Recently a member of our church family went to Africa as aprt of her nurising training. We intervied Jenny for the churhc magazine, here's the interview.
Why did you choose Africa?
I was at Spring Harvest a few years ago and Andy Flannagan was talking about looking deep in your heart and seeing where you were called to go and Africa came straight into my head. When I was doing my A-levels I decided I would apply to one university and if I didn’t get in I would take a year out and go to Africa. I was a bit disappointed when I got an interview at college but on the day found that we had an elective placement where we could go abroad, so I decided then I would go to Africa for mine.
Where did you go?
I chose Kenya because my Dad had lived there when he was little and thought it would be cool to see where he had lived. The company I was with placed me in a town called Naivasha which is about an hour from Nairobi.
What were your first impressions when you got there?
It was really cool, the air was so still and cool, it was really warm but just felt so peaceful! It was a really busy airport car park and dark, but looked beautiful!
What kind of things did you get involved in doing?
I worked in 2 different hospitals, 1 government funded and one private. Spent a lot of time questioning what they were doing and just tried to teach them better (and much safer) ways of doing things, I also went to 3 orphanages, did some teaching at one and played and led arts and crafts at the others.
What surprised you most?
The attitude of the nurses in the hospital, I wasn’t prepared for that, I thought the problem would be coping with no resources or money, but the hardest thing was witnessing the lack of compassion the nurses had for their patients.
What was the hardest thing about being in a different country?
The language barrier, I coped with the few words I managed to pick up but it was hard in the hospitals when the patients were trying to talk to me. Many of them had not been to school so had not learnt English, the children at the orphanages could speak English though so it wasn’t so hard there.
What made the most impact on you?
The children from the Catholic Church. There was one girl called Queen Elizabeth, around 8 or 9, she is a beautiful girl with an infectious personality. I found it so hard saying goodbye to her. She used to run up and meet me when we got there and would draw me pictures and write messages. I found out in the last week that she is HIV positive and that broke my heart to hear that. Another girl, Mercy, about 18 months had been abandoned on the church steps when she was a day old, we would try to play with her but she hated being picked up and didn’t know what it was like to have a cuddle, she would walk around by herself and if she fell over would sit and cry then pick herself up. By the end of the trip she had learnt my name and would say ‘ello jen’, and would come and sit on my lap for a cuddle. I fell in love with the children there.What could we do we make an impact on Africa?
Pray for them, when I left they asked me to tell my friends and family about them and asked for you to pray for them, and let them know we are thinking of them. I have their address’s and will be sending letters and packages to them, if anybody would like to send anything or write a letter please come and speak to me. I will also be doing some fundraising for them, one of the orphanages wants to build a dining hall, and they both need money to buy food and clothes for the children, so please support me in this.
What difference has it made to you?
It’s hard to explain, it’s definitely changed me, I’m still me but with a bit more added, I feel like there is more depth to me now. I’ll never forget the people I met or the things I have seen and will do all I can to support them.
Would you go back?
Definitely, I’ve already sorted out a list of people to come with me! I’ll be there as soon as I have the money to go!
I’d also like to say thank you again to everybody who helped to support me to go on this trip, THANK YOU!
Jenny
