House visit

One of the activities that the Buists take part in during each of their trips to Kenya are house visits. This gives us foreigners a personal and realistic view of an average Kenyan family. Most of the houses that they visit are those of the parents or relatives of the kids at the safe house. Several of the children still have family, they are just not capable of fully supporting them any longer. The CRCA likes to maintain contact with these families, and the children sometimes are able to return for visits. We arranged a house visit on one of our final days with the family of a boy, Karanja, that is currently attending university. The Buists and I set out with two Kenyan women to accompany us on the trip. As we drove to the house, we turned down deserted dirt roads, lined with tall weeds and fences. Everything looked the same to me, but somehow the women found the correct plot of land. The small house was located in the middle of a field, with gardens behind. Two women lived in the house. Karanja's grandmother and great grandmother. When they opened the door they immediately welcomed us in with smiles. Neither spoke any English, but the two Kenyan women were able to translate for us. The great grandmother greeted us all individually with a song and dance. It roughly translated to: "I thank god because I will no longer be hungry or thirsty". Our Kenyan friend explained that she was always happy to see us because she knew that the food we brought along would keep her from being hungry for a few days. She also translated that the great grandmothers age was 96. I couldn't believe how lively, happy, and mobile she was. We all sat in the living room and listened to her Swahili words. She spoke about how grateful she was to be alive and well everyday, thanks to God. She then asked if she could say a prayer for all of us. A few more Swahili words were passed around before we were told to cover our heads. Luckily we all had hoods on our sweatshirts. She then insisted that we all kneel on the floor for the prayer. At 96 years old, she got down on her knees to pray for all of us.