The “New Nuts” First Impressions of Kenya

Written By: Amy Rawlinson & Harrison Blizzard-Nutrition Team 2011

After a long flight to Kenya we arrived in Nairobi. The first day we went to purchase some African fabric for Kaylynne and Christina’s Apron project. Harrison was a little overwhelmed with the amount of colors to choose from, later that day we visited a bead factory and again Harrison was overwhelmed by the selection and girlyness of the day. The next day we travelled to Meru, where we will be staying for the duration of our project and met Jennifer Murogocho, our fill in Kenyan mother for the summer. It was a great week to spend with her and we learnt a lot about the Kenyan culture, such as making chapatis and how not to burn your fingers on the chapatti skillet. We also got to look at the agriculture practices in Kenya and we were very excited to see the amount of maize and beans grown together to help fix the soil with nitrogen. The maize is nothing like the sweetcorn that we eat in Canada, it tastes like nothing, it is very starchy. Kaylynne and Christina were ecstatic when they saw some coffee trees and unsuccessfully attempted to dry and roast the beans they picked, but they made a good effort:)
We travelled to Sweetwaters lodge, located in Ol Pejeta Conservatory, the following weekend. This was a nice break before we started our community work. We saw many new animals including four of the “Big Five”. Our closest encounter with wildlife was when our guide was swarmed with African wasps, resulting in four stings, consequently we came out unscathed but had to walk back through a black rhinoceroses latrine. Overall the Sweetwaters experience was a great one as we got to witness amazing Kenyan sceneries and many majestic animals.
On our return from Sweetwaters we arrived at St. Tereas, our home to be for the next few months. The sisters warmly welcomed us with a traditional Kenyan dinner, song, and dance, which included an accompaniment by the Great Canadian Soda Flutist, Harrison. The highlight of the evening was the “cutting of the cake” ceremony. We are now settled into our new home and are looking forward to meeting the staff of St. Teresa’s and working in the communities of Muchui and Ruuju.