My Kenyan Volunteer Experience

January 5

Today begins the African venture. It started at 3am when my alarm went off and my conscious drifted out of dreaming. I got ready, had a bowl of cereal and waited for my cab. The cab driver was very friendly and we had a lengthy conversation about our passions during the 30 minute drive. He told me he was proud of me for doing what I was setting off to Kenya to do. He said there was far too much “me, me, me” in the world and it was a rare treat to find a person who was passionate about helping others. I said, “How ironic you mention that, because the project I’m doing in Africa is called “Me to We”!

He dropped me off.

I took my flight to Toronto. Took my connection to Amsterdam. On that flight, I sat between a young Indian family on the right and an Indian grandmother to my left, who shared her spicy Indian food with me in gratitude for having helped her with her carry-ons.

My plane, leaving snowy Toronto

January 6

Still flying… My brain is mush, I can’t think, I can’t stay awake. All I’ve done on this 8-hour flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi is EAT-SLEEP-EAT-SLEEP… Are we there yet?

Was just given a boxed meal from the flight attendant. The little quote printed on the cover of the box reads, “The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.” –Flora Whittermore. I taped it in my journal.

Upon arrival at the airport, Celestine, an employee of Free the Children, was there waiting for me, holding a sign with my name. She escorted me through customs and the airport, and it was a breeze- no lines-ups, and only one question: -How long are you staying?

I got my luggage and exited the airport, where another employee, Wangui, was there to meet me. She accompanied me in the van that brought me to the Karen Blixen Cottages. The chauffeur had a Canada t-shirt on. And the steering wheel was on the right side… here they drive on the left -hand side of the road! It felt very strange, being my first experience of opposite side of the road driving!

Once we arrived, the receptionist had a letter for me from my Mom, who stayed here the previous night (We were supposed to travel together, but I missed my flight). She wrote that she couldn’t wait to see me and Karibu Kenya! (Welcome to Kenya).

My princess bed at Karen Blixen (really just a mosquito net...)

January 7

Once I woke up, it took me a peek out the window to return to the reality that I AM IN AFRICA! My 2010 goal came true after only 6 days into the New Year: Here I am, in KENYA!

I checked-out and met with Robin Wiszowaty, the Program Director of Free the Children in Kenya. We hopped in the same van as last night and drove to the Java House to pick-up some tea and sandwiches for lunch and set off down the Kenyan Highway for our 5-hour drive to the Bogani Cottages. Robin is a 28 year-old American who just finished authoring a book called “My Maasai Life” and is returning from a 4-month book campaign in Canada. We chatted about our experiences, studies, lives, work and how we see our futures!

We stopped at a look-out along the Highway, of the Rift Valley; it was so incredible to see with my own eyes what I’d only seen in textbooks previously, in my Anthropology classes. The Rift Valley begins in Turkey and goes all the way down to Mozambique, and it is where archaeologists discovered Lucy, the oldest Homo sapien!

The Rift Valley

We continued on our way, and grazing on the open valley trees next to the road, we saw GIRAFFES! Such fabulous animals! They’re actually my favorite animal!

We kept driving and soon after switched vehicles, to a jeep, because we were now entering muddy dirt road zone! On this rural road, there were occasional streams or huge puddles (I mean HUGE!) that we had to drive through. Many village children waved in greeting as we passed, shouting, “Jambo! Jambo sana!” (Hello! A very big hello!)

The muddy road to the Bogani Cottages and the rural communities.

We drove until we came to a sign which indicated Pimbiniet School and waited there for the rest of the crew to join us.

With Robin and two school girls in the neighbourhood!

Soon, two jeeps came driving up the road from the other end of it; I looked in the first one for Mom- she wasn’t there. Then I spotted her in the second one and tears started to well up in my eyes, as did hers… As soon as her jeep parked, she jumped out and we gave each other an enormous loving hug… It was sooo good to see her again! After a number of introductions, we got back into the vehicules and drove up to the school where the Community Chief, the Headmaster, the teachers and 600 pupils were waiting for us (three jeep loads of us) to welcome us to Kenya and to their community!

