Round Square Regional Conference - ISIVIVANE

From April 26th to 30th I went to the regional round square conference in South Africa. The conference took place at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG), which was located near Johannesburg. A number of schools from around Africa were attending this conference, around 6 people coming from each school. However, only Alexa and I were representing ISK - as we are a new school to Round Square. Mrs Nicholas came to the conference as well, and Mr Blanchard was with us for the weekend. 

The theme of the conference was Isivivane - leave your mark. Isivivane is a Zulu word that means 'throw your stones upon the pile'. This is basically saying that we all need to be unified and act as one, respecting those around us and working together (using the round square IDEALS). This was a nice theme for the conference, as it created a platform of sorts for the range of people, from a variety of different backgrounds, who were to make individual contributions to the conference and become unified throughout our week together. 

View of Kilimanjaro from the plane on the way to SA!

We were also encouraged to practice the spirit of Ubuntu/Botho, which encompasses the ideals of humanity, compassion, and service to others. We were taught just how central it is to the way in which we act, speak, think and interact with those around us. "Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu" - "I am because you are"- also implies that all people have equal value in terms of their human dignity, and this message of all human life having equal value was conveyed to us throughout the conference. These are all very important ideas and taught me a great deal about what it means to be part of a community, and was key in my own self-enlightenment. I think that these messages helped us to gain a deeper sense of what it means to be in service, and how we can validate and dignify those around us. 

We were encouraged and motivated to stick to these various ideals through a conference song! The OWLAG girls put together a conference song that we sung when we met up together and which was very good for stimulating inspiration amongst the delegates (I can personally vouch for its potency in this regard!). 

Conference Song:

I-S-I-V-I-V-A-N-E
Isivivane!
I am here
You are here
We've got each other
Leaving a mark of change
It's a brand new day
A day for change

New bonds created
You got to be excited!

RAP
You gotta be the change
Let's come together 'coz we've got spark
Doesn't matter where we're from 
Just leave your mark
Clap once; clap twice, one and two.
Ignite, Unite
We've got the spirit of Ubuntu
Isivivane

I said M-A-R-K, leave your mark
Collaborate, innovate the time is now
Everybody be excited
We've got new bonds created
It's a day for change
It's a brand new day
Everybody be excited
(it's a brand new day)
We've got new bonds created
(it's a brand new day)
It's a day for change
(it's a brand new day)
It's a brand new day!

ISIVIVANE, Leave your mark
It's a - it's a time for change (x3)
I-S-I-V-I-V-A-N-E
ISIVIVANE!

I wasn't really sure what to expect going into the conference. To be honest, I wasn't sure what Round Square really was originally and I was confused as to what activities we could carry out. I was also really nervous as sometimes find it hard to open up to people, and I was afraid that I wouldn't really make friends. However, I was also really excited to be learning more about the organisation. I'd never been to Johannesburg before, and I was curious as to what it would be like. I promised myself to put 100% of my effort into the conference, so that I could get 100% out of it.

DAY 1:

On the first day I was extremely nervous, but also really excited to see what the conference would be like.We met at school at 5:45 to go to the airport, and the flight and transport to the school all went as planned. When we arrived in South Africa we realised that there were some other students from Kenya there for the conference as well, and it was nice talking to them in the airport before we left. Everyone was really friendly and open, and I felt more confident about the conference. The bus ride was around an hour long, and when we arrived I was blown away by the school. It was one of the most beautiful campus' I have ever seen - there were so many lovely benches and pavillions to sit and work in, and everything was so green and vibrant. The facilities were also of very good quality - we could definitely tell that it was an Oprah Winfrey school! We headed straight for the registration area. We got a bag (in the picture) that had a waterbottle, hat, and other items in it. I found out that I was in baraza 14 and in a different dorm room from Alexa. I was really worried about this originally, but I think that the fact that we were separated was very beneficial for us. I definitely made more friends than I would've if I had been with Alexa the whole conference. I was, in fact, really happy that I was pushed out of my comfort zone during these five days. 
After we had settled into our dorm rooms and looked around we met for some ice breakers on the field. We were divided into our barazas for the first time and then did various activities together (such as travelling across the field with only a few feet and hands touching the ground). I really liked my baraza, there were a lot of people that were a bit quiet (like myself) but who opened up a lot as time went by. Everyone at the conference that I had met thus far was so open and accepting of one another, and I loved the atmosphere. I already knew that I was going to make some firm friends. 
After the teambuilding activities were finished we had dinner and went to bed.

