Benji’s Experience In Kenya
September 2016
I would like to thank Ed and everyone else who is part of The Nasio Trust for enabling me to experience the work they do in western Kenya. I fundraised over a year in order to take part in one of the Nasio Trusts volunteering trips to Mumias. The fundraising was harder and more time consuming than I expected as fundraising just over £2,000 was not an insignificant amount of money.
However, it was well worth all of the time and effort.
The time I spent in Kenya was an amazing life changing experience and one I will never forget. Whilst there, I was privileged to be fully immersed in the local community and got involved with tasks such as, delivering essential supplies (blankets to new-borns, milk to sick children) and food packages to the families of children who attend the day centres. I helped out helping out with the Jiggers campaign (a flea that burrows and lays eggs in the skin) and the Spirilina Project (harvesting nutritious algae to be mixed with food). I also helped out with the building of a new house with sticks and mud for one of the families.
The community in Mumias is amazing, everyone was so welcoming and friendly.
All of these experiences were completely new to me and I gained a real insight into what life is like for the local community. The community in Mumias is amazing, everyone was so welcoming and friendly. I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing football, Frisbee, hand printing, colouring and singing with the local children.
What struck me the most during my time in the village was the welcoming atmosphere in the community and happiness in the community despite their very obvious deprivation. They have so little (compared to the western world) yet they are happy and content. We, in the UK, have so much, yet many are miserable or complaining, searching for the next hi-tech object, spending money on expensive cars and houses and yet still never happy. I very much hope that this experience stays with me for ever and that it helps me to appreciate the simple things in life that we tend to take for granted; family, friends, and making sure we care for and about each other and those in need.
This story is listed in: About Nasio, Projects, Volunteer Stories
