Visit to Stemak Gardens
August 20, 2018
A scholarship girl is very grateful to hear that she will receive a Valvisions scholarship to College, she was so happy to hear the news and asked that we convey her sincere gratitude to Valvisions. She will join college in December when the rest of the girls resume their classes. Another new scholarship girl should also be able to join at the same time.
The girls are on their 3rd week of college; they will close this Friday on the 24th. We met them yesterday and had lunch together. They are well and looked happy. I talked to them about the women only village and they were very excited to hear about it, and they look forward to visiting the place.
Snakes are a real menace in Pokot, the area has some of the most venomous snakes in the country. Many people have been bitten, and lives lost in the process. Those that survived the attacks have scars to show for it. Janet, one of our girls, has been a victim of a snake bite, and her legs still swells every so often. I had lunch with the girls at Stedmak Gardens. They keep animals like lions, different species of exotic and rare birds, Cheetah’s and snakes. The girls were very eager to see the snakes, they wanted to see the different types of the dreaded serpents. They have nothing but fear of snakes, like most of us do. They were taken through the park by a guide and given a lecture on each snake and shown the anti-venom that is kept in the park to treat snake bites. The problem is that the anti-venom is very hard to get in most places. The girls were surprised to know that it even exists; in their culture they treat all ailments with traditional herbs, even snake bites.
It was hard to convince them that most snakes are harmless unless provoked or cornered, and that killing them is not good. In Africa, we believe in killing the snake and asking questions later, and so to drive the point home, the guide asked who would be willing to touch a snake, a young python, and Alexine was brave enough to try. The rest of us watched from a safe distance, the fear was real!
The girls went back to college, and we agreed to meet on Thursday. The results of their teaching practice should be out before they go home, and we will pick them from the college.
