Leaving Day at RVA

Leaving Day at RVA is at the end of every term when the students leave campus to be with parents/relative until the commencement of the next term.  Today we are experiencing our "Leaving Day".  Our trip has reached its scheduled conclusion.  Emotions are mixed.  We look forward to being with family and friends at home, but we are sad to say farewell to family and friends here at RVA.  However, this is what happens with a planned trip.  The journey eventually comes to an end.  We have had a fun time and have enjoyed wonderful weather.  We look forward to returning in the future, the Lord willing.  Because there is, indeed, more to come.

Sunset in Kenya.  The beauty of God's creation on display.

And "The Glory of God settled over {Mount Longonot}."

Outreach Day @ RVA

Each term students and staff of RVA journey for a day out into the community to share and assist people in projects beneficial to them.  Through service to others, the hope is that Kenyans will see that this group of Christians in Kijabe not only talk the talk, they walk the walk as well.  Yesterday, Saturday, all grade levels fanned out from RVA to engage in a variety of activities designed to help others.  Ian joined a group of students and staff going into the forest above campus to plant trees as part of a conservation program to reforest the area;  Lyndsey journeyed down into the valley and visited an orphanage.  The rest of the Hazard clan drove in a school bus with a group of students to Naivasha and the House of Hope.  Upon arriving at our destination, Jeff expertly piloted the bus up the long, rugged road pictured below to the green roofed orphanage building perched at the top of the hill in the photo.

Grandma, pictured here, is greeting some of the orphans living at HOH.  A couple of the students in the group are saying "Hi" also.  Our group brought equipment for outside games which the HOH kids love to do when visitors come.   House of Hope is supported through The Heart of the Bride missions program headquartered in Florida.  Churches such as ours and our daughter church, The Journey, support HOH either directly or through H of the B.
The orphanage is operated by Kenyan husband and wife team Joel & Susan.  Joel is a graduate of RVA and always has had a heart for orphans even while a student at the academy.

Out front in the big yard of the orphanage the students and orphans engaged in several activities with one another including hula hoop and jump rope.  In addition, frisbees were being tossed and games of tag were being played.  Some of the orphans enjoyed just watching others and talking with the RVA students.   Kids of all ages were having fun with each other.  I couldn't help, but think of the Biblical passage Mark 10:13-16.

 Out back of the HOH, Jeff and a group of the boys were engaged in combat using foam noodles.  The loud sounds of "Slap!" "Slap!" indicated a lot of aimed blows were striking their target:  namely Jeff.  The guys were having a great time and smiles and giggles indicated so.  And ... look... no electronics of any kind were needed to have fun.

While the orphans played with the RVA students and staff, HOH staff were in the "kitchen" (actually a separate building) preparing lunch for the kids.  The slightly blue cast to the picture is the result of the wood burning stove in the corner being used.  There is no Kenya version of OSHA to check on the environmental safety of workers.

Here the young cook is preparing mandazis, a type of Kenyan donut with no filling.  Flat pieces of dough are placed in a frying pan filled with oil.  The dough immediately inflates like a balloon.  After the inflated dough turns golden brown, the mandazis are placed in another pan to cool and allow the grease to drain away.  Mandazis are a staple for many meals and despite their simplicity taste pretty good.  They are a little greasy, but don't worry about your cholesterol.

2010 was the last time we visited HOH.  Then Joel was attempting to have a bore hole (well) drilled in order to have a water supply on sight.  At the time he was frequently driving a pickup truck with two large plastic water tanks in the bed to Naivasha to purchase water.  The bore hole proved unworkable after drillers went down over 160 meters and found no water.  The alternative was to bury a water storage tank underground, pictured here under the cement slab, and collect rain water runoff from the various building roofs and direct it to the storage tank.  A pump then pumps the water up to the black storage tank next to the orphanage for use in the building.  During dry spells water is still brought by truck and put into the underground storage tank.

This is the new science/computer building at HOH.  Our daughter church, The Journey, was instrumental in getting this building constructed.  Not only HOH children attend the school, but neighborhood kids pay tuition and come to the school also.  This tuition helps offset educational costs at the HOH.

