Traveling Solo in Kenya

Traveling alone….Scary? Sometimes. Fun? Absolutely. I have never traveled solo until this trip to Kenya. My thoughts leading up to my departure revolved a lot around scorecards (GRS M&E love) and anything but the trip really. Maybe this was a good thing, because thinking about it, traveling solo to a country I know very little about, including the language, is a bit scary. Yet, this trip did everything to convince me that I might just travel the world solo. My reasons:

1) The people you meet.

          When traveling with friends or family you have a tendency to talk and hang out with them instead of branch out to those around you. I can’t tell you how many wonderful meaningful conversations I had with my taxi drivers, the other hostel guests (1 worked as the East African Google Developer, 1 was a retired professor from University of Oregon, and 1 did some sort of work with a nonprofit water project), the hostel staff, the people sitting next to you on public transportation, and even the airport workers. These conversations ranged from politics, prostitution, South Africa, America, music, school systems, aid work, Nelson Mandela, you name it. I learned a lot about Kenya and life from these various conversations and looking back I know for a fact that if I was traveling in a group I wouldn’t have sat in the front seat of the cab next to Lawrence for 2 hours talking about life and prostitution. Clearly, the conversations are great.

2) Expecting the unexpected

            It wouldn’t be adventure if everything went perfectly now would it? Traveling solo means that when something doesn’t exactly work out you have to figure out and being alone adds half the fun. This is the part that scares me most yet gives me the most adrenaline. You never know what could happen and what you might gain from the experience.

Take for example getting stuck in the middle of the bush Kenya with a broken down taxi and no cell phone. Yes this happened on my way to Sara Jo at the Daraja Academy. Luckily, people are kind enough to let you borrow their cellphones and you end up walking up the road and leaving the taxi driver and other passenger on the side of the road. Hey, in my defense they kept reiterating how dangerous the road was after dark. Clearly for the mzungu girl it was 5x the danger and I did try to help push-start it before I left.

Or take for example, a stranger giving you a rose in the parking lot because you look lost. Yes, I was lost but the nice man handed me a rose and offered to call the person I was looking for. Ended up giving the rose to the VAP team. Perfect thank-you gift! 

Or when your credit cards get shut down when you try to leave your hostel. Yeah that happened to-apologies to all those that woke up to random texts/facetimes. Time changes are not easy!

Or the fact you can meet people who can take you on a free game drive where you see baby elephants, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, buffalo, hippos and more! Huge thanks to Morgan, the Mpala Research Center, and SJ for that! I can now say I’ve seen animals J

Karibu Kenya

My trip to Kenya was way too short yet beyond incredible for two reasons: VAP and Daraja.

Vijani Amani Pamoja (VAP)

When it came down to it I only had 1 full day in Nairobi. Some might want to explore and do all the touristy stuffy like visiting the Nairobi National Park, the big market to buy crafts, or stopping in to a museum. Me, on the other hand, spent the day visiting a school, walking through the slums, eating ugali, and talking about how to further the work of great nonprofit. Only the best way to spend my only day in Nairobi!

The day was spent with the VAP team. VAP is a partner organization of GRS. Since starting with GRS I have only heard incredible things about the team; Enounce, Oppo, Oti, and Nancy. It turns out everything I’ve heard is true and more. I went to VAP with the mere task of talking to Oppo, their M&E coordinator, about M&E related things I won’t bore you with. However the visit was so much more than that. Their office is a tiny room, barely enough space to fit 2 desks, a bookshelf and two chairs. The small room is nothing compared to the size of their hearts and the passion that flows so wildly from the room. I was blown away with how hard they work for the cause because they want to see change. They were telling me how other organizations have heard about them and are coming to them for advice and see them as role models!!! AH! I’m pretty sure I had a huge smile glued to my face from the second Oppo greeted me with a ginormous hug outside of the office building. The team took me out to lunch and ordered me some ugali and chicken stew. It was DELICIOUS! After lunch, Oppo said he would take me out to an intervention. Of course I couldn’t decline the offer. We met Oti and several other coaches out at the school.  During our walk and waiting times, Oppo, Oti and I decided that when we all somehow become millionaires we are going to start a professional soccer team. So yes, my life plans have changed. The intervention was great to watch and the students were participating like crazy. They were asking questions about stuff they didn’t understand and showing off their knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The HIV/AIDS battle begins with youth. They are the change makers that can turn the tide. To see these youth engaged in learning about HIV/AIDS gave me chills. This can change lives. This can change communities. Peace Together Youth.

By the time Eddy, a coach, had gotten me back to the city centre, I had officially spent almost 7 hours with the VAP team. No other way to spend a day.

The Daraja Academy:

The Form 4s singing for everyone!

