A glimpse at Youthlinc Kenya 2012: Kajuki & its resilient people

It’s the Youthlinc philosophy to partner with impoverished communities so that those who are struggling can receive assistance with basic necessities. We forget that in the U.S., our government provides us with clean water, schools, and to some degree, basic medical care for those in extreme poverty. How hard would it be to live without these services we take for granted? A visit to Tharaka, Kenya answers that question.

Like those without resources or opportunity anywhere, when given a chance, Kenyan villagers rise to take our hand with determination and pride.
In our four year partnership with Kiamuri, Kenya, we have worked together to establish clean water sources, classrooms, community health, vocational training, and microcredit loans. The people of Kiamuri have a chance at a better future.

With so many impoverished communities to help, so many places where our teams can know they have made a real difference, Youthlinc moves on to Kajuki, Kenya after this June 2011.

My site visit to Kajuki began as site visits always begin, by meeting the community leader. Father Joe was stationed in Kajuki when he was ordained as a Catholic priest nine years ago. At that time, there was one primary school and one secondary school for 40,000 people – his parishioners -- living in a 200 sq. kilometer area. Kajuki receives as much rainfall as Utah – 400 mm/yr. It’s a desert without irrigation.

The streams that run through this area – weak in times of drought such as now -- are far apart and used by many animals. They are a polluted water source. Water must be boiled before drinking, but often isn’t. Irrigation systems would help sustain family gardens, and supplement diets of boiled maize and beans.

Father Joe is a dynamo. He actively seeks donors, lobbies a recalcitrant Kenyan government, and works around the clock to help the people of Kajuki. He’s organized a community leadership team, and managed to get the government to build another secondary and primary school. He’s begun to build Sacred Heart pre-school and primary school – all the way to class 6 (sixth grade). The school is for the children of the extreme poor he finds in his ministry across his wide parish – children with nothing but intelligence and promise. Someday, he hopes for a Sacred Heart secondary school.

Now, a few teenage girls attend a ‘polytechnic’ – a dilapidated wooden shed with a couple of beat up sewing machines where they make school uniforms. A Rotary International Grant funded by Utah Rotary Clubs will provide new sewing machines soon.

All of these structures are very humble, and all but Sacred Heart do not have a reliable water source or adequate dormitories for the children who live too far away to walk each day. Dorms are corrugated tin structures with dirt floors and no lighting at night. Pit latrines are simple deep holes in the ground.

And so there are many needs for Youthlinc teams. Sacred Heart primary needs a water tank for rain catchment, a kitchen, bathrooms – and a serious renovation to make it safe. Can you imagine your children attending this pre-school? And feeling lucky that they are?

Kajuki secondary needs solar panels so the students can study at night. Now nine lanterns are the only evening illumination – and it gets dark in Kenya (on the equator) every night at 6pm.

The ‘science lab’ is pathetic, and we can easily make a commitment to remedy that room. Eventually, we can ask Utah Rotary clubs to help fund grants to provide bathrooms and showers, and hopefully, we’ll find donors to upgrade the dangerous dorms students now sleep in.

Community leaders are interested in partnering with all Youthlinc committees, but especially vocational training (to upgrade the ‘polytechnic’) and microenterprise, to give people a chance to start a small business. For example, tamarind trees grow wild here, and the fruit has culinary and medicinal uses. Villagers would like to start some kind of enterprise around this product.

I’ve lost track of the number of site visits I’ve done for Youthlinc over the years. No place was drier or dustier than Kajuki, and on no other site visit, did children approach the community leader and say they were hungry. It’s truly enough to break your heart. But if Father Joe and his flock can soldier on, making things a bit better day after day, I know Youthlincers – and our generous donors – can find a way to lend a hand.

Could you survive on a cup of water a day? A visit to Kiamuri, Kenya

Though Youthlinc has worked for four years in Kiamuri, Kenya -- though I’ve read reports, seen photos, and heard stories – I was truly amazed to see with my own eyes the work our teams have done. In two days, our in-country coordinator Sister Mary Wayua showed me water systems, classrooms, vocational training equipment, libraries, women who have received microcredit loans, and the countless smiling faces of the villagers. Everyone passes their regards to their American friends.

Kiamuri – all of Tharaka District – is experiencing an extreme drought. Many people are subsisting on one cup of water a day. Stop for a moment and imagine that. Think about the quantity of water you use each day: to drink, to shower, to cook your food, to brush your teeth. Could you live on one cup of water a day?

Kitchen gardens are dried up, so food is scarce. There is famine in Kiamuri. People are lucky to get one meal a day: perhaps a little millet porridge, perhaps not. I hope you will join me in praying for rains to start in Tharaka in March or April.

