Street Boys

One of the hardest things I have witnessed so far in Kenya is the street boys. There are many and they stand out dramatically in central Nakuru. Almost everyone walks around town wearing suits or nicer western style outfits. These boys are extremely dirty and dart through the crowds wearing tattered clothes. It is sad enough to see them, but even sadder when I learned about glue. Most of these boys use any money they get to buy glue. You can see them standing around, sometimes in the middle of the street, with the top of the bottle held open in their teeth. They keep on sniffing it and it gets them high. Most of the boys I have seen are very small. But their eyes are yellow and red. They look like little old men in children's bodies. It is sad because I feel like their is nothing I can do for them. Giving them money for "food" doesn't help because they just use it to get high. One ran up to me with an empty glue bottle in his hand asking me for money. I don't know what the future holds for these kids, but it makes me so sad to see them. They really have nothing to look forward to.

A float/truck supporting one of the political parties. They blast music and drive around town.

Most of the people following this truck are street boys.

On a happier note, today I got to go with one of my coworkers, Beatrice, to two schools. We went to visit with the children FAIR sponsors. The goal is to make sure they are going to school and doing well. Many of them had repeated grades and Beatrice says they are not very motivated. One pair of siblings were in 5 and 7th grades and neither could read. While it was hard to hear that, overall the kids that FAIR supports are doing well. One of the schools was an elementary school with almost 1,000 students. We were there during recess which was fun, especially when I couldn't move a foot without being surrounded by at least 50 kids.

Hospitality

I really cannot say enough about how nice and welcoming the Kenyan community is. With my job at FAIR I have gone to three different locations and at each one all of my coworkers have been very sweet and helpful. Walking around Nakuru, people say hello and if you have a question they are more than willing to help you. Last night we had dinner at Rita's house again because a woman named Grace invited us all back. She had so much fun on Monday that she wanted to see us again. It was so sweet of her and she offered us to come visit her in Nairobi anytime. The people I have met are so welcoming and they have made my trip wonderful. It is amazing how quickly strangers become friends!

                                                  All the piki piki drivers lining the street.


Work this week was interesting because I moved around a lot and did different things everyday. Yesterday (Friday) I went to the farm that FAIR owns. They have workers who maintain it and they provide food for families in need. I was a little apprehensive about going because if you know me at all, you know that manual labor is not something I get particularly excited about. I met the workers at the farm and we started off the day with Chai tea, which is very popular in Kenya. It is a big batch of tea with lots of milk and some sugar in it. Its hard to describe the taste, but it is very nice. Then we went out to the fields and I started to get pretty nervous, everyone had workers there for years and were very experienced.  Luckily they were great about showing me what to do. I learned how to harvest greens (similar to collards), rake over a row to make it flat, furrow the row, and plant the seeds. The work was hard but I enjoyed it a lot. We would do a few feet then stop to rest and chat for a minute, so I got to know the workers better. After a few hours we took a lunch break and ate Ugali. It is the staple dish in Kenya. It is basically a big chunk of corn meal that is more spongy than bread. It is typically eaten with vegetables. They showed me how to pinch off some ugali, roll it in my had, pick up some veggies, then eat it. (This is all only done with your right hand, because eating with the left is considered to be rude). It was a really good meal, after I got used to eating with my hands. I wasn't sure if I would like the farm, but after going I definitely want to try and go once a week!

                                                              The farm I work at

Nakuru- First Days

Hello! So my first few days gone by crazy fast so I will sum up what I have been doing!

                                                                 Downtown Nairobi

                                                     View driving away from Nairobi

I was driven on Saturday from Nairobi by Benson, a really sweet guy who works for my program. He was too nice and told me all about Kenya's geography, tribes, and animals. We stopped at the Rift Valley overlook and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!! It is such a huge valley and it was a clear day, so perfect. We had a 3 hour drive and the scenery was gorgeous of course. I was amazed by the variety and how many mountains/hills there were. Since it is the rainy season everything was unbelievably green. We even spotted some Zebras grazing!

