Nuria's experience travelling in a group and discovering Kenya in a responsible way.
Nuria's experience travelling in a group and discovering Kenya in a responsible way.
Fear of travelling alone, of not knowing how to get along in a country new to you, of making a mistake, of wanting to go back home for feeling out of your comfort zoneWho hasn't felt like that at some point?
As they say, everything in life has a solution, so at Tumaini we decided to give a chance to group solidarity trips combined with responsible tourism, in order to get to know the country in the most authentic way while collaborating with Tumaini projects.
For us, this new travel option also meant stepping out of our comfort zone. The pandemic and our active listening to what our community was demanding, made us take the step The result? Testimonies as moving as the one you are about to read, which can be summarised in one of the messages he sent us on his return.
"I have so much to thank you for, I am going home with a heavy heart".
Don't miss the details of Nuria's experience travelling in a group and discovering Kenya in a responsible way.
Why did you decide to go on a solidarity + responsible tourism group trip to Kenya?
For quite some time now I felt that I wanted to make a trip different from what I had experienced before. I wanted to experience, get closer and get to know volunteering first hand. I didn't know which agency to use and I didn't know anyone who had done such a trip.
One day on Instagram I came across your profile and when I saw that you were doing solidarity and responsible trips I got interested. I was delighted to discover that you were collaborating on projects in Cape Verde, (a country I know and I really like its culture).
One afternoon, talking to a friend about it, she told me that she knew Tumaini and that she had been in Kenya volunteering in one of the projects you collaborate with, so she encouraged me to make the trip with you.
My desire to get to know Africa has been around for a little over a year, especially since I was a child. KenyaI was very interested in culture, and when I found out about the projects I decided that this was the solidarity group trip + responsible tourism that was waiting for me.. I contacted you and began to feel a tremendous excitement to start this adventure.
What has it been like to discover a completely new country, culture and way of life for you?
Simply exciting. From the first moment I wanted to soak up the culture, the people, the landscapes... Kenya makes it very easy, it makes you fall in love.
I remember arriving tired from so many hours of flying, having a shower and a woman who put a Maasai blanket over me when she saw me looking cold, I felt like I was at home. Both I and the rest of the group of travellers felt at home, we felt cared for at all times.
It is difficult to explain the different projects we went to, you have to experience them to have a firm opinion. I am left with the work and dedication to the wellbeing of the babies, children and adolescents who live there.
We had the opportunity to do a Swahili cooking workshop - I loved it!. We also did a nails art workshop with the teenagers, a very special moment where we could share our way of life, customs and culture.
I remember how we were welcomed and farewelled in each of the projects, the songs and dances of welcome and farewell were very nice. A smile on the face and in the heart, accompanied by the occasional tear.
The days on Safari were very exciting. Seeing the animals in their habitat, the vastness of the savannah, the landscapes, the colour of the land and the Kenyan coastline, a real discovery, for which I am eternally grateful.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have taken care of us at all times, drivers, staff of the different projects, it has been a pleasure to share talks and time with all of them.
During the visits to the Tumaini projects, you meet the founders as well as the local coordinators, you conduct workshops and support in different tasks, could you briefly describe how this experience was?
The project visits consisted of spending the day helping in any way necessary. The coordinators explained to us the day to day running of the project and proposed different tasks to lend a hand.
The activities can be summarised as: playing with the children, giving bottles to the babies, helping and collaborating during the children's meals, laundry tasks, organising and carrying out the workshops I have mentioned above, etc.
I was surprised at how self-sufficient all the projects are and how aware they are of the resources that the earth offers us from an early age. One more learning experience for the backpack.
What moments do you think have marked you the most during this adventure?
A very difficult question to answer, since all the moments have marked me, I have lived everything with great intensity.
I think of the looks of the babies, the children and their smiles, the hugs they give you, the love they give off, the shyness of some of them, how quickly they learn, what they give you without them knowing it... a myriad of emotions.
I remember one moment very fondly. Coming out of the bathroom at the project in the Rift Valley, (by the way, before starting the trip, I decided that I was going to donate part of the profits I make this year from my sustainable fashion brand to this wonderful project). -Catanur-) I met a little one, we looked at each other and we exchanged kisses until we disappeared, it was very emotional, I will never forget it. I am also touched by the strength and joy of Mama Faith, as well as all the coordinators, their involvement is admirable.
I have an endless list of memories. Each and every one of the people who have looked after us, the love and the smiles, the dance that the children prepared for us together with Mama Faith, that night we ended up dancing together. The grandeur of the savannah and that double rainbow engraved on my retina, the wildlife or the landscapes full of contrast.
Would you recommend this experience to people who are planning to travel in a group?
I recommend it 100×100. Everyone who asks me how the experience has been makes my eyes light up.
I think it opens the mind to make a responsible and solidary trip, that's why I think it is necessary from an early age to live this experience. When I tell them about my experiences in Kenya, many of my family members are eager to experience it first hand.
For my part, I feel that I would have liked to share more in the various projects, so I am considering volunteering.
Do you think travelling with Tumaini changes lives?
Of course it changes your life! It makes you see the world differently, it is a teaching in its purest form, you start to relativise everything. You meet people who, despite the hard backpacks they carry on their backs, are much happier than all of us.
I will always remember the happiness I have experienced. I have promised myself that when a bad moment or thought comes to me, I will turn it around and think about the moments I had in Kenya.
Thank you, Asante Sana Kenya, Tumaini
The enlarged heart!!!!!
What did you think of Nuria's testimony? Exciting, isn't it?
Don't miss the chance to experience it first hand, the next group will leave from the 1st to the 12th of December. There is still time to book your place, we already have people signed up!
Write to us and we will make it happen info@viajestumaini.org