Life at New Hope Kasana Children's Center

Alea and Jonas with Sandra and Zephaniah.

In case you can't read it, the latrine says: "Hygiene is very important in life.  Wash hands after using this special room please."  They treat their teachers very well here...they get their own seperate latrine!



Each of the 7 family groups has their own kitchen hut.

Children in each family unit take turns cooking during the week.  A younger child is paired with an older child to learn the ropes.



Ebenezer Family group threshing soybeans.



New Hope property is set up like a wheel with the church/school in the center and the 7 spokes are roads going out to each of the 7 family groups.  Water is gathered from the water tower near the center of the wheel.

It's amazing how "fetching water" was such an intregal part of their daily routine.  Think of all the times and reasons you use water at home, and you'd soon find yourself making another trip back to the water tower or nearest well!  The children here at New Hope have it "easy" compared to our children that live out in the villages....just like many of them have to walk over an hour to get to school, many of them have to walk very far to fetch their water and make multiple trips a day because they don't own a wheelbarrow or a bike to haul the water home (only whatever they can carry on their backs or heads).  A wheelbarrow or bicycle is an extremely valuable item.

    

Dishes are washed outdoors then left to dry.  Each of the 7 family groups has their own chicken coop, gardens (that are really huge fields), other animals (if they wish), central meeting banta, sleeping bantas, latrines, etc.  They "dig" (hoe/shovel/weed) their gardens, gather, winnow, dry, store all their own food.  If they want avacadoes they have to plant an avacado tree.  They do all their own cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.  Everything is self sustaining.  Each family group also comes up with some sort of business for extra income (usually a food item to sell like the mango jam).

All staff who live at New Hope are also responsible for growing their own food.  Notice the turquois mosquito net hanging on the line to dry.

A girl in the Calvary family is sifting flour to make the night's posho (the main staple, just like in Kenya except it's called ugali in Swahili and posho in Luganda)...basically white thick gritty paste that sits in your gut.  But it always has beans or some sort of "soup" sauce to go over it that makes it quite tasty.

Students on their lunch break.  Children keep their bowl in their classroom and bring it with them to the food line, then are responsible for rinsing it and taking it back to their classroom before they can go play.

African silverware!

A Kasana School boy washing out his dishes.

Kids here work hard and play hard.  Just like all kids, they love to have fun!  Just like most cultures, Africans are into their sports.  The schools often have tournaments with other schools and compete in the various sports: football (soccer), volleyball, basketball and netball (like basketball for girls but you can't run with the ball, alot of passing).

Peeling mangos to make mango jam with Isa's Pacific family (their family business).

Making chipates by candle light!  (Joey's favorite in both Kenya and Uganda).  On the equator the sun rises and sets at 7 every day of the year and once it sets it gets dark fast (no lingering twighlight).

Aunt Lucy making our mendazes for the girl's tea party (the David family's business).  This is also where Kiweewa Christopher makes his famous tortilla chips (his own personal business)...he just cuts the chipates into triangles and deep fries them, then makes two flavors: salty or cinnamin sugar. YUM!

Joey trying to pick up some moves from the pros during evening devotions with the the Ebenezer family.  Corporate worship is an intregal part of their evening routine.  All day long the kids are humming or singing praise songs under their breath because they are stuck in their heads from the night before.  While us Americans are sitting around our TVs during Prime Time, Africans in Kenya and Uganda are worshipping the Creator of the Universe!

Alea's mosquito net at the New Hope guest house! You should've seen her face when we walked into the room!  There were 4 twin beds....3 with white nets and then this one!  She was quite the jungle princess!