Hello again! We have had yet another eventful week and a half here in Kenya.
Last week we had several memorable days. Some of the students have been training for singing competitions that have been held throughout Mombasa. Grace went with the first group of girls on the first day of competition (I stayed home because I was sick - just some casual throwing up.. just add that to the list of sicknesses I've had here). They performed quite well because they advanced to the next level! The following day the three of us went to the second round of the competition and it was AMAZING. We saw many schools perform traditional african compositions in full african atire. It was really cool for lack of a better description. I can't really describe it to you so you will just have to wait for the pictures and videos to be posted.
The next few days were spent at the school. We continued to teach and play with the children. Grace and I even joined in with some dancing. For some reason the kids were laughing at me - I'm guessing it was because of my lack of rhythm - there will be a video so you can decide.
Over the weekend we went on a Safari. VERY cool. It's so different seeing the animals in the wild versus in a zoo. We saw elephants, lions, different species of antelope, giraffes, buffalo, and many more animals. We have some GREAT pictures too.
Today Grace and I attempted to play football with the boys. This proved to be a fail - at least on my part. I had flip flops on so I had to play bare foot - not that I should be complaining beacuse most of the kids played bare foot (in my defense, I'm not used to it) - and my feet were totally battered by the time I was finished. If you must know, Grace's team kicked my teams butt 4-1. Either way, it was a lot of fun, and the boys got a kick out of the fact that their female teachers were playing with them.
This week was definitely the hardest. Though 5 weeks seems like a long time, it really isn't. We spent as much time at the school as possible and treasured every moment spent with the kids. Now it is Wednesday and we are leaving for the States tomorrow. Wow. I don't think it has really hit anyone yet. We formed amazing friendships with the teachers and students as well as with Jacob and Brenda, the family we are staying with.
Many people have said to me "Oh you will have a great experience," but to me, and I think for Grace and Hannah as well, this has been more than a mere experience. It has been life changing. We bonded closely with many of the students and feel as though they are our younger siblings. It's amazing to see the children here interact with one another. The older ones always help the younger ones - even when it comes to going to the bathroom. On multiple occassions I've witnessed an older child - maybe 10 years old - take a 4 year old to the bathroom to help him clean up after he has finished. If a kid in the US was asked to do that for a younger child, I'm almost positive 99% of the time his response would be "ew that's gross." I know mine would have been. They even share their food with each other even though they get so little of it. If one kid has a small bag of nuts, he will pass it around to the others willingly. If one kid falls down, the other helps to pick him up.
This will not be the last blog post. Once we touch down in the US, and after I've had a bacon cheese burger from shake shack complete with real ketchup, I will write another post summarizing everything that has gone on in the past month. Also, stay tuned for some epic pictures and videos. We will either post them on the blog or put them on a flicker. We've combined all our photos so it should be a really great album.
Tomorrow we take a bus to Nairobi and fly out of there at 11:30pm. Then we land down in New York at 2:30 on Friday. Thanks for tuning in!
Melissa
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Further Updates
Finally I have gotten back to an internet cafe! These past weeks have been full of energy as well as exhaustion. Let me give you an update on what we have been up to:
The Routine: It seems as though the longer we are here, the less of an adventure our time here becomes. This is not to say that it is not full of surprises or good times. Yet, nothing really shocks me anymore. Things I would have thought to be appalling or absurd have somehow drifted to the "oh thats normal" part of my brain.
Things I've gotten used to that normally might have freaked me out/made me uncomfortable:
1. Driving on the "left" side of the road - or ALL sides of the road: Technically, Kenyan law has insisted on left side driving. However, due to either impatience or simply habit, all driver drive on every side of the road. This means that even when there is oncoming traffic, a matatu driver will insist on passing a car in front of him, then swirving back to the left, narrowly escaping death. In the beginning of the trip, this seemed quite crazy to me. But now, I see it as the way things are here. Some more information on driving in Kenya:
- Simply avoid driving yourself if you have to
- There are no stop signs because people negleted to follow them. Thus, speed bumps are the substite. This is not fun when you are a tall person riding a matatu. Expect to smack your head against the top of the van every time.
2. Getting bugs and boo boos shown to me every second of the day by the children: For those of you who know me well, I'm not a bug person nor am I a blood person -
both gross me out equally. Or should I say grossed me out. The children pick up weird red beatles and smash poisoness catapillars all the time, then proceed to show me what they've caught or what they've killed. In the same way they show me their cuts and bruises. I've successfully learned NOT to get freaked out when either of these events occur. I even fix the boo boos and TOUCH the bugs!
