A visit from Kenya to say thank you to Rotary

In October, four of our team from Kenya came across to the UK, at their own personal expense, to say thank you to the Rotary clubs and our supporters for their generosity. As the highlight of the trip they gave a very successful presentation to the Rotary joint district conference for Essex and East Anglia. The theme for their talk was “Hope”, and they all spoke about their own personal experience of seeing what it means to our students to have hope for a better future. They took the opportunity to meet a number of different Rotary organisations who have given very kind support, both at a club and a personal level. It was amazing that the team all took this opportunity and paid for their own travel costs, considering the flight costs represent several months’ salary.

The Kenyan team who visited

Our Kenyan team consisted of Nancy Wangila, our school manager, member of the Rotary Club of Mombasa Downtown, Vivian Perose, an HR specialist and one of our charity trustees, a member of the Rotary Club of Nairobi Langata, Enos Kiforo, the chair of the board of governors for the school, and the president of the Rotary Club of Mombasa North Coast, plus Enos’ wife Lilian, who runs a school in Mombasa and is also a member of the Rotary Club of Mombasa North Coast. We receive an amazing amount of support on the ground in Kenya from the local Rotary clubs, both directly for the school and for initiatives like the medical camps we have facilitated.

While the other three members of the team are experienced speakers, Nancy had never spoken in public before and was more than a little nervous in the lead up to the district conference. She’d been practising in the days beforehand, and when she spoke so deeply from the heart about the background of our children, and what the school means to them, there were a few tears in the audience. We were all very proud of Nancy. It was lovely to see so many people speaking to the Kenyan team during the course of the rest of the day, they really made an impact.

Rotary and others certainly looked after our visitors

The team were hosted for a week by several Rotarians and looked after by a number of clubs and Rotary members. They met the Rotary Club of Bedford for an evening of fun and friendship, and did the same with the District 1070 E-Club. They attended the charter lunch with the Rotary Club of St Neots, where they were able to thank the club in person for supporting the global grant that enabled the first phase of the school to be built. At one point the team also had the pleasure of meeting three district governors in one day. They met Chris Knight (district 1070), Ann Moriaty (district 1240), and Ian Graham (district 1080).

Individual Rotarians very kindly organised social events, including where the team were able to visit Wrest Park in Bedfordshire, have a guided tour of St Albans, including a visit to the cathedral, where the Bishop of St Albans was lucky enough to meet our guests (or was that the other way around). Several Rotarians hosted evening meals for the team and other Rotary members.

Thanks go to Sally Searle (our chair trustee), Mary Whitehead and Dick and Brenda Wilkinson for opening up their homes to our visitors. Thanks also to Keith Hichisson, Val Beale and Alan Brighton for hosting events, plus of course all the Rotary clubs who were involved. Particular thanks go to Bedford Rotary Club for their support towards the UK costs of the visit.

One of our (non Rotary!) supporters, realising this was a trip of a lifetime for the team, organised and paid for a day out in London. They visited the Science Museum, went on an open top London tour bus trip (where they all froze), went on the London Eye, and finished with a boat trip along the Thames, past the Tower of London. The team all slept very soundly on the train back from London.

Nancy said afterwards “It was the most adventurous trip of my life! This was my very first trip outside of Kenya and every part of it gave me a new experience.”

Far better than duty free …

Well we all like a bargain, and our Kenyan team are no different. During the trip to London the team ate at the John Lewis restaurant in Oxford Street. On the way out of John Lewis the ladies stopped to look at the clothes department and were dumbstruck at some of the prices, like a pair of jeans costing the equivalent of a couple of months’ salary in Kenya. As a complete contrast, Sally, our chair trustee, took the team to the MS Centre in Barkers Lane, Bedford. After a guided tour that brought home the amazing facilities to help sufferers, the team were let loose in the charity shop above the centre. Time to shop – and worry about would it all fit in the suitcases later. It would be difficult to find a bigger contrast to Oxford Street prices and value, and the team bought some lovely clothes to take home.