Hands Up For Kids is a project started by Monika Fauth to empower children to be changemakers for a better world. She is the chairperson for AOL Kenya, an AOL teacher and the founder/owner of Banana House & Wellness Centre is Shela.
On Monika's invitation, we'd come to give her a helping hand to strategize and develop new programs for Hands Up For Kids. It was a gainful 2 weeks of working and playing. We launched numerous projects - 'Save Lamu' Donkey Necklaces, Lamu Kaya and Robyn helped to launch the Hands Up For Kids Facebook Page.
7 Nov 2011: 5-Star Holiday at Banana House in Shela
Monika, who hosted us at her beautiful Banana House & Wellness Centre. We enjoyed a lovely 2-week period of Nature + Silence + Yoga, in between working very productively.
Shela is a village of 2000 people that is 3min boat ride or 45min walk from Lamu town. There are no cars on this island so one either walks about the island or ride on donkeys. It's such a unique and charming place that we feel it is a must for any visitor to Kenya to come to Lamu.
Houses in Shela and Lamu are built using coral stones. They have a blend of natural colours in white, brown and reddish, giving an interesting artistic pattern to all the walls.
The winding streets in Shela and Lamu are wide only enough for human and donkeys. Since there are no vehicles on this island, apart from one ambulance, there's no air pollution and no vehicle noise.
The beach here stretches 12km and mesmerizes with its quiet and untouched beauty. Dipping into the warm and clear water from the Indian Ocean was sheer delight. The morning that I spent there for my pranayama, kriya and meditation was unforgettable.
Banana House & Wellness Centre
We are eternally grateful to Monika for our stay at her lovely Banana House at Shela. This was a mega luxurious way to conclude our 9-month seva journey.
Let us give you a pictorial tour of this best-place-to-stay in Shela...
> Robyn's favorite place to have a cool dip.
Spacious, homely and plenty of spots for morning meditation and kriya.
Every corner is a perfect place to laze around, read a book, chit-chat or simply do nothing.
Every bedroom has a distinctive taste.
Romantic bedroom setting.
Yoga at the Wellness Centre, led by Monika.
Great lunch, everyday.
Wellness Centre on left.
The Sweet Banana House.
Breakfast of fresh fruits, everyday.
9 Nov 2011: Visit to Lamu Town
Today, Monika took us to visit the Lamu Old Town and meet numerous friends who would play a part in the Hands Up For Kids project in the weeks ahead.
We learnt about the Save Lamu Campaign from Hadija. There is going to be a mega government port to be constructed in Lamu mainland but there had been no consultation with the local community. Save Lamu is a grassroot initiative to promote awareness and preservation of ecology, fishery, community security and local culture.
An interesting sights we saw at the Donkey Sanctuary was the aiding of birth for a donkey. But when the foetus was finally pulled out of the mother donkey, it was found dead. So sad.
We met Hadija who shared with us her Save Lamu Project at her home cum bookshop cum cafe cum office for Lamu Chonjo, a local magazine on Lamu. Her tamarind juice was very nice.
We met also Walid, who chairs the Lamu Youth Alliance, active with the Red Cross and serves as secretary in the Save Lamu committee.
Alvin, Hadija and Monika at Lamu Chonjo. Hadija is an American who married a local and has settled in Lamu for more than a decade.
Afrikable.org is a Spanish NGO that helps local women in Lamu to learn handicraft skills for self-reliance.
We visited the Lamu Fort and Lamu Museum to get a glimpse into the history and Swahili cultures of Lamu.
Main street of Lamu.
Traditional Swahili door.
Father, sons and donkey.
10 Nov 2011: Ali Lamu
We visited Daniella, the inspirational founder and artist behind the Ali Lamu brand of art and craft created on recycled sail cloths. She trains local camel riders, fishermen and ladies into craft artists.
She used only recycled materials for her arts. Because of the success of her arts, price for used sail has risen!
We shared with her our idea for Hands Up For Kids to empower kids to create Save Lamu bags with her.
