Heading to Nairobi via “Jambojet” from Kisumu Airport we were thrilled to be travelling with Steve from the Route 61 team (see photo in previous blog) who had never flown before so was very excited to be airborne, along with the rest of the team who had expected to be taking the 8 hour bus ride to Nairobi. They were delighted to be able to travel with us the 45 minute flight and it was lovely to see them all again! Once again we had two lots of security to contend with as we entered the airport – where we had to remove all our electronic devices which had been buried in our suitcases to prevent any damage , so it was real palaver digging them out and then repacking to secure them for the flight. Even our checked in bags were X-rayed before we even entered the airport. Then there was the usual scrutiny after check in and before the gate!
The flight itself was again a wonderful experience flying over the varied landscape of this beautiful country and it was hard to avoid gazing out of the window at all the different sites! Catching up with our luggage at Nairobi Airport we headed for the university accommodation where we were all staying together. Set in a lovely rural part of the city we enjoyed resting, socialising and planning the next day together, a joint venture between Amblecote Community Church, Route 61 and the Bible Society of Kenya.
The idea of this day conference, held at a nearby remand centre, was to bring together 30-40 professionals who work in the child social care sector to give training, input and help in developing a ‘Community of Practice’ a new concept for the locals but would hopefully provide support and encouragement within the profession as everyone shared together, enabling each one to provide a healthier & more rounded approach to child care. Alongside those involved in various areas of child support, the Director of Children’s Services and other dignitaries were also attending which spoke highly of the standing of Route 61 in government circles. (In fact, an Official Partnership Agreement with Children’s Services is soon to be signed giving the Route 61 team great opportunities to extend their amazing work in remand homes all across Kenya. Very exciting)!
We arrived early with the Route 61 team who had prep to do whilst we set up our equipment ready for worship, again linking into the very basic, crackly sounding PA system that was provided! Boys from the remand home cleaned the dusty floor of the chapel where we were meeting across a field from the main compound.
People were due to arrive for outdoor refreshments from 9.15 but we suspected that the start time of 9.45 was a tad optimistic! Indeed only a handful of people were there by 10.15 but a start was made and the room was soon full. The only hitch with a late start was that we (the UK team) had our flights back home that evening and had to leave for the airport by 3.30pm at the latest to get across Nairobi before rush hour (which would otherwise turn a 45 minute journey into 3 hours). The Bible Society seminar was 11am – 12.30pm, then after lunch the final 1.30 – 3pm session was our social worker Marie’s seminar on self-care, dealing with secondary trauma and preventing burn-out, the main key teaching that the day was building towards.
With the importance of this in mind, after all the opening introductions and speeches, our 50 minute worship slot was cut to 5 mins and instead, at the request of Derek, we performed our song Side By Side which fitted so well with the theme of the day and got everyone, even the dignitaries, linking arms and dancing together! Adrian then set the scene for the day’s teaching and everything was back on time. With the Bible Society team doing a great job and finishing by 12.20 this gave ample time for everyone to walk across the field to the dining hall.
This is where things went awry. With all the delegates waiting and chatting outside in the glorious sunshine there was no sign whatsoever of any food. The outside caterers were nowhere to be seen and the dining hall eerily empty save for a few large metal tables and benches. After 40 minutes of hanging around we heard that the caterers had taken a wrong turn and should be here in 15 minutes! Realising the knock on effect of this for catching out flight, we hurriedly began to change plans for Marie’s session and asked everyone to walk back across the field, grab their belongings and their chair and come back for the final session to be held in the dining room!
By 1.30 lunch was being served and soon after 2pm Marie’s session was underway, her voice carrying well enough without a microphone! She moved quickly into small group time and we (the ACC team) managed to facilitate discussions based around how people could cultivate helpful habits of self-care thus seeking to avoid exhaustion and burn-out. Marie’s in-depth questionnaire and analysis along with any general feedback was then left to Derek and Penny at the end of the day so that we could disappear and get on the road.
It all worked fine in the end aside from slightly hurried goodbyes as our taxis arrived to whisk us away. As a result our journey to the airport was without any delays and we even had time for a refreshing snack and swim at our original airport hotel before being shuttled off to check in for our flights, firstly to Paris (which allowed us to experience the expected drop in temperature!) then a 3 hour layover before arriving safely at Birmingham International. Our lovely kind friends from ACC were ready and waiting to transport us the very last leg of our journey back home to Stourbridge.
With that strange sensation of feeling like we’d been in Africa for a month rather than just 10 days and yet feeling that it had been hardly any time at all, we have so many thoughts and feelings buzzing around in our heads and so many stories to tell. You’ve read the outline of many of them here and we hope you’ve had a flavour of our wonderful, memorable experiences in Kenya along with all the amazing unforgettable people that we met and hope to meet again. We’d love to catch up with you sometime and share our experiences in person!!
Andy & Joy - Life after Lockdown 