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Irish Guiding Service Project to Kenya
August 3rd - 25th, 2002
“HARAMBEE – TOGETHERNESS”
Well, where to begin?
Firstly I would like to thank EVERYONE who supported this project from all around the country – those that raised money for the project, those that completed the Harambee Awareness Pack, those that helped our team in anyway. Without YOU this project would not have been the huge success that it was. You might not have physically been in Kenya with us, but your efforts, thoughts and wishes were. Go raibh mile maith agaibh go leir!
We left Dublin on August 3rd amidst a very busy airport – there we were 20 red-clad beings from the Irish Girl Guides and Girlguiding Ulster. The plane was late leaving from Dublin and so there began the journey of running through airports at top speed! We arrived in Nairobi on Sunday morning around 12pm. We were met by the International Commissioner of the Kenyan Girl Guides Association (KGGA), Agnes K. Murgor, and the Executive Officer, Alice Waweru.
We spent our first two days staying in the KGGA Headquarters in Nairobi. During this time we got organised for the project in Londiani – there was lots of shopping, photocopying and sorting to be done and many meetings to be held.
We visited the Kibera Girls Centre in Nairobi on Monday morning. The centre is located in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. The conditions there are shocking – over crowding, poverty, rubbish – just a huge contrast to the area in Nairobi where the KGGA Headquarters was. There are about half a million people living in the slum. KGGA have set up this rehabilitation centre there to teach young girls how to read, write, sew, clean, make crafts and look after themselves. For some it is the only education that they get; for others they are lucky enough to go on to mainstream education afterwards. It’s incredible to see how Guiding is making a difference to the lives of these girls – just amazing!
We spent the morning learning about the centre, and talking to the girls and teachers. The Chief Commissioner of KGGA, Mrs Margaret Waneki greeted us and talked about the challenges facing KGGA today. Indeed they are many – with the ongoing AIDS epidemic that is sweeping Kenya KGGA have many challenges ahead. After sharing and learning some songs and games, we left the centre, each person taking their own thoughts and feelings with them. An emotional morning for the team.
On Tuesday morning we left for Londiani. Anne Barangi who is the Guiding Director there escorted us to the Bethal Children’s Home in Londiani. There we received what can only be described as a sensational welcome – it was just incredible. There were hundreds of children, and villagers singing “We’ve been waiting for a long long time” as we got off the bus. It was just unreal – you wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The children were dressed in Scout and Guide Uniforms and some were in their school uniforms. It was just a sea of colour, music and sound. Overwhelming for us all I think…… We had arrived! I have to say I felt like I had arrived home!
Firstly we unpacked the bus – and that in itself was a job – our luggage came to 46 large bags and hand luggage – full of project equipment – everything collected by our supporters back home. Again thanks a million! Afterwards lunch was served and we were treated to a spread of Kenyan delights. We spent the afternoon and rest of day settling into our new home, and getting organised for the weeks ahead. Our accommodation was excellent and very comfortable. The children came to say hello, and I think we all instantly became attached.
The next morning we were guests of honour at the closing of the Primary school, and there began the legend of the “Harambee Roadshow” !! Every place we went to the Kenyans wanted us to sing and say hello – we did perfect our songs by the end of the trip! It was great to meet the parents and friends of the children in the school and say hello to the locals from Lelsotet village who all welcomed us with open arms. We played games with the children in the home for the afternoon –
ice breakers and warm-ups for the days ahead. It was so hard to remember all 50 names and to tell them apart at first. They later told us they felt exactly the same – we all looked the same to them at the start!
Tuesday morning we began the project in earnest. We divided into teams – there were 20 of us and 30 KGGA Ranger Guides. By lunchtime there were 1000 trees planted, and the majority of the chairs in the Primary school were painted!!! We had exceeded our own expectations big time. The summer camp had started and the atmosphere around the home was excellent.
The following is a complete list of everything we achieved as a service team:
- 1000 Trees were planted.
