Weekend pics

Saturday I went to visit my friends Kefa and Matildah and their family of three boys and an orphaned girl they took in. I got to know them the last time I was here. We had a good time catching up, drinking ugi (a thin sour porridge made of maize and millet that I love), and walking around the garden. This is Matildah showing me the traditional vegetables and beans that she has interplanted with maize on their small shamba. 'Traditional vegetables' is the catch-all phrase for anything leafy and green that needs to be cut into tiny strips and cooked in order to be edible. The most common is sukuma wiki (collard greens, similar to kale), and after that is pumpkin leaves, bean leaves, black nightshade, and a range of other things with local names- sujaa, saget... I don't mind most of them. One turns my stomcah upside down because it is so bitter, but if I happen to get a scoop of it by mistake, at least I know it will be good for boosting my blood cell count (great for people like this family who are HIV positive).

A couple pics of their new pump they installed. For about $80, they were able to have the bore hold dug, buy all the materials, and have a fundi (handyman) construct the thing. It takes one person to crank the wheel, then another to postition the bucket under the spout made of an old water bottle.

Sunday I visited Chege and Lois. I had spent quite a bit of time with them last time. I think two years ago I posted a fuzzy picture of them by a pile of bricks they intended to make into a house. Well, now this is them in front of that house! It isn't complete yet- just the structure is there- entirely made of bricks and cement (the bricks were made out of soil from their property. They hope that they will be able to finish it and move in with in two years. Chege is the dean of students at ICM as well as a pastor at a local church. They have three children- a daughter at boarding school (13 yrs), an 11 year old son and a 2 year old daughter, who was born when I was here last time. They also have a girl living with them to help them out with housework and babysitting.

This is just a random picture showing how hard money is treated here. Below is a new bill, and above is one that has been passed around by a hand or two. The material is strong- people (including me) often fold or ball it into tiny packages, like you see to the side.