District Children's Office

This morning we went to see one of the MGEF students who just graduated from college and is now teaching in Kajiado! Then we took a bus to the District Children’s Office in Kajiado. We had a meeting with the office about Osiligi Village, the rescue center that MGEF wants to start. It was interesting to walk through all of the government offices. At the office, we met Sophie who is the Chair of the MGEF Board. I had heard a lot about Sophie but had never met her. She is an amazing and strong woman and she actually is in charge of the Girl Guides in Kajiado. It was very cool to talk with her because I have been a Girl Scout since I was 5 years old!

Our meeting with the District Children’s Office went well! There is a school outside of Kajiado that has some extra land so we met with three of the directors of the school to discuss whether we could use that land for Osiligi Village. It was very cool to sit in that meeting and feel like I grasped the mission of MGEF. I didn’t feel like a two-month intern that was just tagging along to see a meeting. I wanted to be involved, I cared about the outcome of the meeting, and I was able to speak and express my concerns/opinion throughout the meeting. Another highlight of the meeting is when the officer asked Lucy what MGEF does. Lucy and Sophie looked at each other for a second, and then Lucy handed over a copy of the MGEF newsletter before launching into the long explanation of everything MGEF does in the community. The officer was very intrigued by the newsletter and it was awesome to be able to give her something tangible to read about the great work of MGEF. She was so surprised that we were sponsoring so many girls and that we even sponsor them through university! It is amazing how much of a difference a simple piece of paper can make. MGEF has been doing this work for years now, but for some reason seeing all of it together on a piece of paper just blows people away!

After the meeting, we then attended the Kajiado District Education Day. There were speeches given by headmasters and directors and many of the schools had their students perform songs and dances. It was amazing to see some of the Maasai culture come out in the performances! While I was at the ceremony, I saw a bunch of the children from the Children’s Home. I also recognized many of the headmasters because I met them while visiting the schools where MGEF sends its students. It was awesome to feel like I am no longer a stranger in this place! That night I finally took some time to relax, process all of my experiences, and just be by myself for a little bit. Every day here is jam packed with amazing experiences, and I never want to miss a single second with MGEF, the children, or my friends. But I realized that I was running on no energy. So I played some inspirational music, journaled about my thoughts, and just laid in my bed. I never could have imagined a year ago or even three months ago where I would be in life right now. My experiences here in Kenya have really helped me realize that everything happens for a reason…you just don’t always have the privileged of knowing that reason at the time.