Kenya - Slums to Paradise!

From one extreme to another!

From the slums of Kibera….

…to the paradise of a 5 star resort on the Indian Ocean!

It really has been a diverse couple of weeks but a couple of weeks that we‘ve thoroughly enjoyed.

Having completed our month volunteering at the Orphanage we spent the last couple of days in Ngong visiting some of the other aide programs in the area. This included a day at a women’s HIV centre which has been established to educate, support and provide a future for women with HIV.

We also joined the founders of an organisation called Unity for Parity which provides food and assistance to those sheltering in KiberaSlums. Our day at Kibera Slums was a big eye opener. It is the 2^nd biggest slum in the world and consists of an area spread over 2.5km with close to 2.5m people. Homes are made from tin shelters, mud, garbage or whatever other materials they can get their hands on to provide a roof over their heads. Even after having been in Kenya for over a month now, seeing some pretty shocking sites throughout this time, the enormity and desperation within this place still knocked us around a little! 

 Typical Kibera...slums on one side, garbage on the other...not a pretty sight!

While providing food to some of the residents, they openly shared their struggles. The most interesting of these was a character named Sebastian. He was in his mid 70’s and has lived in the slums all his life. No electricity, no T.V, no comforts, just a 3m x 3m mud shack with a little bed in the corner! Quality of life obviously has little meaning but somehow he continues to survive and continues to smile!

 The effervescent Sebastian enjoying our visit!

 We also learnt the importance of avoiding flying brown paper bags! With no sanitation to speak of, and the smell being horrific as a result, apparently it is common that ‘waste’ is simply deposited into a brown paper bag and launched in any direction. Fortunately we escaped without being hit by one of these little flying missiles!

We also visited a couple of the children’s schools in the area which have been set up to provide an education to those who wouldn’t be able to afford schooling otherwise. 

The kids at JPK Children's School in typical jovial spirits!

The highlight was spending an afternoon with one of our running friends Julius Kimtai (Commonwealth Games and international marathoner) who proudly invited us into his home for a chai (Kenyan cup of tea). He introduced us to his family and showed us around the school that he had built over here called Mary Hill School (named after a school that he ran past every morning during his many years living and competing in the UK). 

 

Mary Hill School children look a little shocked to see a couple of white folks!

We were also fortunate to be invited for dinner to one of our maasai friends Tony. We’ve constantly been overwhelmed with how welcoming and friendly these people have been to us.   

The last couple of weeks with our Kenyan running group has also been incredible. Apart from the intense training regime that they have put us through (Shane has struggled constantly complaining of soreness, hip one day, calf the next…old age has kicked in!!), we’ve enjoyed the camaraderie and passion with which they approach each session.

They are a great group of people these athletes and we look forward to running with them again in the future.

A friendly running group...not sure if we stand out at all!!

The highlight socially was enjoying an after run chai one morning in the home of Sally Barsosio, a superstar over here who among her many accomplishments on the international stage finished 4^th in the 10,000m at both Sydney and Athens Olympic games.

A rare sight...Shane striding out without breaking down injured!

We then set off toward the Indian Ocean for 5 days of R&R in a small beach town called Malindi. Unbeknown to us, the area was inhabited by a large Italian community. Here we did very little but put the feet up and enjoy the comforts of the pool and the resort that we were staying in. We did spend a day on a boat snorkelling in what was some incredible underwater marine life. The marine life from what we’ve seen was rated 3^rd only to probably the Great Barrier Reef and Red Sea off the coast of Egypt for variety of fish and coral. Beautiful location and great day out.

The beauty of the beaches of Malindi

 

From here we’re back to Nairobi to meet Shane’s sister, throw the backpacks on and commence our voyage through Africa. It starts with 6 day safari before heading down to Tanzania for the Mt Kilimanjaro half marathon on the 3^rd March followed by an epic climb of the biggest mountain in Africa…can’t wait!!

Kenya - the local experience

The last couple of weeks have been full of astonishing encounters.

This attractive looking buffalo was the 1st of the big five spotted in the wild

We've settled comfortably into our newly adopted Kenyan lifestyle, with time spent at the orphanage, continued exploration of the breathtaking surroundings and commenced running daily with the Kenyans..they really are freaks of athletes!!

