Finally Settling In

This picture does not do the view justice, but I still cannot believe that this was the view I got to wake up to every morning. After almost 3 days of travelling I finally arrived to the amazing community of Pimbiniet where I would be living for the next 2 weeks. After almost 4 years of being involved with Free the Children and dreaming about a trip like this it was incredible to be finally stepping foot into one of the communities Free the Children works so closely with. Seeing the school where I would be working for the next two weeks helping build a school was another amazing opportunity.  Finally being able to see one of the pillars Free the Children has been working so hard to install was unreal and something I had only imagined. As we were at the school we met a couple of children from the community. It was incredible to finally be interacting with the children as working with the children was one of the things I was looking forward to the most. Seeing the school was the first part of realizing not only how important education is, but also how grateful us as Canadians should be for the opportunity we are given in regards to education. I know many times I have complained about school, the work, how much it costs, etc. but I began to realize that I am lucky to be able to complain about things like that because it means that I have the opportunity to attend school without barriers.

The Journey Begins

After months of planning, fundraising and preparing and after years of dreaming about it I finally was able to embark on the trip of a lifetime and travel with Free the Children and Me to We to Kenya.

Prior to leaving many people were asking me why I was going on this trip. Was it because I wanted to say I’ve gone to Kenya? To fulfill my travel bug? To experience a different culture? For me I think it was all that and so much more. It is one thing to go to Kenya on a vacation, go on a safari, and see the glamorized side of the country. But it is another thing to immerse yourself in the side of the country that not everyone gets to see. To interact with the people of the community, experience first hand what they do on a daily basis. To be able to experience the culture first hand is far more valuable than any vacation or safari.

110 Days

This past September I was forced to transfer schools due to unforeseen circumstances of not getting into my program at the school I was originally attending. As I entered this school I carried the idea in my head that I would just keep my head down, stay focused and get in and out in the two years I planned. That was until I was presented with an amazing opportunity to travel to Kenya on a Me to We trip with the college my university is affiliated with. It has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember to travel with Free the Children and Me to We on a volunteer trip. Although I was not concerned with where, Kenya had always been in my sites. The trip however posed problems not only financially but also in terms of my education as it would be conflicting with a placement I was supposed to be doing. It was becoming a very difficult decision to make. Do I go on the trip of my dreams or do I do as planned and get in and out of school as fast as possible? After a lot of thought and arguing with my family I finally made the decision to go on this trip. I realized that not only is it the trip of my dreams, but also the trip of a lifetime. School will always be there and I am always able to finish certain courses at other times, but an opportunity like this does not come around every day. In 110 days I will be travelling to Kenya to help build a school, learn from the Masai Mammas and to be immersed in an enriching culture. I feel that what I have learned from just making the decision to go on this trip is when opportunity knocks, answer the door. You never know when that same opportunity is going to knock again. There are so many things that seem like they are the most important things in the world; at the time. It’s not until you miss out on something that could have changed your life that you realize some things aren’t as important as they seemed when you first started them.