Author’s Bio:
A teenager born and brought up in Tanzania, always having had a passion for service, leadership and culture and exposure to AKDN activities because of attending the Aga Khan Schools in Dar es Salaam, blessed with the amazing opportunity to attend the Global Encounters camp in Kenya this year.
Article Summary
A Tanzanian teenager describes her life changing experience at the Global Encounters camp in Kenya this year. The camp, an initiative of the Imamat institutions and the agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), brings together Ismaili youths between the ages of 15 to 17 from over 23 countries in Kenya (and for the first time ever in Tanzania) for three weeks, to take part in various service, leadership and cultural activities. Through the exposure to AKDN activities in East Africa, service projects, cultural exchange, a challenging research project and trips to the most sought after places in East Africa, she describes to you the amazing journey this camp took her through this summer.
Is One Story Enough? – Global Encounters Camp 2014 (Camp 1)
By Inaara Gangji
As I walked out of the plane at Nairobi International airport, I came with the expectation that a life changing experience was awaiting my arrival. I thought the service we would do would change me, but to be honest, it was every aspect of the camp that changed me, from the service sites to the AKDN visits, to the trips, to all the new people I met from 23 different countries. Everything I did in those three and a half weeks I spent in Kenya and Tanzania changed my outlook on the world, and most importantly myself.
It all started off as a discussion with my parents in February, deciding whether they thought I was ready for such a camp or not. The application was filled out and by mid- April, I got a phone call telling me I was accepted! I really did not know what to expect and so over the course of the next two months, through all the emails and webinars, I had created this sort of visualisation of how camp would be. Although we were informed that the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa would no longer be our location and that we were free to back out, this did not let me down. In fact, I was looking forward to a better experience at a different location.
On June 22nd 2014, at 11:30am I walked out of Nairobi Airport eagerly awaited by Risk Management, who drove me to Progressive Park Hotel: our abode for the next five days. After checking in all valuables and food (primarily chocolate), we were taken to Parklands Jamatkhana. On the way, I mad acquaintance with majority of the facilitators and a few participants. Our day consisted mainly of family building activities and games, including mafia (an all camp favourite). We attended Jamatkhana in the evening followed by meeting all the other participants at the hotel with some pizza. The day ended with us splitting into our dorm groups and getting some well-deserved sleep.
Every morning from then on at the hotel started with D’ua in our dorm groups in the morning and then breakfast with recaps of the world cup matches and the nurse (Mwalimu Saeeda) yelling for everyone to take their medications. We spent majority of our time in Nairobi at Parklands Jamatkhana.
Our mornings were filled with core sessions (sessions on the AKDN and Ismaili culture and history) and evenings would consist of sports from all around the world.
Walking to the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. ©Zain Delawalla
The first day was highlighted by a presentation by the AKDN representative to Kenya, Aziz Bhaloo, who talked about the AKDN’s activities in East Africa and his life in general. He particularly emphasised the importance of service and lifelong learning. The next day started with us recognising the values of the AKDN by looking at projects such as the Bujugali Hydroelectric Power project in Uganda and the Roshan telecommunications company in Afghanistan as examples. We then proceeded to the Aga Khan University Hospital for talks about the AKU’s activities with Greg Morgan (AKU Provost) and Asmita Gillani (AKUH CEO) followed by a tour of the Heart and Cancer ward and other general areas of the hospital. We then visited the East Africa Institute (the policy research and public engagement platform of the AKU) where talks about development by the interns inspired us all. At dinner, we had the first of many human libraries, where facilitators share their inspiring life stories with us.
On the 24th, we drove to Frigoken (a beans processing factory run by AKFED) where we were given talks on the AKFED’s work in East Africa followed by a tour of the beans factory and neighbouring juice factory, also run by AKFED. In the evening, we went to Town Jamatkhana where we were mesmerised by the story of how the khane came into existence told by Mo Jeewani, the great, great grandson of the two brothers who built the khane. We were then treated to delicious biryani at khane jointly with the Jamat.