            This doesn't do the Rift Valley justice. It was SO HUGE. This is only a small fraction. 

Boys raising bunnies to help support their families. Benson thought it was pretty funny that I used to have a pet bunny, especially since the whole point of having them here is to eat them.


Once I got to Nakuru I met my roommates Jordyn (from Australia) and Itziar (from Spain). They are the nicest girls ever and are great about showing me around the city and answering my millions of questions! Rosemary's house is really nice and right now I have my own room, unless another volunteer shows up later in the summer. It is about a 20 minute walk from the center of town and 40 minutes to my job at FAIR (Family AIDS Initiative Response).

                                                           My sweet cheetah print bed

                                                                Rosemary's house!

Sunday we laid around a pool at a nice hotel called Merica (not kidding). It was really relaxing and a nice way to start my week. Monday I went into the office and did some data entry and met my coworkers who are all extremely nice. (If you are starting to see a trend...everyone is so nice!!) Haha. Later at night my roommates and I went to our friend Rita's (from Canada) for her birthday dinner. Her host mom Florence made a HUGE dinner for us, two girls from Denmark, and some Kenyan friends. There was so much food but it was so good you couldn't stop eating. (and if you did stop Florence was quick to add something else to your plate.)

                                The Merica hotel- and yes....a deer head is the symbol. haha

      A giant supermarket downtown. They can definitely rival Walmart on both variety and price!


Today I went to a smaller FAIR office at a church called St. Nicolas. It was nice because there were other interns (all Kenyans) who were closer to my age. We did some paperwork and then I got to go out in "the field." It was nice because this office is in a less populated part of town. It is less busy and developed. It had a great view of the mountains that surround the valley. We stopped in on a woman who is a diabetic and malnourished. FAIR keeps track of her health and makes sure she is eating right. She was a very tiny, very old lady who has already lost a leg to her disease. Thankfully, her blood sugar level is normal but she is still so so thin. Everyone was talking in Swahili which was difficult, but I was able to understand a few words here and there. Afterwords I asked my supervisor a few questions and told her what I understood and she was impressed that I was making an effort to understand. Then the cutest little kids started yelling "mzungu sasa?" which basically means "what's up white person?" Haha. I probably hear the word "mzungu" (white person) about 200 times a day. Walking up the street so many people say it to you. Guess they are reminding me in case I forget?

                                             The road I take to get downtown and to work.

                                      The front of the main FAIR office, sponsored by USAID.

I am safely in Kenya!!

I arrived in Nairobi (the capital) Friday night around 8:30 pm local time. (It is 7 hours ahead of the USA). After over 24 hours of constant traveling I was exhausted.

Some notes on my flights: The first flight was 7 hours from Dulles to Paris. I flew on an Airbus, which was HUGE. I didn’t sleep since it was an afternoon flight, but by the time I got to Paris it was 6 am local time and I definitely wasn’t happy to start my day all over again.

My flight to Nairobi was interesting to say the least. I flew on Kenya Airlines (The Pride of Africa!) and was so impressed by the service. The seats were blue or red with multicolored designs and food and drinks were free. The plane was pretty empty but I ended up sitting right next to a little old man who spoke French and no English. However, I wasn’t in his company for too long because before the plane even took off a man a few rows ahead of me walked over and asked me if I wanted to come sit with him.

