Student essays amaze during our Rafiki Week

January 4th, 2012 | Tags: citizenship, citzenship events, special events

Bodwell deepens its connection to Kenyan youth during Rafiki Week

This past semester, Bodwell’s Volunteer Club student-leaders, with the guidance of club sponsor Ms. Raymond, organized a fun week of meaningful activities around “Rafiki Week”.  The purpose was to raise awareness of Bodwell’s connection with youth in Kenya and with the development organization, CTC International, as well as to help students better understand how they are connected in a global community.

On Monday, students had the opportunity to be inspired by guest speaker and former iron man athlete Jeff Torres.  He talked about his own experiences volunteering in East Africa and of the need to help those who are less fortunate in the world.

Every day at lunch in the cafeteria, students answered trivia questions about Kenya and Bodwell’s initiatives to connect with youth in the community of Maai Mahiu.

On Friday, several teachers and one student took a “vow of silence” – promising not to talk for an entire day!  The purpose was to simulate the feeling of those who do not have a voice in societies around the world, as well as to raise money for Rafiki projects.

Finally, one of the most meaningful activities of the week was the Rafiki Essay Competition.  While social studies students work with Kenyan youth on the successful Canada-Kenya Essay Competition, during Rafiki Week Bodwell students had the opportunity to answer the question: “Why are relationships like Rafiki important in the world today?”

Many students had great responses, but in the end one stood out.  It was that of grade 11 student Harry Chai.  Harry had travelled to Kenya earlier this year as a part of the annual volunteer trip.  Here is his thoughtful essay:

Soul Intersection, by Harry Chai

Rafiki Link is a technology-based program which links youth in Maai Mahiu, Kenya in a community of friendship and support with youth in other parts of the world. If you ask what Rafiki is, it has so many meanings. However, in this situation, the Swahili word “Rafiki” simply means friendship. Rafiki is just like a classic song and friendship is the dominant theme. The Rafiki Link reminds me of the unforgettable memories from my trip to Kenya, which influences me a lot and enriches my spiritual life.

The Rafiki Link began as a friendship between Bodwell High School and three schools in Kenya. As I recall, I travelled to Kenya in April of 2011. On this trip we truly understood the meaning of Rafiki which is friendship. We volunteered at CTC to beautify the community, worked on some programs with local students, and spent time doing HIV/AIDS community outreach. When we met the Kenyan students, they welcomed us with the warmest smiles we had ever seen. At first, we were shy, and our faces turned red like apples. We thought that because we were from different cultures, we had to act differently, but they proved us wrong. Moreover, it did not matter where we came from. They only cared about the sincerity of our hearts. Every single day we spent with them, our bond of friendship became even stronger. At the end, our hearts were so close; our tears dropped like crystals at the farewell party, showing real friendship. With hugs, love letters, and promises, we left their smiles behind and all those beautiful smiles like stamps will be saved deeply in our minds forever.

The Rafiki Link is an important link between Bodwell High School and a high school in the Maai Mahiu region of Kenya. Indeed, my own experiences in Kenya not only taught me the true meaning of Rafiki, but moreover, the Kenyan students’ enthusiastic spirits led me to change my mind towards happiness. No matter how unfortunate they are, they always remain positive and embrace their future with sincerity every day. I believe this is the ultimate significance of the Rafiki link; it leads us to feel, realize, and learn valuable life lessons from one another.