Viewing the World

Final Reflections

jaffuller — Mon, 2 Feb 2009 02:24:00 GMT

Hi all,

so I have been home from Mombasa now for just over two weeks and I thought it was time to write my final journal having had time to reflect on my experiences.

The overall experience was very rewarding and is something I do plan to repeat in the future when I have the time. To see how much help is needed makes you appreciate so much how lucky you are to live in the Western World. We take for granted too easily our comfortable life style.

Mombasa was a fantatstic experience, my first of sub sahara Africa. The city is very lively and vibrant full of noise, dust and colour to attack your senses. Very hectic with buses, cars and cycles rushing everywhere with little notice of any highway code !!

Although the numbers of white western people were low I never felt threatened or intimidated, people generally greet you with a smile "Jambo" and are pleased to see you. Of course you have to accept that as a westerner you are seen as wealthy and therefore people will look to sell you something, usually at a a hugely inflated price. But provided you are aware of this and you are polite there are no issues. Of course you have to be prepared to barter, and I was normally able to knock the price down by over 50%.

The beaches and tourist Mombasa are quite different to Mombasa town and the surrounding villages. The beaches and scenary are breath taking, but the hotels perhaps not up to the standard I have experienced elsewhere, having said that they were comfortable enough.But staying in one of these you could be anywhere so I would encourage all to visit Mombasa main town for the real experience.

The safari was also a fantastic experience. I was fortunate to be teamed up with some good companions on the trip and the scenary and wildlife we saw over the three days was fantastic. If you are going to Kenya for a holiday I would choose a safari over a beach holiday. You can experience beaches anywhere but there game reserves are much more unique and precious.

The highlight of the whole trip was of course the time I spent at Joy World Orphanage and school. This experience was made all the better by the skill and hospitality of Caroline as my host. She took very good care of me and was a fantastic guide, making sure I navigated travelling around safely.

The work she is doing at the school and orphanage is fantastic and makes a real difference to the children and families in the area. Caroline was a succesful business woman before she decided to set up Joy World about six years ago. It receives no state support and survives through the school fees she is able to collect from those families that can afford it and donations received from people like me.However most of her support comes from her family who despite their difficult childhood have all been successful in adult live. It is her experiences as a child that drives Caroline to maintain and develop Joy World. She knows how important an education is. She was fortunate to be able to go to school and college and she knows that this is the salvation for many children.

The work she does makes you feel very humble. Her first thoughts are always for Joy World and she is utterly selfless.

The orphanage is home for around 20 children aged between 4 and 16. Without Joy World these kids would be on the street, however I was immensely impressed by the attitude and politeness of all these children. Their gratitude to Caroline and their respect for her is huge. She offers them a safe loving environment with shelter food and the opportunity to learn and improve themselves.

To western standards these kids have very little in terms of material possessions, but what they do possess is a huge willingness to learn and improve themselves.

They are expected to perform chores around the orphanage but never once did I hear a word of protest. The overall atmopshere was great with lots of smiles.

It is very hard for Caroline to keep this place going. The costs are not huge by western standards around £ 15000 a year but finding this money is not easy. The shame is also that we throw away so much that could be of use to these people.

Any aid given is a good thing, but again corruption in Kenya is rife and much of the money given is filtered off and too much lost. I am glad that I chose to do hands on volunteer work where you know the efforts of your blood sweat and tears ( and yes there were all three ) cannot be taken away. The work I did will last and make a little difference for a while, and if more of us made a little difference it would soon add up to a big difference.

I have promised to help Caroline further in the future. I will revisit when work commitments allow, but in the meantime I have undertaken to sponsor a teacher. I am also going to try to mobolise some of my friends to help, either financially or by collecting items of clothing, household goods etc which can be shipped over to Kenya and which I know will be put to good use in the orphanage.

I would encourage anyone who reads this blog to find the time to do some volunteer work in a country such as Kenya if you can. The exeperiences will last with you for a very long time and make your life and theirs all the more richer and rewarding.

Best wishes to you all.

Signing off for now

John

Last Update from Mombasa

jaffuller — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT

hi again, this will be my last update from Mombasa.

I am now staying at the Voyager hotel, but the speed of the internet is no better here so photo uploads will have to wait until I get back to the uk at the weekend.

