Nearly three months has passed now here in Kenya and they have been the most busy, exciting and stressful months of my life without a doubt. This update will not be your normal update like you will have received from others who you have helped in the past. I’ll try fill you in as best I can.
Upon hearing the news that we will apply next year for funding we all sat down and had a big meeting to discuss the future of Badilisha Maisha. Rather than placing all our eggs in one basket we came to a decision.The only person who can truly manage to achieve funding and securethe future of this charity is my mother. The decision has been made and my mum has now travelled home to apply to trusts, fundraise and advertise for Badilisha. With me being here not only can I assist Mark, the Kenyan in charge, but it also reassures the childrenas well asthe community that there is still a future and Badilisha will continue regardless. The timing feels right and there is a good feeling amongst everyone involved in this charity. I fully understand and respect your decision which youall have made although I do feel that your money will have gone a long way in sustaining our future. Nonetheless, what it has done has given everyone an extra boost to succeed and come back next year more established.
So, now on to my experience here. Something I’ve had to get used to is very early starts in the morning. A weekday consists of assisting the kids with their breakfast and when they’re finished classes start. Classes are split in two groups, I usually take the younger ones. Everyday consists of English and Maths but we also have a period where we split the kids into 4 groups and do rotational activities. This can range from playing football to giving a science lesson. Every day brings something new and I’m never bored here. Wednesdays I am taking the community football alongside another volunteer, Leigh. This has been great fun but is such a challenge as well. Not only do we have the heat to tackle but there is a language barrier too. We are taking it step by step and slowly but surely are creating a worthy team.
We are now on a three week holiday as all schools finish for holidays in December. Our last week of school ran smoothly and we also had two visitors from Skye come see how the centre was doing. They were an elderly couple who, in times of trouble, helped out financially. They have seen plenty of what the centre is all about. The last day of school we held a meeting with all kids, parents and Kenyan Committee members. This went really well and the kids performed some songs, including the Scottish Ali Bali. We enlightened the parents as to what will be happening in January and the plans for school – uniform, transport etc. They also found out about what’s happening withmy mum and what she aims to achieve back home. I also had to prepare a speech, which went down reasonably well. My translator was a better public speaker than me though! All in all, it was a really successful day.
Since my mum left, our workload has totally increased. I feel I have risen to the challenge, though. I am providing the link back home to Scotland, workingin partnership with Mark controlling the accounts, in charge of the monthly updates and I am also the volunteer coordinator. I am enjoying the extra responsibility and also feel that this will be a great experience to have when applying for university or any future jobs. When I arrive back home, my Gran will be training me in becoming Scottish Coordinator of Badilisha, which I have mixed feelings about – mostly because she has done such a great job of it and I wouldn’t want to ruin anything she has worked hard to create.
Anyway, that’s about it I think. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want some pictures of what I’m doing or just any other general query.