Dwight and the many children welcoming us to their school!

We shook hands with the teachers and with a loooong row of curious and awaiting children. “Jambo!”…”Jambo!”… “Nice to meet you”…”Jambo!” All smiles! We were ushered up to small camping chairs under a sun tent and the Headmaster, as well as a couple teacher s and the Chief gave speeches to welcome us and thank us for all our great work and contributions to their school- credit we would soon earn. The teacher took turns introducing themselves on the mic they had plugged into a small generator outside. The Headmaster and the one teacher who spoke on the mic a lot repeated my name often, pinpointing me as a special guest, saying: We are so glad to have you, Wonderful Rebecca!!! They seemed to forget everyone else’s names! Everyone had been expecting me…

The older students performed a song and dance number for us, which was great! Beautiful voices united with beautiful spirits! I really enjoyed it. The lyrics to one of their songs went: “Happiness, happiness, happiness today.”

The older girls performing a song and dance for us.

Then the teachers stood in a half circle and sang and danced as they took us by the hand, one at a time, bringing us to the middle of their circle, and tied a necklace around our neck in welcome. It was fun to see the members of our team attempt to copy the smooth dance steps of our Kenyan hosts.

Necklace ceremony!

Next came some free time to socialize with the children and teachers, as well as a guided tour of the classrooms, library and offices. The preschool classrooms were mud-walled huts with floors of gushy mud because of the recent rainfall, while the higher grade classrooms were the newer cement floored, brick and cement walled installments.

The kindergarten classroom

These classrooms compounds built by Free the Children aided in reducing dust, protecting books from termites and preventing wet muddy floors during rainy periods. The teachers were very proud of their upgraded classrooms, and glad that their students had more suitable learning environments. When we visited the wooden library, the librarian showed us the damage the termites had done to the scribblers and text books.

Outside, in the schoolyard, I asked a group of children if they liked to dance and if they could show me an African dance… they didn’t quite understand me. (When they are babies, they speak their tribal tongue; once in preschool, they learn Swahili, and in elementary they learn English). One child began to tap her hands against mine, accompanied by a chant, then a clap, and the movement of wiping one’s forehead, and at the end of the song, you try to poke the other person’s bellybutton before they get to yours! This sparked a enthusiastic line-up of children who wanted to play the tap game with me! The game went on for a while, as I played with all kinds of children.

Me having fun with some children!

Eventually, I needed to go to the bathroom, and a few teen girls showed me to the latrines. They were three short wooden stalls. I had to duck to enter, and inside, discovered a small square hole in the ground to pee in- Needless to say, I failed at aiming properly, LOL!

On my way back down the hill to the classrooms, a male teacher began a conversation with me and asked many questions about education in Canada: What subjects did children learn in school? Did everyone learn how to speak French? Did everybody go to University in Canada?, etc.

Mom and a few pupils at Pimpiniet School

Then it was time to go, so we left in our jeeps. I shared a vehicle with Pavan (the Red Rose Rep.), Jodie (our Free the Children Leader), Karen (my Mom), and Wilson (our Maasai guide). Wilson was also a Maasai warrior and was dressed in bright red cloth wrapped around him and knotted at his shoulder. He wore many intricately beaded necklaces and bracelets. I told him I liked his jewelry, and Jodie told him, “Tell her how you got that one,” pointing at a specifically large one. “Well”, replied Wilson in English, “my father gave it to me when I killed my first lion.” “Seriously?” I asked. Yes, he said. It was a rite of passage in his tribe, which he executed at 16 years old to become a man. He has killed 5 more lions since. I was baffled! I remember studying the Maasai tribe in my anthropology courses at St. Thomas University, and to be speaking with a Maasai warrior was unreal!

