A complex sitution.

As promised in a previous blog I would give a more detailed explanation of the piece of land that we live on - well here it is!

Beware!  The beginning of this new blog posting is mostly factual, and perhaps a bit boring.  Our new home is in the Marimba area, which is approximately 15km (which equates to a 40 min. drive due to road construction) from the city of Meru, which can be viewed on Google Earth or Google Maps.  As mentioned in the first blog, Meru is 5km north of the equator, is north-east of Mt. Kenya (almost as high as Mt. Kilimanjaro), is 1500m high, and has a population of 50,000.  Marimba is even higher than Meru, which means the elevation is approaching 1600m (one mile for those challenged by the metric system), and therefore comparable to Denver Colorado.  Marimba is mostly sustained by the abundance of tea grown in this region, but almost anything that you can think of grows here – coffee, mangos, papaya, avocados, rice, maize, bananas, all types of vegetables, flowers, cacti, trees, etc., etc., etc.  One of the biggest exports (although illegal) is merrah (also known as khat in other areas), which is plant that, when you chew its leaves, makes men (sometimes women) stoned and lazy, and women (sometimes men) angry with them!  Hmmm….

Our Lady of Grace children’s home is situated on a property that consists of 40 acres (a quarter section for those from the prairies) that is bordered on east and south by a dirt road, on the west by forest, and the north by a large creek.  Tea is grown on all the surrounding properties.  The dispensary (presently vacant), primary school, elementary school, and church, are situated in the south-east corner and are owned by the community.  The house that we now live in is right next to (west of) the church, and the two are separated by a 10’ breezeway.  To some, the house would appear to be somewhat austere and lacking in amenities, but to me it’s home, and I couldn’t ask for more.  Although, I have been bugging Rita about a microwave, but she can’t find one with a bicycle and generator attached to it!  I could use a bit more exercise I suppose, but then again…  The house has four bedrooms with two single beds in each.  There are three bathrooms, an office, and a large open living area that includes dining, kitchen, and TV (although we rarely watch it) spaces.  The real gem of the house is the small (10’ x 5’) chapel that is very conducive to prayer and gets lots of use! 

Looking west from the house is a view of the main complex.  On either side of the complex are the men’s, and women’s living areas.  The main complex consists of the children’s dormitories (each named after a Saint), a large chapel, kitchen, laundry facility, and storerooms.  To the north of the complex and house is an almost completed building, which was originally meant to be a convent, and to make a long story short, we are hoping to get it finished and it will then become our new home.  There are vegetable gardens to the north and south of the complex, the larger one being to the north.  There is a small tea field by the convent.  From the west side of the complex to the forest is a large area of plowed land with grass beginning to grow, but it’s the wrong type for the cows to eat.  Yes, we have 3 pregnant milking cows and a bull.  I think that the large plowed area will eventually be planted with tea, four or five acres at a time.  This is tea country, and all you really have to do is plant it at the right time, before the rainy season, which is rapidly approaching.  Should start mid March and last for a couple of months, I think.  The tea is a crop for life (approx. 80 years) that is normally marketable three years after it is planted.  If it were a big plantation, the tea would be picked on a daily basis.  Smaller fields, if planted would probably be picked about once a week. 

We also have more four legged creatures: Six dogs, one that is pregnant, and there is the possibility that we are getting a German shepherd given to us.  We also have two cats that hang around the house and couple more that stay by the dormitory area.  They are quite often inside the house, sometimes all at the same time, and have tested my patience more than once!  Rita can’t say no to the needy, especially children (and animals), and I admire her for that.

Hopefully, with the combination of my written explanation and the photographs (that I intend to continue publishing), you will be able get a sense of what this place is like.  If not, use your imagination, or better yet, volunteer to come and help us out and see for yourself!  I wish that I could somehow take an aerial photograph of the property, but I have yet to resolve this issue.  Come to think of it, I haven’t heard a plane in the sky for the entire 3 weeks we’ve been here.  I think that’s a good thing!