Our last day with Kiini was a short one, but we were still able to accomplish quite a bit before we made the drive back to Nairobi. We started the morning just across the street from the Kiini office visiting a disabled man who is part of a group that has benefited from the micro-loans through Kiini. He now runs a small shop making all sorts of metal items, from drain pipes to watering cans and much more. He’s been able to start and sustain his business and provide for his family through support from Kiini.

After that we were able to attend one of the group meetings and see first hand how the loans and bookkeeping work. One of the women’s groups had their monthly meeting and Kiini attended to help with the paperwork and banking to assure that everything was in order and that everyone was doing their part.

Our project with Kiini was amazing and we were really impressed with their hearts and commitment to the community there in Nyeri. They are reaching out and touching so many lives and we were honored to get to be a part of what they’re doing.

Stay tuned for much more on Kiini as we begin our ‘back end’ work on the project from the states over the next few weeks. There will be videos/photos/design and many more stories that you won’t want to miss!

This man, who was born disabled, was empowered through the Kiini Sustainable Initiative.

Some of the items that he makes in his shop.

He demonstrated to us how he makes some of the metal items that he sells there in his shop.

Kennedy of Kiini.

The Utugi Ladies group meeting in Nyeri, a group that Kiini works with.  (Utugi means grace)

Boniface goes over the books with one of the women from the Utugi group.

Sam looks in on the group meeting.

Fraciah, one of the women from the Utugi Women’s group.

Day 6 was our final full day in Nyeri with Kiini and we spent a good bit of it enjoying the town and relaxing a little.  We finished all of our interviews with the Kiini staff first, and then we headed to Aberdare National Park for a game ride (i.e. safari).  It was a lot of fun and we saw all sorts of wildlife including Jessi’s favorite, elephants!

We’re wrapping up one last shoot this morning and then heading back to Nairobi for a few days of work with a Bishop there.  If we have internet you can expect continued updates on the blog…and if not we’ll be back before you know it!

Thanks for following our progress and stay tuned in the coming months as the Kiini project comes together!

Philip, one of the of the Kiini staff members.

Kennedy, one of the of the Kiini staff members.

Boniface, one of the of the Kiini staff members.

The Kiini staff in the office in Nyeri, Kenya.

Animal Skulls at the entrance to Aberdare Park.

The rest of these were shot during our ‘game ride’ through Aberdare Park;  Waterbuck.

Water Buffalo

Elephant

Jessi and Stephen during the game ride at Aberdare Park.

Hyena

The flooded river due to the recent heavy rains

Jessi searching for elephants on foot

Sam, Stephen and the Father on the 4×4 during our game ride.

An hour drive down the road and we were at a special goat project that Kiini has helped to initiate. There are a lot of goat projects here in Nyeri, many of which Kiini is a part of, but this one stood out because they had saved up the money to purchase a goat of good pedigree which they are now breeding with the local goats to improve their breed here.

The goats were in an area near where Kennedy and Philip grew up, so after finishing that project they took us to a beautiful waterfall near their homes and then we joined their families for a traditional Kikuyu (their tribe) meal at their homes.

We finished off the day at the 3rd member of Kiini, Boniface’s home for coffee and snacks with his family. It was a great (and muddy!) day. The trip is beginning to wind down as we head out today for our last full day of work. Then, Sunday we’ll be spending the morning at one of the national parks here before watching a soccer match and having dinner with everyone. Then Monday it’s back to Nairobi and on to the next project!

Stay tuned…more to come!

Chickens at the chicken farm that we visited.

Some of the boys who live at the chicken farm.

One of the women in the group that runs the chicken farm.

The owner of the chicken farm.

Philip’s niece, Joyce.  She was watching as we photographed the goats (they thought it was very funny that we were taking photos of goats).

Goat.

Philip’s younger brother and Kennedy showing us some of the new hybrid goat kids.

The man who cares for the goats on the goat farm.

Joyce had a really beautiful smile that never left the whole time we were with her.

The waterfall near Philip and Kennedy’s homes.

Sam and Kennedy drinking some natural mineral water from the rocks near the waterfall.

Us hanging out by the waterfall…photo by our good friend and driver, Sam (seen above).

Philip’s grandmother who lives with them.  She is paralyzed on the entire right side of her body.

Stephen enjoying a traditional Kikuyu meal with Philip and Kennedy’s families.

Jessi was going to take Teddy home to America with her!

Philip’s nieces and nephews.

The view near Philip and Kennedy’s homes.

Jessi and Sam getting in the car in pitch darkness and lots of mud after having coffee at Boniface’s home.

(don’t forget to check out today’s photos in the post below!)

We started the morning out visiting a group that’s started a fish project and has been building ponds and stocking them with fish that they’ll be raising.  They gave us a tour of their land and showed us the ponds where the fish are kept.

Next we  visited Agnes (one of the women from yesterday who showed us how to make jelly) at her school, which is the site that I visited last year when I came here.  After spending some time there with the orphans at her school we headed out to another site where Kiini is working with the community on a water project.  The project has been helping to get clean water distributed in the country side.  It was a good day, and if the internet works properly we’ll have a short video update from our trip so far for you later on today!

A view of the land where the fish program is taking place.

Boniface standing by one of the man-made ponds for the fish program.

A family who visited us during our tour of the fish project ponds.

The men who run the fish program fed the ‘fingerlings’ to get them to come near the surface for us.

All of the Fish program participants and the Kiini staff watching the fish eat.

Another of the man-made ponds.

The teachers at Agnes’ school.

One of the collaborators from Agnes’ group who has helped to keep the school running.

