Hello to all my friends & family

I wish I would have been able to write more often but with the holiday everything here is much more inaccessible. It seems the phone lines get tied up easier and the cyber café’s close for many days. As promised, this note will give you some insight to my experiences so far. I hope that I will not offend anyone with this message as it contains my real life experiences which are true and some a bit scary. To begin, stay in the hills of Machakos. It’s difficult to get into the town since I stay in the hills. I ride the matatu (public transportation which ranges from a real bus to a not so great running van that loads 30 people in it squished) which costs about a buck (depending on the day and the amount of people taking it.) It is the scariest and most unsafe transportation I’ve ever experienced in my life! Sometimes, because I am a monzungu (white person), I get charged more. I have to be careful and know how to say that I would like my change. Everywhere I go, kids and sometimes adults will point and say “monzungu” and smile. It’s not so much disrespect as it is just pointing out that I look different. Kids think it’s great and will sometimes come up and shake my hand or ask me my name. I’ve started carrying candy for them. They like that! I also hear “how are you?” a lot from the kids. They might be blocks away and I’ll hear a faint “how are you ?” in the distance. The people in Machokos have been friendly for the most part. Like any other place some are more friendly than others. But for the most part I have been very welcomed. And people thank me often for visiting their country. I’ve experienced that a smile to someone goes a long way. It’s expected to be polite. I know that when I am in the States, I try to be polite but as many Americans who read this know, we really do keep to ourselves. It’s different here. I am expected to talk with people that say hello to me. I like that! It makes me feel connected to humans. I have found that the program I am in offers a different experience in each orphanage. My experience (personally) is very different b/c of where I live. Those volunteers that chose to in stay or near Nairobe are offered much more of a metropolitan lifestyle. They may not experience as much difference as I experience. There are internet cafes, wireless, coffee shops, movies, televisions, running water, etc. I don’t have this where I am. I trade it all for clean air and a quiet, simple place to stay. The place I stay has a bed. It has an outdoor toilet (which is literally a pit in the ground) and at night I need a flashlight to use it b/c there’s no electricity outside). The electricity was turned on for the first time a few days ago. It isn’t much help to me other than to charge my cell phone and ipod. The temp. has been in mid 70s during the day and 55-60 at night. There are no mosquitos b/c it’s cooler so don’t tell them I am not taking my malaria pills! The food here has been great and I’ve had no prob with my vegetarian diet. I eat a lot of rice, vegetables and fresh fruit. Thank goodness they have coke! Because of where I stay, there is hired help on the grounds for me and the orphaned kids. I have someone (her name is Elizabeth) who cooks, cleans and does my laundry. There’s no running water so everything is done by hand. It’s an interesting and very different lifestyle. I try to help Elizabeth when I can but my main purpose for now is to get accustomed to this world and to help the kids. I have felt relatively safe being here. I don’t go out after 5pm at night b/c it gets dark around 6 or 6:30 and I take care to not be out after dark. I don’t go anywhere alone. I either travel with the other volunteer I’m staying with or with someone that I know at the orphanage. For those of you that know Wanjira I’ve met her sister and she is the most lovely person. I feel blessed to know someone that lives here in Nairobe. Thanks so much Wanjira for connecting me with Wanja! I promise to write more…and pics will come soon! Love to all! Renee

ºKrismas Njema Na Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº (Merry Christmas!)

Hello all! It’s been difficult to write on my blog…communication is a bit slower than I thought it would be. Also, given that my amount of patience with slow PC’s is nonexistent, I find it hard to write! There’s so much to tell you so far! I’ll start with the most important… The orphanage. When I arrived in Nairobe, we were given a list of 14 diff. orphanages that partner with VICDA (the agency in Kenya that works with orphanages and GVN). It was overwhelming. Each one had different needs and of course I wanted and needed to take into account MY needs (like having a little bit of comfort to help me to be here for 6 months…things like internet, water, electricity, etc). In the end, another volunteer and I decided to trek to the hills of Machakos…a tiny community outside of Nairobe (1.5 hours). The orphanage I live at is called Terry's Child Support and youth Resource Centre . There are approx. 25 children. The children range from age 5 to 15 w/the exception of one tiny baby (around 6 mo). They are all beautiful children. I’ll send pics shortly. I’m still working out logistics of getting pics to attach with the slowness of my connection! They come from very sad situations, abuse, abandonment, homelessness…it’s sad. I try to do the best I can each day to help them. We read, they teach me Swahili, I work on English with them (they are on break right now for the holiday so we don't do much school work), we play games, I hold their hands, make them smile and give them as much love as I can. They get three meals a day. They have a place to eat and they get much clothing and adequate food donations from the community. There are many generous people in the community that believe in Leah (the Director of Terry’s Orphanage). Leah has the biggest heart of any woman I know. She is wonderful with the children and her orphanage is not even her job! She has a full time job in Nairobe. It turns out that she has a separate estate in Machakos where children just started showing up at her door for food and shelter. She has been helping them for 3 years (1 year officially on record as an orphanage and 2 unofficially thru just the kindness of her heart of what she could provide to them). An immediate need of the orphanage has been shelter. Literally, there needs to be a roof over the kids’ heads and a place for them to sleep and eat. Thanks to all of you, we’ve been able to provide Leah with almost $2000 ($1600 that you have directly given to me!). I can’t thank you enough. So far you’ve given the children a few nice things for the holidays…a nice meal, a schoolbag and a new pair of socks. You’ve also provided 8 beds for the kids! This has cost $600 leaving me with $1000 left to attend to some of the needs. The way her orphange is able to exist is from the volunteers raising money directly. One of the biggest priorities of the orphanage is to build a boys dormitory and use the current dorm as the eating area so that the kids do not have eat in the kitchen which is small and very unsafe b/c they cook over an open fire (there is currently no electricity). This will cost Leah $5000 in total. I am asking for your help…I would love to raise the other $4000 for them. I don’t know how I can do it from here, but I hope that all that read my blogs will begin to understand the importance of this. My being here has already had such a direct impact…it’s really amazing to see change. I’m most blessed. Please know that you can help today if you’d like. Money is the best way to do it. You can send it to my home address (2538 Chamberlain Ave. Madison WI 53705) Cash or check made out to Jason Nyberg (he’ll sign it and put the money in my account) is the best. You can also go thru GVN. Even a few dollars goes a long way here. 70 schillings is 1 American dollar. And to give you some perspective, 25 school bags, 25 pairs of socks, one package of lolly pops (small pack) and a nice x-mas meal to feed 25 kids and a few staff that cooked it cost approx. $150. In my next blog entry, I promise to tell you more about my own personal experience. I live in a beautiful small community in the hills. There is no running water, no electricity, no showers or bathtub, no toilet…It feels like I’m camping for 6 months, kinda. More to come another day… Blessing to all of my family and friends. Happy Holidays… Love, Renee