3. Bugs in the kitchen and living area: Its Kenya. There are cockroaches everywhere. I am still GROSSED out by them, yet I've learned to live with them in harmony. I simply avoid going into the kitchen and have grown accustomed to seeing the little things running around the floors throughout the rest of the house.
4. Cold Showers: There is NO hot water anywhere. Why would there be? We are in Mombasa, Kenya - right along the equator. Even so, no matter how hot it is, I always used to love taking warm showers. I've developed a rather successful system for getting into the shower every day despite the coldness (Something - I have to give credit where it's due - Hannah told me to do) - Do the Hokey Pokey. That's right. One limb at a time. Sometimes I even hum the song. I have definitely gotten used to the cold showers, but when I come home, I am definitely looking forward to a hot one.
5. Washing my clothes in a bucket: When I went to college, I had to learn how to use a washer and dryer. When I went to Kenya, I had to learn how to wash my clothes in a bucket. This is SO tiring and I have to say - I definitely don't like it. BUT I've gotten used to it and it's a pretty good workout. Handwashing clothing and carrying children all day will definitely keep me in shape for lacrosse season! The good thing about the heat here is that the clothes dry really fast in our rooms. Although I gotta say, I will never take a washer and dryer for granted again.
One thing I will definitely miss about Kenya is the fresh food. There are a few supermarkets, but most people buy their food on the streets or at the open markets - or raise their own animals. Several personal examples:
1. I am walking into the school which has a chicken coop. For some reason on that day, there were no chickens in the coop anymore. Another one of the volunteers named Scott (from Minnesota), runs over to me and says "I just watched a chicken get slaughtered." Sure enough, lunch was Ugali complete with roasted chicken.
2. One day, I walked into Jacob's (the man we are staying with) apartment apparently right past a box of live crabs. Not noticing the crabs at first, I sit down on the couch to take a short nap. Suddenly, I here Jacob call my name right behind me. He is dangling a live crab right in my face! Obviously I freaked out because it was ALIVE and MOVING. But I must say, that crab was delicious.
Those are a few things that I've definitely gotten used to. Now I'll tell you a little bit about some of the activities we've done so far.
Old Town: Old Town is an old town. Shocker. But it's only one street long and it reminds me of italian architecture. It's really beautiful and there are several shops along the road filled with african art such as paintings and wood carvings.
Motorcylce Riding: Grace mentioned the motorcycle rides we have taken. She failed to mention, however, my two unfortunate experiences with them. Perhaps it was to spare me the embarrassment. However, they make for good short stories so I will tell you myself.
1. I've learned NOT to get off the right side of a motorcycle. These drivers, though they carry people around for the entire day, fail to cover their mufflers. Apparently mufflers are hot - something I didn't know (in my defense, how could I know? I've never been on a motorcylce before). My leg touched the muffler for a second at the longest and burned my skin realllllly bad. Don't worry. It's healing properly. I bought burn cream and everything! (Something I failed to bring in my first aid kit because I never considered getting burned).
2. I have fallen off a motorcycle... when it was NOT moving. Hannah and I decided to ride a motorcycle together to the school. Therefore, there were three people to ride the motorcycle (the driver, hannah, and I for those of you who are slow to realize this). Hannah successfully hopped on the bike. I however tried to use hannah as a cruch to get on. Yet she, instead of bracing herself to help me, decided to lean backwards so I slid off the back of the bike. We were surrounded by about 7 Kenyan men who all though it was very comical that a foreigner did not know how to mount a bike properly. Oh well. Now I know. Don't use Hannah as a crutch.
Diani Beach: Diani Beach is the place where all the European tourists go. We go to a place called "40 Thieves" which is the only public area on Diani. The beaches are pure white and the water is a beautiful turquoise blue. The only bad thing about it is that the locals constantly follow you around to sell you items such as jewelry, shells, and cloth. We have learned to ignore most of them. However, I am still not used to ignoring someone when they say hello to me as I always think it's a bit rude. I guess this is just reflective of the manners I was taught back home (haha thanks mom and dad). But no. If you ever come to Kenya, learn to ignore certain people. Even if they are simply saying "Jambo!"
