A Serendipitous Beginning

I went to Kenya with very few expectations and quite a bit of trepidation with regards to safety. My Chinese mother was convinced that I would catch some terrible disease and never return. A scan of the Australian DFAT website revealed warnings about terrorism, muggings, robberies and the list went on. It also specifically warned to stay away from slums like Kibera. Okay I thought, I can be sensible and stay away from dangerous areas of Nairobi. Not too hard right?

My friend was doing a research project in Nairobi for the summer, and I had arranged to join him for a few weeks in Kenya. It would be my first time in Africa and I was glad for the break from my demanding job in banking. I had left Hong Kong with plans to go on safari to see some game animals and spend a few days on the coast. Between those two plans, I had hazy notions of volunteering, perhaps meeting some locals and leaving with some cool souvenirs. And then something serendipitous happened. I somehow ended up in Kibera.

It was one of the best experiences of my life. For 4 weeks I volunteered at the Shine Academy, a school set up right in the middle of Kibera by a couple from Melbourne – Catherine Whiting and Javier Martinez. The school supported 50 kids and their families, picked from the most desperate backgrounds. As I later found out, the word ‘desperate’ was an understatement in many of the cases.

It was at the school that I saw with my own eyes the huge amount of positive impact that two people could make in an impoverished community and using very few resources. I witnessed the power of love and compassion to create change, and that it was infectious. I saw what courage and sacrifice looked like in action and learned that they always went hand in hand. I was inspired. I was challenged. I was humbled. I never knew I could learn so much in such a short period of time. I left with a renewed belief in the goodness of people and a profound sense of hope for the future.

I am writing this blog with the aim of recording my experiences and the lessons that I learnt along the way. It is for my own benefit really, as memories tend to become fuzzy and important details are forgotten with time.

It is also my hope that this blog will help raise awareness for the Impoverished Children Project and the Shine Academy. It is incredible work that Catherine and Javier are doing in Kibera, and it is their story, much more poignant than my own, that needs to be told.  

Catherine, Javier, me, teachers Sheila and Winnie with the kids of the Shine Academy