March Update on Outreach in Kenya

I've been struggling with very low energy levels since just before Christmas and  even the barest minimum of  'to dos' has seemed so much at times.  This has caused me to get very behind in a lot of things.

Now I am feeling a little better.  My energy seems to be increasing.  Warmer temperatures and more frequent days of sunlight help. I started taking Vitamin D awhile back but haven't been too consistent about taking it  for the short time I did take it it seemed to help.

There are a few things I continue to do even when the energy levels are low.

One thing that I never really stop doing is blogging, sometimes tweeting. Here is a cute little carton I came across on line about the priority social media has become in our lives.

I am not on Instagram, Facebook or Tumbler but in addition to posting on my blog I also post to Google + on occasion.  I can't imagine how people find the time to be on all the different social media as well as keep up with other things in their lives. Keeping up with our own blogs daily or even every few days, takes a fair bit of time.  We have to find time to take the photos, select and edit them, upload them, then visit and comment on other blogs. I'm always amazed at people who get hundreds of visitors and comments yet manage to visit other blogs on a fairly regular basis.  Then of course there are those that have hundreds of visitors to their blog complete with comments who never seem to visit anyone else's blogs or if they do, they never comment. 

I am not exactly sure why I was so extra low on energy for so long.  Now am in a bit of whirl of activity to "catch up".  With Spring having arrived I am also thinking about what needs to be done in the garden.  There is always the Fall and Winter debris to clean. I don't do this in the Fall due to all the rain and cold.  In Spring I am often late to the garden and never seemed to find the rhythm. Perhaps that will change some day but for right now I just manage as best I can.  I'm also planning on a visit to see my mom and so I'm putting a care package together. That always involves some planning and preparation and this month is no exception.

Despite lower energy levels, I also never fail to keep up with the  missions in Kenya.  The people's needs there are so great and needs don't take a rest.  I do my best to try to help the people and bring awareness to others in hopes they may also want to help.  In all the years I've been doing this, it hasn't been easy getting others involved but I keep trying.  I truly greatly appreciate those of you  who do stop and lend a hand. The little we can do means so much to another who is burdened by their load.

Several weeks ago I wrote about a young mom who had to be rushed to hospital and ended up losing her baby before it had come to full term. That was a very sad situation especially since the young mom not only lost her baby but she had to remain in hospital for weeks after because she didn't have the funds to pay the medical bills.

I am happy to report that she is now home with her family and can now start her real journey of grieving and healing. Yes, that means while she was in hospital her unborn child was buried.  One can only imagine how difficult this was to deal with on so many levels.  It also meant her other young child and her husband were without her presence in the home for weeks on end as they struggled to cover the medical bills.  They were feeling very low in spirit during this time.

My blogging friends Joy and John, Jan and Regina, and other friends in Kenya who organized several fund-raisers  helped to get her home.  I especially want to thank Joy who I met through blogging through our shared love of crochet.  It was through her very kind efforts to raise awareness of this desperate situation that really helped.

Kindness is so refreshing in this very busy world where people often turn the other way after hearing about someone needs; someone they don't know and who lives so very far away.  Sometimes we become immune to someone's desperate needs when we are bombarded daily through television, internet, social media and newspaper.

I realize too that there are many competing good causes.  Sometimes people have limited means and their our own needs have to take priority. It takes intention and work not to become cold to the desperate situations around the world.

So again a sincere thanks goes out to Joy, John, Jan and Regina for their kindness.  I pray that the goodness you have put out there for this mom will be returned to you in good measure soon.

Kenyan flower ~ Sending you all a little green in honour of Saint Patrick

In February I wrote about another humanitarian food aid mission to the Pokot people in northern Kenya.  You can read more about that mission here.  Then last week some of my Kenyan friends went on yet another humanitarian mission to the Pokot people in the northern part of Kenya.  This time they went to an entirely different region which was even more isolated than where they usually minister to the Pokot people.  On the team's return journey the terrible terrain was too much for the SUV they had borrowed from their church and they were stranded far from home where things were very expensive.

When my friends go on voluntary missions they basically have to raise the food donations and fund their own journey.  The team leader has to sign a form to acknowledge responsibility for the vehicle when they go on food aid missions and that means there is no help from the church when things go wrong.  In any case, the churches my friends attend are not like the big, prosperous churches in America.  Their congregations are made  up of hard working humble people who are mostly eking out a living through small scale farming.  They grow their own corn and vegetables and if they are fortunate they have a few chickens, goats or possibly a cow or two for milk.  They have very little in the way of extras and cold, hard cash.
 
