After two weeks in Kenya we have now landed back in England, tired but still smiling and I find myself reflecting on our experiences and what I’ve seen over the three trips I have made since 2016.
Kenya has always struck me as a country of extreme contrasts. Bustling, noisy cities alongside spectacular African plains; extreme poverty alongside the obvious wealth contained within skyscrapers and large, security-guarded villas; colonial buildings and history alongside modern glass buildings; smiling, playful children in crumbling schools with just one tap providing them with water to drink……….
For visitors like us, these extremes can sometimes be difficult to understand and process. Many times on project we’ve had conversations about whether we can do more to help the children, schools and children’s homes we have visited. Sometimes we feel like we can only skim the surface in just two weeks and yet then we have conversations which seem to open important topics, answer vital questions and provide a solution as best we can construe. Some of the stories on our daily blog illustrate this. In particular when one of the team connects a disengaged young girl with a disrupted homelife with her teachers, who didn’t know about the problems, and within days she is smiling, happy and chatting at one of our festivals, going from being a lone figure to surrounded by other girls who seem to have taken her into their group.
In many ways although much of the poverty and health problems remain from 2016, I have noticed great change on this third trip. We’ve worked with over 6,000 children in nearly 30 schools and children’s homes and for the first time the majority are girls, reflecting a boost in the number of girls attending school following government campaigns to convince parents that educating girls is as important as educating boys. I’ve also noticed that it’s now the rare exception to find boys that say girls are not equal to them and we see them playing alongside each other naturally most of the time rather than separating into their groups.
I also see how much the work of CWB is embedding into the community after over a decade of effort. Nakuru illustrates this most – children who played with CWB a decade ago are now grown up, playing cricket in teams led by our local Ambassador George and going back into schools with us to coach the next generation. A case study of what CWB is trying to achieve across Africa.
So my reflection is, that CWB is succeeding and making a difference with the children it touches, whether that means making them smile and happy for a few hours in their day or a more meaningful and long-term impact on the lives of some of them.
And finally I can see the impact on our team of volunteers as we head back home. Over the two weeks a team has formed, helping and caring for each other as some have been struck with flu. Some have never coached children before, but all are thinking about how to structure sessions and engage them. Everyone has been touched by our experiences travelling around this amazing country. We may have changed some lives, but I’m certain ours have been changed too.
Asante sana Team
Asante sana Nico, George, Mathias and all the local coaches
Asante sana Kenya
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