Naro Moru, Kenya: Things learned

I signed up for this trip to Kenya hoping to learn things; things about myself and of course, things about life in a part of the world I’d never been too. Mission accomplished.

I’ve learned, in no particular order, that I’m not built to do physical labor all day in the heat, that the saying “only the strong will survive” is an actual way of life here in Naro Moru, that even if you don’t have a lot of nice “stuff” you should be proud of what you do have, that we’re lucky to have clean running water and that laughter, family and friends are a global recipe for happiness.

I’ve learned a lot. But I think the biggest that I’ve learned here in Kenya is that a tiny group of 7 inexperienced people from Canada CAN make a real difference in the world. 600 of the most kind, inviting, hardest working people I’ve ever met, will now have access to fresh water for their families and their crops; something they wouldn’t have had if we hadn’t come here.

I’m so proud of the work that we’ve done. I feel lucky that I’ve had the opportunity to do this and I can’t wait to share my stories and pictures with others. Who knows, maybe our 2 week adventure here in Naro Moru will inspire someone else to take their own journey and a step towards bringing the global community together.

As a handwritten note on the wall of a dirt floor, 3 room shack here in Naro Moru said “If you think you can, yes you can. And if you think you can’t, surely you are right”.

Holly Conway
DWC Participant
Kenya December 2011

Naro Moru, Kenya: Nearing the end…

It’s becoming bittersweet as we get closer to the end of our adventure in Kenya. It seems like it happened overnight, but the pipes are now being laid down and the trenches are being covered back up with the rust colored soil. We have about half to go tomorrow and we should hopefully see water in that tank before the end of the day tomorrow. My shoulders are bruised from carrying the pipes back and forth today – they are a lot heavier than they look! I am so happy to know that just 7 of us made this possible, and of course with the support of all of those who helped us get here in the first place. We thank you all for making this an experience of a lifetime. Tomorrow will be our last day on the project – seems like we got here just yesterday. I am super excited to celebrate with the committee members and a few of our new friends tomorrow afternoon – out come the party clothes! What I am not looking forward to is having to say good-bye.

Lala salama,

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011

Naro Moru, Kenya: The hard part is over

Today was an amazing day! We were joined again with about 115 local volunteers, and we made it to our final destination! – the empty water tank 1 km away from the start point. A round of high fives and big smiles as we celebrate our accomplishment. The hard part is now over; time for everyone on site to take a break together, sodas in hand. Our supervisor Francis, is overjoyed with the work that has been done. Next is carrying the pipes to the main water tank where they will be placed, and continue all the way to the other end. We carried about 25 of the 150 1 ½ inch pipes and set them down. We wait until tomorrow for the experts who will be connecting the pipes to each other. Everyone is in a super positive mood as we walk back home. Today we hit Nanyuki town about 30km from Naro Moru. We also stopped at the equator, where we were told about the gravitational pull and why water spins clockwise above the equator, counter-clockwise south of the equator, and neutral on the equator. Crazy is all I have to say.

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011

Naro Moru, Kenya: Week 2 begins with 120 new faces

It’s obvious that Kenyans are ridiculously hardworking people, but it became even more evident that they are also kind hearted and eager to help wherever needed. This is without a doubt a community driven project; we had 120 volunteers come out to help us begin the week. It was overwhelming to see the line up of people, both Kenyan and Canadian, and realize that it’s a reality that we may actually finish the project before we leave. We continued to meet more locals and share stories. I learnt that mockery and the art of laughter is universal. Kenyans have a wonderful sense of humour.

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011

Naro Moru, Kenya: Lions, buffalos, giraffes, oh my…

After a bumpy 5 hour drive to Nakuru, we settle into our tented camps at Flamingo Hill Camp right in the heart of the national park. On our first game drive, we see baboons, birds, and tons of zebras and gazelles. Only an hour in, we discover two lions chilling out ferociously on a horizontal tree bark. It was AWESOME! The white rhino is massive, and the baby rhinos are too cute. We enjoyed some wonderful African entertainment by the bonfire and joined in when it was time to dance.

We are up at 5:30am on Christmas morning to head out for another game drive. This time we are lucky enough to see some beautiful giraffes, with an unreal sunrise behind them. We also saw warthogs, waterbacks, hyena, dik-dik, ostrich, pelicans, and hundreds of water buffaloes. Oddly enough, there were no flamingos because of the high water level. I will never forget spending Christmas on a safari in Africa; strange without the snow, but definitely unforgettable. Bottom line, if you come to Africa, you MUST experience a safari.

Asante sana,

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011

Naru Moru, Kenya: It’s Committee member’s day - aka Friday!

