Those Other Orphans

We're not the only orphanage in Kenya.
Just a few miles from us is The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
When you visit us, remind us to take you there.

As you can see, their "babies" are just a little bigger than ours.
But their bath water is about the same colour as Levi & Gerro's.
I know, because I have to get into it after them some nights!
Guy

Hurrah For Uhuru

It was a public holiday here today.
As Kenya's 4th President, Uhuru Kenyatta, was sworn in.
Spent most of the day watching the whole proceedings on TV.
A very impressive ceremony. Felt very moved at times.
Especially as this is Kenya's jubilee year.
Celebrating 50 years of independence.
Blessed to be here at such a time!
Guy

Lotsa Legs

Levi & Gerro have been off school for a few days.

Normally they would play football, read books, etc.

But this school holiday has been a little different. How exactly?

Well, the boys decided to start collecting, keeping & caring for ...

                                             millipedes.

Yes, millipedes. And it's just dawned on me.

They head back to school tomorrow. So ...
who's going to be looking after the creepy-crawlies then?
Guy

Gi's A Hug

Any of you who have been here will recognise this look.
It's that irresistible "please give me a hug" look.
Could you say "no"?
Guy

Caught Red-Handed

We were driving back from Nakuru the other day.
When suddenly all the cars were flagged down by soldiers.
The reason? President Kibaki's motorcade was on its way.
Took about half an hour for all the cars & bikes to pass.
In the meantime, I took care of my overheated engine.
While Susanna took this shot through the windscreen.
Like my red asbestos gloves? Pretty, eh?
Guy

Positive People

Recognise these two?
They're our very good friends, Tony & Roz Mitchell.
We first met them when they lived near us in NE Scotland.
But nowadays, their home is in Houston, Texas, USA.
There, they run a training company called People Positive.
In December, they ran team building sessions.
At all our homes. And at no cost. What a blessing!
This picture is from of the sessions here in Nairobi.
Haste ye back!
Guy

Babe In Arms

You've seen Claire before in an earlier post.
With Carlotta, our international volunteer of the year.
But here she's swapped Carlotta for one of our cute kids.
I'm sure Carlotta will forgive her.
Guy

Little Baby, Big Eyes

Maybe this look is even more irresistible than the last one?
With all these distractions, it's a wonder we get any work done.
In fact, my friend and colleague Kyeni often tells me:
Some of us are working hard and some are hardly working!
Guy

Hosanna

What have we been up today?
Started with Palm Sunday service in the cathedral. Hosanna!
In the highest!
Guy

What A Looker

 How could anyone resist a look like this?

Clearly not this poor unsuspecting volunteer!
Guy

The Laughing Laundry Ladies

Kahara's not the only one smiling.
Here are two of my favourite laundry ladies laughing out loud.
Florence (so-so smile, left) and Olpha (serious smile, right).
And the laundry ladies are also the language ladies.
My most patient Kiswahili tutors, by half.
Asante, walimu (thank you, teachers)!
Guy

Karibu, Kahara!

Meet my new boss, Kahara Mbugua.
Kahara started on March 1st as New Life's first ever CEO.
After working closely with us as a consultant for the last year.
He's a qualified accountant with bags of corporate experience.
But he's also been a Sunday School teacher for 20-plus years.
That's right. You guessed it. He LOVES kids.
He and his wife Hellen have 3 of their own ... so far!
In short, he's tailor-made for this new responsibility.
Guess God was the tailor?
Guy

Carlotta's Christmas

Meet Claire, one of our wonderful caregivers.
And Carlotta, one of our fantastic volunteers.
Carlotta comes from Italy, but is currently living in Kenya.
At Christmas though, Carlotta went home to Italy for a few days.
But rather than relax with family & friends.
She spent her time hosting events promoting New Life.
And returned with an amazing 3,587 Euros for the babies.
That's more than 400,000 Kenya Shillings.

