International Ubuntu Day
Jambo!
As of yesterday, I can proudly say that I attended the first ever International Ubuntu day between Catching the Spirit, here in Canada, and Calming the Children in Maah Mahiu, Kenya.
Ubuntu: I am because we are.
Seven months ago, Ubuntu days started in Maah Mahiu, with only a few people in attendance. Once every month people get together to play soccer, and contribute to their community by helping out with environmental projects. Yesterday was the 7th Ubuntu day and first International Ubuntu Day; they had 300 people in attendance! What made the 7th one International? Canada's Catching the Spirit and Kenya`s Calming the Children connected via Skype. The two youth programs had a conversation about environmental issues both countries are facing and why we feel it's important to help out. We talked about what we are doing to be eco-friendly and what others could do. The power of technology and being able to connect 80 Canadian youth, and 10 Kenyan youth is absolutely unreal. The internet connection wasn't the greatest so the video kept cutting out, but we were able to have an audio discussion. All the kids loved talking to the Kenyans, asking them questions like "What do you do to help your community?" and "What do you want to do when you grow up?" Many of the answers to that were "I want to travel to Canada to see Catching the Spirit and your beautiful country." What amazed me the most is the fact that these people have so little, and are still conscious of their environmental issues. Some of them have barely any education, and yet they still know the effects of their everyday choices on their environment. I was inspired by the charisma these youth showed, they spoke English very well, but were hard to understand behind their strong accents, and they didn't once get annoyed when we asked them to repeat what they just said for the fourth time. They were so happy to talk to us, and even when the connection kept cutting out, they kept calling back, more exciting than ever.
As we discussed on the bus ride home, Africans always seem to be the most friendly and outgoing people, even with the little that they have. I think everyone could learn a little from this. I always love the warmth and passion that I heard when these Kenyans were talking about their Calming the Children program. Despite the vivid language barrier, they were still able to make us laugh and amaze us with their motivation and drive for a better planet. These guys were so dedicated that being ten hours ahead, they stayed online with us until ten pm, and they still hadn't eaten dinner.
As I said earlier, Calming the Children was formed to bring people together to play soccer, and just to celebrate. It later turned into an environmental stewardship program, and just yesterday they added another aspect to the program. They opened an Arts, Culture and Peace Center for the youth that's free to attend, and a place to learn and meet amazing new people.
It almost brought me to tears when we asked if they had any final questions for our youth, and they replied "Yes, when will you be visiting Kenya?"
I love the passion, warmth and charisma these people showed. They were speaking a language that they are not so comfortable with in front of 80 people, and they constantly made us laugh. Overall, this was a wonderful experience for the youth in Kenya, and our youth here in Canada. It's not everyday that you get to connect with other youth across the world. There was lots of chatter, and curiosity about Kenya on that ride bus home.
Before the four CtS camps departed from BCIT, we planted an Ubuntu tree in our community garden. The spirits were high as we thought of our new friends while planting the fruit tree, and placing rocks painted by each camp around the tree. We hope to make International Ubuntu Day, and our discussions with Calming the Children a frequent occurrence!
As of yesterday, I can proudly say that I attended the first ever International Ubuntu day between Catching the Spirit, here in Canada, and Calming the Children in Maah Mahiu, Kenya.
Ubuntu: I am because we are.
Seven months ago, Ubuntu days started in Maah Mahiu, with only a few people in attendance. Once every month people get together to play soccer, and contribute to their community by helping out with environmental projects. Yesterday was the 7th Ubuntu day and first International Ubuntu Day; they had 300 people in attendance! What made the 7th one International? Canada's Catching the Spirit and Kenya`s Calming the Children connected via Skype. The two youth programs had a conversation about environmental issues both countries are facing and why we feel it's important to help out. We talked about what we are doing to be eco-friendly and what others could do. The power of technology and being able to connect 80 Canadian youth, and 10 Kenyan youth is absolutely unreal. The internet connection wasn't the greatest so the video kept cutting out, but we were able to have an audio discussion. All the kids loved talking to the Kenyans, asking them questions like "What do you do to help your community?" and "What do you want to do when you grow up?" Many of the answers to that were "I want to travel to Canada to see Catching the Spirit and your beautiful country." What amazed me the most is the fact that these people have so little, and are still conscious of their environmental issues. Some of them have barely any education, and yet they still know the effects of their everyday choices on their environment. I was inspired by the charisma these youth showed, they spoke English very well, but were hard to understand behind their strong accents, and they didn't once get annoyed when we asked them to repeat what they just said for the fourth time. They were so happy to talk to us, and even when the connection kept cutting out, they kept calling back, more exciting than ever.
As we discussed on the bus ride home, Africans always seem to be the most friendly and outgoing people, even with the little that they have. I think everyone could learn a little from this. I always love the warmth and passion that I heard when these Kenyans were talking about their Calming the Children program. Despite the vivid language barrier, they were still able to make us laugh and amaze us with their motivation and drive for a better planet. These guys were so dedicated that being ten hours ahead, they stayed online with us until ten pm, and they still hadn't eaten dinner.
As I said earlier, Calming the Children was formed to bring people together to play soccer, and just to celebrate. It later turned into an environmental stewardship program, and just yesterday they added another aspect to the program. They opened an Arts, Culture and Peace Center for the youth that's free to attend, and a place to learn and meet amazing new people.
It almost brought me to tears when we asked if they had any final questions for our youth, and they replied "Yes, when will you be visiting Kenya?"
I love the passion, warmth and charisma these people showed. They were speaking a language that they are not so comfortable with in front of 80 people, and they constantly made us laugh. Overall, this was a wonderful experience for the youth in Kenya, and our youth here in Canada. It's not everyday that you get to connect with other youth across the world. There was lots of chatter, and curiosity about Kenya on that ride bus home.
Before the four CtS camps departed from BCIT, we planted an Ubuntu tree in our community garden. The spirits were high as we thought of our new friends while planting the fruit tree, and placing rocks painted by each camp around the tree. We hope to make International Ubuntu Day, and our discussions with Calming the Children a frequent occurrence!
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