Ever since the International Criminal Court (ICC) named 6 Kenyans for investigation, and earlier this week named 4 of these to be charged, the media has been saturated with stories about the ICC and especially the chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo. He is known simply as Ocampo in the media.

Shouts of “Ocampo” or “hey Ocampo” are regularly called out to Ron. Kenyans often say that “all mzungu look the same to them” (mzungu = foreigners, Europeans or whites) so perhaps it should not be a surprise that we are mistaken for somebody else. But Ocampo?

Ron gets called Ocampo while out walking on the street, going to get a pizza, or buying milk at the local kiosk. Now we ask you, do these two older gentlemen look alike?

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo speaks at a news conference on Kenya at the ICC in The Hague January 24, 2012. (Michael Kooren/Courtesy Reuters)

Ron alias Ocampo: Courtesy Ourselves

This coming week should provide us with some more BLOG-worthy topics as we have a Learning Tour visiting from Ontario and will be accompanying them on some field trips.

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca

Giraffe seen from roadside breakfast

Our trips to Kola normally begin early – wanting to avoid the daily “jam” in Nairobi. We managed to negotiate the traffic and, as is our routine during these trips, we stop for a roadside breakfast on the “other side” of Nairobi. Breakfast consisted this time of boiled eggs and fruit and we were joined by giraffe breakfasting on acacia tree leaves. It might be difficult to see on the picture, but there was a fair sized herd including baby giraffes.

While in Kola, we were invited to Rodah’s house for supper. She is the widow of Joshua who was murdered on September 5^th, 2011. (see BLOG dated We had a good visit, did some story telling about Joshua, and had a good supper. Before eating we looked at photo albums and Rodah pulled out a picture of the late Joshua and Ron speaking animatedly to each other. We don’t have a digital copy of the original but we tried to take a picture of a picture. Nice remembrance.

Ron and Joshua

Rodah’s oldest son, Mukusya, also joined us for dinner. On leaving we were given a generous gift of eggs, a watermelon and one live chicken. The chicken’s feet were bound so we transported it in our vehicle to the Utooni compound, where we spent the night – chicken tethered on the floor of the kitchen. The next morning, while we were in meetings, the chicken became “meat” for us.

The chicken

Starlight Academy is a school built by Rodah and Joshua with help from donors. Our mothers have both supported the building of this school and as Rhoda says, “she doesn’t know how she can fully express her thanks to our mothers”. The students, ranging in age from baby class to Standard 3 (with standards 4-8 to be added in the coming years) arrived at the school shortly after 7 a.m. and gathered for assembly shortly after eight. We heard them from our room so we took our chai and headed for the school. What a sight. The children were neatly assembled by class and were singing worship songs. We were greeted and asked to say a few words.  We brought along some of the remaining school kits from a shipment received from MCC Canada in 2010, and these school kits were received by the students with thanks.

Starlight students at assembly

Starlight students with school kits

After meeting with senior staff of our partner organization, we managed to leave for Nairobi early enough in the afternoon to catch only the start of the afternoon jam. A full few days, but they were enjoyable.

Have a good week,

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca

Filming at Menno Kids Academy

For the past few weeks we have had a videographer spending some time filming MCC projects. These projects have included the drought response in Eastern Province of Kenya as well as 3 education projects. MCC calls these education projects “Global Family” projects. This past week, along with a Kenyan colleague and the videographer, we visited Menno Kids Academy in Mathare North slum of Nairobi, Emmanuel Centre in Juja, and finished with Hope Community Centre located approximately 150 kms from Nairobi.

There is much we could say about each of these projects and the people that we interviewed and filmed. Maybe, at some point in the future we can refer you to the MCC website if/when they are posted.

The stories that the students tell are poignant. One ended up at Hope Community Centre after living on the streets – at 4 years old!! Another lost his father in the Sudanese war and walked to Kenya – makes it sound like an afternoon stroll – let us assure you that it is not – and another who hopes that education is her way out of the slum.

