It's Official! There are Kuku at Mbaruku!

200 Chicks in a box! All strapped in, ready to hit the road!

Well friends, the news is good! After waiting for most of the day for the shop to call and report that the chicks were all ready for transport Tami, George and I left the chicken shop in Embul-bul and set out to deliver the 200 noisy little chicks to their new home in Mbaruku! We arrived at the camp around 5PM and found all of the residents eagerly awaiting the special delivery. Dust Babies, Dust Mamas and Dust Bwanas were huddled around Jenniffer Yard (yes, you read correctly - J E double N I double F E R - I love Kenya) waiting to get a glimpse at their new source of lively hood.

The Dust Babies send their thanks to all of you generous
contributors! Thank you, so much, for your donations,
this whole project is possible because of you!

Once again, George the host dad saved the day! I would have had no idea how to get the jiko (charcoal heated incubator) going or how to arrange the coup for the first few weeks, but George was all over it! He made sure that everything was in working order, clean and prepared before letting the chickens out of their box and into their new home. Tami and I just stood back and let things happen, both of us at a bit of a loss for words. After all of the planning and hard work, there are actual kuku at Mbaruku! I still can't believe it and certainly can't communicate my feelings in words quite yet. There's something so special about seeing a project like this come to fruition and I only wish that Clare, Lauren, Lyndsay, Heather and Nikki could have been there to share in the joy with Tami and me.

The baby chicks, packed safely in their boxes, about
to be released into their new home!

I really cannot thank all of you enough for your support, donations, encouragement and prayers. From the beginning, this was meant to be a community project, and I'm delighted that it has become just that in two regards. Not only have the residents of Mbaruku IDP camp come together as a community by becoming chicken farmers, but my own community of friends and family have come together to see that Mbaruku succeeds. In a few months time this project will start to turn a profit for the IDPs and will greatly assist them in the rebuilding of the lives they lived prior to the election violence in 2007. They will rebuild homes, send their children to school and, as a community, be stronger than they were before. Again, thank you for coming together and helping me assist them in this way.

Adult residents at Mbaruku, eager to get a look at the baby chicks.

After a full day of traveling, the one day old chicks
are eager to get a taste of the chick mash.