Mira spent her summer 2013 in Kenya. Here's her story from an unforgettable summer as an AIESEC exchange participant in Global Citizen.
"Kenya, Eldoret, Sweet Angels
Special School, that was my internship place in Summer 2013. I was
blessed to have a chance to work with small angels with broken wings (=
children with disabilities). I´m studying occupational therapy and the
school took the maximum advance of using my skills. So I was working as
occupational therapist doing individual therapy for children with
cerebral palsy, autism and paralysis. Also I was helping in kitchen
preparing food, feeding children and playing with them on breaks.
In the beginning I was a bit terrified about the condition of the
children. It was worse than I had thought. On the website it was said
that the teaching is in English so I expected the children to know at
least the basics of English. Well there was one girl out of 30 who spoke
English and maybe 5 others who spoke some of it. I felt devastated, how
will I communicate with them? Little by little I started to
notice that I was learning to understand them and vice versa. The
role of body language is huge.
Like in most places, in Kenya I loved the nature most. Plants, animals and the sea on the coast are the things which will stay in my mind - together with the
people there.
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| Mira and Daisy |
I became part of the Local Committee MOI, and some of it's members
became lifetime friends for me. All the children of the school of course
left mark to my heart but there was one special girl. Daisy is the
one I miss the most in Kenya, she is my angel, she is the one who makes
me both cry and smile, she is something I would have liked to take home
with me.
I faced a lot of challenges yes. My computer was stolen, my phone was
stolen, my camera was stolen, I had some tropical fever and I had a
pretty serious bicycle accident. It was tough at times, I won't try to cover it up.
I'm a warning example of that that you must be very careful, but also
that you must be ready to face challenges. When you are over there it's no use worrying about them, you are still experiencing something unique and
worrying is just wasting your time. And if everything doesn't go like
you thought with your work, accommodation etc. just think about the
possibilities what this new situation can offer for you. I had to move 3
times. Well, I had a chance to live in 3 different places surrounded by
different people and environment. Positive mindset hungry for any kind
of experiences, that´s what makes the internship the time of your life!
Just go for it!"
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| All pictures ©Mira Metsälehto |
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