Teresiah standing by her very first "dorm" at HCC

Dominic with his classmates

Valery

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca

We spoke at length with each other about how we make this BLOG post a balanced one. We are going to do our best.

Tumaini Brooks students packed into a too-small auditorium

We would like to begin by pointing out that education is the quickest legal way out of poverty. It is why MCC in Kenya spends donor dollars – converted to shillings of course – on supporting four schools that help the poor in slums, ex-street children, children of poor coffee plantation workers, refugees and orphans. Rather than describe each of these projects which can be read about on http://globalfamily.mcc.org/programs/kenya we thought we would spend a few words talking about why we do this, and why with these specific projects. One of the most difficult choices that we, and others like us, need to make is choosing which school or project to support to make sure that donors gifts are well used and also that money spent has impact. We chose two schools under the auspices of the Kenya Mennonite Church because they provide  an opportunity for children living in the slums of Nairobi to escape the cycle of poverty without resorting to crime. One of the schools, Menno Kids Academy, in the slum of Mathare North has between 450 and 500 students attending. Mukuru Menno Academy has 300. Both of these schools are primary schools. Another project that MCC supports focuses on refugee children from Sudan and Somalia. Sr. Luise, a spry 75+ year old Dominican sister is director of a centre that takes in these refugees and supports them through primary, secondary or vocational training. We support this because of the focus on refugees for whom life is desperate. Many have walked scores, if not hundreds, of miles to arrive at nearby UNHCR offices or local churches. Hope Community Centre is home to 175+ ex-street children and orphans and there is a primary and secondary school on site. Tumani Brooks is a day school training the children of poor coffee plantation workers in Kiambu, just outside of Nairobi. Both of these also serve the very needy. It is sad to see many children targeting cars stopped in a traffic jam to beg for some food or money. These schools offer education and are a ray of hope for children very similar to this.

Hope Community Centre students in uniforms

Primary schools include instruction from baby class through class 8 (for Canadians this is Grade 8, for Americans this is 8^th Grade – had to throw that in J). At the end of Class 8, in late November/early December all 750,000+ Class 8 students in Kenya write the same standardized exam called the KCPE. It is the results of this test that were released this week. The scores are out of 500 and the two highest students each scored 442.

At the other end of the spectrum, are schools that rank lowest in the country, in their individual counties, and then students who rank low within their own school. Some, on hearing their results, revert to suicide. This also is given space in the news. Also reported are suicides by headmasters or teachers in schools that performed especially poorly. Sometimes, groups of parents, dissatisfied with the results of the school that their children attended, storm the school, rough up the teachers and headmasters and demand that they be reassigned by the service commission of the Ministry of Education. All in all – serious action.

It is within this picture that we try and assist those that we can. We sometimes feel as if these steps are so insignificant, until we remind ourselves of the words, “what you do to the least of these….”. This gives us hope and encourages us for tomorrow. We will hear soon how the students in the MCC supported schools have done and will either rejoice or comfort.

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca

Martha and Anna cooking breakfast

Playmates come to say goodbye

With Anna’s permission received, here is a conversation between Anna (10 yrs old) and her Grandpa.

Anna: Grandpa, I’ve lost my conscience, will you help me find it?
Grandpa: Hmm… lost your conscience eh? Where did you last see your conscience?
Anna: On the airplane?
Grandpa: How do you know that you have lost it? Do you no longer feel guilty when you do something that you know is wrong?
Anna: No, I just know that I lost it on the plane.
Grandpa: Hmmm…. So maybe you lost something other than your conscience.
Anna: Yes, I also started bleeding from my nose.
Grandpa: I think that you are talking about fainting, about losing consciousness. Could that be what you lost?
Anna: Yes, I fainted on the plane when we arrived in Amsterdam.
Grandpa: Well I think that you have regained your consciousness. Let’s hope you don’t lose it again. I don’t think you left it on the plane.
Grandpa and Anna: laughing together.

