Write a good one.
Brad Paisley.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Welcome to 2014.
So how did my year of twenty thirteen pan out?
Well the start of the year began with me doing one of the
scariest things I have ever done. I left
my life of travel, I had been on the road for 2 years, and all my friends in
Australia and I headed to Africa, Kenya to be precise, and a new
beginning. It was a scary place for me
when I didn’t know anyone; I had nowhere to live, no job and no real game plan
as such. It was totally not my style. I am an organized person and getting out of
my comfort zone has made me a stronger person.
It was the unknown-it FREAKED me out, as it was something I had no
control over. I was used to having
things planned and I always knew where and what I would be doing in 3 months’
time, 2 weeks’ time and I didn’t have that power and that feeling was new and
foreign to me. All my talk of the previous
12 months had finally come. It was now
time to turn those words into actions. I
had chosen this path and I was determined to see where it would take me. “Fortune Favours the Brave”.
In the ensuing months I made friends.
I went to social events and I was lucky enough to have
connected with amazing people. I believe
you know a good person from the first meeting, and it was only then that I felt
I was finally finding my way in my new city.
Friends are like the family that you can pick yourself and I find if you
are surrounded by great people then great things will happen. It makes a BIG difference when you have
people you can rely on in your life, which I do all over the world, but I
needed those kind of people in Nairobi and I had found some golden gems. I am an extravert kind of person, and after my
first 8 lonely weeks I never lost sight of why I was here, but it did make me the
wear the shoes of an introvert person during that time and it made me even more
determined to be more accepting of people and I am glad I am the type of person
I am, being an introvert sucked.
It was now time to do something productive with my
time. I not only moved to Africa for a
better way of life, but to also help people (children) less fortunate than
myself and it was time for me to get off my semi-retired butt (which I love) and
do something about it. That opportunity
came when I went for my first haircut.
My hairdresser Debbie gave me a lead to an orphanage that was just down
the road from my house and suggested that I pop in and ask for Irene, the
director, and volunteer some hours with the babies. This sounded perfect and I made the first
step towards what I came to Africa for and I have to tell you it was an
absolutely AMAZING feeling. Those little
babies need love, care and attention and I feel I am able to offer them all
that and more. The Nest is full of
babies and this mama (endearment term apparently) is going to help in any way,
shape or form as required. The Nest
currently has 17 babies aged from 4 weeks old to 2 years old. All the babies are neglected or their mothers
are imprisoned, so the babies come in the hope that the mothers will be
reunited with their children and if not then the children are put up for
adoption to give them a better life.
Ideally The Nest wants to reunite the children with their ‘birth’ mothers
but this is obviously not always an ideal scenario. I now found a purpose.
I did have one loose end that I had to tie up earlier in
the year and that was to see Zeme one last time in Ethiopia. I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but the
main reason behind the meeting was for me to collect some belongings that I had
left here last year, of which there was something of my mums that was worth a
million memories to me. At the back of
my mind I was hoping to get some closure, proper closure, so that I could
complete my final healing. It was weird
to see this person who I thought I would spend the rest of my life with,
some-one that had hurt me so much, standing back in front of me again. I didn’t have the feeling of love or hate anymore,
which for me was a good sign I was moving in the right direction. Zeme apologised. He said he did the wrong thing and he asked
for my forgiveness and you know what?
That was all I wanted to hear. As
soon as he said that and I answered back that I had forgiven him, it felt like
a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Don’t get me wrong, there were tears, but it
was what I came for, what I wanted to hear and I felt like the trip had justified
in that exact moment. I could now leave
Ethiopia with a clear mind and a peaceful heart and know that the country Zeme
showed me and the special times we shared here will hold a special place in my
heart always and I can now focus back on the good times and just let the one
bad incident (or a few accumulated) go and left in the past to never be dredged
up again. It’s nice to be able to let
the last remnants of resentment I had tucked away deep, deep, deep, deep down finally
released. It felt so good to be able to
forgive some-one than to keep beating yourself up and trying to hate some-one
that really isn’t a bad person. And that
is a point I want to make. Zeme is not a
bad person, he did a stupid, dumb, bad thing and you can’t let one mistake
brand some-one as a bad person, even if it was a monumental stuff up.
The following months passed with lunches and dinners with
friends and time spent at The Nest. I
found my place there and in August I was introduced to the Miracle Babies. I met an extraordinary group of children that
are stuck in government red tape. So
what is their story? It all starts with
a man called Gilbert Juma Deya who is a Kenyan evangelist based
in Britain.
Deya runs an evangelist church in England where, among other things, he
claims that a couple incapable of having children can be blessed with offspring
if they pray hard enough. That’s not much of a shocking claim. The shocking
part is that Deya wasn’t patient enough to let the Divine do his work; and Deya
flew to Kenya, kidnaped, stole and bought children, and brought them back to
England. On the 21st August 2004,
police raided his residence of Archbishop Gilbert Deya at dawn. They arrested his wife and took away nine
children to the Nairobi Children’s Home.
In total twenty babies have been placed in foster care in Kenya after DNA tests showed they
had no connection to their alleged mothers in the UK. The sad fact is that no one is sure where the
miracle babies came from and none of the children taken from the Deya house
have been identified, the children's true parentage remains unknown. The Miracle Babies cannot be adopted out
until the case comes to court and Mr Deya stands trial for the allegations. The Nest has 11 of these children and I decided
to make The Miracle Babies Foundation and I proposed for 12 people/companies to
sponsor a day out-one sponsor for each month.
