I go back a few days to Thursday 27th January 2011, It's a must write about event and special connection, close to my heart!
My beautiful and talented friend, self taught photographer, Oliver Forbes held the launch of his exhibition, Fly from Nearby. A blog he has written and a project started October 2009, a reflection of himself and each day of his life for 365 days in photographic form.
As I write about this night I smile and am taking back to the feeling of excitement and emotion that came over me as I walked in. The talent displayed, work put in, atmosphere and energy he created was just incredible and hard to explain in words. Amazing creative people from all over Melbourne and other states came to show their love and support and filled the venue, 1000 Pound Bend.
We met at Virgin Blue, spent time together talking about life and beyond and formed a strong connection never which will never be forgotten. The 14th October 2010, the day before my 30th birthday, we had lunch together and I was made Day 364. This time, we share as an amazing transition period for both of us and acceleration on our true path. I am greatful and truly honored to be a part of his project and blog.
It may seem to be the end of 365 days but it's actually only the beginning :-)
Much love to you Oli
Peace x
Please check out his work at the link below;
http://flyfromnearby.tumblr.com/
Sunday, January 30, 2011
My return to life......
As I sit and contemplate my life to date, I realise the events and synchronocity that have taken place over the past 2 years have been "Out of this World". The connections formed, the chance meetings and the places I have been all bringing me to this turning point in my life.
Since returning from Africa I have upheld my commitment I made, helping the orphanage find sponsors for the children and families I have met and create awareness throughout my network. The love and support shown back home has been incredible and I thank my my family and friends for their positive thoughts and wishes.
I have completed various courses and shifted energetically, any blocks preventing me from moving forward have now been removed. My connection with myself, others, earth and spirit is One :-)
I'm really excited about 2011 and the positive change it will bring, not only with myself but the world that surrounds me.
So I start back now writing this blog about my life back in Melbourne, Australia as a Intuitive healer/medium and a part-time flight attendant. The challenges I face within myself and with society and of course the connections I form with the incredible people I meet along the way :-)
Peace x
Since returning from Africa I have upheld my commitment I made, helping the orphanage find sponsors for the children and families I have met and create awareness throughout my network. The love and support shown back home has been incredible and I thank my my family and friends for their positive thoughts and wishes.
I have completed various courses and shifted energetically, any blocks preventing me from moving forward have now been removed. My connection with myself, others, earth and spirit is One :-)
I'm really excited about 2011 and the positive change it will bring, not only with myself but the world that surrounds me.
So I start back now writing this blog about my life back in Melbourne, Australia as a Intuitive healer/medium and a part-time flight attendant. The challenges I face within myself and with society and of course the connections I form with the incredible people I meet along the way :-)
Peace x
Friday, October 1, 2010
Day 17 We say goodbye to the orhanage....... :-(
28th September 2010
As I write this final blog about the orphanage and my experience here, I begin to cry once more. It's our final morning here, we spend time gathering our things and reflecting on time here. During this one of the volunteers, Inga's eyes begin to roll into the back of her head and she is about to faint. Lucky enough in front of a first aid trained flight attendant, I lie her down immediately and raise her legs and colour returns to her face. She has been aching all over, had a headache and fever for the past couple of days. Everyone here is sick with either a cold, a severe virus or we later find out after a hospital trip Maleria. She will be well looked after here by everyone and with the good medication you can get here, I'm sure she will be better in no time.
The chidren are at school, we said our final goodbyes last night at dinner. It's just the workers and volunteers left. I have a spiritual connection with these people, the children and the land, and know I will be back in the near future. My work is not yet finished, I have made a committment to continue to help these beautiful people and create awareness throughout Australia in hope I will inspire others to follow in my footsteps.
Tears fill my eyes as I say goodbye to Martha, a beautiful soul who works here and helps so many people daily in her job and I have spent so much time with over the past weeks. And Kally another volunteer I formed a strong connection with, I will miss her a lot but know I will see her again soon.
We now leave on our 2hr trip back to Naorobi, where we end our trip to Africa with a 3 day Safari in Masaai Mara..........
As I write this final blog about the orphanage and my experience here, I begin to cry once more. It's our final morning here, we spend time gathering our things and reflecting on time here. During this one of the volunteers, Inga's eyes begin to roll into the back of her head and she is about to faint. Lucky enough in front of a first aid trained flight attendant, I lie her down immediately and raise her legs and colour returns to her face. She has been aching all over, had a headache and fever for the past couple of days. Everyone here is sick with either a cold, a severe virus or we later find out after a hospital trip Maleria. She will be well looked after here by everyone and with the good medication you can get here, I'm sure she will be better in no time.
