Visiting houses- #2- the Kibii family

Another house I went to this week was owned by a couple named Kibii and Esther. They are some of my favourite people here- we connected in some unexplained way right away. Kibii is doing his PhD at the same time as being in some high administrative position at ICM. Esther had been sick in bed with some unexplained illness for two years, but was recently healed, and is now a very vibrant leader of Christian women’s ministries in the area. They both stand quite tall and regal- they are of the Kalenjin tribe- a common one in this area- a people known to the rest of the world as world class runners (80% of Kenyan runners are from this small tribe). Their house is the largest one I have seen- also tastefully decorated. They had a huge living room and kitchen- even by North American standards- which serves well as a meeting place for people- I can tell they are used to having lots of people over a lot of the time! Their own children are all grown up and out of the house but they have four young people living with them- one boy is a high school student, and the other three girls are working in some way- with no place to go. They all call Esther and Kibii mom and dad, just as the Kibiis call them their children!. These are some very generous people.

Conversation topics are nearly always the same: politics, AIDS/HIV, role of women, and of course, what is Canada/ the USA/ Sierra Leone like. Kibii and Esther actually lived in the States for seven years so they are one of the few people who know what live is really like there. When we left their house we spent quite a lot of time star gazing together… it’s such an amazing open sky here!