There were no flaws in the program, and overall very organised. I made some lifelong friends on this journey. The experience was very rewarding and I really felt like I was helping. I can’t wait to go back!
Program Volunteer Kenya
Project: Volunteer in the Children's Home/Orphanages in Kenya
To get the full experience of Africa, we decided to wash our laundry by hand. It was hard work, my back hurt from bending over and scrubbing, and my hands hurt from ringing out my clothes.
It’s time for Africa! I am so excited to have the opportunity to come to Kenya to volunteer. After a long flight that had many delays, I finally arrive in Nairobi. I am greeted by Tony and we go out for Breakfast while we wait for Celia from England to arrive. Once she arrives, we head off to Monicah’s and Nancy’s place. James is already there waiting for us to arrive. Raphael took us to Java for our orientation. The orientation was very informative and a good start to our trip.
They had to build a bridge using those materials. We later put bricks on the bridge to see which bridge could hold the most weight. Decko`s group actually held James` weight. It was very impressive!
Week One- February 14 – Feb 21, 2011
On Feb 15, James, Celia and I head out for our first day at the New Life Orphanage. The babies are go gorgeous, they have the cutest brown eyes and curly hair. We had a little orientation at New Life, and then started to take care of the babies. Our duties included showing the babies affection, feeding them, and keeping an eye on the toddlers so they don’t get into mischief, especially when we go outside. Every child is so unique and special. It warms your heart to know that you are helping make their day a little better. You are showing that you are there for them, and that they are loved and special. I loved the feeling of picking up a crying baby and cuddling them back to happiness. It is a feeling like no other. A three year old named Bernard loved to play with my hair. He took my hair clips and pony tail out and would try to redo my hair.
Nairobi is pretty modernised. There are a lot of newer buildings, but at the same time there are a lot of older buildings. I found it interesting to see that there are a lot of markets and random chickens walking around. You would not see something like that in a Canadian city. On Feb 20th we went to the Nairobi National Park. It was awesome to see all the animals, but at the same time I was really looking forward to our safari and being able to see the animals in the wild. I also found it interesting how the price to get into the park was like 6x time for non-residents as opposed to residents. I was very excited to see a baboon go walking past me, I will never forget that moment. I just love monkeys! We got the opportunity to go beyond the beaten track with a guard to see a leopard and cheetah up close and personal. I really wanted a picture of me riding a zebra, but I had to settle for trick photography.
After the park we caught a Matatu to the city. We had heard so much about matatu`s and were very aware of our surroundings while in it. People make matatu`s seem more scary then they actually are. We went to the Maasai Market in the city. They people working there were pretty aggressive towards us. They really wanted us to buy their stuff and wouldn`t take ``no`` for an answer. That whole experience was a little bit overwhelming, but it was an experience that I don`t regret having. We then met Monicah and Raphael at the Bomas of Kenya. The dances were really amazing, I especially like the acrobats.
Week Two Feb 21 - Feb 28, 2011
At New Life we cuddled the babies again, and shared some laughs with them. Bernard was showing me how to play his little toy guitar. He had the cutest little accent when he said ``guitar``. We fed all the crawlers their bottles and then went down to feed the toddlers their fruit. The orphanage is very clean, organized, and welcoming. When James and I were walking home, a man asked James if he could help him move a stretcher with a man on it closer to the vehicle. The situation seemed highly suspicious as the man`s face was covered with a blanket and all you could see was his feet. The guy said, ``Please, this man is very sick and he needs our help``. James gave me his bag (in case he was to get robbed) and went to help the guy. They picked up the stretcher and moved it to the vehicle. The guy then uncovered the man`s head and it turned out to be a bobble head manikin. The guy smiled and said ``look at the camera, you have just need tricked``. The camera man was hiding behind a tree, too funny. I was wondering if we were going to make it on tv.
James, Celia and I requested to be moved to a different volunteer site as we didn’t feel that needed at New Life. We were having a wonderful time there; however, it was just hugging and talking baby talk to the baby’s everyday for 8 hours. We felt as though other places could use our help more as there were many volunteers at New Life. Monicah told us that we could volunteer at RAHA kids. RAHA kids is a rehabilitation center for the street boys of Kenya. We taught the boys English, math, science, heath, and played football with them. The kids were divided into three groups according to their education levels. The beginners will called the Dolphins, the intermediate were called the Tigers, and the Advances level was called the Lions. There were about 20 boys here ranging from 8-15 years old. We actually got to interact with them and talk to them. Most of them were pretty good at speaking English, and to those who weren’t we had to learn so speak some Swahili. They taught us Swahili and we taught them English, it was a very good deal. We planned a sports day for the boys. This consisted of relays, a game of soccer, water balloon fight, and skipping rope. They boys had a great time and we could see that they were very appreciative. They were very interested in our cameras. They would say, ``Kate, take me photo``. They had the funniest poses. As soon as the picture was taken, they would run to the camera to see what it looked like. They could take pictures all day long if they could.
