Posts Tagged With: postaweek2011

Extracts from a volunteer`s Diary – Part 5

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Marie Lisa Jose

Wonders in the sand, Delights in the water

It was 6 am on Saturday morning. There was no water at home for a week. It was hot. So we decided to walk to the beach in search of an early morning breakfast. Best decision of the day!

In India the tide comes in during the day and goes out during the evening. In Kenya it goes out in the day and comes in the night. Well we are in different hemispheres!

The Indian Ocean

We walked along the shore and we came across a such wonderful shells and the like floating around.

Wonders in the sand

A shell of some sort

A floating sea weed

Another sea weed

I have always associated a camel with a desert, dry waterless regions. So you can imagine my delight in finding a camel standing tall for a bath along the shore.

A camel at the beach

Then came the snorkeling part.The corals and the fish at the Mombasa Marine Park are truly amazing. unfortunately I did not have an underwater camera. But take my word when I am it’s truly amazing.

Meanwhile here are a few of the sailing pics.

Our boat Nusra

Preparing to sail

And we are on our way

Categories: Africa | Tags: Indian Ocean, Kenya, Mombasa, postaweek2011 | Leave a comment

Extracts from a volunteer’s diary -Part 3

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Marie Lisa Jose

Bonds that cannot be broken

“”Nimeshiba“, “Nimeshiba”“, repeated Ian with pleading eyes. I tried ignoring his pleas and instead urged him to finish his lunch. I did not blame him for not wanting to eat , the lunch was terrible. But there was nothing I could do to help him.

At the far side of the kitchen, Rose was force feeding the children who were having trouble finishing the lunch. It was not a pretty sight. On seeing that Ian started trembling. My heart went out to the little four-year old. I offered him a chair in a dark corner of the kitchen, hoping to keep him out of Rose’s sight as far as possible.

Unfortunately the darkness could not help Ian for a long time. Rose eventually spied him and with a thunderous sound started towards Ian. Her voice reached a crescendo and poor Ian started wailing.

Barely had Rose lifted her hands to strike , when Boniface, Ian’s older brother ran out of nowhere and with one single move grabbed the plate from Ian and put his hands protectively around his brother.

Boniface whispered something to Ian who with quiet tears rested his head on Boniface’s chest while opening his mouth to receive the spoonful of beans that his brother fed him.

Rose’s hand descended to circle the brothers in a bear hug. I didn’t hide my tears either.

Boniface is 10 years old, tall with twinkling eyes. Boniface has trouble spelling, reading and counting.He sits in the same class as his brother . He sits in my class.

Boniface is mentally challenged, but no disability in this world can tamper with his love for his younger brother.

I am proud to be his teacher.

Categories: Africa, Everything Else | Tags: postaweek2011, special education, Volunteer | 5 Comments

Extracts from a volunteer`s diary- Part 1

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Marie Lisa Jose

#1: Water

” This is the water we use for clothes washing dishes washing, teeth brushing, drinking, tea making; everything, this is the water for everything”, concluded Mamma Junior as she closed the only tap in the compound shared by seven families.

As I watched the last few drops of water fall I screamed in my mind,” Drinking!! you are joking right! The color of that water is brown”.

A week later I still drink tea in the morning.

#2. Conversations

Llpena: Voice medium pitched but gruff, hands slapping the air, voice rising, tone from gruff to seriously bass, hips swaying to the left, Right leg stomping, voice falling, a couple of snorts, a few deafening Mms; Now left hand to the hip, voice as high as an opera singer, both hands waving frantically, a final snort, the cadence reached.

Silence

Dennis: Lifts three fingers, all the while not taking his eyes off his phone.

Silence.

End of conversation!

Me: Dennis, What was Llpena so upset about?

Dennis: < Still not taking his eyes off his phone > Oh! she just wanted to know how many kids have not had their lunch.

Me: Are you sure that is all she wanted to know?

#3: Color of the skin

Guide: I can also show you to see a tamarind tree. It’s a miraculous tree. Lots of good things come from the tree. All this for only 1000 Ksh. I no cheat you!

< Pointing to a frangipani tree> See there that tamarind tree. the flowers smelling nice.

Me: That is not a Tamarind tree!

Guide: Where are you from?

Me: India, where there are lots of Tamarind trees!

Guide: The color of your skin cheat me!

Categories: Africa | Tags: Kenya, postaweek2011

Come October

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Marie Lisa Jose

Image via Wikipedia

‘Everybody goes home in October‘, wrote John Kerouac in ‘On the Road‘.

Everybody but me.

This October for the first time in my life, I am headed south of the Equator to volunteer teach. This upcoming trip has been by far the boldest step in my comfortably sheltered life.

When people hear of my trip there is a look about them and ‘yes’ I answer them , ‘yes, there are a million other things one can do in Africa than spend the entire time teaching kids’. But how can I make them understand that this is something I feel destined to do; something I have always wanted to do.

With every day that brings the journey closer, a storm is brewing within me. I am petrified. What if I get lost? What if I fall dangerously ill? What if out of the million things that could go wrong a hundred do go wrong?

I even have voices in my head letting me know that it is not too late to pull out of this.

Through all the turmoil E. E Cummings reminds me that it takes courage to grow up and become who I truly am. I may not change the world while I am there. But I may touch a little soul, mend a broken toy, wipe a tear from sad eyes, be the reason for another’s smile.

I may never change the world while I am on it, but that does not mean I am not going to try.

Categories: Africa | Tags: Africa, postaweek2011, Volunteer | 5 Comments

Ticket to your dreams

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Marie Lisa Jose

Image via Wikipedia

The United States celebrates ‘National Passport Day’ on September 17th. In lieu of this, Phil Keoghan wrote an article for the Lonely Planet on the importance of owning and using a passport. Here he calls the passport the ticket to your dreams.

I got my passport pretty late in life, only when I was out of college, just in time for Grad school.In my ignorance I mistook my passport as my ticket to Grad school , to advanced engineering studies ,to a good job; I could not have been more wrong.

My passport was a ticket to an education that did not deal with currency as we know it, where the classroom was the world and the teachers just about anybody and everybody I met along the way.

All the learning I have done in my entire life multiplied by a hundred does not match up to the learning I have done outside the classroom. Inside the classroom I learnt to calculate distance, time and optimal route; but outside in the world, I learnt that the shortest distance between two people is a “Hello”, that it is not the time taken to reach the destination that matters so much as the journey itself,I have also learnt that the same route offers a different lesson every time you take it.

My passport has indeed opened up a world of possibilities to me , ones I had never even dreamed of. My life has never been the same again.

So if you do not have a passport or have not used yours in a while, what are you waiting for? Inspiration? Reason? Do not wait any longer go, get out there and let the journey inspire you, the road give you reason.

In Phil Keoghan’s words,”Travel is about immersing yourself in something new, allowing yourself to be a fish out of water and just trusting that things will work out. It may not be like home, but so what? It doesn’t have to be. It’s time to get lost. The world is waiting for you!”

So now what are you waiting for ?

Categories: Everything Else | Tags: passport, postaweek2011 | 3 Comments

Posts Tagged With: postaweek2011

Extracts from a volunteer`s Diary – Part 5

Wonders in the sand, Delights in the water