Students and staff from St Paul’s High School are currently visiting the Parish of Londiani, in Western Kenya as part of the school’s International Projects.

The six Year 14 students, accompanied by staff members, are staying with missionary priests from the Society of St Patrick, Kiltegan, and helping in their parish work in Londiani and beyond.  The students will accompany the missionary priests on their day-to-day work, visiting schools, hospitals and community facilities and bringing aid to the most needy people of Africa.

Over the last seven years, the students, staff and family of St Paul’s has raised over £150,000 for International Projects, including Kenya, Romania, Bethlehem and Lourdes.

This page will detail the group’s journey through Kenya.  We’re publishing a live blog during the visit, plus updating the page regularly with videos, photos and postings from the group.  We’d love to hear your feedback.

LIVE BLOG

Monday 1 November – 5.45 pm (EAT)

Hey blog followers!

Apologies for the interruption to service which occurred as we travelled from Londiani to Nairobi.  We ran out of credit for our Safaricom USB Modem, and we were only able to top it up after our visit to Nairobi this morning.

We travelled the long journey to the capital of Kenya yesterday.  After Father Dermot celebrated Mass at the Church of St Thomas, near Londiani with Dáithí, Kathleen and four of the students (Sinéad and Johnny accompanied Father Martin to a different Mass), we posed for a few more photographs and then began to load the bus with all our baggage.  Saying goodbye to Father Con, and all our friends on the compound was very difficult.  They all came out to wave us off, Mr Wilson, the cook, Lucy, the housekeeper, David, the catechist and his wife Monica, Pauline who works in the bookshop and Anne the computer teacher.  We had become so close to them all so quickly and it was an emotional and sad farewell.

The journey to Nairobi was long, hot and uncomfortable.  The bus is now filled with all our luggage, so there was very little space or legroom.  It took most of the day to reach Nairobi, but once again we received a great welcome at St Patrick’s, the motherhouse of the Kiltegan Fathers in Kenya.

We had supper, and settled down for our last night in Kenya.

This morning, we woke for Mass at 7.30, which Father Dermot celebrated, and which the students and Kathleen provided the music and singing.  After Mass, and breakfast, we visited Nairobi with Father Martin.  He warned us to be very careful and aware of muggers and pickpockets and we removed all jewellery, rings and watches that could easily be ripped off.  We visited the City Market and had a look at the curios and nick-nacks that would do as presents for our friends and families at home.  Again, we were told to haggle, and initially offer 1/10th of the price the traders wanted.  It was great fun, and we all ended up with some excellent bargains.

After a quick visit to the Minor Basilica, the Cathedral Church of Nairobi, we headed back to St Patrick’s for a relaxing afternoon.

It’s now nearly 6.00 pm here and we’re going into the chapel at St Patrick’s for a little thanksgiving Prayer service.  This will probably be the last blog post until we arrive back in London.  Our flight is at 11.00 (EAT) and we’re due into Heathrow at approximately 5.30 (GMT).  Say a prayer for us all, and we’ll see you all a little bit closer to St Paul’s.

Kwa heri!

Saturday 30 October – 9.55 pm (EAT)

Our last full day with Father Martin and Father Con in Londiani has come to an end.  We spent most of the day away from Londiani, as Father Martin took us on a special trip to Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya.

Kisumu is situated on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, and the second largest lake in the world.  It took us nearly three hours to get there, and again we drove through the tea fields of Kericho and up through the beautiful hills of the Kenyan countryside.  Arriving in Kisumu, we visited the Sunshine Hotel for some morning coffee and sodas, and we took a look at Lake Victoria from the hotel’s beautiful roof-top bar.

After our refreshments we travelled a little further, and closer to the lake in the vain attempt to stop some hippos which are known to swim in the lake.  Alas, it must have been their day off as there were none to be seen!

Father Martin brought us to the Kiboko Hotel (Swahili for hippo) where we had a first class lunch, and dessert and an opportunity to unwind and splash about in the hotel pool.  We had a lovely, relaxing afternoon which allowed us to recharge our batteries and get ready for the long journey back home to Ireland.

After travelling back to Londiani in the late afternoon, we began the sad duty of packing our bags and tidying our rooms.  We have Mass in the morning, and Father Martin would like to leave for Nairobi straight after lunch.

It’s a long journey back to Nairobi, so we’re all hoping for a good night’s sleep.

