UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies

It is my last week of staying in Nairobi, I am just wrapping up with my daily yoga sessions, mindfulness activities, and saying my goodbyes. My NGO Nancy put a party for me and I brought a cake. The children and I said our goodbyes. Some of the children had made me drawings/art pieces for me. In addition to yoga sessions we also practiced another mindfulness activity; creative art seminars where I brought coloring pencils/paint, paint brushes/drawing papers. In addition; we also took a field trip to go hiking. I didn’t give anything to the children directly because that would cause tension between the children if anyone had lost anything. Also there was just not enough resources for all of the children so it was easier that it was divided evenly and the teachers would distribute. The results were great - the children had drawn all sorts of drawings/paintings. At the moment I felt peace, as if I had been slowed down as compared to a busy hectic life, with a clear mind. I had practiced...

After a few days of coming to the Dream Children’s home and practicing yoga with the children, it had made it apparent to me that the children rapidly adapted different yoga poses and were quick learners as a group. I had to start doing my own research on to how I could incorporate yoga into their daily lives. I wanted them to progress with yoga in their own way, not to just learn and follow the poses but to lead and teach others. I was only there for a limited time and I didn’t want the yoga practice to go extinct once I had left the country. I remembered that in my high school english class we used a process called “popcorn” to read out loud in classes. This not only helped with our oral skills in speaking in class but it also helped us gain confidence. So I picked some of the kids to lead the class and instructed the kids to follow. I wanted to make sure this would work so I had a student named Marvin (in the center with white shirt) lead the class and I would go around the class...

I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Kenya and execute my PATA project that was funded by UC Davis Center for Economics Development. I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on August 30, 2018 roughly around 2am. (I know what a horrible timing). I took a taxi to my friends parents house. The time switch and jet lag really hit me because I had never gone outside the timezone of California. I slept in during the day and awake in the nights for the first two days before I finally had figured it out. I needed to take melatonin according to internet to which I pursued by purchasing at the pharmacy. The medication translation was very easy because the primary language in Kenya is english so it was very easy to locate and purchase. My expectation of finding the proper product was very different then how it played out. I had written daily in my journal; how I was feeling that day, what made me very happy, and what was difficult obstacle. It was such a good idea because I was able to really ...

Andresito and I working on his liberal arts homework. -August 16, 2018 - Today was a productive day, some volunteers and I went to speak with the local university “Universidad Amazonica” to see if there was any local students that would like to volunteer with the NGO. I proposed to take this initiative as an NGO, with the purpose to create more longevity in the projects that are started by foreign volunteers. I saw that there has been great projects proposed and carried on in the past, however there was no follow up once they left the NGO, that it is when my suggestion came in and was happy to receive support on this idea. In the morning when we presented this idea to the university’s principle, she was very excited, she expressed that this iniciativa could definitely benefit the students getting some hands on learning from its own community. She told us that we could come back in the night time to talk to the students as it is a night school. We learned that most of the stud...

The twins, Andre and Salome, in our study session going over math problems. August 12, 2018 Today some of the volunteers and I were taken to the “Hogar Cristo Te Salva” Orphanage to meet the people in charge of the center. They explained to us the hardships that they have of managing the orphanage, it’s mainly due to the lack of economical support from the government. They explained to us that they had contacted the city previously in hopes of getting any type of support for these children, unfortunately the city has turned away from them because of the lack of funds. Most of the money they receive is from fundraisers that previews volunteers have made for the purpose of helping the orphanage. This was very heartbreaking to hear, specially because you would see in their eyes the disappointment they felt. This really puts into perspective how fortunate we are to have fair accessibility to funds, if needed, in special cases like these. Moreover, they explained to us their main needs lik...

Richard and I, he was one of my deaf students, helping me learn his name in ASL. August 11, 2018 Today is Sunday, a very slow day here in Riberalta. I was surprised to see that there was barely any places open, I wasn’t able to find a close by restaurant, I had to walk longer than usual. Riberalta is a very hot city, which made it harder, but it reminded me of my time that I lived in Costa Rica, it was very nice. For lunch I tried some local fish with rice, beans and plantain. In my time here so far, I think I had plantain almost everyday, because it is the accessible everywhere and easy to cook for a beginner like myself. I am missing home a little more than usual today, but getting to experience this time with myself has really helped me getting to know myself better. Not having a schedule to follow, working at my own time, has given me confidence that I am able to handle independent projects. On the other hand, I have noticed that I really need to practice cooking more often,...