Personal experiences
Making A Difference in Kenya
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It was my first volunteering experience and I had no idea what to expect, all I knew is that I wanted to be a positive influence, at least in one child's life.
The concept that a child has no parents to love and care for their needs is a hard for me to accept. 'Street kids' or 'rat kids' as they are called, they come from the very ugly street life in Mombasa, diseased, unfed and mostly addicted to glue.
So off I set, my first travel adventure with real purpose, I feel. The joy of giving just to see their smiles is the purpose. But ultimately Grandsons is the hope of a better future, one with education, a home and food.
My first arrival at the Centre was on Christmas Day 2009 so the boys all gathered together in one classroom, they each unwrap a gift (t-shirt & dvd) and told that we were taking them to the Swimming Pools. Excited ohhh yes they were... So about 28 boys and 10 volunteers jam pack into two matatus and off we set - splashing about all day non stop exhausting fun, i have three kids swinging, jumping on my shoulders the whole day but for my first day - i'm just happy to be there and welcomed by the children, so I amm dealing with this just nicely. We had chicken and chips and a soda for lunch which the boys loved - little different from their regular rice and beans dish. I'm always suprised by the amount of food the kids can actually consume, which I guess comes from the mind set of just not knowing when or if there will be another meal.. food comes in extra large portions!
It's holiday time and a lot of the boys had gone to see family members whilst 28 out of roughly 70 had no family to go to or simply just couldn't go. So I get the pleasure of hanging out with the kids before schools back and thereafter for a couple of weeks. I hang out, play soccer, read bed time stories, wash their clothes. They are actually just like any other regular children, they love to be cool, listen to their music, dance and show off too. Just as well I am a big kid, I still have the song Yori Yori playing in my head and endless tracks of Acon... which I am now loving. In fact i bought the CDs. And yes of course they fight too, this is when they start speaking in Swahilli and its hard to find out what the problem was but you try and settle things down.
So school begins and I put my hand up for the challenge of teaching level 4. I arrive at the school (about 8am) and ask "where am I am teaching the kids" the response "ahhhh I think you'll be taking them in the chicken pen". Yes the chicken pen (which has about 10 chickens running around it in). I'm not liking this idea so I manage to find another room, which only has the occasional rat running around, which you get strangely accustomed to. So I have never taught school children before but I know ultimately I just want to get the lesson across and if it means I have to send the naughty kids (ie. the ones that keep abusing me in Swahilli) to the Sisters then I am not going to let them stop the other kids from learning. So slowly the kids learn that I am there to teach, and then we can have fun once the lesson has sunk in. The hard part is that they are all at different stages of learning so its hard to keep their attention, they loved to be challenged and learn but it was important to know what each child is actually capable of in the first place. I leave for the day feeling a sence of achievement in once sence at the cost of the life that has been sucked out of me... but it is all good.
Next week I put my hand up for level 2, now I know this is going to be a little bit hard in terms of their attention span but hey, i've got a whole week of experience under my belt now so I am approaching it a little bit different. One of my favourite lessons for example was the 5 sences, and what's better than giving the example of tasting with actual food and all flavours. Another lesson was hygiene so I get them some new tooth brushes, tooth paste, hankerchief, soap etc. They are feeling pimped out now and very excited with their new belongings - Lessons objectives acheived and enjoyed. Of course its not all fun, especially when their nearly crying that they have to write the numbers 1-100 in words! and I mathematically challenged their brain but with a lot of patience and persistence with them, hating me right now, but in the end I am not giving up until they understand it. And then we can play a game and they can like me all over again! Phew..
My last day was quite sad for me because by now I have actually fallen in love with these kids, with a small entourage I am escourted down the road, my motor bike comes to pick me up and the kids that were still with me are absolutely thrilled when I say they can all have a little ride on the bike. Smiles all round and huge bear hugs on departure... The kids are in my heart forever...
Belinda Buchanan
February 2010
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