It will be sad to say goodbye to Father Con, and the friends we’ve made around the compound in Londiani.  They have been so generous to us in their welcomes, and so supportive as we slowly got used to the place and made ourselves known.  We’ve all become very close in such a short time, and it will be difficult to say goodbye tomorrow morning.

We’ll update the blog when we reach St Patrick’s in Nairobi tomorrow night.

Oíche mhaith!

Friday 29 October – 10.10 pm (EAT)

A very short blog post tonight, as we’re all exhausted and heading to bed for a well-earned rest.

We had a terrific day today, which was our last day visiting schools and communities, and today we paid a visit to the most remote part of Father Martin’s parish.  We went to a place called Mugumomini, which means ‘the place of the fig tree’.  It’s about 30km from Londiani but is very inaccessible and it took us about two and a half hours to reach it this morning.

Before arriving at Mugumomini, we stopped at the Equator.  Londiani is positioned very close to the Equator and it was on our route this morning.  We crossed from the southern hemisphere back into the northern hemisphere, at 0 degrees Latitude.  We posed for a few photos at the Equator sign and spent a little while browsing the nearby curio stall and then continued on our journey.

We called in at Tendeno Secondary School, which is another of the schools we support financially.  The students were delighted to see us, and put on a great show of music, singing and dancing.  Of course, it took very little to get us up from our seats and join in, and we spent an enjoyable hour chatting with the students, answering questions and posing for even more photos.

We continued on, and visited the small Christian community of St Joseph for a house Mass, which Father Con celebrated, along with Father Dermot.  We were also treated to our first authentic Kenyan meal, when we had lunch served in the lady’s house.  It was very nice, with rice, potatoes, cabbage and carrots served, along with some meat, which none of us were too fussed on.  Johnny won the award for the fastest finisher, and even went back for seconds!

We began the long journey back to Londiani soon after, and spent the evening tidying our rooms, beginning our packing, and visiting the town to get our remaining shoes cleaned.

We have a nice day planned for tomorrow, as Father Martin is taking us to the city of Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake.  It should be a lot of fun.

More news tomorrow.  Night night all!

Thursday 28 October – 7.55 pm (EAT)

Today was a very special day for us, as we celebrated Connor’s 18th birthday!  He tried to keep it quiet, but we already had plans in place and at breakfast this morning we all greeted him with ‘Happy Birthday’ and we had the sitting room of Father Martin’s house decorated with banners and posters.

Poor Connor was very embarrassed but he graciously thanked everyone for their good wishes.  Later we presented him with a cake, and some birthday gifts, and Father Martin insisted that he received the ‘bumps’ for his special day.

We thought you might like to see some photos of Connor’s special day!

The gang help Connor celebrate his 18th birthday.

Blowing out the candles on his 18th birthday cake.

Connor is presented with a gift by Lucy, Father Martin's housekeeper.

Ciarán, Johnny and Father Martin give Connor 'the bumps'.

Before lunch, we travelled to Kalyet Primary and Secondary Schools, and as is customary we received a huge reception from the students, one of the biggest so far.  We had great fun in the classrooms with the secondary students and the Headmaster took great delighted in setting very difficult Maths problems on the blackboard for Connor, Johnny and Nicola to solve.  Our students didn’t let us down, and they solved each problem without too much delay, and to a huge round of applause from the impressed Kenyan students.

We did our usual routine of singing, music and dancing for the 800-odd students out in their main field, and they reciprocated by performing traditional Kenyan dances and singing for us.  We even tried to do the ‘Hokey Cokey’ with 500 primary school children which resulted in mayhem with limbs flying everywhere as they all tried to ‘shake it all about’!

After lunch, and a big slice of Connor’s birthday cake, we headed into Londiani town to get our shoes cleaned and polished by one of the street traders who we have become friendly with.  His name is David, and apparently he is the best shoe cleaner in the whole Rift Valley.  He greeted us in English, Swahili, French and even a little Irish which we were very impressed by.  He cleaned all our shoes and trainers (which were very muddy from our visit to the slums in Kericho – see yesterday’s blog) for 300 KSH (Kenyan Shillings) each.  That’s about 30p in our money at home!

We then broke into groups with the boys joining Father Dermot and Dáithí, and the girls heading off with Kathleen and Father Dermot for some house visits, Mass and anointing of the sick.  It was very humbling visting the small, dark little mud huts that the local people live in, and it was a privilege to join them in the celebration of the Eucharist.  Afterwards as we walked home, we were joined by about 100 children who decided to tag along.  We looked like the Pied Piper with all the kids behind us, but it was great fun and they enjoyed giving us ‘High 5s’ and constantly asking us ‘How are you?, How are you?’