DAY 2: 

On Sunday we all woke up and headed down to breakfast. The cafeteria was huge and the food was amazing! Throughout our time at the conference the meals never failed to impress, and I was blown away by how pristine everything was at OWLAG. After breakfast came the opening ceremony - we were introduced to Mr Melvin King, the head of OWLAG, who gave a speech to open the ceremony. He spoke about the IDEALS and the theme of the conference, reminding us that we would get a lot out of the conference if we put in a lot, but only a little if we put in a little. I thought this was very important, as it is such a wasted opportunity if you don't put all of yourself into an event like this. I was even more determined to give the conference my all and truly make it a memorable and life changing experience. 
After the opening ceremony was concluded we took our conference photo in our orange and green tshirts. I already felt that we were all connected and that the conference was going to be amazing! It was definitely a good start to the event. 
There was a short break after the conference photo, and then we all met in the auditorium for our first keynote adress. The keynote speaker was Emma Sadleir, a media law consultant and speaker based in Johannesburg. She does a lot of work with schools and universities, educating parents and pupils on the responsible use of social media, as well as working with teachers tackling issues such as cyberbullying and pornography in schools. She's been an anchor for the Oscar Pistorius trial, as well as a regular guest on radio and television. She spoke to us about the dangers of social media - the fact that nothing you do on the internet is temporary, it can always be found. She shared various stories about children around our age, and older, that have made serious mistakes by misusing social media. I think that everyone listening was extremely impacted by what she said, as we are all so fully integrated in the virtual world. Not only did she warn us about what we directly say and do, but she also told us that if we become part of a chain (advertising something) we can also be impacted. Everybody at the conference left with a new awareness, and I think that we all understand what we have access to now, and what it is capable of doing. Social media is an extremely effective way to spread messages - you can very easily send a positive idea, but it is just as easy to send a negative one. One must know the difference between what is right and wrong, and the implications that a mistake may hold.

A painting above the auditorium

After Emma Sadleir spoke we had our first baraza. Baraza groups met in different classrooms, and we sat in our groups and discussed what we had witnessed thus far in the conference. We reflected upon social media for the majority of the time, and we all spoke about what we personally had experienced in this realm. Someone in my baraza talked about a friend that had inappropriately used the messaging tool on facebook and been reported to their school and expelled. I think that our eyes were definitely opened, and we began to realise just how powerful twitter, tumblr, facebook and the many other websites that are so popular today are. After we spoke about the keynote talk we did some more icebreakers and said what we thought of the conference thus far. Most of us were already really enjoying it, and I know that I had already gained a fresh perspective.

After the baraza we had lunch and then headed out onto the field for some teamwork activities. We played various team sports, like volleyball, soccer and dodgeball, and then worked on sending messages with flags. These activities really helped us to get closer as a baraza group and feel more comfortable in the conference.
When we had finished, we had our second keynote speaker. Melvin king, the head of the school, spoke to us about the importance of building relationships within community service. He reminded us that service projects should be sustainable, and that you should work WITH people, instead of merely handing them items and stepping back to see the result. I thought this was very important, as at ISK there are certain groups that have neglected to form stable projects. Both sides involved in the service benefit far more greatly when you are getting to know each other, learning and taking away from different worldviews and upbringings. Melvin King also spoke about superiority and inferiority in community service. He told us that it is important not to feel that you are superior to those you are helping, and, when they feel they are inferior, to keep pressing forward to overcome this barrier. His experience as a teacher has allowed him to witness this building of relationships and to identify what works and what doesn’t. He told us about his elementary classes and their attempts and creating service projects – they encountered problems with the sustainable and interactive aspect of the service, and he pushed them until they overcame this issue. Melvin King definitely made an impact on me, especially as I am taking over ARTSCO this coming year. I had already been aware of some of what he was talking about, but he definitely clarified things for me.
There was another baraza after this keynote speech, and we reviewed what we had learnt. We talked about the service projects at our own schools and I was very surprised at the lack of service projects in certain schools. Some members of my baraza said that there were only one or two community service opportunities at their schools, and none of them said that they had a CAS program. This came as a shock to me, as I’d always assumed that other schools around Africa were just as involved with the community as we are. I felt proud to be part of ISK, and I was glad that the other delegates were inspired by Melvin King and determined to start more projects.
We then all had hot chocolate and went to bed.

