I arrived back from Nakuru last week. Rather weary, with a bag full of filthy clothes, tanned, lighter (!) and having had a very meaningful and uplifting week. What follows is a short report on what I got up to with your help – the long version is worthy of a beer or two!
The Catalyst Urban Trust trip had two main aims; to deliver aid to an orphanage in Kenya; and to give a life changing experience to a group of gang youths from poor estates in Hackney and Oxford.
1. AidYour money went towards drilling a water bore behind the orphanage and Stage 2 of the development of the orphanage school. While we were there the drilling team hit water at 150m (!) and work was started on a pumping station and holding tank. This water is vital to the school and the orphanage because all they had was a 30 minute pumping allowance three times a week from a profit making water supplier. They will now have their own supply and also be able to make a small amount of money from selling to others nearby.
The Catalyst team also spent 4 days labouring on the school building site. We spent one day shovelling concrete up onto the first floor of the school. This was a job which would be done mechanically in the UK but took about 50 of us 10 hours! For the remaining three days we moved huge pieces of volcanic stone which were being used to build security walls and pens for the orphanage’s goats and chickens. This work really did contribute to team morale and all of the youths joined in whole-heartedly.We also managed to deliver about 10 bags of clothes and footwear (soccer boots etc.) which we had collected in Devon. These were handed out to the orphans and other local children on what is known as “feeding day”. Every Saturday the orphanage staff cook a huge meal of ugali (rubbery mashed potato like concoction made with maize) and spinach and feed some 250 children who walk from miles around to eat what for some of them is the only really good meal they get in a week.
The youth team organised and took part in a fantastic school sports day – complete with tug-of-war, egg and spoon race (not eggs of course), soccer tournament etc. The kids were mesmerised by it all and the teachers tearfully grateful.2. Youths
When we met the “youf” team at Heathrow they were exactly as I had thought they would be but they were clearly looking forward to this “trip of a lifetime” and, as I discovered later, all had pretty sad stories behind them. Over the course of the journey out to Nakuru some of the barriers between “us” and “them” began to come down. In the minibus from the airport, I could hear in the background a conversation about gang life – knives, guns, wetting up (stabbing) etc. – which was amazing in that it was clearly just real life to those doing the talking. This had been going on for about 30 minutes when one of the speakers stopped suddenly and exclaimed, “look! There is a Zebra!” At which point they all began to talk, and ask questions about, the wildlife we were likely to see in Kenya.On day two, and after a full day’s labouring on day one, we set off on a 25km walk through the crater of an extinct volcano. This was the first time any of these guys had done anything like this and they were nervous and slightly anti the whole thing. The end of our route took us up a very steep hill side on which several of the team struggled and one nearly fell a very long way… From this moment forwards, the team really did gel and the essential quality of the individuals emerged.
Seeing the group teaching the orphans fancy soccer skills, handing out clothes and sweets, shovelling concrete, and gazing with wonder at rhinos (on day five we went to the local game park), banished several deep rooted pre-conceptions and maybe prejudices. Several members of the group became firm friends and I will stay in touch with them to see how (and that) they continue with this more positive version of their lives. One or two, inevitably, won’t make it but most will.The work that is done to make these trips happen is amazing. We were accompanied by four youth workers who had had to sweat blood and tears to get the team together, make sure that everyone had been inoculated, provide them with passports and finally get them to the airport. One of the party was shot the day before we left – he is still in intensive care.
So I am back now, and with your help managed to contribute considerably to making a difference on both fronts. I made my own donation too and Hazel and I have provided some additional funding to allow the orphanage to buy a plot of agricultural land nearby. This will enable them to head some way towards self-sustainability.Thanks so much for your donation – much appreciated by me and all who benefitted.
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