

Anyways, it’s our third and final week here in Kenya and we’re tying up all the loose ends before we fly out this weekend. Clare left a few days ago and Lynds and I are missing having her around!

At the Siloam Academy in the slum, we’ve been assisting the teachers with tutoring the kids that seem to be a bit behind. Let me say one thing: I have a new-found respect for teachers after this trip! Who would’ve thought teaching ABCs and numbers to kids could be nearly impossible? I pulled a few kids out of the pre-unit (their version of kindergarten) and tried to work with them individually but the language barrier made it SO hard.

They have a completely different teaching style over here. The kids learn through songs, such as the alphabet song, and can certainly sing the letters in order….but when I point to just any ol’ letter, like “M”, they’re lost. It’s interesting, but somehow it clicks with them in later grades!

Also coming up this week: Final trip to Baruku IDP camp. This time the chicken coup is finished, so we’re bringing the chicks with us. Here’s a visual: packed rental safari van with us girls and 200 baby chicks packed in! It will either be hilarious or completely obnoxious, but I can’t wait for the moment we pull up to camp and finish the project we started just a few weeks ago : )

That’s all, folks!

LF

FINALLY…. pics! September 25, 2009

my dust babies at Baruku!

clothes from our first clothing-drop...Thanks to all who donated!

safari girls

sweet, SWEET dust babies at their camp

Kenya handle this sunset!? (pun intended)

Recess in the slum! Some of the kids at my school project in Kibera...

our "little man" in Baruku with his new outfit !*(we apparently forgot to snap him in... haha)

Yes We Kenya team (minus Jenn & Tami) by the lovely Great Rift Valley

face paint day at the Baruku camp

That’s all for now!

Much Love,

LPF

Watch Where You Step… September 25, 2009

Happy Friday, everyone!

 

Lynds, Clare, and I have officially been at the Cyber Cafe for an hour+ trying to upload pics to our team blog…. and it’s looking like a no-go. In the meantime, we thought we’d lighten things up a bit and share some of our highlights from Week 2.

 

Enjoy!

 

1) Clare’s “Feminist Moments” throughout the week:

- “BABY?!? Women don’t like to be called baby.”  — when a man in the slums hollered at her.

- “If I was a MAN… he would’ve given me change!’ — after the clerk at the supermarket wouldn’t break her shillings

 

2) Fulmer stepping in an unidentified pile of brown juice/slush/puddle in Kibera slum. Extra points for flinging said puddle onto Clare’s arm.

 

3) Lynds having to partake in the Luo tribal dance in front of Kenyan high school kids.

 

4) Sitting in on a Parent/Teacher meeting at the high school connected to our project and being offered lunch in the slums. We couldn’t think of a polite way to say: “No thank you… I’ll pass on that mystery rice dish, and as much as we love eating off of plates washed in sewage-water, I’m full from breakfast.“  

 

5) Dancing at a Kenyan club with our host mom to a mix of Beyonce, Gaga, MJ, and authentic tribal tunes. Got a chance to switch up the lyrics of “Single Ladies” to “All my Mizungu ladies… all my mizungu ladies….” It was a HIT!

 

6) Clare getting peed on by a Dust Baby.

 

7) Lynds getting invited to karaoke while standing outside the Cyber Cafe by a man who said he liked her “moves”. We’re still not sure how those two are related…

 

8 ) A city-wide electrical outage that turned our dinner into a candlelight discussion on Kenyan life, love, and politics.

 

9) The fact that we’ve now watched High School Musical 1, 2, and 3 multiple times. Don’t ask.

 

10) Our first ride in a “matatu” (Kenyan group taxis…basically you and 14 of your best friends, chickens, and crying babies). It involved a subwoofer, Lil Wayne, and a giant flatscreen TV. Then some lady hopped in at the next stop and made Fulmer hold her groceries!

 

More to come. We miss you all! Thanks for keeping up with us and our stories.

 

Love,

Lauren. Lyndsay. Clare.

“I Left My Heart in Baruku, I Lost My Lunch in Kibera” September 23, 2009

Open our Eyes,

To see the things that make Your Heart cry,

To be the Church that You would desire,

a LIGHT to be seen.

- “With Everything” by: Hillsong

Alrighty, time for an update on the Baruku project. Our team made another trip out Monday to their camp and I have good news to share: Their community leaders took the weekend to think on the Chicken Coup idea and it’s a GO!

I was blown away by their organization, planning and research…. crew was prepared for today’s meeting! They had chosen a plot of land for the coup, sketched a few drawings of the structure, and even priced out most of the necessary materials. This really gave us confidence in our investment with these people….and they are absolutely BEAMING about getting back to work.  These people are men and women that are educated in their various crafts and were simply robbed of their homes and dignity.

This is their chance to start over!

