A Boy Needs Help

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well wherever you are in the world on this Monday.

My post today deals with a story you've read about before on my blog.

It is about a boy named Edwin and his battle with chronic myeloid leukemia. Through the help of two of  my blog readers and myself, we have been able to get Edwin to different hospitals for observation, testing and treatment.  He has been able to get to Tenwek and Nairobi, Kenya on several occasions, have multiple tests and be seen by the very best specialists that Kenya has to offer. For all this we are grateful.

God has been good and he has had mercy. He has given Edwin favour and the bills for tests and doctor examinations have been much lower than expected.  Edwin has also been treated so well by hospital staff.  All of this gladdens my heart so much  and I give all praise and glory to God the Father. It is like the story of the loaves and the fishes  for God multiplied the small amount we had and made a way to give Edwin the help he needed. Now we need more loaves and fishes.

Edwin needs to return to Nairobi in about 4 days for follow up treatment. He will need to make one more trip after that. I am not sure exactly when his second trip to Nairobi for follow up will be but probably at least 4-6 weeks fom now.  Edwin's family also needs monthly help with food. The amount is modest by our standards. Food needs are about $50. (Canadian) a month (4200 Kenyan shillings, 189 New Israel Shekels, $49 Aussie, 32 British Pounds, 38 Euros, $50 US).

I've hemmed and hawed about publishing this post.  The reason is because last time only a very few people commented on the post or said they would pray.  I fear that men and women do not like to hear about things they don't want to help with or can't help with.  Yet I feel I must make this post and somehow try to get Edwin the help he needs for he cannot do it for himself.

If this was your child, or your family member, what would you give for his care? Would you count the cost or would you simply step in because he needs your help?

Only you can answer those questions.


He who has an ear, let him hear and may God bless you so much. 

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A Day in the West End

I took in a film at the 2nd annual Vancouver South African Film Festival (VSAFF).  The VSAFF uses the film fest as a way of raising money for Fezeka Senior Secondary and Songeze Middle Schools in Guguletu, Cape Town. My readers know that I have the Missions of Hope which is dear to me and where most of my charitable giving goes. However, I do try to support other charitable endeavours wherever I can. I did that today by going to a film and making a small donation at the door.

This is where the film was shown in what we call the city's West End.  The film festival ends Sunday.

I got off the city bus and had to walk the last few blocks. I took these photos near the waterfront. I love the brilliant display of colour.

The film I saw was called "Stargazer" (aka Roepman) is an epic drama, based on the Jan van Tonder novel with the same title. It tells the story of a 1966 South African railway community, told through the eyes of an eleven year old boy, called Timus. Timus and his family are trapped within the structural violence caused by the government and the church of the day. It is a story with unforgettable characters and it combines the magical world of childhood beautifully with the cold realities of the world.

There were a lot of people at the beach and a lot of tourists in town. I overheard an American mother saying it was the last week of school break. Canadian school children had their school break long ago.

The film was purchased by an Black American and he kept the audience for a few minutes after the show to discuss some issues that will help him premiere the film in New York City.  The film was made in Africaans, with English subtitles.  It was interesting for me to see how much of the vocabulary I could make out in Africaans based on the subtitles. I enjoyed the film and if it was playing in a regular theatre sometime I would recommend  you see it.

I never tire of the scenes at the waterfront.

If you wish to see more beautiful scenes from around the world, please visit at Scenic Sunday.

Daily Life

Hi friends and fellow bloggers, How are you all doing?

I've been keeping busy with the daily things of life. Things planned and things unplanned.

You know like what happens when your washer/dryer suddenly stops working and you have to quickly find a replacement.  I'm afraid I can't go too long without a washer and these days there are fewer and fewer laundrymats.  since I've been living in my neighbourhood we've had at least 3 laundrymats close down and no new ones take their place.  What do you do where you live when your washer goes dead? Do you have a back up plan?

This is the replacement washer & dryer. Much quieter than my previous washer/dryer combo and more energy efficient too.

