January 16 | Arrive in Republic of Kenya, Africa
This morning I arrived in the Republic of Kenya, the world’s forty-seventh largest country. At 224,961 square miles, it is a little smaller than the state of Texas. Kenya is located in Eastern Africa and has a population of 36,913,721. Although there are numerous local languages in Kenya, English and Kiswahili (Swahili) are the official languages. Kenya is also a country where 50% of its people live in poverty. There is little work and many people suffer from disease. It is also a country of orphans because of the great number of adults who have died from HIV/AIDS. Currently, there are an estimated 1.2 million people with the disease. Heifer International is doing what it can to help the people of Kenya. It has brought in livestock and trained farmers to manage the land better and has partnered with other organizations to care for AIDS orphans. Despite these problems, the Kenyans enjoy more freedom than any of their neighbors due to its relatively stable democratic government, under President Mwai Kibaki.

Kenya is a vast country of many contrasts, and I am looking forward to seeing all the sights beginning with the capital city Nairobi, where I have landed today.