I’ve been meaning to sit down and write this for the last few days, but I’ve found it hard to write about my last couple of weeks in Kimilili. There are a couple of reasons...the first being that I’m really, really sad not to be there anymore. Of course there were some hard days, but overall my time in with IcFEM was great fun and I know I have learnt loads and been challenged to do new things and trust God more. It’s been such a special four months that leaving has brought on a case of post-Kimilili blues. (Don’t worry though, getting back to Zambia and into the swing of things here again will cure those blues!) The other reason that makes it hard to write about the last bit of my time in Kimilili is because that really sad thing is happening already. You know when you get back from your holiday and within a few days the holiday seems like ages ago...well, it’s a bit like that. While Kimilili is still fresh in my memory, now I’m not there it also seems like a long time ago. So, my poor little head is all confused at the moment as I change from life in Kenya to life in Zambia!Despite having a mixed up head, I really want to write about the last couple of weeks I spent in Kimilili now before it seems further away. Although I’m now in Lusaka, sitting in a busy internet cafe with a wireless connection (something my computer hasn’t seen since I left home!) and looking forward to the next stage of my trip, I’ll save telling you about all that until next time I write.
My last days with IcFEM were hectic, of course, but loads of fun. Most of my evenings were spent visiting friends. I was privileged to be invited to many houses for tea which helped me piece together a few more married couples and families! Despite having been there so long I was still not aware of who was married to who and which kids belonged to which parents. I thought I’d worked it all out, but every now and then there was another surprise! It was lovely to take some time with people who I normally just saw around headquarters and meet their children and see their homes.
The CTS office...before.....Most of my days for the last week have been taken up with redecorating and furnishing the CTS office. This is the central office that the twelve line ministries operate from, although some are based in other small offices. I had been talking with Tatwa, the deputy director in charge of CTS, about how CTS currently operates and how he sees it moving forward. Due to the nature of the work, many of the CTS staff are actually out and about visiting local units for much of the week and only one or two members of staff can actually be found in the office. The office was previously partly painted (it looked as odd as it sounds) with exposed ceiling boards and concrete floor slab. It was a dark and dreary space with desks squashed around the edges. As many people are often out the desks were mainly empty with just one of two people sitting at opposite sides of the room. There was also difficulties when the weekly meeting for about 25 people took place in the office as not everyone could fit in so ended up sitting outside. After much talking with Tatwa we decided to introduce one big central desk made up of smaller pieces that could be used as a large meeting table or small individual desks. We also agreed that some storage space would be needed to replace their desk draws. Alongside this, we organised for two computers to be put in the office that can be used as hotdesks. As money is always tight for IcFEM and as all the folks working in CTS have really looked after me while I’ve been here and made time to include me in all they’ve been doing, I decided I’d redecorate the office and provide the new furniture as a thank you pressie before I left. So, armed with a load of paint left over from various jobs Jo Finlay did while she was here, and some help from a few painters, we gave the office a new lease of life. Over the weekend I painted a mural on the wall which was loosely speaking a diagrammatic version of IcFEM and included lots of colourful dots spread across the wall. We finished painting on my penultimate day and on my very last day we moved in the furniture I’d had made and all in all, I think it looked a lot better than it did a week ago...if I do say so myself! All those who use the office seemed excited about the new layout and willing to give it a go...I just hope it works out well for them!
The CTS office...after...(well, during...)On the day the painters were painting the floor I took the opportunity to have a day off and went for a walk up the hill behind Kimilili. Not being the type who often goes for walks, my legs were not best pleased with the idea, but Dennis, Vicky, Bethany, Caleb and I had a great day. We took a few “shortcuts”, which to be fair were probably shorter than going back to the road, but included quite a bit of cross country adventuring! We climbed a rock at the top of the hill to see the most beautiful views back across the area - the fields and fields of maize looked spectacular. We finished off by going to see a waterfall further round the hill and then walked back to the junction where we hoped on boda boda’s home! My legs were aching for days after all the up hill walking! Well worth it though.
