Colleen Roberts and I have been enjoying life in the Mbaranga Parish located in the Mt. Kenya foothills. I visited the same area with local clown Steven Dimon in 2009. The area has developed greatly since my last visit. They now have a clinic, 2 new school buildings, a dormitory and electricity to most of the village. Our host Patrick Mugambi is a great and generous leader. He has shown us water sources, classrooms, construction techniques, farming, and an inside perspective of the Kenyan culture.
We are surrounded by the children of the village wherever we go. There is no word for clown in Swahili, so I have begun to call myself clown when they ask my name to get the word into their vocabulary. Our shows have been very well received; the waves of laughter touching my heart as I live my dream of bring smiles to the world.
Everyone here is interested in America and wants to practice their English with me. In Mbaranga I have friends and familiar faces that want to show me their way of life and to share a cup of tea or a meal. No matter where you are in the world, people are just people, who want to laugh and love and be healthy.