The children's Sunday School classes at our church, Lakeside Baptist, collected money to buy two milk cows for the orphanage about three years ago.  These are the two cows today, bigger and healthy.  As can be seen, there is plenty of room for additional cows in the new covered livestock area.  Contributions are welcome.  Contact me.

Some of the food consumed at HOH is home grown in the shambas shown here.   When rain is plentiful, crops are good and food expenses are down.  When rain is scarce, costs for food and water go up.  Budgeting for these essentials are a challenge.

The kitchen staff was planning on cooked maize for supper.  As the kernels were freshly taken from the ears, they had to be sorted with the shriveled, cracked, yellowed, and bug infested removed leaving the rest fit to eat.  This job was not accomplished by some sophisticated robotic machine, but rather by 5 of us who felt like robots after about an hour of hand-sorting the maize in the hot sun.  Grandma, Joyellen, and I joined two HOH staff sitting on the cement underground water tank cover and sorted and sorted and sorted.  The two experienced members of our team sorted 3 times the amount that we did.  But we hung in there ... until break time.

On the front porch of the orphanage, some of the RVA girls had set up a nail salon for the HOH girls and were busy painting their fingernails and toenails.  As can be seen, not all the customers were female.  Before you start making "smart-aleck" comments, remember it takes a man secure is his own masculinity to allow this to be done to him.  And besides ... Bradon can spell "Quiche".

Soon the time came for us to return to RVA.  Goodbyes were exchanged;  game materials picked up and stowed in the bus;  "Thanks you's" expressed by all.  Everyone got into the bus and Jeff slowly maneuvered the vehicle down the rugged road to the A-104 highway toward home.  Lasting memories had been made yesterday and a group of orphans in Naivasha knew that they were not forgotten and were indeed loved by others.

This picture says all.  Buddies for awhile.  Friends forever.*  Jesus said, "Permit the children to come to Me;  do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."  Mark 10:14-15

We're about set to leave Kijabe.  There is just a little more to come.

*Pictured:  Keith, left;  Charlie, right.

  

Snippets

When one is on a safari, reporting on the big events is easy.  But there are also a myriad of little happenings occurring everyday.  Some are noteworthy;  others are memorable, but just to the participants.  Today's blog posting features a variety of events which I hope you will find interesting and in some instances, enlightening as well.

One day Ian came home and excitedly announced that he had been invited over to Levi's house for a sleep-over ...and...a water gun fight had been planned involving other kids for that afternoon.  There was one problem, however, Ian had no water gun.  No problem!  Jeff marched out to his work shed;  rummaged around for some spare materials;  gathered some tools; and in a matter of less than an hour, Ian was demonstrating his new water cannon.  And it worked well, too.  He won the water gun fight!

One advantage living on campus at RVA is the fact that fresh eggs are available.  Some one brings eggs everyday to the Maintenance office where they are sold on a first come, first serve basis.  Because of this sales method, the eggs are often sold out very early in the day.  In that case, one goes down to the duka in Kijabe for fresh eggs.  Are they as fresh as the ones available at Maintenance?  You be the judge.  The duka egg pictured above has a chicken feather attached to it.  Can't get much fresher than that!

Joyellen is involved with the art program.  Therefore, even though school was on break, a couple of station kids who were students of hers came over one day with their art projects to ask a few questions.  Pictured here is a lion that was created through the process of stippling.  Using a photograph, the student recreates the image on paper using individual dots.  This painstaking process results in a work of art shown here.  This picture is destined for the 2015 RVA calendar which showcases for each month a piece of artwork drawn or painted by  RVA students.

This stippling drawing of a giraffe is also scheduled to appear in the 2015 RVA school calendar.  Half the face is completed with the other half an outline ready to be filled in one dot at a time.  Pictured is a stippling pencil used in this procedure.  In addition to artistic talent, a great deal of patience is required to produce this type of artwork.

Just because a youngster is growing up in what some consider to be a third world or developing country, this does not mean that he/she is experiencing a deprived childhood.  What kid in America can go outside and find as a playmate for the day a chameleon?   That is just what Ian did one morning.  He had put the chameleon in a bucket, but the creature decided to find out more about his captor, so he crawled out of the bucket and onto Ian's arm.