For that reason, at our 19th Anniversary & Open Day ...
Carlotta was voted: "International Volunteer of the Year".

She seems very happy about it!

Guy 

Crocs, No Socks

Talking about donations, here's another one.
900 pairs of shoes. Kiddies' Crocs, to be precise.
And here's Susanna. Having just collected boxes of them.
Enough to pack the inside of the car. And need the roof rack too.
The shoes have now been distributed all over the country.
A treat for bare feet!
Guy

Cheque-Mates

I don't think a single day goes by without a donor calling here.
They bring food, diapers/nappies, medicines, clothes, toys, cash.
Handling the donations in kind is almost a full time job.
We have to keep a container out back for temporary storage.
And Susanna is the undisputed Queen of the Container.
But we also get cheques from time to time.

Like this recent one from Pharmaceutical Product Development.
PPD's Jackline is on the far left and Daveline is on the far right.
Sandwiched between them are Clive, Mary, our Jaqui and me.
All trying to get our hands on the money!
Guy

Boxing Day Blessings

Clive & Mary invited us to Boxing Day lunch yesterday.
Ham and all the trimmings at Beckenham Palace. Delicious!
I didn't take a photo. Sorry. But here's one I made earlier.
Well, to be honest, that Susanna made earlier.
That's her hand on the knife.
So I better watch my step!
Guy

Spectator Or Spectacle?

But for some of the other visitors to the Safari Walk ...
Neesee & Harry were the main spectacle.
These school children, on a trip to Nairobi from rural Kenya,
crowded round the two girls as if they were celebrities.

Took them a while to get used to being the centre of attention.

Not like their Auntie Lauren, eh?

Guy

Close Encounters Of The Furred Kind

And the creature we got closest to on the Safari Walk?
This fun, furry fella. A sweet bushy-tailed squirrel.
Neesee, Harry & our boys chased this critter all over the place.
He seemed to enjoy it as much as them!
Guy

Spotty Spotted

They say leopards are some of the most elusive of the big cats.
But we did manage to spot this Old Spotty on the Safari Walk.
It had been lured out of its lair to collect its very large lunch.

A few seconds later, it slipped behind the shrubbery. Gulp!

How close could you be to one in the wild without seeing it?

Killer camouflage, eh?

Guy

Park Life

Took Neesee and Harry to Nairobi Safari Walk.
This is the point at which it overlooks the National Park.
Uncle Gerro (9) on the left. His niece Neesee (5) on the right.
And a real, live, wild giraffe in the middle.
Gerro & Neesee in Safari Walk.
Giraffe in National Park.

River in between!
Guy

Hobbit's Homecoming

We took a trip to quirky Kitengela Glass with Cherry & family.
Here's son in law Stephen outside one of their quirky cottages.
My family affectionately (?) refer to me as "the hobgoblin".
In a similar vein, Stephen is often called "the hobbit".
In this picture, it looks like the hobbit has finally found his home!
Guy

Smoky Centre

At the heart of Kitengela Glass is its fabulous furnace.
Where the glass is heated, blown, sculpted and finished.
And thick smoke swirls in the streaming sunlight.
I love standing & staring up at it!
Guy

Planet Of The ... Chimps

Don't be fooled by Neesee's coy look.
It's just an act, I'm happy to say. Yes, happy.
I much prefer my "cheeky chimp" grand-daughter.

And her even cheekier, chimpier little sister Harry!
We had 3 wonderful, wacky weeks with the 2 of them.
And their mum & dad too, of course.
It's too quiet without them!
Guy

Rover's Return

We got a whole Sunday with some Scottish friends recently.
Angus was born & spent the first 16 years of his life in Kenya.
But, together with his wife Pam, this was only his 2nd trip back.
Angus' cousin though still lives here & runs a travel business.
So he'd helped set up a super-duper safari for the lucky couple.
But we were so happy they took the time to visit us too.

Angus seems to have stepped out of this second picture.

