Looking into my trip to Tanzania

When I think about where I am going to in only a couple months, it astounds me to see that I have come this far already. 

Being with Children's Global Alliance for the third year in a row, and perceiving how much I have changed and grown as an individual in the last few years, makes me realize how precious these opportunities are. 

I could live a thousand lives and still have areas to grow and more to learn. When I imagine myself after I return to America, I hope that who I return as is a leader, and someone who was able to change the lives of students and children from around the world. I imagine myself as someone who is able to radiate the same love the children filled me with, to those back home and to everyone I come in contact with. I want to be able to change other's lives just by the pure joy and happiness I can share with them.

My greatest fear and what I believe is going to be the most difficult part going into this experience, as I have every other trip, is not being able to say goodbye to the children who's smiles and laughter have given me so much of a drive for those short 3 weeks. As I reflect on my previous trips, yes saying goodbye is the most difficult experience, but every tear you or the children shed, confirms just how much of an impression you had made on those children's lives, and how much they have truly made on yours, which in my opinion is the most fulfilling part of the entire trip.  

Tanzania!

Hello everyone!! 

So I wanted to thank you all for your love and support since 2012 when I tried out for Nicaragua with Children's Global Alliance, a nonprofit organization in Vail, Colorado. Seeing how far I have come as an individual is incredible, and every single day I can notice the difference in myself. Working in Escuela Especial por Maria Romero and in the Cooperation of Peace Orphanage showed me to value every single thing in my life, everyone I encounter and to love freely. Feeling a new sense of global responsibility, along with a new set of standards I know hold myself and others up to, I am ready to continue on my journey.

After writing an essay describing why this trip was important to me, and creating a fundraising plan to fundraise the $3000, finally I received the news that this upcoming summer of 2014, I will be traveling to Tanzania as a student mentor to 10 other students to work in the Naserian school and orphanage.

I am so excited to embark on this journey and spread my love to yet another place in this world 

<3

So much thanks, and gratitude. 
Love you all! 
Makena

Cambodia Reflecting

It's been 63 days since I returned from Cambodia, and yet I'm still there. Every thought I have is consumed by every single person I met since day one of such an extraordinary adventure. I look at the clock at night and tell myself, "oh it's 10:30, which means it would be 9:30 am at the orphanage, and some of the kids would be going to English school right now."

The bonds we made in the seemingly short 3 weeks we were there are truly everlasting. Not only will I never forget about any moment we spent there, every single kid we encountered will too. 

I am so grateful I was able to change lives around the world and spread my love to those who had not been given it for their whole lives. I am so proud we were able to leave our mark on 50 orphaned and abandoned children. When I think about it, those children are not abandoned anymore; they will always be in my heart.

Cambodia: Last Days at the Orphanage

Saying goodbye is always difficult, but yesterday it was so much more than that.

I am so proud of myself and everyone that is on this trip with me. We were able to improve the lives of many children in different aspects; love, laughter, building them a new house, and giving them something to hope for.

These children have been able to change my life, and yesterday was such a rewarding day. Everything we have worked for has been accomplished, along with incredible new friendships that will last a lifetime. Every hug we were given from every child just proved how far we had come and truly how much of an impact we had made. As the sun went down, the laughter began to simmer, and the sound of tears slowly replaced it. Every hug we gave meant so much more than it did earlier that day, because for most of us, it would be the last one we were able to give. Every tear just proved how much this trip really meant to the children, to us, and to the chaperones.

Before going on this trip, our idea of love was different. I thought I was fully aware of what love was, but it’s so much more than that. The kids that we worked with at the orphanage had never been given love, but were filled with it. They taught us a new idea of love and gave us a new perspective on everything we thought of as normal. I am eternally grateful to all the children at CPO, and I am so glad I was given this opportunity.

Cambodia: Day 11 & Day 12

Day 11

Finding paint, sheets, and pillows in Cambodia is not nearly as easy as it would be in America. Instead of just stopping by Walmart like we would have, our group spent a very long time in the Russian Market, bargaining and trying to find what we need. About two hours later, we figured it all out and took the pillows and the sheets to the orphanage. After we delivered everything inside, the girls would make their bed, set up their mosquito nets, redo their beds again so it was perfect, and then would stay and play in there for hours. Tonight will be the first night the girls will get to sleep in their new house! Srey Neath had me sit and lie on her bed, and look out the window so I could see what she would see every night. All the girls are so extremely excited to have their first room ever and for some of them, their first beds ever. They have even put up a sign on the door that reads (in Khmer) “No Boys Allowed! Take Your Shoes Off Before Coming In!” It’s truly amazing that in a week we were able to build something from the ground up that would bring this much joy to these children.

