Kristie to Kenya with HEAL

It has been a few days and I have begun settling in. As soon as I got home it seems I have just hit the ground running. I assume this is good because if I had more time I probably would have had a much more difficult time adjusting. Thankfully all my flights were on time and up until the last ten minutes of my flight into St. Luis everything was smooth. Those last ten minutes that had me thinking I was going to die, really had me wanting to be on solid ground with my mommy. After landing and seeing my mom and getting my luggage we headed home.

I have been pretty tired still and find I can’t stay awake past ten and wake up at five but that just takes time. There have been quit a few moments I have felt overwhelmed due to the drastic change of my life for two months to reentering my life here. The first dayish I think I was just in shock. I have looked at all my pictures and it seems unreal that it was only a few days ago I was there with all the girls love and smiling faces. It seems even more unreal that I am not sure when the next time will be that I get to see them, if I get to see them.

Other than the food, I am adjusting well while still processing all that happened and all that I came back to. I just want to thank you all for reading and supporting me while I was there. It means the world to me and to the girls because they knew so many people here were thinking about them… because of that they think Americans are the nicest people in the world. I really cannot thank you enough. Hopefully I will get the chance to write about Kenya again and the children of Rehema and hopefully you will follow.

Thank you and I hope you found some peace and love in all I had to share.

There really isn’t much to do during the day this week because there aren’t any agricultural projects going on and Ben has been gone most days working out the kinks in the purchasing of the new land. The girls are at school, so during the day I am bored which has left a lot of time to think about life when I get home and what happens next. It can be rather daunting. But then the girls get home and the fun begins. These last few nights with them are going to be difficult. I have kept most of my tears in but the few times I have cried it is because I am so sad to go and leave the girls but also because I want to go home. Its pretty weird to emit tears for both reasons at the same time. It is difficult to leave the girls but there is a time for everything and I can probably be of more good to this home back in America spreading the word and helping with fundraising. I know I will be back, but the girls will be older and a lot of them gone, having moved on to other things in life. So there are really a lot of mixed emotions that are flooding my heart on these last few days. I will keep you posted on how the good bye goes… I can tell you in advance there will be tears.

Random story:  We were interviewing Eunice for a educational video Jen is putting together, you can go to the HEAL website to get the link when they are finished, and she was chewing on something that she was getting for her hands. I thought it was a seed and she informed me it was a stone. I, confused, examined the rock and asked why she was eating a rock. Apparently a few of the girls eat a certain soft stone for minerals… genius. I assume they learned this from when they lived in poverty with their families. I couldn’t believe it and I couldn’t not share this story.

Have a great day!

So Friday was my 23 birthday. They have been a very blessed 23 years. I have a lot to be thankful for and being here can really open your eyes to all there is to be thankful for; I have a wonderful family, many opportunities as a female in America, a country that is free…. I know a statement that is debatable but after being here we really do live in the land of the free, a boyfriend who allows me to be an equal, and a fair chance at an education, among others. My past 2 birthdays I have been fortunate enough to be in Rome and LA, gaining experiences and memories to share for a lifetime. And on my 23 birthday I got to spend it trekking around East Africa… or what felt like walking around East Africa. We visited the second secondary school, because we couldn’t visit one and not the other, and it is about an hour uphill walk from the center. It is a beautiful school and the girls love when we talk to their classes. We answered questions like “Are you married?” and “Do you know Obama?”. Then we went on our way to visit Timothy’s, Ben’s son, school, which had to be over an hour from the first school, but a walk that was definitely worth the smile on his face when he saw us. By this time we were in Myrania, the small village about 25 minutes walking from Rehema. We got some things at the market and waited the usual hour for the matatu (bus which is more like a family van) and got harassed by a few drunk men, ya know all in a days work in Kenya. When we finally got back to the center we relaxed over an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” on Jen’s Itunes.

After that the girls got home and had Jen convince me to come to their room to surprise sing me happy birthday, of course I teared up. They are just so sweet and I think they were more excited for my birthday celebration on Saturday than I was. That night we experienced another black out while cooking dinner. Blackouts happen often. Internet is accessible… water and electricity, not so much. Needless to say, I have been able to add a unique experiences to my list of past birthday memories.

Saturday, we woke up to buy all the food for the party: rice, spinach, tomatoes, meat, cake, juice, bananas. Then I got really sick. I didn’t get to enjoy my party which made the girls sad. They enjoyed the meal but said it was boring because I couldn’t be there. They sang happy birthday to me and I got to watch them sing and dance for a little before I had to lay down from being sick. The girls took the best care of me. They got me a cold wash clothe and sat with me and talked. They have the kindest hearts. The next day I was feeling better… not great but better. I made it to church late just after they finished praying for me. One thing about Kenyan’s is that they have serious concern for people when they are sick which just shows their loyalty. I sat around with the girls all day doing what I could but at this point I wanted to save my energy because of traveling soon, and they were of course asking all day how I was.

