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!