Tanzania: becoming the change I want to see in the world

When I think of all the people that inspire me, the list goes on and on. Inspiration comes from everywhere. I believe it all just has to do with perspective. Everyone and everything around you provides you with a lesson and you can use it as a tool to better yourself. 

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most inspirational people when I think about how I intend to carry out my life.  Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” This is something that Children's Global Alliance has taught me as well. Since starting I now understand that I truly play a role in this world. As long as I’m pointing the finger at everyone else, change won’t come about because It’s not about anyone else, but myself. Someone may be doing terrible things towards others, but I try to ask myself: Am I being loving to myself? Do I perform honorable acts for myself? Do I express love and gratitude towards my family? Am I loving and patient towards everyone in my life?

As long as I keep the message of Gandhi and the children I have helped in both Nicaragua and Cambodia, I can share their love and knowledge towards the people in my world, and the people in my life. In turn, I can potentially spark a change in someone else. Someone who was loving, inspired me to do the same, and in turn, I will inspire others. That's how Gandhi says we change the world. 

Gandhi brought India to independence by using non-violent resistance. His exceptional leadership skills are something that I could learn as a mentor this year. Simplicity is the second most heroic quality that Gandhi showed. He believed in living a simple life, he urged a simple life with only the necessities that he needed. The children in Cambodia taught me this as well, that love is truly all you need to be happy. 

Another person that inspires me is someone I have met only just a year ago. She lost her husband in a tragic accident and every single day she pushes through and does not let anything stop her. This woman was able to create an organization in both of their names using his message of helping others. Being in Cambodia with her and seeing how the people of Cambodia grew from their sadness and how they chose not to morn but use their past to create a stronger future, really made me realize this is something she had also done this whole time. She is able to spread her husbands message of love and compassion while doing the things she loves. She is able to inspire others with her ability to not necessarily "move on" but how she is able to not let his death hold her back, but instead she is able to carry out his qualities that made him who he is. This is something that I believe everyone should learn from; to not let what happens in the past define you but rather use it for growth. I am so grateful I am able to join this woman on another journey as well to Tanzania this summer. 

I would not be who I am today without my best friend. Since probably 5th grade she has been such a huge part in my life. She is always so full of light and wherever she goes she is able to radiate this love and happiness that so many people need in their life, which makes her who she is. In 2012 I traveled to Nicaragua with CGA for the first time with her. Seeing her passion the entire time showed me the way, and I believe being with her is what sparked my fire to help others as well. Last summer we were able to go to Cambodia together. This was our second trip, so both of us were able to share the same passion and work with each other in a different way than before. Being with her makes me a stronger person because of her incredible drive towards what she believes in as well as her ability to fully extend every ounce of her being helping others. 

I am unsure of what I did in order to be able to travel with her again this upcoming trip to Tanzania, but I have never been more prepared, or grateful. Being the mentor this year, I am ready to use everything I have learned in the past from her and use it to create a fire to hopefully spark someone else's flame, like she did to mine. I am ready to use her passion that I have grown from, and help others have the same drive. 

"What animal would you be and why?" When I received this prompt it took me a while to find the "perfect" animal to describe who I am most like, or what animal I could be. While I was in bed thinking about all the animals in the world, it came to me. The answer had been cuddling with me all along- a dog.

I read somewhere about Chinese Feng Shui, that cats actually have a tendency to absorb negative energy in people and in their homes because they can detect these negative areas biologically. They absorb radiation, sickness, disease, or pain from these spots and also shield others from the harmful affects. I have always found this so interesting, but as I looked more closely into the information I found that that dogs are also capable of doing this. Unlike cats, dogs don't absorb the negative vibrations and energies like cats do, instead they recycle it. They take in the negative energy, and transform it into positive energy that they send out. 

I have always seen myself as a "dog" in this sense when it comes to problems with my friends, family, school, and all areas in my life. Knowing this now, I realize this is something I have always did in some way or another; when something negative happens in my life, I exert it's affects on me as positive energy.
Dogs are known for being loyal, being by your side every moment you need them. They love you unconditionally no matter way the circumstances are. I aim to be a loyal friend on a day to day basis and this is something that I now realize this whole time I could learn from my own pup.

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.