Going to Uganda!

This is my sponsor child, Rebecca Atuheire, standing in front of her school, CUS. I have been sponsoring Rebecca for a little over 2 years, when my Mom first paid for a year of her schooling as a Christmas gift to me in 2008. Ever since then I have felt a strong connection with Rebecca. She is so smart and has grown up so fast, and every letter she writes me, she asks when I will come and meet her.

I am excited to write her and let her know that I am coming!! (Yes, I cannot get through even a month without planning my next trip. I am also working on planning my next next trip with Chris to Central America next Dec/Jan!!!)

I just booked my flight at $1620.95 to go to Uganda with my friend, Kate, who has been once before and who volunteers as the Sponsorship Coordinator for Rebecca's school, CUS. I will be gone from May 15-28 and am sooo excited. I always get nervous, right after paying for the flight, as it's a whole lot of money, but it always works out. I managed to do this when I was still in University, so it shouldn't be as big of a stress now that I am working and am able to put away more in my savings for the future, and have enough leftover, between work and Blogs for a Cause, to pay for the trip.

The two times I have been to Africa I have been travelling with a group, but I have learned that I much prefer to travel with one friend; planning my own schedule and doing my own thing. I am excited to see Africa in a way that I haven't experienced yet. Most of my time will be spent working with Christian Upliftment School; teaching, doing sponsorship updates, home visits, taking the kids on special field trips, etc. I am hoping to also get to spend a lot of time with my other sponsor child, Adongo Kate, pictured underneath Rebecca at the bottom.

Our main project will be Hope Home, the rescue house where Rebecca will be moving soon. Working with the girls to make them comfortable in their new home, and making sure they have everything they need and it is a smooth transition for them. Rebecca just finished up p7, the final year of primary school, and passed her high school entrance exam with great marks. So she is saying goodbye to CUS, and moving on to high school. I paid for her high school fees today, and she will be starting in February. Currently, she is the only CUS grad that has the funds to go to high school, so we will be working on setting up scholarships for the other kids so that they can join her. This is especially true for the girls of Hope Home who won't have parents to support their education, and who will rely completely on their sponsors and on some income generating projects that will be set up. We have high hopes that these girls will go through high school and then college and will be able to support their communities in the future.

Like I said, I want to experience as much of Uganda as possible, and being in a small group with just Kate and myself, it will be much easier to do this than in my past trips to Africa. I am researching a ton of cool things to do like gorilla safaris and bungee jumping in the Nile River!

Now, leading up to my trip, I am just working on getting as many blog designs as possible over at Blogs for a Cause so that I can pay for the trip without too much stress, and can continue support both Andrielis and Rebecca through their high school education.

Planning/Implementing the Education Fund

All my life, I have had a passion for helping people in need. In the last five years, it has chanelled into a focus on international development, but my experience in the field has always been short-term; between 2 weeks and 2 months. On those trips, I have seen projects that truly empower those they work with, and others that lead to families relying completely on aid and not empowering them to be self-sufficient. Up until now, all my work has been guided through an NGO that is used to having short-term volunteers.

Recently, I have begun my very first self-led project; Andrielis' Education Fund. It is self-led in the sense that I am planning out her educational path on my own, with the help of a great group of friends with whom I am seeking advice. Working on my first self-led project has made me realize how complicated cross-cultural projects can be. There are so many potentials for issues arising due to the different ways that different cultures look at any given situation.

Example: It is important to me that Andrielis use her skills to give back to the community. In a community where many cannot read and write, these skills are valuable. A friend and I thought of the idea of having Andrielis tutor another young girl in the community for one hour every week. We thought about paying her $5 a week; half of which would go towards her school fees, and half of which she would have for spending money. In Canadian culture, this project would work great! But after discussing it over with friends, weighing the pros and cons, and thinking about every potential outcome, we realized that in a community where rates of poverty are high, and where Andrielis is being given a very special opportunity, this idea simply wouldn't work. a) Andrielis' parents are out of work. Having the 14-year old bringing in money, even such a small amount, would change the family dynamics and put the child in a place of power, which should never happen. b) We wouldn't be supervising the tutoring sessions. Andrielis has grown up in a Dominican public school where teachers often don't care, or don't know what they are doing. She hasn't had many good role models for teachers, and likely wouldn't know where to begin without having supervision and guidance. c) Andrielis is being given a special opportunity with her Education Fund, allowing her to get a strong education. Rather than paying her, we came to the conclusion that this opportunity is even better than being paid, and we have set up a way for her to *volunteer* her skills in the community once a week. She will be learning the value of giving back and supporting those less fortunate, while at the same time gaining skills in working with children and putting her education to use.

