We have been very busy here....
Home-school takes up most of our time, from 8:30am to 3pm Monday to Friday.
Outside of these times, there is plenty to do in Nairobi!
On Monday afternoons, Esther has been joining some of our friends from MAF who go to a local orphanage each week to volunteer. Esther simply loves helping out with the babies and toddlers at this home! There are many jobs to be done and willing helpers are much appreciated.
Last week, I decided to take the boys along to join in too. I was pleased to discover that Ben and Joel also enjoy helping out with little ones!
It was wonderful to see how well cared for the babies are at the New Life Home. It was inspiring to witness the dedication of the staff as they look after roomfuls of tiny children - but at the same time, I felt deeply sad when I found myself holding an adorable 6-month old baby in a room full of tiny babies, all needing care and cuddles, without their parents to care for them :-(
The home works hard to find homes for the babies under their protection. Statistics on their literature shows that 75% of their children are happily adopted into families.
Naturally, photos are forbidden within the home, for the protection of the little ones in their care. However, their leaflet gives lots of information about the amazing work that the staff at this fantastic New Life Home do for vulnerable babies and young children. Definitely a cause worth supporting.
Last Friday, the same MAF friends invited Esther, Ben and Joel to attend a home-schoolers Science class which is held once a week here in Nairobi. The Science Class is organised by a group called "Little Einsteins". They provide a children's laboratory environment where they teach an hour's Science lesson and encourage the children to engage with hands-on practical experiments- under the careful eye of the staff!
All three of our children loved attending this Science Class! They donned their lab coats, joined the other home-schooled children and had a fun hour of learning scientific principles.
Last week they were learning about the theory of flying and had great fun setting empty tea-bag papers alight and watching the lit papers ascend into the air as the hot air caused them to rise!
(Much more fun than the Science lessons I attempt to teach, with my limited grasp of science and a mother's natural reluctance to set things ablaze around small children!!!)
There have also been excursions to enjoy Nairobi's fabulous "outdoors" climate. Yesterday, Andrew took Esther, Ben and Joel rock-climbing and out for pizza, along with 2 other families we know here. (I was elsewhere, attending a day-long course organised by the church we attend here- I enjoyed an opportunity to stretch my brain and to be on a course with other adults!).
Rock-climbing in Nairobi:
For the 5 weeks since we moved into our flat in Nairobi, Andrew has been up in Juba for 3 of the weeks, so it always nice when he comes back to our "home" here. The children enjoy having Dad back - and I enjoy some time off duty when they all head out for milk-shakes ;-)
Another nice thing about Nairobi is that is a city where we have been able to meet up with friends:
-friends who evacuated from Juba with us
-friends who we knew from our 6 months here in 2014
-inspirational friends working in South Sudan, who have been passing through Nairobi.
Over the past 5 weeks, we have enjoyed some happy times and meals with these special friends. It has been so good to spend time with them, especially as we now begin preparations for moving to a new country. Weekends have been packed - and we have really appreciated these times.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will be busy with more preparations for our move.... but I'll save that news for a different blog post.
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