.jpg) Our speaker on January 30, was Amanda Snyder speaking of her international volunteer experiences. |
In 2009 Amanda went to Guatemala on a Service and Learning Trip for three weeks and it started her love for travel. It may have only been three weeks but it made a lasting impact on her and she knew she needed to do and see more. She attended Wilfrid Laurier University and graduated with Honours in BSc Psychology with a minor in Biology. She then took a year off and spent three months in Kenya teaching about Mental Health, Hygiene, and Puberty. Amanda described her stay with a local family located in a village where she was volunteering. A simple and small place with many people. Yet her time here was one of acceptance and belonging. Listening to Amanda speak of her time here I was struck by her sentiment that she felt that it was not her goal to solve all the worlds problems, but rather to act with love. The conditions of the people here made it a difficult but rewarding challenge. Amanda expressed several times about the lack of good governance in the country and corruption, which leaves the citizens in a poor and stagnant environment. Many children only eat one small meal a day.
She went back to school for a post graduate program in Addictions and Mental Health before returning to Kenya again in the summer of 2016 to lead a Health and Education-based camp called Camp Marafiki Pamoja (Friends United) that she developed along with two other volunteers. This camps focus is to offer a place to gather for the children of the Bright Star Montessori school during the schools break. Their concern was that during the break the children will be exposed to the difficult life of the slum they are in. The camps focus is to offer a refuge, a place of fun and growth, and an opportunity to have at least two good meals a day. This camp serviced 80 youth.
Now she works at Family and Children’s Services as a Community Groups Facilitator. She teaches children and youth about Mindfulness, Mental Health, and how to give back to their community. She continues to plan for my next trip back to Kenya in August of 2018 to lead the second year of Camp Marafiki Pamoja.
Amanda is planning a fundraiser for Camp Marafiki Pamoja on February 10th. It is a “Compete and Eat for Kenya”. Located at Breslau Mennonite Church, 226 Woolwich St. S. Breslau. Doors open at 4:30, Dinner at 5:00. Enjoy rounds of “Settlers of Catan” and Euchre.
Camp Marafiki is looking at becoming a non-profit organization. It is currently a Community organization. It has a facebook page. To see it please click here.
We wish Amanda all the best in her pursuits and thank her for her good work.