Swinging from a pendulum almost 20 feet above the ground! ©Farzeen Jiwani
The following day was filled with team building activities at Lukenya (an area outside Nairobi), which included swinging on a pendulum almost 20 feet above the ground! Our time in Nairobi concluded with a visit to the brand new Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) centre with state of the art facilities. Our visit included a tour of the stunning premises, an inspiring talk with the CEO of DTB (how she became the Queen bee) and other rousing presentations by social entrepreneurs and how they are contributing to development while running a business too. The afternoon was filled with excitement as we made our first visit to our service sites. Mine was the Children’s Garden Home which takes care of children from urban slums in Nairobi. We were welcomed by dances and music, which left us overwhelmed for the rest of the day. Their welcome made us want to make justa bigger and greater difference through our activities there in the next week. In the evening, we drove to Bracken Hurst Conference Centre in Limuru (40 minutes from Nairobi): our abode for the next two weeks.
Bracken Hurst Conference Centre, Limuru. ©Anaya Pierali
At first, the facilities at Bracken Hurst were a bit overwhelming especially due the vast greenery in the premises and the cold weather. We eventually got used to it and stopped complaining about the temperature. The rooms however were a better than what we expected.
As we ended our first week together and as the time to decide on our projects for our service sites neared, it was essential that we understood the contexts of our sites and the behaviour expected. So the next day was filled with sessions centred on service sites and what is expected from us. Core sessions from now on focused more on our history and heritage (where we come from and our ancestral heritage). We focused on our names and what they tell us about our ancestral lineage, and we also looked at family sizes, particular moments in history and migration to learn more about our Jamat in the past.
As we approached the beginning of our second week, we had to start working on our capstone projects. Capstone projects are one of the mandatory projects you do at Global Encounters. You are placed in a capstone pod group according to your areas of interest which you choose prior to camp. In these groups you discuss your pod topic- mine was “the environment and mankind’s intervention”. There were many others such as “the real hunger games- poverty and hunger”, “breaking the glass ceiling- equality for women”, “the iPad era- technology and modernization”, etc. After discussions and observations at your service site, you choose a capstone issue related to your pod topic. You then formulate a research question based on your issue and interview questions which you will ask people around you to investigate your issue further. After your interviews are done (one or two were mandatory), you prepare a presentation in any form, which is presented at a summit near to the end of camp. We were guided through all steps by our very own facilitator, Mwalimu Haleema. From guidance to approval, she was there all the way.
One day in our pod groups, we were shown a TED talk by a Nigerian lady. She talked about stories: one story and many stories. Before many of us came to Africa and the camp, we had a stereotype of the places we would visit set up in our minds. She talked about the stereotype she had of a boy who was her house help and that she thought he could never do anything constructive and she was proved wrong. When she moved to the USA for further studies, her peers had the same stereotype about her and about Africa and she proved them wrong. She was not trying to say that all stereotypes are false; all she was trying to say was that we should try to look at all stories, all angles of a story. If we look at something from different perspectives, it changes our perspective as a whole, thus destroying the stereotype.
This is exactly what happened at our service sites. When we first visited, we did not expect what we saw- dances, talent and sheer magic right in front of us. I noticed that environmental education was an integral part of the school (which I did not expect in a school with kids from slums) and so I based my capstone project on it. Daddy Moses (the founder of the children’s home) told me how much he values education and especially environmental education. They had a community cooker, which converts waste into cooking fuel, they had fully functioning greenhouse (which we renovated) and crops which they sold in the local markets. This definitely challenged my “story”, it challenged everything that I thought of the place.
But, we had to think of a way to start up sustainable projects at the site, so as to improve conditions there. After looking at the needs assessment done by GE staff prior to camp and our own observations, the school had asked us to work on early childhood development (ECD), extra-curricular activities (dancing, sport, arts and crafts), greenhouse renovation and, teaching and sharing teaching practices.
