"Kipsongo City"

December is the Kenyan equivalent of summer holidays, so the kids are off of school for a whole month. The past week was “home-visit” week for the kids at Mercy Home, so they went home to visit whatever relatives they have. It was a really neat week actually, because it meant that our schedule was a little more relaxed than usual, and we were able to go and see the kids where they originally come from. Most of them are from the Kipsongo slum (which is the place that I talked about in my entry about the Truman show.) Over the course of the week, I have been to Kipsongo three times to visit kids there, and to get shown around. One of the days it started raining, and the place just turned into a big mudfest. The dirt here is different than the dirt back at home, and when it turns to mud, it is incredibly slippery. I came mighty close to bailing hard on multiple occasions that day.
Some of the houses are made from packed mud, with thatched roofs, but others are like patchwork-plastic igloos. They are dome shaped dwellings made of discarded plastic bags and torn rags. It’s amazing to think that people actually live in them. As it turns out, most of the street kids (who I love!) come from Kip, and they just make the 1km ‘commute’ into Kitale every day to see what they can scrounge up, because there isn't much to live off of in Kipsongo.

We have had two of the kids from Mercy Home (Alphine, 16 and Joshua, 15) stay at our house over the course of the week. It has been super fun to have them here! It’s been neat to get to know them. Alphine has been my roommate, and part time Swahili teacher. They are going back to Mercy Home today, which is a little sad.

It is Nancy Miller’s birthday on the 23rd, so if you know her, be sure to send her an email or comment on her blog or something!