Mugugu primary School, Kenya, connects with Messiah Church in MN

Today we visited Mugugu Primary School in Kenya along with members of Messiah Church located in MN.  The Messiah congregation, with a large focus on their youth group, completed a holiday project to raise funds to bring Iko-Toilets to their partner school.  The Messiah visitors took many  photos of the schoo, studentsl and the partially completed project.  They also brought along soccer balls for the school to replace the rag tag balls that students were currently using.  The old balls were made of strings, paper and plastic bags.  Needless to say, the new colorful balls were appreciated.  The Messiah Youth Group also donated a pencil per student- not a small task when there are over 900 students attending the school. Pen pal letters are being written and will be brought to MN when the members of the team return.
Our visits at the Iko-Toilet schools are completed.  We left Mugugu and headed to Bomet, Kenya to visit a new batch of schools.  On our way to Bomet, we drove along the Great Rift Vally and were able to see spectacular views.  We also had a contest to see who would see the first wild animal.  Of course, Tom, our seasoned game drive expert, spotted the first one  way before anyone else.  The first animal? Zebras! They were quickly followed by gazelles, and monkeys.  These animals were mixed among the local cows and goats. 

 Upon reaching Tenwek Hospital, we enjoyed a walk to an impressive local dam that provides water and electricity to the large compound.  Hidden within the rural area of farms, we found Tenwek Hospital to be amazing.  They have over 600 staff members and they serve a large population of people every day.  One of their programs, and our reason for the visit, is their outreach to schools to provide water, sanitation and hygiene education.  We delivered 3 large screen tents to the hospital that will be used in the field as mobile treatment centers.  They are doing incredible work.  We joined our hosts for a Kenyan meal of sukuma wiki (greens in sauce), a chicken with vegetable stew and delicious mashed potatoes.  The seasonings used are very different from what we normally eat, and provided a tasty meal.

Tomorrow we will visit a number of schools in the surrounding area.  The roads are challenging and quite dusty. We'll be thirsty but after all, our journey is all about WATER!