As far as the school goes, I think we are all struggling with the fact that we can only do so much. We've grown attached to many of the kids and it will be very hard to have to leave. We are trying to enjoy every minute of it though and while trying to make the best of their situtations.
Today we took each of our favorite kids to Haller Park - a nature trail in Bamburi. It's sort of like a zoo, but it doesn't feel like one because you are actually in the wilderness. I'm sure if you are really curious, you could google it. The kids LOVED it. However, I decided to take a 4 year old - Ishmael - and this proved to be difficult. Before the park, we had taken them all out to lunch and let them have whatever they wanted. This may have been a bad idea for Ishmael. All he wanted were fries and soda - and me being the oblivious 19 year old who just wanted to give him anything allowed this. Well apparently a bunch of fries and soda doesn't sit well with a 4 year old kid - especially one who is not usually used to having fries and soda. Once we got to Haller Park, all he did was complain about his stomach and then told me he had to poop. We were pretty far into the park and there were no bathrooms. So George (one of the older kids that we decided to take with us) and I took Ishmael to a tree whe he proceeded to take off all his clothes and go to the bathroom. And let me just say - he sure did have to go. Thankfully, he felt better afterwards and really enjoyed all the animals. Towards the end of the day, I took him to a real bathroom where he was able to go again. This time I was able to handle the situation better. I guess that's one more thing I'm not grossed out about anymore: little kids pooping.
George, Caleb, and Ishmael all had a really good day overall. I think Grace, Hannah, and I had equally as much fun if not more fun than they did. Its amazing how seeing kids happy makes you happy. We definitely plan on sponsoring kids when we go back home and also plan to continually send resources and money to Destiny Garden School.
Next weekend we will be going on a 2 day and 1 night safari. We will certainly keep you posted on further events throughout the trip. As for me, I need to go scratch my bug bites until they get huge, shower for the second time today, and take a nap. Hope you enjoyed reading!
Until Next Time,
Melissa
The Routine: It seems as though the longer we are here, the less of an adventure our time here becomes. This is not to say that it is not full of surprises or good times. Yet, nothing really shocks me anymore. Things I would have thought to be appalling or absurd have somehow drifted to the "oh thats normal" part of my brain.
Things I've gotten used to that normally might have freaked me out/made me uncomfortable:
1. Driving on the "left" side of the road - or ALL sides of the road: Technically, Kenyan law has insisted on left side driving. However, due to either impatience or simply habit, all driver drive on every side of the road. This means that even when there is oncoming traffic, a matatu driver will insist on passing a car in front of him, then swirving back to the left, narrowly escaping death. In the beginning of the trip, this seemed quite crazy to me. But now, I see it as the way things are here. Some more information on driving in Kenya:
- Simply avoid driving yourself if you have to
- There are no stop signs because people negleted to follow them. Thus, speed bumps are the substite. This is not fun when you are a tall person riding a matatu. Expect to smack your head against the top of the van every time.
2. Getting bugs and boo boos shown to me every second of the day by the children: For those of you who know me well, I'm not a bug person nor am I a blood person -
both gross me out equally. Or should I say grossed me out. The children pick up weird red beatles and smash poisoness catapillars all the time, then proceed to show me what they've caught or what they've killed. In the same way they show me their cuts and bruises. I've successfully learned NOT to get freaked out when either of these events occur. I even fix the boo boos and TOUCH the bugs!
3. Bugs in the kitchen and living area: Its Kenya. There are cockroaches everywhere. I am still GROSSED out by them, yet I've learned to live with them in harmony. I simply avoid going into the kitchen and have grown accustomed to seeing the little things running around the floors throughout the rest of the house.
4. Cold Showers: There is NO hot water anywhere. Why would there be? We are in Mombasa, Kenya - right along the equator. Even so, no matter how hot it is, I always used to love taking warm showers. I've developed a rather successful system for getting into the shower every day despite the coldness (Something - I have to give credit where it's due - Hannah told me to do) - Do the Hokey Pokey. That's right. One limb at a time. Sometimes I even hum the song. I have definitely gotten used to the cold showers, but when I come home, I am definitely looking forward to a hot one.
