The Impact of My Service Trip to Kenya

Looking back at 2017, I wanted to reflect upon my most influential experiences – those that really defined my year. I started scouring my phone for any pictures or videos I took from January 2017 onwards in an attempt to recall anything I did that had a significant impact on my life. As expected, I was unable to find anything as meaningful and influential as my trip to Kenya during March Break.

During this trip, 4 amazing and dedicated supervisors including Fatima Remtulla took 9 enthusiastic students to a region in the outskirts of Nairobi called the Maasai Mara. We were provided with spacious tents for shelter, a small cooking staff for meals, and two native guides that helped us get around the area. We stayed across the road from an all-boys school funded by WE charity, with our main purpose being to help them build the foundation of a new classroom for the school as well as immerse ourselves into Kenyan culture and put ourselves in the perspectives of the natives there. After the expedition, I acknowledged three aspects and applications of the trip that made it so meaningful to me.

1) MOTIVATION

We all seek motivation to get through adverse times, whether it’s a stressful period at work or trying to raise a family. This trip motivated me to get through my schoolwork, co-curricular activities, health, and family. Seeing and experiencing the day-to-day lives of the Kenyan citizens and putting myself in their shoes in an activity was mind-blowing. This activity consisted of three scenarios shared between groups of three. Each scenario described a typical African family – that is, its size, income, source of income, and where its income needed to be allocated each week to survive. For example, if a family had their own garden, they would not need to spend money on vegetables. Each group was the given shillings according to the family’s income and had to go out to the market and buy supplies to support the family. After shopping and bargaining in the market, we returned and assessed how much food each family would have per meal. The rations were tiny – just thinking about how little the average person ate made me feel guilty. I was instantly motivated to change my eating and showering habits when I got home.

2) INITIATIVE

The next step for us was using this motivation and taking the initiative to do something with it. During the rationing activity, we learned that it takes 15,000 gallons of water to produce 1 kilogram of beef. As someone who excludes beef from his diet, I found this astonishing. When we got back, my friend and I created a plan to talk to our school caterer about reducing the amount of beef and pork served at the school and replace it with a vegetarian substitute such as tofu. Unfortunately, they did not approve our proposal, so I decided that I would go at this problem from a different angle. I have decided to focus on the Global Food Crisis and am currently researching different technologies that can help diminish the crisis. It’s important to remember that if your first plan fails, you need to be resilient and bounce back. If it weren’t for this trip, I wouldn’t have as much knowledge about this crisis and wouldn’t resonate with it as much as I do now.

3) THE MEMORIES

It wasn’t only the lessons I learned, however, it was also the memories I made. It’s human nature – the best moments always tend to find their way into our long-term memory. 10 days brimming with activities, there were bound to be some unforgettable moments. The things I recall just off the top of my head are:

-       Digging rocks under the scorching sunlight

-       Exploring the Kenyan markets

-       Seeing a lioness up-close on a safari ride

-       Shooting arrows across an open field

-       Playing soccer with the school boys                   

-       Collecting water from a lake to support a local family

-       Meeting Marc Kielburger, Co-Founder of the WE Movement, and Sara Hradecky, Canada’s High Commissioner to Kenya, at a Women’s Empowerment event

To this day, I can still feel the breeze of the mountains as we trekked up to our tents. Spending 10 days with 10 amazing, kind, and adventurous people halfway around the world will stick with me forever.

I have worn the Rafiki I beaded in Kenya every day for over 9 months now, and I don’t intend on stopping. It really goes under the radar, but I put it on in the morning to remind me of what I’ve done, and what I can do. It’s a symbol that encapsulates everything I wanted to get out of the trip: I made some great friends, I got to explore a new continent, and I got a hands-on learning experience like no other.

So, my advice to you is to really find that inspiration and keep it with you – trust me, the repercussions of being motivated and inspired are very positive.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1) Find your motivation and use it as a driving force towards accomplishment.

2) Take the initiative from what you’ve learned to make an impact, and if it fails, adapt and find a different approach.

3) Keep hold of the memories – you won’t want to forget them.

4) Finally, explore the world! Go on a service trip with your school! You’ll be amazed at what global exposure like that will do for you.

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