Working in an elementary school in the USA reminds me of my many small friends scattered throughout East Africa. As I take my daily prayer walks I lift up a long list of children I miss deeply. Many of them reside in Mwanza, Tanzania where I lived for three years while assisting in the creation of the Nuru na Maisha Kituo cha Mafunzo ya Watoto (educational study centre for children). Others live in the village of Kipkaren, Kenya where our family spent a month last summer. Each afternoon, eager for my daily 'kid fix', I'd walk the dirt road between our hut and the ELI Kipkaren Children's Home to see what my little friends were up to. Forming bonds of friendship with children always means doing something interesting:* use dried corncobs as sponges to wash shoes
* sweep pathways with sturdy branch 'brooms'
* stitch up tears in clothing torn from having too much fun near barbed wire fencing
* stir massive cooking pots of cornmeal mush with spoons the size of boat oars
* sit under a mango tree and help make kites
* kick a bundle of cloth and plastic bags around a grassy field in a vigorous game of soccer
On January 20th The Standard, Kenya's national newspaper, ran a two page article about life at the Kipkaren Children's Home. It did my heart good to read about friends I miss so much. While it is sometimes tough to be far away, I take comfort in the knowledge that we'll be together again later this year when we head back to Kenya. If you'd like to read this article click here.
