final day

I am on my last full day here in Africa. I just wanted to say that I wish I could of put more on the blog. I feel like I did not get much accomplished. It was really a trying year for internet. I will be putting all my video together in the following months. I look forward to putting this video together in a way that can open eyes to the Mathare Valley. I had such a great time here once again. The children look so much better this year. There are also a lot more kids running around then the previous year. So, the school continues to grow. I do hope those of you reading will have the opportunity to come across the video I will put together. It can help to fill many of the gaps that were left out on the blog. I appreciate those who tried to keep up.

Beach days at Kilifi

I wanted to put up a few pictures to give those of you reading what the beach was like. The view was spectacular. I wish I could of taken more pictures. The truth is, I was sick nearly the entire stay at the beach. I woke up the first morning with a sinus issue. It was a little more than a sinus issue. The sheets at the hotel smelled like mildew. I stayed up all night. I just could not get the smell past my senses. I have asthma. One of the issues with my asthma is that I have a real issue with mold and mildew. It kills me. It closes up my lungs. This time thou, it destroyed me. I nearly felt like I just wanted to die. That second picture of my porch. You know, the one with the chairs and the little bed with pillows. That is where I spent all my time. I had almost become one with that bed. If it had a mosquito net, I would of slept there all night. It was far more comfortable and better smelling than my bed. Not many places in Africa use dryers. Typically you hang your clothes out to dry. Well, it was raining so much. So nothing really seemed to dry very well. My roomie, Jim, paid to have his laundry done. He got his clothes back wet. So, I am guessing the sheets were put back on the beds in the same manner.

The showers were interesting. Well, not if you really love salt water. If you love salt water, than move to the coast of Africa. You can take all your showers in the sodium chloride filled water. There is nothing like a little itch after a nice long, hot shower.

O boy! Do the showers come out of no where on the coast. I was sleeping on my favored bed on the porch. I woke up to what I thought was a tornado coming. I was thinking to myself, "what in the hell do I do." Sorry for the "hell" word, but that is what I thought at the time. I really thought there was a tornado coming. It sounded like a tornado, but looked more like a hurricane. I thought to myself. This is just like back home in Florida. You know, the year that all the hurricanes blew through. It was like a jet turbine engine was opened up. All the palm trees started to sway over, leaves were flying, and Aaron started crying. Maybe not crying, but panic was more like it. I trully did not know what was going on. Than all the sudden, a massive rain storm burst onto the scene. I have never seen anything like it. I had to check the undies to see if they needed a change. I knew I was in the clear, when the rain started. I was suppose to take a kayak out with a few others. I was feeling so bad, that I had to skip out. Come to find out, I did not miss much. Other than, paddling my heart out to get about 10 feet from shore. Oh, and getting soaking wet trying to make that 10 feet. Jim and Lee Ray had no luck in the kayak. From what Jim tells me. You were pushed backwards more every stroke you tried to make. So, turns out, I was doing alright on my porch.

All aboard!

Ah! The life onboard an African train. We left Nairobi for Mombosa on a cross country train trip. I was pretty excited! Until this trip, I had never been on a train. Now, I have been on two trains. I first rode a train from Lynchburg to Washington D.C. just before flying to Africa. I must admit thou, the African train ride is a little differant. So, we all hop on board. Everyone gets into their room There was two to a room. The train was not really luxurious or anything. I can not say that I was really expecting it to be thou. The first thing on everyone's agenda was dinner.

Patrick had set the group up on the first dinner slot. So, the bell rings. Most of us are very hungry at this point. Needless to say, there was not a lot of time waisted moving from car to car. We arrive in the dinning car. Everything looked top notch. The menu looked really nice. I was thinking to myself, " this is going to be great." We had three choices of meals. There never seems to be chicken on the menu at the guest house. Naturally, I go for the chicken. Bad choice! I hardly could cut any meat off that chicken. It was awful. To top it all off, the light were going on and off. At first only the first four tables had light to begin with. You guessed it, none of us were one of those four tables. So we went from no light. Than we had a little light. Than we went to lights flickering on and off. It was almost like you were riding on a haunted train. By the end of the meal, the staff tied little lights to the ceilings to provide some light to everyone. Not much good it did any of us. Our meal was all but over.