The chidren are at school, we said our final goodbyes last night at dinner. It's just the workers and volunteers left. I have a spiritual connection with these people, the children and the land, and know I will be back in the near future. My work is not yet finished, I have made a committment to continue to help these beautiful people and create awareness throughout Australia in hope I will inspire others to follow in my footsteps.
Tears fill my eyes as I say goodbye to Martha, a beautiful soul who works here and helps so many people daily in her job and I have spent so much time with over the past weeks. And Kally another volunteer I formed a strong connection with, I will miss her a lot but know I will see her again soon.
We now leave on our 2hr trip back to Naorobi, where we end our trip to Africa with a 3 day Safari in Masaai Mara..........
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Day 16 Our last day out in the comminity.....:-(
27th September 2010
Today we are off to Mathini, to see the progress on the construction of the house being built for the family of 9 and help out. We leave at 7.30am it's two Matatu rides an hour and a half in total, at least a 6 km walk up and down mountains and crossing rocky rivers and the hottest day we have encountered yet. First though we walk to visit a local school in Mathini. Erin & Jenny, two of my friends from Australia sponsor her and I have bought a letter and a gift from them. Elise and I have also bought her clothes and will take photo's of her to show the girls. We arrive and all of the children in the school are so excited, they come running out of class screaming and jumping all over us, word spreads fast through the school we are here. Most of them haven't ever seen white people before and some are a little hesitant to approach. We are directed to Mercy's classroom and she is extremely overwhelmed and a little shy. We read the letter to her and Martha translates for us. She is very thankful for her visit and smiles sweetly as we wave goodbye.
We make our way to the Mathini construction site where Felix (the german volunteer) is over seeing the project. On our way we collect and carry wood up the mountain so they can make a start on the windows. The view up here is amazing, something that would be worth millions back home. We sit and enjoy the views for a while, catch our breath and re hydrate, before heading back to the orphanage for our last night with the children.
We spend the evening hanging out with the kids and the volunteers, doing our regular school night routine.
I'm start to feel a little sad as I pack my bags and prepare to say goodbye..........
Today we are off to Mathini, to see the progress on the construction of the house being built for the family of 9 and help out. We leave at 7.30am it's two Matatu rides an hour and a half in total, at least a 6 km walk up and down mountains and crossing rocky rivers and the hottest day we have encountered yet. First though we walk to visit a local school in Mathini. Erin & Jenny, two of my friends from Australia sponsor her and I have bought a letter and a gift from them. Elise and I have also bought her clothes and will take photo's of her to show the girls. We arrive and all of the children in the school are so excited, they come running out of class screaming and jumping all over us, word spreads fast through the school we are here. Most of them haven't ever seen white people before and some are a little hesitant to approach. We are directed to Mercy's classroom and she is extremely overwhelmed and a little shy. We read the letter to her and Martha translates for us. She is very thankful for her visit and smiles sweetly as we wave goodbye.
We make our way to the Mathini construction site where Felix (the german volunteer) is over seeing the project. On our way we collect and carry wood up the mountain so they can make a start on the windows. The view up here is amazing, something that would be worth millions back home. We sit and enjoy the views for a while, catch our breath and re hydrate, before heading back to the orphanage for our last night with the children.
We spend the evening hanging out with the kids and the volunteers, doing our regular school night routine.
I'm start to feel a little sad as I pack my bags and prepare to say goodbye..........
Day 14 & 15 The weekend chaos.....
25th/26th September 2010
It's a beautiful sunshiney Saturday and we are off to Naoribi, some of the volunteers are taking the kids to swimming and the rest of us are heading to the Markets. I look forward to the 2 hr bus rides, it's an opportunity to chill, escape and listen some tunes.
Sunday morning and we are up and getting the children ready, I put on the cleanist clothes I can find, wash my hair and make myself look" African" presentable (still covered in red dirt) and head to church. Church here apparently lasts for at least 6 hrs so Im not sure how long I will last considering it will all be in Swahili. We arrive at the little shed in the middle of an open field and try to go in un-noticed, which is hard since we are the only white people (mazugu's). As per usual with 35 kids to get ready we are late, we stop the church and everyone stares. We are welcomed however, today is a special day, a baby will be christened and a sacrifice is made. A woman stands, takes the microphone and begins to sing, one by one everyone follows. Eventually they bought in the drums and everyone began to dance at the front of the church including myself. We dance for sometime enjoying the sounds that echo the room, the vibration of the drum and the harmony of the vocals. The music came to an end and the woman went into a trance where, she channelled messages from a higher power. After she had finished the baby was brought in and a chicken to sacrifice. After saying our prayers "African style" we snuck out the back door, not before the precher called out, stopped the church and brought us back in. He blessed and thanked us for coming and we headed back to the orphanage for luinch. Beans and Rice :-)
We buy the children some gifts at the local town, help out the children for the rest of the day with their daily chores and plan our final day helping out in the community.
