Visiting The Nest

This morning I headed up into the hills of Limuru, a region just outside of Nairobi. It was a beautiful drive, almost entirely uphill past tea farms and markets. Six of us went along with Mel and Kerry, teachers who are connected with a children's home called The Nest. The person who runs the home sends her children to Rosslyn, and each weekend Mel and Kerry keep a baby to give it one on one attention, eye contact, and lots of love. Some of the children at the The Nest have been abandoned and are available for adoption; most have mothers who are in prison. The organization also owns a halfway house near campus where mothers who are just out of prison stay for a while to be reunited with their children and to do some counseling and rehabilitation.

I think the pictures speak for themselves, so I'll let them.




The little girl on the floor next to me is named Shikoo (I have no idea how that's spelled), and she warmed up to me little by little- first unwilling to look at me, then playing a little closer, then eventually crawling into my arms and staying there for hours:

She is one of four children; her brothers and sister are also at The Nest. The two pictured below are Ken and Mary.
They hung out with me for a significant portion of the morning. One small surprise to me- my long, straight hair was a mystery all around, and whenever I sat on the ground, kids would clump behind me to touch it. But I always had Shikoo in my lap to look at and laugh with, so it was fine.