12.07.2010

kenyan friends


Walking to church on a very warm Sunday morning.

(Milcent and Caro)

Milcent (the one with the umbrella) is 30 years old and has not only graduated from secondary school [high school], but went on to get her diploma in theological school and then she studied fashion. This is highly unusual for this culture because, generally, men see an educated woman as a threat and don’t want anything to do with them. But Milly isn’t afraid to do what she wants, she puts herself first. Not only is she an amazing clothing designer (wait until you see what she’s made for me), but also an amazing person.

Caro (short for Carolyn) is my age and more of a typical female in this village. She has a 2 year old daughter named Falcity who is taken care of by her parents because Falcity’s father was chased out of town just after Caro found out she was pregnant. Why didn’t they just get married, you ask? Well, Caro’s father didn’t like the guy and wouldn’t hear of it. Currently, she is learning from Milly to be a seamstress so that she can open her own shop one day.



This is Hudson washing dishes.

Hudson is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Anywhere. He is 32 years old and is like an older brother to me. He, and his brother David, would walk me home whenever it was getting late and always protected me of cultural misunderstanding with other villagers. He owns a shop in town that sells fabric and materials for clothing businesses. He travels to Nairobi and Kisumu to buy sewing supplies in bulk and then resells them to the villagers for a decent price. This is the same shop that Milcent and Caro work out of (free of charge). He is engaged to a wonderful woman named Rachel from another village and they are going to be married December of 2011 (I’m SO excited for the wedding!).

Hudson is one of those people that you just have to love. He has a good spirit, a warm personality, and is always laughing. Normally, men wouldn’t be caught dead helping out women in anything… even their wives. Hudson, though he thinks it’s funny, but is always willing to help with anything (sewing, washing dishes, cleaning the house, farming his shamba, etc.) and always has a good attitude about it. [keep in mind women do everything. EVERYTHING. While men seem to never be around.]


David, Hudson's younger brother, has recently turned 30 years old and is currently farming his family’s land. Everyday he chops wood, milks the cows, picks the vegetables that are ready to be eaten, prepares the land for planting, harvests the corn… etc. Before he returned to do this, he was living in Eldoret (a city a couple hours away) living with his sister, and her family, and helping her run her restaurant. He wasn’t able to graduate from secondary school (high school) because his father died while he was in form 2 (10th grade) and he was no longer able to afford the school fees. He is the most westernized in my group of friends. He likes going to night clubs, social drinking, American culture, playing games and sports, pop music, picnics, and trying new things… When I first met him, he was emotionally recovering from the death of his friend Bramuel. (Bramuel was a local businessman/church youth leader who was killed by a reckless driver. It was a huge devastation to the community) I had never seen a Kenyan cry, let alone see any kind of emotion, when I saw David mourning the death of Bramuel it really opened my eyes to him.




This is Triff.



Triff is the four year old son of Eva. Eva got married at a decent age (mid-twenties) to a local man that she had known for the majority of her life. She did it the “right way” by going to the Pastor of her church and getting approval and then having a big formal wedding. Their marriage started out healthy, but then took a turn for the worst. He abused her. So, she left him. She is now living with Triff on her families land in their own house. Triff’s father was financially supporting them until recently when he found another woman and married her (without a divorce from Eva) and stopped paying for Triff. In the meantime, Eva was getting an education at a local college with a focus of finance. Now, Eva is consulting a lawyer to ensure a positive future for Triff.






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