10 Nov 2011: Empowerment Talk & Dance at Shela Girls Secondary School
Monika gave an empowerment talk to all the girls at Shela Girls Secondary School. We asked the girls about their aspirations and we shared with them about Children's Garden Home in Nairobi. Like the kids at CGH, the girls here have little exposure as they seldom get a chance to travel out of their island. Their Muslim faith also tends to limit them to stay at home with little awareness of how the world has progressed. The principal is also a Muslim lady but a forward looking one who sought Monika's help to conduct a Youth Empowerment Seminar (YES!) for her girls.
Robyn taught everyone the African Child dance with the help of the video playback on our MacBook. The girls, including the principal, had so much fun. It turned out that the best dancer was the principal!
At our last visit to the principal 2 days before, we noticed she was fanning off plenty of flies. As a self-empowerment exercise, Jin taught the girls the water bag anti-fly technique that we learnt at the Amrita Children Home. The girls had fun putting up this little experiment.
A job well done in the name of Hands Up For Kids!
It's time for a relaxing dip to cool down...
11 Nov: Save Lamu Donkey Necklace!
Facts: (1) Save Lamu is a worthwhile grassroot campaign to preserve the goodness of Lamu and its community for the future; (2) Schools no longer have arts classes because it is not an examinable subject; (3) Hands Up For Kids wishes to empower children to stand up for themselves and their community; (4) Donkeys and Coconuts are parts of Lamu; (5) Lamu Festival is happening in 2 weeks' time; (6) Everyone's mood is down in Lamu because no tourists are coming due to the bad publicity of the recent kidnapping of tourists by Somali pirates.
Idea: to involve ALL children of Lamu to have a voice in the Save Lamu Campaign by creating coconut necklaces with "Save Lamu" at an art workshop held in school conducted by Hands Up For Kids.
Imagine ALL the donkeys walk about Lamu with coconut necklaces. It'll help to spread the "Save Lamu" message in a soft way because the necklaces are made by kids. It'll bring a smile to people's faces. It'll be news worthy for the journalists and tourists coming for the Lamu Festival. Most importantly, the kids will feel empowered to have play a role in this historical campaign that they will remember for a long time to come.
We thought it was a brilliant idea so we set off to attract others to making it happened! Karim decided to join us to sell our idea to everyone in Lamu Town.
At the invitation of Hadija, Monika conducted a breathing exercise and team building games to kick-start a 1-day Save Lamu committee training.
The Save Lamu Committee was charged up after Monika's magic breath and touch, and they were very supportive of our nutty idea of donkey-coconut.
We went for a cup of chai at the New Star and saw Shela Chief there. Monika got into action and swept him off his feet with our nutty idea.
Robyn the girl model.
Non-stop action by Monika.
Karim the boy model.
Donkey owners are supportive of our idea and found it of great fun. They promptly hang our sample necklace on their donkeys and gave Robyn and Karim a lift to our next meeting place at the Bush Garden Restaurant.
The 2 headmasters of Wiyoni and Mkomani Primary Schools took on to our idea immediately and agreed to a school-wide coconut art workshop on the following Wednesday.
After a hard but absolutely fun day of work, it was splashing good time back at Banana House. It was immensely satisfying to have advanced from idea to manifestation stage.
The Lamu Kaya Experiment
While the rest of us enjoyed at the pool, Jin and Nadia started another social enterprise experiment - Lamu Kaya!
Nadia is a young lady with a Form 4 education but could not afford the college fee to pursue her dream to be a teacher. Monika wishes to help her earn her way to a higher education.
Jin downloaded our traditional kaya recipe and worked with Nadia to create a new taste of distinctive Lamu flavor.
It turned out superb and we right away to launch a new brand - Lamu Kaya!
7 Nov 2011: 5-Star Holiday at Banana House in Shela
9 Nov 2011: Visit to Lamu Town
10 Nov 2011: Empowerment Talk & Dance at Shela Girls Secondary School
The Lamu Kaya Experiment