A scene from Naivasha...

I have been back a few weeks from Kenya. It was an amazing, life-changing experience. For some reason the words are not coming easily, but I do want to share about the trip and show photos. I have needed time to rest, process what I saw and experienced and spend time with my family. A month away from home is a long time. Being away from Adam, who has been my best friend and soul mate for 21 years was one of the hardest things. Obviously, the flights are the biggest expense on a trip like this so we had to do as much as we could. Change as many lives for the better as we could. When you go to a developing country, you see need everywhere you look. It wasn't totally new to me because I went in 2005, but it is still not easy, coming from the West and being so blessed. I don't want to get too deep so will just say that I feel very, very privileged to have gone.
Right then... photos... since this is my blog, I will be concentrating on my experience of the trip. We were in a team of four. Here we are at Heathrow, ready to check in the luggage. Kate, (far left), the founder of the Charity and leader of the trip had arranged a Charity weight allowance, hence the many, many cases and boxes)...

I have known Kate since 2006, when we met at Bible College, but we were in different years and didn't really know each other that well. It's only since last August (2011) that we started working together, fundraising for her charity, 'Free 2 Be' that we got to know each other a bit better. Tony is Kate's step-dad and kept an eye on our safety. Bernadette also attended the Bible College but not till after I'd left, so we barely knew one other. We are all so very different and each brought different skills and talents to the team. Below, we are outside a cafe in Naivasha where we had dinner a couple of times. This is the cafe in which I squeezed a bottle of ketchup too hard and got the lot on my plate (as well as down my top and all over my bum-bag. Icky it was too).

After these first couple of days in Naivasha, staying with a friend, we drove up to Bungoma, where the Business Training and Micro financing was going to take place. When we arrived in Bungoma I had got there first, having given my place on the bus to Geoffrey (the main Pastor we were linked with). I'd gone on my first Matato (public bus) and was waiting at Christine and Geoffrey's home, for the rest of the team to arrive. She was cooking dinner...

They had a kitten called Lunis...

The local children were keen to show me about and thought it was hilarious that I'd never seen bananas growing on the tree...

Then we had to pose under a mango tree too, even though it was the wrong season for mangoes...

That's Valentine above, who has a school in nearby Webuye where we went in the second week. She was keen to teach me how to make chapatis. Christine looked on as quality controller, since it was her kitchen and we had to make perfect chapatis to serve to the team (who were still nowhere to be seen at this point)...

The team arrived and we enjoyed a delicious meal together...

It was Sunday the next day and we met at Geoffrey's before setting off for different churches. This is Splendor and Jergas (Geoffrey's and Christine's children) ...

We travelled on a picki-picki (see previous post) which is a motorbike taxi and were quite early for church. The sunday school class had just finished and the adults weren't there yet. It looked more like a school since this is also where Makutano Church School is held as well...

I was pleased that folks did look happy to see us...

This is a part of the service where children came forward to sing and say memory verses...

After church we took a photo of all the people who would be going on the Business Training the following week. There was a good range of ages. John Protus (in the orange jacket below) would have been past retirement age over here, yet he was really excited to start up his own micro business...

The business training week was one of my favourite parts of the trip. One of my jobs was 'Registration' in the mornings. Everyone wore a badge and were ticked off on arrival. If you are wondering what the rocks were for it was to stop the papers blowing away and that's Pastor Isaac helping me...

Pastor Geoffrey had hired a large Baptist Church for the week as the venue and it was excellent.

In the afternoon I helped groups of people fill in their Business Plans. My friend Bishop Sebastian, whom I met in 2005 was a super interpreter and helped me...

Sometimes I helped Kate and Geoffrey with paperwork. Below I'm holding a beautiful baby while his Mum speaks about her business Plan...

My Gran, Daisy, who is in her eighties and lives in Scotland, was very kind and knitted several stripey jumpers to help the people in Kenya. Below, Geoffrey and Christine's son, Jergas, looked so handsome in one of my Gran's jumpers. Thanks Gran x

We provided lunch for the delagates. Here are the two happy cooks, making a big pot of beans...


Folks queueing for lunch...
People had a rest at lunchtime before Bible teaching if they wanted to attend.

The delegates got a certificate every day and we took group photos of them in their Church groups at the end of the week. Here's Pastor Geoffrey's group...

Below is a special photo of me with some ladies. I was sitting with a group of people, who were waiting for their interview about their business idea and I heard these old ladies say 'Muzungu' while they were talking. 'Muzungu' means "white person" in Swahili. I asked what they were saying because I knew they were talking about me. They looked worried like they were in trouble. I said it was ok, I was just wondering what they were saying. After a pause, one of them said, "We call you Nachomicha". I laughed and obviously asked that it meant and they said "She who sows seeds". I'd spoken during the business training all about seeds and how their new business would grow if it was watered and cared for (like a seed). The finances at the end of the week was called "seed" aswell. I was so touched that they saw me like this. I took the paper out of my badge and wrote "Nachomicha" on it and slipped it back into my badge holder. They thought this was very funny. Many people started to call me "Nachomicha" for the rest of the week because I was wearing that as my name badge. It became a point of amusement and at the same time something very meaningful too. Below are my Nachomicha ladies...

At the end of the week, Kate and Geoffrey sorted out the micro financing for 65 people.
I am so pleased to have been a part of this. By helping those people to set up a small business, we have helped their families too. It is life-changing for all of us. Kate made sure everything was very professional. People had to sign a receipt.


Now we are back in the UK, Pastor Geoffrey and the other three Pastors will oversee follow-up support to the new businessmen/women. There will be advice and help available.
Finally, it was really good to see some friends from my 2005 trip. Both couples were able to attend the business training week and will be able to set up small businesses of their own.

Sebastian, Ruth, me, Paul, Rose and their friend Linnet in the purple dress. Both guys stepped in to be great translators too.