It was surreal sitting in the tiny meeting place at the top of the hill at their camp. Before the meeting, we’d been playing with the darling Dust Babies (as we lovingly refer to them) and we had to literally peel them off of us to go into the business meeting : )

There we were, six  young American girls  who back home certainly don’t consider ourselves particularly “wealthy” but who, across the world, had the resources to help rebuild an entire community! If that’s not encouraging, then I don’t know what is! Everyone has something to give… you just may not realize how blessed you are.

Ok… so that’s all on Baruku for now, but we’re headed back tomorrow (thurs) so we’ll have an update later this week!

A quick note on our project in the Kibera slum. We began work at the Siloam Fellowship Ministry academy on Tuesday and have just finished our second day of work. It’s a combined school for grades kindergarten-8th grade AND an orphanage that houses 30 girls and 40 boys of all ages.

As we walked with our volunteer escorts to the slum early Tuesday morning,  words cannot begin to describe what we saw. To put it bluntly, what my eyes and nose took in were segments of what I’ve always imagined Hell to be like. That’s not even meant to be snarky or sarcastic! It was putrid, horrifying, and downright inhumane that people are living under those conditions.  We walk on garbage pathways and look to either side and see children shoveling feces in a ditch or live pigs wandering the streets and nosing through the trash heaps. Children walk without shoes around ashes and bits of glass. This is not ok.

My heart broke for the second time on this trip when we walked in the Kibera slum on Tuesday! It get overwhelmed thinking of how much it would take to move all of the people out and start fresh. To be honest, I don’t know where to begin even making a dent.  I was feeling hopeless until I remembered that I serve a God way bigger than this and that change is possible!

On a lighter note, a funny story from our first day at the school:  Soooo…We weren’t quite sure where we were needed to help and I thought the teacher was joking when he handed us pieces of chalk and elementary text books. Picture Clare, Lynds, and I like deers in the headlights standing in front of the classroom that holds the littles ones, 1st through 3rd graders, with about 80 pairs of big brown eyes looking at us! Haha. As I tried using my limited Swahili and the kids started laughing at my teaching…. we tossed the books and started teaching them songs! Good times. Awful teaching : )

Thanks for listening and sorry that was a little winded! More to come and hopefully pics soon!

Kwaherini,

LF

Baby’s First Kenyan Marriage Proposal September 22, 2009

Hey guys!

 

Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting/emailing me with support… with such limited internet time, it’s the easiest way to keep friends and fam updated!

 

Ok, so just a tidbit about my AWESOME safari last weekend before I dig into the real stuff in the next post. All I can really say is that it was hands-down one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had! To describe it in a few phrases: Kenyan wilderness (5 hours from Nairobi),  hot pink and orange sunsets, off-roading in a safari van, being only a few feet from wild elephants, zebras, hyenas, monkeys, giraffe, hippos, and Lions, and camping in tents on the Maasai warrior’s land. No biggie! Just legit African warriors guarding our campsite at night. Imagine my shock when I’m walking to the campsite bathroom in the middle of the night and see a giant man in a red loincloth guarding the fire with a spear!

 

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Lauren Fulmer 2.0 : she hikes, camps, and is quasi-outdoorsy.  Ok, you can stop laughing now : )

 

One last silly story: a fellow Kenyan safari guide came up to our van and offered 100 cows for any of us girls. Excuse me, sir?! 100 cows? Either I need an ego check or my mama used to tell me I deserved the world… I just thought that was aiming a little low.

 

The convo went a little like this:

Safari Man: “ooohh, Mizungu (white) women…. I’d offer 100 cows for ANY of you! (giggles)”

Me: Let’s bargain here. It’ll take 100 cows and 200 oxen for me to even consider….

Safair Man: (without blinking an eye) ”Too much.”

 

Well, I know where I stand. It was such an amazing experience to see Kenya outside of the slums and IDP camps. This country is breath-taking and such a great reminder of how creative God is : )

Cheers!

LF

 

PS: I probably dont need to even say this little disclaimer, but I want the friends and family that helped donate to my Kenya fundraiser to know that I’m a good steward of their money and this safari was 100% out of my personal funds! Probably silly to state it…. just wanted ya’ll to know!

Back to the grind… September 20, 2009

Hey all!

 

 

Just returned from our awesome and absolutely UN-REAL weekend safari through Maasai Mara and the Kenyan wilderness. I have some hilarious stories about our weekend adventures but they’ll  have to wait until I have a bit more time to blog….  good stuff so stay tuned!

 

Anyways, we’re back to Home Sweet Nairobi and about to have a little meeting over coffee for our trip to Baruku tomorrow.  I just found out that tomorrow is a Kenyan holiday so we’re not needed on our Kibera project… we’re gonna take the day and head back up to the IDP camp to hopefully get things rollin’ with the chicken coop/business idea.