So I woke up today feeling much much better. We bathed again and when I told the girls they cheered. They think we are goofy because we don’t bathe often. It was good to be able to smile and play with them today. I cannot believe we only have three full days here at the center. The girls are already sad about it. Jen is spending the rest of this week solidifying the land purchase and we are both just getting ready to travel and enjoying our last days with the girls. It is really difficult to think of leaving them but I am ready to return to figure out my post grad life and how I can include them in it and keep working for their cause here are Rehema in Kenya.

Thanks for reading!

Sorry it has been so long. Time really just flies by here. The weekend was fun. It has been raining A LOT. I wasn’t feeling so good on Saturday so I was just laying low. Good thing about having three of us here… there is always someone to entertain the girls so I didn’t feel so bad. Sunday was Eunice’s play. It was a disaster… but still a lot of fun. They never had actual time to rehearse and probably never will because they work so much, but they still  had a good time. It was also the Fourth of July. So we explained to them about our national holiday and Heidi distributed some patriotic gifts she brought along. They of course always love gifts.

On  Monday we visited one of the secondary (high) schools and the primary (elementary) school that the girls attend. The secondary had sent back our girls that day because Rehema was not caught up on school fees. We talked to the principle (who was quite arrogant) and convinced him to give an extension till the money, which was on its way, got here after a long conversation which I will not explain because it gets me pretty frustrated. At the second school the girls were so happy to see us. They took us to their classrooms and we spoke to the class. All the kids were laughing and following us out. I am pretty sure all our girls were celebrities the rest of the day because they had American white visitors.

Then we took a little two day trip to Nairobi to see Heidi off to Rwanda. We got a flat tire on the way there… which had happened to us only 3 days earlier as well. We stopped and met Ben’s parents too. Nairobi is a CRAZY city. The traffic is horrible… even worse than NYC and so are the drivers. City life and country life are like polar opposites. I really hope all the girls here do well on their exams to go to college because then they can go to a public university (which are in the city) and see that there are jobs available somewhere for them and that they can achieve their dreams. Those who score well get to go to public university and they are much better schools and much cheaper than the private ones, which none of them will likely be able to afford.

Nairobi was probably one of the most frustrating trips ever. Nothing ever happens here in a timely manner. We left very early in the morning and still never got anywhere till night, Nairobi is only 3 hours away. The hardest part about being here is the fact that you literally have no control over anything. When you leave, when you arrive, when or what you eat, when you wake up and go to bed, when you bath…. etc. Therefore, my patience has grown tremendously Heidi left us safely and I not only did I actually get to experience Nairobi (and a real shower!) but I also got a piece of much missed chocolate cake. It wasn’t very good but was satisfying.

It felt really good to get back to Rehema (which I found out means mercy in Swahili) and the girls. I really missed them and their warm greetings and laughter. It just feels so much more like home than Nairobi. Then it hit me… 10 days…. It is going to be really difficult to leave them, especially not knowing exactly when I am coming back.

Progress is being made with Jen and HEAL and buying land. Land will be bought by the time we leave which is awesome. Hope everyone had a happy and safe fourth and I look forward to keeping you updated this last week here and my feelings on when I get back.

Soooo today. We took Charity to the catholic dispensary to have a tooth pulled that is in the front of her mouth. The new tooth has come in but cannot move forward because of the old tooth. So we wanted to take her to get it pulled. Turns out she needed three pulled. This girl is a trooper. She was pretty mad at me because of the pain afterward but in the end she is really the happiest girl ever. She knew it needed to happen and is so proud. She is really just so happy. I however, almost passed out because of how big the needle was, the blood, the screams, and the teeth. Then we took her to get ice cream. It was the first time
she had it. She was basically glowing the rest of the day and showing all the other girls.

Then we spent the day all over the market. We got food and things we need. But I also noticed a girl Monicah that really needed school shoes the other day and Auntie Rose told me when I asked about it that she had cried the other day because the worn out shoes were all she had. Seriously, the top part was not attached to the bottom. So I bought her some brand new black leather shoes. She has probably never had new shoes. So when she got home from school I said I noticed she needed a new pair and presented them to her. She was so happy. Turns out, she found out today she is number one in her class. What a great day for her. She was so smiley and looked at me and just said, “God bless you.” Which made me tear up and she was showing her sisters and Auntie Anne.

