Hot. Smoggy. Overcrowded. That was my first impression of Nairobi. We got off the plane and into a cab after a rather excessive amount of time getting through immigration. The traffic was... the worst I have ever seen. Unfortunately there are too many cars in Nairobi. After -9 in Austria, we were both sweaty and tired by the time we checked into our hotel that evening. We were to go shopping for school supplies and meet up with Greg Hellyer, a friend of my fathers and one of the owners of the camp we were to stay in. All we could manage that evening was going straight to bed.
So we woke up early the next morning, had breakfast and headed down to the text book centre to buy supplies. We bought everything from soccer balls to paint brushes. We used money that SMUS and Portia had helped raise for that specific purpose. After that was done we drove down to Safari Link where we were to take a plane down to the Mara. That is when the real adventure started.
We got on a little plane and in about 40 minutes we were landing on a small air strip in the middle of absolute nothingness. We were greeted by Keith Hellyer, Greg's son and a guide at the camp. We all then drove the long way back to the camp in the hopes of encountering some wild life. And we weren't disappointed. We saw lions, how cool is that? We got within like, 5 metres of them as well. It was so awesome. We got to the camp and prepared for the coming two weeks. We had dinner, and I believe that was when Greg anounced he had sent an email to my mother saying that I had been traded to a Masai man for 45 cows. I of course was incredibly offended by this. I insisted I was worth at least 48. We had a lovely meal and tucked into bed early. What I was quickly realising was that it was going to probably be the most life changing two weeks of my life.
I'm happy to say that I felt I did contribute in some small way to the community. The first week I teamed up with one of the teachers named Jennifer from the local school, Opalagilagi Primary School. For the next few days I worked in the school, assisting by writing on the board, practicing English prononciation and marking tests and homework assignments. At recess we would play Masai games (which I would lose horribly) and the soccer balls that we purchased also went over very well.
One of my favourite things that I participated in was on the first weekend that I got there. One of the doctors from a nearby village was asked to participate in a health clinic which we set up in the school. This was a good thing because at this point the nearest well run clinic is over an hours drive, and needlesss to say the Masai don't have cars. So we set up in the morning, and we were constantly busy for about 7 or 8 hours. I wrote records of the patients and helped distribute medication. Since clean water is so hard to come by, over 60% tested positive for Typhoid. Along with that was a slew of other diseases, ranging from Syphillis to Malaria. The doctor was very patient and knowledgable and I felt privilaged to be able to help in even a small way.
The next week started out with me again teaming up with Jennifer, but this time it wasn't just for teaching. A couple of the days after school we completed a survey that the camp was asked to do by the World Health Organization through the University of British Columbia. The survey consisted mainly of questions about daily nutrition and food preperation. They were to be asked by women to the Mama's in the village. I would ask the questions and record the answers and Jennifer would translate into Ma. It was very interesting to learn about the sorts of food they consume on a regular basis.
Needless to say I didn't have much free time! But in my free time I did learn to drive standard, which I've always wanted to do. Keith took me out in the land cruiser and I tried incredible hard not to stall while avoiding thorny bushes and trying not to scare any wildlife. Though I'm still not great at it I can now successfully start the car without stalling. And most of the time even make it into second gear. While not a quick learner I definitely had a good time.
Quicker than I would have thought possible the two weeks came to a close and I was flying out the next morning. The whole experience was the high light of my trip so far. I loved being immersed in such a totally different culture and being in a place where you can do things and feel like you are making a difference. I was changed by it. However amazing this account of my trip there sounds, don't be fooled. It does not even begin to do it justice.
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