Elections

Monday is a big day for Kenya -- election day! I don't care for politics in general, and yes, American election season is dreadful, but the potential problems and outcomes of this particular presidential election is much more serious than the typical frustrations of candidate commercials and overly-opinionated political ramblings on social media (which, let's be honest, is pretty terrible).

The last election in 2007 resulted in brutal violence and tribal clashes. It is often mentioned in conversations and referred to as the "burning of Kenya". The way the clashes are talked about here reminds me a lot of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, how "The Storm", as it's called, is the reference point for every event that has happened since then. It's the same here. There was a lot that went into the post-election violence in '07, and I'll spare you the details here, but it was very real and very scary and could have EASILY resulted in the deaths of many people I love. I shot a video of my sweet friend, Christine, sharing her experiences and what she witnessed as she was running from a terrorist group the morning after the election. The video is refusing to load (which doesn't surprise me at all because it's long... because Christine is so long-winded. I love her.), but I'll just have you know that her awful experience included witnessing a decapitation, a machete circumcision, and lying about her tribe so that SHE and her daughters did not have to endure the same torture... all right in the streets of town. Pretty serious, huh?

I'm not writing this to spark fear or worry in you, but more-so to stress how real and raw things were last time and could potentially be (though unlikely) just days from now. I pray and hope and believe that it will not be the same as the last elections, but I would be naive to think that nothing at all will happen and that elections will be completely peaceful. In fact, there have already been signs of threats and unrest in town. While where I live is pretty removed from town and very safe as far as the building and security goes, it would be irresponsible for me to pass up an opportunity to keep myself (and the Kenyans here who would, for all intensive purposes, be "hiding" me) as safe as possible. My director decided for all the Americans on the team to stay in a guest house in a very safe area of Nairobi. The US Embassy also suggests we migrate to the capital. Though extremely unlikely, if we were required to evacuate the country, we would have to be in Nairobi anyway. So I'm leaving Nakuru and my friends and my babies in about 12 hours to be holed up in a flat for the next few days. All HCO staff will be staying at the baby house for several days (or longer, if things get rough) for their safety. I'm not excited at all about leaving so many people I love, but the several of us that are going are determined to make our "trip" fun! Lots of movies, good food, and maybe even a game or two if we decide to get wild. Ha.

Because of the guest house boarding, transportation, and purchased food, I will be spending much more money this month than what I had anticipated and budgeted for. Anything you are willing to donate for this "evacuation fund" would be so greatly helpful and appreciated! :)

And guys, please please PLEASE pray for this country I love so much. Pray for peaceful elections, for humble and gracious hearts, and for everyone's safety. I have several wonderful friends who could easily be targets for tribalistic violence. Please pray for them. I have a houseful of babies and friends that I'm leaving behind that I love so much, it almost aches my heart. Please pray for them, too. And please pray for me and the others I am traveling with, that our journey is safe and our stay is short.

Sewing project!

This was the first week of our new sewing project at HCO! All of our ladies are single mothers in need. They are learning how to sew and make cute aprons and accessories to sell. 

This week (and the next several weeks) was just about learning the machines and simple sewing techniques. I’m definitely no sewing expert, but I’ll be handling some of the business side of things. 

Plus I’m really excited to get to spend some time with these ladies and get to know them better!