The idea of our final week in Kenya ... was to visit Lucy and Andrew and have a rest after 4 weeks working in Nairobi for our block placement! But things don't always work out as planned and we were very quick to get involved where needed as you'll see from the following pics!! - we did have one day were we vegged completely so it wasn't all work, work, work!!!
We arrived early morning ... were taken to the weekly RUSH meeting straight from being picked up ... and then spent the afternoon taking the maize of the cob in the front garden!! - the maize is grown on the RUSH academy site and then used to feed the community throughout the year!! - Mark learned the technique of using another husk to get the maize off ... Jenny didn't ... and had sore thumbs the next day!!!
RUSH build houses for some of the women who have been widowed etc within the community and so we helped with this on Wednesday! - First the men prepare the mud (with the women bringing up water from the river!!) - spot Mark, knee deep squelching in the pit!!
Then the women carry the mud to the house and apply it to the walls by throwing with force!!! - there was already the wooden structure there with the basic layer of mud and a tin roof when we got there ... we were putting the outer layer of mud on all walls, inside and out! - there were about 25 RUSH men and women there helping with the building of this house! - they will have given up a days work and be provided with lunch!
Here is Mark ... having finished with preparing the mud ... before he went inside to throw mud at the high spots that the short women couldn't reach!!
Here is Jenny with Rosemary standing in the doorway of her new home! - as you can see on the left the final layer of mud has been applied but on the right it is still waiting to be finished!! - Rosemary lost her husband and 2 of her 3 children in an accident that left her slightly paralysed ... she is currently living in a house that could fall down at any moment ... and was SO excited to be having this new house! - it was a priviledge for us to be part of it!!
We also sampled the local transportation system ... buda buda's ... basically hopping on the seat on the back of a bicycle! On the local roads ... you certainly feel every bump ... and notice things like a double chin, you didn't know you had, wobbling too!! - sadly we have no photographic evidence ... we were concentrating too much just holding on!!!
We arrived early morning ... were taken to the weekly RUSH meeting straight from being picked up ... and then spent the afternoon taking the maize of the cob in the front garden!! - the maize is grown on the RUSH academy site and then used to feed the community throughout the year!! - Mark learned the technique of using another husk to get the maize off ... Jenny didn't ... and had sore thumbs the next day!!!
RUSH build houses for some of the women who have been widowed etc within the community and so we helped with this on Wednesday! - First the men prepare the mud (with the women bringing up water from the river!!) - spot Mark, knee deep squelching in the pit!!
Then the women carry the mud to the house and apply it to the walls by throwing with force!!! - there was already the wooden structure there with the basic layer of mud and a tin roof when we got there ... we were putting the outer layer of mud on all walls, inside and out! - there were about 25 RUSH men and women there helping with the building of this house! - they will have given up a days work and be provided with lunch!
Here is Mark ... having finished with preparing the mud ... before he went inside to throw mud at the high spots that the short women couldn't reach!!
Here is Jenny with Rosemary standing in the doorway of her new home! - as you can see on the left the final layer of mud has been applied but on the right it is still waiting to be finished!! - Rosemary lost her husband and 2 of her 3 children in an accident that left her slightly paralysed ... she is currently living in a house that could fall down at any moment ... and was SO excited to be having this new house! - it was a priviledge for us to be part of it!!
We also sampled the local transportation system ... buda buda's ... basically hopping on the seat on the back of a bicycle! On the local roads ... you certainly feel every bump ... and notice things like a double chin, you didn't know you had, wobbling too!! - sadly we have no photographic evidence ... we were concentrating too much just holding on!!!
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