Nzaikoni

On Monday 6-28, Fr. Sebastian Kol with Fr. John Roche came to Bosco Boys to pick up Katie, Mama Rosa (More on Mama Rosa on another blog), and myself to head off to an area called Nzaikoni. Nzaikoni is a small mountain village about 2 hours east of Nairobi. It probably wouldn't take two hours to drive there in the states (because the roads are so much better) but the trip was memorable, beautiful, and a trip we will never forget.

The base of the mountain, that Nzaikoni is on, is an area called Machakos. We love being able to go see new places in Kenya, meet new people in these areas, and being exposed to new things. On our drive up Fr. Sebastian pointed to a turn on the road and said, "that's where I dropped them off". (more on that later) When we reached the small village on the road, people started realizing it was Fr. Sebastian who was driving the car, they ran to him, started chatting, and it took us almost 30 minutes to drive about 100 yards. Fr. spent 7 years in this community before he went to Rome to study (where he eventually met Fr. John).

We reached later in the evening there, enjoyed some dinner, and watched Brazil vs. Chile.

The next morning we had mass said in the language of "Kikamba" in a beautiful church. Afterwards we then had a small breakfast and got a tour of the parish center. The scenery of the valleys below was remarkable, the sunrise was so colorful, and the smiles of the community members/children was so welcoming and friendly.

When we left, we stopped at a woman's home who was a "mother like" figure to Fr. Sebastian during his time in Nzaikoni. She treated us to some Kenyan chai (black tea soaked in hot milk) and bananas. We then had a tour of her beautiful home which is surrounded with avocado trees (bearing the largest avocados we've ever seen), her small barns for her cows, and valleys and valleys of beautiful scenery.

It is definitely one of our favorite places in all of Kenya and we hope to visit there again.





DOWNTOWN NZAIKONI!!!

The main (only) road in Nzaikoni

Mama Rosa, Katie, Fr. John, some little dude

Us with a woman from the church who was trying to sell us some hand-woven bags. Mama Rosa was the lucky one to get these beautifully made bags.

Katie with another little dude

Katie, Fr. John, and Mama Rosa with community members and children after mass.

This is a picture of Fr. Sebastian showing us where some burglars were banging on this door, eventually using a sledge hammer to break a hole into the wall next to the door. They eventually then were able to open the door, attack Fr., and take the keys to his vehicle. These guys though unfortuanetly weren't able to drive this car, so they went back into the house, grabbed him, and held a knife to his neck while Fr. drove them down the hill. While driving, the men were asking for Father's forgiveness and to give them a blessing before he dropped them off.

So the place Fr. was pointing us to on the road, on the drive up, is now called Fr. Sebastian's Point. The men hopped out of the vehicle, then ran down another part of the hill.

After this occurrence, Fr. had a security alarm installed. Sometime after the first burglary, the men came again. This time Fr. was able to hear them, he then showed us how he locked himself further away from the men, going through different hall ways in the center. He then showed us how he went out the back of the center, then climbed a fence and jumped down. The fall was literally about 20 feet high. He said his adrenaline was so strong, he was able to sustain a fall that high, survive, then run down the hill to a community members home.

When the alarm went off, the entire community heard the sirens. The calvary (church goers from the community) came to Father's rescue then started attacking the men who were burglarizing. Father then said they caught two of the men, and actually killed them on the spot. People afterwards would go to Father and energetically proclaim "I got them for you Father! I helped keep those men away!"

We were completely shocked to hear this. But Father assures us that since that day, over 10 years ago, there has never been a problem since.


The view from the woman's home where we had chai and bananas.

Fr. John with the small barn in the back

Beautiful members of the community, Nzaikoni

Adios Maria & Africa vs. USA

Once again, apologies for the delay between blog posts. The main computer which we have been able to use here is still acting up and we only can use the computer we're using right now every once and a while.

