Today started at 8 AM for breakfast before we headed out for the day for our long awaited visit to the Pokot tribe in the Komolion Village. The Men’s Choir (shoutout to the boys) has been going to the village for 20 years now, and hearing all of the stories about the village, the people, and the growth has been invigorating for the group. Personally, I couldn’t wait. This is my second trip to Kenya, and my second trip to Komolion, so I’ve seen the village two years ago and was eager to get back to it. My last experience there was truly eye opening, and it revealed a lot to me about human nature and the impact of circumstance on people. I’m still profoundly affected by the visit from so long ago, so I was excited to see how the rookies would take everything in.
On our way to the village, we saw several ostriches seemingly standing guard on the road. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were hiding something…the world may never know. This then sparked a conversation on my bus about the biggest animal that we could beat in a fight. It was wildly stupid, wildly unproductive, and wildly entertaining all at once. In case you’re curious, some answers included deer, crocodile, alpaca, wolf, and even a bear (for some reason).
Once we turned on the road that leads down to the village, I could immediately see the fruits of our labor. Two years ago, a team helped to level out the road to make it more drivable, and it was great to see that their hard work not only paid off, but was still around today. This was incredibly uplifting for me since it showed that the work that we do for these people is not just a one time thing, but an effort that will outlast our time here.
After driving most of the way down the road, we were greeted with a group of women who sang and welcomed us. From the moment we saw them as our drivers threw the vans in park, they were singing their hearts out to us and jumping with unbridled happiness. Last time I experienced this, I almost cried. Not only was it incredible to see how joyful these people were to see us, but there was an overwhelming sense of love that was hard to not feel emotional about. This time around, I just enjoyed watching others have the same feelings that I did. As the women came to us, grabbed our hands, and danced with us, I was reminded just how much of a home this place has come for me, and I can only hope that the rest of the people on this trip felt as well. The welcome didn’t stop there, though. Once we were in the village, the children of the village began singing to us as well. This was our introduction to the kids that would make up so many of the meaningful moments and memories that we would have on this trip, and I was so happy to be with them again. We sang and danced for what simultaneously felt like forever and not long enough before we embarked on a hike around the community.
Two members of the tribe, Viola and Pastor Jackson, showed us a few of the important places in the area. We saw several homes, animal keeps, and even some spots on the lakeshores. We spent a lot of time looking across the lake and skipping rocks to see if we could get to the other side of it. We didn’t. We stopped at their dispensary where they now have a full time nurse! He works there four days a week and helps take care of the sick people of the tribe. We spent a little extra time there since we decided to play a couple of games with the kids. After two hours of walking and seeing sights, it was refreshing to take some time to just hang out and play. We kept moving and eventually saw an incredible sight. A cow had just given birth, and was looking after its recently born calf. We got to witness the calf standing up for the first time, wobbling as it gained its strength, and taking its first steps on its own. We got to see the beginning of a life, and I thought that was incredibly special.
On this walk, one of the children wordlessly walked alongside me, grabbed my hand, and smiled at me. I took his hand, and asked him his name. Either I’m deaf or he didn’t say anything, but I didn’t hear him. I told him my name, and we continued to silently walk from place to place. The language barrier between us was very real, but equally very unimportant. I got to teach him how to skip a rock, and he showed me a few of his favorite things around the village. After the games he didn’t want to play at the dispensary, he still came to find me to walk with me on the way to our next destination. I don’t know much about this kid, but I know that we’re friends, and that’s all that matters.
We finally got back to the village after about three hours, and we had goat stew and chapati for lunch. After lunch, we had the rest of the time to hang out with the village kids. First up, Duck Duck Goose. I helped teach the game to the kids two years ago, and it was so cool to see how quickly the game came together (shoutout Monica for going 0/4 against the kids, they were awesome). We then played Tug-o-war, and those kids were something different to say the least. Against about 15 adults, 50 Komolion kids gave us a run for our money.
Finally, all tired out (us, not the kids), we headed back to the bus to leave for the day. When we made it back to the resort, the fun times didn’t end. Many of us went to the pool to take a swim before eating dinner. A few of the other guys and I tried to make a cool video out of some well-times jumping and a football, but after countless failures and what I’m sure was a full storage space on the GoPro, we didn’t manage to get it. But rest assured, dear reader, we will be trying again tomorrow. After dinner, the shenanigans continued. Today, we celebrated Dr. Montierro’s birthday, and the wonderful staff at the resort helped us celebrate in a big way. They decorated a small building, threw down some beats, and hosted a little party for her. We danced like we hadn’t been walking all day, and partied like it was 1999 (I assume). This marks the first of several birthdays on this trip, and I can’t wait to celebrate them all with my forty-eight closest friends.
The party was a great way to end a full day of exploration and celebration, and we all headed to turn in for the night. Tomorrow, we’ll be heading back to the Komolion village, break into service teams, and put boots on the ground to do some incredible work for this community that we love and loves us just as much. It’ll be a long and eventful day, so stay tuned!
Special shoutout to my grandmother, Nini. I wish you could be here to see all of the incredible things we do and share in the memories I’ve made, but I’ll tell you all about them when I get back. I love you!
-Stefan “Lost in America” James