Tim Mana Kinda

Kingly lions being lazy in the Mara.

The mural we painted in the classroom.

Our goat, and our dinner...

For our final retreat, we headed to the western part of the country for a combination R &R with service. First, the R & R in the beautiful savannah of the Masai Mara National Reserve (it turns into the Serengetti once you reach the Tanzanian border). We stayed in a cozy lodge and spent our time eating, lounging or going on game drives for good photo opps of animals. This park had them all, and we were beside ourselves to see families of giraffes, elephants, lions and many more. My highlights were seeing the leopard (completing my sighting of the Big 5), and witnessing the start of the great wildebeest migration. There must have been thousands (millions?) of these strange looking animals, taking breaks to graze and then galloping single-file to where they thought the grass was greener. A great place to chill with my fellow YAVs and reflect on the year, counting our blessings for being in such a beautiful setting.

I'm glad these couple days on the Mara were coupled with the service aspect. Though safaris are incredible experiences, they definitely don't incapsulate the whold of Kenya that I love. Our visit to the village did do just that. During our orientation to Kenya in September, we had the privlege of meeting Professor Ogutu, who gave us a lecture at that time on "tribal identity and spirituality." He represented his own Luo tribe very strongly and proudly as he was the leader of their council of elders. He invited us to come to his home village, maybe he would even introduce us to Sara Obama, he had said...

And so, we came full circle. His whole (polygamous and huge) family came to welcome us to our new home. It was my coordinator, Rev. Phyllis', first time to this village. Her husband is a Luo, and so this home had even more emotional resonance with her. She was ushered into the hut of Ogutu's mother and we all said a blessing for this new and warm sense of place. She stayed in her hut, while the rest of us snuggled in nearby shelters, snuggling on mattresses.

When the Professor gathered us for the big meal, he taught us some of his mother tongue- NjaLuo. The first phrase that I'll always try to remember, "Tim Mana Kinda" roughly translates to "we will persevere." He explained that it's a common phrase used to reassure people that things will be ok in times of struggle. He congratulated us for coming this far in our year and how we Tim Mana Kinda- d our way through...

This theme continued through the rest of our retreat starting first thing in the morning the next day. The killing of goats in Kenya for eating is a ritual sacrifice signifying both celebration and coming of age. Since we were also doing both, it was our director's idea to have us know exactly where our food comes from. As we watched our goat (who had been with us for the whole of the previous day) lay down submissively for the slaughter, I was definitely filled with mixed emotions. My attitudes toward food have definitely been challenged this year, but this time, I felt something new. Being that the goat was a gift from this new community, I felt very blessed and grateful for this food, this animal's life, and for that people that provided it. I wondered what it would be like if that connection was secured with other things we ate...

Our service project was at a public primary school in this village. We painted a classroom, played with some kids, planted some trees, and had brought some gifts for the school. This public school was definitely a big contrast to the private one I teach at. The 1st grade class had about 80 pupils, 1/3 of which were orphans, we were told. They were squeezed into little bench desks, all sharing books and straining for a glance at the chalkboard. About half the students were without shoes. And yet, their passion for learning was clearly evident.

At the end of our day, the school had a sort of closing ceremony for us with recited poems, of course dancing and speeches. I even gave an impromptu speech of my own to some of the older girls who we had given the gifts of personal hygiene items to. The use of "Tim Mana Kinda" definitely came in handy here as most girls miss out on a lot of school once they hit puberty, and thus fall behind and may even drop out. Our gift would last them a few months, but then what? The spirit of Tim Mana Kind would have to carry them through...and for those without shoes, those without books, those without money for medicine, those without parents... you could see and feel the resilience and spirit of perseverance...

So yes, we YAVs have just about made it through the year with some different sets of challenges, but of course we've gained so much in the process by sharing some of these struggles, learning some of theirs and the way they overcome, but perhaps mostly by learning to listen to our new friends whispering "tim mana kinda" in our ears.

PS: We also did indeed meet Grandma Sara Obama. The mama that raised our president's dad. I read Dreams of my Father last year, so it was definitely cool to see this setting in real life. It was a very pleasant visit. We all sat under the huge mango trees in her home and asked her a few questions. We donated some items for the orphanage she runs, and she thanked us with some sodas. She's a very tough, cool lady. My other NjaLuo phrase that I learned was "ero komono." They use it in place of "thank you," but it actually means more along the lines of, "you did what you're supposed to do." She had this attitude toward Barack becoming president, "he did what he was meant to do..." she had said.