Asante and See You later Kenya

I'm sitting waiting until it is time to head to the airport onto my next adventure and then finally back home.  It's funny how I knew that despite all the pre trip anxiety that when it came to leaving I would have a hard time, it is much harder than I ever imagined.  Part of me thought I would come here and be so incredibly disappointed or just not enjoy it in Kenya and Africa.  I am shocked by how much I have come to love this country and the people I have met. I felt as though it was my home and as I sit watching the clock count down(4hrs until heading to the airport) I have nothing left to do but accept it is time to move on.  Perhaps it is the butterflies of a new exciting place but I feel as though I have found a place that brings out the passion and good in me again.  All the drama, BS, and stress of the life I live back home is gone when I'm here.  Today visiting with my new good friend I had a hard time keeping emotions in check trying to imagine what it is like living just to survive.  So many people around the world are surviving, they get to wake up each day and make it to the next morning often times hungry, sick, or alone.  In many ways I feel bad that I have grown up as I have but at the same time, I never knew anything else. Sure I have always tried to be conscious of other people and always knew how other people lived but seeing it and becoming friends and caring for people in those situation totally changes how you think and feel about things.

I thank each of you who has invited me into your homes and lives. Thank you for the love and friendship and making sure i am comfortable and safe and happy.  Despite keeping my emotions shockingly in check for the most part, know that today my heart is a little bit broken as I leave and I promise you I am trying to come back for graduation in July but i am trying hard to be back sooner rather than later.

Junior

Today I arrived back at my temporary home to my wild boys to some truly horrifying news. One of the wonderful boys i have lovingly dubbed my Wildboys, died on Thursday.  Junior and his two brothers were staying at the home I am been in and spent a wonderful day adventuring in Hell's Gate last week.  These boys and their family had truly sparked a fire in me for future trips to Kenya and Kibera.  Junior was young(11 i believe) and very sweet and fun loving.  My time spent with them brought so much joy to my life and I missed them as soon as I left knowing I wouldn't see them.  Tragically he died from cholera Thursday.  This is such a shocking and preventable death of someone so young that I am equally heart broken and angry.  There is no one to blame, and nor should there be at such a sad time.  My heart goes out to his brothers and his mother and to Jimmy who has worked so hard with these boys.  I cannot imagine the sorrow they feel if I am so touched by this boy's life and death.  I am so honoured to have known you Junior and so thankful for the impact you made on me in such a short time. I only wish I had gotten a chance to be with you more and to help you more.  May these life inspire others to be the change we need and to ensure all children can live to grow.

Junior enjoying the trip into Hell's Gate(blue shirt)

Junior giving me the cutest pre trip pose

Wild Kenya

I have clearly not been showing this blog an TLC at all while in Kenya but what can I say, I have been to busy being alive, taking in every single moment.
The only downside of being here is that I have to leave in 6 days.  The more time I spend in this incredible country the more I am falling in love with it.  May 1st I was cone my internship which I spent with the remarkable women of Living Positive Kenya.

I cannot say enough about how much I love and respect Mum and LPK's work.  The women who are accessing the program continue to lift my spirits every single time that I am around them with their determination and positivity in life no matter what they have experienced.  I want to take a moment to shamelessly plug one of their awesome programs which I 100% back and guarantee.

 I say again, i am a skeptic and I tend to not trust organizations I don't know or haven't had recommended by someone I trust but the Educational Sponsorship is fantastic.  There are 110(ish) kids who are currently being sponsored by individuals around the world, including the incredible Stephen Lewis Foundation which currently sponsors 7 kids in primary and secondary classes.  If you have ever wanted to support and help someone I really recommend you contact LPK and see the kids who need a bit of help( www.livingpositivekenya.org livingpositivekenya@gmail.com )
100% of the money you give is going directly to the institute which they are attending.  The money will provide housing, food, supplies and most importantly education.  If you need/want to do an internship consider LPK.  You will safe, welcome, loved, and you will learn a lot more than you expect about life and yourself.  You have many options from helping with their farm, the day care, social work, fundraising, or you can fundraise and conduct your own project.  Lord knows if I could afford to I would not leave i would just be an intern for life!  I had to do my pre-goodbye last thursday as I am no longer living in Ngong but I cannot wait for my visit before I leave Kenya.