DAY 3:

Our dorm room

On the third day we finally left OWLAG! We were divided into groups – A, B, and C. I was in group C, and so after breakfast we spent 9 – 12 working with an organisation called Generation Earth on the OWLAG campus! Generation Earth (http://www.generationearth.co.za/) is a project that works to engage the youth and create green thinkers who will be tomorrow’s global leaders. It’s “a structured action plan for schools and youth to make a difference and change the world for the betterment of the environment”. The speaker was Ella Bella, one of the founders of the project, and she was a very powerful presenter. She was definitely very passionate about her cause and we were all sitting on the edges of our seats when she was speaking. She told us about the steps needed to create our own projects, and then assigned us partners and told us about our activity. We were given recycable materials, such as the soda cans from dinner the night before, toilet rolls, water bottles and wire, and a solar light and told to design a lamp. I thought that this was a very good idea as it is sustainable and extremely beneficial for those living in impoverished areas. It is very easy to obtain these materials and also pretty simple (as well as fun) to put them together. My partner and I originally planned to make our lamp look sort of like a flower (cutting a soda can for the petals), but we instead created a snake-like design. Our light hung from the ceiling and coiled down in a spiral. The solar light could be taken in and out from the wire to recharge. Other designs included a flashlight type structure, a hanging lamp with a newspaper shade around it, and an adjustable desk lamp. I think that they were all very wacky and innovative, and allowed us to all be creative and enjoy ourselves in the activity. I think that incorporating generation earth in ISK would be a very valuable decision – we can all still learn a lot about green issues and opportunities to make change.

Once the Generation Earth activities were done we boarded the bus for our second trip at 1:00. We were going to Suikerbosrand, a game park of sorts, where we would carry out various activities in our barazas. Activities consisted of:

-       Water testing

-       Biking

-       Cow milking

-       Bread Baking

-       Rock climbing

-       Rafting

We first did the cow milking and bread baking, which took place on a small farm museum. It was really fun getting into these activities, as not many of us had done them before. I had personally milked a cow once before here in Kenya, but it was still awesome getting to do it again. The bread baking was done using an outdoor oven and I really enjoyed the rustic feel of everything.
We then did rock climbing at the farm as well. We all got a turn to climb up a large wall, safely strapped in with helmets. It wasn’t the tallest climbing wall I’ve ever been on, but it was fun nonetheless. We all cheered for each other as we climbed, and then posed at the top for a photo! It was really nice seeing everyone being encouraged, especially as some of our baraza members were really scared of heights.
We then headed down for the rafting. We were supplied with a reasonably large raft and a small one (trailing behind it). We were told that all 7 of our group members had to go in the first canoe, whilst the last waited on the other side of the lake to be connected in the smaller canoe. It was definitely a challenge fitting everyone in the canoe! It flooded a little bit and there were only two paddles! I sat and helped paddling, and we finally made it there and back again (only getting a little bit wet!). One member of our baraza actually got out and started pulling the canoe at the end, greeted by raucous cheers from the rest of the group! It was definitely a very fun activity.

