Juja Farm/Orphanage/Safari :D

Hello All!! Thanks for stopping by :)

Today we went to Juja Farm, which is owned and run by HappyLife Children's home. It is a small piece of farm land, with goats, chickens and fish, where two "mom"'s and 15 kids live!! (13 boys and 2 girls). The age group is 4-6 and they used to live in Nairobi at HappyLife. Because they hadn't started school yet, they moved out to Juja, and they are being home schooled out there. It is about an hour's drive from Nairobi in a district thingy called Juja. These children have lived there since December 28, 2012, and they seem to love it!!

Leanne, a volunteer, had bought various sizes of soccer balls to bring to them and they loved them!! We were playing soccer (really each kid would kick their own ball at me and I would kick it back to them) and also there were a couple of skipping ropes that we were teaching them to use. It was lots of fun going there and seeing how different life is on the farm for them.


Another thing; on Tuesday I had the chance to visit a different orphanage, which is also a school. They house 40 kids at the orphange, in this TINY three room house. Then the school, which is about three of our "street blocks" at home, has those 40 kids as well as 40 more from the local area. It is kindergarten to grade 8 and these kids are so very thankful for their education. Leanne and I went with a man named Nicholas, who goes to school at USIU a couple blocks from HappyLife, and we got to tour the place and meet the principal, Boaz. When we first arrived, they were having recess outside and they ran down the street to meet us!! They were super pumped to see us and they were shaking our hands and fist bumping us, it was so cute. After recess we went inside and I got out my camera...well NONE of them are camera shy!! It was hilarious because I would try to take a picture of one child, and all of a sudden there were 13 other ones wanting to be in the picture!!!! It was so much fun. Eventually it was time for class and we got to go to each of the classes and see which grade they were in and what they were learning. In the grade 4 class we asked each of them what they want to be when they grow up and everyone knew!! It is so amazing to me how much, even at grade 4, they value their education. Most of them wanted to be nurses or pilots, some journalists and some police officers. It was very cool!! But then we got talking to Boaz, and he said that they don't even have running water at the school. So if a child needs a drink, they have to go the three blocks back to the orphanage and get some water. They have had this school since 2008, I think, and it still isn't finished. It made me realize that here at HappyLife, they are soooooo blessed!! It is definitely one of the more well off orphanages. As we were getting ready to leave I asked them if they needed school supplies and they said yes lots, but mostly textbooks and each textbook costs about 500 KeS. I felt God push me to give to them, so I gave them 3000 Kes ($35 CAD) which was all that I had at the time. I was thinking though, that I might give them part of the donation that I was going to give to HappyLife (which you donated to me) because this place seems to need the help a bit more, and that is what is on my heart :)

AAAAND.....I am going on my safari soon!!!!! Saturday evening I am meeting my group at a hotel and spending the night there, and then early Sunday morning we are heading out!! Here is a short schedule for any of you who are interested in where I am going:

• Day 1: Saturday
• meet at hotel and spend the night
• Day 2: Sunday
• Drive to Lake Nakuru National Park
• Visit New Hope Children's Center - an orphanage where we can bring them things (i have coloring books and crayons)
• Hopefully see rhinos and flamingo
• Camp for the night
• Day 3-4: Monday & Tuesday
• Drive to nearby village to interact with locals
• Drive to Lake Naivasha to see hippos and birds
• Day 5: Wednesday
• Drive to Loita Hills, crossing the Great Rift Valley
• Loita Hills is home to the traditional Maasi people (one of 42 tribes in Kenya)
• Learn about the culture of the Maasi people
• Day 6-7: Thursday & Friday
• Drive to Masai Mara National Reserve
• Hopefully see the 'Big 5'!!
• Friday is when I have a hot air balloon ride at sunrise!!! Super excited for this :)
• Go on game drives both days
• Day 8: Saturday
• Leave for Nairobi once again
• Arrive back at the hotel early afternoon

I would really appreciate your prayers as I am gone this week. I am very excited, but at the same time there will be no communication with home, so that makes me slightly nervous. Also, I have woken up with a stuffy nose and sore throat the past few days and this evening I felt hot and cold and sick to my stomach. All the symptoms are gone now and hopefully they stay gone, but I would still love the prayers.

Thank you for praying and for reading!! Hopefully I will be able to post lots of pictures when I get home. I wish you all a great week and I pray God's blessings on you for reading my updates. Chat with you in a week's time!!

Love: Rach :)