Care Highway

I came to Kenya wanting to volunteer for a school, and I now am. Since last Wednesday, I have worked at Care Highway, an elementary school with roughly twenty kids broken down into three age groups: 3-4, 4-5, and 5-6. The school provides a free eductation for young students who would otherwise have nothing to do in the world's worst slum, Kibera. My small and unglamarous responsibilities include: helping the kids shower and brush their teeth, grading simple math and language exercises, and playing with them during break.

The most fufilling part of the work is whenever I put a smile on a child's face. Whether it's making strange sounds with them, moving my hand so they struggle to slap it, or rhyming their name, it is during those moments when I feel like I am "making a difference." The other stuff matters but never feels that way. There are a few times when I retroactively learn that I helped, however. Tyra, a four year old, needed to see a doctor because she had eye problems. To get a sense of what medicine is like in Kenya, I accompinied her and the main teacher. I only observed, never spoke, but nevertheless, I found out that Tyra was thrilled that I joined her. She told her mother that "TeacherAlex, the mzungu (white person) came!" I suppose that just showing up can make a difference in its own right.

I plan on staying at Care Highway until I come back to the states.

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People from all over the world get offended if you decline a homemade meal. The cook at Care Highway, Monica, took it three steps further. She was upset that I didn't want to have any grocery store bread! I kept saying I wasn't hungry, but she didn't understand, she acted as if she made the bread. Monica eventually relented, but it was an awkward/funny cultural difference.

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I plan on sprinkling in things I miss about the United States. One of them is free access to books at bookstores! At Kenya's biggest retail store, Nakumatt, they wrap their books in plastic, only allowing you to read them if you buy them. Oh, where's a Barnes and Noble when you need them.