Delegation to Dadaab-Feb. 09
March 10, 2009
Social Action
(1 comments)
By Stephanie Garry
(This is the third in a series of posts from Rabbi Marla Feldman's recent trip to Kenya to deliver insecticide-treated bed nets purchased through the Reform Movement's Nothing But Nets campaign, which is underwritten by the U.N. Foundation.)
 I had no idea what to expect--traveling to Kenya to visit refugee camps in Dadaab. I had been on safari to Kenya 14 years ago with my husband and son and so loved the air of the land and the romance of the sky---and the vistas of animals on our planet.
While I knew this trip would be of a different nature--I could not have prepared myself for the overwhelming experience I was about to have.
After our 24 hour journey from New York we arrived in Nairobi for 6 hours of sleep before departing for Wilson Airport to catch our flight to Dadaab. On a 17 seater UN charter flight we met others from the UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency), members of a film crew and a few doctors from Kenya who donate a few days every other month to "help" out in one of the three camps---Hagadera, Dagahaley and Ifo.
 When we landed I was struck by the pervasive heat, the red sand of the dessert and yes the vast space that surrounds you. Africa seems endless. We arrived at our "guest quarters" at the UNHCR compound and sat down to a briefing and lunch at the dining hall.
So- our journey in Dadaab had begun. The magnitude of this experience is truly hard to describe. Over the next three days we were educated about the conditions of how 250,000 people exist in space for far less. Their homes are made from twigs or in some cases mud brick with a floor of dirt. We saw the truly heroic efforts of relief workers trying to give people a better life.............and we saw humanity. Humanity in all shapes and sizes, struggling to find a semblance of life. 20% of the population are children under the age of 5. We visited hospitals,met the doctors that provide care for the tens of thousands of patients that walk through their 'doors", we visited maternity wards where babies had just been born and I wondered if their whole life would be spent in Dadaab or if they would  have the opportunity to resettle outside of the camp and experience life that would be easier and filled with the carefree giggle of a childhood or continue to live the difficult existence that is all about survival.
While giving out the nets I was reminded that sometimes we must remember that doing simple acts of kindness does make enormous difference---the problems within the refugee camps are far too large for any one person to tackle,---so giving that net meant that I WAS making a difference- in a small but most important way. Malaria is now the #5 killer in the camps---down from #1.
 To bear witness was a gift I will treasure. -and now to move forward seeing how we can best deliver the message that a net does save a life-----and isn't that the message we take from this experience of being Jewish? To save a life is to truly save the world.
Support Nothing But Nets and purchase an insecticide-treated bed net today.
Comments
Post a comment
|
Print
Email
Comment
Wonderfully expressed with poetic grace. Made me feel as if I might have been along on your trip, seen the land, felt the air, touched the people and their desperate situation. Thank you for this evocative blog, your contributions on the amazing video, and most of all for helping our fellow human beings.