I spent the weekend on Safari, enjoying the tourist side of Kenya and I was baffled by the amazing things we saw.  21 lions including 7 cubs in one morning alone, the elusive leopard, a cheetah with her cubs, countless giraffes, zebra, buffalo antelope, impala, elephants... Need I go on?  There is nothing like seeing these animals hunt and play in the wild as if you aren't even there watching them. It was a really incredible experience and good to have a break from working although those are some early mornings!  I was lucky to have a very diverse and interesting Safari group and of course makes another reason you want to stay to continue meeting new people.

I am being utterly spoiled in my currently lodgings where I am eating delicious food cooked by a wonderful young man I am calling my personal chef, my host is introducing me to life in Kibera at his awesome library project and a nearby daycare where I feel like all i am doing is being loved to death.  I could spend all day sitting holding toddlers and smiling at them.  Everyone needs a bit of love sometimes!

The daycare is run by a really wonderful husband and wife who seem to just be so kind and patient and who I think really want to look out for these children and I wish I could stay and help out because they really have their hands full but soon they are getting some funding and remodelling to make it a bit safer, cleaner an environment for the little ones.  I cannot wait until I come back and see how it looks.  The kids and people of Kibera are really remarkable.  My teacher had told me that it was not at all like you expect it to be.  She was right, it is an organized busy community with a neighbourhood feel, I didn't feel in danger or unsafe, perhaps I felt stared at which is to be expected but I really like what I have seen and all the further potential in the local people who are working at it.  I am looking forward to spending another day helping out as I can.

This week I am also extremely excited to spend two days with a local doctor going out to some masai villages to help in his clinic.  It has been very important to me to get my hands into health care where i am able to see where my heart lies for my future endeavours.  I am hopefully that I am able to come back in a professional context, or at least able to come and make enough money to live on.  My head is already going crazy thinking of all the projects I could help with or maybe expand etc.  I am hopeful for what the future holds for me!

Living positively

Here I am, entering my 3rd week here in Kenya, That doesn't seem possible to me!  It is amazing to me how comfortable I have become with the things that surround me and the way I am already changing my views.

The biggest thing I have noticed and felt, which I am sure is common, is the way i handle money and financial issues.  The amount people live off in a week, a month, a year, is astounding.  Today I spent 2000KSH($27CAD) on buying some gifts to take home.  Multiple bracelets, four cards, two beaded jewelry holders(i mean entirely beads and wire and beautiful).  That is a lot of money in one transaction.  I find that while doing projects here, I am funding some little things personally and think in my head "Do I pay $150 for this when $150 could provide A, B, and C for a family?"  It makes you reflect on what you spend and use and forget to appreciate at home.  How many have a laptop, smart phone, gaming console, tablet, TV, DVD player.. Here I am visiting homes that are a third the size of my room back home.  I am staying in a three bedroom apartment where someone is cooking my meals and cleaning my laundry.  The home I am staying in would be considered low class or "west side" by looks but it is clean with electricity and hot water to shower and comparatively speaking I am living large here.  Back home I have a family and friends who miss me and care and worry about me and here people are struggling to make even $3 a day. A DAY! not an hour.

I am not sure where I am going with this post but I felt it is important to recognize and honour these people who work so hard, who come to work and to learn every day and greet you with a smile.  Who  sing and laugh and feel honoured that I visit their homes.

Every single day you have money to buy food let alone junk food, coffee, and new clothes just because you WANT them, be thankful and humbled. I know you cannot compare truly our lives back home and here but I know I am painfully aware of the clothes I am wearing, the food I am not finishing(but will be very fat because I am fed so well and so much), and the weak HOT shower I get every morning and bed i have each night.  I am honoured that these people and this community has welcomed and accepted me, every single day.  God bless my Kenyan family.

Time flies

As most people are aware there was a terror attack this past week in Kenya resulting in the deaths of 147 Christians at a university.  This event has been a lesson in the way different countries are affected and respond.  Interestingly enough I had no idea until chatting with family.  When researching the event it was all over western news sources with terrifying headlines and even so much as saying there was a nationwide curfew.
On the other end/side, in Kenya no one outside the immediate area is panicking, life has gone on as per it had been.  The only curfew may be in the Garrisa area.  It's interesting because Al Shaabab is a major presence even in Nairobi and there are areas that westerners don't visit because of that.

