APU: Moo! (Yip, they had their hands in cowdung today)

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Originally uploaded by Boyznberry

Cows! What do you think when you see or hear the word cow? I think I speak for all of us when I say that this trip has definitely changed the way we will see or view them, ever again. Did you know that there are so many ways you can use cows? You can trade them for a wife, you can drink their milk, you can eat their meat, you can use their hide, you can tip them over, you can use their feces, you can artificially inseminate them…

(Click on the picture to see more photos from today.)

Alright, so let’s dive in straight to the “chunks” of the day (take that however you want to). Many people here in Kenya make their houses out of sticks, a tin roof, and mud mixed with special ingredient number two (which we shall call “moo” for mud and poo – though Laban told us tonight it’s not poop, it’s cowdung.). So a house made of moo, needs a lot of maintenance and care because the moo will deteriorate and crack. Just about every week (sometimes everyday for kitchens) the women would gather up cow dung and fine mud, and they would then mix it to form moo. They would then smear this stuff on their walls and floor to give it a good base coat. It’s kind of like stuck-o or cement, but that stuff is expensive. Did I mention that they do this bare hands and feet?

So today, we were blessed with the opportunity to experience what these women go through all the time. We collected cow dung and mud and mixed it with water to form moo. As you can imagine, none of us has ever done anything like this before. I don’t think before today that any of us has ever even touched poo, more so do it voluntarily. We then got on our bare hands and knees and smeared moo on the floors of three rooms. Even though, some people hesitated a little, some more than others, we all did it and did it joyfully. We sang songs about it and would joke around saying “Who flung poo?”

All I can say is, what a humbling experience! I think Steve said it best when he said, “My job satisfaction back home has just sky-rocketed!”. It really was great though, to be able to experience what these people go through, and they do with no complaints.

When we came back, we ate ground beef for lunch and showered. We then came to hang out with the kids and the S.O.S (Save our souls) children’s village, which came to visit. After the S.O.S people left, it was more time to play with the kids. Zach, Steve, Becca, and I play football (soccer) with the kids. While that was happening, Diana, Devon, and Brittany, was called over to witness the artificial insemination of a cow. The guy stuck his hand inside the cow to grab the uterus. His whole arm was pretty much in there, you only could see his shoulder. Then once he had hold of the uterus, he took a prod and injected some high quality Canadian bull sperm into the cow.

So pretty much, just to recap the day, we drank chai for breakfast which was made with cow’s milk, then we went and smeared their poo (or moo), at the house of one of the ladies working in the training center. Afterwards we ate ground beef for lunch then, a few of us had the wonderful opportunity to see a cow get artificially inseminated.

This trip has just been a great blessing and we are all experiencing new things each and everyday. For instance, this week, we’ve got to push a van out of the mud because Adele has managed to get the van stuck in the mud, twice, on different days, but in the same place. We each also got to plant our own trees. What else is there to say? Nuff said.

Peace,
Adriel Oka



P.S. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your love, support, and prayers. We look forward to sharing with you if and when we come back.