It's been over a month since I've returned from my volunteer-experience of a lifetime in Kenya, and what a month it has been. Since then, I have applied to volunteer at Free the Children's
We Day in Toronto! I volunteered last year as well and it was a stadium not just filled with high-profile singers and actors (Hedley, Jonas Brothers, Elie Wiesel, just to name a few), it was the 16 000 youth from all over Ontario who are today's leaders. Learning how one person CAN change the world and realizing their own personal potential and finding their passion in life. It was a long day full of high energy! It was amazing and I'm super excited to be part of the action once again.
On my last night in Kenya, I found out I was going to be a MOB-lead for Ottawa. What a wonderful end to a magnificent trip. Check out the
website for more information on how to get involved.
[We are the MOB. We are the MASSES. We are the MOVEMENT.]
At the beginning of July, I travelled with Free the Children to India on the first ever (MOB) trip to build a medical clinic, working along side local community members. Our group of MOBilizers, the most involved, inspiring people involved in their own communities, broke ground in a new community FTC works in, Berna. Three weeks ago I found myself travelling halfway around the world, to a country I had only read about in textbooks or seen in the movies. I was immersed into a culture of a different language, cultural norms, food, and even the side of the road they drive on. I was quickly hit with the heat of the Indian sun, the smell of spices, and the faces of so many people that live on less than $1 a day. It was a devastating and tragic sight from the moment I stepped off the plane. I saw and met what was poverty really was... I also found individuals who took the time to realize we need to help each other. Her name is Who-Who. She is an 8-year old that we met at an internet-cafe who gave a simple bag of chips to a disabled woman who was begging on the street. Who-who has now become one of the greatest memories on the trip to look back on. An 8-year old, with her huge personality and sass, gives me hope and strength.
Another individual that made a huge impact on me and shaped the trip was a man who was sitting outside of his house on our way back from the build site. When the group was first walking by, he got our attention and started motioning the sign for food. We quickly construed this as him asking for food from us; because of the strict gift-giving policy in place we had to motion through the language boundary that we couldn't. Finding it hard to walk away, we waited for our guide, Ricky, to explain to him that we didn't have any to give. It turns out he was actually offering us food to thank us for helping out his community. This man was offering food to a group, a group of 23 strangers when he and his own family were struggling to make ends meet. His openness and generosity was very eye-opening and deeply touched me.
As Jobin wrote, this was the kind of "poverty that spits in your face and makes a mockery of hope."
Guilt. Love. Frustration. Generosity.
The community of Berna, India and Enelerai, Kenya will always be in the back of my mind when I make decisions whether it is shoes (have you heard of
TOMS shoes - check them out!), coffee (fair-trade, please!), and helping someone off a bus. It's the little actions that make a big difference.
I'm back in my reality. I will tell the stories, I will inspire. I won't forget about those I met this summer.