The beautiful campus

Our last two activities were water testing and biking. In the water testing we had to identify organisms within the water, and then, using their resilience to pollution, determine the quality of the stream. It was pretty challenging identifying species of bugs, but I think we did a pretty good job of it. We said that the stream was of good quality, which they said was about right. In the biking we went in a small loop about the park, going on fairly rough roads and getting a chance to enjoy the landscape. The park was really beautiful, even though it was slightly dry, and we saw mountains looming in the distances, as well as beautiful horses grazing in the fields.
Suikerbosrand was one of the best trips we did the entire conference, I loved getting to see a little more of South Africa while at the same time getting to know my baraza members better. Being put in a situation where we were a little out of place and nervous brought us together and by the end of the day we were really comfortable with each other.

When we got back to OWLAG we moved immediately into an interactive drumming session (a drum café) in the auditiorium. There were about 5 members in the drumming team, all who were extremely enthusiastic and friendly. When we came into the auditorium there was a drum waiting on each seat, and we put it between our legs and drummed together. They repeated various beats and we copied them, and it came together to form a surging seething mass of frenzied energy and excitement. I could feel the floor pounding with the beat of the drums, and the smiles and bright eyes of everyone around me were contagious. I got really into the drumming, and by the end I had no reservations at all. It was one of the most amazing experiences of the conference – I have never experienced so much positive energy and intense and eager enjoyment in one place before. Near the end of the session people were coming up and dancing with the drummers, and we wrapped up with everybody coming down onto the stage and dancing together.
We were all really tired after Suikerbosrand and the drumming, so we were slightly relieved to be allowed some free time and some time to eat dinner. Afterwards, all wrapped up in warm clothes, we headed back to the auditorium though for …. the talent show! It was entitled ‘Africa’s got Talent’ and consisted of members of the various schools performing for the rest of the delegates. The acts ranged from singing to poetry and even to skits! Unfortunately, Alexa and I hadn’t been able to put together an act in time, but we really enjoyed watching everyone. The acts all reflected the culture of the countries, and I especially enjoyed a school from Jordan performing a poem in a variety of different languages (to reflect their internationalism). Two girls also did some Indian dancing, which was incredible. After we finished we did some more dancing and then went to the dorms for bed.

DAY 4:

Guinea fowls grazing on the frosty morning campus!

Our last official day! We were going back out for various activities again, and after breakfast my baraza and I headed for Orange Farm. Orange Farm was a shanty town of sorts in which we would be doing some community service. The delegates were split into two groups – one group was playing with kids and the other was painting some buildings for the project ‘Let Us Grow’. We were designated to paint the buildings, which I was quite happy about. However, I would’ve liked to of seen the children a little bit – I feel like this was a minor flaw in their planning.

When we arrived at the site we were greeted by the leader of the project, Rose Thamae, a kindly old South African woman. She told us her story – she had been gang raped at a young age and infected with HIV/AIDS. She had struggled with this illness for quite a while, but then suddenly picked herself up and adopted a new outlook on life. Filled with determination and strength she had returned to Orange Farm to help those similarly diagnosed with this condition. She founded ‘Let Us Grow’, and educated them on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the treatment once diagnosed as positive. She now has a centre within the community in order to help those in need of support. The centre is a key actor in addressing HIV and AIDS through home-based care, counselling and education to men, women, youth and children. Rose was an intrinsically kind woman, and I felt honoured to help her paint her centre.
We painted for around 3 hours, and I did the chicken shed as well as the logo on the main house. We finished a little early but we used the extra time to pack up everything really well. While we painted the members of the group sang songs together, and we chatted with the men who worked for the organisation. There was a real sense of community, and you could see how close everyone was when some kids came running in and we all started to play and take photos with them together.
I think that this project is extremely inspirational – I think the strength of Rose is unbelievably noble and righteous. She has been so brave, and I love what she is trying to promote within her community. It goes to show that you have the ability to make change – it’s all at your fingertips. Be the change that you want to see in the world.