Turns out that Anna had experienced a fainting spell on the plane. Nice to see kids able to laugh at themselves. It was great to have 3 of our grandkids here. There were many interesting conversations and reactions to the culture, with new experiences (including heightened security), food, and meeting new people. Several of us climbed Mt. Longonot, noticing the impact on breath and heart-rate induced by altitude – at least we assumed it was the altitude. Surely it couldn’t be fitness, or lack thereof  :)

Dana and Ron on Mt. Longonot

On a more sober note, the news this morning again features aid workers being attacked in Somalia (Mogadishu). We will be meeting with our partners to discuss security conditions in north eastern Kenya and Somalia to determine what actions to take in the coming weeks, or what delays to expect, and what decisions to not increase the danger for our partners. In Nairobi itself there are some warnings issued – by both Canadian High Commission and the American  Embassy – to avoid large New Years Eve gatherings.

We wish for each of our readers good health, deeper family relationships, a new realization of who God is and the importance of a relationship with Him in the coming year.

Ron and Martha -- Dec. 2011

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca

It is Christmas Eve Day and this year we have the privilege of sharing it with Kevin, Dana, Noah, Anna and Mollie. Christmas in Kenya means no hope for snow, but, given Nairobi’s climate, this time of year brings wonderful moderate temperatures. The grandkids play in bare feet, with others at the Mennonite Guest House. We do not have a long history of traditions for celebrating Christmas in Kenya, but we do have a few:

-       Attending a candle-light Christmas Eve service at All Saints Anglican Cathedral.

-       Stringing lights on our baobab tree which is made of banana leaves.

-       Cup of coffee on the deck watching the birds feed at our bird feeders.

We enjoy reading Christmas letters sent to us by our friends and family as it provides an opportunity to hear what is going on in your lives. We know that not everyone is a fan of Christmas letters – however, we are. Keep them coming J

Here are a few of our reflections of 2011:

• Enjoying visits from family and friends. Early in 2011, we had visits by two of our brothers and sisters-in-law. Martha’s brother Elvin, his wife Jan, Ron’s brother Dave, his wife Janet and two friends, Elmer and Judy. They spent several weeks in Kenya coming with us to several of MCC projects. We still recall some of the conversations, laughs and excursions that we shared.
• We took half of our home leave in July and August and spent time with our family. It was so great to see and visit with both of our mothers who continue to be in relatively good health. We value their daily prayers for us and the work that we are doing. Tim and Joanne hosted our entire clan at their house in Millet where we all spent time around the fire, visiting nearby lakes, and “hanging out”. What made this home leave time especially special was welcoming Miriam Martha Wray – Tim and Joanne’s second child and our 7^th grandchild. Based on what we can see on Skype, Facebook and through photos, Miriam has changed much and we dearly miss being able to hold her – along with the other grandkids that want to be held J We hope to take the second half of our home leave sometime during 2012 but dates have not yet been set. Some of the timing is dependent on the timing of the Kenya elections and the date for those is to be finally set early in January 2012. The dates of the election will either be August or December 2012.

• One of the activities that we worked on for several months during 2011 has been preparing the MCC humanitarian intervention in response to refugees fleeing Somalia and entering Kenya due to the famine and war occurring in Somalia. This internal conflict has now escalated into a war with Kenya military now operating within Somalia looking to, along with other African Union members, eradicate insurgents in Somalia. This conflict has also impacted life here in Kenya, especially in Dadaab, Northeast Kenya, which houses the largest refugee camp in the world, and where violence is becoming all too common.

For those of you that pray, here are some prayer requests:

• Wisdom as we are often put in a situation of deciding which partner and beneficiaries to support and which will not receive support.
• Control of our own cynicism J
• That we continue to work together well. So far, this has worked out better than we anticipated.
• Personal safety and security. The security situation in Nairobi has caused added restrictions on the choices we make regarding events, places and timing.

