Eila in the Field

Supporting the girls at Il Polei Secondary

My family and the Coles were able to bring hundreds of sanitary pads and underwear for the girls at Il Polei secondary school as well as some funds towards building the new dormitory. Thank you so much for all of the donation and support for this, the girls were extremely grateful. Here are some pictures of our visit.

Headmaster John Ngumba welcomed us with a short history of education in Kenya and the issues girls face. During his time at Il Polei Secondary the number of teen pregnancies has plummeted and the number of girls coming to board there has skyrocketed – hence the need for a new dorm.

We then spent some time in a 4th form classroom, the oldest students in the school. The teacher was out sick that day, but when we got there all the students were studying silently. The school president told us about his vision for the school and then we chatted with all the students about their interests - at the time they were all about the wold cup and Hollywood movies, but soon they hope to be engineers, artists, and lawyers.

When school hours were over we made our way to the girls' dorm. All students gathered to see what we had brought them. Headmaster Ngumba introduced us to all of the girls and we introduced ourselves. Ngumba told us stories about how some of the girls came to the school, how some had to take breaks because their families ran out of funds, and were able to return when funds were finally available again. In the face of many cultural and financial challenges, the students are determined to finish their education and continue on to build accomplished careers.

Then we handed out the pads and underwear and the girls were extremely pleased and grateful (at least once they got over their embarrassment!). We moved outside the dorm for more space and to make sure everyone got their share. So much was supplied by friends back home and brought over by our visitors that we even had to put some in storage for the incoming class!

After the introductions and handing out the goods, everyone got more comfortable and we were bombarded with questions about the US, work and life. We learned that most of the girls want to pursue careers in law, medicine, engineering, or teaching - these ladies are awesome!!

Ngumba also showed us the new kiln they built to burn the used sanitary pads to avoid filling the latrines or littering the grounds around the school.

John and John, united in supporting girls' education!

Thank you again to everyone who helped make this happen. It means a lot to me and more to the girls. If you would like to further support the building of the new dorm go to: http://baboonsrus.com/ to donate money via paypal, every little bit helps!!

There are some new inspirational signs at the school, I'll leave you with them:

Our visit to Twala

Everyone who visits must make a stop at the Twala Women's Village. We were welcomed with a traditional song and dance, all the guests were invited to join and got learn some Maasai dance moves!

Rosemary, our good friend and the hospitality manager at Twala, gave us an official welcome and outlined the goals of the Village. They aim to support girls' education and women in need through several businesses: bead work, honey harvesting, an aloe plantation, and opuntia (prickly pear) harvesting. They also rent out a conference center and a couple huts to tourists, school groups, NGOs, and community groups.

Our guides, Priscilla and Florence, teach us about the aloe:

Being a geologist, Charlie was most excited about the stone used in building the conference center. If only he had his rock camera (or is it hammer...?)!

Then we headed to see the traditional houses:

And of course we had to end our trip at the shop where all the visitors went nuts buying bead work:

Here are some of the women whose work is sold at the shop.

Crazy shoppers!!

Family baboon time

Well, some unexpected truck trouble has brought me back to Nanyuki already, so I’m taking advantage and continuing to catch up on more posts!

After our spectacular time in the Mara we came up to Laikipia to spend some quality time with my baboon family. Laura and Sam finally got to meet everyone and show off their baboon skills. My family was excited to see where I spend most of my time in Kenya and meet the rest of the crew. Of course there were plenty of other things to do as well, but here are some shots of our time on Laikipia:

This is the whole group!

Meghan with the babs

Kara with baby babs

Meghan and Charlie with a big male

The Debbies :)

Claytastic

Me and my dad

One day we missed the baboons at the sleeping site and had to chase them for a few kilometers before catching up with them. But once we did, they were nice to us and didn't move too far. Definitely some quality baboon time:

Auntie Debbie was so at home with the babs that she took a little cat nap!

We also made time to see more of the area, mostly at sundowners. So we brought a beverage out to a nice spot, enjoyed the views, and kept an eye on all the wildlife.