Chani Hood is the Area Sales Manager for Peregrine & Geckos adventures, she has been in the travel industry for many years and has travelled extensively through 6 continents, she volunteers at children’s camps here in WA which aims at developing young people’s self-esteem and runs a leadership development program for WA youth. She would like to share with you the story of her recent trip to East Africa...
As part of Gecko’s trips to Kenya, we spend two unique nights at the East African Mission Orphanage (EAMO) near Lake Nakuru National Park. Having just returned home from my 22-day Gecko’s “Complete East Africa” adventure, I found this to be one of my highlights and something I will never forget.
EAMO is owned and run by Australian couple, Ralph and May Spinks. It started when, while living in Kenya, they opened their home to two abandoned children.
From those unplanned beginnings, EAMO now cares for over 200 orphaned, abandoned or poverty stricken children. With the help of international sponsors and donations, EAMO is able to not only feed, house and clothe these children, but also provide them with a school education.
Many children come to EAMO with diseases, some are curable and some are not. Through funding and care, these children are given a chance at leading a healthy life.
Upon our arrival at EAMO, we are greeted by a volunteer – an Australian woman who first visited EAMO on a Gecko’s trip three years ago. Since then she has volunteered sporadically for over 8 months and plans to visit many more times in the future.
We are given a tour of the grounds, the boys and girls sleeping quarters , the toddler’s rooms, the food halls where communal meals are had and the new classrooms which ensure the children are given the education they need right there on EAMO grounds.
Our first experience with the children is being greeted by a group of three to five year olds who, upon seeing our group, bolt towards us with massive grins and arms open wide.
They are obviously used to being visited by Gecko’s groups and know it means unlimited hugs and games. And of course, none of us can resist! We are free to interact with the children for the rest of the afternoon and each of our group easily finds their place among the varying age groups of the children.
I make friends with a few shy girls sitting on the grass and they immediately get involved by giving me a new hair style. They are taught English at school so we are able to easily communicate. Some of our group help bathe, dry and dress the little ones, some kick around a football, some are taken on a tour of the vegetable gardens and greenhouses that help feed everyone at EAMO.
When we feel a few drops of rain, I am astounded to be led by some girls – no older than eight years old – to the girls' washing line to collect the drying clothes. We are joined by children of all ages, some very young, with everyone pitching in to make sure the clean clothes are saved from the rain.
Everyone in our Gecko’s group is eager to meet the ‘babies’ of EAMO (mainly 2-4 year olds) and make sure we are available to help take them to dinner and give them as many cuddles as we can. We then join the older children in the dining halls for dinner and it is obvious we are going to be popular tablemates. I am overwhelmed by the good manners of all of the children and also their willingness to eat all of their greens. It is a reminder that these children have all experienced hunger at one point in their life and will probably always be grateful for their meals.
Being surrounded by smiling faces, it is easy to forget the heartbreaking ways these children came to be at EAMO. After dinner some children get set on their chores – everyone at EAMO has their daily chores which ensure the smooth running of their daily life. It also gives them ownership of EAMO and its grounds, after all it is their home.
Later in the evening we join the older children in the dining halls for Worship, led by 16 year old Walter. He speaks to the room full of children and adults about our visit and what this means to EAMO. His confidence and ability is definitely beyond his years and when he takes the time to introduce us individually, we laugh at the jokes he makes at each of our names.
We each have a unique story he attaches to us. He asks for volunteers to lead some songs we all join in, some with actions and dances. I realise EAMO is not just focused on feeding and housing destitute children, but also helping them to develop both personally and socially.
By creating a safe community environment, these children are allowed to express themselves while learning life skills that will no doubt be beneficial when they are old enough to pursue their dreams outside of EAMO.
One of my favourite experiences at EAMO was tucking the children into bed. They soak up the attention of having someone to pull up their covers and give them a goodnight cuddle. The older children are allowed to stay up and study and love engaging in meaningful conversation about where we are from and what we do. We hear them tell us of their aspirations of becoming doctors and scientists – all very achievable with the recognised level of education they receive at EAMO.
We spend our second afternoon at EAMO playing an organised soccer match. It's Gecko’s versus EAMO, however we do adopt some of the children onto our team who prove to be some of our star players! Our captain is Kev – our Gecko’s Local Leader from Nairobi who has joined us for every activity so far at EAMO ,often having several children hanging off his arms at any one time. We put up a good fight but come out with a 5 – 7 defeat. The EAMO team shake hands with us and say “good game” with big grins on their faces.
When it finally comes to saying our farewell, many of the children have written us letters. We had already given the donations we have individually brought for EAMO to May to distribute where she thought necessary, however when saying goodbye I give my favourite girl Jerusa a little necklace of mine as a gift.
We previously asked to see the list of children who need sponsorship and everyone in the group finds the names of the children they bonded with during our visit. Each child needs at least three sponsors to cover their costs. Jerusa only has one so far and I plan to organise the sponsorship once I am back in Australia via email.
We are all welcome to come back and volunteer at EAMO anytime we wish and are assured returning Gecko’s travellers are given first priority. The group is quiet as we leave, filled with mixed emotions. We all know this experience will stay with us forever.
Chani Hood