An early start to the day meant we were out on the road bleary-eyed but excited with the prospect of seeing some wildlife. George (who has been affectionately compared to a ‘frozen chicken’ by Kenyan George) put on his playlist and very quickly we were woken up by the melodic tunes.
When we were given the choice of leaping on top of the bus to help with spotting some of the ‘big five’ we jumped at the chance. We weren’t disappointed, there were close ups of giraffes, some distant elephants and a difficult to spot rhino to mention but a few of the highlights. Travelling on the roof was such a great experience with the views and lovely company – a very memorable experience!
Arriving at the first school we were able to take a little time to soak in the breathtaking views, overlooking another side of Mount Kenya, glancing across at truly stunning scenery in a really remote and special place. Teaching over 200 children we got into things a bit more, picking up the odd phrase in Swahili, for the most part starting to feel more comfortable in our roles and taking some moments to really enjoy the company of the kids and definitely appreciate the support and local knowledge from our Kenyan friends.
In between our two coaching sessions we had the privilege of visiting One More Day, a children’s orphanage in Doldol, where we met Duncan who is the home’s manager and he briefly took us through the home’s programme and what they do. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see Lenka (face of OMDC) as she was in school. We delivered donations from the country manager, which were warmly received by Duncan and the kids before we took a group photo. As for George it was a home away from home as he met the girls he worked with.
Despite having a long trip to the next school, everyone jumped out the bus with energy and a new found confidence to tackle a new group. We felt that we were delivering the messages more coherently and smoothly, but due to the threatening rain clouds we had to adapt the sessions and made a quick getaway to ensure we didn’t get stuck in the mud on the tracks leading up to the school. Our skilled driver negotiated things well and apart from a reasonably heavy shower on our way back to our rooms at the resort we got off very lightly.
The day was tiring although uplifting and rewarding; of course we are not yet the finished polished article but we are making some good progress and feel sure we will be able to adapt well to any challenging that may come.
Jon
On top of the bus!! Wow ???