Teaching fourth graders at Children’s Garden Home. ©Anaya Pierali
We then sat down with the teachers and devised a timetable in which could fit all the activities we were planning. The first half of the morning we would teach the kids with their teachers and they would learn teaching practices from us i.e. incorporating games and music in the classroom, encouraging hands on and interactive learning, and the second half would be extra-curricular activities with all the children. Two of our participants volunteered to work on ECD all day, with help from us at times.
Another participant and I were assigned fourth graders for the first half of the morning. They were an interesting lot of students indeed! We taught them science, maths and English, and the amount of attention and love we received was overwhelming at times. They did scare us with their stories during story time but they enjoyed the new teaching methods we were bringing in- Mr Fox being their favourite time telling game. On the last day we even told their teachers to pitch in and lead games. The children seemed to love competition and team games aroused their thinking more than just writing notes all day- which is what they were used to doing. The introduction of teaching anchors was very well received as well.
Participants instructing children on the obstacle course. ©Aida Sidi
During the second half of the day, we would do loads of activities with the kids. We once did hand printing which we used to decorate their classrooms, we made paper boats and stars which we hung up in the dining hall, the males would all play volleyball or football (soccer), we had dance workshops in which we would exchange dance moves from all over the world, team building activities were a favourite and we once also had an obstacle course which brought together kids of all ages!
When we got back from the service site each day, delicious snacks awaited our arrival, and then we were off to sports. Bracken Hurst has beautiful walking trails and sports grounds. We could choose from a huge variety of sports, or walk on the nature trail, or take Bollywood Zumba classes (BollyFit) led by our very own facilitator, Dada Erum. Our evenings would consist of various workshops from cooking to music to public speaking to recycled art to drama. We discovered talents we never thought we possessed at these workshops which were highlighted by hints of Kenyan culture.
Dog and the bone- a favourite. ©Inaara Gangji
An essential part of the camp is cultural exchange and so in the evening, we had Jamatkhana models from all over the world for a few days at a time. We had North American, Syrian, Iranian, Afghani, Tajik, etc. This was a great way to learn how the rest of the Ismailis around the world pray and even with these differences, we learnt that the essence of all prayer is similar.
After Jamatkhana, we either had light core sessions and we once even had a cultural night. We were assigned a certain culture represented at the camp and we would have to take part in a dance from that culture and present it to the rest of camp. I was in the African group and we rocked the stage with a fusion of traditional and modern dance! Another night we had “life maps” in which we drew our lives in the form of a map and we learnt a lot about people we didn’t know that well. We also had “bio poems” one night- poems that talk about you and who you really are- and we shared them with everyone else.
Running on the picturesque nature trails at Bracken Hurst. ©Simran Jadavji
At the end of the second week, we made our trip to Maasai Mara for a safari. Though it wasn’t my first safari, it was a first time for many participants. We drove to Maasia Mara, passing on the way the Great Rift Valley, which stretches all the way from Jordan. We spotted every one of the big five (the lion, the buffalo, the leopard, the elephant and the rhinoceros), but unfortunately, except the rhino. The hotel was the best part of the trip, with zebras on our porches every morning and visits from monkeys too! At Maasai Mara, we did one of the best activities at camp, where we reflected on experiences that have changed us and we shared them. At the end of this activity, we realised that how we overcome challenges and how they change us is very important to realise.
When we got back from Maasai Mara, our evening sessions focused on cosmopolitan ethics. These sessions redefined cosmopolitan ethics from ethics to be used in modern society, to the belief that all humans belong to one single community despite all differences. In these sessions we discussed how Chinese stereotype each other- How the Southern rice eaters are stereotyped by the Northern noodle eaters as “not attractive and rude”. Stereotyping is not in keeping with the expression of cosmopolitan ethics. Stereotypes trap us and prevent us from seeing the whole picture.
