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 ...