On Sunday night we got back from an incredible weekend trip to Rusinga Island Lodge, which is in the middle of Lake Victoria. We went with a large group of 11 people who are mostly living in Eldoret and working at AMPATH for at least a year. In order to get to Rusinga Island, we drove 3.5 hours, and then took a 45 minute ferry across the lake to reach the island. Then it was a 20 minute drive, but all of the travel time was worth it once we finally reached the resort. The resort started as just a fishing spot for people wanting a break from safaris in the Masai Mara. The resort now has about eight cottages that are very well decorated and located just off of the lake. We especially loved the large "Zanzibar bed" that was on our terrace where Steve and I could read while Ellana was napping. All of the meals were delicious as the resort mostly uses fresh fruit and vegetables from the on-site garden. My favorite meal was lunch, as it was served outdoors close to the lake. The meal was comprised of soup and bread (probably the best I've had in Kenya), then either a simple "salad buffet" or fish with lots of vegetables, and then a light dessert. We also loved that wine for meals was included in the amazing deal that the resort gave us! Ellana's favorite parts of the weekend were seeing all of the exotic birds (the lodge even had its own birding book), and the pool, of course. We loved the fact that because we were basically the only people staying at the resort, she had the run of the place! One of my favorite parts was the spa, and everyone on the trip had some type of massage. We have stayed at some amazing places while in Kenya, and I think Rusinga tops the list for me!
Family picture before dinner
Mbita ferry to Rusinga Island
Paradise by the lake
Ellana loves hot tea!
Our bedroom
Before sunset on the jetty
Sunset on Lake Victoria
Back in Eldoret, I am still working at Imani and Tumaini (the street children's drop-in center). I've been trying to organize the beads department at Imani so that it can be more efficient in getting orders out in a timely fashion, and I'm trying to find a good income generation project for Tumaini. Steve has been fairly frustrated with the current state of the hospital as the supplies are still low, and the surgeons are attempting to strike to get more of the things needed to operate. Its honestly a pretty sad state of affairs at the moment, but the hospital is hoping to get more money to pay for new supplies as well as for the salaries of the hospital workers that have not been paid for at least a month.
We also said an emotional goodbye today to our friends Meghan and Ben Wolfe. Meghan and Ben are the parents of Ellana's dear friends Eden and Andy. They have been trying to adopt Eden for the past two years and keep coming up against one road block after another. Meghan is expecting another little girl and is due at the end of January, so they finally decided that she needed to return to the states and try to finish some of the US side of the adoption and so that she can be in good hands in January. Ben will return here to be with Eden because they cannot get a visa from the US for her to leave Kenya until the adoption is finalized. Ben is going to return to Indiana for a week so that their adoption home study can be completed yet again, and then he will return to Kenya next week. Meghan left today not knowing how long it will be before she sees her little girl. I cannot imagine the agony she must be going through right now. We are planning to visit her in Indiana when we are there right before Christmas, and I really hope that the adoption will go through so that Ben and Eden will be there as well.
Below are some pictures from our amazing Halloween celebration for the kids at the IU house.
Ellana as a "twiga"
She really loves candy!
Even Obama helped!
Gavin- lion, Ellana- giraffe, Eden- the guide, and Andy- elephant
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