First Days in Iten

Having a great time in Kenya!!  We have just finished our first full day in Iten, although it feels like we’ve been here for a week.  Our travel to Iten was a full day on Sunday.  We awoke early to the sounds of roosters crowing near our hotel.  By 6am we were at the domestic airport preparing to board our flight to Kitale, which is near Iten.  We were somewhat surprised to find that the 10 members of our party would be the only people on the flight.  We were even more surprised to board an old bush taxi plane with no separation from the cabin and the crew.  Definitely a new experience for us all!  But I don’t think that any of us would have traded the views we had aboard the plane.

Once landing in Kitale we were escorted by buses from the High Altitude Training Center to a meeting with 2012 Boston Marathon Champion Wesley Korir.  Wesley and his Canadian wife Tarah were incredibly hospitable and were excited to find ways for Strive Kenya to partner with some of the projects he is working on in the area.  He has such a great perspective on life and I think that we were all better off for having visited with him.  Despite being a busy Member of Parliament in Kenya he gave us most of his morning and Tarah even took time to show us around his parents’ home.  What a great experience!

Finally we arrived at Iten to a warm shower, a good meal, and a full nights rest.  Our first run was this morning and everyone did great!  We also made our first visit to Kamariny Primary School where we will spend most of our mornings in Iten.  We were introduced to every class and were overwhelmed with the love and respect we were shown.  Strive Kenya has definitely had a major impact on these kids in the past and we are excited to continue the tradition.  The group has been tasked with helping to teach math and English lessons and we will begin those in the mornings.  What a great opportunity to make a personal impact on these children.  

So a full day so far and we still have so long to go.  Everything has been great at the HATC and the group is in high spirits.