Hi Y'all From Nairobi

Hi Y’all –

Greetings from Jaime, Beruk, Ben and Jody, blogging from Nairobi. This is the first time for most of us to visit Nairobi so it is a particularly exciting trip. Also, we heard so much from Jody, Erik, Andy and Charles about the residency in Kenya earlier this year so we were looking forward to meet some of the girls from last time as well as the Longman team.

Our expectations have been exceeded. Hurrah! The Longman team (Kakai, Peter, Evelyn, Victoria and Caroline – who is a wonderful intern) has been great again and Kenya Girl Guides Association (KGGA) has embraced the hosting of the residency and has many ideas for how they can grow the program throughout Kenya after we leave.

We have nine student mentors from the previous residency in April with us this time. The mentors are all girls who are studying in vocational programs in some of the most economically disadvantaged areas of Nairobi. Some of the mentors from the earlier program have stepped up and taught their own sections of the program. They have all risen to the task of mentoring and supporting the new participants this week and are visibly walking taller because of it.

We also have girls from different corners of Kenya. Three of the girls, from the remote north-eastern part of Kenya, near Ethiopia, traveled to Nairobi by truck over a two-day period. They got dropped at the goat market in town, and then took a taxi to get to KGGA headquarters, where they are staying. On Sunday they were interviewed by the press and were so excited to see their picture in the paper yesterday. This is a big experience for all the girls, but especially for these three.

Anyway, we are now on Day-four of the residency and it’s going really well. Jody has added a much needed female touch to a largely male team. Ben has done a wonderful job instructing, Jaime has given invaluable assistance in all aspects and Beruk has proven to be an expert videographer.

We have shared in the girls’ very emotional stories and seen how they are supporting each other to speak out about various challenges they have faced in their lives. We also have counselors working with the girls and amazing Magdelaine from KGGA who is back again cheering on the girls with her hilarious antics. Our favorite song this week has been the classic, “These are my private parts, my private parts, my private parts. These are my private parts so keep your hands off them!” Jaime, Ben and Beruk stepped away, red-faced, during the actions. This afternoon in the taxi on our way home, they proudly sang their own version, “These are my family jewels, my family jewels...”. Jody isn’t red faced at all – she always enjoys a good sing-along!

The girls are now working on editing their movies after a long, long day of filming yesterday. Beruk worked really well with the girls and produced some great videos for the girls’ films. KGGA and Longman are preparing for Friday afternoon when we will have the world premiere screenings for the girls’ families and honorary guests.

Stay tuned for more of Magdelaine’s classic song-and-dance numbers….