suswa

One of the highlights of our time with the Kenya Children's Home was a visit to one of the projects they run, the Soila Maasai Girls Rescue Centre in Suswa. The day started with an almost two hour drive out to the area of Suswa which is in the heart of the Rift Valley. The drive was the bumpiest we've ever had, riding in the back of a 4WD truck with most of the time spent airborne rather than on the seat. We drove through some spectacular scenery, which unfortunately we weren't able to capture as we were driving at speed but we soaked it all in!

In cooperation with the local families, the Girls Rescue Centre rescues girls from Female Genital Mutilation and inevitable early marriage (sometimes as young as 10 years old). The girls are given a place to stay while they're educated - a luxury they would not be given had they remained living in their villages.

The school was incredible, with some of the best facilities we'd seen and the girls so lovely. They were of course besotted with Nate as was everyone we met on our trip. After lunch with the girls and a performance of some of their songs we headed out on another bumpy ride to a Massai Village where we met Massai elders and were able to visit a home. The home belonged to one of the security guards at the Girls Home. We were shown where he, his two wives, children and his mother and aunties lived.

The huts themselves were rendered with a mixture of cow manure, ash and water and were pitch black inside with the only light coming from two ventilation points smaller than a human hand. Inside the space was divided up a little and there were beds and a space to cook. It was hard to imagine how they could live in a such a dark space, with so little room to move.