Dani Blogs…KENYA!
ASB…in Kenya…making a difference!
Well….we’ve been here for a week and this experience has gone way beyond anything we could’ve ever imagined. We have painted an entire girls dormitory inside and out. The team is building (from the ground up) latrines for both the girls and boys. Many of us are teaching classes next week….I have opted for social studies and will be teaching about tea! We have also started an after school Girls Club where the 6, 7, and 8 girls from the school and orphanage will hang out with the ASB girls and play games, sing, dance, talk, work on homework and hopefully discover that girls can do anything boys can do…and maybe even better!
From a personal stand point this trip is simply amazing. We are completely immersed in the community and have learned so much from all the people we interact with. After one solid week with 13 other people I opted to hang out in the kitchen with our cooks last night. I have only ever read about women like this…and yesterday I had the chance to cook with them. Helena, one of our cooks and Dago volunteer mother told me she is part of 27 organizations. She takes care of 89 children who are HIV positive. The women collectively oversee over 3000 people…this includes counseling and homecare. They also have a marry-go-round operation going as well as their catering company…did I mention that they also take care of their own families???!!! They are an incredible inspiration to us all. I have made so many friends, Beatrice a 13 year old 8th grader comes to mind. My first encounter with her was at the orphanage where she lives as she frantically looked for her belongings that we carelessly tossed aside not realizing that what to us looked like garbage was actually all she had. I was mortified. I helped her look for her stuff and what started as an incredibly sad and awkward situation turned into one of the most pure friendships I have ever had. We washed dishes together later that night and the next day we were singing and dancing in the grass together. Today we nodded to each other as we both sat through an incredibly long church service; her strength and charisma amazes me and motivates me to continue to work even though the sun is hot and my body sometimes aches.
We are so happy here and loving every moment of it….sadly we will be leaving this magical place next Sunday as we head to Bukura to meet with KCYP. Our work is meaningful and we are making a difference…we feel it and we know it.
I used to say it is impossible for this student group to changes lives. I WAS WRONG…simply because we are…we have no doubt of this.
Until next time
Dani