A helping hand (and feet)

Inevitably our lives here are getting busier, juggling play dates, sports fixtures, homework, a growing social life and work with a shared family desire to get out and about and see the fantastic sights the region has to offer. And its easy to get wrapped up in all of that and fail to do anything meaningful for those around us who are so much less privileged. Read some very moving examples on a friend's great blog On the threshold of Africa

I have good intentions to get properly involved with something and really admire the dedication and commitment to others of our many friends here with various humanitarian causes. But until I get my act together to do that we are just trying to live our life in a way that recognises the world we live in and helps others, if only in very small ways.

Last month our lovely eskari's wife lost the much wanted baby she was carrying and we all wanted to find a way to help them. I sought advise from Kenyans and an experienced expat, recognising that infant mortality and miscarriages are so much more a part of life here that society's reaction might be different. But the consolidated view was that sweet tea (tea bags, a large bag of sugar and loaves of bread to help the family cater for the numerous callers they could expect after church on Sunday) and sympathy (in the form of kind words and hard cash) would be the right support. So not that different really.

We also support some more formal charities. Tim has a small sum taken from his wages each month and donated to local good causes, the kids' school has fundraising events mainly for charities supporting children in the nearby slum, holiday football training has been provided by a coach who was trained by and now works with one such charity and we always find homes for clothes, toys and shoes that we have outgrown. Its not much in the grand scheme of things but it does keep the reality of others' situations in our minds. And Matthew is busy learning his scouts' promise to help others - it's not entirely clear to me that siblings really are exempt from this commitment!

As for the helping feet, Tim is doing a fair bit of running here and took part in the Nairobi half marathon at the weekend. This annual event was this year raising money for Seeing is believing. It's been much hyped on the local radio stations that provide the soundtrack for the school run and so the kids were able to explain to Tim just how his feet were helping reduce preventable blindness. I'm not sure how much he heard as he jumped into a pool to cool off and let his muscles relax.

Anne