Sept 24 - St Dorcas and Toothbrushes

     Today we delivered Denise’s toothbrushes to St Dorcas School and Orphanage.

 We were instructed to walk over to the volunteer house (which I may have already mentioned is about a ten-minute walk). We got there plenty early enough, just as the guy who was taking us there was leaving with someone else. He said he’d be back in just a few minutes, but we knew better.

 A few of the other volunteers came through the house as we waited, and we got to visit with them a little bit. Plus, there was also mandazi left over from breakfast. We waited until we were asked to try some before I plowed into a couple of them.

 Then we waited and waited some more. I think it was over an hour. But it’s Kenya. No worries. We did ask the house mom to call him, and she came back to say his phone was turned off.

 Finally, our escort returned, full of apologies and saying that his phone battery had died. And here I need to apologize because I do know his name but have no idea how to spell it. I can’t even venture a guess. He’d been taking us around for five days already; someone had spelled it for us the first day, but think I could remember?

 We finally arrived at the school and met up with the three volunteers who were working there. I sometimes feel like a bit of a slacker as most of the volunteers have permanent placements. They are in Kenya between one and six months, so go to the same place every day, just like a regular job, with regular responsibilities. Being as I’ve only ever been there for two weeks at a time, I end up in a different place every day, doing what is needed and sadly, not connecting with the children and adults in any of these places.

 Anyway, but our task for the day was those toothbrushes. Denise’s dentist had once again generously donated a hundred toothbrushes, and we needed to deliver them and be sure the kids knew how to use them and how important it was to use them.

 We went from one classroom to the next, introducing ourselves, handing out the toothbrushes and giving our spiel.

 I wish we had taken more pictures, one in every classroom, but we were loaded down with our gifts.

 And then after we handed them out, the kids were moving so much to show us how to use them, that everything was a blur anyway.

 The classrooms, as well as the school grounds, were pretty typical for Kenya. Dirty, old supplies, shared supplies, but the kids were all happy to see us.

 Can you imagine?

 Here’s my random picture for the day. That’s artificial grass on the dashboard of the matatu we took in the morning. Interesting, huh?

 Sometimes I wish I would have taken more pictures (like the 1,200 I took wasn’t enough), but there was a lot of randomness every day. Every Single Day. Just like I am missing Kenya Every Single Day.