Kenya -- January 31, 2011

This was the day that Jennifer, a long-time GUW supporter and St. John's parishioner, was to meet Joseph, the Masai boy that her family has been sponsoring for years. He has spina bifuda and has also had portions of both legs amputated, necessitating a wheel chair which is difficult to manuever in his environment. Everyone was excited since we've heard a lot about Joseph; the group was almost as eager to meet him as Jennifer.

Jennifer had brought a number of well-planned, thoughtful, gifts for Joseph and his mom.


One of the gifts was a soccer ball which he immediately used, finding volunteers willing to play with him.


After all the excitement and fun, there was work to be done. Volunteers Cammie, a physical therapist, and Allison, a nurse practitioner, met with mom, Grace, and Mary to obtain as much history on Joseph's medical condition as they could. Then the group talked to and examined Joseph. Shriner's Hospital in the Twin Cities has indicated a willingness to provide prosthesis if that would work; this visit was an attempt to gather enough information to determine if that is possible. Further discussion and analysis will be necessary before a decision can be made.

While that was going on, I enjoyed watching the kitten play. The kitten enjoyed the tuna I had brought along for my food but not eaten all of it. I don't think he'd ever had anything that tasted so good!













Several of us also went giraffe hunting. Giraffes are common in the areas near the farm. Having seen some long necks in the distance, we headed out to see if we could get closer. While my camera didn't have a long enough lens to get a great picture, I was at least able to document that I saw them.

The terrain through which we walked was filled with spiky bushes; one walked carefully.











With Joseph's medical exam completed, half the group returned to Nairobi in order to begin shopping for the craft items we would take back with us. The other part of the group returned Joseph to his home after first visiting his school. These visits also provided more information about his life and how it could be improved, with or without prosthesis. Because I had heard so much about Joseph over the years, I wanted to remain with him.

Seeing the school, Osupuko Primary School, was an eye opener. One building, currently used for administration, slated to be a classroom next year as the school adds grades, was concrete.


The classroom structures were tin with dirt floors with lots of rocks, difficult to manuever with a wheel chair, and doors too narrow to wheel the chair in anyway.

The privies are incredibly far from the classroom buildings. This is a picture of the girls outhouse; the boys' is even farther away! No way Joseph could ever get there.


From Joseph's school we drove to his house. It's quite a ways; cannot believe he gets there every day in his wheelchair. He insisted that siblings and friends who live nearby be allowed to ride in our vehicle; it was a bit crowded!


Joseph was very proud of his home. He wanted us to go inside so we could see it all. Although it had a metal roof so was more rectangular rather than the ones we'd seen yesterday, it was otherwise very much the same as the Masai homes we'd previously visited.


Joseph wanted a picture with Jennifer that included some of his siblings. His mom had 8 children after him, the youngest still a baby in her arms. And yet she cares so much about Joseph and takes such good care of him. His survival is a testament to her love.


The affection between Joseph and Jennifer was clear as they said good-bye.

Joseph's mom and his uncle came along with us to go to Ngong, the nearest city where some additional uniforms for school could be purchased. Because of Joseph's bladder and bowel problems, the uniforms sometimes get soiled so additional changes are necessary to have on hand.

"Beautiful downtown Ngong" had to be searched for an open uniform store that had uniforms on hand (many are sewn to order), but mom found one, and the purchases were made.


The picture cannot encompass the smell of burning trash which was taking place at the other end of this street. Not a wonderful town.

Jennifer gave the family money for transport to get back to their home, and we took off in the van toward Nairobi. Along the way we needed to do commode shopping. Joseph's home has no privy so this is a first step to making his life easier. And how many tourists get to shop for a commode?! There was actually a selection as shown on the left. Annike bargained vigorously to get a good price (right) as the rest of us looked on in admiration.










The final choice will have some handles put on it and be picked up in a few days for transport to Joseph's house.

Finally returned to the guest house about 6 for a quick clean-up before meeting the rest of the group at a restaurant/pub in the nearby shopping center.

Enjoyed that glass of wine!