We have been at the Pillar of Faith Orphanage for a little over a week now. The three weeks prior to our arrival here presented us with some unforgettable experiences and some testing challenges. We set off from Sudan feeling bewildered at how different our experience of the country was from our expectations. A country that is referred to in our guidebook as plagued by war, famine, disease and poverty was, in fact, overwhelmingly friendly and pleasant. It took us a very long time to be issued with the necessary visas (we later discovered that as westerners we were privileged to be allowed entry at all). Once in the country though, we were taken care of by a local travel agent eager to shrug off the stigma attached to travelling in the Sudan. We were introduced to the Minister of Tourism for Sudan and listened with interest as he revealed the country's plans to develop the tourism industry and capitalise on its natural and cultural assets (and of course its strikingly friendly people).

Group with Minister of Tourism for Sudan

Driving in Convoy through Ethiopia

Wading through Deep water in Ethiopia

Arriving in Ethiopia we noticed the dramatic change in terrain. The dry Sudanese dessert quickly gave way to the lush green Ethiopian Highlands. Spending our first night in a basic hotel without electricity or running water, we experienced serious rain for the first time since leaving England. Pushing on we again realised that the country was a far cry from its mistaken reputation. Arriving with the inevitable western pre-conceptions of famine and drought we soon discovered that Ethiopia is the most fertile of all African countries. Though we came across no famine as such, Ethiopia is also one of the poorest countries on Earth. This juxtaposition seems to arise from poor and corrupt administration. Whereas in Egypt we had been asked for 'gifts' of money, here we were asked for clothes and drinking water; a far harder request to deny. The rains had just finished as we passed through and so the roads, although not at their worst, were deep with mud and water. We were met with genuine amazement as our bright yellow Land Rovers took us further into this bewildering and enigmatic country. In some of the remotest areas we were approached by nomadic people who simply stared at us displaying broad grins. It seemed that we were the first white people they had ever encountered. Perhaps we were. We were also met at times with hostility. Some Ethiopians associate westerners with being given aid and when we refused to stop or failed to hand out clothes and food they occasionally became intimidating. We often sat in the vehicles with the doors locked. As one of our team ventured out to find someone selling bread larger and larger crowds of people surrounded the vehicles banging it with their hands. We regularly drove by groups of goat herders who would shout as we passed them by or children who would throw stones. On one memorable occasion a goat herder threw a stone, which shattered our side window.

Ethiopian Girl

Ethiopian Village

Group at Blue Nile Falls, Ethiopia

As had been the case through the Sudan, we were eager to make fast progress. We rose at dawn and pushed on as far as possible each day. The condition of the roads, however, greatly slowed us down. Crossing the Highlands the altitude rises to about 9,000 feet and we found ourselves getting headaches. The vehicles also suffered from the altitude, as ten-year-old Defenders are prone to do. We arrived in Bahir Dar from where we visited the magnificent Blue Nile Falls and then pushed on towards the Kenyan border post at Moyale. Approaching the border the leading vehicle had to swerve in order to avoid a human body in the road. The little traffic there was including a Red Cross vehicle, past by! We decided that there was no alternative but to turn back and deal with what we were convinced was a dead man in the road. We reached the body with nervous apprehension. Could it be a trap laid by bandits? Would we be held responsible for his death if found with the body? To our huge relief it turned out that he was alive and had suffered an epileptic fit. We hailed down another vehicle, which thankfully contained a woman who knew what to do. She struck a match and held it to the boys nose. He sat bolt upright and we carried him shaking to the side. It turned out that he lived 300 kilometres to the north back in Bahir Dah. We gave him food and water and paid a local mini bus driver to take him home. We had all felt that we were in Africa to help needy children and that it was our moral obligation to help this boy. The incident seemed in many ways to pre-empt our work to come. The next day we hired the services of a guard (locally known as a Kalashnicoff man) to escort us through northern Kenya and protect us from the very real threat of bandit attack. The roads in north Kenya as far as Isiolo are appalling. At this stage we had been on dreadful roads for over 2,000 Kilometres and our shock absorbers finally gave up. The next day we bounced painfully slowly the rest of the way to Nairobi breaking our journey only to pull a British army vehicle out of a deep rut in the mud.

Sumburu Tribeswoman, Northern Kenya.

Crossing the Equator

We were lucky enough to be able to stay with Tiny and Lucy Woods at their beautiful home in the Karen district. During the next few days we had our shock absorbers replaced and revelled in the luxury of showers, Television and the use of a proper kitchen! The previous month had taken its toll on us and we caught up on valuable sleep. Before heading on to Gilgill (where Rory spent his 'gap year' teaching at Pembrook School) and then to the Pillar of Faith Orphanage in Kisumu, we gave a talk to the children at Banda Prep School in Nairobi. The children were fascinated and the school have agreed to raise funds for the orphanage.

Group picture at the Pillar of Faith

Nelson Ayaga with a few of his Children

Miriam (called Auntie) with Clare, the youngest child in care.

As mentioned, we have been here at the Pillar of Faith Home for Needy Children for a little over a week now. It is an amazing place that cares for 36 extremely needy children. The children range from the ages of 1 to 18. All are either total orphans or have one parent remaining who is too poor or ill to care for them. Most of their parents have died from HIV, some from Malaria and some from road traffic accidents, the three biggest killers in Africa. Nelson Ayaga, the founder of the home and surrogate father to the children, has ambitious hopes for the future development of the home. They are currently based in a rented house in the Tom Moboya district of Kisumu. He wants to buy a ten-acre plot of land nearby and expand the home to cater for over one hundred children. Our primary goal whilst here is to assess how best to support the orphanage once back in the UK. There is a desperate need for funds but Nelson has also expressed great interest in the possibility of our setting up a sponsorship programme for individual children and a 'gap year' scheme where young people from Britain can be sent out to offer their help. He is in need of doctors, nurses and teachers to help him in his work. He is also keen for missionaries to come out and minister to the children as well as creating awareness of the issues surrounding HIV. In addition to working out our long-term objectives we have taken on a caring role and help look after the children's day-to-day needs. We have designed and are building a large chicken house for 150 young chicks. If the home can keep chickens they will have fresh meat and enough eggs for the children and to sell for extra income. We are also organizing a Christmas carol concert to be performed by the children during Kisumu's celebrations on 14th December in front of the Queen, Nelson Mandela and the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Nigeria. The Mayor of Kisumu has been so impressed by our work that he has presented us with a gold key symbolising that we are now Freemen of Kisumu and agreed to join project Kent2CapeTown.com in supporting the Pillar of Faith.

Rachel with Isack

Jon with Children

Building Chicken House

Bed Time at the Orphanage

Thank you all for your ongoing support. We are half way through our time in Africa and have completed two thirds of the total mileage. Various publications continue to follow our progress and Helen has already gathered some superb video footage for the documentary which various production companies and television channels have already expressed an interest in.

Jonathan Besley - Project Leader

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