To get the full experience of Africa, we decided to wash our laundry by hand. It was hard work, my back hurt from bending over and scrubbing, and my hands hurt from ringing out my clothes. I will never take my washing machine for granted anymore! Later that evening, I learnt how to make ugali. Monicah`s friend, Patricia came to cook for us. She had a daughter named Xena who was super cute. Every evening after that, I helped Patricia in the kitchen making supper. It was interesting to learn how to cook African food. I tried to take some notes so I can cook some food for my family when I got home. James` sister’s fiancé (Mutai) is Kenyan, so we went to his families place on Feb 26th. On the way to his place, we witnessed two fender benders. I have not figured out the rules to driving in Kenya. There are certainly not the same rules as Canada. The drivers are a lot more aggressive and seem to drive where they want and when they want.
I went to church with Monicah on Feb 27th. The church was similar to mine back in Canada. Later that day, James and I went to the Yaya Market to get some more souvenirs for home. We were not going to get pushed around. We went in with our game faces on and did very well surprisingly.
Week Three Feb 28 – March 7, 2011
Today at RAHA I helped the mommas make chapatti. I then helped the Lions plant a garden. We planted carrots, onions and lettuce. They boys have so much energy and they are so positive. They are really nice to be around. We had a game of football with them. They are very talented in football and a lot of them want to be professional football players. James and I worked on shapes with the dolphins. A lot of them really struggled with it, they called a rectangle a 'rectriangle'. It was very rewarding to see most of them catch on to what you are teaching them. It really makes you feel like you are making a difference for them. I worked with Benson Lucka on addition and subtraction. He requested that I give him homework every day. In the morning, he would come to RAHA and make me correct his work. I helped the tigers learn multiplication and long division. Alex was struggling, so I kept him after class was over to help him. He was so proud of himself when he finally caught on.
We had the boys do a science activity where we gave them drinking straws and tape. They had to build a bridge using those materials. We later put bricks on the bridge to see which bridge could hold the most weight. Decko`s group actually held James` weight. It was very impressive!
When we were walking home one day, we noticed that the road was blocked off and there were guards lining the street. We asked a local what was going on and he told us that the President of Kenya was driving by. Soon there were 5-6 identical cars driving over 100km an hour down the street. It was very interesting to see how they treat the President. On March 5th we went with Sam (the priest at RAHA) to the Mount Kenya area. There were so many pot holes on the highway, and random speed bumps along the way. Looking out the car window I saw many people hauling crops, donkeys pulling trolleys, many little shops, many fields, goats and cows. We pulled over and we were bombarded with ladies trying to sell us fruit. The car was swarmed with lady sticking fruit inside the vehicle. I have never seen such a thing and found it rather humorous. We made it to Abedare National Park and went for a little game drive. I was so excited to see a `Pumba` (warthog). The first time I saw one, I just had to scream. With that the group of warthogs ran away. Once I composed myself, I promised I wouldn’t do that again because I was scaring off the animals. We saw buffalo, elephants, gazelle, impala, and Bomas antelope. We were afraid we were going to run out of gas, so we had to leave a little bit early. We then went to Sam`s grandparents house to celebrate his aunty and uncle`s wedding re-vows. There were a bunch of ladies dressed in green dancing and singing. Near the end of the ceremony, they had a celebration in honour of me becoming a Kenyan woman. They put a laso (skirt) on me, and I had to do some dances. I was very happy for them to do this for me.
We went to two church services with Sam that Sunday. The children at church were very curious about James and I. They would not stop staring. At the end of the service Sam said, ``James, Kate Kuja``. We had to go to the front of the church and introduce ourselves. After the second service one of the ladies requested that we sing a song. James and I were completely put on the spot. I`m not even completely comfortable talking in front of large groups, never mind singing in front of them. James suggested that we sing ``Amazing Grace``. So we started singing, and then after ``Amazing Grace`` we both burst out laughing. I couldn’t take this serious as James and I do not sing! The people were so confused what was going on. We apologized and Sam allowed us to sit down. After the service, James and I talked to the youth group about our home countries and how you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. We then went to a lady`s house and she gave us a chicken as a gift. I have never got such a gift before! We took our chicken in a box home. I learnt how to milk a cow and we made our way back to Nairobi.