We travelled back to OWLAG after we were done at Orange Farm, going straight into some keynote addresses! First was a twenty minute address by Jordan van der Walt, a 13 year old student at a school in South Africa.After viewing a documentary in March of 2011 about how children in SA go to school hungry on a daily basis, return home and still have nothing to eat, Jordan, who was only 10 at the time, decided that he was going to take measures to do something about it. Every year, his school collected easter eggs to give to impoverished children, and though this was a sweet idea the food had no nutritional quality to it. He approached his headmaster and proposed that they bring a bag of maize meal instead of eggs. The headmaster agreed and the “JUST ONE BAG” initiative was begun. Jordan has been interviewed by radio stations and journalists alike, and his story is extremely inspirational for me. I love how a small child can reach out and truly make an impact on his community, changing numerous lives through his passion. Jordan told us that service must come from the heart, and he stressed this point throughout his presentation. His dedication and commitment made me determined to find a way to start my own project at school. All of the resources are at your fingertips, you must only find a way to use them effectively. I want desperately to find a way to help the KSPCA and animals of Kenya and Jordan made me realise that I can. There are such good people in this world, and we are all capable of leaving our mark. ISIVIVANE!

The next speaker was Robyn Folkard. Robyn is part of the project Harambee, a non-profit company that was established to address the entry-level labour supply and demand mismatch and promote the employment of youth. It takes in unemployed youth, with no prior experience, and trains them so that they can be placed in entry level jobs. Harambee has significant and long-term imipacts on the labor market, as well as the quality of life of many individuals. I thought that this project was very useful, targeting a key issue in the world today. However, there was some debate as to whether they should’ve focused on the core of the issue – education of youth. If the youth are appropriately educated then there would not be such drastic unemployment in the first place. Nevertheless, Harambee is definitely making positive change within South Africa. I liked the fact that these unemployed youngsters are offered a new change to a prosperous life, despite their unfortunate economic circumstances.

Conference Song

Our final speaker on Tuesday was Dr Imtiaz Sooliman. Dr Sooliman was by far my favorite speaker from the conference, he awoke something in me and gave me a whole new outlook on service and my approach to life. Dr Sooliman is the founder of the Gift of the Givers Foundation – this is the largest disaster response NGO of African origin on the African continent. His project has delivered life saving aid to millions of people in 41 countries, South Africa included. The organisation actually now has 21 catagories of projects, including bursaries, agricultural self sustainability, water provision, counselling and life skills services, and much more. Dr Sooliman has also created the world’s first and only containerised mobile hospital, innovating the world’s first groundnut-soya high energy and protein supplement in the use of sever malnutrition and other debilitating conditions. His motto is, “Best among people are those who benefit mankind”, and they accordingly serve all irrespective of race religion, culture, color, political affiliation or geographical location. His story, in my eyes, was almost biblical. He underwent a epiphany of sorts, his religious leader (imam) telling him to dedicate his life to serving others. Dr Sooliman is one of the most selfless people I have ever come across; he told us that he doesn’t even need a thank you for his work, he does it with and for the community. He gave up his life in just a few days, shedding all his prejudices regarding different races and religions. He also spoke about the sense of unity of Africa, and the fact that mothers will even put aside the health of their own children so that other families may get a chance at getting medical service. He views Africa as a place of love and community as opposed to poverty and corruption. Dr Sooliman’s faith and innate goodness empowered me to make change. I really want to do something similarly powerful and meaningful with my own life. I want to be remembered – I want to leave my mark in this world.
 
After Dr Sooliman’s talk we had our last baraza meeting. We all met and came up with our conference statement. The statement spoke about the necessity of viewing all human life as being equal, and leaving your mark in the world today. In our baraza we reviewed what we had learnt throughout the course of the conference, and wrapped up with a small game. I spoke about how Dr Sooliman had inspired and changed me in his keynote speech, and how I was more empowered than ever to return to Kenya and make my mark. I truly believe that this conference was one of the most amazing and life changing experiences that I have ever had. I am so grateful to have been able to attend this event, and I know I’ll never forget it.

DAY 5:

The closing ceremony was carried out in the morning, and we had the OWLAG dance group perform a series of amazing dances for us. Their dances spoke of the history of South Africa, for instance they had one where they were dressed as slaves, another with Nelson Mandela in the background, and the last with them all dressed in South African colors. Mr Melvin King gave a very heartwarming speech afterwards, and everybody teared up a little bit. After the conference was officially closed we sang the conference song one last time and then headed out to say our goodbyes. Everybody was crying and hugging each other and I really really didn’t want to leave. I had made such strong friendships and seen and heard so many fantastic things. However, as I said goodbye to everyone I knew that we would never really be disconnected from each other.



