Miti Mingi Children's Village - Kenya

Salome and her polaroid

We were late for assembly, so after using one of the toilets, we were rushed down to sit in a row for the performances - spoken poetry, terrifying acrobatics (backflips) the boys performed on the concrete floor and the sassiest fashion show put on by 5 year olds I've ever seen.

Miti Mingi Children's Village

Pre-assembly

Each Mama (head of one of the children's houses) introduced herself and so did we - then we handed out the presents. The kids were so excited.

Nail polish was a hit with the fashion show girls

Rugby for the boys

For a while I took pictures, then Nina suggested I do the stick on tattoos. After a mission to find a flannel, scissors and water, I got swarmed by eager kids. 20 seconds for a tattoo to set is a long time!

The kids getting the water and cloth needed for the tattoos

When the tattoos ran out, I asked the others about the polaroids. They agreed to help monitor me doing it. After the first ten portraits, word got out and I was mobbed - kids pushing and shoving to get to the front and get their picture. I almost got pushed into the mud by the crowd.

The queue

The kids didn't cry when eventually the film ran out - although the did look disappointed. Digital photos aren't the same as being able to hold and own your picture! Raewyn said it would be the first time many of these kids had a photo of themselves.

I then sat and talked with the Mamas. A huge rain cloud rolled in, we left abruptly - giving Moses the village leader a lift because there had been a lion sighting nearby.

Three of the Mamas - the mothers to 8 orphans each

The ride home was quiet. Lots of traffic - Nakuru is an inland oil port to Uganda and Rwanda of sorts. So there were lots of huge tankers. We had done a full lap of the lake by the end of the day.

A shower felt amazing - I scrubbed dirt and bacteria away. When we were clean, we joined Ben and Raewyn on the deck for beers.




In hindsight, I haven't included any information about the amazing work Miti Mingi village does in this post. The experience was overwhelming so I didn't process the significance of what I was seeing until much later in the trip. I encourage you to read about So They Can and their work here for context.