Brian and Steven have been with us at Agape for about a year and a half. Strangely enough, Brian is Steven's uncle, even though they are only about three years apart in age. We've struggled in finding viable options for reintegration for the two boys, so we were really excited to recently learn that Brian's maternal grandmother (Steven's great-grandmother) was living in Tanzania.
460 Kilometers Round Trip - About 3.5 hours of driving each way.
Now, crossing the border into Tanzania is both easy and difficult. It's really easy if you do it illegally, but much more difficult if you cross the border by the rules. To make things much more difficult, I had a distinct desire not to end up in a jail cell on child trafficking charges, so we had to make sure that we had all of the right paperwork in hand prior to crossing border with two Kenyan children. After a bunch of paperwork, we finally got everything straight and were ready to head to Tanzania.
Agape does around 130 visits a week to children's homes all over Kenya, and almost all of these visits are done by Agape's Kenyan staff using public transportation. Because of the distance that had to be traveled, plus the border crossing, I volunteered to drive so that the trip could be completed in one day. We departed Kisumu around 7:30 AM and arrived at the Tanzanian border at 10:30 AM. We were making great time . . . then the border!
The Kenyan side of the Tanzanian border.
The border is not terribly impressive. I had to pay a guy 150 shillings ($2.00) to go into the border area where I was guided to park in front of an immigration building. A man then approached me and began assisting me in visiting the different offices and filling out the required paperwork to cross the border. For foreigners considering a border crossing into Tanzania, here's a list of what you will need:
Passport
Proof of Yellow Fever Vaccination
$100 US (2003 or newer bill) - 3-month multiple entry visa
Original Vehicle Logbook (Title)
Tanzanian Car Insurance - 3,500 KSh ($45 US)
Payment to Kenyan Paperwork "Helper" - 500 KSh ($6 US)
Payment to Tanzanian Paperwork "Helper" - 500 KSh ($6 US)
The first issue we ran into at the border crossing was that I failed to bring a copy of my truck's log book. Normally, you never travel with your log book, because if your car is stolen the thief will have all of the documentation to claim that the car belongs to him. Anyway, the folks at Kenyan Revenue Authority were very kind and allowed me to provide a copy of the logbook instead. So, one of my managers scanned and emailed me a copy of the logbook. I then had to walk out into the town outside the border to access my email and print a copy of the logbook. Here's where I printed my logbook:
Kenyan Cybercafe
Once I had all of my paperwork straight, we were now ready to cross over into Tanzania. About this time I realized that the Kenyans and Tanzanians were crossing the border without showing any paperwork at all . . . they just walked across! On the Tanzanian side of the border things went more smoothly. It was just really expensive! $100 for a 3-month visa. The Kenyans with me didn't have to pay anything, though.
Winnie, Brian, Steven, and Julius - Brian's half-brother
We also had to buy Tanzanian car insurance when we arrived, which was a surprise. I tried to convince the Tanzanians that I didn't need their insurance, but I was quickly overruled. So, with a new insurance sticker, we drove on to Brian's and Steven's maternal home in Tarime, Tanzania.
While the terrain of Kenya and Tanzania are very similar, what struck all of us was the different styles of house in Tanzania. Every house that we saw in Tanzania was made of brick (a rarity in Kenya where most rural house are made of mud and dung) until we arrived at our destination . . . and found a very traditional Kenyan home.
The compound was surround by a 10-foot fence to keep out cattle thieves.
Now, I have been in many Kenyan homes throughout Nyanza and Western Provinces, but I have never seen a compound quite like this one. The compound was surrounded by a 10-foot fence made of sticks and logs - it looked more like a fortress!
Inside the Compound
One of the unique things about this compound was that the enclosure for the family's cattle was located inside the compound. After speaking with the family more we learned that Brian's grandfather was murdered by cattle thieves, so it helped us all to understand all of the family's security precautions!
Inside the compound #2
Upon our arrival, the family was thrilled to see the boys. Here is a short video of our initial arrival in the compound:
Here is another video showing a 360-degree look at the family's home:
Within this video you can see the granaries built into the walls of the compound for the storage of corn to make ugali, Kenya's staple food. When we arrived, Brian's grandmother insisted that we stay for a meal. Soon, a chicken was chased around the yard and eventually slaughtered for our meal.
Winnie, Steven, and Brian wait as a meal is prepared.
Some of Brian's and Steven's family members.
One of Brian's & Steven's aunts cooks a meal for us.
One of Brian's and Steven's nieces.
Our meal: Chicken, Soup and Ugali (corn meal)
Brian, Steven, and their family!
The photo above really shows such an incredible contrast - a traditional Kenyan home with a cell phone tower in the background. You see this throughout East Africa - modern technology right next to traditional living.
Corn drying on the shoulder of the highway.
We ended up leaving the grandmother's home at 4 PM and amazingly made it back to Kisumu not long after dark at 7:30 PM. Thank you Lord for a safe trip!
Please pray for us as we continue to seek the Lord on
whether this home may be a good fit for them. Also, please pray for
Brian and Steven that God would draw them to this home if this is where
He wants them. Lastly, pray for our wisdom considering that Brian is
HIV positive. We want to ensure that wherever we place him that he can
receive proper medical care to stay healthy!
