” I remember as a child watching the news on the Ethiopia hunger crises, I thought to myself, how do we let this happen? There must be something we can do? There was….
I sponsored a child from Kenya when I was 15 years old and ever since then it’s been my life-long dream to visit Africa to do some humanitarian work. Even though I was travelling the world as a Fashion Designer and had a wardrobe that most of my friends would die to own, something was still eating me up inside, I didn’t want to be just happy, but to matter, to make a difference in the world, to know I put a smile on a child’s face was the satisfaction I was craving and the liberation I was seeking.
In 2008, I finally decided that I would sign up for a volunteer placement in Kenya. I experienced firsthand the many disadvantages of the members of the community. My experience allowed me to look beyond the overwhelming statistics such as 1.5 people living with HIV/AIDS or that 1.7 million are orphaned due to the deadly disease and appreciate the adverse conditions on a personal level. Essentially that a person dying of AIDS is somebody’s mother, father, sister, brother, daughter or son.
Whilst volunteering in Dagoretti, a local slum, I was fortunate enough to meet Josephine Kiarie. Josephine is a local community health worker who has worked tirelessly as a volunteer in the slums of Kenya for the past 10 years. Alongside other devoted volunteers we have worked together on many projects to address the growing need of the local communities in Kenya”
I think our greatest mistake is that we feel that poverty is too complicated and the problem is too big to do anything about. I know now that changes start with one person at a time. By sacrifising some of our humility and love for others, together we can achieve a world where all children have the opportunity to live a happy, prosperous life.
-Somar Homeh
