This is me on my birthday at Lake Nakuru with Kelsey atop Baboon Cliffs. Thats the lake in the background..see all the pink? Thoses are flamingos.

This is a beautiful shot of the water. All these flamingos were amazing to see.

But see, it was also very sad because many of them are dying. And at the edge of the lake, you can see all the dead flamingos, so sad.

Hello to you ALL

After a month in Kenya the Jumper’s from Hawaii I hope you all got home safely and that all is well and you are enjoying the rest of the summer, here in Nakuru all is well the Jumper’s here are on holiday now and I manage to meet with a few of them every now and then some went to Nairobi for the holidays while the rest are participating in the national school music and dance festivals which are being held in Kenya and Menengai secondary is one of the venues where the music is being held,
The Jumper’s here are ok and moving on with work I think this is going to be one of the best projects that am involved in the students are eager and they have ideas that are great we just wait for the implementation of the projects that they have. They go back to school on Monday the 7th they had a 1week holiday after exams.

Alec hello well your name was the photographer with “good hair”, that’s what you did not here the students calling you when you were here; I want to pass greetings from Doreen’s family they are asking when you are coming back. Man I got to see all those pictures you took, while here.

Allie hope all is well and that you enjoyed your time in Kenya very much, Stan had nicknamed you Adhiambo C, after the latest song that is on air now (here in Kenya) about a beautiful girl in Kisumu the city by Lake Victoria.

Andrew I know you got back safely and probably you are juggling now, maybe this is the reason you are famous from the Nakuru people lots of greetings from the Menengai high school students who attended the open day that was at the school on that day. I thought I was “famous” but when you arrived in Kenya I realized I need to do more work on my fame am no complaining. Greet your parents for me they have wrote twice and thank them also.

Aria, how are you and are you back to work or still enjoying your summer, also I send lots of greetings from the JUMP team here, hope you liked the vegetarian food here in Kenya.

Bailey, how are you doing back home, hope you are enjoying your summer, greetings from the JUMP team and the girls from London at the dump site. Greeting’s from Patrick and his sister.

Carly hello to you and is all well greetings also from the JUMP team here, especially the church group that we talked with Ken the other team leader conveyed this message from the church youth’s. Let me also pass James’s greeting and gratitude for visiting there family.

Eric (small) well hope that you are fishing now and enjoying it greetings from the JUMP team Nakuru, especially Ann Linda and the family, for agreeing spend the evening with them I met the mum in church yesterday and asked me to pass my greetings to you and the whole JUMP team from Hawaii, pod cast’s coming soon Patrick is really good with them you won’t believe this they are on there 8th what we just need to do is put them up, I checked the archive’s.org and I listened to one of the old ones that you had put up.

Eric the teacher if I could I would email you Ugali, next time you should learn how to make it. Well hope you also enjoyed your stay here and that you did not have a had time chaperoning the team, never got to ask did you finally get to test Tusker in Kenya, hope you will compare it with the one’s in America.

Ernie hello let me start by saying that Dan Brown is a really good writer the book was really nice, also I enjoyed talking to you, am sending a picture special in a while and you will be able to see what the photography team has captured about children’s theatre here, hope to here from you soon.

Isabel I don’t know if I heard write but I think people were calling you “Shakira” I don’t know why, and will not try and guess. Let me convey greetings from the Nakuru team also from James for having dinner with there family. well hope that Nakuru and Kenya in general was a different but fulfilling experience all together.

Julie, you like in everyone’s mind every week the JUMP team here, they are like taking rounds every week someone goes the Ukelele home for a week and they learn to play it Wilfred has been learning to sing the song that you guys sang at Menengai, well the next blog will be a picture special for you guys to see what we have been up to. Thanks for everything.

KelliRose, where do I start ok let me start by passing from Mercy and her sister they enjoyed the time you spent with them also I have to say that you are good company I enjoyed having dinner at Mercy’s the food was really nice but I have to say my mum still remains the best cook so whenever you make it back to Kenya you will test her food, and anyone else from the team who makes to Kenya for JUMP or personal visits in future, thanks again for being who you are.