Ciarán meets a new friend on the walk home to Londiani.

We’re invited to a special supper tonight at the house of the Chairperson of the local Parish Committee, so we’re all getting ready.  The end of another busy day, and we’re becoming very conscious that our days in Londiani are rapidly coming to an end.  We have a couple more days to squeeze a lot more in – and a few more surprises to come too!

Kwa heri!

Wednesday 27 October – 11.00 pm (EAT)

Another day over and it was a very busy, and emotional day for us all.

We set off early this morning for Kericho, which is one of Kenya’s largest and poorest cities.  On our way we observed the tea-pickers harvesting the crop in the teafields which surround the city.  It was hard not to notice the poverty all around us.  We drove past slum housing, and many bare-footed locals going about their business.  After about an hour’s driving (with Father Con as our chauffeur) we arrived at the ‘Live with Hope Centre’ which is a HIV/AIDS testing and treatment clinic run by Sister Placida, a Scottish nun of the Franciscan Order of the Immaculate Conception.  Sister Placida is an amazing woman.  She has been living out here for over twenty years, working with the poorest of society, and yet she is the most happy, exciting, giggly, bubbly person you could ever meet.  She was delighted to see us, and thanked us profusely for our financial aid to the centre which is so important.

Father Dermot and Father Con celebrated Mass in English and Swahili and we were given a short tour of the facility.  We were interviewed by Maxwell, the Editor of the local youth magazine, and we had a very informative discussion about issues surrounding the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, and how the local culture dictates issues of sexual morality which are very different from those back at home in Ireland.  The Kenyans were very interested in our opinions on teenage pregnancy, STIs, and abstinence.

After the discussion, we were brought to meet Father Paddy Hyland, another Kiltegan Father and longtime friend of St Paul’s, who introduced us to a group of ladies he works with.  Father Paddy’s ladies are former commercial sex workers, who have had a difficult life and who are trying to rebuild their place in society.  Father Paddy’s project helps them to become independent and to begin to earn money from small businesses.  They were delighted to see us, and we received a great welcome from them.  Of course, we sang and played our music for them to great applause.

Father Pat O’Brien, another Kiltegan Father, hosted us for a great lunch (with ice-cream for dessert!), after which we were broken up into three small groups and given a tour of the slum areas of Kericho.  This was a difficult mission for us, and it is difficult to express in words the poverty and the standard of habitation we saw.  Kathleen, Sinéad and Ciarán headed in one direction, while Father Dermot, Father Pat, Johnny and Nicola went to another area.  Dáithí, Mairéad and Connor visited houses on the outskirts of the city.  We were introduced to different families, some of whom are living with HIV and trying to cope each day.  The quality of their houses, and the lack of basic hygiene facilities was very shocking, and it was distressing to see such poverty close up.  We met many small children who carry the HIV virus, having received from their mother.  One of the most shocking facts we discovered was that so many people in Kericho, and throughout Kenya are aware that they are carrying the virus.  Sister Placida’s work in Kericho is all about awareness-raising, counselling, diagnosis and treatment.  We can only hope that our fundraising will continue to help and support her project and help the communities of Kericho.

After our tours of the slum areas we boarded the bus, and began our journey back to Londiani.  Father Con gave us a ten-minute visit to a Kenyan supermarket, which allowed us to stock up with crisps, Pringles and chocolate!

We arrived back in Londiani just as it was getting dark.  It was quiet on the bus on the way home.  You get the feeling that each one of us was reflecting on our day, and how lucky we are to live in a world that has so much.

Time for bed.  It’s going to be a very special day for one of us tomorrow.  Find out more tomorrow night!

Tuesday 26 October – 10.05 pm (EAT)

Hello to all our blog followers – we hope you’re all well.  Today marks the halfway point of our Kenyan journey.  It’s hard to believe that this time next week, we’ll all be back at home.

We had an early start this morning, as Father Martin invited us to join him and the Irish teachers (see yesterday’s blog) for morning Mass at 7.30 a.m.  The girls and Kathleen provided the music and the singing and once again impressed everyone with their rendition of ‘Panis Angelicus’.

After breakfast, we headed off in the pickup truck to Baracka Secondary School.  Baracka is the Swahili word for ‘Blessed’, and the school is one of the sponsored schools which our fundraising efforts help support.  We spent about three hours at the school, having a tour, meeting the staff and interacting with the boys and girls who asked lots of questions about Ireland.  Some of their questions were unexpected, and difficult to answer, e.g. ‘What is the main agricultural produce of Ireland…?’  Lots of errrs and emmms from us at that one, and ‘What is the average rainfall in Ireland…?  Our answer:  ’A lot!’   But once we got out of the formal classroom situation and got a chance to mingle properly with the students we had great fun answering their questions.  Again, they challenged us to a game of football, and again we were hammered by them!  The high altitude is causing us a lot of problems, and it’s hard to do anything physical after about five minutes.  The area of Kenya we’re visiting is 7,000 feet above sea level, and is at a very high altitude.  When you consider South Armagh is about 800 feet above sea level, you can understand why anything physical is difficult for us, and why the Kenyans always do so well at long distance running.  (By the way, we forgot to mention, that while visiting the Polytechnic yesterday, we were introduced to a man called Thomas Cheryuot, who won a bronze medal for Kenya in the 1968 Olympic Games in Tokoyo.  Thomas was a middle and long-distance runner and was very proud of his achievement.  Unfortunately he didn’t have his medal with him yesterday).

After lunch back at the compound, we set off for a House Mass at the home of Anna, in Chebewor, near Londiani.  Father Con was celebrating the Mass, which, again, was delivered entirely in Swahili!  Anna’s house was very small, and very hot, and again it was really difficult to keep the eyes open during the Mass … but we all succeeded.  One of the high points was the chicken that Anna’s family presented to us as a gift!  The chicken (alive) had to be brought in the van back to Londiani and Johnny was the brave soldier who carried Freddy (our name for the chicken) back to Father Martin’s house.  There’s rumours that Freddy will make a reappearance at lunch tomorrow afternoon, but we’re not too sure!

After tea, we played a few games in the house with Father Martin and Father Con.  Ciarán started off with a game of Charades, which was great craic, and then we changed the game to ‘Who am I?’ which lasted for about two hours.  We’ve finally called it a night and are heading to bed.

Water is very scarce here today.  When we woke up this morning there was no water in the toilets or in the taps.  James the handyman was able to rig up some emergency supplies to keep us going for the day – but we’re not sure how long this will last.  We’ll just have to cope with little water until there’s more rainfall.

Tomorrow is a big day for us.  We’re heading for Kericho, a city about 50km from Londiani.  We’re looking forward to meeting Sister Placida who runs the ‘Live with Hope’ HIV/AIDS centre in the city and who cares for the underprivileged of Kericho.  We hope to meet Father Paddy Hyland, another Kiltegan Father, who will give us a tour of the slums of the city.  It’s going to be a difficult, and perhaps an emotional day for us all tomorrow, but we’re looking forward to meeting the people and hearing their stories.

We’ll update the blog tomorrow night when we return from Kericho.

Night night.

PS   Thanks again for all your comments.  We love reading them.

Monday 25 October – 10.30 pm (EAT)

Jambo from Kenya!  We’ve had another busy and energetic day and we’re just starting to wind down for the night.

We began our day with a trip to Kipsirichet Secondary School, which is about 15 miles outside of Londiani.  Kipsirichet is a Kalinjen (local tribal language) word for ‘rhino’, and it’s one of the schools that is sponsored by Father Martin, and which benefits from the money the St Paul’s community raise each year.  It is a very nice school, with over 350 students and nine teachers.  We arrived at the worst possible time!  The Form Four (final year) examinations were just beginning – they’re equivalent to our A Levels – and the students were settling down to do their Swahili paper, when Father Martin and the nine of us, tore into the school yard in our bus, beeping the horn and shouting ‘Jambo’.  This did not go down too well with the Principal who appeared very cross.  But when she saw that we were friends from Ireland, and when we promised not to disrupt her students too much, she mellowed and gave us a tour of the school.

