Justice delayed is justice denied

Africa » Kenya » Nairobi Province » Nairobi
July 12th 2009

Published: July 12th 2009

Writing today with brighter eyes than last. Visiting the IDP camp in Eldoret was another life changing experience. I titled this blog with a quote I read in the Daily Nation today. Justice delayed is justice denied and I couldn't agree more. Living in Kenya has opened my eyes up to news beyond celebrity lifestyles and sports. I hope that the ICC gives justice to the victims of the post election violence. They;ve suffered long enough and it needs to be finished with. After having interacted with the refugees, makes the news now seem real. Before I could never connect with such news stories, but having seen how they live, I can now put personal stories along with what I see or read in the news.

We went to the camp with ideas and left with several projects in the works. The camp started out with 250,000 refugees and now has 2, 083. But those two thousand people have been left with no food, no water, no resources and little hope. You could tell right away that our presence alone brightened the spirits of the people of the camp, especially the children. If I had my way, I would have adopted all of them. I couldn't help but fall in love with a few, and one of the little girls I had to have John take away from me because I couldn't put her down. I might go back next week with John to see how our projects are doing and check on Magda, my UK roommate whom we left there to handle the projects. Magda will be starting a nursery school for the children of the camp that are too young to attend school. The nursery will not only provide food and activities for the children but an outlet so they don't have to think about the terrible things they have witnessed. The little girl I couldn't bear to let go, was still in shock from all the violence she had witnessed and not spoken a word since arriving at the camp over a year ago. It's clear that many of these children will never recover, and more than anything they need to be shown love and affection. I hope that is what our projects will provide since they have no one else that will help them. The first day we were there, we avoided taking pictures because they had told us that many other organizations had come only to take pictures, and given only broken promises. We made sure to prove our differences, and didn't take any pictures until the following day when we came with supplies such as cups for porridge and material to make school uniforms for those children who had been kicked out of school. We also paid for the tuition for several students, and visited their schools to talk to their headmasters to allow them to return to school while their uniforms were being made. I really fell in love with the people of the camp, especially because they seemed so eager to receive our help. I was impressed at how quickly our projects came together in a matter of minutes of arriving. I believe that they were just waiting for someone to take the slightest interest in them, and a little hope would go far. As soon as they saw we were serious about helping them, we had a crowd surrounding us with people handing us their resumes, or telling us how they could be of assistance. It was the first day where I instantly felt like I was making a difference, and I never want that feeling to go away. It was hard leaving the camp, but I have a feeling it won't be my last time meeting with them.

To rejuvenate a little after our last few days of chaos, John decided to take us to the Ugandan border. We walked a lot further into Uganda then I thought we could, especially since none of us had our passports with us, but I can technically say that I have been to Uganda. The border towns were very interesting because both sides had people telling us that we were now on the "safe" side. I even got a text message on my ZAIN line that send welcome to Uganda.

We left Magda at a Catholic church next to the camp, where she will be living for her three weeks. I hope I meet up with her again, because after all that we went through the last few days, we became really good friends. It's interesting how immediately close you feel after sharing such an experience. I think we're officially friends for life, 😊.

I've reached a point in my travels where I've realized that the friends you meet on the road are very different from friends you have back home. Travel friends are the most real and reliable friends that you will ever have. You can not only share many experiences with one another, but they're actually friends that you can count on for anything. Now don't get me wrong, I love my friends at home, and they are real friends but the difference is I feel that the friends you have where you live you take for granted and assume that they will always be there, therefore you're not always the "greatest friend" to them. You get so caught up in your life that you forget how to be a friend to many. On the road you have no choice but to be a good friend, otherwise you will end up alone, lost or in trouble. The people that I have met here are friends that I will have for my lifetime. They've shown me great hospitality, care and love. It's amazing to think that Ive only known them for a few weeks because it feels like forever. I say all the time that one day here feels like five days, so I guess if you multiply five by the number of days I've been here, it feels like I've been here several months, so you can imagine the love in our friendship. Traveling makes you a better person in so many ways. I have so much more respect for people. I just hope I carry all the feelings with me back to America.

I'm starting to feel like I belong here, (but don't worry I know where home is) and will be very sad when I have to leave. Kasey leaves in two days and I think it will be a completely different experience without her. I'm sad but I know like all my other friends I've made here, that she's another friend for life. WE laugh everyday about how close we have become. I consider her a sister, especially because everyone thinks we're sisters here anyways (all mzungos are related, didn't you know?),

Anyways, it's getting late and I still have to take a mat back to Kiserian from here in Rongai, so I'll see you when I see you. xoxo

Justice delayed is justice denied

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