Case for Africa: Opportunities to Learn & Share Experiences

May 7, 2019

The Green Lion

The Experiences of Cristina Andrés from Spain

My name is Cristina, I am from Spain and I’m 27 years old.

I had the pleasure to meet the beautiful country of Kenya with its people last February 2019. Since I arrived to the Kenyan airport and have meet Emmah, one of the Green Lion members , it started one of the best experience in my life. One of the first things have impressed me was the life of the country, full of animals, plants and people in all my way between the airport and Gatanga Village.

I have joined the school program and the kids have teach me more things that I could teach them. Since the first moment, the word that I have listened more was Mzungu (white person) and becomes a word with a lot of meaning, which showed in the kids face a excitement to know a foreign person and ask as much questions as possible. Along this two weeks I have join the 1st, 2nd and 8th grade during the English and mathematics classes. Even with too less materials the kids do not lose the desire and illusion to go to the school, the passion to learn something new every day and the dream to have a better future having the opportunity to go to university or college when the times arrive. This is something admirable, even more when they sometimes do not have even a pen or pencil to write, a new netbook for each subject or sometimes a book to follow the lesson. Moreover the teachers also make a great job, managing groups of children sometimes bigger than 50 kids and using the materials they have to teach something new everyday.

Out of the experience in the school, everything in Kenya was a opportunity to learn something, joining a Matatu and speaking with the local people, getting blessings from grandmothers, visiting the hospital and its facilities, going to the market, visiting families with needs and listening their stories of overcoming….

With the 4 members of the The Green Lion: Monica, Emmah, Kelly and Martha, I have felt like at home and thanks of them, the experience could fulfilled all my expectations. without them, this experience could not be the same and I could not participate in much projects and experiences as I did. The facilities, conditions and environment in the village are really different to the big city, and even with this, they could organize the two weeks as good as they did.

Last but not least was the visit to the National Park of Masai Mara, in order to join a Safari and know the beautiful of the fauna in Kenya. The trip to arrive to the national park was long, around 8 hours driving, but there I could have meet the 5 most dangerous animals in the African Savannah and the Masai tribe.

In resume, Kenya and my 4 girls (The Green Lion agents) have given me more than a experience for live, more than a second home and more than a second family; in my heart I will always keep the smiles of the kids, the colors of the soil and the trees, the smell of the food, the light of the sun and the stars and the big hearts that this country it has allowed me to know.

Thank you for everything, I will be back.

The Green Lion

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