It’s only day 5, but the work seems like it’s getting harder, the sun is getting hotter, and the walk to the project site is further everyday. No work gloves = blisters :( those of us who have never experienced a sunburn before, realized it happens in Kenya! Besides the mud, and a few accidental cracks in existing pipes, we had another successful day of digging on the site. We are getting closer and closer to our goal (almost half way) and it’s pretty exciting since we have another week to go still. Our supervisor Francis sat us down for some history about Kenya and gave each of us an African name that we will now go by. Mine is Mumbi – aka mother. 

We are looking forward to a couple of days off before we start again next week – we are told that close to 100 volunteers will be working with us. We are off to a Safari for our holiday weekend!

Cheers,

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011

Naru Moru, Kenya: The story of our new friend Stephen…

Another tough day on the project, but we are making tons of progress. We met a whole new team of volunteers from the community who brought their beautiful smiles. We were fortunate to have met one specific young man who worked harder than the rest; you could see that he enjoyed every moment of it. Stephen is 25 years old, with warm eyes and a kind smile. He has a passion for his family and his farm. His friends recently died of Aids, so he took their now 2 orphaned children into his home and treats them as his own. Stephen is responsible for taking care of his 2 children, his parents, and his younger sister who has university tuition fees. He also has 3 older brothers who live in Nairobi, leaving the workload of their farms on Stephen as well. He kindly invited us to go visit his farm and crops, and meet his family. I have never seen anyone so proud of his farm. We visited his cousin’s graduation party, which consisted of almost 30 family members all celebrating her accomplishment together. We laughed, sang Christmas songs, and took tons more pictures. It was one of my favorite days so far.

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011

Naru Moru, Kenya: 15 Kenyans and 7 Canadians working side by side

Today we saw the power of what Kenyans can do with very minimal tools and resources. The physical capabilities of the local volunteers were astounding and inspirational. About 15 volunteers came out with their tools in hand, to work alongside our team to continue digging. The selfless participation by the community is truly remarkable, as many of these people may not even benefit from the project. We made many friends today with whom we worked, laughed, and learned from. One portion of the digging was complete, only to come across an enormous tree stump; the hard working Kenyans didn’t waste any time, and quickly decided the only solution was to dig around it and continue on. Now the fun part, machetes (aka panga) were brought out to clear some of the shrub out of the way; the thorns turned out to be more dangerous than the machetes themselves.

The work day came to a close, and everyone sat around chatting before heading home. There was a sense of accomplishment, and friendly camaraderie in the air. We will be working with a new group of volunteers tomorrow, and I look forward to meeting new faces.

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011

Naru Moru, Kenya: Today was just introductions…

We are in our work clothes and ready to go for the day! The 15-20 minute walk to the project site in reality is 45 minutes. The sun is hot, but the children waving to us as we walk are wearing toques and sweaters. My new favourite word is ‘Jambo’ which means hello. We wave and yell jambo all the way to our first stop – the water tank built by a Developing World Connections student trip in 2010. We continue our walk for 1km to the main water tank where we learn how to use shovels and hoes the Kenyan way. The plan is to dig 2 ft into the ground for 1 km and with the help of the community, we are confident we will see it happen. We begin digging, and quickly learn we are not built for this, but we are positive and ready to give everything we have for these amazing people.

Hours of sweat equity later, my team is feeling overwhelmed with the extent of the project and physical demand of the work ahead. It was an eye opener to say the least. Formal introductions are made back at the house; several members of the Gitwe Irrigation Water Project committee members have joined us to welcome us to the project and share information about the project.

The Gitwe Irrigation Water Project serves over 600 locals, with both drinking water, and water for irrigation during the dry season. It is when the secretary of the project, Sylvester, makes a remark that I feel my eyes fill with tears. I expected my first tearful experience to occur through sight, not sound. He explains, “Water for us is life, when we see you, we see life.” The genuine tone in his voice fills me with emotions that I can barely contain. At that moment, I am ruthlessly reminded why I am here. I will make a difference, big or small. The Chairman of the project, Jeff, concludes the meeting by letting us know that today was just training and introductions…the real work will begin tomorrow.
“Tomorrow is serious business” he says.

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011

Naru Moru, Kenya: Karibu Naro Moru

We begin our journey to Naro Moru, with eyes wide open and filled with excitement and jet lag. The first 20 minutes of the 3 hour drive ahead was spent chatting, pointing out the windows, and taking lots of photos. The rest of the drive was quiet as everyone took in the images of their first experience in Africa. The scenery was a luscious green, and went on for miles. Children with their shoeless feet, and torn shirts greet us with their big smiles and waves as we drive into the village. We are welcomed to the Wanjau home, which will be our home for the next two weeks. It looks like a house out of a storybook, with a red roof, chimney, and beautiful garden overlooking a dense forest. I’m in Africa – the feeling is surreal.

Jasmine Dhillon
DWC Team Leader
Kenya December 2011