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Ethiopia Pt. VI

Our primary initiative while in Addis Ababa was to work with a local school that specializes in taking students whose parents are currently in, or working their way out of, prostitution. By sending their children to a school that provides an excellent education, they can ensure them a better future. Pictured above is one of the mothers we spent time working with.

Ethiopia Pt. V

Our primary initiative while in Addis Ababa was to work with a local school that specializes in taking students whose parents are currently in, or working their way out of, prostitution. By sending their children to a school that provides an excellent education, they can ensure them a better future. Pictured above is one of the mothers we spent time working with.

Ethiopia Pt. IV

Our primary initiative while in Addis Ababa was to work with a local school that specializes in taking students whose parents are currently in, or working their way out of, prostitution. By sending their children to a school that provides an excellent education, they can ensure them a better future. Pictured above is one of the mothers we spent time working with.

Ethiopia Pt. III

The Lion of Judah, an important religious symbol in Rastafarian culture, resides in the heart of Addis Ababa.  Many are unaware that Rasta culture actually originates from Ethiopia instead of Jamaica. This is most obvious when looking at the Ethiopian flag, whose colors were adopted for Rasta culture.

Ethiopia Pt. II

Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa, is perched over 7,000 feet above sea level and serves as the home to well over 3 million people. The city's layout is a strange mix of upper and lower social classes all subsisting in the same neighborhoods and often only feet away from each other unlike most modern zoned cities.

Ethiopia Pt. I

Two men keep watch over one of the thousands of tiny 'shops' lining Addis Ababa's city streets. Despite a growing economy, many Ethiopians still suffer from extreme poverty due to a large influx of people moving from rural to urban areas.

Kenya Pt. VI

James, a young boy at the small home for disabled children, has been suffering from extreme malnutrition despite eating a healthy diet. Even when he was able to eat, much of it was later thrown back up making the problem worse. It is unclear as to what James suffers from, local doctors are still unable to make a diagnosis based on his symptoms.

Kenya Pt. V

Students attending a boarding school are required to wear a uniform and shave their head. This reduces distractions by placing a strong emphasis on school work. While not all students enjoy such strict control over their looks, most agree on the importance of a good education in the pursuit of a better life.

Kenya Pt. IV

The harsh reality for many of the children attending public school in rural Kenya is several mile commute to and from school everyday. The more wealthy are afforded the luxury of bus rides to and from boarding school.

Kenya Pt. III

Members of the Catholic Women's Association carry banana leafs in support of peace for the upcoming election. Historically, elections have often brought much violence to Kenya. Many return to the home region of their tribes to avoid conflicts along tribal lines.  

Kenya Pt. II

For the children not attending school, most spend their time doing chores and running errands for their family. Here a local girl returns home with fire kindling to be used for cooking. Despite electricity being run through the area a few years prior, many homes still lack access. 

Kenya Pt. I

The first destination of our journey to Africa was the small town of Sigomere Kenya, home to Obama's extended family. Here our primary focus was to improve the financial well being a local small home for disabled children and to check on a previously implemented aquaponics system in the local all-girls school. While visiting, we were frequently referred to by the local children as "muzungu", the Swahili term for 'white person'.

The Invictus Initiative

The Invictus Initiative, arguably the best international humanitarian organization out there right now for its 'relationships first' approach and varied team composition. Having the privilege of traveling with this organization gave me the inside look as to what makes their model far more effective when compared to much larger operations. What I immediately noticed was the more controlled atmosphere Invictus seemed to impart wherever we went. Where most humanitarian organizations prefer to rush in, knock out whatever plans they created before hand and leave, Invictus takes the longer approach. Our first goal was always to sit down and talk with the group of people we had identified as needing our assistance and see if that really was the case. More often than not the information we had going into a location needed to be updated and what we thought was best at the time no longer happened to be true. By far the most difficult aspect to this approach was how it forced you to stop exclusively thinking about crafting a solution. For most when presented with a problem, we immediately try to jump to a solution of our own design. Here, jumping to solutions frequently gets in the way of learning more about their needs, and just because an idea is a solution in our eyes does not make it so for them. However, after spending the length of our trip observing the effectiveness of getting to know those who you are trying to help first, it became apparent that there is no other way to go about it.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua, a country no larger than the western half of Colorado, yet somehow far bigger on the inside. From the tiny villages to the big hearts that occupied them, Nicaragua was and always will be more than the sum of its parts. While it was no secret that the country had its fair share of problems, the work Invictus did was to help strengthen what was already there, not start from scratch. It is through this model that we firmly believe the people of Nicaragua can work together to overcome their problems and prosper within their culture - not ours. In hindsight, to say I am a changed person as a result of this trip would be a lie. I firmly believe that if it takes a volunteer trip abroad to change who you are as a person, than you are really doing something wrong. To me, humanity is something you take with you everywhere you go, not just to the places that need it most.

