Sonoma County girls, on trek to Kenya, discover they can change lives

The summertime group worked side-by-side with villagers to help build a health center serving some 10,000 people.|

After months of anticipation and fundraising to afford a cultural immersion trip to Africa, five Sonoma teens traveled 9,500 miles – 30 hours with layovers – to arrive at their dream destination. They say their lives will never be the same.

The girls journeyed with Sonoma-based Transformative Travel to the rural village of Odienya in a tea-growing region in southwestern Kenya. There, they discovered their ability to change lives by listening to villagers, sharing stories and expressing their support through volunteerism.

“The connections we made were so pure. I don’t know if I’ve ever made connections like that before. It was like our second family,” said 16-year-old Aurora Barnes, a junior at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa.

She and classmates Meghan Chang, Nicole Hakel and Jessica McAtee-Pierson, along with Sonoma Valley High School junior Tessa Baxter, all 16, lived with a local family for two weeks, sleeping on sofas or mattresses on the floor, using buckets of water for showering and a concrete slab with a hole in the ground as a toilet.

Krista McAtee, a teacher at Flowery Elementary School, is Jessica’s mother and the founder of the nonprofit travel program. She and four other adults were part of the summertime group that worked side-by-side with villagers to help build a health center serving some 10,000 people living within a 2.5-mile area.

The region is the homeland of President Barack Obama’s late father, who was a member of the Luo tribe, like many in Odienya.

Villagers initiated the project and approached the Kenyan government for support after the death of a young girl from malaria, a common disease in the region.

Transformative Travel partnered with another nonprofit, Minnesota-based Xperitas, which offers educational, cross-cultural expeditions working with indigenous and marginalized communities in North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia. Small teams travel and work with locals on projects with reciprocal rewards for everyone involved.

The experience in Odienya broadened perspectives for both the Kenyans and the North Bay travelers.

“We moved a lot of bricks. We mixed lots of concrete,” said McAtee, 42.

While the health center is a huge necessity in the region, McAtee believes building relationships with villagers is as important as brick-laying and wall-building.

“This is not about ‘helping those poor people.’ It’s about learning together,” she said.

The 10 American travelers spent countless hours talking with villagers (from elders to children), sharing stories and learning about one another’s histories, hopes, values and ambitions.

“Just the power of listening can open eyes and heal hearts,” the educator said. “You recognize the power of being open-hearted and notice the commonalities and power of caring.”

For the teen travelers, immersing themselves within the local community was an opportunity to make a difference. Frequent discussion groups and journaling provided time to reflect and share experiences.

Although the culture shock of polygamy and the disparity of the sexes was significant, the teen travelers discovered “differences can create unity,” Jessica said.

Rather than judge cultural mores – or take offense to several sincere marriage proposals – the teens got to know people individually, from the men working on the job site to their wives and children, all of whom expressed great interest in the United States and a deep appreciation for the visitors’ hard work and willingness to share, listen and learn.

“I think we made a lasting impact on them, the same way they did to us,” Jessica said.

The teens were especially touched by the warmth and interest of the village children, who spent hours playing games, blowing bubbles, singing and dancing with their light-skinned visitors, a not-so-common sight for the youngsters.

The trip also provided an opportunity for a safari, with sightings of elephants, alligators, zebras, giraffes and warthogs among the highlights. They also visited a village where cow blood is consumed and a barter system of goods and services is used in place of money.

A trip to nearby Lake Victoria was “really hard,” McAtee said, with garbage and flies an overwhelming sight at the continent’s largest lake, one vital to those living around its shores.

Collectively, the experiences in Kenya will have a lasting impact on the young travelers, McAtee said.

“For youth it’s to recognize their level of privilege by being in the United States, and they recognize the power they have to make a difference in people’s lives by listening to their stories and making connections,” she said. “It’s really recognizing their privilege and this common humanity.”

It’s an empowering lesson, she said, for teens who often feel they have little to contribute and little power to change the world. Over the past several years, she’s traveled with more than 100 local youth.

The Kenya trip is just one of several sponsored by Transformative Travel and partnering nonprofit educational travel organizations. McAtee and groups of North Bay students and adults have participated in several service trips to Nicaragua with Seeds of Learning and to El Salvador with ESNA Village Network.

Eden Rock, a representative with Xperitas, said the cultural immersion excursions deeply affect those across the globe. Trips are open to individuals and groups.

“The emphasis is on relationships and empathy building,” she said. “It’s really to create global citizens throughout the world. It’s all about immersion.”

For more information about upcoming trips, visit transformative-travel.org or xperitas.org.

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