Wilson and I

We arrived at the end of the dirt/rock/mud road, to the Bogani Cottages, our home for the duration of the trip, and they were wonderful! First, we received a warm welcome with a song, fresh orange juice and cookies. I met the team members at this end- 4 of them, and then was brought to my cottage, where Mom had already stayed one night. It was a lovely cottage, with a living room entrance, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a loft. I had gifts waiting for me on the table: The Me to We book by Craig and Marc Kielburger, and Robin’s book, my Maasai Life!

Mom and I sat on the sofa in the living room and chatted non-stop until it was time for dinner. As the sun set and the pretty pink sky lit our way, we followed the path to the outdoor dining room. It was really just a large porch raised above the ground, with a roof.

Here we had the opportunity to mingle before supper, so I met Duncan and Yvonne, a couple from Toronto. Duncan studied his Masters in Business Management with Craig Kielburger, and their class fundraised to build a school here in Kenya. He decided to come with his wife Yvonne to see the progress and help build other schools with our group! Then there were Michelle, Robin and Jodie, the staff of Free the Children, then Dwight and Peter, the reporter and cameraman for City TV in Toronto, in Kenya to cover the Red Rose story! Then me and Mom! We had an exquisite meal, served with red wine and completed with apple crumble!

I ended my first full day in Kenya feeling very privileged. We had comfortable beds to sleep in, hot running water to shower in and wonderful meals to eat… While on the road we saw children bathing in puddles. Such different realities. We in Canada and other “developed” countries are so used to having everything, and now we are in their world, and we still have everything… Mom said we were providing the locals with funding, schools, clean water and jobs. True. But it just seems unfair somehow…

January 8

This morning I woke up at 6am to the singing of the African birds outside my window. We are after all in the middle of the savannah and I love it! There are local groundskeepers keeping guard as we sleep, making their rounds with bow-and-arrows and spears. There is also a man in charge of lighting fires under the water tanks to heat the water for our showers. I ran into him on the walking path, and said Jambo, and he introduced himself: “My name is Sitonik Majimoto (Majimoto is his job title, meaning ‘hot water’). When you take a hot shower- that is me!”

After breakfast, we drove a short ways to the Emori Joi Community where we met Mama Jane and Mama Ana. They welcomed us warmly and Jane gave us a tour of her property and newly built house.

Mama Jane's house

Jane is the head leader of her local women’s group, and recently got voted the head leader of an even larger women’s group encompassing various smaller women’s groups in the vicinity. She is an important lady! While showing us her kitchen garden, her latrine, her yard and her older and newer house, she spoke of all the improvements that had come with the education provided by Free the Children. She told us that the nurses taught them to use soap to wash their hands after using the latrine. She explained how they had learned to hang up their clothes to dry on clotheslines instead of on cactuses and on the ground like they used to do, to prevent bugs from getting into their clothing and then their skin. She told us about how they used to leave garbage anywhere and everywhere in their yard; now they dig a hole in a corner of their yard where they bury and later burn their garbage to keep the yard clean.

Robin translating from Mama Jane's Swahili, into English

She spoke of the “Merry-go-Round” system, which is the community women putting what they can afford into a communal pot of money, and every 2 months or so, once there is a substantial sum saved, it is given to one woman in the group, to buy something she needs for her house, whether it be dishes, 1kg of sugar, a few bricks to continue building their house, seeds to plant in the garden, or anything that Mama might need for her family. Jane also spoke about education, and how now her children are too busy with attending school and doing homework to help with the household chores. Children used to take care of younger siblings, or help to cook and clean. Now Jane says she wants her children to have an education so that they can eventually get good jobs and take care of themselves and her. So she doesn’t mind the extra work. “What about your husbands?” We ask. “Can’t they help out?” “A husband is like another child,” answers Jane.

Mama Jane's latrine. Notice the yellow bowl containing soap, and the red jug of water.