Just think about these children who cannot be adopted out and are stuck
in limbo as the babies and children around them are given a chance with new
families. If I could help them to have
some good memories in this chapter of their lives and they are going to be stuck
in their country, why not get them out and about to see it. Think about these poor children, who have no
control over their own fate and take a second to stand in their shoes. It’s humbling isn’t it? This stuff isn’t out of a book, it is real
life, it is happening in our world, in our decade and that makes me a little
mad and also a little sad that these things are still happening in this day and
age. I had an overwhelming response to
the pledging of money and have 2014 covered by the generous people of Denise
and Danny, Matt and Kendal and also the very generous donation from John.
The last quarter of the year was completed traversing
West Africa on what would prove to be the toughest trip I have ever done. EVER.
West Africa has been on my bucket list since my East African Overland trip
back in 2011. It was also my backup
option if things didn’t work out as planned with my move to Africa. As it turned out I didn’t need a backup
option but I figured there were a few reasons as to why now was a good time to
take the trip anyway. ONE: I was in
Africa and I needed to make the most of my time while I am unemployed, single
and ready and able to do this tour. TWO:
By the time I actually travelled ON the trip I would have been in the one place
for nearly 9 months. Not a bad effort if
I say so myself. THREE: You only live
once and I have seen more than once that life is short and that we need to make
the most of the time we have! What more
do I need? Now that I am back home I try
and think what my expectations were of the trip and were they met and I think
that they were. Are there things that
can be improved on the trip?
Definitely. Am I glad I did the
trip? Definitely. Would I recommend the trip to someone else and
the answer would be yes, but be prepared for some tough times, change of plans,
long truck days, bad roads, tinned meat, mosquito’s, tuna rolls and an
experience of a life time that you would get nowhere else on this planet. As always I also walked away with a renewed
appreciation for the life I am so lucky to live. West Africa is so different
from its Eastern counterparts, it has a beat and a culture so unique, the
people so resilient and it is something I will never forget. I've had the time
of my life, warts and all and have a feeling I will return one day. So a summary of the ‘stats’ of the trip are below. This is what a 10 WEEK African overlanding
experience consists of; and WEST AFRICA at that. None of this easy peasy East Africa business
on this trip and when the trip had finished I had an overwhelming emotion and I
didn’t know whether to smile or cry and decided to enjoy it for what it was and
I smiled from ear to ear.
70 days
10 weeks
9 countries-Ghana, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Guinea
Bissau, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Senegal
12 borders
4500km travelled
328.5 hours sitting on Madge (the truck)-92.5 hours
section 1-140 hours section 2-96 hours section 3
23 AMAZING PEOPLE
15 chickens (minimum per person)
53 tins of tuna
35 tins of SPAM
14,000 waves to complete strangers
23 pieces of West African material
7 camping nights
9 bush camps
38 hotel/guest houses
15 ‘other’ accommodation eg: dorm, bad hut upgrades
13 full pages taken up in my passport
4949 photos
70 quotes for my blog from the roof of Madge
And my love for Africa strengthened.
I was lucky to spend the last days of this incredible
year back in Australia surrounded by my friends. I needed the time to recoup after West Africa
and what better place to be than with my best friend, my god-daughters and her
family. As much as I love being in
Africa, you do need to have a reset button, just for a few weeks, to leave the
continent and be able to blend in and not be the odd one out and judged
financially by the colour of your skin.
It can be tough some day’s and my 5 weeks back in Australia was exactly what
the travel doctor ordered. Zoe and Tess
are little people now and are growing up to be exceptional young ladies. Their love in unconditional and to leave them
on the 30th of December was heartbreaking, especially when they are
crying, and not crocodile tears, they were wrenching sobs and I just had to let
them know that I loved them and that it was only 295 days until I would be back
again. Good-byes are not my forte and with
tears in my eyes it was time to leave Brisbane and head back home to Kenya for
a new year ahead.
I have had an amazing journey in 2013. I have made a home, made new friends, had
some challenges, found a purpose with the gorgeous babies and the Miracle
Babies at The Nest, seen more of Africa than anyone would ever dream of and I
am back to do it all again in 2014. A
new culture, a new country and a new continent and I survived my first year and
I enjoyed it. Kenya is a very exciting
country. It ebbs and flows and has its
moments along with any other country and I wouldn’t change a thing. I have seen things that I will never forget,
I have met amazing people who became friends for life and I have experienced a
life that not many people get the privilege to live.
I am thankful-to the core.
Thankful to my mum.
Thankful to the people who support me, no matter what craziness
I get myself into.
Thankful to a world that has looked after me during my
travels.
And thankful to each and every new day that dawns and I
get to experience.
I know I can’t save the world but I hope to make a
difference here in Kenya. There are so
many charities, NGO, missionaries, the UN in all its forms, aid workers-you
name it Kenya has it and to an extent that maybe there are too many ‘singular’ charities
flooding the country and I feel that some of them would be better off joining
forces rather than 1000 different small agencies all trying to do the same
thing. But then again, if what they do
changes one life, how can you stop the kindness of strangers wanting to help? I
just wonder if there is a better method.
Long term people here in Nairobi are a little sceptical of people like
me. Still being an African ‘rookie’,
they think that the ‘newbies’ have these rose coloured glasses on and that we
can change the whole country within 6 months.
They think we want to change the world and because they have been here
for a longer period of time, I guess they do see people fly in, do their
volunteer time’ and then fly out without as much as a backwards glance. Well I am certainly not that blindsided and I
am starting to see it slowly myself now the longer that I am here, but I do
believe that I can make a difference and if people think that is dorky or sad
then I think they possibly need to take a long hard look at themselves and
shouldn’t be so judgemental.
That, my friend’s sums up my year of 2013 and I look forward
to sharing 2014.
“Always
believe in yourself to fly to your dreams”
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