So a quick update as to what has happenned these last few days.

On friday I said an emotional farewell to the JOY World orphanage and school. My work is complete for now and I feel the need for a change of scenary.

I take a last walk around the place taking more photos and saying goodbye to the children, the younger ones I think do not understand why I was here and that I am going, so it is waves and smiles all round !!

There are some tears from Caroline who I think enjoyed having me around. She has been an excellent host and taken very good care of me. I promise to return sometime in the future and intend to help and support the work she is doing as much as I can when I get home.We have become good friends in the short time I have been at the orphanage.

I will talk more about the wonderful work Caroline is doing when I get home , and when I have a little more time to reflect on things. But the impact of my experiences over the last few days will stay with me for a very long time.

The pastor takes me to the hotel, which is nice but my first disappointment is no bath !!! It does have a powerful shower though with lots of hot water, and a big comfortable bed which is bliss !

I get up early for my safari which begins on saturday morning. I am taking a two night three day safari which will take in the Tsavo East and Tsavo West game reserves. Tsavo East is the biggest game reserve in Kenya.

My companions on the safari are two Irish brothers , Alan and Declan and two traineed nurses from New York , Quinn and Emily, so I am definitely the old git of the party. But they are all very nice people and we all get on very well. Our guide and driver for the trip is Joseph who turns out to be excellent.

All of my fellow travellers are volunteers over here working on various projects and for varying lengths of time.

There is not time to give justice to the safari except to stay it is something everyone should try to do sometime in their life. We stayed in two quite different lodges and saw lots of wildlife and breath taking scenary. Of the big five in Africa we saw elephant, lion , leopard and water buffalo but unfortunately not the rhino.

The highlight would have to be the elephant herd which visted the water hole no more than thirty yards from the second lodge we stayed at, and we were able to view these magnificent creatures for several hours from the viewing platfrom.

I am now back at the hotel for two more nights relaxation. If I am honest though I think one night would have been enough. The hotel is full of old age pensioners and honeymooners !!

Still at least tonight I can watch history in the making as Barak is inaugerated !

I will say goodbye from Mombasa now, and hope to see many of you who have been reading this blog soon.

I hope you have enjoyed it and it has entertained you a little.

When I get back to the UK ( and broadband speed !! ) I will post some pictures which will tell much more graphically the conditions at the orphange than my words. Please take a look when you get the time.

I will also inform a little more about the work Caroline is doing at Joy World and how I , and everyone, can help in the future.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this, it has been fun to do .

Best wishes to all

John.

Thursday 15 January

jaffuller — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:21:00 GMT

Hi all,

so today will be my last day at the "coalface" as my good friend Martin in Namibia would describe it, sorry mate but coming all this way I want to experience a safari as well. So tomorrow I move to a hotel on the coast and then on saturday I start a two night three day sarfari which I am really looking forward to.

I am also looking forward to my first bath for three weeks !! I have been able to take regular luke warm showers so the pong factor is not too high, but there is nothing like a soak in a hot bath is there !!

I will miss the children at Joy World, and of course Caroline who has been a perfect host and an absolute star through out, we have become good friends I think and discussed ways in which I can be of help to her and Joy World in the future.

I hope to be able to come back sometime in the future also to see how things are going, I am sure I will.

Do not fear I will also complete the painting project, after finishing this update I will return to the home to finish the last two rooms, about an hours work in this heat I think !!

It has gotten more humid and hotter the last few days and in the morning the skies are cloudy, Caroline informs me that rain is on its way , not before I go home I hope !

I will not bore you all with painting stories, I wish I could load some pictures but that is not possible with this equipment it would take too long, so perhaps a bit more about where I am staying and my impression of Mombasa and Kenya.

The Joy World orphanage is in a district of Mombasa called Likoni, and although this is not a slum area it is one of the poorer parts of the city I believe. During the troubles after the election last year there was some trouble in the area and some people were beaten homes looted and two men killed in the road outside the home. Fortunately for me and everyone else things have settled down now although for how long I am not sure.

The government of unity does not seem to be working very well and everyday on the news brings fresh stories of disputes between the Presidents party and the Prime Minister who share power in the government.