I don't think I would have been able to come to this conclusion several years ago, when my idea of "humanitarian aid" consisted of loading up a hockey bag full of stuffed animals and flip flops to deliver to families.

One tool that has taught me a lot, and think I think everyone in this field should sign up for, is University of British Columbia's Certification in International Development. I applied and was accepted at the end of last year, and while I am only in my first of five courses, I am learning *so* much, particularly about cross-cultural communication. It has been amazing.

The Certificate consists of five courses. There are 2 requirements:
Culture, Communication and Development (I am taking this now)
Dimensions of International Development

And then you pick three of the following electives:
Introduction to International Health and Development
Issues in International Health Delivery
Project Planning and Proposal Writing
Education and Development
Evaluating International Development Work
Migration and Displacement

I am trying to choose my electives. I am going to take Education and Development for sure, as that is my main passion and the area I hope to continue my work in. I think I will also take Project Planning and Proposal Writing; perhaps not as exciting, but seems the most useful. Still deciding on the last one...

If anyone is interested and wants to get a better idea of what this is about, let me know and I can pass on a few of our readings or assignment topics. Again, the website is http://cic.cstudies.ubc.ca/cid/index.html

It has been such a useful tool for me in starting my first project! I also cannot stress enough the value of having a group of people to act as a sounding board. Sometimes a fresh perspective is all you need, and having people you can talk to who understand international development and can offer educated opinions is key. I am finally getting to the stage where I can look at every situation from different cultural lenses and think of every possible pro and con that might come up. I only wish I had taken it years ago!

April: One Year Later

Yes, I have an obsession. And that obsession is the beautiful April. But after spending the entire month of May with her, and the other amazing kids of SCH, it would be impossible not to love her as much as I do.

April taught me something special. She taught me about the value of life and about enjoying the little things. April, unable to see, stand, or speak, would never be able to hug me, thank me, or even wave at me. She taught me something simple; it isn't about me!!

April's abilities are unique. She is unable to see, but has the ability to make me see the importance of every milestone. She is unable to speak, but has the ability to love without limits. I think I said 'I love you' a record number of times that month, as my afternoons were often spent rocking April and making up songs about how special and amazing she is.

She made me see how there are no disabled people, there are only differently abled people.

I have been thinking about April today, as the Christmas oufit I sent in the mail should be arriving in India any day now, and thought I would post these photos showing her development. These photos span over the course of a year (Dec 2009, from when she arrived from the government orphanage - Dec 2010) and you can see how much she has grown and changed from a terrified, curled up ball of fear to a beautiful, smiling little girl. I can't wait to see the changes that will happen over the next year, and only wish I was there to spend that time with her.

Project Why

While I was in India, I spent time volunteering with Project Why, founded by Anouradha Bakshi. I was so impressed with Anouradha, the staff, and their way of empowering the children of the Delhi slums; putting to work the words 'giving a hand up, not a hand out'. With only the best motivates, and using education as their main tool, I loved what I saw and wish I could have stayed longer as I know I could have learned a great deal from Anouradha. Since I wasn't able to stay longer, I requested her interview and was so thrilled when we got to talking. I am excited to share this interview with you, as we can all learn a lot from her methods!

Tell us briefly what Project Why is about and how you came to found it.
Project Why was founded about 10 years ago as I felt I had a debt to pay back to society, having led an extremely privileged life myself. But the real kickstart happened when I met Manu, a disheveled, bedraggled beggar who was physically and mentally challenged and lived on the streets, riled by all, in spite of having a family. His plight disturbed me no end as I wondered how any self respecting society could allow this to happen. I made myself a silent promise to see that Manu had a home and lived in dignity. The fist step was to give him back his dignity in the street he was born, hence project why began. Manu did get a home 3 years ago but sadly passed away last week.

