We were sad to leave Mama Dickson (pictured above) and everyone at Webuye who had looked after us so well. On the last day it was great to see the children enjoying the new posters that we'd given them. It really brightened up the classrooms.
It was time to move on to Nukuru for our final week of the month long trip. I blogged back in January (scroll down past the silly fund-raising photos) about how Bernadette had been to Nakuru on her previous visit to Kenya. She was key to setting up this part of our trip. We visited some very poor areas of Nakuru.
Everywhere was very dusty.
We stayed with a family that were Bernadette's friends. Such a large, loving, hospitable family. The evening meals were a precious time after our long, busy days.
Kate and I shared a room.
Our first day we visited a Nursery School. The deep channel in front of the building is there for when there is torrential rain. All we saw was dust but I can imagine the mud when it's the rainy season.
This little Nursery School seemed to be in an old shop and it was very small inside. The children wore smart uniforms and the headteacher (pictured below) was an inspiring woman.
I always enjoy getting down to the children's level, seeing what they are doing and trying to communicate.
a highlight of our time in Nakuru was visiting 'The Walk Centre' (school). It was great to see it for myself after seeing the photos. If you click that link it will take you to their site where there is more detail. We really only just visited, spent a little time with the children and gave them some small gifts.
The Walk Centre helps some of the poorest people who live on the surrounding rubbish tip. They run many different initiatives, one of which is shown below, where local people can get training on a sewing machine.
Ester (the lady we stayed with) had organised a full day of fun activities for the Youth of several Nakuru churches. It was hosted in a building within the grounds of the Nakuru National park.
Stunning views...
If you look closely you can see some wildlife roaming free...
The morning meeting was lively and it was good to see so many young people enjoying themselves...
there were games played outside then in the afternoon there was a talent show. Imagine mine and Kate's surprise when we were asked to be on the judges panel! The young people enjoyed themselves and there was certainly a range of talent on show, from bands, to dance groups and mini plays.
On Sunday i attended Ester's church.
I spoke an encouraging message...
And the Ministry time went on long into the night. It was incredibly noisy and I'm bent listening to the person below so I can hear what they're saying...
Kate and Bernadette met a group of ladies who make bags out of re-cycled materials. They had a good business going and we were able to help them get a permit of some sort so that they could sell their bags and make more profit.
Towards the end of our time in Nakuru, Tony set up a visit to the prison.
Slowly a large crowd of listeners joined us.
Tony is very experienced and gifted in ministering to prisoners, although we all spoke.
Below we are standing at the main gate, waiting for it to be unlocked.
On our last night, we were given a gift of fabric from the family, to be made into a katanga (see it wrapped round us)...
The photo below needs no explanation. It had been a busy month.
There were two days left of sight-seeing and playing at being tourists before the journey home.