Network
Steph Dawes
Location:
USA
University: MSU
Regions of interest: Africa
Skills: work with children, women's empowerment, teaching, photography/documentary
Volunteer Activity:
Kibera Girls Soccer Academy
Education for the Future Foundation
Stories by this Volunteer
Nov 19, 2009: Final update from Kenya
Education for the Future Foundation, by Steph Dawes
January 27, 2011 | 1 comment
Hey All, I can’t believe that I only have a week and a half left in my internship and time in Kenya. The time has certainly flown by and as I expected, as my time comes to a close I am left with a mixed feelings that I can best describe as bittersweet. These last six weeks especially, have been amazing because I feel like I finally got my internship with EFF and my projects with KGSA under control and actually flowing really well. It is also during these months where my social network has really developed. I finally feel like I am starting to develop a healthy balance through which I can accomplish my objectives AND spend time with friends exploring Kenya.EFF Update: Since my return from Western, the last “big”...
Oct 7-9: EFF Visit to Western and Nyanza Provinces
Education for the Future Foundation, by Steph Dawes
January 27, 2011
yo yo yo- Lucy and I left for Western Province on an Easy Coach bus on Wednesday, October 7th. We traveled along much the same route as Pat and I traveled on our voyage to Kakamega National Reserve in Western Kenya. We arrived in the Busia area late in the afternoon, and Lucy and I headed to a small restaurant to eat a solid meal before walking a ways to her rural, “upcountry” home. While walking, I had one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my time in Kenya thus far. An elderly woman spotted me (a mzungu woman) walking down the path, and decided to "escort?" me to my next destination. She kept calling out to her friends and turning to others and bowing and basically making a spectacle of my presence. Here, I was trying to...
Nov 3, 2009: Sexual Abuse in Kenyan Schools?
by Steph Dawes
January 27, 2011
Hey all,Today in the Daily Nation, one of Kenya's most promising newspapers, shed light on a very important-disturbing- issue in Kenyan schools: sexual abuse. As if students do not already experience enough pressure- to get good grades, much less afford school tuition- they also have to deal with sexual abuse from the very educators who should be their role models. check it out: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/680450/-/item/0/-/42b7n3/-/index.htmlI am glad this is coming into the spotlight. Let's see how Kenya reacts to this- and if the reaction turns into action.-Steph...
Oct 27,2009: I'm going on a lion hunt!
by Steph Dawes
January 27, 2011
So, a couple of months ago… (Oops…) Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) had a parade through the bright and thriving town of Nairobi. The band played music and marched through the streets. Traffic came to a standstill. 50 Life size, fiberglass statues of lions decorated in varying colors and designs were distributed on strategic street corners all over the city (and just outside of it) to raise awareness about lion conservation. These lions were sponsored by companies and schools and decorated by Kenyan artists and students. The lion was chosen for many reasons including the fact that there are only 2,100 lions left from around 30,000 in the 1970’s (and they are on top of the food chain, helping with important ecosystem maintenance) and that they are the backbone of the Kenyan tourist industry.
January 27, 2011 Jambo Rafiki! Pole sana (very sorry) for the lack of entries during the last almost month… I have been –very- busy traveling and planning. Where have I been traveling? Well, if you already forgot, take a look at my last blog entry- I have been to the Coast and then to the other side of the country- in Nyanza province and Western Province. Each location has held different objectives and different experiences. Shall we begin the recount? YES!Wednesday Aug 23: Began trip up to the Coast. Well, you all already have a pretty in depth look at Mombasa from my previous trip over there with Pat. But suffice it to say, that it was different given the different objectives (in this case, work versus play). Lucy and I traveled with the... January 27, 2011 Rafiki, Nina habari poa! ( I have cool news!)Wow, with all that has happened with EFF it is hard to believe that I have had that much time to spend with Kibera Girls Soccer Academy,right? WRONG. During August, one of my most saving graces were my twice a week trips out to KGSA to continue planning the sack garden project and spend time with the teachers and students that so encourage and support me. During this time as well, the funding came through for the sack garden project (Thanks to EFF’s own Courtney, let’s give her a round of applause ::clap clap::) So, with that, the project began. The first step, of course was to get the well digging under way. See, when we were putting together the initial budget, we... January 27, 2011 At 8:00am on August 22, Pat and I boarded an Easy Coach bus, leaving the bustling city of Nairobi, for the rain forested town of Kakamega. As the hours passed, dry Nairobi province became more and more verdant. We entered Western province and were met with tea plantations, banana trees, and a plethora of deep green plants- a big change from the brownish grass that graces Nairobi. After a long day of travel, Kakamega greeted us, with, you won’t believe this... Rain. And not just a light rain. We were met with a torrential downpour that soaked through our clothes in about 5 seconds, as we clamored off the bus, and slid around on the muddy road as we grabbed our packs out of the bus’ underside. We stopped in... January 27, 2011 Rafiki zangu,After such a busy week tracking Hillary Clinton around Nairobi and sitting in traffic for extended periods of time, the only real option was that Pat (my boyfriend who spent three months in Kenya working for SOTENI, an organization that addresses HIV/AIDS) and I escaped to