The following daily diary is from Cassidy
Johnson, a Scottsdale student who is one of six Valley high students visiting
Kenya this month to distribute mobility devices as part of Crutches 4 Africa, a
service project sponsored by Arizona District 5495 Rotary’s Interact Club. Miss
Johnson is a senior at Desert Mountain High School and an assistant governor
for the District 5495 Interact Club.
Miss Johnson has agreed to share her
journey with the Independent readers via her personally written dispatches.
Although we were
distributing devices, we Ambassadors were also feeling almost guilty for having
fun doing extraneous activities and experiencing Kenyan culture more frequently
than distributing mobility devices, which is the purpose of the trip.
Cassidy Johnson of Scottsdale is one of six Arizona students in Kenya taking part in a Crutches4Africa service project. Shown here, Cassidy is preparing to distribute crutches. (Special to the Independent)
Today we are distributing
devices at a local YMCA. On our daily morning walk, Emily told me, “you can’t
change the world in two weeks, but you can change yourself in two weeks abroad.”
Her statement really
resonated with me and was what I built today’s team meeting around. I explained
to the team that experiencing Kenya’s people and culture through many different
lenses will allow us to change for the better, making service a lifestyle
rather than a two-week experience.
I know this trip has
inspired me to want to serve others throughout my life and create steady global
change.
At the YMCA, we
distributed several walkers and a few pairs of crutches. Just beyond the YMCA,
however, a man who has been paralyzed for 17 years lay in his bed awaiting a
wheelchair. His name was Terrance, and his family was about ready to spend a
30,000-shilling fortune on a wheelchair.
Luckily, he was told
about our distribution – and we were able to assist him -- before the family
was indebted from purchasing a wheelchair.
After thanking all of the
beneficiaries, we volunteered to help a local dance troupe that practices in
the YMCA to paint the YMCA. There was a total of 12 painters, and we paired off
in teams of two – one ambassador and one dancer, each pair taking a section of
the wall.
About an hour after we
started painting, we met two young local boys who told me their names were
Samuel and Mbugua. Neither spoke English, so I had to use the small amount of
Swahili I had learned. I complimented their painting skills, skipped and held
hands with them and taught them how to take selfies. I invited them over to our
parked bus as Samuel wanted to drive so badly! I have the cutest picture of
little Samuel smiling at me from the driver’s seat.
Samuel and Mbugua each wore
one of my work gloves, much too big for their tiny hands, as we walked around
holding hands on the YMCA grounds. When Mbugua left, Samuel was attached at my
hip, holding one of my hands with both of his hands, and dragging me around.
When the dance troupe wanted to teach us their dance, Samuel joined in, crashing
his arms into my upper leg with every move because he was so short compared to
me!
We spent about two hours
learning new moves from the dance troupe and at the end we performed our
routine for the Rotarians and advisors. After leaving the YMCA, the team drove
to the Sanivation factory for tour. Sanivation, a company founded by my
home-host Emily, works to improve overall health and environment by providing
clean sanitation services.
At the factory, waste
from around Naivasha is dehydrated and processed into usable energy sources in
the form of burning logs. I am so fascinated by Emily’s work and believe her company
will continue to grow in the near future. (For more information, visit www.sanivation.com)
After the incredible
tour, the team went to “curry on” for dinner and for the first night of our
trip we got home before 11 p.m.!