Some NGOs are quite successful, and others fail at their mission. What, in your opinion, makes for a successful NGO?
Success and failure are words that can have different meaning. Sometimes successful NGOs are those that are rich in resources but may be wanting in their mission, failure can sometimes mean lack of resources. What I personally feel is that a NGO should remain true to its initial mission and not get diverted by greener pastures. For that you have to remain grounded and ensure that you are there, on the field at all time.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? The most rewarding?
The most challenging is to raise funds and have people reach out and help. The most rewarding: the children's smiles, the proudly handed report card, the first step of one that could not walk, the first sound of the one that could not speak, the list is endless

What is the largest challenge for a child living in an Indian slum? How does poverty in urban India differ from poverty in rural India?
Space to live, play, run. Sunlight, fresh air, nutrition, education support, the conditions in urban slums are abysmal and not enabling at all. Rural children at least have access to better air, water, space, and even food but may lack in access to education

When North Americans are volunteering in India, what are the best things they can do to be respected and fit in within the culture? What are the worst things they can do, that would be certain to offend?
Just go with the flow, dress sensibly, be open and understanding. Indians are easy going and accepting of others. I do not think people would get really offended as Indians are quite accepting of others but as I said inappropriate dressing would be something that would raise eyebrows.

What is the best way that we, as North Americans, can support Project Why and the children of Indian slums?
A project like ours is small and hand to mouth so any contribution however small is welcome and goes long way. Volunteering your time is also something people can do as that is very enriching to children.

Blessings

During out last day in the Mara, many of us ended up staying back at camp to relax. I finished the book I was reading, The Horse Boy, and got halfway through Malcolm X. It was nice to relax in the sun (something I am missing now that I am back in the freezing Canadian winter!) and have a catnap during the afternoon. Every evening since we arrived, we had danced at some point, and that last evening was no exception. After speeches and thank yous (I will talk more about the thank you ceremony later) we had a staff talent show, which was lots of fun.

We were up bright and early the next morning to head out at 7am. After hugging the Kenyan staff goodbye, we got into the trucks and began the long drive, stopping only quickly a few times for bathroom breaks. Five or six hours later, we had finally arrived in Nairobi, at the market. We parked in the parking lot and had lunch, and then we split up; some of us went to the mall, and some to the market. With a few friends, I went first to the market. I had been warned about how crazy it is, but it wasn't unlike other markets I have seen in my travels, so it was nothing shocking for me. I ended up buying a few things; a doll (500 shillings- not sure why as I have absolutely no need for a doll, but it is beautiful, and everytime I passed it I would go on about how much I loved it, so everyone eventually convinced me to buy it!), a scarf (300 shillings), a pair of beaded sandals 1200 shillings), and some jewelry (less than 100 shillings per piece). It was all quite cheap, although I am often torn on haggling. On one hand, I am well aware that the sellers rip travellers off and charge them much more than they would charge Kenyans, however I am an advocate of fair trade, and believe in paying people a decent wage for their work. So I spent a lot of time converting shillings to CDN dollars in my head, and haggling a small amount, but being careful not to go too low.

We headed across the street to the mall next, which was like any Canadian mall I had been to. I got some snacks for the plane, and a Kenyan soccer jersey (1200 shillings), but much prefered the cultural excitment of visiting the market. Our last stop, before the airport, was the Carnivore; a restaurant in Nairobi that is quite famous as it sells a variet of different meats. Among other things served, I tried ox heart, buffalo balls, camel, and ostrich. I don't even like steak, so was not a huge fan of the food, but again; it was an interesting cultural experience. We drove to the airport from the Carnivore and our flight left at midnight. 7.5 hours to Zurich, 6 hour layover, 7.5 hours to Montreal, 6 hour bus ride, and I was finally home.

Several days after having arrived home, I am still catching up on sleep and recovering from jet lag. Looking back on the trip, I want to share one final (and quite magical) moment that stands out for me in my memories of Kenya. On the night when we first arrived, we walked up to the Kenyan staff who were greeting us with a song and dance, and it began to rain. They told us that in Kenya, because of the regular droughts, rain is considered a blessing. During our trip, it rained 2 more times. As we sat on the grass at the Grand Opening of Kisaruni Secondary School, a light rain began to fall as the Maasai men and women performed for us. On our last night, the sky had been cloudy all day. We sat in a huge circle at the camp as we were told the Maasai elders wanted to show us their appreciation. They came to the middle of the circle and began chanting and singing in the most beautiful voices; a sound unique to the Maasai culture that I cannot even begin to explain. As they began to dance in a circle, the skies opened up and the rain began to fall on us; lightly at first, and then harder as their song picked up. In Maasai culture, it is a token of gratitude to spit on someone, so a Maasai elder circled around us, taking a gulp of some type of liquid, perhaps milk, and spitting it across each of our faces. we could not tell the difference between the liquid and the rain as we enjoyed the blessing being placed upon us. Just a few short minutes later, they stopped. Their song was finished. As they retreated inside, closing the Blessing ceremony, the rain disappeared with them. Kenya, with all its hardship and poverty, will forever remain in my mind as a beautiful and magical place where blessings are abundant.