Then I had Eunice’s play copied. She was so excited when I showed her. It is the first time one of her plays was printed! This weekends presentation of it will be so exciting. She is very happy because creative arts and expressing yourself in a creative way is not exactly promoted. When Jen was here last time and asked to read one of her stories she said no one had ever wanted to before.

Jen and I also got the trash cans for the rooms. They had to repeat. “Trash in”,and when it is full, “Empty into the pit.” lol

Heidi, the new American who leaves in a few days, got the girls a blowdryer. They were soooo excited because they all wish they could go to a salon but there just isn’t funds for it, so now they can do it at home as opposed to using a hot mug with coals.

It was a high energy fun day. From shoes, teeth, teaching lessons, giving lots of hugs, matatu rides to the hospital, to paying for field trips… I feel like a mom or sister to some absolutely amazing girls who I wish had a mommy to do all those things for them.
They make me feel like a ten year old. We run and play and laugh and dance. I feel so alive at this place and so blessed to be having such an amazing experience. There will be lots to tell over these remaining weeks. I am just feeling so happy right now with a bunch of mixed emotions with the time winding down.

Thanks for reading

The internet keeps getting worse, so sorry for the delay. It has been one month! It is crazy how fast time goes. Last Friday we got a new American visitor. Her name is Heidi and she is from Michigan and here at Rehema for two weeks. It is fun to have a new person and have new conversations. She has done a ton of traveling and work in international business and immigration patterns in different cities around the world. She is going to help Rehema with their business plan and budgeting.

On Saturday we went to the Ol’Kalau Disabled Childrens Home. We rented a matatu and took the 10 oldest girls. What an amazing place. It is a wonderfully taken care of facility. A very large donor from Italy donated all the money to build this place that services over 200 children with many different disabilities. They take children in and provide 4/5 of the money, the family pays 1/5, to complete their treatment and rehabilitation. Children come there and for the months of Feb and March, surgeons from Italy come and do corrective work on the physically disabled, mostly clubbed feet and leg/back abnormalities. Then they stay at the center till they recover. They go to school and physical therapy, they even have mentally disabled children.

They were so happy to see us. We got a tour of the facilities and said hello and visited the children throughout. The most amazing thing was the way the girls at Rehema reacted. They were picking up the children and holding them, meeting and greeting everyone and asking them questions about who they were and what they wanted to be… it was really touching. All the children there had so much joy in them. You could see it radiating from their faces. They finally found a safe home where they are accepted and helped to achieve their dreams regardless of their disability. Their motto is “disability is not inability”.

When we got back we had the girls write a one page paper in English about their experience. They were so touched and many want to go back and volunteer. It really was a great experience. Below are some pictures.

On Sunday after church we held the first Rehema Olympics. We had various activities and relays and man do these girls get competitive. Aside from a few negative attitudes, the girls had a great time and so did Jen and I. The last picture is of the winning team.

Today was a very interesting day. Jen and HEAL have decided to not buy the land they originally came to buy and use the money to expand here. So Ben is in the process of looking at the different options in the area. HEAL with Rehema will then go on to build a boys home and a school, eventually a nursery and a medical center. This partnership is going to do great things for the many children here that need help. It has been a great experience to be part of this expansion and helping rework the vision of these organizations together. HEAL will still go on to build their own home but will always have this connection with Rehema.

So, today Jen, Heidi, Tabby, and I sat down and did a needs assessment for Rehema. We picked apart basically everything that goes into running the place. All the food, toothpaste, notebooks, school fees…….EVERYTHING. We are now working together to create a profile for each girl here with an expense report to help promote sponsorship of the girls. With a little more organization this place could keep flourishing and they would have a better chance at getting all the money they need… and it will make things a lot easier for Ben and Tabby. We are also creating a budget for the money spent now, what is coming in and going out, and helping to budget for the needs of Rehema; a gate, fencing, a van, fixing the pump, more workers…. etc. Basically organizing all aspects of money and needs of the center and making spreadsheets. I believe this can do wonders for them and really take this place to the next level. It is also fun and very exciting to be a part of.

Tomorrow we will continue working and hopefully finishing the greenhouse.

I am really becoming connected to this center and the girls here and feel so blessed to be able to use my talents to help further this place in helping the girls here and many other Kenyan children in need in the future.

I think that is all for now.

