Beautiful and Devestating

Here it is sad so many kids alone their parents having died of HIV or dirty water. The slums are rediculously filthy. Children crawling around in sewage and trash gleaning it. To watch kids cling to small gifts of pencils that they wont put down when we give them crayons and paper to color with. Today we painted and drew, incredibly sweet. Tomarrow I dole out the clothes sanitary napkins, school books, shoes, hair ties, etc. here at by Grace in Kyoli Nairobi. Yesterday I threw a party for a small orphanage in Arusha the kids assembled in a shack with a dirt floor in rags. I gave them each their own cup and pencils and crayons cookies etc. We colored for an hour or so in the little yard and they were so careful to stay in the lines. We sang songs and I asked what she needed she said prayers. At the end the woman who runs it gave me a scarf and I burst into tears to think they were giving me something beautiful when they have really nothing. The day before a little school I visited had kids outside the windows pressing to be included. Hard to take it all in its beautiful and devasting at the same time.

Rwanda was great again thousands of filthy kids everyone carrying stuff on their heads as they walk long distances, everythig from grass sugar can livestodk to table ans sewing machines balanced upon their heads as they stroll along. Babies seeme to be strapped to their moms backs until the minute they can walk they put a bucket of water or a bag of sweet potatoes on thier head and have them walk to market. I was privledged to visit the Susa family of Gorillas it is the family Dianne Fossey made famouse. I have pictures of the only known gorilla twins swinging together in the vines. We hiked about 2.5 hours in a thick bamboo forest to get there and then suddenly in a clearing the gorillas lounging before thier lunch of bambo shoots. I spent about an hour with them. Powerful.