Enelerai

The Baraka Health Center is one aspect of our Kenyan programming that I have been really excited to check out. It opened just 2 and a half months ago and has seen over 1200 patients since then. It is beautiful and accessible to all the FTC communities. For those communities that are still a bit far away, we still do mobile clinics. Prior to this Center, the community members had to travel an hour by car to the nearest clinic. We toured the Center and saw the emergency room, the pharmacy and lab, the general patient room, the baby room, and the prenatal room. They even have an ambulance, and I was just so impressed with the passion of the doctors and nurses and the quality of the Center. The community members pay a small fee (to keep it sustainable) and they even have the only ultrasound machine in the entire region!

There are solar panels next to the Center that generates power for the clinic and secondary school, and a garden as well that provides fruit and vegetables. We have lunch programs in the schools; we buy maize and beans and the gardens provide all the supplementary food like spinach, kale, passion fruit, cabbage and guava. It was a long and interesting tour and I learned a lot about this program that I am going to take back to Toronto with me for all the donors.

We had a fantastic afternoon in the Enelerai community. Today was the very first day of school in the new school year, which begins in January. The education system is very strong in Kenya and students are very bright. Grades 1-3 go to school from 8am-12 and grades 4-8 go to school from 8am-5pm, so it is a very long and packed day. They get an hour and a half break for lunch, and two short breaks throughout the day, but they study very hard and the school system is strong. Compared to other countries I have worked in (namely the DR, as this is the one I know the most about) the education system in Kenya far exceeds my past experiences. Since the kids are so well educated, they can all speak English quite well, which was really exciting and made it easier for me to communicate with and get to know the students.

We arrived at the school in the afternoon, so grades 4-8 were still at the school, on their break. All the students ran over to us, excited to play games and meet us. We have two babies in our group, 9 months and 2 years, and while the boys all ran to play soccer, the girls packed in a huge circle around Ella and Arlo, just staring at them and poking them and wanting to touch them and sing to them. It was really precious. After awhile we were finally able to drag the girls away from the very overwhelmed babies. A few girls attached themselves to me (several of them were named Mercy; that is a very common name here). We sat in the grass and talked for a little while and I learned a little more about the girls; their names, number of siblings (all had at least 4 siblings), what they want to be when they grow up, etc. They all spoke about Kisaruni, our Girls Secondary School, and told me excitedly how they want to go.

Afterwards, they took me inside their classroom to show me what it looked liked, and we played and sang and dance. They taught me some Kenyan songs and dances and we taught each other words in Swahili vs. English. It was nice to meet these girls that I spend my days at work talking about and fundraising for. It certainly brings me a lot of motivation to go home and push my schools to fundraise more and to make Kenya a bigger part of their lives. The girls (and the boys too, I am sure) are beautiful and intelligent and very curious to continue their learning. At one moment, I was sitting in the grass with two students crowded on my lap and another three sitting around me laughing and I got overwhelmed with emotion; so proud to be able to meet these kids and be a part of the incredible group that is making this possible.

Safari Day

Today was Safari Day! We headed out to the Masailand at 6am and didn’t get back to camp until 6pm, so it was a long, but memorable day. Some of the animals we saw included elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, hippos, hyenas, baboons, impala, gazelles, buffalo, secretary birds, and ostriches. Kenya is known for its “Big Five”; the five animals that are most difficult to hunt; lions, leopards, hippos, elephants, and buffalo. Of those five, we managed to see the last three, but didn’t catch any glimpses of the cats. We saw a billion zebras and came to the analogy that zebras in Kenya are like squirrels in Canada!

The ride was really bumpy and we got stuck twice. The first time, we all got out and the warriors pushed the truck for awhile until we were back on the road. The second time, we were in the middle of the bush looking for lions. Our truck got stuck in a ditch and for a split second I thought we were going to tip! We have two babies in our group and we were all paranoid about getting stuck or tipped over with them in the truck (even though realistically, tipping over is probably impossible). But we managed to get through and on our way. The giraffes are absolutely beautiful and even though we saw so many zebras, I found them fascinating; how their stripes are black and white so that when they stand in a group, lions cannot pick one apart to attack and therefore it is easier to escape predators. The hippos were all in a water hole, and we saw them right after we were telling stories about killer hippos (apparently they are very dangerous) so that was interesting! Rhinos were our last animal to see before we left. There are only three in the area, and very few across Africa as they are nearly extinct. Unlike the rest of the animals in the Masai Mara, the rhinos are highly protected and kept in a fenced in area so they are easy to find. The others are all completely wild, but rhinos are so close to being extinct that they need high protection. We saw elephants at the beginning of the day and at the end. At the end, they were quite far away. At the beginning of the day, they were so close and we all got excited and started shouting at each other to look. By the time I had pulled out my camera, we had scared them away and I just missed them! They were beautiful though.

