Caroline McLaren reflects upon her ten-week Platform2 placement in Meru, Kenya, looking specifically at the country's underprivileged education system...

Since returning from my ten-week voluntary placement in Meru, Kenya I’ve been flooded with questions from friends and relatives all keen to know about my trip. I found myself replying with a general spiel describing the weather, the accommodation, the food and the price of a coke like I’d just spent two weeks on a half board package holiday in Tenerife.

But this trip ran much deeper than that. It was a journey of discovery that opened my eyes wide to the realities of the world that are hidden so cleverly from the blindfolded British nation.

One of the most prominent issues that travelled back to England with me was the concern of education. It is only in the last few years that primary schools have been cost free for Kenyan children and although this is a step in the right direction some parents are still unaware the fundamental benefits of educating their children alternatively keeping them home to work on the farms.

'Allowing a child to attend a local school could prove the difference between earning a good wage and working on the farm earning a pittance, between a good health and a life of sickness without necessary healthcare'

Allowing a child to attend a local school could prove the difference between earning a good wage and working on the farm earning a pittance, between a good health and a life of sickness without necessary healthcare. Parents are so fixated with the short term benefits of earning money that they fail to see the advantages that could be brought in the long term. I found myself getting frustrated with their decisions but struggled to see any easy solutions or ways out.

Due to the environmental nature of the project another concern that frequently arose and often topped the discussion charts was the effects of Climate Change and its dominant visibility in the community in which the other volunteers and I lived. We learnt about the 2007 droughts that devastated the crops and the contrast of the recent floods that prevented transportation and left families without food for unpredictable periods of time. Each of these extremes were thought to be directly linked to the neglectful manner of the first world, the Western world, our world and way of living. Globalisation, consumerism, un-fair trade, excessive packaging and unnecessary waste all contribute towards the breaking down of our beautiful planet.

I, personally am far from guilt free and frequently participate in the immoral boundaries that are laid out for me by the supermarkets and the restaurant chains but having witnessed some of the problems with my own eyes I am slowly starting to change my ways. Maybe I should start by speaking out.

Words and photos: Caroline McLaren
 

For more information on Platform2, please visit www.myplatform2.com