Since she knew she was getting visitors today, Jane waited for us to help fetch her water at the river. She handed us each an empty water container, and sent us down the dirt road to the river. On our way, we saw the men “hanging out”, drinking and chatting, as Jane had expressed. At the brown Mara River, Wilson and Jackson, our Maasai warrior guides who accompany us during our daily activities, and Mama Ana stepped on some wet stones protruding from the flowing brown water to fill our containers. I decided I wanted to fill mine on my own, and stepped on a slippery rock, with the result of my foot landing directly in the river. That didn’t stop me. I tried again with more success and filled my jug of water. Then we attached the thick straps to our jugs and placed the strap on our foreheads, with the jugs hanging behind us, resting on our backs, to carry them back to Jane’s house.

Mama Ana and the Mara River

Carrying a 20 liter jug from a head strap was not an easy task. We had to walk 1km to reach our destination, and I could feel myself baking in the noon sun under such effort. Michelle walked beside me, and said: “ Every time I do this, it puts things in perspective when I have a hard day at work and feel like complaining.” Can you imagine that most women carry an average of 8 jugs to their households daily, on their own, and many walk much further than 1km? It’s intense! It’s very hard work! I was out of breath, and sweating, and had a stiff neck. I just wanted it to be over with! It reminded me of when I ran my first half marathon, and how those last 2km had felt impossible, yet you just had to keep going until the end…

Carrying a 20L water jug to Mama Jane's house

When we had accomplished our water mission, Dwight and Peter had just begun, because they had been interviewing Jane. Jodie suggested we could go visit the pupils at the Emori Joi Primary School next door if we wished. Mom, Pavan and I were definitely up to go see the children, so we walked over and met with them. They were younger than the pupils at the Pimbiniet School and just adorable! They liked to rub their hands against our pale skin, and point out the blue veins under the skin at my inner elbow… How strange for them to see blue under skin! Mom and I both played the tap game with the children and walked around the school grounds, looking at the classrooms and meeting the young teachers. I picked up a beautiful little girl in a worn green dress. We looked each other in the eyes and communicated with smiles.

Communicating with smiles

Their teachers soon called them for lunch. They were served a bowl of corn porridge, part of the school meal program which provides a meal to each child. They each had their own metal bowl, brought from home, and the young ones were dismissed for the day with their food. They followed us back to the jeeps when it was time to leave, waving bye-bye and eating happily.

Lunchtime!

During lunch at the Bogani Cottages, Mama Jane and Mama Ana joined us as guests of honor, and spoke about the traditional ways of the past of their Kipsigis tribe and how their lives have changed and improved with education. The Kipsigis, as well as the Maasai, used to practice polygamous marriages and female circumcision. Now women have become empowered with education and make their own decisions about their fate, although this is not a complete change everywhere. The government has made female circumcision illegal in Kenya, yet certain groups of women still perform the ritual, only now they must do so in hiding. It used to be considered their rite of passage into womanhood, undergoing such a painful process to demonstrate their courage, strength and dependability to their people; now, going to school and getting an education is their way of demonstrating their abilities and making their families proud.

With full bellies, we all felt sleepy… we went to our rooms to lie down for 10 minutes, then met at the front entrance. We got in the jeeps and were driven to a nearby construction site, where we were put to work digging a trench for the pipes that will provide water to 25,000 local people! We worked with Simon, the mobilizer at the site, who has a degree in Water Management. He is Kenyan, but from another region of the country, and has led many similar projects.

Sholveling out the earth I just picked

While picking the earth to create the two-foot deep trench, I wacked an underground rock with my pick, using all my strength, and got smoked in the chin with a flying rock!! Yiiiiouch! We worked hard for 2 hours. It was very physically demanding! My back was very sore the next day.

