Students & Faculty Travel to Kenya
Campsite Manager Lauds Blair Ambassadors

In June, 13 Blair students and three faculty members traveled to Africa for a two-week trip to Kenya led by Quint Clarke ’87, a history teacher at Blair well known for his summer travel adventures. Faculty member Alexis Machabanski, who traveled with the group, reports:

We spent time in the capital city of Nairobi and also traveled to Kisumu, a Luo (Obama’s father’s tribe) village near Lake Victoria, interspersed with visits to various national parks, including Hell’s Gate, Lake Nakuru, and Masai Mara. To see pictures from our adventures and read a blog about our experience, visit blairkenyatrip.shutterfly.com.

Most of the trip was spent performing community service in schools and orphanages. The early days of the trip were in Nairobi, where we visited some of the worst slums in the world, playing games with children, walking through the streets with four kids holding onto each hand, and opening our eyes to this world so impossibly different from ours. Blair students also came on the trip prepared to teach classes to elementary school aged children in several primary schools in Nairobi and Kisumu. Aside from teaching, a lot of time during these visits was spent interacting and playing with Kenyan children, challenging them in football (American “soccer”), teaching them typical American songs, observing school traditions and performances, and answering questions about our travels and life in America.

In addition, we went on safari in some of the world’s most famous game parks. A long and challenging bicycle safari in Hell’s Gate National Park was followed by several van safari adventures by Lake Nakuru and in Masai Mara, the Kenyan region of the Serengeti. Driving through herds of giraffes, zebras, rhinos, gazelles, wildebeest, impalas, and buffalo was absolutely thrilling, but nothing was quite as exciting as witnessing two lionesses stalk their buffalo prey at the start of a hunt, passing directly in front of our safari van.

It was a truly compelling experience for all 16 members of the group. For many, this was a first trip to Africa. Overwhelming at times, but mostly exhilarating and eye-opening, we shared an incredibly action-packed two weeks in Kenya, an experience that none of us will soon forget.

Another of the faculty members on the trip, John Padden, wrote the following email to the students’ parents mid-way through their journey:

“The students on the trip have continued to be fantastic. It has been a pleasure for us to see them shine in a variety of challenging situations.

Following Hell’s Gate and Lake Nakuru, we experienced three of the most exhausting, challenging and rewarding days of our trip. We visited five schools in three days in the Kisumu region, including three primary schools and two secondary schools. After a tough first day, our students quickly gained comfort teaching lessons with minimal preparation to various age groups. We could not be more proud of the way they handled themselves. They embraced the autonomy of leading classes with anywhere from 35 to an incredible 92 kids in one class! Seeing a couple of our students teaching math was especially nice after having taught them the same subject last year. They were thorough, engaging and encouraging. Several students were great in the nursery classrooms singing songs to the kindergarten children and helping them write letters on the board. Others found their niche teaching science, nutrition and care of livestock. All of our students were amazing in the teacher role, especially considering the language barrier with the younger Kenyan children.

The secondary school children were much better at English and were completely fascinated by their American counterparts. With the older kids, we fielded many questions about America, including topics such as school, climate, sports, hobbies, families, marriage, poverty, government, social customs, and so much more. The kids were phenomenal in this role, encouraging questions and thoughtfully answering them with humor and sincerity. Speaking to kids their age proved to be a valuable experience for our students. Equally entertaining were playing games and sports with them. Several of our students were monsters on the "football" field, always giving their all and displaying considerable skills in every game we played, all while praising Kenyan boys for being just a step (or 10) faster.

We had so much fun in the schools. Everyone from Blair was simply great. You could always find a nursery kid in someone’s arms or watch one of our group members make the little kids laugh with a patty cake game. We've all been having a great trip with our close group of 16.

At the end of each long and exhausting day, we experienced a rich cultural immersion in the home village of our group leader, Elly, where we had three nights of home stays and three great dinners prepared by Elly's wife, mother, and other village members. The amount and quality of food they prepared over a couple of fires in total darkness was astounding. Our hosts were so gracious, welcoming and pleased to have us. Quint, Alexis and I were continually amazed how after a long day at schools, our students would give so much more of themselves, playing with the kids from the village for hours. A constant joke on this trip has been that some of our students are basically Kenyans at heart, spending hours, morning and night, sitting and communicating with village elders, seamlessly fitting into every situation.

The entire experience in the village and the surrounding schools will never leave our minds. One student was heard saying, "I'll be thinking about this for the rest of my life." Quint spoke of how there is something so appealing about the way of life here. The deep bond and sense of community, the surrounding beauty, the outdoor gatherings, and the simple way of life are all inspiring to see. We learned firsthand about the challenges of bucket showers and squat toilets. We helped the people of the village with donations of clothes and money. The children in the village were hoping we could stay another three or four weeks. I think all of our students would love to experience more and help more, a great byproduct of a trip like this. We are very proud of our students and we look forward to more from them in our final stretch on the trip.”

Headmaster Chan Hardwick received the following note from the campsite manager in Kenya:

Dear Sir,

My name is Jessi Cloud, and I am the manager at Upperhill Campsite and Backpackers in Nairobi Kenya. We recently had a group of your students stay with us, and I have to say I have never been so impressed.

I have never seen a bunch of young adults fit into our family so well. Your students were polite, engaging, funny, creative and inteligent. Your teachers, Quint, Alexis and John were amazing throughout. They were always on top of everything, and a joy to talk to.

With these types of students, the world will shine brighter!

Thank you for impressing in your students the true values of humanity, and at the same time, encouraging their amazing personalities!

Cheers!
Jessi
Upperhill Campsite and Backpackers

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Posted 6/26/09

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