The Ultimate Safari

The word “safari” in Swahili (one of the National Languages in Kenya) means “long journey” and here in the US we think of visiting a park with big wild animals. This past weekend our kiddos in Kenya got the ultimate safari in every sense of the word. A luxury 5-star safari resort in Kenya’s famous Masai Mara National Reserve decided to give our kiddos an experience of a lifetime.All of our 16 kids and a few lucky staff members stayed three nights at the 5-Star Mara Timbo Resort—it is the type of place that I only dream about! They stayed in beautiful luxury tents, each with it’s own bathroom equipped with toilets, sinks, and showers. Each tent has a huge bathtub on a deck over-looking a family of hippos—the children went “swimming” in their tubs each night they were there. Each tent also had it’s own private butler to attend to their every need. After dining with the hippo family each night they snuggled up in big comfy beds and drifted off to sleep.

They called to update me every few hours about the fun they were having and the joy in their voices was priceless. It makes me smile just writing about it. On their game drives they saw a lion and lioness, hyenas, elephants, giraffes, and to quote our eldest boy Joreim “We saw animals that we had never even heard of!” He followed that with “The only problem is that we don’t want to leave.”  I cannot express the joy that I felt each call that I got, those giggles just make my day.

People travel to Kenya from all over the world to see Masai Mara.  It is really wonderful that our kids got to experience a world-renowned place within their own country. This was the first vacation that any of our children have ever been on. Our day field trips to surrounding sites were the first time that many of them had even left our village! Now they have all traveled outside of our province into a completely different area than what they are used to. The journey alone opened their eyes to so much. Then add to that an experience that most of us would only dream of—witnessing these magnificent animals in their natural habitat. It doesn’t get better than a family vacation with all your siblings, creating amazing memories that will last a lifetime.

We are so grateful to the Mara Timbo Resort, click below to watch this video of just how spectacular this place really is.

http://www.maratimbo.com/video-and-photo-gallery

Sleeping Peacefully

Sometimes it is hard to see the bigger picture when you are focusing on day-to-day problems. This is especially difficult when you are caring for 16 children. Everyone has something going on. It could be fighting over toys or having a hard day at school. The children that are living at our home have often dealt with much more than any child should and so even small issues can trigger something bigger. Then there are also all the positive things that happen to the kids, like doing well on a test or becoming their class leader. Maybe it is just learning how to write their letters, understanding subtraction or reading an entire Berenstain Bears book without help. Big or small, good and bad, we strive to be there for our kids as much as we can--ensure that they know that we value each one of them. So when I am there I find myself just going and going, not having the time to process what is actually happening.  However, on my last trip there was a moment, seemingly small, that brought everything into focus... One evening a staff member Mary became really sick and Patrick (our nurse) had to rush her to the hospital. After they left, our staff member Christine and I served the children dinner and she had to be back the next morning at 5:30am, so I sent her home. Then it was just our 16 kiddos and I.

It never ceases to amaze me just how well behaved our kids are! They all finished their dinner and went about their routine—they cleaned off the table, brushed their teeth and got ready for bed. Soon after they grabbed their book bags, sat around our solar lamps and began to study. I didn’t have to ask them to do any of it. I walked around helping everyone with his or her homework and then began to get our smallest guys ready for bed.

Amazingly enough our youngest boys Clinton (2) and Austin (3) were really easy. I just told them that I loved them, gave them each a stuffed toy and told them to go to sleep. Then they giggled (because how I sounded speaking Luo) and climbed in bed. I kissed them good night and sat for a moment rubbing their backs as they drifted off to sleep. Samuel our 5 year old was much more difficult, but after some snuggling, his sleepiness finally won the battle.

The older children just sat quietly studying. Then one by one they packed up their schoolbooks and headed off to bed. Ester and Juma (both in 8th grade) studied the longest, but about 10pm they said goodnight.

I sat in the middle of our living room floor tired and sweaty after a very long day. The house was dark and the only sound I could hear was our children breathing. They were all tucked in their beds, sleeping so peacefully and I realized at that moment that we had really done something. I thought back to the day that the construction was finished and I sat on this floor wondering what it would be like when children actually lived here. And now there I was listening to the peaceful sound of our 16 wonderful children sleeping—feeling safe, loved, and cared for in our home. There were not many moments in my life that can compare—it was truly a gift!