Since I didn’t get to see the cats, I guess I will just have to come back to Africa and do another Safari sometime! It was an incredible experience. Draining and tiring at times, being in the hot sun for so long (I was quite dehydrated by the end of the day) but so incredible. A Safari is something I have always dreamed about doing. Even though I have seen many of these animals before, it is so much more beautiful seeing them in the wild.

We got home at 6 and napped for an hour, exhausted after an early morning. After dinner we had Maasai Culture night. Our 9 tour guides are all Maasai warriors, and many of the communities we work in are Maasai communities. The culture fascinates me, and having been a cultural anthropology student, learning about culture is one of the things I love best about travelling, so I have been excited for this night for a long time. The warriors took us through the life of a Maasai person and told us about its history, ceremonies and traditions, and how things are changing with modernization, and how they are trying to find a balance between education and keeping their culture. I have spoken with these guides quite a bit over the extent of the trip, but hadn’t learned as much as I had tonight, and I was most excited to hear that 7 of the 9 had been college educated (many in tourism). I was so proud to hear that, as I have seen many people who become higher-educated who lose much of their culture. These men are still very much involved in the Maasai community and are working hard to maintain their culture. At the end, the warriors performed a Maasai song/dance for us, which was beautiful. I just love the Maasai culture and am looking forward to reading more about it when I get home. I will post a list of books and documentaries and movies about the Maasai culture soon, for anyone interested. After having spent the entire day outside, I realized that one thing I am really going to miss when I go home is just that. I am very much an indoorsy kind of girl, but here in Kenya I am very rarely inside. We wake up and eat outside, we travel in the vans with open back sides, and we are outside at the projects all day. The food is incredible and I am enjoying every moment; sleeping soundly and waking up not feeling tired, and really just feeling happy and healthy.

Making A House A Home

What a day! We slept in a little after New Year’s and then drove over an hour to the community of Sikirar to meet one of our women’s groups. On the drive, we caught a glimpse of zebras in the field, and yesterday I saw monkeys playing in the trees above our dining area. This community has four women’s groups made of 30 Mamas each, and the Mamas bead for our artisan program. We purchase the items off them at a very high price and sell them at our office in Toronto, as well as online. I have spoken about the Artisan program often, so to see the impact it truly makes on the Mamas was incredible.

Mama Leah (Robin’s Mama, for anyone who has read My Maasai Life) and Mama Helen, along with two other women in the group, sat down with us under the shade of a tree and taught us how to make their traditional Maasai jewellery. We used a piece of leather, a needle and string, and small beads, and learned how to make an intricate design that they use for a line of bracelets. After having pricked myself with the needle and having to call Mama Leah and Helen over several times to fix my mistakes, I most definitely appreciate the work that goes into their handicraft. They spoke, through the translation of Robin, about how Artisans has brought the women together, taught them about running a business, and allowed them to bring in a larger income to support their families. It was wonderful to meet them and learn about this jewellery, as this is something Maasai girls learn around age 12, and it is so beautiful and such an extreme and unique part of their culture.

In the afternoon we went to the community of Emori Joi to meet another Mama, Jane. This is not a Maasai community, but a Kipsigis community and Jane is the most amazing Mama ever. I was so deeply humbled after spending an afternoon with her. She is married and a mother of five children, ranging in ages from 8-30. Her school-aged kids attend FTC schools. She truly benefits from FTC in every way. She is in a women’s group and they use beekeeping as their income-generating program. She sells the honey to us at a good price. Her kids attend the school and live close to the new health clinic. She has also received training on health and has implemented many of these ideas in her home. She now has an outhouse, after learning about how going to the bathroom in the fields causes the waste to run down the hill and pollute the water they had been drinking from. She has a line to dry clothes so the bugs don’t get inside anymore, and dries her dishes outside on a dish rack so they no longer have an ant problem inside. They also no longer have a kitchen and bedroom in the same room.

