Thankful

OK...the next day…the drive to Lake Nokura was long, bumpy, and butt numbing. There was a marathon in Nairobi and wisely, David wanted to avoid the traffic so we took the by-pass. On the surface it seems like that’s not a bad idea and I'm sure your instant thought is 405 or some other by-pass in your life. Well...this by-pass is...shall we say...different. First, to give credit, it is still not complete. To actually get on it you go past the little roadblock, turn into the dirt path, and up onto the road. The road is a dream and we made really good time. Alas, it would not last. We travel along wind through the hair until...we get to an unfinished section...it's graded dirt, now turning to a washboard surface but hey, we've done that before. Then it turns into potholes...similar to our roads in Klamath after winter. Here, however, people drive all over the place...including coming up on the opposite side in the dirt because it has a better surface. Never a dull moment.

I do not believe we in the states are thankful enough for our riches. The resilience and ingenuity of people to survive in conditions we would consider to be extreme poverty in many areas makes me realize how much we have and how much we simply take for granted. Big things, like running water. If you’re outside Nairobi or other larger cities, you have to go get your water to bring it to your home. I'm also amazed at how they reuse things we'd never even think of...old tires are cut and the Maasai make them into sandals. The rubber from truck tires are used in shock absorbers in the cars.

 Even though Kenya is not a rich country, they are putting care of the environment as an important goal. To help with their animal reserves, they provide extremely cheap buses for people so they can come see for themselves why they have put money on the preserves and how important the animals are. While there’s still much to be done, they're working on it.