On my last Sunday I went along to the service at Dreamlands school. I’ve been a few times and it’s one of my favourite services to go to. When I walked in the teacher sitting in asked me if I was the preacher...well, as far as I knew I wasn’t, but turns out, apparently I was! Isaac had come with me, so we agreed to manage five or ten minutes each to make up a mini-sermon as neither of us had time to prepare anything more! It was actually really lovely to have the opportunity to share some words of encouragement with all the kids before I left. Lots of them have become friends as we’ve played many games together and had lots of fun, so they weren’t too scary an audience for someone who isn’t a fan of standing in front of groups of people and trying to say something wise!!
Amidst all the goings on, I’ve been busy packing and sorting out odd jobs that I’d not quite got round to doing. I think I managed to get everything done before I left, but all the little bits and bobs led to a non-stop last week and half, meaning I was shattered by the time I got on the coach to Nairobi. I had wondered why all the other girls took so long to do their packing when they left...surely we’ve only got to shove all our stuff into our bags and that’s that? Well, now I know what takes so long...actually, I don’t know what takes so long but I do know it takes long!
On my last day Rosie organised a leaving do for me which was really lovely. It was so great to see all my Kimilili friends gathered together and to take some time out to thank them for all they have done for me. They also shared some words of thanks and encouragement and sent me off with many cards and gifts. It was pretty hard saying good bye to everyone as I have made some great friends in my time among them. I’d had to prepare myself to hold it all together and managed to get through most of the day without crying, although I gave up at the very end of the day when I was saying bye to Solomon and Ruth and their family. I was far too tired by then and a whole day of saying bye to people got the better of me!
I was up at 5.30am the next day to set off to Kitale in time to get the coach to Nairobi. The coach was much cheaper than flying and also an opportunity to see some more of Kenya than I had so far (even if I was just driving through!) So, I’d decided I’d tackle the eight hour journey! I’m glad I did... It was a long time on the coach, but it was really interesting to see more of the country. I realised that Kimilili, being up in the mountains, is much cooler and also much more fertile than most of the country. From looking at maps it was easy to work that out, but seeing the miles of parched fields with maize crops dried up and failing made me realise just how hard life can be for some people. Many are struggling to find food this year due to a poor harvest following the post-election violence in 2007. The violence may have ended, but there are repercussions still stretching out. People lost lots during the clashes and therefore many were unable to plant their fields and much ground has lain barren. This means that the harvest in 2008 was small meaning what food is now available is highly priced and unaffordable for many. This year it seems like the harvest will also be small due to lack of rains. This means it will be the second year of hunger for many making it even harder to survive. Although I knew all this before, seeing the fields and fields of failing maize really made it sink it. It was a real eye opener.
On a much lighter note, I also saw a zebra by the side of the road and a truck full of goats...so full the owners had ingeniously made hammocks from sacks so they could carry more goats, sort of like bunk bed style! I was absolutely shattered by the time I made it to Nairobi so had a quite evening in the hotel and went to bed early before getting up at 5am to catch the plane to Zambia.
One last Kimilili moment I want to share with you is the little kid who gave me some avocado...okay, I know that sounds like a strange thing, but here’s how it went. I was sat in the car at the end of our road/mud track waiting for Eliud when this little boy who I saw every day outside the little shops came toddling over slowly and handed me a half eaten piece of avocado, covered in muck and looking like one of the most unappetising things ever...When Eliud came back to the car he told me that the boy’s mum had told him to give the avocado to the chickens but he’d said no he wanted to give it the mzungu. Now, this may seem like a strange event to bother writing about, but after four months of kids stopping me to ask for ten shillings or for me to buy them things, this one little boy who didn’t want to ask me for anything but actually wanted to give me something really meant a lot to this mzungu!
And on that note, as I am enjoying my very last ginger snap biscuit bought in Riziki supermarket in Kimilili, I have reached the end of my time with IcFEM. As I started by saying, I’m really sad not to be there anymore. It has been such a great four months and I’m incredibly grateful to all those people who gave me such a warm welcome to the guest house, the head quarters, many homes and village communities and made my entire stay so diverse and special. I’m also hugely thankful to God for taking me there and teaching me through the people I met and the things I’ve been involved in. I have thanked him again and again for letting me go there at the same time as Jo, Jo and Gemma who really helped me settle into Kenyan life and shared much fellowship with me. All in all, a big fat Yey!!! Although I am sad to leave, I am so so happy that I have been able to spend time with such great people all working together to seek God’s will and bring about change in their own communities. I feel truly privileged to have shared in the last four months of life with IcFEM!