Slowly, with determination, the chameleon crawled higher onto Ian's shirt.  Note the tight grip the creature is employing with its right front foot.

With intense concentration the chameleon continues his climb upward toward his goal.  Progress is slow, but steady.  Soon, very soon ...

Boy and chameleon meet.  They stare at each other, both deep in thought.  What are they thinking?  Only they know.  The next day Ian released the chameleon into its environment.  Who knows?  Maybe they will meet another day to play together once again.

Housed in this nondescript building is a government bureaucracy charged with keeping track of any and all aliens (human type) living and working within the borders of Kenya.  Hence, Jeff and Joyellen periodically have to travel to Nairobi and visit this building in which they file their alien registrations.  They did so this week leaving early in the  morning in order to beat the dreaded Nairobi traffic and to arrive at about the time the office opened.  Fortunately, they were able to complete the registration process in two hours which is good by Kenyan standards.

In the US, when one applies for a passport, 2 passport-sized pictures are required.  If one goes to the State Department website, one will find several pages detailing the requirements for the taking of passport photos.  The undertaking seems so daunting that most people have their pictures for the passport done professionally.

Kenya also requires passport-size photos for alien registration.  However, the requirements are not quite as stringent, as pictured here.  A fellow holds up the background as another takes Jeff's picture with a point and shoot.  A short jog to a photo print shop down the street and ... voila!  You have your photos.  And the cost is cheap, too!

Living in Kijabe where the weather is mostly sunny has its advantages.  One of them being the ability to dry the laundry outside, thus saving the expense of operating a dryer after every load.  However, drying clothes outside has it disadvantages, too.  The biggest one is that the type of underwear one owns is no secret.  On any given day, you know who wears boxers and who has whitey-tighteys!

US fast food franchises have been slow coming to Kenya, unlike some other African countries, most notably Egypt.  Subway and, recently, KFC have set up shop and seem to be popular.  However, there exist Kenyan fast food establishments which are quite good and popular as well.  Two are pictured here:  Pizza Inn and Chicken Inn.  Both these eateries share the same location and are about 15-20 minutes away from Kijabe.  So last nite we decided to eat dinner out.

We were joined by the Dubber family.  As the weather was relatively warm sitting in the sun, we chose to eat outside.  All save Todd and Titus, father and son, wore jackets and/or sweaters to be protected from the wind.  The pizza served by the Pizza Inn is good.  Louise and I have had their Hawaiian chicken pizza which is delicious.  But the Chicken Burger and the Chicken Bites of the Chicken Inn have no rivals, even in the US, so we all ordered from Chicken Inn.  What a meal!

And what a view!  Mt. Longonot is at the left in the picture under the setting sun;  the shambas (large gardens) below;  the highway to the far right.  Lake Naivasha is beyond the low hills in the center.  We were near the 8,000 foot elevation on the Rift Valley escarpment.  Truly an evening to remember as our trip to Kenya is nearing its end.

Near the end, but not yet done ... there is more to come.

First Day of School, Term Two, 2013-14 School Year

The first day of the second term at RVA started Monday, January 6, unlike many schools in the Midwest and Northeast which had their Christmas breaks extended due to extreme cold and snow caused by an Arctic Vortex (sounds like a scifi-thriller name to me.)  Temperatures here were 79 to 80 degrees with a partly cloudy ski.  Most of the students had returned on Saturday which is known as "Arrival Day".  By Sunday, most of the students were back at RVA with only a handful coming on Monday.

Classrooms such as this one are now occupied by students and teachers full time.  For high schoolers, the day begins at 7:45 and ends at 3:35. They have 7 periods of class time. Their day also includes a 15 minute Chapel time and a 15 minute Chai break (remember Kenya is a former  British colony, so tea time is still observed).  Junior highers follow the same schedule for the school day.  Titchie students ("Titchie" is a British term for elementary students that has remained from the colonial period of the school's history) start class at 8:00;  have a one hour lunch at noon;  resume studies at 1:00 and end their day at 3:00.  The classroom pictured is the one in which I taught my Current World Issues classes during the 1st term of the 2010-11 school year.

