WELCOME HOME!

Jambo Team!

I trust you all made it back home safely, and are hopefully feeling betterJ.  It took me 2 days to get home from Nairobi- spent the night in the Dubai Airport Hotel- and finally arrived in Atlanta at 5:30am on Monday morning. 

 I just wanted to thank you all again for your contribution to the team; your patience, flexibility, team work and senses of humor during our trip made the trip memorable and successful.  It was wonderful getting to know each one of you and you all brought such amazing qualities to the team. It always makes me smile when what starts out as a group of strangers becomes a strong team that bonds together and works towards a common goal- building houses and hope!  I was also impressed how well everyone handled getting sick, and I really appreciated how everyone pitched in to help everyone out….true bonding moment.

 I am working on setting up a fundraising page so that we can work towards our goal of sponsoring an additional house.  I will send the link out by the end of today and the site will be open until January 4^th.

Deirdre and Sharity are taking the lead on the picture sharing so we’ll look forward to where we will post those.

As you get back in the swing of things I am sure you will start to miss Kenya, the team, Mukenzie, Barasa, Habitat -  isnt’ it?    Well you’re in luck! There are a ton of opportunities for you to continue your support of Habitat.  Here are just a few to get you started… check out Habitat’s website at www.habitat.org for more.

Future GV Trips –go on another build. Check out the schedule at www.habitat.org/gv
Get involved with your local affiliate…to find your local affiliate, just go to www.habitat.org/local/  and check out what’s happening in your area.  At many affiliates, you can join a committee, volunteer in the office or on the worksite, etc.

Support Habitat’s work in Kenya year-round…Donate your money to Habitat, become a HopeBuilder and designate your gift to Habitat Kenya .  It’s a monthly donation of any amount that can be taken off your credit card or debited from your bank account. Go to https://www.habitat.org/donation/hopebuilder/default.aspx for more information.

Become an advocate…share your experiences working with Habitat Kenya by making presentations to your church school, work colleagues, etc.  Presentation resources are available such as the GV DVD, PowerPoint templates, presentation outlines and program brochures.  Learn more about Habitat and its work around the world.  Encourage others to get involved with Habitat.

If you have any questions about getting more involved in Habitat, please contact me.  I can either answer your question immediately or direct you to someone at Habitat for Humanity International that can help you!

Happy Holidays!

Take care, keep smiling, and keep building! And above all THANK YOU!
Sheila

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Itinerary Update

Saturday, Nov 28th

We are invited to attend local church service- 11am and then we will visit the soapstone market in the afternoon

Sunday, Nov 29th

Depart Kisii and overnight in Naivasha so on Monday we can spend a day working at the Internal Displaced People project in Maai Mahiu

Monday, Nov 30th

Work at IDP project in Maai Mahiu until 3pm.  Team dinner at Carnivore.

HFHK IDP flier (Project description)

Tuesday, Dec 1st

Depart for home or extended stays.

 

Arrival at the Nairobi Airport

Hi Team, 

Couple of last minute reminders and logistics.

My cell 229.591.773.

I leave on Monday, Nov 16th and will be in Cairo until the 19th. I arrive in Nairobi on Friday, Nov 20th at 3:45am.

Steve Williams

 Please arrive at the Gracehouse on Saturday, Nov 21st. 

Airport Arrivals for Friday, Nov 20th

Anne, Paul, Sharity and Keith

 HFH Kenya has arranged for a taxi service to pick-you up.  The taxi service is Wonderview and they will be holding  a Habitat for Humanity sign. Make sure you look for the sign as you leave customs they will be in the general pick-up area.  Anne and Paul will share a taxi as they arrive first at 7:10pm. Sharity and Keith you will also share a cab since you both arrive at 8:25pm so please keep an eye out for one another.  

The taxi will then take you to- Olive Gardens, located along Agwings Kodhek Road, opposite Nairobi Women Hospital.

Sharity you and I are sharing a room, Keith you have a single and Anne and Paul you will have a room. I will leave my room number at the front desk if you need to reach me.

On Saturday morning I will be in the lobby at 12pm if you want to transport to the Grace Hotel which is a short taxi ride from the Olive Garden. Our rooms should be available by noon. If you are not there at noon I will assume that you will make your own way to the Gracehouse located at Chania Avenue, Kilimani, Nairobi, Nairobi District. Please note that it is near the  YaYa Centre, above Ngong Rd  and that it used to be called Gracia, in case the driver is confused and knows it by its old name.

