The Kenya Project

Feb 15, 2015 by Caleigh Matheson

Living in Yellowknife, it goes without saying that we are, quite literally, located thousands of kilometres away from everything. As such, getting involved in projects beyond our tiny, isolated community can be quite difficult. Students at Sir John High School, however, truly believed that no distance was great enough to prevent them from doing their part to foster change in the world. In 2011, a group of thirteen YK1 students partnered with ‘A Better World Canada’ to create a project aiming to help students in need.

This collaboration ended with the formation of The Keyna Project, an undertaking aiming to generate funds to build three new classrooms for Simotwet School. Students fundraised for over a year, and due to the great contribution made from the community, they were able to achieve their goal. Schools throughout the YK1 district made sure to help in any way they could. Mildred Hall School was one of them—they were able to raise $4755.54 for the cause through a variety of fundraisers such as hot lunches, pancake breakfasts, car washes, and school dances. Sir John itself had many successful events, one car wash generating donations exceeding $2000.00. All funds gathered went toward building the three classrooms. Thanks to the generosity of a couple from Alberta, the number of classrooms built doubled to six, as they had decided to match the funds raised in Yellowknife.

The thirteen students involved in the project traveled to Kenya in March of 2012 in hopes of taking part in the grand opening of the six new classrooms their fund-raising enabled them to produce. The Simotwet School students had left the classrooms unused until they were able to share a celebration with those whose funds helped build them. The visit impacted the students who went greatly, fostering in them a belief that despite their small number and isolated location, they can make a change. The overall effect was massive for Mikelle Wile, a grade eleven student at the time: "Imagine all the improvements that could be made around Kenya, and maybe other countries too".

Sir John Franklin still plans to be actively involved with the Simotwet School. Wile explained the trip as: “[…] A life changing experience and I want all future Sir John students to have the same opportunity I did". Inspired by the success of the project, Sir John planned on returning to Kenya March of 2015. Due to unsafe conditions in the country, however, the trip had to be canceled. This mishap, although disappointing, does not prevent A Better World from having constant involvement with the school in Kenya, and in the years to come Sir John hopes to safely make its way back. Student’s motivation to use their energy to promote global prosperity shall not diminish.

As a whole, this project has and continues to be received positively, as it should be. Disadvantaged kids in a disadvantaged country were given a school by a gaggle of teens from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories that they would have otherwise gone without. The students who took part have been exposed to a culture different than their own, and supposedly broadened their intellectual horizons because of it. They will have a cool story to put on resumes and bring up at dinner parties to impress their friends. Upon hearing this tale of rugged adventure laden with undertones of epic self-discovery, their comrades may feel so inclined to embark on their own trans-continental journey of human goodness, doing their best to build yet another school, help yet more children. Everyone wins.

Encouraging people to feel a sense responsibility for the endless suffering in the world is, as a whole, a good thing. Apologizing through devoting time and effort into rectifying bad situations is certainly not evil, but it raises an important question: why is it that we encourage high-school students to enter countries of which they have no knowledge in order to open a school? They, like many others of the western world, are likely unaware as to how these things are planned and implemented—they do not belong to their nation’s ministry of education for a reason. Still, though, they pay through the nose to reach these far-off destinations, to immerse themselves in a different culture and see the fruits of their labour. It’s impractical; their presence is not at all required. Why, then, is this readily encouraged and celebrated? The answer seems to be in giving participants an opportunity to pat themselves on the back.

Consider Madonna. She is, in essence, a figure of opulence—not only is she a celebrity, but her celebrity has blessed her with an immeasurable amount of wealth and opportunity. With some of this money, she has chosen to found a charity called “Raising Malawi”, dedicated to helping the country’s one million orphans, two of which she has adopted. In order to preserve her children’s sense of culture, and to maintain an image of something of a revolutionary humanitarian, she makes frequent visits to the country. It is likely that many onlookers see this as truly helpful international aid. Her organization is building schools, or mere classroom blocks, depending on whom you ask, and this is helpful. Education is good, and she is congratulated. Within Malawi, however? Her presence is not nearly as well received. The nation’s last president, Joyce Banda, accused the pop star of “bullying state officials” and “making the poor dance” in April of 2013. There is an implication that this work was done for the sake of image, and not for the sake of genuinely caring for the disadvantaged in a way that is beneficial. As for the Kenya project, it is unlikely Sir John decided to take it on for reason of positive press. Legitimate desire to help the less fortunate exists, and can be the sole motivator behind a project. It goes without saying, however, that it’s a job that looks fantastic on paper. Humanitarian aid has become commercialized. When a person volunteers, they often experience a sense of elation, of which has been capitalized upon.

Daniela Papi, rambunctious volunteer turned tour company founder, writes: “It's like we think we are all Clark Kent. At home we slave away and work hard to be useful in our jobs, but then we enter a magical phone booth and - ta-dah - we take off to a far-away country and somehow our Superman suit, or our volunteer T-shirt, gives us all of the power and knowledge we need to save the world”. Fostering this odd saviour complex is becoming something of a business in many countries of the developing world. Consider Cambodia: the country saw a 76% increase in the number of orphanages in its midst in the years between 2006 and 2011, housing almost double the children they used to—an estimated 72% still with living parents, according to a 2011 UNICEF report. Only 21 of the nation’s 269 orphanages are state-run, the rest depend on volunteers. These people are able to come in and coddle children that have very well been exploited by the system—they are preforming when they should be in school, living in the worst of conditions so that outsiders see a must-help cause, abused by those who hope to profit off their disadvantage. Obviously, the Kenya Project’s building of a school is a tad different, though the sentiment is the same. This brand of good Samaritan tourism prevents local workers from getting jobs they need more than their unskilled, western counterparts. Institutions spend too much money updating accommodations to ensure the comfort of their latest shipment of short-term volunteers. Poor children and families have been reduced to cultural attractions. They do not benefit in the long term.

Another issue is present in this type of aid. Schools being built are modelled after what is western. Very few pause to consider the implications of implementing American-centric education into foreign countries. It must be remembered that social structures vary greatly from country to country, from village to village. What works in Canadian cities is not guaranteed to work somewhere else, and thus collaboration is needed. Allow locals to have a say what is built for them. Allow for their ideas to be incorporated, and consider pre-existing educational infrastructure that may already exist. Walking into a small farm village and declaring that you are going to build your vision of an ideal school is almost definitely not going to be effective—it must be made sure that these facilities are used, not simply sit empty. Collaboration is needed.

What is key, then, in effective foreign aid? The answer seems to be tied to awareness. Know where your money is going, and know where you are useful. Realize you are not the saviour—the goal of your volunteering should not be based upon becoming a revered figure in the minds of your comrades and in the minds of those you aim to help. Sustainability is key, and it cannot be accomplished by leaving everything up to people hailing from well-off nations of the western world. Heads of projects within a country should be from that country. The people should be able to decide what they need. If more people were to provide resources and lend their ears, focusing their energy on educating the disadvantaged rather than spoon-feed them, it seems the world would be better off.

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