The gymnasium building houses the basketball court.  The mascot for RVA is the African Cape Buffalo which used to roam freely around the current grounds of the school back in the 1900's.  Sadly, civilization has driven them away.  However, their absence makes going between classes and dorms much safer.  The gymnasium floor had just be laid when this picture was taken.  Todd Dubber was instrumental in having the old floor removed and the new floor installed.  He spent many hours of hands-on work involving the floor.  Shortly after this picture was taken, he and his family returned to Canada for a one year home assignment.

The Cafo (cafeteria) pictured here doesn't get much use during the term break.  But once school resumes, the structure buzzes with activity.  The boarding students are fed their meals here.  Station kids eat at home or pay a fee to eat at the cafo during term.  Megan, Lyndsey, and Ian eat their meals at home.  The exception being Sunday lunch after church.  The family signs up to eat that meal in the cafo and the cost is added to their RVA account.   We did the same the term we taught here.  When we are visiting, we pay KSH920 ($10.59) for two all-you-can-eat meals.

At left is the oldest building on campus, Kiambogo, the Administration building.  The corner stone of the structure was laid in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt who was on his famous African hunting expedition at the time.  For awhile, Kiambogo was the only building on campus and housed everything.  Today administrative offices are located here as well as the staff library and copying center and the staff chai  and meeting room.  As Dean of Men, Jeff's office is located on the second floor along with the Dean of Women and the school's Principal and Superintendent.

Another building that sees little action during break, but is bustling during the term is the Laundry.  The four windows that are pictured boarded up are the ones from which the students pick-up their laundry weekly.  The laundry staff washes clothes as well as bedding for the dorm kids.  Station staff may have items that are too bulky for their washers, such as bedspreads, washed at the laundry also.  But a fee is charged for the service.





The second term is underway.  The one thing everyone is praying won't happen is the dreaded "2nd term illness".  With so many students going a variety of directions for break, they return carrying all sorts of germs picked up at their vac destinations.  Hence, the 2nd term is usually the worst term for sickness permeating the campus.  For example, one year a student left on term break and returned bringing with him the Swine Flu.  The whole campus fell ill.  Medical specialists from all over were contacted to help battle the outbreak.  So pray the 2nd term at RVA will be sickness free this year.  The staff and students would surely appreciate it.

Nearing the end of our stay, but ... there is more to come.

New Year's Day at RVA

New Year's Day, 2014, dawned partly sunny and warm ... in Kijabe, that is.  The AIC (Africa Inland Church) church across the street from RVA was hosting its annual New Year's Day picnic on the lower athletic field of RVA.  The lower field is just down from Jeff and Joyellen's house, so we didn't have far to go to join the festivities.

Pictured here is the lower field.  This is home to field hockey, junior high soccer, and junior high rugby.  The grass this term is lush and green due to the rains earlier this term break.  People are gathering for the festivities.  By the time lunch is served at around 2:00, the expected attendance will be about 1,000 people.  This crowd is a bit larger than the church picnic we host in our back yard.  The two people standing near the rugby goal post are the Superintendent of RVA, Tim Hall, and LeAnn, his wife.

Many games were planned by the church picnic organizing committee.  For the adults,  several races were scheduled.  400 meter runs and sprints were held for various ages as well as a 1500 meter run.  At left, you can see several men crouching down at the starting line waiting for the signal to start a race.

RVA staff on campus are encouraged to participate in the AIC church picnic.  The women on campus are asked to bake some cakes for the lunch.  Grandma and Joyellen baked two and brought them to the kitchen/dining building of the church.  Pictured at right is Todd Dubber, in the cap, starting a 400 meter run.  He had a respectable finish after that long dash across the field.

For the "kiddos", the church obtained a bounce house which proved very popular.  The line remained long most of the morning. At one point, a group of little boys were launching themselves at the side of the house and bouncing back  onto the grass, laughing and giggling.  They repeated this process over and over.  I wondered how their mothers would get the grass stains out of their clothes.