5. Washing my clothes in a bucket: When I went to college, I had to learn how to use a washer and dryer. When I went to Kenya, I had to learn how to wash my clothes in a bucket. This is SO tiring and I have to say - I definitely don't like it. BUT I've gotten used to it and it's a pretty good workout. Handwashing clothing and carrying children all day will definitely keep me in shape for lacrosse season! The good thing about the heat here is that the clothes dry really fast in our rooms. Although I gotta say, I will never take a washer and dryer for granted again.
One thing I will definitely miss about Kenya is the fresh food. There are a few supermarkets, but most people buy their food on the streets or at the open markets - or raise their own animals. Several personal examples:
1. I am walking into the school which has a chicken coop. For some reason on that day, there were no chickens in the coop anymore. Another one of the volunteers named Scott (from Minnesota), runs over to me and says "I just watched a chicken get slaughtered." Sure enough, lunch was Ugali complete with roasted chicken.
2. One day, I walked into Jacob's (the man we are staying with) apartment apparently right past a box of live crabs. Not noticing the crabs at first, I sit down on the couch to take a short nap. Suddenly, I here Jacob call my name right behind me. He is dangling a live crab right in my face! Obviously I freaked out because it was ALIVE and MOVING. But I must say, that crab was delicious.
Those are a few things that I've definitely gotten used to. Now I'll tell you a little bit about some of the activities we've done so far.
Old Town: Old Town is an old town. Shocker. But it's only one street long and it reminds me of italian architecture. It's really beautiful and there are several shops along the road filled with african art such as paintings and wood carvings.
Motorcylce Riding: Grace mentioned the motorcycle rides we have taken. She failed to mention, however, my two unfortunate experiences with them. Perhaps it was to spare me the embarrassment. However, they make for good short stories so I will tell you myself.
1. I've learned NOT to get off the right side of a motorcycle. These drivers, though they carry people around for the entire day, fail to cover their mufflers. Apparently mufflers are hot - something I didn't know (in my defense, how could I know? I've never been on a motorcylce before). My leg touched the muffler for a second at the longest and burned my skin realllllly bad. Don't worry. It's healing properly. I bought burn cream and everything! (Something I failed to bring in my first aid kit because I never considered getting burned).
2. I have fallen off a motorcycle... when it was NOT moving. Hannah and I decided to ride a motorcycle together to the school. Therefore, there were three people to ride the motorcycle (the driver, hannah, and I for those of you who are slow to realize this). Hannah successfully hopped on the bike. I however tried to use hannah as a cruch to get on. Yet she, instead of bracing herself to help me, decided to lean backwards so I slid off the back of the bike. We were surrounded by about 7 Kenyan men who all though it was very comical that a foreigner did not know how to mount a bike properly. Oh well. Now I know. Don't use Hannah as a crutch.
Diani Beach: Diani Beach is the place where all the European tourists go. We go to a place called "40 Thieves" which is the only public area on Diani. The beaches are pure white and the water is a beautiful turquoise blue. The only bad thing about it is that the locals constantly follow you around to sell you items such as jewelry, shells, and cloth. We have learned to ignore most of them. However, I am still not used to ignoring someone when they say hello to me as I always think it's a bit rude. I guess this is just reflective of the manners I was taught back home (haha thanks mom and dad). But no. If you ever come to Kenya, learn to ignore certain people. Even if they are simply saying "Jambo!"
As far as the school goes, I think we are all struggling with the fact that we can only do so much. We've grown attached to many of the kids and it will be very hard to have to leave. We are trying to enjoy every minute of it though and while trying to make the best of their situtations.
Today we took each of our favorite kids to Haller Park - a nature trail in Bamburi. It's sort of like a zoo, but it doesn't feel like one because you are actually in the wilderness. I'm sure if you are really curious, you could google it. The kids LOVED it. However, I decided to take a 4 year old - Ishmael - and this proved to be difficult. Before the park, we had taken them all out to lunch and let them have whatever they wanted. This may have been a bad idea for Ishmael. All he wanted were fries and soda - and me being the oblivious 19 year old who just wanted to give him anything allowed this. Well apparently a bunch of fries and soda doesn't sit well with a 4 year old kid - especially one who is not usually used to having fries and soda. Once we got to Haller Park, all he did was complain about his stomach and then told me he had to poop. We were pretty far into the park and there were no bathrooms. So George (one of the older kids that we decided to take with us) and I took Ishmael to a tree whe he proceeded to take off all his clothes and go to the bathroom. And let me just say - he sure did have to go. Thankfully, he felt better afterwards and really enjoyed all the animals. Towards the end of the day, I took him to a real bathroom where he was able to go again. This time I was able to handle the situation better. I guess that's one more thing I'm not grossed out about anymore: little kids pooping.
