A trip to Kenya: a great time to rest from normal work

As I wrote a few days ago, I have set off to Kenya – to be precise to its northern part. That region is inhabited by the Turkana tribe. I went there with Fr. John Bosco and Maria. It took us a whole day to get to our final destination, because on our way we visited places like Moroto (a town still in Uganda and 40 km from Matany) with a nuns’ community, the Comboni fathers, the bishop’s house, etc. It was a very nice time for me, as I hadn’t been there before… and one of the nuns gave us a sweet treat for our trip.

With the passing of time, the landscape changed as well. When we crossed the Kenyan border, we travelled across stony and then sandy deserts. We’ve seen some villages spread around in the desert and wondered what their inhabitants ate and where they drew water from.

The Turkana is a tribe of shepherds – like the Karamojong. Both those tribes descend from the same ancestor. The only difference is that the Karamojong moved to Uganda and the Turkana decided to remain in Kenya.

At 5 pm we got to Lodwar mission. We’ve had some time for acclimatization and later on we spent a very nice evening with the missionaries. One of them, Fr. Eliah, told us how he was the first to start the mission in Matany. It was him who built the church and the very first hospital ward (the obstetrical ward – which seemed the most important). Fr. Eliah is a passionate gardener and he gladly cut the fruits of his work so that we could eat three grapefruits a day (we don’t get such fruit in Matany). It was delicious.

On Tuesday we set forth to another mission, 90 km from Lodwar. I better not write about the state of the roads, that had barely any tarmac left. It was a wiser choice to travel on tracks running along the “international” road. After seeing the Kenyan roads, I have come to appreciate the Ugandan ones (even when these are in a poor state). We wanted to visit the mission of Lokichar, from where a befriended missionary from Germany came to our mission for holidays. There we were able to see another community. What I found very interesting was the rehabilitation centre for children. I’ve had a chance to see how it operates and I must admit that it is an interesting work for a missionary.

We went to see the town from a nearby hill (you can see the view from our photos). Getting on top of the hill was quite a feat! Although it is now the rainy season in Kenya, it was at least 40 degrees Celsius in the shade. It’s quite hard to imagine how hot it must be here during the dry season.

On the way back to Matany, our car broke down in the middle of the desert. Fortunately we managed to get to Moroto and there to change our vehicle, which was left in the Comboni garage of Moroto for repairs. As I love travelling, the trip to Kenya was for me a great time and an occasion to rest from my normal work and to recharge my batteries. The good memories of places and people I met will always stay with me.

Meanwhile… it’s Friday already. My family is having fun at my cousin’s wedding. Oh, how I miss those wedding dances. I like family reunions very much. Lots of hugs!
Danusia Król