KENYA TEAM 2010 UNDERWAY!

Thursday July 15 - Hello! The Kenya Team 2010 is underway! They left late last night from SeaTac airport and Robyn called me at 6 am PST to let me know they'd landed in DC. Who am I, you ask? My name is Tara, and I will be updating the blog while Robyn and the team are in Africa. I was on the Kenya 2009 team, and will never, ever forget my experiences there. If you ever have a chance to journey to Africa, especially Kenya, let me encourage you to take it. I've always wanted to go to Africa, and this trip changed my entire life in amazing ways! God had other plans for me this year, or I'd be on my way to Kenya again with the team. As it was, I tried to stuff myself into one of their duffle bags, but my legs stuck out. I've heard the cargo hold gets pretty frigid, anyway. So, no sneaking into luggage this year for me! However, I am absolutely confident I will go again in a future year!

Robyn shared this morning that the team is pretty tired, as no one was able to sleep on the flight from SeaTac to DC. In addition, when they were checking in to Ethiopia Airlines, they were told their carry on luggage was over the weight limit (which no one previously knew about) and that they had to check all their carry on luggage...on top of which, Ethiopia Air wanted to charge them extra to do this. So they are already encountering challenges, but as they're heading straight into enemy territory we've been expecting the challenges. Please keep them fervently in your prayers, for the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous Believer availeth much!

Standing with you in prayer,
Tara


1. Look at all that luggage! Our luggage 2009 upon arrival in Kenya / 2. Children of the slums...how they love visitors!

Today we leave for Kenya...

Tara Glanz will now be taking over our blog...
She will be updating it daily so you can follow along with our journey.

Tara has a HUGE heart for Kenya and the Children.
She was there with us last September, so she understands where we will be and what
we will be doing.

Our hearts are breaking she is not with us,
but we know she is a great support to us back on the State Side.

And Then There Was One....

And then there was one!!

One more day till we are off to Kenya!!

Are you ready for your lives to be changed?
Are you ready to help change the lives of those you meet?

As a team I know we are ready for all God has for us.

You each are perfect for what this team is going to be doing.
Each of you has wonderful Gifts that will be so useful.

You will be loved in Kenya!!

Be at the airport by 8pm ready to go...
Don't forget both of your check in bags,
your carry on bags
and you PASSPORT!!

Esther 4:14b
And who knows but that you have come to royal position
for such a time as this?

Psalm 31:14-15
I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand.

Great Job Packing Everyone!!

We got it ALL in and even have room
for Lisa to pick up more!

Now all that is left is for us to meet at the airport!!

Sunday is just a day away... Time for packing!!

We have 7 "body bag" duffles from CMIA. We need 12 bags.... So I need people to let me know if you have large bag we can use. We need 5 more. I believe I have one, just have to find it... We will need them on Sunday.

Each person will take their own bag back home with them. You can use what you have packed in there but please DO NOT ADD ANYTHING ELSE TO THE BAG. It will already be at 50 pounds.

We need to be at the church on Sunday by 2pm. Please bring everything you have to pack. This includes the things you are bringing that cant go in the carry-on... shampoo, lotions, ect....

WE LEAVE IN ONLY 5 MORE DAYS!!

THIS TIME NEXT WEEK WE WILL BE IN KENYA!!

Oh, and as of today,

Nairobi is going to be about 72 in the day and 56 at night.

Makindu about 83 in the day and 60 at night.
Nakuru is about 75 in the day and 52 at night.

Not bad!!

Fear of attack leaves Kenyan women prisoners in their homes

Fear of attack leaves Kenyan women prisoners in their homes
7 July 2010

Women and girls in Nairobi's slums live under the constant threat of sexual violence, leaving them often too scared to leave their houses to use communal toilet and bathroom facilities, Amnesty International said in a report released on Wednesday.

Insecurity and Indignity: Women's experiences in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya details how the failure of the government to incorporate the slums in urban plans and budgets has resulted in poor access to services like sanitation, which hits women in slums and informal settlements especially hard.

Women in Nairobi's settlements become prisoners in their own homes at night and some times well before it is dark, said Godfrey Odongo, Amnesty Internationals East Africa researcher. They need more privacy than men when going to the toilet or taking a bath and the inaccessibility of facilities make women vulnerable to rape, leaving them trapped in their own homes.

The fact that they are unable to access even the limited communal toilet facilities also puts them at risk of illness.

The situation is compounded by the lack of police presence in the slums and when women fall victim to violence they are unlikely to see justice done. Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum and home to up to a million people, has no police post.

I always underestimated the threat of violence, said 19-year-old Amina of Mathare slum. I would go to the latrine any time provided it was not too late. This was until about two months ago when I almost became a victim of rape.

Amina was set upon by a group of four men while she walked to the latrine at 7pm. They hit her, undressed her and were about to rape her when her cries were heard and a group of residents came to save her. Although she knew one of the men involved in the assault, Amina did not go to the police as she feared reprisal attacks.

Unable to leave their one-roomed houses after dark, many women in informal settlements resort to flying toilets' - using plastic bags thrown from the home to dispose of waste.

Women also told Amnesty International how the poor sanitary conditions they live in - which include widespread disposal of human excreta in the open because of lack of adequate access to toilets - directly contribute to cases of poor health and to high health care costs.

Other women describe the humiliation of bathing in front of their relatives and children.

Even by day, public bathroom facilities are few and far between and invariably involve walking long distances. According to official figures, only 24 per cent of residents in Nairobi's informal settlements have access to toilet facilities at household level.

Despite some positive features, Kenya's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) policies to meet the target on sanitation do not address the specific needs of women who face the threat of violence because they lack adequate sanitation.

They also do not address the lack of enforcement of regulations requiring owners and landlords to provide sanitation.

There is a huge gap between what the government commits to do, and what is going on in the slums everyday, said Godfrey Odongo.

Kenya's national policies recognise the rights to sanitation and there are laws and standards in place. However, because of decades of failure to recognize slums and informal settlements, planning laws and regulations are not enforced in these areas.

The lack of enforcement of these laws has ensured that landlords and structure owners in the slums can get away without providing any toilets or shower places for their tenants.

Lack of security of tenure also remains a long standing problem for tenants, despite a national land policy in place, removing any incentives that landlords or owners could have to ensure proper sanitation, and measures to increase security.

Amnesty International calls on the Kenyan government to enforce landlords' obligations to construct toilets and bathrooms in the slums and settlements and provide assistance to structure owners who are unable to meet the costs of constructing toilets and bathrooms.

The government must also take immediate measures to improve security, lighting and policing and ensure that relevant government authorities coordinate their efforts to improve the water and sanitation situation in the settlements.

Drink your water

We leave in just 10 more days!!

It is important to be drinking lots of water now.
Water helps with jet lag, keeping you healthy,
and staying alert.
Try to get 6 to 8 glasses every day.

Also make sure you have your malaria pills.
Depending on the kind you got,
you will need to start taking your pills
7 days or 2 days before we arrive in Kenya.
This means the 7 day people start on Friday
The 2 day people start on Wednesday.