Kenya Journal Day 2- Meeting the People

Our first day into the community of Naibor (nigh bo) was our first introduction to people who live in small villages out “in the bush” if you will. Collections of wood framed buildings with scatterings of block buildings made up the structures in this community. Most buildings were small, less than 8 feet wide and 12 feet long in most cases. The school and one of the churches in Naibor were the largest. The people here seemed to be mostly a mixture of Kukuyu and Turkana, with a few that were Maasai.

We started our day with a delicious breakfast, Ben ate more sauteed gizzards, I stuck with potatoes and onions and sausages. We loaded up in a new tour bus, our ride for the remainder of the week. Ben was unfortunately correct when he said the diesel engine in the big green truck would need to be replaced. Off through the Kenya landscape we went into the community.

Our first stop in Naibor, outside of Mutirithia, was to the site of a recent fire that destroyed some homes. They wanted to bless the work sight and ask God for protection.

This service was an eye opener when it came to translation. In Kenya, it is very rare to only speak one language, and that is mostly older generations. The official languages of Kenya are Kiswahili and English, but many speak one or more of the languages belonging to the 47 officially recognized tribes in Kenya. It is not uncommon to find someone who speaks their tribe’s language and another tribe’s language and English or Swahili or both English and Swahili and their tribal language. For translation, there weren’t long drawn out pauses, but often multiple speakers speaking at once, and you just picked the speaker by which language you wanted.

This service was also our first introduction to how seniority worked. Our host Micah deferred to the 410 Staff member in the community, Jack. Jack deferred to the elders in the community, and all of the pastors took turns. Position and authority are important in this culture, so is honoring that person in position of authority.

Once we left the sight of the fire, we walked through part of the community to the area where the primary school is. Primary is pre-k through 8th grade and 8th grade through high school is completed in a secondary school. Very few go on to secondary school and then on to university, but the numbers grow every year.

We were greeted with dancing and singing. Luckily we knew ahead of time that it would be normal for them to grab our hands and pull us into the dancing. We were very eager to join in this cultural experience, but Ben and I were surprised that we found ourselves leading the group of mzungus in joining. We were usually first to be grabbed and Ben may have finally found his people when it comes to dancing. With all of his backgrounds, dancing with the different tribes in Africa was his favorite, and he was quite good, picking up on the moves quickly.

The women of the community danced us into the community and the kids met us to dance us into school. I was impressed with their energy. I was also intrigued by the women in positions of authority, they were usually ones leading the call and answer songs. You could tell who the boss was in the group. But even then, the women deferred to the men.

Throughout the ceremony there were different songs, poems, solos, speeches, Bible verses, introductions and dancing.

Having used most of our day already, we headed into the major nearby town(30 ish minutes) , Nanyuki. We stopped at a small shopping center, complete with an armed guard and secure parking lot. We attributed the variety of shops and food offerings to the nearby British base. For those uncertain about our boxed lunch, it provided another excellent chance for Kenyan KFC. We mainly went for rubber boots and a few necessities. I always enjoy grocery shopping in a local store, even if this one was heavily influenced by outside influence.

Our day ended with a chance to shower and clean up, eat a yummy dinner and hang out with each other. More bonding was a good thing, and we were able to share our experiences of the day, how we were processing and what we were feeling. I definitely appreciated our group leaders for this. We were also able to ask Micah questions about things wanted answers to and look ahead to the next day. Still struggling with elevation changes, I also enjoyed walking around the Maiyan. The weather was in the upper 50’s at night and the mid 70’s during the day. Being in direct intense sunlight made it feel warmer, but the late afternoons were lovely. I was learning about the plants that loved the steady temperatures and 12 hours of sunlight so near the equator. I also enjoyed the birds on my walks. My breathing got easier, and I fell more in love with Kenya as time went on.