Group photo cutline: The Me to We participants are, back row from left, Anjali Sehgal, Megan Liu, Allie Chessick, Kaylee Goren-Hague, Sydney Lewis, Ashley Wunsch, Willow Morgan, Sachee Vora and Kelly Tarr. Middle row, from left, Paige Knechtel, Megan Leahy, Elizabeth Pinault, Claire Talbot, Hannah Alper, Jennifer Ballon and Sonya Strocen. Front row, from left, Simon Wang and Klaire Todd.
by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEAWTER REGION (Beachburg) — Paige Knechtel spent about two weeks helping to construct a school in Irkaat, Kenya Africa. When she wasn’t building, she was touring, learning and having fun before her post-secondary education begins in Nova Scotia.
Through Me to We, she was in Kenya July 5 to the 24. The participants flew to Nairobi and then were driven Irkaat, where they stayed for the duration.
Most of the trip she was helping to build a school. She also visited the new hospital, two all-girl high schools (We Schools), visited a farm that was brought into the community by We and played with the children, who range in grades from kindergarten to Grade 8. However, she explained, in primary school, there could be adults as well.
There were 18 participants on the trip and prior to arrival, Paige knew no one.
“I had talked to one girl beforehand on line and met her quickly at a We day in Ottawa, but none of us knew each other before the trip,” she said.
Paige said it was nerve-wracking meeting complete strangers, but since it was an alumni trip, they had all been to camp with Me to We or another trip.
“All but two had been on a trip,” she said. “We all knew what the trip was about, we all knew what to expect.
“It wasn’t that hard to make friends with everyone, because we all had the same mind-set and goals,” she said. “We all wanted to help.”
However, Paige did admit since her Ottawa flight was cancelled, she had to re-book, and on that flight, she met up with another participant.
The goal of the Me to We project was to build a school and learn more about setbacks in the five pillars that We believes in, which are education, water, health, agriculture and income.
“Most villages that WE works with want to start with education, because that is most important,” Paige said.
Education and water are the two things Me to We works on first, then the other three, she explained.
The community she was in had five schools and two others were under construction. There was also a water kiosk beside the schools. This allowed the students to collect water and bring it home to their families, she said.
Health is a tough one and there is only one hospital in the area, Paige said. The hospital provides an ambulance that travels to one of four communities each weekend. The ambulance personnel provide health care for children, such as immunization needles, and checking pregnant women. When a woman will soon give birth, she is taken to the hospital. Previously, the women had to walk to the hospital and at times, this meant a baby was born on the side of the road.
Paige said what she enjoyed most about the trip was building the school and touring the area to see how the schools have impacted the communities.
“We had the opportunity to tour around and see the impact they had made, of being a part of something special, because anyone can visit the schools, but not everyone gets to help build something that is going to make an impact,” she explained. “I found that really neat to experience.”
This school will impact the children’s lives for years down the road, and Paige was a part of constructing the school, which means having an impact on those lives.
Paige also experienced warrior training with the guides.
“That was pretty cool,” she said adding, “It was pretty funny seeing everyone try it.”
She brought home a conga, which is a weapon. It’s a thick piece of wood shaped like a bat with a ball at the end of it – but it’s all one piece. As a weapon, a person holds onto it, swings their arm back and then tosses it. If tossed correctly, the ball-shaped end will hit whatever it is being tossed at with accuracy.
She also tried a bow and arrow, however, with no slot in the bow for the arrow, it’s very difficult to hold onto it correctly and then release it.
“They make it look so easy, but it’s not really easy,” Paige said with a laugh. “It’s hard to aim.”
Paige also went on a safari, “which was really cool.” They saw giraffes, zebras and wildebeasts. There are all types of antelopes, she added.
“We saw a (male) lion, which was pretty cool,” Paige said.
There was also an opportunity to see two female lions, but they were difficult to see because they were camouflaged in the bush.
They had lunch on a ledge above a watering hole, which gave them a good view of hippopotamuses.
“They make weird sounds,” she said.
In a nearby conservation area, where they were not allowed to travel, an elephant was spotted in the distance, she said.
“It’s rare to see an elephant,” Paige said.
Something Paige did like was there were no bugs and the temperature throughout the day was about 25 degrees, but colder at night. She noted it was their winter and they found it strange to see the guides wearing sweaters, because they found the day-time temperature cool. However, the girls going to school were also wondering why the We participants weren’t wearing sweaters, as they were finding it very cold.
But, there were also lessons, or modules, to do as well. These provided opportunities to learn about the communities.
She participated in a water walk, which is what most women do so they can get water. The women, as well as some children, will go to the watering holes, or kiosks if available, to get water. They carry the water in 20 litre jugs on their backs — some even carrying a smaller jug in front of them. They would use what looked like a scarf on their heads and the jug would be carried in it on their backs. Paige had the opportunity to carry the jug on her back and found it very difficult.
Paige had an opportunity to visit the surgical unit of the hospital, and she discovered “they were very proud and excited for their hospital.” The hospital is mostly set up for women to give birth or have C-sections, she said. There is also a neo-natal unit.
“Before the hospital was built, they would have babies on the side of the road, some of them dying before they could get medical help,” Paige added. “But, even today, people have to travel a long ways to get to the hospital.”
It’s amazing the impact this one hospital has on the area, she added.
There were one to two modules each day, Paige said. A module is a lesson, and depending on the type, she said after the water walk, they would have lessons on the water module.
“There were activities to do in the module, and those activities helped us learn different things,” she explained. “They were very thought-provoking activities and lessons.”
They also had an opportunity to do role reversal – which means the males were females and females were males.
“Our group of guys woke up an hour earlier than us and collected firewood,” she said, adding, “And us females who took on the male roles, we got up an hour later and just sat and did home work, which was a neat experience.”
They visited a bowman camp, which is where the people live in mud huts with only mats to sit and sleep on. They also tried a traditional breakfast of corn porridge.
One of the modules they worked on was of the world, “which I think, was probably the most eye-opening module,” Paige said.
Explaining, she said they were given different tasks, such as guessing the population of a country, which continent consumed the most food; and worked on the GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
“We learned lots of stuff about the world,” Paige said. “We learned about different things we can do at home, such as better water consumption.”
Paige also spent time with a group of mamas. The females mostly do housework, so the Me to We organization created a way for the women to make an income, which is making bracelets.
We sells them in their stores, online and at various We events.
“We got to make the bracelets with the mamas and talk to them about how this opportunity changed their lives,” Paige said. “They’re very grateful for the opportunity, because before they were doing nothing except watching the kids and cleaning the house.
“Beading has given them an extra income and a way to do something with their life,” she said. “They’re hoping a new centre to be built, will have a daycare, so their children can go with them while they work.”
The participants had an opportunity to create a beaded necklace, but Paige noted the mamas can do it very quickly, while the newcomers had a difficult time. She explained that most We things sold have a tracking number on it, so whoever owns it can see where the item’s money is going to.
Paige also had an opportunity to meet the Me to We founders, Craig and Mark Kielburger. Craig actually started the program when he was 12 years old, but it was called Free the Children, which snowballed and is now Me to We. They also met Jon Levy, the CEO and co-founder of Mastermind Toys; and Spencer West and Hannah Helper, two motivational speakers for We. She noted Hannah is only 13 years old.
Paige is home now for another two weeks before heading off to StFX University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where she is enrolled in the four-year undergrad program to earn a Bachelor of Art and Science in Health. She is hoping to participate in a We to Me program if there is one available at the university.
