Day 191 ~ African Lioness ~

My last safari day was short because I had to catch my flight home that night. It was incredible seeing so many animals in the wild and more importantly being able to photograph them! The lions slept 18 hrs out of the day so they were difficult to find not sleeping. This day we saw a pack of lions awake so it was pretty amazing, their eyes are so piercing.

Day 190 ~ Masai Mara ~

We woke up before the sun this day to do a full day game drive in the park. We saw "The Big 5" (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo). I have so many pics but I can't post them all. It was a struggle to find the leopard because they hide up in trees but we were lucky and found one.

In the top image this is a group of masai women welcoming us to their homes with a song. There were optional activities and this one was to meet the masai people and see their way of life. Since I lived and worked with the masai it wasn't new to me but I decided to go with the others.

In the last image we came across cheetahs eating their kill. They look the same ones from the previous night because its a mother and her 2 babies but I don't know for sure. I love the blood all over their mouths its so raw and real!

Day 189 ~ Hungry Cheetahs ~

We drove from Lake Nakuru this day to Masai Mara National Reserve. It is supposed to be the #1 safari according to many people. A lot of patience was required here because the reserve is so big and it is the wild so sometimes we had to drive around to find animals. Here we spotted a cheetah and her two babies. We watched them for a while as they slowly hunted for their kill. They took so long slowly creeping up on their kill that we had to leave because we had to be out of the park before sunset. So unfortunately we didn't get to see the kill but it was amazing watching animals in their natural habitat.

Day 188 ~ Romantic Giraffs ~

The first day of my safari was at Lake Nakuru National Park. The park was amazing with so many different animals. Some of the animals I saw were pink flamingos, water buffalo, monkeys,

zebra, gazelle and my personal favourite the giraffs. I was lucky to see these two giraffs being playful with eachother it was so beautiful to watch.

Day 187 ~ Goodbye to Maasai land ~

My volunteer experience is now over. I am in Nairobi today spending the night at the hostel before I leave for my safari tomorrow to Masa Mara. There is so much to say and too many unsorted thoughts to put it all together. Overall my experience was beyond my expectations. The family that I lived with in Maasai land were such kind, welcoming people and even though their life is so different from my own we are all so much alike.

The HIV/AIDS Awareness day has come and gone and turned out to be a success. We had hoped for a better turn out but we ended up getting 50 people together to listen to the speakers talk about their experiences living with HIV. Everyone seemed so interested in their stories and the speakers themselves were so amazing and inspiring that I hope that their message got to the people...I think it did. I think it really broke down the barriers for people and hopefully they realized that they should know their status so they can get treated and still live a long healthy life. A lot of people really came through for us on the day and I am so happy that I was able to be a part of such a positive thing. One of the best parts of the day was meeting a man named Charles who has been living with HIV for 20 years now. He is such a beautiful person, so open and willing to share his life experiences. He is the kind of person that can really make a difference in the world. His words will save lives!

The pipe project was completed today and the clinic now has an unlimited supply of water!! It was a bit of a complicated process with communicating with the people involved but in the end it was very much worth it all and they were all very grateful for our contribution to the clinic.

I feel ready to come home but I also don't feel ready to leave Africa yet either. It's been nice to have so many emotions in one day but also very exhausting as well. Kenya has many problems and there are so many people suffering. When I look into the eyes of some of the children I wish their life could be different. When I hear about young girls being married off young to old men and being beaten daily it makes me want to cry. Knowing their are so many children going to bed hungry and their families not having enough money for them to go to school it is heartbreaking.
I would love to have a beautiful ending to this trip but unfortunately not every experience has a perfect ending. I do know that I am very lucky to be born in Canada and to have all of the opportunities that I have. If nothing else I have met some incredible people and I have learned to appreciate my life so much more.

Off to my luxurious hostel room with running water, toilets, electricity, a pillow and a mirror to finally really see what I look like...lol.

Day 186 ~ Maize ~

We drove out to other villages twice a month to distribute maize to the village children to ensure that they keep growing healthy.

Just For Fun

Day 185 ~ Maoibooi Biitia ~

This was our HIV AIDS Awareness Day that we organized at the clinic. Everyone gathered under the trees and education was provided. See my post above for more details on this great day!

