Car troubles

I am back in Vancouver, but I thought I should update the last day or two in Kenya while I can still remember. Friday was graduation day for the participants, which meant they received their certificates from us. The day began as usual with Fred, our taxi driver, arriving on time. Then his car wouldn’t start, and Jim and Jessie pushed him down the parking lot so he could start it in first gear. We were about halfway to the Church (our destination, and homebase for teaching at the Bahati site), when the car stopped again. This time, Fred quickly commented that it was “dead”.

So, without a second thought, Jim, Jessie, and I exited the gravesite that was his car, and pushed it down a busy street, in rush hour, to the side of the road. This must have been a sight for the locals! Upon entering the car again, I noticed Fred rolling up the windows, at least partially due to the pollution. This prompted an inquiry into the safety of our current location. Fred assured us that it was not safe where our car had decided to stall, and that we should exercise caution. The police soon came and told us we had ten minutes to get off of the side of the road. Not sure how we were going to meet this deadline, Fred phoned his brother to aid in solving our problem, which had now been diagnosed as a battery issue. Long story short, people were offering us knock off clothes, wares, and snacks while we sat in our dead car. When Fred’s brother arrived, he hot-swapped out the battery out from his car (yes, I mean while it was still running), and placed it in ours. We managed to arrive at graduation a bit tardy, but it was fine in the end.

One of the big picture points for the trip for me was how much people want education, but lack the access. This begins at a young age. While technically primary school education is free, there are charges for the mandatory uniform and books. As you might imagine, this makes school prohibitive for the poorest families, and arguably those who would benefit the most. Secondary school requires money, and university even more still.

Another point is how much the Church is intertwined in the entire culture. We prayed to begin and end classes, and if one were to mention that he or she was an atheist, I speculate such an individual would be met with a blank stare or look of bewilderment on the part of the African. It was not uncommon to see business names that incorporated Biblical characters or sayings, such as “Jesus Saves Bakery”, or “God is Good Cleaners”, to paraphrase some signage we saw. I heard one African say that people in North America have it too good to think they need God. A sharp contrast with secular Vancouver.

I will leave some finer details to the others, whose memories are sharper than mine, but it was an honor and great experience to be a part of this trip. I met many new friends, both among the Kenyan participants and the group of us who lived together for 3+ weeks. I thank you all for the opportunity to experience this alongside yourselves.