Of Shock, Despair and Satisfaction!!

“I learned what every dreaming child needs to know – that no horizon is so far you cannot get above it or beyong it”-  Beryl Markham

After I updated the blog last time, I went to AIESEC Kenya Office where I was told that they are still not sure about my transport to Ngong – the village where I am supposed to be working. Finally, we took a cab and left for the place. The place is located at the Ngong foothills in a very remote village. I was happy to see some students from Canada at the guest house who had also volunteered themselves. Since, they were a group of 9 friends they usually keep to themselves only.

Food – Food here is pretty bland and my diet consists of boiled vegetables with some rice or a local vegetable dish called Ugali. It took me some meals and starvation to start eating proper meals. But with the kind of labour we do throughout the day, I tend to relish anything and everything served to me.

Transport to the office – The office is about 2.5 km away and we have to walk to the place. Also, for lunch we come back to the house which means that I walk at least 10 km every day. The path is full of mud and dirt and is very very slippery though I am getting a hang of the walk. The first day was hilarious when I was finding it almost impossible to walk and was a good entertainment to the locals who were jeering and cheering at me. But with time and sacrifice of one pair of running shoes, I am now able to walk tall almost like a pro.

People – The Living Positive Program (LPP) is run by Mary and Mary, the older one being referred to as Mum by everyone. At present, we are working at the Masaai slums. I met some very enterprising and intelligent students from the slum who have been sponsored by LPP. All the women and some of the children under the program are HIV positive.

Apart from the Canadians, there is one more volunteer – Flora. She takes very good care of me and it is probably because of her that I am able to sustain the home sickness which strikes me every now and then.

My work – Although I am mainly responsible for fundraising for the organization, I have been involved in digging a trench and repairing the swings at the day care along with the Canadians and Flora. I had never imagined in my whole life that I will be working in a slum in a small village in Africa. But I know for sure that I am able to do this, I can handle almost anything in life.

City Hopper Adventure – On Tuesday, I decided to go to Nairobi city with Flora to meet up with some AIESECers. We went to the city on Matatu but on the way back took a city hopper – a mini bus kind of vehicle – because it has more passengers. The city hopper hopped so high once that I hit the corner iron rest at the ceiling. After getting over the shock of what had happened and realizing it to be a very common experience in city hopper, I burst into a fit of laughter. That is Africa for you – it makes you laugh on the tragedies of life. If you don’t, life can become a big burden.

Day to Day Struggles - From taking shower with cold water (it is winter in Kenya) to washing clothes by hand, everything is a struggle. I have been told by Flora a lot of times that it is only the first week which is difficult, after that I will fall in love with the country. Though I must say, that I like the laid back evenings where I sit by the fireplace and just read. It is not the fast, intense and efficient lifestyle which I am used to, but is a unique experience. 

Encouragement – Every now and then, I engage into a conversation with myself as to why I am doing this. I could have pampered myself with a nice European holiday or just gone home and rested. But then I see Mary and Mum Mary working so hard at that age to make lives of people around them better. Sometimes it also helps to think that this experience was my choice – the circumstances don’t change but thinking like this makes everything a lot more bearable.

This is an opportunity for me to put into practice all the things I have learnt about life – ‘Happiness is a state of mind’, ‘Anything that doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’, challenge yourself cobstantly because only then can one grow as a person.

And lastly, I am reading a book called I dreamed of Africa by Kuki Galmann – a gift from Siddharth Bhaiya. Apart from being an interesting read, it is also inspiring and very encouraging. Whatever I am going through is only for 7 weeks but if I can make a difference to even 1 life, I will be changing a lifetime for that person and his/her family.