On Monday and Tuesday, we visited twelve more schools where we presented students in the Lit and GLOW Clubs with solar-powered desk lamps. Thanks to the @AHS Z-Club and @Reuse Refuge, we were able to present fifteen girls with reusable menstrual pads. Both the boys and girls were in the room when this was done, and all the students applauded when the presentations were made. There will also be a “menstruation celebration” when the remainder of the pads will be given out. We planted a Meru Oak tree, a Gravilia tree, and more avocado trees at the schools we visited. The government set a goal to plant one billion trees, and schools are leading the way. Involving us in the planting of trees is a way to both honor us, and work towards this goal. On Tuesday, we gave books donated by Rotary Club of Auburn and Great Opportunity Scholarship to students at Talakwet. We visited the Library run by the Rift Valley Reading Association and were amazed to learn that this small library serves 100 primary schools, 200 early childhood schools, and 50 high schools! At our visit to the Education Commission Office, we learned that land is going to be available for a new library that can hold more books! Our day ended with a luncheon with the mentors and teachers, where we were presented with a cake and lunch, and we presented gifts to our hosts.  We celebrated America’s Independence Day with a nice meal and went to bed early, and we are now headed back to Nairobi to catch our plane to Amsterdam today.

Trafaria Castle! After a day of school visits, Margaret and her friend Jane, who is Treasurer of the Rift Valley Reading Association, wanted to share some of their favorite places with us. We drove 2 ½ hours through the Great Rift Valley, stopping on the way to see a coffee bean and tea farm. As you can see from the photos, the Castle is a special place! We stayed the night, and on the way home we visited the beautiful waterfall, Thompson Falls. Nearby, we stopped at a point that marked the equator! You would think it would be hot at the equator, but because the elevation is so high, it is cool. We stopped at Kenana Knitters co-op whose mission is to change the lives of women "one stitch at a time." They empower over 300 women who knit various items sold in their store and around the world. We arrived back at Kembu Cottages where we were staying in Njoro - such a beautiful and peaceful place! Looking forward to visiting four more schools tomorrow!

We visited four public schools this morning and were greeted by students with smiles, poems, and songs. We handed out solar-powered desk lamps to five students at each school. Our students created bookmarks, which we handed out, and Njoro students made bookmarks for us to bring back to the United States. The students we met with are members of either “Lit Clubs” (boys) or “GLOW Clubs” (girls), started by our host Margaret Muthiga, President of the Rift Valley Reading Association. There are fifteen students in each club; students are selected based on academic promise and economic need. At the end of each visit, we were invited to plant a tree on the school grounds. You can see more videos of the children singing to us here: https://drive.google.com/.../1-ZnX3FNJeHeDXDDi8bEGVhk48al...

Kenya! What an incredible day!! Our driver, Ben, picked us up at the Nairobi Airport at 4:30am and drove us to Amboseli National Park where we stayed at the Amboseli Lodge. Along the way we saw a variety of animals. After checking in, Ben took us on a late afternoon game drive, where we saw even more animals, including a parade of elephants that walked across the street in front of our vehicle, with Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background! Two safaris on Thursday - one at 6 am and one at 4 pm. We added hyenas, hippos, a lioness and her cubs, pelicans, and eagles to our list of sightings. We climbed to the top of Observation Hill, the highest point in Amboseli. Mr. & Mrs. Kearns renewed their wedding vows with majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background! On Friday we go back to Nairobi, then up to Njoro! What animal from our safaris is your favorite? (Note: our posts have been delayed due to spotty internet in the National Park - when we have better service, we'll share more photos and videos!)

Today, we took it easy and have been preparing for our 5 hour flight to Kenya. But we have a few more things to share about our experience in Cairo before we take off.

When you think of Egypt what's the first thing that comes to mind? If you said pyramids then you know what we did today!  We learned about many of civilation's firsts.

Before we get started Muriel asked "along with your other vaccines, I imagine you needed the Covid 19 vax and/or booster, is that right?" We did need the Covid 19 vaccine to travel, we did not have to show physical proof but it was part of the visa process.