NYC and London

Saturday and Sunday I had a great visit in Brooklyn with members of Grace Church, Brooklyn Heights. What a wonderful group of people and eager to help with the Masai project. I flew (through the snow storm) to London and arrived today to meet my two sons at Trafalgar Square. They are in London to see two professional soccer (football) games. They leave tomorrow morning and I leave for Nairobi on Wednesday morning. I arrive in Nairobi at 10pm, not a great time to get to the city. Hoping there will be a friend to accompany me to Athi River or at least to the city. Nairobi at night is not good. Hoping to write more soon from Kenya. Thanks!!

Final Check

I think I have finished my little shopping trips to gather final items needed to take to Kenya. I stocked up on razorblades, Tylenol and other things that are more difficult to get in Kenya. I also found a new pair of sandals. I always seem to end up giving them away when I am leaving Africa. My friend George broke his leg and needed some slip on shoes. The other sandals were given to some of the boys in the village. Anyway, I have purchased another cheap pair. Also, Chris bought me a new backpack for the trip. My old one has been through the war – literally. It went with George to Nairobi during the post-election violence, accompanied us to Uganda, went on safari and made numerous beer runs on the back of a motorbike. My record is carrying 16 bottles of beer in the old backpack up to the village – no broken bottles! The old one is filled with rips and holes.

I received some budget figures for funding a water project from Mwololo in Kenya. We are hoping to get some assistance to fund a clean water project among the Masai but there are three options for us: drill a borehole, have water piped in from Athi River, or have water delivered by truck to large tanks. All three options are expensive and have their good and bad points.

Today I had breakfast with the three kids. It is rare that all three get free form work at the same time. I’ll be with the boys in London. That should be cool. I wish they could all three come to Kenya for a while. It is difficult due to their jobs. But I am glad they have jobs!

I downloaded to an IPod, some talks and presentations that I can use as meditations and things to think about when I have some time to myself. I am not sure but am thinking I will have a lot of time to myself – at least many nights will be spent with little if anything to do. Athi River is not the kind of place where you can move around freely at night. I kind of stick out, as most white guys do, and would be considered someone who has money. You can easily become a target of robbery and pick pockets. Where I will be staying is off the main road, a distance from the town of Athi River along a dirt road. You don’t want to be caught away from home on that dirt road at night. Not to worry, I have friends in Athi River town and Kitengela if I do happened to get stuck away from home. I know the towns pretty well, where to go and where not to go!

It is becoming easier to travel back and forth to Kenya. I know what to take, what to leave at home. It will be even easier if I can leave stuff in my room in Athi River and not have to lug a big suitcase through two or three airports.

Masai Food Relief Video

MASAI PROJECT WEBSITE

www.mwep.blogspot.com

For information on our work at Athi River

Another Tragic Death

I received an email from my friend Mwololo at the Athi River Masai project. He informed me that another child died last night, this time because of a fire. A twelve-year-old girl with mental challenges apparently tried to cook in the house and a tragic fire started. All cooking is done within the Masai houses made of branches and mud. She died in the fire and the funeral is today. So sad. This is the fourth death in the Masai village since I have been involved with them… Two children died from eating poisoned meat. One other drowned. It reinforces the fragility of life in Kenya. These are not the only deaths I have been close to in Kenya. You’ll remember that two boys drowned at the Village last year. I also came upon a man dead in the streets of Nairobi. And then there were the thousands who died in the post-election violence – some of whom were family members of Kenyan friends. A couple of the day workers died of malaria in the Village as well. Life is short. Love hard.

As my time to leave for Kenya nears (I will fly Friday, Feb 28) I am very excited about my new living situation. I will have my own place, one room, cloister-like I assume. I want that. My friend Mwololo is buying me a bed and a tank of propane gas and cooking burner. That’s about all I need to start out. Everything else I will need I can gradually gather. I look forward to a more monastic lifestyle. That will take some work since my contemplative side needs some help! My room is close enough to the manyatta that I can yell to the Masai houses and can walk to the site. I was promised by a couple of the Masai men that they would take me out with them and the herds as they search for grazing land. Sleeping under the stars, keeping a lookout for wild animals, eating meat as a white Masai . . . who could ask for a greater experience? They said I could go for 28 days. I’ll take two or three! The tribe has also promised that I could live with them in the Manyatta as a Masai. I look forward to the experience of living in a traditional mud house . . . at least for a few days.