Blessings and peace to all of you. May you experience the wonder of the Christmas

August 2011

Ron & Martha Ratzlaff,                               emails: ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca
Mennonite Central Committee                                martharatzlaff@gmail.com
P.O. Box 14894
Westlands 00800

Nairobi, Kenya

Swim up bar and "bartender" Kevin

We have been to the coast a number of times, and on game safaris more often. The experience of both, especially with children, never ceases to amaze us. Seeing the grandchildren’s eyes as they first saw the house on the beach, the private swimming pool and the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, reminded us of child-like wonder and excitement. We had a great time, not only because of the beach, the pool and the ocean, but also interacting with staff that are part of “the house”. The cook, gardener/guard, and the house help, provided great service and it was fun to get to know them. Buying freshly caught fish off the beach, and then savouring seafood for dinner in the evening was enjoyable.

Buying freshly caught fish off the beach

Ishmael and Noah -- guess who is the cook

We did take a one day trip to Bombolulu, a workshop for physically handicapped people, and saw them do wood carving, textile work, building tricycles for the handicapped, and jewelry production. Bombolulu is one of the artisan groups that supplies Ten Thousand Villages who sell their product in retail stores in Canada and the U.S.

Working hard

After a week at the Indian Ocean, we travelled to Tsavo West national park where we stayed for 3 days and two nights. Again, seeing the wildlife where we managed to spot 4 of the “big 5” – we saw elephant, water buffalo, leopard (2), and lion – missing only the rhinoceros from the “big 5”. We also saw plenty of giraffe, gazelle, water buck and other game.

The lodge we stayed at had great service, comfortable rooms, good food and a watering hole just outside of the dining room which was lit at night. Imagine our surprise when, during our first dinner at the lodge, seeing a long line of elephants arriving at the watering hole to drink their fill. Zebras, baboons and other species also shared the water hole.

We arrived back in Nairobi on Saturday – all of us tired, one grandchild stricken with malaria (treatable), but after a nap, some meds, and a good night rest, we are ready for more travels on Monday – this time to Kola to visit a partner doing water and food security work.

Blessings to all of you – enjoy the pictures.

Dinner at the lodge with easy view of the water hole

Lioness dragging carcass killed earlier

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca

Two Rons, paravet and program coordinator

Our group consisted of Kevin, Noah and two “Rons”, and the trip took us to the tea and sugar cane region of Kenya. Kericho is the area with huge tea plantations. Tea is picked year round and we could see groups of tea pickers in the field. Rains had been plentiful so the countryside was lush and green. The trip from Nairobi to Kericho took 5-6 hours and we stayed in an old hotel which, during its prime, would have been a classy place. It has lost some of that classiness, but was still a safe and secure place to spend the night.

During the two nights that we stayed in Kericho, Noah can vouch for the fact that he had some of the “best fish and chips ever” at a local restaurant.

The purpose of the trip was to visit a project that MCC and a Canadian-based trust are supporting. One of the projects that we got to see was the dairy goat project. The project itself consists of having households receive pure bred dairy goats and then once the first kid is born, returning one kid back to the project, for each goat received. This returned goat is then passed on to another household and the process repeats.

Dairy Goats

It was a great day, seeing the changes in individual lives. Connected to the project are 4 para-vets. These are women that have received some veterinary training and they provide a service (for a small fee) to the households that have the goats. They are able to treat a variety of conditions including foot rot, mastitis, etc. and perform routine goat procedures. As this is a family BLOG, we will leave it at that.

Pool and view of the ocean (tide out)

On return to Nairobi, we prepared to head south with our extended family. After a full day of driving from Nairobi to Vipingo, we were overjoyed to be greeted by a wonderful home on the beach that we have rented for a week. The swimming pool was quickly used and later we enjoyed a meal of fresh prawns, prepared by the staff of the house. The house is called “Makuti House”. As we type this we see the Indian Ocean tide coming in, a warm breeze, and fishermen looking for seafood. We bought a “catch of fish” yesterday and will have it for supper this evening. We will seriously need to get some exercise after this week at the coast.

