a little reassurance amidst uncertainty

..I have to admit that despite being "adventurous" I actually like (should probably say need) having a certain amount of control, and knowing what awaits me. right now, I have no idea what Kenya will bring...

and it's not only me.. I know that (eventhough they're being very good at not showing it) at home they must be kind of worried too... anyway, here a few words from a girl who worked at an orphanage there last year:

"Hi Laia!

Before i left for Kenya all i knew was that i was working with children and we were staying at a kenyan family. I was very worried about safety and i also felt as though i hadnt been told much information. 
When we arrived in Nairobi someone from LoveVolunteers was there to pick us up at the airport. We then went to the home we were staying at. We were staying at this womans house who was lovely, she made breakfast and dinner for us everyday and we watched tv with her and her kids after dinner.
The first day we got driven to our orphanage which was about 30 minutes drive away from the house we were staying. After the first day we got told what bus to catch to get there by ourselves. getting there ourselves definitely added to the experience! i really felt like i was immersed in the kenyan culture. 
The orphanage was quite small and we worked in the classroom there with the little kids 3-8 years old. we ran activities and games and taught english. the teacher let us have a lot of time with the kids. We painted with them and sang song and made educational activities for them. We also helped clean up lunch etc. 
Some of the other volunteers in Nairobi worked at much bigger schools with 70 children in a class. me and my friends were lucky becuase we had about 15 in a class. but everyone i spoke to was happy with where they were assigned to work.
In terms of safety, everything was fine! we didnt have any problems. but you have to be extremely careful not to bring out valuables like your wallet or phone or cameras in front of people. 
The whole experience was so amazing! we made great relationships with the kids and the teachers at the orphanage. im jealous that you are going in July. you will have an incredible time!"

Thanks Katrina!

.... prometo que això no es convertirà en un blog d'agraïments i cursilades varies i que en algun moment o altre començarà l'acció (moderada i sense que ningú prengui mal; res d'acció hollywoodiana...), però això va com va i la veritat és que no em queda més remei que fer una altre entrada per donar les gràcies...

i és que en serio que estic literalment emocionada.. emocionada de la resposta de tothom; els més propers però també gent que ni tan sols em coneix!!! gent que ha sabut del projecte a través d'alguna amistat comuna i es suma a la causa!!

una empresa, que no fa falta anomenar (perquè ajudar a algú desconegut a l'altre punta del món no es fa pel reconeixement sinó pel sol fet d'ajudar - bueno, i també potser per aquest sentiment taaan únic, tan pur i tan intens de quan ajudem sense esperar res a canvi).. doncs això! que l'empresa en qüestió (un banc ni més ni menys!!) ha sabut de la meva estada en un orfenat mombassià i farà un enviament allà directament de material per les classes dels nens!!!

i aquest és només un exemple de l'increïble resposta d'aquests tres primers dies des de que us vaig fer extensiu el meu projecte...

gràcies per els comentaris i les converses! em dóna molta energia saber que la gent aquí a casa em dóna suport i em seguirà el rastre quan estigui tan lluny :)

gràcies per les donacions! em fa sentir molt orgullosa saber que arribaré allà amb un gran missatge des d'aquí: que la gent ens preocupem, que la gent aportem; que tots nosaltres desitgem poder ajudar a millorar amb el nostre gra de sorra la seva realitat..

i podria seguir... però no seré més plasta!!!

sou els millors!

to all my gringo-speaking people!

hi there!

I thought of having every single entry on this blog both in Spanish and English but then reconsidered because I know I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it once I’m there.. instead I will try to include some “understandable” entries so you guys can also know what I’m up to :) (another option would be running the Spanish text through an automatic translator on the Internet, but that usually ends up sounding kind of funny..)

anyway, I’ve shared my plans about the Kenyan project with many of you, so now a little bit more of sharing with this blog...

 

 so far, vaccinations (lots of'em), books and getting people involved!!!

( among them of course: little Pau!!! )

una multitud en la maleta

.. ayer, cuando decidí pedirles que compartieran un poquito de lo tanto que tenemos, me acordé de esta crisis que vivimos, de las tantas historias que llenan nuestros días y hacen que no nos quede tiempo para soñar, para aspirar, para sentir... supongo que quizá me preparaba para una posible mediocre respuesta a la llamada solidaria (al fin y al cabo, me decía, están todas esas pequeñas cosas que complican que querer ayudar llegue a buen puerto..)

.... así que gracias por demostrarme que no necesitaba mi coraza de escepticismo; gracias por querer compartir un poquito de este proyecto africano.

sepan que, a principios de julio cuando suba a ese avión en dirección a la capital kenyata, me estaré llevando pedacitos de su generosidad en la maleta; sepan que cuando ya en Mombasa vaya a comprar los materiales para las actividades con los niños, los billetes de la moneda autóctona llevarán su nombre; sepan que cuando el blanco de la sonrisa infantil de los huérfanos me llegue al corazón se lo deberé en parte a ustedes.

así que GRACIAS!!!

:)

preparaciones

.... la ONG, el vuelo y muchos nervios...

y desde hoy también las vacunas y este blog en el que intentaré compartir un poquito de este proyecto que, aunque por el momento sea sólo desde aquí, ya empieza a ser una realidad....

• ONG:
• Love Volunteers: http://www.lovevolunteers.org/
• Marafiki Community: http://marafikicommunity.org

• Vacunas recomendadas para ir a Kenya (si se trata de un viaje de coperación)
• Fiebre amarilla (obligatoria - no te dejan entrar al país si no la muestras junto al pasaporte.. conviene no olvidársela..)
• Tifus
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B (son 3 dosis: la primera un mes y medio antes de irse, la segunda unos días antes de irse y la última a los 6 meses de regresar)
• Tétanos y Difteria
• Polio
• Cólera: Dukoral (comprar en la farmacia - dos dosis separadas por una semana, antes de viajar)
• Malaria (tomarse las pastillas de Malerona, 1/día desde el día antes de irse hasta una semana dspués de la vuelta)

y después de tanta inyección, con el brazo dolorido, lo mejor es refugiarse en un libro.. para mí, una lectura que ya me habla de los nuevos paisajes, personajes e historias...

• Los libros que me acompañan en estos días previos:
• Weep not, child - Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
• North of South: An African Journey - Shiva Naipaul
• It's our turn to eat: the story of a Kenyan whisleblower - Michela Wrong
• The No 1 ladies' detective agency -Alexander McCall Smith
• East Africa (Lonely Planet multi country guide)