I forgot to mention Ester gave me a kikuyu name…. Wambui. So it is Kristie Wambui Renee Scherrer

These past few days I feel like I am able to see a lot of our goals come to fruition. This is very exciting because things happen very, VERY, very slowly in Kenya. There is quite a difference in American time and Kenyan time.
We had a productive weekend and started our beautification initiative and began working on the pen pal letters. Yesterday, we went to town with Beatrice to the hospital. She is the one with HIV and we got to experience the way care is distributed here. Lets just say its not confidential… there are people everywhere. There is priority for school children, which is pretty awesome. She had to have a TB test because she has been coughing up blood and had to go today to get her levels tested. Since we have been here I have seen a tremendous increase in her health and spirit. The free ARVs are so important to her health. She has lived with HIV for 9 years which is pretty impressive considering she was so young and didn’t receive care for the first few years.

We get the privilege of spending quality time with the girls. The two aunties take care of them but we can tell when other things are wrong and notice differences in behavior patterns, especially when they go home to visit their siblings or grandparents. This is so important. I wish there were enough money to provide one more staff member and a counselor that could visit three times a week. A lot of these girls would really benefit from that. There is a counselor that is supposed to come every Saturday but she volunteers and usually disappears for a few weeks at a time. We have only seen her once.

Funny side note: We were studying with the girls (brushing up on my 8 grade math and chemistry) and a rat crawled across the floor and everyone freaked out. It was hilarious. The girls are taught in english and not all of their english is good enough to even go back and read their notes. All their exams are taken in english….you can see the problems with the system, especially when their tribal language is usually their first. So it feels good to get to sit down with them and explain things especially because most teachers here just rattle off notes and they just copy them

I have also been asked about my tribe in America…. I have explained that we have people of all shapes, colors, sizes, religions, and ethnicities, this takes a minute to sink in with them. It really is so different here. We were walking around with Ben looking at land that is for sale near the home and the future for Rehema and what HEAL and Rehema as partners could do, and he talked about how the electricity is new here and it used to be that if you were on the side of the people in power then you had electricity. Kenya gained independence in 1963, America in 1776. So Kenya has been independent 47 years, that’s like America in 1827, and in many, many ways that is how it feels here. Over the next few days many good things are going to happen in the plans for the future of Rehema and HEAL and I cannot wait to blog about them when they are complete and set in stone.
Back to our progress: We started planting tomato seedlings today and have some work to do, but will see the success in that project carry out till we leave. We are taking the girls to the Ol Kalou disabled home on Saturday and are renting a matatu (bus) and Sunday we are having the Rehema olympics and starting the beading income generating project. All of our plans are coming together and I will feel successful when I leave. It is difficult coming here because you wish you could change so much for so many people, but to be effective you have to narrow it down to things you can do that will make a difference to the girls now, while you’re here. So that is what we are doing. The tomatoes will help their diet, the games let them have fun, beautification and waste baskets will teach them about the environment, the disabled home will make an impact and place a new perspective, the letters give them something to look forward to and experience a new kind of connection, Eunice’s play will be fun and allow her to feel success in her hard work and creativity, and the good bye party will let them take a break from work and be the kids they are…. and just being here probably makes more of a difference than any of these things.
I can’t believe I am approaching only 3 weeks left. In some ways I had wished for it to get to this point because three weeks is easy to play with in my mind, but when it comes time to leave I will be sad and being home will be difficult when I think of my life here for the past two months. But I know from here I must continue to share the story of this place and keep the love going these girls have shown me and stay connected with them.
O, we have also picked up a new project: Charity is the only one who needs serious dental work. One of her baby teeth never came out so the adult tooth grew behind it, the baby tooth needs to be pulled and since she is 8 the adult tooth will probably move in….maybe my dental hygenist aunt has an educated opinion on that? It seems like it will cost about 20 dollars to fix and is really needed by this girl.
If you feel like you want to help in any of the things I have discussed at all or with any of the girls (it cost about 100 dollars a month to sponsor a girl which includes food, education, basic needs) you can still donate on my website or contact me through email. Here are some helpful websites

my email: kristie.scherrer@gmail.com

donations: kristietokenya.bbnow.org

HEAL: healthechildrenfoundation.org

Rehema: rehemacenter.com

It has been a while since I posted. Things have slowed down a bit. I am in a routine and feel very comfortable in my setting day to day. This weekend flew by as time seems to here. Saturday Jen and I created a beautification competition. We are trying to get them to respect the space they live in and the environment. It is difficult though, because they really have no concept of trash. Everything gets thrown on the ground. They have no disposal system here they just burn their trash if it makes it in the trash pit. So we had them pull weeds in the flower bed in front of the house and see who could collect the most trash around the grounds. This may not sound fun but these girls love competition so they really enjoyed it. As part of this sort of environmentally friendly initiative we are trying to teach and leave with them we getting waste baskets for all their rooms and have begun the composting process and continued work on the greenhouse.