As depressing every day are the stories of massive corruption which seems to take place in postions of power. Corruption seems to be the main scurge of not just Kenya but Africa as a whole. Every day brings news of a new scandal where some rich business man or politician has robbed millions.

The people in power in the country are letting there fellow country men and women down very badly and without a change of attitude amonst the leading politicians I am not sure how things can improve.

An example, the MP's in Kenya are paid are very handsome salary, in fact I think they are some of the most highly paid politicians in the world, but there is a law which exempts them from paying tax!!!. When their fellow Kenyans are living on or below the poverty line and and a famine threatens people in the west of the country how do these guys sleep at night ? How can they defend such a position , they should be leading by example.

Ok I will step down from the soap box now !

Mombasa itself is very lively, vibrant, noisy , dirty and exciting. The people are friendly and I have become very comfortable with the atmosphere after the first couple of days getting used to it.

I am looking forward to seeing some more of the country though on the safari which will take me to the Tsavo east and Tsavo west game reserves, with overnight stays in two separate lodges.

I will confess also to my first pangs of homesickness on Wednesday when for some reason I woke up missing friends and family, this passed but made me appreciate all the more how lucky I am.

When I next update it will be from the comfort of a hotel and I will have said au revoir to Joy World and Caroline, but not goodbye I think.

Hope you are all well !!

Bye for now

PS Julie missing you lots but sounds like you are having a fab time "down under" !!

Technology .....

jaffuller — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:20:00 GMT

Hi all,

have tried to upload some photos again today but the PC's at the internet cafe's are so slow it takes for ever. I have managed ti load one but this took about 30 minutes , I am hoping when I get to a hotel at the weekend that the equipment will be quicker and I can upload more photos as a picture tells a thousand words as we all know, if not the photos may have to wait until I am back in the Uk.

So what has been happening to more over the weekend ? I am not going to bore you with paint stories, just to say progress is good and at the current rate I should complete the job by thursday at the latest.

Saturdays the kids are not at school so I paint in the morning. In the afternoon Caroline took me to meet some American missionary guy who is visiting for a week and may be able to provide some funding to Joy World.He is from Memphis Tennessee with a big booming voice, I like him and hope he will be able to give some help to the school and orphanage.

In the evening I finally catch up with some of the guys from Inspire Kenya and a couple of the other volunteers, Lauren who is an Oz and seems to be taking a break from teaching and doing the world tour and some voluntary work on the way, and Leanne who is from Bridport !! They have all had a big night the night before so are a bit subdued !! However it was good to get out for a few beers and experience my first night out in Mombasa. Not much different to many other cities, lively and busy with lots of bars and music. Good fun.

Sunday is a day of rest ,,,,,,,,fortunately, and many Kenyans go to church of which there are many.

A typical event for Joy world occurred after breakfast with a knock on the door. Outside was a young man with a young boy about three. The man explained to Caroline that he was the boys uncle and looking after the boy after his brother the father of the boy and the mother have both disappeared.

However the uncle has a job and it is hard for him to look after the boy and maintain his work. In Kenya it is normal for orphans to be cared for by their relatives, however the AIDS problem has made this harder .

Caroline agreess to care for the boy for a couple of weeks to give the uncle the chance to make arrangements with other relatives who live up country to care for the boy. He seems like a nice little boy and I hope this will work out well for him.

In the afternoon Caroline takes me to the beach , and this takes a lot longer than I imagined. Two bus rides in all and about 45 minutes. However it was worth it the beaches are stunning, long and full of soft white sand.

Even better Caroline has a friend who does massages from a beach hut and I am treated to a fantastic massage for the princely sum of 10 pounds including tip !!

A day of rest indeed ...............but on with the work today.

Bye for now

Gallery: Joy World

jaffuller — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:43:00 GMT

Orphanage and school

Friday 9 January

jaffuller — Fri, 9 Jan 2009 21:52:00 GMT

A lot has happened over the last few days.

I have moved into the other guest room, which is larger and therefore more comfortable, and also means I am sleeping much better.

I finally got down to painting the class rooms on Tuesday, however this work cannot strt until 2pm in the afternoon when school finishes.

On tuesday morning I handed over to Caroline the collection of goodies I had brought with me from the UK which included footballs, tennis balls, games, books, toys, sweets and hair grips and make up for the girls ! and of course the cricket set !!

Caroline said theboys would be thrilled with this as cricket is a game only played by the wealthy boys as the kit is soexpensive. Not yet had a chance to coach them !!

I had also brought with me a wholebox of skittle sweets which you do not get in Kenya. Caroline decided to give some of these sweets to thekids and got them to line up and gace 2 to each kids. Bcause of there shape na dcoulur some of the kids thought these were medecine and spat them out immediately !! Hilarious .

I am on schedule with the painting and should finish all 4classes before I leave . Guys at Swiss re please note I am running to plan and hitting my milestones !!

One slight hiccup was a change in requirements by Caroline. She first decided she wanted the rooms painted totally in cream, however after finishing the first room she decided the bottom half of each class needed to be painted in black !! I guess this just goes to show that women the world over can change their mind halfway through a decorating project !!!

The kids are gettng to know me and my name and the smaller ones all want their pictures taken when ever I appear. I am hoping to post some pictues today if this 1960 compaq will allow me !

This morning Caroline took me to meet her mum, but as she only talks swahili and I do not the conversation was limited.

Tomorrow I thinkI finally get to meet some other volunteers who are out here and one of the guys who organisd the trip which will be nice. On saturday I plan to work in the morning and then we may go to the beach n the afternoon.

Bye for now

Monday 5 January

jaffuller — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 20:56:00 GMT

Most of the orphan children have returned, and other children arrive for school along with the teachers who work at Joy World.

There are countless knocks on the door for Caroline to meet and discuss with parents.

I am quickly realising how well respected and regarded Caroline is by everyone in the community for the work she is doing. She is referred to as "Mama " or " Mother " by everyone child and adult alike.

She tries to help as many children that she can afford to . The orphanage children are fed every day, and if there is enough food the school children will also be given lunch, but this is not every day.

I meet the children who have arrived and one or two of the smaller more confident kids latch onto me. They are all incredibly cute with wide smiles nad bright eyes and there is lots of fun and laughter. If you look beyondthe smiles however you notice that many have dirty and tatty clothes. There is a school uniform but many parents cannot afford to pay for it and Caroline does not insist.

You notice aslso the shoes many are wearing, they all seem to be many sizes too big.

I watch a class being held and one lad of about 6 is taking the class through sign and numbers on the wall pointing with each with a stick and the class chanting out the answer. Old fashioned education but still in my opinion the best. It is obvious to me that many of the children are very bright.

In the afternoon we catch a bus again to a local hardware shop to buy paint for the class rooms. We buy 30 lites of cream which costs 3000 kenyan shillings about 30 pounds which I pay for. I feel better that at last I have begun to contribute something, but this is Africa and the pace is slow .......Africa time !!

Caroline also protects me from a drunk who she believed was about to snatch a gold chain from my neck. A reminder I guess that I am a potential target for theievs, although I am careful not to carry too much cash or valuables with me.

In the evening Caroline has many more visitors, parenst , teachers, parents wanting food for their children and two local pastors ....her door is always open. I remind her later she needs some " me " time as well which she acknowleges.

I move into the second guest room in the house which is larger and more comfortable with its own toilet and shower.

I have my firdt good nights sleep.

Sunday 4 January

jaffuller — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 20:29:00 GMT

Not a great nights sleep in unfamiliar surroundings.

Caroline who lives in the guest house as well has prepared me a Kenyan English breakfast of sausages and egg, very nice.

Caroline explained I was the omly volunteer staying at present ....note for Inspire Kenya whay happened to Laura, Leanne and Lauren !!!

Caroline told me more about Joy World and how it operates. She set it up some 6 years ago now and it consists of a home for about 20 orphans aged from around 5 to 16 who stay at the home for most of the time.. But it alos operates as a scholl for local children whose parents cannot afford to send them to other state schools. Considering the wages in Kenya the cost of education is very high and many parents cannot afford the school fees, uniform and books.

For the most deprived children in the area Caroline provides schooling at a much reduced cost. but she can only do this with some contribution from the parents and much fund raising. There is no state support for her.

After breakfast Caroline showed me around the school and orphanage. I was prepared for a third world experience but was genuinely shocked to see the condition of the accommodation and class rooms. They really have very very little.

As it was still the Christmas holidays there were no children at the school or orphanage. Caroline is able to send the children to either relatives or host families for a holiday over christmas. However some kids were expected to return today.

I was shown the class rooms they want me to paint whilst I am here. There are four in all about 12 foot square I would guess, and all in need of a lick of paint !!

The walls however were covered with pictures, drawinds, numbers vowels , phonic sounds etc which took me back to my own primary school days many years ago ....happy days :-)

Some of the newer class rooms ( there are 8 rooms in all 4 old and 4 newer )have classi school form benches in them familiar to the UK in bygone days.

The street in which the home is situated can only really be described as a shanty town with buildings made from all sorts of materials.

This is a very poor district of Mombasas and work is scarce. Many people are living hand to mouth and without a regular meal every day. European or western visitors are rare I think and I am the only white face I have seen.

In the afternoon Caroline and I took a bus to the ferry and crossed into the main town of Mombasa. There are many mini buses which run all of which are at least 20 years old and would have failed an MOT test years ago. The drive to the ferry is a white knuckle ride, the bus weaving in and out of traffic, bikes, hand carts and pedestrians !!! Somehow nothing hits anything !

Foot passengers can cross the ferry for free and there are hundreds of people waiting to climb aboard. The ferries run every 15 minutes through the day and all through the night.

When it is time to board a herd of humanity surges forward and up the ramp it reminds me of pictures of wildebeest I have seen crossing the river

Kenya is full of unfamiliar sounds and smells. The sour smell of humnaity is everywhere, but strangely you quickly become used to it.

We were hoping to find and use a internet cafe for me to use but all were closed on a sunday. We sat for an hour in the park lookong out over the see and i learned more about Joy World and how Caroline came to set the place up.

She is a lady with a deep and sincere passion to help the orphans and deprived children in the area of which there are too many.

We returned home for dinner and an early night as I am still shattered from from the journey.

Finally an Update !!

jaffuller — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 20:12:00 GMT

Apologies toall for the delay in updating this blog but it has been much harder to find an internet cafe than I had imagined!

Apologies also for spelling and grammar errors but I am going to bash this out while I have the chance!!

Saturday 3 January.

The flighht to Nairobi was fine. Plane barely a third full which meant I was able to stretch out over three seats and sleep for much of the journey.

My transfer at Nairobi airport was not quite as smooth !! I am sure I took the wrong route but I ended up in the right place with my bags in the end !The flight to Mombasa from Nairobi is only 40 minutes, an up and down job.

I was expecting to be met at Mombasa airport by the guys at Inspire Kenya who I had booked the trip through so was disappointed when reaching the arrivals lounge to see no signs for John Fuller ot Inspre Kenya !!

I did notice a lady holding a sign for " John Tomas " and that turned out to be me !! The english significance of " John Thomas " was I am sure lost on her !

Not a good start for Inspire Kenya, but I felt I needed to to experience more and reflewct before making early judgements. More later ......

The lady turned out to be Caroline who runs the " Joy World " orphanage where I am to do my voluntary work.

They have a guest house on site where I will stay. The journry from the airport to the orphanagetookabout 45 minutes and included a ferry ride from Mobasa mainland to Mombasa island.

Being dark it was hard to take in all the surroundings but it was clear I would be staying in "down town " Mombasa.

I was shown to my room, which had a bunk bed and fan. Thats it, very basic.

Vert tired and soon fell asleep.

Preparations !

jaffuller — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:20:00 GMT

The last week or so has been very hectic making sure I was as prepared as I could be for my trip.

With Christmas and New Year it has not been the easiest time to prepare yourself for visiting somewhere you have never been before, and stress levels at times have been high !!

However feel much happier now that I have got everything I need and have not forgotten anything.

The people at Inspire Kenya ( check out the website at inspirekenya.com) have been very helpful and reassuring.

It seems I will be working at an orphanage called Joy World Childrens home in Mombasa and that this is in need of a lick of paint !! I am told there are other volunteers over there at the moment ( Laura, Lauren and Leanne !!! )so I hope they will help me settle in.

To all my cricketer friends you will be pleased to hear I am taking across with me a "quick cricket" set and hope to be able to pass on some tips about the " forward defensive" !!

Nervous and excited.