Same Same but Different

Today is our last day in Mwingi working at the weir site. We have met so many people and have made new friends every day. A few of the people we have gotten to know really well are Mutemi and Grace who are the co-chiefs of the area, Jonathan the project manager, a university student named Titus, Faith and her brother Carlos, Merci and her sister Muende and her brother Funde, and a school teacher named Joseph Ngao. We are shocked and amazed every day to see the smallest of kids not only carrying rocks half their body size, but RUNNING back and forth with them! They seem to have bottomless energy and strength and when they're not carrying rocks they keep us entertained with "Hello how are you?" and "What is your name?" Some of the team has built an inukshuk of stones on top of a large rock for our new friends to remember us by, the children are already guarding their new statue. The women serve us the most delicious food and tea, always wanting us to eat more and more and more and more...We have been sharing as much information about Canada as we can, always surprising the kamba people with our stories of the winter weather and lack of "tea time". We have also taught some new handshake greetings and inadvertently shared new phrases written on our t-shirts, a favourite being "same same but different".

We are currently sitting at the local market picking up our daily produce, a place where we see and experience both very high and very low moments as we get a small glimpse into how the people of Mwingi navigate day to day life.

We journey back to Machakos tomorrow and as always appreciate your prayers for a safe journey. Hope you are all keeping well at home!
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.