Renee's Contact Info

I leave tomorrow @ 1:30pm from Madison. I'm excited...nervous...sick...Yes, I'm a bit under the weather. Thanks to this nice time of year (darn WI winter!), I'll be leaving with a bit of a cold. Luckily the pic here shows me in good health! One last picture before I go! My dear friend Edmond, originally from Togo, Africa, now residing in Madison took this picture of me!. Many of you have been asking me how to get in touch with me while I'm away and also how you might be able to help during my time in Kenya. I don't have a mailing address yet. Nor do I have a cell phone. I'm planning on getting these once I arrive in Nairobe. In the meantime, if you wish to contact me, I'm planning on having email access: renee_schuh@hotmail.com. If you wish to make a donation, you can do so on the GVN site (see Dec 8th post or my links to the right of the page) OR mail something directly to me. If you choose the latter, know that it will not be considered tax deductable. However, you are assured that your money will go to the kids with whom I work. It's like a gift...you are giving me a gift to give to them! I'm not going to leave my home address on this web site, but if you send me an email, I'll reply to you to give you my contact information!

Thanks and GVN

Hey everyone! Only a few days left before I leave. My departure date is Tuesday, Dec 12. I wanted to let you know that Global Volunteers Network (GVN) contacted me today to tell me that they've received "several dontations" from my friends and family at the organization. (THANK YOU!) They told me they'd be applying the funds to the orphanage in which I'll be working. I'm telling you, in my short time working with GVN, they have been great. If any of you are thinking about volunteering or giving to an organization, look into http://www.volunteer.org.nz/programs/ I'm constantly impressed with their support, communication and thoroughness. Their mission: “To support the work of local community organizations in developing countries through the placement of international volunteers.” I want to thank you all once again for your support! And may you all have a safe and wonderful holiday! Renee

Preparing to Go!

I'm preparing to go! I'm looking forward to my upcoming journey. I look forward to meeting new friends and helping people that need it! I've been preparing by emailing people in Nairobe, contacting other volunteers that will be with me during my stay and former volunteers that have done similar work in Africa. I've received my immunizations ("ai..ai..ai"). I've gathered information about Nairobe and I've started to learn Swahili. Although I am nervous because of so much of the unknown, I look forward to all the adventures I will have! I know I'll learn a ton in the next 6 months and I look forward to sharing it with you as often as I can!

Benefit Concert

On Nov 20th, 76 of my friends and family came out to help me celebrate my new adventure. I'd like to thank everyone for their support. Together we have raised over $1500 for the kids and the orphanage. I feel so blessed by everyone's help, love and support. Thank you! Here's a pic of some of my friends from the eve!

To My AT Friends & Colleagues

AT: I forgot to tell you in my email that we have raised over $400 just in AT alone!!! In total, I have over $2000 for the kids! THANK YOU AT! (Below was the email I sent to all of my friends and colleagues at UW Madison) Dear Academic Technology Friends and Colleagues, I would like to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you for your generosity. Thanks to all that came to say good-bye to me this past Tuesday. Thanks to all that donated to the kids I'll be working with in Africa. Thanks for all of your kind words, your support, your gifts and your encouragement. Words can't begin to express my gratitude towards you and all of your acts of kindness towards me. For those of you that have received a similar thank you message from me in the past you may have already heard me say that each of you has helped to make a difference in many people's lives. I'm just the person that is carrying it through. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing. My journey is because of your support. I'm grateful for knowing you and sincerely thank you. Best to all of you! I look forward to seeing you again in June 2007! Renee