Culture Connects Us

Culture is such an interesting thing.  We often don’t recognize our own until we are experiencing another. At times the differences are painfully obvious and yet many times the differences between two cultures are so subtle they are hard to perceive on either side. What is interesting is that these subtleties can often make all the difference in the world. The process of understanding a different culture is similar to peeling an onion layer by layer. Each time I go stay in Sirembe (Western Kenya) I learn something new about their culture. Just when I think I have it figured out, a new realization occurs. Sometimes aspects of culture can make our job more difficult, but what I came to realize on my last trip had just the opposite effect. In August of 2010, a few days after our first 10 children moved into our orphanage, Ester (our eldest girl, 13 at the time) was playing with my hair and she said, “Sarah, you know you are my mother now, right?” I agreed enthusiastically. I was so moved that she would say that, but it also made me sad because it seemed as if she thought I was replacing her mother. I have always worried that the children might feel that way, and in the culture I was raised in, my concern makes perfect sense. It wasn’t until years later that I actually realized what Ester meant...

Luo people, the tribe in our area, have a very strong connection to their extended family. However, their idea of extended family extends MUCH further than we in the US can imagine. If you are Luo you just assume that anyone within your tribe is in someway related to you and the number of family members then extends into the millions. They often call each other “brother” or older women “mother” to show love and respect. It is not uncommon at all for children to be raised by an extended family member, such as a grandmother or an aunt, even if their mother is still living and has to move away for work.  Of course children will always have a connection to their biological mother, however, Luo children understand that they are cared for by a community full of “mothers.”

In January of 2012 I went with Patrick (our on-site nurse and Managing Director of our children’s home) to the Sirembe Primary School to attend a Parent/Teacher meeting for our 13 yr old girl Vivian. All of the parents or guardians were asked to stand up and introduce themselves to the group of children and adults. Patrick stood up for us and said, “My name is Patrick and this is Sarah and we are the mother and father of Vivian.” Everyone laughed for a moment because it was quite obvious that I was not actually her mother, but they understood what was meant. I was worried instantly that Vivian might take it the wrong way, as if we were trying to replace her real parents. But then I looked up at her and she was beaming! She stood up, smiling from ear to ear, proud to have two people there that loved her. No we aren’t her actual parents, but we are her family and we cared enough to be there for her. I realized at that moment that I had been looking at this all wrong—we are not replacing anyone; we are just extending their family further.

It is a very common thing for children to be cared for outside of their parent’s home, so in this way it makes it much easier for our children to adjust and allow us to take care of them. Ester never thought that I was replacing her mother, she was just trying to say something like “Sarah, I trust you and you are the one who cares for me now.” This level of comfort and acceptance on the part of the children is largely related to culture and I am thankful for it. They are all quite comfortable living in our children’s center and happy that their family continues to grow and grow.

Mother Knows Best

Mrs. Opot aka Mathe, which means “mother” in Sheng (common slang spoken in Kenya) is the reason we have a project in Kenya. I met her in 2000 as the actual mother of my dear friend Joab. I would see her periodically, over the years, while she was visiting her children in the US. Years later (2007) the Opot Family approached me to help them open a home for children in Kenya. There was a building on Mathe’s land that wasn’t being used, but needed some serious renovation. Mathe donated a plot of her family’s land with the building and we set to work to make it a home. Her nephew, Patrick Lumumba who is a certified nurse and midwife came on board and we built our team. Mathe, Patrick, and I are the three Managing Directors of the James Christopher Opot Children’s Centre (JCO). Mathe was a full-time teacher in Nairobi for 33 years and raised 6 wonderful children of her own. She now cares for our 16 children on a daily basis, in addition to anyone in need around her. Her living room is a never-ending stream of people coming for food, advice, or a listening ear. She is always involved in community betterment projects (i.e. bringing water to the village and economic development). She is a respected elder at her church and in her village. She is a very strong woman. She is a “force to be reckoned with”, yet she possesses such a kind heart--a “mother’s” heart-- for everyone. I am always amazed at how she never seems to tire; she is always ready to welcome someone else.

