Hey Mom—we’re all good here, J. And to other parents too, everyone else will write soon.
Today, we toured the grounds of IPI. As a part of the tour, we visited one of the family farms, belonging to “Mamma Sophie.” She and her husband began with a look inside their home—followed by a glimpse at their farmlands and soon-to-be-harvested-crops. Mamma Sophie and her husband hung their pictures everywhere inside their house—Kenyans like to memorialize their favorite moments in photos. The most interesting thing to me, however—the most lasting images in my mind, were the times at which Mamma Sophie shoved the camera into someone’s hands (her husband, our tour guide Enoch, anyone close really) and insisted on a group photo. Her face lit up at the sight of her memorialization of us—American teenage tourists she had just met.
Something about the way that the people here at IPI, and even around us in Meru and Nairobi, take such joy out of the smallest moments in life. We could all use more smiles and laughter.