By far, one of the most difficult and heart wrenching moments-and some
of the best- have been while building a home for Musa and his family.
They do have a mother, but she is not mentally healthy and or able to
care for the family.

At age 14, Musa (I have formerly referred to him as “Moses” but he
prefers the Swahili version of Musa) joined Zoe – a program which
helps orphans help each other and themselves. We will learn more about
Zoe on Wednesday.

When Musa joined the group, he was taking care of his three sisters -now ages 8, 9, and 12. Through Zoe, Musa is learning to become a
carpenter so that he can learn a trade and support his family.
Wrenches the heart – heart wrench.

Musa was chosen by Maua Methodist Hospital (MMH) to have a house built for his family. This has been funded by Montavilla United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon. The hands that are helping to build it include myself, Tim, Sue, my Dad, Charles the head carpenter, Nixon and John who work for Charles, and Moses the builder.

With the house, the family will receive medical care and school fees.
My family, coworkers, friends, and the Montavilla UMW have also bought
a water cistern and bedding for the family.

The girls include Doris- age 10; Mercy, age 9; and Amandra – age 12.
Musa is sweet, quiet, and doesn’t understand much English. But he is a
hard worker and is eager to help. However, Doris is a spitfire and
definitely a ringleader. She’s one of those kids who is almost
intimidating because of her attitude. But, she gives me hugs which I
can handle. Mercy has a healthy mixture of sass and sweet. She is in
charge of the cooking and fire tending. Finally,
Amandra. I feel a strong kinship toward her as she is so quiet, reserved, and
independent. She does the laundry for the family and collects the
firewood. She doesn’t crowd us like the other children but whenever
she offers a smile- I’ll gladly accept. She is absolutely the
sweetest. Heart wrench.

Whereas we bring water daily for ourselves, the workers do not bring
water. They do not have the water to bring. How crazy is that? At my
work, we remind each other to drink water and it is plentiful-
filtered and non. I feel guilty drinking my own water in front of the
children and have been drinking less. I feel the health consequences,
as does Tim. Water is so essential to health and one’s overall
well-being. The workers work harder than I can even describe – and
can’t hydrate themselves without us supplying it. It’s the least we
can do. Heart wrench.

In addition, we also bring lunches. I can’t imagine working as hard as
we are without bringing our sack lunches. Again, if we did not bring
it for the workers- they would not have anything to eat. The trip to
the local store to get the goods for the lunch are a whole other blog.
Wow. Monday we brought PB&J. A staple, right? Some of them had never
had it before. Tuna fish on Tuesday seemed to be a hit. They don’t
always get fish here and if they do, it is very expensive. Couldn’t
tell by their expressions how they liked them. But they eat everything
we offer – 1: to be polite; and 2: it’s needed for strength; and 3:
they do not always have much to eat. Heart wrench.

The lunch thing is hard for us. The kids will not come near us when we
are eating lunch. We simply don’t have enough for the twenty plus
children. But for the last two days, I’ve lost my appetite. It’s hard
to eat when there are children around the corner who have not eaten
much for days. Heart wrench.

I can attest this house build thing is not a photo op or nailing down
of a few boards. We are tired! Unfortunately Sue and I have a hard
time getting the nails to go through the boards. The wood is very
hardy, the nails are handmade, and well…it’s hard! Bless Tim’s
heart. I tried several and it took me five minutes when he or any
worker could do it in less than one. In addition, I have the habit of
bending the nails…Then I tried to just “start” them for Tim by
hammering them in about a centimeter. That got to be ridiculous and I
gave up. But I’m carrying the boards for him to the site and holding
them up, and then handing him nails. Sue is doing the same with Dad
and Tim. Humbling moment.

Sawing is hard too…Everything is by hand. There are no electric saws
here! I am better at sawing than I am at hammering but it’s still no
easy feat. Tim has shown me the way of doing it that’s easier but it
does take me a while. They don’t have those sawhorse thingamajigs.
Instead, we use whatever we can. In fact, if something isn’t quite
right, Charles will take a panga (a machete) and hack it off. A panga is
kind of an all purpose tool.

