When Opportunity Was at My Door

... the last thing i wanted was to get sick

It is not very often that i feel that i am working at 100% capacity (yes this make shock some of you who think i don't take time to breath) and perhaps no human being should. But it is my nature to rev my engine and step things into high gear when ever possible. Thus my usual aim: 80-90% just avoiding utter burn out. The last 2-3 weeks I have had to downshift into low gear. While being sick was a clearly uncomfortable experience the greater pain was being held back and forces to pull back on my involvement. I was forces to look for a balance between activity and recovery but found myself generally overly frustrated at the results (something to look into improving in the future? perhaps). I did decide to narrow my expectations and absorb 100% of the joy from each of them.

Changes/New Focuses:
-find even small joys in every moment
-make enjoying the process, and everything around me the #1 priority and the rest will follow
-when I am healthy again not to push to hard to arrive at the next level. (I think this worked!)

As I was sick for quite some time (from my first clinic visit to my final check up a total of 4 weeks) I had a fair bit of time to ponder about how I was feeling so for those who are interested I will proceed with my bed rest life lessons.

1. you cannot do it alone (anything really but especially this). My sickness (resulting from large amounts of gastro-bacteria resulting in ulcers) had really been crippling and in through it all I am so thankful to have 3 great roommates a caring supervisor and a wonderful Kenyan stranger who took care of me when he found me barfing at the side of the road (pleasant isn't it). HUGE shout outs to my dear friend and traveling comrade Conor who not only helped me get to the hospital in both urgent situations but returned to the hospital to pick up meds and made me feel comforted every other day along the way. THANKS EVERYONE (additional love shout out to my family at home who showered me with good wishes and love in the form of very informative e-mails)

2. The urgency of the situation. I was very lucky to be able to get a car to pick me up quite quickly and speed me off to the hospital. Having lost almost all the liquids in my body I was very dehydrated and ready to pass out. I am sure conditions would have worsened if I was not treated in good time. This has really made me think about the people of the slums - most who would struggle to pay for a car hire and would have to use much slower means. It's scary really.

3. I have noticed my, perhaps inherently human desire to see the fruits of my labour and weep some of what I sow. Pre-sickness I had laid the building blocks (with the help of others) for both our mothers gathering at the Afema therapy center and for our sports launch for the non-formal schools. Sitting in bed I knew they were now ready to go on without me but I still desperately desired to be out there with them celebrating in the moment. I felt slightly distraught at the thought that my involvement may be forgotten, slowly fading away, after i had worked hard to collect with the support of many donors to purchase the material for the sports programing. I know I need to work on giving myself internal praise and being happy with my accomplishments and the good that is done rather than looking to others for this.

Without a doubt the hardest thing about being sick was missing out on the moments that had passed. When every day here brings so much more knowledge, understanding, opportunity for change and happiness it is hard to be stuck inside for walls.


The good news is... 
1. I decided to give a big internal push and get myself to the sports launch to see things for an hour or two - and i was very glad i did
2. We will be holding another mothers gathering at Afema at the end of this month.
3. I went for my final check up today and I am A.OKAY. although I will still have to be strict
with my non-acidic diet.

the future looks bright and full of opportunity
and in hindsight getting sick was a unique opportunity of its own.

Reinventing Community ("Boma")

Every Wednesday I volunteer at Boma Rescue - a day center for youth who have been orphaned or run away from home at some time. The center incorporates counseling, studies, recreation and cultural dance. The key thing about Boma is it is a place where kids can be kids, be cared for and feel safe. Eventually after a year of rehabilitation Boma Rescue will work to find funds to sponsor the children to return to school.

Trying to describe the feeling the kids a Boma gave me I thought of 'happy tears' in the past.

Happy because the kids are (generally) so happy and making leaps and bounds in their personal development and studies. Tears because I know these things were stolen from them for far to long - taken at the hands of others.

Today I only feel pride when I think of the kids at Boma.

They have truly risen to the opportunity and are developing into bright thinkers with good character. While the challenges outside the walls of Boma rescue will surely bring many struggles I feel so compelled to believe they will continue to strive to rise to the many occasions ahead with a light heart, passion and confidence.

Quickly I will speak about what exactly I do at Boma Rescue.

1. Home visits. I travel with one of their two social workers to the houses of the youth that are attending Boma Rescue to assess the living situation and what role the family (sometimes youth return to their homes or may live with their aunts,uncles or grandparents). Sometimes we have to travel for around 45-1hr on foot to arrive at the houses of the youth (a trip they take twice every day).

2. School visits. We have visited St.Vincent de Paul's school to check on the attendance of the youth who had passed through Boma Rescue and been sponsored to go to school. *There were about 40 at this school that had passed through Boma Rescue*. We have also visited a school that the head of Boma Rescue is on the Board of directors with and spent the day with them. This is  a non formal school. Like some others I have visited, was made of scrap metal with cardboard walls. This school was also unique as it a co-op project between the families and the teachers.

3. Recreation/HAVING FUN :) Today we played the game where you have to move from one side of the field to the other with your team using only a few mats and not stepping off them as you move towards the finish line. (this may only make sense to the people who have played the game). The best part about it was we had to play with news paper pages... which were ripped into small pieces by the time teams neared the finish line and were often found blowing in the wind, adding a whole new challenge! This of course is just one of the fun activities. Tire races, tire hopping, running races, human tug-of-war, some crazy long-jump like game and make believe house play are also favorites.

4. Cultural Dance. Originally this was just straight out embarrassing. Yes, I got laughed at a lot for my inability to shake my tush and wiggle my hips in African style. But now it is one of my favorite parts of the day. The youth at Boma Rescue absolutely love dancing so I am so happy to join in and it is one very good work out!

( I guess that wasn't as quickly as you may have hoped, but believe me I could go on forever about this place and the youth)

I do want to speak a bit more about the youth at Boma. Particularly I want to share with you the stories of some of the children that I met with big smiles on their faces while they embraced me with big hugs at my arrival. Through these stories I hope you can understand why I am so proud of them.

Beautiful Child:  Internally Displaced Person. Following the post election violence this AMAZING child was separated from both of his parents. He is not sure if they are alive of not but he has not been in contact with them since nor does he know where they may be. He had been homeless for 3 years and was found sleeping in a gutter.


Beautiful Child: After his mother attempted to commit suicide without success she then attempted to poison her family. The one Beautiful child discovered that his mom had poisoned their food he stopped his family from eating it. The mom has now left but before doing so threatened negative action to the child who had spotted her.

Beautiful Child: Mother has HIV and father has passed away. The fathers parents (child's grandparents) which to inherit the child (potentially for child labour).


Beautiful Child: Escaped child trafficking (being used for child labour) at the age of 5. Was also drugged by an adult around this time

Beautiful Child: Father died and mothers where abouts are unknown

Beautiful Child: Escaped child trafficking where the child was making Changa (potent type of home brew) to buy food and soda. Current (not birth) father does not accept him as his own child.

many of these children have been on the streets for 2 months to 4 years - almost all under the age of 15.

The safari (journey) which they have traveled has been marked not by merely bumps in the road but barbed wire and treacherous paths and yet they have not stoped or given up hope. I wish that they may be able to take their futures into their hands and out of the hands of medeling others and reach each of their true potentials. 

please send your thoughts of compassion to these children so that they may feel the love that so many people around the world have for them- not because you pity their situation but because you are proud of all they have done. 

if you wish to sponsor this program or any others that have been mentioned through my blogs please do not hesiate to let me know through confidential e-mail at erglofch@uwaterloo.ca and we will see what we an do :)