Two days ago our friend Maria, from Slovakia, went home. She was in tears when she left because she truly loved this place so much. The boys miss her already and about 6 of them packed into the van to watch her off at the airport. She was here for 9 months and is scared (but excited) to live life back home again, plus she just became an aunt, for the first time, a day before she went home.

There was a goodbye celebration for her the night before she left. The boys danced, sang, took her on stage to dance with them, and she went on stage and said a little message to the boys. She was choking up because she was leaving her friends but she said something that made everyone think. She told the boys that if they take advantage of the system here is selfish; i.e. doing whatever they want, not doing well in school, not obeying the rules because at the end of the day they know they'll have shelter and three meals a day. Many of the boys here don't do that well in school and don't care. Their life here is much better than what they had before and they understand how to "work the system". She said it's selfish for them to do this because it's their responsibility to do well, grow, change, and become examples for other children in their former situation.

She said if she took three of the boys home with her, had them speak to any group of people, they could easily change 500 lives. If they can truly beat the odds/the situation, they can help so many other street boys and people they will never meet or know.

It was very bold/important for her to say this, especially to the boys. Even last night one of the priests, Fr. Mtunga, spoke to the children about what Maria said and told them how true it is. She will truly be missed here but there soon will be two new girls from Slovakia to replace her. This morning Fr. Seba and I woke up at 4:30am to get to the airport before 5 to pick up Klara and Andrea but no one was there. We have yet to figure out why they weren't but we figure they are getting in tomorrow morning.

It's strange to have new volunteers here, after us. When we came there were 6 other volunteers already living here who showed us the ropes. We are excited to have some new friends, show them the ways here, and pass on all the knowledge we've learned from past volunteers.

Another thing that has been huge here is the World Cup. The children are absolutely obsessed with watching the games. The other night, as you may know, the United States lost to Ghana. Now, you may think what does Ghana have to do with Kenya? Well, I think the same thing. But the children here love Ghana do to the fact that they're from Africa also. A high majority of the children don't even know where Ghana is (Western coast of Africa) but they sure loved making sure I knew the US lost. It was so tough to sit in the entire room with over a hundred people rooting for Ghana while I (Pat) was rooting on the Yanks.

Everywhere in Kenya (and Africa) in the media they're claiming Ghana isn't a country but they're team "Africa". It really was USA vs. Africa. Even before the game we were watching a pre-game commentary and the host said, "America's motto has been "Yes We Can"... but don't forget their President is an African" ha


Maria giving her goodbye speech.

This is just a picture of the boys playing guitar. They play every lunch break.

I miss you already mom and dad!

I (Katie) thought I would write a blog of my own about my experience on my parents visit. It was such an amazing time for Pat and I to just have a break. A break from the boys (because sometimes you just need a break), a break from the compound, and a break from our daily routines. I have had a lot of hard times here, and literally all of that seemed to disappear when my parents came. I loved having them here not only for the comfort, but for fellowship, for good food, and for different adventures.

When they first arrived, they had bags that were solely things Pat and I needed from home. I cannot even explain the feeling we had when they were pulling the stuff out of the bag and handing it to us. Some of those things included candies, clothes, cards, protein bars and shakes (because the food is not always the best), cards from friends, cd's, books, and a few other knick knacks. All of these things to us are luxuries now. I don't think there has been any Christmas in the past where I felt as lucky as I did when they gave us these things. After living with boys who wear the same things every day, eat the same things everyday, listen to the same 5 hit Kenyan songs everyday, I really felt spoiled and slightly guilty that I was lucky enough to get these things, but I couldn't share them with the boys. Not that I wasn't overwhelmingly grateful, but there was that "I was born in this family so I get ..." kind of feeling. I wish I could provide for these boys the things that my parents were able to provide me.

