My Visit with Jenipher’s family

When it became public knowledge at work last December that I was going to live in Africa, Catherine from BCH mentioned that her children’s nanny, Jenipher, is from Kenya. It turns out that Jenipher is from the village of Musembe, near Eldoret, which is only about a three-hour journey from Kisumu. A few weeks before leaving Canada I met with Jenipher and learned a bit about Kenya and her life there. She invited me to visit her family in Musembe and this past weekend that’s what I did.

I was greeted by Jenipher’s two children: Ceaser (aged 17) and Mona (aged 16). They were on break from boarding school for the month and staying at their grandmother’s farm, Mama Flora’s (also known as Maxi; aged almost 68). Although she is in regular contact with her children, it has been over six years since Jenipher has been with them. Ceaser is a strapping young man and taller and definitely more fit than myself. He looks a bit like Will Smith and has a bit of rapper aura to him. However, rather than getting down with the “brothers and the ho’s,” he seems a bit miscast on a farm hanging with the cousins and the chickens. Also, he is probably the world’s most polite rapper. Mona gives all indications of being a keen athlete and was dressed as though a basketball game might break out at any moment. This appearance does look a bit strange when you see her weeding in the fields. She was a bit shy at first, but as time passed I could see that she was a confident and capable individual.

I was kept surprisingly busy during my time in Musembe. On Saturday, Ceaser and his friend Acka took me on a walk along the Kipkarren River. Not only was the hike long, but we also spent plenty of time visiting with people along the way. After returning to the farm, I was able to sit by the nearby Bahai church and watch a group of young girls rehearse their dance steps. I took quite a few photographs with my digital camera and nearly caused a riot when I showed them the results on the small screen on the back of my camera. Actually, this camera function was of great interest and entertainment to everyone, despite the small view monitor. Mama Flora seemed especially enamoured with it and at one point ordered Mona to grab her weeding-hoe so that I could take an action shot of the two of them working in the field.

I quite liked the landscape in this region of Kenya as the lush, green rolling hills around Musembe contrasted against the rich, red soil that was well cultivated by the many small farms. The temperature was also noticeably cooler than Kisumu (isn’t everywhere?) and that combined with a very comfortable bed in Jenipher’s room provided me two great sleeps. In addition to Mama Flora’s farm, there were adjacent farms owned by Jenipher’s brothers: Wafula, Moss, Festos and Juma. Thanks to support from Jenipher in Canada, Mama Flora’s home has some solar powered lighting and a water pump out back. Otherwise, the homes were solid, comfortable and basic. Children and chickens seemed to be everywhere and at one point sitting in the living room Ceasar explained to me that an especially active chicken was just trying to find a good place to lay an egg.

After dinner on Saturday evening all of Mama Flora’s children and grandchildren gathered at her place for a few songs and prayers and to just visit and be together. I believe that the chickens had already retired for the evening. I didn’t stay for too long as I was tired from my day plus most of the conversation was in their local language. It did occur to me that Jenipher would have loved to be there.

The plan is that later this year Ceasar and Mona will be able to go to Canada to be with their mother. I was able to spend quite a bit of time with both of them over the weekend and hopefully I was able to give them some insight into life in Canada, just like Jenipher was able to help prepare me in a small way for life in Kenya. I’m not sure if I will see them again until I return to Canada, but Mama Flora certainly made it clear to me (through translation from Swihili) that I could visit her farm when-ever I wanted and that I should consider her place my home in Kenya. I was certainly made to feel welcomed during my stay so I think a return visit by me wouldn’t be the least bit surprising.