Orphanage 1

As I type this I have 8 little faces watching me pushing as close to me as possible to see what I am doing! I am at Ian's orphanage where he has about 140 children, many of whom are HIV+, disabled physically and mentally and many with cerebral palsy as well as other lovely children. It is a very poor orphanage and and facilities aren't that wonderful but am having a busy and wonderful time. Please see photos for more idea of what it is like. Just took 19 girls out for a 2 hour walk - on very rough roads and all uphill but they had a wonderful time and one of them has a prosthesis as she had part of her leg amputated when she was 5 because of a snake bite - she is now about 18. Little children are looking over my shoulder as I do this!
Enjoy the pics.

Crazy chaos as I try to get a matatu

chaos only gets worse when you start driving!

This is what I travelled 3 hours in to get where I was going!

 

Emanuel - before the Occupational Therapist came in January this year, this gorgeous little boy couldn't move or hold his head up. He loves me and wants me to pick him up every time I see him - yes of course I do!

This is Charity, she was raised by Baboons until she was 6 - she is now 10 - still trying to train her in many things but she is slowly getting there. Has some mental disabilities as well.

This is gorgeous Joseph who laughs every time I say hello - and speaks in a language I can't understand. The happiest boy I have ever seen.

Joseph - ex street kids and day guard - and a great help to Ian. Soon to be a dad.

The oven they bake all their bread rolls in

Grace - the other children have no worries pushing these diabled children in their wheelchairs wherever they need to go.

These are the classrooms - I think they look like old stables - but by having the primary school here the children who are disabled can go to school

Another classroom - Year 8

My sleeping companion who is to keep the rats out of my room! But I am allergic to him and besides, he wakes me very early in the morning so I will have to pray the rats still think he is there!

Baby elephant

Just a couple of pics before I go off to the orphanages.

Napoki - she kept putting her trunk around her keepers neck to bring him closer to her. His bed where he sleeps with her is behind him. Don't you just  love her little jacket

She sucks her keepers fingers like a dummy

Yes she has a mattress and blanket to sleep - this was soooo cute - she wakes every 3 hours at night and wakes her keeper with her trunk to be fed 

Loved this sign - no hooting!

Peter and Florence - you can see he is very happy to be back in school now we were able to pay his outstanding school fees

The "salon" area that Florence will use for her new salon. Not much by our standards but wonderful to her. Now she can start a new life she so badly needs.

Dresses

Am happy with the outfits I had made here - although they do like to make them "fit" around the butt area - the guys thought they looked great on me LOL

Love this, although it wasn't the fabric I chose I don't think but what can you do! Will have to do a few adjustments to the skirt!

More photos to enjoy - Many of the traditional Maasai Village

Here are a few more ...

Sunrise at our camp

Tents we stayed in at Masai Mara - where the Zebra and Wildebeest were grazing in herds around them at night - you could hear them galloping around and eating and calling to each other

A common but beautiful lizard

Have no idea what this one is supposed to be - any ideas?

The animals I would walk around and near on my morning walks - wildebeest and zebra

Overlooking the Masai Mara and the wildebeest herds

Going for our walk

 

Julius Maasai Warrier overlooking the Mara

Jackson - my new Maasai friend - he is 29 and has a 16 year old wife with a 8 month old baby - and has been married for 3 years!!!

I have the talking stick so you gotta listen

Maasai Village we visited

Didn't have a choice, had to dance with the men! A girl can't refuse a Warrier!

The dance!

Inside the house sitting on the bed which is just cowhides and a bit of straw - don't think that would make for a good night's sleep!

The manyata where the cows come in through the houses to be put into the corale in the centre of the village for protection

They weren't made for tall people!

The entrance to the Manyata

The fence to keep the cattle in - note the mud and sure had a certain "aroma"

The women dressing me up to dance with them

Typical house - notice there are no windows - was black inside, couldn't go in to start with - too claustrophobic, but eventually went in and had a look around - changed my mind about become a White Maasai and living in their houses - think I would at least need one that has windows and the calves not live in the room just inside the front door

Who said I can't herd sheep

Maasai Woman and her baby

A beautiful Maasai woman

Yes they can jump

Went to a baby elephant orphanage where they look after orphaned elephants, quite often from poaching - they have to be with them 24x7 - they have someone sleep with them every night. They need 24hour care for 10 years!

Now that's a baby's bottle

Water buck

Part of the group on the steps of a castle

Giraffe sanctuary - they are breeding the Rothchild giraffes as there were only 150 left - now there are 700 - they release the babies back into the wild when they are old enough

Ooh come on - I want more food

Lunch time snooze - were long trips on the roads

Aren't the babies cute?

The daddy of the wart hogs. Look at those tusks and those "warts"

One of the many beautiful weavers (I think it is!) - the colours and number of different birds here is amazing

Family tree?

How to bring your mattress and chairs home with you

Male ostrich - I was amazed at how pink and HUGE his legs were

Zebra and Pelicans on the sulphur lakes

Wildebeest - they were there in the 1,000's - amazing sight to see

Waterbuck with pelicans in the background

Handing out left over lunches and food to the children along the way - adds a whole new meaning to throwing your food away - we quite often just threw it to them as we drove along

Sugar cane truck

Typical road - it took us 3 1/2 hours to come 80 km on the way home Wednesday!

And when you thought they couldn't get any worse, they do!

The group and our driver Peter - had a wonderful time and all got on really well