Karibu (Welcome) to my blog!

Habaree? (How are you) 

Gina Langu Ni Sarah (my name is Sarah)...I thought I would start by showing off the little but also impressive Swahili I am learning! I don't know many sentences but I have picked up quite a few words that I like to throw into as many conversations as possible! As for the boys there is such a noticeable change in their English. Even the smallest boy who didn't even speak Swahili but his tribal language can now say 'My name is Joseph' I am really proud of them! 

Another couple of weeks have passed since my last update and I am still really enjoying myself out here and making the most of this experience. I wrote last time of how a few of the Thika town boys had run away, unfortunately only a couple returned so we have now recruited new boys in their place as there was only so much time we could try and wait for them to return and it was time to give some other boys a chance at rehabilitation. The new boys are settling in well, and it has been good to have a full house again. There are a few boys in this group who are very clever and their English reading and speaking is very impressive. It helps to have them to be able to translate for me to the other boys, and I can really see them doing very well at school after their time with us. 

The new timetable is finally in place, and is a very busy schedule for the boys with a variety of activities to keep them busy, educated. motivated, inspired, whilst supporting them with rehabilitation. Activities include life skills sessions, Maths, English, Science, and Social studies lessons, Football (lead by a Thika United Player) Acrobatics, Arts and Crafts, Hear our Voice (Drama) and much more. This is complimented by individual counselling and group counselling sessions. I will be responsible for leading some life skills sessions, advocacy sessions, bead work, and conversational English lessons. I have also set up a reading club at the centre where i have created a schedule so each staff member is allocated boys they will read with on a one to one basis each week. While all this is going on the social workers are out working with the parents and child's family so if possible all the boys will be able to return home and back to school. 

As well as the work I am doing at the centre, and helping out when i am around as I am living there! on Wednesdays I am doing outreach work in a place called Ruiru working with the boys on the streets. I have spent the last couple of weeks getting to know them, but hope to do an art project with them later on. We do activities with them, and also get them lunch. These boys will be referred on to the centre for the next intake or supported in an inter work programme, the workers are working with their families and may give economic support so they can return to school and leave the street. 

Last week I had a meeting with a local school that the charity is supporting with one of our staff members as  a teacher and support where they can. We agreed that I will work with them on Tuesday afternoons by doing individual reading with there students and setting up and running a reading club. The school is very poor and most of the children are very vulnerable as their families mainly work in the fields so poverty is high. The classroom I will be doing my reading club in is for the smallest grade, they only have 4 tiny desks for 30+ children! I want to work on fundraising some more so i can buy them some more desks. A desk costs around 2,000 kenyan shillings which is about £20, so if anyone wants to donate more money or buy a desk let me know - it will be much appreciated! Asante! (thank you)

On Thursday this week I am going to another school as I have been asked to talk to their new elected prefects about leadership. I will do an interactive session with them for an hour or so, so quite excited about that. It will hopefully be a good start in developing some advocacy work in the school which the director is keen for me to do. 

So as you can see work wise I am pretty busy and most of it is just getting off the ground so i am sure as my projects/sessions develop I will be very involved! As well as working hard, I am also making time to socialise, meet new people and travel. Last weekend I went to Mombasa for 3days with one of the volunteers and the director. I camped on Tiwi beach which was just paradise, ate coconuts, snorkeled in the natural pools and worked on my tan! It was easy and cheap to get too as we got an overnight coach straight from Thika, apart from it taking 10 hours and being the most unconformable coach ever with the craziest driver, but was all worth it when we arrived and I was laying on the beach by 10am. I will definitely return to Tiwi beach hopefully at least one more time over the next few months. 

Hoping to take some time off in a few weeks and travel to Zanzibar...I'll let you know developments on that but potentially very exciting!

Please keep in touch, email me your news and let me know if you can help with donations :) 

Lots of Love Sarah x 

'The Rat'

Well I’m definitely being kept busy out here, the last week has flown by and I really can’t believe that I have already been here for a month. We have unfortunately had a few boys run away from this recruit, its due to their addiction to sniffing glue and although you can really see that some of them do want to change and get off the streets the addiction is ruling their bodies and even though they get food, bed, activities, education, support and most of all love, their addictions sadly take over. When I see them around town I try to persuade them to return to the centre, just yesterday another volunteer and I managed to get one boy to come back with us, hand over his glue and return to the ICC. Unfortunately he ran again last night and although it is such a shame it’s the hard reality of the situation, and the work we are doing. 

On a positive note, the remaining boys are doing really well, they have settled in now, and its great to see them forming as a group. Their personalities are really coming through, and they are really fun to be around and work with. There are some really young boys and its so sad to think of their situations and why they are staying with us, but there is also so much hope now, and with our help and rehabilitation they will make it back to school, back home is possible, and off the streets.  They are a lively bunch and the language barrier can be a challenge but I can already see their English improving with me being around and I am picking up some Swahili too! On Friday I taught an English lesson, going through the Alphabet and coming up wih words for each letter. I attempted to sing and teach them the alphabet song, which I bet you all wish you could have seen it was very amusing!