It’s difficult to contribute to one’s community when one is dehydrated and hungry, yet the people of Gikuru – one village in Kiamuri area – have managed somehow to construct another classroom with their own meager means. This is a contribution worth $4,500 in-kind. It is helpful to think of the Gikuru villagers’ contribution when considering a donation to a classroom in Kiamuri.

This classroom supplements the two that Youthlinc donors built and teams constructed. More good news: the Kenyan government is currently building two more at the request of Gikuru villagers. Our goal for this summer is to add the final two classrooms, so that the mud & twig structures – dangerous and leaky – can be demolished and the children of Gikuru Primary can learn in a minimally safe and sound environment.

Even more good news: A Rotary International Global Grant – supported by Rotary Clubs of Park City Sunrise, Park City Lunch, Vernal, Richfield, Southwest Valley Sunrise, Centerville/Farmington, Sugar House, and Middleton, England – will provide a huge rock water catchment system in Gikuru! With this US$12,000 system, the people in Gikuru will have a reliable water source in times of drought. This year’s team will see the huge granite slab which will form the basis of this catchment system when they are in Gikuru this June.

This is our last year in Kiamuri. There is still a bit to be done. Besides the remaining classrooms in Gikuru, Kauthene still needs water. These villagers drink from the same deep well that the local animals use. So the source is polluted. Because of the generosity of the Michel Family Foundation, the primary school will receive rainwater catchment gutters and a tank. Still, at least one more tank (a mere US$700) to ease the water crisis during the seven months of drought each year.

Finally, a Rotary Grant last year provided the equipment for a bread making enterprise in Kiamuri. However, there is no electricity to power the machines. The government power lines are just over 3 kilometers away, but there is no telling when or if electricity will arrive in Kiamuri. Youthlinc would like to provide a generator (US $2,000) so that our students can begin teaching baking lessons this June and Kiamuri residents can undertake a profitable small business.

I was not part of the site visit to Kiamuri which established this area as a Youthlinc site five years ago. Having seen the place, I wonder if I would have recommended that we proceed. It’s always been my philosophy – and the Organization’s philosophy—that we need to partner for quality of life change. Seeing the drought, seeing perhaps half of Kiamuri still without water (even with the systems Youthlinc and Rotary have brought), I wonder how these extremely impoverished people even survive, no less partner. But they do. And that puts the human spirit in perspective. And it reminds us how much we have, how little we need, and how great is the calling we have to help.


Kiamuri Secondary School classrooms contributed by Youthlinc donors and built by the community & Youthlinc teams:

Rainwater catchment at Holy Family Primary School, Kiamuri. Built with a Rotary International Grant through the support of Utah Rotary Clubs and the Rotary Club of Middleton, England:

The mud & twig classrooms that Youthlinc teams & donors have been working to replace in partnership with the village of Gikuru:

Downtown Gikuru:

Need a place to volunteer? Check out our 2012 Local Service Directory!

Have you seen the 2012 Local Service Directory?



Youthlinc exists to create life-time humanitarians and what better way to do that than spread the word about amazing service opportunities!?! Each year Youthlinc partners with the Utah State Office of Education to create the Local Service Directory.  We are also very grateful to the George & Dolores Eccles Foundation for their financial sponsorship of the magazine. The Local Service Directory is a listing of many service organizations in the state of Utah where Youthlinc participants have personally served and had such a great experience that they wanted to share it with other young humanitarians around the state.

You will find a lot in the 2012 Local Service Directory:

• Service sites where Youthlinc participants have had great experiences with hands-on service and mentoring in a positive, encouraging atmosphere.
• Quotes from our student participants reflecting on their service experience at each site.
  
• Easily accessible information about what the service site does and what a new volunteer can do at that site, as well as current contact information.
  
• Advise for teachers & club advisers on how to instill a lasting service ethic in young people.
• Information on last years winners of the Young Humanitarian Award - a $5,000.00 scholarship awarded to Utah's Young Humanitarian. (If you think this year it could be you,  check out the Young Humanitarian Award page of our website.)

This year there are more than 120 service sites including many more opportunities for students in the Wasatch Front, Park City and Tooele areas. We are always looking for new opportunities to add to this listing each year and build a larger service base for all of our young humanitarians in Utah.If you would like copies of the Local Service Directory or have any questions please contact our office at 801-467-4417 or office@youthlinc.org.

Kenya February Team Meeting

 

Hey everyone, it is Meagan blogging about Kenya's awesome meeting we had for February, Aubrey gave a great example lesson of storms, so we all were able to get the idea of how to teach in the classroom in Africa, thanks Aubrey!!