I am so blessed to not only have the luxury of receiving these gifts, but that I have parents that are so wonderful, parents that love me and care for me and would do anything to comfort me during hard times. The day after they left, I had an overwhelming amount of compliments about how lucky and blessed I was to have parents like that. But there was one comment made by one of the boys Vincent that really touched me, and it was hard not to just hug him and start crying. He told me that my mom was a very wise woman, that she was so sweet, that he could tell how much she cared and loved me, and that he wished he had a mom like her. Most of these boys are missing one parent, a lot of them, both parents. And even though some of their parents may be alive or present, many ran to the streets due to their relationship with their parents. I am so blessed.

Thanks mom and dad for being so amazing, for talking to me every time I get lonely here and giving me perspective, for always pointing me to God first in all things, and for being examples of Christ's love. I love you guys so much!

Daddio in front of the Mosque on the way to Masai Mara

We all made dinner (thanks especially to dad) and it tasted like home

At the prayer labyrinth garden

Me, Br. Eric, and dad (who LOVED talking with Br. Eric)

Mom, Judy, and Anne at Nyama Choma (BBQ)

Mama Jo and Me

Parents with the Langata boys

Dad with Mwaniki and the boys after night prayers

Martin and Duncan climbing up the Pat tree to get his hat

Our first visitors!

First off, sorry for such a long period of time since the last post. We were non-stop with Jack and Kerry here which didn't allow us much time to get on the computer, not to mention the computer hasn't been working the past week or so.

We had such a wonderful time while Jack and Kerry were here. We were able to show them our lives and how we have been living it the past 4 months now, wow 4 months. We definitely were spoiled a bit with the candies, goodies, and trinkets our families brought us, along with the outings. We were a bit overwhelmed when they unpacked their suitcases and showed us the treasures inside their luggage. It has been so nice to be able to enjoy a sour strawberry candy strip, some See's peanut brittle, powerbars, or some gummy worms. It may seem strange but during these past four months we have learned how to live without these luxuries. Don't get us wrong, we're really happy to have these things, but it feels weird to eat a delicious candy while we hide in our room then sneak back outside to the children who don't have these sweeties. These candies have alone made us realize how lucky we are back in the states.

The presence of Jack and Kerry has been so refreshing to our relationship as well. Jokingly Jack and Kerry had told us during the two weeks they were here, that this is the longest they have been together since they got married 33 years ago today (happy anniversary you two!). They have never spent 24 hours a day together for this amount of time and that made us laugh, mostly due to the fact that we've been spending 24 hours everyday together for over 4 months. We do realize we need to have our alone time but we are reassured about each other due to the fact knowing we can spend so much time together and still have a smile on our faces when we see each other for the first time everyday.

The same day Kerry and Jack left, our buddies from Belgium (Gil and Nils) left also. Our other volunteer friend Maria will be leaving in 8 days from today. Soon Katie and myself will be the only two volunteers, as oppose to the other 6 who were here when we arrived. We have learned so much from each one of them, we have learned more about other cultures, and have learned more how we want to live our lives. In July there will be two new girls from Slovakia and we are excited to be the "vets" around here where we can help guide them to their new home.

In a little over than a month my mom, Anita, and her boyfriend Martin will be coming to visit. We remember when Kerry, Katie's mom, would send us emails titled "39 days and counting until we're in Africa!". It's amazing to think they've been gone for a few days already. Sometimes time here goes by very slow, in the case of Kerry's email, time flies by.

The one thing we noticed the most with Kerry and Jack being here is how important family is to us and the relationships with the ones we loves are the true treasures in life (even though candy can feel that way at times). How do I say this... If, whomever is reading this may miss Katie and I in anyway, we probably miss you twice as much. We miss all our friends/family, everyone's particular self, habits, jokes, mannerisms, being, and just whomever you are to us. We still enjoy it here but can't wait to get home to hear everyone's stories while we have been on different continents.

Patrick





These are a couple more pictures from Jack and Kerry's trip in Africa...


Katie while we're walking to our tent at Acacia Camp in Masai Mara

I believe this is the sunrise during our first morning on the safari.