It is also that time again when I have to get the toenails groomed. I go out and have it done.  Though I know this is a luxury for many, I do it because I have diabetes and because I've been suffering for long now with ingrown toenails.  The pedicure helps to get the feet and toenails nice and clean. The polish also makes everything more presentable and who doesn't mind sitting in an automated massage chair while getting the feet washed and cleaned?  I can't do the pedicure myself these days.   I'm going to one new girl since i discovered that I had needle like shards of nails imbedded into my skin. Trust me, it hurt a lot to get it all out.  I'm going to have to keep the toenails very short to prevent the ingrown nails and make sure I don't miss my appointments.

It was also past time to get the hair done. I have been thinking for awhile now that I don't want to have my hair chemically processed any more.  I started highlighting my hair rather late in life and so  I've minimised the hair dye in that way but going every month to the  hair salon adds up to a lot of chemicals. I know I still have chemicals to contend with (like in the nail polish above) but I want to minimize it all as much as possible.

I did some research on henna and thought I'd give it a try. I had to wait an extra long time before getting the henna done since you can't put henna onto chemically processed hair unless you wait 8-12 weeks.  Initially I intended to do the henna myself but my hair dresser said she'd help. I thought for the first time that might be wiser. However it turned out she hasn't done it for ages and ages and was rather nervous about it all. I reminded her that it was her idea to help me and to more or less to stop complaining about the two step process and time that was required.

Here is the end result.

I like it.

Next time we will add some lemon juice for golden colour and some yogurt or eggs for conditioning. I'm experimenting with using henna and will also be experimenting with using different brands.

Lest you think my free time is spent on primping and preening, I am also keeping up with the reading in between other work and errands. I still have my goal of reading 24 books this year. For me that is challenging as I have to remember to read a little a few times a week.  I used to think I read a lot when I completed 6 or 7 novels a year and then I discovered that some people say they read a hundred books or more a year. Well based on the kind of books I tend to read (dense books, rather than read in 2 hour books), I will likely never reach 100 books a year. I will be content to read 24. 

I will have to update my completed reads soon but these are the books I'm reading right now. I finished the top one; an interesting and quicker read about a young woman growing up in Iran and how her family escaped to Canada. I am about two thirds of the way through "A Suitable Boy" and about  half way through Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue".

I have more respect for Sarah Palin after reading her book about her political life in Alaska. It is always good to try and learn as much as you can outside of what the media feeds you during political campaigns.

This was the vapour trail above my head today. Whenever I see these, I think of the song "I"m Leaving On a Jet Plane".   I wish I really was!

I leave you with a verse for today.It came to me as I was contemplating on the many tragedies and horrors I find on the internet news and through social networks. 

If we could only have brotherly love toward one another, these horrors would be fewer.

Let brotherly love continue. 

Hebrews 12:1

I wish each of you peace, and brotherly love.

To find more fabulous skies around the world please visit

Skywatch Friday.

Spring?

Hello my friends and fellow bloggers,

I'm still waiting for warmer weather. Though we have been getting a few days of sunshine here and there I cannot believe it is still very inclement and cool. Even the tree blossoms that lined the side street where I live died off already. They hadn't even fully bloomed though I think there are still many tree blossoms around town. Hopefully I will see some this weekend when I go to the Vancouver South African Film Festival (VSAFF).

I finally planted my pansies yesterday as they were beginning to die off in their little starter plant boxes.  They are now in containers. I know that pansies are a very hardy plant so I think those that were dying off will revive if properly cared for.

I love pansies and I love the different colours of them.  The pansies speak to me of childhood memories.  Memories of walking to school in the  morning, seeing dew on the grass in the fron tlawn and the pansies "smiling at me" before walking to school through a forest.  We were living in a small town near the western coast, far from my northern childhood home.  I had never seen pansies in my home town and at the age of 5, I guess the pansies spoke to me of the excitement and exoticism of being far from home and extended family. I liked living in this new place and so pansies are associated with good memories in a child's world.  Perhaps this is why I love pansies so much.

When I bought my starter plants, the store didn't have the white pansies with burgundy centres or the plain yellow ones.  I will look for those colours somewhere else.  In the meantime, I'm so glad I have these ones to look at. 