Boy, was this a long train ride. If you ever come to Africa. Stay way from the train. You can almost run to your destination quicker. We had a little confussion when we tried to leave the train station in Mombosa. There was a man that wanted to see our tickets receipt. Let's see, we had one woman collect one sheet when we first got on the train. Than an hour later, another woman wanted the other one to give us our meal. So, at this point, we were left to nothing. We had nothing to show the man. So, he was not going to let us leave the train station until we produced a ticket. Lucky for us, there was a staff woman who knew we were all in a big group. She told the man we had a two sheets of paper and that they were both taken from us. So, he finally let us through. than came the next fun part. There was suppose to be two vans waiting for us. There was only one. We were told by the one driver that the other van was on the way. We were there for about 40 minutes. It was starting to drizzle a little. So, Carroll worked out a deal with a taxi to get us to the resort. We later find out when we get to the hotel, that the driver was arrested. The manager had called him to see if he had arrived to pick us up. He was pulled over for talking on the phone. Not that it is an offense here. But he was asked to pay a bribe to drive away. He would not pay the bribe, so he was arrested. The things you have to deal with at times here in Africa. You never know which police or at what time they want you to give them something. I find it rather funny. I had passed this big building in Nairobi that said, " the anti corruption commission." I tell you, they are dropping the ball. Here is an idea. You put me in charge of that commission. I will drive around in my own personal car. I will go loaded with a stun gun. If I get pulled over and I am asked to pay a bribe. I will stun you until you pay me a bribe. Than I will stun you a few more times until you get the picture that there will be consequences for your deceit. I will than use that money I raise to go to schools in need. Sounds like a win, win situation to me.

I put that picture up top on the blog, so everyone can see how they load those cars. We stayed in a overnight car. So, we were not loaded. But the train that left the station before ours was so loaded. I thought I was in India when they were pulling out. The only difference. There was not people standing on top of the car. You can not really see all the people on the inside. I might not be lying when I say there are around a hundred or more people in that one car. I personally like the guy who is sitting out the window. There would be some kind of group back in the states barking at the bit to get some political intervention. But this is Africa. You just got to take things as they go. If you bark to much, you might find yourself swiming with the crocodiles. It would be mighty hard to find evidence.

a few pics of amboseli national park

sorry for the long delay

I am really sorry about the delay. I know I have mentioned the internet situation before. I bought an internet card. I put alot of money on it. Enough money to get me through the rest of my trip. Wouldn't you know it thou, it does not work. I figured out the problem. The money that the girl at the shop added to it, never was added. So, now I have to go back and kick some butt. She was going to send me off without the receipt, but I knew better. Another bad thing is the internet card is only picking up reception in Nairobi. so the safari and the beach trip is a no go for internet. It is just another thing I think we take for granted. I know I like to complain when I am not getting fast connection for my xbox live games. Out here, you just hope you can get dial up connection.

We have been away for 3 days. We made our way down to Amboseli national park in southern Kenya. It was really a beautiful place. It was one of the nicest places I have ever stayed. I still think the Turks and Caicos has it thou, Aunt Shari. The view from your room or the common area was almost second to none. We had a view of mount kiliminjaro. It was so beautiful. We were able to see both peaks: Kibo and Mawenzi. The park was really beautiful. It was different than some of the other parks thou. It did not have a shortage of water. Water runs of the mountain and collects in pools around the park. I was hoping to see some crocodiles, but no luck. so the search must go on. This was the best park for elephants. We saw them all over the place. We got lucky in the last hour. We finally saw some lions. I was just hoping that some of the group would get a chance to see a cat. It was only going to be most of the groups only safari. So, I was hoping for the best. I could not believe how close the elephants would get to the vehicles. They would walk across the road in between vehicles. I thought we were going to have one elephant flip one of our vans. Also, another elephant flip the van I was in. We were within about 10 feet of a big male. he just stood there like a lazy big boy. Than all the sudden, he kicked his ears up and did a step. He was just trying to give us the picture. I was not really wanting to walk back to the camp. An interesting thing, I saw my first hippo out of the water. This park had alot of hippos. All in all, a great trip.

We had some confusion in our train transportation to the beach. So, we will be leaving tomorrow afternoon to Mombosa. I am so looking forward to this trip. I miss the beach. I need to feel like I am back home. Well, just a little. I sure do miss the food thou.

The clinics at the school have been going very well. We currently have two doctors and a nurse working things. It was really a treat, to learn some new things. The kids look great. We had so many issues last year. It was so exhausting. This year the kids look wonderful. It really is owed to the nurse at the school. She was hired just before we arrived last year. So it goes to show that she has been treating the kids throughout the year. I have been selfish and wanting to see some crazy things. But no luck. I had to tell a few kids to get sick, so I have something to look at.

