Tag: Eldoret

Return to Eldoret: Part Three

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These last four days have passed so quickly and have been so special. Climate Change is making its presence felt once again. This time of year it should be warm and dry so that everyone can harvest their maize crop- vital for food security in Kenya. Instead of which it is currently cool and wet and so Tuesday saw me dodging the downpours as I made my way across to the Bishop’s Office. But what’s a bit of mud compared to a reunion after almost five years? The first surprise was discovering that the Bishop’s Office has recently relocated to another part of the city but CBR with its wonderful record of serving the people of the Diocese still stands. I spent the morning reconnecting with my remaining colleagues at the centre and getting to know the new Director. The Wheels for the World team arrived in the afternoon and settled in quickly- four of them have been here before which no doubt helped.

Then on Wednesday morning, the 20th anniversary of the opening of the CBR Centre, we began the distribution. The wheelchair consignment is always shared between CBR and another in country partner in Kimilili on a roughly two thirds/ one third basis. This time we had the smaller portion of 30 plus wheelchairs and various walking aids. There were a few logistical challenges which was probably inevitable after a gap of almost five years but knowing that life has been transformed for these people transcends any sense of frustration.

Thursday proved to be another extraordinary example of God’s providence. At the end of Wednesday’s session there were ten wheelchairs left and many, many names on the waiting list. The therapists worked to decide which clients would be most suited to each chair then Revd Grace spent the whole of the evening calling them to attend and telling all the others that they are on the list for another time. On Thursday two people did not arrive but their allocated chairs proved to be a perfect match for two different clients who turned up unexpectedly. These are very special moments of the right thing at the right time, when you honestly feel like you are on holy ground.

The team left early this morning and I spent some time with the staff at CBR. It’s been very hard to say goodbye this time. I have a sense that the winds of change are blowing and I’m not at all sure what the future might hold. In the words of one of the many Tracks of my Years: “We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun…..”

Asante Kenya, you’ve been wonderful!

Return to Eldoret: Part Two

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Nimerudi nyambani- I have come home.

Greetings from Eldoret where after a leisurely first day my feet haven’t really touched the ground- I am without doubt not as fit as I used to be and the altitude is really affecting me this time. I am also apparently becoming my late father whose impatience with what he deemed to be idiotic behaviour was legendary, evidenced by my inward reaction to the following: bag drop at Heathrow involved three different queues after I was misdirected when I was flagged up for an extra document check. We were then late taking off due to several passengers not boarding and the inevitable delay as their bags were removed. This meant we landed at Nairobi at the same time as another international flight so clearing passport control took a very long time and I was anxious that the guesthouse driver would have given up on me. Thankfully he made enquiries, realised all was well and stayed outside with his car.

My goodness, things have changed here! In Nairobi there is now a newly opened toll expressway between the airport and the city centre making the journey both quick and pleasant. It was lovely to be back at the Anglican guesthouse which was our home back in 2013 during our intensive course in Kiswahili. After a good night’s sleep I returned to the airport for the quick flight up to Eldoret, accompanied the whole way by the most glorious cloudscape.

My friend met me at the airport and the drive back to the house provided ample opportunity to see how much Eldoret has developed. There is now a bypass which has greatly eased traffic congestion on the main Nairobi road and most of the other roads are in really good repair. Eldoret has just been granted city status and is thriving. The supermarket at the new mall was an eye opener- you can now, albeit for a price, buy anything and everything. Of course (just as in the UK) there are still many people who are struggling to survive and it has been good to renew contact with some of the lovely people here who are working to help others overcome the challenges they face.

On Sunday morning Revd Rirei and his wife picked me (Kenyan English drops the up) at 8.00 am and off we went to his parish. I expected to be on rough dirt roads as in the past and was very happy to discover a new tarmac road for a considerable part of the journey. Thereafter we went deep into Nandi County where I used to go into the field looking for people to assess for wheelchairs. The parish is huge with ten congregations and we finally arrived at the church where I was to speak….

The congregation worship in a small building around which they are constructing a new church. The land was donated by an elderly parishioner and members of the congregation provide materials and labour as and when they can. As ever, I was received with great kindness and my homily was ably interpreted by Revd Rirei.

Today is a newly created national holiday- Tree Planting Day- so I will report to CBR tomorrow morning and we’ll prepare for the arrival of the Wheels for the World team. I’m looking forward to so many things but especially to experiencing the sense of providence, kindness and hope that always seems to accompany these wheelchair distributions.

