In February a group of six teachers (including myself) and two Trocaire staff visited Kenya as part of a Teacher Study Visit with Trocaire. We spent eight days travelling around Kenya and I found it was a most memorable, life-changing experience and certainly a trip that I will never forget!
Here we had the opportunity to visit primary schools both in Nairobi and in the country setting of Nakuru. It was something I always wanted to experience and it was great to get the chance to witness life in schools in African countries.
Every school we visited we were greeted by many eager faces at the school gates. This is one memory that will always last in my mind – the smiling faces of the children who were always so welcoming and eager to get to know us. It was amazing to see how happy they were. We also had the privilege of taking a lesson in some of the schools and were amazed by the warmth, enthusiasm, academic ability and the good manners of the children. At break time in one school we were surrounded by children shaking our hands, greeting us and asking us to play games. In so many ways the school day there was so similar to our own here, which I found surprising at the start.
In the secondary schools it was great to see the interest and the active involvement the teenagers had in peace and justice groups. They really did great work on peace and justice and highlighted the need, in their communities, for basic human rights. It was evident the progress they have made in these areas so far.
We all shared a great feeling of hope, determination and willingness to succeed when we were leaving these schools. Most children in the communities were given an opportunity to go to school and the great work of Trócaire and its partners in Kenya also help to make this happen. The schools have an atmosphere of effective teaching and learning, which was great to see. The children have hopes and dreams and they inspired us while we were there.
During the week we also visited the Love and Hope Centre, Nakuru. It is a Trocaire funded partner. The centre supports people infected by HIV and AIDS and it provides care and support for hundreds of patients, their families as well as prevention programmes in both schools and parishes. We got to visit some of the families supported by Love and Hope. The family visits were definitely one of the most emotional times of the week. The families were living in the poorest areas and slums of Nakuru and we listened to the people telling us their stories associated with HIV/AIDS, the hard times they had experienced and their hopes now which are supported by Love and Hope. Their lives had been so hard but many have a great deal of determination to make a better life for themselves through setting up small businesses or by going back to school. It was inspirational to see and the work that Love and Hope are doing to help these people through support programmes (providing small loans, education, etc) it was really tremendous.
One of the final visits of the week was to the farming community in Nyeri. The co-coordinating manager for Caritas Nyeri was Fr Boniface who took us to one of his livelihoods projects in the community of Kandara. The project was based on land rights and justice. When we arrived the organizing committee gave us a very interesting account of the history of the development there that began in 1997 and now they have succeeded in attaining this land for 220 families. They experienced many difficulties and challenges along the way but kept working hard and eventually succeeded and their project is a credit to them.
The families we met there were again so welcoming. Their houses were so basic but the pride they had in them was so evident and inspiring to us. What really stood out for me that day was the sense of community and care for each other. If a crop fails they often share food with neighbours. It was clear to everyone and really made us understand how important land is to poor people, owning their own piece of land and house was such a difference to them. It was also so clear how important water is there and how much we take it for granted here.
Overall the whole trip was such a great experience for everyone. The different experiences we shared in Kenya during the week were so memorable and times that we will never forget! The Kenyan people were so happy, welcoming and friendly and really gave us a great insight into their lives and their country. I will hopefully return to Kenya again in the future as it was definitely a trip of a lifetime!
Clodagh Fitzgerald
Scoil Bhride, Rathcormac, Co Cork
Primary school teacher