 

Then we split off into our group/committees to go over more planning for Africa.

And of course... we played games to help everyone get to know each other a little bit more!!!

And to finish off the evening we did a service project that was provided by the two fine ladies featured above, we were able to write cards to children with terminal illnesses and send them off to these kids and help brighten up there days!! 

Gabriella Kinikini - Team Cambodia

Team Cambodia's first featured participant is Gabriella Kinkini (on the left in the picture above). Gabriella is majoring in Nursing at Westminster College. She currently volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club of Salt Lake City, and she says she loves getting to know the kids. "Her life Motto is Don't worry, be happy!" and she loves sushi. She loves bobsledding and running. If she could have a super power, she would want to fly!

Team Mexico: Up and Running!

Now that we have been placed on our committees, bonded, and learned a lot about the conditions of Chiapas, it's time for Team Mexico to get focused on all that we will do in Mexico.
At our meeting this month, we heard from the medical committee and learned a lot about how to dress, what to bring, and what NOT to eat in Mexico. Seeing the medical committee being so on top of things was a big motivation for the rest of the committees, so I'm sure we will be hearing a lot from the rest of them real soon!
The more we meet together, the more excited we are to get to Chiapas! Everyone on the team can tell that this group is definitely a special one.
Although we got really tight at the team retreat in January, we are still loving to get to know our teammates still. A big thanks to our Minnesota team members for posting a video on facebook so that we can get to know them too! It was a fantastic video and it seems like Melissa and Montana (our teammates from Minnesota) will fit right in with the rest of us!
Team Mexico is getting up and running... hopefully running fast-- there's not much of us that can wait any longer until we can be in Mexico to be with the people of Chiapas!

Heidi Malan

 Hey Everyone!!  This is Meagan blogging yet again about one of our fabulous team members going to Africa, Heidi Malan.  Heidi loves to run, read, hike and scrapbook.  She loves Cafe Rio and chocolate, and she has been to China and Mexico.  Heidi wants to go to Africa because she loves to be involved and thrives on new experiences.

Scott visited Heidi Malan’s service site this week which is the Box Elder Family Support Center.  The provide a Kid’s Care Center, Family Life Education, and Family Therapy for residents of Box Elder County.  Heidi is majoring in Social Work and heavily involved with the organization.  She volunteers several days each week and already has all of her service hours done for her Kenya trip.  Way to go Heidi!!!  On this night there was a parenting class being held for adults and we took the children into another room for a lesson and activities that Heidi has developed as part of her schoolwork.  The lesson was about feelings and emotions.  She had several activities where the kids could talk about what makes them feel happy as well as other emotions and helping them understand and learn new words about their feelings.  At the end they were able to look through several magazines and cut out faces of people who were showing different emotions.  They glued the faces onto cardboard and wrote which emotion they were showing in the picture.  We had a great evening with a fun group of kids.  Heidi also is available for the Crisis/Respite Nursery which is a service for parents to bring their children to the center when they need a brief period of rest and recovery.  She participates in educating parents in-home on skill building and family interactions.  She also gets to participate in counseling sessions with families as part of her developing her social work skills.

Never Have We Ever...Been To Peru!

PERU FEBRUARY RETREAT

Yep, it was finally the Peru team's turn for the retreat! This past weekend on the 4th and 5th, we had a overnight retreat at the Youthlinc office. I think we can all agree it was truly a blast!

The majority of the first hour or so was spent talking about the travel clinic for next March. We are all supposed to go to the University of Utah travel clinic on March 5th. A representative from the clinic came by to give us a heads up and remind us that we must fill out and send the pre -travel form by FEBRUARY 18th. Their goal is to help us all have a safe and enjoyable experience this summer, so lets all cooperate and make the travel clinic go smoothly. I hope I am not the only one who wants to avoid malaria.

So, once we concluded the instruction of how not to die while on our Youthlinc service trip, we got down to straight business. Our February meeting was designated for the revealing of each committees goals. Here are a few of the goals that the teams came up with.

Education:

1) Incorporate students funds of knowledge-or what they already know- to teach them new information and about their surrounding, environment and economy.

2) Encourage kinesthetic, visual and interactive learning and teaching. Use hands-on activities and demonstrate lessons.

3) Plan flexible lessons. Incorporate a variety of skill levels, ways of learning, teaching and be able to adapt lessons to change if needed.

Construction:

1)Pour concrete for a sports court

2) Provide a pair of shorts and t-shirt for every person in the village

3) Contribute to the Rotaract bridge project. The Rotary club is gathering the materials needed for the bridge-metal and wood. They will do a study on the river bed in April or May to find out where the best possible location for the bridge will be. Construction will begin to take place right before our team gets there, and we have the awesome opportunity in being apart of this phase!

