Back to the Watoto: Progress Through Adversity

As promised, I was at the gate at 6:00am Monday morning to see the children off for school. The younger children were dressed and happily dancing around, waiting to be driven to school. Just as our driver, a young man who lives in the village, showed up on his piki piki (motorcycle) I watched 5 girls run in different directions, looking for pieces of wood to bring to school. Unafanyanini??? (WHAT are you doing) I bellowed. “We need to bring firewood to school.” Kwanini? (why) I asked (knowing full well why). All older children spoke at once and told me they must bring firewood to school every Monday, or they will be beaten. 5 children are selected at a time. “What do the rest of you have to do?” We must clean the classrooms, and then some get sent into the bush to search for firewood.

The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.

~Denis Waitley

Loise was one of the 5 required to bring in wood. She is missing from the above image, because I took this quickly and then went to our wood shed and picked out a little log for her. The thought of Loise getting beaten made me physically ill. Same with Sara, also in our 5.

My head was reeling with anger, so I decided to stay back at WWC, so as not to release said anger at Wanjiru. It is what he wants. Off they went, laughing and singing in the van up the hill for their 4km journey to Ereteti, holding their firewood in their laps. The thought of any of these incredibly wonderful and happy beings harmed had me nearly catatonic.

Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they’re already asleep.

~H. Jackson Brown Jr.

I turned to Priscilla and Shiko. asking them how often the children do this. “Every Monday, sometimes on Wednesday” Priscilla said. I asked her if the children complained of beatings and she shrugged. “Do they or don’t they?” “Yes, Auntie. They complain they are beaten if they do not bring the firewood to school." “How long has this been going on? Priscilla said for a month (since I left in August). I sent the image to Tony, asking him to call me immediately. 45 minutes later, Tony appeared at my gate and came over for coffee.
Tony was unaware of this, and seemed surprised that Wanjiru had gone back on his word, when we had been told our children would be excused from bringing in any resources from WWC to Ereteti. Tony and I have had numerous conversations this week about Ereteti and cultural differences and procedures. It pretty much consumed my time here.

I have a copy of my conversation with Wanjiru on a WhatsApp text chain, one that I sent to my contact at the Ministry, whereby Wanjiru agreed that WWC would be exempt from this firewood debacle. We have been to this rodeo before and I was not interested in going back to the table over this ridiculous situation. Wanjriu has been spoken to by the Ministry and presumably warned. "Tony, I am a little shocked that you are surprised about this event. I cannot be here every day to oversee the children’s routine before and after school. I rely on you to manage WWC from across the globe. Why are our resources being removed from WWC without my knowledge?” Tony was embarrassed and angry. He picked up his phone to call Wanjiru. His tone was uncharacteristically rude and demanding, but because they were speaking in Kikuyu, I sat and watched him, picking up only small bits of the one way conversation. "I told this man I want this firewood to come back to WWC this evening, and he would find out which teacher told our children to bring it to school." I scoffed at this, we both know who directed the children. "Wanjiru asked 'muzungu uko???' (Is the muzungu here?) I said yes, and he wants you to come to school and sit with the Board of Directors, because he says 'You think our children are special, and deserve special favors.'" "He's right, Tony.. All of them are special and they deserve exemption from Ereteti's demand that we provided fuel for cooking lunch. The Ministry confirmed this already. What else did he say?" Grimacing, Tony said "That you can find another school for the children." "I'm not interested, Tony. I am not interested in these ridiculous tactics and attempts to intimidate me. We shall gather our facts, and when I am gone, how about you drive to Ereteti in different vehicles this week and snap pics of children on the side of the road, carrying firewood. The Ministry of Education will want physical evidence of images that this nonsense has not ended. Wanjiru will say I placed firewood in the children's hands and took the picture to make him look bad. Sawa?" "Sawa Simmie. But I think you should meet the Board." "Not today, maybe in January. We need to speak to the staff right now about this situation. Not one more resource from the home leaves this compound without my consent."

Penina does not arrive at WWC until 8:00am each morning, so she is not with Priscilla and Shiko as they prepare the children for school. These two women are fairly meek and have simply gone along with the weekly transport of firewood to Ereteti. I spent about 1 minute with them regarding this, and directed them to consult Penina on all matters concerning Ereteti. They were completely embarrassed, everyone was. Rather than prolong it, I began to talk about WWC as a beacon of hope for our children and our community. We lead, we do not follow. Sawa? The more we grow, the greater the focus will be on the benefits we bring to the children and to each member of our community. Do you understand? This means we pave the way when it comes to protecting our children, all children. Keeping it short and simple is very important when it comes to my staff. Penina and Tony are a different story, however. I would talk in more depth with them throughout the day.

The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.

~Henry Ward Beecher

Moving on, one of the projects I wanted to complete during this short visit was hiring a seamstress to teach our matrons how to sew, using (an electric!) sewing machine. So, Tony and I went into city center to the textile district to buy a used machine and secure fabric for the children's uniforms. Knowing this area of Nairobi, I came empty handed, with only a phone so that I could use mpesa for any potential purchases. The streets were littered with people milling about and a myriad of intriguing shops, all of which I wanted to visit. We settled on one shop quickly, due to the colors drawing me in. I wanted our new seamstress, Doris, to make very needed curtains for WWC, and was looking for something to bounce off the shelves. Problem is, everything appealed to me, and the choices became so overwhelming, I finally selected a typical African print I thought everyone would love. Tony beat the shop owner down until I kicked him to stop. It was hilarious, but she needed to make some profit on the deal. I was completely happy, and told Tony if I had purchased this fabric in the US, it would have cost us 10x more than it did. $100USD to make curtains for 17 windows and 2 doors? With extra left over for girls' dresses? Tony, twende. Lets go. Next stop was buying a used machine. We got what we wanted, and made the poor shop owner traipse through madness to get back to the truck. Tony bickered over the fee for walking this very heavy machine back to the car while I enjoyed the banter. While we were at it, we stopped in the one store Tony knows that carries quality fabric for every Government School in the Nairobi region. I couldn't believe the price - so very cheap, I wanted to buy 2 huge skeins, not one. I felt like a cat who had just caught a canary. One the way home, I told Tony: not only will Doris make uniforms for WWC, we can make them for children in the community, at a small discount from market prices. Undersell the markets by 50 bob, Tony, with all proceeds going to WWC. Done. We already have orders.

An honest man is always a child.

~Socrates

Doris came on Saturday, and will continue to come Wednesdays and Saturdays for the next few months. She made all the curtains in one afternoon, and will be using the rest for church dresses. The matrons were intrigued by the electric sewing machine and it's efficiency. All were hovering over Doris throughout the afternoon, who instructed them as she moved along.

Never have more children than you have car windows.

~Erma Bombeck

So many thanks to our special friend in Nashville who hand made these amazing shoes for the children!! They all love them!!

One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.

~Chinese proverb

NO firewood came back to WWC on Monday evening.

Late Tuesday morning, Joel from With My Own Two Hands Foundation, a non-profit organization out of Las Angeles, came to visit WWC. WMOTH was founded by an all-American basketball player at UCLA. After college, Lindsay Puimer went to went on to play professional basketball in Australia and Spain. In her offseason, she practiced and taught yoga, falling in love with the "karma giving philosophy" of the practice. After winning a championship in Spain, she headed to South Africa to volunteer with disadvantaged children. The short story is she retired from basketball and founded With My Own Two Hands Foundation, which focuses on water and agriculture. Lindsay is committed to empowering children and communities in need "with our own two hands." Needless to say, Lindsay's story completely resonates with me. Joel is the Project Manager on the ground in Kenya. He walked through the front gate with me, looked around and said: "I knew this is what I would find."

I showed Joel around briefly and took him to the office for tea. I am thrilled beyond words to inform all you dear readers tonight that we have a new partner and will be getting a new greenhouse next week. Once home, I will contact Lindsay and a myriad of other contacts Joel is arming me with, because "you are an excellent fit. I love what you have done."

All of us at WWC are are extremely excited and grateful for this wonderful connection and opportunity.

I owe KLM a huge thank you for rescheduling my flight. Without this change, the last two days would have not happened. Further, I did go back to school and meet with Wanjiru and one Board member. I said very little as he waxed on and attempted to intimidate me. When he told me I could find another school for our children, I simply said "It would likely be easier for you to find another job, isn't it?" Set back by my position at the table, I only had one more sentence for him when he told me that our children are not special and don't deserve anything more than all the children. "Mr. Wanjii. You fail to recognize that all children on this planet are special...not just the beautiful children of WWC. You may try to strong arm me and intimidate me, but it will not work. You can work with me and do what is in the best of each and every child. If one more child is beaten at this school, I can promise you the media will be on your door. Good day, sir."

Empowerment was the word of the past two weeks. I have never felt more energetic or excited about our progress and brilliant future. The air is thick with excitement...we have hired yet another temporary shamba worker to plant a cash crop of onions, with the help of Kenya Seed Company. Our chickens are producing. Our children, despite the abuse they endure at school, are amazingly resilient and doing wonderfully. They have been told what is happening, because having a parent behind you to watch your back and support you against violence is critical and, yes, empowering.

Finally, I will sign off on the most amazing tidbit of all. I have been asked by the government to take over Nagolie. My answer is "Yes, I will do so. I will offer 2M ksh (20K USD) A security fence needs to be built around the entire compound, water and electricity need to be separate and secure from the woman next door, and the title deed needs to be reissued in the name of Watoto World Center. "Simmie", Tony interjected.."She will never accept this offer." "That's my offer, Tony. She can take it or leave it."

From somewhere over the African continent, I am coming home, once again. This trip was an emotional one, highs and lows. But it sure ended on a whopping high!

So much love to each of you for your continued support and love. I am forever grateful to each of you.

Much love,

Simmie, Catho and Faith