I have packed, unpacked and packed several times. I am convinced I can get all of my belongings into my one big suitcase. I also want to take a sheet, towel, computer printer, laptop, etc. I’ll keep packing.

I am trying to make email contact with a Nairobi Rotary Club. Together with the Florence Kentucky Rotary, we are trying to get some partnering to fund the Masai project. I will be talking with parishioners at a Brooklyn parish as I travel through NYC to London, to Nairobi. I love New York.

All else goes well. Thank you - thank you!

Back to Kenya Soon

I arrived back in the States from Kenya right before Christmas. My return was a compromise I worked out with my mom. I have had a great time in the states. I have visited with my children, my mom and wonderful friends. I have spoken to some groups and come classes. I visited with my friends at the Rotary in Florence and was able to tell my story on Christian radio with Brian Patrick. Some friends from IHM also gathered to welcome me home and I visited an assembly at the school. It has been a profitable time but after a month or so at home, I get excited about returning to Kenya. Two or three months at home has been my usual length of time. With no real job – my days can get very long.

I am looking for the best date to return but it will probably be in about two weeks. (the end of February) The boys are going to London to see two soccer games and it would be great to be with them for a day or so. Flights to Nairobi have come down in price (British Air from London to Nairobi) and my flight to London is fairly cheap due to discounts. I’ll probably stay three months this trip.

My Kenyan friend, Mwololo, has found a place for me to live in Athi River, the site location of our Masai project. www.mwep.blogspot.com Next to the Masai houses is what can only be described as an apartment complex! The apartments are actually condos, not for rent. But there is a servants’ quarters on the property. Mwololo describes the room as 7-foot square. After talking to him, we decided he does not know how to measure and the size will be fine. Even some of the Masai guys I work with are night watchmen and security guards there. I am excited. I can walk to work.

Today I went to the stores to buy little supplies I need – Advil, razor blades, socks, etc. It is fun to prepare and I know what I need, after three prior trips. I also met with a board we put together to oversee my work and help support the efforts. They are a great group of people with great ideas, great energy and a willingness to help the cause.

RADIO INTERVIEW

My thanks to The Sonrise Morning Show for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed on radio this morning. For more information on my current projects, please see the project website at www.mwep.blogspot.com

Contributions may be made to:

Immaculate Heart of Mary Mission Fund
Africa Projects
5876 Veterans Way
Burlington, KY 41005

To contact me - ecolina@aol.com

Events

Headed to be interviewed for ten or so minutes on The Sonrise Morning Show with Brian Patrick on Monday January 25th at 8:50 a.m. The station is connected to EWTN Catholic network. http://sonrisemorningshow.blogspot.com/

I also have a time to meet with the Florence KY Rotary Group in early February and talked with the pastor of St. Xavier downtown Cincinnati to meet with the parish there. I'll let you know how things progress.

All else goes well. I am looking for a good time to return to Kenya. Can't wait!

Chris and I are hoping to travel to New Mexico this coming weekend to see the sites and see some friends. Hoping it works out.

Wish List

I continue to be blown away by the generosity of donors to the Masai project. www.mwep.blogspot.com We had a “welcome home” party the other night and so many good people showed up to greet me and to, once again, make some very generous contributions. It tells me that I am fortunate to be able to go to Africa physically. While so many others would love to go, they have legitimate constraints on their travel. In place of going themselves, they have entrusted me with funds and their hopes for the poor and marginalized in Kenya. I am humbled by their trust and excited about returning to Africa! This is not the best time to ask for money in America. We have so many problems and financial concerns of our own; it is difficult to think about others outside of our own families. It is understandable but makes the recent contributions even more amazing.