Once again, we entertained the Kenyan students and in turn they sang and danced for us.  It is always enjoyable watching their traditional dances and hearing their local songs.  We’re not quite sure what they make of our attempts at Irish dancing, and the ‘Six Hand Reel’ was very hard to do on the rough grass.  But they gave us a big cheer when we sang ‘The Boys from the County Armagh’.  We presented them with a football, and some pens and chocolates which they gratefully received, and then we were invited to play football with them.  The crafty Kenyans knew that we wouldn’t be able to cope at such a high altitude and we were breathless within minutes.  We were amazed at how skillful they were playing with a heavy O’Neill’s Gaelic football, in bare feet!  Nicola performed well in midfield, but Arsenal fan Connor headed in an own goal, and goalie Johnny allowing a sneaky goal to slip through his legs, we never really had a hope.

After we posed for about 2000 photographs, we boarded the bus, and waved goodbye to the boys and girls of Kipsirichet Secondary School.  Father Martin continued our ‘safari’ with a visit to the nearby Polytechnic, which provides training for local boys and girls in dressmaking and tailoring, as well as woodwork and carpentry.  We had a tour of the polytech and a chance to interact with the students.  They were delighted with the different jerseys and football tops we had brought for them.  Ciarán tried his best to teach the local students how to do the ‘Casper Slide’ but the just looked on in amazement.

Back to Londiani for a quick lunch, and then back on the bus for a visit to Finlay Flowers at Lemotit Farm, near Londiani.  Finlay Flowers export their blooms throughout the world, and if you have every picked up a bunch of flowers from Asda, Tesco or Sainsbury’s and it said ‘Produce of Kenya’ on it, they more than likely came from Finlay Flowers.  We were very impressed by the professional operation at Finlays, and how quickly they can harvest, package and export flowers to the European markets.  We saw flowers being picked, that were then packed in Asda boxes and placed on a lorry for dispatch to the UK tonight.  They’ll be on sale in some Asda store tomorrow morning – quite hard to believe – but one of the reasons why Finlays is such a success.  We were given a tour of the facilities by Lucy, the deputy line manager, who then kindly invited us to her house nearby for chai and chipatis.  Father Dermot said a blessing and we all thanked Lucy for her kindness.

After tea, things started to get busy on the compound.  Not content with nine hungry, and noisy visitors from St Paul’s (plus the six Kenyan students who are doing their exams – see Saturday night’s blog), Father Martin is hosting sixteen teachers from three Irish schools, who are working with ‘Friends of Londiani’, an Irish NGO (non-governmental organisation) who work to aid the local community.  The teachers are visiting three local schools to set up permanent links.  We were invited over to their accommodation for a bit of a sing-song – and it doesn’t take the Irish very long to throw a hooley and a céilí together!  Once again, we stole the show, with Mairéad, Nicola, Sinéad and Kathleen singing, and Johnny joining the girls for some tunes on their instruments.  Ciarán, Johnny, the girls and Kathleen showed off their Irish dancing skills (or lack of them), with another demo of the ‘Six Hand Reel’, while Connor, Dáithí and Father Dermot, kept the sodas flowing and the sweets topped up.  We had a great night’s craic with our new friends from Ireland, and we included the Kenyan students who interrupted their studies to call in and give us a traditional Kikuyu dance.

So – a bit of a late night for us tonight, and Father Martin would like us to join the new Irish teachers for Mass tomorrow morning at 7.30 a.m.  Time for sleep!

Many thanks for the comments we’ve received so far – we’ve loved reading them, and they really made us smile and think of everyone at home.  Please keep them coming!

Sunday 24 October – 8.50 pm (EAT)

Another day over, and it’s getting dark (and a bit cold) tonight in Londiani.

We started the day with the celebration of Sunday Mass, in the Church of St Kizito, next door to Father Martin’s house.  Father Dermot celebrated the Mass, and it was very different to what we are used to at home.  Firstly there is a lot more singing and interaction, and secondly, while Father Dermot celebrated the Mass in English, he had help on side providing a simultaneous translation in Swahili.

Just before the Final Blessing, Father Dermot invited us on to the altar, where we had to introduce ourselves to the congregation.  Once again, we got a great reception and a huge round of applause from the local people who seemed delighted to see us.  We were asked to sing and play some music, so Kathleen, Mairéad, Nicola and Sinéad sang ‘Panis Angelicus’ which was very well received, and then Mairéad, on banjo, Nicola on fiddle, and Johnny on tin-whistle, provided a nice slow Irish air.  Finally Sinéad gave a little drum recital which impressed the congregation.  On behalf of the students of St Paul’s, Connor presented a special plaque which we had brought from St Paul’s to Kenya.  It read:

“This plaque was presented by the students of St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook, Ireland, in recognition of the partnership and friendship with the Parish of Londiani’.  It also had the school crest, which Connor explained came from Latin, ‘In Caritate Radicati – Rooted in Charity’.