I will put up a few pictures. I will get back to everyone at the end of the week. I will most likely be without internet again till we get back from Mombosa. Hope all is well!

underwear drive

The great debate. Boxers! Or Briefs! We passed out the undies at the school. There was a lot of laughter floating around. No one wanted the boxers. That was until Kim told the guys that all the football players wore boxers. So than they snatched them all up.

hello to everyone

I am going to be a little brief tonight. I do not have much time, as usual. We finally figured out the problem with the internet card. Wayne just needed to add some money to it. So, hopefully things will get back to normal with the posts. Mercy Care has been wonderful. I got a chance to do a lot of filming around the valley. I even got some footage of an area outside the valley. I hope to have plenty of footage to show everyone. I am going to run, but I will purchase an internet card for myself tomorrow afternoon. Than, I will be in business.

a few pics

Today, we handed out the little gift bags to all the kids. Also, the flip flops that had been collected for the school was passed out. I wish I could throw some more stuff up. Today, we are so limited at the cafe. I did not even get a chance to take a shower. I had to get out of the van to hop back in 5 minutes later from the school. So this internet crisis is really starting to affect everyone. Time is just not on our side this year. I hope that everyone is not getting really discouraged with the lack of posts or pictures. I will keep doing the best I can.

Monday-first day at school

I was starting to get the feeling that the week was just to easy. Than came the first day at the school. My trumpet is now tooting a different beat. So, we got the clinic started. The building had begun. Finally, what we had all come to do was upon us. I was looking forward to get back into the clinic. There was only a few classes from primary school that we saw today. It was part of the older primary kids. So their health was for the most part, very good. There was a few ear infections. A couple fungal problems. A lot of scrapes and cuts. You would really expect no less with the rocks that jolt out of the ground here. The biggest problem we saw with the age group today was thrush. There was also a few kids with hernias. Nearly every child was in good need of ear cleaning. Throw the othoscope in the ear canal and what do you discover. Just enough ear wax to build a wall. This day was so much better than our first day last year. We did start with the pre school kids thou last year. You can see how well the health improves as the grades increase. A true testimate to what the schools does and provides for these children.

Since this was our first day, the children performed for us. It was a nice change from last year. Although, I was hoping to see my two guys do a rap routine again. These kids are so talented. They have alot of help from Peter and a few other teachers. Some of the kids even come up with their own routine. Anni, Mercy did such a wonderful skit. She was so lively. Everyone was really loud during her performance. It was the only performance I was not able to get clearly. She already said she will perform it again to just me and the camera. That way you can see it for yourself.

Most of the men from North Carolina got started on building. There was so much going on at the school. It was a bit crazy today. I was even asked to teach a chemistry class again today. I spent a little bit of my time hiding. I do not really get into teaching all that much. I do not really mind it, but it is hard to teach something when you do not know where the kids lie on the subject. From my experience teaching a class last year. I gatherd that these kids were sharp and knew a few things. But they were lacking in some basic knowledge in chemistry. So for that, I did not want to jump in there and blow some kids heads off. I am so disapointed in the material
that the Kenyan government provides for the classes. It is such a small book. And those of you who have taking chemistry or physics before. Those are not small books. A normal chemistry book can contain around 500 or more pages. The chemistry book they use here is like 100 pages. Pages, which are half the size of our books. So you get a paragraph to learn from. Today, the teacher wanted me to teach acid and bases. I can go over that, but than I read her book. All it talks about is acids are usually bitter tasting in your mouth. I was like, "are you serious?" There is so much more to it than that. I don't know how these teachers can fill up 45 minutes teaching about that. I thought it was a little crazy myself. I want to bring in better books and change their science curriculumn. But I keep hearing, Kenya has its own guidelines. I want
to tell the government that Chemistry is a world wide subject. No matter where you go, it does not change. I had books to bring, but left them at home. Not that I would of been able to carry them on the plane. The airlines where already making me take things out of my bag. Kept saying you need to put stuff in your carry on. That was fine, but than you get to Ethiopia airlines. They only allow 15 pounds for your carry on. So than you got to start stuffing things in the bags from the school. than those are over weight. It is just a never ending story. Soon, you will have to start sending your bags by UPS.

I have already been told that they want me to teach tomorrow. It makes me wonder if they think I can be in all places at once. I need to find out who the culprit is that keeps spreading this rumor that I am the man to teach. The biggest need is in the clinic. We are already under staffed. So, I want to be there. I am happy helping out there. I am also suppose to be putting together video footage, but that has taking a back seat to the clinic. So, I am getting pounded. I will not complain thou. These kids sure do not. So I am looking forward to accomplishing everything. I took the lesson from these children last year, that there is no need to complain. It gets nothing done. I got to run. Hope all is well!

a few pictures

The picture on the left is a shot of the hot springs. It was just outside the maasai village we stayed the night in. The water was crystal clear and felt great. We had the maasai chief on the lookout for crocodiles. Not that it would of made much of a difference I think. It would of been so hard for the guy standing on the tree branch on the far side of the pool to get out. The picture on the right shows the biggest baobob tree in Africa. Or so I have heard.

saturday in nairobi

Hello to everyone back in the states and to the few in Australia. I have completed just over a week of my stay here in Africa.The trip is 25% over for myself. It has been a lot different of an experience then the previous year. I guess you can never expect to have the same trip, year in, and year out. Last year was a new feeling. I did not know what to expect. I just went with the flow. This year, I am finding myself more comfortable with my surroundings. Also, with the people who are brought along with it. I am picking up some conversational swahili. I am starting to feel more at home here. I must say, it is a good feeling to be among the few wzungus who are blessed to call Africa, a second home. Our journey to Tanzania was wonderful. I was able to see
old friends. I was also able to make new friends. I had become an honorary Maasai. I even got the get up to prove it. I would have a picture to show you. Wouldn't you know it thou, two pictures were taking of me in my gear. Both pictures are the bluriest pictures any one man could take. I should of let Carroll take the pictures, instead of Wayne. I did not know you could mess up a point and click moment. I swam in water shared by crocodiles. Took a walk through the bush, which could of been ended by an animal attack. I would say, I am on my way to being a true African. About the only thing left is to drink the local water. Not going to happen!

Last night was a nice little day on the town. The kids were out of school for the day on a short holiday. So, I found myself at the internet cafe early, and than off to the airport. The second group from North Carolina arrived. It was nice to meet some new faces from the states. This group comes to help build needs for the school. It is a good mixture of men and woman. Both young and a little older. I can not really remember anyone's name very well. At times yesterday, I felt like I was the African tour guide. I would have to lead a line around parts of the shopping centers. I find myself around the mall a good part of my time here, this year. It is where you find the internet cafe and restaurants. I eat out nearly everyday. I starve when I eat at the guest house. Not to mention, it can really hit my stomach hard. So, I just head into town and sit down for a bit to eat. There, I can order what I want, and get plenty of it. Last night was the world cup match between USA and Slovokia. Or Was it Slovenia. It was one of those east
European countries. This is a very upscale mall. So, there are big flat screens all over the food court. I was sitting down enjoying some indian food. Than comes the start of the match. You have both teams flags walked onto the field, followed by the teams itself. So, you listen and watch the Slovok/enia teams national anthem. Then, it is time for the USA. It was the first time I have watched the national anthem for a sporting event outside of my own country. I was a little weary of what to do at first. I am the only white guy around. The only American around. So I just did what was natural. I stood and put my hand over my heart. I began singing the national anthem. I never sing. I sound like a retarded frog. So for good reason, I do not sing. But this time I did. You could see everyone in the food court, who were crowded around tables, looking at me. I was a bit nervous at first, but than my pride set in. I felt great to be an American at that moment. I did it for my country. Africans show a lot of pride in their countries. I had to show alot of pride in my country. The game starts. I was feeling so good about our team. We were looking like the better team. Than, all of a sudden. A goal is scored against the US. I am going crazy. I did not want to show bad spriit in front of everyone. So, I walk around and did a few things. I walk back to check the score. Down 2-0 at that point. Start to shake my head. It is over. We are finished. So I walk around some more. Than I see one of the guys from the group gathered around a differant tv. He goes crazy! He jumps high into the air, landing into the store. Everyone in the mall turns to see what all the fuss is about. The US just tied the score. It felt great. The score ended a tie. Africa has really been alive with the world cup. If I was back in the states, I would probably not watch any of the games. You find yourself doing it here. Maybe, that is because it is on every television.

I spent a good time at the school today. Still no kids, due to the holiday. But, I got a chance to hang out and meet with a few people. The two vans that brought the group into the valley left after an hour. It took the group from North Carolina to the elephant orphanage and giraffe farm. I saw both of those places last year, so I stayed with Wayne at the school. We see the vans off. Than I look over at wayne and say, " Now, we are the only two white guys in the valley." He looks back over and says, " ya, I reckon you are right." So we just head to the office to have some tea. Africans love their tea. I was able to see my good friend Moses. Moses is a teacher at the school. He also is the coach to the futbol team of Mercy Care. The boys had two matches. They have made it to the final 24 teams around the area. This is a great achievement for the school. Especially since Mercy Care has only had a secondary school for over 3 years. Mercy Care is taking on national schools. Big schools with the facilities and equipment. I did not get to watch the game this week. But, I can tell you this. our young men do not have the equipment, nor the facilities to match with these other schools. But some how, out of nearly 100 teams, they have made it to the final 24. They should know in a few weeks if they make it to the next round. They started in January. They have been knocking off some big schools to get to this point. Our young man are only giving a chance to practice on a field twice a week. So they have trully made a tremendous effort to make due with what they have. That is why I feel such power coming from this school. They are coming from the poorest part of the region. It seems as if the whole world is against them. Yet, you do not hear them complain. They are up for the challange. They do not need the shinny uniforms. The top notch shoes or soccer balls. They take what they are giving and they give back more from the joy of being part of the sport. You never stop learning from these young people. I hope that I can do something to help show these futbol players that we notice what they are doing. Most of the schools they are beating are beginning to notice them. They keep saying, " who is Mercy Care? Where do they come from?" They come from one of the poorest slums in the world, The Mathare Valley. The school they represent is one of the richest in talent in the world. I can say this openly, because I do not know of many schools that can achieve what these young people do. Most would be discouraged to compete against teams when they do not look the part with the uniforms. Little less, all the equipment. Their talent does not just lie on the futbol field. They are winning national competions with singing and drama. This school deserves the recognition of its country. I hope that I can do something to show its talent
to our world. They can teach a nation, a continent, and many parts of our world. The amazing thing about it is they do not know this about themselves. Nor, do they care to be put in that position. They just want to get an education, help their families, have fun, and to make it in this harsh world.

I hope there are still some out there reading. I really hope that I have some of my good friends in Orlando reading this. We have been lost guys. I hope you are not out there
drinking and just carrying on. The world will pass us by if we are not ready to make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of others. Hope all is well

back in nairobi

Once again, I would like to apologize for the delay in posts. The internet has really been against us this year. Last year we had accommodations that provided internet. This year we are forced to take a drive to the internet cafe. Wayne purchased an internet card for our computers. The card has yet to work from the guest house. So, once again, we are forced to drive to the cafe. The cab ride is expensive here in Nairobi. I will continue to work through the heartache to get things posted. I will get a little more resourceful now and type up my posts at the guest house and just transfer the text to the computer at the cafe.

We left Moshi on the 15th. From there, we continued the next part of our journey to stay in a maasai village. It was such a great experience. I was expecting to stay in a small dung hut at first. The maasai had built a nice little house for guests who come to the village. So it was really nice accommodations. It was in fact, a lot nicer than st. Benedicts in Nairobi. For that, I will have to send a message to the pope. I guess he is saving money for his new jumbo jet lined in all gold. I guess he needs a lot of gold to get better reception to God. That, or he needs to save some money for lawyer fees to help his priests out. Just joking. Do not want to offend any catholics who might be reading these messages. The maasai had built some really nice schools for their people. Most maasai do not educate a lot of their people, but the chief of this particular tribe is a doctor. So his top three priorities are health, education, and water. So he is a very bright man. He wants the best for his people. I still found it a little funny to educate his people, when all they will become is goat and cow herders in their future. But it is a start in a great direction. We learned so much from staying the night with the maasai. We had learned that many facts about them in books are not entirely true. They have many beliefs in God just as we do. They just do not know of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Their is a book about the conversion of 4,000 maasai tribes man years ago. We come to realize that those tribesmen were told that they will acquire great riches if they converted to christianity. It goes to show that the language barrier between us and them had some to play into that roll. Also, a lack of accurate words were placed upon them. Many christians accross our world try to manipulate people into accepting the world of God. I am not sure if it is for personal gain, or if they see nothing wrong in what they are doing. I myself have seen christians use manipulative words to get accross their point. If you take an uneducated man and fill his head with what you want, he will believe. He will think to himself, this man is smart and wise. What he says, must be true. It has sad to think that their are christians out there that do not give people a chance to the truth. God wants us to spread the gospel in an accurate manner. He does not want us to fill peoples head with half the gospel and half jargon. He laid his foundation through the Bible. That we may read it for ourselves and understand his will for our lives. I have come to realize that christianity to many is simply a way of fitting in. Whether you truly believe in the words of God or not. You can realize that spreading the world of God to tribal men is to put the truth of the word out there. Let these men conform to what they will. You can make a maasai man a christian without changing everything that he believes in. Their should never be force to change everything that a man is.

We went for our swim in the springs. It was a wonderful place. It was like the jewel in the rough. You travel through the middle of nowhere and their lies an oasis. It was the most beautiful water I have seen here in Africa. It reminded me of the springs we have back in Florida. The only difference was the water was warm. Also, there are crocodiles that wonder in there for a meal. We did not see any crocodiles. So that was not a problem. The springs make their way into a river system. It is from that river system that the crocodiles make their way into the springs. We had the maasai chief standing at the entrance way into the springs for crocodiles. Not that some might believe him. Everyone kept saying, crocodile! So by the time there was a crocodile, we would of all been like, "ya right."

We must head to the airport in a few minutes. So I will get back to the computer soon and put up another post upon my return. We have our second group flying into Nairobi in a few hours. It might take us an hour and a half to make it a few miles to the airport. Thanks to the wonderful traffic of Nairobi. I will start to get some pictures up soon. I will begin to write my posts on my computer and save it. Than just transfer it to the computer here at the cafe. That way I can have more time to put up pictures. I will get back to every soon!

not much to say

I do not have much to report on today. We walked into the internet cafe a little after 10 this morning. I did want to let those of you reading that the group will be heading to a masaai village tomorrow morning. We will be picking up the local chief at the airport. We will be off to his village. This is one of the days I am most looking forward too. The group never got a chance to see the village last year. I believe it was only four from the group that had the chance to see the village last year. This time the whole group will be going and we will be staying the night. I really do not know what to expect. I know there is the hot springs there, which Wayne says has no crocodiles. Yet, people still seem to be eating by them. It reminds me of a cruise we were on one year. It was the first time that they had begun telling me stories about Africa. I have always had this passion for crocodiles. So, I ask Wayne, " Have you known of anyone that has been eating by crocodiles"? his reply, "oh no. Well there was this one time. Than there was this other time. We use to swim in this hot springs for years, but a woman was eating by a crocodile there." So I think he is just trying to comfort everyone. Just like you are not suppose to worry about lions running out of the bush into your camp. Which after a few nights ago, I can tell you, they do come out of the bush. They like to take a stroll through camp just like you do. It is not like there is a big cage keeping you from the animals like you would find at the zoo. You are really one with the animals. I kept laughing at all the signs at our camp in Taringere safari lodge. They were posted all over to be aware of wild animals. Also, there was a sign in the room that warned you not leave your tent at night. But, when you have a lion taking a night time stroll with a few roars. It is not so hard to stay in the tent.

My time is nearly up on the computer. I will get back to the blog in a few days. Well, that is if I have not met a crocodile on my very, very, very, very brief swim. I am saving my energy for tomorrow. I am going to try to out jump a few masaai. I will probably have to go up against there five year olds thou to make myself feel good. Catch everyone in a few days!

went to KCMC

We all went to KCMC for a few hours today to check things out. We began our tour in a meeting with the provost of the facility. We got alot of back round on the hospital and many schools they offer on the property. It is trully a wonderful facility. It is bigger than most of our hospitals back in the states. It does host a medical school, phisiotherapy school, and a regular university. So, that all accounts for the tremendous size of the facility. The new wing of the university is trully spectacular. We got to pop our heads into one lecture hall for a few seconds. All students are doing exams, so we were not able to check out the whole school. I was interested to find that their lecture halls are much like the lecture halls back home. With stadium style seating that ascends down towards the professor in the front. Even noticed a few students with their laptops.

We left the hospital to head to lunch in town. Moshi is such a wonderful town. It is the cleanest town I have been to in Africa. They employ people to collect the garbage that is thrown on the streets. I even noticed woman last year walking the streets with brooms. It is amazing to see a country that cares about its cities. Most people in Africa, including tanzania have to put their trash in a pile and burn it. It is trully an awful smell. It is mostly due to the burning of plastic. It is so toxic, but the people have to do whatever it takes to get the trash away from their surroundings. It makes me wonder if there is something I can do in the future to controll the trash issues. Cities would be so beautiful if more people and the government would take pride in their surroundings. Here in Tanzania the cities tend to be clean. You still see trash, but it is not a big problem like you see in Kenya.

