Bathrooms, Babies, & Bumpy Roads

Bathrooms: On Wednesday, while all the rest of the volunteers decided to observe the Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan by skipping project, Elena and I went to Hope School to build a bathroom. Yes, we assisted in the reconstruction of the bathrooms at the school. Our primary task was to saw pieces of wood with this prehistoric looking saw. Needless to say, it took a lot of energy, time, and willpower to saw even one piece of wood. Luckily, some of the African impact staff, Desmond, Richard, and Moses, were there to both supervise and take over when needed. I do have to say that the framing turned out to be structurally strong and well-built, despite the most basic of supplies. I unfortunately made the mistake of mentioning that my grandpa was a carpenter...just because I have used a saw before in my life does not by any means qualify me as a professional builder. We had a lot of laughs and an enjoyable time. It is exciting to think that the kids will have a new bathroom to use when school begins for the first time on Monday.

Babies: Since beginning my time volunteering on the maternity ward, I have been praying that someone will give birth during my time there. I have come close multiple times...but yesterday was my lucky day. Mid-morning, I heard a woman screaming about every five minutes. Of course, I do not enjoy hearing anyone in pain, but I realized this meant she most likely was well on her way to being fully dilated. Awhile later I asked one of the nurses when she thought the baby would be born, and she assured me it would be within the hour. I could barely contain my excitement. Luckily, I was busy, as the ward was completely full and there had already been 2 C-sections that morning. And then the time came. I will spare you the graphic details (although I forced some of the volunteers to visit to them last night at dinner), but it was completely amazing to watch. Bloody, yes. And nothing sophisticated about it. But a new life, a new baby entered the world. The mother was a champion in my mind, no painkillers and a 3.8 kg baby (that is a big baby by Kenyan standards). After watching the events that occur after the birth, I got to go see the baby in the nursery, hold it, and a short time after, bring the baby back to the morning. I definitely will not forget that experience.

Bumpy Roads: This morning, as we awaited our ride to project, we were greeted, and a bit startled by a rather large vehicle. The best way I can describe it is a garbage dump truck with certain elements of a bulldozer that is equipped in the back with 20 seats and 2 tables. I recognize the image in your head right now might seem a little odd...you are on the right track if this is the case. We had a laugh about it...then realized it would be our form of transportation for the day. Well, it was quite the ride. Possibly better than Indiana Jones. At one point, Alexia got whacked with a huge tree branch as we had rolled up the plastic windows...that gives you some idea as to how high up we were...tree-branch level. So in addition to our whiteness, we were parading around Kenyan villages in this massive thing...causing much attention and excessive waving and screaming by kids and adults alike. It was fun for about 5 minutes...then I was just wishing that I could be invisible for awhile...instead of being looked at like a celebrity, or a circus show. There were a few moments when I felt like the entire vehicle was going to tip over and one time flew out of my seat and smacked into the one in front of me. The day ended with a rendition of all the patriotic American songs (after driving by the U.S. Embassy) Alexia and I could think of....sang especially loud for the Canadians with us. Another great day in Kenya.