On Sunday we had church. I am not a church person, but here it is fun because the girls love it. They basically sing and dance the entire time. They have a church on the grounds (by church I mean sheet mettle structure) so it really revolves around them and they love to pray. They are so inspiring. After church we worked on their return penpal letters for their penpals in America.

Today we fetched water for our baths which are few and far between lol. They have a pump but it was broken and is now being repaired and that costs money so it is happening  slowly. All the girls come home from school and fetch water to hand wash their school uniforms…. right down to the 7 year old. They also fetch water for their baths in the morning. They are such hard workers.

That is all for now. I am just really enjoying hanging out with the girls; helping them with their homework, bandaging boo boos, getting my hair braided, and giving lots of hugs and greetings.

I will write soon!

The pictures below are of the competition.

Minutes after my last post, Ben, the director here, delivered the bad news that we would not be able to attend the Celebration of the African Child because the money that was donated wouldn’t get to them fast enough. Michelle and Joel, a couple that continuously donates to Rehema and the reason they could build a permanent home here a year ago, donated 7,000 shillings so the girls could enjoy the day. However, Rehema is affiliated with a church called GOA. They give the center 30,000 shillings a month. However, none of the church community has ever visited the girls, they registered the land in their name behind Ben’s back, and they take 10% of the donations. Where this 10% goes…. we will never know. They also do not release the money to Ben for sometimes up to a month, likely because they have already spent it and need to come up with it again. This is only one example of corruption here in Kenya. Commonly people start churches and congregations just to make money off of the people. They live very comfortably off of the parishes donations. So it is sometimes difficult to believe these pastor’s when they are so devoutly praying. Another common trend popping up is starting children’s homes to take advantage of donations. I feel very blessed to have found a place that can be trusted to visit where I can fulfill my goal of being here in Kenya without questioning the moral of the people running it.

The girls really deserved this day and the money is on its way so Jen and I decided to front it. Everyone was excited. We all rode in a matatu (bus) to the town and the girls sang the whole way. There were 10 groups there in total. There was music and dancing. Each group got to perform for everyone. Then they had a great lunch, and despite the pouring rain that came half way through the day, we all had a wonderful time. However, during lunch a member of the government stood in front of everyone and talked about the success and progress being made in the name of the African Child and all the ways the government is helping the African child. He forgot to mention that all the money this department gets never reaches the children. Members of this department lie about programs for children to get more money and then pocket it. The system here is so frustrating. It is such a vicious cycle. Once people here experience power and money they change. It is continuously repeated and is a cycle that seems never ending.

With that aside, we headed back to the center to have a party. The girls had a nutritious meal of nunus (ramen noodles), spinach, meat, bread with butter and jam, and juice. Then we had a seriously awesome/intense dance party. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN. Everyone was dancing and showing off their moves. Charity, I have included a picture of her before, who is 8, fell asleep in my arms. I am pretty sure that is the first time she has been held since she was born. When she woke up she had fun mimicking my every dance move…. we looked pretty cool.

I also find frustration in a lot of the girls stories. Most of their trauma has been caused by men in their families. Beatrice was raped by her uncle when she was 9 and contracted HIV. Rachel, who is so beautiful and wants to go to college in Georgia, was beaten by her step dad her entire life. Margaret was a victim of incest for so long that by the time she got to the center she thought it was a normal thing… part of life. Did anything happen to these perpetrators….. NO. It is so difficult for women to rise above here. It is difficult to hear their stories and know that someone could do these things to these girls and then to think they are still walking around free as a bird.

All of these frustrations disappear when I am with the girls just hanging out, throwing a frisbee, kicking a soccer ball, helping them with their homework, or just giggling at each other because we can’t communicate without someone translating (Sarah the 7 year old only says yes to me). They are so wonderful and although I may not be able to change their government or fix all the corruption or give them all the money they need…. hello unemployment lol…. being here really makes a difference to them, and that’s what I came to do. Show them someone loves them and there are not just bad people in this world.

Jen and I have planned out the rest of our time here. Saturday we may be experiencing our first Kenyan funeral for a pastor friend of Ben and Tabby’s. Sunday we are having the Rehema Olympics. Next Saturday, Jen and I are going to take the older girls on a field trip. At the celebration yesterday the Ol Kalou Disabled Children’s Home was there. We are going to go visit them by renting a matatu. It will cost us about $20 and then whatever we take to the center. Their motto is “we may be disabled but we are not in-able”. Their performance literally brought me to tears. There are many great things coming up and Jen and I have begun working on the greenhouse and are going to teach them about composting tomorrow. I will have plenty to write about!

-Kristie