A day in the life..
So it has been quite a while since I have posted on here and I have definitely been up to a lot! However, I was thinking that as much as I will never forget and want to share with you all going on safari and laying on the beach in Mombasa the real reason I am here and the part I will cherish the most is my placement! So I would like to share with you what I have been doing almost everyday here in Kenya and what has truly affected me the most.
So where to begin.. We usually wake up around 730, listening to the sound of the rooster crowing in the neighbors yard of course. We have a typical Kenyan breakfast consisting of toast and tea. I have gone from eating 1-2 pieces in the morning to at least 4! Sometimes we don't eat lunch until 3 so it has come to loading up on the carbs to get us through the morning! After getting ready, which always consists of a layer of aloe vera, then sunscreen, then mosquito spray! Can't forget our malaria pills, multivitamins, etc. either! When we are all ready (for the first month there was 3 of us, now there are 5 and all different from the first girls I was with!) we head to unlock the big padlock of the large gate that all houses have for protection. All the yards are also surrounded by stone walls with either spikes or glass pieces along the tops to keep anything, and anyone, out. After locking the gate behind us we begin our journey to the Ongata Rongai Special Home Care and Training Centre. It is about a half an hour walk from where we stay and consists of rough paths, hills lined with garbage, thorns, and of course the friendly waves of the local people who are always eager to say 'Jambo!' to the mzungus. One thing that will be hard to get used to when I get home is not having everyone staring at me and waving and saying hello all the time. I feel like a celebrity here! When we approach the home we are always greeted by screams of excitement from the kids to see us and warm hugs from the ladies that care for them. We then jump right into doing our part for the day! We help serve and assist the kids in eating breakfast with is usually porridge (nothing like our porridge at home) or bread soaked in tea to make it easier for the kids to swallow. There are quite a few kids that need assistance with eating and sometimes we are eating with (feeding) 2 kids at a time and then move on to help another 2 after the first finish. We have to hand out the meals in a certain order because some of the kids get upset if they see others with food before them! After the first couple times we got the hang of it all and can usually get through meal time with out any major upsets. One boy has to eat outside because when he finishes his bowl he takes the other kids food away from them. Other than that we make sure everyone who can eat alone has their food and then we start assisting those who need it. After everyone is finished eating the dishes need to be done, the floors swept and mopped and the kids changed and cleaned. We have recently started to provide the kids with diapers and depends. When we first came none of the kids had them and many needed them. We would spend our mornings cleaning up the floors and changing the kids' pants over and over again. Now that we have bought diapers it has made the place cleaner, and the kids happier because we can spend time with them rather than just changing them. The only problem is that if there are no volunteers there are no diapers which adds to the already full work load of the ladies which often ends up with the messes not being cleaned up and the kids sitting in it because the ladies are busy washing clothes, cooking, cleaning etc.
After breakfast is finished and everything is cleaned one of us goes to the classroom (the garage of the house consisting of a table and a chalkboard which the kids crowd their wheelchairs around). In the classroom we try and teach whatever we are comfortable with ranging from math, grammar, science, reading/writing etc. The first day I was in the classroom I was absolutely astonished at the determination of these kids to learn and show what they know. I helped them with math equations for hours and they never tired of it! They kept asking for more and loved it when I corrected them and they got a 'Good job!' or 'Nice work!' sticker! Some of the kids cannot speak so they rely of gestures or writing to communicate. Practicing writing with these kids has been so rewarding seeing their progression through my time here and their everlasting determination. One guy is unable to use his hands due to CP so he has learned to write with his mouth and is the fastest and smartest of them all. I have stuck to teaching them english grammar along with writing skills. They have learned so much in the short time I have been teaching them and are always looking for a new challenge! One day I had my grammar book on the table and the oldest boy started flipping through it looking for something he wanted to learn about. I couldn't believe when he stopped at the page talking about Active and Passive Voice and insisted I teach him what that means. Before long he had already mastered how to tell between the two types of sentences!
We are teaching several different levels of kids at the same time so it is always a challenge to make sure you are engaging everyone but that each has an activity fit to their level! All the kids love to be engaged in the classroom whether their activity is solving equations or colouring in block letters.
While one of us is teaching the others are with the other kids who are unable to benefit from the classroom. With these kids we read stories, sing songs, spend time outside, and do stretches and other exercises to work on muscle tone and movement. During this time I try to spend time with each child and find new ways to make them smile! I tried to keep my goals for this trip simple as I knew thinking I was going to 'change the world' or 'save africa' was unrealistic and would leave me feeling disappointed. Having my goal as being the reason someone is smiling everyday has been very rewarding and have found my time here to be completely fulfilling. I believe one must always give more than they receive but I don't know if it is possible for me to give these children more than they have touched my heart. I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with these children and be able to help make a difference in their lives.
When lunch is ready (sometimes 12:30, sometimes 2:00) we go through the same thing we did at breakfast. Lunch is always rice with some kind of bean. The portions of beans to rice range based on the age/size of the child and the amount they can eat. Clean up from lunch is always more intensive as the messes are greater. The floor is often covered in rice, drool, etc. after lunch! When everyone and everything is cleaned up again us volunteers either have our lunch in the kitchen or go out for lunch. When we come back we spend the afternoon hanging out with the kids. We have fun playing outside, have a dance party, and enjoy lots of cuddles! We usually head home for the day around 4:30 or 5 so that we are home before it begins to get dark and have time to do things like laundry before dark. It is not safe for us to be walking around at night here so it is always a concern that we are home by 6.
Every day brings new challenges due to lack of resources. There is so much that I feel I could do for these kids if we were in Canada. Simple things I have taken for granted at other places I have worked such as wipes, diapers, gloves, covers would change the lives of the people here. The website for the home has been under repair for the last couple months but should be up soon. With this new website we will be able to accept international online donations which will be a huge help for the home! They struggle every month to make rent, buy food and water to sustain these kids' lives. They are hoping to one day own their own house so they do not have to deal with difficult landlords who have no respect for the work they do. I hope to be able to fund-raise over the next year to be able to help make that goal a reality! Thanks for reading and supporting me on this life-changing adventure!
Much love from Kenya, Kwaheri
Jenelle