The children are something else. Hard to describe in words. They
surround us. At first they hung back but then slowly approached. And
well, once they did – they now hang very close. It’s not just Musa’s
sisters. Many of the children in the village do not have the money to
go to school either. So they are around all day. Or, even if they do
have funds and go to school, they didn’t go on Monday to view the
“Muzungus” (white person – one who wanders about). We were quite the
entertainment.

Monday was much harder. We weren’t prepared for the children, and the
small space. The land is extremely narrow. Enough for the side width
of the house and then about two feet in front of the house (the
fencing is barbed wire). The children wanted to help, wanted to talk
to us, wanted to touch us, and just wanted to watch the Muzungus. One
little girl asked for a “biscuit”. We did not have biscuits for the
twenty plus children. And once you give it to one, they all need one.
It was so hard to say no.

The second day we brought water, dum dums, and coloring books with
crayons. The dum dums (called “sweets”) were very popular as were the
coloring books. We hoped it would keep the children busy so we could work
and move around. And they were a hit, but then they were eager for
more. Teenage boys- 16, 17, or 18 wanted to color. Sue says she’s
never seen anything like Kenya in that coloring books are a draw for
all ages.

The third day was quieter. Many children were at school or away. I was
finally able to peek fully inside the home. They had a twin bed, some
books, and their clean clothes hanging on lines on the across the
ceiling. It is small and cramped with no windows.

They cook outside. Currently Mercy is the cook for the family. She
starts a little fire and then cooks dinner. Wednesday it was boiled
bananas. And if they could find the money and buy potatoes, they will
add potatoes. I am grateful for John, an amazing Social Worker, who
explained the children who followed me to the cooking fire that they
were making fun of her. Most of the area children can afford school
and may have cooking fires inside and their mothers light the fire.
But Mercy has to make it on a tiny fire – Mercy, the eight year old.
John told the other children to leave. And I sat next to Mercy and her
good friends and stared in amazement at her skill. I said, “Wow Mercy.
You are amazing”. She has a cowgirl shirt on and I said, “Mercy, you
are a real cowgirl.” Granted, she didn’t understand me, but I wanted
her to know she was valued. Heart wrench.

Of course, Tim and I tried to help with our vast expertise of starting
cooking fires. I blew on the fire and promptly blew it out. Oops. They
started it again and Tim wanted to help so built a little teepee with
sticks. And promptly snuffed the fire. They couldn’t start it again as
they did not have more paraffin. So Charles offered some turpentine
which worked. And we let 9 year old Mercy control the fire.

Amandra does the laundry for the family. She washes clothes in a white
bucket full of river water and then hangs them to dry. I highly doubt
they have soap.

For the construction folks:
Day one, we built side walls and the middle wall on the foundation
(foundation done by Charles and crew for three days before). Day two
we put up the front of the house; and day three we put wood on the
gaps off the original boards for the walls. Granted there are
technical terms for all of these things – none of which I know.
Meanwhile, Charles and crew finished and refinished walls, put the
roof on, put an awning up, put windows and doors on house, put sand
around base of house, and laid stairs to get into the house. On our
final day we will put creosote on the outside of the house. Back
breaker.

It’s been exhausting to experience the poverty. There is so much more to explain and describe. And I can’t do it justice. I simply can’t.

Imagine camping with only a leaky tent. No bathroom. A small cooking
fire. Only one change of clothes- no shoes. And you forgot all your
food and have only a few bananas to eat. Now imagine doing that for 16
years. Heart wrench.

In the midst of all that is a sweetness and a kindness to Musa and his
sisters. They will greatly benefit from the home, medical care, and
school fees. At the same time, John- the social worker, says this is
one of the poorest families he has ever seen. MMH will work to get
them food. Sue went to the Zoe store onsite at the hospital and got
them donated clothing that they can wear at the house dedication and
then keep. And we will find Musa shoes as he has no shoes and is a
carpenter.

It’s a privilege to be a part of such a project and to meet these
beautiful children. They will forever have a place in my heart,
thoughts, and prayers.

 

How to give: http://www.umcmission.org/Give-to-Mission/Search-for-Projects/Projects/140161