Cheers to the New Year & thanks for the last!

Another year in Kenya has come and gone. Too many amazing things have happened to recount. During the holiday season I have had a chance reflect on all the incredible people that I have in my life and have met along my journey. I am overwhelmed with the energy that those around me bring. 

A wise man once told me that the waves in the ocean are made up of pure energy. Sometimes that energy is too much for us, and it literally rocks our bodies. Sometimes that energy is just right and we catch the perfect wave. Sometimes the energy isn’t quite enough and no matter how hard we try we just can’t catch it. As we move forward our ability to tolerate more energy...  grows.

Playa Encuentro, Caberete, Peurto Plata

This past year, the waves have been perfect, and I just can’t wait for the next. Cheers to the laughs and fun that the new year brings and to all my friends near and far. I would be lost without all of you. 

Transition in the air

Facilitation, transition has been in the air. These past few months have been a movement in a different direction. Instead of meeting with kids, skipping, holding hands, and drawing pictures in the dirt. I meet with women, women with working hands, creased smiles, and babies on their backs. Women from communities 5 hrs away and women from communities 2 hours away, distance doesn’t matter, because we are all women meeting. We are meeting to talk about the future, and partnership. We are meeting to design, to learn from eachother and to help eachother. We are meeting to work together as Artisans.

My transition into Me to We Artisans has been a welcome one. Every day I learn from women who are older and wiser than I. I went from having 1 mama to close to 600 mamas, 600 mamas who collectively work hard to provide a better future for their families through Me to We Artisans.

Me to We Artisans is an initiative that works with women from rural communities in the Maasai Mara region and Kajaido. We are able to provide a market to these women to sell their hand-crafted products that they are so skilled in making. With this initiative women are able to have a sustainable source of income, making two and a half times more than before. To learn more about Me to We Artisans check it out at http://www.metowe.com/aboutartisans

Let me tell you about some special people...

So many things have happened since I got back to Kenya in January. I have met many amazing people coming through to help work on Free the Children projects, as well as, many amazing local kids that have stolen my heart, especially from Sikirar primary school. Let me tell you about a few:

I met a boy named Jospat. Jospat is an older boy who works very hard in his studies. He has an uncle that loves his school. He loves to play soccer and throw around any ball that he can find. Jospat comes to school on Saturdays to study. He is very dedicated to his school and his studies. Sometimes on Sundays I can see him taking care of his cows. Jospat is the head boy at his school. He teaches the younger boys traditional dances during their breaks. He is a role model and will one day be a leader in his community.

Maxim is a boy that lives in Sikirar community, he is in class 5. He is a really smart boy, he loves to play soccer. He comes to school on Saturday to finish his homework. Every time I see him he says hi and is smiling.

This is Maxim....

Gracie Anne is Maxim’s sister. Many of you might know her, she is a special girl. She likes to sit with people and she likes watching people build up her school. During the day she sometimes sleeps under the trees near the school. She enjoys filling up the smaller kids bowls of clean water. She also likes to drink this water. One day she locked me in the latrine. Gracie Anne tries to communicate with people through hand gestures, she can’t speak at all.

From time to time there are people that I meet in my life that I know I won’t forget. I’m sure this is the case for many people. Most of the time when I meet people in Kenya I don’t want to forget them at all. These are examples of a few people that I know I won’t forget and whose story I promised to share.

Addicted to Surf!

It’s hard to believe Christmas has come and gone and so has 2011!! I feel like time is flashing before my eyes.

I had such an amazing time at home seeing old faces and some new ones. Canada truly is an amazing place, but I seemed to have forgotten how cold it was during the winter months, so the only solution was to take a small trip to some where hot. Costa Rica.

The sand, sun and surf in Jaco, this small surf town located on the pacific coast of Costa Rica was a vacation that I desperately needed. The atmosphere was calm and relaxed just like Kenya, no one is in a hurry. People from all over the world come to stay at School of the World. A wicked hostel like place that offers a “learning vacation” to those interested. I choose to do double surf class, but other options include yoga, photography, and Spanish classes. Any combination works. School of the World is a very short walk from the beach and really has attracted the most talented of people. From amazing graffiti artists to wicked surfers you can’t go wrong. Needless to say I think I’m addicted to surfing.

To check out School of the World http://www.schooloftheworld.org/

I was lucky enough to have two great friends in Costa Rica at the same time as me. None other than Jared and Saira. It was super nice to have some familiar faces around, since I’m more used to travelling alone. We all ate some amazing food together and spent some quality beach time, where I mostly ended up passing out from a late night or an action packed morning. Nonetheless they were amazing and it was nice to finally catch up after years of not seeing each other.

I'm itching to get back in the ocen, can't wait to find another place to enjoy the sand and surf. As much as I got beat up by the waves, it proved to be the beating that I needed. The question on my mind is where to next!?