George, Caleb, and Ishmael all had a really good day overall. I think Grace, Hannah, and I had equally as much fun if not more fun than they did. Its amazing how seeing kids happy makes you happy. We definitely plan on sponsoring kids when we go back home and also plan to continually send resources and money to Destiny Garden School.
Next weekend we will be going on a 2 day and 1 night safari. We will certainly keep you posted on further events throughout the trip. As for me, I need to go scratch my bug bites until they get huge, shower for the second time today, and take a nap. Hope you enjoyed reading!
Until Next Time,
Melissa
Thursday, June 10, 2010
A Statistical Analysis
As our time here gains momentum, days are counted down, shillings are added and subtracted from purses, and bug bites are tallied with increasing unhappiness. We have discovered that Kenya, undoubtedly, is a place of uncontainable vitality. One that overwhlems at times, one that exhausts at times, but one that will forever escape the compacted descriptions of communication. Kenya is an experience not easily boiled down to a few paragraphs in a blogpost, but here are a few statistics of a wonderful, breathtaking week and a half, as I know it.
Five Things That Should Have Been Brought
5) A More Riveting Read: (sorry Aime Cesaire)
4) Laptop
3) Bathing Suit
2) Outlet Adaptor
1) Anti-Itch Cream: how was this precious commodity forgotten??
Four Moments Lost In Translation
4)The Chicken Incident: First day of school, the Columbia girls spy a live chicken doing normal chickenly actions. Squealing ensues. Glares/eye rolls are recieved from localers.
3)The Razor Incident: I saw some students handling razor blades on the first day of class, alerted the teacher, recieved a less than commital response, got very frustrated when the teacher wasn't understanding what I considered a serious issue of personal safety, then realized they were used to sharpen pencils...oops. embarrassing.
2)The 200 KSH Matatu Incident: yes...we each paid 200 KSH for a 20 KSH matatu. live and learn
1)and I lied...there is no 4th! Pole!
Three Best Eats
3)Breakfast Pancakes: A cross between crepes and the thicker American breakfast favorite, Hoppi's (our housekeeper) thin pancakes have an incredible texture that perfectly rides the division between chewy and soft. The texture on her morning treats is amazing, and every firm bite gives way to a few good chews before dissolving into soft, buttery goodness. Light, sweet, satisfying, amazing! Sugar and butter are favorited accompaniments.
2)Chicken Curry: Hoppi's creation. Fantastic, can't describe it effectively because I have no idea what she put in it. Chicken stewed to marvelous porportions in a sauce with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and other Swahili/Indian spices. The natural oils from the free range chicken turned every portion of rice into a buttery and sweetly aromatic experience. Topped off with the best chunks of chicken meat, firm and sweet, this was probably the best chicken dish I've had in a very long time.
1)That Thing I ordered at Pili Pili and Had With Garlic Naan: Not quite sure what it was, but it was an Indian dish with malai (milk) and chunks of vegetarian goodness. The bits of cashew in the sauce made every spoonful of the curry into a rich, nutty, creamy,beautiful blessing.
Two Motorcycle Rides
2) Amazing ride from the ferry
1) and just as amazing back: Decided that I can only date boys with bikes now. Thanks Kenya!
One Meeting with an Ex/Pre Politician, that left the Volunteers with a Cruel Craving for Samosas, and an Unadulturated Hatred of the Phrase "City of Economics"
1) Wish I could even begin to describe this bizarre occurance. but at least we got a free "Mombasa Club Special" out of it! Though it was just orange fanta and some fruit juice and had some bits of cucumber floating around in it, special indeed.
Thanks for tuning in, and join us in the next couple of days for more updates.
-Grace, on the behalf of Melissa and Hannah
Five Things That Should Have Been Brought
5) A More Riveting Read: (sorry Aime Cesaire)
4) Laptop
3) Bathing Suit
2) Outlet Adaptor
1) Anti-Itch Cream: how was this precious commodity forgotten??
Four Moments Lost In Translation
4)The Chicken Incident: First day of school, the Columbia girls spy a live chicken doing normal chickenly actions. Squealing ensues. Glares/eye rolls are recieved from localers.
