Chapter 2 – Baba Nyumbani

Our flight from Nairobi to Kitale aboard 540, an East African airline, departed at 10 am. Eli and I had elected to fly the distance, while Jared chose to travel by bus at a cheaper rate. (Jared’s thriftiness will be outlined in further detail in chapters to come). Flying allowed us to reach our destination in a little more than an hour. We landed on a gravel airstrip in Kitale. The Kitale “airport” consisted of a small office building, one armed guard, and a barbed wire fence surrounding the runway perimeter. Yes, we had arrived in rural Africa.

We relaxed near our luggage until our ride arrived. Our welcomers were not long. A private van pulled up and Eli instantly recognized its occupants, Annette and Walter, riding in the front seats. For Eli, this was a reunion, as Eli and his father had made the trip to Kenya for ten days less than a year ago. For me, introductions were necessary and after our friendly exchanges we were quickly on our way.

Annette is a fellow Canadian working for the orphanage, handling book keeping and other managerial tasks. She would also be acting as our eyes and ears for the two and a half weeks we would be staying in Kitale. Eli knew Annette originally through the work of Harvest Community Church (the church Eli, Jared, and I were technically representing on missionary airfare).

Walter is a native Kenyan who is responsible for managing the ongoing operations at the orphanage, including, but not limited to: managing the farm, handling security, serving as “parent” for the orphaned children, and keeping Eli, Jared, myself, and all other visitors thoroughly entertained;).

The drive from the Kitale airstrip to the orphanage did not take long. We arrived at the Baba Nyumbani orphanage gate around 1. Baba Nyumbani is taken from the native Kenyan tongue of Swahili and when translated, the name means “Daddy is Home”. A worker opened the gate, signaling our arrival.

We were met promptly by dozens of kids all wanting to shake our hands. What a welcome; I couldn’t believe how excited they were to have white visitors! East Africans have a word in Swahili for white folk: Mizungo (which loosely translates to “white dragon”). Judging by their reception to us, they clearly didn’t buy the stigma that labeled us cruel devourers.

Once a path cleared, we drove to the office building on the far side of the compound. What an amazing facility! Originally, Baba Nyumbani consisted of dormitories for the children, a kitchen and dining hall, a director's 3-bedroom house (which I will refer to as the office), a small guesthouse and fully-equipped electricity. Over the past year however, through donations and hard work, the orphanage had expanded to include a second floor for the dorms, a soccer field equipped with nets, a basketball and volleyball court, and extra maintenance buildings.

The objective of Baba Nyumbani is to become a sustainable, micro community capable of generating income and providing excellence service for orphaned children. A deep well produced more than enough fresh, clean water for the children and the farm. They had a garden which is produced a variety of vegetables and fruits, and a dairy project consisting of 3 cows which was fully functional and producing enough milk to feed and help sustain the micro community. They had also invested in maize, a corn-like staple, that they hoped to sell at a profit when the market was right. On the road to self-sustainability if you asked me!

We unloaded much of our luggage consisting of gifts and other useful items for the children into the office for Annette to sort through while we made ourselves comfortable and unpacked our belongings in the guesthouse. Our guesthouse was a round, traditional mud hut, complete with a straw roof and concrete base! The room had three beds and a table, well equipped for Jared, Eli, and I to make ourselves at home for the next 2+ weeks.

I took the opportunity to recuperate from the vigors of travel; my back and lower body muscles, in particular, were strained from the two days of travelling. After a few hours of rest in the hut I felt rejuvenated enough to venture out with Eli and see what the kids were up to. We did some colouring with the kids for a while before it was time to prepare for dinner and start pre-meal worship.

The experience of Kenyan praise and worship is something that will be engraved in my mind forever. In particular, the first time I heard them sing and dance to songs of praise to God was a deeply moving and exciting experience. To hear songs of praise in both English and their native Swahili by young kids lifting their voices and limbs to God was simply splendid. Difficult to capture in words without experiencing it first hand. I will try to make some clips of their performances available soon. They have such a talent for singing and dancing!

We were formally introduced to the kids at dinner and offered up words of gratitude to them for their willingness to be our gracious hosts for the days ahead. We shook hands with all, and welcomed each other into a fellowship that would envelop our lives during our stay. A great way to issue in our time at the orphanage, and what for me, felt like the beginning of a momentous experience within the confines of Baba Nyumbani’s walls.

DETOUR #1

African Praise and Worship are two completely different things. African Praise is upbeat, louder, and more “mobile” than African Worship. African Worship is more like a prayer; slower, and equated to a pouring out of emotion over the gratitude of what God has done and the desires of the heart. I thought it was interesting that they made such a distinction between the two. The more you know!