Most importantly, Jane has benefitted from clean water. A borehole was dug in Emori Joi and community members can go to the water kiosk and purchase 20 liters of clean water for 2 shillings (to make it sustainable as this money goes to paying a community member’s salary to provide care/upkeep of the borehole). The average Canadian uses 340 liters of water every day. The average African household (not single person, but entire household) uses between 80-100. Prior to the borehole, Jane and her daughters would have to walk to the river many, many times a day to bring back water. Now, the borehole makes everything so much more easy and healthy. They do still use the river for washing clothes and watering their vegetable garden, so Jane took us on a water walk today to let us experience what it is like to fetch water. We walked about 20 minutes to the river, where a ton of kids were playing and bathing. We had yellow, 20-liter jerry-cans with a rope tied around them. We filled the can up with the murky water and fastened the rope around our heads so that the water balanced on our upper back. It took every muscle in my neck to balance the can and make it up the small hill to the main road. Heather and I switched back and forth as we both struggled under the weight of the water. I have seen women and young girls do this countless times, but I never really imagined not only the struggle of getting the water, but the amount of time it takes. It is no wonder that many girls do not go to school because this is like their job; they need to do this several times a day to provide for their families if they don’ t have access to clean water.

Back at Jane’s house, she was so excited to give us a tour. She is a hilarious woman, and as she spoke in Swahili, Robin would giggle before she translated and I knew something funny was about to be said. She would tell us “why my house is the most clever house” and the look of pride on her face as she showed us her toilet was truly humbling. Jane’s life has been changed from the work of FTC in every way possible. Through her women’s group, she has generated enough money to build the first brick house in her community. She stressed how important it was to her that it be made by her and with her money, as she wants to set an example for other women. After showing us her bees for beekeeping, her vegetable garden and toilet, she then showed us her house. As we sat inside on her couch and listened to Jane talk about this house, I was so touched. Her daughters had cut paper to make paper snowflakes and the entire ceiling was covered in them, along with a wilting Christmas tree in the corner. They had made every effort to make this house a home and the pride in her eyes is something I won’t forget. The house was beautiful. Standing next to her new house was her old house, a traditional Kipsigis hut. I see them everywhere we go and had always wondered what they looked like on the inside, so I was excited when Jane took us on a tour. The hut is circular with the main floor being broken up into two rooms; one for cooking/sleeping and one for the animals. In the animal room, there is a ladder made of sticks that leads to a second floor (which surprised me, I had no idea these pointed roofs were a second floor!) The floor is made of sticks tied together and it is very rickety; you can see right through the sticks to the room below. The entire house is very tiny; no bigger than my room at home; but it had held Jane, her husband, their 5 children, and their goats, chickens, cats, and dog before she built her new house, which took her 4 years to save for; ever since she first joined an FTC women’s group.

Jane is a true testimony of how a woman can lift a family out of poverty. This evening my team went to dinner with Marc and his wife Roxanne, and we went around the dinner table and shared our highlights of the trip so far. So many of us spoke of Jane, and how she inspires us in life and in our work. It is difficult to put it into words some of the things I see and experience when I am travelling. The days are long, I am tired and ready to crawl into bed. But after spending the night with me team, reflecting on all we had experienced as a group together, I am feeling emotional and proud to be a part of something so incredible. Jane is a smart and beautiful and powerful woman who is making a change in her community. When I think of why I do the work I do, I think of people like Jane and the 40 girls of the secondary school here in Kenya. They are truly the future of Kenya and the faces that I see when I am feeling down or discouraged. They are the true heroes.

Kenya Videos

Kenyan Boys Choir performing my favourite song on New Years:


Playing with the students (grades 7 and 8 girls of Enelerai school):


Mama Jane talking about Clean Water:


Community garden program:


Blessing from Maasai elders:


Playing with the girls of Enelerai:

Overcoming the Stigma

This morning we headed out to the Salabwek community, our largest school with almost 1200 students. Most of our team worked on building another classroom for the school, and Iryna and I spent most of the day taking videos. For our role as YPCs, we are to engage school groups who are fundraising for FTC’s projects (not only in Kenya, but also Ecuador, India, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, China, and Haiti). We made personal videos to some of our schools fundraising for Kenya (ex. Jambo Mrs. So and So and students from So and So School).We took videos showing them what the old schools looked like compared to the new schools so they can get an idea of where their hard work is going. I really want the students to fundraise not because their teachers tell them to, but because they feel a connection with Kenya and have a passion to make a difference, and I feel like this videos will help to build that connection and make it more personal.