3)The Razor Incident: I saw some students handling razor blades on the first day of class, alerted the teacher, recieved a less than commital response, got very frustrated when the teacher wasn't understanding what I considered a serious issue of personal safety, then realized they were used to sharpen pencils...oops. embarrassing.
2)The 200 KSH Matatu Incident: yes...we each paid 200 KSH for a 20 KSH matatu. live and learn
1)and I lied...there is no 4th! Pole!
Three Best Eats
3)Breakfast Pancakes: A cross between crepes and the thicker American breakfast favorite, Hoppi's (our housekeeper) thin pancakes have an incredible texture that perfectly rides the division between chewy and soft. The texture on her morning treats is amazing, and every firm bite gives way to a few good chews before dissolving into soft, buttery goodness. Light, sweet, satisfying, amazing! Sugar and butter are favorited accompaniments.
2)Chicken Curry: Hoppi's creation. Fantastic, can't describe it effectively because I have no idea what she put in it. Chicken stewed to marvelous porportions in a sauce with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and other Swahili/Indian spices. The natural oils from the free range chicken turned every portion of rice into a buttery and sweetly aromatic experience. Topped off with the best chunks of chicken meat, firm and sweet, this was probably the best chicken dish I've had in a very long time.
1)That Thing I ordered at Pili Pili and Had With Garlic Naan: Not quite sure what it was, but it was an Indian dish with malai (milk) and chunks of vegetarian goodness. The bits of cashew in the sauce made every spoonful of the curry into a rich, nutty, creamy,beautiful blessing.
Two Motorcycle Rides
2) Amazing ride from the ferry
1) and just as amazing back: Decided that I can only date boys with bikes now. Thanks Kenya!
One Meeting with an Ex/Pre Politician, that left the Volunteers with a Cruel Craving for Samosas, and an Unadulturated Hatred of the Phrase "City of Economics"
1) Wish I could even begin to describe this bizarre occurance. but at least we got a free "Mombasa Club Special" out of it! Though it was just orange fanta and some fruit juice and had some bits of cucumber floating around in it, special indeed.
Thanks for tuning in, and join us in the next couple of days for more updates.
-Grace, on the behalf of Melissa and Hannah
Friday, June 4, 2010
First Post from Africa!
After just about one week in Mombasa, Kenya, the three of us have been exposed to a world of culture and experiences.
We arrived in Kenya's capital city Nairobi one week ago to be greeted by Jacob Muoga, a native Kenyan actively involved in non-profits and other programs in Kenya, not to mention our host and coordinator for our entire trip. Having arrived late in the day, we slept in a local hotel that night and planned to leave for Mombasa Saturday.
Our six hour bus ride from Nairobi to Mombasa on Saturday helped us absorb this completely different environment. Between Melissa, Grace, and I we spotted giraffes, antelope, baboons, and even zebras. We saw many small huts made of dried mud and sticks. And when we entered into Mombasa, we were introduced to the overwhelmingly impoverished community.
Thankfully, Jacob would be our host, living just steps from the center of the city. That weekend we met his wife and one-year old daughter. We also met four other volunteers staying with Jacob and his family: a young couple from Minnesota, a teenager from California, and another young woman from Germany.
Monday we began our volunteer work at Destiny Garden Village Schools. After crossing to the small, much poorer village of Mtongwe via ferry, we rode a small Matatu - or bus - to the school. The school itself consists of a Primary School with children ages 7-12, Nursery with children ages 3-6, bathrooms, a small kitchen, and a new building where the students practice song and dance. The entire school is located on about an acre of land, with trees, plants, a garden, and plenty of open space to play.
The director greeted us and had us say hello to students in each of the classes. Afterwards, Melissa, Grace, and I could choose which class we would prefer to assist and teach in. I was upset with how poor the conditions were for the children and how little they had to work with. The floors consisted of uneven concrete, sand, and dirt. Each student was lucky if he had one workable pen to use, and every pen or pencil was tattered and dirty. Their one uniform would be worn every day all year and most had dirt, holes, and tears. And the walls did not extend all the way to the ceiling, so noise from one classroom would funnel into all the rest.
However, I was incredibly taken aback with the students' focus, energy, enthusiasm, and intelligence. As I stepped into the oldest class, I soon learned that the children were already completely fluent in English. They excelled in math and reading and were learning about concepts in science that I hadn't learned at that age if at all during school.
