Open House and Outta Here

School was to end on Friday August 6, so I planned my trip to South Africa accordingly....silly me. There was a national referendum on Wednesday August 4, so the first change in school closing dates was to Tuesday August 3. But why not take the whole week? So closing was called for Friday July 30.

As the last week of school started, I asked Timothy (head of Special Unit) if I could invite my kids' mamas for a visit to share with them what I teach and why. There was much back and forth and we finally settled on Wednesday July 28 at 11am. Timothy prepared the necessary official school invitation on Tuesday and I sent it home with the kids.

Wednesday dawned and the mamas arrived on time, by African standards (within one hour of the specified time). I am not sure they knew what to make of an open house-type event, but they were cordial and friendly. They all speak good English and I had met 2 of the 3 ladies before. They had a chance to play Memory or Go Fish with their child. I gave them one of their child's work papers to review. We shared lemonade and cookies (known here as juice - pronounce jew-ees - and biscuits) and ended the visit with the kids' favorite dance, the Hokey Pokey. Everyone got into it. I was glad to have them visit at school; Timothy handed out the report cards and that was the end of Term 2, Wednesday July 28.

Tomorrow I am off to Nairobi and Saturday, on to Cape Town. It will be special to visit a country that my parents loved and visited many times over the years. I will also get a chance to drive the Garden Route, hike in Drakensburg, do some game viewing from a lodge with glass-walled rooms, and finish up in Cape Town visiting South African friends, Anta and Gavin Gerhardi. Tune in after September 1st when I will blog again, upon my return to Kakamega and Term 3.

The Trouble With Water

Much is said about water: can't live without it; water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink; water, the universal solvent. In spite of all that water chatter, water is hard to get a handle on.

We have been in the rainy season since I returned in May. I love this season-cooler mornings, sunny mid-days, and dark clouds bring afternoon rain. The wet and cool weather wash Kakamega clean and leave it dust-free. I looked forward to the afternoon's performance each day.

But in July we have had only a handful of wet days, so the tank that collects the rainwater ran dry. That might not sound like a Big Deal, but that is the source of our drinking water. We take tubs to the tank to collect the rainwater and bring it back to boil. We then fill an assortment of plastic bottles for a stash of about 34 liters (a liter is about a quart). We do not boil the water that comes into the house from the borehole or the well on the property, as per the warning of the locals.

We've been in a pickle. We have not been giving out water to guests....have a banana! We cannot drink our favorite Crystal Light in the quantity we usually do. We are hoarding. We bought a 5 liter bottle of water in desperation and had to carry it home on a boda boda...water is heavy!

Then came Sunday. With all the pent-up energy of a big storm, thunder and lightening filled the dark sky and it started to pour. We ran around, putting our tubs under downspouts. The water was dirty from the dusty roof and gutters. But we were happy. We jettisoned the dirty water once the deluge let up and we were sure there was water in the tank. We went to the tank and turned the spigot, getting 2 tubs of water. Alas our larder is full.

Speaking of water and trouble, I am on my fourth day of bucket bathing. Shanon had masterfully removed the calcium from our shower head in May. But it was silting up again so she tried to replicate the magic. Not so lucky, as the washer in the shower head would not hold. We had water but it just gushed rather than sprinkled. We were OK with that until the heating element in the shower head pooped out....the light goes on, but no heat. So now we have gotten out the tubs again, boil some tap water, and jump into the bucket.

As I said, water can be troublesome.....

To Fill a Big Need

When I first arrived at Kakamega Township Primary School, I saw the library, but it was always locked. One day I asked to see it and found a room with murals and very neat shelves with some books. It was touted as a place for meetings and a place where the Headmaster gathered people together. It was not a library in use by students of any age.

At a recent parent meeting that brought over 100 parents out one Friday morning, I took a copy of the topics to be discussed. The topic that caught my eye was the purchase of materials for upgrading the library. What a thrill to see it! Going through my Salvation Army liaison, I indicated my interest in knowing what was planned. The Headmaster brought me a list of texts, maps, and books that he would like to add to the library; he has also indicated that the library will be open all day and a library period should be part of each week for each classroom. The Library Plan has legs!

