Hilarious to heartbreaking

I have to say, I found the recent visit to the camp- hilarious, exciting, touching and also heartbreaking. Let me tell you why…

It was hilarious because apparently my recent ‘expansion’ was a topic of discussion amongst the women. Irene and I had just arrived at camp and we were walking along the path on our way to visit the building sites when we came across a group of women at the water station. I recognized a couple of their faces and waved as we walked by. All of a sudden Irene burst out laughing. I asked her what was so funny and she told me that the women were talking about me. Intrigued, I asked her what they were saying. She said “They are wondering what you have been eating because you are expanding!” hahaha! I was shocked, amused and horrified all at once! Ok, I may have put on a little weight lately but I did not think my chapatti belly was that noticeable. No, well, apparently it is! : )

Ok, so the next experience was exciting! Exciting because once I arrived at the building site I saw a house beginning to take shape! A house! Last weekend only the foundation has been completed but this visit I could see seven layers of blocks piled on top of one another and also the outline of a door and two windows! It was a beautiful sight, believe me! Thanks to this project and all of you incredible donors, IDP families will be moving into safe and sturdy stone houses! How exciting!

It was also an extremely touching day for a combination of reasons. Firstly, because Thom and Yuka, two gorgeous GVN volunteers, came along for the day to distribute funds they had raised with the help of their friends and family. Thom and Yuka are on their honeymoon and traveling the world assisting communities by volunteering. They expressed to me a desire to help where help was urgently needed. I said “Pipeline IDP Camp. They do not have food.”
We purchased sacks of maize and had it delivered to the camp and it was amazing to witness how a food distribution takes place. Women are only allowed to collect the food unless you are a man on your own. The community gathered on the filed in front of the camp and before they divided into the districts to do the distribution, they sang a gospel song thanking us for the food. It was so beautiful, so touching. There was joy and energy in the singing despite the fact that many of them had not eaten for many days. I am continually amazed by this community. It really was one of those moments that touched my heart and left an imprint, I don’t think I will ever be the same.

And then I met James and it was heartbreaking. James was on the field collecting his portion of flour when he stopped to talk to me. I am guessing he is in his sixties or seventies. He told me he sleeps outside. He told me that people tried to kill him during the violence. He told me he is old and does not know what to do. And then he lifted his shirt and I saw the scars all over his chest and arms. He said it was from the arrows. “People tried to kill me but I got away” he said. It was heart breaking.

After talking to James I realized that there are so many traumatized people at the camp who have been through horrendous experiences but not received any type of counseling or emotional support. People are suffering so much. I am hoping the next group of volunteers can work on getting some social workers to visit the camp and start some counseling groups to begin the healing process.

I am heading to camp today and I will update you tomorrow. It will be my final visit before I head back to New Zealand. There could be tears but I will try be strong.

Finally, I would like to say an extra big thank you to Thom and Yuka and all of your family and friends for your generous donation and especially for sponsoring a family through the Rebuilding Lives project. Nine out of the first ten houses have now been sponsored. Yippee!

DAY 4

Sunday is usually a day of rest but not for the Rebuilding Lives Team! We were back at camp early this morning and volunteers at both sites were already busy at work. We have started building in two areas of the camp which are called Pipeline One and Pipeline Two. At Pipeline One we were meant to start with Plot One, which is the house I have sponsored with my buddies back in New Zealand, but because the plot is next to a set of pit latrines it is on hold because we need a health inspector to approve the construction first. She is due to visit on Monday so hopefully building will commence this week. So we started with the next plot in line which is the family Sarah and Ben and their friends back in Australia are sponsoring. At one point today I noticed a woman in a lovely dress hard at work and shoveling cement - it was Jecinta, the beneficiary of the house. It was a special moment for me and I was so happy that she was getting involved and joining in. The cement mixing is another job done manually, there are no machines. Everyone is working very hard…
At Pipeline Two we were able to start with the first plot and it is actually the family that Nikki is sponsoring so she was actually able to meet them! We took photos of Nikki and Mary and a couple of her kids. Two of the children were at church which is held in the tents that are also used for the school and adult English classes. I think because it was Sunday the camp had a very relaxed and happy feel about it despite the hardships everyone is facing.
All of the workers at the building sites are volunteers from the camp and they are working incredibly hard despite their lack of food so we organised lunch consisting of ugali and skuma to be cooked for them. Mary cooked for the team at her site which was great to see and demonstrated how appreciative the community is and how well they work together.
Once the trenches were built, a layer of cement poured in, and the first blocks in place, everyone called it a day to allow the cement to dry. The volunteers would be back at it again early tomorrow.
I am so happy to see the project in action finally. There have been a few bumps along the way and the first build has been slow but now we have the design and formula in place the next build should run a lot smoother. Well, in theory : )
Irene and I are planning to head back to the camp on Thursday to see the progress and also take a couple of volunteers for a visit. More to come soon!

