After two or three wrong turns (perhaps our sense of direction was dampened by the rain?) we arrived in Cura to be greeted warmly, as usual, by Moses and his right-hand-man Steven. Hannah served us chai and cakes, according to Kikuyu custom which, according to Moses, requires that one not ask a guest a single question until he has been served some “small bitings.” Once those bitings were served, however, the questions were volleyed from all directions!
Our conversation lasted us until lunchtime, and ranged from the state of Norman’s (the cow) milk production to the cost of water to the plans for the secondary school to the newest members of the Cura community: the headmistress and the vicar.
As if on cue, the new vicar, a tall, slender, impeccably dressed man, walked in to the office and Moses made introductions. More formalities ensued, as did some excellent brainstorming about accounting and vision and community leadership. It was gratifying to speak with people who are so thoughtful about the methods with which they meet the needs of the children, the broader community and even the donors and volunteers who have linked themselves with their work in Cura.
As we talked about the work that has been done as a result of donor dollars so far, we got to visit the Clinic’s nurse and lab technician, inspect the computer lab and library, and even say hello to Norman, Anita (the calf!), and the many chickens and rabbits that now reside in the Cura Orphanage compound.
We’ll have more time with the children at Cura in the upcoming week or so (today we only saw several peeking around the corner of the office, confirming with their own eyes that the rumors of our return were true!), but we have more meetings-of-the-mind in store for the near future.
We’ll meet the new headmistress on Friday, for example, and we’ll get to chat with all of the housemothers that same day over the lunch hour. We’ve met with the men today… we’ll see next what the influential women of Cura have to say!
No comments:
Post a Comment