GIN + Golden Hearts!

Today, the Golden Hearts students and GIN members reunited! Golden Hearts members were chosen last year for the GISS conference, and they were students who carried out great projects in their own community. It was so inspiring to meet them again because it was amazing to see that they are still working on the success of others. Tito, a member of the JUMP foundation, came again to lead us. We played two games as energizers: fruit basket and mingle. I really enjoyed fruit basket because it was something new for the club, and I thought we could play this game again sometime within our group. We also made handshake partners (lumber jack handshake and cappuccino handshake). We didn’t really use this, but it was fun to use this again after months.

After the games, we had two activities: What is success to me? And What are the challenges? This provided us a chance to reflect on what success really means to me and gave me an idea of where I should head. Success is an endless journey, not a destination. Even if we fail to do something, there is always something to learn and we should never stop pushing ourselves further. Within our group, when we discussed what the limiting factors were, most of them turned out to be from “self,” meaning that our laziness, lack of time, and we make our life itself a barrier to reach further success.

In the afternoon, I attended two workshops: Poaching and Education. Both workshops were done by the GIN members and I thought they were both informative and interactive. I really enjoyed poaching because the power point presentation was relevant to Kenya and the game was really unique. The game was basically a tag game except people were divided into 4 groups: carnivores, herbivores, poachers and conservers. Carnivores can catch herbivores, poachers can catch both, and conservers can save both animals. For education, the group compared the education in Kenya and Finland with videos and presentations. We were divided into two groups and we debated on what is a better education: Quantity or Quality? This gave me an idea that both are important so it was hard to choose a side.

Overall, I was extremely happy to see the Golden Hearts again. I hope to see them sometime again because they suggested that GIN and they should do a project together. We should start planning what to do!

GIN: Planning for workshops and plans for future...

Global Issues Network club has so far been really active and we have done so many activities throughout the year. I am so proud of all the members because of their active participation. As out main theme was Water issues so far, we have had Mr. Lavender come and talk to us about this, and we also had presentations done by members. Also, we partnered with Me to We for the PTO picnic and raised, donated 20,000 KSH ($240) as well as partnered with Free the children and they came to inform us about more statistical information about water. As for water issues, we are planning on raising more money by doing bake sales :) We already have so many planned for the future, it is a matter of time whether we can do all of them! Next week, we have hosted our second guest of the GINtalks series, Peter Moll. He is heavily involved in various organizations in Kenya so he has lots to tell us!

National Honor Society! + Ceremony

This year, I have been selected as a Simba chapter member of the National Honor Society! I am so grateful that I can finally expand my leadership! Everyone in the meeting seemed so excited because getting into NHS is a really hard process. In the ceremony, Ms. Henderson, our IB coordinator, Mrs. Giddings, the former NHS advisor, Mr. Blanchard, our high school principal, and Mrs. Zents, our current NHS advisor had their speeches. All the former NHS members had their own students to talk about, and I felt so special. Aliya was the one who talked about me because she is one of my good friends. The teachers made it seem so intense and kept emphasizing our characters, dedication to service and leadership roles in school. I felt that I should keep my  rectitude as I am a role model of the school. I am looking forward to a great year with great, passionate, and intelligent students!

GIN: FREE HUGS!

After all the events, I thought that GIN should hold a free hug day for people who need comfort. I hoped to make GIN a nice, welcoming club for the school. As we are passionate about changing life and empowering others, we thought that it would be wonderful to give friends and teachers hugs! Clubs shouldn’t exist for their own profits, but for the better of the ISK community. Selfishness will never create harmony. As the ISK community is in shock and hardship, unity was needed J It was great to see people outside of GIN participate in this free hug event!