Kelsey hello to you though the 1st days were tough on you in Kenya you really picked up and everybody was happy the guys thought that you are very quiet then they realized you were sick and also so much life in you the last few days after you got well, greetings from the whole team here.

Robin the role model, well I have to say you are the role model of almost every person we met here in Nakuru, thank you for making this dream a reality and from here you will be really proud that you met us and worked with the team, but I will let the actions speak well I have been selected to be one of the MTV’s film maker, in Toronto we are going to make short films there and am being taken for a short training while in Toronto so JUMP is really going places and they are going to give 7 of us from different cameras to come back and document for them for one year in our countries so we have a good partnership already I will talk more about JUMP with them once am there. “The students here think that I will not be allowed into the plane because I am too dark they say” hope that your mission was fulfilled while you visited the groups here in Kenya. JUMP in conjunction with REPACTED and Oasis of Hope Secondary school in Kisumu are organizing for concurrent walks in Kisumu, Nakuru and New York on the 6th of October to raise funds for orphans in secondary schools here, will update the team on that once I come back from Toronto.

Rory the man, just tell me if I missed anyone, well there are two very happy boys here in Kenya because of you and your symbol is the communication tool for Jumper’s in Menengai High School, lots of greetings from the whole tea, here, and also from Esther for having dinner with you, well man Italy won the world cup but am really waiting for the euro cup to see how far they will go I still believe they play a very defensive game, ok I will not talk football anymore thanks man for everything hope to see you in Kenya someday if I don’t make to Hawaii.


Well my special days this year was when the JUMP team were here for the week I really had a good time, and I want to thank you all sincerely for making it possible and thank you whole heartedly for supporting me while you were here, may all of you be blessed and have good times wherever you were, imagine for the 1st time I ate a crocodile all because of you I went to carnivore and had good chicken at the JAVA and more and more the rest in the next blog well one more day and I go to Toronto I hope to here from you all, if you get this mail and there are others who are not on the blog please pass it forward.

Best Regards,

Dennis

So we have finally said goodbye to the kenyans that we spent the most time with, Robert and Charles, our drivers. These men drove the Matatus (a better definition will follow) that transported us, with few exceptions, the whole month. Also this act is commendable because of more than just the duration they were kept from their families, but they also kept us safer than any of us could have, being that driving in Kenya is much more difficult than any other place I have ever been. The roads are small and the rules are ......... known only to a select few, not to mention they drive on the wrong side of the road.
Most people don't drive in Kenya. This is because cars are expensive, and their is a great public transport system in Kenya.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
First they have Buses and taxis like most places, but they also have matatus and boraboras.
To speak of what is familiar first, Buses run like buses in the states you pay a fair and get on and off at bus stops. Taxis are also similiar except the drivers make thier own prices, .... bartering is encouraged. But the interesting methods of transport our next
BODA BODAS(Edited with suggestion from Dennis)
I never rode one but a boda boda is a bike. The driver pedals the bike and the passenger sits on a pad above the back wheel. The name boda boda is derived from the origional use of the boda boda as a means to transport people from the borders of African countries.
MATATUS
Matatus are vans. They aren't mini vans, but the kind of van that the FBI uses as a headquarters for a stakeout in a movie. They have 5 rows of 3 seats so they accomadate 14 passengers and are limited to that number. Also all are equipped with speed govenors that limit them to 80 KPH(about 50MPH), all public transport and government vehicles are governed. The 14 passenger limit and the speed limit are new laws and because of this some people revert to the old ways. This means they pack a matatu as full as they can (and do not enforce seat belt wearing) and they tamper with the speed govenor. Matatus have their stops (which are cities/towns) painted on the side and will drop people off at matatu stops, which sometimes are also bus stops. The name matatu comes from the fact that all matatus once cost 3 shillings to go anywhere (tatu is three). Prices have since risen.

Robert and Charles
Charles drives a matatu for a small company. The company owns 3 matatus. Robert in contrast drives for Mololine a large company that specializes in Nairobi-Nakuru traffic. Mololine owns many matatus and pays its employees a flat wage per day. Matatu companies are respected, as one Kenyan told me that her family will only go on Mololine when they go to Nairobi from Nakuru.