Tugging at My Heartstrings

Jambo again!

Today we were able to be at the BCC most of the day. Our primary focus was to completely tour the facilities and programs and see how we could best serve them using our strengths. We are pretty eager to just jump in, but I see the wisdom in the Buckner staff wanting us to take a day to really pray it over and plan as a team.

As soon as we got out of Noah (our trusty van - Victor thinks we are crazy Americans...) and started to walk toward the school buildings, all of the little kids walking to school saw us, started waving, and RUNNING toward us. We were surrounded pretty quickly and were blessed with hugs - one little girl, about preschool age, pretty much jumped in my arms.  She didn't say a word, but just hung on my neck. Oh, Lord, I've only been here two full days and already I know I'm going to leave a pretty big chunk of my heart in Kenya.

A little more about the BCC:

• It is located in Mailisaba, a bourogh of Nairobi - kind of on the outskirts of the city. Definitely more "country-like" feel.
• 22 kids are part of their residence program - they actually live on the compound, in the orphanage
• They have 297 kids enrolled in their school. They teach grades PreK-7th grade. The kids come from the residence program as well as the surrounding community.
• The BCC offers a Health Clinic for a paltry fee, although they give free care to the resident kids and the community members that truly cannot afford even the small charge. At the clinic, they do consultation and can treat minor illnesses, give vaccinations, and offer a Free Clinic twice a year for the community when teams come from the US. They also have dental facilitities, but those are only used when a Buckner medical missions team comes.
• They have a large number of children in their Kinship and Foster programs (I can't remember the exact number). That is why there are so few children actually on the compound.  BCC's goal is to allow the children to be a part of and grow up in the community if possible. If the BCC can locate a relative, or if their home in which they used to live has become a safter, healthier environment, they encourage the kids to live there. The BCC's social worker still makes home visits in these cases and continues to provide many other services for the children.
• After a child in the Resident program finishes 7th grade, they must move from the premises. They are sent to a boarding school for "high school". They are still visited occasionally by the BCC social worker, to check on them, and provided for by BCC until graduation.  Then, they do their best to help the kids transition into society as an adult, or apply for college if they can receive grants.
• The BCC also has a church - open to the community.
• They have a small farm, where they grow vegetables for their food, as well as several cows for milk, and chickens for eggs.

After visiting with one of the BCC's social workers, it seems that a large portion of the country's poverty stems from a lack of education.  She said that there are only 5 universities/colleges in Kenya. Each year 700,000 Kenyans graduate high school.  Most of them are eligible for college, but only 17,000 are admitted. She told us that without a bachelor's degree, you could not get a job in Nairobi. Those without higher education are forced to open their own "businesses". This can be running a matatu - a public taxi...ish, or offering sewing, or setting up a roadside stand (which is what a large portion of Kenyans do - they line the streets throughout the city).

After our tour, we helped the kitchen staff serve lunch, which consisted of ugali (corn flour mixed with hot water to make a dough-like substance) and a mixture of meat, carrots, and cabbage. After serving the meal, we helped wash dishes - which was an experience. I think we made a friend by pitching in and helping though. The head of the kitchen staff was asking us if we would stay for dinner. =)

I'm sorry I didn't get many thoughts down, there is so much going on. I'm trying to type as fast as I can with the time I have. Hopefully more soon.

Your prayers are felt - keep it coming!

Love, t