GINtalks #1: Emmanuel Jal talks about hope

As part of our GINtalks series, Emmanuel Jal has been invited as our first guest to come share his experience. Instead of making it a club event, we made a slight change after the westgate event and made it a whole school event. Mr. Blanchard and Mr. Baker, our high school and middle school principal were supportive in this decision, so we were able to invite the whole ISK community. I personally thought his talk was the perfect timing after all the traumatizing events because we encouraged everyone with his words and music. Everyone needed that moment of relief and I was so glad to have been part of the event. In a nutshell, Emmanuel Jal was a child soldier and he experienced extreme hunger that he reached a point when he tried eating his friend. He mentioned that that was the point when he reached the very bottom of his life and that this experience brought him here. He talked about hope and education for all. He was such a motivator and people were so energetic after the event, so I was also really happy. I thought that we should definitely have more GINtalks... can't wait!
P.S. I got a signature from him :)



Mrs. Lavender, Shea, me, and Ms. Houriez: GIN Leaders! :)



Westgate attacks and my interview!

On September 21st, 2013, a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya was attacked by a group of terrorists. A friend of mine from South Korea asked for a interview and here is my relfection on this terrible event:

1)     Do you go to Westgate often? How far away is it from your house?

Yes, I do go to Westgate often because it’s only 5 minutes away from my house. I used to go to Westgate to watch movies with friends, eat, and shop. It’s most shocking to see this happen where my family in general used to go so often.

2)     Where were you when you first heard about this shooting?

I first heard about this in school. Our school held a huge event on Saturday morning and a lot of parents attended this event. I am so thankful that we had this because if not, we would have probably lost so many more innocent lives from ISK.

3)     What was your reaction? How did you feel?

My initial reaction when I first heard about this on Saturday was light-hearted. At first, I had no idea it would be this serious because all I heard was that a robber intruded the shopping mall and two people were injured then moved to the hospital. I didn’t think there were dead bodies and people talked rumors about this so it was hard to believe what was on the news afterwards.

4)     What was everybody else doing/saying?

When my friends started talking about this terrorist attack on Saturday around 1:30pm (The attack started around 12pm to what I heard), my friends contacted their families to check if they’re safe and they asked details about what happened. One of my friend’s parents was inside the mall, hiding, when this attack bombarded and he looked extremely worried and confused. Still, at that moment, I had no clue things were going to get worse; I actually thought things were getting better. The weekend was, of course, unproductive and most people were watching the news or were on facebook to get the latest update. People even warned each other by sending instant messages.

5)     How do you feel about the shooting now, after it has all happened?

Most of all, I am extremely frustrated and angry at the terrorists because their action cannot be justified by any means. Killing tens of innocent people and injuring hundreds is undoubtedly immoral. It is hard to imagine what the people in the mall had to go through. Honestly, if I had been inside, I have no idea how I would have survived. I’m glad everything’s getting better but I also feel guilty for being alive and for not having lost any close friend/family. It is sad that I can’t sympathize as much to the people who lost someone. Besides, I’m really worried that this might not be the end of the horrifying events and anything worse can take place anytime, anywhere soon. This Westgate terrorism was so sudden and unexpected.

6)     What is the atmosphere of the school like right now?

On Monday morning, people were serious, depressed, and shocked. The atmosphere was really down and it felt like gravity was pulling me down 3 times more than usual. It was hard for me to breathe because this event literally took away all my energy to do anything. However, it was weird to see everyone look “happy” in the afternoon. Most people looked happier than in the morning and some people were even joking and laughing. Although everyone process their grieving differently, some peoples’ actions looked a bit rude for people who were having a really tough time. I even noticed some freshman kids acting foolishly and joking around when one of their fellow classmates died from the attack. Day after day, the terror decreased and people were also feeling better. I thought that people were feeling comfort in school, just by spending time with their friends. Personally, it was so depressing for me to stay home because I had the news on TV the whole day and I kept going on facebook to see if there was any good news, which was hard to find.

7)     How is everybody coping with the shooting?

Everyone is coping with this shooting differently. The freshmen and juniors seemed to have tougher times than sophomores and seniors. I felt like the seniors, as the relatively older students, had the duty to stay strong for younger students. A lot of people didn’t want to talk about this because they said talking about it just makes them feel more depressed. The fact that this happened where we live is shocking and stressful.

8)     What are the losses that are being experienced at ISK?

ISK has lost three lives, and teachers, students, and families are all still in shock. A lot of people are recovering from this traumatic event, but we can’t deny that we still fear what is going on in the Kenyan community. We have been missing classes and most teachers are flexible with their schedules because they are going through the same situation.

