Tales from a 12-Year-Old: My Time in Kenya (Day 2)

I hope you enjoyed reading about Day 1 of my time in Kenya. Here's what I did on Day 2. Come along and join the adventure!

Meeting a Warrior

The next day, we drove for two hours in the Savannahs and I was anxious to meet an actual Masai warrior. My first glimpse of the Masai tribe chief, Benson, was everything I had dreamt of and more. We stopped near a Masai market. There is a huge difference between the markets in India and theirs. They were selling sandals made out of rubber tires, traditional Masai sarong-style clothing in blue and red, and food grains. We continued our drive through the spectacular Savannahs and had long, interesting conversations with Benson who was wearing a red blanket and a lot of jewellery with unique beads.

My First Game Ride

We continued our drive in the Savannah. At 4:00 pm, we went for a game ride. My first game ride! We jumped into the high jeep and set off. While driving out of the lodge, I kept wondering what animals we’d see. My mom spotted the first animals, a herd of elephants, but I didn’t believe her until they were a good 10 metres away from our jeep. There they were standing nice and tall with their small calves by their sides eating grass, as if we were not there.

Amboseli National Park is famous for its elephants. It also has a famous volcanic mountain called Mount Kilimanjaro. This spectacular, perfectly shaped volcanic mountain frames the park.

The next animal was spotted by me...yay! I spotted Thomson’s gazelles. They were very quiet and fragile creatures. The slightest noise and they would set off running gracefully. We saw some more elephants, Thomson's gazelles, buffalos and the most interesting of all, a lioness and her cub. She was eyeing some wild boars for dinner, I think!

After a thrilling safari, we headed back to the hotel for a delicious dinner of African stew and some bread.

Benson’s Village

After the game drive we went to a Masai village, Benson’s village. Tribal people greeted us with a traditional welcome dance in which we participated. We had to jump really high in the air, which was a lot of fun. Then they taught us a prayer. Benson guided us to a small area under a tree. They told us about medicines and how to make fire by sticking a long wooden pole in to a bar with tiny holes.

We walked to Benson’s house. It was very sad to see the conditions that the Masai people live in. Seeing these conditions, I felt very blessed and realized how much we take for granted. I thought it was unfair that so many children in Africa are dying due to malaria. Mosquitoes bite them because they have holes in their homes for ventilation. 

This sad plight of the Masai families made me feel that I must do something to reduce their pain. I made up my mind to work hard to raise funds to sponsor 100 mosquito nets for them to reduce their risk of contracting malaria.

Later that day, we visited a water hand pump that my aunt had sponsored for this village so that the children didn’t have to walk kilometres to get water and can go to school instead. My mind was filled with admiration for my aunt and I made a mental note that wherever I visit, I will find ways of connecting with the people and identifying a way to make a difference.

Benson then took us to the small pre-school housed in two rooms. The kids were delighted to see us and we gave them chocolate éclairs, which they loved. They sang songs in Swahili and the rhythm and the sounds were catchy and filled with energy. The next thing I knew was that I was at the front of the classroom and told to sing.

They bade us goodbye in Swahili and while walking back to the village through the slushy mud, I saw two long lines of carpets and jewellery displayed. It was like a little street market. My mom told me to buy something from every stall to support the Masai village. They had some pretty ornaments made out of beads, animal parts (sadly) and cowrie shells. I chose to buy many different types of necklaces.

Onwards to Day 3!