(Photo courtesy of Taylor Bergmann)
By Taylor Bergmann & Elle Hoxworth
Editor's Note: Elle Hoxworth and Taylor Bergmann, both seniors, spent their summer on the East Africa Internship working with Western Education Advocacy and Empowerment Program and Kakamega Environmental Education Program, two local non-profit organizations, through Foundation for Sustainable Development.
Sustainable development is a model focused on finding locally-based, sustainable solutions that encourage members of underdeveloped communities to take an active and leadership role in the development of their communities. This is a new program run through the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership.
Elle: Here are the images that come to mind when I think about Kenya. Joseph inviting me to the village he was born in, because he believes you can't truly know an African until you've met the land of his or her ancestors.
This summer, the World Cup glued everyone to TVs around the globe, especially in Africa. When my Kenyan family and I were watching together, we would stop everything and dance as Shakira celebrated Africa through song.
Another image is the women of Shangilia Mama (Swahili for "Celebrate Women") lighting up with eager anticipation at the suggestion that we produce handbags instead of aprons, because it was a product they were familiar with and all wanted to have. Shangilia Mama is the small fair trade business and training program I began through Western Education Advocacy and Empowerment Program (WEAEP). These same women traveled an hour on foot to show up for training and took a 10-minute lunch break instead of the designated hour so they could practice longer and learn more.
I can still feel the joy of teaching my host family about guacamole, which they requested daily after our first taste together.
Finally, I'll never forget the children singing and laughing behind me, as they did every day I walked to work.
This is the Kenya and the glimpse of Africa that we hope UP comes to know and love. It is a colorful picture of many different people from different backgrounds and tribal affiliations coming together to make their country and continent a better place today and for generations to come. We were honored to work and celebrate with them.
Taylor: The Kakamega Environmental Education (KEEP) program is a community-based organization in Kakamega, Kenya that educates local primary and secondary school children about the resources of the rainforest. I can't describe the feeling of showing up for a workshop with an expectation that maybe 30 kids would come from the schools I'd visited yesterday, and instead found 400 waiting.
On August 4, 2010, Kenyans came together to pass a new constitution, the first since the British colonized Kenya. Beyond a few isolated incidents there was no political violence; Kenyans have moved past the divisive 2007 elections, holding a fair and free election that reunited the country. This extraordinary event was something that happened in a Kenya, one which my friend from Kenya, Anderson Esaranda, described as "the bright future of Africa, the youth becoming involved and shaping their own destiny, their own tomorrow."
This is the Africa we met. We want to tell you about the hospitality, the joy, the patience, the creativity and the millions of people working to improve their own communities. We found the stories beyond Nigeria's instability, "Pirate Militias Armed to Fight in Somalia," and the "UN Congo Releasing Report with Updates on Genocide." The story we met in Kenya was one of hope and promise, young and committed individuals working by our side day in and day out, for little or no pay to help foster leadership and civic engagement in their communities.
Taylor Bergmann is a senior history major and can be contacted at bergmann12@up.edu. Elle Hoxworth is a senior political science and sociology major and can be contacted at hoxworth11@up.edu.
(Photo courtesy of Elle Hoxworth)