La Cal Pt. II

La Cal, now the host of a huge BBQ party thrown by Invictus to celebrate the two communities and countries coming together. After all, we had much to celebrate with the immense progress made throughout the course of our trip. In the cumulation of efforts put forth by the different Invictus teams, each group was tasked with either leading a 'day camp' for the kids or teaching a health workshop with the adults. The first activity we embarked on with the kids was breaking into two teams and collecting as much trash as possible. After the time was up, the team with the largest pile won. From this, we reinforced the importance of working together to accomplish a common goal, in this case keeping their village free of litter. Meanwhile, the health team focused on presenting the posters they created to illustrate the process of an at home birth, a need brought forward to us by the community during a previous visit. The night came to an end with an invitation to join them for mass and live music before our final goodbye. Gratitude hardly begins to describe their parting message to us, and after all of our hard work it was a relief to know we were appreciated.

Technology

Technology, against all odds its ever increasing reach could be seen in even the most remote of villages. Somehow, in an almost poetic sense, the desire to own a cellphone has drowned out the need for some of the most basic amenities. Many of the locals I met would gladly give up a comfortable bed or a deposit on a well so they can instead purchase a mobile phone. In no way am I saying the individuals I met should 'know better' or that they are making a poor decision, rather my perspective on the matter is that of curiosity. Somehow, despite having a very limited view on the westernized world, the importance of owning a cell phone has become so apparent it is now viewed as a necessity. With my background in IT, I have always looked for ways in which technology can bring people together instead of push them apart, and here in the remote hills of Nicaragua that became a reality.  Children and adults alike laughed themselves to tears over snapchat filters, our volunteers spoke a language they weren't fluent in and we learned more about the depth of their daily lives, all through the powerful combination of technology and humanity.

The Municipal Dump Pt. II

The Jinotega Municipal Dump, despite only spending two days here, the implications of what we saw and did will last far beyond such a small time frame. While it is easy to just caste the label of 'sad' on this place, one has to remember that these people's lives are full of dignity and joy. Just because the context we were raised in stating anyone with less than we have is 'sad' or 'depressed' doesn't make it so. Here people live their lives just as we do, working hard to achieve what it is they want most, whether that be a better home or clean water. So long as the world continues to operate on the predisposition that anyone worse off than you is below you, communities like this will continue to grow. As Audre Lorde has said, "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."

Childhood

Childhood, for most this time in your life is filled with happy giggles as you toddle around the house playing with all your toys. For the children growing up in the Municipal dump of Jinotega, childhood is a very different period of time. Here even the cleanest of spring water still has high levels of naturally occurring arsenic, let alone the contaminated water available to those living in the trash community. Obvious lesions on the skin along with bloating the of intestines meant the children here were fighting both arsenic poisoning and malnutrition. Fortunately the water filters being deployed were capable of filtering all bacteria, contagions and arsenic from the water, but the damage had already been done. In an almost eerie fashion, none of the children we met laughed or smiled despite all of our best efforts, it wasn't until we were about ready to leave that finally one of our volunteers was finally able to tease a smile out of a little girl. It was as the little girl was smiling that the parents faces lit up and they thanked us profusely for the simple act of getting their daughter to smile.

Lazarus

Lazarus, named after the biblical character who was raised from the dead, no more fitting title could be placed upon the leader of the trash community. Before he became the leader of the trash community though, Lazarus was once a successful roofing tile merchant. After moving to Jinotega to be closer to his family his shop was raided by government workers in need of his materials, with nothing left he had no choice but to move his family and what little they had to the site of the municipal dump. Our return to his community was to demonstrate how to correctly maintain the water filters that were being deployed there. It was during this time he introduced us to his family and wife of almost 20 years. To him, he explained, us merely taking time out of our trip to visit his community was a blessing as they are frequently overlooked by their government.

Yagualica

Yagualica, home to another rural village in the mountains of Nicaragua, this town is the future site of a well that would bring fresh water to the few hundred inhabitants and their livestock. During Invictus' previous trip, the community had formed a water committee to raise the funds necessary to pay for their half of the well's expenses. The purpose for our return was to see how much had been raised and make any changes if necessary. As always the kids were beyond excited to have someone new to play with, and while many were shy at first, they eventually opened up and played soccer with us. Finally it was time to start the meeting and as we began they regrettably informed us the bad crop harvest meant no money had been put in the account. As you can imagine this was difficult for them to explain and for us to take, but putting the bad crop behind us we drafted a new water committee and helped them create a new business plan to raise money via other channels. On the surface volunteer work abroad may look all peaches and cream, but there is often far more friction coming from those you are trying to help than anybody wants to admit. Either way Yagualica is poised to raise their share of the funds by the time we return.
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