Just before lunch,  adults were encouraged to gather near one of the rugby goal posts for games involving both men and women.  While the bounce house continued to entertain the youngsters present, the adults were engaged in activities which often pitted the men against the women.  The women held their own in many of the competitions.  One of the races I saw had members of two teams race to the goal posts;
grab an upright bar with one hand and race around the bar 10 times;  then race back to the starting line.  I was amazed that any of the runners were able to run in a straight line after running around the uprights for 10 revolutions.

 In the afternoon of New Year's Day, I ventured down to the clock tower courtyard.  This area is bounded by the Cafo, the CB (classroom bldg.), Library and Science bldg. and Centennial bldg. in which church services and other large group gatherings occur.  This courtyard was under construction during the first term of 2010 when Grandma and I taught here at RVA.  The designer was the Videography teacher, Jimmy Hendricks.

 The courtyard is beautifully landscaped with grass and flowers many of which are growing in hand hewn brick flower planters.  There are three sitting areas designated by picnic tables and umbrellas.  The area involves multiple levels providing plenty of space for people to gather.  The courtyard invites large groups as well as being  attractive to small and intimate gatherings.  The trees provide not only shade, but beauty as well.

The centerpiece of the courtyard is the clock tower.  The clock has three faces each representing the geographical locations from which students and staff at RVA come.  One face displays the time in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, the country in which RVA is located.  To  the left of that face is the clock showing the time in New York City. This clock face represents the geographic area from which most RVA staff and many students come:  The US and Canada.

The third clock indicates the time in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.  About 20% of the student body comes from South Korea.  This country sends a substantial number of missionaries abroad to spread the Gospel, many to Africa.

The clock faces are each powered by "C" batteries.  When first installed, the winds of Kijabe blew the clock hands every which way interfering with accurate time.  The solution was to cover each face with plexiglass thus preventing the elements from affecting the operation of the three clocks.

Between the Cafo on the left and the CB on the right and Kiambogo, the administration bldg. in the background is another feature designed by Jimmy Hendricks:  the Chai Tree and the Giraffe.  In 2010 when we were last here, the long brick concrete planter in the background was home to shrubbery. However, over time, this area became a litter collector.  To rectify that, Jimmy had the planter covered over in concrete and placed two rocks on it.  To replace the seating area provided by the planter, he had constructed two round seating areas;  one with a chai tree and the other with a giraffe.

This area has historically been the gathering point for students to drink their chai (tea) and eat their snack during the scheduled morning chai break.  What better place than to design a "Chai Tree".  Here the students can hang their cups after drinking chai and they'll be there at the ready for the next break.  The "tree" is the Baobab tree. There is a legend behind this tree.  Seems after God created this tree, it developed quite a prideful attitude and let all the other created trees and plants know how beautiful the tree thought it was.  God did not approve of this attitude.  Therefore, He uprooted the tree, putting its beautiful foliage in the ground and its roots sticking up into the sky.  So today, we see its ugly roots, rather than its pretty foliage.  Pride is not a virtue!

The other sitting area features a giraffe stretching to eat leaves from a nearby tree and a warthog rummaging in the foliage.  Both are well known animals of Africa.  The giraffe is recognized by its long neck (which contains the same number of vertebrae as our own necks.  Believe it or not!) and the warthog is known for running away from danger with its tail sticking straight up into the air.

The giraffe likes to eat the foliage of the acacia tree which protects itself with long thorns on its branches.  So how does a giraffe eat the acacia leaves without hurting itself?  God ingeniously designed the giraffe to use its long, dry tongue (kissing a giraffe is not a slobbery process) to get the leaves.  The giraffe extends its tongue as seen to the right.  The tongue wraps itself around a branch. As the giraffe retracts the tongue, it pushes the thorns flat against the branch while at the same time ripping the leaves from the limb.  As the tongue passes over the flattened thorn, the thorn snaps back into position too late to impale the tongue.  The giraffe enjoys the tasty leaves with nary a poke.  God's creation is really wonderful!!

The remainder of New Year's Day was spent relaxing with family.  Hopefully, your first day of the new year was enjoyable also.  If you were a Michigan State fan, the day was really a great one!

Will be posting again later because ... there is more to come.