Grandpa even got to spend time with Noah on a Math lesson. It seemed to work out fine – at least from Grandpa’s perspective.

On our way back to Nairobi we have a game safari booked at Tsavo West National Park.

We are loving this time of rest and relaxation and enjoying the company of some of our family.

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca

The first change we notice is that our house really does only have one bathroom, one shower and one sink for brushing teeth, etc. With 5 extra people the routines change for water purification, hot water rationing so that we can all shower. Turns out African maram is a very sticky and our grandkids have experienced this first hand.

Negotiating maram/mud at the craft fair

Secondly, our shopping excursions have increased – almost every day has an excursion of some kind. Today, Saturday, was a trip to the International Craft Fair held just outside of Nairobi. We had heavy rains last night so the grounds were sticky with the same red African mud mentioned earlier.

With sticky mud comes the opportunity for service. Doesn’t happen often but sometimes it does.

Opportunities for service abound

Now this is the way to "attend" a craft fair

Thirdly, it is great to see the changes in grandkids. We see more of their personality, their humour, their interests and it is great to experience this.

This coming week Ron, Kevin and Noah will be travelling to western Kenya on a road trip to see a project that MCC and another donor in Canada are supporting. We will visit with an old friend from Kitchener Waterloo. Then, we are taking 10 days of vacation at the Kenyan coast. We look forward to swimming in the warm Indian Ocean.

May you experience a blessed and meaningful Advent season.

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca

MCC Kenya team meeting in our home

With all expatriate members of the MCC Kenya team, other than us, being American, we scheduled our team meeting to coincide with American Thanksgiving celebration. Martha and Ruth teamed up to prepare a traditional North American dinner, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach salad, cranberries (variation), corn/maize, and dressing. Alvera and Martha had baked pumpkin pies and together we all (16) enjoyed a great meal. Americans, Kenyans and Canadians all enjoyed the meal. Hats off to the cooks.

American Thanksgiving dinner table

The cooks -- Martha and Ruth

Most of this past week we, along with help from one of our staff, interviewed potential IVEP candidates for the 2012 – 2013 year. This year we had 9 applicants vying for only 2, or at most 3, positions. Surprisingly, and thankfully, with a wide variety of skills and experience in the applicants, it was not difficult to rank them. The candidates all came through the partners and connections that MCC has in Kenya. The IVEP (International Volunteer Exchange Program) is for single youth, ages 18 – 30, who wish to experience another culture, use their skills and share their culture with others.

One of the topics at our team meeting was the MCC exchange programs. We had invited participants in the IVEP program from last year to join us and they, along with SALTers (N.A. youth volunteers who serve here in Kenya for one year), had a great conversation. We thought that we would share some of the themes of that conversation:

-       For IVEPers returning to their home community in Kenya is often the most difficult transition. The reasons for this are varied and complicated. There is the expectation that the returning IVEPers have come back with money. Secondly, there is questioning as to why they are now looking for work.

-       Communicating to the home community the realities of life in North America (i.e. the fact that poverty exists in N.A.) is not understood because it does not match with the home communities’ view of “what North America is like”. (land of milk and honey)

-       For a few returning IVEPers, the pain of returning, would have them deciding “not to go” had they known what pain they would experience on returning.

-       For SALTers, none of these expectations exist when they return to North America.

-       One of our tasks, as well as that of returning IVEPers, is to make sure that the home communities understand the program and the intended outcomes of the program.

This coming week brings three of our seven grandkids, and two of our children. We look forward to “life, as we know it, changing”. We are excited to be spending the month of December with them and look forward to their visit  :)

Our personal emails remain martharatzlaff@gmail.com and ronratzlaff@yahoo.ca