Distribution Diary 4.2.17

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Good Morning from Eldoret.
I am up, clothed and just about in my right mind after sleeping flat out for 12 plus hours. The migraine I had has gone but my head is still quite fuzzy and I feel a bit fragile. I am sure this is mainly because I had no sleep whatsoever on the flight due to everything that happened.
It was awful.
We were late boarding, initially due to the incoming plane running late. Then as we began to board large numbers of police and uniformed border control people arrived.
I duly entered the plane to discover I was seated in the middle of a group of British soldiers. (You can tell they are soldiers even when they’re not in uniform, can’t you? I certainly can having spent my early years as an army kid in Kenya). However they were not bound for Kenya but were in transit for another country where they were joining a UN peacekeeping force.

Once everyone was seated it all kicked off. A man was brought onto the plane by all the uniformed police. He was being escorted by two enormous men and they were seated in the last row at the back. He started screaming and crying, begging not to be sent back, tearing at his clothes, shouting “Undress me! Look at what they did to me! I cannot go back!”
The police asked the soldiers to swap seats with the families who were sitting near the back and the children moved forward, all crying as the man’s distress was contagious. I asked one of the police officers if they could guarantee our safety as he had just referred to the man as a criminal. Other people were complaining about the noise and saying they were not willing to endure it all the way to Nairobi. Still others were saying things like “Put him in the hold!” The policeman told me we would be quite safe as the man had “outstayed his welcome” and was now being escorted home by the company used by border control in such matters. The man was not Kenyan, only in transit back to another country. A country which does not have a good human rights record.
It went on a long time. I put my fingers in my ears and prayed. I don’t know if the man was a criminal. I don’t know what immigration laws he had broken. I don’t know how true the details were. I only know it was awful. If he was acting then he deserves an Oscar.
Finally the decision was taken by his handlers that he would not fly and so they removed him and we took off.

However peace was not restored as two men (not soldiers) near to me talked throughout the whole flight about what had happened and their somewhat less than moderate approach to this and other matters ensured I stayed wide awake. The whole flight.
I arrived hardly able to think straight and transferred to the domestic terminal which (Hallelujah!) now has a Java coffee shop. So I sipped my coffee and put on my phone. Safaricom welcomed me back and I bought a top up card which did not work. It transpires that if the phone is unused for three months they block it- you can receive but not send so I will have to go into the Safaricom shop and get that sorted.

One hilarious moment when I was clearing security for my onward flight. I kept setting off the alarm. The security team held a conference which involved staring at my chest and talking too fast in Kiswahili for me to understand. Finally they waved me through.
Apparently the underwire in my bra was the guilty party…..

My friend met me at Eldoret. It is so good to be back here.
I popped over to the Diocesan office and was warmly welcomed home.
The Bishop asked to see me and was just lovely. With his naughty twinkle he asked if David was still involved in the politics of injustice now he was back in the UK, especially the refugees…..all I could think of was the man on the plane.

I am resting this weekend and will start work on Monday preparing for the wheelchair distribution.

P.S. I am finally warm. It is wonderful!

Relinquishing and resuming

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Autumn has given way to Advent and we are learning new lessons in how to both relinquish and resume our grip on all manner of things.

Liza really enjoyed her seven weeks back teaching- the boys face many challenges in their lives and learning and yet they have so much to offer, things they can teach us if we can only find the time to pause and listen, relinquishing our grip on how we think things should be.
David is still hopeful of finding gainful employment and in the interim he has been able to resume many of his skills and help to launch an ecumenical initiative in Chichester which will offer spiritual and pastoral support to older people.

After a break of four years, November saw us gathering with our family to celebrate Thanksgiving, this time with the additional blessing of the presence of two of our grandchildren. This in turn required a renewed willingness to relinquish our eldest daughter Lucy and family as they pursue their vocation to a parish in the Far North of New Zealand.

Meanwhile back in Kenya plans are going well for the next wheelchair distribution at Community Based Rehabilitation in Eldoret. Liza will fly out in February to join the diocesan team as once again they work with Wheels for the World to meet the needs of some of the most marginalised people in the community of the North Rift.

So we’re fairly busy in both being and doing and we are very much looking forward to resuming our family Christmas traditions later in the month.