The trash issue is something that was addressed between the Browns and Patrick at the school. The students and faculty keep the school clean, as well as, the surroundings. There is one issue thou. Behind the kitchen and the new building for the pre school kids is a small creek. It is littered with the trash of the surrounding communities. There is a little cliff that holds many make shift homes just above the school. You will see the locals throwing their trash off the side of the cliff. All this trash ends up in the creek and all over the banks which run behind the school. So you will go from a nice manacured area to a smelly trash dump. The Browns will be paying for the trash to be removed, so we can keep the diseases that it creates away from the children. It has been cleaned before in the past, but it only takes a short matter of time before it becomes a problem again. I hear the older students might be employed to clean the area up. Maybe it can become a part time job for some of the students in great need. We just need to make sure that they are wearing gloves, as well as, have the proper education to avoid the bacteria. It is so awful to drive around many of the cities here and see the people living with the trash all around them. The people have become so desensitized by the sight of trash. Most Americans would be repulsed, but our country has created such a great environment for us to survive in. That is what makes Africans true survivors. They have no choice but to live with these conditions. It makes you wonder, if they were complainers like we Americans. Would things get done? Or would it just create more stress in their lives worrying about everything that goes on around them. That is why I keep telling people that there is so much we can learn from Africans. I know the United States would be a better place if we could send everyone to Africa for a few weeks. Than they will begin to realize how much of a bubble we live in. How we are protected from so many things. I will admit, it makes me begin to resent many of my fellow americans. But I do realize, that many Americans have never had the opportunities to see parts of our world. Also, that they never will see parts of our world. Education and travel is such a vital part of our world. Education is power. I wish I would of realized some of these things as a young man. I was just trying to have a good time. But what American is not.

I don't have alot to report on today. We hit the internet cafe really early today. So our day has hardly begun. I did want to say for any of those who went to Heritage with me. Or to those who are awesome at grammar. I know my blogs are a night mare for you to read on the grammar and spelling. Sorry!!!! I can not afford to bring an editor with me to look over my work. Laurie Pinkert, I need you!!! I really want to put up some photos for everyone to see, but if I did that I would have to pay for another hour of internet time just to post a couple. I trully hope that I can get some up when I get back to Kenya. The internet situation last year was alot better than this year. It took a while, but at least everywhere I stayed had internet.

Anni! You can use whatever you need from the blogs. Also sorry about the grammar and such. If you use any of these writings for valley of hope, say Wayne Brown proof checked it. I got to keep up my image. Tell Kate that the mount kiliminjaro was so amazing yesterday just before the sun set. We got a chance to see a little bit of it last year, but the whole mountain was exposed for an hour or more yesterday. I wanted to take a picture, but it was a little too dark outside to really get anything to come out.

till tomorrow, wazoongu out!

arrived to Moshi

Sorry for the delay on the blog. We have not been able to get internet access for the past few days. We arrived in Nairobi a few days ago. The place we are staying this year is accross the street from Mathare valley. It is a catholic guest house. I thought it was a little funny how catholic church' are decked in gold, but no internet. I apologize for those who want to keep up with our work here. I will try to purchase an internet card when we get back to Kenya. The cards do not work in Tanzania, but we do have an internet cafe just down the street from where we will be staying for the next few days.

We got a chance to go to mercy care for a few hours on friday. It was such a great experience. Everything had changed so much from last year. We pulled into the common area at the school to see about 600 or more kids lined up on both sides of the street. As we pulled past the first few kids, they all began to follow the van till we stopped. The kids were all jumping up and down, screaming at the top of their lungs. Many of them started hitting the van. The van was shacking so much, I felt like I was a rockstar getting ready to show my face to all my fans. It was a welcome that I have never had before. The secondary school was taking exams, so we were missing over a 100 kids from the celebration. I could not imagine the decibles that would of been created if we had more kids going crazy. I had the biggest smile on my face friday morning when we landed in Nairobi. I was just so excited to be back in Africa. It gives you an over whelming feeling that is hard to describe. Words can not begin to explain the power that comes over you. Seeing so many familiar faces was such a relief. I showed up last year not knowing what to do, other than to smile. This year was kicked off with my buddy john from secondary form 3 greeting me. Last year I would of shoock hands with the older guys. This year I had to give them a hug. People who know me, know that I don't even hug my own mother. Sad, I know, but the love and excitement you have for the kids here seems a little differant. It is almost like a hand shake will not do. I took a little tour around the school grounds with john to see how things were looking. I was surprised to see how much things had changed. Last year the pre school age kids were in this run down metal building that had like 1,348 holes in it. It was a catastrophe waiting to happen. I was almost afraid to go near it last year. Those little guys were just happy to be able to sit down and learn. Not all kids in the valley are that fortunate. This year, construction had already begun for a new building. There is only the outline with the first few layers of bricks. But what a start. The rest of the building is waiting for a group from North Carolina to finish. What a wonderful opportunity for these kids to meet some more mazoongu. Also, to learn that there are many people accross the United States and Austalia who really care for them. There are also some new 10x10 rooms that were purchased in the surrounding area that will be converted to bigger class rooms. This school needs more space. I feel as if the school as doubled in size in just one year.

I was so happy to learn that the school now has a basketball. There is no hoop, YET! So we played keep away. I definetely have a little work to do with the ball handling skills. These kids are such fast learners. I am already excited to return the following year to see who the next Michael Jordan will be.