After dinner, Robin shared her inspiring Maasai story with us as we sat around the fireplace in the dining hut; she is such a good story teller! We were all enthralled in her descriptions of witnessing female circumcision in a woman’s house, about fetching water in the middle of the night because of the drought, meaning nighttime was the only time that small amounts of water would trickle out of the ground, and explaining the dangers of the night, like hyenas preying. I can’t wait to read her book! Mom finished reading it during our stay in Kenya, and also told me a bit about a love story intertwined in the book!

January 9

As I wrote in my journal just before breakfast this morning, Peter came up behind me and said: “Dear Diary, I just love Africa, I’m never coming home. Don’t tell my Mom!” Haha, he’s hilarious! Then Dwight and Peter told me they’d been watching my mother as Robin told her story last night and said she was glancing at me with the look of: “Don’t even think about it! You are NOT moving to Africa to live in a mud hut!! LOL!

We began the day with breakfast (always delicious and full of fruit- main course today was pancakes, bacon and banana bread!) And the coffee with milk is so yummy because the milk is so fresh and warm, with no fat removed. I’m addicted to real non-skim milk now!!

At 9:30 we met at the jeeps for our journey to the local Saturday market, without digital cameras and video cameras, to enjoy and live the Kenyan market experience. Jodie told us there wouldn’t be much to buy and the visit was more for the experience of it all. It took 1 hour to get there on the muddy, bumpy dirt-rock-puddle road during which we passed many men, women and children walking on their way to the market, carrying their merchandise or their containers and bowls to fill with purchases, some accompanied by their donkeys, also carrying packages. If it took us one hour by jeep, I can only imagine the effort and time it took for the villagers to arrive by foot. Life is hard work here in Africa.

On the way to the Mulot Market

On the way, we stopped at a secondary school to use their latrines, and said Hello to the students that were studying in one of the classrooms, on the weekend! It’s great to see the eagerness of the young people to learn and be educated. They are dedicated to their education! (Jodie slipped in the mud on our walk to the latrines. A warning to be prudent while walking today!)

Me and Jodie, with mud on her pant leg from the fall!

At the Mulot market, the mud was ridiculous due to the rainfall the night before. It rained every night we were there, but never during the day, which was lucky for us! Therefore, at the market, we were sloshing through the muddy path, populated with vendors on either side. Some had small wooden tables covered in their merchandise, others simply large containers filled with either tea, or corn, for sale, and still other with only a blanket laid out onto the mud with articles for sale, such as shoes, or clothing. There was also fabric, nailpolish, jackets, salt, fruit, trinkets, cutlery, cups, plates and more for sale.

The mud was really thick, and Mom and I held on to each other for support to prevent from falling. I slipped and almost fell more than once, and succeeded in filling my left Birkenstock with wet mud, and covering my toes in it. I decided to buy a pair of sandals made from recycled tires, to change into. Very innovative and durable shoes!

Pavan decided to get his hair cut in a small wooden shack… the Mulot Market hair salon! He got a very nice buzz cut for 200 Kenyan shillings, about $2.50! What a cool experience!

We definitely all enjoyed the market experience, and returned to the Bogani Cottages for lunch.

Leaving the Mulot Market- view from the car

In the afternoon, we went to the construction site of the new girls’ secondary school and helped plaster the walls for the classrooms. The foundation of 2 of the classrooms had already been built by the team of local hired workers, as well as previous Me to We groups that had come. After some work, Dwight interviewed me on camera, asking me questions about myself, the contest and the Free the Children project. And then I continued to help with the mixing of the cement and plastering of the classroom walls.

Mixing cement

At 5:30, we made our way back, and Dwight, Peter, Pavan, Wilson, Jodie, Mom and I got out of the vehicles before arriving at the cottages to admire the upcoming sunset, which never happened because it was too cloudy. Three young boys passed by, herding cows and goats and accompanied by one dog. I walked over to them to socialize (well, attempt to, in any case). They had bow-and-arrows on them, and they were only about 10 years old!