Can you see the mixed yellow and burgundy pansies in the background?

The humble pansy has always been one of my favourite flowers.

I see my Solomon's Seal is coming up nicely despite the coolish weather. In one day they suddenly shot up about 6 inches! This plant looks so wonderful every year when in full bloom. I will take more photos of it later in the season.

My vegetable garden will have to wait for awhile yet. I think early next week if I am up to it I will prepare the soil, raining or not and see what I will plant.

In case you haven't looked at it yet, I've added an epaper to the top of my blog. Please check it out. You can scroll up and down the page.  If you hold your cursor just under the profile icon you will see a sliding rule come and you can click on it to scroll up and down the page.  If you want to check out other  parts of the paper you can make selections from the right hand column options. Or, make it easier on yourself by clicking the title "Cherop's Mix". It will bring up the epaper onto your computer screen and you can read it in full size.  The paper will be updated every day.  My hope is to feature some interesting photos and African gospel music and African culture each day. Content will depend on what is being featured on twitter on a given day. Let me know how you like it.

Words and More Words

I've started a beginner's class in Kiswahili. Although there are probably a lot of Kiswahili speakers where I live, I've never come across any Kiswahili language classes in my city.  But in the wee hours of Tuesday morning someone sent me a notice about the class. Next day I called the office  about registration and found myself in my first class at 6:30 p.m.the same day! I don't generally make decisions that quickly but I have been wanting to take such a class for a long while and I didn't want to miss this opportunity which won't come again until the Fall 2012.

The class is being offered by a local Non-Government Organization (NGO), or as we call it here, a non-profit society (NPS), that does charitable work in various countries in Africa.  Though the NPS doesn't appear to be working in Kenya, the languages classes are taught by Kenyans.

The class was full and most of the students were young people fresh out of university or still in university. In fact, we had one grade 9 student also.  Many of the students have travelled to different countries where Kiswahili is spoken,like Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Some of them have Kiswahili parents but don't speak the language. One young woman said she worked for an NGO and lived and worked in Tanzania.  She wants to keep up her language skills.  I personally thought she belonged in the Intermediate class but of course it is her decision where she chooses to register. However, I've been in classes before where one student is not a beginner like everyone else. It gets irritating when they obviously already know the answers to everything while others of us struggle along. Who knows before the class is over, I may ask her to be my private tutor, lol.

I liked the idea of creating a "Joy Cloud" so much  (see my eaarlier post from today) that I've made a Kiswahili word cloud, using some of the basic vocabulary I picked up in the first class. Don't worry though, I won't be posting word clouds every day, lol.

We covered a lot more than what I've put into the word cloud but phrases and sentences don't work so well in the wordle program.  That is why you see my short phrases with hyphens between words.

I'm thinking these word clouds might help me practice and retain the vocabulary.  I find I can pick up vocabulary fairly easily, especially if someone says the words for me first, and I can repeat after them.  However my problem is retaining what I've picked up. I would probably do much better immersed in the language and if I had one on one instruction on a daily basis. I haven't been able to spend enough time in Kenya at any one time to really learn the language.  I'm hoping this language course will help me make a better start on learning the Kiswahili language.

Our instructor told us that the late Miriam Makeba sang a Swahili song that we could also use to learn some vocabulary in an easy way. I've posted that song for you. It's a Tanzanian song called "Malaika" (My Angel). The video has some very interesting information about Ms. Makeba in the first 2 minutes and 44 seconds of the video.  If you wish to skip that part, you can fast forward the video to the start of the song at 2 minutes and 44 seconds.

"Malaika" was a sad song for me because it speaks to the economic realities of so many people who are poor and want to provide for their would-be intended. I've heard other versions of the song being sung by native Tanzanians. The song sounds much more upbeat but when you know the words, I don't know how it can be an upbeat song.  The only thing I can think of that would make it more upbeat and make sense, is that one has to make the the best of the life they have.  This is probably easier to do when everyone else around them is in more or less the same boat. If any Tanzanian reader has something to say about this song, I'd love to hear it.