So power came back in the early hours of the morning! And as a bonus, it had stopped raining and we actually saw some sun rays. Perfect for the age-old chore of washing clothes by hand. It's amazing how much dirt and dust clothes accumulate - the washing water never seemed to run clear even after 2 washes and rinses - but definitely cleaner than before! Chiara, Kate and Calvin went to Karura Forest today. It's an urban forest in Nairobi with waterfalls and caves,...

So we woke up this morning to still no power and rain outside so we had a big lie in / read in bed. Then before long it was time for lunch (and the power came back on). We both went to a pizza cafe about a minute walk from the house and had some more non-African food - pizza and chicken and mango juice. Wouldn't rave about it but it was a nice change from rice and beans! Power went out again in the afternoon. Watched 2 movies on the laptop. Alice's relatives came...

First day of official holidays for the kids at Safisha Africa school. As such, all the volunteers were also on holidays. Kate and Calvin were reflecting on their experiences at the school and a few things came to mind that really hit home. So many of these kids at the school don't know their birthdays. Some do, but most don't. Because of this, none of the kids celebrate their birthdays at school as it is unfair for those that don't know which day they are born - ...

Kate and Calvin had a romantic adventure to The Rift Valley (sounds prehistoric!) today to explore Hell's Gate National Park and Lake Naivasha. Steve, the tour operator, who is somewhat associated with Safisha Africa Welfare, drove us there. It was pelting down torrential rain in Nairobi but the forecast for The Rift Valley was meant to be warm and dry. It took about 2.5 hours on bumpy potholed roads to reach Hell's Gate. Sure enough, it was sunny as soon as...

Today a group of us (5 volunteers) visited the Kibera slum – the third biggest slum in the world. We were fortunate enough to arrange for a local, Benson, to show us around. We caught the bus into the city and then the matatu (with Benson) to the slum. The matatu was an experience – basically a night club in a bus during the day! Music blaring and music clips being shown on a few different TVs in the van! It had rained a lot over night and it poured...