My Life in Kenya

"My Life in Kenya"

After going to the reception for the Global Outreach Foundation, "My Life in Kenya" I had a greater understanding and desire to help others in the world find a greater quality of life. Although the reception was, in my opinion, extremely poorly organized I was still inspired. I thought that there was little to no open information on the organization or what they were trying to accomplish, but rather just opportunities to for donations. With pictures hung all around of people in Kenya and their surroundings I was eager to find out what kind of life they lived and why this organization was trying to help.

After cornering one of the volunteers and asking for more details I quickly found the reason they were trying to bring aid to Kenya.

The vast majority of Kenya lives in poverty. Because agriculture is their main source of income and is so highly over-saturated, there is not very much room for growth and advancement. Most of the families consist of the mother doing a majority of the work to provide income and relying on the children for assistance. Although the male is still the authority figure in the family, he does not contribute much to the welfare of the family. The overall Economy in Kenya is poor and is dire need for education. Because of this lack in education, the Global Outreach Foundation has made that their sole purpose.

Much of the donations and items auctioned at the reception were going directly to scholarships for Kenyan children, so that they could be educated and in turn help boost the overall economy. On one wall the organization had hung pictures and Bios of the children in hopes of receiving scholarships. As I read over each child I was amazed at their personal desires. Each child had dreams of being something greater than just a field worker or a farmer. One such girl's bio stated that she wanted to one day be an accountant. And that if she was able to go to school, then she wouldn't have to live the same life that her parents had lived for so long. Another boy wanted to learn about the business world and one day own his own business. Dreams that to us seem so easily achievable are so distant to them. It was that aspect that really opened my eyes.

I think that so often in life we take the life we live for granted. Wither we live in a high rise in the city, modest home in the suburbs, or an apartment somewhere, we have so many opportunities for success all around us. If we have the desire to achieve something great there are few things that stand in the way. As long as we are willing to put in the hard work, we will be able to achieve. I had never really grasped the fact that in many of these rural countries, they cannot succeed because there are not enough resources for them to do so. When I was little, my mom would always tell me that I could be whatever I wanted to be when I