Jack and Kerry with some twiga running in the back

Ok quick story...
This is Fr. John Roche SDB, Pat's teacher/friend from St. John Bosco High School. Fr. John is the person who was the link to get us to Nairobi. When Pat graduated from SJB H.S. in 2004, Fr. John also left to study in Rome. While in Rome he met another Salesian priest who was studying with him, Fr. Sebastian Kol of DBYES in Nairobi. (Of course Br. Al was the one who organized everything) but Fr. John contacted Fr. Sebastian about Katie and I possibly doing some volunteering in his center. Fr. Sebastian Kol then contacted Fr. Sebastian Chriyath of Bosco Boys who lives down the road from his center. Bada Bing Bada Boom, we're here... Well Fr. John was suggested, by Fr. Sebastian Kol, to be the guest speaker for a convention in Tanzania for the Salesians of Eastern Africa. On June 10th, Fr. John arrived at the airport in Nairobi, spent one day, then flew off to Tanzania (the country directly south of Kenya). This is a picture of me and Fr. John at the airport in Nairobi. He will be coming back to Nairobi in a few days for a 4 day visit, then back to Berkeley where he is a professor at UC Berkeley.

Katie and Pat at a restaurant called "?Que Pasa?" in the area called Karen in the city of Nairobi.

A dinner with Gil and Nils... (from left to right: Gil, Jack, Nils, Katie, Patrick)

One night Jack, Kerry, and Katie prepared a wonderful dinner at the girl volunteer home. Our friend Susan joined us and we had a really fun night eating pasta, salad, wine, and See's chocolates for dessert.

The four of us went on a tour of DBYES (Don Bosco Youth Educational Services), the center ran by Fr. Sebastian Kol. In the background you can see a bit of the construction they are doing at that center. It is a retreat center and the new building structure will include 50 new rooms (which can house up to around 300 people), two large multi-purpose rooms, and a new kitchen facility. Fr. Sebastian's dream is to house retreat groups from all over the world to give them a "true African experience".

We went out to dinner one night with Susan (left) and Maria (right) at a nice Indian restaurant down the road from Bosco Boys.

Guess which one's me...ha
This is Bosco Boys basketball team in a tournament at Bosco Boys Town (another Salesian Technical school down the road). We are considered a primary (elementary) school and we played against two clubs teams, a high school, and we eventually lost in the finals versus a university team (by one basket! ah! it's ok though, the Lakers won... but watch out for the Clippers next year ;). We ended up playing four games (each an hour) and it was exhausting but was fun to be in competition with the boys and other people affiliated with Bosco Boys. It was a really fun day.

This is a picture of Jack, Kerry, and Fr. Makarios at the Langata school. I think I have written before about Langata, but it's a school down the road where the children are first put into. If they perform well, adhere to the rules, and begin their rehabilitation process well then they are brought over to Bosco Boys. The boys at Langata are the ones right off the street, may be more difficult at times, but are very sweet and fun. There is a new building going up as well at this center (one of our first posts we wrote about the breaking of ground there, it's amazing to see two stories now). For some reason they are holding a German flag, I don't know why, but Mr. Kurt Brown (Katie's younger sister's boyfriend) we thought of you. So... Hi Kurt. Thanks for your message by the way.

This is a picture of the four of us the night before Jack and Kerry's departure with some of our buddies at Bosco Boys.

Jack & Kerry in Kenya

Hey everybody reading the blog, this is Jack, Katie’s father. Since knowing Kerry, my wife, and I would be visiting, I have had the urge to contribute to the blog. We have been here for 5 days now and have loved meeting all the children, shaking their hands, getting to know their names, trying to remember them, and meeting the fathers as well. Our stay has been incredible, one we’ll never forget for the rest of our lives. Here is a small outline of our experience so far.

It was great arriving at the airport in Kenya and giving a hug to Katie and Pat for the first time in over four months. We headed off to Bosco Boys with a 30 minute drive ahead of us. The drive was an adventure, to say the least, and Pat said, “don’t worry you’ll get used to it”. I thought we were going to die.

