When my mum and I were told about all the hard work that The Peacemakers International charity in Kenya do, we knew that we HAD to visit!
When we met with one of the founders of the charity we became instantly excited! On the journey home we were already planning the many projects that we could do for the charity. We booked a flight for a few months time and held fundraising events with our friends and family so that we could take as many educational resources and every day necessities with us.
So with weeks to go we got more and more excited in anticipation of what lay ahead…and we certainly weren`t disappointed! Firstly the welcome we received was truly amazing, Chrissie is just the perfect host, so generous and so caring and such a special person. The Kenyan people share her gratitude and warmth and we were greeted everywhere we went with smiles, waves and shouts of welcome! It was humbling to see just what is being achieved out here at The Dennis Marshall Foundation, supporting the local community providing jobs, support and fellowship to the young, old, disabled and needy.
The buildings were in constant use and everyday there was somebody new to meet. Among the people we met were the HIV ladies who were so delighted with arrival of more balls of wool, the craft ladies who insisted we learnt how to make beaded bags, the Nursery team who are growing the most amazing plants , the cheerful cooking team and of course all the lovely builders so busy working on the buildings, the internet café, the craft room and the restaurant which are now complete!
So then to our project, this was to support Chrissie as she introduced a reading programme to children from the local school. Forty six enthusiastic and very well behaved children came along to the centre over two days and twenty six of these we heard read as part of a reading assessment. During this time I also ran drama games and encouraged the children to participate in a drama production of “Wangari`s Seeds of Peace “. We also hosted two Saturday training days where upon we showed local teachers and older youth how to support young children in their early reading skills. This is an ongoing project and we hope to keep in touch with how it is progressing and maybe even return to Peacemakers one day to see its impact.
Our stay certainly proved to be as exciting as we`d hoped it would. It`s an experience that we will always treasure and we feel truly blessed that we were able to witness such a special and inspiring place and meet such welcoming people in such a lovely country.
I honestly can't recommend visiting Africa and helping those less fortunate. There are many different companies that you can arrange to go and volunteer with however I would also suggest that you have a look at smaller charities like The Peacemakers International charity.
You can find their contact information on their website: https://www.peacemakers-international.com.
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