Staying at the centre opposed to the volunteer house which is a 20minute walk away is defiantly good for me in a youth work role as it means when I get up I see the boys in the morning, work with them all day, and then get that special time with them in the evening, where we eat dinner, sing and play games, talk about the day and then my favourite is saying goodnight to them. It’s helping me to build relationships, and I get to see the boys and their progression daily. The only negative is I can find myself doing 14hour days (which is normal for me in my usual work!) but no real escape to relax living at the centre. I am trying to be strict and keep my weekends off and at least an evening a week, where I will go out or spend time with the volunteers at their house. 

Last weekend I went to 14 falls, about 30mins from Thika town, which was beautiful. I went with one of the Kenyan staff and his friends, and we lazed around in the sun, had a picnic and then attempted to cross the falls – badly. The stones were so hot my feet were burning and we had to be helped across the big jumps, and I still ended up socked to my waist. We then went to a local pool for a swim, or should I say a paddle as the pool was so crowded, (no lanes Dani) and due of cultural respect I was wearing a t-shirt over my costume. Still it was nice to be in the water and escape the 30 degree heat, and a nice end to a fun day out.

Yesterday (Sat 12^th) I went out with a staff member who showed me his village where he grew up. Literally in the middle of no-where, we walked, got a motorbike to finally reach his land. He also showed me a children’s home where he used to volunteer, these children are all orphans and stay until they are 18. Another real eye opener, the home doesn’t have a sponser so relies on local donations but are desperate for help and need a lot of work done to the home, even still they are doing a great job. In the afternoon I went to a local hotel with one of the volunteers and we hung out in the grouds, read, slept and just relaxed, it was a nice escape. Next weekend I am going to the coast – Mombassa, I am really looking forward to this and working on my tan! 

So all in all a good balance between work, and seeing Kenya.

I want to briefly tell you of my experience the other night, went to go to bed and was convinced I could hear an animal in my room… tried to ignore it and fall asleep but couldn’t. Finally had a stare down, where I turned off all the lights and waited to spot it. Caught its beady eyes reflecting at me from under my wardrobe and I jumped out of bed and text the night staff ‘there’s a rat in my room!’ he thank g-d came to the rescue with a stick! Found the rat nestling in my wardrobe drawer and it was seriously the biggest rat I have ever seen! I left Edward to sort it and after hearing thumps, bumps and a thud he emerged with the beast, sadly not so alive anymore. Needless to say it took me a while to get to sleep after but all in all I was very brave and didn’t even scream! Its defiantly an adventure living at the ICC. Also a huge bird flew into me this week as I was walking from the office back to the centre, was very surreal and I had a headache all afternoon! No idea what’s going on but having my own Safari adventure it seems!

That’s all for now, any questions email me :-0

Also, please if you want to donate you still can and it will really help me stay out here for the whole six months and help the charity with all its work. www.justgiving .com/SerotaSarah

Love Sarah x 

Updates...:-)

Last week we had a staff strategy meeting and family integration meeting, which was good to be involved in as I got to be a part of the planning for 2011 and see more the process of how the different projects run. We start and end each meeting with a prayer and a song which is nice - maybe something i should start doing in my work in the UK!
I went to Nairobi on Saturday evening where we stayed at the directors friends where we had wine and food round a fire in her garden.The journey there was quite stressful when we hit traffic and then impatient drivers cut us up and off the road on a made up diversion with 10 lanes!and I thought we might actually not make it out alive! Luckily we didn't and Eleanor's driving and calmness saved us.  The roads are crazy here and every journey is more of an experience, i will not complain about London drivers again! On Sunday we visited Nairobi national park where we drove around in a jeep and saw lots of wildlife i.e zebras and giraffes it was a very beautiful park surrounded by Nairobi skyline and a relaxing day out.
I finally had my interview with the director where we discussed my role here and the projects I can get involved with. I will be starting up a reading club at the centre and also at a local school. I will also be leading life skills sessions, co-ordinating the holiday activities where we get 300 children attend! and I will be setting up school advocacy clubs/councils.
I met Jane - who is hte house mother, she cooks the meals for the boys and staff and does all the domestic work as well as some counselling. All the boys call her mother and she now calls me her daughter. She is very sweet and even got me bread as I hate the porridge the boys eat called 'Ugi' which to me tastes like drinking sick!
On Monday we got the first boys of the new intake, and on Tuesday and Wednesday more, so by Wed eve we had a full house of 23 boys.  They are all lovely with their challenges but it was amazing to see the transformation from them turning up filthy to being washed and given clean clothes and a good meal. The first boys even commented how dirty the second lot that arrived were, which made me laugh as they had looked the same only the day before! Most of the boys speak very little - no English which is a challenge but I am managing to lead activities sometimes needed a staff member to translate. I am picking up some basic Swahili from them although some of them speak 'kakuhu' which is their tribal language.
Up until Friday we also had no electricity or water which was fun, although we have had some nice candle lit communal dinners. Its back on now and i really appreciate the basics in life!
This week I have been spending most of my nights at the centre and going to bed between 9-10 when the boys go to bed! It was nice to go out for dinner with the volunteers on Thursday and we watched a  movie at their house last night. Tommorow I am going to 14falls which is a waterfall quite near to Thika so I am looking forward to that .
This week coming will be busy with the new timtable starting and some structure into the week. Some of the boys have also been running away due to drug craving so we hope they will be back and we can work with them.

Keep emailing me with your news,

Sarah xxx