The round square conference was life-changing in so many ways. I learnt how to be more of a leader and team player, and gained a new insight into my own strengths and weaknesses as a person. I feel that one of my strengths is my passion for animal rights and other global issues and my drive to make change, whilst my weakness up to this point has been juggling schoolwork with CAS. I really want to make time to start up a project and make my mark in the Kenyan community. My goal in this coming year is to do just that, whether it is through my leadership position in ARTSCO or through another branch of service. I am definitely ready to accept new challenges and roles, this conference has taught me that there’s no need to be shy or feel as if you don’t deserve to make yourself heard. Being part of round square and seeing how accepting and kind people are when following the IDEALS has helped me so much – I really want to help promote democracy and the other IDEALS within ISK, and I’m thinking of running for a leadership position in the round square group. I want the quiet and less extroverted people in the school, like myself, to be able to take on leadership roles and prove themselves. I feel like the system is bias towards the louder people, and after the conference I understand that we are all filled with so much potential and drive. We all deserve a chance to make change. The round square conference definitely made me more confident and prompted me to be more outspoken. Thank you so much to everyone who took part in the conference and who made it possible for me to attend it!

[hopefully more photos coming soon]

ARTSCO Update

I have been elected as the president of ARTSCO! Two weeks ago we met as a club and carried out our elections. Unfortunately, I was the only one actually running for the position, but I’m confident that I can do a really good job. My vice president will be elected at the start of next year.

I'm really passionate about what ARTSCO is trying to promote within the community, as I feel like we need to explore more unorthodox ways of executing service. I am personally very passionate about the arts, and I was really disappointed that I couldn't do HL visual arts for my IB. I'm really happy that I'll have a chance to make change through something that I love, and I feel that it's my enthusiasm that will help me in this position. I've also spent 2 years in ARTSCO observing the leaders and the events that we can carry out, and I think that I've learnt from this time in the club. 

ARTSCO this year has been rather disconnected - I feel like the members of the group never really got a chance to connect with one another. Furthermore, our largest event (the talent show) was never carried out because of the events of Westgate earlier this year. We've done a few small events, such as face painting and murals, but there hasn't really been anything of much significance carried out. I hope that in my leadership position I can unify the club, make it more fun and make noticeable contributions to our community. I recognise that it will be difficult to develop the club, especially due to its reputation this year, but I'm excited to give it a try. 

The teacher that will be helping me run ARTSCO is Mr Nicholas, the elementary art teacher. I've spoken to him a couple of times before and he seems really nice, I feel that we'll be able to collaborate well. I really want to use ARTSCO to help the animals of Nairobi, as there aren't many clubs that focus on animal welfare. However, we will try to branch out over all aspects of the community.

I have a few ideas thus far as to what we can do next year:

 - portraits of the dogs at KSPCA and then an art show?

- The talent show (naturally)

- Mural painting

- Design of new tshirts 

- More teambuilding events - fun stuff for the club to do

- Painting schools?

- tshirt painting?

[etc]

Fundraisers: bake sales, face painting, art shows, talent show, etc

I want to take new approaches to service in ARTSCO, not just carrying out the generic events we've being doing for the past few years. I learnt at round square that service should be WITH people, not just giving over items (etc). It needs to be sustainable, and you must develop connections. Merely going to paint a school, or doing a mural for ISK doesn't fulfil the requirements of service. I want to discover some sort of sustainable project that we can work on throughout next year. 

I'm going to be in charge of ARTSCO for the last few weeks of school, as Yumiko and Cora are doing their exams. I'm not sure how much we can do in that time, especially with semester exams coming up, but I'll try to keep everything organised (especially with regards to the murals). 

KCCL Trip

On April 23rd I went on my last KCCL trip! I know that it's a bit late to be blogging about it, but I was away at a conference and didn't have time. On the trip we managed to finish off the majority of our paintings and we planned for the party (which I unfortunately couldn't attend).

