God-fearing Kenyan women

I have been really impressed by the women here at SABACH. During our days, we spend a fair bit of time with the carers and although they do not open up to us very much, I have true admiration for their strength, independence and amazing abilities.

Francesca for example, works mostly in the kitchen and she has this cool, crazy zig zag hair-doo which reminds me of one of Marge's sisters in the Simpsons. She does this crazy thing where she chops vegetables in the air. There's no other way of explaining it. Chopping boards just do not exist here and they laugh at the way we chop vegies. The other day she was chopping wood out the back and she was going at it with so much strength. Out of all the carers, she probably speaks the least amount of English, but she always makes us chai with a big smile on her face.



Francesca making lunch

 Florence is quiet and softly spoken. She is in charge of all the admin stuff and helps manage the running of SABACH. She speaks softly and gently to the children all the time, even when she is 'yelling' at them.

Judy is quite tall and always wear her hair in a bun. The other day she came to work in a black shower cap, so her hair could be protected from the rain. Pretty funny.

Judy picking corn off the cob

Then there's Ruth. She has a gold cap and when I think of her, I think of her pair of pink thongs that she uses to hit the children with. Well, most of the time she uses it to scare them.

Jane is the cool, hip one with the big dangly earrings and the Dolce & Gabbana tshirt. Since she has to look after her own children, she only works day shifts. She is responsible for all the girls' hair, which makes her very busy especially during the weekends when she practically has a salon set up.



Jane's salon. Customer = Miriam

Lastly, there is Mary. She is the 'house mother' and lives at SABACH with the children. She is an absolutely amazing cook and makes the best chipati and chai. She's promised to give us a cooking class one day. Although she has only been at SABACH for a month, she is really enjoying her time here and sees it as 'God's work'. She is really passionate about teaching the children bible verses and is our translator during 'story time'. Auntie Mary is the one the children turn to when they want special attention or someone has hurt them. Mary is also the main carer for Baby Esther and treats her as well as all the other children like her own.

Eva & Mary - story time

These women are hard workers. If a job needs to be done, they will get it done. I haven't been able to get to know all of them as yet, but I do know that each of them have children of their own. Most of them have a mother or neighbour who looks after their children while they are at work and all of them live close by to SABACH except Jane. It takes her 1.5 hours to travel to SABACH by foot. 

Each one of them show so much humility in everything they do and find it an absolute priviledge to be working here at SABACH.

Although we are so different - have different ways of doing things, different skills, different experiences and personal stories, it's amazing how God has brought us together in a town in Kenya to be doing His work. Even though we don't always understand each other and have many cultural differences, we know that we are here to love and care for these children.

'Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.' Proverbs 31:30