Nairobi to Kampala

After a few nights staying with our fantastic hosts in Nairobi it was on to Nakuru, Kenya to do some more work. The drive there was rather mundane compared with the previous stage of our trip; just a four ride in a rather comfortable van. It was quite scenic however, as we climbed out of Naiorbi over the Rift Valley and then down into one of Africa's most ecologically diverse landscapes. We were able to see some zebras and baboons but not a whole lot else.

Nakuru was an interesting town to visit. We spent the first night in a rather dodgy hotel and were treated to a strange array of nightlife. We ate at a Chinese restaurant where Jay contemplated ordering the "whole fish that looks like a squirrel." It ended up being the high price rather than the name that changed his mind. Following this strange meal we ducked into a locals bar where a band was playing and soccer was on TV. In a scene reminiscent of the one in Animal House where the boys take their dates to a roadhouse, all heads snapped around to see what may have been the only Mzungu (white people) to ever enter the dingy establishment. Astonishment quickly faded into a warm welcome by many of the well-lubricated patrons. Jay had the luck of being sandwiched between a prostitute (who everyone warned was HIV-positive) and a guy who accentuated each word with a volley of spittle. I was seated next to an extraordinarily friendly, and oddly sober gentleman who turned out to be a former Kenyan national soccer player. I know Jay, not fair.

Nakuru is located on a lake encompassed in one of Kenya's famed national parks. Traveling on a shoestring prevented us from entering the park but a hike to the entrance gate allowed us to look out upon masses of buffalo, hippopotamus, flamingo and monkeys.

Our real reason for stopping in Nakruru was not tourism but to meet Rhoda, John and Samuel, three Sudanese orphans who were living with relatives while pursuing their education. I was alerted to their situation by their concerned uncle now studying at Johnson State College in Vermont and by his friend, SSSF super-intern, Julia Van Raalte.

These children have been living with relatives in a cramped Nakuru apartment for several years following an upbringing in a sordid refugee camp in northern Kenya. Today the children are facing yet another obstacle to their educations and healthy childhoods. Their relatives, still supported through a refugee resettlement program, have been given the opportunity to move to the United States. While this is an incredible development for their family it is also one that will leave the three orphans (none older than 17) without a home. This could mean all three dropping out of school to find jobs to support themselves.

We chatted with the children in an effort to find a way for the South Sudan Scholarship Foundation (SSSF) to support their education in the absence of their family. Fortunately, we were able to find a caretaker for them in Nairobi. Now SSSF will look for a suitable boarding school for them to attend this coming spring. Please help by logging on to www.southsudansf.org and donating to help Rhoda, John, Samuel and the rest of the SSSF students.

(John, Rhoda and Samuel outside their Nakuru aparment)

We left the children and Nakruru for Kisumu, Kenya, a city on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria. The trip from Nakuru to Kisumu wound through some beautiful Kenyan highlands including a major tea-growing region. Single plantations wound on for miles with images of their colonial origins dotted throughout their lush, green rows. Hundreds of small, white blockhouses inhabited by the workers are set far away from the road while several luxurious mansions abut the regions main thoroughfare.

We arrived in Kisumu with little knowledge of where we could stay. A long, extraordinarily hot walk throughout almost the entirety of the city took us from a bustling city-center to green suburbs and back before we found our place to stay. Kisumu is a weekend spot for wealthy Nairobians and, as such, is quite expensive. We were finally able to negotiate with a surly hotel manager for a spot to put our tent on the hotel's roof. This turned out to be quite fortunate, not in the least because of the extraordinary view our perch provided. However, it was also on the roof of this hotel that we met some British medical students working for a small NGO, The Keyan Orphan Project (KOP) (they were quite bemused by our living arrangement). When we explained our trip to the students we were invited to Hope for Victoria Children or HOVIC, a local shelter for the street children of Kisumu.

(The staff of HOVIC and our friends from KOP)

One of the first things we had noticed in Kisumu was the multitude of young children living on the streets. They huffed glue to keep away the hunger and cold of nights on the street. In contrast to this harsh reality, HOVIC is a truly happy place even with every child weighted by a tragic back story. To give some perspective to their lives, we met a boy no older than three or four who had wandered in to the shelter the previous day. Both of the tiny boy's parents had died and he was left to fend for himself. We were told by some of the older boys that the night before the Kisumu police had caned him in an attempt to drive him back to his home. While HOVIC provides an upbeat environment it was incredibly depressing to learn that only about 100 children have discovered the support provided by HOVIC while more than 20,000 other street children continue to live on the streets alone. Thank you to HOVIC and KOP for an amazing visit. Keep up the great work!

After our day spent at HOVIC we returned to our lofted abode and shared some farewell beverages with the British students. At one in the morning we left for the bus station. The short, dark walk left us with a poignant memory of Kisumu as street children jockeyed around us for sleeping arrangements, glue and bits of garbage to eat.

Unfortunately we were unable to see much of the scenery on this bus trip as we left Kisumu at one-thirty in the morning for Kampala, Uganda's capital.

Today we are in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. We are staying here with Acen, the first caretaker for SSSF, and her family. This is the most exciting part of the trip for me as I will get to introduce Jay to the SSSF students and to check on their progress since I last saw them in Sudan. We will be sure to update you about them and the next leg of our trip soon!