Cross Cultural:

The activities they want to plan for the opening ceremonies are- western swing dancing, a patriotic song, and an activity with hand actions.

For the closing ceremonies they want to do a combined hip hop dance and have a talent show with individual talents.

The fun fair will be awesome as well! Activities include:

• fish pond
• volleyball soccer
• bean bag toss
• magic tricks
• twister
• face painting
• temporary tatoos
• nail painting
• jewelry booth
• arts and crafts
• sidewalk chalk
• big bubbles
• jump rope

Also, they want to make sure everyone on the team brings 10 small prizes/party favors!

Medical:

-To ask doctors and dentists for supplies to bring down!

-Research specific medical needs of the village and find those to get donated. They want to try and avoid bringing medical supplies that aren't exactly necessary.

-Teach medical lessons

Micro-enterprise:

-to learn about microenterprise so that we can teach the people in Peru about the program. they will be teaching them four lessons covering what a loan is, effective record keeping, paying money back, and about marketing and selling. Our immediate goals are to brainstorm fundraising ideas, and then plan/do them so that we will have money to loan to those with business ideas.

Each committee did an awesome job on presenting and coming up with goals for their team. I am thrilled to see how we apply these goals when we actually get to Peru. I hope more than anything that we go far and beyond what we originally decided.

Micro-enterprise

Construction

freddy (cross-cultural)

Medical

The rest of the night consisted of playing games and just enjoying each other's company! We played a game called "never have I ever," where we definitely discovered a lot about the weird things people do. I suppose we should play again after we come back from Peru, it seems the possibilities would be endless.

Food was partaken of, we laughed and joked around, and overall let loose. I have only grown more excited to go to a foreign country for 2 weeks with this group of roudy kids. I know we will have an amazing time.

February payments are due on the 25th of this month..so don't forget! We will see you at the March clinic! Happy valentines day :)

Kayleena Soren - Kenya Team

 

Hey everyone... this week I get to introduce you to the very sweet Kayleena Soren.  Kayleena loves being active, she plays the piano, sings, swims, camps, and loves ballet.  She has 8 siblings and loves all food including a love for ice cream with cookie dough or oreo cookies in it.  When Kayleena grows up she wants to work in the field of health, social work, or humanitarian work.  Kayleena wants to go to Kenya because it has been her goal since she was a little girl and she has a desire to serve people.

Scott visited Kayleena Soren’s service site this week which is the Childrens Service Society. This organization provides education and support for grandparents and others in kinship parenting roles to help non-traditional families be successful. Kayleena helps each week with the children who are being raised by their grandparents.  While the grandparents attend a class, Kayleena and others take the children and feed them dinner, this night we had pizza, play games and have other activities.  One of the fun things they do every week is called “Peaches and Pits”.  During this time each child gets to opportunity to tell the group what the best and worst thing was that happened to them during the week.  They also have a lesson that deals with different issues that these children face in their situations.  One of the things I was very impressed with was the honesty and direct approach they take with the children.  They discuss directly with them the situations at their homes with their parents that have led to themliving with their grandparents. Whether it be drugs or safety issues the openly discuss how their grandparents have come to their aid.  Kayleena has already built a great relationship with the kids at her service site and I can tell she is a valued volunteer.

 

Introducing Youthlinc's Friends and Family Trip Leader: Sarah Grant!!

It is our pleasure to introduce the 2011 Friends and Family Trip Leader, Sarah Grant! Sarah led her first international service project more than a decade ago and has been participating in local and international service most of her life. She has been on several Youthlinc trips as a volunteer, mentor and trip leader.

Her experience as a leader spans from years of leading wilderness trips, serving as a group facilitator, working as a team member and supervising others.In her professional life she has been an Occupational Therapist since 2005 and currently works for DDI Vantage, an early intervention program in Salt Lake City that provides developmental services to children age birth to three years of age.

During her time away from work and volunteerism she enjoys travel, outdoor activities, time with pets, friends and family and skating in roller derby. She is looking forward to meeting the group who will be traveling on this fun service and tourist trip to Peru in August 2011!


To join the Friends and Family Trip please fill out the following application and send in a $250 deposit by March 15, 2011: http://youthlinc.org/apply/friendsfamilytrip_application.pdf.

Applications can be mailed, faxed, emailed, or dropped off at the Youthlinc office:

114o East Brickyard Rd #76
fax: (801) 467-1982

To learn more visit our website: http://youthlinc.org/programs/fnf_trip.html