I created this website so that people can have a testimony of how it is to be a volunteer at CAITHS and especially at Kathy and Mike McNulty Academy.
My first article will just be setting things and establish why I did that, how I manage to find this, what I want to bring to the kids and the community, what I think they can bring me,....
You can see all the information about CAITHS and the KMMAcademy on the following website: http://www.caithskenya.org/
I’ve just finish high school and I wanted to help people that needed it, this is why I wanted to be a volunteer. I had time to give thus I decided to search for association/school/academy that I thought were interesting and that needed help so that my time will not be waist.
I also love to travel and I’ve never been to this part of Africa so I figured out that more than helping, I could also discover a new area and learn a new culture. Because life is about cultures and exchanges, I really wanted to do this trip and I decided to do it alone thus I will have to meet people and to talk to new persons. This opens many doors; I can learn from others and at the same time I can learn from me.
So I sent an email to the man who is in charge of CAITHS and we agreed that I could stay for two weeks working with the whole team of the school.
I chose this school because I really liked the fact that they are trying to do a lot of things not only for the kids but also for widows and for the whole community.
CAITHS is only 4 years old and the school will celebrate its second anniversary soon. This is a new adventure and I wanted to be a part of it.
I think I can bring them some things and help the staff to succeed and improve their organization.
The first thing I realized is that just by smiling and saying hello, the kids were in heaven. It may be because of the color of my skin that intrigue them but I could see that for them it was a lot already.
I can bring them just some hope by showing that I believe in this organization, in these kids, in the aims they have and that I really want to help them to succeed.
I can also bring a new view of the world, some new ideas, teach them some french words, some french culture, so that the kids can have a view of other horizons.
I wanted to give them clothes, foot balls, pencils, papers, basics things they absolutely need so be able to go to school, learn and play !
They can bring me hundreds of things as well !!! I am able to discover a new culture, meet new people, see how it is to leave in a country like Kenya.
The people are trying to do their best, and I will always remember when one friend here told me “if you ask them if they are OK, they will always say that they are even if it is not true, because they have to be fine, they are not complaining or feeling sorry for their fate and this is deep.
I can already say that I thing they are bringing me much more than what I do, just by opening their house their heart and welcoming me as if I was family.
On other aspects, they are teaching me their dialect (Luo) and Swahili, they are teaching me how everything is working here and so many other things.
These are a lot of aspects that allow me to say that this experience is more that “just voluntary service”, it is a life changing trip.
So if you are motivated and have some time to give, really try it, you will love it !!!!!!
(Karibu Kenya means Welcome to Kenya in Swahili !)