P.S. Maoibooi Biitia means STOP AIDS in the maasai language

Day 184 ~ Cloudy Day ~

A rainy day is a blessed day.

Day 183 ~ Beautiful Twilight ~

Day 182 ~ Market Day ~

On the weekends I went into Ngong Hill town, Saturdays were the busiest with everyone going to the market. In the village I could not buy anything so this was the time to get the essentials like water, food and snacks, batteries, charge my cell phone, and use the internet. To get into Ngong I had to take a matatu which is like a taxi truck where everyone piles into the back of the pickup truck. Just when you think that no other person could possibly fit into the truck they stop and pick up more. By the time I got to Ngong I was covered in dirt and would literally have to wipe the dirt off my face once I got there. I don't know how the locals did it but they always managed to stay so clean?

New Projects

So much has happened here its so hard to update because everyday is so eventful. I have been gone for 2 weeks and I feel like its been 2 months. We are getting ready for our big event this Tuesday at the clinic. We are hoping to get 150 people to show up and listen to guest speakers that are HIV positive to encourage people to stay protected and to know their status. Their is so much fear when it comes to being tested for HIV and we are trying to break down the barriers and take the fear away. We hope to get as many people tested and give counseling to everyone. We are providing food for them and I have bought t-shirts to give away as a raffle to all of the brave people that get tested.

The people here have so little and everyone is in need of something. There are so many great projects to help out with and I have been approached by many people looking for donations and help. This is really starting to become difficult because I would love to help everyone but unfortunately I do not have endless money. I have decided to help with a project at the clinic to give them a good water supply. Right now the pipes that bring water to the clinic are so small and shared with so many people that most of the time they have no water at all. There is another volunteer here from the USA and we have decided to fund this project to give the clinic water. This entails buying new bigger pipes and all of the materials needed to complete the project and the labor costs. I am here in Ngong Hill today with the contractors and we are buying the materials and taking them back to the clinic today.

The vision for the project is obviously for the clinic to have water all the time but also we would like for the staff to start a garden at the clinic and grow vegetables to help feed the children at the nearby schools. We will not be here to get the garden project running but we hope to pass this on to the next volunteers to come to help the staff and make this a reality.

There are two schools nearby the clinic and they have recently been cut from the feeding program from the government which means they do not get a lunch. A lot of their families live in poverty so they get no breakfast, no lunch and just a small dinner. The vision for the garden project would be that the children can come and help maintain the garden and in return get food for their lunches.

So I have one week left at the clinic and it will be a busy one with the event on Tuesday and with the pipe project starting on Monday as well. I have planned a safari to Masa Mara National Park for my last weekend and then I will be home. I am feeling like this short trip has been a successful one so far but there are so many needs here that I find myself lying awake at night feeling defeated and wishing I could do more.


Missing you all xoxo

P.S. I can't wait to post my pics when I get home!!! On my way to the clinic yesterday there were giraffs at the side of the road!!!

Day 181 ~ Moto Surprise ~

I got a ride into the clinic with the nurse everyday on his motorbike. This day on my way to the clinic in the morning I got this nice surprise next the road!

Day 180 ~ Patient Teaching ~

Day 179 ~ African Sunset ~

Day 178 ~ Running Late ~

School boys running past me almost late for school. Every single boy called out "Hello" "Hello" "Hello", they loved to speak in english!

Day 176 ~ Acadia ~

This image was taken behind the clinic of the beautiful African Acadia trees. They have these amazing nests called Weaver nests made my weaver birds.

Day 175 ~ Cattle Herding ~

On this Sunday I went with my host brother to herd the cattle. When he is not at school he spends his weekends with the cattle taking them many kilometres walking so they can graze all day long. Because it is the dry season and there is so little grass they have to take the cattle far to try to keep them healthy. The maasai love their cattle it is one of their only source of income and it also provides them with milk daily and meat if they want to slaughter. Cattle are used to give for dowry in marriage and in some instances for slaughtering for very special events. It was a very long tireing day herding the cattle but also an eye opener into the life of the maasai people.

Day 174 ~ Maasai Land ~

Day 173 ~ Kitchen Cuddles ~

My host mother and her neice with stickers all over her face...so cute:)