The Newbies

I just found this picture from when were in Nairobi and getting a chance to where warm clothes like sweatshirts and tights. Nevaeh seems to be small for her age and so we thought it was funny to pull up her tights really high up. It did not seem to bother her one bit as she went on her merry way playing with toys.
So officially the New Interns have arrived here in Garissa. Last week we had them go through Orientation as well as get settled in. It gets confusing for me to refer to the two seperate teams we now have here- we still have the interns that have been here a year now and will be leaving in April so I named them the Old Folgies or just Folgies for short and then the Newbies. A few members from the Folgies put together the Amazing Race for the Newbies to play which helped them go all over town and get a feel for the people they would be living with and learning about for the next 16 months. There were 11 stops and some included, going to the medical clinic to get a malaria test, going to the open air market to barter for some vegetables, and my personal favorite- eating a plate of matumbo- the stomach and intestines of a cow. I brought Righteous and Nevaeh with me to camp out at the Local restaurant to wait and watch all the teams try to chow down on the matumbo and surprisingly enough there was one guy that really enjoyed it and had no problem finishing the plate.

After the Amazing Race we had the Newbies come to our house for lunch and then to disguss the things they heard and saw while walking around town. Immediatly for many of the girls the difference of how they are now unequally treated and looked upon as a woman stands out. For many it is a first time for them to see the muslim women where the full covering of there clothing where you can only see there eyes. It is easy to feel the oppression when you look at them. I have no doubt it can be that way for some but I recently read "The Cross through the Eyes of the Crescent" and it made me see a totally different prospective of Muslim women. They feel more modest with all the extra layers and more like respectable woman than what the women of the "West" portray themselves as sexual objects. As they are completely covered up they know that they are not being judged by what they wear or how beautiful one might rate them. Nevaeh has not yet gotten use to seeing Muslims where only their eyes show and usually starts crying in fear when they approach her. On more than one occasion the women instantly flips up the cloth to reveal her face and as to show a sense of humanity- I am a person just like you under these layers.