Once we figured the sun wasn’t going to put on a show, everyone left by jeep, except for Mom and I who, accompanied by Wilson, enjoyed a lovely nature walk back to the Bogani cottages. We had very good South African red wine with our dinner, and I asked Robin many questions about her Maasai family and life. We ended up having a big table-wide discussion about female circumcision, which was very interesting!

After sharing our highlight of the day at the supper table, we dispersed, and some stayed to hang out. I came back to the cottage with Mom to write in my journal before bed.

I’m realizing more and more how much of a positive difference Free the Children is making here in Kenya through education, because it gives men and women more of a choice of the lifestyle they wish to lead. Ideally, they can choose whether to get circumcised or not (a lot less women do nowadays), as well as the freedom to choose your spouse (it used to always be arranged marriages by the parents for their children). Education empowers women to make their own income too. Yet they can also choose to follow in their traditional way of life. For example, Jackson and Wilson are University educated Maasai men and choose to continue dressing in their traditional Maasai wear, while working for Free the Children as guides. Actually, Wilson used to be a teacher in a Primary School!

A beautiful contrast

January 10

This morning I began the day with yoga, led by Jodie at another outdoor patio here at the cottages. Dwight, Robin and Florence (she is the staff head of hospitality here) joined us for the hour-long session. We all felt great afterwards and joined the others at the dining hall for breakfast.

Isiah (Musurpei is his Maasai name), who is there at every meal, serving us our meals and clearing our plates, had brought a book with photographs of the Maasai people, and explained that a French Film Company had starred him and his brother in a movie about Maasai warriors! The book was a description with photos for the filming process and the story line! The book is called, “Massaï, les guerriers de la pluie.” He told Robin he brought the book to show me, because I had asked him where his earrings were (he had large stretched holes in his earlobes), and he wanted to show me the earrings he used to wear (as depicted by the images in the book of himself)!

Then we left for the Secondary school for girls to continue plastering the walls. It will be called Kisaruni Secondary School. Dwight and Peter worked on digging for the foundation of the staff building, while Pavan, Yvonne, Duncan, Mom and I did the plastering. My back was sore. We worked for 3 hours, then returned for lunch.

We visited the Me to We gift shop in the afternoon, where Mom and Dwight each bought a Maasai wedding necklace and I bought an organic t-shirt with the slogan, “Be the Change.”

Then we were given a tour of the Tree Nursery on the grounds of the Bogani Cottages, with Mugo. He explained how it all works: they plant 80,000 seeds for different plants and trees each year, which are in turn planted at the schools built by Free the Children, as well as distributed to community members for their yards and kitchen gardens. The seeds are planted in recycled milk cartons until they grow big enough to plant into the soil, at which time the carton biodegrades!

We helped fill the cartons with soil, plant a seed in each, and water them. In fact, Dwight peddled a metal cycle apparatus which pumped enough water to water all the freshly planted seedlings!

Next, we went for a hike led by our Maasai guides, Wilson and Jackson, during which they explained the medicinal function of different plants, leaves and berries for healing, but also warning against the ones that could do damage. For example, the white gooey liquid that gushes from a cactus-seeming plant can make you instantly blind. The only thing that will counter this effect is to put cow’s blood in your eyes!

In the grass, we saw a lovely little chameleon, curving its small back more and more as we stopped to watch it. It had large beady eyes, and was slowly camouflaging more and more to the colour of the grass. In the grass, we also discovered zebra bones. Someone had recently enjoyed a juicy meal…

Pavan holding a zebra bone!

In the distance, we also spotted a dozen zebras, grazing peacefully in the open savannah. And next to these black and white creatures, stood William, one of our waiters, next to a table covered in snacks and drinks! It was magical to sit in the open savannah, next to a pack of wild zebras, while Jackson and Wilson taught us to shoot bow-and-arrows and throw kongas. Kongas are the wooden carved instruments used by the Maasai warriors to kill lions and protect their herds from predators. It was great fun to chuck them as far as we could! They taught us to swing our arm first, holding the konga, and then to propel it into the air. Duncan did not take the required pause between the arm crank and the throw, therefore he ended up whacking the konga only 1 meter in front of him, which made us all laugh, and Peter announced that it had been caught on camera!! Haha! Oh, and Jackson showed us how he could shoot an arrow using the bow with his feet!

