Traveling to Nairobi can be a huge adventure in itself, but imagine taking 24 8th graders with you on a adventure of a lifetime. For five days last week a group of kids from Christ’s Gift Academy, and 9 other adults (7 teachers and 2 PTA members). Many of the students had never been out of Mbita so they were looking forward to new things they had never experienced or seen before.
After traveling for the whole day in a hired bus and one private vehicle, we arrived at our destination. There were only 4 or 5 kids that vomited along the way…pretty good considering some had never been on a road trip. We all stayed in a dormitory at a primary boarding school within walking distance of downtown Nairobi. It was a decent place with two big dorm rooms (one for girls and one for boys).
The next morning we were up and out early to go to the Giraffe Center and we fed real giraffe’s! The kids enjoyed it so much but were a little intimidated by their long slobbery tongues. Off then to the Elephant Orphanage where the baby elephants came running out of the bush to their caregivers who had huge bottles of milk to feed them…so adorable, and the kids were amazed. Then the teenage elephants surprised us all, after the babies left, by charging out of the bush and making a lot of noise. The caregivers gave some great information about how all of the elephants were orphaned or found alone. This place is only open for one hour a day and the elephants are actually part of Nairobi National Park. They love those baby elephants!
Then, the most exciting part of the day! It was buy-one-get-one-free day at the local pizza place. The boys said “it is so light”… basically, I think they were hungry since they are used to filling their stomachs with Ugali (a big lump of maize flour and water). We probably should have fed them twice as much pizza so they would have been satisfied. Oh, well.
Off then to the Safari Walk, part of Nairobi National Park. It was a nice walk through a zoo-like area right in the beginning of the National Park. It was great because the kids got to see animals up close. Colobus monkeys, a rhino, ostrich, leopard, cape buffalo, emu, baboons, crocodiles, and the cutest little pigmy hippo. We all really enjoyed that day. It was a mix between a zoo and a nature path.
After traveling for the whole day in a hired bus and one private vehicle, we arrived at our destination. There were only 4 or 5 kids that vomited along the way…pretty good considering some had never been on a road trip. We all stayed in a dormitory at a primary boarding school within walking distance of downtown Nairobi. It was a decent place with two big dorm rooms (one for girls and one for boys).
The next morning we were up and out early to go to the Giraffe Center and we fed real giraffe’s! The kids enjoyed it so much but were a little intimidated by their long slobbery tongues. Off then to the Elephant Orphanage where the baby elephants came running out of the bush to their caregivers who had huge bottles of milk to feed them…so adorable, and the kids were amazed. Then the teenage elephants surprised us all, after the babies left, by charging out of the bush and making a lot of noise. The caregivers gave some great information about how all of the elephants were orphaned or found alone. This place is only open for one hour a day and the elephants are actually part of Nairobi National Park. They love those baby elephants!
Then, the most exciting part of the day! It was buy-one-get-one-free day at the local pizza place. The boys said “it is so light”… basically, I think they were hungry since they are used to filling their stomachs with Ugali (a big lump of maize flour and water). We probably should have fed them twice as much pizza so they would have been satisfied. Oh, well.
Off then to the Safari Walk, part of Nairobi National Park. It was a nice walk through a zoo-like area right in the beginning of the National Park. It was great because the kids got to see animals up close. Colobus monkeys, a rhino, ostrich, leopard, cape buffalo, emu, baboons, crocodiles, and the cutest little pigmy hippo. We all really enjoyed that day. It was a mix between a zoo and a nature path.
One of the highlights of the day was our tour of Wilson Airport. This is a small airplane airport and we were able to go right out on the tarmac with the small airplanes. The kids really loved watching the take-off and landings of the airplanes. The day ended back at the primary school with dinner and a guest bible study leader. The day was great and the kids loved it.
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