9)     What are your thoughts and hopes for the future of this attack?

I desperately hope that everyone affected by this horrible event recovers quickly. Although this event will probably be remembered by all, I hope that this event won’t bring more tragedies to people. We must protect our people and hope for the best.

10) How do you see this from a Korean’s point of view? (a Korean was also shot during this incident) How does Kenya differ from Korea in this aspect?

As a Korean, I found this attack to be ridiculous. It is not only wrong but also inhumane to kill so many innocent lives. At one point, I heard that Al-Shabaab used their religion (Muslim) as a weapon to distinguish who lives and not. This is just unreasonable and outrageous. I also feel shame for the security guards of the mall for not checking such terrorists carrying weapons. Terrorist attacks like this hardly occurs, or hasn’t happened for years in Korea. Weapons should not be abused by any means and creating such catastrophe to the community for absurd reasons is definitely unacceptable. I felt like Al-Shabaab is similar to North Korea in that they’re using threats to get attention. Hungry people want attention, not the full ones. This has to stop.

GIN: PTO Picnic!

Today, we partnered with the organization called “Me To We.” Because GIN club has been maintaining a strong relationship with this organization since, we were able to bring them to the PTO Picnic. They came with their theme of water issues and it pit perfectly well with what we were doing in GIN. They set up and explained the water issues in Kenya and sold bracelets in order to donate the profit to people who really need them. As for GIN, we planned to do a “Water Walk,” which is an activity where people actually experience what the women have to go through everyday for water. We made pathways in school so that people can try walking with the water. This activity was unique and successful because many adult and students wanted to try. Honestly, I had never thought the water containers were THAT heavy! It was probably the heaviest thing I have carried for months that it gave me muscle aches L We also carried empty water bottles and asked for donations from parents who came to the picnic. We informed them of why we are receiving donations and where the money will go. WE MADE 20,000 KSH!

GIN: Personal water consumption

After Mr. Lavender’s presentation, I asked everyone to think about their water consumptions. Everyday, we use water to clean, drink, and cook for various reasons. During the week, I reflected on how much water I “wasted,” and I realized that I need to save water by not using it when I don’t have to. I planned to use less water when I’m taking a shower by turning the water off when I don’t need it. David and Shea made a presentation about water, and it was shocking to know that as little as $20 can save a person’s life forever. Water is essential for every living thing, and it is so unfortunate that not everyone has access to it. Some water facts include:

1. More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in the developing world.
2. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills children at a rate equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every four hours. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Of the 60 million people added to the world's towns and cities every year, most move to informal settlements (i.e. slums) with no sanitation facilities. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. 780 million people lack access to an improved water source; approximately one in nine people. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. "[The water and sanitation] crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than the average person in a developing country slum uses for an entire day. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Over 2.5X more people lack water than live in the United States. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.2,4,5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GIN: Water Issues!

WATER ISSUES IN KENYA

Dirty Water that Kenyans who do not have access to clean water drink

To start off this year with a strong topic relating to Kenya specifically, we have chosen to do “Water issues.” Water is one of the most basic needs for human survival, but water is significantly limited in many parts of Africa. Clean water, in specific, is desperate for people. People drink dirty water and are not aware of the diseases they can get from dirty water. In one of the documentaries that I have watched, I learnt that in dirty water, larvae dwells, and when these enter human body through drinking, they grow inside the body and penetrates through the person’s feet. This is easily treated but the spreading rate is extreme, considering that the infected river water is drank by the whole community.

Mr. Lavender, a Geography teacher at ISK, came to our meeting to talk about water issues in Kenya. His presentation was really an eye-opener for all of us because many of us were probably unaware of all the things he talked about. It was surprising to know how extreme the consequences of not drinking water, or clean water in general, was. He also provided us with a video which was about a lady talking about her experience in Africa. She looked really thankful to have been part of the project. I knew how proud achieving something is, so I really hoped that GIN club could do something for water issues.

Women walk miles and miles to get water. They even walk this long multiple times.