Got settled in that night and the following morning Fr. Mtunga asked Kerry and I to great the children for the morning session, that was fun.

The following day we attended morning mass at 6:30am and got to hear the beautiful voices of the children singing praise songs. After that we joined the fathers for morning breakfast before we ventured off to our safari.

Off we go for a five and a half hour drive to our safari destination. The ride over was better than an “E” ticket ride at Disneyland. We must have been within inches of taking out a few folk. That mainly happened while we went through a few of the different townships.

We arrived at our destination, the land of the Massai people. An Australian fellow set up a camp on the Massai land for the wuzungu (white people). We stayed in the Acacia Camp site for our three day safari stay. Omar, our driver, was great getting us there safely and Daniel, our cook, made three of incredible meals…three squares a day.

We made all together three safari runs. The first afternoon run was very general, saw a few; wildebeest, gazelles, zebras, etc. The following morning we went for a 2 hour run. In addition to the animals we saw the afternoon before (Charlie Raine you’ll like this one) we encountered a pack of elephants, either a herd or pack…I’m not sure. Omar the driver pulled up close and in the pack was the granddaddy of em all, he stood 14 ft. tall and the big guy decided he didn’t want us near his gang. So he started coming at us, then Omar decided it was time to high tail it out of there. (I wanted to stay a little longer though)

Third and final run was done that same day; we took off at about 11am for the Serengeti Plain at the Mara River. This is the spot in where 4 to 6 weeks from now will be the great migration (one of the Seven Wonders of the World). We were told an estimated 3 to 4 million wildebeest cross but this time around we only saw a few crocodiles and hippos. But to be standing in the area that we were is the same area we’ve seen on the Discovery Channel, which was very exciting for us. Pat and Katie get to do this trip again in August with Pat’s dad Tim and Kristen, lucky them.

Today is now Tuesday, a day after our safari return. We slept in because our stomachs were gurgling from all the good food we ate on our 3 day adventure. Finally got up, met Pat at Katie’s room to wash some of our dirty clothes from the week. We sat down, had some tea, and then got word that the watch dogs were out patrolling the premises the night before and got into the pig pen. The dogs severely injured 4 little piggies and killed another. We were asked by the “executioner” (Mwankie) to observe the pigs get slaughtered, we agreed! So off to the pig pen we went, Pat and myself, which is right behind Katie’s room. The only thing separating the shamba (farm) and Katie’s room is a chain linked fence and a hundred yards. I felt like we had to see it because of the many times we’ve partaken of the delicious honey baked ham during the holidays. Only Pat and I got to see it… tantalizing mustard anyone?

We have 8 more days remaining on our trip, are excited to see what those days will bring which will enrich our lives, and are open to whatever God has in store for us!



This is a city called Kikuyu which we drove through on the road to the safari. There was a marathon about 100 yards ahead from this picture, we were stuck in traffic for almost an hour. We drove on the other side of the road and the sidewalk to just get a few feet ahead. We were swerving in between people, cars, and buildings.

This is a picture of the Rift Valley. It was truly a beautiful scenery, reminded me of Hawaii.

Kerry at Camp Acacia

In front of tent 17, we enjoyed resting and writing our thoughts in our journals while enjoying the serenity of the camp.

The kids in front of tent 18

They're white with black stripes!

Patrick and Katie

The roof of our bus opened which allowed us to stand and take these pictures, it was a bumpy road though.

The King

Jackie Digg

Twiga

The granddaddy that tried to attack us!

The kids, again.

Hanging from this tree (in the middle of the picture) is the carcass of a gazelle that a leopard had for dinner.

A nursing momma

This picture shows me and Pat in Tanzania, and the girls in Kenya. We drove to the border of the countries by the Mara River (where the migration occurs). There is a large stone which the countries put up showing the border. We made it to 2 countries!

This is our picnic lunch on the way home from the safari. We had soda, grapes, and cold hot dogs! OR should I say cold dogs ;) yummy

This is the one little piggie that had his house huffed, puffed, and it was blown down.