A few days before heading to Kenya I received word that the NEEMA house had been broken into by 3 guys. They threatened the girls and stole some of their sewing supplies and a little money that was in the home. This caused some fear for the girls and some concern about having visitors going to the home a few times a week. When I arrived, Daniel informed us that he would be sending James to work on the garden and provide some protection while we were there. James lives at the Transformed International compound and plays a variety of roles each week. He is a gifted and hard working gardener and LOVES spending time in the shamba (garden). Over the past 3 weeks I have watched him transform the shamba at the NEEMA house. It has gone from an overgrown pile of weeds to a beautiful garden that is already producing sukuma, spinach, peas, and other goodies that are almost ready to eat.
James is also quite the entertainer, giving us lots of laughs with his dancing and his jokes. Today James and I had quite the time together. We left the house around 1pm and hopped on boda boda's (bike taxis) to get to town. We made it half way when our drivers told us we had to get off because they could not take us to town or they would risk losing their bikes and getting arrested by the police because one of the boda drivers did something bad to a cop and now all were being penalized until they could identify who it was. So we hopped off and found a piki piki (motorcycle taxi) to take us the rest of the way. While eating lunch, I grabbed the check to pay 330 shillings ($4.20) for our lunch. James thanked me and I told him it was the least I could do in exchange for protecting us at NEEMA. He is convinced that the job of paying for transport and an occasional lunch is more valuable than him providing protection and making sure I get where I need to go. I told him that my mother would disagree.
We made our way to the NEEMA house, checked out the progress in the shamba and then went inside to greet the girls. After 10 minutes of laughing with James, he went to work in the garden. Two and half hours passed quickly and it was time to go. As we pulled away on our piki piki, the rain began to fall. By the time we got to the road it was pouring!!!!!! We pulled off the road, ran for shelter, and called a taxi. Much time had passed and we heard that the taxi had a problem with the tire on the way and he was stranded. Eventually the rain let up so we headed back out on the piki piki. After a few minutes the rain began to fall again. James attempted to shield the two of us with his backpack, but it was not going to work. We arrived home, soaking wet but with new stories to tell of our adventures to NEEMA.
THANK YOU James for working hard, for making us laugh, and for being a faithful escort to the NEEMA house each week!
