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KENYA UNIV
TRAVEL CHRONICLES
Full Speed Ahead
We were so eager to tell you everything we have done since the last time we wrote! The shared projects are going full speed ahead, we’ve already been here a week, and on Monday we switch volunteer groups with others! What a shame, after all the affection we had for our street friends, the elderly and the sick from Caritas… can’t wait for Monday again!!!!
On Thursday, all 85 of us enjoyed an amazing gift, we all climbed the mountain where the big Christ statue is, as if we were in Rio de Janeiro. There we had Mass and Adoration. It’s incredible how the One above managed to unite Kenyans and Spaniards around the Host.
The faces of happiness on everyone are amazing, even after sleeping an average of 4 hours a day.
We write to you from the shores of Lake Turkana. We arrived on Friday, not even Maca, after her surgery at Lodwar hospital, wanted to miss this amazing plan. As soon as we arrived, we set up the tents and the amazing kitchen team prepared a fantastic carbonara pasta to get ready for Saturday’s excursion. The first night the lake welcomed us with an African storm and Joaco ended up acting as a guard after his tent flooded.
We woke up all 85 of us soaked in sweat and headed straight to bathe in the lake. We started walking through the African savannah and after 4 hours on foot, with an empty water bottle in hand, the off-road vehicle was waiting for us at the lake shore with water and pans to start cooking. The rice with vegetables tasted heavenly, especially because we shared it with the children from the nearby tribes who joined us during the excursion. After spending the whole afternoon swimming in the paradisiacal lake, we resumed the walk back to the tents, but this time along the shore. Taking advantage of the moonlight, we celebrated Mass and Adoration; some fell asleep during Adoration but as Don Javier says, with Jesus even asleep. After dinner of peanut butter and jam sandwiches, we ended the night with a bonfire, music, and beers on the beach.
Today we all woke up covered in bites and sunburned like shrimp, we were so tired that today consisted of beach volleyball and naps in the shade of the palm trees.
It sounds incredible that in just one week we have gone from complete strangers to one big family.
To conclude, thank you mom and dad for this opportunity and for how much we are appreciating everything. The adventure continues and we are more eager to grow, learn, and soak up everything, supporting each other and with a great team spirit.
One More Traveler
Good afternoon. Here, the sun certainly is. I am one more traveler, a companion of your son, daughter, or plural. And today, I address you to tell you what I have seen and am seeing.
That is why I am sitting in the corner of the garden, property of the Eldoret diocese, specifically at the “Pastoral Center,” appreciating the work and dedication that each of my companions is doing in this great shared project. Also, I have had the opportunity to discuss with some the great activities we have done today and in recent days.
It’s incredible how 250 young people have made Kenya stop being an unknown country to us; in fact, at times we have felt part of this big family. Yesterday we had the chance to sit around the tent that comprises our operations center. In this beautiful garden that has clearly been invaded by the guitar player, the footballers, and the chatterboxes telling their lives and days in detail, creating new friendships.
Don Josepe decided to bring out Coca-Cola, which is exactly the energy we need to recover from these intense days, not forgetting Mass, Adoration, and the detail we enjoyed in the cozy chapel prepared by the Sisters; where we could give thanks for the splendid day that started with the early wake-up at 6:30 when you could barely see the stones on the paths. However, let’s not forget the tough shower where some of us could appreciate small cubes of water. Then, we enjoyed fantastic scrambled eggs prepared by the kitchen team. At 7:30 the buses arrived to start the shared project day. We split into 2 groups: the first visited a center for disabled children aged between 6 months and 18 years with mental and psychological disabilities. On the other hand, the second group visited a school run by the Sisters of Eldoret that takes in abandoned children where they taught religion and geography to the little ones, fortunately with great progress, even in Spanish. In this school, cleaning work was done (yes mom, I am washing my clothes and making others’ beds, not just mine). Even diaper changes with towels and some with tragic endings, as you can imagine.
Every day ends the same way, with smiles, hugs, and a great feeling of satisfaction. Also, in the shared project, not only do they learn, we do too. “Mambo” means hello and “atente” means thank you, some of the few words we have learned these days. This is just the beginning of a great adventure of love, service, and friendship through giving to others.
