A Quest for Understanding

After graduation I have an opportunity to travel to and work with a non-governmental organization (NGO) for six months in Kenya. The NGO, Academic Health and Agricultural Development Initiative (AHADI) is located in Rift Valley province and supports Kimori Academy, the school at which I plan to do my volunteer work.

Kimori Academy has approximate 450 students between the ages of 5-15 years, many of whom are AIDS orphans or come from marginalized communities. AHADI works to provide the children with spiritual, emotional and physical assistance as they pursue their education. Poverty, disease and lack of quality education continue to plague the region. Through sponsorships, Kimori Academy has been able to provide many children with an education making a brighter future with a college education possible for them.

I am excited for this opportunity to serve in Kenya while deepening my understanding of the country, its people and cultures as well as a better understanding of the issues facing the people there. My goal on this journey is to learn—to learn how little I know, to learn about the subtleties in life, to learn that change comes slowly, but hopefully learning that we can all make a scratch on the surface. I am not going to solve Kenya’s problems. I am not going to change things. I am on a quest for understanding in hopes to make a difference in the lives of some children.

Upon my return I hope to work with immigrant and refugee populations in the United States.

Ghandi once said, “If the cause is right, the means will come.” If you are interested in making a financial contribution to me to fund this service project or would like to make a donation directly to AHADI or to sponsor a child at Kimori Academy, please contact me at aprill.bodlak@doane.edu for more information.

Below are some photographs of children at Kimori Academy:






A few statistics about disease, education and poverty in Kenya:

*Approximately 20% of Kenya’s 40 million people live on less than $1 per day.

*HIV/AIDS, diarrheal disease, respiratory disease, tuberculosis, malaria pose major threat to Kenyans’ health with HIV/AIDS being the leading cause of death.

*Nearly 5% of infants die before reaching their 1st birthday.

*According to the CIA’s World Fact Book, approximately 1.5 million people in Kenya are living with AIDS/HIV- making it rank 4th in the world for most prevalent HIV/AIDS. (The United States ranks 9th). Kenya ranks 6th for death rate caused by HIV/AIDS.

*Approximately 85% of the population of literate- with significantly fewer women being literate than men. (CIS’s World Fact Book).

Ponder your actions for a moment...

Yesterday, the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was celebrated across the United States. As a central figure in the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King’s attitude and efforts impacted people in this nation greatly as well as people throughout the world. Reflecting on this notion of impact, one of my professors asked us to consider how we as individuals might have an impact the world in our futures. I ask you, too, to consider how what you are doing affects others and the impact you are having on our planet.

Ok. I realize that it may sound a little dramatic and exaggerated to speak of our dents on the world when there are approximately 7 billion people on Earth, but each of us does have an effect on others through our actions.

To recycle or not to recycle? To shop at Walmart or not at Walmart? To eat fast food or not to eat it? How to spend ones time: Facebook? Reading? Playing Angy Birds? Working? Conversing? We make many decisions each day and although we often times do not directly see the effects, they do exist. I myself and guilty of some of the scenarios I am going to describe, but I think it is a good reminder for us to be aware of what our actions are doing. Recycling and reusing materials cuts down on waste materials and is beneficial to our planet. Shopping at Walmart is often times more convenient and cheaper than other stores, but it is not good for local business owners and often puts them out of business. Besides, Walmart’s items are rarely as good of quality as those of local shops. Fast food is not good for your health, which may in turn affect those around you. Buying clothes from the Gap contributes to poor working conditions of millions of people in sweat shops in Latin America. This is an undesirable result, yet, without the sweat shops, many would be unemployed.

We may not impact the world in the same way as Martin Luther King Jr. did, but we do make our marks. Make sure they’re the ones you want to be making!