Ask most teens what they did on their spring break and "parties" or "shopping" would probably be at the top of the list. But for four local youths, helping kids in Africa trade in drugs for an education was all in a holiday's work. Teenagers in the Squamish Rotary Club's youth group, Interact, had a rare opportunity to see how the club's efforts have helped the Emmanuel Boyz Rescue Center in Nairobi, Kenya. The centre provides shelter, clothing and drug rehabilitation for boys living in the city's slums. "I thought it would be a great possibility to see what our fundraising has done," said Oliver Blow, 15. "I wanted to bring what I saw back to the Interact club and show everyone where the money goes and how it helps." Plans for the Interact trip began back in September, after Rotary Club member Sheri Davis returned from a visit to the boys' centre with her family. "It was such a great experience and I just knew I had to share it with everybody," Davis said. So four Interact members were picked and a two-week trip was planned for March 13. But post-election violence in the area almost ruined their plans. "There were travel advisories in Canada and it was looking like they weren't going to be able to go. But a week before the trip it was lifted. The kids were so relieved," Davis said. Once safely in Nairobi, the quadruple-threat of teens - Blow, Gareth Davis, Mylene St. Pierre-Borchert, and Claire Ourom - got right to work. "They visited a new community centre that was being built and helped clean up and paint. Some of the street kids were right in there, too, helping them out," Davis said. They also did very simple things, like bring books, toys and games to the kids and just hang out with them. For Blow, this was the best part. "Just being around the boys was great. The amount of love they give you is really amazing," he said. Daniel Nduati, founder of the Emmanuel Boyz Rescue Centre, also took the teens on a tour of Nairobi's slums."It was a real eye-opener for them," Davis said. "They got to see where these boys came from, and then go back to the centre and see where some of them are now: healthy, eating, off drugs, and wearing uniforms. They got to see how the centre helps these boys. Some of these same boys they saw were the ones that came back to help paint the new community centre." Because of the post-election violence, Davis said the situation was even more dire than usual. "There were so many displaced kids. They were quite traumatized. Some of them saw their mothers being killed right in front of them."The Emmanuel Boyz Centre opened a drop-in shelter as a result, and immediately took in 30 kids. This centre was named in honour of the Interact club for their efforts with Emmanuel Boyz. But it wasn't all hard work. The teens also got to experience something few can say they have: a real-deal African safari. "We saw a huge group of lions," Blow said excitedly. "And I had my birthday while we were on it. It was pretty cool." Davis said that with the success of this year's trip, she is anticipating a lot of interest from Interact members for the one she has planned for next year. "These kids may not all know each other, but the binding desire is the desire to serve. And that's a fairly big thing to bind people," Davis said.
