Thursday, July 9, 2009

COURTNEY: An excerpt from Courtney’s journal- I have been such a slacker with this I have lost count of the days

Well, I realize I have not written in 3 weeks, and for that I apologize. So much has happened, and it is difficult for me to pick what to write about. Well, for one, I lost a week due to a bacterial infection which is a shame since time is so precious here. Thank goodness for Zithromax! What else? Oh yes, of course. Ian came to visit for a week which gave me an excuse to do all kinds of touristy Kenyan things. We went to see some baby elephants and a baby rhino, and I bribed a guard to let me pet a cheetah. The cheetah incident was actually a bit funny at the time, but now that I look back on it I am not sure if I am as amused. I had heard that to pet the cheetah you had to get in good with the guards first because it is not allowed, so I practiced saying “Tu na weza kuana chezi?” (We can see Cheetah?) so that I would sound like a local. The guard that I first approached told me he didn’t want to know anything about the cheetah, but the more opportunistic guard standing next to him told me he would take us immediately. Sometimes corruption can be quite convenient.

The funny bit was that the first cheetah we saw in the pen was the wrong one. He actually had to shoo the first cheetah away and get the tame one. So, technically I was in a pen with a wild cheetah which is a pretty good story. What I didn’t realize is how much cheetahs are like dogs- the guard actually made the cheetah sit for us. I thought they would be more like cats. I think the cheetah liked me though- it licked my hand…or maybe it was just tasting me to see if it wanted to take a bite. Who knows. I also got to see a very cute baby rhino whose favorite thing to do was charge the crowd and scare everyone half to death. I almost decided to quit this whole NGO business to start an animal orphanage of my own. Then I could play with baby cheetahs and rhinos all day.

Then of course I remembered why I am doing this. We went to a slum called Kawangware yesterday. I went to the slums in January, so this was not a new experience but it is always powerful nonetheless. The kids stepping barefoot in open sewage, the trash piled higher than the houses, the torn uniforms and snotty noses and rotting teeth. It’s a sad sight, but this time I saw a bit more than I did last time. This time I saw the joy- the giggles of the kids running up and down the street shouting “Wazungu!” (white people!) and chanting “How are you? How are you? How are you?” over and over because its the only English words they know. They find joy in the smallest things, and I think it is just as important for us to see this part of their lives- equally as important for us to celebrate their joy as it is for us to mourn their sorrow.

Our work has been going incredibly well. We have now completed nearly 40 interviews and received nothing but very positive feedback. We have begun the process of fundraising and are completing our final business plan in both powerpoint and word. The work is invigorating, and we are both trying to figure out how we will manage to keep this pace while still passing our classes next year. Today, one of the banks we talked to told us, “Well you should be lauded for what you are attempting, but I wonder if you know exactly how big of thing you are getting yourselves into.” Sometimes it is hard to think of this as something that should be praised when it is so far removed from the smiling children in the slums who need our help the most. But, I know this to be true- a job is worth far more than a handout. And, the parents of these children need a job to pay for their meals and uniforms and books and shots. So, I will keep working in hopes that through me God will give at least one child in Kawangware a better chance at life.

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