The mission was to an area of Kenya that is very hot and dry and you cannot grow anything (sorry though the  precise name escapes me it is north of a place called Chemolingot). The locals raise goats and camels as their means of sustenance.  In places like, as in most other difficult to access communities in other countries, food and necessities are incredibly expensive because of the cost and time involved in importing the food.  Fixing the car was also very expensive and  not very straightforward.

Photo Credit:  Jonah, Missions of Hope

Mechanic help had to be summoned from about 6 hours away. The insides of the care were taken apart and the mechanic returned to Eldoret with some of the parts.  The team members had to wait until the next day for the mechanic to return with the car parts.  The team members had a real awakening of just how hard it is for the people in the area as they said they have never seen such high costs in all the places they have travelled.

Thankfully the car worked after the mechanic brought the car parts back and attended to the vehicle.  The cost of repairs was great and it was urgent.  The team had a very long journey home and arrived home at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning.

 These are a few photos of the hungry children that were fed on this mission.

The children are enjoying bread and liquid refreshment in these photos.

Photo Credit:  Jonah, Missions of Hope

Photo Credit:  Jonah, Missions of Hope

The team members also left behind food items and clothing for the people.

Friends, these needs are very real and the hunger is very difficult to experience or to see.

It is what drives my friends to help and what drives me to assist them.

Photo Credit:  Jonah, Missions of Hope

You see the people in these isolated areas of Kenya are literally starving.  

When drought comes they are hardest hit and commodities are out of their financial means. 

My friends are not well to do.

They too  live close to the edge economically.

But they know that the people they are helping live even closer to the edge.

Kenyan cactus plant.

I want to welcome all of my new followers.

If any of you have an interest in Africa and Kenya and you want to find out how to help with the missions needs, please get in touch (email on profile page). I mostly help in Kenya where we try to feed the hungry or look after their medical needs.

Also, if you are travelling to Kenya soon and want to take a missions team with food aid or medical helps,
let me know.  I can put you in touch with people who could use your help.  If you are going alone or with a friend, and you have enough funds to pool, even that would be a great help.

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Have a great week.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to those of you who celebrate.

Rhinos in the Park

These huge rhinos live in Lake Nakuru National Park, in Nakuru, Kenya.

The park is best know for it's thousands, sometimes millions of flamingos. I've posted pictures of flamingos on this blog but my photos do not really do justice to the sheer  number of flamingos in the park. The sight of all the pink birds is just spectacular.

But there are many spectacular things to see in the park and one of them is rhinos. The park is home to about 25 black rhinos and about 70 white rhinos (these numbers are a bit outdated but the population likely hasn't increased all the much).  There are many predators in the park including lions, cheetahs and leopards. When I was there I was lucky enough to see a lion but no cheetah or leopards. Leopards are very difficult to spot no matter where you go. I have been fortunate enough to see cheetahs in the wild but not at Lake Nakuru National Park.

Lake Nakuru is a small, shallow, alkaline body of water which is located on the southern edge of Nakuru.  The waters levels of the lake have been changing quite dramatically in wet and dry seasons in recent times. The reasons are likely multiple:  watershed land conversion to intensive crop production, urban development, industrial waste dumping and climate changes. This is having a negative effect on the flamingo population and no doubt other animals too. This area is heavily dependent on the tourism that the wildlife brings and parks like Lake Nakuru National Park are vital to the protection of animal stocks that are in decline.

Shockingly in 2014, blatant rhino poaching in the park resulted in 5 rhino deaths. Twenty (20) park rangers and several key staff were reassigned for failure to protect the rhinos. It is pity these staff were simply reassigned rather than suspended and investigated. Sadly, I think it is a symptom of a much larger problem in Kenya.

If you appreciate wild animals and want to see them preserved for generations, please give generously to a Rhino conservation fund near you. 

 Joining in with Mosaic Monday this week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you!

Nature Reserve

This majestic Waterbuck was standing right near the gate as we entered the park. He was so large and regal looking.

This wild beast is an African Water Buffalo and he was perturbed. Before I got to him, I was watching 2 male tourists from afar taunting the buck and getting far too close. I really thought the buck would charge them. Stupid tourists get killed every year because they get out of their cars and get too close to the wildlife.

                                                                                                              

There were so many types of wild game in the park. I don't know the  names of a lot of them but looked on line and think I have them correctly identified.

A lot of different types of gazelle reside in the park. A gazelle is any type of the many antelope species in the genus Gazella. I learned that the word gazelle derives from the Persian word "Ghazal" which means "elegant and quick ".