The point of my trip to Kenya was to visit SJ who has been working at a girl’s academy called Daraja since June. The school is home to 104 very very very intelligent girls from all over the country who would otherwise have no opportunity for a secondary education. Saturday was “Prayer Day” at the school. The girls’ families are invited to come to the school to wish the Form 4s (seniors) good luck on their national exams. These exams which take place over about 3 or so weeks determine if students will be able to go to university or not. There about 33 tests in subjects such as chemistry, biology, English, Swahili, and Algebra. Students who receive good grades (As) can get their university paid for by the government--a huge deal to students who come low income families. Students who receive low grades will probably not go on to further education. A lot of pressure rides on these exams. You could tell that these girls, were studying hard. SJ said that they may wake up at 4am to study and stay up late. 

However, on Saturday it was all fun and smiles. I lost count of how many times the hair on my arms stood up from the incredible moments. The first came when one of the students’ families arrived. She wasn’t near the gate when they first arrived but all of the girls started yelling for her. The next thing you know she is bolting through campus with the biggest grin on her face. She runs up to her family and gives them a huge high five and a hug. It was precious. These girls are away from their families for so long and to most of them their families are their backbones. They study hard to make their moms or aunts or sisters or dads proud. A part of me immediately missed my family but like the girls, we are away to be change makers. 

The second hair chilling moment came when the preacher, who was incredible and very inspiring, offered to pay for the top girl’s university tuition. HOLY COW! We were in shock. The crowd immediately broke out in cheers and claps and huge smiles. Smiles, cheers, and claps sum up Daraja. There is so much happiness and dedication that fills that campus. Here are 104 girls that are so eager to learn it’s astonishing. I can’t help but think of all the girls worldwide that are so eager to learn yet are denied the opportunity. I had flash backs to all those nights in college when I complained about homework or just didn’t turn in an assignment and settled for a lower grade. What I was doing. For all those reading, embrace the opportunity that is in front of you to learn, whether in school or not. Spend those extra hours actually reading the book instead of skimming, take the time to enroll in a free online class in a subject you know nothing about.

Those of you who know me, know that this stuff is what I love. Discovering the stories of those that don’t get enough credit. The smallest people in the world make the biggest difference whether it be a girl in a school or a youth that can protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. I am going to shamelessly plug right now for these two amazing organizations so they can continue to make waves in their communities. If you have interest in

1) Donating to VAP so they continue turning the tide on HIV/AIDS in Nairobi youth you can do so here

2) More information on Daraja and their sponsorship program can be found here


Asante Sana!

Let's Play Catch-Up!

Welp clearly you can see that I am horrible at updating a blog. I warned you! For some reason it’s so daunting. Since my last post we passed the 1 and 2 month marks. Crazy I know. Time is flying.   I could write everything here that has happened but that is way too ambitious, so instead here are some quick snapshots:

1. Work is great as always. I won't go on further as to not bore you with my nerdy obsession with databases and numbers. Just know that I love it and am learning a ton. 

2. I am no longer a picky ‘vegetarian’.

            Oh yes you read correctly. 9 years later. It began as a challenge/bet with a friend to never say ‘no’ to any type of food people offered me in the first month and has continued. I still don’t cook it necessarily, but will gladly grab some bacon on an avo and feta pizza. The amount of meat available here doesn’t help this either. And I would like to call out a certain person for never coming through on their end of the bet! Still waiting, you know who you are.  

WE DID IT! 

3. Ran a 10k

The Cape Town Marathon and 10k was at the end of September. Since we all know how great of shape I am in, I thought running it would be a great idea. It was a great idea indeed, not for running (I was sore for a week), but for the experience. Running on the waterfront with other GRSers was fabulous.

Go, Go, Go

4. Push-started a car 

On the side of a main highway too I am no mechanic but when the intern car breaks down good thing we have a lot of hands....those that can change a tire as well as those that can get out and give the car a little push.  All in the name of WHALE day! 

5. Skillz Street Graduation

Skillz Street is the curriculum for all girls. I was able to attend the holiday camp graduation and celebrate with about 80 girls in song and dance. Maybe one of the happiest days of my life. So much energy and excitement.   Video Here!

6. Attended a rugby game

We bought jerseys and pretended to be the real deal for a day. It was great. South Africa vs.       Australia and the Springboks won! Hier Kom Die Bokke! 

Yes, we did buy crazy neon, flower, patterned hats

7. Attended my first overnight music festival

Bonaroo is a thing in the U.S. Rocking the Daisies is the smaller scale South African version. Got to jam out to Alt J, The Hives and I think Hog Hoggidy Hog? Pitched my first tent, not sure I did much to help but hey I'm counting it. Oh, and also had to yell at some people who were very sure that the tent Kmo and I were sleeping in was theirs...all while Kmo was dead asleep. 

