Kakamega Village, Kenya, Africa
April 6 - 16, 2009
We were very blessed with the privilege of traveling with the foundation In Our Own Quiet Way (Quiet Way) this spring to do humanitarian work and research. Ron Hatfield, the founder, has commissioned Eric to do a series of African paintings to support him in the cause of bringing life to the Kakamega village (East Kenya) through medicine, education and other venues. We are very honored to have shadowed the wonderful efforts of this remarkable quest. The whole Hatfield family and all the other volunteers were a great example of service and vision. We will be forever changed for this great experience and look forward to a long relationship with these great volunteers ... and the humble people they serve.
Take a journey with us to the opposite side of the globe ... where we were given far more then we gave and were mightily humbled in the process...
After a very long flight (approx. 20 hours in the air) to Minneapolis and then Amsterdam, we finally landed in Nairobi, exhausted and ready for yet another flight that would take us closer to the village where we would serve. We flew with Bernadine Anatalia (who we miraculously sat next to) from Germany. Bernie grew up in the Kakamega village and was blessed to be given a chance for education and later employment as a nanny for a German family. She met the Mormon missionaries and gained a testimony of the gospel. Her host family gave her an ultimatum ... throw the Book of Mormon away or move out. This girl, with very little understanding of the language, few street smarts and no money, left refusing to give up the book. A series of miracles led her a new home, job and the opportunity to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She now works as a mail lady and spends all extra time and money to bless the life of the people of her village.
Ron and Maureen Hatfelid met Bernie in Germany as they were serving a mission. She became the inspiration behind the formation of Quiet Way.
On this trip, Quiet Way partnered with another foundation -- a medical charity called Hart.In the picture above, I'm posing with Bernadine and the team of nurses and medical staff, Katie Moses (front), Julie Nielson White (left), Shaelyn Mathena (middle), and Shae Barnes (right).
Prior to booking our trip to Africa, Eric kept saying to me, "we need to contact Benson!" He said it for about a month. Benson Kasue is from Kenya and a childhood friend of Eric's from Green River days. One day I googled him and we found him in Tyler Texas ... ironically where Eric served his mission. It took a day before the two were chatting on the phone as if they had seen each other the day before. One conversation led to some remarkable coincidences ...Benson too has a charity that serves the people of Kenya. He was so excited to hear what we were doing that he was soon talking with Ron and arrangements were made for him to come along. Benson was good friends with the current Vice President of the country and arranged a visit while we were in Nairobi. It was a wonderful gift to the foundation that we hope will result in simpler routes to get products and foodstuffs to the people.
Benson and Eric were a blast and believe cut from very similar molds!
Soon after Eric, me, Bernie and the nurses landed, we met with a government delegate that welcomed us in honor of the vice president. Soon after, Ron and the rest of the team landed from a different flight and we were all reunited. In the picture above ...(Left to right) Bernadine Anatalia, Crystal Miller, Maureen Hatfield, Leila Kauwe, Billy and Shauna Light, Ciana Bataineh (a 13-year old girl who paid her own way ... so impressive), Ron Hatfield, Eric and Deb Dowdle (duh) and ... his Honorary Phillip _______ (title).
We boarded a bus (rented just for our team) and made our way to the Serena Hotel ... surprisingly beautiful with hot showers. We still had to brush our teeth with bottled water and wear flip flops in the shower to keep us from contracting something from the water though. We went to the buffet to eat at midnight. As long as the food was steaming hot we could eat it ... even if we didn't know what it was. We couldn't touch fruits and vegetables washed in the water. One girl did on an earlier trip and got yellow fever. It wasn't worth the risk.
