Finished in Kenya and coming home

With our work now finished, we are slowly leaving Kenya. Nerissa left last week for Philadelphia and I baked her a cake using a mix and frosting sent from home.

We took her to the Kisumu airport and wished her a safe trip home. From left: Janet, Maurice, Nerissa, Melody.

Next Christine returned home after she worked out a flight that avoided the volcanic ash cloud. I can't believe that we have to worry about a volcano disrupting our travel plans after we have been living in Kenya for months.

And then it was Janet's turn to leave for home in the UK. She was a bit lucky that her flight left on time. I gave her some trail mix (she's holding it in her hands) to eat on the long drive to Nairobi. Janet felt just like royalty since the drivers wore suits to take her to the airport.

Melody is learning how to cook ugali- a boiled corn maize that turns into kind of a dense bread. It takes a strong arm to mix it while somebody braces the pot.

The second flock of chickens is growing fast and they are losing their fuzzy appearance. The orphan feeding center remains open even though the children have been on school holiday the entire month of April. They don't get a long summer vacation like we do in the USA but instead they get one month off after every semester. To help keep them busy, I handed out some Japanese origami paper (thoughtfully donated by Bob Hirashima) and held a paper folding class. You can see the children waving their sheets of colored paper in the air. I gave them step by step instructions and taught them how to make a paper swan. You can see some of the more proficient kids showing off their birds.

Finally, I am scheduled to leave tomorrow and make the two day journey back to California. Melody had the kitchen prepare a special banana split that read "Bon Voyage LOREN". It was a nice touch to end my assignment here in Kenya. I will travel via London Heathrow and arrive in LAX on Sunday, May 2. Melody will leave Kenya in a few more weeks and then in June we expect the next wave of GSK volunteers. I think there are three coming to replace us.

This will be my final blog and I want to thank all of those who took the time to follow it. Most of all, I want to thank Myrna and Ashley for sacrificing their husband/dad for four long months in Africa. We missed each other so much but thankfully we could keep in touch via Skype when the internet was working. Also, I want to thank all of my family, friends and colleagues who have provided their love and support for this mission. It has been an extraordinary experience and I know that the people of Kenya are very grateful for what I was able to accomplish.