Finally on African Soil!

My flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi had a daunting four hour layover in Doha, Qatar from 1am until 4am, and I was dreading it my whole trip. However, the wait was not so bad and went by much faster and smoother than expected. The Hamad International Airport in Doha is a very comfortable yet busy airport that looks like it runs 24 hours a day. I ended up eating, relaxing, and checking on some e-mails that made the time go faster. Before I knew it, I was boarding on my flight from Doha to Nairobi!

I arrived in Nairobi Kenya very much not knowing what awaited me. I had knots in my stomach feeling nervous and anxious at the same time. Upon landing, my perceptions of Kenya changed a lot. I thought going through immigration would be long and daunting, but turns out that it was not that difficult and there was almost no line to get a visa and go through immigration (same booth). I had all my paperwork filled out, I paid $50 and I was in! Getting my luggage was fast and easy as well! The luggage carousel was actually as small as the ones I saw in Peru and Panama, but everything came out fast and efficient. I also thought the weather was going to be hot, but turns out that the weather was actually clear, chilly, windy, and very cool to my liking. I really enjoyed the weather because there were no dreaded mosquitos, and sleeping at night was very easy to do (since I was not sweating).

Going to Kenya was an eye-opening experience. Nairobi is a modern city that is run with technology, but at the same time, a very poor city that has its slums. Nairobi is also a very African city, which allowed me to have the final step of gradual immersion to South Sudan by being in an African city that I was not familiar with, but at the same time had some traces of familiarity. I saw the poverty in the slums and I also saw the development for the city’s future in the business district of Nairobi.

The Nairobi city skyline from the rooftop restaurant at my hotel.

The highlight of my Kenya trip is that I got to stay in a Salesian community (Don Bosco Boy’s Town Vocation Technical School). I am so grateful for the priest who invited me to live in this community for a few days! I originally had plans to stay at a hotel and relax in Nairobi, but in the end I was stranded in the hotel  because I couldn’t leave the hotel unescorted due to the danger to tourists in the neighborhood. I then called the priest who was in charge of the Don Bosco Boy’s Town to meet with him so that I can deliver a package from the Salesian Missions’ Office in New York. However, the priest was not very happy to hear that I was staying at a hotel, and insisted I cancel the rest of my stay so I can be at the Salesian Community. I am so glad I took him on that offer!

Statue of Don Bosco at the center of Boys Town in Nairobi, Kenya.

Chapel at Boys Town in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

The young men and women of the Don Bosco Boys Town were so nice and kind to me! They were very curious about American lifestyles, dream cars, girls, politics, music, and Hollywood films. The students asked me a lot of questions and I had some great conversations with many of the young men and women. I was overwhelmed by their hospitality towards me! One boy named Peter told me that he is very thankful for my visit, “a visitor comes so few times and far in between, that here a visitor is a beautiful blessing and a gift from God, thank you for coming here”.

I also got to visit the other Salesian institutes in a town called Karen, just outside of the Nairobi's city center. There are four major Salesian communities and institutions on the same road in Karen. There is the Bosco Boys (primary school for young orphaned boys), the Tumen Salesian Theological Studies (where all the Salesian seminarians in Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, and South Sudan are studying theology), the DB YES (Don Bosco Youth Educational Services) , and the Don Bosco Boys’ Town Vocational Training School (where I was staying and got to know really well). Along with the four communities in Karen, I also go to see the East Africa Salesian Provincial House in Upper Hill, a very important neighborhood in Nairobi where all the important government buildings are. The Provincial House is also known as Headquarters (HQ) for all operations in Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, and South Sudan. Along with operations, the Provincial House is also the site of the Mary Help of Christians Shrine, which is a very beautiful and impressive place of worship, much like the Holy Family Cathedral in Nairobi.

Me at the Holy Family Cathedral in Nairobi, Kenya!

The shrine of Mary Help of Christians at the Provincial House (Salesian East Africa HQ) in Nairobi, Kenya.

My stay in Nairobi has been a beautiful experience and a great introduction to Africa. I believe my stay in Nairobi really prepared me for South Sudan in helping me gradually immerse myself in a completely new culture. There were some familiar traces in Kenya, which are very much Western and similar to what I am used to such as: the language, although Swahili is the language of choice, most people in Kenya can speak and understand English; the connectivity and technology are fairly advanced in Kenya, where there is high speed wifi and 3G cell phone connectivity; finally, Kenya’s stable government and fruitful economy is one that I believe to be one of the best in Africa. However, Kenya is also very much African, and I was able to learn and see a little bit of African culture; I saw that despite the poverty in Kenya, the people are very happy, hospitable, and kind; that people in Kenya are very religious, in which most people are Christian and not just go to church (where Sundays nothing is open and everything is at a standstill), but that people also pray every day regularly; and that people in Kenya have a great respect for the environment and the earth.
 

Me with my new friend Br. Felix SDB (Studying to become a priest)!

Me with my new friend Br. Richard SDB (Studying to become a priest)!

Me with my new friend Edwin (staff of Don Bosco Boy's Town)!

One Salesian priest (far right) and one Salesian brother (far left) from Boys Town in Nairobi, Kenya, along with fellow guest: a Salesian priest from Khartoum, Sudan (center).

I will take my experiences in Nairobi with me to South Sudan and apply my knowledge to best fit the community in Gumbo. After seeing the community in Nairobi for a few days, I am not just ready and prepared to go to Gumbo, I am very excited and can’t wait to get started in my ministry! It has been a long two weeks of travel, and I am glad to have experienced it, but I am also glad it is done, next and final destination is Gumbo!



Me and most of the boys at Don Bosco Boys Town in Nairobi, Kenya!