All for All (Eldoret)
We write to you now from Eldoret. This weekend getaway has been amazing, we are happy.
On Friday morning we finished the second week of the shared project, we said goodbye to all the children, because as you know, each week each group goes to a different place.
Right after lunch, we headed to Marich Pass, a campsite where we enjoyed the getaway. After a 6-hour trip, we reunited with our friends from Turkana, and despite the bus fatigue, we had plenty of energy and enthusiasm to share every experience and adventure we are living.
We had Mass and Adoration in the riverbed near the campsite, where we saw a meteor shower like never before. It was amazing.
In the homily, Don Josepe spoke to us about how to live Heaven on Earth: loving and embracing each other (referring to the affection with which we had welcomed each other).
The next day at 5 a.m. we were up ready to climb Mount Koh. It was a tough hike but very rewarding. Despite the heat and tiredness, we managed to surpass ourselves reaching the goal. Once there, we rested with the luck of having incredible views around. Don Josepe proposed 10 minutes of silence to contemplate the nature and landscape surrounding the Mount Koh Tribe.
Upon returning to the campsite where we slept, we had time to rest and regain strength. As evening fell, we ended the day with Mass and Adoration.
This time Don Josepe took the opportunity to talk to us about the “disabilities” we think we have, especially young people today: mental limits; which are nothing more than barriers we place ourselves that shrink our capacity to love and act.
We looked at the stars again, had dinner, and ended the day dancing all together around a big bonfire.
On Sunday, we were invited to an African Mass, full of joy, music, and dancing. We saw how God is present, although in a different way, in all cultures.
We ate, said goodbye to the Turkana group until next week, and happily returned to Eldoret. It was a pleasure to arrive at the Pastoral Center with dinner ready and end the day with Adoration.
We have already regained all our strength to give our all in this last week of the shared project.
All for All (Turkana)
It’s hard to believe it’s already the 23rd, we are enjoying so much… we continue full on with the shared projects. This week one of the groups continued renovating the elderly and sick center of Caritas, and we wanted to leave our mark by writing Hakuna on one of the walls. Moni and Jimena tell us that today they took the money raised by everyone to buy uniforms and supplies for the street children so they can go to school. And since tomorrow is the last day, we will tour Lodwar to distribute clothes to everyone. This month has been incredible. As Josepe says, we have learned to break the mental limits we place on ourselves that take away our freedom. Who would have thought that sleeping 5 hours a day we would have so much energy. I think none of us imagined what poverty was when we landed here, but on the other hand, how poor we have sometimes been and how rich they are, needing just a caress to believe in their day, a valuable day.
This weekend we went on a getaway and finally met our friends from Eldoret. 150 tents, 300 people, who couldn’t even imagine the amazing Saturday morning excursion. Despite the thirst and tiredness climbing the mountain, the great views and company were worth it. Then, at night, we celebrated Mass and Adoration on a clearing among the mountains. We were lucky to enjoy a sky full of stars, African landscapes are so magical… On Sunday before leaving, we went to an African Mass. It’s incredible to see how they receive Christ with so much joy, singing and dancing non-stop. Outrageously joyful. Finally, we loaded the pans, guitars, backpacks, tents… into the matatus (Kenyan buses) and after a long journey, we arrived home. Exactly, home, because little by little we have become a family and made Nawoitorong (the hotel) our home.
Yesterday for the first time we were surprised by rain in Lodwar. Flooded rooms, leaks in the roof, and a rain-soaked Mass. However, despite the water, we continued with Mass, living every moment more intensely than ever. It was amazing how everyone put in their grain of sand. Some ran to protect the sound equipment, others held the roof tarps with whatever they could find, like guitars… Once again, all for all.
Mom and dad, it takes so little to be well. As we said on the bus, we have learned to value many things like the internet or a washing machine, but we have also realized that none of those things are necessary to be happy. Last week the amazing kitchen team prepared a Bolognese pasta that tasted like home and we thought a lot about you. Believe me when I say you would be proud to see how we work here, how we take care of each other and how we pass on the strength needed to keep going every day, giving our all in the mud. Many of you will notice the change and we are really eager to show you. Without you, so much help would not have been possible, we love you and you are in our prayers every day.
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