The children sang songs for us while we were visiting the school.

Jessi got a chance to join the kids in jumping rope.

They prepared us porridge at the school

Sam and Boniface enjoying their porridge.

One of the women working with the water project.

These pipes are installed and used to get the water to the different areas that it’s being supplied to.

It seems that every plant in Africa has 3 inch long thorns on it!

Back in Nyeri for dinner (I just liked this one!)

We visited a women’s group who has learned to make milking jelly that they use for their skin and hands. They hope to be able to sell once they can make enough of it. We also got to hear stories from them on how the loans through Kiini have helped them improve their quality of living and be able to become self sufficient.

After that we visited a group of women who have been working on agri-business ventures. They were able to buy rabbits, goats and chickens through a micro-loan they received through Kiini. Now they have been able to buy and sell their livestock to increase their profits and grow their business.

We then visited the ‘Young Shakers’ group where the men have been baking cakes and have built a business selling them to local vendors to turn a profit.

Lastly we visited a man who has started a mushroom growing business and taught us the complicated farming methods involved in growing mushrooms in almost complete darkness.

It was a great day and we saw some really amazing stories and some really resourceful people, all of whom were touched by Kiini’s commitment to the community. I can’t wait to begin to put some videos together to show you guys!

As for today…it’s currently pouring down rain…should be interesting!

One of the staff for Kiini, Philip, as we wait to start the interviews of the women of the Mutirithia Ladies group.

The Mutirithia Ladies showing us the process of making milking jelly.

Melting the wax for the milking jelly.

They let Jessi try some, and then gave her a jar of her own to keep!

This is Sam, our wonderfully talented driver…

…It really wasn’t his fault that we got a flat tire. The roads are very bumpy and rocky here

This is Jane, one of the women who has become an entrepreneur in rabbit farming thanks to the help she received through Kiini.

These are some of the rabbits from Jane’s rabbit farm.

Some of the children who live near Jane.

These are Jane’s grandchildren.

Another group who has received help through Kiini.

One of the Young Shakers who has built his business selling cakes.

A Young Shaker making cakes.

Timothy Kamau, the mushroom farmer.

We spent a while interviewing, shooting video and photographing a group of women who live in makeshift homes on land that they don’t own. There’s a law that says if you live on land that isn’t yours for 7 years it becomes yours, so the land owners, who charge the women rent to have their homes there, will force them to move every 5 or 6 years and destroy their homes to keep from having to give them the land.

KIINI has been working with these women through their microcredit loans to try and help them reach a place where they can afford to purchase some land of their own and begin to build more permanent lives.

After the day was done we went back to the Chairman of KIINI’s home and got some rest (although a combination of ‘The West Wing’ and jet lag kept us up pretty late!). It’s now the beginning of day two and we’re getting ready to head out into the field again! Stay tuned for more updates and enjoy some of our photos from day one!

Two of the women living in the squatters camp.

One of the grandchildren of one of the squatters living at the camp.

We were able to interview a woman named Priscilla who spoke of her challenges living as a squatter and how Kiini is empowering her to overcome these challenges.

The group walking to the next site.

Another squatter settlement.  They aren’t allowed to build their houses past a certain height so they dig down into the ground to make their roofs lower.

Women outside of their temporary homes at the squatters settlement.

The inside of this woman’s home is no bigger than a typical american walk-in closet.  She shares it with her family and her goats.

Another one of the women in the squatter’s camp.

This woman is watering seedlings that the government has given her to take care of in exchange for allowing her to live here.  Once the seedlings are grown she will be asked to leave.  This is called the ‘Shamba’ system.

This man is also living under the Shamba system.

Two grandchildren of one of the woman at the squatter’s camp.

Jessi and a cute puppy that she found outside of one of the squatter’s homes.

A man painting one of the buildings at a school where Kiini has helped to renovate the school by building latrines.

Some children that we passed on the way to a therapy group for people living with HIV.

One of the children of a woman who is HIV positive.

A group therapy session for people who are HIV positive.  These people come from all over the region to support each other.

So, I have some news. As you know, we have been planning a wonderful adventure to Nyeri, Kenya to work with The Kiini Sustainable Initiative (KISI). Stephen met Philip during his trip to Kenya in January, and knew right away that his story was one that needed to be told. We began planning for this trip later in the spring, support-raising, itinerary-planning, etc (as I’m sure you’ve seen). But we kept hitting road blocks. So, after much, much, much talk and prayer and consideration, it has been made clear that right now is not the right time for this project. Hence, we have decided to postpone it.

But don’t be sad! Although it is disappointing that we won’t get to see Philip and the rest of the KISI folks as soon as we had hoped, the time will come, sooner I hope than later. We are still planning on making the trip as early as possible next year, and already have a ticket waiting for us. We just know that we want to be good stewards of everything we’ve been given – including the support that you all have given us. It will be used for KISI, but we must wait until the time is right.

In the meantime, please be praying for wisdom and guidance. I know this year has been tough on a lot of people, but I am excited to see how God redeems it next year.

Also, Bedouins misses Birmingham! We’ve been gone so much this year. So let’s have a party, k? Ok. More details coming soon…

We asked, you gave. (Thank you, dear book-givers.) Now however, what we really need are some book-buyers. Check out our storefront at Amazon and buy one of these delightful little stories/cookbooks/textbooks/poems.

Remember, for every story you buy, you help us to tell the story of the Kiini Sustainable Initiative. We can’t do it alone!

Thanks again to our community for all of your support!

(And for anyone who still has books to give, send them our way!)

Love,
Jessi