Adventures from year two
Happy New Year to you and yours!
We have just returned from our extended travels which finished up in Dubai. We spent five days seeing the sights but mostly shopping to be honest. It was meant to be “for the girls” meaning our daughters , as we have dragged them all over Southern Africa during the past 18 months. We spent a morning at the indoor ski hill tubing and lugeing. It was minus 4 and we were beyond freezing! Incredible how much one acclimatizes. It was actually quite chilly in Dubai and they were having freak rainstorms that were closing highways and even the airport. The city is not designed to drain water.... all those poor Lamborghini owners😜 Oh well, guess they will just have to take the Range Rover !
Seriously though, the wealth of that place is mind boggling and a little sickening to be honest. The Sheik of the Dubai region, is a very progressive and intelligent man. He recognizes that they will be out of oil in 10 years approx so he has been developing the city for tourism and has achieved a world class spot for entertainment . They will be hosting the World Expo soon and I’m sure you will start to see some of the highlights. We were told they will be introducing drone taxis for the event...crazy future ahead folks! The most impressive accomplishment of the region in my opinion however is 0 homelessness, 0 unemployment , 0 crime. It’s not necessarily an easy place to live if your not wealthy (read-lengthy transportation to get to jobs and high cost of living) but basic needs are met.
Dubai is a city I would recommend visiting despite the bad dreams bordering on nightmares I had every night I was there. I chalk it up to a culmination of all the harrowing movies and telling novels I’ve read about the dark side of the Arab world , and no doubt a spiritual response within me.
Prior to Dubai we were in the Seychelles for 9 days, 4 days on Praslin and 5 on Mahé. It is without a doubt the most beautiful island destination we have ever seen . Similar to Mauritius in that it is a Creole culture blended from Indian, African, French and Asia however much more upmarket. There is really nothing to do there beyond exploring the Ocean and a bit of hiking but the views are out of this world! It was a really luxurious time after being out in the Masai Mara for a week .
We returned to Kenya 51/2 years after our love affair with Africa and community development began with the WE organization. It was beyond hopeful to see the continued improvement in the area with the skills and support those communities have received from We. Many of them are self sustaining now and have become dynamic in their own right! We continue to be awed by the impact and sustainability they have achieved .
One other important reason we went back to Kenya was to see the Beekeeping college that we funded as a legacy to “Bea”, my late Mother-in -law. To say we were pleased is a understatement. As you may know, we have a special love for Honey Bee’s and in particular the abundant blessings that bee’s provide. In this community’s case they provide honey (food source), improved yields to their farms (environment) and generate income . After graduating from the school 3 -4 small scale farmers will form a cooperative and pool resources to buy the box, frames and bee keeping suits . They then take turns checking on the colonies and twice a year take the filled frames back to the college to be jarred in a sterile environment . I don’t remember the actual numbers but the investment versus the benefits these farmers have realized has been highly profitable. It was so rewarding to see these outcomes and impacts that we have committed to three more colleges across the world. I think Bea would like that🥰
We spent Christmas here in Cape town and it sure doesn’t feel like Christmas in these warm climates. We have tentatively decided to return for the third and final year of our visas under the condition that we will come back to Canada for Christmas next year. Hopefully there won’t be a polar vortex😬
There are mixed feelings about the decision to stay. Avi is the most disappointed as she had her heart set on going to Western Canada high school and graduating with her friends. She also laments about not being able to drive and the freedom she has there and yet I am so impressed with the maturity that she has shown in managing her disappointment!
Joelle also wants to attend Western with old friends for grade 10 next year but she also has a wonderful cohort of friends here. There is no shortage of social activities and fun being had at every turn. One of the distinct advantages of being in this small school is that you get to know people that you might otherwise dismiss or not bother with given other choices. Its not about assimilating ,it’s about accepting.
Marlo misses Hugo, friends and being able to walk around our neighborhood. She is doing excellent in school, is very well liked, and keeps super engaged with after school activities. She is collecting awards of merit for her drama, named top debater of her grade for MUN and has inherited her mothers golf swing ( when it was still decent).
The culture of the school is also a win for staying. Leadership and individualism are high priority and truly lived out with over 52 countries represented at the school. Most of them coming from high achieving families , thus the bar is set high. I’m not suggesting that the education is superior to home, just that it seems much more interesting and I’m counting on the whole experience to round it out. For instance, Avi is taking a Human Geography class right now and learning about why people live where they do, move around , suffer and benefit from their geographical area...things I would have been soooo interested in during my study years. Instead I got war and politics . This kind of exposure seems to be sparking her interest on global issues.
In the meantime the ‘school of life’ is teaching me a thing or two.I spend one day a week at Living Hope in the agriculture tunnels helping out the students with the produce and learning about them. Sean and I are trying to understand where there may be gaps in the program and the only way to do that is through building relationships. I really enjoy them. Once a month I try to plan an up-skill event for them on a weekend. The students all live in dorms at the farm and have very limited resources and social lives and therefore really enjoy a baking class or learning a craft.
Lastly, I go once a week to the government hospital and visit moms that have just delivered. My role is to bridge them into a new born class to learn about caring for themselves and their babes. They also get a welcome baby package with a few essentials. I do not teach the class but try and get their information such as where they are living, if there is any support, phone number, siblings, language spoken etc. Finally if they are open to it then I will pray for their new babe. Many of the women are refugees ( often illegally in the country) and are too afraid to access any help through the hospital or government. This privately run program provides them resources they would otherwise be denied. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Just walking into the hospital requires a self -pep-talk and prayer for calm and wisdom. The building is not one you would want to be in when your healthy let alone sick. There is chaos and suffering people everywhere and the stale air reeks of illness...I usually hold my breath through the worst part. The maternity ward is slightly better and slightly more optimistic. Very often there is no Dad in the picture and baby is being sent with relatives “back home” to be raised. I had one Momma whose husband was shot and killed the week before baby arrived and far too many Mommas who didn’t know they were pregnant until the baby was coming out😳 Just this morning I heard of a women whose baby delivered as she was walking into the hospital and landed on the floor!!
If Africa doesn’t teach you how to compartmentalize...I don't know what will! Not surprisingly , I have experienced more anxiety in the past 18 months then I have in a very long time. I suppose its training me.
God grant me the wisdom to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can , and the wisdom to know the difference.
Lots of love to everyone😘😘
