A matatu collected us from the ‘Y’ to take us, together with the Masai family and Johannes’ family, to Kipao, an Orma village beyond the Tana River. Before we had gone very far, the matatu got a puncture. (Are you sure matatu doesn’t mean three-wheeled vehicle?) The puncture was soon fixed and both the land rover and matatu continued on their way. We stopped some distance down the Tana River, at a canoe crossing. Carrying daypacks, bottles of water and big bags of food and plates, we squatted down in the canoe. It took two crossings before we all made it over, some of the girls complaining that their bodies had become confused by the now familiar squatting position required for toilets in Garsen.

We visited the school in Kipao, where Evelyn and Mullen, two Sheepfold workers, taught. Sheepfold had helped to provide some equipment, including Domestic Science equipment in order to encourage more girls to go to school. As it was the last day of term, we maybe shouldn’t have been too surprised by the high level of absence. We then proceeded to visit a number of Orma houses, including the house that Evelyn and Mullen had built for themselves.