You can follow the Jackets on their service tour to Kenya through daily uploads of journal entries, pictures and videos!
It was super hot today! Jamal is doing his best to shield himself from the Kenyan sun.
Great News!
Yesterday and today was the chorus festival for Mbaka Oromo Primary School (the school we’ve been working with!). When we arrived to support them today, we were informed that they had won first place at yesterday’s events! We watched them put on an amazing performance today and we will find out the results when we visit them tomorrow!
On Friday, we had the amazing opportunity to visit the Maseno University and it’s affiliated hospital. We were given a tour of the HIV/AIDS clinic, which was extremely eye-opening, as they told us that they have thousands of members in their program.
Today, we woke up bright and early to sing at a local church. We sang a song taught to us by one of Maseno University’s very own students. It was truly a thrill! By singing at the church, we got to explore a totally different part of Kenyan culture.
We love and miss you all!
Love,
Your Jackets
A quick update!
Hey everybody! We’re so sorry that we haven’t been able to keep in contact with you lately! Finding an internet connection is very rare here in Kisumu! We have been SUPER busy and we cannot wait to come back with the amazing experiences that we have already had. We have a lot more work to do and it’s been pretty tough adjusting to this new way of life.
Today, we visited a local orphanage and we couldn’t have been more excited. Being around the children really opened our eyes to how lucky we are. We have a lot more to tell you, but for now, we must run! Enjoy the pictures we are going to post!
Love,
Your Jackets
Inspired
The past few days have been extremely eye opening for us. We left Nairobi after visiting Kibera, the slums of Nairobi. There, we got the chance to experience how people really live in Africa. It was emotional for every single one of us and we were even welcomed into the home of a woman who founded a support group for women with HIV/AIDS. There were 32 women in her group, and she herself was tested positive for HIV. She stressed the importance of music and song in her organization, as it truly gives these women a reason to keep living and providing for their families. Moved to tears, Aaron introduced our group and our purpose in Kenya, by which she was very inspired. We then went outside to be greeted by school children, who were eager to sing for us. After a collaboration of “Jambo,” we sang our World Cup Medley. Children and adults alike joined us in dancing to Shakira’s “Waka Waka” and the joy in their faces was awe-inspiring. Every single YellowJacket took something out of their visit to Kibera and will keep it with them wherever they go.
Yesterday, we left Nairobi to drive to Kisumu. In total, the trip took about 11 hours due to many stops and a bit of traffic (including a herd of cows that refused to let any traffic to proceed down the road!). We are now in Kisumu and are looking forward to traveling to Maseno each day to be with the school children there. We will keep you posted about the progress of our mission, as this is where our adventure begins.
Love, Your Jackets
NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY
