The senior trip this year was to Watamu, and it was a four-day trip from Monday to Thursday. The trip was with the whole senior class to the coast of Kenya, it was a really fun trip with my class mates. We had been previously divided into strands/groups which would determine the activities we would do. The strands were: Culture, Service, Environment, Creativity 1 and Creativity 2. I was in the Service strand; the activities that we were involved in included a beach clean-up, a first-aid class, Turtle Watch, and visiting an Orphanage. We were each given a job in order to contribute to our final piece of work that would summarize the trip, my primary job was photographer.
The beach clean-up was an activity that took place on the first day of arrival at the Ocean Sports Hotel on Watamu beach. As a class, we took bin bags and went in groups down the beach picking up water bottles, plastic bags, glass, pieces of flip-flops, and all other kinds of rubbish. After two hours of collecting the rubbish that had collected near the sea-line, I had filled a bin liner bag. As a class we collected over 30 bags of rubbish, and made the beach a much nicer environment for tourists and locals. The beach clean-up cleared the area of most of the rubbish (certainly all we could see) and it was a fulfilling experience. The bag I carried for the walk back along the beach became really heavy and difficult to carry back, but I managed in the end. It was a valuable activity in the sense that it symbolizes a respect for one’s environment. It was a humbling experience that made me feel like I was helping the community and environment; which I was because much of the rubbish could be harmful to fish or other animals in the ocean.
On the second day, the morning activity our group took part in was a first-aid class. First-aid is an important life skill to have, because it can save the life of a human being. First-aid, we learnt, means the first form of treatment or assistance given to a person in medical distress. We learnt about the importance of first-aid, and precautions necessary for when helping someone in need of assistance. We learnt skills in what to do if someone had fallen from a height, if someone was choking, and if someone had fainted. All of these skills are useful for everyday life. Before the class, I had felt like I did not know much about first-aid, besides what cinema and other media has told me. However, after the hour-long session, I felt like had been well-informed on the basics, and I had a clear understanding of what to do if someone on our trip had an accident similar to one of the previously mentioned events. I felt like I had learnt some valuable lessons in first-aid.
The most fun and morally enriching activity our group took part was to me, the work we did at the Watamu Turtle Watch. Watamu Tutle Watch is an organization dedicated to saving the green turtles in the Watamu area. They re-habilitate as well as provide medical care for injured turtles. They save injured turtles that have been caught by fisherman, or injured by boats. They then release the healed turtles back into the wild. At the center we visited, there was a turtle that had its shell cut by the engine of a boat. We helped clean the turtle’s cut back with toothbrushes, gently cleaned off the algae and other growths on the injured turtle. As well as cleaning the turtle, we replaced the water and cleaned the tanks of 2 turtles. The job included moving the turtle, draining the dirty water out from the tank, brushing the entire tank with brushes and sand, cleaning the tank with water, measuring 20kgs of salt, filtering the salt and replacing the water back into the tank. The job took plenty of energy and elbow grease as well has a couple of hours. After our hard work we were rewarded with the extraordinary task of releasing two turtle back into the wild. It was an amazing event to be a part of; the turtles were quite heavy, and eager to be set free. I was holding one of the turtles and it was great to witness it swimming back out to sea. The arduous task of keeping the tanks clean and taking care of the turtles was one that the employees of Turtle Watch had to do every day. It was great to know we were helping them out, but the greatest experience was what we learnt about conservation and the turtles. We also learnt about the importance of their habitat and how the nests have become under threat, but Turtle Watch has increased awareness and they are managing to protect the turtles and their environment successfully.
The final activity besides the choice activity we participated in as a group was visiting God Our Saviour Orphanage in Watamu. We visited this orphanage on the third day and it was a real highlight of the trip. We donated old text books, colouring books, short stories, workbooks, clothes, hygiene products, and other items. The orphanage has grown significantly in the past 10 years, and it houses babies of a few weeks old to children of 7 years old. When we first arrived the children performed a song and dance to welcome us. We were then given a tour of the compound and the facilities available. After that we spent time with the orphans playing football with them and playing with them. It was great interacting and playing with the kids, they were so happy being picked up, swung around, and playing football. I learned a valuable lesson about the advantages I had growing up compared to the inspiring children at this Watamu orphanage. It was a great pleasure to get to know these children.
No comments:
Post a Comment