Once we finished with weapon throwing, we sat in a half circle to listen to Wilson speak about his life growing up as a Maasai boy and of his desire to go to school, yet his father forbid it. He eventually succeeded in convincing his father about the benefits of school, and he, along with his younger siblings, attended. He finished schooling up until grade 8, at which time he passed the difficult entrance exams to go on to Secondary school. However, his father did not see the necessity of his son’s continued education and instead wanted his son to go through the Maasai initiation ritual of killing a lion at 16 years old, to enter into adulthood.  Wilson made the pact with his father that if he killed a lion, his dad would allow him to go to secondary school, and even sell one of his cows to pay for Wilson’s school fees, books and uniform!

Usually, the young men must stay in a cave together for up to a year, to wait until it is their turn to lead the group, and hopefully be the one that kills the lion. Cunning as he is, Wilson convinced the other boys to let him go out of the cave for the first lion hunt, although there were boys that had been waiting much longer than his 3 weeks in the cave. He succeeded in joining the group after 3 weeks, and impressively actually killed a lion by first breaking its leg with a throw of his konga, and then finishing him off with a stab of his spear! And thus Wilson impressed his father and made him proud, he became an official Maasai warrior, and was able to attend secondary school, and went on to attend University!

When Wilson’s incredible story was done, Jackson presented us with the red blankets that the Maasai warriors wear, as a gift! He placed one over each of our heads, as we wrapped up our question period with Wilson. Everyone wanted to know more about his adventures! I chuckled to myself as I saw Peter wearing his Maasai cloth, because he looked just like Braveheart! LOL!

Maasai-Man Pete!

By the way, Wilson is the English name given to him by his teacher when he started school. His Maasai name is “Meikuaya,” which means nature, like “a big tree,” he told us. Jackson’s is “Ntirkama,” which means born during the night.

It started to get cold and began to drizzle lightly, so we walked back for dinner, which was a fantastic Kenyan BBQ consisting of barbequed goat, chicken and beef on skewers, kachumbari (African salsa), ungali (cornmeal white rice-like stuff) and special green soup with a complete goat’s head floating right in it! The smell was strong and not so pleasant: sort of like a farm animal smell. A goat is only killed for special occasions and it is a great honor to eat one. Of course, I tried it. It tasted watery. They hadn’t added any flavouring or spices. Mom had some too. The other food was great. We had great conversations at the table, as usual, and lots of laughs!

Goat Head Soup

Later in the evening, all the staff appeared, including the cooks, the servers, the security, our guides, the water-man, everyone! They arrived singing in unison and created a clapping circle where each person would take a turn dancing in and out of the middle. They called my name in the song (led by Wilson), so I danced in, then they called Mom’s name, so she followed! They brought a cake with them, to celebrate our last evening there, and asked me to cut it. While I did, Wilson led a Swahili song with outbursts of English, “Cut the cake,” “come and cut the cake,” “cut-a-cut-a-cut-a!” It was so much fun and we were all laughing, because Wilson just wanted me to finish, but I was dividing the cake in enough pieces for all of our team and all of the staff, which was a lot of people! However, once the cake was cut, the song ended, and they all left. We each ate a piece of scrumptious cake, and they told us the staff would all get a piece later.

Cuttin' that cake!

January 11

Had breakfast at 7am.

Said our goodbyes.

Drove to the Fairmount Mara Safari Club. On the way we saw gazelles, zebras, impalas (redish deer-like animals) and cows (haha!). We also saw two graceful giraffes, standing on the road right ahead of us!