Normally I would not hangout with a complete stranger, but hey it was an 8 hour plane ride and at least he spoke English. Within 5 minutes of sitting with him he ordered us both Tusker, an original Kenyan beer. I tried (and failed) to keep a straight face as the flight attendant promptly handed us each TWO cans of FREE beer. I immediately decided that I made the right choice to sit with him. (Who needs sleep anyways?!) Then we chatted about anything from religion to politics to race. It was really nice talking to him, he was really intelligent and had great insights. Before I knew it, we had been talking for 4 hours straight! He ordered us another round of two beers each, but I begged off because I was exhausted and frankly drinking two beers over the course of 4 hours had been a struggle. (Especially since Kenyans prefer their beer warm…yummm). Since the plane was empty I was able to get my own row of seats and got in a solid two hours before my new friend woke me up because we were “close” to our destination. Apparently our definitions of “close” are extremely different because we were still 2 hours away. Luckily for me, I got to spend those 2 hours listening to a very well thought out argument for why I should meet up with this guy in Kenya AND potentially start up a long distance relationship. Lets just say that we decided to stay friends……hahaha.

Landing in Kenya was a TOTALLY different experience then my time in Sierra Leone. The airport in Kenya is very clean and modern. (Everyone got their fingerprints scanned by a machine before entering the country). It was actually a pretty relaxing process while navigating the airport in Sierra Leone can be overwhelming and quite frankly unpleasant. Also, I was extremely impressed by Nairobi. It is definitely an African city, but there are so many impressive buildings. I was shocked to see some skyscrapers and huge hotels. The parliament buildings and government offices wouldn’t look out of place in DC. Overall, the city was busy with people dressed up and getting ready to go out while Freetown looks like a ghost town after dark. The roads are nicely paved and people actually use the sidewalk and don’t take up the whole street (imagine that!).

I have been so thrown off by traveling and have been awake since 4 am. Its almost 9 and I will be leaving soon to FINALLY get to Nakuru, where I will be spreading the next three months. I am so excited to see the country and meet my host mom :)

Summer 2012!

This summer I will be traveling to Kenya for 12 weeks. I am so excited and feel incredibly blessed by this wonderful opportunity. I will be staying in Nakuru with a host family and other volunteers. I am not 100% exactly what my internship entails, but I do know that I will be working for an organization called Family AIDS Initiative Response (F.A.I.R.)

FAIR is a non-profit social services organization for those affected by HIV/AIDS. The focus is on women’s projects and community development. Interns are responsible for office work and do large amounts of hands-on community outreach. Other interns have: run group counseling sessions with commercial sex workers, participated in food preparation and delivery, and worked with orphaned/vulnerable children. Once I arrive in Kenya I will get more details.

In case you don't know, Kenya is in East Africa! Also, I AM SUPER EXCITED!!!!!! :) :) :) :)

Why?

I am creating a blog in an attempt to document my travels. I can't imagine starting a blog without mentioning the Child Rescue Centre. This was my first experience in Africa, and radically changed my life. Sierra Leone is a beautiful country in West Africa that is best-known around the world for its brutal civil war and association with blood diamonds. Unfortunately, many people cannot look past this negative perception.

My first trip to the Child Rescue Centre was December 2010, and I quickly returned for a second trip in August 2011. It is impossible for me to describe how much this experience changed me. Before I went to Africa I was lost. My life wasn't going in a certain direction and I was unhappy. I felt as though I did not have a purpose and was constantly frustrated with my insignificant life.

The CRC transformed me. I met children who drastically changed the way I viewed life. They have lost so much. They are all orphans either from the civil war, poverty, or other unfortunate circumstances that prevent their family members from providing proper care for them. Before my trip when I thought about these children, I expected them to be broken. But when I arrived I realized that they were the happiest people I have ever met. Those children are so filled with joy and love. It was overwhelming for me to experience such authentic happiness.

I feel linked to these children. Even though I was only able to spend a few weeks with them, I feel more deeply connected to some of them than people I have known for years. It has been frustrating for me to return home and deal with negative people. If only everyone understood how amazing life is. In Sierra Leone, life is a precious gift to be enjoyed. In America, life is often seen as yet another thing to complain about. 

The Child Rescue Centre has made me realize that I want to devote my life to helping others. I know that I will not change the world. Service is a wonderful thing, but in the end sometimes it changes you more than the people you intended to help. I am forever changed because of the CRC, and this blog will be my attempt at giving back and making an impact (however small) on this world.