Christmas in Kakuma 1

The Dream and the Team
The music blaring from an old speaker, the ringtone on your friend’s phone, the pair of shoes you wore to work today, the book you are currently reading- everything around us is inspired. It doesn’t matter how upbeat or sleek or boring it is, inspiration is key, Christmas in Kakuma was no exception.
One day on social media, a friend of ours made it known to us that she would be away from her friends and family over Christmas as she still had to work at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. Moved by it all, friends decided it wouldn’t be Christmas if we let her be there alone, so we all wanted to go there and take Christmas with us to her and the Kakuma community.
In a span of six weeks, it grew from a rushed reaction on social media to a planned undertaking. Most parents wouldn’t hear of it though, especially because most assumed Al Shabaab terror alerts were rampant all over the North of Kenya. We consulted with the missionaries from Youth Apart, tried to get letters from the government authorizing us to visit the refugee camp and asked our families and friends to support us in prayer, cash and kind.
From an original nineteen, a solid nine made it to Kakuma. In the next four or five blog posts, I will try to walk you through our experience. We wish to thank God for making this possible and being Omnipresent :), everyone who donated food, clothes and money, everyone who kept calling to find out whether we are ok, the guys that prayed with us, Youth Apart, Kenya for hosting us in Kitale and Kakuma and the people of Lokore Village for receiving us with so much love and appreciation 😀
The Team:

Zach: Our friend from Kitale and guide to Kakuma 🙂 🙂

 Winnie: Youngest in the team. Great story teller, dancer and down-to-earth person. Last of the ‘triplets’.

 Lynn: The Miss with the smiles 🙂 Brings life, joy and laughter to everything.

Walter: Behind every unique photo was this guy. Super funny, full of stories and witty reactions to every single statement

Brian: Simply put, the guy who would own a bakery and eat everything in it- for the love of cakes! But seriously, perhaps the most quiet and sane person in the team. Android is this man’s best friend 🙂

Budgeree: Yes. She is as serious as the photo. Great singer and guitarist and quite the opposite of Liz as regards time. That was the basis of their friendship btw 😀

Liz: The girl with a  British/French accent and deep-rooted Kenyan mannerisms. 🙂 Time keeper to the core and a very great risk taker. If you know her, ask about Lake Turkana 😉 The first of the ‘triplets’

 Ragai: One of the lead organizers behind this noble undertaking. A smart worker and really supportive!

Serah: The Blogger and number two of the ‘triplets’

Dave: One of the lead organizers and the man behind most videos and photos in this venture. 🙂 The rest is a story for another day. 🙂

As diverse as our backgrounds were, we were drawn together by our love for God, people and a common desire to make a difference. It was an amazing and life changing experience for us. In the end, we not only made a difference, but found  family in the friendships we formed and in the village we visited. 🙂

PS: All photos were taken during the Kakuma trip 🙂 Look out for other blog posts detailing our experience 🙂