Thank you again to everyone who has supported this project, together we really are making a difference and helping rebuild a community.

Hugs,
Lauren

DAY 3

Today we were up early again and at the camp by 8.30. We headed straight to the building site and could see that the team had already started to measure and mark the ground. Irene and I put on our gumboots and were ready to start digging but we soon realized that we were going to have to wait. A number of men had gathered around and were in deep discussions about how to go about building this house! Everyone needed to have their say. So we pulled up a stone block and waited and watched the scene unravel. Finally after some time Moses came over to us and simply said “they have agreed!” and we could continue. Irene and I jumped in and did some digging for the foundation but we were kind of slow and in the way and getting laughed at so we stepped aside and let the boys take over. It was awesome to watch them in action and interesting to. Similar to what we witnessed at the quarry, everything is being done manually even the measuring. One of the tools they were using is called a ‘Kabiru’ and it looks like a pendulum. It is used to ensure the building will be straight. You need to have a very good eye and steady hand for this job!
And so the digging of the trenches continued all day and we could see two small rooms taking shape…
Meanwhile, Irene was told that one of the kids at the camp had been bleeding consistently during the night and so she took him to a hospital in Nakuru to be checked out. Nik, Kath and I stayed at camp. Wangari, one of the elders and committee members hosted us in her tent and cooked us a delicious meal of mukimo and cabbage. Mukimo is a traditional Kenyan dish that consists of potatoes, beans, peas and maize that gets all mashed up together. It was yum!
In the afternoon we all wandered around the camp chatting to people, and Bryan, a GVN volunteer joined us and I got a chance to hear about what projects he is working on and how camp life is. From what he said it sounds like people are getting more desperate and food is very scarce. While we were there we saw two well-wisher groups bring food. The first one was from a local guy who pulled up in his car and gave out pieces of bread to the kids. It started out pretty organsied with the kids in lines but it soon turned chaotic as people started grabbing for the food. It was difficult to watch.
A little bit later another group arrived in cars and trucks. I found out that is was the second President of Kenya’s son, Gideon Moi. He delivered a speech and donated sacks of corn flour. The community were so happy and thankful for the food that would ge them through another day. He promised to come back again this week.
At about 6pm we called it a day and headed back to a nearby hotel for dinner and a much needed shower. We would head back to the camp in the morning to check the site and meet with Paul and Moses.
I have an exciting story to tell you about meeting famous marathon runner Samuel Wanjiro who won first place at the world marathon in Beijing and broke the record… but that will have to wait! Gotta fly…

Hugs,
Lauren

DAY 2

Today started out nervous. Chairmen had an 8am meeting with the district Commissioner who held the future of the Rebuilding Lives project in the palm of his hands! Irene., Nikki, Kathy and I met for an early breakfast then we headed into town to meet the boys. We arrived to good news. The DC had confirmed that each family would be receiving 20 iron sheets! This means we could use stone blocks! He also wanted to meet us to learn more about the projects we are introducing at Pipeline and requested that we all come back into town and see him at 3pm.
This was all the information we needed to launch into action! We all boarded the van and headed back to camp to make plans. On the way we stopped at the supermarket to pick up some supplies and Nik and Kath decided to load up on pencils and books for the school. I think after meeting the teachers and students yesterday and seeing their commitment and determination to learn they had been quite inspired to assist. The resources they bought were greatly appreciated. Thanks ladies!
Moses met us on arrival, we were all so relieved to see he was feeling better today. The` good news we also brought with us was great medicine. Everyone was excited to start the project.
Then Bo, the malaria prevention guru, turned up with his mate Gamme and we did introductions. We were a little pressed for time` so Samuel gave` them a camp tour while we continued with our building plans. A number of the camp tradesmen came to assist with the calculations for building materials and design. We were ready!
We met with Bo after his tour and he gave us a run down of his ideas on how the community can best prevent malaria given the living conditions. He says treated nets and spray will be the most effective and economical. We will keep working on this one.
The team jumped back in the van and were on our way. First stop – the quarry! We drove into beautiful Kenyan country side for about half an hour until we reached the site. It was a scorching hot day and we men and women were working hard cutting the stones from the earth. It was amazing. Back in Australia we have huge machines to do this work for us but here it is all done by hand using hammers and chisels. We ordered our blocks and then headed off to the nearby hardware store to order the cement. It felt so good to finally be underway!
We arrived back at the camp and headed to the Chairman’s house for tea and bread. I had been badgering him for weeks that I wanted to see his new little baby Bryan so I finally got to see him and have cuddles. Well, it did not go very well actually. When Irene was holding him he was happy and quiet as a mouse but as soon as she handed him over to me he screamed! They said it was because I was the first mzungu to hold him but I swear Irene pinched him, hehe! Oh but he was sooooo cute!
After our tea we all jumped back in the van and headed off to our meeting with the DC. It went fantastic and he was happy for us to all work together. Moses and Paul only told me afterwards that they were very worried and nervous that he would put hold on the whole building project. But he was positive and friendly. He just requested that we officially write to the municipal and health and sanitation informing them of our plans and keep everyone in the loop.
We all left the meeting elated and super excited!
Chaiman Paul said “Today is our day”
Secretary Moses said “Today is our first day of freedom”
On the way back to the camp we all had a celebratory soda and toasted the Rebuilding Lives Project.
When we drove into the camp the truck had just arrived with the cement and blocks. As they were being unloaded the community all gathered around. Chairmen said “People are so happy to see the blocks. They represent hope.”