- Chairs and tables in the Primary and Secondary schools were all painted.
- Classrooms were painted in the primary school.
- The children's dining hall in Bethal Children's Home was painted.
- A summer camp was run for 50 children during our 2 week stay there.
- A peer education AIDS/HIV programme was run by 3 of the team, and attended by 35-40 women from Guiding, Church leaders and women from the local village.
- Training was given on WAGGGS.
- Training was given on Ladybirds & Rainbows.
- A biology garden was made and planted for the school.
- Lots of other gardening was done!
The stories are so numerous we couldn’t possibly mention everything but here is a sample of the day to day life of us in Kenya. I’m sure there’ll be many more told all around the country by all our team members.
- On Sunday we went to church in the village – it was amazing to listen to the singing and dancing
- he Mass went on for 2.5 hours, but time flew by. It was incredible, and the priest was from Cork!!!
- After Mass we visited the village homes. The village was divided up between us and we all visited between 6 and 8 homes. It was great to see how the locals lived, and the welcome they extended to us was incredible. In fact very humbling really. Melissa was given a chicken as a present – it’s still alive and in the children’s home!
- Three of us gave the peer education course to the women from the village, Guide Leaders and Church Leaders. It was just incredible to listen to the women tell the stories of their lives in Kenya, and to share so much with them. Some days were very hard, and some of the topics covered were very sensitive, but it truly was a memorable experience. We all learned so much – words could probably never do it justice.
- Working with the children at the Summer Camp was amazing – just to see their expressions and see their smiles as they learned a new game, song or craft. They were so caring and thoughtful
- to each other and towards us – I think we all learned a huge amount from them.
- Working with the Rangers was also excellent – we shared a lot of good times together as we worked on the various parts of the project. We learned from each other and experienced Guiding in the true sense of the word.
- We visited the Kericho tea plantation just before we left Londiani. The Rangers, Guiders and all the children came too. It was excellent to see how tea is made. The children had a ball – we all went for lunch to the tea hotel as a treat. The children were so excited to get sausages and chips – usually this is a Christmas treat. Wow!
- Learning Masai crafts and hearing how the Masai people live was excellent.
- Meeting women like Lucy (the Manager of the home, and headmistress of the school) and Anne is always a privilege. Lucy has given her life to the children in the home. She looks after them like their mother. She took us as we were, and never judges people. A true Christian and someone I think we all learned something from. Anne has moved to Londiani after retiring from KGGA in Nairobi. She is developing Guiding in this district and given so many girls and women a new aspect to their lives – helping them to make a difference.
- Presenting Lucy with the cheque for $18000 which was fundraised is a moment that none of us will ever forget. It was so emotional that I couldn’t begin to describe it. We all felt special that we were there to witness the moment. Again, thank you all for your incredible generosity.
Leaving Londiani was very hard. The locals, teachers and Guiders organised a closing ceremony for us. All the children from nearby schools and Guide units came to sing and dance. The talent among all the children is unreal – the “Harambee Roadshow” learned a lot! The party went on all night and into the wee hours. It was a sad morning when the bus pulled up to take us back to Nairobi. To say there were tears is an understatement. It was hard to believe that our time in Londiani was over -
an experience I know we will never ever forget.
We spent our time in Nairobi re-adjusting to life, going shopping and touring. It was great craic and we all had a good time.
Our project really showed how Guiding makes a difference to EVERYONE. We have all learned and grown in a huge way over the last number of months and indeed some of us over the last 2 years since this project started. Let’s hope it is the first of many more trips to this amazing country.
Here are some thoughts from our last morning in Londiani:
H is for the happiness that we have all felt during this project.
A is for the attitude we all have to make a dream come true.
R is for the realisation that there is nothing in the world that is insurmountable.
A is for the awareness that we now have of life in Kenya
M is for the memories that will remain with us forever.
B is for the brilliant time we’ve had.
E is for everyone who has made this project happen.
E is for the excellence that together as a team we have shown.
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