Hetal Chirag
Volunteering in Kenya is without a doubt one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. After completing my grad program at UC – Berkeley, I travelled to Kenya to volunteer at Future Hope Baby Centre. I wanted to live with the local families and spend as much time at the orphanages as possible so that I could help out with the best of my abilities – with my education or simply my time.
When I look back, I can clearly see that instead of me helping the kids, they helped me in so many more ways than I could ever imagine. They helped me rediscover myself and guided me towards finding a deeper meaning in life. I have to confess that, initially, I was not too sure about how to take care of babies and children since I did not have a lot of experience with childcare. But all I needed was willingness to try and a heart that cared. The rest just fell into place automatically. The kids were beautiful, welcoming and simply adorable. They started speaking to us and playing with us from the very first day.
Staying at the orphanage helped me develop a broader perspective on many areas of life. It was fascinating to see that the definition of a normal family to the kids was an orphanage with 19 kids and 3 nannies that took care of them. All the kids played, were schooled and grew up inside the orphanage. I absolutely can’t wait to go back and see all the kids. They must be growing up so fast.