Tomorrow we start building and rebuilding lives!

Lauren xo

DAY 1

Today was tough and it did not go as planned. When we arrived at the camp there were journalists there from Kenya’s two leading newspapers interviewing community members. The camp is in crisis. People are starving and desperate stories about families who have not eaten for days are starting to emerge. One of the stories includes one of our families who are waiting to be sponsored for a house. Living in a small structure made out of tarpaulins is a 70 year old grandmother and her two orphaned granddaughters who have new born babies. Baby Samantha is 2 months old, baby Michelle in only one week old. Irene immediately offered to go shopping and buy them a weeks supply of food so we headed into Nakuru and visited the market. We also heard about another family that had not eaten for three days, a woman taking care of orphan boys, so we distributed food to them too. It was an emotional time.
Moses, Camp Chairmen, was also not feeling well and he looked terrible so Irene sent him to the hospital to be checked out. We heard late last night that he has malaria. Sigh…
We will go check on him today.
Walking around the camp I noticed a number of tents had collapsed. The volunteers told me that a huge dust storm had ripped through the camp this week and destroyed many of them...
Ok, so it was quite a day before we even got to discussing the building project! But in good news we have heard that the iron sheets that the government promised the IDP’s are in a shed in Nakuru! Chairmen Paul has a meeting with the District Commissioner at 8am this morning so we are hoping to have an exact delivery date. This is exciting because it means that if the sheets are supplied we will have enough sponsorship money to purchase the cement blocks for the houses as opposed to purchasing the iron sheets which would be amazing. Let us pray!

Also, Bo did not make it yesterday as he had a few dramas on the way…. One of them being that some guy ripped the blinker off his car while he was waiting at traffic lights and Bo got out and chased him! Far out! But he will visit the camp today.

Ahhh, I am hoping for a good day today.. I will update you when I can.

With love,
Lauren

On the road with the team!

Hi everyone!
Good news, Nikki and Kathy from Australia have arrived safe and sound and we are preparing to hit the road and head for Pipeline camp with Irene (VICDA Director and Project Manager) this morning. We are all very excited! Plus we have a few more additions to the team. Chris, a GVN volunteer who has been in Kenya for 5 months will be traveling with us and he is planning to volunteer at Pipeline IDP Camp for the next month. Chris will be joining two other volunteers, Bryan and Scott, who are already at the camp. From what I hear, the boys have been doing lots of work with the community and assisting Moses (Camp Secretary) and Paul (Camp Chairmen) – teaching them computer skills and sending emails to NGO’s requesting assistance. Awesome work guys!

Plus I also met an interesting fellow at my local coffee house this week, Bo from Texas! Bo is passionate about saving children from deadly malaria and has developed a solar powered mosquito control system called Zuba Mist which can be installed around villages, schools and is environmentally safe. Malaria is a growing problem at the IDP camps so I am keen to see if Bo thinks his system is something that could be potentially installed at the camp. We are happy to have him onboard and I just love bringing visitors to the camp too.

There have been a few interesting developments over the last couple of weeks that had the potential to change our building design. The Kenya Government has promised the IDP’s at Pipeline 23 iron sheets per family to assist them build houses. These sheets were donated by China. If this delivery goes ahead it would be fantastic for our project and the community as it would mean we could afford to use cement blocks, however it has been difficult to obtain a delivery date. It could be days, weeks, months! We had a meeting with the community and they have requested that we go ahead as planned. So we will stick with building houses made of iron sheets until the situation changes. The community have decided to go with iron sheet walls rather than the mud.

Ok, so I will try send daily updates from the camp. We are planning to spend today preparing and ordering materials and Friday and Saturday building. We are aiming to build four houses. I daresay we will face many challenges but its all part of the fun and adventure!

Thank you so much everyone for all the support and encouragement and especially the first group pf sponsors – Paul Fletcher, Paul Ridley, Hamish Roberts, Sarah McNamara, Ben Seidel and their family and friends, and Nikki Best!

Stay tuned!

Lauren xo