We woke up early saturday to drive nearly 9 hours to Taringere national park in Tanzania. It is such a beautiful place. There was not tons of animals like last year. That was due to most of the migration still farther north in the serengetti. The animals are just starting to make their way down. I could not sleep at all. Only a few hours. I had a chorus of snoring going on from my tent mate patrick and the two tents to our left. I woke up at 3:30 to the sound of a lion in the distance. The lion kept getting closer and closer. Finally I had heard him make his way into our camp. It sounded like he posted up a few hundred feet from our tents. He must of been huge, because he had the deepest roars. I tried to see him, but it was too dark. I was to scared to hit the flash light out the tent, because thin mesh will do little to stop him. That and I did not bring enough underwear.

We are now in Moshi. Moshi is a small town at the base of mount kiliminjaro. We will be here for 3 days. Dr. Synders is an orthopedic surgeon from Lynchburg, Virginia. He will be performing surgeries at KCMC. I will be around to do whatever he needs me to do. You know, cut something, be mental support, even whip the sweat from his brow. I will be going in there open minded. I am just a scrub trying to learn a few things in the medical game. At least I do not have to worry about someone trying to sue me.

We will be staying at a Masaii village in a few days. I heard so many wonderful things about this village last year. I spent my time at the hospital, so I never had the opportunity to see the village. I hear there is a hot springs there with crystal clear water. I am going to try to do a quick dive into the pool. There are crocodiles, so it must be quick. I think I am going to be a sweet guy and let someone else test the waters first. If the cost is clear, than I am in and out like super man. Wayne says there will most likely be masaii men with spears on the look out. But I am thinking to myself. Will spears take out a giant crocodile? I hope I do not have to find out. I was so sad that I did not get to see crocodiles last year due to the lack of rain. I just hope that my first encounter is not me in the water with one. I know God has only allowed one man to walk on water with him, but boy, am I going to try to be number 2.

I don't have much time left on the computer. I hope I will have enough time to get back to the internet cafe tomorrow. I will put up some pictures if possible. sorry about no pictures yet. Internet alone is such a comodity. I hope all is well...I will get back to you all soon

Take care!!!!

first morning in Ethiopia

Good morning Africa!!! Your favorite mazoongu is back. For those back in the states, that means white person. It is such a catchy word. Might just be that I hear it so much riding around. All the kids will point and scream mazoongu or wazoongu for white people. It is almost like we are from another planet. I have been anticipating this day since I left last summer. The flight was long, but not so bad. Wayne got me bumped up to first class. I tell you, it is a little different from sitting in the back. you have a foot rest to kick your feet up. Television and games to pass the time. Crazy amount of leg room to do kick aerobics. Four beautiful woman to take care of you. Oh! The little hot towels were not so bad either. It would probably be best not to hang with my parents and the Browns on vacations. I get spoiled, as if I got the money to live the good life too. We all know thou, I am just another crazy mazoongu trying to make a name for himself in this big world. I don't need fame or the luxury. I just want to enjoy life, make new friends, and do my part. Most who are reading this know of my travels last year to this great continent. I came on a whim, not knowing that it would be one of the greatest times of my life. I left last year with a racing mind. Thinking to myself. What can I do next time to bring more awareness to a school, hospital, and a region of great people. I took an idea from a great woman from Australia named Anni. The idea was to return with my own video camera to capture moments. Moments that I hope can be shared by people back home through a video. So, here I am. A dude, with a camera, and a trigger happy pointer finger. I have no clue what I will shoot, how much I will shoot, or if I can put it all together. What I do know is that I am willing to try. One thing I learned last year about these people is their resilience. They have so much faith that we are missing in the states. As a matter of fact, in the world. Africa has been a land of devastation. They are giving very little, yet they survive. Most of them do it with a positive attitude. I have skated by with my life. Never accepting the consequences of what life brings. I owe my life to my parents. If it was not for them, than I would be nothing in this world. Most of these people here are not fortunate enough to say that. Many young kids here are forced to look after themselves. Some even take care of their younger siblings or family members. My challenge to myself is to be half the man that these men here are. I hope you all keep up with my blog. I will try to keep in interesting. I will be posting pictures as well. I must prepare for the next leg of my flight to Nairobi. I hope all is well!

Aaron Swafford

arrived in Africa

Hello to all my friends back in the states. I just arrived to ethiopia. I am sorry for a short post. I hardly slept on the flight over here. It is late here. I showed up just in time for the opening of the world cup. I will be putting up my first true post tomorrow when I arrive to Nairobi. I need to get some sleep to catch my flight in the morning. Hope all is well!