Hungry Eyes

Every morning I wake up at 6:00am and head out to the outdoor "kitchen" to light a fire and warm some water for my bath.  After I bath and dress, I scramble some eggs with tomato and onion for my baba and myself.  Then at 7:15am sharp I meet up with the rest of my walking group and walk the 45 minute walk down the unpaved road to Machakos School for the Deaf.  I see little children running and hear them yelling "Hello how are you?",  I see trash littering the streets, flora from the Jurassic period and drivers who have no awareness of pedestrians (a speed limit does not exit in Kenya).  When I finally arrive at school deligfted to be alive I am greeted by 70 smiling faces and 140 hands all signing to me "good morning Sara" (by the way the children gave me a sign name which is represented by two  fists on top of the head to symbolize  the day I wore my hair in two little buns like Minnie Mouse). At school I spend three hours in KSL (Kenyan Sign Language) language training, attend various lectures about being a PCV and begin my preparation for integration into the Deaf community once I leave Machkos and head to my site (Malindi on the coast).

This last week things were a little different for me, I took a trip to Siaya with my friend and fellow trainee Kelsy to visit her future site and do some shadowing of the current volunteer.  We spent over a day and a half traveling to the Western Province on various mutatus filled with so many people that some of the men had to stand bent over with their bottoms hanging out the window as we drove 80 miles per hour down a potholed road swerving away from pedestrians, other vehicles and livestock! Despite the awkward traveling conditions we were speechless looking out over the tropical jungle that didn't seem to end.  Sandstone boulders protruded out of the jungle looking like giant dinosaur eggs.  Banana trees, hibiscus, papaya, insane green vines, ectera surrounded us.  It was paradise.  When we arrived at Nina Special School for the Deaf we greeted by the Head Teacher Mr. Ambalo and Whitney Holmes the current PCV.  The children ran up to us smiling and laughing and signing so fast that I felt like I was in a tornado of hands.  We spent the next week shadowing, teaching, playing, laughing and eating.  The staff and Nina was delightful to be around and Whitney was an incredible hostess.  Kelsy and I learned so much and had such a wonderful time that when when left I couldn't help but be a little envious that she will get to return to such a wonderful school.

Now for the "Hungry Eyes" of this posting.  In the past few weeks I have spent a lot of time interacting with the Deaf children at both Machkos School and more recently at Nina.  I find that their smiles and laughter bring tears to my eyes, but there is something so much more powerful in the way that they look at you.  They are wanting, searching, hungry for something that I cant explain.  It is both sad and beautiful and no mater how hard I tray to communicate I can never seem to fulfill my curiosity about them.

There really is too much to try and explain, but I want to let everyone know that these children come from all over Kenya and their parents have to pay for them to attend these schools.  Even though the amount is very little, it is more than most families can afford. If a family is educated enough to know about a Deaf school, then their child is sent, more often Deaf children will not attend school and will be kept at home isolated from society.  Mr. Ambolo told me a story about riding his bike through the village looking for Deaf children and when confronting a parent as to why their child was not in school, he was told that that they were still praying for a cure and Jesus had not answered them- but will soon.  Once at school, many of these children are dropped off and left there.  When others get picked up for the holidays, some children are left never seeing their families again.  The majority of the Deaf children are not accepted in their local schools and communities- so they are sent away from home.  Deafness is still something that is not understood in Kenya and the majority of teachers in the Deaf schools cannot sign and instead yell at the children expecting them to understand.  With the emergence of KSL (which is greatly attributed to the work done by the Peace Corps) schools are getting better and there are a few Kenyan activists who are fighting for equal Deaf rights in Kenya.  I have had the privilege of meeting the majority of these people and we have had long discussions about the progression that is being made, our hope is with the new constitution that is coming out, that things will start to change for the positive.  Please try and understand that even with the corruption of schools and government, that there are good strong, intelligent, influential people in this country helping to create legislation and promote change.  The Deaf schools might not look like any school you have ever seen before, but the children there are so happy to be with their peers and a community that for the most part supports them.

Ok this was a long one but I think it will answer a lot the questions I have been getting.  I am attaching a lot of pictures please feel free to ask me anymore questions you like.  The kids in the green uniforms are the kids at Nina School.

Until next time.