Impala, eating in the bushes.

I enjoy taking photos of animals that watch me closely.

I keep my respectful distance.

(Defassa) Waterbuck feasting in the forest.

I think this one is called Thomson's gazelle. They depend on short grasses for sustenance.

Impala

I wanted to get a little closer to the water birds. You are probably not supposed to get out of the car and walk around.  The lions are in the forest but I kept my eyes open. though I am sure I couldn't outrun a lion. The rhinos, various mammals, baboons and zebras are in a different area.

  

Friends taking photos.

Breathtaking views from the clifftop.

I love looking down from high above.

I've always been fascinated by zebras and this baby zebra was so cute.

Zebras always seem to quietly & peacefully go about their business.

This little guy was very curious and watched me as I snapped away.

See how well camouflaged these animals are. I think these are young Waterbuck or Impala Antelope.

Hiding in the bushes on the way to the cliffs was this baby Dik dik. Poor thing. I think it lost it's mom.

Joining in with host Eileen at   Saturday's Critters.

Kericho & Tea

My favourite area of Kenya is in the highlands,west of the Great Rift Valley. The small town of Kericho is in this area.

Can you spot Kericho on the map?  It is several hours west of Nairobi.

Kericho's population is about 150,000 and total population around the area is about half a million people (1999 census so the information is a bit out of date). While that doesn't sound so small it has a very small town feel about the place. Kericho is the hub or center of the tea industry. Most of what it grows in tea is shipped to the United Kingdom. The main tea companies are Unilever and Finlay's and Ketapa.

Tea is so important to this town that the town square is even called Chai Square. Chai is the Indian word for aromatic spiced tea.

On my last trip to Kericho I snapped the photo of these 3 beautiful trees as we entered town from Nakuru, a larger city located to the north east of Kericho. Nakuru tends to get a lot more tourist activity than Kericho because it is closer to the flamingos and other wildlife I featured in an earlier post. Nakuru is also a central location as a jump off point for many other tourist destinations in Kenya.

It was a very hazy day when we arrived in Kericho and the skies were not so terribly exciting.  However, the thing that stood out to me  is the sheer beauty of the town.  The tea estates and tea crops which dot the hills and valleys around the area are a vibrant green colour.  I should say shades of green which give a depth to the colour instead of making it look lifeless and flat because everything is the same shade of green.  In the photos above and below virtually all the greenery on the ground consists of tea bushes.

In this photo taken from the car, the skies are a very pretty blue with white fluffy clouds. This is how it usually looks whenever I've travelled to Kericho. It can get quite hot at times but it usually rains for a short while every day and then the sun comes out.  I understand that right now they are experiencing a dearth of rain.

I pray the rains will arrive soon.  Kericho's rain keeps everything green and fresh.  The the rain is needed for the tea crops and for the farms. The people depend on it like all farming people depend on the right weather at the right time.

In my last photo you will see how hazy it is. The beautiful red roof tops are the roof tops of houses on a tea estate. The people who work on the tea estates live and work there. The housing is provided by the tea estate companies. I'm not sure but I think the workers pay rent also.

Kericho is home to the world's single largest tea plantation. It is also the home to the first fossil ape Kenyapithecus discovered by Louis Leakey in 1961. It is a beautiful little town with manicured looking tea estates & beautiful lawns and gardens. The weather is usually very agreeable for those that prefer moderate temperatures.

I hope you enjoyed this "peek" into the town of Kericho, Kenya.

I'm linking up with Skywatch Friday today.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Pelicans at Lake Bogoria

Recently, I've been featuring the beautiful Soi Safari Lodge and wildlife around Lake Baringo, Kenya.

Today I begin featuring the area around Lake Bagoria, Kenya. This lake is one of the least visited lakes of the Rift Valley in Kenya and is located about 60 miles north of the city of Nakuru.

Don't be deceived by the seemingly short distance. It will take you longer than 1 hour's drive to get there but you will get to see a lot of the countryside during the drive.

If you go, I recommend you take a tour from one of the hotels or get the hotel to help you hire a driver for the day. You might also choose to stay at one or more of the hotels in the general area.

This lake is home to a hot springs (more about that in another post) and to various birds like the lesser flamingo which I featured in an earlier post.

On this day I was interested in the pelicans which seemed to congregate in a more secluded section of the lake, away from the tourists and flamingos.

It was a real treat to see these pelicans peacefully floating on the water in small groups.

Joining in with Wild Bird Wednesday today.