Getting the supplies ready for the schools

So, I guess the best place to start is at the beginning

Hannah had decided that she wanted to go to visit the area in Kenya that she and the income from her charity had sponsored for a few years. The reasons were two fold: First, she wanted to document the story and needs of the people that lived there, especially with the opportunities she would have to spread the word going into the next Olympics. Secondly, she knew that going there and meeting the children and people of this community would change her life and make her more dedicated than ever to help the people there. This thought process would soon become true for all of us that had the privilege to go on this journey with Hannah. The group consisted of Hannah, her brothers Elijah and Amen, whom had come to be the videographer, her friend Adam and mother Pat, whom were helping to get photographs, Chris Owen, professional photographer, and fellow snowboarder Gabi. Dave from World Vision also joined us, since we found that we were not allowed in the country without a home country support person. He was a wonderful addition to the group. After 2 days of travel, we took a small plane into Kichwa Tembo and stayed at the Safari Lodge, which was the closest lodging for our group to the areas we were to visit. From there, we were about a 30 minute drive to the edge of Kirindon ADP (Area Development Project – which ended up covering a huge area). I’ve got to admit that staying at this Safari camp was a big bonus, since we saw all kinds of African wildlife everyday just walking to and from our tents and driving in the area, without even going on Safari. We were off to a great start. The next morning we headed to Kirindon to start our first packed full day. After meeting the World Vision staff that worked on different projects in the ADP and having some singing sessions together (which ended up going on throughout our days together) we were off to visit a school, driving some rough roads about an hour away. While we where still a ways off, we could see hundreds of children coming out to meet us (about 751), They were SINGING AND DANCING as we arrived and as we were asked to join in, we had special colorful cloths and some of their hand made beaded bracelets and necklaces placed on us. We were then lead to places to sit amidst the crowds and be introduced to the children, parents and elders of the community. At this point all of us were blown away by the outpouring of warmth and generosity of all the people of this community in Kenya. We would soon be finding out that the beautiful people here would fill our days with welcoming smiles and words everywhere we went. We would learn that these people that had so little material wealth had much to teach us in the most important areas of life.

The school kids greeting us

Hannah receiving the beaded jewelry from the youth dance troop (one of the top in Kenya we heard)