ARRIVAL AND LIFE AT STAREHE: After an enthusiastic wait for about four months, Divyraj and I finally set our foot on African soil – we were in Kenya. It was 10^th December and we were received by Mr.Peter who was a Round Square Rep. from Starehe Boys Centre, Nairobi where we were then transferred to. We stayed at the school for two nights where we met our project leader Miss.Pierina Redler, Mr.Chris Moore, Mrs.Brenda Ludbrook and Mr.Charles Kamonde along with other incoming students from various countries. It was eighteen of us in number consisting of 6 boys and 12 girls from countries like USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Thailand, Germany and India. After a couple of days, with newly made friends and a briefing about the project from Ms. Pierina we headed towards Ilbissil Girls Secondary School.

STAY AT ILBISSIL: Our stay at Ilbissil was for eleven days with a purpose of constructing a class room for Masai girls. Over there we were joined by some Starehe Boys and Ilbissil Girls who volunteered to help us at the construction site. We were accommodated in dormitories within the school where anything wasn’t quite sufficient but that was the fun part as well. On the first day we were divided into five groups out of which the four groups worked at the construction site and the one used to be at domestic duty which kept on rotating. We were all given different tasks like moving bricks, mixing cement, shifting sand and laying blocks. Working till lunch was tiresome but we often had football matches to look forward to, which were real fun. The most tiring time which I swallowed up during the project was during my domestic duty in which we were supposed to prepare meals, cleanup the kitchen, wash dishes and serve food, but by the end of it I really missed doing all those things. During our stay there, we also visited a Masai house and a Masai church which was a wonderful experience to have possessed. Our happenings also included a cultural evening at Ilbissil where all of us performed various types of arts ranging from tae kwon do to a Masai dance which was worth it. Soon the time went by and we completed our work at the construction site staying within the duration given to us by our project leaders which was a dream come true for all of us as it made the project a big success. Finally, we parted ways from the Kenyan participants which was an emotional moment for us as we headed towards Masai Mara.

VISIT TO MASAI MARA: This visit to the Masai Mara was the ultimate time of the project as it was only then basically that I started getting the true essence of the wild Africa. We stayed at Mara Simba Lodge which was amazingly beautiful and was located deep inside the jungle. Having an alligator under my balcony and my room looking over hippos was a treat in itself. We went for safaris every morning and evening which was great fun. Some of us were fortunate enough to have seen the Big Five. Besides, it was a treat to watch and observe the other wildlife present there. Afternoons by all of us were usually spent by the pool side and the dinner at the lodge with the Masais performing something or the other which was great fun. We also visited a Masai Village where we learnt a lot about their culture, tradition, lifestyle and dance which was very interesting.

GOODBYE KENYA: On December 27 we started back for Starehe to spend our last night together and shared what we felt about each other, the project and all the things which we had gained from our project. We just poured ourselves out. It was our last night when we hugged each other goodbye with an emotion of sadness; each one wanted to stay back and have more fun but the following day all of us parted ways with memories we shall cherish for the rest of our lives . . .