Going to Lowa

Today in the morning, I went to give my workshop with the beads women. They are busy because they are making some bracelets for Father Memo, who is going to give some of them in a seminar promoted by the church. Anyway, these women are the hardest group to work with in Barsaloi because they are usually busy working their beads and they don’t want to stop for a class. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to convince them to meet in another place different from their workplace. Today, for example, I got there at noon, the time that sister Katherine told me to, but the women said they were busy and I couldn’t work with them. This was frustrating, but there was nothing else I could do. I just had to accept it.

In the afternoon, Sister Rosario, Katherine, eight women from a prayer group called St Francis, and I went to Lowa. Lowa is a small village 45 minutes away from Barsaloi. We had to cross the river to get there but it had a lot of water because it has been raining a lot (people say that this is the climate change). We had to wait for almost two hours until the water went down and we were able to cross the river (I forgot to tell you, there is not bridge).

While we were waiting at the edge of the river I talked to Angela, a Samburu woman who is around 40 years old (here the women look young, it’s hard to guess her age). Her parents married her off when she was around 15 years old (remember, Samburu people don’t count the time). She had 5 children. During her marriage she suffered from domestic abuse so she ran away to another city with her children. In Samburu tradition the children belong to the father, but her husband didn’t try to look for them when she left so she was able to keep her children. She has been working very hard for the last 20 years to provide food, education and a mayata for her children. Her first child has a mental problem due the aggressions she received.  Her second daughter got pregnant when she was 16 and she is now the mother of a 4 year old girl. Angela was telling me that she still wants her daughter to undergo female genital mutilation FGM, even if she is 20 years old. She thinks that her daughter is not responsible enough and behaves like a girl because she hasn’t had the FGM. In Samburu tradition, the girls who have had FGM are considered women and the rest are considered girls, even if they are adults. Angela told me that when she was circumcised she bled a lot so she drank blood with milk to recover. The only thing you can’t drink is water. I guess to not make you to go to the bathroom. In this tradition the one who are able to overcome such pain finally becomes a woman!!! I used all my wisdom to make her understand why we don’t become women just because of a surgery. Here, girls  are refusing to have the FGM little by little and the government is beginning to penalize this practice with jail. But the traditions are very strong. The way this society pushes the girls to accept FGM is by not allowing them to get married or treat them as a small girls. So, if a girl has good parents who support her to not have the FGM it is a blessing but if not she has to escape. There is no other alternative.

Finally the water, of the river, went down. We closed the windows and we crossed the river!! Sister Rosario is a very good driver!! But 10 mins after we crossed the river we got stuck in the mud and the car almost flipped over. It was scary!! I was so scared I couldn’t even take any pictures Sister Rosario told all of us to push the Land Rover to get out of the mud. We were very lucky that at that time (around 9pm) two other SUVs drove by with a lot of men. Good!! We received help and we went out. OMG!! What an experience!!

After all these events we finally got to Lowa around 10pm. The shepherd’s children, some women and some men were waiting for us when we arrived. While the sisters and the women were getting ready to celebrate the word of God, I sang with the children, I read them a book and I told them a story. After these, the ladies introduce themselves. They are very proud of being part of theSt Francis prayer group. Even after all the problems we had on the way to Lowa, they were very happy and singing all the way. For me it was like when you go out a Friday with your girlfriends for a happy hour, going to Lowa was the free time for them!!

The sisters and I spend the night in a room with two beds. To go to the bathroom I had to walk outside (around 20 steps) in a very dark night bats flying over my head. It was very scary!!