I feel very blessed to have spent so much time in Sirembe. Since 2007 I have been able to go almost bi-annually and spend months at a time, under the constant care of my Kenyan mother. When I come to visit, Mathe and I sit there for hours each night just talking, over the light of a kerosene lamp. During my first visit to Sirembe, she showed me around, taking me to meet people in many different homes. It meant so much for me to be welcomed into their homes and to begin to understand more about Luo culture. At the same time, it meant so much to these people that we would want to come and spend time with them in their homes. It helped to bridge so many gaps without even trying.

She is a mother, a constant mother to everyone, but it is more than that. She has an innate generosity that is deep and abiding. There is such ease to it, I see people coming to her literally begging, but she never makes them feel that way. She helps them in a respectful manner—ensuring their dignity remains in tact. She makes it seem as if she isn’t doing anything, like it is the most normal thing in the world. As if it is a necessity and not just an act of kindness. Her constant compassion is an ideal that I agree with, but seeing her apply it day in and day out is awe-inspiring. It is what I would call “living generosity” and I continue to learn from her example every day.

Although Patrick and I bring our ideas to the table and sometimes we are right, the one thing I have learned over the years is that it's generally a good idea to defer to her wisdom. Because after all Mathe knows best.

Education Saves Lives- World AIDS Day

Education saves lives, the facts are over-whelming. By ensuring education, for girls in particular, you can completely change communities. Education is crucial for the survival of individual children and their entire communities. Educated girls lead to healthier families, in turn healthier communities. For instance, in sub-Saharan Africa if a girl is educated, more often than not, she will:

• Delay sexual activity & have fewer partners: (girls with at least 8 years of school are 87% less likely to engage in sexual activity before they are 18 than girls with no schooling.
• Delay marriage & childbirth
• Have fewer babies and healthier babies (Children with educated mothers are half as likely to suffer from malnutrition as those with uneducated mothers)
• Help to break the cycle of poverty by becoming a provider and a decision maker in her home. (Education provides families with more economic options)

Education gives her the one thing that her uneducated counterparts lack, options.There is also a significant increase in the likelihood of this educated woman ensuring that her children are also educated, thus passing the benefits to the next generation.

The life-saving power of education is not limited to girls. According to recent studies: "If every child (globally) received a complete primary education, at least 7 million new cases of HIV could be prevented in a decade."

That is astounding! By providing education to the children of the world we can SAVE LIVES!

So in honor of World AIDS DAY, join us in providing a crucial part of the cure! DONATE to help Restore Humanity educate more children and save lives today!

Horrible Stats Become Reality

I KNOW the problems facing the majority of human beings across the globe... the health, economic, social, and emotional issues that I try to make people aware of -have very real consequences. In fact I see them all the time. However, a recent story of a woman I knew unfortunately followed every “pattern” that an impoverished, uneducated woman in the third world is at risk of falling into and she suffered the very real consequences of them. I would say cliché if it wasn’t so tragic. Pamela was a woman that didn’t get past a primary education, married young, and gave birth to 11 children, 8 of which are living. The last pregnancy and stillbirth delivery and the complications from it was the cause of her death this past July.  The night of her death, she had no access to the medicine she needed... That night in the village I could hear her husband’s family screaming and praying for hours on end. Finally an ambulance came and took her, but at this point she was already convulsing. Upon reaching the government hospital there was no medicine to be had because the pharmacy was closed.

Her tragic death could have been prevented up until the end. What I mean by that is:  if she had been properly educated through at least secondary school, then she wouldn’t have gotten married so early and when she did get married she would at least have more job options and most likely ensure her children’s education. She would also have prolonged giving birth to her first child and if statistics mean anything, as an educated woman she wouldn’t have given birth to that many children. Even if she didn’t get to pursue further “dreams” she would most likely be alive right now taking care of her family. We also see that the lack of healthcare in her area and the lack of education about it played a big role as well.

The bad news is she died and has left 8 children without a mother. However, the GOOD news is we can care for those children and others like them. We are raising funds now to provide the immediate care needed (i.e. building a Clinic, supporting the schools, food, and workshops) and laying the necessary foundations to prevent tragic stories such as Pamela from even beginning.