I sat beside Robyn Wizowaty (author of My Maasai Life) on the ride and was really interested in hearing her stories. She spoke about how development in Kenya (and anywhere) takes patience and a deep understanding and respect of the culture. HIV/AIDS has a huge stigma here. They knew that simply talking to community members about HIV/AIDS wouldn’t work. Kenyans call it “the other sickness” or “the scary one” and will not speak about it. However, for people in these communities, TV is a rarity and they can count the times in their life that they have watched it. Knowing this, FTC got a TV and powered it with a car battery, and showed a Kenyan-produced film on HIV/AIDS awareness. They brought it to one classroom to show, but by the time the film started, everyone was so excited to watch TV that the entire community had crowded into the classroom. FTC made a question box for community members to write down anonymous questions and for the questions to be answered in a future meeting, so that they could learn in a less intimidating way. Change is being made, slowly but surely. It is the same with female circumcision and gender discrimination, two other issues that are quite prominent here.

When we got back we got ready for the most memorable New Year’s. The night began with a performance from the Kenyan Boys Choir, a group of 20 young Kenyan men who performed for Obama’s inauguration. They were incredible and I was moved to tears during their performance. Beautiful voices and a beautiful interpretation of African culture, as they sang songs from Kenya and across Africa. The group stayed on for the rest of the night as we had hired a DJ and danced into 2011. Smiles never left our faces and I will always remember bringing in 2011 in Kenya. Happy New Year’s!

Life Of A Girl

Imagine you are a 14-year old Kenyan girl in grade 8. You live in a small village several hours from a city, in a small hut with your parents and seven siblings. Unlike many of your friends, you have managed to escape circumcision and early marriage and while many girls in your community spend their mornings cooking, cleaning, and fetching water, you go to school. You are in grade 8 and have just written your exams to enter into high school. You scored at the top of your class, but even as you read these results, you can’t help but feel sad. There are no secondary schools in your village and your parents do not have the money to send you to a boarding school in the city. Your education is over.

This is what life was like for so many girls in our Kenyan communities. This morning we went to visit Enelerai, where FTC has built a school. We first visited the old school that hasn’t been used for the past 2 years. With a dirt floor, dirt walls, no chalkboard and falling apart desks, it was very difficult for the kids to focus. The new school is gorgeous. Each grade has its own classroom (one room schoolhouse) complete with chalkboards and nice desks. The library is stocked full of books and the borehole brings clean water right to the school. The kids have formed Environmental Clubs and Health Clubs which take care of the school garden (for food) and the flowers/trees at every classroom. When the school first opened, there were 4 times as many boys over girls. Now, in the entire school there are 4 more girls than boys.

Several years ago, the government of Kenya made primary education free and compulsory. That was on a Friday. On a Monday, 1 million new children began attending school for the first time. It is very difficult to accommodate all these children, and there are still very high rates (up to 40%, in one of our communities; Pimbiniet) of children not in school (generally due to child labour). The year of students who were the first to start school after primary education became free and compulsory are now in grade 8, about to start grade 9 (secondary school) in January. There are simply not enough teachers, resources, and schools in Kenya to accommodate all these students, and secondary school is not free or compulsory, so only about 10% of students actually go. This year, 80 girls graduated grade 8 in Kenyan FTC schools. 76 of those 80 applied to be the first year in our All Girls’ Secondary School, and we only had the resources to accept 40. It was a very difficult acceptance process with essays, parent interviews, and reference letters, but the 40 girls were told this very morning that they were accepted, and they will begin in January. It is a boarding school with our donors covering the fees, and their mothers volunteering in the school to help them gain a sense of pride and ownership. The excitement is incredible, and the change that this will have on their lives is so powerful. High school; something we take for granted to a huge extent in Canada, is of the utmost high importance here in Kenya.

We headed over to Kisaruni, the new high school, around 2 and I was so taken aback when we arrived. Around 4 or 500 community members had come out to celebrate the opening of the school. Each person had lined up in 2 lines stretching down the road, and we walked in between the two lines, shaking hands with every person. The women sang and danced as we walked through and it took at least 15 minutes to get through the procession. It was certainly the warmest welcome I have ever received, and feelings of emotion and gratitude swept over me.

We sat on the grass under a tarp for a presentation the community had prepared. Groups of women, men, and children performed traditional Maasai dances and songs, and speeches were made by Mamas and important community members about the importance of this high school for the several communities it will affect. Marc went up at the end and finished off telling all the little girls in the audience that if they study very hard, they can go to secondary school too. There was a roar of applause from all the parents, and then the community gave us a gift of 5 goats as a token of appreciation. Five of our staff members went up to receive them.