After Mass, we mingled with the local children who enjoyed feeling our long hair, and asking us about our country.  The afternoon was spent relaxing and tidying our rooms.

This evening, we’ve been playing cards and games and generally chilling out.

We’ve just been told we’re back visiting schools tomorrow – so that should be good fun.

More news tomorrow!

PS  Bad news!  Our internet connection is very slow in Londiani, hence only one blog post per day.

PPS  Good news!  We’ve been able to switch on the commenting facility on our blog, so if you’d like to leave us a comment, simply scroll down to the bottom of this page and leave your message.

Saturday 23 October – 9.20 pm (EAT)

Jambo, blog followers!

Another very busy day here in Kenya.  We awoke to the electricity restored, but that didn’t last long, as it went out again about 8.30 a.m.  But never mind, we had a busy day ahead of us, and after breakfast Father Martin loaded his open air pickup van full of books and educational materials for delivery to a school at the far end of the parish.  We didn’t realise at the time, but we had to jump into the back of the open top van too and we began the long and very bumpy journey.
An hour and a half, and some very sore backs and behinds later, we arrived at St Bernard’s Primary School, where Father Martin was making his deliveries.  We had great fun interacting with the primary school children and we were delighted when they sang a local song for us.  We entertained them with a rendition of ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’, which we think they enjoyed, and once again Sinéad impressed the Africans with her drumming.

We then headed off to a nearby monastery which used to belong to a Cistercian community of monks.  They had abandoned the monastery during the tribal clashes of 2008, and we were given a short tour of the church by Father Michael, who is looking after the building.

We then began the long journey back to Londiani.  Father Martin claimed he had found a better road for us to travel on, but we didn’t really notice any difference.  It was just as bumpy and uncomfortable in the back of the pickup truck!  But our spirits were high as the sun was shining, and we received lots of big smiles and friendly waves from the local Kenyans as we passed by.

After a late lunch we set about washing our own clothes by hand.  This was great fun, but the novelty quickly wore off when we realised how intensive the work is.  Luckily Kathleen was there to give us a hand and to make sure we were doing things correctly.

We spent the evening chatting and mingling with local students from Tendeno Secondary School who are also staying in the compound, as they are sitting their Form 4 (i.e. final) examinations in a local school.  We had great fun talking with them and asking questions about the Kenyan educational system and what their hobbies and interests were.  We presented each of the students with a boxed St Paul’s pen, and we left some chocolate bars and sweets behind us.

And now it’s time for bed – we’re all knackered again!  Tomorrow is Sunday, and our first ‘big’ Mass in St Kizito’s Church, right beside Father Martin’s house.  Father Dermot will celebrate and we’ve been told we will be expected to sing and entertain!  Mairéad, Sinéad and Nicola are practicing ‘Panis Angelicus’ as we type – God knows what the boys are going to do!

One bit of bad news – it has started to rain heavily, and our washing is still on the line!  We’ll update more tomorrow.

Kwa hari!

Friday 22 October – 6.30 pm (EAT)

Our second full day in Londiani began with a very special visitor.  The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya, the Rt Hon Raila Odinga, MP, was visiting the town to ‘cut the sod’ on a new major roads project which will finally see tarmac being brought to Londiani, and transforming the dirt roads into a major thoroughfare between the cities of Kericho and Kisumu.  Prime Minister Odinga arrived at around 11.00 am, and not wanting to miss his arrival, we all headed into the town to join the crowds waiting for him.  To be honest, we didn’t see too much, as the Prime Minister was surrounded by his security staff and a media storm.  However we did try and take a few sneaky photos before we were warned off by the local Police!

Back at the compound, Father Martin gave us a tour of the facilities, and we were introduced to James, the handyman, to Pauline, who runs the bookshop, to David the catechist, and to his wife Monica, and to Anne, who is the computer teacher.  Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and have made us feel very much at home.

After lunch, we paid our first visit to a school – Kapkondor Secondary School, which is located about 15 minutes from Londiani.  This was our first experience of the terrible roads in Kenya and it took a lot of patience and effort for Father Con to steer the bus through the dangerous roads.  Thankfully it hadn’t been raining, so they weren’t very muddy.

