Churchie Kenya updates from Henry & Hugo

 

 COUNTRY: Kenya
PROGRAM: Expeditions
PROJECT: Leadership Expedition
WRITTEN BY: Churchie - Henry Stacey & Hugo Cook

As it was our final day at the Makongeni village we all though it would be a day of relaxing and goodbyes. This was not the case. After breakfast we were told to finish the cementing of the whole building and the frames for the doors. Despite the initial lack of motivation, the boys got the job done and we left for Mombasa Beach Resort. This was where we truly got to relax. After dinner the boys got around in a group and talked about how we thought the Trip was going. Unfortunately this was interrupted by Louis making a dash for the toilets as he became rather sick.

The next morning we were expected to depart that morning for Nairobi at 8:00. Although this was the case in typical Kenyan fashion, our bus didn’t leave the resort until 11:00. The trip to Nairobi took close to 10 hours with most of us either sleeping or reading as we pasted through the small under developed towns on the way there. We finally arrived at the hotel in Nairobi at 10pm with most of the boys feeling very tired and ready for bed. After a quick dinner and the celebration of Tom’s 16th birthday we headed up to bed eagerly awaiting our hot showers and warm beds.

The next morning I (Henry Stacey) woke from my deep slumber to the sound of news reporter reporting the Lewa marathon on TV (The Lewa marathon is run through the Lewa wildlife conservancy). After a speedy breakfast we had packed our bags into the bus and had left early! In Kenya! (It took me quite a while to get over this fact) We had been told that it would be a five-hour trip to Iten. It soon became eight-hours. Despite this and the constant vomiting from Natalie the trip was fun! Once we arrived in Iten we put our bags in our rooms and got into our running gear for an easy jog. This was one of the hardest ‘easy jogs’ we have had ever run. We have a feeling that this is just a little taste of what is to come.

Henry Stacey and Hugo Cook

For the Hawthornes - we put your money towards the school uniforms for the 4 youngsters below.

Churchie Athletics Tour heads to Kenya

 

 

 COUNTRY: Kenya
PROGRAM: Expeditions
PROJECT: Leadership Expedition
WRITTEN BY: Churchie - Tom, Louis, Bill and Max

*See more photos on Facebook

On Friday the 21st of June, the Churchie 11 + 2 accompanied with Natalie set off for Kenya. The trip started with a 9hr plane flight from Brisbane to Bangkok. The boys were excited yet exhausted after the hectic flight just to be told that our connecting flight to Nairobi had been delayed by 7hrs. This resulted in a stay-over in Bangkok’s wonderful Novotel Hotel. We had dinner at 12am and we were to wake up at 5am to catch our connecting flight, just what the boys wanted to start the trip!

As we landed from our 9hr flight from Bangkok to Nairobi we were very optimistic on what the journey would bring. We thought the travel was over only to realise that Mombasa, our next destination, was a 10hr bus ride away. We stayed in Mombasa Beach Resort for the night and after a nice African breakfast we hit the road again to Camp Makongeni which was a further 2hrs away. The Kenyan driving is not like any other country. Tom and I were beyond scared of what was to come. To overtake cars in the same lane, Kenyan drivers go into the next lane, which is against the flow of traffic, which creates suspense throughout the bus rides. Finally, we arrived at Camp Makongeni to be greeted in the African way. The Kenyan people are the one of the nicest people in the world and it has been a great experience to learn the ways of the people. Don’t worry parents, we have secured many gifts for you and will continue to get some. Overall, the beginning of the trip, which has included a full day of work and soccer with the locals where Lachie Taylor scored our only 2 goals, has been a great experience for all the boys. Jumbo (Hello),

Asanti (Thank-you),
Mot (Tom Walvin) and Louis McAfee


The second insta;lment from the boys - we've arrived in Iten and we have internet! More updates to come...

Jambo again!

Yesterday (Tuesday the 25th) morning, after a grueling training we continued working on the community projects. We split into two groups and focused on two aspects of the school building. One group set to work on making door frames and panels for the three rooms, with the assistance of some of the experienced locals. Throughout the day, through constant chiseling, hammering and sawing the group finished exhausted with two frames and three door panels completed. The other group worked hard on finishing off the previous days work on the main component of the project, the concreting of the floor. Wanting to finish the floor a day earlier than planned gave us twice the amount of work to finish than the previous day.

Despite the challenge the group was able to pull through and complete our goal for the day. The afternoon finished off with another great game of soccer against the almighty Kenya schoolboy side, self-elected ‘Barcelona’. The next morning we again got up early and had another training session, running through the village to the greetings of the locals. After another excellent breakfast we loaded into taxis and headed to the beach, excited for a well-deserved day off work. Along with the amazing sight we were met with at the beach, the water was nothing but incredible, with some of the students even braving a camel ride from a local, definitely a highlight of the trip.

After everyone dried off and Jack Baird finishing his daily tanning work, we set off to the world heritage listed site of the Kaya Kinondo sacred forest. It was an excellent experience with both tree hugging and vine swigging involved, led by a knowledgeable tour guide who never failed to remind us of the strict ‘no kissing’ rule in place within the forest. We headed back to camp Kenya and started the preparation for the much anticipated football game against the local Barcelona youth team, consisting of some questionably aged players. A lot of fun was had even though we went down two goals to their ten. The day was finished up with giving out Churchie shirts and old sand and soccer shoes to the Kenyan team along with showing them a traditional Churchie war cry. As we depart the camp tomorrow we will be leaving with good memories for life.

Regards,
Bill and Max.