All 500 of us headed over to the office of the school to cut the ribbon, and then we got the grand tour. The school is on a huge property and it is incredible. There are three separate buildings for classrooms, a science lab, an office and area where the parents can visit, rooms for the girls (it is boarding school), teacher accommodations, bathrooms/showers, and a dining hall. It is designed to accommodate 40 grade 9 girls beginning in January (school year starts in Jan). Next school year, those same 40 girls will move up to grade 10, and another group of girls will be selected for grade 9. The school will continue to expand until this grade 9 year reaches grade 12.

During the last stop of our tour, we went to the large dining hall to meet all the girls and their parents. I went down the line and hugged each girl and congratulated her on her acceptance. Some were so shy, and others giggled excitedly, saying “I’m not scared!” I could see the pride in their eyes as we all applauded their futures, and I am so touched to have gotten the opportunity to take part in this school opening. It is clear to me that it is going to change not only the lives of the forty girls, but it will change their entire community.

Great Rift Valley and Giraffe Kisses

I am here in Kenya! It was a long day of travel; 6 hour bus ride to Montreal, 7 hour plane ride to Zurich, and a 7.5 hour plane ride to Nairobi, and then after a rest, an afternoon of travel to the Mara. There was a big group of us travelling together on the plane (about 40 of the 100 or so staff members on the trip- including 4 babies!) so we managed to make it go by quickly enough. The whole trip had seemed fairly surreal until we finally arrived at the airport in Nairobi; then the excitement set in.

We took three trucks and split up for the night as there were too many of us to accommodate together. My group went to Kolping House (for anyone going to Kenya, gorgeous property, nice rooms, below average food). After a quick dinner we were all in bed quickly. Just like in India, jet lag set in and I was up at 4am wide awake and ready to go. We all got up for breakfast at 7 and left shortly after for the Giraffe Center! We met up with the other group who was at the other guest house and visited a wildlife sanctuary that specializes in giraffes. They were so cute! We started out just feeding them by hand, and then graduated to putting the food in our own mouths. The giraffes would come right up and take it from us; “kissing us” in the process! Slobbery, but fun... only in Africa!

After that we made the long drive out to the Mara. We stopped at the Great Rift Valley, which was beautiful and unlike anything I have seen before. We spent about an hour eating lunch and taking in the view. I can’t do it justice, so I will just have to share the photos. Definitely something incredible to see. There were small shops there and I bought 2 bracelets for 200 shillings (about $2.50). From then on, the scenery reminded me a lot of the rural villages of Ethiopia. After 5 or 6 hours we made it to the Maasai Mara. We turned off the main road and drove for about a half an hour up this side road towards the Bogani Center, where we are staying (a BEAUTIFUL center that FTC/M2W owns and uses for trips). Up this road we could catch quick glimpses of FTC schools and the kids who attend them, which was incredible. I can’t wait to see them up close.

We arrived at the Bogani Center and all the Kenyan staff (housekeeping, cooks, Maasai warrior guides, etc.) were there greeting up with a Kenyan song/dance. They each introduced themselves and served us cookies and juice, just in time for the rain to begin to pour as we rain to seek coverage inside. Bogani is gorgeous and over 30 acres of land. They have set up incredible tents (not camping tents, but more like big rooms) with 5 beds inside each, as the Center usually only fits around 30 people, and there are over 100 of us! It is really comfortable, and the food is amazing. We spent time with the staff, learned some Swahili with the warriors, and relaxed after way too long of travelling!

At first impression, I love Kenya! The people are very friendly and nearly everyone we pass greets us with a jambo/hello. Even if we are just driving by and they are quite far away, they will stop what they are doing to wave as we pass. Kenya, Nairobi especially, is very lush with gardens and flowers everywhere you look, which surprised me as most countries I have been to are not like that. The contrast in poverty level is very striking in Nairobi. In the area by the Giraffe Sanctuary, there are huge mansions, gorgeous private hospitals, many private schools on every street, and lots of big, fancy businesses. On the same street, perhaps 30 minutes drive down, the mansions turns to dilapidated shacks made of corrugated tin, crammed together closely. As we passed the Great Rift Valley and the city turned to rural villages, I could see teenage boys and young men (and a few kids) herding their sheep, and teenage girls making the walk home with a bucket of water on their heads. Tomorrow is the day I am most excited for; the grand opening of the Girls’ Secondary School! Being passionate about education, especially higher education, this project is my personal FTC favourite and is one of the main reasons I made the decision to come on this trip.