Day 12

This morning Krissy and I taught in the classroom. We taught 3 different classes, each an hour long. Usually when we teach in the classroom, the children memorize each vocabulary word, or sentence, or whatever their unit is on. This method works well sometimes, but the children do not really get an understanding of what they are saying or speaking; they are simply memorizing not knowing the true meaning of the words. Krissy and I decided this method was not the method that we would use. When the sentence was, “The dogs go in.”, we had each kid repeat then we would ask, “Do the dogs go in?”, with their response being, “Yes, the dogs go in.” We would then ask a different question, “Do you have a dog?” or other questions just so they could comprehend what we were asking instead of just memorization. This method works very well, and I know these kids went home knowing something, not just memorizing it.

In the afternoon, we finished painting the girls’ house. On the way there Krissy and I had a really amazing talk about how normally when people find out that we are going to an orphanage in Cambodia, they ask if we are planning on adopting any of the kids, or planning on bringing some back “…so they can have a better life in America.” We were talking about how frustrating this really can be, because just like this girls’ house has shown us, we don’t need to bring a child to our country to have a better life. We can put in our time and our energy to build things, clean things, make things, or just spend time with these children, loving them, and that is what makes a child’s life better. Not just bringing them to a country with lower poverty rates. Having this conversation really opened my eyes a little, because every single day these children are so incredibly happy and even though most of them don’t have a loving family, they have each other, and now they have us… and that is what makes a child’s life better.

I am so grateful I got to know these children and have relationships with them that will truly last for the rest of my life. I can’t wait to spend these last 2 days with them.

Cambodia: Day 9 & Day 10

Day 9

Our project is almost at an end! We have come so far; less than a week ago, I picked up trash and pulled the grass out of a large rectangle area, and today we finally put up the last of the walls. I can feel the excitement in the air in the orphanage every second we become closer to being finished. The girls look into the windows and today they played ring around the rosy with Lisa Marie inside the new house when all the concrete was dried. It is so exciting that we have not only made an emotional impact on these children, but a physical one as well.

I started to make friendship bracelets with Roat and his brother Ret. They taught me how to make a
certain type of bracelet that spirals around itself. Roat and his brother Ret are probably the most talented people I have ever met in my entire life. It’s strange to think that even though we don’t speak the same language, we are able to build friendships that will last a lifetime.

Day 10

Today was so much fun! We put in the bunk beds and cut out windows in the girls’ house. We were all inside and the girls would stand outside and watch us put their beds together. In the second half of the day, Meaghan and I went to the school and taught the children for the afternoon classes. We switched off; I taught the first class, and the second class Meaghan taught. I worked in the preschool/ “library” and somehow by some miracle I got 7 screaming children to all sit down in a circle and go through colors, numbers, clothing items, and different emotions for about an hour. I have fallen in complete love with every child I meet and I can’t wait to continue making memories with them.

Cambodia: Day 7 & Day 8

Day 7

After finishing today’s manual work, I was able to work in the classroom. There is a school close to the orphanage in the slums that most of the children from the orphanage attend every day. Working in the classroom and teaching students was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences I’ve had. I stood at the front of the classroom and helped the children pronounce words such as sharpener, school bag, pencil, chalk, etc. While I taught the students, I also taught the teacher at the same time. Some of the children, such as Levin, are able to speak English better than their English teacher. It’s really hard to see that they are unable to strive higher and push themselves because their teacher can’t teach them further. Levin is so talented and has been studying English for the past 3 years, and every word you teach him he remembers and repeats again and again. At the school we practiced sentences such as, “Grandma’s hobby is cooking.”, or we would work on crossword puzzles with the vocabulary words they learned that day. At the end of each hour, when the class was over, the students would all stand up, bring their hands together underneath their chins (as if they were praying) and recite “Thank you teacher. Good luck to you teacher. See you on Monday.” It was incredible how much these children love school and given the circumstances of where they live, there’s a copious amount of children that value their education.

Day 8

Every day that we put forth the effort and help to build and finish the girls’ house is another step closer to improving the lives of these children. We are almost finished with the girl’s house; today we put on the walls and finished the flooring. I am so immensely excited to see the finished product and when the girls finally realize that this is what we have put hours and hours in of our energy and love and they will be so happy.  

Today we also gave out some clothes that were donated for the girls at the orphanage. I have never seen a little girl as happy as Sachia was when she got all her clothes. Every time Keelin gave her a new shirt, one by one, she hugged her and folded it nicely and tucked it away into her cubby. It’s amazing that such a small gift to us means the entire world to these children.