Once again, many of you have asked what you can do to help. Your generosity has been inspiring to me personally, and the kids that I touch each day have benefited from your largess. I would now like to give a gift of money to help purchase the books and materials for the library, to benefit all the students at K.T.P.S. I have made it clear to the Headmaster that I would contact my friends in the US and would get back to him. If you are interested in the Library Project, I would like to count you in. Here is how:

**Make a check payable to SALVATION ARMY and in the memo section write: Roxanne Morse/Kenya West/Library
**Send the check to: Personnel-Officer Services, Salvation Army, 180 E.Ocean Blvd, Long Beach CA 90802

Your donation will be tax deductible; please include your address so a receipt for your donation can be sent to you from the Long Beach headquarters. The monies that I collect will be sent to my Kenya Territory via the Salvation Army World Services Organization. All materials for the library will be purchased locally. I will contribute to the library project over and above whatever I receive. Because there is a school break for the month of August, I will review the monies received when I return to school in September. I will then finalize the gift with the school and let you all know the results. I want the students from all classes to benefit from the enhancement of the library.

I thank my friends and family for all the support I have received this year. It is impossible to tell you how much it has meant to me as I sit 7000 miles away, but know that we all are making a difference in Kakamega. My job here has been made easier, and this corner of the world is enriched.

Meg Has a Sister!

Andy and Chelsea and Meg welcomed Katherine Claire Morse at 4:22PM on July 10! She weighed in at 8lb 7oz and is 20 1/4 inches long. Not surprisingly she is already into nursing. The picture doesn't show her black hair and lots of it....just like her big sister. Dick is in Dallas to be Mama's helper with Meg. I am sure Chels was more happy than anyone to have Kate delivered as she has been carrying her in the Texas heat. Now all are well and doing fine with the newest little Morse.

6 Meals I Didn't Cook

In March I visited the Kakamega Forest with some anxiety. I had googled "KAKAMEGA" before I left home and found the description featured the mambas and adders that filled the forest. But the forest is well-known and also the only rainforest in Kenya. So when our Salvation Army friend Justin was about to return to the US, we decided to take him to visit the only hotspot in Kakamega. I planned a day that included a 20 km taxi ride, a 3 hour hike with a visit to the bat cave (ohboy), lunch at Rondo, and a ride home (once a travel agent.....). It was a beautiful day with no snake sightings , but Rondo was a little gem. Carved out of the forest is a respite with overstuffed chintz furnishings that fill clapboard cottages with generous porches. The cottages have bedrooms with adjoining baths and a shared living room with a fireplace. I vowed to myself that I would return.

To celebrate the mid-term, I ran away from home. My driver friend Patrick took me to Rondo! I spent two nights there, meeting lots of nice people. It had a colonial feeling as most of the guests were white and the staff is black. I met a girl from Tennessee who with her family supports a children's home in town and stays at Rondo for a month each year. I was in a 5-bedroom cottage with seven young people who are doing internships for NGOs. The staff were wonderfully warm and friendly.

I took a walk to check out the birds first thing Saturday morning (for me 8:30am); being a novice bird-watcher I decided I would have had more success with tired birds later in the day. Against the very dense rain forest canopy, I mostly enjoyed the morning walk, complete with ants in my pants. I returned to a day of reading, prowling the gardens, and watching the pounding rain. Just before tea in the cottage at 4:30pm, someone came to build a roaring fire-very welcome as the rain was cold and there was no heat. Sunday there was a short service of hymns and preaching by a member of the staff. Rondo is featured as a retreat center and has a small chapel set in the garden with a view of the forest.

One of the highlights for me was 6 meals that I ate in the intimate dining room. You might not think that is such a big deal, but since there is a dearth of any food worth walking to town to eat, we have been reduced to eating at home. We do an OK job, but let's face it: eating at home exclusively is a drag. So I maxxed out my eating experience with 6 meals at Rondo and was a very happy camper!

check it out: www.rondoretreat.com

BUSTED !!

I arrived on Monday June 7th to feverish activity in my classroom-the older girls had washed it down; Timothy (head of the Special Unit) had remodeled: all the rectangular tables that are stored in my room had been arranged as if I was teaching a dozen kids in a theater configuration (I have 3 kids grouped around an oval table). From a secret stash, Timothy brought out a clock, a puzzle, an abacus, a north-south-east-west vane, a doll, and a wheelchair. I asked "What's up?"

"We are having a visitor from the District!" The bed in my room which is used for sick kids had a new mattress, a new rubber sheet, and a new floral sheet atop it. The room never looked so good.

So I put my best teaching foot forward, but by day's end, we had no visitor.

I spruced myself up for Tuesday only to find out that the visitor came on Monday, but only to the Headmaster's Office. The District found out that I was the only teacher in the Special Unit. The Township School teachers that are trained for teaching in the Special Unit had in fact never come to my room during Term 1. Here it is, almost halfway through Term 2,and no Township Special Unit staff on the horizon. The District came to deliver a message: Unacceptable.

