Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Chapati, Ugali, and Baby!



As the Kenya leg of our trip comes to an end, it's hard to believe it's over already! Looking back, we accomplished so much, made good connections and had a lot of fun.

When we arrived, it took us all a few days to adjust to the time. It wasn't uncommon for us to find each other at random times of the night in the hotel lobby, sending emails to our loved ones. 

We spent our first few days at the school. We were eagerly escorted to the greenhouse and chicken coop to view the progress that has been made over the past few months. The greenhouse was overflowing with sweet peppers and tomatoes and the chicken coop was ready and waiting for chicks. While we were here, the first batch of tomatoes were sold to a lady in the local market. We purchased the chicks that will be delivered to the school on Thursday. 





































Hillari and Karie taught lessons to the children about what life is like in Colorado, and how it is similar to life in Kenya and how it is different.



They also filmed a short movie entitled, "The Day in the Life of an Empakasi Student" where they followed a young Empakasi student named Susan around for a day, documenting her life. This video will be shown to the students at their partner school, Eagle Crest Elementary, in Colorado.



With the help of the Empakasi staff, we were able to get the whole student body to write pen pal letters, after receiving their own letters from their friends at Eagle Crest. 


After a full week of activities at the school, we took a few days to tour around Nairobi. First stop, Nairobi National Park. However, on the morning of our safari, Kevin (our project manager) got a call from his wife. She was in labor and their baby was on its way! After 7 hours, baby John Omondi was born. Kevin was now a father!


After all the excitement, we made it to the national park and had a wonderful time! We saw different animals all day long and practically stayed in the park until sunset. 









All in all, we had an amazing and successful time in Kenya. We ate traditional foods, made attempts to learn the local language, and experienced parts of the various cultures that are found in here.  The partnership with Empakasi School is stronger than ever now because of our trip!





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