Our Stories: Adam’s Kenya Trip
I went to Kenya over the February half term with my grandmother, who is the chair of a charity, called New Life Nyambene, which rescues street children in the region of Nyambene Hills, particularly in the town of Maua, which is near Meru, which is near the famous Meru National Park (hence the name!).
We arrived in Nairobi at around 10pm on the 15th of February, where we were (almost) swiftly collected from the airport terminal and driven through Nairobi to the Stanley, a very luxurious hotel in the centre of Nairobi, where we spent our first night. This would be the last comfortable night we would have for the next few days.
What surprised me on the drive to Maua particularly were the slums on the outskirts of the capital. We drove through the main, widest road of the slum, where we could see all of the tumbledown shacks, carelessly put together by the locals, either side of each of the thin streets that stretched out sideways every few metres. They seemed not to be waterproof - and the size of them! From what I saw from the outsides, the houses seemed like they were just single rooms with no floors, just mud, with bits of metal sticking out around the perimeter of the walls. Of course, these slums would not exist if the corruption that is rife in Kenya did not exist, which is another thing that bewildered me about the country.
After being driven from the capital to Maua, we stayed with one of the friends of the charity, in the house that he had built for himself, out of timber and corrugated iron. We slept there for three nights. Surprisingly, I slept reasonably well there, on the thin mattress we were provided, under my mosquito net that I was provided. Unfortunately, my grandma did not sleep as well…
The hardest thing about living in a hand built house of timber and iron was actually the mornings, where we had to shower in a muddy corrugated iron cubicle, using water that had been heated up over an open fire and decanted into a large tub. Not only this, but, due to the infected water, we had to use a filter every morning to filter our water into a container, which was our daily supply of liquids.
One thing that I really enjoyed about being in Kenya was the atmosphere. It was such a vibrant, colourful place, full of different cultures and ideas that were so different from the UK. Another thing that I really enjoyed was spending so much time with the children. It was strange at first, with them only knowing me to be ‘mum’s grandson’, but they quickly accepted me as someone they knew, even to the point of giving me a new Kimeru name! I particularly loved a walk in the hills that all the children took us on, telling us all about the country and the different kinds of trees and plants that they had around Maua.
It was fantastic to see Kenya and all of its positives and negatives in the flesh, for there is only so much that photos can show you. This was an experience that has greatly changed my former attitude of taking things for granted in the UK, and I would definitely love to go again, and would recommend doing something similar, for those that are comfortable with heat…
About the author
Adam is 14 and is a member of the City Older Youth Canterbury Small Group.
He is one of the editors of the City Youth blog. He likes reading and painting Warhammer figures. His favourite subject in school is Philosophy and is also into Art and Computer Science.