So on Tuesday Timothy frantically put together a timetable for 3 Special Unit teachers to come to my classroom to do Adaptive P.E., Communication Skills, Numbers, and Social Skills. I was designated to 2 Reading lessons/day, or about 1 hour and 10 minutes of teaching daily. I was desolee-not only had I taught from 8:20am until 12:40pm every day since I came in January, but I was afraid those teachers would punt and my kids would suffer.

By Wednesday I saw the timetable posted in the Staff Room, so jotted down my assigned times. I decided I couldn't depend on the new timetable as there has been a similar timetable in my room since January that no one has honored. I came on Thursday and you guessed it: I taught from 8:20am to 12:40pm! The Adaptive P.E. teacher had assured me she would be in my room First Period on Thursday, but apparently she had other plans.

I will continue to go to the Special Unit because it is what I was assigned and otherwise there would be nothing for my 3 kids. I refer to Bery, Lilian, and Paul as my kids-and that is why I am here. They are learning, they are full of life and there are few options for 3 kids who are not ready to go into classes of 40-50++ students. At the end of Term 1,I had asked for help with Kiswahili in my room; I was turned down due to a shortage of teachers. The doll and the puzzle, the clock and the wheelchair are back in Timothy's office; I will continue to speak up for these kids as I may be the only one who can or will.......

amazon.rox

Since many of you know how much I like to read, many ask what have I read since I have been here? So thinking I will just give you a quick round-up of the books I have finished with a short 'aye' or 'nay'...keep in mind, my missionary lifestyle and lack of social life gives me a rather jaundiced view of literature, but you asked...

The Weight of Silence (Gudenkauf) is a well constructed and suspenseful book about the power of innuendo and mistrust in relationships.

Sputnik Sweetheart (Murakami) is a short book about 2 people who have a weird mutual attraction; if it hadn't been short, it would have been abandoned.

The Buccaneers (Wharton) is a classic about late 19th century manners and society in England and the United States. It is so far removed from rural Kenya that I had a bit of a time relating to manners and society, but the characters were engaging and the prose was gorgeous.

Under Orders (Dick Francis) and Silks (Dick Francis and son) are 2 mysteries by a great story teller against a background of horseracing. Always a good read and fun to zip thru.

Plum Spooky (Evanovich) will be my last Janet Evanovich book. It lacks her original flare for the ridiculous and funny side of life in Trenton NJ, and her best characters have been sidelined in favor of less interesting ones.

Infidel (Ali) is a great memoir about a Muslim woman growing up in Muslim Africa and struggling with her faith. It has many twists based on her life story, and she is now in the US living and speaking publicly about her faith journey, a world away from where she started.

The Reliable Wife (Goolrick) is a novel of 'roiling lust', and some characters that keep you guessing the entire time. Roiling lust is not my preferred genre these days, but the book kept me interested.

The Vagrants (Li) is set in Mao's China amidst the usual background of one neighbor ratting on another neighbor, on the bottom end of the Chinese economic ladder, so a bit of a downer, as the title implies.

Plain Truth (Picoult) is a window into the Amish people and their lifestyle. Murder is not part of their life, and the book went on much too long about the trial, but the setting made for an interesting read.

The Shack (Young) is an upbeat and magical picture of God, set against real life tragedy. The mystical and the human characters are well cut; wish I could have participated in a discussion about it!

Cutting To Stone (Verghese) is an engaging read, giving new meaning to family and all its inherited nuances, both good and bad.

Sarah's Key (de Rosnay) is set in Nazi and 21st century France. It unwinds a family's secret tragedy during the occupation, which kept me spellbound.

Little Bee (Cleave) is set in the US against a backdrop of a trip to Africa that went bad. It is written from the perspective of the African girl who is trying to make sense of a culture so unlike her own.

The Piano Teacher (Lee) had possibilities. Set in Hong Kong, the secrets of the '40s lost ground as the characters were mushy and their lives superficial.

City of Thieves (Beniott) is set in the 900 days of Leningrad, so depressing. It vacillated between funny and horrific, but always bleak.

Friday Night Knitting Club (Jacobs) is just what the title implies: a girlie book with lots of plot twists, loveable women, and got me knitting again!

The Various Haunts of Men (Hill) is a stemwinder. Mystery aside, the people are good, the plot thickens and when you know whodunit.......