Nytår på Lipela

Mens Peter og Jane var på Lipela omkring årsskiftet 2010-11, besøgte jeg børnehjemmet i en uges tid, og jeg var så heldig at kunne fejre nytåret sammen med hele storfamilien Lipela.

Nytåret begyndte med, at børnene på Lipela 2 blev hentet over til Lipela 1, så alle kunne fejre nytår sammen. Efter aftensmaden ankom den lokale teatergruppe GATUNE (navnet er kikuyu og betyder ”rød”) med diverse rekvisitter, og da deres musikanlæg var rigget til, var vi klar til fest.

Først optrådte børnene – pædagogen Rose havde indøvet forskellige tromme-, sang- og dansenumre med dem; de spændte fra kirkelige sange, hvor man takkede for alt det gode, til velkomstsange, hvor gæster til Lipela efter tur blev budt velkommen og svarede med deres eget dansenummer – øh altså, de af os, der opfattede hvad det gik ud på, det gik først op for mig bagefter …

Så var det GATUNEs tur; de opførte en hel række små sketch, der vakte stor jubel og bl.a. handlede om, at det kan gå én godt i livet, selv med en hård start som forældreløs, og om, at man sagtens kan være glad og have et godt liv, selv om man ikke har mange penge.

I mellemtiden var teen blevet klar, og Peter og Jane forklarede, hvad det danske skåleritual går ud på, for dem der ikke havde prøvet det før, og så sagde vi alle sammen SKÅÅÅL. Der blev skålet i dejlig varm te, for det var jo om aftenen, solen var væk, og det var køligt både ude og inde, også her nogle få km fra ækvator, men i ca. 2000 m’s højde. Resten af aftenen blev der danset, og danset, og danset.

Nytårsdag stod den på udflugt i minibusser til den nærmeste større by Nanyuki en 25-30 km væk. Her var målet hotellet Sportsman’s Arms, som har både swimming-pool og lavvandet børnepool. Ingen af børnene kunne svømme; men de kunne plaske, og det gjorde de med stor begejstring, selv om det faktisk var lidt småkoldt. Peter & Janes søn Baba optrådte desuden som svømmelærer for de ældste.

Da alle havde plasket sig trætte, og hotellets tamme skildpadder var blevet grundigt studeret, var det tid at tage videre til en restaurant i gå-afstand fra Sportsman’s Arms, hvor menuen stod på kylling, pom’friter og sodavand. Det tog tid at få så mange mennesker affodret – vi var ca. 50, og jeg var imponeret over, at så mange børn kunne være så tålmodige og i det hele taget eksemplariske i så lang tid. Alle var dog glade, da minibusserne dukkede op igen, og vi kunne komme hjem til henholdsvis Lipela 1 og Lipela 2.

Den aften var der en del, der var godt trætte, og selv de små krudtugler ved 1. bord til venstre i spisesalen, Lipelas yngste, der havde startet døgnet med at danse igennem nytårsaften, havde ikke meget krudt tilbage, da det var tid til aftensmad.

Birte H. Christensen

Der er videoer fra dagen herunder. Det er lettest at højreklikke og vælge 'Gem som' eller 'Save as' så du kan hente og se videoerne:

Nytaarsfest1 (166MB)

Nytaarsfest2 (187MB)

Swimmingpool1 (31MB)

Swimmingpool2 (83MB)

New Year at Lipela

While Peter and Jane were at Lipela this winter, I spent a week at the orphanage and had a chance to celebrate the turn of the year with the Lipela extended family.

First all the children from Lipela 2 were taken to Lipela 1 for the celebrations. After supper the local theatre group GATUNE (“red” in Kikuyu) arrived with their gear, and when they had finished testing their music equipment, Lipela was ready to party.

The children gave the first performance. Staff member Rose had rehearsed a performance of singing, dancing, and drumming with the children. The performance included church songs where the children thanked for all the good things, and songs of welcome where visitors were welcomed to Lipela and then answered with a dance of their own – well, those of us who caught the meaning of the song, I didn’t until later …

The GATUNE group were next. The sketches they presented received enthusiastic applause; some of them were about getting a tough start in life, for example as an orphan, but still doing well, and others were about being happy and having a good life even with very little money.
Now tea was ready, and Peter and Jane explained the Danish habit of greeting each other by saying “SKÅL” for those who were new to that practice, and then we all joined in saying SKÅÅÅL. We toasted each other with nice hot tea, for it was late, the sun was long gone, and the night was chilly even here a few km from the Equator, but at an altitude of 2000 m. The rest of the night was spent dancing, and dancing, and dancing.

On the first day of the new year we all went on an outing in minibuses to Nanyuki, at 25-30 km the nearest city. We were headed for the Sportsman’s Arms Hotel where there is a big swimming pool as well as a smaller children’s pool. The children were delighted – none of them could swim, but they could splash, and splash they did with much enthusiasm, although the day was actually a bit chilly. Peter & Jane’s son Baba gave swimming lessons to the older children.

When everybody had splashed around long enough, and the tame tortoises on the hotel lawn had been thoroughly inspected, it was time to move on to a restaurant within walking distance of the Sportsman’s Arms, where we had booked tables for lunch. Chicken, chips, and fizzy drinks for about 50 people: it took a while for everyone to get fed, and I was impressed that so many children could be so patient and generally well-behaved for so long. We were all happy, though, when the minibuses turned up again to take us back to Lipela 1 and Lipela 2 respectively.

That night it was a bunch of very tired children that poured into the dining room for their supper, and the youngest ones at table no. 1, whose last 24 hours had included dancing, “swimming”, hiking, and a restaurant meal, were definitely at the end of their forces.

Birte H. Christensen