It was our first day time exposure to the Kenyan roads and culture. The entire main road through Ruiru was lined with these stalls selling everything from clothes, shoes and purses...
...to household items. The original outdoor mall.
We then got off the beaten path a bit...
and found the church that the bridge was built nearby. It enables the people to get to the church and school that the church runs during the rainy season, as the river becomes impassable.
A few more stops to ask the locals how to drive down to the bridge, and we found it!
Walking down the footpath to the bridge.
Kev and boys on the bridge.
You can see that the river is already high from only one day of rain.
It was being used the whole time we were there. You can see a man walking his bicycle across.
This man was using the bridge and was so excited that we came all that way to see the bridge! He wanted a picture with CJ, who wasn't too sure...
This was the former crossing, where they still go and gather water for the crops and probably for household use as well.
We were there maybe 10 minutes and had also drawn this crowd of kids who loved having their pictures taken!
Look at Piper checking out the little girl :)
Kevin was like the pied piper. hhmm. Big Piper, little Piper.
I had the camera, though, and quickly they again swarmed me begging for pictures. Here's a few more that grabbed my heart...
On our way back to the BTL, I was snapping pictures of roadside stands, etc again and these women spotted me with my camera hanging out the window. They were slightly excited to have their pictures taken. I wish I could send them the web address or tell them I put them on the internet, I think they'd be thrilled!
And this guy, not so thrilled about me taking his picture. But how could I resist?! I don't think that would pass the French vehicle inspection...
And my final picture for the day - a typical building under construction, Kenyan style.
So, that was a fun little jaunt into town, and a chance to see a little bit more of Kenya. We were amazed at the amount of people just walking along the roads and crossing at various places - anywhere, anytime, really. One of our drivers said it best when he said "they just cross the roads without looking or thinking, like chickens!" I couldn't even look sometimes when it looked just too close to call. Thankfully we never saw anyone struck, although I am sure it happens more often than we'd like to think.
We were struck by how we take simple things like our road infrastructure and our basic needs of transportation for granted. Had the group Arlin came with not come and built that bridge, the people would still be walking for hours to cross the river safely during the rainy season. They don't have a government willing to do that for them, nor do they have the means to do it for themselves. I am sure there are many other villages and places along the river that could desperately use a bridge to enable them to cross the rivers when they are high, not to mention many other even more basic needs such as food and shelter.
Monday we headed out early to see our first of three Compassion International children we sponsor. It was the first of three very emotional and life-changing encounters with extreme poverty on a personal level. By the time we pulled into the project center, the boys' vomiting became a rather insignificant matter...
On our way back to the BTL, I was snapping pictures of roadside stands, etc again and these women spotted me with my camera hanging out the window. They were slightly excited to have their pictures taken. I wish I could send them the web address or tell them I put them on the internet, I think they'd be thrilled!
And this guy, not so thrilled about me taking his picture. But how could I resist?! I don't think that would pass the French vehicle inspection...
And my final picture for the day - a typical building under construction, Kenyan style.
So, that was a fun little jaunt into town, and a chance to see a little bit more of Kenya. We were amazed at the amount of people just walking along the roads and crossing at various places - anywhere, anytime, really. One of our drivers said it best when he said "they just cross the roads without looking or thinking, like chickens!" I couldn't even look sometimes when it looked just too close to call. Thankfully we never saw anyone struck, although I am sure it happens more often than we'd like to think.
We were struck by how we take simple things like our road infrastructure and our basic needs of transportation for granted. Had the group Arlin came with not come and built that bridge, the people would still be walking for hours to cross the river safely during the rainy season. They don't have a government willing to do that for them, nor do they have the means to do it for themselves. I am sure there are many other villages and places along the river that could desperately use a bridge to enable them to cross the rivers when they are high, not to mention many other even more basic needs such as food and shelter.
Monday we headed out early to see our first of three Compassion International children we sponsor. It was the first of three very emotional and life-changing encounters with extreme poverty on a personal level. By the time we pulled into the project center, the boys' vomiting became a rather insignificant matter...
2 comments:
yay!
we get to read all about your adventures. Can't wait to hear about your encounters with your compassion kids.
love~
"original outdoor mall" hilarious!
I have those too but I never thought of it that way. I also have chicken pedestrians too.
I loved the bridge story. Meeting practical needs like that hits my soft spot.
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