I am entering my second week here in Kenya already and I cannot believe how fast time is going.  By the weekend I already felt like part of the community here at work and like I have been here much longer, but in a good way.  I spent the weekend with a Canadian family in a very western feeling estate and I really looked forward to coming back to my Kenyan family!
I had planned to learn basic Swahili before I came but of course that never happened because I am very good at procrastination and now I am here!  This is definitely something I recommend anyone travelling into a country for more than a couple weeks should do.  Not only would it make day to day life a lot easier but it is I think a respectful thing to do when coming as a guest to a new culture.

I don't have much to do so far in the way of updates as it is a short work week and this week is my first week working on projects.  Stay tuned for adventures in life!

Jambo!

I can't believe I am actually writing from Africa.  I also feel like I have been here more than just three days!  I have already learned a lot about myself..

I have learned that I do in fact get extremely homesick and I was a bit terrified trying to sleep the first night.  All the worries of everyone back home crept in and resulted in a serious lack of sleep.  I woke at 4am the first morning and made an extremely expensive phone call home when it was finally late enough I could see where the heck I was.  It was a pretty amazing view I must say.  I just needed a moment to say holy crap this is so much harder than I expected out loud and have someone say thats ok!  The first day was a whirlwind of seeing the farm, meeting all the staff and women and staying awake.  Mum, as Mary is fondly called, makes you feel so loved and at home that I am so thankful because the evenings can be lonely as the lone intern here.

This is unlike any other place I have ever seen and makes me realize how little of the world I have seen and how lucky I am with my living situation but I am fascinated by everything and love how different it is.  Matatus are everywhere and traffic is insane!  The roads make Saskatchewan look pristine and people are swerving around holes, people, animals and vehicles.  Im glad I don't have to drive here!  The countryside is gorgeous! The hills are always topped with mist in the mornings and the smells are amazing(for the most part!).  Town is a mix of donkeys pulling carts, cows and goats randomly walking around, then mercedes and businessmen. I have also seen a grand total of 5 other "Mzungu"! Yes, i'm counting!

My second night I woke up at 2am and only another 45minutes so i'm amazing I was still functioning.
I got a tour of the Daycare program where when I walked in the door 71 children mobbed me yelling HOW ARE YOU and all grabbing my hands.  It was a terrifying amount of attention but they were so funny with so many different personalities and always yelling HOW ARE YOU

Day 2 we did 6 home visits to the nearby slums and other communities to see the homes of the women in the WEEP program and to learn about their businesses they are building.  They are extremely sweet and welcoming and I already know I am going to miss them if I adore them all three days in.  I am so impressed by their courage, determination,and talent and am going to have a lot of new skirts and dresses! I need them because this "colder weather" might make me into a sweaty puddle!

Day 3 was exhausting and fun. Today I did painting with the daycare children and also did a quick lesson on brushing teeth.  We gave them some crayons pens notebooks and of course treats and it happened to be their last day before a month holiday so my first project had to be competed quick like this.  I left tired and extremely sticky but feeling very loved.  They are an extremely bright group and the teachers are working hard to teach them and make sure they are safe during the day.  We already have next week completely packed because of the easter holiday and the work days promise to go by quickly.  I found out I have weekends off so I need to figure out what the heck to do to fill the time and not break the bank!

Well it's almost time to head home for the day and I am still working on catching up on sleep so I can form proper thoughts.

Keep Fit and Have fun!

Up Up and Away

Well I can't believe it but I am actually making my way to Africa.  I don't think that actually set in until I walked onto the first place today and here I am waiting for part two of this very long journey.  I have to say that so far it has been a major success seeing as my plane took off and landed as planned and a pretty smooth landing I must say.

I am hoping along the way of this trip I will have some interesting or funny or well really any experience worth sharing with my large audience(Ok, at least of three thanks to my family and prof!)of admirers.  So, for now stay tuned, stay safe and of course, Keep Fit and Have Fun!