We stayed at the Safari Club for two days with Mom, Pavan, Yvonne and Duncan to enjoy 4 safari rides in a four-wheel jeep accompanied by our driver Robert, who took us on some crazy off-roading into mud, streams, hills and holes!

Safari Route

We saw 30 different species of wild animals, including hippos, crocs, elephants, lions, baboons, wart hogs, vervet monkeys, Thompson gazelles, secretary birds, Cape buffalos, jackals, hyenas, mongoose, a cheetah, dikdiks, wildebeests, kyte birds, termites, zebras, blue monkeys, bush babies, red bucks, antelopes, more giraffes, hares, rhinos, ostriches and more!

Two Nalas being affectionate

We were presently in the Maasai Mara, the Western part of Kenya bordering with Tanzania, where they have the Serengeti, often featured in Imax movies demonstrating the savage beauty of Africa. Robert told us that “Serengeti” means endless plain. He told us that August is Migration month, and therefore, one can find up to 20,000 wildebeests migrating together at a time, and 100 crocodiles all together. On our safaris, we would see 2-6 wart hogs together, 2 lions or 2 lionesses together, 3-4 crocs, 20 hippos, maybe a dozen wildebeests. We did see about 100 or more baboons though, and we even witnessed a large male baboons quickly grab at something in the field. Mom saw it first, and directed our attention to what had happened: The baboon had killed a baby Thompson gazelle! The distraught mother was circling at a distance, without knowing what to do to save her little one. Robert drove our jeep closer to the baboon, which began a wild goose chase behind the baboon, holding the gazelle in its jaws, until he dropped it, and we heard the gazelle making “mehhh” bleating sounds… it was still alive! We had to leave as soon as possible to let nature take its course. We backed-up, and saw the baboon return to finish its meal.

The Big Bad Baboon

January 12

More safari rides. Buffets for meals. Relaxing in our luxury safari tent.

Yup, met Babar!

January 13

Went on our last safari early in the morning. Then took a small domestic flight to Nairobi, where Jodie came to pick us up. We spent the day visiting the capital: went to a gift store, put in place by Dr. Leakey, the anthropologist. Went to the Kazuri bead factory and shop, where single Kenyan women are employed to work, receiving fair wages and 100% medical insurance for themselves and their children! They make the beads of clay found naturally in parts of Kenya. We were given a tour of the clay factory, seeing the long process to create one bead! Kazuri means “small and beautiful” in Swahili. Mom bought herself a necklace in the gift shop, and I got a pair of funky earrings!

Women making beads at the Kazuri Bead Factory

Then Pavan and I braved the Nairobi market, while Mom, Yvonne and Duncan went to the Holiday Inn to rest. We only had 30 minutes to buy the souvenirs we wanted for our family and friends… what a stressful experience! As soon as we arrived, we were bombarded with merchants, ushering us into their booths full of Kenyan statuettes, clothing, belts, masks, chess sets, stone trinkets, jewelry, Maasai weapons, everything!! Jodie was with us for moral support… I sure needed it! LOL! I quickly chose some articles for my brothers and father, and as fast as we came, we left.

We finished the night and our Kenyan experience with a meat buffet at “Carnivore,” a popular restaurant where they serve all kinds of meat, from chicken to alligator meat! They even tried ostrich meat! We ate until our hearts content, then Jodie and the chauffeur dropped us off at the airport for the long journey home…

Carnivore!

And so our Kenyan volunteer vacation ended, leaving us filled with wonderful memories and new realities and knowledge about a very different culture and country.

Be the Change you Want to See in the World!

…

Three days following my volunteer vacation in Kenya, I went on a three-month WUSC internship in Burkina Faso, West Africa where I developed a Puppet Theatre for Change project. Feel free to visit my Burkina blog, including adventures about getting puppets donated from Canada, creating amazing puppet shows with a local theatre group, contracting malaria, pneumonia and parasites all at the same time, and learning an incredible amount about a small French African nation, its people, and myself:

www.beckyinburkina.wordpress.com