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In February this year we joined the Cara Projects volunteer group on a trip to Kenya, Africa. This is a charity run by Paddy O’Connor and Roisín Kelly from Kildare. This charity was set up to help young girls that have been orphaned, abused, neglected or abandoned. Over the last number of years this group has worked on several projects in Africa, ranging from the building of orphanages and schools to the provision of a mini-bus for a remote orphanage outside Nairobi. Here we saw a different side to the world we know. We saw how the people lived there and we were truly shocked. Going to Nairobi, Kenya really opened our eyes and we were so happy that we were able to help, even if it only made a small difference.
While at the Rescue Centre we helped by getting the place ready for the opening day. We built a place for the youngest girls to sleep and also built shelters for the workers that live there full time. The opening day was extremely important because it showed people the hard work that has gone into the centre to make it a home for these girls. The day was a huge success and thankfully we raised loads of awareness for the centre and the amount of work that has been done there over the years.
We also visited one of the biggest slums in Africa called Kibera, outside Nairobi. It was shocking to hear that there were one million people living in this area which is just over a square mile. While walking through the slums we saw some of the horrific circumstances that people have to endure each and every day. But what really astounded us the most was that every single child we saw that day was happy, even though they had hardly anything at all and were living in such terrible conditions.
We would like to thank everyone who helped with our fund raising and made this experience possible. It has shown us how the smallest of help can go so far to change a child’s life. We would like to thank Philip Gavin (The Talbot Hotel), Graham Fitzgerald (The Dingle Skellig Hotel), Eileen O'Boyle (Harrington's Family Restaurant), Denise Keane (Dunlavin House Dingle), Bridget Flannery (Fungi Boats) and Caroline Danaher (The Boatyard Restaurant) that donated prizes and Brenda McEvoy (Beautician) who held a fund raiser night. Thanks also to those who bought tickets for our raffle that was such a huge success. We would also like to thank Garvey’s Supermarket who let us bag pack and the volunteers who helped us to do this. Thanks to the Educational Shop that donated all the wonderful gifts for the children- there’s no words to describe how much the girls loved them. Thanks also to the Tree House Café that made hundreds of rice crispie buns possible- a first for the children in the centre!! Finally a big thank you to the people of West Kerry and everyone who donated because this trip really wouldn’t have been possible with your help.