One night we had a session on the history of the Jamat in east Africa and particularly Zanzibar, but no one knew it was preparing us for our trip to Zanzibar (which was a total surprise). With our capstones still incomplete, Khushyali on its way and preparation for Zanzibar, it was a hectic week ahead!
The next night was talent night and we were all blown away by the immense talent of our participants and especially the facilitators! We also saw lots of hidden talents in our Mwalimus who had been silently preparing for Zanzibar and were now free of the burden of keeping it a secret.
The last day at our service sites had then come. It was a total Indian- African fusion day! The children danced and sang for us and we did the same for them. We sang the famous Hindi song “Tumhi Ho” and told them that we were expressing our love for them. Lots of tears were shed but we knew that what we had accomplished would make a difference there in the long run.
Presentations at the summit. ©Inaara Gangji
With the service site chapter closed, we had to start preparing for our capstone summit which would be witnessed by many guests. When the summit day came, our visitors from the Aga Khan Academy staff and Aiglemont were extremely impressed by our work. I wrote a poem which I presented to the rest of the camp and it was very well received.
Our time in Kenya concluded with Khushyali at Pangani Jamatkhana in Nairobi. With pilau and sherbet, we said our final goodbyes to the Nairobi Jamat and risk management who took such good care of us. It was a late end to our day and with most of the participants gone on the first flight to Zanzibar, we had to be up early for our flight in the morning.
Khushyali at Pangani Jamatkhana . ©Zain Delawalla
When we reached Zanzibar, all I could say was “shukhar” (THANK GOD!) for the heat! We started off with lunch at the Hilton and then a presentation on the AKDN’s activities and the Jamat’s history in Zanzibar by Mr Bhaloo (AKDN representative in Zanzibar). Our afternoon was filled with tours- of the Forodhani Park and then the renowned Zanzibar Serena Inn. We ended our day with delicious Iftar (“kuku paka”) at Zanzibar Jamatkhana followed by a tour of the khane.
The next day, we literally swam with the dolphins in the Indian Ocean followed by free time at the five star hotel we were booked into. Our evening was very emotional as it was the last evening with many of our participants. We sat around a bonfire on the beach and reflected on how GE changed us and saw so many people open up and share how GE has been a life changing experience. I sit here writing this with tears in my eyes remembering that night as we realised how precious our time at GE was.
Walking through the streets of Stone Town, Zanzibar. ©Unknown
However, we spent the next morning happily strolling and shopping through stone town followed by lunch at Jamatkhana. Tours of the spice, fish and slave markets were followed by a great rooftop sunset dinner in stone town. Our evening was enticed by a visit to the night market at Forodhani Park with delicious delicacies from all over the coast.
The realisation that we would never see each other again in this way hit us hard on the last day. The hugs, the tears and the final goodbyes roll like a never ending film in my mind every time I think of the camp. However, we all definitely left with the feeling of accomplishment and joy in our hearts because what we did in these three weeks was extraordinary and none of us ever thought we could make such huge changes, whether it be in us or in the people we met and interacted with in our time in Kenya and Tanzania. We never realised it but we learnt how to realise that one “story” is really not enough. We grew as people and most importantly as individuals.
GE was a journey: a journey of attainment, a journey of scholarship, a journey of accomplishment and most importantly a journey of transformation for the better.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Mwalimus (especially for all the effort you all put in for the Zanzibar trip), Ndugus, Dadas, Nairobi and Tanzanian Risk Management, Delta Force (You all know who you are) and everyone else that made this camp so unforgettable and in Ndugu Shawn’s words- “amazing”!
And most importantly:
“There will come a time when you think everything is finished; that will be the beginning”
—Louis L’Amour
***
Inaara Gangji
Tanzania
Participants and Facilitators of the Global Encounters Camp (1) 2014. ©Afzal Amin Shivji
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Inaara Blogs at:
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