The next day was dedicated to our visit with Vice President Stephene Kalonzo Musyoka. In the meeting, we introduced ourselves and talked about a food program Quiet Way wants to introduce into the country. He was so impressed with the idea that he committed personal help to get it delivered to additional villages in partnership with a Kenyan charity. The Hatfields loved the idea. Eric then presented to the VP a gift of a custom cut Noah's Ark puzzled (valued with lots of zeros!). Eric thought it was funny that the Kenyans couldn't understand "breaking a perfectly good painting". But they got used to the idea as we explained it. We also told them that puzzles would be introduced to a private school in Kenya (St. Jospeh's). He was thrilled. He presented us with a nice African clock and then invited to a dinner at his house ... an indication -- according to custom -- that he respects us.
We were lucky to know some locals who helped Eric, Bernadine and me get an earlier flight (so we could be with the rest of the team) to Kisumu.
The Kisumu airport was small and had a control tower that looked a bit like a hut. We were near Lake Victoria so the misquotes were awful. To ward off milaria, we put our bug spray on immediately.
We met Patrick "driver" and get our luggage put away. He stood at the van to guard our stuff while we waited for the other plane carrying the rest of our crew. Turns out theft is quite rampant!
Eric made sure the Hatfeilds had no problem finding us! They were getting a pretty good taste of his personality by now ... so funny.
Once the whole team was together again, we drove to Kakamega village where we joined the nurses at the hospital. They took two days to unload a semi container full of donated medical machines and supplies. Their job was to prep the place for a major medical intervention in November. We helped finish and then dragged our dusty bodies to our final resting place ... a Catholic pastoral with individual rooms and individual showers -- quite a luxury for these parts.
While I attempted to e-mail my missionary at an Internet Cafe (took half an hour to not send the message ... ugh), Eric went exploring. He found a Kenyan tailor who made him a pair of pants for about a thousand shillings (approx. $7). He was so impressed he grabbed me and the nurses and we took pictures with all the guys sitting around the shop.
Once the guys saw us girls, they got pretty shy and hid in the shadows. We soon found that the Kenyans were very kind and enjoyable people. Our inhibitions about the people were soon turned into warm friendships. However, its always a good idea to have a man or Kenyan with you when you walk the streets ... just for the record.
Later in the day, we visited a school where we enjoyed a "good goat dinner" (freshly slaughtered in our honor). A local African group of musicians started to play for us and soon kids from all over the neighborhood came to see where the party was. It didn't take long before we were all dancing ... Eric in the middle of the action.
Ron and Maureen Hatfield were adorable as they led the kids in fun songs (even though most of them didn't have a clue what was being said).
Shauna Light and "Driver Patrick" were soon in a dance off where Patrick would show her an African move and Shauna would mimic in her best white-girl version. They were hilarious!
The kids got more and more into the dancing and soon we were surrounded in little versions of Beyonce. Man ... those Africa kids got moves!
Ron led the kids in a unique version of the Bunny Hop where they hopped and danced around the band.
"Give me five" appears to be a social expression that spans borders, cultures and nations!
Eric got the kids laughing and following him around like the pied piper. He then told stories in chopped English (as if that would help) full of animated gestures that made the kids squeal in delight.
At the end of the day we had dinner at the pastoral. The menu was very similar each night ... ugali (cooked maize flour and water), chapattis (flat bread similar to a tortilla), cooked and seasoned cabbage, matoke (cooked bananas that tasted a lot like potatoes), pilau (spicy rice) and some kind of meat with sauce. It was the best they had to offer and we were very grateful. But we were very happy later in the week to find food that tasted more American. We then all dropped exhausted into our twin-sized beds covered with individual mosquito netting. Most of us woke up aournd 2:00 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. That was surely my story. So I took a shower, read my book, got cleaned up, and at 6:00 was quite ready for a long walk in the village.
Maureen, Leila, Shauna and I took an amazing walk in the early morning hours. We explored through the hidden hills of Kakamega where we saw tidy mud huts, expansive gardens, and families surfacing for their morning chores. One boy swept the dirt around his mud hut with some shrubs. I was so impressed with the women that teetered massive loads on their heads and they juggled the responsibilities of home, land and children. And even more impressive was their kindness and welcome nature. They were happy! I felt humbled as I saw their happiness in a state where most Americans would wallow in self pity.