 

For those praying for our team back home…. thank you SO much! We appreciate all of the emails, facebook messages and blog comments so keep them up. We go through our homesick moments and this weekend on the safari, out in the middle of nowhere in the wilderness, we all felt like we were in a different world! If you could specifically pray for extra energy and endurance for our Baruku trip tomorrow that be fantastic. It baffles me how those hungry kiddos  have the energy to play all afternoon… but us dehydrated, under-fed (haha), relatively out-of-shape Americans have trouble keeping up with them. Not to mention that this camp is the most heart-breaking sight… we just want to keep up our energy so that we can effectively share light and hope with the people there!

 

“Kwherini” (bye) for now!

 

LPF

Baruku & The Dust Babies September 17, 2009

Jambo, friends!

Good morning. I have a few minutes before we head out for our weekend safari to Maasai- Mara and wanted to send a quick update on our trip yesterday to the Baruku IDP Camp.

Absolutely the most heart-wrenching thing I’ve ever seen. In my most horrifying nightmare, I’ve never imagined anything like this!

The people at the Baruku IDP Camp wer booted from their homes in 2007 and the government gave each family 10,000 shillings (approx $130) to start their lives over. Several families pooled their money and bought land together and now are just a series of little white tents in the Kenyan hills. Honestly, I don’t know how they’re surviving. Perhaps by the occasional food-drops…. but I’ve never been anywhere so hopeless and void of energy!

I started crying immediately as we stepped out of the van, but I had to pull it together. The kids all ran up to us “mizungus” (aka: white people) and knew that we were coming to help. Words can’t begin to describe these kids: they were covered in DUST, clothing was rags, and their little faces had snot dried on them, since most of them were sick.

We brought kids books, bubbles, stickers, and games to play with them and had a fun afternoon attempting to distract them from their sad situation. At one point, we turned our van into a “new clothes assembly line” and Jenn, Nikki, and I brought each kid in one-by-one to dress them in a new outfit. Thanks to everyone who donated infant/baby clothes…. I got to see firsthand how they blessed the people there! It was a humbling experience pulling these kids’ old, stained rags off and dressing them in soft new things.

Before leaving Baruku, we met with their community leaders to discuss helping them start a little business. We want to help them in a way that is sustaining…. they can’t survive on the occasional and unpredictable food drops. Our idea was to help them build and buy a chicken coup so they can sell the eggs in local markets and hopefully stimulate some sort of income for them to start building their lives with. More on this later as we get going on the project, but we’re really excited!

Later that afternoon, we stopped by a different IDP camp, Pipeline, and the situation there was very different. Energy and progress lived there and you can tell that these were a determined group of people with the will to live and succeed! I left encouraged.

I was reminded of the verse in Matthew 25:40 throughout the day that says, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.” There’s no better way to describe these people other than the “least of these”…. I didnt know that this level of poverty existed. As a man in the Baruku camp told us, “Service to man is service to God.” He couldn’t have said it better, and that’s exactly why we’re here!

Off to Maasai-Mara for a weekend safari! Stay tuned….

L

PS: The computers over here are ridiculously old school so my apologies for the odd formatting!

Kenya… Karibu! September 16, 2009

JAMBO from Kenya!

Well, I’m here and I’ll have to sacrifice my long blog posts for a series of smaller updates over the next few weeks.

I’m absolutely LOVING my time here! The people are fantastic and accomodating and I lucked out with my host family. Who knew I’d be so excited to have running water and electricity ?!

Today ends the second day of my Orientation through VICDA, our local volunteer program. This morning they took us to the Animal Orphanage and we got to play with the baby cheetahs, feed the monkeys, and laugh at the fact that they named their little black monkey, “Barack”. Our tour guide asked if there were anyone from America in our group and when we told him that we were not only from America, but specifically Chicago… he blushed and made us promise not to tell on him!

Though Americans are apparently loud and obnoxious in comparison to other countries, we have found favor with the Kenyan people because of Prez Obama. He’s a celeb here, too!

Things I’m missing:

- my friends/family/co-workers

- DIET COKE FROM MCDONALDS

- food/snacks/meat that I don’t have to second guess…haha

- a shower! (we have a bucket and running water… I’ll let you fill in the blanks!)

Regardless of the few comforts from home that I miss, I’m thrilled to be here with these people, to have met new friends in Volunteer Orientation, and to be getting released on our projects tomorrow. I’m so ready to dig in and start working with the kids!

For those of you who donated baby clothes, I sent a portion of them with the volunteers going to Gilgal this morning. They needed the warmer clothes because this area is up in the mountain area of Kenya. It was so neat to be able to give them something tangible after hearing how much they need it! Thanks to all of those who helped with this effort!

Tomorrow morning, we head to Baruku IDP (internally displaced persons) camp and will be meeting with the community leaders there to see if we cant set up a local business for them. Our idea was to buy them some chickens so that they can start circulating some food to provide for them, as well as sell in local markets nearby! All it takes is people believing in them and willing to loan money/resources. I’m excited about being a part of this… so more on this effort later!

SO…. Jambo from Kenya! Stay tuned for more updates along the journey (hopefully some pics soon).

LF