Arriving at CYEC and safari

We reached the Children, Youth Empowerment Centre almost two weeks ago, and time has been flying by ever since we arrived. The CYEC was founded about 5 or 6 years ago, and it has been a slow move to make progress here. In Kenya (or Africa in general), things take time. A lot more time than things progress in the US. Every kid that comes to the Centre is picked up from the Kenyan government who are either street children (literally have no home to live), or are from home situations that put the childrens' well being in jeopardy. Ages of the children range from about 5 or 6 up to 18 or 19 years old. They really don't have much; a lot of the kids run around playing with tires, sticks, and sometimes hit ping pong balls off the side of the building with nothing more than a piece of cardboard. Clothing and shoes are quite an issue. Many walk around with torn rags, and many do not have a pair of shoes/sandals without holes or are broken. I've truly received a good perspective of how lucky and fortunate we are in the United States. It's incredible to think that many of the childrens' lives are determined solely on where they were born or what family they come from. 

Eating here isn't too bad. For breakfast I usually have a fried egg on a piece of bread with butter along with some instant NesCafe. Lunch and dinners consist of a lot of starches (potato, maize, grains) along with leafy greens, usually fried spinach or kales. There is always meat served with meals, which is either chicken, goat, or beef, but it is chopped into pieces along with the bones, skin, fat, and cartilage. It's often more of a hassle to eat meat rather than to enjoy it; I usually only eat meat about two or three times a week. No, I'm not going vegetarian, but for the time being it is a little bit more efficient and convenient.

The living arrangements aren't too bad. I live in a long concrete building complex that is split up into three different "apartments." Our apartment has a front room with a sink and a table, three bedrooms, and separate rooms for the toilet and the shower. I may move into a different place after the Penn State group leaves, as this place has a sort of living room with a table and some chairs to get work done.  

My projects are going pretty well working with the dairy goats, rabbits, and in the gardens (the "shamba"). Out of the eight goats, there is currently only one lactating, but there is good news! The rest are all pregnant and should be due around the time I come back to the states. There are about ten rabbits, and many are due for the beginning of June. The shamba is about 4 acres, and is split into smaller plots for the CBO youth to work and raise money from the crops they produce. 

This past Sunday, we went on safari to the Solio Game Reserve and the Aberdare National Park. The safari was INCREDIBLE! It was the experience of a lifetime. We got to see all kinds of game; lions, rhinos, elephants, buffalo, antelope, ostriches, giraffes, zebra, impala, the list goes on. There is wildlife everywhere here! Our guide did tell us we were pretty lucky to see as much as we did. There is a fellow here who is into photography, I got to borrow his lens to take some amazing shots! I don't mean to brag, but some of the photos I took are good enough quality to make it into National Geographic magazine. There were six of us who went, along with a CBO volunteer named Issa, who helps the youth in the art department at the Centre. He is an incredible painter, and we made a deal that I will print my photos and give to him, and in return he will create a painting of my favorite photo taken from our safari. I am so glad he was able to come with us, because he creates such wonderful paintings, but has never been on a safari to see the wildlife. Here are two of my favorite shots, I hope you enjoy them. 

Keep checking in with our CYEC/CED blog for more class updates.www.cyecresources.blogspot.com