Soiya Gecaga

"I am a 26 year old Kenyan, who has lived  most of my life abroad. I am currently based in London. I finished law school last summer and will be starting work at a law firm in London next year. I have decided to take some time off before I start work, and as I had not spent much time in my home country other than when I was a child I decided to start there.

 

Nyumbani is a hospice with children who have AIDS and HIV. Most of the children come from the slum areas of Nairobi and have been either abandoned or orphaned. I worked there Monday through Friday and worked with a team of approximately 10-12 volunteers. The volunteers came from Kenya, the UK and the USA. I had various duties each day and they ranged from cleaning the centre (mopping the floors etc), to teaching the younger children in pre school, to helping the 'mothers' look after their children in their cottages.

 

The mothers are women who are employed by the hospice to look after approximately 12 children each. It is the aim of Nyumbani to make the environment as home like as possible for the children..so they all live in cottages with a 'mother.'  When I first arrived I was slightly taken aback at how ill some of the children were, but after a couple of days I soon realised that these children are like any others. They are just as loving, kind, cheeky and naughty.

 

All that was required from me, was to show these children love. As it was pointed out to us by one of our bosses, it could mean the extension of a childs life by a few days or even weeks. I spent about 2 months there and can say today without a doubt that it was the most rewarding experience that I have had. I have made life long friends and cannot wait to continue to help children in any way I can. I have learned more about myself and about humanity in the past couple of months than in the previous 25 years of my life."