This past fall, two young Midland siblings embarked on a mission to help with facility improvements for boys living at a Life4Kids establishment in Nairobi, Kenya.
The experience Sydney, 13, and Kyle, 11, Wilson had along with Midland Rotary Club members gave them new perspectives and gratitude.
“We were fortunate enough to be able to take the trip. Not everyone gets the opportunity to be able to do that,” their father Jason Wilson explains.
Past president of the Midland Rotary Club, Wilson was aware of the Life4Kids Canada foundation since its inception over a decade ago.
Helping fund a recent move to house more boys, there was work to be done at the facility; a library set up, computer station and a garden were some of the group’s focus.
“I was pretty excited to be able to go… to help the boys with the library and the garden and see what it was going to be like there,” says Sydney, noting she enjoyed working the garden the most, planting bananas, mangoes and palm trees.
“It was all stuff that they could eat,” she explains.
Sydney then laughed about her choice of white shoes to move mounds of red dirt.
Both siblings were most surprised by the sheer happiness of the boys they met. Whether younger or older than them, all previously homeless or abused, the boys met them with kindness and joy.
“They immediately came out and were making music, jumping around and it was a really nice welcome,” explains Kyle, who received over a dozen drawings over the 10-day trip.
Among other tasks, the Midland youth sorted and distributed donations, providing the boys with items like clothing - some of which Kyle said were articles he gave since he didn’t wear them anymore - soccer balls, towels and blankets.
Sydney remembers watching a couple boys fight over a pair of cleats that were donated.
The Wilson kids noticed quickly “how good we have it here compared to there,” adds Kyle.
Sydney also saw how quickly the sports equipment wore out on the rough terrain. Sharp thistles and plants growing on the field caused rapid wear and tear to items like soccer balls.
Kyle describes the soccer field set up with sticks and string for goal nets and by the end of their trip one of the six new soccer balls they brought was already flat.
“The grass was so lumpy. It wasn’t great but there were a bunch of them playing on that,” he says, pointing out that the boys enjoyed themselves regardless of these setbacks.
Wilson prompted his children to describe the impact of visiting the slums, where the boys came from.
“It was kind of sad seeing how horrible it was… where one of the boys came from was just like a dump, and his mom was still there,” says Kyle.
“I’m extremely grateful to have a nice house and not have to live in the makeshift shelters they had in the slums,” adds Sydney.
The siblings each described differences between where the boys came from on the streets of Nairobi to the facility they helped improve.
Cultural differences also affected the Wilson kids. Sydney thought it was cool to see various shops where people had their hair braided, though some language barriers existed.
Kyle explains that despite learning “so many” Swahili words, it was hard to remember them all. “Hujambo is hello,” he points out they used most often.
It’s hard for Sydney and Kyle to imagine life without computers, but the Life4Kids boys were new to the basics.
Starting with what scrolling is, to teaching right and left clicks and google searches, “they picked it up really quick,” said Wilson, who demonstrated for the boys where Midland is compared to Nairobi using Google Maps.
When asked if they made any pen pals on their adventure to a new country, the Wilsons brought out an array of drawings. Kyle explained how one boy was able to draw almost any patch or image from looking at the shirts and jerseys he received.
“I would always go back if I could, seeing the same kids again would be cool. …It feels great because you feel like you did something important for them, you added another step to their life,” Kyle says about the experience.
“I would like to go back there, to see how everything is growing in the garden and to see how the food we planted helped them and see how they’re using the computer lab in the library,” adds Sydney.
More about the Life4Kids Canada foundation can be found here.