GIN 2013-2014 FIRST MEETING!

This year, I have been selected as one of the Co-president of GIN! (we will select one other co-chair after all the applications are in.) It will be such an exciting year because we already have so many planned. I just hope that we can do everything J

On to the topic! Basically, these were thee things I went through:

Welcome! Introduction

Overview – what is gin? What do we do? When?

Attendance and commitment – teacher

Co-chair

Secretary and Treasurer together

Heads of committees

-       Head of events – summit, ted talks, etc (tree plantings)

-       Head of campaigns -

-       Head of service

è  5 positions open

Introduce each other?

Ice breakers – hand shakes (coke, lumberjack, fisherman),

-       Questions each time: What favorite memory last year?

-       Ask them to create Gin hand shake

Application forms

Advertising positions – interested? Stay behind?

PTO picnic – raising money? Me to We – carrying water (September 21^st)

-       People to take shifts

-       Donation box

Engaging GI – water (videos, water)

GIN: Tree planting in Rungiri high shcool

Today, we went tree planting to Rungiri high school in Kikuyu land. This high school is one of our Golden Hearts students, Washington’s school. Overall it was such a fun day to interact with the local Kenyan students because I don’t get many chances to do so. We planted various types of trees across the whole school, and as well as another school nearby. They gave me a special kind of soil that waters the plant, which was really interesting. Only few of the GIN club members were able to make it, but with the support of the whole school, we were able to plant so many. I hope that one day, I can come back to the Rungiri high school and see how much my tree has grown.

Operation Smile - Bazaar at Rosslyn!

$210 RAISED THROUGH THE BAZAAR! Even though I could not attend this event, hearing that the club is earning some good deal of money is quite encouraging not only for the group, but the whole community. This is because we are actually raising awareness of this club throughout the kenyan community. One day, I hope that this operation smile club can be recognized by everyone and that one good, healthy smile can change someone's life. Also, I've heard that this club is registered for the 2013 AISA award... so if we do get this award, there would be a higher chance that we can raise attention in our school so that many more people could be part of us. ALL IS WELL!

If you are interested in helping out kids suffering from cleft lips there is a youtube link that may give you an idea of what operation smile does: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNewZ_nxrvo

Habitat For Humanity - Second trip to Morningstar School

Painting! Painting!  AND Painting! The fumes of the paint was killing me. But this new experience was toooo special that I will remember forever! This trip was special from the beginning when we started moving from school. When we entered Kangemi(one of the top five biggest slums in Kenya), all the people around were wondering why we came. They stared at the group of foreigners but I was totally confortable with these people because I had no doubt that these people will harm us. As we entered the inside of the town, kids came out to welcome us. Even though all they said was "HOW ARE YOU?" or "CHINESE?" I responded to them a bit awkwardly by saying "I AM NOT CHINESE. I'M KOREAN." Im not too sure if they understood what I was trying to say, but I was grateful that they came and approached me.

This was my second time in four months, visiting Morningstar school. When I entered the gate of the school, I saw the work that we had accomplished before. Even though our group was small (less than 10 people), we had great engagement and effort that it was easier for me to work hard and paint neater! Our group was probably one of the best because we worked so so hard. Team work was really efficient and no one complained about the work we had to do, nor did things that would annoy us. We managed to make so much that I was actually really proud that I was part of the group. Painting the school was extremely tiring but in general, it was SO MUCH FUN. I really loved this trip.. JUST SIMPLY AMAZING! I got paint everywhere in my clothes, shoes, hat and mostly on my hands, but I didnt really care because the painting itself was really fun. I hope to come visit next year again. Since this is my last trip of the year for Habitat, I am fully engaged in joing next year again for my third year!

 

GIN - Composting Project: Save the environment!

On April 18th, Alison Kahumbura came and talk to us about COMPOSTING(getting food waste to recyle as fertilizers or soil amendment) as well as the elementary kids present their composting project ongoing in campus (it was really adorable :P). The project sounds amazing so we are planning on doing this project, therefore, Alison will be leading us for this project, providing us with ideas :) She wanted us to consider a few questions and plan on a few things before we meet again.

