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The Saida Orphanage has a day out
Anna Quinlan and Ian Dippelsmann, two of Dragoman's most experienced crew, recently organised a very special trip for the children of the Saida Orphanage.
The children were up from 4 am peering out of the windows waiting for the Dragoman Truck to arrive. It took some effort but by 730am we had the children- all 44 of them - loaded into the truck and we were on our way. You would expect the noise to be deafening with that many children in one small confined space. However this was the first trip these kids have made outside of their small town of GilGil and the uncertainty at that point was a little stronger than their excitement. All of that changed when they saw their first zebra crossing the main highway into Nairobi - let the squeals begin.
We climbed the Rift Valley and made our way through the centre of Nairobi constantly bombarded by a million questions - why do they make the buildings so high, why are there so many cars.......on and on. Explanations of Parliament buildings to the older children (the kids ranged in age from 4 - 18), the importance of Uhuru 'Freedom' Park. Our first stop was at the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage on the edge of Nairobi National Park. This gave these children their first view of elephants, and babies no less. Most of the children were very unsure of themselves, especially when one of the babies made his presence known by trumpeting quite loudly A few pushed their way to the front to reach out for a quick pat as the babies trundled past.
From the elephant orphanage we made our way to a campsite on the edge of Nairobi where the children were served a lunch of Ugali and vegetables to recharge their batteries. After time for play in the campsite we then continued on to the Langatta Giraffe Centre or AWEC (African Wildlife Education Centre). By this stage of the day the children were feeling much more comfortable with the outing and started to truly come into their own. We started off at knee level with the giraffes and trying to get the children to hand feed them - some of them were still a little wary of an animal that towered so high above their heads. Gradually though we managed to have each of the children come forward for their individual photo with a giraffe. Then it was up to the feeding platform where some of them even managed to build up enough courage for a 'giraffe kiss' - a bit slobbery and wet but special none the less. A small talk in Kiswahili to follow, explanations on the importance of protecting African animals. Then it was time to start heading for home. A different route on our return with a stop to look out over the Rift Valley - imagine the confusion of the souvenir sellers when 44 Kenyan Children jumped out of the truck instead of the usual tourists!
On our return to the Orphanage in Gilgil, our food we had delivered in boxes that morning had been turned into a veritable feast!! Chicken with chips, rice, vegetables and chapattis, a real treat. The chaos of trying to get 44 children bathed and ready for bed followed. It was then time for lights out and a few minutes of quiet reflection on an amazing day before collapsing into an exhausted sleep.
By Anna Quinlan
