the other night i was helping Benson with his reading comprehension homework while laying on the couch together. Benson is 9. he asked if i knew what culture is except he said it, "coolchurre" with a rolled r. i asked him to repeat it about 3 times before i caught on at which point i did the obligatory western, English speaking unintentionally snobby response "OOOhhhh, you mean CULTURE!" Benny said, "No. coolchurre." i said, "no, culture." this game continued 3 or 4 rounds before Benny finally stopped, stared me straight in the eye with a dead serious face and put his hand on my forehead. Benny said, "Uncle, close your eyes." to which i obliged while also wondering, good lord, did i do something wrong? did i offend him? i totally offended him. i'm a jerk. what is going to happen? giggling Benny launched into the following sermon, "dear god, please let simple-minded Uncle Sam learn and remember how to correctly say culture. he is a very good man but sometimes he is slow to learn. amen."
good huh? he's crafty.
i replied with a prayer for Benny of my own and we finished the reading session with one of the most solid belly-laughs i've had in a long time. please understand this though, religion is not pushed on the kids here. Flying Kites is not a religious organization. Christianity is just really really prominent here.
these kinds of stories happen every day. this place is an insane combination of hilarious, heartwarming and crazy which is why i need you to read through the rest of this post.
here's the challenge. i dare you to look at these videos and pictures and not smile, chuckle and think these kids are cool. i dare you. i double dog dare you. i have one rule though, you have watch the videos and you have to click on the picture and look at the enlarged versions.
first, the video
and now some pictures
and now the reason...
so if you're reading this blog you've probably been following along off and on for awhile now and know that this is just one stop on my trip around the world. Kenya and Flying Kites was a stop i knew i was going to make when i started the journey back in April but i made no plans beyond that. after just a couple weeks here i've found the best way to finish out this trip but i need your help to make it happen.
i'm going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro as a fundraiser for those kids you saw in the pictures and videos and the stories like Benny's. every single one of them. each of them found their way to this house and my life through a rougher road than i could have ever imagined. i will not share their stories with you because they are not mine to tell but i will tell you it's an incredibly noble and awesome thing happening here.
my climb will start Aug. 19 and every step of the journey will be for each of the nearly 30 smiling faces and their big dreams of becoming doctors, pilots and presidents.
i am asking you to join me in this effort by helping me fundraise $3,000. it's a big undertaking in a short amount of time but i know we can do it. your donation helps Flying Kites house and educate these kids in hope of breaking the cycle of poverty for children in Kenya. everything you give will go to the children and programs at Flying Kites and any amounts helps.
sponsoring me is easy, go to this website:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/samhorn6/kilimanjaroclimbforthekids
it's really simple, fast and secure. on top of that, your donation is tax deductible.
i'm guessing you've enjoyed some of my stories over the past couple months and i can't tell you how much i love sharing those with you and feeling your support through them. now, i'm asking you to give a little support to the 27 orphaned, abused and abandoned children that have been kind enough to welcome me into their new family here at Flying Kites.
if you know of anyone else who might be interested in supporting this cause, please pass it along. anything helps.
here's the link again, in case you missed it:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/samhorn6/kilimanjaroclimbforthekids
thank you for taking time to read this. i truly appreciate it.
i hope this finds you well,
Sam
P.S. about the toe. i cut it on a rock on the beach on the Kenyan coast about a week ago and it got infected. i didn't take much notice of it until i started having really bad groin pain in the leg attached to said toe. at which point i called a med student i met here and asked her what i should do. the next morning i woke up with a fever, headache and body aches. if you're following at home, these are all really really bad signs of infection. after 2 days of cipro waiting for a levo pack to make it to Njabini, here's where i stand. no increased pain, the redness isn't spreading, the headaches, body aches, fever are gone and the groin pain, which the med student guessed was a lymph node, has reduced.
to be honest, i'm not that worried anymore. i think with the antibiotics i'm on, i've turned the corner and i'll be fine. that doesn't mean i haven't gotten a fare amount of emails from my mom though. sorry mom. i promise i'll see a doctor if it gets worse. and i promise i won't post another picture of my screwed up feet. i'd also like to apologize in advance to the nice person who will be giving me a pedicure when i get home. i promise i'll tip good.
good huh? he's crafty.
i replied with a prayer for Benny of my own and we finished the reading session with one of the most solid belly-laughs i've had in a long time. please understand this though, religion is not pushed on the kids here. Flying Kites is not a religious organization. Christianity is just really really prominent here.
these kinds of stories happen every day. this place is an insane combination of hilarious, heartwarming and crazy which is why i need you to read through the rest of this post.
here's the challenge. i dare you to look at these videos and pictures and not smile, chuckle and think these kids are cool. i dare you. i double dog dare you. i have one rule though, you have watch the videos and you have to click on the picture and look at the enlarged versions.
first, the video
and now some pictures
and now the reason...
so if you're reading this blog you've probably been following along off and on for awhile now and know that this is just one stop on my trip around the world. Kenya and Flying Kites was a stop i knew i was going to make when i started the journey back in April but i made no plans beyond that. after just a couple weeks here i've found the best way to finish out this trip but i need your help to make it happen.
i'm going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro as a fundraiser for those kids you saw in the pictures and videos and the stories like Benny's. every single one of them. each of them found their way to this house and my life through a rougher road than i could have ever imagined. i will not share their stories with you because they are not mine to tell but i will tell you it's an incredibly noble and awesome thing happening here.
my climb will start Aug. 19 and every step of the journey will be for each of the nearly 30 smiling faces and their big dreams of becoming doctors, pilots and presidents.
i am asking you to join me in this effort by helping me fundraise $3,000. it's a big undertaking in a short amount of time but i know we can do it. your donation helps Flying Kites house and educate these kids in hope of breaking the cycle of poverty for children in Kenya. everything you give will go to the children and programs at Flying Kites and any amounts helps.
sponsoring me is easy, go to this website:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/samhorn6/kilimanjaroclimbforthekids
it's really simple, fast and secure. on top of that, your donation is tax deductible.
i'm guessing you've enjoyed some of my stories over the past couple months and i can't tell you how much i love sharing those with you and feeling your support through them. now, i'm asking you to give a little support to the 27 orphaned, abused and abandoned children that have been kind enough to welcome me into their new family here at Flying Kites.
if you know of anyone else who might be interested in supporting this cause, please pass it along. anything helps.
here's the link again, in case you missed it:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/samhorn6/kilimanjaroclimbforthekids
thank you for taking time to read this. i truly appreciate it.
i hope this finds you well,
Sam
P.S. about the toe. i cut it on a rock on the beach on the Kenyan coast about a week ago and it got infected. i didn't take much notice of it until i started having really bad groin pain in the leg attached to said toe. at which point i called a med student i met here and asked her what i should do. the next morning i woke up with a fever, headache and body aches. if you're following at home, these are all really really bad signs of infection. after 2 days of cipro waiting for a levo pack to make it to Njabini, here's where i stand. no increased pain, the redness isn't spreading, the headaches, body aches, fever are gone and the groin pain, which the med student guessed was a lymph node, has reduced.
to be honest, i'm not that worried anymore. i think with the antibiotics i'm on, i've turned the corner and i'll be fine. that doesn't mean i haven't gotten a fare amount of emails from my mom though. sorry mom. i promise i'll see a doctor if it gets worse. and i promise i won't post another picture of my screwed up feet. i'd also like to apologize in advance to the nice person who will be giving me a pedicure when i get home. i promise i'll tip good.
