Maurice

So, today was our first full day in Mukinge.  We began by sleeping in and taking our time.  After visiting the Academy and secondary schools, we walked to a store that is run by Jennie's former student, Maurice.  Maurice is close to my age and along with running the store, he runs his family farm. When we get to the store, we greet him and see the store.  He asks us if we have a little bit of time to see the farm... since it was "right down the road." Well, it was not close, and it was not right down the road! In fact, it took about 45 minutes in his car, each way! We were just thankful he had a car and we did not have to walk there! I suppose I should also mention that the road is made of red dirt... not cement!  Since it was the dry season, all the dirt and dust was seeping through the doors and windows and getting all over our clothes and into our airways!

While on the way to the farm, we passed many villages.  It was neat to see the differences between them all.  Some had a lot of land, some had only a little.  Some had only one hut/house, some had more.  We saw a lot of people walking, some with shoes, some without.  We saw a couple of kids playing with a large tire.

Finally, when we arrived at the farm, we had to walk a bit to get to it.  Which meant crossing the stream! As you can see below, the men crossed with no trouble and left us ladies to take care of ourselves!

As we walked the path, we approached the area where the care takers of the farm lived.  There were a couple of homes and a "kitchen," which is simply a shelter where they cook their food. The walls of the homes are made of clay bricks and the roof is made from a straw-like material called thatch. I asked Maurice if the rain ever comes in the roof.  He said, "no, no it does not come in...never."  I asked him this because when we were in there, I could see the sun shining through the thatch.  A couple of seconds later, he said, "It just leaks a little."

He took us for a walk to show us the rest of his farm which is about 200 hectares (480 acres.. I think!).  He has many vegetables including eggplant, cabbage, rape, and maize.  He had pigs, chickens, fishponds, and some banana trees!

He also grew carrots and had one of his workers pick some for us.  Which worked out because we needed something to bring to the missionary's potluck that night!

We finished our tour and Maurice drove us back to our guesthouse and we went to the "take away" which is a restaurant.  They did not have any food left... just scones.  They were good!

I should also mention that Maurice is a very good artist, but it is not easy to get supplies.  First of all, he has to have the money for them.  And second, he has to travel to the city to buy them.  If anyone reading this would like to pay for a piece of art (which may take a while to get here) or donate money for his supplies, let me know.  

More to come....