Planning

Today was a lot of logistical planning for the next couple weeks: figuring out drivers, sound systems, etc.  Not the most fun part of my trip, but something that needed to be done so that the rest can run smoothly.  After morning meetings, I was able to walk around the school and see some changes that have been made.  I am always surprised at the amount of progress that they are able to make in just one year.  They have demolished part of the building and are in the process of building 70 new classrooms.  It will be a great building when it is completed.  They have also moved and been able to expand their adult program (they teach the women of the community to sew so that they can have an income).  Later in the day, I was able to walk around the slum area with two of the school’s social workers.  All the slum children wanted to hold my hand…they don’t have many visitors and I stick out quite a bit =).  As usual there were chants of “mzungu” (white person) and “how are you” (the only English phrase many of the slum children know) as I walked by.  The slums were worse than I remembered.  It has rained for the past three days, so the trash on the street has mixed with the mud to make one big swamp.  There is no sewer system so the water on the streets does not drain anywhere.  Everything sits and stews in the hot Kenyan sun.  There is no way for me to describe the smell that garbage, urine, and rainwater make while boiling in the sun.  It’s funny how things like this make you appreciate the little thinks in life like a sewer system.