A month ago, Action Aid Greece gave 40 people of all ages and from all over Greece the opportunity to travel to Langobaya, Kenya, for a very essential purpose: Help an HIV positive support group, the Kuluhiro.
It is six o’clock in the afternoon and I am sitting in an old bus, proudly mud-covered and sweaty, with tears in my eyes, looking through the dusty window. Outside, I could see little children running towards us in the hot Kenyan sand, barefoot, and shouting with all their strength: “JAMBO!”, a native hello that could only make me smile. We are heading back to where we came from. Silence governs among us, some silently crying, others trying to restrain themselves. All we could hear was the greetings of the young natives accompanied by the considerably loud bus. It is the end of our adventure, a trip we have been all talking about amongst friends and relatives for almost a year. And now, we are heading back to reality.
On a cloudy Sunday of July, I was informed that I was making the cut for the trip I have been dreaming. That day was perhaps the most amazing day of my whole summer; I was finally given the chance to do something about the world’s unfairness. I started packing right away for December 11th, the day of our departure to Kenya.
Langobaya, unknown to me few weeks ago, a hospitable district located in the South East of Kenya is the home of the beloved Kuluhiro, a community living alienated from others for being HIV positive. Meaning “hope” in Swahili, the Kuluhiro were those who warmly welcomed us, danced with us, cooked with us, ate with us and worked with us. We became family. Despite their poor, unhealthy daily life and with less than one Euro a day, they gave us joy and happiness through their dance and their smile. Hand in hand, from the very first day, we started laughing together and communicating with the little Swahili we knew.
The community was composed of 36 people out of whom three of them were children separeted from their original family and now guarded by older members of the Kuluhiro. All I could think of while watching them play was if only I could wake up every morning and have them run around with a camera in their hand, learning how to grasp every detail that passes through their eyes and turning it into a beautiful and unforgettable picture.
Cooking in the "Kitchen"
Divided into groups and working hand in hand, our daily tasks were first, to construct a storehouse within the community which will also be used for group meetings; and second and most challenging, build an irrigation plant through a combination of pipes that will connect the Galana River to the community’s fields donated by Action Aid. Then, these had to be ploughed and prepared to welcome all sorts of suitable plantations, such as tomatoes and corn, so they could later be sold to the local market.
Like most of us, I had never used a shovel or a rake in my life and still, we got to learn their use in the field with the help of the Kuluhiro. I will never forget how one of the community’s women approached me while I was concentrated on ploughing using every single muscle in my body. She was full of energy and she grabbed the shovel with me and she said: “harder”! She was shorter, thinner and older than me and still had the strength of a young man. I suddenly felt like Barbie working with Iron Man especially when thinking that these women and children walk 20 kilometers per day to get gallons of water from the river, transported on their head, under the heat, over the burning sand, back to their beloved ones.
Not having the same dynamism, we rested under a tree big enough to hide us from the burning sun, where the children of the nearby villages would gather. Some of them were timid and would keep a distance; whereas others, more extroverted, came over to play with us and our cameras. Children approaching and touching while examining each detail on you was an excitement that made you hope for a miracle and stay forever in Langobaya.
One of the touching moments I recall is when a young girl of around three years old could not stop staring at a lucky charm bracelet I was wearing. The last day, I took it off and put it on her tiny black wrist, hoping it would bring her all the luck in the world. She glowed, couldn’t stop touching and looking at it. When leaving, each of us having our own personal experience, we were torn apart, as if someone took away a family we had just founded.
The Kuluhiro say fairwell...
Asante Sana. Thank you for all the things I have lived, learned and appreciated in Langobaya. I will try my best to spread the word and persuade people that they can make a change in this world by giving so little of their time. Hopefully, there will come a day where we will all be united and appreciative to one another. I was thinking throughout the trip how could anyone pity the Kuluhiro? All I could feel was happiness and joy. In 24 years of my existence on earth, no one has ever given me such positive vibes as the Kuluhiro did. And now back to the Western world, I look around me and wonder if all those people passing past me in the streets, gloomy and anxious about life, have any idea how unhappy they really are.
You can now adopt a child through Action Aid. All you need is to fill in an application online and send 22 Euros per month. For more information visit www.actionaid.gr
The Action Aid team
