After ten days with Noah, he drove me to Umoja Children’s home, a thirty-minute drive away from Bosto Children’s Home. Joseph, the director, welcomes me at his office with his sons. We had a short chat, and he introduced me to all members of the orphanage. I decided to stay, and two staff members prepared a single room for me underneath the main hall.
Daily schedule:
The kids get up at 05:30 AM every morning, go to the dining hall, and sing songs for about fifteen minutes. Then, from 05.45 AM until 06:30 AM, they have time to make their beds and fulfill small tasks from the teacher as cleaning toilets, preparing breakfast, etc.
At 06:40 AM, all the available children join my morning fitness session at the courtyard. We do stretching and jogging along with the children’s home for about twenty minutes. Every second morning we cross the street and play football or volleyball until 07:25 AM on an empty meadow where usually cows pasture.
At 07:30 AM, I go to the director’s office to have breakfast and discuss today’s schedule. The young kids stay the whole day at the orphanage and go to the hall straight after breakfast to attend their classes. The older kids take a bike or walk to the nearest secondary school. I joined one of the teachers at the hall, and we taught the kids English. At 09:30 AM, the kitchen served a glass of porridge for each kid. After that short break, the kids were free. At noon I went back to the office to eat beans with ugali and spinach. In the afternoon, there were a few activities in the hall as painting, dancing, etc.
I used the time to explore the neighborhood of the orphanage with a few kids, or we went again to the meadow to play.
In the evening we had the same meal for dinner at 06:30 PM. Then, before the kids went to bed, I shared footage I took with my camera, or we watched cartoons. From 07:00 PM until I went to bed, I edited videos and wrote my diaries.
Cornfields:
Once or twice a week, we go at 06:30 AM to the cornfields to work. Vincent, one of the director’s sons, drives us with the pick-up truck to the field. We walk in a line through the area and pick out the plants which are too close together or already rotten. After three hours, we are done and eat our breakfast at a local restaurant.
Overview travel expenses from 10th until 20th November
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Donation $50
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Small church donation $2
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Total: $52
Joseph provides the food and room, and you have no expenses as long as you stay at the orphanage. There is also a water heater for guests in a separate bathroom above the main hall! The hospitality was stunning, and I was able to experience local life and all the activities in just ten days.
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