Welcome! Jambo!
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Manchester Missouri is going to Kenya!
One hundred and five of us have offered to share our money and our time
building an orphanage for 200 Aids orphans. We are excited about this
opportunity to show our faith through service.
We hope you enjoy our website.
Be sure to keep checking back for event updates and important news. Also, please
join the forums and join us while we discuss things such as
fundraising events and meeting dates and times. Feel free to ask any questions you have.
Letters From Hamisi - Letter 11
Meet Hamisi - he is a friend of Mark Halsey's - He is a dancer who lives in Kenya. He's going to write us
once in a while and tell us about his life in Kenya. We'll be posting new ones all the time, so keep checking back! Also, you can read all his old letters in " Hamisi's Letters " section. We are asking him all sorts of questions so read on - it's very interesting!.
Wish you all the best as you have a Kenys weekend in your church next month,I wish that our group could be there to perfom for you,I will send you my family photo so you can see them and also now you can see better their sizes,May be the photo can help you as per the things you will bring to us.Well about kenya foods,I think for your there potato chips will be good,As here we make Ugali which is made out of maize flour,and sukuma wiki-which is green vegetables this is the Kenya main food and people like it.We also have coca cola here but me I like taking fanta,okey also some people like coca cola,for alcohol childrens are not allowed here,so it is just for big people,Also wine,for childrens is just soft drinks and something like candy bars,.
To tell you a little about Kenya,We are 42 different tribes here and also speaking different tribes,But our main language is Kiswahili and some people do speak english,but this we learn from school.We have 8 provinces and the biggest province is rift valley and Nakuru is in Roft Valley,Our mail food as I had told you is Ugali and sukuma wiki,and also githeri-which is cooked out of maize and beans,Also in those 42 tribes every tribe has its tradutional food,The biggest tribe here is Kikuyus,and you can find them all over the country and this is the tribe of our first president,we got our indepence in 1963 and since then we have had only 3 presidents,may be after this election we might have the 4th one.
We leave in Nakuru town and our eastate is approximatly 1,000 people but also have other estates near us,and people leave in peace no matter from which tribe,Our house is two rooms and we have toilet bathroom and kitchen,I have make extention rooms for the kids,You are welcome when you come to Kenya,you will see it well.We do sleep under mosquito nets as here There are mosquitoes,So it is better to have a net.Well about the decoration soap I have not seen like that one here so I dont think we have.
About school we have nussery school which is like your kindergarten and a kid can join as from 3years old,and kid will be there for 3years start baby class one year,middle class one year,and top class another year,Then after there a kid can join primary school for 8years,you start standard one up to standard eight,then in standard eight you will do your test and if you do well then you can join secondary school for four years,you start form one to form four and in form four again you can do test and if you do well then you can join university that is the system here,Then there is another one the IGCSE SYSTEM,A child starts after nussery,class one to class six then in class six you will do test and if you do well then you can join high school from from one to form six and this one you do the first test in form five the IGCSE-This is international test from Cambrigde university in london and another one you will do test in form six,Okey for this test when you do well you will be given certificates and the certificates will help someone when you want to join world wide colleges,Well the test are hard not easy.So our daughter Amina will be doing her IGCSE next year april may,Your high school is like ours four years.We do wish your daughter when she graduates from high school.Well for the subjects is student will choose for yourself,As per your future plans,So for Amina she is taking 7 subjects,and they go to school from monday to friday-saturdays,sundays rest just like your schools,But when we do have hollidays in the middle of the week then kids do not go school and also when they have midterms they dont go to school.Me and my family we are muslims,but our Neighbours do invite us and we clelbrate with them christmas,Yes they have special food-chapatis made from wheat flour,green vegetables and they chickens,in my estate there are many christians,muslims few.
For new year people do not sleep here you here many noises just in midnight throughout the whole night,And here many people go church on sundays but also during weekdays some do go.About the elections here someone is registerd with the National Identity card when you are 18 years old,Also the registerd voter card you can only register when you have the Identity card,So as from 18 years you can vote,We have black ballot Boxes and we have papers which we mark,For presidential,paliamentary and civic and just vote for one day,and the resuilts is just after midnight you can start hearing resuilts from different polling stations but full resilts will be for about ane and half days,Yes more people do vote and to vote you must have your Identity card and registerd viter if you dont have then you can not vote.
Lake Nakuru is very beatifull many flamingoes and some parts of the lake is pink,as pink is the colour of flamingoes-and the flamingoes just fly at night I mean from this place to another,but they can fly in the lake I mean when they travel from this lake to another they fly at night.
Well about the parcel I can pay the customs duty,but for letter no problem,I can just receive a letter,so you can send letter when you are able.
Me I am in family of seven 4 brothers and 3 sisters,I am the fifth in our family,my both parents are still there and all the members of my family are doing well.How I met my wife we went to one school and also we lived nearby,so we got married in 1988 up to now are still married with 5 daughters-about 19 years old our married.Some people here have many kids but nower days people are redusing to 3 childrens.
In watching tv just when you have time-for news and some other programes,people here like to read also.
It is good to get the shorts for malaria and yellow fever,but we do not have many cases for yellow fever only malaria and this is because we have many mosqutoes here.
Marafiki means friends,
I do hope that I have tried to answer the questions,but where you have not understand just as I tell you,you are free to ask any questions,Also the other members.
Greetings from my family,wife and our daughters.
JAMBO AND HAPPY HOLLIDAYS TO ALL.
As I told you Some days I will be joining you in your work and we can do together.
ANY QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME-KARIBU.
Hamisi and family.
KWAHERI.
Note - Hamisi lives in the Rift Valley, although there has been some violence in that area he assures us that he and his family are fine.
Dearest friends,
Thanks for your nice and long mail,I was eager waiting but I new you were busy and that is why you did not write sooner.Thanks that you do appriciate my mails and to know a little about us and Kenya.
one is RAFIKI-FRIEND,
MANY IS MARAFIKI-MEANS FRIENDS.
HABARI GANI-MEANS HOW ARE YOU,IS GREETINGS,
THEN YOU CAN SAY MZURI-MEANS FINE.
Fundraising
Fundraising continues on....
$8,000 from the Kenya Weekend.
$2,200 from the Peter Mayer concert
$52,000 and counting - Letter Writing
Keep checking the site for upcoming fundraising events. Be sure to check out the
fundraising section and the
calendar for upcoming events.
You Can Help
The Kenya trip gets 30% of every tea order!
Upcoming Events
Set Up Day!
Sunday, May 25
12:00pm
In the gym at
Good Shepherd!
Friday & Saturday
May 30 & 31
In the gym at
Good Shepherd!
Cultural Training
Friday & Saturday
June 6 & 7
at Good Shepherd
Sunday, June 15
1:15 Game
St. Louis vs. Phillies!
Thursday, July 3
7:15 Game
St. Louis vs. Mets!
5k race or 1 mile walk
Saturday, July 5
Queeny Park, St. Louis
July 11, 2008