I'm not even sure this is everything. I will try to get better at updating this regularly but no promises. Maybe after my trip to Kenya next Wednesday? Oh yeah I'll be heading to Kenya for 5ish days. First Africa semi-solo travel :))) Until then.....

Sharp sharp from Cape Town with love,
Bets

Out in Khayelitsha

Over the past week I have watched my interweb world ever so slowly fill with more and more pictures of friends reuniting back at JMU and citing "back at the best place in the world", "reunited with my best friends" or the like. I admit it struck me hard. It is weird to be thousands of miles away from somewhere that holds so many great memories but then at the perfect moments I am reminded why I'm here, writing from Africa.

My team was out of the office all last week so I was left with very little to do after only being in the office for 2 days. Maybe a blessing in disguise because I was able to spend two days out at site in the township of Khayelitsha. On Thursday, I got to observe and take part in my very first GRS intervention!!!!! I wish everyone reading this could have been there with me-it was incredible. The intervention was our utshintsho curriculum for grade 10 learners. Utshintsho means change in xhosa. It is the curriculum that follows our Generation SKILLZ for grade 9 learners. It is geared more toward changing power relationships and gender stereotypes. 

Coaches getting ready for the intervention

I went to a high school down the street from the center with 3 coaches, Eric and Anna, and Bulweka. We walked in to a crowded classroom filled with students ranging in ages from maybe 15 to 25 dressed in their matching red uniforms. After several whispers and stares we were given seats in the back of classroom as students got up and squished in their friend's desk to accommodate us.  The intervention required students to break up in to groups and of course the coaches pushed each of us into a group. I was greeted by several hellos/molos, some phrases in xhosa, and a wink from the boy I sat down next to. The groups were asked to discuss what they learned from Utshintsho (it was the last day of the curriculum).  I missed most responses due to a very large language barrier-my vocabulary remains at hello, thank you, and how are you- but luckily the boy sitting next me would give me a run down every now and then. The answer I got most was "how to say no". They tried to speak English as much as they could for me but it was hard. I was even asked to respond to the questions we were discussing and give my opinion. They made sure I expanded on my responses and never forgot me in the group. The second class had even more learners and again my group was great at trying their best to include me and make sure I knew what was going on. After the interventions when school was out, we were walking out of the school and we passed several students from my group in the first class. They smiled and waved as if we hadn't just met. As always I am amazed at how friendly people are. What amazed me more was hearing the responses from students about how they can say no, how to respect a woman, and how to break down power relationships. It may be only a small start and may be only words and not action from the students but at least it is there in some space. 

Coaches doing an activity on giving feedback

On Friday, I was able to sit in on a coach development session. GRS coaches are as important as our program participants. They are the young adults that are giving their time to implement the curriculum, being role models for their communities, and directly changing lives. Coaches are only with GRS for two-years and in that time we hope to equip them with professional and life skills as well as to empower them to be great facilitators and educators in their future. These development sessions are just a small part of the opportunities for coaches to expand their skills. 

SONI!

The topic of this Friday's session was constructive feedback. The coaches were broken up into groups for several activities that included walking through scenarios and creating constructive feedback situations. Now mind you that this is a group of about 30 young adults (ages 18-25) that are all high energy and very outgoing. It made for several times of outburst laughter and few of frustration from Buntu-the group leader. The session ended with coaches breaking up into groups of 5 to discuss their 'most significant story'. They were then asked to share their stories with the group at large. The stories that were told were those that you might read in magazines. We would be here for a while if I recounted all of them but as discussion spurred after coaches told stories and experiences one coach chimed in with something that almost put tears in my eyes. And I quote this from Scott's blog--he was taking notes on the session:

“The choice to change is on the participant. We have already made the choice to change ourselves, to be the change we want to see.” Everyone smiled, easily recognizing the paraphrase of Ghandi. “The most we can do is give others the opportunity to do the same. That is why we are coaches. With GRS we can give these young people a chance to choose. We should not be so critical on ourselves if some decide not to make that choice.”

These coaches are amazing

The session ended on that note. Heads nodding in agreement. A smile from ear to ear appeared on my face as if I just been handed the key to life.

After these two days I can't help but smile and know exactly why I'm not at JMU. It's not so that I can change the world but so I can share the stories of the truly amazing people already changing their communities every day. 

God bless the rain down in Africa

There's something exhilarating about being in a new place for me. The possibility of new sights, smells, sounds, feelings, knowledge, you name it.  I think that's why I love traveling. The adrenaline you get when you go to a new place and know not what to expect next is indescribable. Being in Cape Town has proved no different and I love it. Some snidbits:

HCT in Khayelitsha

The sight, smell, and sound of the largest township in South Africa, Khayelitsha, during an HCT (HIV testing and counseling) tournament last Friday. The sight was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of houses right next to each other, a lot of them purely shacks, others with shacks attached to the back of the house, and some stereotypical houses. As more sights came to view there were children running and playing, people dancing, women and girls playing games, and soccer fields. The sound was that of people laughing, talking, and dancing to the music playing loudly across the speakers. This sight put with these sounds in one of my favorites. It may not be the most breathtaking sight but it's a sight that reminds me that people everywhere are "rich" in different terms (shout-out to Don Jose for that life lesson).

