The Doerksen Journey: Eastleigh

Micah woke up feeling his old self again.    He was able to join the Grade 7/8 class this morning.   The teacher welcomed him into the class with open arms.    Micah sat in the Math & English class.   He said the Grade 7 math was harder than the Grade 8 math at Windsor.    He was not able to get the question right on the blackboard.     Aby brought in some Jolly Rancher candy as well as some more tattoo's.   Once again, they were a hit among the students and teachers.

The rest of us went to the pottery shop.   I tried to restrain myself.   We bought a couple of small pieces of pottery to bring home.   Aby bought a couple of necklaces and earrings.   I purchased some necklaces as well.   I spoke to Richard who runs Noor jewelry. I put in an order to bring home 100 necklaces to sell and give away.    Don't worry, I spoke to Mark about my plan before we went in.     All of the money goes directly to Noor & supports these Somali women.   We will be having a tour of the pottery building and the process of making the jewelry on March 1st.

We then went up to the Level 2 & 3 English class with the Iftin ladies.   We worked on making a story past tense.   During some of the Level 3 class, Mark spoke about cultural differences.   He spoke about how his father's side of the family immigrated to Canada and went to Paraguay and then back to Canada.    The class really seemed to appreciate hearing some of his story.   We talked about food, clothing, & a variety of things we do in Canada.   We then heard about Ethiopian & Somalia culture.   The women shared about the process of marriage and the celebrations that take place.     We then had the opportunity to have a henna on our hands & feet. The young lady that did it was simply amazing. She just looked at Aby's hands and started drawing. She did both sides of Aby's hands and her feet.   Micah had a henna done on the outer part of each of his biceps.   I had my feet and part of my hands done.   Mark had one done on his left bicep.    It took her about 2 hours to do all of this freehand.

Once again, we went on another home visit delivering food and a water filter. Farhia, our translator, and Laura, another worker at Eastleigh, accompanied us. This family did not have parents.   We believe the mother died while giving birth to the youngest child.   We did not understand what happened to the father.   The Grandmother is looking after the 6 children.   Grandma had her eye shot out during the war in Somalia and came to Nairobi in the 90's.   She cannot afford to send the remaining 4 children to school.   She makes biscuits and sells them as a way to make money to support these children.    She was so thankful to have been given some groceries and a water filter.

It is not safe for us to take pictures of the streets in Eastleigh.   I cannot find words to describe it.   Farhia tried to take some pictures for us but they do not capture the chaos, dirt and poverty that exists.   Twice now as we walked on the street, we saw vendors with large yellow bags.   They contain a type of leaf that is a drug called chew.   The streets were lined with these for sale.   If the garbage is not being burned, it is just lying on the side of the street.    The smells are unbelievable and yet the people on the streets smile and say "hi".

Aby had the opportunity to skype into her classroom this evening.   She loved being able to see and hear her friends.   Micah was getting a bit sad but then they found 2 of his friends to talk to him.   It was nice to reconnect with Winnipeg again.   We miss our friends and family but we are not missing the cold and snow.