Week Four March 7- March 14, 2011
Benson Lucka gave me a beaded ring that he made for me because I helped him with his homework. I also learnt how to count from 1-29 in Swahili this week. I was very impressed with myself and was determined to keep learning the language. We gave the boys a lesson about Canada and Australia. They were very interested in what we had to say, and they asked a lot of questions. Ahmed said that he is going to come to Canada in 2020, and he is going to be the world’s best snowboarder. I’m looking forward to 2020! I showed the boys pictures of my life in Canada. They got to see my house, my family, my dog, my friends, animals around Canada, my church and some of the Ukrainian food that I eat. Nelson and Ababah were very convinced that I had worms in me as they could see my veins. I tried to tell them that they had veins too, but they said that they didn’t, or that they weren’t blue and worm like. On March 10th we went with the boys to the scouting place to swim. Most of the boys knew how to swim, although some of them were not so confident. They have so much energy, and swimming is the perfect way to let them release that energy. We were there the entire day swimming. I could tell that they were having a blast. We had lunch in a park near the pool. Half way through our meal, we were surrounded by monkeys trying to steal our food. There were so many of them, and they were so cute. We gave them some of our bananas. They are very quick and agile. It’s amazing how they can swing through the trees with such ease. We went to Mombasa (the coast) on March 11th with Sam. We caught the Horizon bus and it took us roughly 9 hours to get there. It wasn’t a bad ride, besides the fact that the air conditioning wasn’t working on the bus and it was super hot in there. We stayed at the Parish with Sam while being out there.
It was so humid in Mombasa, almost too much for me to handle. On March 12th we ventured out to explore Mombasa. We got a tuk tuk to the harbour and then went for a little walk on the coast. We went to Nyali Beach and went for a little swim. The water was absolutely clear, and the sand was very white. The water was also the warmest ocean water I have ever been in. We then had the opportunity to ride a camel on the beach. I was excited as this is something I’ve always wanted to do. We attended church on March 13th and then headed to the ferry...Destination: South Coast. I can’t stress enough how humid and hot it is here. When we were at Shell Beach, we heard that there was a Tsunami warning in effect for the area. The aftermath of the earthquake/tsunami in Japan caused warning to the African Coast. We found a nice restaurant for us to eat at and just relax. We caught the midnight bus back to Nairobi. We arrived at 6am on Monday the 14th of March, and went straight to Monicah’s house and slept.
Week Five March 14 – March 21, 2011
A man asked us if we could buy him some bread and milk. We agreed and he offered to get the trolly for us. He came in the store with us and soon our trolly was filled with bread, milk, sugar, oil, ugali, and shoe polish. We were unsure of the need for him to buy shoe polish, so after that we told him we were going to pay. We felt good doing this for him as he told us he lived in the slums and had 5 children that have not eaten yet today. We were happy to help!
James and I helped the Lions with their fractions. They are very intelligent boys. We did some creative story telling lessons with the boys. We would give them a bunch of random words, and they would have to make a story in their head using those words. They were very good at it, and they were very entertaining. They loved doing this exercise, and didn’t want to stop the lesson. I videotaped some of them telling their stories. My family really enjoyed watching the videos too. On March 17th we celebrated James birthday. I bought some ice cream to share with the boys at RAHA. They truly enjoyed the ice cream and were so thankful. We went with Raphael to one of the schools in the slums. We got a nice tour of the place and the people in the slums were so friendly. They were very welcoming and wanted to hear our voices and touch my hair. The children would run up to the car and wave at us, say hello, and ask how we are doing. I almost felt like the queen driving through as everyone was waving and saying hi. I gave some of my donations to the school/orphanage.
In the evening we went out to Java Restaurant for James’ birthday supper. James’ sister’s soon to be sister in law met us at Java. Patricia and Xena also met us there. It was a very nice meal, and great to enjoy each others company. We had cheesecake for dessert! On March 19th we went into the city to go to the Market one last time. We were very experienced going to the Markets this time, and we would be not pushed around. We did very well for ourselves, and we were both very proud of our progress. We then went to James’ Kenyan family’s house for dinner. Monicah, Patricia, and Xena came with us. While we were there we had another cake in honour of James’ birthday. We met Michael (a huge Kenyan TV star) while at Mutai’s parents place. James asked Michael if he would be able to come into RAHA kids and speak to the boys. Michael agreed, and we were so thankful.
The rainy season was upon us now as it was pretty much raining every evening, night and early morning. This made it difficult for us to do our laundry. Xena and I watched the Lion King, it is my favourite movie!