During our break I had a chance to play with some of the youngest children. They immediately flocked to us. All they wanted or needed was someone to play with or someone to hold them. Although right now we have little concrete help for these students, we trust that the support and connections we have with them will give them some comfort and happiness.
We will hope to continue posting entries 2-3 times a week and thank everyone for their support!
We arrived in Kenya's capital city Nairobi one week ago to be greeted by Jacob Muoga, a native Kenyan actively involved in non-profits and other programs in Kenya, not to mention our host and coordinator for our entire trip. Having arrived late in the day, we slept in a local hotel that night and planned to leave for Mombasa Saturday.
Our six hour bus ride from Nairobi to Mombasa on Saturday helped us absorb this completely different environment. Between Melissa, Grace, and I we spotted giraffes, antelope, baboons, and even zebras. We saw many small huts made of dried mud and sticks. And when we entered into Mombasa, we were introduced to the overwhelmingly impoverished community.
Thankfully, Jacob would be our host, living just steps from the center of the city. That weekend we met his wife and one-year old daughter. We also met four other volunteers staying with Jacob and his family: a young couple from Minnesota, a teenager from California, and another young woman from Germany.
Monday we began our volunteer work at Destiny Garden Village Schools. After crossing to the small, much poorer village of Mtongwe via ferry, we rode a small Matatu - or bus - to the school. The school itself consists of a Primary School with children ages 7-12, Nursery with children ages 3-6, bathrooms, a small kitchen, and a new building where the students practice song and dance. The entire school is located on about an acre of land, with trees, plants, a garden, and plenty of open space to play.
The director greeted us and had us say hello to students in each of the classes. Afterwards, Melissa, Grace, and I could choose which class we would prefer to assist and teach in. I was upset with how poor the conditions were for the children and how little they had to work with. The floors consisted of uneven concrete, sand, and dirt. Each student was lucky if he had one workable pen to use, and every pen or pencil was tattered and dirty. Their one uniform would be worn every day all year and most had dirt, holes, and tears. And the walls did not extend all the way to the ceiling, so noise from one classroom would funnel into all the rest.
However, I was incredibly taken aback with the students' focus, energy, enthusiasm, and intelligence. As I stepped into the oldest class, I soon learned that the children were already completely fluent in English. They excelled in math and reading and were learning about concepts in science that I hadn't learned at that age if at all during school.
During our break I had a chance to play with some of the youngest children. They immediately flocked to us. All they wanted or needed was someone to play with or someone to hold them. Although right now we have little concrete help for these students, we trust that the support and connections we have with them will give them some comfort and happiness.
We will hope to continue posting entries 2-3 times a week and thank everyone for their support!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Drawing Nearer!
Hello all!
Thank you all for making this trip possible. We (Grace Tan, Hannah Christ, and Melissa Peterson) will be leaving for Kenya on Thursday, May 27th at 11am. We will arrive in Nairobi on May 28th at 2:45pm and will then travel to Mtongwe, a "suburb" of Mombasa and one of the poorest communities in the area. There are about 200 children, ranging in age from 3-12 year of age. Mostly all of the children are orphans, with a number of them HIV+. We will be unable to update our blog every day as internet in Mtongwe is somewhat unreliable. However, we will update you with pictures and other news as much as we can. We hope you enjoy following our blog and if you have any questions for us, feel free to comment right on the blog or email us at msp2141@columbia.edu. Thank you very much!
Best,
Melissa, Grace, and Hannah
Thank you all for making this trip possible. We (Grace Tan, Hannah Christ, and Melissa Peterson) will be leaving for Kenya on Thursday, May 27th at 11am. We will arrive in Nairobi on May 28th at 2:45pm and will then travel to Mtongwe, a "suburb" of Mombasa and one of the poorest communities in the area. There are about 200 children, ranging in age from 3-12 year of age. Mostly all of the children are orphans, with a number of them HIV+. We will be unable to update our blog every day as internet in Mtongwe is somewhat unreliable. However, we will update you with pictures and other news as much as we can. We hope you enjoy following our blog and if you have any questions for us, feel free to comment right on the blog or email us at msp2141@columbia.edu. Thank you very much!
Best,
Melissa, Grace, and Hannah
Friday, January 8, 2010
Keeping You Updated
Throughout our trip, we will be continually adding pictures and updating you with how are trip is going. We hope to post something new each day!
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