Guess he's the one cracking the joke that's making us giggle?

Happy days!

Guy

Island Hoppers

On the Safari Walk, you see the animals in large enclosures.
But on Crescent Island, you wander among them.
As you can see, Neesee couldn't wait to get started.

Followed by Gerro, hot on her heels.
No surprises there, for those of you who know him.

Leaving Susanna. To agree pick up time with boatsman.
Which maybe is a surprise for those of you know her?
Susanna and punctuality? Not a frequent combo, eh?
Guy

African Appearance

They made it. Hurrah!
Our daughter Cherry & her family got here a few days ago.
And we're LOVING every minute of having all 4 of them around.
Here's Neesee. Emerging from a play sculpture.

One inch at a time.

Until ... free at last!

Then sliding all the way to the bottom. To start all over again.
The simple things, eh?
Guy

Dads & Daughters

Just 3 and a half days to go. Until these 2 arrive.

And with them, the other 2 that this 2 have made.

Too cryptic? Sorry. What I'm trying to say is ...

On Wednesday morning, Cherry & her hubby Stephen arrive.

And included in their baggage will be Anise & Harriet.

Better known as Neesee and Harry. My grand-daughters.

Cherry spent 5 months here in 2005 with Susanna.

For Stephen & the 'little ladies', it is their very first visit.

You have no idea how excited I am!

Think they're a bit excited too?

Guy

Dad's Dessert

We have an American-style diner called Java House here.
It's just added this brand new dessert to its revised menu.
As it happens:
(1) my dad's name is Roy, and
(2) he LOVES custard.
So maybe Java House launched this pudding with him in mind?
Anyway, I've told my dad he needs to come back to sample it.
SOON! Are you listening, dad?
Guy

Curiosity (Nearly) Killed The ...

So Raphael takes off in my car. And leaves me with his van.
I go back under my acacia tree. To hide from the overhead sun.
And then I get a most unexpected visitor. A curious zebra.

He leaves his herd, grazing along the other side of the road.
Strolls across the highway, narrowly avoiding the traffic.
For an idea of the risk, please see the picture above.
And all of this, to take a closer look at me.
Never had this experience in Scotland!
Guy

Car Doctor Calling

The AA man was called Raphael.
And he fairly lived up to his name, which means "God heals".
As it only took him a few minutes to cure my poor sick car.
Although he wouldn't let me drive off in it straight away.
As he wanted to take it for a test drive first.

So for a little while, Raphael disappeared with my car.
And I was left alone in the lay-by with his.
Guy

Where Would We Be Without ... ?

That's my 21 year old car. Last Saturday. Going nowhere fast.
I was travelling from New Life Nairobi to New Life Nakuru.
Got as far as Naivasha. When the poor old girl overheated.
Forced to pull off the road. But thankfully, found this lay-by.
The sun was directly overhead. So I hid under an acacia tree.
Took this photo. And waited for ...

the AA Kenya van. And the AA Kenya man.
That's him, standing on two cans, to reach the radiator.
Thank God for the AA!
Guy

Chapati Champ

Twice a week all the men at New Life meet over lunch.
Office staff, drivers and groundsmen. All round one table.
We pray together. Study the Bible together. And ... eat together.
This is my plate of beans, lentils and cabbage from earlier today.
What you can't see is my favourite piece of the lunchtime puzzle.
The thick, warm & ever so slightly greasy chapati!
Guy

Little Boy Blue

That's Susanna's finger.
Getting a big grip. From a little boy.
I love all the shades of blue in this picture.
Not sure who took it (wasn't me). But I love it!
Thought you might too?
Guy

Sunny Side Up

Solar water heating panels are going up on our roof just now.
Thanks to a wonderful UK donor.
Talk about a gift that will keep on giving.
Our calculations project that our power bills will be cut in half.
This year. Next year. And every year thereafter.
We are so thankful that the panels are going UP.
And the bills are coming DOWN.
Guy