Notes from Stephen, Wan, Kweilin, and Li

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Nazareth, chicken farm, tea and coffee plantation walk

We had lots of guests at our house today--morning through evening. We visited a chicken farm in the afternoon and took a walk through the tea and coffee plantations surrounding the hospital before dusk.

Margaret visited us this morning with her children. She helps out around the hospital and makes $2 a day. She has five children that range in age from 8 to 21 years. We gave her $36 for her children to buy uniforms for school. We had mixed feelings about giving her the money because it's only a bandaid--she'll need money for books and next year's uniforms. We decided to give her the money because she works hard and is doing everything she can to help her children.

James, the chicken man, paid us a surprise visit. Mommy and Jay met him when they bought chicken from him at Christmas for all the nuns of the hospital. James is in his fourth year of medical school and speaks excellent English. He told us about the Kikuyu and Luo tribes in Kenya and about raising chicken.

James saved $500 and started a chicken farm before he started med school. It can be a lucrative business, but income fluctuates because he's constantly struggling to find customers. He buys chicks, feeds them for six weeks, and then slaughters them as he gets orders from customers. His farm (which is also his home) has no electricity and no refrigeration, so he can only slaughter chicken once he has a customer. Each week that he feeds the chicken beyond the six-week maturity age costs him $108.

Mommy and Jay and I visited James's chicken farm and I slaughtered and cleaned a chicken! James selected a chicken, held its wings and feet, and I cut its head off. Then I defeathered it and removed its internal organs. It was a lot of work for just $1.50 per chicken.

In the evening, we enjoyed the company of Manfred and Froukje ("frow-kyeh"), a Dutch couple of Daddy's and Mommy's age that is traveling around Africa in a Land Rover. They sleep in a tent on top of the jeep, so they can camp anywhere. Manfred is a retired architect. He and Froukje are going to a coastal Kenyan city to oversee the construction of an orphanage for a few months. Then they'll drive down to South Africa, ship their car to South America, and drive up to Alaska.

Manfred, Froukje, Daddy, Jay, and I walked through the tea and coffee plantations around Nazareth before dusk. The seas of green look pretty. I saw a coffee plant for the first time. I didn't know that the beans are red and green before they're picked.

posted by Li at 1:04 PM