It's a beautiful sunshiney Saturday and we are off to Naoribi, some of the volunteers are taking the kids to swimming and the rest of us are heading to the Markets. I look forward to the 2 hr bus rides, it's an opportunity to chill, escape and listen some tunes.
Sunday morning and we are up and getting the children ready, I put on the cleanist clothes I can find, wash my hair and make myself look" African" presentable (still covered in red dirt) and head to church. Church here apparently lasts for at least 6 hrs so Im not sure how long I will last considering it will all be in Swahili. We arrive at the little shed in the middle of an open field and try to go in un-noticed, which is hard since we are the only white people (mazugu's). As per usual with 35 kids to get ready we are late, we stop the church and everyone stares. We are welcomed however, today is a special day, a baby will be christened and a sacrifice is made. A woman stands, takes the microphone and begins to sing, one by one everyone follows. Eventually they bought in the drums and everyone began to dance at the front of the church including myself. We dance for sometime enjoying the sounds that echo the room, the vibration of the drum and the harmony of the vocals. The music came to an end and the woman went into a trance where, she channelled messages from a higher power. After she had finished the baby was brought in and a chicken to sacrifice. After saying our prayers "African style" we snuck out the back door, not before the precher called out, stopped the church and brought us back in. He blessed and thanked us for coming and we headed back to the orphanage for luinch. Beans and Rice :-)
We buy the children some gifts at the local town, help out the children for the rest of the day with their daily chores and plan our final day helping out in the community.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Day 13 Returning to a family in need.....
24th September 2010
Another bag of clothes packed and we are off to a family we visitied yesterday. A widow who is HIV positive who has 4 children, her husband died of Aids 2 years ago. When we arrive we sit down and chat for a while I have a few questions for her and Martha translates. We establish how long she has known she has had HIV and if the children have been tested. She found out before giving birth to the first child and advises us she hasn't breast fed any of the children and they are negative. She is quite weak and unable to go out and work in the fields to support her children but has 4 years experience in selling fruit in a stand in Thika and would like to set up her own business. We work out how much this will cost 5000 shillings ($55 aus) and speak with Martha about us helping her and if she would check up on her each week while we are gone her progress. Martha agrees, so we make our way to the local town and purchase some food supplies for them. We purchase 50kg rice, 50kg of Maize (corn), 50kg beans, 30 bars of washing soap, hire a few motorbike taxi's and return to the house. The mother is extremely overwelmed and thanks us, her eyes filled with tears and our's, much the same. We hand over the money and explain Martha will be keeping an eye on her progress, she is very greatful and seems excited to start her business. We say goodbye and hope this is the beginning of a better life for these children.
We head back to the orphanage, lunch (beans and rice) have been saved for us and the children have returned from school. With the beautiful breeze blowing, I lay in the hammock amonst the trees and listen to some tunes. Before long I am sharing my music and the hammock with 2 of the children, we just lay there peacefully while the sun goes down.
While the children do their homework, Kally and I have some time to ourselves. Kally (also a vocalist) and I listen to some tunes and have a little vocal jam. Soon, one by one we are surrounded by children, they sit quitely in amazement and we all share a beautiful moment........
Another bag of clothes packed and we are off to a family we visitied yesterday. A widow who is HIV positive who has 4 children, her husband died of Aids 2 years ago. When we arrive we sit down and chat for a while I have a few questions for her and Martha translates. We establish how long she has known she has had HIV and if the children have been tested. She found out before giving birth to the first child and advises us she hasn't breast fed any of the children and they are negative. She is quite weak and unable to go out and work in the fields to support her children but has 4 years experience in selling fruit in a stand in Thika and would like to set up her own business. We work out how much this will cost 5000 shillings ($55 aus) and speak with Martha about us helping her and if she would check up on her each week while we are gone her progress. Martha agrees, so we make our way to the local town and purchase some food supplies for them. We purchase 50kg rice, 50kg of Maize (corn), 50kg beans, 30 bars of washing soap, hire a few motorbike taxi's and return to the house. The mother is extremely overwelmed and thanks us, her eyes filled with tears and our's, much the same. We hand over the money and explain Martha will be keeping an eye on her progress, she is very greatful and seems excited to start her business. We say goodbye and hope this is the beginning of a better life for these children.
We head back to the orphanage, lunch (beans and rice) have been saved for us and the children have returned from school. With the beautiful breeze blowing, I lay in the hammock amonst the trees and listen to some tunes. Before long I am sharing my music and the hammock with 2 of the children, we just lay there peacefully while the sun goes down.
While the children do their homework, Kally and I have some time to ourselves. Kally (also a vocalist) and I listen to some tunes and have a little vocal jam. Soon, one by one we are surrounded by children, they sit quitely in amazement and we all share a beautiful moment........