When we arrived we followed the usual schedule, splitting up into various groups and heading for the back of the school to paint.We all collected our materials from the store room, hauling over paint buckets, brushes and plastic sheets for the ground. I decided to do some touch up work at first, going over some of the paintings and outlining them with black and such. This took quite a while actually, even with some of the KCCL children helping us out. However, the mural looked infinitely better after we had finished, and eric and I were proud of our work.

Afterwards, Hannah told us to finish off a landscape that had been started the trip before. We painted over part of it, doing hills and a river. It started off being a generic landscape, but became more and more abstract as time went by. We did a large tree at the front, with orange leaves, and then white clouds in the sky. However, the sea and the sky sort of merged, which gave it a rather cool effect.

When we were done we packed up everything and said goodbye. We also started brainstorming for the party, and Hannah reminded everyone to bring food. I was really disappointed that I was going to miss our last trip, as I feel that I have made very good friends and learnt a great deal from KCCL. Hannah has also been an amazing leader, and I hope that she was happy with my involvement in the service project.

KCCL has definitely allowed me to be creative and to develop my leadership skills. Working with these kids has been an enlightening experience for me – I’ve been inspired by their views and approach to life, learning to appreciate all that I have and prompted to truly make the most of it.

I really enjoyed spending the past year at KCCL and I hope that I can get the opportunity to go again next year. I realise that I’ve spent a long time in this club, but my reasons for sticking to one project for so long is president’s award (as well as my enthusiasm for the KCCL children). KCCL has definitely made me a more aware and confident person, more willing to approach new situations and meet different people.

GIN - Final meeting and movie

On April 24^th we had our last GIN meeting and the Jane Goodall movie. In our meeting we reviewed what we had accomplished throughout the year, the challenges we faced, and the ideas that we had for the coming school year. We then had a small pizza party, finishing up by setting up the room for the movie.

The Jane Goodall movie, in my view, was a success! A lot more people showed up than I thought, and the audience all seemed very passionate about animal rights and the apes. Mr Cress talked before the movie began, speaking about the plight of the great apes and his work to save them. I thought that Mr Cress was a very strong speaker, and I remember that he was one of the people who originally made me so passionate about animal rights. I recall listening to him speak on career day a few years ago and being utterly enraptured in his work. I really want to do something similar to him in the future.

 

We then proceeded to watch the movie itself. It was just as incredible as I’d hoped – they had taken real footage from the jungle but then added a voiceover that transformed it into a humorous story. It was amazing to see how the abandoned ape was adopted by the dominant male of the group. I loved how he tried to crack nuts open with rocks, and how he lay on the back of his mother. The apes are so human and it was fascinating to watch them interact with each other. I think the movie taught us all just how similar we are to these amazing animals, therefore prompting us to take further steps to ensure that they are protected. I don’t understand how anyone could harm a great ape, or any other animal for that matter, it is the most cowardly act to target someone who has no voice.

I felt that our biggest accomplishments were the GIN talks – these talks were inspirational and were available to the public. I also really enjoyed our day with the Golden Hearts group. I hadn’t really gotten the chance to interact with another GIN-type group before, especially not one made up of local Kenyan students.

I think that we took pretty large steps as a group this year, but we did face a few problems. I think our main issue was the fact that the GIN talks weren’t very well publicized and planned, and that we didn’t get to go on a rhino walk or do many other events. I hope that next year we’re able to involve the community more and can connect more as a group. Doing teamwork activities would help us considerably, especially considering just how large the club is. I also know that a lot of students disliked the fact that our meetings had to be after school, especially considering the fact that they were extremely short.

Next year I feel that the club should work on carrying out more service events, as opposed to merely planning them, and unifying the group members (creating a greater sense of community and passion).

I really enjoyed being in GIN this year, I had always heard about it before and been interested in joining, but I’d never got round to it. I think that the club is very ambitious in its scope (it targets an unbelievable amount of issues), and it has so much potential. I feel like I’ve become more comfortable voicing my opinions and debating since I joined GIN, and I really hope that I can go on the trip next year.