Mombasa, the coastal port of Kenya and East Africa, for a long weekend of relaxation and exploration. Pat and I headed off to Mombasa on Friday morning (Aug 7) via a MASH bus, which basically a greyhound Kenyan style, meaning that we scored bottled water, juice, AND biscuits. All I am saying, is this is the way to travel AND it is cheaper than greyhound covering a longer distance. Touche, grey hound. Touche. Needless to say, we boarded the bus around 9:30a and didn’t... January 27, 2011 The first week in August (Aug 5-8), was a momentous one for Kenya, if not ridiculously busy for me! The 8th Forum of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) took place in town from Tuesday to Thursday, welcoming leaders and diplomats from all over Africa to the Kenyan International Conference Center (KICC), a building I walk by almost every day. (In the picture to the left, it is the tall building that looks like it has a space ship on top!)[For a little background, the United States supports the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is intended to enable African economies to grow by increasing free access to American markets through increasing imports from and exports to America. Critics claim that this promotes dependence on foreign industry rather... January 27, 2011 Rafiki Zangu,Since my arrival, I have lived with two families, both of which have a close identification with religion and close relationship with God. The families attend church regularly, and it is nice because it is actually the same church, located in South B, which is about a half hour drive from my first host family in Yaya and a five minute drive from South C, where I currently live. I have attended church services at Mariakani Christian Centre(MCC) three or so times since I have been here, and am consistently struck with the differences to my experience at Good Shepherd Lutheran- the church in which I grew up. Note: American churches are meant as the Lutheran, Presbyterian and Catholic churches that I have attended throughout my life to this point.MCC... January 27, 2011 Jambo Rafiki Zangu,Two posts ago, I wrote a message about KGSA that mentioned how they recently lost their feeding program. As of that post, almost two weeks have passed and Kibera Girl's School is feeding their girl's off the last installment from Vision Africa and donations from friends of the school. Also, since that two week period, I have started volunteering at KGSA twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, after I finish my language classes in Kilimani (very close to Yaya, the area where I lived for my first month here.) While volunteering I have helped with a variety of projects, from teaching a Form 2 (Sophomore) Biology class to typing exams and I guess, just learning about what secondary education is really like in Kenya. Turns out that going... January 27, 2011 Note: This is an old entry. KGSA has since developed a dependable program - SdHello All, Below is an experience I had earlier in the week (Tuesday afternoon) visiting Kibera Girls' Soccer Academy, a grassroots, privately funded, free secondary school in the Kibera Slums- the largest slum in East Africa. I hope to start volunteering there once a week (in my free time, haha), because it is an inspirational project...but more important and distressing is that it just lost its feeding program (on Tuesday) due to the economic crisis in the UK. So, below is the story, but the real question is part of the last paragraph- what do you know about financial resources, organizations, or otherwise that we could apply to to help feed over 150 students, faculty and community... January 27, 2011 Jambo Rafiki Zangu!The day after I arrived in Kenya, I left with Courtney, Hayley and Aaron for Charming Nanyuki, one of the base camp towns for climbing Mt. Kenya (mostly north of Nairobi). We took a private matatu because we had all of our backpacks and some extra trekking equipment. We arrived in Nanyuki around 5:00p after stopping for a bit in Nyeri, a town along the way to drop off a bag with Hayley’s veterinarian host family (she would be completing an internship after our climb). We ended up at the Riverside Hotel (we paid 800 ksh per night which is about 6 dollars per person) and the hotel was just about the quality you would expect for that price! Two beds, no mosquito nets (until we asked, of course)... January 27, 2011 After spending almost two weeks in Kenya, I am struck with the differences between life here and in the United States. Both lifestyles are very unique, and yet hold striking similarities. The last time I was in Kenya was during summer of 2006 when I completed a study abroad through Michigan State focused solely on the Behavioral Ecology of African Mammals. When I arrived in Kenya, I was almost immediately chauffeured from Nairobi to a lodge in Nakuru National Park in Western Kenya. I and my fellow scientists were personally transported from each location, ending in the Maasai Mara, in the South West. I did not spend much time in the city. This time, I landed in Nairobi- Jomo Kenyatta National Airport and was met with a striking feeling of independence...Aug 23-27: EFF Trip to the Coast!
Education for the Future Foundation, by Steph Dawes
Sept 18, 2009: KGSA: Sack Gardens are GROWING!
Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, by Steph Dawes
Sept 10, 2009: Kakamega National Reserve
by Steph Dawes
Sept 7, 2009: Vacation to Mombasa, Kenya!
by Steph Dawes
August 18, 2009: AGOA and Hilary Clinton in Kenya
by Steph Dawes
July 19, 2009: The traditional American Luthern/Catholic Worship Service just got served!
by Steph Dawes
July 8, 2009: KGSA - Sack Gardens
Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, by Steph Dawes
June 26, 2009: Kibera Girls Soccer Academy: Feeding Program Assistance Needed
Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, by Steph Dawes
June 6, 2009: Mt. Kenya- Trekking to Pt. Lenana
Education for the Future Foundation, by Steph Dawes
June 5, 2009: Niko Kenya!
Education for the Future Foundation, by Steph Dawes
