At home, I am an extreme extrovert. I love being with people 24/7. In fact, the only time I am really ever alone is to sleep… any other time, I am surrounding myself with friends and family.
But, since coming on the race, I have these moments where I just want to be alone. I was having one of those days today.
Ryan, Thomas, and I went out to ministry with one of the teams… a day full of things I love to do… visit kids and go to the IDP camp (Internally Displaced People…a place I have wanted to visit since being here in 2009). I wasn’t having a bad day by any means. I was actually really excited about the day ahead. It was just one of those times I wanted to be alone. So, I walked along in the back of the group, taking time to stop and say hello to the people I passed on the small dirt path.
As we approached the school, I stopped and looked through the bushes and fence at all of the kids playing. I just stood there a minute and watched our group go in… the kids were excited. Wazungus (white people) to play with and cameras to pose for. The team spread out across the playground playing with different groups of kids and doing different activities.
Then I saw them… a precious group of girls sitting on the steps. Just sitting and watching everyone else.
So, as I walked in the gate, I slowly headed that way, playing with the small children along the way.
I sat with this beautiful group of girls… asked them questions and learned each of their names.
Until it started to rain… so we all ran for shelter.
The girls got their lunch and headed to their classroom. Earlier when we were talking, the girls had mentioned that they wanted me to eat lunch with them… Ugali and beans (definitely not my favorite thing to eat!). I really didn’t want to. Not only because I did not like it, but also because we had just ate right before going to the school. So, I avoided their classroom. Instead, I found lots of other kids to talk to until I felt like the girls had finished their lunch.
That is when I met Charles.
(Charles and Joel)
Unlike the other children who were wearing uniforms, Charles was wearing jeans and a purple t-shirt. I started a conversation with him… talking about what class he was in and what he wanted to do when he grew up…
And, that is when I asked the wrong question…
“Charles… do you wear a uniform to school?”
“Yes,” he replied, not realizing I was asking about him and not the kids that go to the school.
“So, you have a uniform you wear to school, but you do not have it on today?”
Charles’ eyes went straight to the ground and he started shuffling his feet uncomfortably.
“Charles… do you wear a uniform to school?”
Still starring at the ground, he shook his head no.
Then he whispered quietly… “I don’t have a uniform.”
He was so ashamed. It was obvious. It was written all over his darling face.
God broke my heart for this amazing young boy. I honestly wanted to cry. Here I was wanting to love on this child, and instead, I had him starring at the ground feeling so ashamed.
How can I fix this? How can I make him feel better?
So, what happened next? I straight up lied to him. You know, one of those lies that is actually the truth, just not the whole truth.
I told him…
“Guess what Charles… When I was in school, I did not have a uniform to wear to school either. Lots of my friends wore them, but I did not have one.”
(The truth: My friends who wore uniforms went to a different school; my school did not wear them.)
It worked. He smiled a little and we continued talking. He told me about his family and introduced me to his friend Joel, who also was not wearing a uniform (they were the only kids I saw there not wearing one), and then they hurried off to get some lunch.
By now, I figured the girls were done eating, so I headed into their classroom… Class 3.
Class 3 is the equivilant to third grade. This class had 30 students in it… most being in the age range of 8-10, but many of the kids were older. There was even an 18 year old in the room. The older kids are off the streets, so they started school a lot later than normal.
As I walked in, I spotted my girls across the room. Oops… came to soon. I ended up sitting down and eating out ugali and beans out of one of the girl’s bowls. I think she honestly just wanted to see if I would eat it haha….
We finished up at the school, and then headed to the IDP camp.
Here is a summary of how this camp came to be…
“Due to a national upset caused by the 2007 Kenyan elections, particular tribes were targeted in clashes and forced from their homes, villages and businesses resulting in 180 to 250 thousand displaced people and an estimated 5000 killed with many other wounded.
Thousands of families journeyed to the city of Nakuru and were placed in temporary camps by the government. In 2008 each family were given a small financial compensation to assist in rebuilding their lives. A particular group of around 900 families pulled together to stretch their money to buy 16 acres of land in the nearby area known as Pipeline.
This resulted in what is now known as the Pipeline IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp, where around 6000 inhabitants live in tents and other temporary structures donated by aid organisations four years ago.”
(This information is from the website of an organization called So They Can. We had the privilege of meeting a few guys who work with this charity here in Nakuru. Click here to learn more about them.)
I saw this camp in 2009 from a distance when I was in Nakuru. I always wanted to do ministry to the people in the camp. I could not even imagine being in their shoes… forced to leave their homes and lives behind because of a political election. The camp looks a lot smaller now than it did in 2009… But, the conditions these people have to live in break my heart.
Here are some pics from the camp…
Today was amazing! Probably in my top 3 days in Kenya so far. I love this culture… love spending time with people… love the children…
It is such a blessing to be back here again.
