Trip to Maralal

Finally, I successfully had a complete journey to Maralal after several failed attempts. That loved to occur at the very last minute. Have you ever planned a trip to a particular place, only to cancel it or it gets canceled severally at the last minute? That pain is not fun.

Volunteering

This one was a different one, and I totally loved it. Hoping to participate in more in the coming future.

This trip was made possible by the generous Young Muslim Association and Pembe Flour Mills. They were making donations to the needy, old, and orphans in the area. Plus, allowed youth to volunteer in distributing the food items.

The almost Hiccup

Trips are some of the events I have never afforded to be late, this is despite the light showers that washed me all the way to the Young Muslims Association Offices in South C Nairobi Kenya. My little heart was just dancing the whole way.

I found the other volunteer already there, and we were just waiting one more to join. So, we could start off our journey to Maralal. It took him close to an hour to arrive, and we were happy to finally see him arrive.

It took us a few minutes to click, and getting excited together about the journey that was awaiting us.

We now had to wait for our ride, after confirming everything was okay and as planned. We had to go through several plans and that allowed us to meet more people.

One of our conversations highlighted how male youths have been marrying and having kids in the village. Only to leave them at the mercies of the old parents. Not caring much about the very basic needs. That’s when also remembered how most people tend to forget the parents back home once they step into the cities. Which should not be the case.

Our parents and relatives give us everything for us to have an education, survive childhood with hopes of allowing us a better future than theirs. Only for us to forget about them when we manage to `stand` on our own.

My crew had one thing in common, they all believed in providing services to the needy. They believe that being of good health, helping the needy and serving God, is what really matters in life. Which we can all agree with.

The checkups took longer than we expected and time was flying. At some point, there was a suggestion of postponing the journey to the following day.

The inner me was like, “Not again”. I was not ready to go back home after all the hyping I had given my heart. Lucky, my fellow volunteers shared the same zest. They were determined to go on with the journey as planned. Hurray!!! it was a done deal, we eventually started off our journey despite the odd time. Our driver assured a good arrival time.

Drumrolls!!!!

Yeeesss!!! This trip was so happening. No more failed attempts.

It took us around 7 hours to get to Maralal from Nairobi This is after car issues at Suguta that consumed our one hour.

We didn’t even notice how time was rushing through. We had stories after stories, lots of laughs, jokes, lesson sharing, and more laughing. This is the kind of trip partner you need for all your travels and life.

Let the work begin

After resting the not so many hours, it was time to get serious with work that had took us there.

We headed to the meeting point to start the food distribution. Local community’s members were already there, ready to receive the goodies.

I was so happy to see them with sacks and reusable bags, there were no plastics. Environment protection by staying away from plastics, check!!!.

I was emotional for a second, thanks to the shades no one saw the tears of gratitude. It was touching to see hope in the eyes of these amazing people, who some looked like they had stayed a while without a meal. They were kids, who were really dirty. Meaning even water was a problem. They could not hide their joy at this huge gift.

How many times have you thrown away untouched food from your fridges, or enjoyed the luxury to have a wide choice of food types to choose from? Have you ever thought of all that being taken away? Or even appreciated the blessings of having access to our basic needs? Please be more appreciative, it’s not that guaranteed.

Once we finalized distributing to the present members, it was time to pack more donations for the following day.

Our backs, feet, hand, and other body parts had to work overtime. Thanks to the lively chats, we were able to work smoothly that afternoon. When we were done with the packing, it was time for my Muslim brothers and sisters to enjoy the Iftar. Before heading to our resting area, ready for the next day.

Final day

There was a twist on our last day, we took the donations to people’s homes. Visiting the slums, areas with the old grannies and the neediest.

The plan was the same. Distribute to all our target group and ensure they received the packages.

This place was full of hilly areas, thanks to the vehicles. The heavy lifting was easy, but the grateful faces were the same.

They were extremely happy for the donations, and really thankful.

Extras that Maralal gave me

I noted that culture was still being practiced, with very young people already having families, limited job opportunities, and dependence on livestock and farming.

The town is also growing with many new buildings coming up. You could see the growing human population, that included several tribes from the neighboring towns. It’s a beautiful town, with a better view from the hills

Supplying donations help you appreciated a huge range of stuff that you may be taking for granted unknowingly. You get to see the other side of life and understand that it’s not always rosy.

Time to say Goodbye, Maralal

Sadly, it was time to travel back to Nairobi.

I really wished I could stay a little longer. Maybe next time, we will manage to do it over a week plus a weekend.

Conclusion

Maralal is a beautiful land, where you will enjoy the rich culture, freely moving wildlife outside protected areas, fresh air, amazing humans, and incredible road trip.

Thanks to the Young Muslims Association in partnership with Pembe Flour Mills under the supervision of Director Br Abubakar Bajaber for the generous donations, an opportunity to volunteer, and touching lives.