Jambo, Wanna Go to Kenya?
Like most people our age, the mention of Kenya evokes images of The Lion King, wistfulness that Barack Obama is no longer president, and the sweet refrain of the “jambo song.” Little did we know those three elements would characterize our 7 days in the Tsavo region of Kenya.
The opportunity to chaperone a school-sanctioned trip fell into our laps unexpectedly. For the last two years, our school has offered Viper Ventures— curated experiences that give students an opportunity to travel abroad, serve a community, gain a life skills such as cooking or even dig into career options through a job shadow. Originally, we intended to stay local and supervise the cooking class or game design program. But when we learned we could chaperone together and didn’t have to be in charge, we couldn't resist.
3 adults, 27 teenagers. 2 travel days. 5 days in rural Kenya. Let’s GO!
The Journey
Our trip was organized by Camps International, a British agency that specializes in building global citizenship through service-oriented experiences, and coordinated by expedition leader, Amy, who’s infinite patience and expertise on avoiding sun-stroke was greatly appreciated.
Home Sweet Home
Camp Kenya is located in the Tsavo region roughly halfway between Nairobi and Mombasa. This was our base camp where we ate, slept, and fought beetles the size of a baby’s fist.
Goat Deworming & Elephant Deterrent Fencing
Day #1: On our first day we traversed the local community on a de-worming mission. The purpose of this process it to promote goat health which will impact the local farmers’ livelihood. We also built elephant deterrent fencing (cutting corrugated steel & creating strings of metal that make such a loud noise, elephants won’t trample a farmer’s garden.
Panoramic Hike
Day #2: A team of park rangers lead us up a neighboring mountain and nature preserve. For the Brits, it wasn’t even strenuous. For the rest of us, it required a few breaks and numerous bottles of water.
A Neighborhood School
Day #3: We spent the day learning about the Kenyan education system and helping build a nursery for next school year. Most of our students were unaccustomed to such physical labor involved.
Mama Mercy
Day #4: This day was centered on on learning more about the culture and traditions of the region. We spent half the day with Mama Mercy and the other half visiting a Maasai village.
This is Mama Mercy who is sharing her 25 years of community activism. From creating a micro-lending program for women-owned businesses when banks wouldn’t lend to women, to starting a co-op that trains women in beading & elephant dung paper-making then sells their crafts so they can support their daughters in school, Mama Mercy reminds us what it means to live your life for others.
Going on Safari
Day #5: On our last day, we went to Tsavo East National Park for a safari. Despite the gloomy weather, we saw over 21 different animals.
Dik diks, giraffes, monkeys (including baboons!), elephants (did you know these ones are usually red because they roll around in the dirt!?!), pumbas (yeah, that’s a warthog), maritobou stork, various species of eagles & ground birds, and antelopes (which we learned includes oryx, waterbucks, impalas & some others).
Our Reflections
One of our favorite moments was slapping freshly mixed cement onto a wall for the new nursery at a local school. We listened to a couple of students (it was likely one of their first brushes with manual labor) work their way through some realizations they were having about how schools get built and how hard construction is without modern industrial equipment. This is the power of travel. It pushes us beyond our comfort zones, learning new ways of living.
The ability to travel is a privilege and it is a privilege that we’ve had over the last decade, as a couple. Our travel has shaped our world-views and is a crucial element of who we are as a team. It has helped us be more empathetic to others and is why we see ourselves as a part of a larger global community.