Airport Arrivals for Saturday, Nov 21st

Jodi, Deirdre, Steve and Claudia

Myself and a HFH driver will be there to meet you as you come out of customs- please look for the Habitat sign.  We will then go to the Gracehouse.  Steve, Jodi and Deirdre we will wait for Claudia so be prepared for some airport time.

Airport Arrival Sunday, Nov 22nd

Mike and June, please take a taxi from the airport to the Gracehouse. KAA or Wonderview are reputable services.

Gracehouse is located at Chania Avenue, Kilimani, Nairobi, Nairobi District. Please note that it is near the YaYa Centre, above Ngong Rd  and that it used to be called Gracia, in case the driver is confused and knows it by its old name.  Anne will then arrange for a driver to pick you up on Monday morning at 8am.

Itinerary Updates

Sunday , Nov 22nd

I will leave a note at the front desk for everyone as to where we are meeting on Sunday morning but I do know it will be at 8am. Anne does not want us on the road after dark, it is a 5-7hr ride to Kisii so we need to get on the road by 10ish. I apologize in advance for the early wake-up:)

Mon-Friday

BUILD DAYS.  Work days are typically 8-5. Lunch at site

 

Saturday, Nov 28th

I have confirmed that Saturday is a not a workday for the families in Kisii, as this is their church day. The tentative plan is to attend a church service as part of the cultural experience and then visit the soapstone market in the afternoon.

 

Sunday, Nov 29th–

Anne is checking to see if we can work on Sunday but if we cannot we are looking at the option to return to Nairobi on Sunday , and on Monday visit and potentially work at another HFH project located outside of Nairobi.

 

Monday, Nov 30th

Our team dinner will be at the Carnivore- a famous open air meat restaurant that has every imaginable meat roasted on masai swords.

 

 

Please let me know if you have any questions. If not, safe travels everyone and we’ll see you in Nairobi.

 

Final Newsletter(#3) is now posted!

Conference Call

Sorry west coast folks it is 7pm EST. If you cannot make the call I am happy to set up individual calls with everyone, just give me some times.

Thanks!

Conference Call

Hi Team,

I have only heard back from a few of you in regards to the conference call.  I will be at this number on Wednesday, Nov 4th at 7pm if anyone would like to call in.  Thanks!

 

1-888-450-4824

Passcode:  1206225

Conference Call

Hi Team,

I would like to schedule a call next week so that we can all “meet” each other and also talk about last minute details and updates, etc….

Please indicate which date works best and I will try and schedule appropriately.

Monday, Nov 2nd at 8pm

Wed, Nov 4th at 7pm

 

Thanks everyone!

Accommodations Update

Hi Team,

I have just confirmed that we will be staying in a guest house in Kisii town, as HFH Kenya was not able to find an appropriate community center alternative.  Therefore, you will be sleeping in beds, mosquito nets will be provided and you will have showers.

We will be working with two families:

Lydia Kenyenya

She has 5 children and is married.  Currently, Lydia and her family live in a rental house and wants to put up her own house 500M away from where she stays with her family. She buys and sells vegetables in a local market.

 Richard Nyangau

He is married and has two children.  His wife is a house wife while Richard runs a small shop.  They currently live in a mud walled house.

Update

We should know by the end of the week what are accommodations will be in Kisii, which will determine what supplies/packing items we will need.  Again we will either be staying in a community center or at a local guest house in Kisii.  Right now I would say there is a 75% chance that it will be the guesthouse.

Also, if you arriving a day early and need a place to stay please let me know asap and I will have Anne reserve you a room at the Grace guesthouse. The cost is outside the team budget for an extra night so you will be responsible for covering that expense. 

Paul and Anne,  HFHKenya is working on securing your reservation.

Thanks everyone and have a great week!

PLEASE READ

Hello Team,

Working with the Kenya team on our site accommodations- they are looking for a community facility in/near Kisii to host us and if we stay in a community center then we will need to bring a few things:

• Mosquito nets
• Sleeping bags/mats
• solar shower*

* HFH Kenya has a few solar shower that hat we may be able to borrow; however, there is also a Canadian team in Kenya at the same time so there may not be enough to go around.  I will keep you posted but just want you to be aware that you may need to add these to your packing lists.

 

Thanks all!