Jemo...the worst blogger in Africa!

Okay "A" (my number one faithful to the end blogg checker...I am writing this blog tonight for YOU and as a dodge!..I actuallly should be finishing a financial report for Steve Erickson and I just am repulsed by that kind of work...so a good dodge is the next worst thing...blogging....not that I don't want the world to know about all of the adventure here....but to sit and tell stories is so totally natural for me...but to write them down is just not natural to me. My son, Zach, can write and write and write....must get that from his mom....me.....not so much but here goes.

The VERY best news of the week is Jessica and Steve Thompson. They are a young couple from Wisconsin and they are staying in the "Rotary House" behind the Maseno Mission Hospital. Jes organized a group of young nursing students from her school in Wisconsin to visit Maseno and work in the hospital for 21 days back three years ago. Now, she is an RN and is back for a six month stay with her husband. They are an absolutely delightful couple. Steve is a business guy who ran a large store in Durham, NC for Habitat for Humanity. He has been over at St. Philips Seminary fiddling with the honey bees and he has also been working with the women's union developing projects. Jes is helpong out in the Nursing school and has been looking for another project. VOILA!!!!
She has agreed to be the LINK between Maseno Mission Hospital Nursong School and the Saint John Fisher Nursing visit!!! She just started working Noel Shanali today to develop the agenda for when the nurses come! I she the two of them developing a wonderful program for all of the nurses involved!!!! Steve and I will work in the bees on Monday afternoon.

Today, I went to the Grail and had breakfast with Margaret Amol (who runs the Grail Cmmunity Center for Womens'; Empowerment) and Eva and Daniel (both of who are in boarding school under the aid of Building Futures). It was a great breakfast and both of the kids reported dong well and enjoying their new school (St. Pauls). They are home on a short break and I will take them back to school (about an hours drive) on Sunday.After breakfast I drove Margaret outtoward Bondo (about 30 km) for her to attend a school committee meeting. She has been on her old school's committee for over 20 nyears. As we drove along, we discussed a variety of topics. I love to know Mazrgaret. She has travel throughout the world and has donated her knowledge and energy to refugee camps and those in need and the non empowered for her whole life. She is a smart, loving, caring woman...but she is tough and no nonsense. Seh sees through the crap and calls a spade a spade. She and I have a good understanding about most things.
She has been very helpful to me understanding the Kenyan mind and way of life.

After dropping off Margaret, I picked up NOel Shinali and we went to Kisumu. NOt have to fight the matatu conductors and teh crowding and the waiting in the stage is a blessing...still, driving a car or a motorcycle or even tank, in Kenya...is not easy.
CRAZY drivers (IO do not want to elaborate here..but ask me in private about the matatu guy in reverse and th e cops running down the street with drawn guns!!!! that one got our blodd pumping!!!!)...Noel had to pick up her new glasses (she still needed some correction after her cataract surgery...and I had to pay Mitha for th efinal solar installation at MO....and we had to pick up Sam. After I came out of Mitha, I noticed that a pithole had popped the one tire that my hotrod has that is tubed....so I had to jack it up and put on the spare...and in the middle of Kisumu, 67n different people decided that a Wazungu could not change a tire and had to rush up and try to give me hel;p and advice and it got wquite annoying. After I got the spare on...I had to go and buy a new tire, as I am driving to Masia Mara tomorrow and I can't drive in pothole heaven without a spare!

After I got the new tire, we dropped Noel off to work with Jes and Sam and I went to get beer at the Maseno Club. They had one of my two favorite varieties of beer....it is called "cold"....my other favorite variety is "FREE"....we had mbuzi choma (roast goat)
and "chips" (french fries) and the beer was cold and it is also called TUSKER. NOt exactly BLUE...but it will do in a pinch!

Now it is 7:44 and I am home (the Maseno Guest House) which ios the "evil house of deception" at times...when Adam and I BOTH got hot showers the first morning that we were here....we thougth we had died and gone to Kenyan Heaven....in the last three weeks that I hazve been here....HOT water 3 times....luke warm 3 times....less that ice cold a couple of times and how we se so deceived to think it could be hot EVERY DAY...oh the fools that good lookoing young Polish men can been (YES< US!!!!...well at least Adam...the young part I mean. (hey Adam...how's the "hiney") ( I know, you will want me to edit that out...hell, it's only you, Andrea and me reading this thing!)

So wrap it up for now ( i MUST get on to the financial report for Steve...) The project up at Mbaka Oromo and Huma. The building work at MO is gojing well. the kitchen walls are up the work on the classrooms 5 and 6 is almost done. I will have the Winslow Logo and name put on classrooms 5 soon. I will also make a garden for Abbey Pruitt and have some of my best form 2 kids (tenth graders) tend the garden. Abbey was a MUCH loved student form Winslow, who went through the entire Henrietta system and was loved by all and died in a car accident this last October. One of her life goals was to go to the developing world and make a difference. Before she could do that, an accident took her life away. So, the kids of Winslow school did a wonderful frundraiser with the intention of making a difference in the developing world and that will be a classroom named in Abey's honor.


Last week we had a community meeting called a barrazza and it gave the whole Mbaka Oromo community the chance to have their say in the developmenet of the health dispensary and
take ownership in it. They elected one rep from each of the 9 clans in the area and next week the committee will meet to stage setting up a constitution, electing officers and developing programs. It is an exciting time for the community. Their own Health and wellness center. Now all we have to do is find about $50,000 to build the thing.
Hakuna Matat!!!! (no worries!!!)

I have this AWESOME idea about how to spread baseball/softball...but I am running out of steam and it will have to be in the next log.....

Tomorrow at 6AM i leave for Masia Mara to nail down the costs for the nurses visit and
make the reservations. The whole make plans and reservations for 25 people coming to Kenya and programing and the like is FILLED with details....that is my forte LESS than blogging.

I will add some pictures if I can figure it out...LATTER!!!!

tutaonana!!!!!
jemo...the strongman.....JIM NOWAK!!!!!!!!