A day in Huruma...

Last week Mom visited a nearby community called Huruma. We have several groups that meet here, but she visited two of them; Baraka and Agape. One of my co-workers, Jane Gacau (we call her Mrs. Gacau) took mom on her first ever matatu ride to get to Huruma.

A matatu is a 14 passenger mini van...the drivers are well-known for their crazy driving and the risks they will take to get from point 'a' to point 'b' in as little time as possible! It is frustrating for drivers of private vehicles, but I must confess I find it rather exhilerating as a passenger.

This first shot gives a feel for the community...
This man is/has a mkokateni (mom calls it a go-cart)...you can see he is posing for the photo. Mom is fascinated by these men who spend their days hauling just about anything, for a price. At the moment, this one is taking a break, having a smoke.
The chairlady, Lucy Nyambura and another member of Baraka. They meet in this 'hotel' (small cafe) each week. The owner is also a member of the group and served tea and bread.
Next several shots of the members during the meeting...the meetings usually begin with a word of prayer, encouragement from God's Word and sometimes praise songs. Then they spend about an hour collecting savings and loan payments, and taking care of any other business in the group such as; new members, loan arrears, new loan applications, exiting members.




The whole group, plus Mrs. Gacau (front left) who is the staff member who facilitates this group.
While Mrs. Gacau was balancing the money, Mom decided to step outside to see what she could see...let me just say that when Mrs. Gacau looked up to see her 'charge' had departed, she panicked!

But, of course she was just fine...walked with a few of the group members who wanted to show off their businesses to her...this man cooks and sells 'chips' (french fries)...
This lady is a green grocer...those tomatoes look yummy!
She sells firewood...
...and this is Patrick, the tailor...
...beautiful dresses for little girls...
Okay - these little fish are called omena and come from a town called Kisumu...
This close-up shot shows tiny little dried up fish...cooked properly they are deeelicious!
These shots were taken during the walk to the next group meeting; Agape.

She took this shot of the group outside...

One of the businesses is a hair salon...here a mother and daughter are having their hair done.
Mom became fascinated by the variety of hairstyles and also loved to watch...

They headed back to the center...and she took this photo along the way...
...I was ready to leave for the day when she got back and as we were heading out, we met three friends...next to me is Eunice - she handles our computers, then Isabella - one of our social workers, and my dear friend Josephine (large with child!) - she is the head social worker.
As I write this entry, Mom has left Kenya. I am even now praying for her safe journey and feeling sad and lonely!