IDAK conference – resilience

 

My final ‘assignment’ on this trip has been a couple of speaking slots on the inaugural IDAK students conference, which took place over 3 days in Ngong, just outside of Nairobi.

IDAK, or I Dream Again Kenyanito Foundation to give its full name, is a fairly young organisation based in Kenya, and with the aim of helping vulnerable and disadvantaged to dream again. Their work involves feeding programmes at schools to enable primary children to complete full days of schooling rather than having to walk miles home in the middle of the day to get some food and then not having time to return, or try and manage a full day on no food. They’ve also collaborated with communities to plant fruit, shade and fuel trees and in so doing help those communities dream again of a lifestyle that has some sustainable food production opportunities in it. They’ve built homes for elderly people who were living in very poor conditions and had stopped dreaming of living their final years in a home with no leaks; and they’ve helped some women dream again through the provision of start up funds for small businesses.

The other area that IDAK is helping dreams start again is through the provision of bursaries for high-school students who otherwise would not have been able to afford the school fees. And it was these 22 students who were at the conference this week.

It was a residential conference, and the students had a great time getting to know each other, and attending a number of talks from different speakers (including yours truly) relating to resilience. Their participation grew with confidence and familiarity with each other, and there was impressive note taking going on, evidence of a real determination to make the most of their opportunity to dream of education and working their way out of the impoverished start that had been their lot in life. Some of the students were from Nairobi, and some from further afield but by the end of the time together some strong new friendships had clearly been formed. On the final full day we walked in the Ngong Hills, and the resilience on that occasion was shown through not giving up despite the steepness of some of the hills! The views from the top were certainly worth the climb!

I was on the bus that took the Nairobi students back to their home of Kibera settlement, Initially the chatter was loud and happy as they shared stories and laughed at memories made. But as we neared the city, and the green was replaced with grey, and the space was replaced with urban density, the conversation quietened. I commented on this to one of the leaders and was reminded that not only was it a reflection of the impending end of the time together, but it was also a reflection of what the students were having to return to. No more bed to themselves, no more mattress on the bed, no more 3 meals a day, no more water on tap, and electricity at the flick of a switch, no more free bathing, and a nearby toilet. Yes the students have that at school, but during the school breaks (which is what they are in now), life is very different, and much more difficult.

The conference was a wonderful opportunity to learn, to develop personally, to grow spiritually, to make new friends. But it was also a little bit of time of pampering. These young people so deserve that opportunity, and it was a privilege to be part of it.