Week Six March 21- March 29, 2011
Sadly, this is our last week out in Kenya. We had such an amazing time; I never want this experience to end. We went to New Life every day this week for around an hour in the mornings, then went to RAHA Kids after. Michael came to talk to the boys on March 21st. When he walked in the room, all of the boys knew who he was and they were very shy. They were so shocked to see a celebrity has come to see them. James and I had a great feeling of success knowing that we are really helping these boys. We went to New Life and I donated the rest of my donations. A 94 year old lady from Canada made a bunch of blankets for me to take to give to the kids in Kenya. She requested that I take a photo for her of a baby in her blanket. I got my photo for her and I know she will be so happy when I give it. We gave the babies lots of cuddles and enjoyed their company. I am going to be so sad to leave them as they are all so cute. We booked our safari for this weekend, and were so excited to go. We saved the best event for our last weekend in Kenya. I taught the Lions a lesson about the body, focusing on the blood and blood vessels in the body.
On March 25th we set off on our safari. There were four people in our vehicle. Nasarg, a wildlife biologist from India and Drude, and student from Denmark joined us. We visited the Rift Valley and then continued onward to the Maasai Mara. When we got there, our first game drive was at 4:00pm. We went out for a few hours and in this time we saw lions lying in the shade, giraffes fighting, elephants eating in the trees, impala, buffalo, zebras, antelope, and a tortoise. We had a wonderful time, and this was just 1 of 3 game drives. We had a delicious supper, and then went to sleep in a nice tent/house room. The following day, we headed out at 8:00am for a full day in the Maasai Mara. This day was wonderful we found the Big Five and many more animals. We were in the middle of a lioness hunt, saw a leopard jump down from a tree, many different birds, we saw a cheetah, and many hippos in the water. We had a guard with a gun when we went out to see the hippos as they are very aggressive animals. We saw crocodiles, and last but not least, the rhino. When we stopped for lunch, we got taken over by monkeys trying to steal our food. Around 5:00pm we wrapped up our day by going to visit the Maasai village. We learnt many interesting facts about their tribe. They were very welcoming people and we had a great time with them. On our way back to our campsite, it started pouring rain. They were massive rain drops, and they were coming down hard. It was a very pretty scene. We had one more game drive left, and so far we have been very lucky to see what we have seen.
On March 27th we were ready to go by 6:00am for our game drive. We were up before the sun rose and got to watch it rise over the Maasai Mara. The first animal we found was a male lion guarding a carcass. James then spotted a pack of hyenas coming to challenge the lion for the remains. We were so excited to be at the right place at the right time. The hyenas were getting closer and the lion was getting more prepared. We are about to see something super cool! All of a sudden, a bunch of safari vehicles pull up into the middle of the scene and scare the hyenas off. We were so disappointed! We drove around for another few hours and then headed back to camp for breakfast. We packed up and headed back to Nairobi. On the way back, I checked my camera to see how much memory I had left on my card. While doing that, I somehow managed to erase all of my pictures. I had the sickest feeling in my stomach...what have I done? James said that he would try to get my pictures back on Monday.
When we got back to Nairobi, we went out for our farewell dinner with Mutai’s family to a restaurant called Carnivore. We ate a lot of different meats at Carnivore. I had crocodile, camel, ostrich, chicken, duck, lamb and many other meats. On Monday, we went to RAHA and James helped me get my pictures back. I got most of them back; however, some of them were distorted or not found. At least I have some of them back; it was like a massive brick was lifted off my shoulder. We bought at RAHA t-shirt and got all of the boys and staff to sign the back of them. James said his farewells and we headed back to Monicah’s house to pack. I was sad to see James off. I had one more day in Kenya and then I would be leaving the following evening. Tuesday morning I went to New Life to say farewell to the babies then I went to RAHA kids to spend some time with the boys. I had lunch with Monicah in her office. Then I said my good-byes to the boys. They didn’t want to see us leave as we had a strong bond already. I went home and packed, said goodbye to Monicah, Raphael, Patricia, Nancy and Xena. Tony came to pick me up and we were headed for the airport. Thirty hours later I arrived in Regina, Canada.
All in all, I had a wonderful time in Kenya. I would love to go back as soon as possible. The people were very friendly, the food was good, weather was gorgeous, and the atmosphere was simply great. There were no flaws in the program, and overall very organised. I made some lifelong friends on this journey. The experience was very rewarding and I really felt like I was helping. I can’t wait to go back!
Kaetlyn Shewchuk