4th February was D-day for the orphanage that we are working at. This was the date of the inspection by child government officers to become an officially registered children's home which ultimately went extremely well. This deadline provided a great incentive to complete various projects. Shane kept his carpentry skills up to date by building a shelf in the boys’ room so that they could put their clothes away. We also continued with gardening and assisting with the daily chores, spent quality time with the kids and made sure to learn all their names (still struggling with this!!). Football is the main topic of conversation between Shane and the boys even though they all support Manchester Utd (Shane is an Arsenal fan), whilst the younger girls are constantly all over Aurelie trying to braid her hair. We think that we'll be satisfied leaving knowing that we've made some sort of impression on Faraja childrens home.

Little Kefa is definitely one of Shane's favourites at the Orphanage 

Our explorations have also continued. A trip to Lake Navaisha for a couple of days was a big highlight.The trip included an early morning boat safari which provided some close encounters with a number of hippos and Naivasha's wide variety of birdlife. It also took us to Crescent Island, a private game sanctuary, where we got up close and personal to zebras, wildebeests, buffalos, gazelles, antelopes, waterbuck and giraffes in their natural environment.

 A couple of hippos shying away from the attention

From here, we rented a couple of bikes and made our way to Hells Gate National Park (setting for The Lion King movie). Our 20km bike ride took us past flocks of zebras, gazelles, warthogs, and baboons. 

 

A flock of Zebras stirred up by our presence 

A young Massai guide also took us on a spectacular gorge walk and introduced us to the Massai culture. We were told that Hell's Gate National park not too long ago attracted the attention of US Movie Makers. Parts of the movie "Tomb Raider II" staring Angelina Jolie were shot here. When we asked this local chap if he met Angelina, he said yes, but he was young and all he remembered was that she had big 'lips'...funny man!

A little ray of sunlight lit up this pretty impressive Gorge

A climb up Mount Longonot was next. A dormant volcano located southeast of Lake Naivasha. The 3.5km climb to the craters rim was challenging but beautiful. From there we hiked the 7.5km around the crater which provided spectacular views of the surrounding plains of the Great Rift Valley. Inside the crater (diameter 1.6 km) was an impenetrable forest, unfortunately no lava bubbling below in this volcano!

Aurelie standing proudly on the upper rim of the Volcano at in excess of 2700m

Being based in Ngong, we were due for a hike up the well renowned Ngong Hills. Although the Ngong Hills are made of four peaks, we could only make it to the second one for security reasons. Many hikers have reported being robbed or mugged on the southern hills over the last few years. However the views all round were magnificent, making the effort (and concern) worthwhile.

We also spent a day exploring Maasai Land, which included 5.15am start and a 9 1/2 hour hike to the summit of a mountain immersed at the heart of the savanna. Tony, our local Maasai guide, took us through an unbeaten path, past wandering cattle, concerned goats and distant giraffes. We also said hello to Maasai locals and visited an isolated Maasai school. The kids appeared to be both exited and scared to see ‘mzungus - white people. The hike to the top was very rewarding and offered a breathtaking 360 degree view of the surrounding mounts and hills.

 

Shane, Ben, Aurelie and Tony soaking up 360 degree views across the savana

The way back turned out to be tough! The sun was now at its highest, and with our water bottles empty and throbbing feet from the hike across uneven surface, the finish of this adventure could not come quick enough!

We've also fortunately discovered that Ngong is the training home to a number of Kenya’s top distance runners, including marathon world record holder Patrick Makau. Seemingly, Ngong is very good for training because it offers the advantage of both high altitude training around Ngong, and lower altitude training down into Maasai land which allows higher quality speed work.

One of the highlights of Aurelie’s Kenyan experience thus far has been her now daily training sessions with a group of Olympic, international and developing Kenyan athletes.
 

 Aurelie mixing it with Kenyan's elite distance runners on an early morning run

Aurelie had a restless sleep the night before her first early morning training session which was meant to be a 10km 'cruise' that turned into 18km of torture! However, she's now adapted to the altitude here (approx 2,000m) and looks forward to kicking off the day trying to keep up with the Kenyans as they traverse across the rocky, red clay, dirt tracks. Rio 2016...lookout!!

Our orphanage campaign concludes this week and our travels re-commence. Malindi (beach town on the Indian Ocean), Maasai Mara safari and the arrival of Shane's sister await over the next couple of weeks.
 

Exciting times continue!