This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market,

This little piggy stayed home.

This little piggy had roast beef,

This little piggy had none.

And this little piggy cried "Wee wee wee,"

All the way home!

Where does this little piggy live?  With the other piggies of course.....

And where is "home"?

...in Kibera slums.  

The piggies share the slum with over 1,000,000 people in an area the size of Central Park.  It is the largest slum in Africa, and second in the world to one in Mexico City.  

I get to hear the piggies grunting around as they prepare for market and roast beef in the mornings, as they live across the river from my back balcony.

Wednesday's Walk Around Town

Traffic Jam & Politics

One of the main re-election strategies of the Kenyan government is to fix the roads.  In some places it just means grading the surface so it is smooth.  In other places it means repaving.  And in other places it means a total overhaul of the roadway.  Take Thika Road for example, it went from a 2 lane-dual carriage way to a 4 lane super highway. 

On a reconnoiter to see how long it would take me to get from my house to school next week, I discovered that the stretch of Langata Road that I will have to travel is now going through a complete overhaul and traffic in each direction is forced to travel in one lane.  The traffic problem is compounded by the stopping of matatus to pick up and drop off passengers in a one-lane road without any way for other motorists to pass.  I guess I have nothing to complain about since I will be one of those matatu passengers for the foreseeable future. 

Please continue to pray for peace in Kenya as we get closer to the election time, violence seems to just spring up around every corner.  Last week 50 people were killed over cattle issues in a rural area of Tana River, leaving 100 families without homes.  Politicians are doing what they do best....the blame game.

Monday's Musings

Mercy Were

Me with Mercy on Visiting Day.

Last year I put out the word that I was looking for sponsors for a young girl in Nairobi to attend secondary school.  Many of you responded and together were able to send Mercy to a private boarding secondary school near her mom's home.  The finances provided were able to cover the entire school year of 2012 (ending in November), uniforms and textbooks, and outfit for boarding school (trunk and personal items).  

Mercy's dorm room at school; bunks are three beds high with 20 beds in each dorm room!!!

She started her Form 2 (Sophomore) year of high school after missing the second half of her Form 1 (Freshman) year due to lack of funds; and has worked hard to catch up with her fellow pupils.  Currently, she is averaging a B- and is 14th in a class of 50 students.  Her best subjects are English, History, and Geography; while she is working hard to catch up a lost year in Business Studies.  Her teachers say that she is very disciplined and doesn't get into trouble, and that she is working very hard to improve in the subjects that she was weak in at the beginning of the year.  

Mercy (on left) with friends on Visiting Day.

We are now looking forward to Mercy's Form 3 (Junior) year, which is very important in Kenya.  It is when high school students begin focusing their studies towards the national exam at the end of Form 4.  This national exam will determine where a student goes to university or college.  Mercy's goal is to become a primary school teacher, and she will need to have a C+ or more on the national exam to be able to attend teacher's college.

Would you please consider sponsoring or re-sponsoring Mercy for her Form 3 year of school?  You can contact me by email to find out more details on how to help financially.