1) Will this be a school activity or a club activity?

2) How many people should we involve?
3) How long should we maintain this project?
4) What do you want to do with the compost? Should we place in the field or garden?
5) For the action plan what should we do?
6) What do we want to achieve through this project?

GIN - One day without Shoes!!

After days of promotion of our GIN club's annual one day without shoes, today was the day. However, it was not that successful. Since morning, it started raining, and I thought people we're as devoted enough to come to school without shoes for various reasons. Firstly, people were not aware of this event, and people were afraid to step up and take off their shoes. As an international community, I think we should be more involved with these events, but its not as easy as it looks. That one step action of taking off the shoes is probably the most challenging step. It was quite disappointing because people who knew also came to school with shoes. People should act not selfish but for the community. This experience was for us to be in the shoes of the poor people who are suffering from no shoes. Our school is considered as the  school for "rich" people, and we live in satisfactory in life, therefore, it is hard to imagine how people live through these conditions.

For more information: http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/

Golf Practice at Windsor!

 Golf is such a frustrating sport because everything depends on your emotions, conditions on that particular day, and it also depends on how well you concentrate or position your body. There are so many factors that affect how far your ball flies.

Sometimes, there are moments when you are getting it, but then, all of a sudden, you find yourself digging the ground or missing the target. Whenever I play golf, I try to think to myself what I have to do, in order to get a nice shot. This helps me train my concentration level and enhances my ability to control my body and thoughts.

Jazz Band - Art Exhibition!

We had the jazz band performance outside the MPR at 7:25pm. We played  Jungle Boogie, Sothern Charm, Proud Mary and Jazz Me Blues, Catching the Sun. This experience was unique to me because before our performance, we had Afircan dancers come and perform their traditional dance.. I'm not sure what dance it was but I have to say, it was really interesting and I felt the African soul inside me! Our performance overall was not that great, but we did better than I had expected. I think our club members are better at the moment of our concert, but not at practice. We should be aware of this problem and try harder. I messed up a lot but it was really nice performing with the group! I really liked the songs we're practicing!

Church: Flute solo in Easter!

In church today, I played a flute solo between a hymn. I was really nervous that I made a few mistakes! :( I practiced a lot but I couldn't help it at all.. But it was a great experience because I was the only student playing with the adults, and it was great practice! I was told that I might be playing this again some time soon, so I better practice starting now! :)

Jazz Band - Village Market!

              This special performance was next to the Tamambos Tapas(where we had our concert last year) at Village Market. The jazz band was invited to this concert, and individuals from ISK came and performed their talents.  I found out that a lot of people were actually aware of this event and came to see the concert, which gave me an impression or motivation to become more interactive with the society.

Performing here was a very different show because there were only adults as audiences. Also, this particular concert was for limited amount of people, so it was a much smaller group than it would normally be. I personally thought that the jazz band could have done better, but I thought that because we were all standing in a small space, we didn’t get to perform our best. Since we were preparing new songs, I thought that if we played songs that we practiced fully, we could have given the audience a better performance.

Jumping Ropes!

For my own health benefits, I exercise by doing jumping ropes. Every 2~3 times a week, I do this activity because I need to train my body to get stronger. Jumping ropes keeps my body balanced and this is an easy exercise that I can do in 1~2 hours at home. I do this while listening to music because the beat and rhythm helps me perform better. I perform at least 2000~3000 times at once, for more than 40 minutes at least, so that I can burn enough

GISS Conference Day 3: Service Day to Shangilia

Trip to Shangilia for the Service Trip

Ending Ceremony by Shangilia Team

I made waterballoons the whole time.. my fingers hurt like crazy! :P



Golden Hearts students!



GISS Conference Day 2

Adele(right) and I(left) are leaders of this conference



Exciting to meet new friends! Korean friend from Ghana!



GISS Conference Day 1

Hilda (left), Cassandra (middle) and me (right)
Cassandra Lin was one of the keynotes and she is absolutely amazing!

Opening Ceremony: ISK conposer's club

Christine dancing with the deaf people. They were fantastic!

Christine solo dance! Nice Asian moves :P