Many have asked about the most pressing needs for the Masai Project. We put together a wish list:

Sponsor 1 Student
At off-site school (1 uniform, fees for 3 terms, books)
9,000 Ksh $120.00 each annually

Water Tank
Will provide clean water for the Early Childhood Center
50,000 Ksh $650.00

Motorbike
Will enable Mr. Mwololo cheaper daily travel to site
100,000 Ksh $1,300.00

Bike Insurance
Annual to cover use of motorbike
15,000 Ksh $195.00

Build 2 Classrooms
Constructed in style of Masai Dwelling
70,000 Ksh $900.00

Build Cook Shed
Constructed to cook daily porridge
35,000 Ksh $450.00

Build Latrine
Constructed at classroom site
30,000 Ksh $390.00

Canvas Sheets
Used as floor coverings in 2 Early Childhood Classes
5000 Ksh $65.00ea

Plastic Chairs
Used for Kindergarten Class
450 Ksh $6.00 ea

Mattresses
Used for Baby Class
5000 Ksh $65.00 ea

2 Large Pots
For cooking large amounts of porridge
6,000 Ksh $75.00 ea

Plastic Cups
For Porridge

Spoons
For Porridge

Laptop Computer For record-keeping
Used would be great

Printer
Used would be great

Digital Camera
For recording still photos when I am not in Kenya
Used would be great

Dolls and Toys
To be purchased in Kenya for “baby class”

Learning Materials
To be purchased in Kenya for Early Childhood Education Center

Personnel Stipend
Monthly Stipend For Project Director
25,000 Ksh $320.00

Monthly Stipend For 2 Early Childhood Instructors
6,000 Ksh $75.00

Playground Items
Balls, ropes, etc.

* All costs are estimated, using exchange rate of 78Ksh = $1.00

What do you know?

I know nothing.

I have been enjoying these past weeks at home. After a time to be with family and friends, I have also been trying to find some time to process all that I have experienced while I was away. On my first extended trip to Kenya, I seemed to be more in touch with my thoughts and feelings; more connected to a spiritual life, possessing a decent prayer life. I was more structured and centered. On this trip, I was less focused on living a “Gospel” life, and let things flow more than before. That had both positive and negative aspects. In one sense, I let my prayer life suffer, did not always see God’s presence in the things I did (not that I always did). But I was also more at ease with my self; while less focused, I think I was more real and lived more day-to-day, as I did back at home. Now, as I reflect on my time and experiences in Africa, I can see that there was some inner growth; there was some small movement in my journey toward knowing God in a real way.

I initially went to Africa desiring to meet God in the faces of the poor and join in their struggles and pain. As I was warned, I probably went there with a high degree of ego. This last trip was more realistic and I think I can honestly say there was no ego involved, or at least very little. The romanticism of working and living a simple life in Africa has worn off and I think I am more realistic regarding its attraction and my role there.

I have been thinking about the variety of people I have met. Of course many are from the Kitui / Nairobi area. They are for the most part, Christian or Catholic. But I was also able to meet some terrific Muslims in Lamu and Kiwayu towns along the coast. I met some who believed in traditional Kamba or Masai tribal practices and some who had no strong religious connection at all – though they had quite a spiritual center. These peoples who initially were so “foreign” and perhaps frightening to me, became my good friends. These friends have caused me to think about how/why God created us all so different. Some of us have been fortunate to know Jesus and participate in an organized church. Others of us know nothing of Jesus but know only the God worshipped by primitive cultures and traditions. What is God thinking? Are we Christians the fortunate ones and the others simply out of luck? I was taught that Jesus is the "way" and it is through Him that we meet the Father. I know that's true but even more, Jesus is the strategy, the Way of Jesus, the Way of the cross is our destiny - if we set out to follow Him. We need to be prepared to have our lives taken away and only in losing our lives canwe begin to see the bigger picture. We have to know how to "die". That is what Africa is teaching me. I was taught that God is within each person. But I never took it seriously and as the base of my belief system. God dwells within the Muslims I met, within the tribal peoples in east Africa, within me. And . . . perhaps that is the main vehicle of each of us knowing God. Within these strange and exotic peoples lives another snapshot of my God. To the degree I can know you, my friends, my colleagues, my family; to the depth I can love and experience love – that is the depth with which I can know God. We need each other and we need others who are not like us. In God’s becoming a person, God has truly saved us.

I have learned that I/we have made God so small. Nowadays, when I am asked what I learned about God on this trip, I respond, “I learned that I know nothing.” It’s not false humility to say that I know so very little. I had thought that I knew God or at least knew so much about God.

But I know nothing, or at least very little. I am learning more daily. And what I know – I love.