"Living in the moment is a big thing in Kenya. They celebrate what they have and don't worry about what they don't have." (Holly, Patrick Fogarty Student)
For the second year, students from our Catholic secondary schools experienced a journey of a life time as part of the Kenya experience curriculum. Under the guidance of teachers Anna Statkiewicz and Lyndsay McGowan (and others), 44 students in Grades 11 and 12 from St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Barrie and Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School in Orillia embarked on a 17 day journey to Kenya where they took part in building schools in a small village. But this was not the beginning of the journey.
As part of a leadership for global change course, students apply to take a three credit course and those that were accepted began their preparations in September. There are leadership, faith and academic components to the courses and students learn about Kenya's history and geography, social justice and poverty among other themes and topics.
Prior to the trip, both schools did extensive fundraising throughout the year to help pay for the journey. That too was a tremendous learning experience. The highlight of the learning is the trip to Kenya and working with the Maasai Mara people and children. In partnership with Free the Children, the students worked side by side with the Maasai builders - known as fundies - to build schools for children in some of the most impoverished areas in Kenya.
They worked as a team with the basic tools, performing manual labour in scorching temperatures as part of their experience. As Sarah, a Patrick Fogarty student noted, "We used their tools and techniques because it helps them to make this project sustainable after we left."
Our students also got to provide lessons to the Maasai students and to walk with the "Mamas" each day to retrieve water. Taylor, another Patrick Fogarty student, had this to say about the Maasai people, "They welcomed us into their homes and made us feel as if we were so important to them, but in reality, they were so important to us. We got to learn from them and to ask them about their lives - we were supposed to be role models for them, but they were also role models for us."
Commenting on her experience, Chaplaincy team leader Andrea Michael from St. Joseph's said, "The Maasai Mara people have their families, community church and education and that is their focus - and they are the happiest people we have ever met."
After their return, the students have an action plan - they will share their learning experience by making presentations to fellow high school students, to other Catholic high schools and elementary schools and to various community groups who were so instrumental in supporting their earlier fundraising activities.
Art Coates, the Chaplaincy team leader at Patrick Fogarty, explained, "You can't answer the question - what have I learned? It is more - what I have become following the journey."
--Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board.
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