The morning after the “Incident”, I awoke still feeling bitter about what had happened. Nothing anyone could say was really helping, it was a horrible feeling that I just couldn’t shake.
After breakfast, we were all getting into our vans to go say our goodbyes to the various school projects we had been working on in the slums of Nairobi. My good rafiki Peter was waiting outside for us, and asked me what was wrong, as I guess it was pretty apparent I wasn’t happy.
I told him what happened in Lamu, and I’ll never forget his response…
“Rafiki, those people are crazy”
I tried to muster a smile, but couldn’t. I climbed in the van, thinking that this was going to be one LONG day, still wishing I could just board a plane and go home.
Our first stop that morning though wasn’t to one of our projects, but instead we went into the Nairobi countryside to visit George.
George was one of our drivers during my first visit to Kenya back in 2009. Since then, George has started his own safari company, and with the money he has saved, him and his beautiful wife have built their own school on their own land, Little Giants.
I was amazed at their dedication to education, and had never seen a school like his. Usually, schools are built around the students. George and his wife wanted their school to be different, they wanted it completed before enrolling students. The school had artwork painted on the walls, a playground and garden, and it was secure with walls and a gate.
As we were shown the school, there were two children in one of the classrooms. I sat down with them, and just held their hands.
I was so moved by George’s dedication, hard work, and commitment to the children of Kenya. After giving them some donated supplies that WoD had brought from America, George’s wife gave a heartfelt speech, thanking us. Afterwards, with tears in my eyes, I hugged her and whispered in her ear “Asante Sana, you have saved me…”
She had no idea about what had happened in Lamu, and most likely never will. But I will never forget Little Giants, and the impact it had on me that morning, the start of an amazing day that changed everything for me….
