5 months have passed and this is the first time I’m blogging
since being back, wow have these last 5 months flown by, I cant believe how quick
they have gone, the thought that I have such little time left is a hard thought…
so lets leave that one for now!
What have I been doing over the last 5 months? Well….
Coming back just felt like home but I come back to so much
change at work moving offices, new staff any my manager deciding to step down
from her role all made things very different, and with this I was given more
responsibility in my job role which has been good for me and taught me so much.
Over the last 5 months at work we have had some challenging
and difficult volunteers which has been so frustrating that you want to quit
your job and pull your hair out especially after investing in them and
organising so much for them! The most recent being a sorority group we had
which were difficult to say the least writing awful feedback making me in tears
and stressed at the end of it, boy were they hard work! You see the good, the
bad and the ugly for sure, it for sure gave me a dislike towards Americans! But
you then get the good volunteers who you stay friends with, one of which is
already planning on coming to London!
I have really learnt a lot in my job role, and gained so
much experience they say that after working in this industry in this job role,
you can really say you can work with people! You can be tested to all lengths
for sure! I learnt more than I ever could in a book including working with
projects, and theory really seeing the life scenarios happen that you read
about especially with volunteers and within the projects with development,
working with and not for, the “hand out” mentality and much more! Reading “Helping
Hurts” taught me so much and I really have seen this come to life which has grown
and developed me so much in so many ways really know the right way to help and
to empower many people within a community, and how to really help Kenyans, and
what they need from outsiders. You see so many volunteers come and after trying
to educate them they still don’t get it, think they know best don’t help but
actually cause so much damage when they think they are helping, its far from it
and it happens so widely, people really need to learn the culture, build
relationships and get to know people first it’s the key!
It has been great to see the projects growing, building
stronger relationships with the children within the different projects. God has
really deep rooted such a love in my heart for these children and children
generally especially those in poor and needy situations, who are less
unfortunate.
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| Me & Joy |
One special girl is Joy at Angels which is a centre for
abandoned children. Joy is nearly 2 she is a child that wont go to anyone she
will select who she goes to. The home has 10 nannies and out of them all there
is only one she will go to, out of all the visitors the home has she wont go to
anyone, I am the only person she will go to when I come she comes to me and if I
leave her for a minute she follows, or wont let me. She knows if I have to
leave she will grip on and hold me so tightly or pull on me so I cant let go,
she will then cry so much when I leave, sometimes when my colleague goes there
she comes looking out the window for me, she calls me mum and when the nannies
ask her who mum is she points at me and then wont go to the other nannie she
likes even. She gets very jealous if I’m playing with the other children they
sit on me, hug me or hold my hand she starts crying.
Everyone keeps telling me I have to adopt her, she has chosen
me! I have grown to love her very much. She is so young but yet you know her
behaviour is rooted from how she was abandoned and being left. The day I have
to leave her is going to be so hard knowing she wont be able to understand.
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| Free Spirit Logo |
When I went back home in December I felt something being
stirred in me about starting a home but I thought it was a long shot and such a
big idea that was impossible and it wouldn’t be until way in the future if it
was to be. When I came back I felt really stirred and having such compassion
for street children. I was also reading the book “Compelled by Love” at the
time and it really stirred me wanting to have that passion and faith with God,
being about the poor I knew it was my passion to work with the poor and yearned
to see the power of God break out amongst the poor in Kenya. I then kept getting
‘break my heart for what breaks yours’ it was like God was really breaking my
heart for street children. It was then that I knew God was putting it on my
heart to start a home for street children, but how it was just impossible so I just
pushed it down, but I just found myself having this yearning inside of me and
just thinking about it all the time. One lunch time I was talking to Maureen
who I work with and she said you have all this in your hands, so what are you
waiting for! It then begun! Going for endless meetings, gathering information,
making plans and so that is how it all begun! So I am in the process of setting
up a home called Free Spirit ‘ A home of freedom in the transformation of new
life, you can follow the blog for Free Spirit for more information on where the
home is at etc! But it’s a working progress! Working hard for funding, sponsorship,
fundraisers etc to fund, set up and run the home long term.
The home has been the main thing that has been filling my
time and keeping me so busy, it really is all in faith not knowing how it will
all work out, and with so many discouragements along the way, but I’m trusting
God knowing its done for him and his children.
Another big thing was that I became sick with malaria; wasn’t
a pleasant experience to say the least, at one point I felt like I was dying
but thank God I am now well and recovered. I still feel tired and weak at
times, but it can take a long time for your body t recover so I’m just bearing
with it, but otherwise I am well.
I was meant to do the bungee jump, it was postponed several
times due to work commitments, then I became sick so it was postponed again, I
am hoping to do it before I leave! Eeeek!
I got to go to Encounter Mara which is camp my company's camp
that is based in the Masai Mara one of the seventh wonders of the world. My company
paid for me to go on safari there all expenses paid which was such an
incredible blessing and amazing experience. I was so blessed and it was a great
time including many dramas! Running from lions, nearly being trampled on by an
elephant which resulted in me hurting my back, cutting my arm and cracking my
camera screen least it wasn’t worse! Animals at night hyenas scratching at your
tents, hippos, lions, buffalo as well! No experience like wild animals at your
feet!  |
| Me & Martin |
We had this group come for 2 weeks that worked with our
outreach project a school for the deaf. During this time I was in a class with
2 of the volunteers, in this class there was 3 boys with special needs. The
teacher had put them at the side of the class and excluded them from the rest
of the class letting them sit there doing nothing. I begun working with these
children really seeing when they were invested into and helped they could do
such good work and were so creative. One of the boys ‘Kevin’ had been known as
being naughty and bad by the whole school due to the teacher, she spoke badly
of him, made him cry, laughed at him which only discouraged him further. I then
told her the reason he was behaving this way was because she had excluded him
from the class so it was like he wasn’t one of them, making him think something
was wrong with him he needed to feel equal. We moved the boys and mixed them up
with the rest of the class, within hours there was a magnificent difference Kevin
was now so attentive he was finishing before the other kids, doing more was so
creative, helping others and loved to help me, one of the other boys Martin
also improved, with guidance he was just at the level as the others.  |
| Me & Kevin |
There was
another boy who has more extreme difficulties, he was unable to hold a pencil
or anything everyone would say oh he cant do anything leave him, they never
knew his name even they would call him Vincent, Benson after persisting I found
out his name was Stephen we soon see him holding a pencil he does need a lot of
help but he got so excited and was so happy. Being a deaf school was so hard to
communicate but it was great to spend time with these beautiful children, such
children are rejected, looked upon and disowned by their parent and society for
being deaf but these children are amazingly talented, being deaf doesn’t stop
them being able to dance, play instruments when they cant hear sound and so
much more! They are incredible! I love working with the school. I became to have such a love for Kevin with the friendship
we built, by investing into him really see such a difference, he would always
want to be with me. Just shows what a difference it can make by investing ‘time’
into someone, this is what so many needy children need, and someone to love
them.
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| Class 3 working with @ Kambui school for the Deaf |
Being with the boys in Mombasa is always good, although its
been hard due to the difficult circumstances, but we have celebrated birthdays
and had some fun times together despite all the difficult situations that have
taken place along the way. But I still continue to love them, and to invest
into them seeking God for a lot of grace and forgiveness along the way! 
Summing up 5 months is not easy, so many things have
happened but this is just a few stories about moments that have impacted me, grown
me and touched my heart.
Oh and riding camels!
I love Kenya, and I just don’t want to leave that’s all I
can say……..