Office pick-up on Sundays 

The second sight is that of my desk (or someone else's that I'm occupying for the time being) at the GRS office. The sight where most of my time over the next year will spent working on M&E related projects. In an office that is filled with energy, passion and opportunity. An office filled with sounds of a juggling soccer ball, people chatting, and if were lucky some kilos or some grunts from office wide push-ups and squats. Work started this past Tuesday and so far it's been great!






The third is more of a day-wide feeling of giddiness, happiness, and adventure. It starts with a stop at The Old Biscuit Mill. The new favorite Saturday morning routine. A food, drink, and hipster clothing market-spot marks the smell of a delicious ostrich burger that this vegetarian proudly bought and ate! Don't worry the second time here I went back to my vegetarian ways and bought an amazing falafel pita and some sangria. The second spot is Muizenberg beach spotted with colorful changing houses, possible sharks, a ton of surfers and a longing feeling of a warm sunny day. Hopefully the sight of a new hobby of surfing/wind surfing? I think so. The third new sight on this day was the African penguin at Boulders beach. The adorable little things hung out in shrubbery and changed my idea that penguins are smart when it comes to crossing from one rock to the other. Yes, we watched two penguins wipe out and get stuck trying to cross--maybe not the highest IQ animal. The picture speaks for itself on that comment. The third and final sight gave the most excitement to this day. It was found at the most south western point of Africa- Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope. It's where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans begin to meet. If one is lucky, it's also where you can see baboons roaming and/or stealing people's lunches. After we ran to the top of Cape Point in some serious wind and a little bit of rain we weren't lucky enough to find any baboons. We piled back in the car about to accept defeat in seeing any wildlife until we turned down a road toward the cape of good hope and boom there were all the animals! Insert lots of excitement-WHAHHH EEEE AHHHH YESSS! clearly it was the cape of good hope. Or the cape of the feeling of almost being blown over or off the cliff by some forceful hurricane worthy winds while standing above crashing powerful waves.

Muizenberg beach

This week will only bring new adventures, sights, smells, sounds, and probably more rain. I neglected to mentioned why this post was named this....it has rained a lot. So I will leave you again with another long blog post to hold you over and a huge I MISS YOU ALL!




 

All things GRS

Soccer is a universal language. No questions asked. I came to understand this the first time I was in Honduras and stepped out the field with the Hondurans. Immediately it was something we had in common when language and culture similarities seemed to separate us.  Soccer has the power to bring people of all ages together on a field, in a school yard, on a piece of dirt, with a ball or a rock or some balled up string, goals or no goals, barefoot or in cleats. No matter what, the game is played, enjoyed, celebrated, and understood as if a common language. This game holds so much potential for global development. Grassroot Soccer is based around that idea. The power of soccer can be harnessed to "educate, inspire, mobilize, and prevent HIV/AIDS".

Breaking this up again for easy understanding. I obviously like bullet points and numbers.

The Problem

• Nearly 70% of all people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. 
• In sub-Saharan Africa young women ages 15-24 years old are as much as four times more likely than young meant to be HIV positive

The Solution

• Young people--they are the hardest hit by HIV/AIDS yet are the greatest force for change through safe behaviors and empowerment. 
• SOCCER! 

Where GRS comes in:

• It was started in 2002 in Zimbabwe and currently has its curriculum in 23 countries. The GRS affiliate sites with direct offices are in South Africa-Cape Town, Kimberely, Alexandra, Soweto, Orange Farm, and Port Elizabeth; Zambia- Lusaka; and Zimbabwe. The other countries are developed through partnership organizations as well as the growing number of Peace Corps members implementing the GRS curriculum in their sites (GO ALL YOU PCVs!)
• GRS trains community leaders, local professional soccer players, and other role models as coaches who lead the SKILLZ programmes 
• SKILLZ programs "focus on building basic life skills that help boys and girls adopt healthy behaviors and live risk-free through a series of interactive activities and discussions"

1. SKILLZ Core
1. the basic curriculum. co-ed for ages 11-14
2. SKILLZ Generation
1. co-ed for ages 15-19
3. SKILLZ Street
1. girls only
4. SKILLZ Holiday
1. held over 5 days during school breaks

The Goal

• To educate 1 million young people on living AIDS-free, healthy, and productive lives by the 2014 World Cup!

I wish I could write more on all the great things about GRS but always feel free to contact me if you want more information.