UN tour and Paradise Lost

UN Flag: the world viewed from the North Pole, surrounded by olive branches of Peace and Hope.

Today Simon and Cecilia booked us into a tour of the Africa UN headquarters in Nairobi.

This is an amazing facility, in a massive ground, donated by the Kenyan government.
We went round with a group of Masters students from the university. The guy who took us around was great fun and very informative.
The UN vaccinates 58%  of the world's children Assists 34 million refugees. Is doing a lot of work with climate change. Fights poverty, protects human rights. As well as it's key role in peacekeeping and preventative diplomacy.
The tour included a visit to the massive conference rooms where various assemblies sit. I was asked to do a 30 second presentation to the group on behalf of the UK from the same podium where Barack Obama spoke. Mary also addresses the group on "the seeds of hope"

Our guide addressing us in the Japaneses Peace Garden.

Headquarters of UNEP the UN environmental agency

This is a modern concept building that is environmentally neutral. 

It has solar panels and this large atrium which provides cooling 

The plants are watered by the water from the roof has all LED lighting

and toilets which use minimal water. 

We had an African tea and pastry in the very good buffet there, then set off for Paradise gardens which is well named. It is in the middle of a coffee plantation, It consists of a lake with waterfall and " Prehistoric caves", which were quite fun to go round; then we sat and watched a vast variety of birds in the canopies of the trees, with even one or two even sitting still long enough to be photographed..

Supper consisted of a delicious mango and avocado and banana smoothie and butternut squash and bean feast.

 Tree with aerial roots by side of waterfall

Mary Simon and Cecilia in the cave

Another in the cave

 Bird in a tree

This one was getting insects from underneath the bark

Another amazing tree with aerial roots 

Bomas of Kenya African dance

Today we went to a cultural centre called Bomas of Kenya. Bomas comes from a cultural word meaning homestead. It contains examples of different homesteads. as well as a large auditorium where they have daily performances of ethnic dances.

One of the little homesteads

 Mary and Simon looking into the second wives house. Each wife had a separate house the size matching the status of the wife.

Traditional drummer

 Very colourful twirling dresses

A lot of dances seem to involve choosing partners

Another very colourful dance troupe

Church and Parties

Today we went to church; Nairobi traffic is different on a Sunday, the queues form outside churches.
We went with Simon and Cecilia to a nearby Anglican church, which they have completely finished re-building. It is massive, but the congregation is already growing to fill it .  We received a very warm welcome.
The service was a mixture of old Anglican hymns we used to sing years ago plus some very lively Swahili choruses. It was a modern Anglican  Church of Kenya   liturgy which I enjoyed. Still retaining some of the old favourites such as Cranmer's collects. The church is led by a very dynamic Kenyan lady vicar, who preached a six point sermon which was very practical and good..

Cecilia buying fruit from a roadside stall on the way back from church

After going back to the flat for lunch we went to a birthday party of one of Cecilia's friends. Which was a lovely occasion with an enormous Kenyan buffet. It was good to be warmly invited into another very friendly Kenyan family.

Then home to bed.

We arrive in Kenya

 We arrived in Kenya yesterday after a good overnight flight from Heathrow. We were very glad to be met by Simon and Cecilia at the airport. When we departed  the temperature was 1 deg C when we arrived the temperature was high twenties,  We drove back through the Nairobi rush hour which is infamous with matatu drivers dashing in and out of the traffic and street sellers wandering  in and out of the slow moving queues of traffic.
After a welcome cup of tea we went to a Asian trade exhibition. Then in the afternoon stretched our legs in a local walking track . Cecilia is an excellent Kenyan cook so we are being treated to lots of traditional Kenyan foods, we have had arrowroot a delicious snack. Beans and maize and green spinach type vegetables which is a Kenyan staple. Finished off with the most delicious Mangoes which are in season at present.  Then to an early bed to sleep off  the effects of the night flight.

We slept very well; this morning we went to view a new house which Simon and Cecilia are wanting to move to.after viewing they really liked the house. Then followed an African style negotiations with the landladies parents.
We returned to the flat for fresh corn cobs for lunch then in the afternoon went to a Safari Walk at the Nairobi wild life park. The walk is about a mile long around large enclosures which contain animals which the rangers have placed there, often ones that would not survive in the wild such as  an albino zebra

Albino zebra with normal animal

Cheetah with characteristic eye stripes 

Impala antelope

A warden took us off the path to see these very sleepy lions

      

A female Jackal

13 2 2016 Our final day

Today we woke up early to wave off Jan and Rob who set out early to fly to Kenya to visit our mutual friends George and Mary.
Then a leisurely breakfast and did some finishing touches to the library. We went off for a walk but the rain suddenly came down so we sheltered in the Inema Arts Centre the people there were very welcoming we were shown around the beautiful and very vibrant African art works and introduced to some of the artists. They offered us a very good cup of coffee which they refused to let us pay for, demonstrating the wonderful generosity and hospitality. Finally the rain stopped and we were able to come back and demonstrate our efforts in the library to Jean the Solace Ministries director and founder.

 Two of the artists at Imema

We passed lunchtime with a pleasant sandwich and African tea at the Umubamo hotel before a quick shower and setting off for the airport

12 1 2016 We got to the Rs!, Sosthene and Rhoda and Last supper

Christa, Mary and myself were busy today determined to make a real dent. By the end of the day we had got to grips with putting Dewey Decimal  on most of the non-fiction and Labelling the fiction.
At 11 our friends Sosthene and Rhoda came they are a lovely Christian couple he is a retired public health doctor and she is a nurse. They are doing a lot of training with couples and young people in relationships, healthy living HIV and sexual health. Also they had taken in a young women with a very tragic story, who was pregnant having been raped and had HIV and TB infections she had been found hiding away and starving. Luckily she was found by the church and Sosthene and Rhoda have taken her in she is on the correct medication and is starting to put on weight and having more positive thoughts about her baby.  We had lunch at the African buffet, this is done every weekday for local office workers and they pay equivalent of £2 for a good African meal basically as much as they can pile on the plate.
Then we continued until 5pm when a friend of Mary's called Stella arrived, she is a worker with poor children in the villages and also a singer songwriter. She stayed for supper, Enoch came to see us briefly before getting the over-night bus to Uganda to see his family. Also our friend Peter arrived together with Ignatius the brother of a nun we know who lives in Kingston the next village to us in Lewes. We had a hearty last supper and finally spent some time praying with Peter who had some problems.

11 1 2016 More library organising and dinner with Charles and Juliette

Today we had a fairly quietly industrious day busy organising the library with a simple break for lunch in our room, with our usual staple of instant porridge and bananas.
In the evening we went to dinner to Charles and Juliette's house. We were serenaded by a choir practising on the veranda and Charles was busy having a meeting with local officials as he had been just been elected onto a post in the local administration. We eventually had a lovely meal together and stepped outside to a starry African sky.