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Day 12 Visiting more families......
23rd September 2010
Up early to make further preparations and discuss our plan for today. We are visiting a few more families it will take approximately 1 hr to get there a Matatu ride and a 30min walk. We are taking a large bag of baby clothes, some food, a bottle and some formula.
We arrive at the first family to find the 22yr old mother has returned to her 2 week yrd old baby. I was handed the baby, she was so tiny hadn't been fed much since she was born and looked quite malnourished. I feel the tears in my eyes start to flow as I watch this poor little innocent soul so peaceful in my arms. It is hard to hand her back as I know her life ahead is so grim. We sit with the mother for a while trying to establish what had happened, why she dumped her baby and what he problem is between her and the father. We unfortunately were unable to establish the full story but we at least were able to bring clothes and explain and give her formula. She is greatful we came and we leave with the plan to check up on them in a couple of days.
The next family we visit is a single mother who has 4 children and is HIV positive. We don't have much time to spend here but we will come back tomorrow and take some notes and try to work out how we can help this family and what the best thing is to do. We are concerned for the baby who is being breast fed when the mother has HIV. We tell them we will come back tomorrow and work out a plan which will hopefully make a difference to these people's lives and the future of this baby.
Our last stop is the grandmother of 2 children who were staying in the orphanage. There mother has some time ago now and the children don't want to stay at the orphanage or go to school. We have come to establish why they don't want to come back because the grandmother is unable to care for them. Simon won't tell us why he doesn't want to come back to the orphanage. He is quite disobedient and while we are there I witness the grandmother beat him with a stick really hard, I feel my heart rate pick up and get ready to intervene but Simon runs away and cowers in the corner. I stand up, turn to Martha to translate and forcefully ask her to explain what her reason is for doing what she did. Martha asks her to explain and then explains to me Simon is running away from school, threw away his school books and giving her a hard time and she is too old to take anymore misbehaving from him. We decide to leave and work out tonight the best thing to do with these children we think maybe Simon needs to realise how good he has it at the orphanage and that a couple of weeks there he will decide to come back where he is fed, loved and cared for.
We say goodbye and head back to the orphanage, we need to make it back in time to say goodbye to Nate, an American volunteer who has been there for about 6 weeks and is leaving to go back home.
It's a sad time for everyone when a volunteer leaves, we have all formed a bond and become close.
Byeeeee Nate :-(
Up early to make further preparations and discuss our plan for today. We are visiting a few more families it will take approximately 1 hr to get there a Matatu ride and a 30min walk. We are taking a large bag of baby clothes, some food, a bottle and some formula.
We arrive at the first family to find the 22yr old mother has returned to her 2 week yrd old baby. I was handed the baby, she was so tiny hadn't been fed much since she was born and looked quite malnourished. I feel the tears in my eyes start to flow as I watch this poor little innocent soul so peaceful in my arms. It is hard to hand her back as I know her life ahead is so grim. We sit with the mother for a while trying to establish what had happened, why she dumped her baby and what he problem is between her and the father. We unfortunately were unable to establish the full story but we at least were able to bring clothes and explain and give her formula. She is greatful we came and we leave with the plan to check up on them in a couple of days.
The next family we visit is a single mother who has 4 children and is HIV positive. We don't have much time to spend here but we will come back tomorrow and take some notes and try to work out how we can help this family and what the best thing is to do. We are concerned for the baby who is being breast fed when the mother has HIV. We tell them we will come back tomorrow and work out a plan which will hopefully make a difference to these people's lives and the future of this baby.
Our last stop is the grandmother of 2 children who were staying in the orphanage. There mother has some time ago now and the children don't want to stay at the orphanage or go to school. We have come to establish why they don't want to come back because the grandmother is unable to care for them. Simon won't tell us why he doesn't want to come back to the orphanage. He is quite disobedient and while we are there I witness the grandmother beat him with a stick really hard, I feel my heart rate pick up and get ready to intervene but Simon runs away and cowers in the corner. I stand up, turn to Martha to translate and forcefully ask her to explain what her reason is for doing what she did. Martha asks her to explain and then explains to me Simon is running away from school, threw away his school books and giving her a hard time and she is too old to take anymore misbehaving from him. We decide to leave and work out tonight the best thing to do with these children we think maybe Simon needs to realise how good he has it at the orphanage and that a couple of weeks there he will decide to come back where he is fed, loved and cared for.
We say goodbye and head back to the orphanage, we need to make it back in time to say goodbye to Nate, an American volunteer who has been there for about 6 weeks and is leaving to go back home.
It's a sad time for everyone when a volunteer leaves, we have all formed a bond and become close.
Byeeeee Nate :-(
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)