We had a great reception at Kapkondor School.  This is one of the schools which is sponsored by Father Martin, and to which we contribute some of our fundraising money.  he school has grown each year, and they now have over 380 students.  They were delighted to see us arrive, and we entertained them with some music courtesy of Mairéad and Nicola, and Sinéad wow-ed them with her African drumming prowess.  I don’t think they expected a girl to be able to play the drums so professionally.  The Kenyan students returned the favour by singing and dancing for us, and also by teaching our students a traditional African dance – which was a sight to behold.

After some sodas and bread which we gobbled down greedily in the Principal’s office, we headed off to a nearby house, where Father Con was celebrating a house Mass.  This is one of the many duties Fathers Martin and Con carry out regularly and they like to visit the small Christian communities in the more remote areas of the parish at least once a month.  For us, it was our first experience of Mass in Swahili – which was very different.  At times we found our eyes getting heavy, but luckily we were able to keep awake during the service.

We also had our first experience of ‘chi’ (Kenyan for ‘tea’) after the Mass.  It wasn’t as bad as we’d been told – and is really just hot, milky tea, with lots and lots of sugar.

Kathleen was asked to say a few words on our behalf at the end of the service.  Apparently she was picked because of her white hair!  She was told that people with white hair are generally the most wise and therefore the people wanted to hear her wisdom!  Of course, she rose to the occasion and thanked the local people for their kindness and hospitality.

We’ve just arrived back at the compound in Londiani and it’s very dark.  We’ve just discovered the electric is off (thank goodness, this laptop has a backup battery) – so no showers for us tonight.  I wonder what’s for tea?

More news later…

Thursday 21 October – 6.25 pm (EAT)

Hello all our blog followers.  You’ll be delighted to hear that we have finally arrived at Londiani and are starting to get settled into our new accommodation.  We had a very long journey from Nairobi today, but it was an enjoyable one.  We started our day at 7.30 am with Mass at St Patrick’s House in Nairobi, where we stayed last night.  Breakfast followed, and then we packed up the van with our bags and luggage and began our trek to Londiani.

The students, Father Dermot and Kathleen as they prepare to leave Nairobi

Father Martin was our driver, and guide, and he brought us to the local Bureau de Change where we was able to negotiate a very favourable rate for our sterling.  With our money safely secured, we left Nairobi and headed for the hills and the beautiful Rift Valley which dominates this part of Kenya, and most of Eastern Africa.

Stopping on the way to take a look at the magnificent views the Rift Valley boasts allowed us to stretch our legs and get some fresh air.  We were descended upon by many curio sellers and souvenir merchants looking to sell their wares.  Fierce haggling ensued to ensure we got the best price.  It was agreed that Sinéad has the best haggler by far!

Halfway through our journey we spotted some monkeys at the side of the road, and we couldn’t resist stopping for a few photos and throwing them a few sweets from the van.  The monkeys wanted a few more, and proceeded to pinch Father Dermot’s full bag of sweets from his open hand and run off with them.

Father Dermot makes friends with a monkey

We journeyed on to the city of Kericho where we stopped for lunch, and a dander round the market.  Once Father Martin had loaded the van with all our supplies for the next ten days or so, it was onwards to our final destination and a great welcome in Londiani.

We’re just finishing our unpacking and looking forward to our first supper in Londiani at 7.00 p.m.  It’s been a very tiring, but immensely enjoyable day travelling.  We’re looking forward to our first day visiting schools and communities tomorrow.  We’ll have more news then!

Wednesday 20 October – 10.00 pm (EAT*)

So, we have arrived and have settled into our nights accommodation at St Patrick’s in Nairobi. We got a great welcome from Father Martin Barry at the airport, and he brought us to the Kiltegan Fathers House in Nairobi where we were met by Father Sean and Father Niall, who are Superiors of the order in Kenya.

After a lovely, and very welcome supper (including some delicious fresh mango) we headed off to bed.

Nine very tired heads tonight. The long trek to Londiani begins tomorrow morning. More news en route.

Kwa hari!

* East African Time

Wednesday 20 October – 10.00 am (BST)

Hi everyone – this is our first blog post. We’re sending this message from Heathrow were we’re preparing to board our flight to Nairobi.

Excitement levels are very high, but we’ve just heard that the French Air Traffic Controllers strike has affected our departure and delayed us until 12.00 noon.

More news when we arrive in Nairobi later.

The 2010 Project Kenya group are:

The students will be accompanied by staff members: