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
